WE NEED REVIVAL

Psalm 103:1-5 Scripture Reading vv.1-12

When I think of Revival – I think of the following verse:

Psalm 103:5b…so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

A renewal is mentioned here, a revitalizing, a revival. A starting over – a revamping and restoring to a former self or place.

The eagle becomes young again each year; vigorous, whose eye can gaze upon the sun, and whose wing can mount above the storm. This is likely referring to the molting of the eagle, after which it looks fresh and young; it is a reminds me of what a personal revival is all about.

To become in vigorous again in my walk – to be able to gaze upon the Son of God, to be able to soar above the storm.

As I was doing my Bible reading as many of you are going through Genesis and Exodus, I came across in Genesis 45:27 that Jacob’s spirit was revived to see the good news that his son lives and that they would be supplied for in the midst of a worldwide famine.

This reminds me of the fact that we can be revived in our spirit when we truly realize that the Son of God lvies and that he has supplied all that we need as well.

This morning, I want to talk about revival and about you having it in your life again.

I. THE TIMES DEMAND IT

2 Tim 3:1-7

We are living in Perilous times

v.1

A. Lovers of themselves

Men take care of themselves and are covetous

B. Huge egos

Proud is to imagine oneself as better than other men. A haughty, arrogant person.

Pride against God in blaspheming and are unthankful and unholy

C. Destroyed families

the tearing down parental authority

without natural affection - homosexuality, transgenderism, unmarried couples

D. Low character

Traitors, heady trucebreakers, false accusers.

FIERCE.

E. Always seeking pleasure

Gotta be entertained, everything has to be the greatest ever.

More, more, more.

F. A compromised faith

“having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof” from such turn away.

II. WE ARE IN NEED OF A REVIVAL

Webster’s 1828 dictionary definition of what Revival is quite revealing:

1. Return, recall or recovery to life from death or apparent death; as the revival of a drowned person.

2. Return or recall to activity from a state of languor; as the revival of spirits.

3. Recall, return or recovery from a state of neglect, oblivion, obscurity or depression; as the revival of letters or learning.

4. Renewed and more active attention to religion; an awakening of men to their spiritual concerns.

In our churches today:

• People are awakened not awakened to spiritual concerns, instead, they are awakended to:

o Politics and the presidential race

o The NFL playoffs and superbowl and the Bengals wins or losses

o We are awakened to March madness

o To the Super lotto

o But for church people, believers to be awakened and to care about real spiritual things, we are perplexed and continually miss the mark

• If we had a famous contemporary Christian entertainment group some of you would wake up

• Some of you might get excited if we have country gospel band or the gaithers come in, the church house would be packed.

• Let me tell you what category all of those things come under – the flesh.

o The flesh does not always mean evil – but if that is what pleases us – what we look forward over godly things – spiritual things – we are far from God.

1 John 2:15–17 KJV

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

III. A PRESCRIPTION FOR REVIVAL

Psalm 103:1-4 give us a great detail on producing revival in our lives, about keeping revival.

A. Bless the Lord

Oh, the Psalmist was a man of discipline – he looked at his life, and when he saw something that needed fixing he fixed it.

He saw a need here – to direct his soul to seek God, to bless God, to please God, with all of his SOUL.

Let’s find out what pleases God and do it. Lets follow him and serve him and please him again, lets enjoy the things of God, and the things I don’t enjoy that are godly, I want to learn to love them by the Grace of God.

We are so content to say – “I don’t like something, so I won’t eat it or drink it or do it” simply because we don’t like it. We never ask whether it is good for us or whether it would please someone else or that it would be more economical or healthy for us.

When it comes to spiritual things, if there is something that I don’t like or enjoy a whole lot, I want to work on that area so that I might “Bless the Lord”.

Do it with all that is in you, seek to bless the holy name of God.

B. Don’t forget all of his benefits

Remember to look at what he has done for you already – what salvation has brought to your life. Is there not a one of us that should not be able to shout out at testimony time a benefit of having God in our lives.

What is the problem, we have forgtotten them. So let us review our lives and see what great things the Lord has done.

Some of those things are listed right here in this passage.

1. Realizing what you have been forgiven of

Oh, the darkness of our sin. Oh, the wickedness we have wrought.

Soulwinners, you know why people don’t get saved much or when they do that don’t change or bear any fruit, it is because they really don’t see how wicked and sinful they are.

Remember where God found us – we should rember that – we were lost, hopeless, on our way to hell. We were vile, worthless, no one wanted us no one cared – but God did, and he came down with his lovingkindness and showed us mercy, we repented of our sins and trusted in Him alone for salvation and he forgave of us of all our sin.

All that sin is now gone, forgiven, never to be laid to our account again.

2. Appreciating his healing power

“who healeth all thy diseases.” Does this mean that our cancer will be cured or even our common cold. It is not even talking about heart disease – instead it is about diseases of the hear and soul of man.

Sin is disease and it spreads, but by the grace of God you can be healed of the sin disease and it can be stopped.

Do you have some besetting sin? God can take care of it; do you have some overwhelming sinful habit that you cannot control – God has the power to change you if you will let him.

You want to have a revival, tap into his healing power.

3. His protection and deliverance

As I walk with God, I have his assurance and protection. I need not worry that something that might happen that suprises God or God was not aware of -

4. His genuine gentle care of us

With the realization that he care for us – by the way – contrary to popular Christianity today, he doesn’t love you for who you are and for your awesome potential, he loves you how you are and irregardless of what you done – he loves you because of His grace.

Romans 5:8 KJV

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

With that love comes a gentle care that is genuine. To provide us our needs – to give us our medicine, to direct our paths, to correct us when needed. All of this he does with a gentle loving caring.

C. Learning to love that which is good

Oh this is important, we need to learn to love that which is good. To do it until we like it – to do something over and over again because it is the right thing to do.

We have mentioned this before but for something to become routine or habit you must painstakingly do it for about 40 days. Then it becomes natural for us to do it without thinking.

The flesh hates spiritual things, but by the grace of God, I want the spirit of God that indwells me to win that battle, and I want to learn to love that which is good.

• Reading my Bible

• Going to church

• Fellowshipping with godly people

• Developing a prayer life

• Being a giver

• Being a witness

• Staying away from the wrong crowd

• Enjoying reading books that help to grow and to edified

IV. THE RESULT IS REVIVAL TO OUR SOUL

Psalm 103:5 (KJV)

5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Then I can have a revival. We desperately need it.

Do you not see your need this morning –

• the the status quo of your life is not measuring up

• That you intensity and love for God is waxen cold.

• That the care for lost souls is lost

• That our willingness to abase and humble ourselves is non-existant

• That our graciousness to sacrifice for service of the Lord and for others in a ghost in the past

• That our zeal is gone for holy things

• That our excitement has departed when someone gets saved, or gets baptized or rededicates their life.

• That we have not been soft-hearted enough to kneel at an altar or at least we were to prideful to kneel in church before others and say, “Hey I’ve go a need.”

Let’s quit having this dignified Christianity and get back to the grass roots, that without Christ were nothing, but with him we are satisfied and to be used of him would be our only glory.

Oh what a song it was that Ron Hamilton wrote a few years ago that said, I will glory in the cross of Jesus.

• Maybe the answer to your financial problems is a personal revival.

• Perhaps the need in personal life is revival

• Maybe the family problems you are going through can be fixed through a revival

• Could it be that a loved one that is gone astray can be brought back because you had a revival?

• To be able to go through and endure that health need you have – takes a revival.