"Lord Send Revival" HHM Pastor Jim Parisi 6-16-02
Ps. 85:6-7 6 Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You? 7 Show us Your mercy, Lord, And grant us Your salvation.
In our text this morning, the psalmist asks God an important question.
“Will You not revive us again?"
We sometimes sing a song that says, "Revive us again;"
We talk about revival, but this morning I want us to take some time and consider what we are asking the Lord for.
First, we cannot forget that revival broke out in the S. Calif area in 1906 on Azusa Street the Pentecostal movement was born.
Pastors and their congregations came from everywhere to see what God was doing.
Reporters from secular newspapers where sent to check out the scene.
There were no airplanes then travel took long and was tiring.
Another was Aimee Semple McPherson, where in 1923, the 5,300 seat Angelus Temple in L.A. Was dedicated, and became the center for a God ordained revival…
They started out like great forest fires consuming acre upon acre of land. This area was at one time a great seedbed for revival.
It was so powerful that people would run and drop what they were doing to see what the Lord was about to do.
These Powerful Movements of god that were so powerful then, are barely an ember of their former selves.
We the people of God need to maintain the flame of revival so bright in our area, that the lost just out of curiosity alone come looking.
Like chasing a fire engine to see the blaze
That they would be attracted like moths to a great flame.
It was a place in time without a doubt that GOD was the most important thing in their lives.
I. What is Revival?
A. it’s not evangelism even though many souls may be saved as a result of it.
B. it’s Not emotionalism although there may be emotional manifestations connected to it.
It is a renewal of spiritual life in an individual or among a group of people.
II. When is Revival Needed?
A. Whenever the love of God’s people has grown cold.
Has the love for God grown cold in the World? This country, this state, this area or in the small a place known as your heart?
Has the fire that was so strong once in your heart diminished because of the day-to-day responsibilities and natural things of this life?
B. Consider the symptoms that it needs to have revival grow cold.
1. Complacency: self-satisfaction or satisfaction with the status quo. We are become self-serving and not a God serving people in this country.
2. Lack of concern for the lost. That our needs become more important then the needs of the lost and un-churched, the needs of the poor and sick.
3. Hiding or covering secret sins. / Doing things that we think no one else sees.
4. Ill feelings towards other people and Christians. Holding a grudge that creates an obstacle in our walk and withdrawing from our fellowship with the Lord.
5. Having an unforgiving spirit. Not able to let loose of our sin, forgiving our selves or others and causing a greater separation from God. How foolish is this path?
6. Being filled with pride. The first Sin, man is a prideful being. Why do we hold this thing called pride so dear? If you had a bag of 100 lbs of manure how long would you like to carry it around with you?
7. Any condition of spiritual standing where we are less than we were before:
It’s called the the backslidden state!
This is where you are not ahead in your walk from where you were just yesterday.
C. Dangers in our need for revival.
1. Often spiritual deterioration comes without our awareness.
a. Samson had the power of God upon him, but he played around with sin and was found out to where his strength was.
b. The disciples had received power from Jesus Christ to heal and cast out demons
c. They had lost their power, but they were unaware that it was gone!
d. Jesus told them that it was because of their unbelief! We see this in
Mt. 17:14-21
14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him." 17 Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me." 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" 20 So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ’Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."
2. Often the condition of our hearts is such that we are not aware of the power we possess in Christ at the very time it is most needed
3. The flesh will fight against revival,
It will pull you down into a pit and make you look weak.
To have revival the fuel to spark this great inferno just may be our flesh. It has to die so that God can fill us with His Love and power.
For to have revival we must admit that we have a need and are willing to change from our earthly ways
It is a time to forget about our earthly understandings and set our sights on things that are more spiritual.
To Put on the mind of CHRIST
III. What Kind of Revival Do We Need?
A. We need a revival that will resurrect the body of Christ in America.
1. Revival means a return of life.
2. Jesus declared to the church at Sardis, "Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead."
3. To the church at Laodicea he calls upon them to repent; they thought they had need of nothing.
4. He rebuked the church at Ephesus for having left their first love.
5. Elements of all of the seven churches of Asia are present here today!
a. Some folks are members of churches in name only;
they are not interested in giving their life to the cause of Christ or to their fellow man.
b. Others are satisfied with the way things are and see no reason for any change.
If it isn’t broke don’t fix it…. The Status quo
c. Still others are too concerned about their own agendas to see the need that we see in this area // we are in a party town / the beach cities and as the summer roles in we will see this in a greater capacity.
d. We the church of Jesus Christ need to cry out to God, "Wilt thou revive us again?"
Lord send us a revival!!!
Harvest House was birth out of a need for change. We are a people asking God for a revival. The area around us is dry and barren, a place that ONE GOOD SPARK could set the whole area ablaze
B. We need a revival that will rekindle the old fires too.
1. Revive us again means that there has been rivals before.
2. The Christian life is made up of many beginnings many paths to choose from.
A. A journey involves mountaintop experiences and valleys as well.
B. We need a revival that will rekindle the old fires.
3. Do you remember better days?
a. Days of dedication to the Lord and to His work?
b. Days when you lived expecting to see great things from God?
c. Days when you would not think of missing church to go to a ball game or some other personal function.
d. When you didn’t look for some excuse for why you cannot serve the Lord today?
C. We need a revival that will restore the joy and victory to the child of God.
1. Too many defeated Christians today.
2. Too many discouraged Christians.
3. Too many backslidden Christians.
4. The joy of the Lord is our strength; we need a revival where God will give us a new song in our hearts
IV. How Can We Have Revival?
A. Only God can send revival.
1. He alone is the source:
2. It is impossible to schedule and plan for revival. Tuesday at noon?
3. What we must do is pray for God to grant it to us.
B. We must face up to spiritual realities.
1. We need to see ourselves as we are...we must be honest.
2. We need to acknowledge God for Who He is and quit playing games.
3. We must see sin for what it is confess it, repent of it, and forsake it.
Change for the better to become more like Christ
C. We must desire to be revived.
1. Usually we don’t want it bad enough to make any difference.
2. Note: Isaiah 55:6-8 6 Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. 8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord.
3. God wants to send revival upon those who genuinely seek it.
4. We need to prepare for its arrival:
a. personal revival: that means individuals getting right with God.
b. relational revival: that means families and friends getting back to the place they need to be rightly related to GOD .
Conclusion:
Revival is not turned on and off like a light switch or a valve on water fountain,
If we meet God’s conditions, He will bestow it upon us. He will honor us with his Holy Spirit.
We will see the spirit of God in the faces around us.
There are souls out there that need to know the loving person we know as Jesus Christ there is a world of the lost going to never see heaven or the face of GOD..
Church it’s our job, it’s our calling to fight and pray for them till they see the love of Jesus rooted it into their hearts. AMEN
