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Psalm 85:6
There are many people and churches looking for revival and waiting for revival but do not realize that the keys are in their hands.
Many times we pray, plead and call out desperately for God to open the windows of heaven as if God had them shut tight and almost impossible to open.
I believe the keys to those windows are in our hands. It’s going to takes some initiative and effort on our part. Before a jetliner lands the jet way has to be cleared. There has to be an open lane for the plane to land in.
For too long we have expected God to land His jumbo jet of revival and blessing on top of our cluttered roadways. God does not squeeze into our busy agenda He comes with an agenda of His own.
There is unprecedented Revival in many parts of the world. We have been privileged and blessed to have been able to visit and participate in some of these revivals. Toronto, Pensacola, Smithton, Sunderland, England, Argentina; to name some of them. All of them are different and there are characteristics that distinguish them one from the other.. But in all of them one thing is certain, there was a people that were not afraid to open the windows and make way for God to come down like never before in their lives.
God is waking up a church that has been sleeping and calling her to take her place and prepare the church for the last day harvest.
It’s time for revival. To those that are playing church it’s time for Revival.
To those that are bound by religion, it’s time for revival.
To those who are sleeping it’s time for revival.
To those who have been lulled into a spirit of complacency, it’s time for revival.
Oh, we welcome you Holy Spirit.
Lift up your hands and tell the Holy Spirit He is welcome. Holy Spirit you are welcome in this place. Holy Spirit you are welcome in my life. Holy Spirit, we need you more than ever. Holy Spirit we need you more than anyone or anything. Holy Spirit take control.
Holy Spirit, we are tired of religion. We are tired of our program, we want yours.
Are you ready for a fresh move of the Spirit in your life?
We speak about the problems and the sin in our nation, our communities; the immorality, the drug problem, abortions, the economic crisis. But where is the church? Are even more specifically, Where are you, in it all?
Many Christians are “out to lunch” living a theoretical Christian life rather than a life exhibiting the power of the Spirit of God, a life touched by the Fire. I believe God wants to put the Fire back in the church.
God wants to put reality and experience back into our preaching and our living. We preach that “all things are possible with God, and we talk about the power of God and the supernatural but than live substandard Christian lives. I believe it’s time for change. ..radical change. It’s time to get back what we lost. That’s what revival is all about.
I believe God wants to move in such a way as to liberate the modern day church from it’s watered down, materialistic American Gospel whose philosophy seems to be, get all we can and Can all we get. God liberate us from self-serving religion.
We have observed in all these revivals certain similarities. Let’s call them keys; keys that open the way for Revival.
Turn to Psalm 63. Ps 63:1-8 63:1O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:
6 When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me KJV
Here’s a picture of a man who had a hunger for God.
To hunger is to long to be filled by God.
To be an anointed Christian, full of blessing, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matt.5:6)
This means to hunger for Christ and thirst for a life lived the way He lived His. Not just hunger for His blessings, but hunger for Him, a hunger to live like He did.
The reality of the kingdom of God aught to be seen in our manner of living, in the way we conduct ourselves in public and in private.
A hunger for more of God caused Sis. Lois and myself to visit some places where God is moving in power and glory and we experienced a powerful new flow of the Spirit in our lives. That flow has changed even our character. Not just our talk but also our walk.
A true hunger for God will cause you to say, I’m not satisfied with what I have. I want more of You and more of Your presence. There is a fountain, but for it to flow in and thru our lives we must be driven by a hunger that causes us to allow ourselves to be broken, to be humbled.
Hunger is a catalyst that will open the window for revival in your own heart.
Too many times we speak about, the church needs revival. The truth is we individually need a revival, a personal revival.
We say we want the fire; but do you really want the fire, to want the fire is to hunger for what the fire does; the fire purifies, the fire consumes, the fire transforms.
Matt. 3:11 “After me will come one who ….will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
Under the power of the Holy Spirit we may fall, tremble, or laugh, but none of these manifestations will change us. God does move in these ways, but we must not set our eyes on such manifestations.
We must hunger for the fire of Pentecost that will change our lives, that fire evident in the lives of the Apostles, This fire was also evident in Jeremiah; There is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in. Jer. 20:9 Rsv.
I believe we are in the preliminary stage of an awakening. An awakening that is not limited to manifestations, healings, miracles, and wonders; but it is producing in the Christian a desire to pray for lost souls to be converted to the Lord.
We must hunger to see God final purpose fulfilled; that every tongue, nation, and tribe shall have a chance to hear and see a living and powerful church announcing the gospel.
Hunger opens that window. Hunger for God must drive you to want more than religious routines and traditions.
When an awakening of the Holy Spirit is in process, there is hunger for the Spirit of God, which produces a renewed love for God and a hunger to see souls saved.
