Sermons
March 10th, 2024 by Pastor Solley031024AM Building Blocks of Revival
Sub. Revival
Theme: Steps to revival.
Text: Ps 85:106
“Building Blocks of Revival” Psalm 85:1-6
Introduction
I want to speak to you this morning about building blocks of revival. We have special services coming up in two weeks, revival services. Some are looking forward to the services, some dreading them. Some are making plans to attend each service, some making plans to attend not at all. One thing for sure, we all need revival. The greatest need in America today, in churches today, in families today, in individual lives, and in the life of this preacher today is revival. We all need revival and the one who thinks they need it the least needs revival the most.
I. In Psalm 85 we find Israel in need of revival: Ps 85:1-6 They were asking God for revival. – Ps 85:6
A. Reading the first few verses of Psalm 85 makes one wonder why they needed revival: Ps 85:1-3 Why would they need revival?
1. God had been favorable to them: Ps 85:1
2. God had forgiven the sins of the nation: Ps 85:2
3. God had turned away wrath and anger: Ps 85:3
4. Why would a nation like that, a people like that need revival?
B. But they were is desperate need of revival: Ps 85:4-6 Why? Like they had done many times before the nation had turned away from the Lord and God was dealing with them by chastening them. – Ps 85:4-5 – They were is desperate need of revival. – Ps 85:6
I. This same scenario is played out over and over again in the lives of God’s people today: We face the same enemy that Israel faced, live in the same world that Israel lived, deal with the same flesh as Israel did and we need revival today just as Israel did. What was true of Israel we experience in our lives today.
A. How great and how many are the blessings of God upon you today Christian? Isn’t what was true of Israel true of us today who know the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal savior? – Ps 85:1-3
1. I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for bringing me out of the captivity of sin today: Ps 85:1
2. I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiving my sin today: Ps 85:2
3. I thank the Lord Jesus Christ today for turning away wrath and anger from me: Ps 85:3
4. There should be no need of revival when all those things are true in my life and they are true: But like Israel there is often a need of revival, a desperate need of revival in my life today. – Ps 85:4-6 – How then to experience this revival that I need, that we all need?
B. There are building blocks of revival that can be found in the Word of God: Building blocks that when stacked one upon another lead us to the revival that we all need. I want to look this morning, and this evening, at seven building blocks of revival. Building blocks that when set one upon the other lead us to a much needed revival.
Prop: Every Christian needs to know these seven building blocks of revival. TS. Because every Christian is in need of revival.
Body
I. To experience revival there needs to be a seeking after God: Ps 63:1-3 The first building block of revival is a true and genuine seeking after God. – Ps 63:1 – This coming from a man after the heart of God.
A. One might assume that because we are in the house of God this morning, because we are in the promised presence of God this morning that we all are seeking after God: That is not true. Just because we are in God’s house does not mean we are seeking God.
1. Some are here this morning because they are seeking after God: They have a desire to worship God in Spirit and in truth, to know more about God, to draw close to God, to serve God. There is no other place they would rather be than here this morning.
2. Some are here for other reason: Because it is expected of them, because they have been made to attend, because it is their habit to attend, because they have nothing else to do this morning, some are here for other reasons and are not seeking after God.
ILL. I know those things to be true because I sat in the pew for many years…
3. When 3/4 of a church is seeking after God there is going to be revival: It will be a spiritually growing church and a church on fire for the Lord. When 3/4 of a church is seeking after God there is going to be a revival.
4. When 3/4 of a church is not seeking after God there will be no revival: It will be a spiritually dying church and a lukewarm church. When 3/4 of a church is not seeking after God there will be no revival.
5. Most churches seem to be someplace in between today: That makes those churches in need of revival. We need revival today. We should not want to be a halfway Christian, a lukewarm Christian, but a Christian on fire for the Lord because we seek the Lord.
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B. David, the man after the heart of God, was found seeking God: Ps 63:1 The soul of David, the life of David was dependent upon seeking after and finding God. – Ps 63:1 – The very life of David was dependent upon seeking after and finding God.
1. Ps 42:1-2 The picture here is of a deer after a long run, panting, not able to catch its breath and in need of water. If that deer does not find the water it needs it will die. David was seeking God.
2. David would faint in his soul if he did not find God: Ps 84:2
3. David’s soul would die of thirst if he did not find God: Ps 143:6
4. David was seeking that living water that Jesus would offer the woman at the well: The soul of David was seeking after God.
