Revival is Here!

Revival is Here! || Day 3

Joel 2:12-32 NKJV

“Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him— A grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room. Let the priests, who minister to the Lord, Weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, “Spare Your people, O Lord, And do not give Your heritage to reproach, That the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ” Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, And pity His people. The Lord will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations. “But I will remove far from you the northern army, And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land, With his face toward the eastern sea And his back toward the western sea; His stench will come up, And his foul odor will rise, Because he has done monstrous things.” Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the Lord has done marvelous things! Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; For the open pastures are springing up, And the tree bears its fruit; The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the Lord your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you— The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the Lord your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame. “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.”

Our text today shows us a nation in need of revival, and what God, Himself, says the solution is.

Real revival is marked with repentance…

Joel 2:12-13 NKJV

“Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.”

Repentance is more than a prayer. It’s a turning from what we were to who we were created to be. When I repent, I don’t just pray and continue on like I was. When I repent, all of me is changed. Who I was, I am not anymore! 

Repentance stops making excuses for bondage. Just because it is popular, mainstream, or even legal in the eyes of the world does not make it right.

Just because abortion is legal, it doesn’t make it right.

Just because homosexual marriage is legal, it doesn’t make it right.

Just because you buy your weed from a gas station or a smoke shop, it doesn’t make it right.

Just because you buy your weed from a church in metro Atlanta, it doesn’t make it right.

Just because your opium addiction comes with a prescription, it doesn’t make it right. 

Just because porn is free and easy to access on your phone, it doesn’t make it right.

Just because you’re crossing the line with your co-worker, but you haven’t taken it all the way, it doesn’t make it right.

Just because you’re struggling financially and don’t pay tithes because of that, it doesn’t make it right.

Just because the government will give you more money if you shack up and don’t get married, it doesn’t make it right.

Just because your culture is racist, it doesn’t make it right.

Just because you can find some broken-down preacher to justify your sin and soul-sickness, it doesn’t make it right.

Repentance doesn’t make excuses for sin. Repentance turns away from and runs from sin!