A true seeker of God is controlled by a personal hunger that nothing or nobody can satisfy. You have to hunger for God if you want to open the window that prepares the jet way for revival and renewal; hunger for God more than any other desire that you may have. Your hunger for God has to be more intense. Your hunger for God has to be greater than your hunger or desire for a new house, or a new car or more money or a better job.
Zaccheus Luke 19 – a rich man, tax collector. He had a lot of money but few friends. One day his hunger drove him “up a tree” You see Jesus was passing by.
I like what Leonard Ravenhill said, “The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized in the lifetime of the opportunity.”
When Jesus saw him in the tree He called him to come down; and He than told him he was going to his house.
You get hunger enough for Jesus and I can promise you He will go home with you.
Zaccheus was transformed from being a money chaser to a “God chaser” The problem with too many of God’s people is they want God to chase after them.
But a real genuine seeker of God is after His face not just His hands. ……………………is after the fire of God ……………………is after the presence of God ……………………is not satisfied for a sprinkle here and there they want to be submerged in it.
You see it’s not enough to come to Jesus once. We have to keep coming. He has to be Lord of your life.
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” Matt. 6:31
A real seeker of God is ready to obey the words of Jesus.
A real seeker of God is driven by his hunger beyond the arena of organized religion. Do you know what: organized religion has never done anything for me. But Jesus certainly has!
I want more of Him. There’s something in me that’s driving me to pursue more of God. I want more of Him. I don’t just want to hear more about God I want God….I want more of Him.
You have to get to the place where it doesn’t satisfy anymore to just hear about what God is doing in other places and for other people; you have got to have it yourself; you’ve got to experience it yourself.
Oh God, it’s great what’s happening in Pensacola, in Toronto, in Smithton, in Argentina but here I am Lord, in _________ I’m desperate for my own move of God. I’m telling you; you won’t have a mighty move of God’s Spirit until you have a desperate hunger……
But as long as you’re satisfied with the status quo you are not desperate…..The only hunger that qualifies to open the window is a desperate hunger….
The second key is
God required sanctification of the people in Israel Exodus 19:10-11
Prior to the visible manifestation of the glory of God on Mount Sinai, they were to sanctify themselves and prepare to be in the presence of a holy God.
We cannot present ourselves before the Lord with our lives in disorder. This was the tragedy in the case of Nadab and Abihu. They had taken part in the consecration of the priests (Leviticus 9:22-24) They saw the shekinah, the glory of God, descending on the tabernacle and fire coming out from the presence of God to consume the offering, a symbol of surrender and consecration.
But the next day they attempted to offer the incense to God with their lives in disorder, using unauthorized fire that God had not sent, and they were consumed by God’s wrath. (Leviticus 10:1-2) They did not acknowledge His glory or prepare to meet Him in the holiness that He demands of His people.
They were unable to distinguish between what was holy and what was worldly. They may have considered God as a means of fulfilling their ambitions.
If you understand the Old Testament tabernacle you know that the Bronze Alter was the largest object in the tabernacle and the first one to be encountered on the way to the Most Holy Place. There the animals, which the law prescribed for the various sacrifices, were killed. It was a place of worship and death.
This altar represents the cross of Christ. We are saved by believing in Christ who died and was resurrected. But the message of the cross calls to us daily.
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23
You see we say we want the fire of God. We want to see the Glory of God. Well friends only certain materials burn well. The material God is looking for is the offering of ourselves tied on the altar.
This is an age old principle of God’s Word; There is no glory without the cross. We want the glory but the glory has a price; our lives.
Rom 12:1-2 12:1 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. NAS What does this mean in reference to practical everyday living? It means that we must be prepared to say no to our will, intellect, and emotions when they are contrary to God’s will. And so we “die daily.” We cannot bargain with God.
I would rather lie all on the altar of sacrifice and see God’s glory than hold back something and miss seeing the glory of God. If we really want revival we have to “lay it all down.”
It doesn’t mean just laying aside known sin but laying aside the weights too. Paul said, Lay aside every weight that easily besets us. If you want to lay hold of God you have to lay aside some things.
Jesus was willing to pay that high price, as He perceived with joy the results of His willingness to surrender His life. This is what Heb.12:2 expresses: “For the joy set before Him (Jesus) endured the cross scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
When we hand over to God that which we love—our plans, our time, our family, our work- we turn the key that unlocks the window for a mighty visitation of God’s Spirit in our lives and in our church.
Acts 20:24
24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. KJV
Friends, our holiness has to go beyond a list of rules that conform to a spirit of religion. We need God’s holiness, not ours. Our holiness may please man but only God’s holiness opens the window for more of God.
