The Question Of Revival

I feel like that God has given me a message that's ordained for this meeting and I'd like to ask you to open your Bible to the Book of Psalms the 85th chapter when you have it indicated by saying amen amen amen we're going to read verse 6 verse 8 and verse 11 verse 12 I'm sorry wil thou not revive us again that thy people may rejoice in thee verse eight I will hear what God the Lord will speak verse 12 yay the Lord shall give that which is good and our land shall yield her increase will thou not revive us again that thy people may Rejoice yay the Lord shall give that which is good and our land shall yield her increase my contribution to because of the times 96 shall be framed around this subject the question of Revival the question of Revival I would like to ask you to pray I would like to ask these Elders to come and pray as well with me right now in the name of Jesus word touch our hearts change our lives Jesus your name praise hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah thank you Jesus the question of Revival clap your hands and you can be seated God one of the most interesting of rhetorical strategies is the use of questions some questions are for effect some are for only rhetorical purposes there are however some questions that are so deeply embedded in the human spirit that neither time nor circumstance will quench a glance at scripture reveals some of these searching questions asked by men and also asked by God Abraham said how shall it be Lord how shall the promise come to pass seeing that I am old Isaiah said are you sure that you want me I'm a child God asks Adam Where Art Thou he asked another writer is there anything too hard for me and to Ezekiel he asks the most interesting of questions can these bones live you would think that Ezekiel would ask God but God asked Ezekiel can these bones live God God is not threatened or intimidated by questions neither asking nor receiving them and having established that fact in my mind I am comforted to ask a few of my own is it really realistic that we can in 1996 have Revival is it a figment of our imagination is it an illusion are we chasing the invisible are we reaching for the intangible and are we believing for the impossible is it just a torical strategy to articulate words around Revival or is it really attainable and what about the Harvest is the Harvest always a 100% Harvest and if not what percent is acceptable to God and man we have all heard the eloquent rhetoric we've seen the isolated incidences of Revival but what about the

falling away what about hard Hearts cold Spirits dry churches desperate communities if I accept that Revival is possible what are the parameters of Revival how do we measure it what about reconciliation of Sinner to God of church to God of church to neighboring Church of blacks and whites yellows Reds and Browns what about reconciliation certainly every Progressive and Forward Thinking leader in here today has to be troubled by the polarization that is prevalent in our country today and in other countries and an even more searching question for us in the United Pentecostal church is can we EXP experience Revival without reconciliation can we experience Revival without reconciling ourselves to demographic Trends demographic Trends would suggest not and certainly the scriptural mandate precludes our ability to continue to ignore that the gospel is for everybody what is God's will these are my question and God is Not intimidated by my questions neither should youen many of us have an intellectual and a theological understanding and awareness of God but it is these issues and the issues of life and Ministry that challenge us in a real time fashion and when we are challenged by life and Circumstance and min history unconsciously we frame a question we move and we dance and we wrestle with the questions as did Jacob with the angel and out of the struggle with the angel is birth the question and as one translation records it like this will thou return and revive us will thou return and revive us God I fill my help in here I like the language of the psalmist for the language of the psalmist is that of realist the language of the psalmist is that of the noun to use computer terminology it is real time it is contemporary the psalmist had a preoccupation with the issues of now the POS of the moment is provocative enough to squeeze SE the ink out of the pen and reduce it to language born out of struggle born out of pain born out of joy and sometimes out of exaltation Psalms is the unfermented fruit of the vine of Human Experience interacting with God it is in Psalms where we receive courses on History biography geography and human psychology all within the beautiful structure of pros and poet a closer examination of Psalms reveals writers who were not afraid to indulge in Dialogue on the contradictions of life that they faced neither were they afraid to ask the tough questions they were not afraid to make bold statements of Faith only to make confessions of weakness a few verses later we feel compelled to identify with writers who show us life on the mountain and in the valley we will all occasionally slay our goliaths only to face our personal Nemesis of King Saul but in a broader context the writers of Psalms were social political and spiritual commentators they were often barometers of the nation's condition on one occasion they remarked how can we sing the Lord song In a Strange Land they seem to imply that geography had everything to do with spirituality it reflected their loss of morale as a nation our text today will our reviv us was one of those referred to by Nehemiah when he said that in the days of David and ASAP of old there were chief of the singers and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God this is the

