Revival!!! 

1. Revival means to make something that is dead or dying come back to life again.  That means that whenever the Holy Spirit brings someone to repentance and saving faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ, there is revival. 

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sin.  Ephesians 2:1 

2.  However, the word "revival" has come to mean many different things to many different people.  Historically, revival has meant the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit of God to bring large numbers of people to Christ, and to cause community transformation.  The presence of God changes things.  The Holy Spirit brings people to repentance and faith.  We cannot do it.  Then, once the people are changed, everything else changes, including the government, the economy, and even the land itself because that's what God likes to do. 

3.  There have been many such revivals throughout history.  These are well documented: 

During the Second Great Awakening in the United States, the Presbyterian General Assembly declared, "The whole customs of society have changed."  During the Welsh revival it was said that entire towns were crime free, and that the judges wore white gloves to commemorate clean dockets.  There was no work for the judges to do.  Today, if you go to Almolonga, Guatemala, you will find the jails empty.  You will also find the farmers growing bumper crops of Biblical proportions; carrots the size of your hand and forearm, beets weighing 41/2 pounds etc. 

4.  Revival brings comprehensive community transformation.  All the values and institutions of that society have changed.  A culture has been impacted.  Supernatural power flows like a river of molten lava, changing everything in its path.  Every level of society responds to a different authority.  God's grace is seen reshaping everything; the government, the economy, and even the recreation are changed. 

5.  Community transforming revival is Biblical...

Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You?  Show us Your mercy, Lord, and grant us Your salvation.  I will hear what the Lord will speak, For He will speak peace to His people and to His saints; But let them not turn back to folly.  Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land.  Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.  Truth shall spring out of the earth, And righteousness shall look down from heaven.  Yes, the Lord will give what is good; And our land will yield its increase.  Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps our pathway. 
Psalm 85:6-13

6.  It is interesting that God has also promised to heal even the land itself.  And that is exactly what is happening now in the Eastern Arctic and in Almolonga, Guatemala.  The caribou, the fish, and the seals have come back to the Eastern Arctic, and the blueberry crop is a bumper crop. 

7.  Revival comes from the heart of God.  He is love.  It is His nature and character to bless and to bring life.  It is His presence that transforms a community, a region, and a nation.  What is it then that brings His presence to a place?

8.  God's presence cannot be programmed.  But He has told us what He wants.  He wants to be invited. 

If My people, who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land.  2 Chronicles 7:14

I believe the first thing God wants is humility.  Apart from Christ we can do nothing.  We need to be filled with a sense of our emptiness; how wrong we are, and how off we are.  We need to be broken.  Then, we need to pray.  We need to repent, and seek God.  We have to have a hunger for God and His will.  We need to be yielded to Him to do whatever He wants us to do.  God also wants holiness.  Everything that offends Him must be removed.  He wants pure hearts.  He wants us to turn from our wicked ways and seek Him. 

9.  Without exception every great revival began with just a few people who were hungry for God and His transforming love and power.  Just a few people actively seeking God and pressing into His presence can spark a revival - IF they are desperate enough to persevere even in the face of hardships, persecution, and apathy.  The key word is persevere.  We give up too easily.  But we have God's promises and we can believe them.

10.  Good leaders are essential to lasting revival.  But it is a certain kind of leader that is needed.  Servant leaders are essential.  (see Acts 2:18)  We need men and women of God who have a passion for souls and who will give God no rest until He makes their community a praise in the earth.  (Isaiah 62:6-7)  We need the humble servants who will love and serve God's people, and who are committed to the communities they serve. 

11.  Does God have any friends?  Revival is in His heart.  He wants to bless.  But He wants to be invited.  Who will invite Him?  Why not you?  If you want to see your neighborhood, your community, your city, and your nation transformed by God's presence, you can pray.  Anyone can pray.  You can invite God to come.  Find other people who will pray with you.  Gather a core group of people and begin to pray.  Ask God to show you how to pray, then watch how God answers.  Amen.

note:  Almost all the information in this lesson was taken from a video called "The Quickening" put out by the Sentinel Group.  Visit them at www.TransformNations.com 


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