A Cry For Revival - Pastor Daniel Batarseh

If we can bow our heads for another word of prayer before the Lord as we open his word. Father in heaven, we come before you in this new day where you've granted us fresh mercy. And lord, we submit ourselves this morning into your gracious hands. And we ask that your word would be spoken not through the strength of a man, not through the wisdom of a man, not through the intelligence of any man, but through the power of the Holy Spirit. And we pray that every man would be hidden and that Christ would be exalted.

And father we pray as Paul prayed that this message would not be proclaimed in plausible words, but by the power of the spirit that the faith of every person in this place may not rest on the wisdom of man, but in the power of God. And we ask, Lord, that as we've come here with different issues and a different place than the person sitting beside us concerning our faith, we pray that Lord you would meet every need. And, lord, oftentimes, we come and we say, lord, I have this need, and you meet those needs, and you're gracious enough to meet those needs. But this morning, we challenge ourselves to look at you and say, lord, what do you need? What do you need from me?

What do you require of me? What is it that you want to speak to me? And grant us the strength and the grace to be able to receive it, And grant us the willingness to be able to apply it. Grant us the passion to be able to do it with persistence. And so father we pray this morning for a fresh touch from you upon every person in this place to continue to run this race with endurance, keeping our eyes on the author and perfecter of our faith, Jesus Christ.

We pray this in his precious name and all of God's people said, amen. If you have been here long enough with this particular group, with this particular family, and if you have been a part of the corporate gatherings concerning supplication before God, you will know one thing that resurfaces in our petition before the Lord. It's a specific cry. It's a specific desire that has been birthed in so many people in this place and we trust that as you're here this morning it is a cry in your heart. If it's not a cry in your heart it would be a cry in your heart and it's the cry for revival.

It's the cry for a move of the Holy Spirit. And that word revival is so used in our day with different meaning. And just like so many other terms in Christendom, revival does not necessarily have the same definition as it does according to the scriptures. It's kind of just part of the lingo, it's kind of something that we just now put on t shirts, it's something that we just kind of just say randomly without really knowing what it means. And it's also been associated with certain movements and certain events and certain ministries that might not necessarily line up with the word of God and so there are people that when they hear revival they want nothing to do with revival.

But we have to understand what revival is according to the word of God. And though the word revival does not appear as frequent as we think, the evidence of revival is throughout the scriptures. We see prayers for revival such as Psalms 80 five:six where the psalmist cries out, will you not revive us again that your people may rejoice in you? We see movements of revival especially in the book of Judges and First Kings where the people of God go through these cycles and God raises up a person to bring this thing called revival. We see evidences and the results of revival such as in Haggai chapter one when the people were dormant concerning the temple of God and they were so fixated on their own homes and their own lives and God breathed fresh life, it says he stirred the spirits of the people so that they can go back and to build upon the temple of God.

It's there. It's in the scripture. It's evident. It's throughout. It's even in the New Testament.

It's in the last book of the Bible where Jesus writes to these churches for them to experience corporate revival. And so we see it in the Bible. It's not something that's foreign to the scriptures, but what is it really? What have we been praying about for the past two years? What have you been praying about for the past how many prayer meetings, multiple prayer meetings a week in your own closet time?

What are we actually seeking God for when we say, give us revival, God? Revival, if we were to put a definition on it, is simply this, a powerfully unusual visitation of the Holy Spirit that awakens the church to live in their God ordained condition. Revival is the activity of the Holy Spirit upon a people who have become spiritually asleep and it infuses fresh life for them to be zealous for the things of God again. One preacher said it this way, Revival is when the church falls in love with Jesus again. Revival is an act of God upon the people of God to bring them back to the place in which they are called to walk in.

That is revival. That is what we're asking God for. And revival, this activity of the Holy Spirit, this unusual manifestation and outpouring of the presence of God can be experienced within a small group. It It can be experienced within a small church. It can be experienced within a big church, of various amount of churches.

It can be experienced in a state. It can be experienced throughout a nation. But revival is primarily an act of God. It is the working of God amongst the people of God. The secondary effect of revival is that it outpours into the communities that surround the people of God.

And this is where the confusion lies. People confuse revival with evangelism. And that's why you might have heard this, or you might have read this, or you might have seen this. Let's go have a revival, or we have a revival meeting, or we have a revival this, or come and join the revival. And what they're doing is they're confusing the efforts of evangelism with the sovereign move of God, which is called revival.

