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3 Steps To Revival
2 Kings 5:1-11
1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.
3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.
5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.
6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.
7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.
9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
Naaman was a great man. He was a warrior
The Syrians were always enemies of Israel and fought throughout their history.
- He was:
- A mighty man of valor
- A good fighter
- A strong warrior
- A hero in the Syrian’s eyes
- A great man
- ” But he was a leper…”
- An outcast that could not sit at the king’s table,
- He could not go to all of the royal feasts abroad.
- The only one who ever touched him was his wife.
Syrians had gone out and wiped out a village to bring back a maid for his wife. The Syrians did not just go out and ask for volunteers, they were conquerors. They would go in and set fire to a village and plunder, kill, murder and steal all that the village had.
This little maid probably saw her mother, father, family and friends wiped off the earth… just so Naaman could have a maid for his wife.
This maid was taken from her homeland, from her family, losing everything that she had.
II Kiings 5:3
3. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my Lord were with the prophet that
is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
From deep within here, she prayed that Naaman would be healed.
Why would this little girl want the man who killed her family and destroyed her village to be healed?
What was it that was so deep inside of her that she would this man to be healed and to know of the prophet of God?
This is something that must dwell inside of every Christian who wants to see revival!
THE SPIRIT OF FORGIVENESS.
STEP 1. Forgive
Something had to transpire for this little maid to forgive this man who was a murderer and violent man.
- This world has the spirit of Naaman. It is vile, corrupt and sinful. Something has to get us to the point that we can see the world dipped in the river Jordan (i.e. the waters of baptism in Jesus name.)
- She had to forgive him so that he could hear the prophet and be sent to the river to be made whole.
- We must have a spirit of forgiveness to win this world!
- We must forgive our brother
- We must forgive the sinner
- We must forgive the ungodly for them to be saved!
Matt 5:43-44
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
We cannot take advantage of God’s forgiveness. There is a point when God has had enough.
Gen 6:5-7
5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
There is a point where God will say that enough is enough.
Matt 7:6
6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
When a person rejects the word of God, rejects the ministry, after the “space for repentance, God says; “enough is enough.”
I do not desire to reach the place where God tells me that enough is enough. Repentance is not a tool that we use to get back. We need a spirit of forgiveness!
Matt 18:23-35
23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
If you constantly wear your feelings on your sleeve, you run the chance of being offended.
You can lose your salvation over feelings. If you can be shaken, you will be shaken! Don’t lose your salvation over feelings!
Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors…
Matt 6:14-15
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
If you cannot forgive, you will lose your repentance…you have to be willing to forgive!
For that little maid to forgive she also had to forget!
STEP 2. Forget
You have to forget after you forgive.
You need to receive a renewing of the Holy Ghost to forget.
She had to forget the bad things…and see that this man who is unclean needs to be cleansed!
Joseph not only had to forgive, he had to forget the pit, forget the slavery, forget the prison, forget the ugliness and forget the bitterness.
If you are going around with a bitter spirit you can and will lose out with God!
Just talking in tongues for a few minutes is not enough…you need a complete and new renewal in the Holy Ghost…forgetting those things, which are behind, and pressing towards the mark!
Phil 3:13
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.
FORGET THE PAST…. GET A HOLD OF WHAT GOD HAS FOR YOU!!!
Yes, forget what you have forgiven…but DO NOT ever forget that you have BEEN FORGIVEN!
Deut 4:23
23 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.
Deut 6:12
12 Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
Deut 8:10
10 When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.
Luke 6:25
25 Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.
FORGET NOT ALL HIS GREAT BENEFITS!!
STEP 3. Forsake not the Word of God
The little maid did not blame Elisha for what happened to her.
She didn’t blame God for losing her family and friends.
She knew that all she had was the man of God and the Word of God to get her through.
You can’t blame the preacher, God or His Word for what has happened to you!
The Word of God is blameless! I can’t and won’t apologize for the Word of God!
- It says to be baptized in Jesus name, born again of the water and of the spirit. It says that we must be holy for God is holy.
- It says to depart from iniquity.
- The Word of God says that we have to pay tithes and offerings.
- The Word says that we must worship and pray.
It is the truth! And the truth will make you free!
God is blameless.
If you are bitter and mad…you can get glad!
Get a hold of the horns of the altar and don’t let go until peace and joy come again!
Why is the altar so significant? Why do you need to grab a hold of the altar?
Lev 4:30
30 And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar.
The altar is where the blood flows!
The blood of Calvary is where the blood flows!
We have to get in the flow of that precious flow!
Joseph did not blame God, his brethren or his father. He took what came and made a blessing out of it.
The blessings of Joseph were directly related to how he handled the trials that came to him!
John never blamed God. He was beaten, imprisoned and boiled in oil! He was sent to an island prison and yet after all of that, we find John…
Rev 1:10
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.
EVERY DAY WAS THE LORD’S DAY!
John still prayed, still worshipped, still trusted in God, and because he did, he got a revelation from Jesus Christ!
All things work together….
Rom 8:28
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Why?
Because God can take any situation and make a miracle out of it!
Apostolic revival is predicated on forgiveness, forgetting and trust in God and the ministry!
YOU HAVE TO FORGIVE, …… AND BE FORGIVEN.
I want revival! We need revival! We need revelation! We need to be in the spirit everyday!
There is no other plan.
When you forgive, forget and get right with God, all things fall into place.
You love people, you love God, and you love the ministry.
You want to see people saved? You don’t care about their past, because the blood can clean up everything!
God sees every hungry heart in this area, but God is not the witness, God is not the preacher…God is not the testimony!
WE ARE THE WITNESS!
