Whisper Revival, Part 4

True Revival Takes Time and Effort

0:00 Speaker 1: The following is from the book Whisper Revival by Timothy Williams.

0:05 Speaker 1: The book Whisper Revival examines today's reality that if a religious event can be promoted as revival then it is not of God.

0:15 Speaker 1: We live in a time period of marketed, advertised and manipulated Christian events.

0:22 Speaker 1: Thus, to spot true revival, we must look for a whisper revival, as 1 Chronicles, 12, verse 32 instructs.

0:32 Speaker 1: We are to be wise like the men of Issachar who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.

0:39 Speaker 1: The Consider Podcast Examining Today's Wisdom, folly and Madness wwwconsiderinfo.

0:49 Speaker 1: 6.

0:55 Speaker 1: In the Midst of Revival Revival does not happen in a weekend or a day.

1:02 Speaker 1: Those in need of revival require years of repentance.

1:06 Speaker 1: If you have sinned to the point that you need revival, do not think for an instant that you will be built up and renewed in a weekend.

1:15 Speaker 1: It takes years to undo what stubbornness and sin destroyed over the years.

1:21 Speaker 1: There is only one way to know if revival takes hold of your life Look at the measure of denial of self you allow the Holy Spirit to increase in your life every day.

1:34 Speaker 1: In the following passage, notice that the Israelites were in the second year of revival.

1:40 Speaker 1: Certainly no weekend pumped-up event.

1:43 Speaker 1: Now, in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem.

1:48 Speaker 1: In the second month, zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Josedach, and the rest of their brothers, the priests and the Levites all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem began the work and appointed the Levites from twenty years and older to oversee the work of the house of the Lord.

2:10 Speaker 1: Ezra 3, verse 8.

2:14 Speaker 1: Revival calls for hard work and those appointed for the job must labor strongly and intensely.

2:21 Speaker 1: Revival does not stem from an emotional high that a revival preacher produces from a week-long preaching event at your church.

2:29 Speaker 1: Ezra 3, verse 8 shows us that revival or the work of the Lord didn't even begin until two years later.

2:38 Speaker 1: Revival also causes only the appointment of men worthy to work at repentance, whereas in the past the people would have appointed anyone and accepted any volunteer, men who were eighteen years old when the foundation for the altar was laid returned when twenty years old and were eligible for the appointed work For two years.

3:02 Speaker 1: These young men prepared themselves for this day by daily sacrificing unto the Lord.

3:10 Speaker 1: How many fail today at revival in their lives?

3:13 Speaker 1: God starts to answer their prayers to revive them.

3:17 Speaker 1: However, two years later he plans for the work to begin but discovers many returned to their old sins.

3:25 Speaker 1: They had not prepared themselves to get ready to do the work.

3:30 Speaker 1: While God was quiet, they squandered their time on petty sins and worldly thoughts.

3:37 Speaker 1: They grew bored and restless and went off in small ways to please themselves.

3:43 Speaker 1: But suppose the servant says to himself my master is taking a long time in coming.

3:50 Speaker 1: And then he begins to beat the men-servants and maid-servants and to eat and drink and get drunk.

3:57 Speaker 1: The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of.

4:04 Speaker 1: He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

4:09 Speaker 1: That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants, will be beaten with many blows.

4:19 Speaker 1: Luke 12, verses 45-47.

4:24 Speaker 1: Such people did not grow in death to self during those two years, but were content to indulge themselves in the Lord During the bleak times.

4:33 Speaker 1: They did not grow in the knowledge of Scriptures.

4:36 Speaker 1: They stayed too busy and had no desire to be renewed according to the Word.

4:41 Speaker 1: They read books about the Word rather than drinking pure spiritual milk.

4:47 Speaker 1: Such people become bored with Scripture and desire to be entertained by Christian novels, plays and cartoons.

4:55 Speaker 1: They wanted sermons that entertained rather than preached the Word.

5:00 Speaker 1: They did not get the temple ready.

5:03 Speaker 1: Make provision, practice their gift and get organized while in captivity.

5:09 Speaker 1: If you are in need of revival, then just ask yourself the following Do I know Scripture from ink more than when I first went into captivity?

5:19 Speaker 1: I say ink because the Spirit may not have been speaking to you, but you should have at least stood at your post memorizing Scripture.

5:29 Speaker 1: Those wandering in the desert should be able to quote Bible verses left and right, even though there is no life in them.

5:37 Speaker 1: If you haven't prepared yourself this way, why should God revive you?

5:41 Speaker 1: Why should God revive you?

5:48 Speaker 1: I am exceedingly afflicted.

5:49 Speaker 1: Revive me, o Lord, according to thy word.

5:50 Speaker 1: Psalm 119, verse 107.

5:52 Speaker 1: God only renews according to his word, and those who have continued to store it in their hearts will be far more ready for revival than those who have forgotten the Scriptures completely.

6:05 Speaker 1: As a side note, a church where the members do not quote Scriptures to each other on a daily basis desperately needs revival, for if there is one thing Christians should be rich in, it is quoting Scripture to each other by the direction of the Holy Spirit.

6:21 Speaker 1: Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

6:36 Speaker 1: Colossians 3, verse 16.

6:38 Speaker 1: Blessed are those who let revival do its work, for they will not only find an abundance of workers but will find men qualified to oversee the work of the cross in others' lives.

6:53 Speaker 1: Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers stood united with Cadmeal and his sons, the sons of Judah and the sons of Henedad with their sons and brothers, the Levites, to oversee the workmen in the temple of God.

7:09 Speaker 1: Ezra 3, verse 9.

7:11 Speaker 1: True revival allows men to stand united in the Lord.

7:17 Speaker 1: Such men can labor together and show others how to work, because each dies to his own opinions.

7:24 Speaker 1: Where you find revival-fire unity, you will find God giving life forevermore.

7:32 Speaker 1: It takes at least two years before one can ever really pronounce that revival by God's Spirit has taken hold in someone's life.

7:40 Speaker 1: If, after two years, they have humbled themselves, allowed God's Word to work, daily acts of sacrifice, then, and only then, can we speak of revival.

7:51 Speaker 1: Prior to this time, they had only been making right the obvious wrongs in their lives.

7:56 Speaker 1: Up until this point they lived the baptism of John that prepares the way for the Lord to come to them at a later date.

8:04 Speaker 1: Of John that prepares the way for the Lord to come to them at a later date.

8:06 Speaker 1: Let everyone just beginning to experience revival give themselves over fully to the baptism of John.

8:13 Speaker 1: Then they will be ready for Jesus to come to them.

8:22 Speaker 1: To reject this baptism of John is to forfeit Jesus when he comes to you later.

8:24 Speaker 1: But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves because they had not been baptized by John.

8:32 Speaker 1: Luke 7, verse 30.

8:36 Speaker 1: The baptism of John brings repentance in specific ways in our lives.

8:40 Speaker 1: Such a baptism asks what can we do so that Jesus can come to us with the Holy Spirit at a later time?

