Is asking for Revival asking for Judgement?

I heard a preacher say recently, that if we are praying for revival then we are praying for judgement and he asked the question are we ready for judgment.

Now the Bible does say that judgment must begin at the house of God 1 Peter 4v17.

And yes, if we receive power from on High, it will have a purifying and purging effect on our lives.

But to associate revival or an awakening, purely with judgement, is surely misleading.

The bottom line is, does the statement the preacher made have any basis in scripture?

I aim to show that it doesn't and that the opposite is the case.

There are 2 scriptures in particular that merit our attention.

The first is in 2 Chronicles 7v14.

14If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Far from judging, this scripture clearly shows, that if we are genuine and humble ourselves, God will forgive our sin and heal our land.

The second scripture is in James 4v6-10

6¶But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

7¶Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

9Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

If we humble ourselves, we will receive grace and be lifted up. If we draw near in true repentance, the Lord will draw near to us.

I can't think of a biblical basis for making the statement that to ask for revival is to ask for judgement.

God doesn't judge the repentant, the true seeker, the one who is seeking Him with all their heart and genuinely wants to experience personal and corporate revival.

No, He forgives, restores, renews, revolutionises, revives and welcomes the one or ones who draw near to Him with the right heart, motive and desire.

Judgement is reserved for the unrepentant, the rebellious, the stubborn, stiff necked and the proud, who resist and reject any notion of the need to humble themselves or cry out to God for revival. 2 Chronicles 36v14-21.

The books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel have many examples were God said that the people of Israel had brought judgment upon themselves because they refused to take heed to his warnings and to repent.

See Jeremiah Chapter 19. Romans 2v5-11, Jude 14&15

Isaiah 3 clearly shows how God will judge a rebellious people who have sinned against Him. Verses 1-11.

I believe that the Lord is already judging the church by permitting those who refuse to take heed to His Word in this hour to be deceived.

In 2 Timothy 4v3&4 we read that the time will come when people within the church will not endure sound doctrine. God permits them to satisfy their lust to hear soft words and what tickles their ears by heaping unto themselves false teachers who are purveyors of fables. I believe there is plenty of evidence that we are already there.

In 2 Thessalonians 2v11 God sends strong delusion, when the Antichrist comes on the scene, to those who have not received the love of the truth, nor believed the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Remember when the Lord put a lying spirit into the mouth of the prophets who were advising the wicked King Ahab whether or not to go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, in order to persuade him to go and be defeated. 1 Kings 22

Are we not seeing this in our day with people within the house of God lusting after a word that will make them feel good about themselves or that reinforces their love of self.

I believe that scripture shows that when God judges, it is often by permitting a people to walk in their own lusts and in a delusional state.

Psalm 106v14&15

14But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.

15And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.

Other translations say "but sent a, wasting disease among them".

However, when a people turn to Him with all their heart and seek Him in truth and with humility and with the right motive they are not judged but receive His mercy and grace. Even King Manasseh who perpetrated such evil against the Lord when he humbled himself before God, God heard him and restored him. 2 Chronicles 33v12&13.

If we choose life instead of death, blessing instead of cursing then the Lord will be for us and not against us. Deuteronomy 30v19&20.

God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. James 4v6

When Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on High - Luke 24v49 - it wasn't in the context of judgement but empowerment.

Empowerment to be witnesses of the resurrection and to make disciples of all nations.

Peter had denied the Lord but in John 21v15-19, Jesus graciously restored Peter in spite of his failure.

All the disciples had forsaken the Lord but yet they were the very ones that Jesus chose to be clothed with power from on High.

That power was life changing and transforming.

They went from hiding for fear of the Jews to Peter standing up with the eleven fearlessly proclaiming:

16But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

17And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

18And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. Acts 2v16-18.

Surely, if we love the Lord and want to be aligned with His plans and purposes in these last days, we will desire revival and all it entails.

I'm sure there was some soul searching during the 10 days the disciples spent in the Upper Room before the Holy Spirit came as the rushing mighty wind.

It will be no different for us. Yes the Holy Spirit will deal with sin in our lives and we will be readied for the endtime outpouring.

I believe the problem is not that we are not ready for revival because we don't want sin exposed, it is that we are not desperate enough and preachers do not emphasise and proclaim the greatest need of the church, is the need for power from on High.

Much preaching but preaching that is not stirring within God's people, a Holy Ghost imparted desperation and cry for Jesus to come in His fulness and interrupt our preaching, church programmes, prayer meetings and everything else that is done in His name.

One of the greatest sins is committed by our leaders, Pastors, preachers etc. It is the sin of stifling and quenching the moving of the Holy Spirit. It is holding the reins of control and standing in the way of the Holy Ghost taking His rightful place. It is knowingly or unknowingly (if unknowingly why, are they not receiving Holy Ghost revelation to understand what God is saying) rejecting God's pattern.

Church leaders need to take a long hard look in the mirror of God's word, as we all do and ask themselves the question I'm I facilitating a move of God or I'm in the way of God coming and reviving His people.

I tell you the truth if they are not preaching the full gospel of the Kingdom (including the need for the fulness of the Holy Ghost and the need for another Pentecost) and they are resisting the moving of the Spirit of God in the midst of His people then they are part of the problem. Are Leaders truly open to revival themselves? Could it be that they fear an outpouring of God's Spirit in case they are sidelined, they lose control or they are no longer at the forefront because they have been made redundant?

Remember John the Baptist when Jesus was revealed. He had served his purpose and what a purpose it was, to prepare the way of the Lord.

Instead of discouraging people from seeking a spiritual awakening, revival or endtime outpouring, we need to be exhorted, stirred up and we need to experience an impartation of hope that God hasn't given up on us, that He wants to impart that which we need in these days.

We need to be stirred up in our most holy faith and have an earnest expectation that God will break through the powerlessness, the empty rhetoric and mundane religiousity and will take such a dealing with us that we will be those vessels who will carry His presence, power, might, Word, light and life to this generation.

The power of God will burn up the sin in our lives and will empower and equip us to be able ministers of the gospel of the Kingdom.

Maybe it's a matter of prospective but to say to ask for revival is to ask for judgement and not exhort the people of God to enter into the good things that He has prepared for us is to miss the point.

I really am struggling to understand why a preacher would "beat up" (metaphorically speaking) the people of God when it comes to asking for revival.

No, we need to be challenged as to why we are content with the status quo, including the regimented and all too familiar church service, (two hymns, a couple of choruses, a testimony or someone singing and the sermon), the formality, deadness and inevitability of it all.

We need to have our lukewarmness, lack of expectation and contentedness challenged.

We need to have an earnest expectation in these days, that God will move one more time in the earth and a desperate desire to be part of it.

We need to cry out to God to rend the heavens and come down once again and move in power through us His people.

That there will such a restoration and alignment of the Word and the Spirit, that will result in this generation seeing the greatest move of God the world has ever experienced.

Be blessed and let the Word of God and Spirit of God stir your hearts and create a hope and earnest expectation in your spirits.

Stephen