prayer of a patriarch for his afflicted country it is believed among some theologians that David wrote this others debated there is much debate as to the author and the setting some have looked at the Captivity expressed in this Psalm as being the Babylonian captivity While others disagree and say that it was most likely written during the oppression of the Philistines and the psalmist wrote it while under the spirit of Prophecy one thing is for certain it was a psalm for the sons of Kora and this was significant because Moses says that of the 250 people who died during the rebellion of Kora he said not withstanding the children of Kora died not that's right and I would propose that these children and grandchildren of T were so merciful and they were so grateful at the mercy of God that they devoted themselves and their descendants and consecrated themselves to serve in the ministry of song There is a new testament parallel for by our own experience the Bible says he has called us out of Darkness he has spared us from spiritual rebellion and suicide to preserve a Remnant that will praise him one translator says it like this will not thou give us back our life somebody shout hallelujah will thou not sins a plaintive cry as if Hope was almost gone the writer is almost desperate wanting to believe but really a little bit timid and scared to totally commit he says Lord you used to be favorable to us you're brought back the Captivity of Jacob your past doings are prophetic of what you will do again Lord many times you fought our battles you stayed the pestilence you averted the famine and you delivered us this was a very powerful argument to an immutable God it is because he changes not that we are not consumed even though Israel had Sinn and backslid the ever merciful for God had looked upon them and blessed them many of us have been brought into our own soul captivity but we have not been left there for the same God that brought Jacob back from padanaram to his father's house has restored us to himself again and I feel hope timidly rising and it's asking the question If He Did It Before will he not do it again somebody shout hallelujah hallelujah notice their petition was God focused will thou say it with me will thou ladies and gentlemen brothers and sisters first and foremost it is God who brings Revival none of us will negate the impact of certain people's Ministry but my brothers and sisters let us always remember it is God who must build the house except the Lord build the house they labor in vain that building my brothers and sisters evangelists cannot build the house personalities cannot Doctrine and standards alone cannot build the house hello programs cannot build the house titles personalities cannot build the house organizations cannot build a house it will take God and God Alone to build the house will thou will thou shout it with me will thou th and when he brings it you can't box it up you can't box it up in your town you can't box it up in your District you can't box it up in your organization come on see amen somebody may I suggest to you today that we must be careful in the terminology that we employ terms like Revival districts and Revival churches can send very subtle messages because if I'm not in one of those Revival districts or if I'm not in one of those Revival churches I may feel like that I'm in a Strange Land and how can I sing in a Strange Land but God is not bound by geography

he is not bound by District he is not bound by organization I feel like preaching here today somebody shout hallelujah hallelujah shout it again Hallelujah my brothers and sisters we must consider the psyche of this people this was God God's special people God knew it and so did Israel in spite of every transgression they could remember that they were a people called by the name of God they remembered the answer that God gave Solomon that if my people which are called by my name would humble themselves and pray seek my face and turn from their wicked ways I'll heal the land will thou not revive us again us us us in the context of this verse implies favor the aspect of relationship that separated them from others in the Israelites Minds it implied exclusivity we are your people we belong to you you can't let us down because we are yours history tells us that you vied us after the great flood after slavery in Egypt after backsliding in the wilderness after the rebellion of Kora you vied us then we were as dead men like carcasses rotting in the grave but you vied us then and since we are yours if you would do it for anybody surely you would do it for us will thou not revive us there is a thought that is deeply embedded in our text today and I want to lift it out ah for all of us to examine and that thought can be expressed by the word reconciliation it is illustrated by the pronouns us and thou on either side of the verb revive us and thou used to have been going on us and thou were tight but since we us and thou are apart neither one of us feel so good and so us and thou need to be reconciled I want to tell you something my brothers and sisters Revival is the process of reconciliation and Reconciliation is the stuff of Revival life reconciliation is the stuff of Revival it's the guts of revival can I preach like I feel it's the nitty-gritty of Revival you believe it shout Glory Glory notice these were God's people they were called by his name they were the monotheists uhhuh they were the one God folks they were the chosen ones come on and preach with me in here they were the chosen ones of God but even us and thou occasionally need to get back together again even us and thou need to be reconciled even us and thou need Revival almost without exception reconciliation has to do with bringing back into favor or Harmony it is typically spoken of and to God's people for God's people today it is those after the acts 238 experience but for the sinner it reaches back to Adam's sin now my brothers and sisters After experiencing the power of the Holy Ghost After experiencing seeing and benefiting from the manifold grace and mercy of God after chewing the fat of His blessings we us need Reviving and Reconciliation and that fact alone should cause us to expand the coast and open the borders and let him that is a thirst come let him that is hungry come let he that has hurt come let he that has only come let the single the divorced the fatherless the backslid the black the white the brown the

