4 Jun 2012
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The blue line above represents a time line. It is God’s time line for revival, the revival that He plans to send to central Indiana. Notice that there is no indication for when on this time line God will send revival; that is because the time of revival arrival is known only to God. This blue line can also represent the time we should seek to humble ourselves and pray, the time we should seek the face of God and repent from our personal and national sins.
As a Nation we have strayed far from God. Our Churches primarily preach the things that engender warm fuzzy feelings in the hearts of those who attend. We hear little in our churches about the holiness of God and the stark sinfulness of ourselves. We may occasionally hear about heaven but rarely do we hear about hell. Few pastors are preaching about the absolute acrimony of hell. But, it is not the pastors who are primarily responsible. It is us, yes those of us who are accurately called by His name, we bear the primarily responsibility for the condition of our Nation.
Wait, you say, how am I responsible for the deformation of the family, or how am I responsible for the murder of the unborn children? What role do I have in the propagation of pornography in our media on seemingly every front?
I must confess my role in this is at least, lack of prayer and inconsistent obedience. Further for some of us perhaps we are more interested in our own comfort than in our Father’s glory. Are there ways that you prioritize comfort over Kingdom building. Are you failing in fear, are we bailing out on boldness for the Name above every name? I do not know where you fail. I do know that I fail repeatedly and frequently.
God is calling us to humble ourselves. This calling includes the attitude of surrender of all of our rights and hopes in exchange for a focus on bringing glory to God. Humility excludes our normal self-centered attitude which seeks me first, second and sometimes third and where God and others come along in a distant forth.
For God to be ready and willing to bring revival we know only His promise: 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, forgive their sins and heal their land.
We know that God desires to bring glory to His name. Jesus instructed us to pray firstly, Our Father in Heaven Hallowed be Thy Name. The pattern for our prayer is first, in whatever means possible, to ascribe to God the holiness that is rightfully His! God is holy and we are not. The deep and full realization of these two facts is perhaps the foundation for humility. Does it seem ironic that in God’s instructions to Solomon the first step toward revival outlined is to humble ourselves, and Jesus when teaching His disciples to pray first called them to keep God’s name holy? Perhaps one thing we are missing today is a deep inner knowledge and understanding of holy humility? Was this the same attitude that Paul instructed the Philippians to grasp and to make a part of them? “5 Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained,
7 But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being.
8 And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross!” - Philippians 2:5-8 (AMP)
Ask God to show you what is in His heart regarding the actions or attitudes that you need to change in order to move toward holy humility. He will show you , if before you ask, you will certify to Him that you will comply with His instructions as soon as He has revealed them. This is the mind that Paul said we should have in us.
As soon as we have taken the divinely ascribed steps toward holy humility we are now prepared to pray aright.
Psalms 85:6 (AMP)
6 Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?
This prayer and its answer will bring great glory to our God!
Jeff Williams
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