The Theology Of Biblical Revival

The Theology of Biblical Revival

Psalms 85:1-13

1 (To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.) LORD, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.

2 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah.

3 Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.

4 Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.

5 Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?

6 Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?

7 Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.

8 I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.

9 Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.

10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

11 Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

12 Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.

13 Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.

Introduction: What is Revival?

1. Revival is not a week worth of meetings.

2. Revival is not started in one day.

3. Revival is not controlled by man.

4. Revival is a heart thing.

5. Revival is always brought on by REPENTANCE.

6. Revival is renewed zeal to obey God

As we read through the revivals recorded in the Bible we can quickly see commonalities among them. In his book Revival Fire, Geoff Waugh lists nine similarities among Biblical revivals:

* They occurred in times of moral darkness and national depression.

* Each began in the heart of a consecrated servant of God who became the energizing power behind it.

* Each revival rested on the Word of God, and most were the result of proclaiming God’s Word with power.

* All resulted in a return to the worship of God.

* Each witnessed the destruction of idols where they existed.

* In each revival, there was a recorded separation from sin.

* In every revival the people returned to obeying God’s laws.

* There was a restoration of great joy and gladness.

* Each revival was followed by a period of national prosperity.

Ideally, we should never have to pray for revival, as the Lord would have us live in a perpetually revived state. The early church (during the New Testament era) lived in continuous revival. The believers were dynamic—although, as the epistles clearly reveal, they were not faultless. That gives us great hope today!

- Chet Swearingen

I. The Remembrance – favor v. 1-3

In verse one we have a clue to the context of this of this Psalm. The captivity of Jacob is a reference to the return of a remnant from Babylon. The word that stands out is

a. At one time Israel had the refreshing of His presence

b. At one time Israel had the realness of His power

c. At one time Israel had the reassurance of His promises.

II. The Regression – folly v. 4-8

The main reason for their captivity in Babylon and the destruction of the Temple and the wreck and ruin of Jerusalem was idolatry. The Psalmist calls it the folly.

The Bible understands that idolatry extends beyond the worship of images and false gods. It is a matter of the heart, associated with pride, self-centeredness, greed, gluttony ( Php 3:19 ), and love for possessions ( Matt 6:24 ).

Idolatry is a major theme of the Bible. It challenges God's sovereignty and attempts to offer an alternate explanation to the issues of life. But Scripture not only records people's failures; it also records the hope of repentance. In his mercy, God raised up men and women who challenged the faulty theology of the community.

As Tim Keller states in his book Counterfeit Gods, an idol is “anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, and anything that you seek to give you what only God can give.”

a. Self - We are a self-obsessed people, or at least, I am. Throughout the day, I filter everything through the lens of how it affects me, and in social settings my focus usually lands squarely on myself. Though I know I exist to glorify Christ and reveal His love to a hurting world, so often, I easily slip into self-elevation mode.

Our culture might convince me this is beneficial. After all, if we don’t look out for ourselves, who will? According to Scripture, Christ. We belong to an all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful Savior who gave His everything so that we might live. In return, He asks that we willingly give ourselves to Him.