5. That seeking after God began early in the morning and continued throughout every waking hour of the day: Ps 5:1-3
6. David was a man after the heart of God because David was a man seeking God: When one seeks God they will find God.
C. The promise is made that when one seeks God they will find God: Prov 8:17 ; Matt 7:7-8 God is not hard to find, God is not far off, but to find God one must seek God. Do you have a seeking soul today, a seeking heart today, are you, are we seeking after God?
1. Did you wake up this morning and know that you had to talk to the Lord, had to read His Word? Was that desire, that need so great that it could not be ignored, that you had to meet with the Lord today? Are you seeking after God?
2. Did you come to the house of God today looking to see and feel the great power and presence of the Lord? Ps 63:1-2 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; 2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Are you seeking after God?
3. Are you knocking on the door of the heart of the Lord asking for a special meeting with Him that will satisfy the thirst of your soul? Matt 7:7 Or is Christ knocking on the door of your heart asking for you to let Him in? – Rev 3:20 – Who is doing the knocking this morning? Is it you or is it the Lord? Who is seeking this morning? Is it you seeking God or is God seeking you?
4. This seeking is an all the time, everyday seeking if one wants to find God and to have revival:
D. The time to seek God, to seek after God is now: Isa 55:6 I hear people, saved and lost alike, speak about the evil of our present day, about the increase of sin, of crime, of the darkness that is overtaking our nation, our churches, our families and lives. What is the answer? The answer is that we need to seek God now, seek the Lord while He may be found?
1. Our God will never hide from us: Isa 55:6 The meaning here is the less we seek God the harder it will be for us to find Him close to us. The meaning here is that the farther we move away from God and into the world the harder it will be for us to know God.
2. King Saul was a man seeking God when he was anointed king: But soon Saul sought self and not God and then God could not be found and Saul had a terrible ending.
3. King Solomon was a man seeking God when he was anointed king: But soon Solomon sought the world and pleasure and not God and God could not be found. Solomon had many, many empty and wasted years in his life.
4. In between those two you find David a man seeking after God when he was anointed king: David continued to be a man after the heart of God and David could always find God near to Him because David was thirsting after, seeking after God. – Ps 63:1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
5. Who is doing the knocking today? Are you knocking on the door of the heart of God, seeking God? Or is God knocking on the door of your heart seeking to be let in? Who is doing the knocking today?
E. To experience revival there needs to be a seeking after God: Ps 63:1-3 The first building block of revival is a true and genuine seeking after God. – Ps 63:1 – This coming from a man after the heart of God.
II. To experience revival there needs to be humility before God: James 4:6-10 Pride is one of the things Satan uses the most to keep the lost from getting saved and to keep the child of God from drawing close to God, to keep the child of God from seeking God. We need to seek God but we need to seek God in all humility.
A. It was the sin of pride that plunged this world into sin and pride destroys all and everything and everyone it gets a hold upon: Eve thought she deserved to be like God because of the sin of pride. Pharaoh lost his life because of the sin of pride thinking he was above God. Nebuchadnezzar lost his kingdom because of pride thinking he and he alone built so great a Babylon. Peter denied Jesus because of pride claiming that he had the strength to stand alone. Pride destroys all and everything and everyone it gets a hold upon.
1. Consider what God says about pride and the lack of humility: Prov 6:16-19 In a list of seven things that God hates, a list of seven things that God calls an abomination, which is the first? Prov 6:16-17 When you consider this list there are some terrible things named.
a. It was a lying tongue that brought sin into this world. – Prov 6:17
b. Murder soon followed that sin as Cain murdered his brother able. – Prov 6:17
c. Wicked imaginations and a world of wickedness followed and God destroyed the world with a flood. – Prov 6:18
d. Mischief followed the flood and man again turned to wickedness. – Prov 6:18
e. As sin abounds lies increase. – Prov 6:19
f. Soon there is no unity, only division that leads to death and destruction. – Prov 6:19
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2. What sin started it all, what sin opens the door for all the others? Prov 6:16-17 Pride, a lack of humility will keep revival far out of the reach of man, of families, and of churches. Consider what God thinks about pride. – Prov 6:16-17
B. How many people have a problem with pride? We all do. Saved or lost, man or woman, young or old, all have a problem with pride. There are two things that are true of every individual in this room this morning, two things that are true.
1. We all need the Lord: None of us can function properly without the Lord Jesus Christ. We all need the Lord. That the first thing.
2. All of us feel at one time or another that we can get by on our own: We have felt in the past, we may be feeling right now, or we will feel again in the future be it near or far that we can get by on our own. It is pride that tells us we can get by on our own and if we are honest before God and with ourselves we will admit that we often have a problem with pride.
