[0:00] Please open your Bibles and join me in Psalm 85. I pray that you still believe in a hill called Mount Calvary. Thank you, Brother Chris, for singing that, for clinging to the cross.
[0:10] Psalm chapter number 85, we don't know exactly when the psalm was written, but as we read, you're going to see that it's apparent that the psalmist desires to be restored to a former time in God's blessings when they were poured out in abundance.
[0:24] We're going to see a longing for that. Psalm 85, verse 1. Lord, thou hast been favorable unto the land. Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. I want you to look for three things as I read through this.
[0:38] That revival is only brought by God. That hearing God speak will be central in His reviving in our lives. And number three, that revival will result in rejoicing. Brother Clower spoke about that, that God speaks.
[0:50] That's central to everything that we believe as a Christian. That's everything central to our reviving in our lives. Verse 2. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of Thy people. Thou hast covered all their sin.
[1:01] Selah. Thou hast taken away all Thy wrath. Thou hast turned Thyself from the fierceness of Thine anger. Turn us, O God, of our salvation, and cause Thine anger toward us to cease. Wilt Thou be angry with us forever?
[1:12] Wilt Thou draw out Thine anger to all generations? Wilt Thou not revive us again, that Thy people may rejoice in Thee? Show us Thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us Thy salvation. I will hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace unto His people and to His saints.
[1:27] But let them not turn again to folly. Surely His salvation is Thine to them that fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
[1:40] Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good, and our land shall yield her increase. Righteousness shall go before Him, and shall set us in the way of His steps.
[1:54] Heavenly Father, Lord, as we meet this moment in Your Word, Lord, I pray that Psalm 85 will have its desired effect in the hearts of its hearers, Lord. That room will be made in our hearts to apply the Scriptures in a way that would be honoring to You.
[2:08] Lord, I pray that You would do a reviving work among us. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. So it said certainly in Psalm chapter 85, as I read it, and we'll walk through the passage together, but you could see Him talking about a time in the past that He would want to be restored to.
[2:24] And we call that a revival. You probably have used that terminology. I pray that you've experienced it on a personal level, and maybe you've experienced it with a group of other people, and as a church.
[2:34] If there's ever been a time in your life that you would go back to and say, there was this time that I was closer, that I clung to that old rugged cross more, I pray that today you would return to it immediately. Do not put it off, do not put yourself in 10 steps to get to it, but immediately want to return to that.
[2:50] Just like the prodigal says, where I'm at right now is not the best place that I could be in. I could be in my Father's house. Why would I want to be here when I could be there?
[3:00] And I would say that if there's a time in your life where you'd recognize that God was closer, you were closer to God, that God was doing something in your heart, I pray that you would go to that. And then when you get to that, say, God, I want to get even closer to you from the position that I'm in right now because he's so available to us.
[3:17] And so we often refer to it as revival, something you probably read about and prayed about. Vance Hadner, somebody I'd like to read after, said, the greatest need of America is an old-fashioned, heaven-born, God-sent revival.
[3:29] Throughout the history of the church, when clouds have hung lowest, when sin has seemed blackest and faith has been weakest, there have always been a faithful few who have not sold out to the devil, nor bowed beneath the bell, who have not sold out to the devil, bowed beneath the bell, or who have feared the Lord and thought upon His name, and have not forsaken the assembling of themselves together.
[3:48] These have sought the Lord to revive His work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the fears and tears and in His wrath to remember mercy. God has always answered such supplication, filling each heart with love, rekindling each soul with fire from above.
[4:04] I pray that we would be part of that small remnant that has always said, God, we want revival among us. You know, I believe that there's a real danger about talking about revival too much, and that may sound odd that I would say that.
[4:17] It seems like something we speak about often. But the fear about speaking about revival too much is that we create it as something mystical and something that's not obtainable and something that we're never going to have.
[4:28] And so we begin talking about the Christian life as something that isn't outlined for us in God's Word, as if God's calling us to Him, but He's not giving us any clear answer. Like, God is the author of confusion.
[4:40] So we can talk about it in a mystical sense that it's not available to us. Tyler Chandler was at my house, and he was talking about a book he's been reading about Calvary Road.
