Waiting For Revival

If asked, I believe most Christians would say revival is something they want. But I wonder, how many would understand what revival is and what it means?

My favorite non-Biblical writer, Ellen G. White said this: “A revival and a reformation must take place, under the ministration of the Holy Spirit. Revival and reformation are two different things. Revival signifies a renewal of spiritual life, a quickening of the powers of mind and heart, a resurrection from spiritual death. Reformation signifies a reorganization, a change in ideas and theories, habits and practices.” R&H, Feb. 25, 1902. {1SM 128.1}

“A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work.” 1SM 121.1

If this is to be our first work (as it involves a renewed relationship with Christ) it must be very important! And while many desire a closer walk with God, it is the depth of conviction that sets revival apart. The deep effect on the mind/heart that God’s truth has during revival is supernatural – it is the working of the Holy Spirit. When we have and positively respond to a personal confrontation with God’s love and truth, that deep conviction of sin is the first element of revival. Action /behavior corresponding to and resulting from that conviction, and the heart’s love renewal of obedience to God is the second part of revival.

Isaiah 57:15 “For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones”

“Revival”, “Revive” is an Old Testament word. Its first use is in Nehemiah 4:2, where Sanballat is mocking the rebuilding of the wall.

“And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish — stones that are burned?“

“Revive” comes from the Hebrew chayah {khaw-yaw’}

means to preserve alive; to give life; to quicken, revive, refresh; to restore to life; to cause to grow; to restore

Peter talks of another spiritual house being built up out of stones: 1 Peter 2:5 “you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”

The word is used in a direct spiritual sense in Psalm 85:1-7 “⁴ Restore us, O God of our salvation, And cause Your anger toward us to cease. …. 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.

There are also 9 revival principals I’d like to briefly share with you today as we talk about Waiting For Revival.

* The 1^st Principal: The Psalmist looks back to what God has done in the past. Faith looks back to God’s mighty deeds. It would be helpful for us to also recollect and explore what God has done in the past in our own lives.

* 2^nd Principal: Revival never comes without PETIONING GOD (Individual & Corporate PRAYER)

The Bible has much counsel on prayer, as does a chapter on prayer in the book “Steps To Christ”. There is a helpful book that I’ve used in some of my previous churches called the “40 Days of Prayer Book” that I would also recommend to you. Whether individually at home, and corporately at church meetings like Prayer Meeting, Sabbath School, Church, Vespers, God’s people need to pray fervently! Its no wonder Satan works hard to shut down church services, and keep people busy at home with other distractions!

* 3^rd Principal: God focuses revival on “US.”

God may, and frequently does, use a few individuals as a catalyst for revival, but revival is for a corporate body, God’s people, His church.

*4^th Principal: God can revive us AGAIN.

Even if they have slipped away or fallen into spiritual lethargy, God is patiently waiting for, and drawing, His people to call on Him to revive them again.

5^th Principle: Revival is something God does with His PEOPLE/CHURCH, not the unsaved.

I recall hearing a fellow pastor say, somewhat tongue in cheek, that those who had not yet given their heart to God needed “vival”, but it was God’s saints who need re-vival!

He was simply pointing out that you cannot revive that which has not yet been alive. You cannot “re-establish” that which has never been established in the first place. God will work through the revived to reach the lost!

The Psalmist finishes the chapter with a forward look.

Psalm 85:8-13 “I will hear what God the LORD will speak, For He will speak peace To His people and to His saints; But let them not turn back to folly. ⁹ Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land. ¹⁰ Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed. ¹¹ Truth shall spring out of the earth, And righteousness shall look down from heaven. ¹² Yes, the LORD will give what is good; And our land will yield its increase. ¹³ Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps our pathway”

Mercy and truth, righteousness and peace, the longest greatest kiss happened at Calvary.

* 6^th great principle. FAITH looks FORWARD, expectantly, to God working in our lives, keeping His promises, finishing the work through His church.

Revival is restoring to life that which has been rendered used and useless. Revival is vital in both the Old and New Testaments,

* 7^th Principle: we can only have revival as we have the HOLY SPIRIT.

Allow me to briefly touch on 2 Bible stories I believe you are acquainted with:

Story #1 The 10 Virgins) Matthew 25:5 says “But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.”

All 10 Virgins, who symbolize the final remnant church, fell asleep while waiting for the bridegroom. Not only does this story show us shows us how the importance of having the Holy Spirit, it also shows us how NOT to wait.

