Temple Baptist Church - 5-30-2024
Psalm 85:1-13
Introduction:
A. Next Sunday, Bro. Max Alderman will be with us again. Though revival services are important, they are not well attended. This is a reminder that we need a revival! We use these Revival Meetings to stir our hearts for the Lord Jesus Christ. We need revival when:
1. We Have Lost The Freshness Of Our Salvation. We take salvation for granted!
2. We Have Lost The Burning Love For Our Saviour. We have, as the Church at Ephesus, “left” our first love.
3. We Have Lost The Excitement Of Our Service. Things that are temporal will pass away but the things that are done for the Lord will endure forever!
B. We all have a need to be revived again and again.
1. We must revive the fainting. Proverbs 24:10 If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
2. We must revive the discouraged. Job 3:25-26 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. (26) I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.
3. We must revive the perishing. 1 Samuel 27:1 And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul …
4. We must revive the chastened. Hebrews 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
C. Why do we have revival time? I believe that the word again says it all. “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,” the song writer said. We certainly need a reviving in our day: a day of Laodicea, a day of Perilous Times, a day of Falling Away.
Habakkuk 3:2 says, “O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.”
1. Sometimes, it just takes a “cup of water” to revive someone.
2. Sometimes, it just takes an encouraging word to revive someone.
3. Sometimes, it just takes being there with and for someone.
4. Sometimes, it takes spiritual CPR to revive someone.
D. How does revival come? Revival cannot be worked up. Revival cannot be brought in by a man. Revival comes from the Lord. Every mention of revival in the Bible is consistent with this thought. Notice with me three things by way of introduction about revival:
a. Revival Comes Through Desire – “Wilt thou not” (God is looking for a desiring heart! A desire for a personal walk with Him.)
b. Revival Comes Through Direction – “Wilt thou” (God is looking for a directed heart! Stayed upon Him.)
c. Revival Comes Through Determination – “again” (God is looking for a determined heart! Not a double heart. The sense is continuing.)
E. What is the real need of Revival in the local church? When asked, you would get a wide variety of answers and most of them good ones. Some would say that the real need of Revival in the local church is:
a. It Is To Produce More Zeal For Service In The Christian.
b. It Is To Bring About More Of A Burden For Souls And Aggressive Soul Winning.
c. It Is To Increase Giving In The Offerings In Order To Do More For Missions.
d. It Is To Exhort Church Members To Faithfulness In Both Attendance And Service.
e. It Is To Cause True Worship To Be Present In The Church Services.
F. David understood the need of God’s people. Psalm 85:6 Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? (Revival is all about Reviving a Relationship with the Lord.)
1. The Main Objective Of Revival Is Rejoicing – “that thy people may rejoice”
2. The Main Object Of Rejoicing Is In The Lord And Not Circumstances – “in thee.”
Habakkuk 3:16-19 When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops. Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments. (To be put to music and sang.)
Here Is The Key To Rejoicing: our rejoicing is to be “in thee.” Because circumstances change and the Lord is unchanging. He is immutable!
1. We Rejoice In the Fact That The Lord Never Changes. (We can rely upon Him to think the same, act the same, and speak the same. This gives us great confidence!)
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Hebrews 1:12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
Psalms 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
Psalms 102:27 But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.
Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
John 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
a. The Lord Is Great
b. The Lord Is Glorious
c. The Lord Is Gracious
d. The Lord Is Good
2. We Rejoice In The Fact That What The Lord Does Is Eternal. (He will not change His mind. Our security is based upon His Promises and, therefore, assured.)
Ecclesiastes 3:14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
Isaiah 46:9-10 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
3. We Rejoice In The Fact That The Lord Is Sovereign. (He is in complete control and will allow nothing to touch us unless it is His will. Our circumstances are under His feet.)
Romans 11:34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Isaiah 40:13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?
Jeremiah 23:18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?
Acts 10:36 The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
Revelation 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
4. We Rejoice In The Fact That The Lord Will Supply All Of Our Needs. (In days of rising prices and layoff in the textile industry, we may be assured that He will take care of us.)
1 Kings 17:4-6 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.
Matthew 6:31-34 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
5. We Rejoice In The Fact That Safety Is Of The Lord. (God’s hedge in perilous times. Praise the Lord!)
Job 1:10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Psalms 4:8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
Psalms 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
Proverbs 21:31 The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.
Conclusion:
1. God’s People Need Rejoicing More Than They Need Zeal! (If you are a rejoicing Christian you will have zeal.)
2. God’s People Need Rejoicing More Than They Need Soul Winning! (If you are a rejoicing Christian you will win souls.)
3. God’s People Need Rejoicing More Than They Need Giving For Missions! (If you are a rejoicing Christian you will give.)
4. God’s People Need Rejoicing More Than They Need Faithfulness! (If you are a rejoicing Christian you will be faithful.)
5. God’s People Need Rejoicing More Than They Need Worship! (If you are a rejoicing Christian you will worship.)
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