Revival - How badly do YOU want it?

LORD, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD.
Renew them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy.
(Habakkuk 3:2)

Don't you just Love those awesome words taken from Habakkuk, they carry such a strong overtone which gleam with respect to the Majesty of our Lord God.
But, apart from that what does it mean? - Well, let's take a look.

As he is already in the spotlight, we can start by looking at Habakkuk himself, as you may or may not know Habakkuk was a Prophet who wrote his book around 920 BC. His name "Habakkuk" means to “embrace” or “wrestle.” and I think it is probably no coincidence that his book has a lot in common with his name.

Like so many of us in today's world Habakkuk too prayed for Revival and constantly struggled (wrestled) with all the bad things going on around him, whilst wondering "where is God in all of this?"
In Habakkuk's time it appeared very much like today in that the wicked seemed to prosper through their evil deeds, enjoying triumph over the righteous and indeed often at the expense of the righteous.
I think we all get into that mind set once in a while, espescially when we either witness or are subjected to some blatant wickedness, we find ourselves asking the same question - "Oh Lord, why don't you do something?"

Many times we pray, and all too often we try to predict (or hope!) the way in which God will answer, but when the answer comes it can take quite a different form than we expected, so much so that many people think that God has not heard them or even answered them at all.
And so it was with Habakkuk , God did answer him quite clearly, but not in the way that he expected, in fact (as you would expect) the way that God answered Habakkuk's prayers and sorted things out was indeed very much an education for him, but the shining example here is that throughout whatever trials came at him and around him Habakkuk remained Faithful to God, and even though he questioned God in prayer, he learned that no matter how bad things may look, God is still always very much in control, and that he does protect the righteous as we see in numerous examples eg.(Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego).
It all boils down to the same thing, and provides us with an answer to many, many problems - Our relationship with God, we need to be constantly seeking his face, his wisdom, and his heart, to know what he is doing and where he is working - We need to know our Father and remain in close contact with him at all times whilst living according to his will through our Faith and obedience.

When God sees such a people, make no mistake he will draw near to them, and there you have all the key ingredients for a Miraculous Revival, but let us always keep a tight grip on what we know about our Heavenly Father. He is a Covenant God, and he ALWAYS keeps his promises, which in case you missed it also means that he is a Faithful God, and so he wants and expects the same of his people too which is one of the key reasons we need Revival. - Here are some highlights about revival

• We need them and should be paramount in our prayers
  
• How often have Christians given up bad habits for the Lord, but later in life they reappear.
  
• Also, how often have Christians taken up good habits for the Lord, but later in life they give them up.
  
• Many OT revivals were preceded by the reading of the Law, and hearing the solemn judgments promised upon them by God.
  
• Service that was once joyful may become habitual, commonplace, and ordinary.
  
• Our prayers which once came from our heart, now only come from the lips.

  This list could go on and on, but I think we get the general idea that Revival requires a deep level of commitment from God's people - Consider this Psalm.

  Psalm 126
  A song of ascents.
  When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed.
  Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.
  Then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."
  The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.
  Restore our fortunes, O LORD , like streams in the Negev.
  Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.
  He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.

  Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.

  Does that spell it out or what? - how bad do you want it?
  A Revival is not just good, it's a Miracle, and if you think about it, apart from the return of Jesus it is one of the most exciting, miraculous things that can happen on the face of the Earth! because it is a time when God himself draws near to Men!
  I am going to branch off a little here so that we can take a look at several great Revivals that have taken place and examine some of the very exciting facts that surrounded and triggered them.

  You can choose to download these Adobe Acrobat PDF files (below) by right clicking on them and select "Save target as" or "Save link as" from the menu, or if you have the Acrobat reader installed you can click on them as normal and view them online.

  If you do not have the Acrobat reader installed you can get it as a free download by clicking on the button below.

  

  The Hebridean Revival

  The Welsh Revival - Evan Roberts

  The Ulster Revival - 1859

  Azusa Street

  Do YOU want to be part of a real revival? then please take the Good News of the Gospel out onto the streets but if for any reason you cant do that then please, please click here! to read about my vision for a new drop in centre where people like myself involved in street evangelism can bring people into an environment of Love and compassion - please help to make this vision a reality and bring about a mighty revival starting here in Leigh.

  Brothers & Sisters, I urge you to keep praying for Revival, but equally as imporatant you have to "live" for Revival.
  Always remain Faithful unto the Lord and be steadfastly obedient to him. Hold firm to that which he gives us and consult him in all that you do. Always be ready to share your faith with the lost, seizing every opportunity you can to tell people the good news. Introduce people to God's law, because without it they will not be conscious of their sin and quickly lose interest. I reccommend visiting Ray comfort's website(s) at http://www.Livingwaters.com and http://www.TheWayOfTheMaster.com for sound Biblical advice on how to witness and evengelize effectively. If more people were aware of God's perfect law and what is to come in the near future coupled with the eternal goodness of God then we would see many much needed revivals all over the world. Come on people let's meet our Heavenly Father half-way, let Jesus see that He has a bride worth marrying.

  "Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ"
  (2Cor. 10:5 NIV)