TEACHING

Humble Yourself

God says, "If my people which are called by my name will humble themselves" (2 Chronicles 7:14) the first step to revival is to humble yourself. Now, you see, most people say, "I don't need to repent. I'm OK."

That's what we hear in America. They don't want to hear in this nation that there's anything wrong with them.

Homosexuality -- it's ok. Abortion -- it's ok. Materialism --it's ok.  Lip service to religion --, it's ok. Divorce --it's ok. Children being born out of wedlock and premarital sex --it's ok.  Pornography on the Internet -- it's ok.

Don't tell us there's something wrong with America. We're going to sing, "God bless America" and God will bless us just because we're such nice people and we're nicer here than those guys over in the Middle East who are attacking us. Don't believe that for one minute, that we're OK before God. God says, "If you want my blessing, humble yourself."

So you start before Him and say, "I am made out of dust, and I am a sinner. God, be merciful to me, a sinner.  I have sinned before God." That's where you start with revival.

When you humble yourself, you get on your face before God and say, "God, I'm a sinner." Don't tell God how good you are. Don't tell him how smart you are.  Then the next thing that you must leave behind is pride. You see we have so much pride, don't we?

Somebody has got white skin, and he's better or she's better than somebody that has dark skin.  Somebody came from the United States, so he's better than somebody that came from India. Somebody makes $50,000 a year, so he's better than somebody that makes $20,000.

Somebody is an executive, so he's better than somebody who is a laborer. Somebody has a college degree, so he's better than somebody that has a high school degree. Somebody has graduate degrees, so he's better than somebody else. He's a professional person, he's a doctor or lawyer, so he's superior to somebody who doesn't have those skills.

This pride permeates us, and we begin to look around and say, "Well, I am driving a, whatever is your idea of a big-time car, Cadillac, Lexus, Mercedes, and that makes me better than the guy that's got the Chevrolet."

And you feel proud. And I've got more money in the bank, therefore, I'm better than he is, or she is. And it's like the pharisee and the publicans.The pharisee said, "God, I thank you because I'm not like these other people.  I fast, and I give a tithe, and I do these religious things, and I thank you that I'm not like this dirty publican." (Luke 18: 11) And the publican said, "Be merciful to me a sinner." (Luke 18: 13) Jesus said he went home justified.

But the pharisee prayed thus with himself. He wasn't even talking to God. God isn't interested in hearing how great you are. What God is interested in is having somebody who is humble and of a contrite spirit who trembles at His Word. That's what He's looking for. He wants somebody who is contrite.

He said of a contrite spirit that such a one trembles at His Word. (Isaiah 66:2) You read the Word of God. During every revival in the Old Testament, they began to read the Word, and the people began to tremble.

They said, "We didn't know that's what the Bible says." When we see revival, the people will begin to say, "This is the Word of God.  This is what we're supposed to do."

So in this little booklet ("Steps to Revival"), as you read it, and I hope you read it carefully, you start out with pride and you and say, "God, start with me. I deserved hell."

You go back over your life, and you start thinking of the things that you've done, and there is no way that you're entitled to heaven.  None of us are!

But, they took a survey of the American people and about 90 percent said, "Well, we're going to heaven, but I'm not sure about anyone else."

Then they began to classify all the people who were going to heaven.  Oprah Winfrey led the list, and I think Colin Powell, and probably Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan. They were all way up high. What they were doing was just ranking our sports and entertainment figures and saying they were going to go to heaven and people who were ministers of the Gospel, they're not going to heaven.

That's the way the American people are looking. But everybody said, with a few exceptions, they were going to heaven.  Well, they're going to be sadly mistaken.

What they need to do and what you need to do is to come before God and say, "I need a Savior." If righteousness came from the law, then the cross is of no effect. And that would nullify the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.

That's what pride does. Pride says, "I don't need a savior." But humility says, "I must have a Savior." The humility says, "Without the cross, I am lost."

And that's where you come to the point where God can begin to do something for you. And so as we're seeing revival, that's the first step.

You read this little book and I want you to get a copy if you don't have one. You read it and read it carefully because God is doing something.

But I want to pray for some of you right now. Look in your own heart.  You were made out of dust. You have nothing that God didn't give you, and he holds the very breath of your life in his hands. And any time He wants to, He can take it away.

It's that tenuous.

All He's got to do is turn His hand over and your life ceases. You saw in the World Trade Center, as tragic as it was, people went to work, their life was going along just fine. They were expecting to have happiness and joy, and they were engaged in their pursuit, and all of a sudden, in a moment of time, their life was gone!

And your life can be taken away from you. That's why it's time now to get right with Him.

And Father, for those who are watching this program right now, I pray that they might understand what humility is, that they might humble themselves before the hand of a mighty God and that you might exalt them.

And Lord, you said if your peopl, which were called by your name, would humble themselves, and Lord, may we as Christians humble ourselves and acknowledge the ways that we've sinned against you.

May we as a nation humble ourselves and acknowledge our dependence on Almighty God. And may we ask your forgiveness for the way that we violated your laws and ignored you, for decades, what we have done to insult you.

Lord, forgive, we pray, and may we see a move of God in this land. Send revival, Lord. In Jesus' name, we ask. Amen and amen.