8:48 Speaker 1: A man who can order his life by asking what can I do will also ask the same question at Pentecost what shall we do?

8:58 Speaker 1: Those who ask this question and put forth real action will be given the Holy Spirit.

9:04 Speaker 1: Question and put forth real action will be given the Holy Spirit.

9:09 Speaker 1: Those who began in self-effort to follow the Lord will be shown its futility and will finally receive the Holy Spirit.

9:12 Speaker 1: People who whine that they do not want to act because they fear falling into self-effort, just give excuses for being wicked and lazy, Such individuals will be thrown outside into the darkness.

9:28 Speaker 1: In other words, until this time the Jews had only sacrificed the self they could easily reason with and discern.

9:36 Speaker 1: Up until this time, they repented only of what the preacher or prophets pointed out.

9:42 Speaker 1: Preacher or prophets pointed out the fire that only the Holy Spirit can bring had not taken place and wouldn't take place until the people were ready, like those at Pentecost.

9:53 Speaker 1: It would take three years of Jesus' preaching and Him dying on the cross to prepare believers for that day.

10:00 Speaker 1: Up until this time, their brokenness had been shallow compared to what God had planned.

10:07 Speaker 1: Until now it had only been the preaching of John the Baptist, but it soon would be the fire of the Holy Spirit.

10:15 Speaker 1: How many refuse the Spirit's work at this point?

10:18 Speaker 1: With self-righteous objections, they complain that they have already confessed their sins and cleaned up many things.

10:26 Speaker 1: They insist that they have already wept and admitted their need for revival.

10:32 Speaker 1: They forgot that revival, like crucifixion and childbirth, is a slow process until the last final moments.

10:40 Speaker 1: The Israelites prepared themselves over the years for the Lord, so God prepared to move in a stronger way.

10:48 Speaker 1: Remember God will only give us our food at the proper time.

10:54 Speaker 1: Luke 12, verse 42.

10:56 Speaker 1: So few have their sails set ready to catch the wind of the Lord when he begins to blow the Spirit again.

11:04 Speaker 1: How few have sails trimmed and ready even with no wind in sight.

11:09 Speaker 1: Very few people wait for the Lord, but instead row to shore to indulge in self once again.

11:16 Speaker 1: The entire book of Ezra covers eighty years and the waiting time between chapters 6 and 7 lasted 50 years.

11:27 Speaker 1: God will hold back His Holy Spirit, sometimes for years.

11:31 Speaker 1: Will we be found ready, sacrificing, working and waiting when he does decide to move again?

11:39 Speaker 1: Just look at what takes place after two years.

11:44 Speaker 1: The people had been obedient up to this point.

11:46 Speaker 1: They had proven themselves faithful enough for God to work more revival in their lives.

11:51 Speaker 1: They were dressed in the correct apparel or good deeds for this level.

11:56 Speaker 1: They returned to following God's word to praise the Lord according to the directions of King David, to praise the Lord according to the directions of King David.

12:06 Speaker 1: Now, when the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests stood in their apparel, with trumpets and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord according to the directions of King David of Israel, and they sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying For he is good, for his lovingkindness is upon Israel forever.

12:31 Speaker 1: And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid Ezra 3, verses 10-11.

12:44 Speaker 1: How many will miss the symbols praise and joy when revival does not come as quickly as they would like?

12:51 Speaker 1: The Israelites became faithless and lazy because God didn't move fast enough.

12:57 Speaker 1: How many said to themselves see, the prophets were wrong.

13:01 Speaker 1: God wasn't really with them Then sat back and smugly quit.

13:05 Speaker 1: It took two full years to get to a place where the foundation of the temple could be laid.

13:12 Speaker 1: It took that long for the obedience and spiritual purity to take place.

13:18 Speaker 1: Many find themselves running late when it comes to this matter called revival.

13:22 Speaker 1: They still do not get ready for the foundation of the church to be laid because they continue working on the foundation for sacrifice.

13:31 Speaker 1: They never get dressed and ready for service.

13:34 Speaker 1: They have no idea of God's direction for their lives.

13:38 Speaker 1: Even in the small things Indeed, what small things they do see they cannot be obedient to.

13:44 Speaker 1: In the Spirit, their hearts remain impure in motive and thought.

13:49 Speaker 1: They keep working on the issue of hating their own lives and denying self.

13:54 Speaker 1: Not only are they unprepared for the temple work, they continue as infants in the Lord crying for more milk.

14:03 Speaker 1: Those who still need milk in the Lord years later, never changed from mere babes and remain unfit to discuss righteousness in the Lord.

14:12 Speaker 1: Why do you think so many pastors preach primarily salvation messages at every worship service?

14:19 Speaker 1: Because their congregation loves milk and doesn't want to be required to do the righteous things of God, concerning him?

14:29 Speaker 1: We have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

14:35 Speaker 1: For, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food For everyone.

14:49 Speaker 1: Who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.

14:56 Speaker 1: Hebrews 5, verses 11-13.

Revival Through Sorrow and Joy

15:00 Speaker 1: Anyone who has been in the Lord for years and is not qualified to teach has some very serious problems.

15:07 Speaker 1: If, after all that time, they cannot teach others about the glories and the pain of the cross, then they are babes who may be sent into captivity.

15:17 Speaker 1: Hebrews 5, verse 12, declares that if you can't teach about the crucified life by the example of your life, then you are not acquainted with righteousness.

15:28 Speaker 1: You have little, if any, wisdom to deal with others' problems.

15:32 Speaker 1: You cannot speak of God powerfully working His wisdom in you that can perfect others in Christ.

15:40 Speaker 1: You are not familiar with what is holy in the Lord, no matter how much you share the gospel with others or speak of God working in your life.

15:51 Speaker 1: Again, let me remind you that even the book of Hebrews says that we must have God's permission before we can move on to other things in the Lord.

16:00 Speaker 1: We must have permission from God to verify that we have matured before moving on.

16:06 Speaker 1: A baby is not born in a week and you will not regain lost ground in a month.

16:12 Speaker 1: Before you claim to move on to anything else in the Lord, make sure you have God's permission and, god permitting, we will do so.

16:23 Speaker 1: Hebrews 6, verse 3.

16:25 Speaker 1: We must think of revival as permitted steps to renewal.

16:32 Speaker 1: God responds to your sinful backsliding and begins to bring you back from captivity, but not in your timing.

16:39 Speaker 1: You tell God you want restoration in Him, so he takes you at your word.

16:44 Speaker 1: Then, step by step, he leads.

16:45 Speaker 1: You want restoration in Him, so he takes you at your word, then, step by step, he leads you toward reconciliation with Him.

16:49 Speaker 1: You can refuse, however, and go on in the same stubbornness that sent you into captivity in the first place.

16:56 Speaker 1: So watch your heart and life Above all else.

17:09 Speaker 1: Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

17:10 Speaker 1: Proverbs 4, verse 23.

17:11 Speaker 1: 7.

17:14 Speaker 1: The Revival Cry.

17:18 Speaker 1: Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' households, the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people.

