Amen. Thank you. You know, this church is gifted. I've preached in a number of churches where they didn't even have anybody to play the piano. Let's never take the ministry of music for granted at Hardingville. In fact, I was thinking we should take another offering. Have the benediction and go home. but I had second thoughts. I'd invite you to turn with me this morning to 2 Chronicles 7 and verse 14. This, of course, is a very, very familiar passage, but I will develop that later in the message. You'll take note that my Theme for this new year or motto is be revived in 25. And I've done this for, as you know, a number of years far before I arrived at Hardingville. Does anyone remember what my theme was last year? Love more in 24. Love the scriptures, the Savior, the saints, and the sinners. year. But this year be revived in twenty-five. And I was thinking ahead. Now you know how old I am. And I was skipping twenty-six and I thought be ready for heaven in twenty-seven. But we'll have to wait till twenty-seven comes, won't we? Anyway, look at the outline that you have before you. Plan for revival, plea for revival, Prohibitions for revival, promises for revival. First of all, I think we need to establish the meaning, the definition, have a clear understanding of spiritual revival. It is often used by Christians, but I've not always understood. In my late 20s and early 30s, I traveled, I would say, a great deal through southern Jersey preaching what the churches announced as revival meetings. For instance, I was at Ora, Clayton, Tuckahoe, Summers Point, Millville, and etc. But really, they were not revivals. In essence, they were evangelistic weeks or crusades. There is a distinct difference between salvation and revival. The unconverted needs new life in Christ. He must be born again. Born of God. Born of the Spirit. Born from above. An unconverted person cannot be revived. Can you revive someone who is dead? Spiritually dead. Dead in trespasses and sin. So it is the believer, the one who has accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, genuinely a child of God, who can and needs to experience revival. Revival is initiated by the Holy Spirit. Man cannot pre-plan it. It is his supernatural work. As pastor of the Calvary Bible Church in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, in the late 70s, I extended an invitation to the Life Action Revival Team founded by Del Fesenfeld in Buchanan, Michigan. I invited them to come for five days. Two weeks prior, we scheduled cottage prayer meetings in the homes of our people. And I remember going just a half a block from the Parstige to a prayer meeting in the home of one of our people. And we earnestly prayed. But I need to tell you in all honesty and with transparency this morning that I didn't really understand revival. I was praying for it. I had a desire to see it and experience it. And I don't believe The others who were gathered together really understood. Well, when the team arrived, we had Al Fasenfeld, Molly Vaughn, who was associated with Les Olala, who served for many years as president of Northland Baptist Bible College in Wisconsin. Now, what I want to say to you is the meeting started. And it was preaching primarily to believers, even though there were some who professed Christ during the crusade. And when people came forward at any time, they were not met at the front. They were invited to go to a private room elsewhere in the church called a prayer room. And there were counselors and personal workers to meet with them. Eventually, we outgrew the auditorium because word spread not only through the community, but in the area more extensively and beyond the church. And, as a consequence, we were given permission by the school to hold the crusade in the auditorium where we had 1,000 people. and so crowded that when we did personal work, we had to do it on the steps leading from one floor to the next. But this is what I saw in the revival. Nothing bizarre. It was a gentle, quiet spirit. One man, for instance, who lost his wife in childbirth and as a result blamed the doctor and never paid the bill. Are we all right? Seems like I've lost something. It's on? No, it's not. All right. Did we run out of battery? Maybe I can do something. I know I'm an old man, but I thought I had more battery than that. Are we? Well, I'll try to speak up a bit louder. But one of the men, one of the men, as I said, did not pay the doctor. He got convicted. And the doctor was still in practice and he went and paid the entire bill. Another man, perhaps two, but I'll think of one, who had worked at the Standard Steel, a big business in the area. And he had pilfered the tools one at a time. In other words, he stole them. And he got convicted in the meetings and loaded all of those tools that he had stolen. He had a pickup truck and it filled his truck. And he took that pickup load of tools back to Standard Steel to have a clear conscience and to honor God. I was moving around the church