Whom Does God Revive?

This is the day of the Lord which He has made!  We live in an exciting time when God is restoring and reviving His people.

Isaiah 61 has the awesome promise of what the Spirit accomplishes through us.  "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; ..."  We are seeing a fresh move of God in many places today as churches, schools, prayer groups, and individuals have experienced a new wave of God's glory.  What is the key, besides God's fresh mercy and goodness, to this refreshing presence and leading of the Holy Spirit?

People have been led to wait upon and worship God for extended periods.  God inhabits His praises.  However, there is something more that opens the door of our hearts to receive from God.  Isaiah 57:15 states God's habitation well, "For thus says the high and exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy, 'I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.'"  When we take time to wait upon the Lord in worship, we allow the light of the Holy Spirit to expose the darkness in our hearts and revive us.  

A local church began to wait upon the Lord last Sunday and the morning service extended over 20 hours, as worship, prophecy, confession of sin, testimonies, and prayer flowed.  The Lord moved in powerful ways with healings, repentance, tears and rejoicing, dancing and times of stillness before a holy God."  Many of those attending shared testimonies of what God did (which can be seen on their YouTube channel).  One young man shared his experience and then wisely commented "I know two things for sure, 1) every move of God begins with repentance and forgiveness and 2) it will be awesome!"  

Truly the first words Jesus preached was "Repent for the Kingdom of God has come."  Of course, repent was John the Baptist's message, and the first thing Peter said to the people who asked, "What shall we do?" on the day of Pentecost, was  "Repent."  However, it takes the Holy Spirit's light to expose sin.  Do you recall what happened to Peter and his confession (in Luke 5:8) after they "threw the nets in on the other side" and caught the massive quantity of fish?  "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."  This incident confirms what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit, that He would convict us of sin, of righteousness, and of eternal judgment.

Today is the day of the Lord.  Jesus wept over Jerusalem because they did not know the day of their visitation.  Do not miss what He is doing.  Take time to humbly seek Him and let Him search your heart.  Be obedient to whatever God leads you to do.  He desires to pour out His Spirit on all flesh, and to revive the hearts of the humble and contrite. Come into His presence with thanksgiving and His courts with praise, and humbly allow Him to lead you into repentance and forgiveness.  You will experience the fresh joy of His salvation (being whole) and His glorious presence.  Now is the acceptable time.