yellow the red let him come and when they come will thou not revive but the question I the question are the questions are will they come come and what happens if they come I'm going to preach like I feel today like many of you today I am troubled by polarized communities I'm troubled by opinion poles that pit one group against another I'm troubled by segregated housing and glass ceilings in the corporate world but also like many of you in here today I'm even more troubled by segregated churches will thou not revive us will thou not revive us sister Mangan you told me to preach it and don't hold back I didn't plan on any of this but yesterday back in my hotel room there came a heavy anointing on me I had gotten up against the block but then the anointing came and it began to low and I got to tell it like I feel it you and I are troubled we're troubled by the news media reports of ethnic cleansing over in Eastern Europe but I'm more concerned about churches in diverse communities who don't have ethnics at all come on and say Amen somebody like you I am troubled I am bothered by trash and smut and violence that comes across various mediums but I'm even more concerned when the newspaper reporter comes and visits our churches and writes that the headlines that the most segregated place on Sunday morning in America is in the church WIll thou not revive us am I preaching to somebody in here is it right say Amen somebody the reason some of us in here are concerned H is because the scripture says we ye are the light say Amen somebody but Jesus said if therefore the light that is in thee be Darkness How great is the darkness will thou revive us I want to challenge you to today my God I didn't come to padic kick and and you know I I feel a little bit strange and I feel like a child because of these great folks that around me but the Holy Ghost poured into my spirit I said give me a burden for this message and it poured it out on me I've got to preach like it is shout hallelujah hallelujah when Dr King gave his famous speech speeches about peace and the table of Brotherhood love and nonviolence where was the real church WIll thou not revive us this most prolific and eloquent of orators impacted the World by the beauty of his ideology and his oratory but you and I already know that ideology and oratory does not necessarily change a man we say us say that it is the gospel which is the power of God to every man that believeth we say it but do we really mean it will thou revive us 30 years have passed and the unreconciled world and of Christendom are still dealing with many of the same issues say Amen somebody will thou not revive us people are confused why doesn't this program work H why doesn't that law work corporations are wiser than the children of light they are trying they're trying diversity seminars Leadership Lessons affirmative action meditation new agism I'm okay you're okay they are trying you can't blame them for trying when we haven't given them the prescription H and the prescription