We need holiness that changes our attitudes: Anger, jealousy, pride, egoism
Gal. 2:20 I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live yet not I but I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.
That means my anger belongs on the cross; ………………….jealousy belongs on the cross ………………….pride belongs on the cross. ………………….egoism belongs on the cross.
To be holy is to be adorned with the fruit of the Spirit. We have too many “power saw” Christians. We need more Christians who are willing to be the corn of wheat, ready to die and produce fruit. Where God is pouring out His Spirit there is an awakened sense of the holiness of God; a holiness that changes your character, a holiness that changes your personality.
Not only is God calling us back to personal holiness but holiness in our homes.
Let’s speak more specifically; is that okay?
Is your house a place where the Spirit of God dwells? Or is your home filled with strife, oppression, tension, and so forth?
It is necessary to create in your home an atmosphere where the Holy Spirit is comfortable; a place where people can sense that God is there.
We want God to pour out His Spirit mightily, but many times we live a double life. You know what I mean, there’s a face for church and a face for home. There’s a certain way we act in church. But than something happens when we go home.
I believe God wants to go home with us too.
I believe God even wants to sit down alongside of you and watch that movie with you. You know that one you rented from the video store; the one you wouldn’t go to the theatre to see but you’ll take it to the privacy of your home.
Some of us need to clean out our video cabinets. Get rid of all those PG – PG13 and R rated movies. Aren’t we living a double standard when we can sit in our living rooms and watch for entertainment, murder, sexual scenes, abortions, crimes, off color jokes, and enjoy that type of thing when we preach against this kind living.
I believe that’s what Jesus meant when He said “Love not the world neither the things that are in the world.”
If you’ll be willing to confess your sin today and forsake it I believe you will hear that key turning in the window to open up a new dimension of the power and presence of God in your life.
Let me help you out. Sometimes you may be uncertain if something is appropriate for you to watch. Here’s the test. Can I bring it to church and let the whole church see it on Sunday morning? You know, you can ask Pastor and put it up on a big screen for the entire church to enjoy it with you.
This is why some of us or not making any progress in our pursuit of revival. You see, revival is not an event it is a process. Its starts with you, getting your life totally right with God. That’s holiness. That’s God’s holiness.
In the Old Testament the priests were required to bathe first before the oil could be applied. If we want God we have to do things His way. The American Gospel has conjured up too many shortcuts. We must consider the “ancient paths if we want to get on the road to a visitation of God’s Spirit.”
My motivations, my thoughts, my ambitions, my desires, my innermost being – God wants it all. I am not my own. Paul said I Cor.6 You are not your own, you were bought with a price. Stop bargaining with God.
We don’t need more schemes, more technics, more associations or organizations. We want the breath and fire of the Holy Spirit.
The problem in the church today is that there is too much of man and very little of God. The third key is
Jer. 33:1 Call upon me and I will answer you.
Prayer is the key to open the window and put us on the road to revival and seeing the glory of God. But I’m talking about practicing prayer with discipline. Being prepared to die to comforts or to die to your own plans in order to devote time to prayer.
Persist in prayer
Prayer takes time. This is why many do not know the power of prayer. We would rather pick a promise and stand upon it and claim it for our own. That kind of prayer is self-serving. God doesn’t get anything out of that kind of prayer.
God’s purpose is that we have fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Why do we find it so difficult to understand something so simple? The men of God who have made an impact on the world have all been, without exception, constant and persistent in prayer. They were not satisfied with a few routine moments of daily prayer.
We are always ready to preach, read a book, or work for God. But when it comes to a life of prayer we realize that our old self shies away from it. We must overcome that tendency to pull away from times of prayer.
We have to silence all the voices that tempt us to give up our spiritual search.
The first few moments in prayer are the most difficult, especially if we have not be faithful in the discipline of prayer.
Our wills resist the weight of the cross. We want to quit and do other things. The secret is in staying with it whether or not we “feel” the blessing. We are to believe that God rewards those who earnestly seek Him. (Heb.11:6)
Our praying does not have to follow a rigid method. But we need to long to meet with God alone in prayer. Good Christian music can inspire our worship. Reading the Word aloud opens up our inner being to the workings of the Holy Spirit. Plus in helps shut all other voices out.
You need to be persistent in seeking God’s face. It is very likely that after spending some time in prayer, you will experience the peace of the Holy Spirit.
When you are in the practice of praying, your burdens and anxieties are being handed over to the Lord. But do not stop. It is only the beginning. Pray for Revival. Pray that God breaks your heart with the things that break His heart. Than you will find that you are not the center of the universe. Your problems no longer occupy a predominant place I your life, and you can focus on God Himself and on your personal fellowship with Him.