Evangelism can be scheduled. Revival cannot. Evangelism is for the lost. Revival is for the saved. Evangelism is something that is planned by man once again, but revival is something that comes from heaven.

And this is the great debate about revival. This is the debate amongst theologians and scholars concerning revival. Is it something that we can ask God for? Is it something that we can plan, in a sense, or at least ask him or prepare for? Or is it completely dependent upon the sovereign moving of the Holy Spirit?

Which one is it? Do do we apply certain principles to see revival, or do we just wait on God to do it? And if we're lucky, we hit the jackpot in this generation. God's gonna do it. Praise God.

Here we go. It's a mystery, but I believe it requires both. It requires man to do his part in order for God to do his. And doctor g Campbell Morgan said it this way, we cannot organize revival, but what we can do is set our sails so that the wind of God can blow upon us and we would be ready if he chooses to do so. And so with that revelation is this: We do our part by setting our sails, and if God so chooses to breathe upon his people again, we would catch the wind and not miss it.

And that's the purpose of this morning. That's the purpose of this message, is that we would be motivated to set our sails and wait upon God. And what better way to set our sails, what better way to hope for this and to pray for this and to seek for this than to see what God has done in the past? Because what we're gonna see in the scriptures is that there are principles for the people of God to apply in order to get ready for what God may or may not want to do through his people. But before we can apply principles, we must acquire passion.

We need passion for this. It can't be just something that we say we're gonna do. We can do it, but it won't be persistent without passion. We need passion for this thing called revival. We need to believe for it.

We need to look back at what the scriptures say in order to be motivated again to see it in our day. And one of the great acts of revival found in this holy book, amongst so many stories, is with a man named Elijah. If you have your Bibles, please open up to first Kings 18. Israel has been going through a cycle, a cycle of spiritual apathy and compromise mainly because of the leaders that have been appointed every few years. And we come to the point in this place where Israel now is under a new rulership by the name of a man named Ahab.

And the bible says in first Kings that Ahab was more wicked than all the other men that were before him. It says that he was more vile and despicable before all the kings that followed him. He married a woman named Jezebel, who was even more wicked, I believe, than Ahab. And he brought the people of Israel to a place in which they invoke the judgment of God on their nation. And what happened was a man by the name of Elijah steps on the scene in first King 17, and he and he promotes rather he proclaims judgment upon the nation with a spiritual drought.

And the nation is experiencing this drought that's affecting their economy, that's affecting their day to day life, their animal life, their their crops, their food, everything. And that physical drought was a reflection of the spiritual drought. God allowed that to happen to show them what was the condition of their heart. It was it was a judgment, yes, but it was also a statement of, Look how your heart is. You're dry.

There's no more life in you. There's no more sap in you. There's no more fragrance in you. And at this point, after three years, God commissions Elijah to have a showdown with the false prophets of the day. And so what happens?

He tells Elijah to meet with this king named Ahab, to bring all the false prophets that were there, four fifty of Baal, 400 of Asherah, to meet with all the people of God, and to once and for all show the world who the true and living God is. And he was gonna do it through an act of revival. God was going to do it through an act of spiritual awakening, and that's what revival is for. Revival is what it is, to revive something that is dead, to reign righteousness where there is a drought, to bring fire where there is dryness, to bring passion where there is apathy. That's what it is.

And so what does a spiritual drought look like? What does judgment look like? What does it look like? In the physical, we understand in the spiritual, what is the breeding ground for revival? Let's read here in verse 17 of first Kings 18.

When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, Is it you, you troubler of Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel, but you have in your father's house because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals. Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel and the four fifty prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel's table. So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. And Elijah came near to all the people and said, How long will you go limping between two different opinions?

If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word. Then Elijah said to the people, I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are four fifty men. Let two bulls be given to us and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it.

And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. And you call upon the name of your Lord, of your God, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. And the God who answers by fire is God. And all the people answered, It is well spoken. Spiritual drought, the breeding ground for a move of God.

What is it? It's in verse 21. And Elijah came near to all the people and said, how long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God follow him but if Baal follow him. And the people did not answer a word.

The reason for revival primarily is when the people of God have become indifferent towards the word of God. When people are not concerned about the scriptures anymore, when people are not moved by the word of God anymore, when people do not tremble at the word of God anymore, when people are not in a place of urgency when it comes to the declaration of what Jesus has said, what God Almighty has declared in his word, when people find themselves unmoved, when people find themselves in a state of limping between two opinions and being challenged in that and not being moved, it's time for revival. This is the condition of the supposed people of God. We're not talking about the world here. We're talking about the people of God, and they're in compromise.

