WHAT HAPPENS WHEN REVIVAL COMES TO THE CHURCH?

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Comment by Glenn Robichaux on August 10, 2009 at 4:48pm

A Burden for Revival

Revival comes to those who are desperate for it. Many today are talking about spiritual awakening and even beginning to pray about it. #1Have we allowed God to place within us the burden necessary to pray desperately for God to show up in our midst? #2Are we willing to "pray the price" to see God move in a powerful way in the Church today? As I continue to learn how to move my prayers into alignment with God’s will, praying Scripture has become increasingly important. As I pray God’s Word I find myself praying in ways I would never have found myself praying before. So it is as we begin to place ourselves before the Lord in asking for a burden for revival. You will be impacted by the prayer of the Psalmist in Psalm 79.

This is a powerful prayer for revival. It was prayed from a broken heart that saw the people of God under attack and the promises of God unfulfilled.

1 O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
2 They have given the bodies of your servants as food to the birds of the air, the flesh of your saints to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have poured out like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them .
4 We are objects of reproach to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us.
5 How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
6 Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that do not call on your name;
7 for they have devoured Jacob and destroyed his homeland.
8 Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need.
9 Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake.
10 Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Before our eyes, make known among the nations that you avenge the outpoured of your servants.
11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you; by the strength of your arm preserve those condemned to die.
12 Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times the reproach they have hurled at you, O Lord.
13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

Praying through Psalm 79 is a great way to develop a biblical burden for revival.

The Outline for passionate prayer:

1. Recognizing your current situation is a critical place to begin.

The people of Israel were oppressed…under attack by their enemies. They finally got to a place of desperation-- "for we are in desperate need" vs.8. Until the Church today arrives at that place of desperation, we will never develop a burden for revival.

2. Get serious about the glory of God. Pagans were disparaging God because of the sorry situation of the Israelites. "Where is their God?" they asked. The fact that the world would ask such a question should bring great grief to God’s people. In a very real sense, this is exactly what the world is saying of the Church today….."Where is your God?"

3. Recognition of your current situation and passion for God’s glory will lead you to petition. It is at this point that you find Israel praying for mercy, deliverance, and forgiveness. It is a very personal sort of prayer that focuses on the needs of the people of God for restoration into the favor of God.

4. Taking the prayer a step further, we see the Psalmist asking God to step into the situation. N a very real sense, the Psalmist prays, "God, You answer the accusations of the enemy. By Your actions Lord, pay back the reproach that the world has heaped upon You through the sad condition of Your people."

5. The result of such a prayer is worship and praise. It’s the natural result of seeing God work. Even before full-blown revival arrives, there is worship erupting from the people of God. And along with that is the commitment to pass it on to the next generation.

Praying such a prayer for revival is not a guarantee of revival. It is merely preparing the ground of the human heart for a fresh work of God.

Praying with passion for revival begins to create a burden for revival among the Lord’s people. And into such a prepared state, the Lord has often poured His rain from heaven.

Revival: "Our essential trouble is that we are content with a very superficial and preliminary knowledge of God, His being, His cause….we spend our lives in busy activism….instead of realizing our own failure,(that) we are not attracting anybody to Christ and that they probably see nothing in us that makes them desire to come to Him.

"The inevitable and constant preliminary to revival has always been in a thirst for God, a thirst, a living thirst for a knowledge of the living God and a longing and a burning desire to see Him acting, manifesting Himself and His power, rising and scattering His enemies…..the thirst for God and the longing for the exhibition of His glory are the essential preliminaries to revival" (pages 90-91).

May our prayers for revival develop a great thirst for God, not only in our own lives, but in the lives of those around us.

Brother Glenn Robichaux

Comment by Glenn Robichaux on July 14, 2009 at 7:15am

Revival Praying

How do you pray for revival? Psalm 85:1–6 is a good place to begin: “You showed favor to your land, O Lord; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins. You set aside all your wrath and turned from your fierce anger. Restore us again, O God our Savior, and put away your displeasure toward us. Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger through all generations? Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?”

Lord, revive us again; do it again in our day. Lord, this is what You have done in the past, and this is what we ask You to do again in our lives and in our churches. We are desperate for revival. I, personally, am desperate for Your reviving touch and ask for that today in my own life. Wake me up to the reality of Your transforming presence in my life.

Prayer Points

Praise God for his marvelous goodness. Thank the Lord for being a refuge in times of trouble (Nah. 1:7). Confess your own failure to show goodness toward others. Commit yourself to bearing the fruit of goodness through the power of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Ask God to enable you today to “taste and see that the LORD is good” (Ps. 34:8).


Pray that good will win out over evil in every area of our society. Ask that righteousness and justice will permeate the fabric of our culture so that God will be glorified and praised.