very quietly. And some of the people said, Pastor, I hardly hear you. You're speaking in such a low tone. What? I wasn't even aware of it, but I was conscious of the unique presence and power of God, even in the church facilities. And we had a gobbledygook. You ever hear something like that? And that was a big container. And what we did, We said, now, any of you people who have clothing, magazines, whatever material that would be dishonoring to the Lord in your home, you bring it and put it in the gobbledygook. We don't want your name. That's not important to us. What we do want is for you to put on a piece of paper how much what you threw away was valued. And now remember, this is the late 70s. It was estimated that we had over $10,000 in that gobbledygook. And I remember one young family came and said, you know, Hester, we got rid of so much stuff, we don't have anything left. What do we do? And so I gave them some counsel and they began to replenish with Christ-honoring material. I say all of that because I learned several things. I learned, number one, that you cannot plan, man cannot pre-plan a revival. Because at the end of the three weeks, it became abundantly evident that the intense spirit of revival had finished. I'm not saying you cannot have a personal revival in your own life, in your family, in a church, but we need to recognize what? That it is the supernatural work, a demonstration of his person, his power, and his presence. So there must be a recognition of his plan for revival. All right. Secondly, the plea for revival. That is, there's a great need for a spiritual awakening. Would you agree? And may God prepare us to witness in the fear and unrest of our culture. Consider some major issues confronting the church and challenging the individual believer in Jesus Christ. Now, I don't consider these Are we back on? No? OK. But can you hear me? Yeah. All right. Parsently, turn up your hearing aid. Thank you. All right. Well, that indicates that maybe the Lord doesn't really Well, I should say the devil doesn't want this message proclaimed, and the Lord is interested in it. All right, so let's move on. Today, I would call it foam and froth. Not totally against it, but I hear people talking about climate change. And housing needs, animal rights. You know, sometimes I even hear them singing on the television some Christmas carol and showing cats and dogs. Have any of you seen that? Now, I'm not for mistreating animals, not at all. But I don't think that's the most important thing in our age. Self-centeredness. Oh my, you hear it over and over again, you deserve this. This is what you deserve. Anybody heard that? Yeah, I should say how many have not heard it? Yeah, okay. But I really want to get to some of the serious issues. All right, will you go there with me? I'm thinking of immorality, sexual identity, These are issues, people, that are addressed in Scripture. It's not the position of, what, the church or the pastor. God's Word settles the issue. Let's go on. Same-sex marriage. LGBTQ. That's the gay culture, isn't it? I think so. What about abortion? These are staggering figures. Have any of you ever heard of Jay Sekulow? These are the figures that I got from him. And he said, last year, taxpayers, you and I, the taxpayers, were what? Charged $700 million to fund, you know what, don't you? Yeah, abortion. And furthermore, there were 392,715 abortions. Now I'm not a mathematician, but if I figure that out, it's over a thousand a day. Think of it. Yeah, we're concerned about the animals, And watch that little turtle. You get it? I think we're majoring on minors and missing the majors. And are not we disturbed? Creation is crying out. And we, as the Lord's people, need to be stirred and convicted and committed against these issues and the breakdown of the nuclear family. So there's a plea, as with Jeremiah, may we experience His word was in my heart as a burning fire shot up in my bones. Jeremiah chapter 20 and verse 10. Stand strong in the fear and power of God. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Let's move on quickly, shall we? Now, the plan for revival, the plea, the need for revival. What about the prohibitions for revival? Note some of the current, can I call them, obstacles, hindrances, and restraints to revival. I invite you, as I do myself, to do a stringent self-examination as one of the redeemed ones. First of all, I think there's the obstacle or restraint of apathy. What do I mean by that? I mean there's a lack of concern, compassion, and care. In other words, remember those verses in Psalm 126, verses 5 and 6? They that sow in tears shall do what, class? Shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth bearing precious seed shall doubtless come with rejoicing, doing what? Bringing his Talk to me. His sheaves with him. Now notice the twofold there. If I go forth with a broken heart, with care, compassion, and concern, I will come again with joy and fruit. So, hey, as the people of God, are