1
HOW TO HAVE A GOOD REVIVAL
James 4:7-10 (King James Version)
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
- INTRODUCTION: Every person in this church will not experience revival
- It would almost seem an impossibility to expect each of us to experience revival
- The only way this could take place is for each of us individually to take care of our part of the revival
- I'm going to take care of my part of it.
I. SUBMIT TO GOD Vs. 7.
q 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
q "To give over to"
q Everyone submits to something or to someone.
q Every person in this room right now is submitted to something.
II. RESIST THE DEVIL Vs. 7.
q 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
q Do you know why Christians have so much trouble with the devil?
o WE do not resist him
q What happens when we resist the devil?
o He leaves for awhile.
III. DRAW NIGH TO GOD Vs. 8.
q James 4:8 (King James Version)
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
q God hasn't moved.
o He is still in the same place He always has been.
q This is an agreement between God and me. If I will draw closer to Him, He will draw closer to me.
o If you will move toward God He will move that same distance toward you and you will get double benefits in the move
o If I take one step toward God, He will take one step closer to me.
q You are as close to God as you want to be. If you wanted to be closer to Him, you would be.
IV. CLEANSE YOUR HANDS Vs. 8.
q James 4:8 (King James Version)
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
V. PURIFY YOUR HEARTS Vs. 8.
q James 4:8 (King James Version)
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
q Be sure your motives are correct. Double mindedness will defeat revival.
VI. BE AFFLICTED, MOURN, AND WEEP Vs 9.
q James 4:9 (King James Version)
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
q Psalms 126:5-6 (King James Version)
5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
VII. HUMBLE YOURSELVES Vs. 8.
q James 4:8 (King James Version)
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
q The Coast Guard -
o A large ship was floating aimlessly in the waters in the Arctic. Every passenger was frozen solid. The Coast Guard examined the ship and found the Log Book.
o Upon examining it they found that the last entry in the Log Book has been made 13 years earlier.
o That ship had been floating around in the Arctic for 13 years with a frozen crew.
q How many church MEMBERS are there like that?
q Are we at Beth Haven going to allow that happen to us
q Are we going to continue to float around in circles and not go after THE BLESSINGS OF GOD
- Three things preventing church revival.
o Many do not expect anything different to happen
§ Be honest
§ Check your mind right now
§ Do you really expect anything to happen during our revival
§ If something does happen will you be part of it
§ Music and preaching, pack the pew, and all of the things we do at revivals
- Many do not understand what is happening
o They don't know what revival really is
o IT A REFRESHING ZEAL IN EXPERIENCING GODS PRESENTS
- Many do not care whether anything happens or not
o Surely there is no one here like that.
- I want revival
o I want God to take over my life
o I'm tired of the status quo.
o I get so hungry for God's power on us
- Is there someone, maybe two, maybe three, perhaps four or five, who will say,
o "I'll Submit To God”.
o "I'll Resist The Devil."
o "I'll Draw Nigh To God - In Prayer - In Reading The Bible - In Witnessing."
o "I'll Cleanse My Hands."
o "I'll Purify My Heart."
o "I’LL BE AFFECTED I'll Get A Burden For The Souls Of Sinners."
o "I'll Humble Myself - Die To Self."