is God is the love of Christ we are the light some are reaping the some are reaping the result of their efforts and they're doing it and focusing their efforts on the bottom line we live in a global Society technology is building Bridge across the ocean corporations around the world are feeling the brain drain no longer are American corporations competing only with American corporations we're in global competition and in this kind of global competition we all have to be Marshal around a common goal and a common vision and we can't afford to mess over our human resources you you got to hear what I'm saying employees at every level of the organization in a global competition have got to be United and they've got to have power to make decisions no matter where their culture is no matter what their location is all of this is done to fulfill the goals of the business come on and say Amen somebody we've heard it we've heard it we've heard it again and again at this conference we've heard folks say it Elder Mangan has said it Elder kilar has said it amen we've got to hear what the spirit of the Lord is saying to this church in this last of the last hours those of you that know me and I preached in many of your churches you know that I'm not an issue preacher I'm not a social preacher but I feel a burden on this message unlike any I've ever preached before I also feel that there are Folk FKS in here today that are feeling the burden of the spirit of this hour in this hour the New Testament my brothers and sisters hear me today the New Testament is primarily about challenge to the church come on and say Amen somebody challenge the state of normaly challenge the status quo challenge The Stereotype challenge the ism and schism challenge the vision so my people will thou not revive us but now Hallelujah now having asked the questions on God is Not intimidated by me asking him I need an answer am amen I need an answer say Amen somebody the psalmist said I must hear what God the Lord will say and I'm preaching to folks who came in here with questions you know what your question questions are but today you are going to hear what God the Lord will say and the spirit let he that have an ear let him hear what the spirit of the Lord has to say to the church I've heard what everybody else has said out there in the world I've seen I've heard the questions all of us have searched for answers we've seen the contradictions but how do we get there from here we've got to have an answer say Amen somebody politicians say add more of this or cut more of that cut this law and add that program but that's not the answer social activists say raise the Consciousness through Civil Disobedience but that's not the answer New Age says you're a God transform yourself develop your own human potential but that's not the answer strike phrases and pretty clets are not the answer H rhetoric is not the answer saying Revival is not the answer Jesus is the answer am I doing all right and so the

psalmist started going after the answer finally after searching after talking to God he finally got a word from the Lord will thou not revive us again that we may rejoice in you then here comes the answer yay the Lord shall give that which is good and now brother Cunningham here is Harvest 96 for the land shall yield her increase that's Harvest Time you hear what I'm saying H is it realistic for 96 yay the Lord shall am I believing The Impossible yay the Lord shall how shall I measure it you won't be able to measure it quantitatively or qualitatively for yay the Lord shall he shall open unto you his secret Chambers and give unto you his good treasure that there won't be room enough to receive it yay the Lord shall give that which is good shout Glory but when it happen you will see one common thread and that thread will be reconciliation come on my brothers and see amen what are the parameters there aren't any for from the north the South the East and the West there shall be Revival in the land so Zion enlarge thy tent and expand the borders repair the highway of Love build up the broken Hedges lift up your heads oh ye gates be lifted up ye Everlasting doors and the king of glory H shall come in h shout Glory well what about my questions I'm almost there sit down what about my questions what about my questions I got my question I'm confused they weigh me down when I look at the church I'm disappointed come on somebody my questions bring tears to my eyes it's all right to cry cry cry cry but while you're crying don't cry in vain H pick up the seed of the word for he that go forth weeping H bearing precious seed H that's been spilled over H with the tears shall doubtless come rejoicing H bringing your Sheed with him say God I'm almost ready to preach here get ready man Mickey what about my land what about my part of the country what about my part of the community yay the Lord shall and the Earth shall when the Lord shall then the Earth shall it's God that does it h when the Lord shall H then Harvest shall a program won't do it h but the Lord shall H your great preaching won't do it but the Lord shall shout yes all right what about my part of the country you don't know where I'm at that's all right God is not bound by geography every religious movement that has rocked this world sit down the Protestant movement the protest and Reformation the Puritans the evangelicals the Democratic Revival of the 18th century the last century Revival of the holy spirit is pale by comparison to what God is releasing in the Earth today you hear what I'm saying finny and Spurgeon and all of those folks ah they don't have anything on what God is Rel relasing in the Earth today h GT and all of those other folks they don't have anything on what God is releasing in the Earth today

