In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He is pleading for revival…..
Today is April 1, 2021. The day before what we call Good Friday. Good Friday is the day that Jesus offered up His life for the sins of the world. It is the day His body was broken, with 39 lashes across His back for our healing, the day a crown of thorns was jammed into his scalp, the day nails were pounded into His hands and feet securing Him to a cross. It was the day He chose me over Himself. It is fitting that this post is about revival because the very essence of revival is to make alive, to give life, to preserve, quicken, to recover and repair, to restore and to SAVE. Revival is to be whole.
Habakkuk 3:2 reads: O Lord, I have heard thy speech and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy. Throughout history, God has put out a constant cry to return to Him. He cries out to us, longing for us to see and know Him. He loves us with such a passionate love that in our walking death, He wants to breath into us and revive us, even after we are saved. It is when we are in the time of trouble that we need reviving. Psalm 138:7 declared Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. It is when we are faint and weary that we need revival. It is when we are spiritually dehydrated that we need to be revived. Revival comes from the living waters of Jesus. He told the Samaritan woman at the well, Whoever drinks the water I will give him will never be thirsty again! On the contrary, the water I give him will become a spring of (living) water inside him, welling up into eternal life! (John 4:14) In a brief encounter, He brought this woman who was weary in her sin, revival right there, on the spot. She dropped everything she was doing, ran back to town yelling “Come, see a man who told me everything I’ve ever done. Could it be that this is the Messiah!” (John 4:29) What happened next? The people left the town and went running to Jesus.
Revival is not a weeklong set of meetings with a banner over the church reading, “We are having revival this week! Come be a part!” Real revival is life changing. Revive in the Hebrew is the word Hayay made of up of the letters Chet (a fence, private, to separate), Yood, and Yood (a hand, work, a deed, to make). God wants to separate you, to work in you, to make you new and revived in Him. Real revival comes from your knees, your prayer closet, your heart crying out to Him. Real revival comes through repentance. Repentance is not just turning around and going the other way from sin or to change one’s mind. It is to be grieved, and to be comforted. In our grief, He will bring us comfort. He will bring us revival and restoration. If My people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 This scripture is our go to scripture for revival meetings. But rarely do we look at verse 13: If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people. It is in drought, famine and pestilence both in the natural and in our spiritual lives that He gave us the formula for our spiritual healing and revival. If my people who are called by my name:
1. Shall humble themselves
2. And pray
3. And seek my face
4. And turn from their wicked ways
There are four exceedingly important elements that are our responsibility. Humility, prayer, seeking the face of God, and repentance. If we want revival, true revival it comes from reaching out and connecting with the reviver.
Numerically, hayay equals 28, and as I was looking at other words with that value that tie to “revive”, this is what I discovered. It also equals, “Father is renown”. What is renown? It is the Hebrew word sem that at the core of it means fame, but more literally it is “To call on the name of the Lord”, which is to proclaim or praise the excellence of Yahweh, to worship or summon Yahweh by name for help. (from Strong’s Concordance). When we call on the name of the Lord for help, He WILL revive us. But that’s not all, 28 also equals, to be clean, transparent or pure. It is the sin offering, it is to cut or hollow out. How crazy is that? The connection is almost too much for the mind to wrap around. We bring ourselves, our sin offering to Jesus. He cuts and hollows it out of us, making us clean, transparent and pure in Him, reviving us. Revival begins at the cross and continues as we walk with Him. There is one more catch of words with the number 28 that comes with being revived. Strength, might, ability, capacity, wealth, produce, riches and means. When we are revived, It is not just about refreshing us it is so much more than that.
The joy of the Lord is my strength. Nehemiah 8:10
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Ephesians 6:10
If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability that God which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:11
You are to remember Adonai your God, because it is he who is giving you the power to get wealth, in order to confirm his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as is happening even today. Deuteronomy 8:18
Look around you, look at our nation, our states, our communities. Now more than ever before in our lifetime, He is pleading for revival. He is crying for us to return to Him. He wants to pour out revival in spirit, in our land, in our homes and in the church. It is not just going to happen. We have to seek Him, we have to pray, we have to repent and then we can watch and see what our mighty God will do. How thirsty are you? Living water is waiting for you at the cross.
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