July Revival - Part Two

"Revive Us"
Sermon by Bro. Rick Taylor 7/12/09

Psalm 119:37 "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way."

"A half-hearted approach to living for God will NEVER satisfy our souls." - Bro. Rick

Revival is a continual state of seeking God and His will. Revival begins when we INDIVIDUALLY seek God. We must all recognize our need for revival individually before we will see a revival in our churches and communities.

Revival will come when we SEEK it!

1. Revival comes when we prepare.

a. Concern "turn away mine eyes from vanity" (Psalm 119:37 a)
- Do we care enough about our spiritual condition to be concerned about revival?
- Do we recognize our own need for revival and our own sin?
- Jesus wants us to live in knowledge and spirit. He wants us to be able to recognize our sin and our need for revival and for us to seek Him.

b. Cry Out
- We need to pray for revival!
- You can't serve God without knowing God.
- Do we care enough to pray? Do we continue in prayer? (Acts 1:14)

c. Cost
- Revival comes with a cost: We need to let God purge our lives of the things that are hindering our relationship with Him.
- When God asks for a SACRIFICE, that is exactly what He wants from us! If we don't have to pay a cost of some sort, where is the sacrifice? (see 2 Samuel 24:24)
- What kind of price are you willing to pay for revival? Are you willing to give your time? Are you willing to pray? Are you willing to change?

2. Revival comes when we make it personal

a. Conviction
- Revival comes when we get ready for our personal walk with the Lord to improve and when we are ready to change. (Psalm 85:6)
- How do we measure up to God's standards...in holiness? in faithfulness? in devotion?
- We need to pray for God to show us HIS ways "quicken thou me in thy way." (Psalm 119:37)

b. Confession
- We must confess that Jesus is the ONLY way and that there is NONE OTHER by which we can be saved.
- So we seek ONLY GOD to fulfill the empty places of our hearts?
- We cannot fix our problems on our own, but GOD CAN!
- We must recognize and admit that God is the only one that can revive us - and that we cannot do this without Him!

c. Conversion
- "quicken thou me in THY way" God's way is always better than ours. We must change from going our way to following His way.
- If there is no change, then there is no salvation. If there is no change, then there is no re-dedication. If there is no change, then there is no conversion. If there is no change, then there is no revival.
- Jesus didn't come here to make us better people. He came to make us more like HIM!
- Jeremiah 29:12-13 "Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." You must seek revival with ALL of your HEART!