"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
This was the verse in a daily bible study I have been doing a few days ago, and it was so impressed on my Heart. It was like when I read it it was etched onto my Heart and it was all I could think about. I feel like this is a call on our lives! The thing that stood out to me most about this is it was an answer to a phrase I have heard so many times.
Over the years, I have heard many people pray "Lord Bring Revival!" or "We pray for Revival." or some other variation of that. Its easy to say "God bring Revival" then go home and live our Lives. This verse shows that Revival doesn't start in the hearts of the unsaved, but in HIS church! God lays out the steps to revival:
1.We must Humble Ourselves. When we have that mentality that we are nothing and God is everything, we are right where we need to be. The bible says "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags."Isaiah 64:6 and "Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor." Psalm 39:5. If we come at the unsaved world in our own strength thinking God will help us, we will fall. We are nothing, while He is everything. As a friend once told me "At best, you are a surrendered vessel at the Mercy of the desires of the Master." We need to humble US and let God work in us and through us.
2.Pray and seek Him. This makes me think of war movies. (I am a huge WW2 fan so bear with me!) Before major invasions, the leaders of the army come together and stratagize and plan their assault. This is a vital step! If they were to just say "Lets just deal with it when we get there." we all know what would happen. It would be a disaster! Its the same with missions, Evangelism, or even just sharing the Good News with a friend. If we skip this step, Seeking Him and His will, we jump out in our own strength and we will fail.
3.Turn from Sin. A house divided against itself falls. Luke 11:17. This is our hindrance against revival in our heart and in our communities. The same friend I quoted earlier also said "Satan's goal is not to make you bad, or to further his kingdom, its to make you ineffective in the kingdom of God." Sin is a crippling disease that make you ineffective. The definition of Ineffective is : Not capable of performing efficiently or as expected. When we turn TO the Cross, that means we turn FROM sin. We as the church need to turn from our sin because Satan is using it as a hindrance to make you and the rest of the body ineffective.
Next God tells us what his promise is if we fulfill these three commands.
1. He will hear. What a comfort to know God is listening! Waiting for us to turn to him! An analogy would be this:
Imagine in one hand you are holding a rope that is connected to God and in the other a rope that's connected to the world. God isn't having to fight for you, or fight against the power of the world. Yes, every now and then he gives a little well needed tug, but it isn't that God has to battle the enemy for us. If we just let go of the world, we can climb directly to God. And that's the beauty of it. He is waiting for that moment.
2. He will forgive our sin. He will wash us anew. The definitions of Forgive in Hebrew are: to Cover, to Relieve, to release, to pardon. This is the power of the blood of Christ. He covers our sin and releases is from sin. He will look upon us with Mercy, with Love and he will forgive us. His Love is greater than my sin! We know that all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. (Romans 3:23) "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8 Christ died so we could be healed from our sin, from our shame. "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:5.
3.He will heal our Land. He will bring healing to our land. This is what we pray for when we pray for revival. He will pour out His Spirit on our land, on our people and we will have revival.
So I challenge you with this. Now you have read this, Next time you pray for revival, look at your heart and ask God to find the parts that are unsurrendered, Are sinful, and give it to Him. Revival begins in OUR hearts, not the hearts of the unsaved. And if you have read this and have not made a decision to come to the Lord, the bible also says "And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Acts 2:21. I encourage you to call out to the Lord and seek him. He has shown his love for you, he bore our transgressions and iniquities and has offered you the healing power of his blood. Call on God and be saved!
(Overview)
If we
1.Humble ourselves
2.Pray and seek Him
3.Turn from our sin
He will
1.Hear us
2.Forgive us
3.Heal us
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