HOW TO IGNITE REVIVAL

Reading the opening chapters of 2 Chronicles, you will discover Solomon is preparing to build a temple for the Lord in Jerusalem (chapt 2-5).
He completes the temple and dedicates it with a prayer before all the assembly of Israel (chapter 6).
The Lord responds by filling the temple with His glory (chapter 7).
After sacrifices are offered and the Feast of Dedication is observed, the Lord appears to Solomon with both a warning and a promise:

   

2 Chronicles 7:12-14 And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. 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; | ¹⁴ 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.

While the Initial Interpretation is for the nation of Israel, its Potential Application is for the Church today. Israel was to be, unto the Lord, a holy nation; they were to declare His glory to the nations. 

• But how could Israel impact and influence the nations, if they themselves needed to repent and return to the Lord? So it is with the church today. 
• If we want our world to know the Lord, then we must first reverence and honor the Lord.

C. H. Spurgeon: "The word revive is from the Latin, and may be interpreted thus— to live again, to receive again a life which has almost expired; to rekindle into a flame the vital spark which was nearly extinguished.

In v 14, God tells us “How Revival Is Ignited.” There are conditions that must be met in order to experience genuine, heaven sent revival. 

1. "If" – The CONDITION. Revival is conditional.

• "If" is such a little word, but everything hinges on it. It is a conjunction; it functions as a connector between words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. 
•  "If" is used to say that something must happen before another thing can happen.

Charles Finney: What Is A Revival? A revival is not a miracle – A miracle has been generally defined as a divine interference, where natural laws are set aside or suspended.  A revival is not a miracle in this sense.  All the laws of mind and matter remain in force.  They are neither suspended nor set aside in a revival. Some people feel that revival is a miracle of God that takes place mysteriously; when, in fact, a revival takes place when the people of God become determined to take appropriate, prescribed steps given to us in the Word of God.

• "If" we recognize the need for, and really desire to have revival, it must be on God’s terms, not ours; God’s way, not our way.

Vance Havner, “The situation is desperate, but the saints are not.”

• We need to be desperate for revival. R. G. Lee, a fiery Baptist pastor, said it correctly when he stated,…

• If all the sleeping folk woke up,
• If all the lukewarm folk fired up,
• If all the dishonest folk fessed up,
• If all the disgruntled folk smiled up,
• If all the depressed folk cheered up,
• If all the estranged folk made up,
• If all the gossipers shut up,
• If all true soldiers stood up,
• If all the church members prayed up...

          Then we can have a revival!

2.    "My people" – The CHRISTIAN.

• Revival begins with God’s people – PERIOD! Not the unsaved; Not America as a whole; Not in Congress or the Senate or White House... but with God’s people.

• We cannot blame our society, our government, our schools, or any secular individuals for the absence of revival – that is our fault!

3.    "Which are called by my name" – The CHURCH.

• As the Church, we bear God’s name.
• We are "Called-out ones."
• We have been called-out by God, unto God, and for God.

4.    "Shall humble themselves" – The CONTRITION.

• Sorrow over sin with a desire for change, arising from a renewed and sincere love of God.

Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

1 Peter 5:5 “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

5.    "And pray" – The COMMUNICATION.  Every aspect of prayer:

• Confession
• Petition
• Intercession
• Adoration... ought to be saturated with a desire for Revival.

6.    "And seek My face" – The CONTEMPLATION.

• There needs to be a deliberate focus on God.

Daniel 11:32 "...the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits."

Psalm 18:1-3 "I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. ² The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. ³ I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies."

7.    "And turn from their wicked ways" – The CHANGE OF COURSE.

• Changing Course means changing our mind.
  

1 John 1:8-10 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and the truth is not in us.”

• To confess our sin means: To say the same thing about sin that God says.

The CONCLUSION: If we set these 7 things in motion, what will the result be? "...then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

This is a promise from God Himself – The Lord of Heaven.