God Still Revives: Humble Prayer, Repentance, Renewal

``But God, but God who is rich in mercy and great in his grace said this, I will go into their graves and bring them up out of them. I will piece them back together. I will put my spirit in them. They will live, and I will once again put them back into their land. I will revive them. [00:18:42] (22 seconds)

Jesus said, when you pray. When you pray. Not if you get a chance, not before meals, not just sometimes. He modeled what prayer looked like as eternal dialogue with a loving father. He often withdrew to lonely places to pray, and he invites us as the people of God to walk in that type of communication every single moment, every single day, all the time. [00:31:28] (27 seconds)

There's a man named Leonard Ravenhill who wrote a book called Why Revival Taries, and he says revival tarries in the church because the Cinderella of the church is the prayer meeting. The the left behind forgotten little little sister or daughter in the church is where the people of God gather for prayer. Then he said this, revival delays because prayer decays. Our churches are more air conditioned than prayer conditioned. [00:32:55] (24 seconds)

Because Solomon is told very clearly by the Lord, if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven, I will heal them, and I will I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land. Amen? And God makes it abundantly clear that his outpouring revival and forgiveness and healing is connected not only to humility, not only to prayer, but also to repentance. [00:37:23] (28 seconds)

I am saying this though and I wanna propose this to you this morning. Revival is marked by the people of God actually turning from their sin, and renouncing evil and injustice and the patterns of our old lives, and saying, I want to walk in the righteousness that God has provided for me. Revival is marked by the people of God actually allowing the blood of Jesus to break those chains and then leaving those chains where they are at and not picking them up again, walking away in true freedom. Amen? [00:42:51] (31 seconds)

I was thinking about it this week, I I'd love to propose that, this is a definition, if we could ever have a definition of revival. Revival is God's supernatural move that awakens, renews, and unites God's people, bringing them into a new life marked by his spirit's power, filled with a passion for the things of God, activated for positive impact in society, and engaged in a missional lifestyle. [00:09:26] (22 seconds)

So Lord, we come to you, we thank you that you are the God of revival. And once again, God, we look at what you've done in history and we say, do it again in our time. Just like at the day of Pentecost, just like in the great awakenings, just like in the revivals that we've talked about today, Lord, pour out your spirit on all flesh. Awaken us God. Renew us God. Bring us to true and free life. [00:48:31] (30 seconds)

He's the same God today and tomorrow and forever. He's the same God that poured out revivals in the days of Pentecost, as in the days of the first great awakening, as in the days of the Welsh revival, as in the Asbury revival. He's the same God today. He's still healing the broken and restoring those who are far off and freeing the captives and renewing the hopeless. He is still raising dead people to life, and God wants to pour out revival and awakening in our midst. Amen? [00:10:18] (29 seconds)