Evangelist Dan Martin taught a three-day intensive in the college this past week. The topic was “How to have personal revival.” The notes included twenty-six pages of good, challenging, and thought provoking questions to evaluate our spiritual state. The material was convicting, to say the least.
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One of the questions he asked was this: “With God as your witness, and if God would strike a liar dead, who can say you really crave personal revival today?” How would you answer that question? Could you raise your hand? Do you desire your walk to be right, your relationship to be real, and to experience God’s working in your life today? I hope that living in a revived state is our desire. Three measuring stick questions helped me. Lord willing, they will help the reader too.
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The first step to personal revival is to answer this question: Am I Honest? The question in and of itself is a caveat because it requires honesty to answer it! Scripture teaches us time and again that the Lord is merciful, and ready to restore and revive, if we will simply fess up and be honest with Him. I think of David. He was struggling. He was living in personal torment and emptiness because of his sin and condition. All it took for him to begin the revival and restoration process was honesty. Notice that the same verse he was (finally) honest, is the same verse the Lord forgave:
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2 Samuel 12:13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
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Do you want to experience revival? You must be honest with the Lord. He already knows. But He wants us to be honest with Him about it. What is it that’s hindering you from living in a revived state? Is it a secret sin? A hidden agenda? Is it a relationship? Technology? Bitterness? Envy? Strife? If we want revival, we must come honest before the Lord.
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The second question for revival is: Am I Humble? This may be the hardest one to answer honestly. American culture teaches us to “pull ourselves up by the bootstraps.” We don’t give up our rights- we fight for them. We’re never wrong, or at least hardly ever. But this can have unintended consequences when it comes to living a revived life. We may live “righteously” and be at odds with the Lord (think of the Pharisees). Yet someone may have lived a wicked, heinous life and be accepted because one continues in pride, and the other humbles himself. Proof? Take Ahab. Scripture tells us that he was the most wicked, perverse king in the history of Israel. But he found mercy because he humbled himself. Notice what the Lord said:
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1 Kings 21:29 Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days…
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Are you humble today? We can be honest without being humble. Think Pharaoh. And others. Let’s humble ourselves before the Lord, and “be clothed in humility” if we’re to live in a state of revival.
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The final question is this: Am I hungry? This goes back to the introduction. If I’m going to experience revival, I must be hungry for it. There’s a promise the Lord gave concerning this:
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Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
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Possibly the reason we’re not hungry for revival is because we’re filling ourselves with “junk” that takes away our spiritual appetite. If I’m so filled with television, Hollywood, video games, hobbies, etc. I may not stay hungry for personal revival. My dad used to encourage us to take in “soul food”- sermons, biographies, and articles that wet our appetite for the things of God! Let’s get hungry once again for righteousness. Let’s desire revival. I believe a great starting place would be to ask these three questions: Am I honest? Am I humble? Am I hungry?