Revive Us Again

Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. When you get away from your Bible, you most likely are getting away from God.

So, when we are revived, one of the first things that happens to us is we have now this insatiable appetite. For God's Word. On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about how true revival can come back to America.

Now here's Dr. Graham with his message. Revive Us Again. Take your Bibles. Turn once again today to 2 Chronicles chapter 7 and verse 14.

We begin. A message on revival, which is the sovereign work of God in the hearts and lives of his people. It is a renewed, new obedience. To knowing and doing the will of God in our lives in obedience to Him, revival is what God does in the hearts of His people. From the pilgrims, who the first thing they did when they set foot at Plymouth Rock was to kneel and pray.

And then, of course, not only the pilgrims, but the patriarchs and the matriarchs of our nation, the men and women who prayed and who served and who fought and birthed a nation. Our nation was conceived. by men and women who believed in the power of God, who believed in the providences of God. And in prayer. But unfortunately, the secularism which is eroding the culture at this time has encroached, and the darkness has moved and spread.

And that is why we're in the spiritual condition we are as a nation. And we need spiritual awakening. The church needs to be revived. God's people revived. And the nation awakened.

So we pray for a brand new spiritual movement. Proverbs 14, 34 says that righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

So a nation rises on righteousness and it falls by and because of sin, and we need revival.

So 2 Chronicles 7, 14 is the theme. of this message on revival. If my people, who are called by my name. Will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, turn from their wicked ways. Then I will hear from heaven.

and forgive their sin. and heal Their land. Amen. Our nation is sick and we need God's healing. Hand, it's my people.

Revival begins with his people. God calls his people out. And says, if my people, so it starts with us, it starts with the church, it starts with you and me, our families, as we seek the God of heaven. And we're to humble ourselves in a world that is enamored with selfies and selfishness. To humble ourselves means that we surrender our lives and we get on our faces before God and surrender our wills to do his will.

You know, there is a reason that we are encouraged. To posture in prayer on our knees or even on our faces.

Now, you can stand to pray, you can sit to pray, there's no required position for prayer. But when we get on our knees, as I often do at the beginning of the day, is to get on your knees is an act of humility and surrender to God. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, and He will exalt you in due season.

So, as we humble ourselves, God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. As we humble ourselves before the Lord and we own our own pride, which is a hard sin to admit. But as we humble ourselves and own our pride and confess our sins and say, as the old. A hymn says, It's not my brother, not my sister, but it's me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer. That's what we do.

This verse is a direct word from God. God speaks. It's given in response to the dedication of the temple in Solomon's day when the fire fell and the glory of God came upon the people of God in that era. And certainly, this was a promise and a call to prayer to Israel. But we are also called by his name, and we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus.

And Christians certainly have the privilege of praying as we're taught to pray here in 2 Chronicles 7:14. And we said, you know, because this is a direct word of God, it reminds us that revival begins with God's word. Every great revival, spiritual awakening in history has included a revival of the Bible, a rediscovery of God's word, whether it is Nehemiah's day, Ezra's day, or our day. And because God's word is often neglected, Christians drift and churches drift. Because the word of God may be denied or defamed or diluted in some way, the church dies.

Without the power and the presence of God in his word, the church cannot live. And so we need a revival. of the Bible. And I'm praying that God is going to raise up a new generation of young preachers and teachers and missionaries that will proclaim the Word of God to a new generation. happens to us personally.

Personal revival comes when we get on our knees with an open Bible, or we open our Bibles and sit in a chair and welcome his presence.

However, you choose to do it, but when you open God's Word and allow God's Word to speak. to you. You know is true. When you get away from your Bible, You most likely are getting away from God. You're no longer close.

to God.

So, when we are revived, one of the first things that happens to us is we have now this insatiable appetite. For God's word. Amen? But then What happens when we are revived? When revival comes and we're saying, Lord, do it again.

Lord, Revive us again. This kind of revival requires Repentance. What is 2 Chronicles 7, 14 right in the middle of it? It says we humble ourselves, pray, seek God's face, turn. Turn from their wicked Wait.