we apathetic? Do we lack the intensity of the task? Are we dutiful and conscientious in our responsibility as an ambassador of the cross? So I would call that a calloused heart. Maybe you'll want to write down because I've given several different kinds of heart in this section. All right, the second I would call compromise. Do you know anybody who's a compromiser? where we call good evil and evil good? Hey, that permeates the church in America, doesn't it? Church after church, given to compromise. That's what's caused the division in the United Methodist Church. Why? Because they have what? Allowed same-sex marriages. and bishops who are married to the same sex. And as a consequence, there has been a division in the church. And from my perspective, rightly so. So I'm talking about compromise. James chapter 1 and verse 8, you know it? A double-minded man is unstable in what? All his ways, A-L-L, underline it. A double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. And I call this a competitive heart. By that I mean a divided and competing allegiance, no depth. solid foundation. We need to once again say, thus saith the Lord. It is written. It is forever settled in what? Heaven. Do you believe it? We're going to have the Word of God forever in heaven. Now and again, somebody will say to me, what translation will it be in heaven? Quite honestly, I don't know, but I know this. We'll all understand it in the by and by. Now, compromise. Double-minded man, a competitive heart. Let's move on quickly. How about unfaithfulness? Unfaithfulness. Have you ever noticed that in your own life? You know, I had this experience. I wasn't sure whether I'd share it with you or not. But we usually shop on Tuesdays. And I have the habit Not a good one. They take the credit card, instead of putting it back in my wallet, I put it in my pocket. And apparently this past Tuesday, when I took the keys out of that same pocket, the credit card went. Oh boy, yeah, you're right. So, we get home, unload the car, Martha put everything away, and She laid down and I thought, you know, I think I'll take a little nap myself. But I better check my wallet, just check it to make sure I have that credit card in my wallet. And guess what? Yeah, you guessed it right. It wasn't there. I never did get my nap because I looked all over for it. And Martha finally woke up and she looked and we couldn't find it. I called the Acme. I said, did anybody turn? Let me check. He got disconnected. All of a sudden, yeah, all of a sudden. Now look, I had not prayed about it. Now I would preach, pray first. I ended up praying last. I'm not proud. This is honest confession. It's good for the soul, isn't it? Have you ever had a situation where you should have prayed and you did everything else before you prayed? Yeah, I see a lot of, yeah. So you identify with me, all right? So I said to Martha, now look, this is Thursday, or Tuesday was what? Christmas Eve, wasn't it? Yeah, and we're supposed to be here at the church for the service. And Martha said, we need to eat at five, Terry. I said, all right. So I said, but I got to go over there and check with the powers that be there at the desk, or maybe I'll look. So we had gone in one of the, I would say, the minor entrance, because the main one, a lot of cars there. So right next to where we had parked, I parked. And as I was pulling in, I saw something. It was a black hiccup. I thought, there's something under there. That couldn't be that. And I began to pray. I began to pray now. Yeah. I began to pray. I went around, I took my cane, and I thought, you know, I got to get down. And you know, I don't move around too well, right? Yeah, you know that. I don't need to explain that. So I get down on my knees and I took my cane, and I reached under there, under the truck, and I thought, that really looks like it. And I began to pull it out, and sure enough, that was my credit card. And boy, I thanked the Lord, and I thought, now how am I going to get up? Yeah, you know, this is a major deal. All right? So you know all about it, Bill. Now, look, don't insult injury. So anyway, it had a, what do you call that? A what? Running board. Yeah, that's it. It had a running board. So I got on the running board, and I was able to get with my hand and I was able to grab the handle on the door and I got up. So I get in the car, the van, and I call Martha. I said, guess what? I found the credit card under the pickup truck parked in our spot. And I really thanked and praised the Lord. But what am I saying? I'm saying sometimes we're not as faithful as we ought to be. I should have been asking the Lord first and foremost, right? And remember the parable of the talents. There was that landowner. He's going away for an extended time and he calls three of his servants. He gives one five and he gives one two and one one. And the five doubled The two doubled. And the one, what? Oh, he buried it. Because, oh, the landowner was an awesome guy. Blessed art thou. Thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I'll make thee ruler over many things. The five, the two. Thou wicked and slothful servant. You have what? Wasted what I gave you. You shall be cast out, thou wicked one, into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. I would say two were faithful. One was not. Oh, that's important for us. to be faithful. And then about, and I would call that a complacent heart. But now, what about impurity? Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul into vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. Psalm 24, 3 and 4. Actions need to be blameless, motives sincere, speak honest, Otherwise, it can be a corrupted heart. And then, I need to move quickly. What about pride? Proverbs 16, 16. Pride cometh before destruction at a haughty spirit before a fall. Oh, how many of us have dealt with pride? And boy, that led to the fall of Lucifer, did it not? Stuck up people with big ego, a haughty spirit, a conceited heart. And then worldliness. Worldliness, that ever plague you? You know, this is a powerful, pungent verse in 1 John 2 15. I went over this verse several times. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. Listen, if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Watch it. We need spiritual discernment. Now what about the promises? And I've got a few minutes left. You know, someone said that this 2 Chronicles 7.14 is the golden text in the Book of Chronicles. And I'm calling it the promises for revival. First of all, we have observation, that's the text. Then we have interpretation. And I realize that the primary interpretation applies to Israel. but there is application that is timely and timeless for us. There was a renowned professor at the Dallas Theological Seminary who for years would say, interpretation, follow me, without application is abortion. You get it? In other words, the text I observe, I need to be accurate in the exhortation, but I also need to see how it has a lesson for me personally. In other words, Scripture has no value to you, does it? Primarily to Israel, but timely and timeless to us. The principle So what is it here? If my people, which are called by my name, will do what? Humble themselves. That's humility. The opposite of pride, is it not? Absolute. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. O God, thou wilt not despise. Psalm 51 17. And the second, not only do I need a humble spirit, a humble and contrite heart, but what do I need next class? I need prayer. James 5, 16b, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Luke 18, 1, men ought always to pray and what? Faint not. How many times have you and I been engaged in prayer and we fell asleep? But we'll watch that football game That basketball game. Hey, the Eagles are playing at 1 o'clock, aren't they? 4.30? Okay, there's somebody's right on the beam. Yeah, right. Well, then I can preach till 4 and you can still see the game. Yeah. And when's Penn State and Notre Dame and all? You get it, what I'm saying? We need to What? Remember, pray without ceasing, 1 Thessalonians 5, 17, men are always to pray, Luke 18, 1, and think not. So, what about your prayer life, and what about mine? And you know, after all these years of ministry, I've never, I've never had anybody to say to me, Terry, I pray too much. Have any of you ever said that to someone? If so, you better repent. The truth of the matter is, there's room for all of us to improve in praying, correct? Absolutely, may not always to pray. Number three, seek my face. I call this devotion, Isaiah 55, six. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near. I want to ask you something. Did you ever sense the Lord speaking to you? Maybe you're here this morning, you've never been saved. That is, you've never confessed your sin. You've never acknowledged that you're estranged and separated from God. You've never trusted Him as Lord and Savior. You've never invited Him into your heart in life. And perhaps you've been coming here for a long time, or maybe you just arrived today. But when God speaks to you, you need to respond. And if I'm here as a believer and God talks to me about something, How do I know His will? You know something? God chooses you. He has chosen you. He has confirmed His call. And He makes the path clear. If you're here as a believer, you need to walk in complete harmony with Him. Devotion. A reliance upon Him. And then, what's it say? If my people humble themselves in praise and turn from their wicked ways. I call that repentance. Repentance. 2 Corinthians 7.10 Godly repentance does what? Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation. But sorrow of the world worketh I have the notion, when I watch some of these reports on television, the news, you know, somebody gets caught. And I have the notion, do you ever, that they're sorry they got caught? Not that they had done something wrong. And have you noticed too, that many of these, oh, when they're relative, particularly mom, Oh, he was such a good boy. He just cared about people. He wanted to do everything for them. And he just murdered somebody. You know, I don't get it. That's the mentality of the age. And we need to be careful that that mentality does not affect us as the children of God. So then, what's God's promises? Your clock probably says noon, doesn't it? This clock here, which is staring me in the face, says 12 o'clock. Will you give me a few more minutes without any additional charge? All right. Here it is. The promises for revival. I will hear from heaven. God promises to hear the prayers of His children. 1 John 5, 14, and this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us. Let me ask you something. In your home, and your wife is in one room and you're in another, what's the key word when she says something to you? Well, for some of us, we're saying, Or it could be the vice versa. Yeah. Hey, what did you say, honey? What? Spiritually speaking, what about you and me? Are we getting the message clear and plain and understandable? The Word He speaks through the Word. He speaks through circumstances. He speaks through friends. And always in harmony with the Divine Truth. So, He promises to hear from Heaven. And we need Him to hear and undertake for us, do we not? He will forgive their sin. The Lord is good, ready to forgive and plenty us in mercy. My favorite verse, my life verse, 1 John 1, 9, if we confess our sins. It's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from what? All unrighteousness. What a promise. What a truth. And heal their land. I see here a relationship between people, humanity, and the land, the law of sowing and reaping. Sow to the flesh, what happens? You reap corruption. Sow to the spirit and you reap what? Eternal life. 2 Peter 3.9, The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, but is longsuffering, not willing that any should perish, but all should come to the knowledge of the truth. Now, to summarize this, Let's do it quickly. Romans 8, 29. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestine to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many creatures. So what's God's ultimate plan for us? He revived in 25 because God plan and purpose is for you and me to be conformed to the image of his dear son. Is his image reflected in me? Not only by lip, but by life. Is what I say demonstrated by how I walk and live. Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Let us pray. Two parts to the invitation this morning. Loving Father, we thank thee. for the truth of your word and the challenge and the comfort that it gives to us. And Father, first of all this morning, I'd like to ask your people, Christians, the believers, the born again ones, are they satisfied with their Christian life? Or do they desire to be revived in this new year, to be a reflection of your image, and to be a vibrant, dynamic, consistent witness and testimony to a perishing, watching, and troubled world. And Father, with those dear ones, enjoy or appreciate prayer for them today. So I'm asking you, as believers, would you like me to pray for you before you leave today? If you will, just raise your hand. God bless you. Are there others across this auditorium? Thank you. I want to be more like Jesus in this new year. Thank you. God bless you, many of you. Thank you. Heads bowed and eyes closed. Thank you, sir. Yes. All right, and may I encourage you to be praying for your brothers and sisters in Christ. Father, we thank thee for these who have indicated a desire to be more like the Savior. And probably many others who did not raise their hands have the same desire and prayer. help us as your people to pray for our brothers and sisters in the household of faith and to be diligent in our spiritual growth this new year. And Father, now for those that may be here without Christ, they've never, never received a Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world. If God spoken to you this morning, Would you like me to pray for you before we close this service? We're going to sing in a moment, I Surrender All. Anyone at all? Now, this is not for display. We're not going to embarrass anybody. But is there anyone here this morning you'd like to raise your hand and say, Terry, please pray for me. I want to trust Christ as my Savior. God bless you. Anyone else? Anyone else today? Take just a moment. You don't need to belabor the invitation. If God's spoken and you have responded, then we'll acknowledge it. Loving Father, we ask your blessing now upon this dear one and any others who should have raised their hands and didn't continue to work in their heart and draw them to Christ. We thank thee for the assurance of your presence. the miracle of your grace, and the power of forgiveness for those who need to come to the Savior, and for your undertaking and unction for your people to live a life that honors thee. Grant that we shall, indeed, surrender all. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you and God bless you.