Revival Through Recognition: Seeking God's True Presence

Now here what we are told about the way in which Revival comes is brought for us in a particularly instructive manner with regard to this point that there are generally speaking stages and steps in the coming of Revival. You will never find practically in all the histories of Revival that the church suddenly in one move as it were in one step passes from her condition of lifelessness and and almost mariban State immediately into a condition of Mighty power and Revival and influence. [00:04:37]

The peculiar feature about this particular account is that it enables us perhaps more clearly than anything else we've considered hitherto to realize how Revival comes, the kind of process, the mechanism which is to be seen so clearly in the coming of Revival into and upon the church. Let me make this quite plain and clear while I'm thus dealing with it mainly and chiefly in general considering the church in general in the need of Revival. [00:03:07]

The first step in Revival well here it is our realization of the position these people who rebelled and turned their backs upon God and had blasphemed his name and had criticized his servant Moses and had caused Aaron to make the cough and worship him and would send suddenly they're arrested they realized something at inate of the situation in which they were now obviously this is a matter of final importance there is no hope of Revival apart from this. [00:18:15]

Repentance is a much much deeper thing now let me read to you the classical statement as to what repentance means in order to save time the Apostle Paul has put it for us once and forever in The Second Epistle to the Corinthians in chapter 7 let me begin to read at verse 8 he says forough I made you sorry with a letter I do not repent though I did repent for I perceive that the same epistle ha made you sorry though it were but for a season now listen now I Rejoice not that you were made sorry but that ye sorrowed to repentance for he were made sorry after a Godly manner. [00:27:27]

The realization of the presence of God having his fellowship and Company was infinitely more important than everything else need I apply this to the church today you can have successes over your enemies you know without this great realization of God in the midst oh yes there are angels who can do that for us destroy certain of our enemies take us to the land we're in Canaan we've got the milk and honey yes everything seems to be all right. [00:34:42]

The children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount harb and we haven't repented truly until we've done that in whatever shape or form it may be true of us it means this that having had this profound realization of our sinfulness and especially in his sight our one desire now is to to do everything we can that is well pleasing in his sight and what is it well it means forsaking sin and doing his Commandments pluck off your ornaments. [00:40:28]

The ultimate of repentance is just that to realize that nothing matters except my relationship to God let nothing please nor pain me apart oh Lord from thee they not only face the situation they repented but you see and know how perfect the scripture is they gave absolute proof that they had repented and again this is one of the differences between remorse and repentance because repentance is not just a passing temporary feeling. [00:38:40]

The thing is the realization of sin in the presence of God and especially this what these people suddenly came to realize was that because of their sin and because of God's view of sin God was withholding his presence from them and was telling them to go up to the land of Canaan without him sending an angel but he wasn't going to come the God who entered among them as it were in Egypt the god whose power they had felt as they were traveling in the direction of the Red Sea. [00:32:20]

The Israelites realized that God's presence was more valuable than any material blessing. This understanding is essential for the church today, as we often prioritize external success over the presence of God. The people said no if you're not coming with us we don't want to go now that's the essence of spiritual understanding and that's the thing my dear friends that you and I have got to come to you see here were the people who suddenly awakened came to this tremendous profound realization. [00:36:33]

The Israelites, having been delivered from Egypt, quickly fell into idolatry and sin, crafting a golden calf to worship in Moses' absence. This act of rebellion and false worship mirrors the contemporary church's tendency to create its own version of God, often prioritizing human philosophy over divine revelation. The narrative underscores the necessity of recognizing our spiritual condition as the first step toward revival. [00:07:54]

The church has been repeating this very thing chiefly of course in the matter of setting up its own God how do you demonstrate that says someone well unfortunately but too simply what has been happening you see for the last 100 years in the so so-called new critical attitude to the scripture has been just a repetition of this very thing men has no longer been receiving the Revelation and submitting to it he has been setting himself as a judge on the revelation. [00:10:32]

The Israelites' realization of their sin and God's displeasure was crucial. They mourned and repented, understanding that God's presence was more valuable than any material blessing or victory. This realization is essential for the church today, as we often measure success by external achievements rather than the presence of God among us. [00:13:37]