17:42 Speaker 1: For the people shouted with a loud shout and the sound was heard far away.

17:48 Speaker 1: Ezra 3, verses 12 to 13.

17:51 Speaker 1: What a cry.

17:52 Speaker 1: The heads of fathers' households wept, old men wept, while many others shouted for joy.

18:00 Speaker 1: What a strange cry or sound went far out into the land.

18:05 Speaker 1: No one could tell if the people were shouting for joy or weeping.

18:09 Speaker 1: Whoever heard this cry knew it wasn't entertainment taking place.

18:13 Speaker 1: The priest did not tell stories and crack jokes from the pulpit.

18:18 Speaker 1: There is no sound like that of a people in the midst of revival.

18:22 Speaker 1: It is an unearthly strange cry, not often heard.

18:26 Speaker 1: It is loud and prays just as Jesus prayed while on earth.

18:31 Speaker 1: Just as Jesus prayed and learned obedience from what he suffered, we, even in revival, can be reconciled to God in the same way.

18:40 Speaker 1: The passage below is the daily revival cry lived out in Jesus.

18:45 Speaker 1: If we live a daily revival cry like this, we will not need what is commonly referred to as revival.

18:53 Speaker 1: During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.

19:09 Speaker 1: Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.

19:14 Speaker 1: Learned obedience from what he suffered.

19:20 Speaker 1: Hebrews 5, verses 7 to 8.

19:21 Speaker 1: The next passage tells us the only way we too can overcome sin.

19:23 Speaker 1: As you suffer in your body, a revival cry will be heard by everyone, because God tries desperately to form Christ in you again.

19:31 Speaker 1: 1 Peter is straightforward.

19:34 Speaker 1: 1 Peter is straightforward.

19:41 Speaker 1: Only those prepared to suffer with this attitude will find victory over sin.

19:42 Speaker 1: Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.

19:52 Speaker 1: As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.

20:01 Speaker 1: 1 Peter 4, verses 1-2.

20:06 Speaker 1: This type of revival produces a sorrow and rejoicing that only the cross can work and magnify in intensity.

20:13 Speaker 1: It replicates the cry of Jesus as he nears the end of the crucifixion my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

20:23 Speaker 1: Yet this cry mixes with the cry of faith Into your hands, I commit my spirit.

20:30 Speaker 1: Every Christian should walk with this cry on his lips every day, but it intensifies during revival times, as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.

20:42 Speaker 1: 2 Corinthians 6, verse 10.

20:47 Speaker 1: This sorrow results from the cross working in each of us daily.

20:51 Speaker 1: The cry consists of the resurrected life that comes from death to self.

20:57 Speaker 1: We feel God's judgment of our sin and His mercy deep in our souls.

21:03 Speaker 1: No more self-pity that comes from conviction of sin.

21:07 Speaker 1: Gone too is the self-righteousness that refuses to weep over sin.

21:12 Speaker 1: If you do not hear this cry, you will not witness true revival.

21:17 Speaker 1: The rejoicing does not come from falsely claiming God's mercy, nor does it come from whining over sin.

21:24 Speaker 1: This cry happens in the Holy Spirit's timing and power.

21:29 Speaker 1: Man cannot produce it.

21:30 Speaker 1: Man can mock it, but he cannot produce it.

21:34 Speaker 1: This cry rejoices in God's mercy and weeps at what was lost because of sin.

21:40 Speaker 1: When man experiences false revival, he either wants joy or sorrow, but not both.

21:46 Speaker 1: He wants to rejoice about God's mercy, ignoring his sin and correction, or he wants to weep about his sins, without repentance in his life, boasting of his false humility.

22:00 Speaker 1: How few find weeping equal to rejoicing in the Lord.

22:04 Speaker 1: They clamor that those who weep are too hard on themselves.

22:08 Speaker 1: Those refusing this joyful sorrow say we should just claim the blood of Jesus and move on.

22:15 Speaker 1: However, to those in the Spirit, weeping is the sound of joy and the sound of joy is weeping.

22:23 Speaker 1: Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

22:27 Speaker 1: Luke 6, verse 21.

22:31 Speaker 1: Let us not be fooled at this point.

22:33 Speaker 1: Revival might have taken a foothold, but we are not yet reconciled fully to the Lord.

22:39 Speaker 1: Foothold revival is not full revival, just as the beginnings of childbirth does not mean the birth of a child.

22:47 Speaker 1: When someone finds revival, only the end of revival matters reconciliation with God.

22:55 Speaker 1: The end of matter is better than its beginning.

22:58 Speaker 1: Ecclesiastes 7, verse 8.

23:01 Speaker 1: Until we can, by the permission of the Holy Spirit, state that someone has been reconciled to God, we cannot say that revival did its work.

Challenges of True Revival and Repentance

23:12 Speaker 1: Why do you think God writes the following to Christians that we should be found at peace with Him?

23:18 Speaker 1: The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

23:30 Speaker 1: But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat and the earth and its works will be burned up.

23:42 Speaker 1: Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?

23:52 Speaker 1: So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him.

24:02 Speaker 1: 2 Peter 3, verses 9-11.

24:06 Speaker 1: Revival means that God renews His patience toward you and you renew every effort.

24:14 Speaker 1: He wants you to repent.

24:16 Speaker 1: He wants you to get back to 2 Peter 3, verse 11.

24:21 Speaker 1: So many stop revival fires by their unholy conduct and lack of godliness.

24:27 Speaker 1: They simply refuse to deny self enough to get to a place of reconciliation with God, of reconciliation with God, hard Work.

24:38 Speaker 1: We fall into the need for revival because we slowly let self and sin have its way with us.

24:44 Speaker 1: The little tolerations of the flesh send us into captivity.

24:48 Speaker 1: The small justifications and defensiveness concerning our sin send us into a foreign land.

24:55 Speaker 1: All of our self-righteous talk about conviction of sin and demanding righteousness only causes us to deceive ourselves.

25:05 Speaker 1: That tough sermon our pastor gave was really a dodge that kept us from taking sin seriously.

25:12 Speaker 1: As a result of this sin seriously as a result of this, revival becomes a slow process.

25:21 Speaker 1: If God gave us revival quickly and easily, we would again take for granted His love.

25:23 Speaker 1: We did that before he sent us into captivity and God will not permit it to happen again.

25:29 Speaker 1: The Lord delays revival so that we might take sin seriously and never allow ourselves to be taken captive again.

25:37 Speaker 1: Plus, in order to fix the shattered relationships and messes we created, it will take much work.

25:44 Speaker 1: This was true when we first came to the Lord and much more so after restoration.

25:51 Speaker 1: Revival, like salvation, is a difficult matter.

25:54 Speaker 1: Like salvation is a difficult matter.

25:56 Speaker 1: And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?

26:08 Speaker 1: 1 Peter 4, verse 18.

26:09 Speaker 1: Listen to the Lord and what he says about true revival, and never again will you fall prey to those who preach easy, wide-road revival.

26:16 Speaker 1: Pray to the Lord to delay His peace in your life that you might not ever return to folly again.

