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Do We Need A Revival?. “O LORD, revive thy work”. Habakkuk 3:2. “Wilt thou not revive us again”. Ps. 85:6.
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“O LORD, revive thy work” Habakkuk 3:2
“Wilt thou not revive us again” Ps. 85:6
“to activate, set in motion, or take up again; renew; to restore to life or consciousness: to return to life, consciousness, vigor, strength, or a flourishing condition.” Dictionary.com Revive
“To raise from languor, depression, or discouragement…to recover from a state of neglect or disuse; to restore; re-establish” Webster Revive
Renewed “interest in religion, after indifference and decline; a period of religious awakening” Webster Revival
Do we need to be revived spiritually? We must ever be on guard lest we become lukewarm and indifferent in the Lord’s work The Question Is -
“Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” NKJV 1 Cor. 10:12
1. Are we discouraged like Elijah? 1 Kings 19:10 “…and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” I. We Need A Revival If We Are Discouraged
1 Kings 19:18 “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.” I. We Need A Revival If We Are Discouraged
“It is said that a young preacher prayed in the pulpit one Lord’s Day: ‘Lord, start a revival in this church, and Lord, let it begin with its preacher.’” Right Attitude – Gus Nichols I. We Need A Revival If We Are Discouraged
If the work of the church is slowing and dragging, we need a revival If your work for the Lord has slowed and lagged, you need a revival II. We Need A Revival If We Are Dragging
Have we reached a plateau and slowed down in our work of the Lord? Illustration – Weight loss plateau II. We Need A Revival If We Are Dragging
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Cor. 15:58
Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work NKJV Titus 3:1
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Mt. 5:16
Apostasy usually begins with small steps Desert = “To forsake someone or something that one ought not to leave” – Webster’s New World Dictionary, 1972 III. We Need A Revival If We Are Deserting
Some Warnings Signs That We May Be Drifting From God: III. We Need A Revival If We Are Deserting
1. Permitting evil and wickedness to increase in our lives 1 Th. 5:14 “Warn the unruly” Unruly = disorderly; out of step Some Warnings Signs That We May Be Drifting From God:
2. Allowing our zeal – enthusiasm to decrease and grow cold 3. If you heart has desires to follow the magnetic pull of the world – if the evil of the world is pulling at your heartstrings Some Warnings Signs That We May Be Drifting From God:
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Js. 4:4
Friend of the world = One whose main interests are with the world; God takes second place at best in their lives Js. 4:4
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Col. 3:1-2
4. If you are unconsciously drifting farther and farther away from God, duty and right Some Warnings Signs That We May Be Drifting From God:
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; Heb. 2:3
5. If you are finding more and more pleasure in sinful things – things questionable 6. If you are becoming more and more impatient with others, with the church, and its work Some Warnings Signs That We May Be Drifting From God:
If you find more pleasure in criticizing than in prayer Some Warnings Signs That We May Be Drifting From God:
The danger is that in losing our zeal for serving God we become lukewarm – a state that is disgusting to God IV. The Great Danger
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. [16] So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Rev. 3:15-19
[17] Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: Rev. 3:15-19
[18] I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; Rev. 3:15-19
and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. [19] As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Rev. 3:15-19
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. We need to warm up so as to recognize our spiritual needs! Mt. 24:12-13
Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Jer. 23:29
The heart of this lesson was taken from two outlines by Gus Nichols References