And here's the men of God that comes to challenge them of their limping between two opinions, and guess what they do? So? Their hearts have become so hardened. They've been so buried under sin, under compromise. This condition is so dangerous, and it could be caused for many reasons.

Deception, once again personal sin. Even worse, the hypocrisy of others. Not too long ago, I talked to a young man, and I could tell throughout the entire weekend this this man was not moved by anything. He was distracted. He was looking around.

And I looked and I wondered, why is this young man not being stirred? Why is this person so indifferent? And so we just talked one on one and he had finally opened up and you know what he said? Listen, I'm not against God, I'm against Christianity. And I said, why?

And he began to name and tell me of the hypocrisy that he's experienced in his life of those who profess to be Christians, of those who proclaim the word behind pulpits, of those who lead worship behind on the stage. And he saw their life and he said, how can it be that these people can do these things and claim to be followers? I want nothing to do with Christianity. So his heart becomes hardened. Side note, if you're a hypocrite, it might do you some good because you like going back forth, but you are doing so much damage to other people.

It's completely selfish. It's completely selfish. And more and more I'm seeing that it's actually destroying an entire generation from receiving the word of God because people can't keep it together and choose a side. They're unmoved. What was the reason why these people were unmoved?

Why were these people not responding? Because of the leadership at the time. God condemns Ahab few chapters later and says, You have caused Israel to sin. It was the examples that the lack of godly example in that day that led the people to come into a state of compromise where they're not moved by the word of God even. That says something.

We can't always blame the preacher, can we? These people are not convicted. They're not stirred. And you know what we would kind of say? Well, it must be the preacher.

And we can blame preachers sometimes because the preacher has a responsibility to get before God and to be endued with power from on high so that when he gets up there, he proclaims the word and those people with hardened hearts would be convicted. But that's not always the case. We kind of put all the responsibility on the preacher. Was Elijah a compromising man? No.

He was a prophet. Was he not anointed of the Holy Spirit? Yes. The man commanded it not to rain and it didn't rain. Isn't it amazing that nature obeys the word of God and humans don't?

There is a possibility in which even the godliest man endued with so much power can come and challenge people in their compromise, and proclaim the whole counsel of God, and the people be unmoved. Why? Because the man of God is not powerful in his prayer life? The man of God is not unwavering? No.

It's not because of that. It's because the people resist the Holy Spirit. That's possible. You say, how? In Acts seven fifty one, Stephen, he was was he not full of the Holy Spirit?

It tells us he was full of the Holy Spirit. In fact, it tells us that his face was shining like an angel. They saw that his face shone like an angel. And he he he prophesies. He speaks forth the word of God.

He preaches a sermon to these Pharisees and Sadducees. And at the end of his sermon, he goes, you stiff necked people, uncircumcised hearts, and uncircumcised ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. This man was full of the Holy Spirit. This man's face was shining like an angel, and yet the people still resisted the Holy Spirit. It's possible.

How is it? How can it be where people are unmoved like this? It's possible for people, the people of God, to be so dormant, so buried under their apathy and their compromise that even when the word of God is proclaimed, there's little stirring, there's little conviction. That's true today. That the general generation of our day is unmoved by the word of God.

It's just the word of God. It's it's whatever. It's just another sermon. Let your heart never come to the place where this becomes casual to you. Whatever sermon is being preached, even if it's on giving, even if it's on being thankful, let your heart burn.

Don't let your heart become calloused. They're unmoved. Nothing to say. He goes, how is it that you're going between two? They weren't complete up apostates.

There were those who served God at some times and served Bill at other times. They worshiped here and they worshiped there, But that's not God's will for us. We know this. This isn't something new. And this is the breeding ground for a move of God.

But it's not just that. It's not just when the people of God are unmoved by the scriptures, unmoved by preaching, unmoved by the commands and the standards of the word of God. It's when the land is polluted with falsehood. The land was polluted with falsehood. Israel at this time was infiltrated by Baal worship.

Foreign gods, foreign policies, foreign laws, Baal worship. What was Baal worship? Baal was a fertility god. He was the god of all gods, apparently. That would bring down rain, that would bring down certain blessings for the people to have crops and prosperity.

And the worship of Baal mainly focused on sexual rites or rituals and the sacrifice of children. Sound familiar? And instead of the people of Israel having an influence on Baal worship, Baal worship had an influence on the people of Israel. And they find themselves now in a place of compromise where the world has influenced what was supposed to be a holy nation. They're unmoved and now they're lured into these practices.

