Turning is something we do every day. We turn to get out of bed, we turn to go in and out of rooms, we turn on the road, we turn to greet people. Turning is such a natural thing that we don’t even notice we are doing it.
In Psalm 85, some conscious turning is taking place. God is turning from His anger, and the Psalmist is turning to prayer. Notice that the Psalmist is asking God to turn him; only God can truly turn you. But turn where? Turn to God!
Let’s look at three simple truths about turning:
TURNING FROM SIN BEGINS BY TURNING TO PRAYER
Jeremiah 31:18, “I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou has chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God.”
If we are too busy to pray, then we are backslidden. By turning to our jobs and responsibilities, we have turned our back on God. God pleads with you to turn back to Him.
Jeremiah 3:14, “Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion.”
Prayer is a key factor in revival. Revival will not happen without it. God is the only One who can bring revival, so we must seek Him in prayer. No prayer, no revival.
Billy Sunday stated this: “If you are strangers to prayer, you are strangers to power.” In other words, no prayer, no power.
We must turn to prayer if we ever want to see our families, churches, and nation turn back to God. We must let God back into families by making Him the focus; we must open the doors of our churches and let Christ be the head of the church again; we must stop taking God out of our country’s policies and laws and put Him back where He needs to be. Revival tarries as long as we tarry to prayer.
Let me urge you to pray for revival every day. Pray for revival for yourself, your family, your church, and your nation. It will never happen if we do not pray for it.
IT IS BEST IF WE TURN TOGETHER
The Psalmist says, “Turn us.” Turning together is the goal. Families, churches, nations—the more the better!
Psalm 80:3, 7, 19—“turn us again”
Jeremiah 26:3, “If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.”
Notice that it says “turn every man.” This is not just one or two, or a small group; this is every person turning, and that is revival.
Lamentations 3:40-41, “Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.”
We need to take Jeremiah’s advice and try our ways. The Hebrew word for “ways” is derekh, and it means “a road, a course of life or mode of action.” What is the direction you are heading in life? Is your goal in life to the live for the Lord and to please Him, or is that something you just do on the side or even when you feel like it? Search and try your ways and turn back to God!
Lamentations 5:21, “Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.”
Jeremiah has the entire nation in mind; Judah has just gone into captivity. If anything could turn them back to God, this incident could. The Hebrew word for renew is chadash, which means “to rebuild.” Through this terrible incident, God would rebuild His people, but it would only happen after they turned to Him.
The Bible says we are a spiritual house. We need to be rebuilt. We need to turn to the Lord together. There is power in unity. Personal revival is wonderful, but corporate revival is better. Families need to be rebuilt. Our nation needs to be rebuilt. If we want our days to be renewed, we must turn to the Lord together.
IF WE DO NOT TURN, GOD WILL NOT TURN
God’s turning from anger is dependent on our turning to Him.
II Chronicles 7:14, “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.”
Revival starts with God’s people. If we do not see revival, the world will never see revival. This promise is conditional, and God’s people today have failed to meet the conditions. There are four steps to seeing revival here: we must humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from our wicked ways. As a result, God will forgive our sins and heal our land (that’s our nation). But one or two cannot do it; we must all do it!
Charles Finny was correct when he said, “The fact is, Christians are more to blame for not being revived than sinners are for not being converted.”
In the book of Jeremiah, the prophet warns the Southern nation of Judah to turn from their sin to God. He warns them that judgment is coming; he plainly tells them of the coming captivity. He preaches long and hard; he even weeps for his people. But no one listens to his message. Instead they treat Jeremiah as a traitor; they cast him into prison and persecute him. The very last chapter of Jeremiah describes the captivity. It happened just as Jeremiah predicted. God’s judgment came because His people did not turn to Him.
In verse 6 of Psalm 85, the Psalmist prays for revival. In verses 10-13, he describes revival, and it is glorious! Look at the words that are used: mercy, truth, righteousness; the psalmist describes blessing and prosperity. Do you want to see these things happen in our nation? It all depends on God’s people—us! God will not turn from His wrath until we turn back to Him.
Notice the last phrase of Psalm 85: “and shall set us in the way of his steps.” (v. 13) That is true revival! To walk in the steps of the Lord! To go exactly where He wants us to go!
TURNING SMOOTHLY
Illustration: Doors turn on hinges. Hinges need oiling in order to turn smoothly. We need the oil of the Spirit to help us freely turn. Sometimes we will reluctantly turn, but we squeak out complaints while we do. Sometimes we refuse to turn, like a jammed door.
Doors must also be unbolted or unlocked. We must not lock out God’s Word, for that is the way God’s Spirit nudges on the door. Don’t forget that doors that don’t turn are really walls.
Are you a jammed door, a squeaky door, or an open door? Revival will not happen until we open the door and let it in. Do you need some oil? Do you need to unlock your door? If you don’t want revival, then you’re a wall, and don’t worry, you won’t get it. Walls don’t turn, and if you don’t turn, you won’t ever see revival.
CONCLUSION
We need to turn from our crooked ways. Psalm 125:5, “As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel.”
We need to turn from our idols. Ezekiel 14:6, “Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.”
We need to turn from our sins. Ezekiel 18:30, “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.”
What do you need to turn away from? God is waiting for you to turn back to Him. He is ready to turn.
Zecharaiah 1:3, “Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.”
James 4:8a, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.”
Until we turn, we will not see revival! Do you want revival? Or are you just content to live your life the way it is? Are we content to see our nation ruined by sin? Are we content to continue to see evil triumph? If that is true, we must pray that God would change our hearts, and turn us to Himself. We must pray, “Turn me, and I shall be turned.”