3. David, that man seeking God, stood up and numbered Israel and it cost him dearly: Why did David do that? Pride got hold of him.
4. Solomon who had such a good beginning spent years in misery: Why? Pride got hold of him.
5. Paul prayed to be healed and was told no: Why? So he would not be lifted up and pride would not get hold of him.
6. If those great men of God all had a problem with pride why would I think I will not? We all have a problem with pride.
7. What will pride do?
a. Pride will keep you from reading your Bible. You can get by without reading your Bible each day can’t you? Pride says yes.
b. Pride will keep you from prayer. You don’t really need to pray about everything do you? Pride says you don’t.
c. Pride will keep you from coming to church. You don’t really need church do you? Pride says you don’t.
d. Pride will keep you from putting others before self. You should watch out for number one right? Pride says you should.
8. Pride destroys everything and everyone it touches: There are no exceptions.
a. Marriages fail and homes fall apart because you don’t need to do things God’s way. That is what pride says.
b. Churches fall apart, split and close the doors because they don’t need to do things God’s way. That is what pride says.
c. Pastors fall and can never preach again because they are bullet proof. That is what pride says.
9. How many people have a problem with pride? We all do.
C. What we had better do is humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God: 1 Peter 5:6 The first thing this preacher needs to do when this message ends is come to the altar and humble himself under the mighty hand of God. When we don’t think we need to do that we have a world of trouble in front of us.
1. When you think you can stand by yourself you have set yourself up for a fall: 1 Cor 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
2. When I want to be close to the Lord, when I want revival, I need to humble myself: 1 Peter 5:6 That is exactly what Satan does not want me to do. – 1 Peter 5:8 – Isn’t it interesting that is given right after the command to humble myself?
3. Until we humble ourselves before God there will never be revival: Pride will keep us from revival.
D. To experience revival there needs to be humility before God: James 4:6-10
III. To experience revival there needs to be a brokenness before God: Isa 57:15 To be contrite is to be broken. The Hebrew word means to be crushed into powder. It is more than being sorry before God for what we are not, or what we used to be, it is to be crushed before God and that brokenness comes when pride is put away. Humility is not enough, one needs to be broken before God.
A. Did you know God uses broken things and there must be a breaking before there can be a making? Luke 20:17-18 Jesus Christ is the corner stone, the sure foundation and notice that there is a breaking. – Luke 20:18 – When one comes to Jesus Christ to worship and to serve, to get close to the Lord Jesus Christ, to walk with Him there must be a breaking. – Luke 20:18 – But with that breaking there is also a making.
1. After denying that he even knew Jesus Peter was broken: But in John 21 there is a making and Peter became strong in the Lord.
2. Paul was broken on that road to Damascus: But there was also a making and Paul became perhaps the greatest of the apostles.
B. There needs to be a brokenness because we must let go of all that keeps us from being what our God wants us to be: This is clearly seen in an illustration in the Old Testament that it repeated in part in the book of Romans. – Jer 18:1-6 – Jeremiah is called to go down to the potter’s house and watch as he made a vessel.
1. Note that it is marred in the hands of the potter: Jer 18:3-4 The Bible never says that Jeremiah could see the flaw in the vessel. But the potter could. The Bible never says the vessel could not have been used or even sold. But it was not what the potter wanted to set before the people, not to offer for sale.
2. This vessel, not being what the potter wanted it to be, not being what the potter knew it could be, was broken: Jer 18:4 Notice the potter made it again. He did not throw the clay away, he broke it and made it again. – Jer 18:4 For this vessel to be what the potter wanted it to be, to be what the potter knew it could be, it had to be broken.
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4. This repeated in the book of Romans: Rom 9:20-21
C. When one is broken before God he or she is allowing God to break apart and remove the things in their life that keep them from being what God knows they can be, from being what God wants them to be: Are we willing to be broken before God, by God?
1. We can seek God, humble ourselves before God, but then we need to be broken before God as well: Are we willing to ask God to search us and to know us?
2. Are we willing to turn the spotlight of the Word of God upon ourselves?
3. Are we willing to allow God to break off the things that hinder us whatever they may be? What needs to be broken today for you to be what God wants you to be? How many things keep you apart from God.
4. Could be things no one else can see: But God does.
5. Could be things that seem harmless: But they hinder us.
D. To experience revival there needs to be a brokenness before God: Isa 57:15
IV. To experience revival there needs to be confession before God: 1 John 1:8-10 One needs to seek God, be humble before God, be broken before God, and one needs to confess before God. – 1 John 1:9 – As God answers the seeking heart, as pride is put away, as one is broken there will follow confession of sin before God. Sin in the life of the believer in Christ is what is dealt with here.