26:24 Speaker 1: Hear what God, the Lord, will say about His revival and His peace.

26:30 Speaker 1: If we do this, we will once again truly see His glory dwell in our land.

26:37 Speaker 1: I will hear what God, the Lord, will say, for he will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones, but let them not turn back to folly.

26:49 Speaker 1: Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him.

26:53 Speaker 1: That glory may dwell in our land.

26:57 Speaker 1: Psalm 85, verses 8 to 9.

27:01 Speaker 1: God makes us wait long and hard for revival so that we might not ever need it again.

27:07 Speaker 1: Remember the need for revival results from deep sin.

27:11 Speaker 1: I have never needed revival and pray that I never will.

27:15 Speaker 1: I have never needed revival and pray that I never will.

27:19 Speaker 1: I certainly have needed refreshing in the Lord, but never revival.

27:21 Speaker 1: We need refreshment when we have been emptied out in doing the Lord's work.

27:32 Speaker 1: Revival, on the other hand, comes from the need to revive the new life in us once again.

27:35 Speaker 1: Revival calls for slow, painful, agonizing hard work.

27:41 Speaker 1: Revival means the returning again to the pangs of childbirth.

27:43 Speaker 1: It allows God to put us back on the cross to once again drive in the nails and drain us of self.

27:50 Speaker 1: However, like one who has been hurt before as God attempted to crucify self the first time, it is harder at first to endure the pain again, like a wound that will not heal because we keep hurting the same spot over and over.

28:06 Speaker 1: It is as if a woman failed to give birth the first time, only to start all over again to give birth to the same child a second time.

28:16 Speaker 1: Start all over again to give birth to the same child a second time.

28:21 Speaker 1: My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth, until Christ is formed in you Galatians 4, verse 19.

28:28 Speaker 1: If revival happens in your life, you can expect moments of rest followed by a new resurgence of conviction of sin.

28:35 Speaker 1: During this conviction, god waits to see if you will repent with godly sorrow to what he has already shown you.

28:44 Speaker 1: Why should he show you more when you will not respond to the little bit placed before you?

28:50 Speaker 1: Why should you look for more sin when you haven't repented fully over the old sins?

28:56 Speaker 1: But how people love to delude themselves.

28:59 Speaker 1: They think that if they always look for the causes of sin in their life, God will accept them.

29:05 Speaker 1: He wants your repentance, not your self-analyzing Again.

29:11 Speaker 1: You will rest for a moment only to be convicted of some new sin.

29:16 Speaker 1: You must keep in step with the Spirit and repent fully or the new life will not form in you again.

29:23 Speaker 1: If you don't keep in step, the revival will fail in your life.

29:27 Speaker 1: You must place your feet in the footsteps that God marks out for you.

29:32 Speaker 1: Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

29:37 Speaker 1: Galatians 5, verse 25.

29:41 Speaker 1: God sends pain with revival because our flesh must be crucified.

29:46 Speaker 1: In fact, the joy of revival stops from time to time so that God can let you die a bit more to sin.

29:54 Speaker 1: Just think how self-righteous and puffed up you would become if God gave you the fullness of Him back all at once.

30:02 Speaker 1: Most people are too difficult to live with when they think they have a little bit of correctness in the Lord.

30:09 Speaker 1: Think what kind of monster they would be if God really gave them His Spirit.

30:16 Speaker 1: We see the pain of revival happening in the fourth chapter of Ezra.

30:19 Speaker 1: Opposition to the revival took place and the building of the temple stopped.

30:25 Speaker 1: God allows opposition to come against us to remind us we must deal with the sin in our lives.

30:33 Speaker 1: Much is at stake and God does not waste a second of any hour in the day If he has stopped the flow of progress in your revival, stop.

30:43 Speaker 1: Search your heart, wait for Him and repent of what he shows you.

30:48 Speaker 1: If you see no obvious sin, read the Word and build yourself up in the faith so that you might be ready for the next work.

30:56 Speaker 1: For if this revival does not take root and stick, you have little hope of salvation.

31:03 Speaker 1: But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.

31:11 Speaker 1: Jude 1, verse 20.

31:14 Speaker 1: Jude 1, verse 20.

31:21 Speaker 1: 8.

31:22 Speaker 1: Wanting to Help the Opposition Note well in Ezra 4, verses 1 to 3, that opposition first comes in the guise of help.

31:32 Speaker 1: Such enemies agree with the message of the cross but live a lie.

31:35 Speaker 1: Such enemies agree with the message of the cross but live a lie.

31:39 Speaker 1: They accept the notions about the crucified life but still live for self in the name of Jesus.

31:45 Speaker 1: These individuals have no clue as to their spiritual poverty and become your worst enemy once God shines the light on their true condition.

31:52 Speaker 1: These men claimed to want to only encourage revival, and many others who hate the cross will be glad to help you repent.

32:00 Speaker 1: Be cautious of the religious who try to compel you to come down off the cross in order to save self.

32:07 Speaker 1: There are many, and their voices are loud.

32:10 Speaker 1: Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying so you who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself.

32:25 Speaker 1: Mark 15, verses 29 to 30.

32:30 Speaker 1: There will be many false Christians who will want to help with the revival happening in your church, false Christians who will want to help with the revival happening in your church, ministry or life.

32:43 Speaker 1: They come with all the right-sounding words.

32:44 Speaker 1: They will talk of sacrifice and love for God's Word, but know nothing or little of the crucified life.

32:47 Speaker 1: Such types agree with everything about the gospel and even applaud correct doctrine, but know nothing of the crucified life doctrine.

32:55 Speaker 1: But know nothing of the crucified life.

32:56 Speaker 1: They will say For we, like you, seek your God.

32:59 Speaker 1: They approached Zerubbabel and the heads of father's households and said to them Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God and we have been sacrificing to him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, who brought us up here.

33:19 Speaker 1: Ezra 4, verse 2.

33:20 Speaker 1: Only those who know the cross of Christ in their lives will see through them and reject their offers.

33:28 Speaker 1: Remember, two thieves hung next to Jesus on the cross.

33:33 Speaker 1: Both cried for salvation, but only one asked for true redemption.

33:38 Speaker 1: The wicked thief wanted salvation from the cross, while the good thief embraced the crucified life.

33:46 Speaker 1: Of course, once you reject Satan or the world, these false Christians will turn on you.

33:51 Speaker 1: Remember, one sign of revival is the judging and rejecting of those who worship the Lord in name only.

33:59 Speaker 1: At this point, god tested the Israelite people to see if they had truly fallen in love with Him or only in love with revival.

34:08 Speaker 1: Those more in love with their cause, church or ministry will accept just about anyone's offer to help.

34:15 Speaker 1: Those truly in love with Jesus, however, love His righteousness more than the cause and unrighteous offers of help.

34:24 Speaker 1: Wait on the Lord to begin revival again.

34:27 Speaker 1: Don't become discouraged when he delays or lets the opposition have its way with you.

34:33 Speaker 1: God wants to make sure that when he pours out His Spirit fully at the end of revival, you are totally ready to let go of self.

