God's Way for Real Revival

2 Chronicles 7:14

2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV

14 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.

Prayer

Message

Intro: I suppose no other passage in the Bible has been used more often to preach about revival than this verse. That is because it is a revival verse for Israel in the time of the OT. This morning, if you have been saved and a part of the body of Christ the Lord calls out to you: "My people, called by My Name!". God was speaking to a people, His people Israel who had identified themselves with Him and His work. This morning as the NT church, the Lord speaks to us His children that are identified with Him and working on His behalf for the kingdom of God. Amen?

It is important we gain understanding of this text by an awareness of the times and conditions behind the verse. What was happening when this verse was recorded? Who was the scripture addressed to? Why were these words uttered?

This verse was given to Solomon at the dedication of the Temple. What is interesting is that this text was given by God at a time that David, Solomon and the people of God were living righteously and walking circumspectly in the Lord and God had warned the people that their disobedience to His Word and commands would bring with it dire consequences, v. 13, for their land. Now, He sets forth the conditions necessary to reverse His judgment and to bring revival.

Since we have scheduled these next four nights for a set of revival meetings , beginning tonight, and since we are in desperate need of revival, I felt led to preach from this verse this morning. I just want to point out God’s way of preparing our hearts for real revival. This is not a recipe! But, if the conditions are all met God's way, then the stage will be set for real revival. Friends, we need a revival! This verse tells us how to go about encountering real revival. Notice with me God's Way For Real Revival.

I. REAL REVIVAL DEMANDS REAL REQUIREMENTS

What was happening in the word of God when the Chronicler recorded this scripture? King David was in his last days setting aside resources to offer to Solomon in building the temple. David’s last days were spirit filled days as He walked with God, accepted that his son Solomon would be King and build the temple and He served in supporting that endeavor. There was a sweet spirit in the time of this entire transition of leadership.

You know the story, Solomon asked the Lord for wisdom and by Solomon asking for wisdom, God granted him everything else-2 Chronicles 1.

Listen to what the Bible states:

2 Chronicles 1:11-12 “11 Then God said to Solomon: “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life—but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king—12 wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like.””

And from that point until the building of the temple, Solomon lead the people of Israel in total submission to the will of God. And God honored and blessed Israel and God blessed Solomon.

IN 2 Chronicles 6:12-42, Solomon prayed the most beautiful spirit filled prayer in both thanksgiving and exaltation and petition to the Lord for His goodness, His blessings, His presence and His abiding love and mercy. Solomon was so filled with the Lord and the prayer pleased the Lord to such a degree, listen to what happened:

2 Chronicles 7:1-3 “1 When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house. 3 When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever.””

The people of God began worshipping and burning sacrifices so much the altar would not contain the sacrifices and we call this festival time the Feast of Tabernacles. Solomon along with the people of Israel worshipped the Lord straight for twenty three days. They sang with jubilance, they played instruments, sacrifices offered and their hearts were overflowing with exaltation for the Lord. It was a sweet time for the people of God.

There was nothing recorded in the Word of God that the experience was anything less than real, holy, righteous and totally uplifting praise to the Lord.

Now, lets’ dial it down and listen very closely to the three verses that lead up to this famous verse we know when we think about revival.

2 Chronicles 7:11–14 NKJV

11 Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house; and Solomon successfully accomplished all that came into his heart to make in the house of the Lord and in his own house. 12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 14 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.

We can affirm that the Lord was pleased with Solomon and pleased with the people of Israel. His affirmation was evidenced in the fact God sent down fire from heaven:

2 Chronicles 7:1 “1 When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.”

Why then would the Lord say such a conditional statement/warning with an “if/then” conditional consequence/result? Israel and the King are in such a good place with the Lord? Why would that be? Why the timing of such a statement?

Billy Sunday was asked one time in a preparation service, “why do we need revival? And he responded, why do you need a bath? Dearly beloved, we get dirty.

God in His omniscience knew the direction Solomon would take and the sins he would ultimately commit. He knew the future wayward periods in Israel’s future and He knows that the world causes us to be dirty.