While not the topic of today’s message permit me to share briefly how the Holy Spirit works:

Speaking of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment”

John 16:8

The Holy Spirit works:

On us (conviction). Bringing us to repentance and acceptance of salvation (John 6:8-11). Scripture tells us that repentance is a gift from God (Acts 11:18).
In us (new covenant transformation). God gives us a new heart with new desires to follow His law, and He empowers us to do so (Ezekiel 11:19-20; 36:26-29; Hebrews 8:10; 10:16-17).
Through us/Out of us (witnessing & spiritual gifts). Jesus sent out the 70 as His witnesses though they were not yet fully converted (Luke 10:1-3).
Out of us (the Latter Rain & spiritual gifts) (Acts 1:8; James 5:7; Revelation 18:1,4)

Story #2 Preparation B4 Pentecost) Acts 1:13-14 “And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James. ¹⁴ These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

You might recall, Christ had told them to wait in Jerusalem, for the Promise of the Father (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4); God’s gift to them. So the disciples and these women waited…. for the Holy Spirit

Fortunately, they didn’t “wait” like the 10 virgins and fall asleep. Their waiting was filled with essential activity.

Illus: When I was dating Julie, she would sometimes come to my home to visit (she would spend the night at a female friend’s home). I can assure you that while “waiting” for her to arrive, I was quite active – diligently cleaning and preparing my home for her arrival.

How did these 120 disciples of Christ wait? …

After Christ’s ascension, they returned to Jerusalem where they were ”continually” in God’s house, praising & blessing Him. (Luke 24:51-53). Friends these are times for God’s people to gather together more at church and in homes, not less! (Hebrews 10:24-25)
Gathering at the temple, as oft as possible, meant they were also witnessing; whether passively through their actions, or actively as people asked about the hope that was in them.

Did you know:

Sharing your faith helps you increase your faith!

Sharing God’s truth helps you grow in God’s truth!

Its ok to let them know if you don’t know all the answers. Show/tell them what you know the Bible says, and then study more into your Bible to learn what you don’t know that you can then share! As you study and share your faith will grow!

They all continued with one accord (one mind, one passion) in prayer and supplication Acts 1:14

My favorite non-Biblical author adds more thought to this:

“As the disciples waited for the fulfillment of the promise, they humbled their hearts in true repentance and confessed their unbelief. … they reproached themselves for their misapprehension of the Saviour. … As they meditated upon His pure, holy life they felt that no toil would be too hard, no sacrifice too great, if only they could bear witness in their lives to the loveliness of Christ’s character. … But they were comforted by the thought that they were forgiven. And they determined that, so far as possible, they would atone for their unbelief by bravely confessing Him before the world” AA 36.1

“The disciples prayed with intense earnestness for a fitness to meet men and in their daily intercourse to speak words that would lead sinners to Christ. Putting away all differences, all desire for the supremacy, they came close together in Christian fellowship.” AA 37.1

“These days of preparation were days of deep heart searching. The disciples felt their spiritual need and cried to the Lord for the holy unction that was to fit them for the work of soul saving. They did not ask for a blessing for themselves merely. They were weighted with the burden of the salvation of souls. They realized that the gospel was to be carried to the world, and they claimed the power that Christ had promised.” AA 37.2

They spent time together confessing their faults to one another and confessing their sins to God, asking, seeking, and finding forgiveness! As they did this, their hearts were knit together in unity by the Holy Spirit. As difficult as confessing our sins to God, its can be even harder to confess our faults to one another, because of pride! With the Spirit’s leading, they searched their (own) hearts for anything that was keeping them from Christ and reflecting Him to the world. What a 40 days that must have been!

These disciples became unified and united in the same purpose and passion – Christ and His mission.

Something I like to do is discover people’s passions in life. For some its work/career, for some its family or hobbies. Its always sad when Christ fails to be mentioned or is lower on the list.

Christ should be the greatest passion of a Christian!

Illus: I read of a early Christian young man who wanted the same great passion for Christ as he saw in some of the older believers. He told one elderly saint his desire and asked him how he could get it and how he would know when he had it. The old man took him down into the water, where he suddenly grabbed him by the back of the neck and arm and plunged the young man’s head under the water and held him there. The young man’s arms flailed away, but the elderly saints grip was strong. Just when he was almost out of air, he lifted him up to get a fresh breath then plunged him back under. He did this several times. When he finally released the young man who was gasping for breath, he said to him. “When you desire Christ as than you desired breath, then you will know that you have great passion for Him!”

The result of this revival was the fulfillment of Christ’s promise: Acts 1:8 “ “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Their waiting was filled with activity!

Friends, the early rain has fallen, but we are still waiting for the latter rain.

May I ask, how are you waiting for revival?

There are so many important lessons for us to learn today about how we should be waiting for revival!

What have you learned?

In Romans 13:11 Paul gives us a crucial reminder: “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.”

The idea of being reawakened, being revived, to the calling of Christ and the solemnity of our privilege/duty as believers gives us the 8^th Principal today: Its “high time”; in other words… the time for revival is NOW!

9^th & final Principle: God alone can revive us, and we can take confidence that He WILL revive the HUMBLE, the CONTRITE

Appeal: Revival needs to be, it must be, our first passion as it involves a deep abiding relationship with Christ and transformation by the Spirit!

Will you seek to humble your heart in earnest prayer?

Will you ask God to bring true revival into your heart and into our church?

Will you “wait” for revival as the early disciples did?

Waiting For Revival

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