A. What is confession as we see confession here? 1 John 1:9 The word means to acknowledge, to make known, to name.
1. Take note what this confession is not: It is not to a priest, not to a pastor, it is to the only one who can forgive sin, it is to God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 John 1:8-10 – The He in this verse is Jesus.
a. No man is able to forgive your sin or mine for there is only one mediator between God and man and that is Jesus Christ.
b. It is not wrong to seek advice and counsel from a pastor but only God can forgive sin.
c. This is not a general “If I have sinned please forgive me”. This is a naming of sin, an acknowledgment of sin.
2. This confession is bringing sin in our lives before God, asking God to forgive, and then take that sin away: 1 John 1:9
B. Why is this important, why does God command that we confess sin before Him? Remember this is speaking to Christians. This is not coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, this is a daily cleansing from sin as demonstrated when Jesus washed the disciples feet just before the cross. Why is this important?
1. It is not so God will know about our sins: God already knows. Acts 15:18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. ; Prov 15:3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. We don’t confess telling God what God already knows.
2. We confess, we acknowledge, because doing so allows us to realize what sin does in our life, the way sin hinders our relationship with God, the way sin destroys lives and testimonies and helps us move away from sin: It is like a plea deal in a court of law when the criminal has to acknowledge his crime. God wants us to know just how serious a matter of sin in our lives is and what it does.
3. We will not experience revival, we will not have true fellowship with God while walking in sin: 1 John 1:5-10 What we consider big sins, what we consider small sins, doesn’t matter, sin hinders our fellowship with God.
4. The one sitting here who thinks he or she has no sin in their life, nothing needs to be brought to God, is a liar: 1 John 1:8 , 10 That is what God says.
a. When this preacher thinks he has nothing to confess he is a liar before God and to himself.
b. When this preacher thinks he has nothing to confess he is not walking in fellowship with God and cannot walk in true fellowship with God until he gets right with God.
C. This confession is a result of being broken before God: Luke 18:10-14 Two men are confessing sin here.
1. One acknowledges the sins of others and walks away in his own sin:
2. The other is broken and acknowledges his own sin and walks away cleansed: Luke 18:13-14 All his sins are not named for us in this passage but I believe they were named before God.
3. Have you ever been broken before God to the point that you acknowledge sin and confess sin before God?
D. To experience revival there needs to be confession before God: 1 John 1:8-10
V. To experience revival there needs to be repentance: 1 Cor 7:9-11 Repentance is vital in salvation, repentance is also vital in having a walk in fellowship with God. Repentance means to turn away from something.
A. Those believers were not just sorry about sin, they repented turning away from that sin: 1 Cor 7:10-11 As sin was confessed, as there was a cleansing, there followed a turning away. – 1 Cor 7:10
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1. To confess and continue in the sin would be folly: So they turned away from that sin, they repented. – 1 Cor 7:10
2. As a result their lives were changed: Have you ever noticed that is the second epistle to the Corinthians that the same sins are not dealt with in the manner they were in the first epistle?
B. God would have us turn from sin confessed and turn to Him: 1 Thess 1:8-9 The turning to God from idols is repentance. God would not have us return to what hinders us in our walk with Him, not return to what hinders revival from taking place in our lives.
1. Don’t go back to the sin you confessed, allow God to cleanse you, repent: Too often we return to the very things we confessed.
a. Whatever it is in your life or mine that Satan used to hinder us Satan will bring up time and time again.
b. We confess, God forgives and cleanses, then we need true repentance, a true turning away.
2. I know there are sins that are besetting people here today because we are in the flesh, we do have an enemy that is walking about seeking whom he may devour: What we confess we need to turn away from.
a. How many times do we confess and then hold onto that sin?
(1) Jesus forgive my wasting time and not praying and not reading my Bible. And we do not pray and read as we should.
(2) Jesus please forgive the things I looked at on my cell phone. And then we look at them again.
(3) Jesus please forgive my bitterness. And then we remain bitter.
3. When there is no repentance Satan still has a hold upon us and there will be no revival: Confession it has been said is good for the soul. That is only true where there is repentance following and a turn away from sin.
4. What do you need to turn away from today?
C. To experience revival there needs to be repentance: 1 Cor 7:9-11
VI. To experience revival there needs to be surrender to God: Matt 10:39 No one wants to lose their life. Life is something we fight to hold unto. But the life that Jesus is talking about needs to be lost.
