“Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? 7. Show us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us they salvation.”
I have preached on this text numerous times. When I read it this morning in my morning Bible reading, I felt led to share it again. The request is for revival from God. What is revival? In this case it was a request on behalf of Israel, that they experience God afresh and anew in their national life. In Jesus, this could be a request for a renewed vigor of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The question is do we want to be revived, to be changed and to live closer to the Lord? God’s answer is in the affirmative, but are we ready for it when He sends it? Only you can answer that question for yourself. God is willing to revive us. Will He find us ready for it? God is always ready to revive us, and we just need to receive it when He offers it. God wants us to have receptive hearts. The Day of Pentecost is an example of this receptive spirit. The people had been at prayer and when the Holy Spirit began to communicate the word God, the Christian people were ready to receive and the waiting world was ready to receive the word. If we asked the Lord to revive us; would we be willing to receive it? Would we welcome the world if they began to respond to us as it did at Pentecost? It is interesting that when Peter began to preach the great “Pentecostal sermon” three thousand people came to Christ. The day started with approximately 120 members in that church and when the day ended there were over 3,000 members. This was not a church growth emphasis; it was real honest to goodness revival. The request was for God to send revival and that “thy people may rejoice in thee.” When our spirits have been revived, the result will be the joy of God. I have never experienced revival in my life that was not accompanied with rejoicing. The weary world needs to see the joy of the Lord in His people. Too often, they hear about our disagreements and our complaints. They need to see the joy of the Lord at work in our daily lives. They need to see the joy of the Lord at work in our churches. Think of what a difference it would make in our churches if we were literally inviting people to rejoice with us. When the Spirit truly revives us, there will be joy in the camp. Let the Spirit revive you! If you want it, He will send it! Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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