[4:50] And I've shared with you before, as I was a teenager, in my car, thinking, God, there's nothing big going on in my life. I'm not dealing with the things that I'll deal with later. I didn't have any great loss in my life.
[5:01] I simply, before I began to read the Scriptures today, I thought that everything was okay, but I realized that I could be closer to You than I am.
[5:12] And God, I want to be closer to You. Would You show me how do I take a step to be closer to You? And that's what we ought to be praying for, not just in the dark hours of our lives, but even in the best moments of your life, would say, God, would You never allow me to be complacent in my life?
[5:28] Would You create a reviving work in my life? And so the central concern in the psalm here is that the Lord would revive in them His faithful love, that they may praise Him, that they would draw their attention back to God's Word and to some attributes about Him, and the result would be a rejoicing.
[5:45] So first thing I would like for you to see in verse 6 here is, wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee? Is that revival can only be brought by God. A revival in your heart can only happen through an encounter with God.
[6:00] As Brother Jacob said, it's very possible through God's Word we can hear from God. I love the way he said it, and I love when he grinned and he said, and I heard from God when He called me a sinner.
[6:11] And how did God call him a sinner? It was from the Word of God that we would hear Him, remembering better times. What were the better times that the psalmist speaks about? Verse 1, Lord, thou hast been favorable unto thy land, thou hast brought back to captivity.
[6:25] It remembers a time about God being favorable to it, a time in the past. We as God's people need a revival. Our country needs a conversion.
[6:36] God's people need a revival. You need a revival. This place needs a revival. This country has always needed to be converted. This country is not God's people. We are supposed to be God's people.
[6:48] So when we talk about a time, we're not talking about a time of just great morality in America. We're not talking about a time of leave it to beaver. We're not talking about a time when things are better. We're talking about a time in your own life when the power of God was upon you, where you just said, God, I desire holiness.
[7:03] I want you. I want my free time to be given to you. I'm looking to get rid of things in my life so I can have more time for the things of God. That's what you ought to be looking to. That is the picture that you ought to be thinking of.
[7:15] That's ought to be what you ought to be desiring. And how is He favorable? For them, the same way He is for us. Verse 2, Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people. Thou hast covered all their sin.
[7:26] Selah. Think about this. God has covered their sin. God had been favorable upon them. They had sinned against Him. They had disobeyed Him. But God forgave their iniquities.
[7:38] God removed His wrath from them. Verse 3, Thou hast taken away all thy wrath. Thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger. God has been favorable to us. He has forgiven us of our sins.
[7:50] When I look back and say, God, so many times I was rebellious to you. So many times have I been disobedient. So many times that I used my mouth to break down and not to build. But you have covered that completely.
[8:02] You have removed that iniquity. You have taken that thing that should have been my identity. And you have made it as far as the east is from the west. And that is not who I am. You have given me a new identity in Christ.
[8:13] God, you have been favorable to me. Verse 4, Turn us, O God, of our salvation. And cause that anger toward us to see. So that God has moved among us. That is a prayer of revival.
[8:24] Turn us, O God. God, would you work among us? God, would you turn us? In the areas that we're not like you, turn us. In the areas that we want to do our own ways, turn us, God.
[8:37] Bring conviction. Do not leave us alone. Do not leave us to ourselves. But God, we're asking that you would move among us. And so I'd ask you, what do you think that you need right now?
[8:48] And where are you looking? What is it that you think you need in your life? And where are you looking? Sure, you might need to be more efficient with your time. And sure, you might need to be this thing or that way.
[8:59] And sure, you might need to read this other book about personal development. There may be all these things that you need. But what you really need is you need to be engaged with God through His Word and to hear from Him.
[9:12] What you need is the power of God that is available to us as we live a life of holiness and we pursue Him. That unsettledness that you have, that angst that you have, that frustration that you have, it's not going to weigh when the circumstances leave.
[9:27] That desire that you have is God loving you and calling you. And say, you know why you're not comfortable in this land? Because you were made for another one. You know why you need to go into the promised land? Because you aren't made for this.
[9:38] That God is drawing us to Him. Adrian Rogers, I'd encourage you to listen to him. If you've ever heard me preach, you've listened to Adrian Rogers. He sounds like me when I read Adrian Rogers, all right? He says, there's no law that can make you love me, so I have to have a law to keep you from killing me.
