We had a powerful time in the word last night. We repented over specific areas of sin in our lives and in our nation. The Spirit of the Lord was in the house! The fast is now over which begs the question, “What now?”
What happened last night was a culmination of what God has been doing in our midst for the past two weeks. He has been revealing, purifying, exposing, and edifying His bride.
(Ephesians 5:25-27) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
Through prayer, repentance, intercession, and the declared word of the Lord, God is planting seeds of revival. Will they grow? Will we see God move and break out among us? That depends entirely upon us. God has already made it clear that this is His desire. We must now take His word seriously and water these seeds with the word, humility, repentance, and prayer.
The question then arises, “If God wants to move, why doesn’t He just do it? Why do we need to do all this work?” Excellent question. The greater the manifestation of God’s glory, the greater the judgment when we have pride and unrepented sin in His presence (Acts 5).
(Leviticus 10:3) This is what the Lord spoke, saying: “By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.”
God will show up only to the extent that we honor, glorify, fear, and respect Him. He is holy regardless of our attitude, but He will only reveal Himself to those who regard Him as holy and who tremble at His word.
(Psalm 25:14) The secret of the LORD is with those that fear Him; And He will show them His covenant.
(Isaiah 66:1-2) Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,” Says the Lord. “But on this one will I look: On [that person] who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.”
We water the seeds of revival by:
1. Taking His word seriously and disciplining ourselves in getting into the word and getting His word into us daily.
2. We must obey His word (James 1:22). It is not enough to read, understand, and know about His word – we must also do what it says.
3. We must live a lifestyle of repentance. When we fall short (Proverbs 24:16), we must learn to go to God immediately, confess our sin, get back up, and continue our walk with Him.
4. We must strive for holiness, to know Him and to be like Him. It is not enough to ask forgiveness for our sin. By God’s grace and the power of the Spirit, we are to overcome the power of sin in our lives. This means that we are asking to be filled with the power of the Spirit every day to live holy lives.
5. We must pray and intercede. Revival never comes easy. There is a real enemy who will do everything he can to stop it (Daniel 10). We must fill up the bowls in heaven with prayers, intercession, and requests, so that God may mix it with His fire and pour out a blessing upon us for His name’s sake (Revelation 5:8).