2 December 2021 - Revival

What Hinders Revival? - Prayerlessness. Neglect of the Word of God. Worldliness. Selfishness. Gossip. Passivity. Inactivity. Sitting on the fence. Lukewarmness. Half-heartedness. Compromise.

Chronicles 7:14, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

To have revival we need Repentance

What is repentance?

In Biblical Hebrew the idea of repentance is represented by two verbs—"shub" (to return) and "niḥam" (to feel sorrow)

Job 42:6 (ESV) “therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

Ezekiel 14:6 (NLT) “Therefore, tell the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent and turn away from your idols, and stop all your detestable sins.”

Ezekiel 18:30 (NLT) “Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign Lord. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you!” Ezekiel 33:11b (NLT) “I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?”

Isaiah 1:16 (NLT) “Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways.”

Psalm 80:7 (NLT) “God of all, bring us back to You. Make Your face shine upon us, and we will be saved.” Hosea 6: 1 “Come, let’s go back to the Lord

To repent and to convert involves obedience to God's revealed will, placing trust in him, turning away from all evil and ungodliness.

The underlying idea has been adequately expressed in Greek by “μετάνοια”, a word which denotes "change of mind and heart.”

Repentance means that I choose God above everything else. You cannot expect maximum blessing from minimum commitment.

Matthew 4:17 (NLT) “From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near”

Romans 2:4 (NLT) “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?”

When we repent, wholehearted surrender to God is essential. What you surrender to God He accepts, what He accepts He cleanses, what He cleanses He fills, and what He fills, He uses. We must determine not to settle for less than God’s best.

Romans 12:1-2 (TPT) “Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? I encourage you to surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship. 2 “Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes