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

Today I had the pleasure of addressing the saints gathered.  I exhorted them on why I do not think the Church is experiencing true revival.  Here are some of my thoughts.

We have left our first love.  Revelation 2:4, “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.”  We need to rekindle the love we once had for our first love and His name is Jesus Christ.

We have left our first principles.  Hebrews 5:12, “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.”  Instead of becoming more and more mature we are just moving backwards.  We need to get back to the basics and start from there and move onward and upward.

We have lost faith.  Matthew 8:26, “And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.”  We put our faith and trust in Christ to save us; but, for some reason we don’t think He can handle the storms of daily life.  Have faith in God because He is able.

We have lost our mind.  Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”  So many of us think we have it all figured out and it will go this way or that.  We never consider getting the mind of Christ about something.  We need to think like Jesus thinks.

We have looked back.  Luke 9:62, “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”  If you are looking back all the time you will not go forward in a straight line.

So, how are you doing?

II Chronicles 15:8, “And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.”

The husband says to the marriage counselor, “My wife will not follow me.”  The wife replies, “You have not had a new idea in so many years it is like following a parked car.”

Now, I am guessing I have your attention.  We laugh at this; but, the reality is nothing to laugh about.  So many marriages today are stagnate and struggling.  I wish I had three points and a poem for a remedy; but, I don’t.  One thing I do know is that the Word of God has all the answers we need for life.  We must spend time and search out the answers we need.

There are things we can do that are good within the realm of Christianity and God’s Word to put spice into our marriages.  We do not have to look to the world and it’s pornography and filth for ideas to put the fire back in the fireplace of marriage and love.  I think the best place to start is at an altar of prayer with you life’s mate.  Let God make each of you what he wants and then the fire will rekindle in your marriage possibly even burning hotter than in the beginning.  It is time to rekindle, spiritually.

So, how are you doing?

I Samuel 30:6, “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.”

Some days it seems that life pours in on us like a flood.  We walk along and things are going well and then like a bomb going off in comes the flood.

Here is king David and he is leading God’s people and they now speak of stoning him.  Wow!  This is a bad day.  Their city was burned with fire, their wives and children now gone and the men who were to be following David are speaking of stoning him.  This is one of those days when you should run to the prayer closet and get alone with God.

What was David’s response?  He did not run away.  He kept doing what he knew to do and the Word of God records that “David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.”  Some days you and I will find ourselves in just this position.  When all you can do to keep from quitting is to encourage yourself in the LORD then do it.  People are counting on you.

So, how are you doing?

II Chronicles 15:8, “And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.”

When I was grown up I made a boat one time.  I took several pieces of wood and nailed them together and painted it with a bright silver paint that we used to keep rust off the plow.  It was quite a sight for sore eyes so to speak.  I remember taking it down to the pasture and putting it into the creek.  It immediately rolled over and sunk.  I had made it so large and heavy that it would not even buoy up in the water.  Such is life.  I took the so-called “boat” back to the shop and drilled numerous holes into it and made it a really big pencil holder.

Our Christian life can become like my boat.  We can get so bogged down in all the trappings of life that we become no good for anything else.  It is at this revelation that should cause us to stop what we are doing and make corrections.  If you are not floating right then you need to do something about it.  Run to the LORD for help.  He is the Master boat builder.

In our Scripture passage the word “renew” means “to be new; causatively, to rebuild”.  This is exactly what I did with my so-called boat.  It did not serve the purpose for which it was designed so I rebuilt it to serve a more needful purpose (I still today collect pens and pencils).

How about your Christian life friend?  Have you neglected the “altar” in your life and let it go into shambles?  Maybe your personal, private altar time has slipped away from you.  Maybe your family altar time has slipped away from you.  Possibly your family do not care to get involved in any kind of family altar time.  If you have come to this place take a moment and form a plan to renew, rebuild and restore.  It is vitally important.

So, how are you doing?

II Chronicles 34:21, “Go, enquire of the LORD for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do after all that is written in this book.”

Steve Green has a great song out from days long ago titled, “Find Us Faithful”.  In this particular song we are reminds us, “Were pilgrims on the journey on a narrow road…”  The chorus says, “Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful.  May the fire of our devotion light their way.  May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe and the lives we live inspire them to obey.  Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful.”  I can hear my wife singing that song like it was going on right now.

One day we will all step out into eternity.  At that moment our destiny is sealed forever.  What we leave behind is so important to those who are left behind.  Our legacy needs to be one that points others to faith in Christ.  If we are not pointing people to Him then we are pointing them away from Him.  God help us!

When you come to the end of your life will people look back on your life and find you faithful?  How about when you stand before God will He find you faithful to the end?  It is my prayer for us all to be counted among the faithful to death.  It is coming to that you know.

So, how are you doing?

King Josiah had committed people to clean the house of the LORD.  Why would the king have to require the house of the LORD to be cleaned?  Obviously, it had been forsaken and allowed to get dirty and go into ruin.  The house of the LORD became a victim of neglect.

Dear reader, it would do you and I much good if we would do some spring cleaning in our lives.  I know I would benefit from such a process.  It is my guess that you would also.

I remember growing up that spring cleaning was a huge deal in my family.  Everyone would set aside a block of days for what was known as deep cleaning.  Yes, they even got the dust bunnies that had been hiding out all winter long.

If you and I are going to do some spiritual spring cleaning we need to first get back to the Word of God.  Look at II Chronicles 34:15, “And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.”  The Word of God had been put away somewhere in God’s house; but, not being read at all.  Often we find ourselves in the same position.  Life is moving along pretty well according to us and we are on autopilot.  When tragedy hits we try to run to God for help and we pick His Word back up again.  It is important to read the Word of God and head the word of God (obey it).