Not completely though. No. No. No. Just partly.

So what happens? When you have a people that are unmoved and when you have a land polluted with falsehood? And it gives us an example of what this looks like. Look at verse 26. Look at what the prophets of Baal looked like.

Look at what the followers of this false God look like. And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it, and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, oh Baal, answer us. But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. And at noon Elijah mocked them saying cry aloud for he is a God.

Either he is musing or he is revealing himself, reveal relieving himself, or he is on a journey or perhaps he's asleep and must be awakened. And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out upon them. We say that's insane. That's abs that's just absurd. That's craziness.

But is it really any different than today? Here are these people calling out to a false god hoping for answers. And how many people today are crying out to drugs looking for answers? How many people today are crying out to booze looking for answers? How many people are living for the devil every weekend going to clubs looking for answers and guess what?

There's never an answer. It will never solve your problem. It will never fill that void. And that's exactly what they're trying to do. Oh God, hear us.

Hear us, Baal. Answer us. No answer. That's exactly what the world is doing day in and day out. They're trying to find answers to false gods and false idols that will never provide answers.

And so what did they do? They enhanced their devotion to these things like what they did in verse 28. When they cried aloud and nothing happened, they began to whip themselves and lash themselves and cut themselves trying to get something out of this thing. And how many false religions are out there? More than in this time, where people are trying to lash themselves, trying to get the approval of God, trying to do good works, gushing out their own blood when we serve a God that shed his own blood.

This is the condition of our generation today. People running to false gods, false idols, people going to false religions and crying out for answers when Jesus is the answer, when the gospel is the answer. And we cannot do what Elijah did, and people debate whether it was right or not. But let me tell you, it didn't bring any results. He looks at them and he mocks them.

He goes, why don't you cry louder? Maybe he's relieving himself. Maybe he's on vacation. Listen, we can criticize the world. We can tell we can talk about how crazy other religions are, but that's not gonna save them.

That's not gonna open their eyes. What's the solution to this madness? What's the solution when you're in a day in which the people of God are not moved by the word of God? And when the land is polluted with foreign gods, foreign practices, and so desperate that they're crying out to things that will never answer them? What is the solution?

A sermon? A conference? Revival. A move of God to come upon these people. And so what does God do?

What is God's solution? What are the principles then? Is God just gonna bring down revival? Is God at this point gonna say, Wow. It's really bad down there.

The people aren't responding to my word. They're just stuck in compromise. They're not even convicted about it. They're kind of good with just going with emotions. God forbid.

Oh, here's the land polluted. They're sacrificing children. Seventy million babies dead in the last time we the first time we legalized the thing. People obsessed with sex, a hypersexual culture. You know what?

I think I'm just gonna pour out my spirit. Is that what he does? What does he do? Something that we've heard so many times before, he finds a man. Does he find a man?

Sometimes he does but it's another thing when a man finds God. Who was this man? Elijah. Elijah. Verse 30, then Elijah said to all the people, come to me.

Come near to me. Not a superhero. Not Superman. Not super gifted. What?

Super desperate. A man with a standard. Now before you get discouraged and tune me out here because you're saying well he's a prophet, he's called by God, he can do miracles, he can do all you know what the Bible says something completely different about Elijah. Don't let your hearts be discouraged in this, that God chooses some people and that's just the way it is. The Bible gives us a different commentary on this man.

In James five seventeen, New Testament, Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. Meaning what? That he was subject to the same passions as you are and me. To the same temptations as you are and I are. To the same weaknesses.

One chapter later this man goes through depression and asks God to kill him so that he can just get out of the scene. So don't tune this out by saying, Well, he's a prophet and he wears weird clothing and he can live in a desert and eat twice a day. That's not me. Bible says something completely different. He says, He's a man just like you and me actually.

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours and what? And he prayed fervently that it might not rain. And for three years and six months the earth did not receive rain. Why? Out of all the examples that James could have used concerning prayer because the context there is telling the Christians what pastors?

Evangelists? No. Telling the Christians to get a prayer life. And he uses Elijah as an example, and he says he's a man just like you and me. You know what that says to you and me?

That every believer has the ability and the opportunity to be just as effective in their prayer life as Elijah was. Think about that for a moment. He's going all the way back. The inspiration of the Holy Spirit takes Elijah as the example for the modern day Christian to say you can be as effective as Elijah was in his praying. He prayed and something happened.

