Revival

Relational Intimacy

We believe no matter what we have done, we can have an intimate relationship with God by grace and through faith in Jesus.

We who believe inevitably will go through times of spiritual trial or barrenness.

• Spiritual dryness—when you are just going through the motions
• Dark night of the soul—when you are not just dry spiritually, but carry an additional weight of darkness or what seems like oppression
• Spiritual malaise—when you just don’t really care about spiritual things
• Take a step back—when we willingly invite something into our lives we know is not pleasing to God
• Spiritual questions—when you have more thoughts of doubt than faith

2 Chronicles 7:1–3

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.”

2 Chronicles 7:12–14

. . . 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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

If my people . . .

• Humble themselves
• Pray
• Seek my face
• Turn from their wicked ways

Then . . .

• Hear
• Forgive their sin
• Heal their land

Philippians 2:5–8

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!

• Took off his position of power
• Took on the position of servant
• Chose to obey God

We come to God (pray), obediently choosing to let go of the past (known) in order to allow Him to do something new and better (unknown) in the future.

Pride

If we are not humble, it is not because we cannot be, but because we will not be.

Luke 5:37–39

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins.

Jesus brings a newness to you that cannot be confined in the old you.

2 Chronicles 12:6–7

The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is just.”When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: “Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance.

Habakkuk 1:5

“Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.