Isn’t it interesting that this charge that came from the Lord by night in His second appearance was followed by the completion of the temple dedication?

Today, this side of the cross our bodies are called God’s temple.

1 Corinthians 6:19 “19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”

I am always amazed when I share with someone who has not been associated with the things of God in years and I ask them about salvation, they will say something along the lines of this:

“I took care of that many years ago.”

I buried a man not many days ago that made that statement on his death bed and had not been in church in years and years. “I took care of that many years ago.” I believe this person I am speaking of was genuine and I believe he is in heaven. But, I can not imagine life without the abundant life found in Him when I am walking with Him in the here and now.

Dearly beloved, we must experience His glory filling our temples, His fire reigning down at our altars to keep the sweet aroma, the sweet fellowship of communion with the Father.

Revival-the word revive, revived or revival is mentioned 18 x in the Bible.

Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament 644 חָיָה

644 חָיָה (ḥāyâ) live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live forever. Also be quickened, revive from sickness, discouragement, or even death.

Three things that quickly come to mind about revival as spelled out in the word of God.

Psalms 71:20 “20 You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, Shall revive me again, And bring me up again from the depths of the earth.”

Are you in a dark place? Are you combating depression? Do you lack zest for life? You need revival.

Psalms 85:6 “6 Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You?”

Let me ask you a serious question. Do you have real joy? If not, you need revival.

Psalms 119:149 “149 Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; O Lord, revive me according to Your justice.”

How is your heart? Where is your heart? Is your heart right now a thousand miles from here?

In revival, God is not concerned about filling empty churches, He is concerned about filling empty hearts.

Leonard Ravenhill

If these hold true, you need real revival? Oh that we could revive have that initial falling in love with Jesus.

So, let’s look at four requirements of real revival spelled out in 2 Chronicles 7:14.

(Ill.Before revival can ever become a reality, the people of God must meet the four demands mentioned in this verse. Meeting these four demands does not guarantee that revival will happen, but it does create an atmosphere in which it becomes possible and far more likely.)

A. A Call To Preparation- Humility

- This word has the idea of being "under another". One of the things God's people must do is remember Who is Lord! When we humble ourselves to the Lord, we are acknowledging His Lordship and headship in our lives. We are admitting our weakness and reaching out for His power. We are saying I can't, but you can! (Ill. This is the picture seen in Joshua 5:13-15.

Joshua 5:13-15 “13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” 14 So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” 15 Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.”

Joshua is told to remove his shoe. This was an ancient way of symbolizing the relinquishing of control to another. It was a way of saying "I can't, but you can." It is also seen in Ruth 4:5-8.) Those who willingly humble themselves under the hand of the Lord open their lives to His blessings .

Matt. 23:12 “12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

James 4:6 “6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.””

Have you heard the word Narcissist?

noun: narcissist; plural noun: narcissists

a person who has an excessive interest in or admiration of themselves. "narcissists who think the world revolves around them" Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes. He ventured a life under the sun. In Ecclesiastes Chapter 1 alone he used the word “I” seven times. Solomon attempted happiness and joy literally trying everything under the sun and nothing made him happy until he determined:

“fear God and keep His commandments. This is man’s all.”

The wisest and most influential man in the known word stated that real joy comes from a submissive relationship with the Heavenly Father.

Please note that our humility is to be voluntary! If we do not humble ourselves, there may come a day when the Lord will do it for us. His methods are not always the most pleasant!

B. A Call To Prayer - Prayer

- This word means just what it says - pray! It is, in essence, humility in action. The praying person sees his own inability and recognizes God's ability. This causes him to come before the Lord to seek the help he needs. Prayer is an essential ingredient in the mystery of revival! In fact, our praying may seem weak, but it will yield far more fruit than the effort demands!

