10 Things Keeping Us from Revival (Part 2)
 

  God is always seeking our attention, beginning with His church! And no one wants revival in the church more than He Who died to purchase her and make her His very own precious, Holy Bride! So, what are some of the attitudes and thinking that hinder God's people from experiencing heaven-sent revival?

  The Psalmist writes, “Restore us, God; make your face shine on us, so that we may be saved. Lord God of Armies, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You fed them the bread of tears and gave them a full measure of tears to drink. You put us at odds with our neighbors; our enemies mock us. Restore us, God of Armies; make your face shine on us, so that we may be saved.” (Psalm 80:3-7) and “Return to us, God of our salvation, and abandon your displeasure with us. Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger for all generations? Will you not revive us again so that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your faithful love, Lord, and give us your salvation. I will listen to what God will say; surely the LORD will declare peace to his people, his faithful ones, and not let them go back to foolish ways. His salvation is very near those who fear him, so that glory may dwell in our land.” (Psalm 85:4-9) The following are the last five (5) attitudes and actions that are hindering us from experiencing God’s revival.¹

  Prayerlessness²: God will not do, apart from prayer, what He has promised to do in answer to prayer. He will wait until we come to Him with humble, repentant, believing hearts. The greatest moves of God always follow prayer. Seek His face, individually and corporately. Turn to the Lord with all your being and realize that God desires to send revival to His people even more than we claim to want it.

  Compromise: Proverbs 14:14 says, "The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways."

Compromise never happens because of ignorance. It is a sin against light! It is a "going back" on what God has shown us to our "own ways". God whispers; we were stirred; yet we forget, ignore, suppress, or disobey the truth. We can rationalize our unwillingness to obey God, but no excuse is valid! Are we willing to suffer for righteousness sake? The devil wants to lure us into a thousand things that will dull us to the Truth and cause us to become passive and bored with, or distracted from, the deep things of God.

  The Lord knows those who are His, even those who have been squeezed into the mold of the world. He has mercy on those who respond fully to His call. Break out of the world’s mold and be conformed to His image. We cannot side-step the real issues that the Holy Spirit brings to our hearts. Calvary must always precede Pentecost! Refuse to tolerate areas in your heart that you find yourself excusing to God or others.

  Disunity: Factions in the body are proof of carnality. This grieves and quenches the Holy Spirit greatly. "Discord" is the very opposite of the "one accord" that we read of in the book of Acts, which made her such a mighty vessel of God. Unforgiveness hidden in the church is an infection left in the body! Proverbs 13:10 says, "…only by pride comes contention." Divisions will leave as we humble ourselves at the level ground of the cross. One of the historical phrases attributed to the great Welsh revival was "Bend the church and save the world." God moves when proud, disunified believers obey the scriptures and humbly seek forgiveness from one another.

  Scriptural ignorance: Psalm 11:3 states, "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Hosea tells us that God's people are destroyed because of a lack of knowledge of God.  Jesus said to the Pharisees in Mark 12:24, "Do you not therefore err because you do not know the scriptures, neither the power of God?" Throughout the Bible and history, revival has come only as God's people begin to take His word and His promises seriously. We live in a day of darkness and man-made light. Sudo-gospels and cults flourish, and the church languishes in large measure because we do not know the Word of God. Allow God’s word to search your heart, change you with supernatural influence, and then share with everyone your experience!

  Love of reputation: This is simply the fear of man, or pride. In John’s gospel, he includes Jesus explaining how He is fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecies. “Even though he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet, who said: ‘Lord, who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? This is why they were unable to believe, because Isaiah also said: He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they would not see with their eyes or understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’ Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke about him. Nevertheless, many did believe in him even among the rulers, but because of the Pharisees, they did not confess him, so that they would not be banned from the synagogue. For they loved human praise more than praise from God.” (John 12:37-43)

  We fear losing our dignity or having others think that we do not “have it all together." This is the essence of the heart of a hypocrite. We ask, "What will people think if I humble myself and surrender totally to God?" Well, what will God think if you do not? We should pity the person who has never cried over the revelation of their sins as God reveals them! Were it not for the Holy Spirit’s work of conviction, how could we know of our need for forgiveness? We are called to be a holy people, different and separate from the world. If the world feels at home with us, then it is right to assume that "the offense of the cross" has ceased (2 Timothy 3:12).

  God is faithful to His word. And no one wants a revived church more than He does. If we remove the hindrances to real fellowship with Him and seek Him as He longs to be sought and found, then He will surely pour out His glorious Life-giving Spirit on us. Why is there no revival? It is only because His church has been content to try to live without it. "Restore us, God; make your face shine on us, so that we may be saved.” (Psalm 80:3)