Revival

Am I jealous of anyone? Am I secretly happy when someone else fails? Am I secretly unhappy when someone else succeeds? (1 Corinthians 13:4-6).

Is there anything about which I have not been completely honest? Is there some truth I am concealing? Do I try to cover up my faults? Do I try to give a better impression of myself than is really true? Do I exaggerate? (Matthew 23:27-28; James 5:16).

Am I discouraged or depressed? Have I stopped fully trusting God? Has my faith become weak? (Romans 1:17; 14:23; Hebrews 11:6).

Has my spiritual life become dry and formal? Have I lost my concern for those who do not know Christ? Have I become spiritually weak? Have I become lukewarm? Have I turned back from the life of a disciple? (Mark 8:34; Revelation 2:4-5; 3:15-16).

Have I become conformed to the world? Have I begun to think as unbelievers think? Have I begun to love the world and its pleasures? (Romans 12:2; 1 John 2:15-17).

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then we need to acknowledge and confess that sin to God. If we do, we open up the way for God to revive us. If we do not, we shall become progressively weaker and farther removed from God.

The second step in revival is to repent of all the sins the Holy Spirit has revealed to us. REPENTANCE means to sorrow deeply for our sins, and then to turn from them completely. When we do this, God will forgive us and cleanse us (1 John 1:9). If we do not experience this forgiveness and cleansing, there is only one explanation: we have not fully turned from our sin.

The third step in revival is to make right any wrong we have done to others (Matthew 5:23-24; Luke 19:8). We may need to apologize to someone. We may need to restore someone’s possessions we have taken. We may need to restore someone’s reputation that we have slandered. Above all, we may need to forgive someone, for to harbor bitterness or resentment against anyone is a great sin (Matthew 6:12,14-15).

The fourth step in revival is to rededicate our lives to Christ. We must surrender every part of our lives to Him; we must hold nothing back. We must commit ourselves to obey everything He asks us to do (John 14:15). We are not our own; we belong to Him (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

The fifth step in revival is to claim what God has promised to those who turn to Him with a humble and repentant heart. We must open our hearts to the filling of God’s Holy Spirit. God has commanded us to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Therefore, we must desire this filling. We must present ourselves to God to be filled (Romans 12:1). We must ask to be filled (Matthew 7:7-8,11; Luke 11:13).

The sixth and final step in revival is to live in submission to the Holy Spirit. No one can be filled with the Spirit who is not controlled by the Spirit. Paul wrote: So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature (Galatians 5:16). This is the key to living a Christlike life. This is the key to spiritual victory. To live a life of victory means that Christ Himself lives His life in us and through us (Galatians 2:20). This, then, is our goal: to be conformed to the likeness of Christ (Romans 8:29). There is no higher goal.

These, then, are the steps that we must take to prepare for revival. But remember, the reviving work itself is done totally by the Holy Spirit, in His way and in His time. Having done all that we can do, we must then look expectantly to Him.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

O God, revive us!