Rivers of Revival

Sermon OverviewScripture Passage: Ezekiel 47:1-12John 7:38 says, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”As we ask God to do something supernatural in our desperate world, we must pray to become like the rivers of revival pictured in Ezekiel 47.“Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar.” (v. 1)The Mysterious Source of the RiverIt is a humble source; it flows from under the threshold. Adrian Rogers says, “Revival never begins without God’s people humbling themselves.” It is a holy source; it flows past the altar, the holiest of holy places. It is a heated source; it flows out towards the east, where the sun rises.The Marked Course of the RiverIt flows into the depressed, deserted, and deadly places. There are people who are fearful and perplexed, unsatisfied, and spiritually dead. They don’t know the joy that we know or have the answers to life that we have. They need the rivers of revival to flow out of us.Ezekiel explains the mighty force of this river, declaring that where the water flows:Trees will grow: “When I had returned, there, along the bank of the river, were very many trees on one side and the other” (v. 7). Ezekiel is talking about Christians who have strength and life, becoming trees that will not wither. (See Psalm 1:2-3.)Fish will go: In Matthew 4:19, Jesus said that we’re to be fishers of men. Evangelism is a by-product of revival; when the church gets right with God, others will come to Jesus.Fruit will show: Galatians 5:22-23 reveals the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”Health will glow: When the rivers of revival flow through, the result is spiritual health: for us and those around us.Apply it to your lifeAre you thirsty for revival? Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Pray for a river of revival to flow through you today.