A very familiar scripture. Overused and turned into cliches in most situations. And I think that the Lord has definitely led me here to this place. I'm looking for a small trash can. Alright. Led me to this place. People have used this scripture over and over and over. I still believe it means what it says and says what it means and all that good stuff. The problem is it's the people that have to grab a hold of the Scripture. The Scripture is infallible. The scripture is powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. And devil, I got news for you, devil. You gonna get beheaded you come around here tonight. Amen. I got a sword up here. I got two or three of them. Amen. And you use that on your folks, Creighton? Amen. Amen. It's the Word that's infallible, but it's man in need of a Savior that is rotten. Old flesh, just rotten flesh in need of a Savior. We're failures. We're the ones that have to get a hold of the Scripture. The Scripture is powerful in itself. 2 Chronicles 7, we'll begin our reading in verse 12. If you have your place, you say, Amen. If you don't, you say, Hold on. Got any hold-ons? Alright. 2 Chronicles chapter 7, beginning our reading in verse 12, and it says this, and like I said, it's very familiar. And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and I have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilences among my people, if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways. Then and only then will I hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and I will heal their land. Let us pray. Lord, we love you tonight. God, you do what you can only do, God. I know it's a little bit different, a little bit weird being in here with a bunch of people we never met before. And I know that it can be a little uncomfortable or unlearned or maybe unsure at times with some of us, God, but I pray, God, that you just let your peace and your joy and your comfort and your liberty just settle amongst us here for just a little bit and allow your people just to let go of themselves and let you do what you can do for them. We're not here to work it up. You've already done everything that needs to be done. Just let us grasp a hold of it this evening. In Jesus' name, amen. We see here that verse 14 is where we're going to take our sermon tonight. And there's a big ol' if in the beginnings of verse 14. And it's always been an if. If you want to make it to heaven, you're going to have to still go by the cross. If you're going to make heaven your home, you're going to have to trust Jesus Christ as your Savior. If you are going to overcome these battles and problems and troubles in your life, you're gonna have to do something. You can't just lay back, lazy, complacent, and expect God to do it all. I learned a long time ago in elementary school when they allowed us to watch where the red fern grows, and that little old boy wanted to buy them coon dogs so bad, and he had no money for them coon dogs. I learned a long time ago. Pawpaw taught him a lesson that day. You remember when he was wanting to buy them coon dogs and he went over to Pawpaw's store and Pawpaw didn't have enough money and he said, you're gonna have to just work for it and talked that boy into working for it. And he went to working for that thing, working for them dogs and saving that money for them dogs. And he went back to Pawpaw and he said, Pawpaw, my hands have got blisters on them, my feet's got blisters on them, I've sweat to death, I ain't hardly got no money at all, and I don't know how in the world we're gonna make it. And Pawpaw pretty much said, you're gonna have to pray. And what he said was, is you do your part, and God will do his part. And that's on a movie. Now movies ain't like that in Hollywood no more. But if you want God to do His part, you're gonna have to do your part. Our God's miracles, His work, His handi-ship is, it does still hinge on our obedience. It still hinges off of our obedience. And so here we see a big if. If my people shall humble themselves. The people that are called by my name, not lost people, but the ones who know who Jesus is. I'm talking about the church folk. Look, if there's anybody harder to reach, it's a bunch of dead church folk. a bunch of dead complacent church folk, religious folk, people that just accidentally got so complacent that they don't even know where they're at half the time, and they think they're doing God a favor by still showing up at the house of God. But if my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves, acknowledging God's authority, He is still in control. Recognizing our sinfulness. Recognizing who we really are. We are really rotten. And we are in need for His grace. The Bible says if we humble ourselves and pray. You know, so many times in churches, and I don't mean to meddle too much, but a lot of times we'll take prayer requests for 30 minutes and pray for 3 seconds. Amen. But if we'll humble ourselves and pray, This emphasizes the importance of our communication with God. We understand it. I've got into a place before where I wasn't praying like I should have been praying. Because I remember growing up when I kept asking my daddy for something. Every once in a while, more times than none, the more I asked, the more I realized I was not getting. But God does not work that way. God wants you to pray to Him. He wants you to talk to Him. He wants you to tell Him your every need and concern. He wants that relationship. Our communication with God, our prayer life is very, very important in seeking His guidance and His intervention. We really do need His guidance even to go to Walmart, praise God, especially in 2025. I can't even open the car door without getting secondhand high. We need God's work in our life. It says if they pray and will seek his face. You know the Bible