34:42 Speaker 1: Then work on the house of God in Jerusalem ceased and it was stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia.

34:53 Speaker 1: Ezra 4, verse 24.

34:56 Speaker 1: When revival pauses, search your heart, build yourself up in the Word and look for unrepented sin in your life.

35:04 Speaker 1: Ask the Lord if you have stopped it or if this is just a pause before going on to the heights.

35:10 Speaker 1: Be assured that if you ask God in faith during these moments of trials, he will give you wisdom.

35:18 Speaker 1: Consider it all.

35:20 Speaker 1: Joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

35:28 Speaker 1: And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

35:35 Speaker 1: But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him, but let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

35:55 Speaker 1: James 1, verses 2-6.

36:00 Speaker 1: Waiting on God.

36:01 Speaker 1: We must learn to wait on the Lord for everything and let go of works done for God in self-effort.

36:09 Speaker 1: Revival brings the hard work of waiting upon God.

36:13 Speaker 1: Like Lazarus, though sick and dying, we must wait for Jesus to come to us.

36:19 Speaker 1: Although he loves us, christ must linger that we might be fully dead to ourselves.

36:25 Speaker 1: Now.

36:27 Speaker 1: Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

36:31 Speaker 1: When, therefore, he heard that he was sick, he stayed then two days longer in the place where he was.

36:38 Speaker 1: John 11, verses 5 to 6 Do not rush the work of revival.

36:45 Speaker 1: To do so brings self-will that tries to form God into what we want.

36:50 Speaker 1: Demanding revival only fashions it into an idol.

36:54 Speaker 1: Never force revival with human preaching and prayer, but, in humility, wait upon the Lord who works all good things in His time.

37:03 Speaker 1: After all, revival returns us to know that God is really God.

37:09 Speaker 1: Revival is not the returning of your peace, comfort or assurance of salvation.

37:16 Speaker 1: Rather, it is the returning of God in your life.

37:19 Speaker 1: Satan will give you peace, comfort and assurance if that is all you want.

37:25 Speaker 1: Revival drives you to enter the Sabbath rest of God, where you learn to wait upon Him for everything.

37:33 Speaker 1: Waiting on God is proven by the fact a man increases his obedience to the Word.

37:40 Speaker 1: After all, the acid test of a man's Christianity is his acceptance of the Scriptures that he doesn't like.

37:47 Speaker 1: It is proven by his obedience to the Scriptures he does not find comfortable.

37:53 Speaker 1: 9.

37:58 Speaker 1: Revival Resumed.

38:01 Speaker 1: Revival, or the rebuilding of God's temple, took over fifteen years.

38:07 Speaker 1: During that time of work and waiting, the Israelites searched their hearts and saw more sin in their lives.

38:14 Speaker 1: At the end, they finally arrived to a place where they would call sin sin.

38:20 Speaker 1: They knew not, with head knowledge, their unworthiness for God to be with them.

38:26 Speaker 1: The Lord had, however, over the years, worked His convincing power in them, but now, in His timing, with His permission, the people once again had to act on sheer faith to rebuild.

38:40 Speaker 1: The prophets encouraged the people to begin, for they, in true humility, did not feel worthy.

38:46 Speaker 1: Gone was the self-effort that seeks to lift oneself up in the Lord.

38:52 Speaker 1: Gone was the self-justification of why they should do the work of God.

38:57 Speaker 1: Instead, they became worms that could only by God's power do anything.

39:03 Speaker 1: The new life drew closer, but they still had to labor until God knew they were fully ready for him when the prophets, haggai the prophet, and Zechariah, the son of Ido, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel who was over them, then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Josedach, arose and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

39:40 Speaker 1: At that time, tatanai, the governor of the province beyond the river, and Shetharbozanai and their colleagues came to them and spoke to them thus who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?

39:56 Speaker 1: Then we told them accordingly what the names of the men were who were reconstructing this building.

40:03 Speaker 1: But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews and they did not stop them until a report should come to Darius and then a written reply be returned concerning it.

Movement Toward True Revival

40:16 Speaker 1: Ezra 5, verses 1-5.

40:18 Speaker 1: Ezra 5, verses 1-5.

40:20 Speaker 1: Did you notice God's eye in the passage above?

40:23 Speaker 1: Those eyes of God rested upon the elders and upon the leadership.

40:28 Speaker 1: Now he looked upon them with favor because the people were willing once again to listen to His teachers.

40:35 Speaker 1: God could now look upon them with favor because they did his work from a pure heart.

40:42 Speaker 1: The leaders were willing now to pay the cost of leadership and to stand up and to do the work and become men of courage.

40:50 Speaker 1: Although the enemy put them on the spot by asking for their names, they continued the work Even though men would say so.

40:59 Speaker 1: You support that church and their message of the cross.

41:02 Speaker 1: What is your name and what part do you have in that church?

41:06 Speaker 1: They remained unashamed to share in that suffering.

41:10 Speaker 1: Then we asked those elders and said to them thus who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?

41:19 Speaker 1: We also asked them their names so as to inform you and that we might write down the names of the men who were at their head.

41:28 Speaker 1: And thus they answered us, saying we are the servants of the God of heaven and earth and are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.

41:42 Speaker 1: But because our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.

41:57 Speaker 1: Ezra 5, verses 9-12.

41:59 Speaker 1: The people to Babylon Ezra 5, verses 9 to 12.

42:05 Speaker 1: A sign of revival happens when a person confesses sin in waves over several years and sees himself clearly.

42:08 Speaker 1: A person desiring revival greatly needs to repent and receive a lot of correction, much like a young Christian convicted of sin when first beginning to walk with the Lord.

42:19 Speaker 1: A church ministry or person who speaks of revival but doesn't have this type of lowliness lies how faithful the people remained in Ezra's time.

42:30 Speaker 1: Every time they had to stop, they confessed their sin and humbled themselves before men and God.

42:37 Speaker 1: Ezra 5, verse 12.

42:39 Speaker 1: Today, the vast sea of self-righteous Christians would say I already confessed that, so I know I am being blessed.

42:48 Speaker 1: I don't need your rebuke, correction or encouragement.

42:51 Speaker 1: The people of Ezra's time humbled themselves to their enemies Constantly.

42:57 Speaker 1: People today falsely build themselves up by filling themselves up with Christian music, radio novels and Bible study, rather than letting God crucify them unto death.

43:09 Speaker 1: You can often tell this in people by the fact they always seem so surprised they committed the same sin when confronted the next time they act, shocked that you would even come to them.

43:22 Speaker 1: Their cry is not a revival cry but whining.

43:26 Speaker 1: I thought I was doing better, or I am really trying.

43:30 Speaker 1: Of course this is after they have shared every excuse and reason under the sun for their sin the Surge.

43:40 Speaker 1: Since the Israelites had been faithful in God's true revival up to this point in responding to His leading in revival, god could surge ahead Like the final push a woman gives in childbirth.

43:53 Speaker 1: The Israelites completed the temple and the new life was ready for delivery.

