Seeking God’s Reviving Work
Psalm 85:6
Will You not Yourself revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?
Do you remember when churches had old fashioned revival services? When I was a child I remember they were a big deal! A guest preacher and guest musicians would come to the church for a week or two for nightly evangelistic services. These revivals were not only evangelistic in nature, but many times focused on spiritual renewal for believers.
I don’t see many signs promoting revival services in churches today. My point is not to just remember the “good ole days,” but that it is important for believers in Jesus Christ to walk daily in a spirit of renewal and revival.
As we look into Psalm 85, we find a focus on renewal, revival, and restoration for the people of God.
We Need Revival Because of Personal Sin
Psalm 85:2 says, “You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin.” Before a person can ever trust Jesus, they must come to terms with the fact that we sin against a holy, righteous God. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The Bible is clear, we all sin. But it is not enough to recognize that everyone sins, we have to recognize our own sin. I encourage you to make Romans 3:23 personal, “for I have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Coming to Christ for salvation requires us to understand that we are sinners. And once we confess our sin and trust Jesus for salvation, we are saved.
But guess what? We still sin. The old self begins the process of dying, and we are daily being sanctified to become more like Jesus. But we still sin. Someone has said that the most miserable person on the planet is the Christ follower living in sin. Once we are saved, God keeps us, and we will never be unsaved. But our sin harms our fellowship and intimacy with Jesus. So we have the responsibility to confess our sin, and be renewed, revived and restored again. King David said it this way in Psalm 32:3 - 4, “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.” David knew the impact of personal sin, and felt the heavy hand of God. Psalm 32:5 says, “I acknowledge my sin to you, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and You forgave the guilt of my sin.” We need renewal, revival and restoration because of our personal sin.
Do you feel distant from God? It might be because of sin in your life. Can I encourage you to stop reading right now and ask God to reveal any sin in your life, and confess it before God? Take a few minutes to bow before Him in surrender, name your sin and confess it before God. Allow God to cleanse your heart, and draw near to Him again to experience revival.
We Need Revival For Personal Rejoicing
Psalm 85:6 says, “Will You not Yourself revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?” It is impossible to rejoice in God while holding on to personal sin. Sin robs us of joy and peace. Sin weakens our spirit. Sin soaks our emotions and depresses our spirit.
Joy is a beautiful blessing that comes to a follower of Christ. Joy helps us look beyond our life circumstances to Jesus, knowing that He is in sovereign control over all things. Someone has said that “Joy is the flag flying high over the castle of the heart when the King is in residence.” I love the imagery of that phrase, and it reminds me that to experience joy, Jesus must be reigning in and over me. And when that happens, my life is full of rejoicing. I am not wavered by circumstances, I am not discouraged by my momentary afflictions. Instead, I am full of joy.
Sin robs us of that joy, and we need to take time to confess our sin and return to rejoicing. For our heart to be glad, we must be right with God.
Do you need renewal, revival, restoration? Here is the good news. You don’t need to attend a church revival service. You don’t need a preacher, and you don’t need to try and work your way out of sin. Simply stop and pray. Confess your sin before God, ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit and begin rejoicing today.
If I can pray with you or for you, consider reaching out to me at david@davidsmithministry.com. I would count it a blessing to encourage you.