says whoever shall seek after him, he shall find him. The Bible says that he stands at the door and he knocks. And if any man will open up and let him in, he will come in and sit with him. We need to be seeking after God nowadays. We've got so backwards, we're seeking out everything we want in life. And as long as it feels good, we think it's God's will and we'll call it a blessing, but I beg to differ. Amen. It also says that we should turn from our wicked ways. A genuine change of our heart and our behavior. Turning away from sin. Someone asked me about Creighton. I don't want to blow him up. I know that his relationship with the Lord is right. I don't have to ask him. He didn't have to tell me. He's been serving the Lord all his life. What a testimony. Now we think some people gotta have a testimony of drugs and alcohol like mine, maybe like Jordan, like some of you in here. But what a testimony to say that I got saved at a young age. I let loose of the devil and the worldly things and went with Jesus for a young age. What a testimony. His daddy's here today. What a testimony. I actually stumbled across a video where Creighton was given an address at his graduation. He was preaching behind the desk, amen. And I told mama, I said, come look at this, this boy's been preaching since high school. Turn from our wicked ways, knowing that we're in need of a savior, knowing that this world has nothing to offer for us. So many times we grasp at all the things that we can get our hands on. But see we see here that if we shall humble ourselves and the ones that are called by his name and pray and seek his face and turn from our wicked ways it says then there's a response. See God don't lie. So if he's not hearing from heaven and pouring out a blessing and bringing revival it's probably our fault. So he says then his response shall be that he will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. God promises these things. To respond to the prayers and the requests, also promises to forgive their sin and heal their land. Restoration and blessing. In essence, 2 Chronicles 7 verse 14 offers a pathway to individual and collective reconciliation with God through repentance, prayer, and genuine pursuit of His face. We want the benefits but not His presence. We can't have His benefits without His presence. A born-again believer needs revival I mean, we need revival in our land, in our lives. I'm telling you, we need revival. Revival is so commercialized nowadays. They say you bring this preacher in that'll bring a good crowd and have him preach. I say, I want Jesus to be in the place. I want revival from the Holy Ghost of God that changes our little church, changes our little community, right where we're at. I'm concerned about my house. I don't know about how you're concerned with your house, but I need revival in my house. A more intimate relationship with God. We need our experience renewed, a spiritual vitality to be empowered to live a life that has purpose and an impact on other people. Revival can help believers. rediscover their initial passion for Christ. We overcome spiritual dryness. I heard a pastor tell me just the other day he's not seen nobody saved in 15 years. Spiritual dryness, complacency, and to be renewed in their walk with God. Returning to God. Revival is often seen as a process of returning to God after periods of spiritual decline or straying from His will. It can involve recognizing and addressing sin. And we don't want to talk about sin anymore. But we need to address sin because sin separates us. I had to tell a believer today. that if you regard iniquity in your heart, he does not hear you. So if you've been praying, and it seems to be real quiet, and don't get me wrong, God gets quiet from time to time, even when you're doing right. But if he's been quiet, maybe you need to be praying more for you, and not about more for what you want, but what you need. I remember my parents said we had all the things that we needed, not so much all the stuff we wanted. And that seems to be true. Now my kids are spoiled rotten. They got all they need and all they don't need. And that's how we've become as Christians. We're just spoiled rotten brats. And we need to see us for who we are and get back to seeing God for who he is. through prayer and addressing the sin in our life, not somebody else's. I ain't got time to keep up with your sin. Address your sin, my sin, humbling oneself to repentance. It restores our spiritual passion. And I didn't number all this stuff because I hope I'm going somewhere. Just bear with me. I'm not as seasoned as some men in here. A lack of passion for God and His purposes can lead to spiritual stagnation. I feel like a broken record this evening. Revival helps believers reignite their first love for Jesus and renew their zeal for His work. There's a group of people back here on this back row because somebody had a zeal for the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you're a born again believer here, you are a product of Acts chapter two and then you're a product of grandma and great grandpa great mama and all these ones that came along before you, we're the lazy ones nowadays that's forgot about it, but had it not been for a generation that took God at his word and did not lose the zeal for the gospel of Jesus Christ and continued to preach the word of God, not trying to get another fog machine or another electric guitar or another curtain or another theme, but just the gospel, the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, We were able to get in the fold and be born again, gloriously born again, all because of the zeal of others. And in the meantime, it makes you feel pretty good too. We need to experience a transformation. Revival can lead to personal transformation. The Bible