A. Far too many professing Christians live for this world: Matt 10:39 The one finding their life in this verse is living for this world. Did you know you can be saved and live for this world? Most professing Christians do just that. We prove that over and over again.
1. When there is a conflict between family and church which comes first? Many would rather offend God than family.
2. When the Word of God stands against what we want to do which comes first? Many ignore the Bible or change Bibles.
3. When a message convicts what do we do? Many get mad at the preacher and call him unloving and unkind.
4. When Bible standards do not agree with our standards what do we do? We claim the Bible to be outdated.
5. When we find our life we are really losing what life in Christ can be: Matt 10:39
B. But when we surrender all we find out what life can really be: Matt 10:39 And when we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ then He gives us a much, much better life. We may think we are giving much up but we are receiving much more. Consider these verses.
1. Mark 10:28-30 This my wife and I have experienced.
2. Luke 6:38 This my wife and I have experienced.
3. James 1:25 This my wife and I have experienced.
4. When we lose our life in Jesus Christ, when there is full surrender, we find out what life is really all about: Rev 4:11
C. How much of your life are you holding onto, what do you need to fully surrender? What are you losing and what can you find? There is no area of your life or mine that God can’t do a better job with than we can. Why not turn it over to Him, why not surrender?
1. God can do a better job with my marriage than I can:
2. God can do a better job with my children than I can:
3. God can do a better job with my finances than I can:
4. God can do a better job with this church than I can:
5. Why not surrender all when God can do a better job than I can?
D. To experience revival there needs to be surrender to God: Matt 10:39
VII. To experience revival there needs to be obedience: James 1:22-25 This speaks about obedience. What did Jesus say about obedience? “If you love me, keep my commandments.”
A. Many practice obedience in the way it is presented in these three verses: James 1:22-24 Hearing the Word and hearing only.
1. We don’t become doers of what we hear: James 1:23 We even agree with what we hear.
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2. But our opinion of self is so good we do not become a dorer: James 1:23-24 To self we are good enough.
3. We are deceiving ourselves: James 1:22 And as the Bible states in 1 John 1 we are lying to God.
4. But that is the way we often obey: That is not obedience at all. That is the father in Matthew telling his son to go and work in the field and the son saying he will go and never going out. That is not obedience at all.
5. God wants us to obey: James 1:25 And when we do obey God does bless.
B. We also need to obey in the right way: Eph 6:6-8 Obedience from the heart.
ILL. Often when I was in my youth I would obey my parents and hated doing it. What that true obedience?
1. God wants obedience from the heart: Eph 6:6
2. Jonah finally obeyed God, but was it true obedience? Jonah became bitter and it was not true obedience.
3. Paul also obeyed God: Acts 9:6 Eight words spoken by Paul from his heart made all the difference in his life. “ Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” It was true obedience.
4. We need to obey:
C. To experience revival there needs to be obedience: James 1:22-25
Conclusion
How many of us really want revival? Are we willing to set up and climb up the building blocks of revival?
I. To experience revival there needs to be a seeking after God: Ps 63:1-3 The first building block of revival is a true and genuine seeking after God. – Ps 63:1 – This coming from a man after the heart of God.
II. To experience revival there needs to be humility before God: James 4:6-10 Pride is one of the things Satan uses the most to keep the lost from getting saved and to keep the child of God from drawing close to God, to keep the child of God from seeking God. We need to seek God but we need to seek God in all humility.
III. To experience revival there needs to be a brokenness before God: Isa 57:15 To be contrite is to be broken. The Hebrew word means to be crushed into powder. It is more than being sorry before God for what we are not, or what we used to be, it is to be crushed before God and that brokenness comes when pride is put away. Humility is not enough, one needs to be broken before God.
IV. To experience revival there needs to be confession before God: 1 John 1:8-10 One needs to seek God, be humble before God, be broken before God, and one needs to confess before God. – 1 John 1:9 – As God answers the seeking heart, as pride is put away, as one is broken there will follow confession of sin before God. Sin in the life of the believer in Christ is what is dealt with here.
V. To experience revival there needs to be repentance: 1 Cor 7:9-11 Repentance is vital in salvation, repentance is also vital in having a walk in fellowship with God. Repentance means to turn away from something.
VI. To experience revival there needs to be surrender to God: Matt 10:39 No one wants to lose their life. Life is something we fight to hold unto. But the life that Jesus is talking about needs to be lost.
VII. To experience revival there needs to be obedience: James 1:22-25 This speaks about obedience. What did Jesus say about obedience? “If you love me, keep my commandments.”