[9:54] Laws are not here to legislate morality. They are here to legislate against immorality. Only God can provide a renewal that we need. No government, no policies, no outward change or conformity is going to do a heart work.
[10:09] That's what we need. God, change us from the inside out. No work without the Lord will ever provide for our real needs. Psalm 127, 2. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows, for so that giveth His beloved sleep.
[10:25] Without the God of heaven working in you, you can work around the clock, you can do all these things, you can be sorrowful, but none of that's going to make any difference. A moment with God is greater than thousands of hours with any other person in this world.
[10:41] Hearing from God is greater of any advice you're ever going to receive. Our labor feels like it's in vain. Isaiah 49, 4. Then I said, I've labored in vain, and I've sent my strength for naught, and in vain. Yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, my work with my God.
[10:55] Maybe you feel frustrated. You feel like you're in a rut in life. You feel like you're not going anywhere. You're dissatisfied. And I can tell you that all your labor and strength outside of God is not going to get you satisfied.
[11:07] It's not going to give you what your heart longs for, which is a closer and more intimate relationship with God. Revival begins when we, the real us, comes in the counter with the real Jesus.
[11:19] When we just pull back everything and say, God, this is where I'm at, and this is who you are, and you do your work. God, nothing in my life is off limits. Would you do your work upon my heart?
[11:30] And there's something that is available to us that most people will never enjoy. There's a restoration that came to the nation, as we read in verse 1. God restores things to full health.
[11:41] Psalm 126, 1. When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Isn't that incredible? When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.
[11:54] That all that captivity and all those things that were in their life, all those things that separated them from the temple, all the things that separated them from the city of Zion, it was just like a bad dream.
[12:04] It's just behind them. The moment that you're going through right now, you can turn to God, and He can make it like a dream. It can mean that it's not even real in comparison to the reality of knowing Him.
[12:15] So many wonderful blessings come from seeking the Lord. Hosea 10, 12. So many wonderful blessings, that reign of righteousness.
[12:32] And say, God, would you just break up the fallow ground? God, I want more. God, I want more. God, I want more. God, I want more.
[12:45] Things don't even taste like they're supposed to anymore. Life is just not the same. Some of us experienced that post-COVID, right? Nothing tastes the same anymore. You couldn't smell anything the same.
[12:56] Everything was completely different for you. But spiritually, we get to the same place, and we just say, I used to enjoy that song more than I did. I used to enjoy turning these pages more.
[13:07] I used to enjoy this ministry that I was involved more. Don't stay there. Say, God, would you break up this fallow ground in my heart? God, would you do something here? And what is going to be central to this reviving?
[13:19] Bible speaks about a reviving, a renewal, and an increase. Isaiah 57, 15. It says, For thus the high and lofty one that would have its eternity, whose name is holy. I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
[13:38] Those that have that fallow ground broken up, us humble ones, if we would be that, then God would revive our hearts. It speaks about a renewing in Titus 3, 5. Not by the works of righteousness which you have done, but according to the mercy.
[13:50] He saved us by the washing and regeneration, by the renewing of the Holy Ghost. It's what we're talking about when we speak of revival. This renewing, this reviving in our spirit.
[14:00] Isaiah 29, 19. The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. An increase of joy.
[14:12] Call it what you want. A revival, a renewing of your spirit. An increase in your joy. But you know what it's like when you're going through the motions of your life, and you want something that's more.
[14:24] And that thing that you want that is more, that's God. And the thing that you want is more, it's available to you. And so why is this only a work of God? Because sin is heavy.
[14:35] Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of the people. He forgave. That means to remove. The lifting is something that is heavy. Covering describes a burden that would be completely covered, not just slightly.
[14:45] Only God can take away from this. Because in renewing this increase of joy, sin is ultimately the issue. Not sincerity.
[14:56] Not organizing your life. The Bible only speaks in one terms. Not in a better system and not in better ideas. But revival or this renewing or this increase in your joy comes from addressing sin in your life.
