Revive us again

Topics: God, God's word, God's love, God's mercy

I. Revive us with your Word

* Personal spiritual revival demands humble, contrite hearts!

1. Look upon my affliction and rescue me, for I do not forget Your law. Plead my cause and redeem me; revive me according to Your word. Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Your statutes (Psalm 119:153?155).
2. This is my comfort in my affliction, that Your word has revived me (Psalm 119:50).
3. For thus says the high and exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy, "I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite" (Isaiah 57:15).

II. Revive us with your Mercy

* Personal spiritual revival cherishes the mercies of the Lord!

1. Great are Your mercies, O Lord; revive me according to Your ordinances. Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, yet I do not turn aside from Your testimonies. I behold the treacherous and loathe them, because they do not keep Your word (Psalm 119:156-158).
2. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh (Jude 20-23).

III. Revive us with your Love

* Personal spiritual revival radiates the love of the Lord to others!

1. Consider how I love Your precepts; revive me, O Lord, according to Your loving-kindness. The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting (Psalm 119:159, 160).
2. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:7, 8).

Sermon by Pastor Rod Akins, November 26^th, 2023

Life group flow and discussion questions

"Revive us again"

An important Guideline of Life Groups: Personal spiritual revival always impacts the corporate Body of Christ; therefore, Life Groups become contagious environments for spiritual encouragement when we get serious about seeking the Lord for an outpouring of His manifest presence.

Getting Started:

1. How does humility play a key role in spiritual revival and renewal?
2. Do you believe that Jesus is not truly Lord if there is no obedience (Luke 6:46)?

Discussing Truths:

1. What does a contrite heart look like in our human relationships (Romans 12:16-18)?
2. Can people become men and women of prayer and God's Word if they're not treating others with kindness, love, mercy, and forgiveness?
3. How does fasting and prayer help us to genuinely seek the Lord (Joel 2:12, 13)? How can those disciplines become a distraction from true revival? Are you praying for spiritual revival?
4. Do you find it difficult to "have mercy on some, who are doubting" (Jude 22)?
5. Is it hard for you to ask God to do a thorough self-examination of your heart and life (Psalm 139:23, 24)?
6. How is love for one another a clear indication of one's true spiritual condition?

Now What? Application:

1. Is there someone you need to go to and ask forgiveness? Don't allow bitterness to take root and defile many. Clean out the leaven of sin from your heart, so it doesn't spread.
2. How will you express love and mercy to your OIKOS this week? Is there someone in your immediate family that you need to show kindness and grace to today?