43:58 Speaker 1: The crown of reward for their waiting upon God's revival was ready for placement on their heads.

44:05 Speaker 1: They had persevered over the years in this matter called revival, and soon the people would gather in the harvest of reconciliation.

44:14 Speaker 1: Without this perseverance, you will never gain the harvest from the fruit called revival.

44:21 Speaker 1: But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it and, by persevering, produce a crop.

44:32 Speaker 1: Luke 8, verse 15.

44:34 Speaker 1: The new life drew near to giving birth in the Israelites, and this time they treasured it and would not let go.

44:43 Speaker 1: They praised God for His mercy and wisdom.

44:46 Speaker 1: Now that they had labored and sacrificed so much, god could pour out His abundant provision.

44:54 Speaker 1: In Ezra 6, verse 4, we read that the cost of building the temple was paid out of the royal treasury, and with great speed they finished everything.

45:05 Speaker 1: All those long delaying years were made up for in months.

45:09 Speaker 1: All those months that seemed futile were overcome in an instant.

45:14 Speaker 1: How many among us would have fallen away long ago?

45:18 Speaker 1: The sacrifice and slow progress might have been too much, and in our hearts we actually stopped loving the Lord long ago.

45:27 Speaker 1: Blessed are those who labor, sacrifice and love God, even when there is no cause to do so.

45:34 Speaker 1: But now the people were ready and God moved very quickly, just like labor and birth.

45:40 Speaker 1: A woman feels that it takes forever to give birth, but the baby comes in a matter of moments.

45:47 Speaker 1: At the end of labor, as Ezra 6, verse 9 says, without delay, taxes were gathered and the work completed.

45:55 Speaker 1: Do you see the irony?

45:58 Speaker 1: The taxes that had been a source of burden and enslavement now paid for their freedom.

46:03 Speaker 1: The discipline had become a source of joy and renewal.

46:07 Speaker 1: Likewise, those who had fallen away from the Lord or perished in the Lord had for years paid the necessary taxes for the revival to come.

46:17 Speaker 1: Everything at the end began to come together for the good, for God can use captivity by false churches for our good.

46:27 Speaker 1: He can work good now, even when in the past we felt content to fellowship with those who loved whitewash more than holiness.

46:37 Speaker 1: If we will repent, the opposition who had for so long hindered and stopped the work had to pay for the work's completion.

46:46 Speaker 1: Ezra 6, verses 7-10.

46:48 Speaker 1: The opposition that had for so long tormented the workers and taunted them now were threatened with punishment Ezra 6, verse 11.

46:57 Speaker 1: A punishment like the cross, where the offender would be impaled on his house if he got in the way.

47:04 Speaker 1: The cross, which brought life, would become death to the troublemaker.

47:09 Speaker 1: Those who gossiped about the Israelites' sin and shame would be threatened with the power of the cross that overcomes the wicked.

47:17 Speaker 1: God defended the Israelites and moved with an even quicker pace to bless them with full reconciliation, because they had proven themselves faithful.

47:27 Speaker 1: As Ezra 6, verse 12, says, it was done with all diligence.

47:34 Speaker 1: Then King Darius issued a decree and a search was made in the archives where the treasures were stored in Babylon and in Ecbatana, in the fortress which is in the province of Medea.

47:46 Speaker 1: A scroll was found and there was written in it as follows Memorandum In the first year of King Cyrus Cyrus, the king issued a decree Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem.

48:01 Speaker 1: Let the temple, the place where the sacrifices are offered, be rebuilt and let its foundations be retained, its height being sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, with three layers of huge stones and one layer of timbers, and let the cost be paid from the royal treasury.

48:22 Speaker 1: Ezra 6, verses 1-4.

48:25 Speaker 1: Those who steal the promises of God and His provisions from you will discover, to their dismay, that they have only been guarding them for you.

48:35 Speaker 1: Blessed are those who can wait on God when others steal their promises or discourage them.

48:42 Speaker 1: Repent and the treasure will return to you.

48:45 Speaker 1: And also let the gold and silver utensils of the temple of God which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be returned and brought to their places in the temple in Jerusalem, and you shall put them in the house of God.

49:04 Speaker 1: Now, therefore, tatanai, governor of the province beyond the river, shethar Bozanai, and your colleagues, the officials of the provinces beyond the river, keep away from there.

49:17 Speaker 1: Leave this work on the house of God alone.

49:20 Speaker 1: Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site.

49:27 Speaker 1: Moreover, I issue a decree concerning what you are to do for these elders of Judah in the rebuilding of this house of God.

49:36 Speaker 1: The full cost is to be paid to these people from the royal treasury, out of the taxes of the provinces beyond the river, and that without delay.

49:46 Speaker 1: Ezra 6, verses 5 to 8.

49:51 Speaker 1: The priest could now demand anything needed for acceptable sacrifices to the Lord from anyone that they received opposition in the past.

50:00 Speaker 1: As we are promised in the New Testament, if we obey God, asking according to His will, he will hear and answer.

50:09 Speaker 1: During captivity, no prayers were answered, but now all they had to do was ask.

50:15 Speaker 1: Finally, the promise of Jesus was theirs fail that they may offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons, ezra.

50:43 Speaker 1: 6, verses 9 to 10.

50:46 Speaker 1: God once again made known the power of the cross.

50:50 Speaker 1: Let all who get in the way of it be impaled on it, destroying their religious house and all it stands for.

50:57 Speaker 1: To us who are being saved, the cross is power.

51:01 Speaker 1: For those who get in the way, they will be crushed.

51:05 Speaker 1: And I issued a decree that any man who violates this edict, a timber shall be drawn from his house and he shall be impaled on it and his house shall be made a refuse heap on account of this, and may the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who attempts to change it so as to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem.

51:30 Speaker 1: I, darius, have issued this decree.

51:33 Speaker 1: Let it be carried out with all diligence.

51:36 Speaker 1: Then Tatanai, the governor of this province beyond the river Shethar-bozanai, and their colleagues carried out the decree with all diligence, just as King Darius had sent, and the elders of the Jews were successful in building through the prophesying of Haggai, the prophet, and Zechariah, the son of Edo, and they finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decree of Cyrus, darius and Artaxerxes, king of Persia, and this temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar.

52:13 Speaker 1: It was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius Ezra.

52:17 Speaker 1: 6, verses 11-15.

52:19 Speaker 1: This revival of the temple was completed according to the command of God.

52:26 Speaker 1: Only when God says revival is complete can people speak of having had a revival in their life or church.

52:33 Speaker 1: The people finally listened to the prophets and preachers and were willing to walk in joyful obedience to all that God required of them.

52:43 Speaker 1: They submitted to God's discipline and he rewarded in full.

52:47 Speaker 1: The temple was ready and the last blowing wind of revival came with a mighty rush.

52:54 Speaker 1: They would receive the Passover lamb anew in their lives.

52:57 Speaker 1: Let us not dare take the Lord's Supper during revival until we too have permission from God.

