For the first key to revival, turn to Psalm 63:
Ps 63:1-8 KJV
1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:
6 When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.
Here’s a picture of a man who had a hunger for God.
To hunger is to long to be filled by God.
To be an anointed Christian, full of blessing, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matt.5:6)
This means to hunger for Christ and thirst for a life lived the way He lived His. Not just hunger for His blessings, but hunger for Him, a hunger to live like He did.
The reality of the kingdom of God ought to be seen in our manner of living, in the way we conduct ourselves in public and in private.
A hunger for more of God caused Sis. Lois and myself to visit some places where God is moving in power and glory and we experienced a powerful new flow of the Spirit in our lives. That flow has changed even our character. Not just our talk but also our walk.
A true hunger for God will cause you to say, “I’m not satisfied with what I have. I want more of You and more of Your presence.” There is a fountain, but for it to flow in and thru our lives we must be driven by a hunger that causes us to allow ourselves to be broken, to be humbled.
Hunger is a catalyst that will open the window for revival in your own heart.
Too many times we speak about, the church needs revival. The truth is we individually need a revival, a personal revival.
We say we want the fire; but do you really want the fire, to want the fire is to hunger for what the fire does; the fire purifies, the fire consumes, the fire transforms.
Matt. 3:11 “After me will come One who ….will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
Under the power of the Holy Spirit we may fall, tremble, or laugh, but none of these manifestations will change us. God does move in these ways, but we must not set our eyes on such manifestations.
We must hunger for the fire of Pentecost that will change our lives, that fire evident in the lives of the Apostles, This fire was also evident in Jeremiah:
There is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in. Jer. 20:9 RSV
I believe we are in the preliminary stage of an awakening.
An awakening that is not limited to manifestations, healings, miracles, and wonders; but it is producing in the Christian a desire to pray for lost souls to be converted to the Lord.
We must hunger to see God’s final purpose fulfilled; that every tongue, nation, and tribe shall have a chance to hear and see a living and powerful church announcing the gospel.
Hunger opens that window. Hunger for God must drive you to want more than religious routines and traditions.
When an awakening of the Holy Spirit is in process, there is hunger for the Spirit of God, which produces a renewed love for God and a hunger to see souls saved.
A true seeker of God is controlled by a personal hunger that nothing or nobody can satisfy. You have to hunger for God if you want to open the window that prepares the jet way for revival and renewal; hunger for God more than any other desire that you may have. Your hunger for God has to be more intense.
Your hunger for God has to be greater than your hunger or desire for a new house, or a new car or more money or a better job.
Zaccheus in Luke 19 was a rich man, a tax collector. He had a lot of money but few friends. One day his hunger drove him “up a tree”… you see, Jesus was passing by.
I like what Leonard Ravenhill said: “The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized in the lifetime of the opportunity.”
When Jesus saw him in the tree, He called him to come down; and He then told him He was going to his house.
You get hunger enough for Jesus and I can promise you: He will go home with you.
Zaccheus was transformed from being a money chaser to a “God chaser”. The problem with too many of God’s people is they want God to chase after them.
But a real genuine seeker of God is after His face not just His hands.
……………………is after the fire of God
……………………is after the presence of God
……………………is not satisfied for a sprinkle here and there they want to be submerged in it.
You see it’s not enough to come to Jesus once. We have to keep coming. He has to be Lord of your life.
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” Matt. 6:31
A real seeker of God is ready to obey the words of Jesus.
A real seeker of God is driven by his hunger beyond the arena of organized religion.
Do you know what: organized religion has never done anything for me. But Jesus certainly has!
I want more of Him. There’s something in me that’s driving me to pursue more of God. I want more of Him. I don’t just want to hear more about God I want God….I want more of Him.
You have to get to the place where it doesn’t satisfy anymore to just hear about what God is doing in other places and for other people; you have got to have it yourself; you’ve got to experience it yourself.
Oh God, it’s great what’s happening in Pensacola, in Toronto, in Smithton, in Argentina
but here I am Lord, in _________ I’m desperate for my own move of God.
I’m telling you; you won’t have a mighty move of God’s Spirit until you have a desperate hunger… But as long as you’re satisfied with the status quo you are not desperate… The only hunger that qualifies to open the window is a desperate hunger…
The second key is… Holiness