[15:11] That is the language of the Bible. The thing that stands between you and a closer relationship with God, no matter what it is, no matter what shape it is, no matter how tall it is, or how small it is, whatever that is, that thing is always called sin.
[15:23] So the path towards a revival is a path of removing those things in your life. And so why God is necessary, because there's no moving it. There's no getting out of your life on your own.
[15:34] No matter how much it is, there's no covering it. There's no removing of iniquity. There's nothing that you can do with it. Like in Pilgrim's Progress, it's like taking the broom without the water and sweeping it the one side of the room, but the dust is just going to blow up and the room doesn't become any cleaner until the washing of the word would come through in your life.
[15:52] Psalm 139, 23. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. God, I want to be closer to you.
[16:04] You identify what stands in the way and it will be gone tonight. Jesus, this is Adrian Rogers once again. He wanted to speak to you one more time tonight. Jesus, when he prayed and prayed this way in John 12, 28, Father, glorify thy name is what, and it said this.
[16:21] Kyle Coker, preacher last Thursday, sent me this this morning. It said, our problem is we're trying to have a revival for America's sake, for our family's sake, for our children's sake, our grandchildren's sake, and for our reputation, for our denomination, and for our church.
[16:38] And we need to get more concerned for the glory of God. That brought such conviction to me. Why would I want revival among this church? For a million of lesser reasons.
[16:50] There's a million reasons I would love to have a revival, and I would love to see everybody engaged and energized and enjoying their Christian life. But none of them are worthy of the reasons that revival comes, is that we want to live for the glory of God.
[17:04] That we would say, God, I would like to lay down my life for you if you would be glorified. We don't speak in these terms. You know, it's already been mentioned. But the church in Afghanistan is not talking among ideas of outreach and plans and what revival looks like.
[17:18] The only economy that they're talking about is simply, God, I want you to be glorified with my life. God, I don't know what's going to happen, but God, I want you to be glorified. That is the language of believers in any context, and that must be our heart.
[17:33] If you want to see revival, it's not because life is boring, it is not because your kids aren't doing right, and not because it's exciting, but it has to be, God, I want you to be glorified among all things in my life.
[17:45] And hearing God speak will be central. Verse 8, I will hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace unto His people, to His saints, but let them not turn again to folly. We must hear from God.
[17:57] We must look to mercy, peace, and His glory. Psalm 85, 7, Show us Thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us Thy salvation. Very likely, your understanding of mercy is not wrong, but it's incomplete.
[18:10] God, when it says, we want to hear Your Word, speak, and one of the things that we're going to see as God speaks from His Word, is show us Your mercy, O Lord. The reason I say your understanding of mercy is not wrong, it's just not as full as it should be.
[18:23] I always think it's kind of funny when we pray for traveling mercies, because in our definition of mercy, it says, not getting what we deserve. And I'm thinking, that's kind of heavy. You're saying, God, pray that we don't die on our way to our friend's house, because we deserve to die, right?
[18:38] That's a pretty intense prayer that we've just prayed, asking for traveling mercies. But when we use the word mercy, we know there's more. We know that this is God's loyal love that He gives upon us, that He gives us along the way that we want.
[18:52] Salvation in the sense of deliverance of the covenant people for whatever was causing their pain. God had shown mercy, and He granted salvation to them. He had brought them out to His people.
[19:03] He had brought them out. And now mercy and truth were brought together 16 times in the Old Testament, 10 times in the Psalm. We see that mercy and truth, they come together, and it's said that they kiss.
[19:14] Romans 3, 26, I declare, I say this time, His righteousness, that He may be just, and the justifier of Him which believeth in Jesus. That it's God that brings these things together in our lives.
[19:26] And so can I encourage you, instead of just waiting until things in your life get you to a point where you say, God, I must have more of you, could you maybe recognize that right now, no matter what's going in your life, you need more of Him.
[19:40] That things aren't what they could be. There's more, there's space between you and your Savior. Heard an evangelist many years ago, maybe Stephen and Stephanie would have heard them, but when he was preaching, he dimmed the lights all throughout the service.
[19:53] And you didn't see any at the end of it. He says, many of you don't even recognize that the light in the room is at 35% less than it was when we started. Maybe you don't wait for the next tragedy in your life, but maybe you take an inventory and say, God, I used to be closer to you, and you didn't move, and I did, and I want to be restored.