Now it's not suggesting that you cannot you and I can just go and say, you know what? I don't want it to rain. God, let it not rain. It's not suggesting that we can call a drought. It's not suggesting that we can call a storm.

That's not what it's suggesting because the context tells us that this was in partnership with the will of God during Elijah's time. It was the revealed will of God for it not to rain, and Elijah prayed in partnership with the will of God. In the very same book of James, we know that the people did not have because they did not ask, but they did ask and did not receive. Why? Because they were asking for their own pleasure.

So when it's telling us that Elijah was effective in his praying and was a man just like us, it is not suggesting that you can just whip up whatever you want before God and say, alright. Well, Elijah could do it, then I could do it. No. It's about partnering with the will of God and praying alongside with it and according to it and seeing something happen. Now Elijah prayed a lot.

Why out of all the examples does he use this example, I pray that your faith is stirred? We could use a few Elijah's this day. Why out of all the examples does he use this example? The fact that he prayed and the heavens closed for three years and six months, and then he prayed again and then it rains. Why?

Because he wants us to pray big prayers. That's why. He wants us to pray big prayers. He could have used any other story in Elijah's life about how he prayed and something happened. But he uses one of the greatest things, one of the most unbelievable things, one of the things that would be impossible, and he says pray like that.

Take the promises of God that seem impossible in your day and pray like Elijah prayed. The effect of prayer of a righteous man has great power. And so this availability to see God work in revival is available to any man that's willing to partner with God. And so though it's available to all believers, we got to be careful. It's available.

We all have the same opportunity, but it still costs something. You you wanna pray for this. I pray that you would want to pray for this. I pray that you would partner with God and say, god, if you did it through Elijah, you can do it through me. God, if you listen to Elijah, you can listen to me.

But are you willing to pay the price for it? And this is where so many people stop. This is where so many people tune themselves out. This is where so many people go for a week and they don't go for two. This is why so many people stop after a conference and they don't move on.

This is why so many people lose the fire in prayer. This is why. Because though it's available to every man, there's a price to pay with it. Let's look at Elijah as a man. Remember, he's a man just like you and me.

Look at first Kings back at verse 17 in chapter 18. When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, is it you, you troubler of Israel? Do you want to be misunderstood by the world? Do you wanna be labeled as a certain thing by other people because of your convictions? I find it so funny that the reason why they're experiencing this judgment is because of Ahab, but Ahab still calls him a troubler of Israel.

You know why? Because Elijah gave the devil a headache. Elijah's praying put him on the radar, and he was misunderstood by a compromising world. Do you want to be like Elijah where you feel like you stand alone and everybody else is serving Baal and you say, Hey what are you doing? Do you want your life to stick out like a sore thumb because you burn for this thing and nobody else does, and you're labeled as a troubler?

You're labeled as a fanatic? You're labeled as a crazy person? You're labeled as one who takes this thing too seriously? Do you really want that? Elijah experienced that and I believe Elijah didn't have a problem being called troubler of Israel.

You see that's what happens when your life is fully set for God. You make people feel uncomfortable. You realize that. You don't even have to preach. Just the way you live makes people feel uncomfortable.

You can walk into a wedding. You can walk into whatever, and you walk in there and everybody goes. Because your life convicts people. The standard of holiness and passion that you don't have to say anything. And people don't compromise, they're not willing to, oh, here comes that person.

Better clean up our language. Why is he so serious though? I don't understand. Why is she so I don't understand. Do you want to be labeled as that?

Okay. Let's take it further. Do you want to feel lonely? Look what Elijah says here in verse 22, Then Elijah said to the people, I even I only am left a prophet of the Lord. He looks at this people and goes, Come on.

He's like, Don't you want to serve God? Why are you going back and forth? And they go and he goes, man, I think I'm the only one that actually cares about this thing. I really feel like I'm the only person that really wants this. Nope.

Nobody else wants this. Look what he says in chapter 19 verse 10 when he meets with God alone. He said, I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts for the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. And I, even I only, am left and they seek my life to take it away. Do you want to feel that way?

Elijah was not feeling a physical loneliness, it was an inward loneliness. You can be lonely and have the most friends in the world. Do you want that though? Man, nobody wants this. I can't say it any better than a w Tozer, and I rarely do this, but I'm gonna read something, and it requires your full attention.

But if you're experiencing what I'm talking about right now, this will bless you if you pay attention. This is from an excerpt called a saint must walk alone. Let me just read it to you. And if it ministers to you, praise god. A saint must walk alone.