Comment by Glenn Robichaux on June 10, 2009 at 4:39pm

Yes I agree about a Revival .....First with our Local Church Then The Lost out the Walls. We need a refreshing Holy Spirit among us all. Think on this paul said I rather go home to the Lord Jeus but you need me more so I stay for you. Pastor Gary Wilkerson wrote a letter saying I rather go home Oh Come Lord Jesus..Question Do I LOve Jesus That much O Come Lord Jesus or do I love this world or even my life more Than Him. Seriously I Had To REPENT..I Need You More oh God forgive Me for lack of Loving You Father , Jesus , Holy Spirit...Glenn Robichaux

Comment by JB on January 5, 2009 at 7:03am

Comment by Bob B on August 1, 2008 at 7:41pm

This was so Good from our dear sister Ramona that I had to put it here.
Bob
THIS WAS SPECIALLY COMPILED FOR MY GENTLE BROTHER BOB:


COMPETENCE (IMMINENT REVIVAL)


I AM MAKING A STATEMENT AND, IF I AM IN ANY WAY OFF TRACK, I STAND TO BE CORRECTED AND KINDLY REQUEST THAT ANY ONE TAKE THE LIBERTY OF DOING SO. I AM NOT AN AUTHORITY BUT I DO HAVE A PASSION FOR A REVIVAL... AND I DO BELIEVE THAT IT IS HAPPENING...

I ALSO BELIEVE THAT SOME COURAGE AND COMPETENCE IS REQUIRED BY THE SERVANTS OF THE LORD TO BRING THIS ABOUT. LET US NOT JUST BE COMPETENT... BUT LET US BE (I AM GOING TO BE BOLD AND USE THE WORD BRAZEN) BRAZEN AND ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT A REVIVAL. GOD LOVES AN ENTHUSIASTIC CHRIST FOLLOWER... AND HE WILL EQUIP US WITH COURAGE WHICH WE NEVER EVER THOUGHT WAS POSSIBLE!

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 2 Corinthians 3:5 (NIV)


GRACE :

WE MUST REALISE THAT WE CAN DO NOTHING IN OUR OWN STRENGTH BUT IF WE PRAY IN UNISON GOD WILL GIVE US THE GRACE AND THE POWER:

The great passage, John 7:37-39: "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified"), refers exclusively to the "upon," or pentecostal relationship. In John 4:14 our Lord spoke of the indwelling Spirit as an upspringing fountain, "The water that I shall give him shall be in him, a well of water springing up into everlasting life"; in John 7:38

"Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses," etc. (Acts 1:8).

And God will grant us GRACE that stretches across the depth and breadth and width and height of God's character.

In our own strength nothing can be achieved. We will have to press towards an honest assessment of our faith... with a deeper commitment to our beliefs. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY a sacrificing love for the Lord Jesus Christ where you will lay your all upon the altar!

The standard is high... almost impossibly high and that is why we need God's grace. We cannot achieve this on our own but by the GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ we can do it. JESUS must rule completely in our lives. We are not competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God." (2 Corinthians 3:4-5 NIV)

If we fail to understand God's grace, we're in danger of growing weary in our walk with God, and without this FAITH and TRUST we cannot accomplish this COMPETENCE.

If we fail to accept God's grace, we're in danger of slipping into legalism. Then we will start believing we can somehow reach God's holy standard through our own efforts. We can achieve nothing (zero) without God's GRACE. The New Age religion says, in effect, we can achieve godliness without God's power! We behave as if we become one of God's children by the things we do or the things we don't do, and not from the extraordinary grace of God. The challenge is enormous! But we can achieve the goal : and that is A REVIVAL!!!


AND WITH GOD'S GRACE WE CAN! And with His grace there will be a REVIVAL.
Christ Followers, let us take hands and pray for the REVIVAL - it surely is on the way!
SHOW YOUR COMPETENCE AND PRAY WITHOUT CEASING. NOTHING IS ACHIEVED WITHOUT EFFORT!

STOP BEING LAYED BACK - REACH OUT AND ACCEPT THE GRACE WHICH GOD IS OFFERING US FOR FREE... JESUS HAS PAID THE PRICE... REAP THIS BENEFIT WITH BOTH HANDS AND DO NOT KEEP IT JUST FOR YOURSELF - GO OUT AND SHARE IT WITH EVERYBODY.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A PREACHER OR A PASTOR... JESUS USED ORDINARY DROP OUTS (LIKE ME) FOR DISCIPLES. EACH ONE OF US CAN GO OUT AND DO IT!

SEE HOW COMPETENT AND BRAZEN YOU CAN BE - I AM PREPARED TO DO IT!

LOVE IN CHRIST
RAMONA P.

Comment by Bob B on June 27, 2008 at 4:03pm

Comment by Bob B on June 21, 2008 at 12:11pm

Charles Finney said revival simply consist of obeying God which means that it is the most elemental duty of men.



Revival should be an abiding state, a living in the continual fullness of the Spirit.



Revival involve more than a personal blessing.



Revival creates an invirement whereby sincere disciples of the truth come together, and minor differences are resolved in the larger commitment to a common mission.



Revival does not make men less finite, ignorance, emotional instability, personality quirks, and all other trates of our fallen humanity are still very evident.



The focus is not on human weakness but on divine power.



Revival or catastrophe, God is long-suffering, but when his patience is exhausted as we see with Noah day, and Sodom and Gamorah judgement will come.



There is a cry going up before the Lord in these days of grace that God would revive the Church.

Comment by Bob B on May 15, 2008 at 11:15am

Revival increases our passion for worship when revival comes to the church. It will cause the church to enter into praise and worship that will exalt and glorify, and make his praises glorious. It is exiting and relevant and a spirit of celebration is in the minst of the people of God.

Comment by Bob B on April 17, 2008 at 8:08am

This song by Isreal and new bread sing a song called let the redeamed say so. When revival comes to the church the message of the Gospel will be proclained to the world.

Comment by Bob B on March 29, 2008 at 3:27pm

When revival comes to the Church We will see Jesus as He is.