(Ill."Pastor John Ramsey had grown accustomed to someone providing him with a rose boutonniere every Sunday. That routine took on dramatic new meaning when a young boy approached him after the service and politely asked if he could have the little rose. Ramsey knew the flower was destined for the trash so he offered it to the boy and asked what he planned to do with the used rose. The little guy replied, "Sir, I'm going to give it to my granny. My parents got divorced last year. I was living with my mother, but when she got married again she wanted me to live with my father. I lived with him for a while, but he said I couldn't stay so he sent me to live with my grandmother. She is so good to me. She cooks for me and takes care of me. She has been so good to me that I want to give that pretty flower to her for loving me." Ramsey said tears filled his eyes as he listened to the little boy. He then told the compassionate boy, "You can't have this flower because it's not enough." He pointed to the large spray of fresh flowers at the altar and said, "Please take those flowers to your granny because she deserves the very best." The little boy lit up with excitement and said, "What a wonderful day! I asked for one flower but got a beautiful bouquet." Our approach to God is not unlike what took place that day with this child and Pastor Ramsey. We come in our pain seeking a small response to our situation, but God points to a greater answer and invites us to take that instead.")

Therefore, let us determine that we will pray for revival! Pray in your homes, in your cars, at you jobs, in the prayer rooms, in the altars.

Pray that the Lord would do a work in you. Pray that He would bring change so needed in your life.

Interesting how Satan can work in the 11th hour before our revival. We had a quick special called business meeting Wednesday night and we were going to vote on a ministry need. The direction of the interaction was going in a direction that I did not like. In other words someone opposed to some degree in their words what was being presented. My old D natured personality came out and I have personally asked forgiveness for the ones that were in the direct line of fire. I began to read all through the Word of God to give me a gentle spirit. Lord give me a gentle spirit. Lord, help me to look constructively when someone opposes me. That is my prayer for me and this revival. What is your prayer? What work does the Lord need to do in your life? Is yours temperament? Is yours a filthy mouth? Is yours greed or not trusting the Lord with your finances? Maybe you need prayer for all out selfishness to your time and your calendar and the things you want to do vs. what God would have you do?

Let us determine that we will take every moment of life as an opportunity to pray!

James 4:2 “2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.”

John 14:13-14 “13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

More could be said about prayer, but instead of talking about it, we should just do it!

C. A Call To Passion- Devotion

- The third requirement is that of "seeking His face". This word means to "desire something". This idea here is that we come to the place where God is the number one priority and desire of our heart! That is, nothing in life is more important, more precious or more needful to us than having God and all He has to offer.

(Ill. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180) said - "The true worth of a man is to be measured by the objects he pursues."

What has your attention this morning? Whatever it is, that is your priority! It is, in effect, your God! May we determine that we will "have no other gods before Him." May we determine that our love for Him will drive us to pursue Him with every fiber of our beings. When we do, we open the door to His best just a little bit wider.)

(Ill. A.W. Tozer said, "If we yearned after God even as much as a cow yearns for her calf, we would be the worshiping and effective believers God wants us to be. If we longed for God as a bride looks forward to the return of her husband, we would be a far greater force for God than we are now.")

One of the problems with the modern church is that we have ceased to desire God.

We have lost our first love.

The church at Ephesus-the Loveless Church

Revelation 2:2-4 “2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

Often we have many pursuits in life and are so fragmented in our devotions that we have no place for a first place in our lives. May that fragment and segmented lifestyle die the death it has long deserved! May the people of God once again fall in love with God to the point that He becomes the focus and the driving force of all of life!

D. A Call To Purity - Repentance

- The phrase "turn from their wicked ways" is self explanatory! God wants His people to stop their sinning! We are to examine our lives, identify anything that does not please the Lord or line up with His Bible, and we are to eliminate that from our lives! It sounds harder than it is, because as we humble ourselves, pray and seek His face, our sin will become increasingly clear.

(Ill. Gordon MacDonald offers the following thoughts on repentance, "Repentance is not basically a religious word. It comes from a culture where people were essentially nomadic and lived in a world with no maps or street signs. It's easy to get lost walking through the desert. You become aware that the country side is strange. You finally say to yourself, I'm going in the wrong direction. That's the first act of repentance. The second act of repentance is to go in an alternate direction. It implies that you not only do this but you admit it to your companions.")