The loneliness of the Christian results from his walk with God in an ungodly world, a walk that must often take him away from the fellowship of good Christians as well as from that of the unregenerate world. His God given instincts cry out for companionship with others of his kind, Others who can understand his longings, his aspirations, his absorption in the love of Christ. And because within his circle of friends there are so few who share his inner experience, he is forced to walk alone. The unsatisfied longings of the prophets of human understanding cause them to cry out in their complaint, and even our Lord himself suffered in the same way. The man who has passed on into the divine presence, an actual inner experience will not find many who understand him.

A certain amount of social fellowship will, of course, be as he mingles with religion persons in the regular activities of the church. But true spiritual fellowship will be hard to find. But he should not expect things to be otherwise. After all, he's a stranger and a pilgrim and the journey he takes is not on his feet but in his heart. He walks with God in the garden of his own soul and who but God can walk there with him?

He has seen that of which they have only heard. He walks amongst somewhat of a Zacharias who walked after his return from the altar. And the people whispered, He has seen a vision. The truly spiritual man, now pay attention to this, the truly spiritual man is indeed something of an oddity. He lives not for himself, but to promote the interests of another.

He seeks to persuade people to give all that they are to his Lord and asks no portion or share for himself. He delights not to be honored, but to see his Savior glorified in the eyes of men. His joy is to see his Lord promoted and himself neglected. He finds a, now this is the part that gets me, He finds a few who care to talk about that which is supreme in his heart. The supreme object of his interest.

So he is often silent and preoccupied in the midst of noisy religious shop talk. For this he earns the reputation of being dull and over serious. So he is avoided and the gulf between him and society widens. He searches for friends upon whose garments he can detect the smell of myrrh and aloes and acacia out of the ivory palaces, and finding few or none, he, like Mary of old, keep these things in his heart. The saint who walks alone.

These are the type of men that God uses. These are the type of women that God uses. What I just read, does that speak of your heart? Man, you're even surrounded by Christians but they don't really want the fullness of God and yeah. You're there.

You're talking. You're laughing and stuff but really inside you're burning. And if only you can find somebody that really cares about the things that you care for and once you find them it's like finding treasure. You don't know how many times I had to talk to people in different churches, different youth groups, different young adults gatherings and they're the only one that wants to pray. They're the only one that wants to read.

They're They're the only one who wants to go evangelizing. They go, I don't know what to do. Nobody else wants to do it. I don't know what to do. I just feel like I'm alone on this.

And you know what? That's the price to pay. That's the price to pay. Be willing to walk alone. I'm not talking about once again a physical loneliness.

You can be surrounded with people, but inside of your heart, you feel as though it's just you and God in this world. And people of God, you should be thankful that in this place, there are more than one person that wants the things of God and that there is a remnant that wants this thing called revival. It's important to know that though we desire these things, though we may feel these things, though we may experience these things, it's not just a matter of, yeah, this is how I am inside. That's only half of it. It requires action.

This requires action. The person who walks like this cannot just stay in that place. They must be provoked to see something happen, and so they do something about it. So what does Elijah do, this lonely man? Verse 30.

All the people came near to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. So God finds a man or a man finds God that walks alone inwardly, and this man now begins to move. Or this group of people in our context now begin to move, what do they do? What is the first step? What is the first principle to apply?

What do we first need to do in order to set ourselves for the wind of God to blow? Rebuild the altar. Not build the altar. Rebuild the altar. You know what that says?

It says that there was an altar on top of this mountain that was torn down. It was abandoned. It was filled with cobwebs. It was shattered because the false prophets came in and took over, and nobody was seeking God anymore. Nobody was worshiping God according to the standards of the word of God because God had established what true worship looks like, and it was abandoned.

In other words, the standards and the statutes of God had been abandoned. And the first step to seeing something happen is going back to the altar and rebuilding it. God cannot send fire down from heaven on broken altars. And in the same way, God will not send a move of God if we don't honor his word. It just doesn't happen.

So many people are crying out for revival, and they don't know a lick about the scriptures. So many people wanna do things for God and wanna see God, but they're not willing to obey. They're not willing to take every detail of the word. They're not willing to obey every command. They're not willing to live this thing out, but they just want God to do something for the sake of manifestation and signs and wonders.

Come on. God is not going to send something down if you don't have an altar built. And we need to come back to the word of God in order for God to send something. That's what happens here. Broken altars, no fire.

Coming back to the altar, God will bless it. Rebuild the altar. That's what we must do. We must take the word of God seriously. We must obey the word of God.

