Do We Need Revival?

Temple Baptist Church - 12-13-2009

Psalms 85

Introduction: Bro. Tommy Holbrooks will be with us tonight through Wednesday night. That will make 23 consecutive Decembers that he has been with us. My, how the time flies and what a blessing Bro. Tommy has been to this church over those years. He is not only a close personal friend to my family; he is a real friend to churches and this one in particular. It needs to be understood that revival cannot be brought, bought, or worked up. Revival is individual and not group related or church-wide.

A. A lack of life, which is revival, in a church brings about some real problems:

1. You lose the blessings of God – vs. 1 “favor
2. You become a slave to sin – vs. 1 “captivity”
3. You incur the chastening of the Lord – vs. 2-3 “wrath … anger”
4. You will bring judgment upon your children – vs. 5 “all generations”
5. You will lose the joy of your salvation – vs. 6 “rejoice in thee”

B. What is or is not revival?

1. Some Think That Revival Is Shouting – This is a result of revival, not revival itself.
2. Some Think That Revival Is Soul Winning – This is a result of revival, not revival itself.
3. Some Think That Revival Is Sanctification – This is a result of revival, not revival itself.
4. Some Think That Revival Is Service – This is a result of revival, not revival itself.
5. Revival Is Simply Getting Personally Right With God! Revive means to make alive. God has quickened us in salvation and yet we have a continual problem with leaving our “first love” and settling upon our lees.

C. When do we need revival? First of all let me say that we need revival all of the time. Psalms 85:6 Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? (Again and again and again and again!)

1. We need revival when we do not love Him as we once did.
2. We need revival when earthly interests are more important to us to us than eternal ones.
3. We need revival when we would rather watch TV than read the Bible and pray.
4. We need revival when church dinners are better attended than prayer meetings.
5. We need revival when we have little or no desire to pray.
6. We need revival when we would rather make money than give money.
7. We need revival when our Christianity is joyless and passionless.
8. We need revival when we know truth in our heads that we are not practicing in our lives.
9. We need revival when we make little effort to witness to the lost.
10. We need revival when we have time for sports, recreation, and entertainment, but not for Bible study and prayer.
11. We need revival when we do not tremble at the Word of God.
12. We need revival when we seldom think thoughts of eternity.
13. We need revival when God’s people are more concerned about their jobs and their careers, than about the Kingdom of Christ and the salvation of the lost.
14. We need revival when church services are predictable and “business as usual.”
15. We need revival when believers can be at odds with each other and not feel compelled to pursue reconciliation.
16. We need revival when Christian husbands and wives are not praying together.
17. We need revival when our marriages are co-existing rather than full of the love of Christ. 18. We need revival when our children are growing up to adopt worldly values, secular philosophies and ungodly lifestyles.
19. We need revival when we are more concerned about our children’s education and their athletic activities than about the condition of their souls.
20. We need revival when we tolerate “little” sins of gossip, a critical spirit and lack of love.
21. We need revival when our singing is half-hearted and our worship lifeless.
22. We need revival when our prayers are empty words designated to impress others.
23. We need revival when our prayers lack fervency.
24. We need revival when our hearts are cold and our eyes are dry.
25. We need revival when we aren’t seeing regular evidence of the supernatural power of God.
26. We need revival when we have ceased to weep and mourn and grieve over our own sin more than the sins of others.
27. We need revival when we are content with explainable, ordinary Christianity and church services.
28. We need revival when we are bored with worship.
29. We need revival when people have to be entertained to be drawn to church.
30. We need revival when our music and dress become patterned after the world.
31. We need revival when we start fitting into and adapting to the world, rather than calling the world to adapt to God’s standard of holiness.
32. We need revival when we don’t long for the company and fellowship of God’s people.
33. We need revival when people have to be begged to give and to serve in the church.
34. We need revival when our giving is measured and calculated, rather than extravagant and sacrificial.
35. We need revival when we aren’t exercising faith and believing God for the impossible.
36. We need revival when we are more concerned about what others think about us what God thinks about us.
37. We need revival when we are unmoved by the fact that over 2.5 billion people in the world have never heard the name of Jesus.
38. We need revival when we are unmoved by the thought of neighbors, business associates and acquaintances who are lost and without Christ.
39. We need revival when the lost world around us doesn’t know or care that we exist.
40. We need revival when the fire has gone out in our hearts, our marriages and the church.
41. We need revival when we are blind to the extent of our need and don’t think we need it.

D. Why do we need revival?

1. We need revival in order to increase our zeal for the Lord.
2. We need revival in order to increase our soul winning efforts.
3. We need revival in order to increase our sacrificial giving.
4. We need revival in order to increase our love for one another.
5. We need revival in order to increase our joy.
6. We need revival in order to increase our praise and worship of the Lord.

E. When we fail to have revival:

1. We lose the freshness of salvation – the excitement and wonder is gone.
2. We lose our burning love for a wonderful Savior.
3. We lose our desire for service – we become mechanical and go through the motions.

Psalms 85:6 Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?

1. There Needs To Be A Discernment Of Need. “Wilt” (Notice the personal pronouns in these verses. Revival is personal. You cannot expect others to get right, but must make sure that you are perfectly right. It is so easy to judge others while walking at a guilty distance from God yourself.)

Psalms 51:1-13 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

2. There Needs To Be A Direction Of Help. “Thou” (Life comes from the Lord and revival comes from Him also.)

Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

Ezra 9:8 And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.

John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

3. There Needs To Be A Desire For Change. “Revive” (As long as we are satisfied with our spirituality and life, we are not even a candidate for revival.)

Psalms 121:1-2 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.

Psalms 34:14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

Psalms 27:4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

4. There Needs To Be A Determination To Achieve. “Again” (Revival is a constant need of God’s people and does not exist in a simple 3-7 day meeting. Revival needs to be daily and perpetual.)

Philippians 1:20-21 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.