The Truth Internet Church
A church of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit
We are a Christian church, serving all who know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and those who would like to know Him. We meet only on the Internet. We have no walls; we have no pews; we have no restrictions, except to always tell
THE TRUTH!
THIS WEEK'S MESSAGE
1-29-23 Personal Revival: 5 Steps to Spiritual Revival That Will Change Your Life
Summary: Wise believers pray, "Lord, send revival, and let it begin with me!" How can we be God's vessels to lead a lost world to Christ if we ourselves are not stirred up spiritually? Come see five simple keys to opening yourself up to a personal reviving touch from the Lord.
Psalm 85:6 Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
•• “Revive us,” Lord! That’s a noble goal to have. But now what about how to be revived spiritually? God will certainly do His part. Our focus today will be: what is our part? What do we need to be doing to receive that reviving touch from the Lord?
•• We’ve been praying for heaven-sent revival to come upon our portion of Oregon. That’s a worthy hope. But for that divine visitation, that powerful move of God, to come upon our region, it will first need to come upon us, His people. Jesus said to His followers, "Keep your lamps burning" (Luke 12:35). Many of us need to get fired up again for the Lord. We’re asking the Lord to “revive us again”. Three key words:
• revive — we need to be stirred up by God’s Holy Spirit, to be given a heavenly dose of spiritual excitement, of greater devotion to Him, of an enlarged motivation to minister in His name to a lost world.
• us — If God wished, He could preach the Gospel directly from heaven. But instead, He has chosen to use us, His followers on earth. For spiritual revival to come to the lost, it is vitally important that we be revived and stirred to greater levels of effectiveness for the Lord.
• again — Many of us have lived through great experiences with the Lord. Some of us have participated in exciting times of widespread spiritual revival. Historically, in the years between those stirring times, God’s people often tend to cool down, to lose some of their former fervor for the Lord’s work on earth.
•• So our goal, our hope, our purpose today, is to look at five key steps to personal revival.
1) God’s WORD —
Psalm 119:105, 130, KJV Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.... [130] The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
•• Jesus said that His words are “spirit and life” (John 6:63). That’s what I need — more spirit and life!
•• Do your want your spirit stirred? Do you want to experience more life in your walk with the Lord? Then read His word ... read His word ... read His word, daily. That Word of God:
• will be a lamp to you, a light for your path
• will give you spiritual understanding
• will bring you into a higher-quality spiritual life
•• So read His Word often ... and come and hear it preached.
2) WORSHIP —
Psalm 100:2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
•• Worship tends to bring gladness to your soul. Singing praise to Him tends to bring joy to your soul. I desire a greater measure of joy and gladness.
Psalm 22:3, KJV But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
•• In the act of praising the Lord, there seems to be a special sensing of His presence.
•• I have been in times of worship where it seems almost as if we were swept up into the Lord’s very presence. Don’t wait for church for that; praise the Lord often throughout the day. Sing to Him whenever you can with “joyful songs”.
3) PRAYER —
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray continually.
•• Fill your day with five-second prayers, with one-minute prayers, with ten-minute times of prayer, and more when you can.
•• A suggestion: pray the Lord’s Prayer ... slowly ... enlarging each element before the Lord. Jesus told His disciples, “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name...” (Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4).
4) HOPE —
Psalm 42:5 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
•• Feeling downcast? discouraged? disturbed within? “Put your hope in God!” It’s a choice of your will. And you will love the results (see the next verse).
Isaiah 40:30-31 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
•• Are you tired? weary? stumbling? feel like you’re ready to collapse? Then “hope in the Lord”! As the Psalmist said, “Put your hope in God.” And watch His reviving come — you’ll renew your strength ... you’ll soar like eagles ... you’ll walk and even run without growing weary.
5) REPENT of all KNOWN SIN —
Repentance is not just for the unsaved. In Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, Jesus commanded five churches to repent.
•• Why is unrepented sin so devastating to our walk with God? Because God says, “Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). Sin brings a wedge of separation between God and His people.
Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
•• “Examine yourselves,” said the apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 13:5). How is your faith? your walk with God? your conduct? your thoughts? If you detect sin in any area, there’s only one thing to do: repent and turn back to God. The result? — “times of refreshing ... from the Lord”.
In sum: Five simple steps to personal revival —
• Read His Word
• Worship Him, sing to Him often during the day
• Pray whenever you can
• Be hopeful; put your hope in God
• Repent of all known sin and experience times of refreshing!
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Revival starts with each of us as spiritually revived individuals.
• “My people”
• Humble ourselves.
• Seek God in His Word, in worship, and in prayer.
• Turn from any sin, any wicked ways.
• Then hopefully expect God to move, to hear from heaven, and to heal our land.
--------------
I pray this message and the music this week have touched your heart. If it has and you're ready to take Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you need to do the following four things:
1. Admit you're a sinner.
2. Repent of your sins and ask God to forgive you.
3. Believe in Jesus as your only hope of salvation.
4. Confess that Jesus is your Lord.
Repeat the following prayer, which includes numbers 1-4 above. It's got to be from your heart and not just your head. You don't have to be in a church to say this prayer. You can say it right now, right where you are. But after you've said it I strongly urge you to find a local church and go to the very next service. Tell the pastor what great and wonderful thing has happened to you.
PRAYER
Lord God, I come to you in the name of Jesus Christ. I come to you with all the sins I've committed. I admit I'm a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness. Please cleanse my body, soul and spirit from these sins with the precious blood of your Son, Jesus Christ. I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins and for the sins of all those who believe in His name. I also believe that He rose from the dead so that I, too, may have victory over the works of the devil. I confess and accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and ask Him to come into my heart and give me a new life that seeks after Your will and purposes. I want to serve You and obey all Your ways. I want to live for You every day of my life. Please lead and guide me into righteousness by Your Holy Spirit.
Thank you Lord, for the work of Your Son, Jesus, who shed His blood for me, and for hearing and answering my prayer. Thank you that I am now considered Your child through the work of Jesus. Thank you that I have a new life. Thank you that I've been born anew, and by faith I believe it. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
https://www.jimfeeney.org/personal-revival-keys.html