This is repentance, which means to turn, it means to change. And this word repentance. is often missing in the Christian's vocabulary today. Repentance and the message of repentance is so often missing in our pulpits today. Because preachers are not preaching faith and repentance towards God, but Jesus did.

In fact, in the scriptures, we're told that Jesus came in Matthew chapter 4. Preaching, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. These are his first words. He also said in Luke chapter 13: if you don't repent, repent. Because unless you repent, You will all likewise Perish.

It is impossible for you to become a Christian without sincere repentance and faith towards God through Jesus Christ. Without repentance, there is no salvation. And without repentance in the church, there is no sanctification. That is, there is no spiritual power or growth. One thing is always true when revival Ignites.

And that is there is conviction of sin. Confession of sin. and changed lives. Here's repentance. Repentance is not...

Regrets. You're sorry you did something is so much more than regret. Repentance is not even remorse. Tears. Judas wept bitterly when he betrayed the Lord, but he went out and hanged himself.

In contrast to that, there's Simon Peter denied the Lord three times, and he wept profusely because of his sin, but he repented and he was restored by the Lord. And there's a big difference in what happened to Judas. who died in his sin and went to hell. And Simon Peter, who repented of his sin, received the Lord's grace and forgiveness and became. the great Simon Peter, the preacher and apostle.

So it's more than remorse. There is remorse, there's conviction, but godly sorrow... Produces repentance. I'll tell you something else: repentance is not. Repentance is not resolved.

Just a promise to do better. How many times have you done better? Have we sinned and we say, oh, I'll do better next time, but we've not truly repented of it. And then repentance is not reform. Repentance is not trying to do better.

It's not behavior modification. You know, repentance is not regret, it's not remorse, it's not resolve. It's not reformed. You know what it is? It is redirection.

It means to turn from sin by trusting in Christ. You say, is it faith or it is repentance? The answer is yes. Because faith and repentance. It's like two sides of the same coin.

You can't repent without believing in Christ. You can't believe in Christ without repenting of your sin.

So we both repent and receive Christ. It's a change in direction. You're going in one direction and you turn around and in the power of Christ. You go in a brand new direction. That's repentance.

It's more than being sorry for your sin, or it is saying goodbye to your sin and the power of God. It doesn't mean perfection, but it does mean direction, a redirection of your life. Your life gets turned around. Your life gets changed when you repent of your sin. Jesus spoke to the churches about this in the book of Revelation.

When churches were failing and struggling and flailing in the culture of that day, Jesus called the dead churches and the compromised churches and the loveless churches. He told them to repent and to do the first work. It is a message not only for the unbeliever to repent, but it is a message for the believer. And here's the good news. God never rejects a repentant sinner.

First John 1:9. If we confess our sins, and that word means confess to... Say the same thing as it means to agree with God. That, what I've done is wrong. The Holy Spirit convicts you of something going on in your life, something that you've done that is wrong, or something that you haven't done, a sin of omission, in which God's prompted you, led you to do something, and you disobeyed.

So it can be a sin of commission, a sin of omission. Regardless of the sin, you are convicted of it. And what do you do? You don't hide it, you don't cover it, you don't hold on to it, you don't cherish it, but rather you confess it, which says, God, I am wrong. I agree with you that this does not belong in my life, and I turn from this sin, I repent.

And if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and what? To cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is where revival begins in our hearts and in our homes. and in our churches. It's repentance and it's required.

You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message. Revive us again. We are excited to share that we have a new way to connect with us. It's our texting service designed to keep you connected with everything happening here at PowerPoint. You'll be the first to know about upcoming events, special announcements, and truly enriching content.

To join, start a new text conversation by texting the word CONNECT to five nine seven eight nine. Again, text CONNECT to five nine seven eight nine. Every gift given to PowerPoint Ministries before June 30th will be doubled through a $200,000 matching grant. This is a crucial moment as we close out the financial year. Because your support helps ensure that the truth of Jesus continues reaching people who are searching for something real they can trust.

