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Revive Us Again!Revive Us Again!
A Special Sunday MessageA Special Sunday Message
Psalm 85:1-13Psalm 85:1-13
August 25, 2013August 25, 2013
Pastor Paul K. KimPastor Paul K. Kim
SOME PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS ON PSALM 85
• It is a psalm NOT for a personal need but for a corporate need. So, its application is for the community as a
whole.
• It is a prayer NOT for a geographical nation but for the people of God. So, its prayer must be applied not for our nation
but for our church & churches as the people of God.
• It is a song NOT of praise but of lament. So, its wisdom is for a season of spiritual dryness
and weariness.
WHAT ARE THE KEYS TO REVIVAL OF OUR SOULS?
1) HOLY DISCONTENT: Realize your present need for spiritual renewal, remembering God’s past work and blessings for you.
1 Lord, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger. (vs.1-3)
The first thing to realize is the stark difference between our present condition and what God desires for us.
How? The key is to remember God’s past mercy, grace, and blessings for our spiritual community.
It requires us to confront our complacency and spiritual apathy with a holy discontent.
WHAT ARE THE KEYS TO REVIVAL OF OUR SOULS?
1) HOLY DISCONTENT: Realize your present need for spiritual renewal, remembering God’s past work and blessings for you.
1 Lord, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger. (vs.1-3)
The first thing to realize is the stark difference between our present condition and what God desires for us.
How? The key is to remember God’s past mercy, grace, and blessings for our spiritual community.
It requires us to confront our complacency and spiritual apathy with a holy discontent.
15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because
you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out
of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need
nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind,
and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so
that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe
yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and
salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Revelation 3:15-18
WHAT ARE THE KEYS TO REVIVAL OF OUR SOULS?
2) EARNEST HEART-CRY: Cry out to the LORD for your spiritual revival and renewal, relying on God’s mercy.
4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us!
5 Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. (vs. 4-7)
Spiritual revival is God’s work but our part is to earnestly cry out to God for renewal through repentance and prayer.
In so doing, we can rely on God’s mercy and his steadfast love.
The end goal is to rejoice in the LORD for his marvelous work of restoration and renewal.
WHAT ARE THE KEYS TO REVIVAL OF OUR SOULS?
3) WAITING ON GOD: Wait patiently for God’s work to revive you with a twofold communal focus: (1) hearing God’s Word and (2) trusting in God’s character.
8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
but let them not turn back to folly.9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
that glory may dwell in our land.
WHAT ARE THE KEYS TO REVIVAL OF OUR SOULS?
3) WAITING ON GOD: Wait patiently for God’s work to revive you with a twofold communal focus: (1) hearing God’s Word and (2) trusting in God’s character.
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.12 Yes, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way. (vs. 8-13)
Spiritual revival is God’s work—so we must wait on the LORD with faith rather than resorting to passivity or busyness.
In so doing our focus should be on (1) hearing & obeying God’s Word and (2) trusting & delighting in God’s character.
With this twofold focus, we can gain confidence in God!
Trusting and Delighting in God’s Character As I think of God, I meditate on all His attributes. He is a powerful God. Oh, how I love Him for that! I do not want to have a weak arm to lean upon—let my Lord be the mighty God! Hallelujah to Him because He can do all things and all that power will be used for righteousness and truth! I love to think of Him as the God of Love, nothing, even in His Justice, being contrary to love. Oh, what a blessed God I have—a God of Love! Then I think of Him as a God of Justice, and I am equally pleased with Him. I do not want an unjust God—a God who could pardon sin without Atonement is no God for me! I delight to feel that His justice is as much concerned and bound to save me as His mercy. Oh, what a joy to be able to rejoice in His Justice! And then to rejoice in His Truth—His faithfulness, that He cannot lie—His immutability, that He cannot change—His eternal existence, that He cannot faint or die—ah, my Brothers and Sisters... we delight in them all, and yet we rejoice in Him most of all!
- Charles H. Spurgeon
THREE PRACTICAL QUESTIONS FOR OUR EVERYDAY LIFE
1. How can we realize more of our present need for spiritual revival as a church community? What’s my part in this?
2. What would it mean for us to practice earnest heart-cry for God to revive us again? What’s my part in this?
3. How do we proactively keep our twofold focus in waiting on God—(1) hearing and obeying God’s Word and (2) trusting and delighting in God’s character? What’s my part in this?