Sometimes spring cleaning involves other people.  I remember many times while I was growing up that I would be involved in spring cleaning.  This was sometimes by my own choosing and other times it was not by my own choosing.  Look at II Chronicles 34:16-17, “And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the king word back again, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they do it.  And they have gathered together the money that was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and to the hand of the workmen.”  We must share the Word of God with others.  Some need to be saved and others need to be straightened out by the ruler of God’s Word (not us).

Spring cleaning requires some radical action.  Look at II Chronicles 34:18-19, “Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.  And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes.”  When this king “rent” tore off his outer garments it was out of remorse for his sins.  When God speaks to you about some sin do you respond immediately to it or do you ignore it until later?  I hope you keep short account like king Josiah.  Spiritual spring cleaning will go much easier and quicker if we will obey immediately.

Okay, now it is time to get the spiritual cleaning supplies out and get busy.

So, how are you doing?

Psalms 11:3, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

The other evening I was watching television after Church and I saw the “John Ankerberg Show”.  There had been a series going for a few weeks featuring Pastor Michael Easley and Joni Eareckson Tada.  Pastor Easley is associated with the Moody Church and most people know Joni and her life and work.

The topic was how to help others experiencing disabilities no matter if they are temporary or permanent.  Here are three great principles we need to help people to know and put into practice in their lives.

I.  Do the next thing.  This to you and I sounds so simple; but, to people that are enduring tough times such as disabilities this is not simple at all, trust me.  I know in my own life that there have been days that the next thing was like murder to me.  God has lovingly and compassionately brought me through these times.  Praise His Name!

Maybe the next thing is to simple get out of bed and brush your teeth.  Maybe the next thing is to write a letter to someone that has wronged you.  Then, my friend, do it.  Do the next thing.

II.  Spend time in fervent prayer and Bible study.  You might be saying to yourself that this is a no-brainer.  Well, not it is not so simple.  You see, when we are experiencing pain and disabilities it is common for us to withdraw from Christ and His Word.  We find ourselves forsaking Church if we are able to attend.  We need to spend time in fervent (not some lazy form) prayer.  The kind of prayer that shows that you will not let go of God until He answers you.  He wants you to pray so He can use this to help heal your aching heart.

III.  Do something for someone else.  This might really seem easier said than done.  Do not give up so easily.  When we focus on others we tend to begin to see our own pain and suffering more clearly.  Service to our fellow man (woman or child) is paramount to the healing process.  The enemy of your soul might be telling you that you are worthless and that is a lie from the pit of hell.  Don’t believe it.  Send someone a note, bake them some cookies even if you cannot bake or do some thoughtful thing for someone besides yourself.

This is no three points and a poem and all will be instantly right or well.  These are vital steps to begin the healing process.  Run to the LORD!

So, how are you doing?

Psalms 56:8, “Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?”

Not too long ago my wife and I went to see the Booth Brothers in concert.  What an amazing show.  Those guys are a great source of Christian edification.  I am not kidding.  You get wonderful music and you get encouragement from the Scriptures.  They have two songs that absolutely bring me to tears.

My favorite song they sing is called “He Saw It All”.  It is about Jesus healing people and one line says, “and the mute man was telling myself and the deaf girl”.  Because of our situation with our son I absolutely fall apart at this line.  I cannot help it. The other song is “In Christ Alone” and this too is an absolute favorite of mine.  It tells me that in Christ alone; well, enough said.

Within the first five notes of these songs I am normally crying like a baby.  God takes account of my tears and the Word of God tells me that He even stores them in a bottle.  Wow!  God is so compassionate that He is moved by my tears.

A scientist named Dr. Jay Wile of Ball State University told a crowd gathered the other evening that there are two kinds of tears.  One kind is what appears when you peel an onion or get dirt in your eye and it has one kind of makeup.  The other kind appear when we are moved emotionally and they have a slightly different makeup.  Yes, my tears rolled again to think that God deals with such tiny details; but, He does.  The tears that accompany our emotions also release chemicals in our body that make us feel better after we cry.  Go ahead friend and have a good cry and know that God stores those tears on a bottle because He cares.  Glory to God!

So, how are you doing?

II Chronicles 7:14, “and will heal their land.”

When revival comes we will have lives that are clean before God.  This is being clean and dreading to get dirty again.  I like what king David said in Psalms 51:7-8, “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.”  When we experience real revival we will be clean before God and a proper vessel.

Joy is another attribute of revival.  When your life is empty of sin, self and all that exalts itself against God then you will have joy.  Happiness depends upon outward things.  True joy comes from an unhindered relationship with your Saviour.  Look at Psalms 51:12 “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.”

Another attribute of revival is service.  When we get everything in our lives in line with Christ a natural outpouring is our service.  It becomes like breathing.  Psalms 51:13, “Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.”  We will desire to teach others how to have revival and a relationship that flourishes with the Saviour.  If we have it then we need to share it and we will.

So, how are you doing?

II Chronicles 7:14 also says, “and forgive their sin,”.

If we are going to experience revival we must be sincerely seeking God’s cleansing.  Look at Exodus 32:32, “Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.”  The dash here in the Bible is a grammatical pause.  Moses was so moved and heavy that he actually paused in his prayer and it was recorded.  We need to be serious about the forgiveness of our sin and sending revival.

Far too many discount our Saviour’s ability.  They act like He cannot save or anything else.  We must turn from unbelief to trusting in Him.  Read Matthew 9:6, “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.”

If we are going to experience true revival then we must get the things out of our life that will hinder it.  We can do this according to I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  We can be clean before God if we will confess and forsake our sin.

So, how are you doing?