Wait in the presence of God
Before Pentecost the disciples were ordered to wait. “Stay in the city (Jerusalem) until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49)
Before hearing God’s voice from the cloud of glory, Moses had to wait. “The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you…. Obviously we do not like to wait. But waiting offers great benefits.
The search for God should not be based on our emotions, but on a daily and constant will to find Him. We often say, “Lord, show us your glory.” But our behavior doesn’t agree with the longing. We quickly give up the search.
When we really do long to see God’s glory, we are ready to wait in the presence of the Lord, to spend time with Him.
Even once the Lord has lit the fire of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we must keep the flame alive.
Leviticus 6:12-13 reminds us that “the fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings (or peace offerings) on it. The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.”
In the tabernacle a priest had the daily responsibility of looking after the fire. He had to take away the ashes and add more wood each morning. We can imagine him on cold, early mornings hunting for wood in the desert, loading it on his shoulders, taking it to the altar, and putting it on the fire. His service provides us with a clear lesson. We cannot maintain our spirituality without effort and daily dedication.
It is a principle of nature that all fires tend to go out. Relationships can deteriorate if we do not tend to them. Even in the marriage relationship the flame of love has to be kept going. It has to have friendship, faithfulness, and companionship on a daily basis.
Our relationship with God is the same way. But you must “Draw near to Him.” Ithess. 5:19 exhorts us “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire” If we do not tend it, the fire goes out. We need to spend time with God, pursue God’s presence. We must remove the ashes of sin and worldliness and arrange our altar every day. God wants us to keep our spiritual fervor. We must walk in daily fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Have you become lost in your religious routine or are you still radically in love with Jesus.
Many Christians become “professional worshipers” he knows what happens in church; he learns a few Bible verses; he adopts some religious vocabulary; he serves God is a token aspect; and then he insists, “I know it all.”
We need to have a firm resolve to fan the flames of that first love today; and a determination to go to the altar of sacrifice and surrender our lives in prayer; pray for yourself, cleanse your heart, keep yourself pure, and free from worldly attitudes; Pray for revival, pray for the strongholds in the area where you live and here in the neighborhood of the church; pray, pray, pray, God answers prayer.
Churches that are moving in the river are realizing their need for churches and ministries to unite together and pray, recreating the atmosphere of the Upper Room and believing God for a visitation of His Spirit. Friends we need a visitation of the Spirit of God.
Prayer is not a monologue but a majestic dialogue. But we have to learn to hear the voice of God. (ex. God told me to be still, be quiet one day)
It is imperative that we walk in the Spirit, submerged in the river of God. When we dive into the water, to a certain extent we lose the capacity to see and hear. Under the river of the Holy Spirit we stop hearing what the world says, it’s trivial remarks, it’s gossip. Nothing of that kind interests us then. We are intent on our intimate fellowship with the Holy Spirit. But as soon as we raise our heads above the level of the spiritual river, we hear once again the voice of the lying devil, the voice of discouragement. That is why we are to pray, “Lord, plunge me into Your river, Keep me there. I want to depend on you. I want to hear Your voice.”
Conclusion:
What keys are missing on your key chain?
What about your hunger level? He wants to rekindle that hunger in you. Does the Holy Spirit have all of you? He wants to rekindle that passion in you. God is a jealous God, putting anything or anyone before Him is idolatry.
It’s time to smash the idols and live for God and God alone; that’s the beginning of a personal revival in your life.
It’s time to be consumed in our commitment and radical in our relationship.
Some people were on fire for hell, now they’re just lukewarm for heaven. It just doesn’t make sense.
God wants all of you.
The apostle Paul experienced wonderful things with the Lord. His marvelous conversion on the way to Damascus placed him face to face with Jesus Christ. His ministry witnessed the supernatural through revelations in the Word. Signs and wonders accompanied his preaching. The passion produced in him consumed him to the point that he was willing to give up everything. His deepest long was set on the very person of his Savior and King Jesus Christ. He earnestly longed to know Him.
He said in Philipp. 3:7-8 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.
What governs your heart? Many Christians splash their feet in two inches of water when they could plunge down into the depths of God.
The people of Israel were immature in their relationship with God. In their pilgrimage through the desert, they did not seek God in order to love and obey Him. They were only interested in the benefits He could give them.
I don’t know about you today but there is a fire burning in me; it’s a hunger for more of God; to know God more intimately.
What about you? The immature Christian seeks only the Lord’s hands. (His benefits and blessings) A spiritual Christian has his eyes set on the Lord’s face, on His very being.
Are you satisfied with the fringe benefits or do you want the entire package. I want God and all of God. I want more. I want to go deeper. I don’t intend to stay where I am. I know there’s more and I’m going after it. How about you?
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