Revival Starts With Your Heart

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land”  (2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV).

Revival Starts With Your Heart

I once heard a pastor on the radio say that a great Christian revival will begin when everyone that attends church follows God’s word and tithes 10 percent to their church.  I thought to myself – yes, that would be a tremendous thing and the church universal could do great things with that money. I imagined the missions to foreign countries, feeding the homeless, programs aimed at youth, men, women, young couples, and elderly.

But then I thought, ‘a tithe should only be given out of love, not an obligation. The simple fact is that God does not need your money and His will shall be done regardless of your tithe. Your tithe is

symbolic of the spiritual condition of your heart, which concerns God much more than your tithe, bank account, and material possessions.

The Word of God in Malachi 3:10 reads, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be enough to store it.” So, by denying our tithe to God we are denying nothing to Him. However, we are denying ourselves a blessing. St. Paul sums this up beautifully in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7: “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” We are told in Matthew 6:33: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

I believe that revival starts when all people turn their focus on God rather than on themselves. Sin is the inevitable result of our natural tendency to focus on ourselves, our desires, our flesh, and our will. True revival will come, “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 will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). A key component of revival is for each husband in each house to submit to God and lead the way for his family to a Christ-centered life. In summary, consider the Word of God in Joshua 24:15: “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Serve the Lord by giving Him your heart – your whole heart – and then YOU will may be the spark that starts the fire of revival. Revival won’t come due to giving back to God what already belongs to God (i.e., money), but it will come by giving him our heart – our whole heart.

Prayer:  Dear God, Help us to humble ourselves and pray and seek Your face and turn our wicked ways, then we know You will hear from heaven, and You will forgive our sin and will heal our land. Amen.

Meet the Author

Todd Shupe is a Men’s Ministry Specialist through the General Commission of United Methodist Men and is in training to be a Certified Lay Minister through the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church. He currently serves as the President of the Baton Rouge District of United Methodist Men and is a Board Member for Gulf South Men and serves on the Action Team for The Kingdom Group. He is a volunteer for the Walk to Emmaus, Grace Camp, and Iron Sharpens Iron. Todd resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

We welcome your comments below.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Thank you for visiting. We trust that you have enjoyed reading our articles.

Liked this post?

Read more below or search for more topics...

  • The New Year

    The New Year “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:19). As the new year approaches so does a surge in membership applications to local fitness centers.   Many of us make a new year’s resolution to lose weight, and this is a great resolution.  Our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit, and we are to honor God with our bodies (1 Cor. 6:19-20). At this time of the year, I like to reflect on Isaiah 43:19. “See, I...
  • The Greatest Threat To The Church Is…

    The Greatest Threat To The Church Is… “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others” (Matthew 6:5 NIV). I think when most people think about threats to the local church, they think about declining membership and attendance and associated financial issues.  Yes, it is true that many small churches have closed or will close in the near future due to insufficient membership and finances.  However, in the book The Myth of the Dying Church by Glenn T. Stanton, the author presents a...
  • Who Do You Say That I am?

    Who Do You Say I Am? “In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will” (Ephesians 1:11 (NIV). The first part of this blog series began by focusing on the first question posed by Jesus in Matthew 16:13-17 (below).  If you missed it, please click HERE.“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"  And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the...