says, Transformed. Be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind. This all still starts with a thought. It still starts with a change of mind, a change of heart. What are you looking for this day and time? Are you looking for God? Do you want the things of God? You've got to make your mind up. Your kids depend on it. Overcoming our spiritual dryness, responding to a call to abundant living. Uh-oh. I'm not talking about Cadillac, jet flying, women chasing behind the scenes. Abundant grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ Helps believers move beyond the basic understanding of faith Some people just happy believing Guess what? The devil believes You're not even any further You're not anywhere ahead of the devil tonight If that's all you've got, it's a belief But knowledge in who Jesus Christ, abundant life that God has planned for you and it can lead to a greater sense of purpose and effectiveness and enthusiasm for serving God. God gives you peace when the world says you shouldn't have peace. So tonight, that was my introduction. Repentance spells revival. Repentance spells revival. What's the benefit of repentance? forgiveness, spiritual renewal and reconciliation with God and others. Did you know when the real spirit of God and real repentance comes into a room, all them people you're mad at down at the church house, you'll go run them down and hug their neck and tell them you're sorry and you didn't even do anything. Amen, amen, I've seen it happen. I'm talking about true repentance, true contrite heart, true broken heart, broken spirit before an almighty God. forgiveness and cleansing. Repentance spells revival. You want revival, you need to get on your knees. You need to humble yourself before an almighty God. Seek his face and pray, pray, and pray. By acknowledging and turning away from the sin, individuals can experience spiritual refreshment and rejuvenation, allowing for growth and development. Repentance can restore everything. Humility and humbleness, that's where we have a big problem. I don't have to talk about everything, but I talked with these two pastors back there in that room before, and I looked them dead in their eyes, and I said, I'm not in competition with you. I'm on your team. I'm for you. You don't have to be for me. I didn't tell them that part. I want them to be for me. But you don't have to be for me. I'm a human. But you don't have to be for me. But I'm for you tonight. I want you to know what it's like to find Jesus somewhere in the shadows of this lonely, dark world. Humbleness, humility are shortcomings in seeking God's grace, knowing how pitiful we are. And repentance can lead to a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God as it demonstrates our willingness to follow His teachings and seek His guidance. You know, we get so caught up in dinners and stuff at church and fried chicken. But listen, and people might talk bad about it, but it's biblical. It's okay to get together and eat. They did it in the Acts and it's part of it. I'm glad to eat together. Maybe we do need to eat together more. Maybe we do need to spend more time together. Maybe we do need to get in the house of God more often. Maybe we do need to grab hands again and help share and bear each other's burdens and repent of these things. Get jealousy out of the house of God. Fullness of life, joy and peace. Repentance can bring the sense of joy and peace. You don't have to have obviate odds at nobody. Joy and peace that we experience with the freedom from the burden of sin and the comfort of God's forgiveness. You know, I got saved in that eggshell doctrine. My mama's here. I did get saved in that eggshell doctrine, but I tell my mama all the time, I said, we both go into heaven. I'm just getting there a lot easier than you. And I had to figure that out for myself. We serve a God so big. He's big enough to save us. He's big enough to keep us. He's big enough to hold us. And if you're jumping out of His hand, you never got in it. Amen. Amen. You never got in it if you're jumping out of it. The indignation towards sin. We don't hate sin no more. We don't hate it no more. But you let sin knock on your family's door, you let addiction and all these things crowd your house, and in your own house, and you let your wife run off and leave you, or your husband run off and leave you, and you let these things of sin creep into your place of residency, and then you'll decide, you'll start hating it. Y'all somebody better say amen. I guess y'all ain't got no sin in your life. Hey, I need a savior. And it was a good day when I decided that sin was my biggest problem. Sin was my biggest problem. Sin. And we need to hate sin again. Because repentance spells revival. I need a piano player. I'm getting out of here. Can't keep them too long. They won't come back. Repentance spells revival. Look, I figured the Lord just showed me this is where we need to be. Why are we gonna wait till day 17? Why are we gonna wait till day 17? When if you want revival, you're gonna have to repent. You're gonna have to repent. You're gonna have to get on your hands and knees before an almighty God and repent. Humble yourself. You ain't holier than thou. You ain't got it figured out. You ain't super spiritual. You know better than anybody else in this place. The ground is level at the foot of the cross. And I'm glad of it. He's no respecter of persons. He doesn't love me anymore because I sing. He doesn't love me anymore because I try to preach. He don't love me anymore by who I am and He don't love you anymore than He loves me. And if you walk out of this place without repentance in your life, you will spend eternity in hell. And He'll love you the exact amount while you're burning in hell as He does right now. Repentance spells revival. You can be playing whenever. Repentance.