The Discipline of a Praying Church – Men of Destiny – pt 2
2 Chron. 7:1-14
THE SINGLE GREATEST NEED IN OUR LAND TODAY IS HEAVEN SENT REVIVAL!
This is something we can not do ourselves. Programs don’t do it. Preaching can’t do it. Choirs or the type music can’t do it! ONLY GOD MOVING BY HIS HOLY SPIRIT CAN DO IT!
How can this be? It’s because a sovereign God intervened in people’s lives. Let me be clear about this, church services will take on a new life if we start praying. It won’t be like one man said “Start church at 10:30 sharp and end 12:00 dull.”
So where does real revival come from? Real revival is not built on emotions and sentimental thoughts or even eyes full to tears. That can all be brought up by emotionalism.
THE WORD REVIVAL MEANS TO “LIVE AGAIN”. IT IS GOD’S PEOPLE COMING ALIVE AGAIN TO THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES TOWARD GOD. IT IS RETURNING TO A LIFE OF OBEDIENCE!
There is a recipe for REVIVAL in the Bible. It’s found in 1 Chronicles 7:1-14
‘When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord , saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.”
Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord . And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God. The priests took their positions, as did the Levites with the Lord ’s musical instruments, which King David had made for praising the Lord and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, “His love endures forever.” Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.
Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord , and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions. So Solomon observed the festival at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt.
On the eighth day they held an assembly, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival for seven days more. On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the Lord had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel. When Solomon had finished the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, the Lord appeared to him at night and said: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 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 is part of Solomon’s dedication of the New Temple he has just completed for God! In the Chapter 6 there is Solomon’s prayer of dedication. When you read this prayer you’ll notice it has nothing to do with the temple, that is the building itself, but IT HAD EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE PEOPLE OF GOD WHO WOULD COME AND PRAY IN THIS TEMPLE
Solomon knew that the God of Israel couldn’t be contained in a building! HE WAS MORE INTERESTED IN RESIDING IN THE PEOPLE’S HEARTS!
1Cor. 6:19-20 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
I. HOW WILL WE KNOW WHEN REVIVAL COMES TO OUR CHURCH?
A. WE’LL BEGIN TO SEE THE FIRE FALL!
2Chr. 7:1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
We as the people of God are to offer our bodies/ourselves as living sacrifices to God.
Rom. 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God —this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.
WHEN GOD THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT DESCENDS UPON US WITH AN OUTPOURING OF GOD’S GRACE, ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST THE FIRE FELL NOT ON THE ANIMALS IN THE TEMPLE, BUT ON THE BELIEVERS!!!
This is something only God can do! AREN’T WE TIRED OF DEAD RELIGION? DEAD PRAYING? DEAD SINGING? AREN’T WE TIRED OF TRYING TO BE RELIGIOUS? WHERE’S THE FIRE?
There’s a product that has been out a few years now…it’s a video tape you can buy of a fireplace…just pop it in and you have an instant fireplace! PROBLEM IS IT’S NOT REAL, IT HAS NO HEAT.
WE NEED THE REAL HEAT THAT COMES FROM THE FIRE OF GOD THAT CONSUMES THE SACRIFICES. AND WE ARE THE SACRIFICES!
Are we being consumed by God’s fire? God’s Anointing? WE ARE, THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD POINTING OTHERS TO JESUS? WITHOUT GOD’S FIRE, GOD’S LIGHT, WE DON’T DO MUCH SHINING.
B. When Revival comes we will witness the GLORY OF THE LORD
2Chr. 7:2 The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it.
This wasn’t the first time this happened…other times the Shekinah Glory of God came down like this. When this happens everything else takes a back seat! What we once thought so important isn’t important any longer. OUR FOCUS WILL BE ON JESUS! and our eyes won’t be on the preacher anymore! So much of what goes on in church today will pale in comparison.
C. Worship will be first priority
2Chr. 7:3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, He is good; his love endures forever.”
2Chr. 7:6 The priests took their positions, as did the Levites with the LORD’s musical instruments, which King David had made for praising the LORD and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, “His love endures forever.” Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.
Praising God will take the place of much of what is currently at the center of our lives. When the Spirit of God is moving so richly in a service of worship that he is tangible, Worship is easy! When you are in a worship service where the spirit of God is moving, even if the singing takes well over an hour, it feels like just a few minutes have come and gone!