but he's saying my church has got to hear what God the Lord will say he's not going to do it if you don't hear you got to hear what God the Lord will say shout yes shout yes yes now therefore rise into thy place and let thy people rejoice in thee let all those that put their trust in thee Rejoice I will be glad and rejoice in thee rejoice in the Lord oh ye righteous for praise is calmly to the upright Israel said how can we sing the Lord's song in a Str Strange Land come on somebody for the dead praise not the Lord so revive us that we might Rejoice they said when the Lord turned again the Captivity of Zion we were like them that dream then was our mouth filled with laughter and our hearts filled with praise then said they among the Heathen the Lord Lord have done great things for them shouty yes I think that's all right but I can go one step further than that since we have their record of their questions since we have the record of God's answer we don't have to wait till the battle is over we can shout now we don't have to wait till Revival comes y the Lord y the Lord G the lord gave the Lord sh sh sh give that which is good if you believe it shout yeah shout yeah get your Bible in your hand and say yeah y the Lord G the Lord y the Lord shall do that which is good and we shall rejoice I'm going to Rejoice with you when I see the blessing of God upon your ministry I'm going to Rejoice with you I'm not going to be jealous come on somebody come on yes I'm not going to get jealous over what God's doing for you I'm not going to say you're compromising H I'm not going to talk about your church I'm not going to push you aside for y the Lord child do that which is good shout y I'm not going to speak evil of you and criticize you come on somebody do You Hear What God the Lord is saying the spirit is calling us to reconciliation H not me and you but the spirit is causing us to Unity the spirit H is calling us to reconciliation we will never dot we will never all dot every eye the same way amen we will never all cross every tea the same way but do we have enough in common that we can Rejoice will th not revive us that we may Rejoice yeah the Lord shall but now last night God told me he said it's not enough Elder for you to talk about us and thou Israel messed up by focusing only on us and thou and they even messed that up but because I've called you to the ministry of reconciliation you now have to be concerned about us and them and

thou say it us us them them and thou thou is that all right youve been here long enough let me quit turn to the person next to you oh yeah yes somebody here yeah turn to the person next to you and I want I want you to look at them don't take their hand don't touch them don't touch them just look at them come on I want you to chill I want you to look at the person next to you don't be afraid look look at who you're looking at you're looking at a man of God you're looking at a woman of God come on don't look at me look at the person next to you look at them come on look at them look at him look at them you're looking at a man and a woman of God the hand of the Lord is upon them the spirit of God dwells in them he's given them a Ministry he's given them a Ministry in some Town some Village some Hamlet God has called them look at them look at them I want you to take them by the hand right now you're holding in your hands The Fragile hands of human ability you're holding the hands that have scratched their heads wondering why when what how if perhaps maybe will thou these are the hands that have wiped tears of questions from their eyes these are the hands that have been rung out in the washer of Life clenched in frustration but they are the hands of a Survivor who through it all those hands are learning to trust in Jesus at times at times at times they're fighting through their frustration look at them look at them as you hold their hands they're they're fighting through their frustration they're fighting through their loneliness they're fighting through their despair they're fighting through the questions will thou now I want you to take that person's hands you're holding and lift them over their head and I want you to give them a prophecy we have released the spirit of Prophecy is released in here and I want you to prophesy to them listen listen listen yay the Lord shall tell them tell them again tell them again the Lord tell them again the Lord I want you to yield yourself right now to the spirit of Prophecy in this room and I want you to begin to prophesy to them yay the Lord shall he shall bless your church he shall bless your city he shall bless your Hamet whatever you put your hands to do he shall bless you as you go about reconciling he shall bless you yay the Lord shout yay the Lord shout the Lord sh he sh

I've got questions I've got questions but yay the Lord shall I've got frustration but yay the Lord shall I don't understand it but y the Lord shall I'm tired I'm weary but yay the Lord sh I'm confused but yay the Lord sh he shall he shall he shall he shall Lay Your Hands on the person again and now prophesy them un Let Yourself Go to the spirit of Prophecy and prophesy to them let the Lord speak to you to speak to the person next to you right now in the name of Jesus he shall Release Yourself release your spirit he shall he shall he shall he shall he he shall he he the Lord said I want you to do one more thing before I sit down I want you to turn to that person that Minister that man of God that woman of God that the hand of the Lord is upon they're your fellow laborer you may not feel that your percent of the Harvest is equaling 100% but when all of us link up together when you link up with me when I link up with you the land thank you shall yield its increase we will have that 100% Harvest I want you to tell that person to listen I'm going to personally commit to you that I will not judge you in 96 I will not criticize you I will not make fun of your ministry I will not castigate your ministry I will not be jealous of your ministry for we are fellow laborers of the household of God hallelujah