53:04 Speaker 1: Let us purify ourselves and let it be said of us that all of them were pure before we partake of the Passover lamb again.

53:13 Speaker 1: If a church has let the revival fires do their work, then they shall have a whole group of men, pure, unified and ready for service.

53:24 Speaker 1: Blessed is such a church.

53:26 Speaker 1: And the exiles observed the Passover on the fourteenth of the first month, for the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together.

53:36 Speaker 1: All of them were pure.

53:38 Speaker 1: Then they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, both for their brothers, the priests, and for themselves.

53:47 Speaker 1: Ezra 6, verses 19 to 20.

53:49 Speaker 1: As we would expect, in Ezra 6, verse 21, we read of even more repentance.

53:56 Speaker 1: Revival caused encouragement and more conviction of sin.

54:00 Speaker 1: This is God's way rest and then repentance, some more rest and then more repentance until revival finishes its lasting work.

54:10 Speaker 1: For thus the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, has said In repentance and rest you shall be saved.

54:18 Speaker 1: In quietness and trust is your strength.

54:21 Speaker 1: But you were not willing.

54:23 Speaker 1: Isaiah 30, verse 15.

54:27 Speaker 1: Don't be fooled by revival that inspires for the moment and then stops.

54:32 Speaker 1: If you need revival, it will take some time to finish its way in you.

54:36 Speaker 1: You will feel encouraged and then discouraged.

54:40 Speaker 1: God doesn't want you to return to your sin, so you must take things slowly in this matter called revival.

54:46 Speaker 1: Don't rush to get out from under the weight of God's conviction, though you may be under this weight for years.

54:53 Speaker 1: If you continue to hang on the cross, god will give you a resurrected life.

54:58 Speaker 1: Take in the joy the Lord wants you to have, but know that repentance and sorrow await you around the corner.

55:06 Speaker 1: Only those who purify themselves in this kind of godly revival will find reconciliation with God.

55:13 Speaker 1: All others will fall by the wayside and go straight to hell.

55:18 Speaker 1: After death, and the sons of Israel who returned from exile and all those who had separated themselves from the impurity of the nations of the land to join them to seek the Lord, god of Israel, ate the Passover, and they observed the feast of the unleavened bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had caused them to rejoice and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to encourage them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

55:51 Speaker 1: Ezra 6, verses 21-22.

55:54 Speaker 1: Do you see how the Israelites separated themselves from the impurity of the world?

56:01 Speaker 1: Do you see how seven days of joy followed their obedience?

56:05 Speaker 1: A joy caused by God, not the joy we see in the church today that comes from self-imposed revival worship.

56:13 Speaker 1: This separation is pure religion.

56:17 Speaker 1: In God's sight, joy without obedience is nothing more than golden calf worship.

56:23 Speaker 1: In the name of the Lord, these people had now tasted the true festival of the Lord that we, as New Testament Christians, have the privilege to continue.

56:33 Speaker 1: This festival of joy judges and disfellowships others who refuse to honestly repent of sin.

56:41 Speaker 1: It is a love for all people that demands holy behavior from the heart in the Lord.

56:47 Speaker 1: This command brings joy to those who love the Lord.

56:52 Speaker 1: It celebrates the highest and holiest order in God Clean out the old leaven that you may be a new lump.

57:03 Speaker 1: Just as you are in fact unleavened For Christ, our Passover also has been sacrificed.

57:11 Speaker 1: Let us therefore celebrate the feast not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Revival Requires Fear and Humility

57:23 Speaker 1: I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people.

57:27 Speaker 1: I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world or with the covetous and swindlers or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.

57:39 Speaker 1: But actually I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother, if he should be an immoral person or a covetous or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or a swindler, not even to eat with such a one.

57:56 Speaker 1: For what have I to do with judging outsiders?

57:59 Speaker 1: Do you not judge those who are within the church but those who are outside?

58:04 Speaker 1: God judges.

58:06 Speaker 1: Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.

58:09 Speaker 1: 1 Corinthians 5, verses 7-13.

58:14 Speaker 1: Until we want our hearts purified so that our love becomes sincere and based on His truth, we can never expect God to work revival in our lives Until we too decide to separate ourselves from worldly Christians and from unclean things in the world.

58:33 Speaker 1: We will never find this celebration a joy.

58:36 Speaker 1: Until we judge our brothers who refuse to repent of sin, we cannot expect God to meet us for fellowship.

58:43 Speaker 1: If you or your church experience true revival, then God's Spirit should lead you not to eat lunch with certain Christians.

58:53 Speaker 1: If this does not happen, don't even dare take the word revival on your lips.

58:59 Speaker 1: Little wonder the Israelites celebrated the Passover with the joy God gave them, for they obeyed from the heart God's Favor, the People's Humility.

59:11 Speaker 1: Revival robs us of our self-confidence.

59:15 Speaker 1: When God showed the Israelites kindness Ezra 7, verses 1 to 28, they no longer took Him for granted.

59:23 Speaker 1: Revival works a deep-seated fear in us not to sin again, and it shows in one's life.

59:31 Speaker 1: It works a quietness that the emotional revivalist knows nothing about.

59:38 Speaker 1: As God continued to move forward to the day of reconciliation for the Israelites, he sought leaders.

59:44 Speaker 1: For over the years each man stayed at his home quietly repenting, reading the scriptures and preparing himself for the work of the Lord.

59:54 Speaker 1: Then Ezra, in God's timing, moved out across the land to find men worthy for leadership.

1:00:02 Speaker 1: Ezra 8, verses 1 to 20.

1:00:04 Speaker 1: What was amazing and this makes revival amazing Ezra found men ready for leadership.

1:00:11 Speaker 1: How we need true revival today, for it is a rare thing indeed to find leaders who know the way of the cross.

1:00:19 Speaker 1: We have an abundance of so-called teachers around, but very few qualified in the way of the crucified life.

1:00:27 Speaker 1: How humble the Israelite leaders were in the midst of a true, godly revival, unlike today, where revival means the sin of arrogance.

1:00:38 Speaker 1: In the name of the Lord, today's revival makes fun of the devil and gains a few more members.

1:00:44 Speaker 1: For the church, today's revival is nothing more than fun, frolicking and revelry.

1:00:51 Speaker 1: The Israelite worshippers felt humbled and allowed God to continue humbling them even more.

1:00:56 Speaker 1: As a result, they fasted to ensure that God would complete his revival.

1:01:02 Speaker 1: They needed God's protection on their journey through revival and knew that his anger could flare in a moment.

1:01:09 Speaker 1: Let us take warning that the closer we get to the end of revival, the greater the danger it might stop.

1:01:15 Speaker 1: Indeed, satan had little reason to bother with you until you started to walk in God's revival.

1:01:22 Speaker 1: Therefore, don't be shocked when, just at the point of birth, satan rises up to try to halt everything.

1:01:30 Speaker 1: Satan does not want God glorified or you reconciled, stopped by the enemy, by the world or by old stubborn ways.

1:01:41 Speaker 1: The Israelites had learned that God's love remains with those who seek Him only with all their hearts.