We must walk in the things of God. And when God sees that, he sees a people that he can work with. And this is our part. If there's any part that we play in seeking God for revival, it's this honoring his word above all things. That's the first step.

And that's the first step that Elijah takes. He builds the altar. He says, Get back to the standard in which God has called you. And what does he do? He takes takes 12 stones as a representation of Israel, and he says, we're going back to what you were called to be.

Israel, what does he say here? Look, Elijah took 12 stones of verse 31 according to the number of the tribes of sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came saying, Israel shall be your name. You are Israel. You forgot that. You're living as Jacob.

God called you to be Israel. Get back to the standard of the word of God. Get back to who you are as an identity, as a Christian. Get back to doing this. Rebuilding the altar is the first step.

Then something very interesting happens. Verse 33 says, he put wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, fill four jars with water and pour it out on the burnt offering and on the wood. And he said, Do it a second time. And he said, Do it a third time.

And he did it a third time and the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water. Up to this point it made sense you're gonna rebuild the altar, you're gonna put the burnt offering on it, and God's gonna send the fire, hallelujah, revival. But no it doesn't go there. He says rebuild it. Yeah here's the wood, here's the sacrifice, now I want you to do something, put water on it.

Now that sounds counterproductive to me, I don't know about you, but if you want something to light on fire you don't throw water on it. And not just once, twice, not just twice, three times. What is happening here? Why is Elijah doing this according to the commandment of God? Elijah primarily is doing this so that there would be no shadow of a doubt that it was God who brought the fire and not man.

The fact that it would be drenched in water would prove that when the fire comes, it was something of a heavenly source. It was not something that was made by man. And so in doing so, when the people would see the fire, they would say, Surely this is God. Surely this is him. Surely this is the supernatural.

Surely this is an intervention by the Holy Spirit. And that is an important element of revival, that if we want to see God do something, we got to know in our hearts that as we pray, as we seek, that we want people to see God in it, not man. We want people to look at what God is doing and saying, This is God. This has to be God. This cannot be Elijah.

This cannot be this preacher. This cannot be this ministry. What is happening here has to be something from heaven And that people would not doubt, so our heart posture must be this. God, do it in a way in which you receive all the glory. Do it in a way when people see it, they will glorify you.

They will worship you. I wanna step out of the way. But it's even more than that. It's even more than that. Think about the context.

Out of all the things he could have asked for, he asked for water. Not once, not twice, three times. Why is that significant? Because they're experiencing a drought. You know what one of the most valuable commodities in that day was?

Water. Before this, Ahab commanded his servants to go out and look for some water to feed the animals. And here is Elijah saying give me water and pour out the water on the altar. Now you can feel the cost because there's always a cost for revival. Pour out water, but we're in a drought.

Yeah. But how bad do you wanna see God move? Okay. Here's my time. How bad do you wanna see God move?

Alright. Here's my energy. How bad do you wanna see God move? Alright. I'll move to another place.

How bad do you wanna see God move? Alright. Here's my money. All right, here's this, here's that. If God were to ask anything of you, would you give it for the sake of this move of God?

Imagine water in a drought, jars filled. Pour it out. Give yourself over to this no matter what God asks of you. There's always a cost to this thing. It's never free.

And so yes, we rebuild the altar. We obey God's word, but two, we must be ready to give up anything for the sake of seeing him move. If he asks anything of us, we're willing to do it. Fast for a while. Oh man.

All right. Can you live without entertainment for a bit so you can cry out to God for this thing? I don't know. One jar was enough. Two jars?

How bad do you want it though? Alright. And thirdly, how can we not say this? How can we not see this? How can we not miss this?

Look what he does here in verse 36. And at that time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord. Answer me that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have turned their hearts back. Pray.

Pray. He prays. He rebuilds the altar. He's willing to pay any price and make the people pay any price, and then he comes down to his knees and he says, Alright God, I've done everything that your word has said. I'm doing everything that your word already commanded me to do.

And that's the same principle for you and me that when we obey the word, when we obey the very little things of scripture listen. Seeking revival doesn't mean we neglect everything else. That's foolishness, and people do that. Prayer does not replace obedience. While we obey, we look to God and say, God, I'm doing everything that you asked me to do.

I'm being a faithful husband. I'm being a faithful friend. I'm serving in the church. I'm going out and telling people about you. I am doing what I gotta do.

