Gerry van der Wende: Revival in Susanville!

Revival in Susanville

February 27, 2011

2 Chronicles 7:14

Introduction

What is revival?
Why does the church from time to time, look for and seek revival?
What is our perception of revival?
Why is the church growing enormously in third-world countries, while it is barely keeping up here in the United
I cannot answer all these questions, and only God knows the answer to the health of the church
But what is our perception of revival?
Revival is possible, and it is happening in various places around the world
But it can also happen here in Susanville
Last week I visited the Low Desert prison, and I witnessed revival happening in prisoners lives
There were around 60 people at a chapel service, and the Holy Spirit was present and active
Around ten people were slain in the spirit, and prisoners were praying at the altar, and for each other
I wish we were experiencing revival in this church, and I believe it is God's will and purpose for this to happen
But God gives us certain conditions, for revival to happen
David had collected materials for the Temple
Solomon his son took these materials and built an magnificent building, to be the physical home for God
Next week we will look at what happened at the dedication of this Temple.
But we sometimes wonder what it would take to experience revival
God spells it out for us, after coming to dwell in this magnificent, but still physical building

Revival starts with Christians

2 Chron 7:14
When we turn to God, and invite Him into our life, we become His children
He gives us a new name
Gen 32 - When he wrestled with Jacob all night, and Jacob prevailed, God changed his name to Israel, meaning he who prevails with God and man
When we become God's children, he gives us a new name too
Rev 3:12 - Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
We are now called by God's name, a child of God
So when he says in 2 Chron 7:14 "my people, called by my name" he is referring to us, as well as the Israelites

What is the land God refers to?

For the Israelites, it was the land of Israel
It was the territory where they lived, worshiped, did business
For us personally, our land is our spirit soul and body
As a church, our land is this sanctuary, our activities as a church, our responsibilities to our part of the body of Christ
As a city, our land includes all our residents, inside and outside our prison walls

The first condition is that we humble ourselves

The importance of humility is what we will be speaking about this evening
Isaiah 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at my word.
God is seeking worshipers who will worship him, in spirit and in truth, as we discussed last Sunday evening
When I am humble, I am ready to listen to God and act on it

The second condition is that we pray and seek God's face

This ties in directly with the first point
When I feel I have it all together, or I can manage on my own, there will not be a meaningful relationship with God
It takes humility to turn to God in prayer and seek His presence in our life
By seeking his presence I do not mean he is not in our life now.
But we may have sidelined God, and be more focused on our own activities than on what God is doing
Revival will not happen in our life, without us being intentional and actively seeking Him

The third condition is that we turn from our wicked ways

We may think that we are not wicked, we are God's children, and we would be right
The wicked are those who do not have God in their lives
But this verse is speaking about people who had a relationship with God
It is speaking of wicked ways, not our identity
Our definition of wicked ways, and God's definition may be two different things
We may consider not paying God his full tithe to be a minor issue, but God sees it as robbing Him
We may consider skipping church to not be so important, but the Bible tells us to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together
We may be consumed with our own worries and concerns, but God tells us to seek first the Kingdom of God
We may not see it as such a big deal to skip doing our devotions, but God mourns when he is relegated to second third or last place in our lives
Each of us knows where our own wickedness is
How can we expect God to bless us with revival, personally, as a church, and as a city, if we are not taking Him seriously?
It is time to repent before God
I know that repentance is necessary, because God's blessing is being withheld from this body
If you have areas in your life that you want to confess before God, the altar is open now
God wants to bring revival in our lives, but we must comply with His conditions

Gerry van der Wende