“If my people”
Prayer Revival
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
OPENING: - First I want to thank God for placing the desire upon Elder Adrienne Carter to have this prayer revival and her obedience to His voice. Before we pray, I want to give what God has placed in my spirit for this awesome occasion.
2 Chronicles 7:14 says “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”. Awesome scripture of revival. One of the most amazing elements of this verse is that it shows the consistency of the character of God. There is no great discrepancy between His character in the Old Testament and the New Testament. He remains the same. He is ready and willing to forgive, and now, Jesus Christ has paid the price for our sins. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever”. Thank God for His consistency, man is inconsistent and unstable in all of his ways.
The first part of this verse is paramount “If my people, which are called by my name”. Let me establish this point quickly Who are His people? Matthew 7:21 says “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven”. His people are the ones that do His will, those who have been called according to His purpose, we who have been justified and live by faith we are his people, we are the called-out ones the ecclesia.
Matthew 13:25 says “But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way”.
For to long the church has been sleeping and it has become complacent and comfortable, trying to be pleasing to man instead of pleasing God. While it has been asleep the enemy has maneuvered its way into a position of influence and control in society and sadly in the church as well. Now the church finds itself sidelined and criticized unable to stand against the on-slaught of evil being launched in the world today.
We live in a generation where people no longer preach the gospel as they ought to, people are now being economical with the gospel of Christ. The worst is that some people are even perverting the gospel and using it to manipulate and extort people. We need a revival, people that will go to the highways, the hedges and compel people to come to Christ. People that will preach Christ and not church. People that will not be ashamed to tell others about Jesus Christ. We need a revival.
The enemy has embedded itself behind the thought patterns and views of the world in a way that is totally opposed to the Will and the Word of God. We see the borders of decency and morality being pushed out of shape and out of the way. Proverbs 22:28 says “Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set”.
These landmarks or boundaries are moved daily, Hollywood pushes them, Washington pushes them, Politicians pushes them, Social Media pushes them and as a result the moral compass of society is nearly non-existent.
There is a saying that goes “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”. Because the church has for to long stood by and done nothing evil is triumphantly growing.
We see it in life every day wrong is being called right and right is being called wrong, hatred is spewed from the mouth of so-called leadership, blatant disrespect for law and order is praised as long as it coincides with certain political agendas, Black lives don’t seem to matter at all, cops still are shooting and killing us at will and nothing is being done. Supremist groups are being praised and commended for plotting to kidnap a government official and instead of denouncing racism are told to standby and stand down. Homosexualism is out of control, more rights and provisions are being made for them than are being made to reunite over 500 children with their parents at the borders. Coronavirus is running rampant; people are dying at an alarming rate and there is no cure insight. In the words of Marvin Gaye “There’s far too many of us dying what’s going on”. In the face of increasing evil, descending morality, and the lack of spirituality in society, our land needs to be healed, it’s time for Revival.
God said the people, His people, the church must humble themselves. We must be willing to concede to His will. To humble yourself means to admit that you have done wrong that you have fallen short of what was expected and are submitting yourself to authority.
Then He tells the people to pray. Jesus reiterates the importance of going to God in prayer saying, John 14:13 “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son”.
To turn from evil is one of the more literal definitions of repentance, a key component of the believer’s relationships with God. In 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Striving to cease wickedness and be more righteous is crucial.
God says He will heal the land. God heals in many ways. In the context of 2 Chronicles 7:14, healing the land means saving the people of Israel from enemies, plague, or other disasters brought on by their decision to turn away from God. He will also heal people physically from illnesses and injuries. He will heal families spiritually and emotionally. He heals people spiritually by redeeming them from their sins, and helping people move past emotional or psychological scars.
WATCH THIS:- One cannot plan a true revival for it is something that God does. We may have meetings and services and call them revival, but until God shows up in power and strength it is just meetings and services. God knows if a body of people are ready for a revival spiritually, physically, and emotionally and He will prepare a particular person to be His spokesperson and organizer – Thank God for Elder Carter for being that person.
True revival pricks, convicts, and converts the heart of mankind. The very atmosphere is charged with a fresh anointing of the presence of God so much so that even when a person would be just passing through the area would become convicted and changed.
However, it is going to take the church to humble themselves because we are His people, those who have been called according to His purpose, we who have been justified and live by faith we are his people, we are the called out ones the ecclesia and when we humble ourselves and concentrate on God seek His face turn from our wicked ways of self-righteousness and churchiness then He will hear from heaven forgive our sin and heal the land.
Because His people have let the standard fall the land is in the condition it is so we need a revival. To be revived means to rekindle our zeal afresh for God, it means to be on fire again for God.
We need to say like the song we used to sing says “We praise Thee, O God! For the Son of Thy love, For Jesus Who died, And is now gone above. Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Hallelujah! Amen. Hallelujah! Thine the glory. Revive us again.
We praise Thee, O God! For Thy Spirit of light, Who hath shown us our Savior, And scattered our night. All glory and praise To the Lamb that was slain, Who hath borne all our sins, And hath cleansed every stain.
All glory and praise To the God of all grace, Who hast brought us, and sought us,
And guided our ways. Revive us again; Fill each heart with Thy love; May each soul be rekindled With fire from above”.
The church is called to come together to pray in the same way the Israelites called to God in the temple centuries ago. In the face of trials, difficulties, and even natural disaster and diseases, God’s people can go to Him in humility and call out to Him for deliverance.
Matthew 18:20 says “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
Revival begins with His people. Revival begins with us.
Ezekiel 36:26 says “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
This is the prayer that we will ask God to do during Prayer Revival.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