[20:10] I want a revival. We look for peace. Psalm, verse 8, I will hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace unto His people and to His saints. And so we give our burden to the Lord. We give all our sins to Him because we don't know what to do with Him.
[20:24] We don't know how to dispose of them well enough. And we want God to be glorified. We say, God, we want you speak peace to us. Take this from me. And then ending here, revival is the result, will result in a rejoicing.
[20:37] That will revive us again, for that people may rejoice in the time of the furrowed ground. That's the beginning of it. That's what revival looks like. I can't lay out what it would look like for you in your own personal life.
[20:49] I can't tell you what it would look like inside of our church. We could try to draw a picture and then try to replicate that. But then we'd be like the Pharisees, wouldn't they? That's not what we're called to do. But what does the Bible say the result of this revival would be?
[21:02] Rejoicing. And that's what we would want. We hear God speak peace unto His saints. We want God to be glorified, bring God's glory upon us. For thy glory may dwell in this land. The use of the glory in this context refers to the manifold presence of God upon the land.
[21:17] The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork. This is something we want, something we want to talk about. But our desire for this cannot be stronger than our desire to confront sin in our own lives.
[21:30] God, we want you to be glorified more than anything. God, we want you to be manifest. We want your glory upon our lives. We want your glory upon this place. We want you to be known.
[21:41] And we'll see a wonderful completeness in our lives between mercy and truth. The prayers of young people during the revival of Wells in the early 1900s. They pray Isaiah 62, 6 and 7.
[21:52] I have set the watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day or night, that you make mention of the Lord. Keep not silence and give Him no rest till we establish, till we make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
[22:06] And it was saying here, God, we want you to work among us. And we are not going to give up on it. We're not going to ask of it just once in the walk away. But we will not be content until our hearts are made fully content in you.
[22:20] We want to be closer to you. Psalm 85, 12. Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good, and our land shall yield her increase. We want an increase of rejoicing. We want an increase of yielding to God.
[22:33] So in conclusion here, wouldn't it be wonderful to see something that happened among us to make a real and meaningful difference in our city? Acts 8, 7 and 8. A revival was happening.
[22:45] Something was happening in their lives. I'm sure they didn't put it out on a marquee outside. They didn't schedule it for five days. But it says in here, it says, For the unclean spirits crying with a loud voice came out many that were possessed with them, and many taken with palsies, and they were lame and were healed.
[23:01] And there was a great joy in that city. That's what we would want, isn't it? That's often what we talk about all the time. We talk about exporting a great joy around the world, sending missionaries, our missions conference.
[23:14] We talk about having a great joy. We talk about this city having a great joy, but it must start with us. And it must start with acknowledging that all that we need is going to be found in God. The space that God deserves in our lives is currently occupied by lesser things.
[23:30] And we've got to say, God, make room. I want you. Before we can make great joy in the city, before we can send great joy around this world, there has to be just an overflowing rejoicing in our heart.
[23:42] And we've got to hear God speak. And we ought to desire holiness and a closeness to Him. And so that's what I'd ask you to do. I'm going to have the instruments come, give you an opportunity to pray.
[23:53] But we're not making a decision as a church. We're making a decision tonight individually. Would you say, God, there was a time in my life that I was closer to you, and I know that you haven't moved. I most certainly have.
[24:04] And whatever's between me and you, I want it moved. Because I want that closeness that I once had. And wherever you're at tonight, say, God, I want more of you. I want to know you in a more real and intimate way.
[24:16] And so as the piano begins to play, let's take a moment. And as before we leave tonight, we will sing. Heavenly Father, ask that you would be with us. God, the things that are between me and you, I want them removed.
[24:27] Search my heart, O God, and show me, and they will be gone tonight. Lord, the attitudes of my heart that keep me from hearing from you, I want them gone. The issues of life, Lord, that I've taken for myself, I give back to you.
[24:40] The sins of my life I don't know how to dispose of, I give to you. But Lord, would you do your reviving work among us, Lord. We want to know you and experience your joy and rejoicing.
[24:52] Continue to pray at the altar in your seat. In a moment, we will sing together. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you.