We'll send you the Jesus Discoveries by Dr. Jeremiah Johnston as our thanks for your gift of $10 or more. a resource designed to strengthen your confidence in the truth of the gospel. To give your gift and request your copy, text June to 59789. That's June to 59789.

So that everyone has a chance to receive this helpful resource, please limit one per household.

Now let's get back to today's message. Revive Us Again. But what else is this revival? about Lord Revive us again.

Well, it means That Revival is experienced when we seek God's Now get ready because we're going to stay here a while. The scripture says Turn to me. And seek My Face.

Now we learned in Numbers chapter 6 the blessing. The Aaronic prayer that the priests would give, and the people would say amen at the end of it. May the Lord bless you and keep you. Make his face shine. upon you.

We know that God's face is upon us when we turn. to him.

So what is it to say? The face of God is toward us. Are we... turn towards God's face. What does that mean?

Oscar Wilde once wrote, A man's face. is his autobiography. You can look at a man, a woman's face, and there's a lot there. in the lines, in the eyes. And the lips.

He was saying that a man's face reflects. What is often in the heart. And so when we seek God's face. It speaks of his character. It speaks of his personality.

Because God has a face. Yes, the Bible says. That God is spirit, and those who worship him worship him in spirit and truth, but Our God has a face, and that face was revealed perfectly. In Jesus Christ. In reality, the face of God, when you talk about.

Turning to the face of God. It represents the manifest presence. of God. His face He shows Uh It's the desire for his presence when we seek his face. It is good to seek the hand of God.

Promise to bless us. And to provide for us, we can ask and keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking, Jesus said. Yes, ask for his hand of blessing. Ask him to hold you with his hands. But above all Seek God Himself.

Seek his face. Because there is joy. in his face. God shows his face by grace. Because he wants us to know his presence.

He wants us to know him. personally. If you have been away from someone that you love for a long time, When you get back together. How good is it to see their face? Again.

When we get to heaven And we see The faces, these are not disembodied spirits floating around in the air somewhere. But Alive, more alive than even in this place on earth. But we will see the faces of our loved one. Most of all, we will see the face of God, our Savior. But until then by faith We see and seek his face.

The psalmist said, Blessed are they. Are the people who know the festival shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light. Of your face. What a great scripture. Who walk In the light of your faith, who exalt in your name, which means to explode with praise.

That word exalt means to just. Blow up with praise. who do it all day long, and in your righteousness they are exalted. The psalmist said, Psalm 27 and verse 8, you have said, seek my face. And my heart says to you, your Face, Lord.

Do I seek?

So this is revival in your life, in the church. When? We go beyond what we need and what we want from the hand of God and seek Him and Him only. And to desire him above all else, his God's face. This is the ultimate.

Facebook, FaceTime. Do you know that's what you need more than anything in your life? Is face time. With God. Amen.

Professing Christians go a lifetime. and have very little faith. FaceTime. With God. No wonder we need revival.

No wonder lives and homes and marriages are falling apart.

So I'm calling you to the ultimate Eternal FaceTime. That you spend time every day in your life. seeking to know his presence. to experience his Miraculous, manifold. presence.

This comes with time in God's Word where we see God in His Word. It comes. in times of prayer. It's ignited by prayer. Humble yourself and pray.

The sentence says Not casual prayers. Not selfish prayers. Not say prayers. Not hurried prayers. But daring prayers, daring to believe God for great things.

Desperate prayers.

So often the prophets Called us to cry out to God. Desperate prayers, focused and fervent prayers. Prayer is the power source and is essential for the work of God. Prayer is the atmosphere in which revival arrives.

So pray and Seek my face. Prayer is the difference of what I can do and what God can do. When I pray. I get what God can do. Zechariah 4, verse 6, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord.

One day we will see him face to face. 1 Corinthians 13:12 tells us this: that now we see through a mirror darkly, but then we will know even as we are known. And I'm looking forward to that day. This prayer time, this FaceTime with God. brings renewal and restoration.

in our lives. And when this happens. When we humble ourselves before God, When we Seek his face. in prayer. and with passion.