But as I'm doing this, God, answer me, O Lord, that people may know that you're God. That's how we seek God for this thing, that we do everything according to his word and we ask him to do what only he can do. And look at the way He's praying, Answer me, O Lord. Answer me. For what reason?

That people may know that you're God. Not so I can be famous. Not so people can look at me say, Oh look how godly this person is. Not so I can get opportunities to minister for one purpose that I would step aside and that people would see you being all beautiful and all lovely and all satisfying. And Lord whatever you need me to do to do it I'll do it, but I'm asking that you would just do it.

Rebuild the altar. Come back to the Word of God. Fire cannot fall unless there's an altar. You got to rebuild it. Be willing to give anything at any cost for this thing.

And pray. And what happens? In Elijah's case, it was immediate. In our case, not so. God's timing is not our timing.

That's the mystery of this thing called revival. But what are the results of revival? Verse 38, then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, The Lord he is God. The Lord he is God.

They didn't say that when Elijah went up and said, Hey are you living in compromise or what? Come on. You know what they were like? And Elijah knows and every man of God should know that it's gonna take more than just a good intellectual sermon. It's gonna take more than just asking people some convicting questions.

It's going to take more than a conference. Though God can use those things, what is required when the general population of the people of God are uninterested concerning the things of God is a intervention from heaven. When God comes down with his power, when his presence is tangible and knowable, when the word carries weight and it it cuts people in a supernatural way, not in an ordinary way, that's when we're gonna see people fall on their face and call out to God. To Lord. Yes, now we know he is God.

In verse 40, it doesn't even end there. And Elijah said to them, seize the prophets of Baal. Let none of them escape. And they seized them and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Of Kishan and slaughtered them there. The people of God are revived and Satan's kingdom takes a big big big blow.

These prophets were killed and let's not take that literally, but when God does send something down the works of Satan are destroyed. And not that Baal worship was completely eradicated, it wasn't that it was completely gone, but it took a big major hit because revival came. And when revival truly comes, as we said earlier, the first primary thing that happens is that the people have got to revive and come to absolute devotion and adoration towards him. But then secondly, that land that was polluted with filth, that land that was polluted with sin subsides greatly because of what's happened with the people of God. And we know this.

We've talked about this. We've prayed about this. That when God does move, bars shut down, strip clubs shut down. I'm sorry if you worship sports. Sports even lose their interest in people.

Nobody wants to go and do entertainment. Why? Because God is showing up. The presence of God is showing up. Read accounts of revival and you will know that when people have experienced it and people have eyewitness accounts of it they say it's like heaven on earth.

You walk down the street and people are singing hymns. You hear it from homes. You hear it as people are going to work. Every day the streets are packed because every church is filled with people that want to know God. When you step into the church, time has no factor.

When you come out of the service, you are literally radiating with the joy of God and nothing else seems to matter. You say, Well that is amazing. You know what it is? It's God's standard. Revival is bringing us to that place.

You say, Well it's just too good to be true. Well it's what Jesus asked us to pray for, Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. What are we saying we're saying that? Is that just some cute thing? Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

What is heaven like? That's what we should be praying for here on earth. God comes down, the people come down. God comes down, Satan flees from that region. That's what revival is, when God comes down.

What do we do? We set our sails. How do we do it? Grab a hold of God like Elijah did. He was a man just like you.

Please, if you're gonna take one thing out of this, take this, he was a man just like you. What's the difference? He was righteous and he prayed fervently the only difference. And be willing to pay the price of inward loneliness but thank God in this place there are people that are willing to walk with you. Be willing to rebuild the altar.

Be willing to give up any jar of water that is asked of you and pray for his glory. Answer me, God. I'm not looking for anything for myself. I just want you to be glorified. Answer me.

Habakkuk said, oh lord, I've heard the report of you. I've heard of your works. In the midst of the years, would you revive it? In the midst of the years, would you make it known? In wrath, remember mercy.

Just do it again, god. Let me ask you something this morning. Are you stirred? Are you stirred for this thing? I'm not asking if you never saw the text the way you just heard it.

I'm not asking that. I'm asking if you're stirred. God made it so simple. I'm just looking for a man like Elijah, not a super prophet, a super desperate person. That's it.

That's willing to grab a hold of God. If you're that lonely Christian, if you're a saint walking alone let me encourage you, you're not alone. Because Elijah felt alone but he was not alone because there are other prophets that did not bow their knee to Baal nor kiss him. God revealed that to him later on. There are other people in this world, there are other people our age believe it or not that want this thing though they might be hidden.

We're gonna pray.