Why is it that worship so many times seems to be so heavy? Why is it that our hearts aren’t in it like they should be? Where is the freedom and spontaneity and joy we read about in the Bible?
IT’S STILL AVAILABLE IF WE ALLOW GOD TO MOVE THROUGH US! THE FORM ISN’T AS IMPORTANT AS OUR HEARTS TUNED TO GODS. I’ve experienced God’s move in a high Church Catholic Mass and in a store front Pentecostal Church!
D. Another thing that always happens is that giving becomes phenomenal!
The priest in the temple offered up 22,000 oxen, 120,000 sheep! WHERE DO YOU THINK THEY CAME FROM? FROM THE PEOPLE OF GOD!
E. YOU’LL SEE ATTENDANCE PICK UP
Jesus said in John 12:32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”
II. REVIVAL DOESN’T COME CHEAPLY, IT COMES WHEN…
A. THE PEOPLE OF GOD UNITE IN PRAYER
IT WASN’T UNTIL AFTER THE PRAYER THAT THE FIRE FELL! The early church experienced Revival because they were constantly in prayer. WE CANNOT ESCAPE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PRAYER
Jer. 33:3 ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’
B. PRAYER IS COUPLED WITH HUMILITY
There was nothing magical about Solomon’s prayer. Nothing at all! We must come before God humbly.
James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
C. PRAYER IS COUPLED WITH SEEKING GOD’S FACE
To seek God’s face means we abandon all self-seeking! It means that we pray not to get God on our team, because he’s already for us. We pray because we want to get into God’s will!
D. PRAYER IS COUPLED WITH REPENTANCE
Sin blocks our prayers! The trash has to be hauled out of our lives so God can hear us.
III. WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF REVIVAL?
A. GOD WILL HEAR US!
When the conditions are met God will hear from heaven. A great illustration of this is the church of Korea. Dr. Paul Yongi Cho built PRAYER MOUNTAIN. Literally, a large hill or small mountain dedicated to prayer. They have small niches where people go to pray 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you will find multitudes of people there praying! The largest 3 churches in the world are in Seoul….700,000; 500,000; 300,000 members. Is it a coincidence?
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? BECAUSE THEY ARE SERIOUS ABOUT PRAYER!
B. GOD WILL FORGIVE US!
When God brings revival we will be more sensitive to sin in our lives. We will see more folks come to Jesus as they experience this forgiveness and see it in our lives as well. There will be an atmosphere of forgiveness rather than condemning and fault finding like we see in so many churches today! The power of forgiveness will just explode and saturate the whole church!
C. GOD WILL HEAL US!
We normally think of healing as being physical, and that is certainly part of this. But God here is saying he will heal our land. What does this mean? It means that He will heal our churches, our marriages, the brokenhearted, the sin sick soul!
WHEN REVIVAL COMES TO A CHURCH IT DOESN’T STOP THERE. IT GOES HOME WITH FOLKS! IT GOES TO THE SCHOOLS, THE FACTORIES, THE BUSINESSES.
THE GREATEST NEED IN OUR LAND AND OUR CHURCH IS HEAVEN SENT, HOLY SPIRIT REVIVAL!!!
MAY GOD HELP US TO EARNESTLY PRAY, SEEKING GOD’S FACE FOR REVIVAL!
Patreon
Patreon allows you to support this Non-Profit 501(c)(3) organization with a tax free donation. Your donations and support will go towards program material, training material, summer camps and much more. In addition, we have overhead such as the website and its maintenance, transportation, and well, my family and I need to eat.
On Patreon you can pledge as little as $1 a month, and in return you’ll get some pretty cool rewards, ranging from your name and blog on my MTM VIP page, exclusive content, and PODCAST VERSIONS of my posts! You can support Manly Training Ministries with as much as you want, I won’t stop you. But I will pray for you and with great gratitude, we will receive it and put all of it (100%) to work for the ministry.
Just Click on the Patreon Logo to go to Patreon and start receiving exclusive material from Manly Training.
STAY CONNECTED BY EMAIL. CLICK HERE
© 2017 MANLY TRAINING
Top Posts & Pages
You must be logged in to post a comment.