When we Turn from our wicked ways, repenting of our sin, confessing. And our lives changed by the cross because there's no changed life apart from the cross. and the resurrection of Jesus. And our message, of course, is the message. That Jesus saves.

And only Jesus. is the Savior of the world. He's not a way to God. He is the way and the truth and the life. And false teachers may claim that other religions are a pathway.

or process to getting to God. But no religion can save. Not even the Christian religion. Because Christianity Is not a religion, it is Christ and Christ himself. Christianity is not a church, it's not a creed, it's not a code, it's not a cause, it is Christ and Christ alone.

So revival happens. When Jesus Christ. The Lord and Savior of the world is experienced in our lives. And so before you, Ask God to change the world as we should. Or to change our nation, maybe you should ask.

as I've been asking these days. Lord. What needs to change in me? What do I need to confess? What do I need to surrender to you?

What do I be to offer to you. Because when I am revived. My witness flows. The giving, the generosity flows. My life is filled with joy and peace.

The Spirit of God. activates me in my personal witness. And here's what happens. The scripture says here when When we humble ourselves, when we pray, when we seek His face, when we are turning from our sin. Then God One, two.

Here's Amazing. That God Yeah. The slightest cry. One of his children. I mean, Jesus said he cares for the birds of the air.

Don't you know he cares for you?

So he hears. He listens. Would we pray? Will we pray like this? And then he heals.

God hears. And God heals. The brokenhearted. He heals broken homes, broken hearts, broken lives. broken people.

and broken nations. And we need the healing touch of The great physician. And what happens when revival comes? It's not something that we work up. Or even pray down.

It is a divine intervention. But I'll tell you this: when God's people pray like this, as on the day of Pentecost, in obedience to what Christ told the disciples and others to do, when they prayed, the Spirit came down. And when the Spirit came down, They went out. and changed. The world.

Lord, revive us. Again. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message. Revive us again. When you support PowerPoint ministries, you help share God's word with people around the world through programs just like this one.

We'll send you the Jesus Discoveries by Dr. Jeremiah Johnston as our thanks for your gift of $10 or more. This powerful resource walks through real historical evidence that points directly to Jesus, helping strengthen your faith and giving you confidence in the truth of God's Word. And right now, every gift given before June 30th will be doubled through a $200,000 matching grant. This is a crucial moment as we close out the financial year.

Because your support helps ensure that PowerPoint Ministries continues reaching people with the gospel in the months ahead. To give your gift and request your copy, text June to five nine seven eight nine. That's June to five nine seven eight nine.

So that everyone has a chance to receive this helpful resource, please limit one per household.

We are excited to share that we have a new way to connect with us. It's our texting service designed to keep you connected with everything happening here at PowerPoint. You'll be the first to know about upcoming events, special announcements, and truly enriching content. To join, start a new text conversation by texting the word connect. To five nine seven eight nine.

Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today? Revival is not complicated. It's not a program. It's not a movement you join. or a conference you attend.

It's a door you open. Just one person. just one door. Jesus is not standing outside the city. He is standing outside your heart.

and he is knocking. everything we've talked about. The humility, the prayer, the repentance, the seeking of His face. It all leads to this moment. not a moment out there somewhere in a future awakening.

But right now, in the quiet of where you actually live. God hears the slightest cry of one of His children. You don't need a crowd. You need a door.

So Before you ask God to revive the nation, and we should. ask him to revive you. Before you pray for the church to wake up, Ask him what still needs to wake up in you. What do you need to confess? What have you been holding that he has been asking you to release?

What direction have you been walking that needs to be turned around? History belongs to the intercessors. It begins with one, it might begin with you. today in this moment. If you open the door and say, Lord, revive us again and let it start here.

And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Jeremiah Johnston's book, The Jesus Discoveries. Just text June to 59-789. And join us again next time as Dr.

Graham brings a message about what it means to be one nation under God. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.