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If you really want revival, it has to start with a repentant heart. One must be forever repentant over sin. For true revival to come there must be true repentance. A brokenness of revival is the result of people not dealing with their sins and the sins of their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

It is time to clean the house. God is calling us to holiness in every area of our lives. We must be ever-aware of what we see, hear, and do. We must be led by the Holy Spirit in every area of our lives.

The Rending Of Your Heart
Another reason for this brokenness of revival is the rending of one's heart. What does the word rending mean? The Greek word is diarrhesso and it means to "to break asunder, rend."

I like the way the prophet Joel puts it in Joel 2:12-17:
Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?

Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
The prophet Joel is talking about returning to God with all your heart. That is what repentance is. Repentance is the turning away from the things that separate you from God.

The Lord made a call for all to return to Him. Both people, elders, leaders, and ministers of the Lord. He told them to fast, and weep, and mourn. Why? Because their was sin in God's house and in the land. God always gives us time to turn from sin before judgment comes.

Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Let me say this to you. Yes, Jesus paid the price for our sin. Yes, He became the ultimate sacrifice for us all. Yes, we are saved by God's wonderful grace. But if we continue in sin, the outcome will be death.

God does not take pleasure in one who dies in sin, God wants us to have life and have it more abundantly. There is something about the heart that God is really interested in. If I could narrow it down to one thing, it would be this: Proverbs 4:23, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. With the heart, out comes the issues of life."

The Humbleness of the Heart
One more thing in this brokenness of revival is in the humbleness of one's self. In Isaiah 57:15 it says, "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

Have you ever been in a worship service, and you felt like you wanted to kneel down before God and worship Him, or maybe go forward toward the platform to praise God, or maybe lift your hands toward heaven to worship Him? But you were afraid of what people would think if you did that. Why don't you do those things?

There are probably several reasons why we are not as free to worship God like we would like. In all reality it comes down to humbling yourself before God. Not being afraid of what others may think of us.

We really don't like the word pride, especially when it applies to us. For us to really have revival in our lives we must get ride of a man-pleasing spirit and humble ourselves before a mighty God.

Jesus had to humble Himself. In Philippians 2:8 it says, "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." At any time Jesus could have called for ten legions of angels to come to his aid, but instead He humbled Himself, even unto death.

Don't let pride keep you from the blessings from heaven that await you. We must be obedient and humble.

Spiritual Adultery
Read James 4:1-10 to see how James addresses these issues, especially towards the Body of Christ. He calls them adulterers and adulteresses because of their friendship with the world. Is there a possibility that one can commit spiritual adultery? I believe one can. How does one do this? By having one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom of God.

In verse six and seven it says, "God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble, submit yourself to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you." The key to God's grace is humility and the key to having the devil fleeing from you is in submitting to God and resisting him.

In verse eight it says draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you. He continues to say "cleanse your hands you sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." I believe it is time for us to clean the house. What do I mean by this?

If we are participating in things that take us away from church, then our priorities are out of order. If we are watching TV programs and videos that are not pleasing to God, we need to rid our homes of them. If we are going to places and doing things that Jesus would not approve of, we need to stop. If we have certain board or video games that our children play which are not pleasing to God, we must not have them in our home.

A Higher Standard
It is time to raise the standard. The word of God is clear. Joshua 24:15 says, "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

I don't know about you friend, but I want my home to be a place where the Spirit of the Lord can dwell. And if I have to become radical to get Him to come and dwell in my home, then call me radical.

For us to truly live for God we must fully die to self. John 12:24-26 reminds us, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor."

God does not want us to participate in things that may take us away from Him. God cannot be in the presence of sin without judging it. So let us make our home a place for God's habitation.

He wants us to take up our cross daily and follow Him. If that means we have to sacrifice our wants and desires to truly live for God, then so be it. But remember, God would never ask you to sacrifice something without giving you something in return to take its place. God is a not a taker, He is a giver.

Copyright © Jack Myers Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Author Biography

Jack Myers
Web site: Jack Myers Ministries
 
Dr. Jack Myers was born again at the age of twelve and baptized with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues at the age of seventeen. In 1993, Dr. Myers has an encounter with The Holy Spirit that radically changed his life. He and his wife later attended Rhema Bible Training Center in Broken Arrow, OK.
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