II Chronicles 7:11-15

The heart cry of God for His church is that she might experience revival!

There are some promises that God gave to Solomon regarding revival. It is interesting to take note of the context in which these words are spoken. The temple, which King David wanted so much to build, has now been completed by Solomon. The dedication service of the temple has just concluded, and God speaks these words to Solomon, “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.”

This suggests that God is not nearly as interested in magnificent buildings in which He may be worshipped as He is in clean hearts through which His power may flow.

Revival is the work of God in which He visits His own people, restoring, empowering, and releasing them into the fullness of His blessing, resulting in a great reaching out to those who are not believers and bringing them into the Christian fold. Revival is first the work of God in the church, followed by the work of God through the church.

By following the Lord’s directives, the church can experience revival.

• The prerequisites of revival
  • Humble self (A.W. Tozer)
    • Get thoroughly dissatisfied with self
    • Set your face toward a sweeping transformation of your life
    • Put yourself in the way of God’s blessing
    • Do a thorough job of repenting
    • Make restitution wherever possible
    • Bring your life into accord with the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)
    • Deliberately narrow your interests
    • Begin to witness
    • Have faith in God
  • Pray
    • No genuine revival has ever taken place without prayer
• The purging of revival
  • Seek God’s face
  • Turn from wicked ways
• The power of revival
  • Forgive sin
    • Unforgiven sin is the most serious condition in human experience
      • A sinner who hasn’t repented to God faces eternity in hell
      • A Christian who hasn’t repented faces a barren life
  • Healed lands
    • The context of this Scripture teaches us that a closed heaven meant drought, famine, and pestilence, which are conditions we face in our present day
      • God has an answer to material problems
      • God has an answer to marital problems
      • God has an answer to moral problems

The answer is Jesus Christ. The answer is revival.

Therefore, the church can experience the fullness of God’s blessing. It will be experienced when God’s people follow the teachings of II Chronicles 7:14.