Are You Ready For Revival?
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours
of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for
all these things must come to pass, but
the end is not yet. (Matthew 24:6)
But of the times and the seasons, brethren,
ye have no need that I write unto you. For
yourselves know perfectly that the day of
the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
(I Thessalonians 5:1-2)
All around us, we see terrible things happening, things that the Bible predicted long ago. Jesus knew all of these things would happen; from those terrible school shootings
all over the country, to the rise of homosexuality, to the divorce rate, and abortion, to the terrible natural disasters that are increasing throughout the world. Christ himself
said all of these things would happen before the last days come.
As we see these things, we can discern the signs of the times, and know that the time of Christ's return is drawing ever nearer. Knowing this, we claim to want the revival
that God promised to send in the last days. We say we want revival, we pray for revival, preachers preach about revival, but are we ready to do what it takes to have a revival?
Jesus wondered if there would be anyone left who was faithful.
"When the Son of Man comes, shall
He find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8)
The Bible tells us that the judgment will begin at the house of God: that means us. The Christians.
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house
of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of
them that obey not the gospel of God?" (l Peter 4:17)
Since judgment will begin with the house of God, one of the first things that it requires is for us, as the bride of Christ, to exhibit genuine repentance.
We need to weep over our sin, individually and collectively. We must get serious about our sin, confess it before God and turn away from it. Far too many of us have
compromised until sin is a comfortable part of our lives. We have to learn to look at sin through God's eyes. That's what confession means: to agree with God about our
sin. And we have to turn away from our sin. That's what repentance means: turning away from our wicked ways toward God's ways.
Unbelievers often point to hypocrisy in the church as their reason for not wanting to hear about the Gospel or attend church. They may have a point there, although the same
hypocrites at the bar on Saturday nights don't seem to keep them from that place. Yet, sadly, it has gotten to the point where sometimes it's hard to tell the believers
from the unbelievers without a scorecard. We've gotten to where we in the church have compromised our beliefs so much that you can't tell the saints from the sinners,
so to speak. That's a sad commentary on the state of our faith.
We need to weep over our sin, to shed bitter tears of sorrow and remorse over our disobedience to God's Word. We need Godly sorrow, which leads to repentance. There is
such a thing as absolute truth, as absolute right and absolute wrong. We better start believing it, and more than that, we need to get to the point where we're willing to
stand out and call sin and what it is: sin. Not compromise, not make excuses for it, not say that's not our responsibility. We have to be willing to speak the truth in love,
whether it's our own sin or someone else's. Until we can do that, we have no hope of reaching the world with the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, and there can be no revival.
For Godly sorrow works repentance to salvation
not to be regretted: but the sorrow of the world
works death. (2 Corinthians 7:10)
Another thing that we have to deal with before we can have revival is our love of money. We all know the Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil. It's sad but
true that riches and prosperity go hand in hand with depravity and perversion. In any civilization since the beginning of time as the nation becomes wealthier they become
more and more depraved and get farther and farther from the Word of God. People tend to put their faith in their money rather than in God.
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare,
and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which plunge men
into destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the
root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have
erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with
many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:9-10)
The Bible tells us, you cannot serve God and Mammon, or money. So I ask you today, whom do you serve? I am very afraid that many of us won't get serious about serving
God until our wealth is removed from us - and with the world situation being like it is today that may happen quicker than we think. This country is in debt past its eyeballs,
and we have no hope of ever paying off that debt in our lifetime. And yet our elected leaders continue to spend, spend, spend. We are in total dependence on foreign oil,
and gasoline prices right now are over $4.00 a gallon, and expected to go higher. Many hard-working Americans cannot afford healthcare or insurance. Our economy,
regardless of what the government would have us believe, is in a recession. Economic downfall is coming to America, people, and we'd best be prepared to deal with it.
For too many years, we have been content to serve the god of wealth.
Third, we have to get serious about wanting to please God, rather than wanting to please man. We tend to be people-pleasers,
wanting and needing the approval and acceptance of our peers. Which do you think is of more importance: to be found pleasing by lost and sinful people, or
to be found pleasing by a pure and holy Almighty God? Which do you think will have an eternal impact?
We must learn to seek God's approval and acceptance, even if that is unpopular with man. We must be willing to uphold God's Word, and live according to
His standards, even if it means being shunned, rejected, ridiculed, mocked, persecuted, or even executed. Jesus himself suffered all those things; if we truly love the
Lord, shouldn't we be willing to do the same?
In the wonderful Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his followers:
Blessed are the poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled.
Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you,
and when they shall separate you from their company,
and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil,
for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap
for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven:
for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
But woe unto you that are rich! for
ye have received your consolation.
Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger.
Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.
Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you!
for so did their fathers to the false prophets." (Luke 6:20-26)
Do you truly want a revival? Then let's turn back to God in repentance and obedience, and let's get serious about living in a way that's pleasing to God.
Then we will see the revival we long for. Then, when the Son of Man comes, He may find us faithful, and say "Yes, I have found faith upon the earth".
Maranatha, Lord Jesus.
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