We do not like words like repentance. They have the tendency to make us feel as though our lives are lacking in some area or the other. The fact is, before revival can come to a people, that people must be clean! They must be practicing repentance at every level. This is God's command.

Isa. 55:7 “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.”

Acts 17:30 “30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,”

Friends, we might as well acknowledge the truth that we are guilty,

1 John 1:8-10 “8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

That is, after all, the first step in getting right with God! “

(Ill.This was the command to the church at Ephesus, Rev. 2:1-7, and it is still God's will for you and me today!)

II. REAL REVIVAL PROVIDES REAL REWARDS

(Ill.If we will meet the requirements, then we create an atmosphere in which we can experience some tremendous spiritual rewards from the hand of the Lord.)

A. God Will Hear Us

Sin hinders prayer, Psa. 66:18. However, when sin is taken care of, prayer can flow unhindered to and from the throne of God! There is no more powerful force in the world than an unhindered prayer life! Why? Because it has the ear of God and is used by Him to accomplish His will upon the earth.

Ill. Luke 11:2 “2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.”

B. God Will Help Us

- God also promises to "forgive our sins". This means that not only is the prayer life restored, but it means that we can be in close fellowship with Him. Nothing in this world compares with being able to have close communion with God Almighty! The ability to come into His presence, to worship Him, to sense His power, His peace, His joy and His presence is priceless! (Note: If you have allowed a cancer of sin to grow in your life, you need to know that it can be cut out and destroyed. If you will come before the Lord and deal with your sin His way, He will respond in forgiveness and restoration, 1 John 1:9. Like the Prodigal Son, you will find that your Father will receive you and restore you through His amazing grace, Luke 15:11-24.

C. God Will Heal Us

- This great verse was given to Israel. They were warned that their sins would be answered by the Lord through drought. This would devastate their land and their population. However, the Lord's promise to them is that repentance equals rain. If they will honor Him, He will honor them! If they will open their hearts, He will in turn open the heavens. In a sense, we are in the same situation today. Our homes, communities and nation have been devastated through a drought of spiritual blessings and power. If God's children will come back to Him in genuine repentance and faith, we will see our nation impacted for and by the glory of God. We need that kind of revival!

III. REAL REVIVAL YIELDS REAL RESULTS

A. Notice that the condition and the promise are given to "God's people". However, when the refreshing comes it would reach the entire nation. The implication is clear: Genuine revival affects those revived and all those around them!

B. If we, as a people, experience a true move of God in revival, we will see God's power touch this world in a tremendous way! Revival in our hearts and church will create a spiritual dynamic that will impact our homes, our communities, our schools, our neighbors, our nation and our world for the glory of God!

C. I don't know about you, but I am tired of seeing what sin is doing to our homes, our churches and our nation! Would to God that His people would get a real vision of what He could do for us and through us in revival. Would to God that we would pay the price to see that take place! If real revival ever came to our lives, we would never be the same! It would change us and everything we touch too! (Ill. It might be any type of need you can think of, but real revival can remedy that need through the power of God. He promises to "heal YOUR land".)

Conc: Revival is a real possibility! However, while genuine revival is always sovereign in its origin, we can create an atmosphere where it becomes more likely. In that atmosphere, while genuine revival is not a guaranteed event, at least on a corporate level, it will become a reality on a personal level! The key word in this verse is the word "If". Everything hinges on us being in that place that God desires for us to abide in. If we will meet the requirements on our end, we can be sure that God will move on His end. Revival will happen to us as individuals "if". Are you willing to consider a few questions before you leave today?

1. Are you His people? If not you can be!

2. Are you willing to come before Him humble yourself, pray, seek His face and turn from your wicked ways?

3. Are you willing to be and do whatever it takes to see real revival come to your life, your church, your family, your community and your nation?

If the Lord has spoken to your heart today about your need for personal revival, or the need for revival in our church, please come before Him right now and get about the business of meeting the requirements!