Two Sides of Revival

In Psalm 85 we see the psalmist as he cries out in desperation to Almighty God, Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee? We see the reason why the psalmist cries unto his God, for we see the description of the people of God. Three words are used to describe their awful condition. Verse 2, the iniquity of your people.

Again in verse 2, all their sin. And in verse 8, let them not turn again to folly. Is this not our own predicament today, friends? Is our nation consumed by her sins, knee-deep in their iniquity, and turn to complete folly? Where is the fear of God in the land today? Even worse, where is the God-consciousness in our churches today? I have longed to see revival for several decades now, but I fear we are beneath a shut heaven.

God has turned away from America, because America has turned away from God. We desperately need revival in our day, for the very survival of our nation. Psalm 85 is a plea.

It's a plea for God to send revival. It is a plea from a desperate heart. Wilt thou not revive us again, that the people may rejoice in thee? O friends, if we only knew how badly we need revival in our day, we would fall to our faces in repentance, brokenness, and tears.

The title of my message today, friends, is Two Sides of Revival. Let me state these two aspects for us right now. Number one, revival restrains the righteous anger of God.

Number two, revival restores the conscious awareness of God. Let's look at the first of these. Revival restrains the righteous anger of God.

Our main trouble today is our view of God doesn't line up with the one found in my Bible. We just don't believe that God is angry with the wicked every day. We do not fear his righteous indignation anymore, but it's clear that revival is needed to restrain the righteous anger of God.

This is clearly seen in verses four and five of our text. Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease. Wilt thou be angry with us forever? Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations? I believe America today, friends, sits under the anger of God.

God tries to get our attention by sending us one natural disaster on the heels of another to chastise us and turn our hearts back to him. But we continue to ignore the warnings and continue to rebel against him and his law as we make our own laws where we have legalized sin and promote evil. The church has lost her biblical concept of God as well and has changed her God from the one in the Bible to one of our own imagination.

Our God is not angry with us. Our God is more tolerant toward sin. Our God would never send anyone to hell, let alone punish them there forever.

So we fail to recognize God's dealings with us through natural calamities which are his remedial judgments. God is holy and he hates sin. Our trouble is we love our sins and hate holiness.

So the first thing revival does is to restrain the righteous anger of God toward us. Secondly, revival restores the conscious awareness of God. This is what we've lost today in our churches, friends.

When was the last time you saw the power of God in a meeting? Where is the reality of a God consciousness in our daily lives? We have become a worldly church, full of the world, rich in the things of this world, but utterly bankrupt spiritually. We have moved away from a holy sovereign God and have lost our conscious awareness of him. Revival will restore that conscious awareness of God to us once again.

Oh how badly we need it. We see this in verses six through eight as we see the smile of God, the showing of his grace, and the sounding of his voice. Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee? Show us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.

I will hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace unto his people. Each of these expressions speaks of a conscious awareness of God. This aspect is regained when revival comes.

Duncan Campbell said of the Lewis revival in Scotland that it seemed the entire island was saturated with a God consciousness. Oh friends, that's our desperate need today. Let us pray that the great God of heaven will show us mercy and hear our prayer to send the showers of his effusions of grace in revival upon us once again.

We need restraining and restoring. It's revival aroon. Let us pray.