1:01:48 Speaker 1: God only gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him by way of denying self.

1:01:54 Speaker 1: So that is exactly what they did.

1:01:57 Speaker 1: They sought God.

1:01:59 Speaker 1: Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from him a safe journey for us, our little ones and all our possessions.

1:02:13 Speaker 1: For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way.

1:02:17 Speaker 1: Because we had said to the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way.

1:02:20 Speaker 1: Because we had said to the king the hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek him, but his power and his anger are against all those who forsake him.

1:02:32 Speaker 1: So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and he listened to our entreaty.

1:02:39 Speaker 1: Ezra 8, verses 21-23.

1:02:43 Speaker 1: No wonder that God listened to their entreaty.

1:02:47 Speaker 1: They feared and loved the Lord in a new way they could never have imagined.

1:02:52 Speaker 1: Revival renews our fear and trust in the Lord.

1:02:56 Speaker 1: A revival that does not produce.

1:02:58 Speaker 1: This certainly does not come from God.

1:03:01 Speaker 1: So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

1:03:14 Speaker 1: It continued to increase Acts 9, verse 31.

1:03:19 Speaker 1: The first church went on in the fear of the Lord.

1:03:24 Speaker 1: If you desire to be revived again in the Lord, this must happen in your life.

1:03:29 Speaker 1: Blessed are those who know this, for God will listen to their entreaty and bless their journey to the place of reconciliation.

1:03:37 Speaker 1: God will bless the church that lives in the fear of the Lord.

1:03:41 Speaker 1: They will never need revival.

1:03:45 Speaker 1: Look closely at Ezra 8, verse 22, and see what they felt ashamed of and what they used to rely upon.

1:03:52 Speaker 1: Revival causes us to reject the help of man.

1:03:56 Speaker 1: Those experiencing revival in the Lord no longer look for sympathy from the world.

1:04:01 Speaker 1: The Israelites stopped whining to others around them about their captivity and how heavy the cross weighed in their lives.

1:04:09 Speaker 1: Indeed, they felt ashamed at how much in the past they relied upon self-help books, sermons flattering brothers and sisters and the many preachers who reassured them they were okay in the Lord.

1:04:23 Speaker 1: They poured contempt on their declarations of innocence and reliance on others for encouragement.

1:04:29 Speaker 1: They finally admitted their sin and stopped trying to change their own lives and ways.

1:04:36 Speaker 1: They stopped listening to those bold pastors who made light of sin.

1:04:41 Speaker 1: You say I am innocent.

1:04:44 Speaker 1: He is not angry with me.

1:04:46 Speaker 1: But I will pass judgment on you because you say I have not sinned.

1:04:51 Speaker 1: Why do you go about so much changing your ways?

1:04:55 Speaker 1: You will be disappointed by Egypt, as you were by Assyria.

1:05:00 Speaker 1: Jeremiah 2, verses 35-36.

1:05:06 Speaker 1: O the arrogance of those in the church today who remain in sinful rest and at peace with God, that they can no longer detect sin.

1:05:16 Speaker 1: Why should they confess sin again and pray for protection with fasting?

1:05:20 Speaker 1: God had blessed them and started revival in their lives long ago.

1:05:25 Speaker 1: Those with this attitude forfeit the revival that could have been theirs all because they have no fear about coming before the Lord or calling upon the salvation of the Lord.

1:05:37 Speaker 1: So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

1:05:51 Speaker 1: Philippians 2, verse 12 the Day of Reconciliation with God.

1:06:01 Speaker 1: The work of revival in Israel drew near to completion and the fruit of revival was ready for harvesting.

1:06:07 Speaker 1: The baby was about to be delivered.

1:06:09 Speaker 1: The people looked forward to getting on with the normal everyday walk with God.

1:06:15 Speaker 1: The new life drew near to give birth in them.

1:06:18 Speaker 1: They were ready to get in a place before the Lord where revival would never be needed again.

1:06:24 Speaker 1: God prepared to tell them they were fully restored and could walk in confidence again with Him.

1:06:31 Speaker 1: Sweet fellowship with God would once again be theirs.

1:06:36 Speaker 1: The Israelites had waited a long time for this day.

1:06:39 Speaker 1: They submitted and learned to shut up and listen to the Lord and His teachers.

1:06:44 Speaker 1: They came to know how worthless they stood before God.

1:06:49 Speaker 1: If you return to the Lord and need to be revived, you will find no quick fix.

1:06:56 Speaker 1: You have much to undo by the Lord's direction, in His way and in His timing, as we shall see, the people came to learn that those who sinned to the point that they need revival know this cannot happen in a day.

1:07:11 Speaker 1: Yet today, how many ignore their sins, telling themselves and others that they have already confessed to God?

1:07:19 Speaker 1: How many Christians think they are doing good in the Lord because they flatter the prophet of God saying you are right about my sin, as if agreement constitutes holiness?

1:07:32 Speaker 1: Listen, everyone in hell agrees about their sin.

1:07:35 Speaker 1: Certainly those in hell are clear on that matter.

True Revival Requires Obedience and Repentance

1:07:40 Speaker 1: To agree with the Scriptures or about a sin in your life means nothing unless repentance matches your words.

1:07:47 Speaker 1: Without the cross, such sermons are no more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice.

1:07:54 Speaker 1: They make you feel righteous but leave self intact.

1:07:58 Speaker 1: As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other Come and hear the message that has come from the Lord.

1:08:12 Speaker 1: My people come to you as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice.

1:08:21 Speaker 1: With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain.

1:08:27 Speaker 1: Indeed to them, you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument.

1:08:34 Speaker 1: Well, for they hear your words, but do not put them into practice.

1:08:40 Speaker 1: Ezekiel 33, verses 30-32.

1:08:43 Speaker 1: Everything was in place.

1:08:46 Speaker 1: The Israelites stood in their proper position and role in the Lord, with their hearts prepared and waiting.

1:08:53 Speaker 1: Souls were fearful and rejoicing, god's house had all its provisions and the temple was complete.

1:09:00 Speaker 1: The years had done their work and the people waited for God to act.

1:09:06 Speaker 1: If you will not respond and obey.

1:09:08 Speaker 1: For, remember, god only gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him.

1:09:12 Speaker 1: Then don't dare expect revival.

1:09:15 Speaker 1: We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.

1:09:23 Speaker 1: Yet there was one final blow of conviction and repentance before reconciliation could take place.

1:09:32 Speaker 1: Just as women must give one final push for the baby to be delivered, don't be surprised if, at the end of the journey, you discover one last big thing that needs repentance.

1:09:45 Speaker 1: Yet how many quickly say I am fine in the Lord at the first sign of God's moving.

1:09:52 Speaker 1: How they use small conviction to justify the hiding of other sin.

1:09:57 Speaker 1: How quickly they justify their actions when someone corrects them when they first return to the Lord or he works a little peace.

1:10:06 Speaker 1: When they do this, they lay themselves wide open for captivity again or, even worse, hell.