Revive Us Again, O Lord

A Call for Spiritual Renewal, Joy, and Restored Intimacy with God

Psalm 85:1–6 “Lord, you showed favor to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. You forgave your people’s guilt; you covered all their sin. Selah You withdrew all your fury; you turned from your burning anger. Return to us, God of our salvation, and abandon your displeasure with us. Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger for all generations? Will you not revive us again so that your people may rejoice in you?”

I. The Cry For Revival: A Heart That Remembers

A. The Psalmist recalls past mercies and pleads for God to do it again. Psalm 85:1–5 “Lord, you showed favor to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. You forgave your people’s guilt; you covered all their sin. You withdrew all your fury; you turned from your burning anger. Return to us, God of our salvation, and abandon your displeasure with us. Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger for all generations?”

B. What are we to remember?

Times of God’s Favor (v.1)

Spiritual Discipline

Spiritual Outpouring

Spiritual Growth

Times of God’s Forgiveness (v. 2)

Times of God’s Mercy (v. 3-5)

II. The Condition for Revival: Brokenness Before God

A. Humility over Hype

2 Chronicles 7:14 “and my people, who bear my name, humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.”

Revival does not come through Hype. We can not put a revival on the calendar and expect it to happen according to our timeline. We can’t go to a festival and handout flyers to our revival and just expect it to happen. We can do nothing to orchestrate revival.

However, we can prepare ourselves and God’s church in such a way that if God so chooses we will be ready should He decide to send Revival to us.

B. How do we prepare?

We Humble Ourselves by

Confessing our Sin 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Acknowledging our Weakness James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.”

Receiving Correction Proverbs 12:1 “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but one who hates correction is stupid.”

Submitting ourselves to God Job 22:21 NLT "Submit to God, and you will have peace; then things will go well for you.

We Pray

We Seek God Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.”

Illustration: The Prodigal Son (Luke 15) didn’t just return home - he returned home broken and revival met him on the road before he ever got to the front door.

Question: what do you need to surrender to God today so that you will be ready for revival?

The Fruit of Revival: Rejoicing in God

“So that your people may rejoice in you.”

A. Revival is Revealed in a Transformed Life

Revival brings Joy Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

Revival brings Holiness 1 Peter 1:15–16 “But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.”

Revival brings Purpose (mission) Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”

IV. Revival Starts with One

Although we meet together in a crowd to have revival services, revival is not a crowd event. It is a personal encounter with a Holy God!

Historical and Spiritual Backdrop.

In Ezekiel chapter 22, Ezekiel is prophesying during the Babylonian exile, around 587 B.C., after Jerusalem has been ravaged. The city, once holy and vibrant, is now spiritually bankrupt. The people of Judah, especially its leaders—priests, princes, prophets—are being called out for their corruption, injustice, and idolatry. The chapter catalogs a litany of sins: bloodshed, oppression of the poor, sexual immorality, bribery, and profaning sacred things. Every layer of society is implicated. Now watch this...

Ezekiel 22:30–31 “I searched for a man among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one. So I have poured out my indignation on them and consumed them with the fire of my fury. I have brought their conduct down on their own heads.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.”

This is a metaphor from warfare—someone who would intercede, defend, and repair the breach in the moral and spiritual wall of the nation. God is not looking for perfection, but for a heart that is willing to be committed to Him. To intercede, to plead for mercy, to lead in righteousness. But tragically, He finds no one. Because no one steps up, judgment is inevitable.

Church, God is looking for one. Are we going to be like Jonah who ran away or are we going to be like Isaiah. Isaiah 6:8 “Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who will I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.”