Anchor: Resting in the Promises of God (4)

In light of the asbury College Revival the idea of revival has been on my mind. I’ve looked into revivals. What starts revivals. Why we call it revival. What the modern church has tried to turn a revival into and I begin to ask the big question.

Why can’t we have this encounter with God. To be clear I hate the term revival. To revive something you have to take what was once alive (a Christian), remove the spark or the life out of it (a dead Christian) and then bring it back to life.

Asbury College has been going strong for about 2 weeks now. According to the latest release the college will allow the revival to go for another week and then they will close its doors to visitors. If you’ve followed this revival at all you will notice a few things. 1. Their services aren’t big events. They had a drummer, a guitarist and a pianist. Their chapel would remind you of this church. Simple. In need of a lot of work and attention. They don’t have fancy lights or guests speakers. The initial sermon was a simple to come Jesus sermon.

It wasn’t the preacher or the band that started the revival. There wasn’t an abnormal flow of service. It wasn’t a preplanned scheduled event. There weren’t miraculous signs and wonders. No one got physically Healed. Demons weren’t cast out, but yet it caught the attention so many people. Kari Job went there. Sat in the back row and just met with Jesus. Asbury released a statement because they were inundated with requests from big names to join and perform. They politely declined stating that this revival started with college students and will end with college students. So what was it? Where did the spark come from? What lit this flame?

As we end our series Anchored in the promises of God. We have to ask ourselves this one question

How desperate are we for an encounter with Jesus?

Now I don’t know, as I wasn’t at the initial service, but I can imagine what happened because I have been to college chapel services and most of them are always the same. The sermon ended. The music played. A call to action was given. The speaker waits. The alters open. Everyone waits for the sound of the shuffle. The one kid who has it together enough to take the first step. They take the step. Then more respond. They fill the alter as the Holy Spirit begins to fill the room. Worship. True worship takes place. Here’s the kicker. No one stops it. Schedules don’t matter. 2-3 hours pass by and the band still plays. People still worship. 12 hours pass by. God still moves. 24-48. People are asking questions…but kids are still seeking. 72 hours pass. Now from what I heard and I don’t know the logistics. It took this long for them to take a break because people were at the alter broken.

To be anchored in Christ we must find ourselves secured in Him, but do we have what it takes to cling to Jesus. I’ve talked with my wife. I’ve been apart of many services that could have been as big as this revival. Some at college. Some in churches. Some at youth events at the giant center. But someone always gets up, prays an ending prayer and stops the Spirit from moving.

I’ve joked that one of our prayer services were going to flow into Sunday service. That Sunday would become an extension of Saturday night. What would it do if the Bridge Community church was so firmly anchored Jesus that we became the storm that overcame the town instead of troubles and issues being the storms that over take us.

2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV

14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

What if this verse wasn’t just a cliché found on T-shirts and Coffee mugs. What if this became our desire. What if we abandoned everything we know and just sought to be with Jesus. To feel the Holy Spirit so alive and well. Moving. Stirring. Healing. What if we allowed the Spirit to move so mightly we couldn’t move? What if nothing else mattered but being in God’s presence.

This verse is found at the consecration of the temple. King Solomon, a man known for his faith, but also his failure built the temple of God according to the plans God had set forth. At the end of the feast and the festivals Gos shows up to Solomon in the middle of the night—sometimes because I think it’s the only time we are quiet enough to hear, and speaks to solomon. and continues with this promise.

2 Chronicles 7:15–18 ESV

15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. 16 For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 17 And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, 18 then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’

What was God saying. If you seek me all the days of your life you will find me. If you stop V19 forward. I will remove you from my presence.

Will we seek God?

Every great movement of God from Adam and Eve until today has started because people were willing to seek God’s face. They desired to be with God. They desired to spend time with God. They wanted to worship God.

Listen my heart is for this church to seek the face of God. I don’t want revival. Like I said I hate the term. I believe we have a few people in this church who desire to see God move. The issue isn’t realiving us. The issue is waking us up. The issue is restirring our passion and desire. The issue is finding the passion we had when we first got saved.

I told this story yesterday, but I look back when I first recieved Jesus before the women, the desire to be popular, the movement of life. I was 13. Freshly removed from the house where I was abused I found myself in a service. Giving my life to Christ. The women evangelist called me out. Then she sent me out. She gave me Jesus and then told me to go pray for people and at 13 I remember the only word I knew to pray was fire. I began to lay my hands on people. Fire. More fire. I would pray as people got slain the Spirit. It wasn’t me. Had nothing to do with me. I was lost. I was found. and Iw as a vessel moved by God. Everyone I touched Received the fire. Some I didn’t even have to touch. This was before bible college put knowledge in me. This was before life took control of me. This was before I even know what to expect from God. God moved. Why? Because I was willing. Someone said go. I didn’t ask questions. I just went. I didn’t check the time. I didn’t fall asleep in service. I just went.

Now Satan hates me. Since then he has done everything in his power to make sure I never got that moment back. Now I stand at 39 years old wishing to have what I had at 13. I was anchored. The cares of this world couldn’t touch me. Till they did.

Will we return to God? You may be sitting here saved, you may have Jesus in your heart, but is he the fire of your life?

Listen I am not doing an alter call today because I believe we must do a life evaluation first. This Saturday is our prayer service. Do we have what it takes to turn Saturday into Sunday? Do we have what it takes to start a service that never ends. To meet with Jesus in such a powerful way that the Holy Spirit transends time.

Here’s the challenge.

We must pray

This week we must spend time with Jesus. We must ready our hearts. We must surrender our selves. We must seek the face of God. Listen I believe there is still life in this church. I believe there is still hope for this people. I believe Jesus still has a purpose and plan. I don’t believe that the best of who we are showed up in the 90’s and is now nothing more than a faint wisper showing up in the history books of this church. I believe we have the power of the Holy spirit in this church. But it must be awakened. It must be brought out of its slumber. Some of us might have to dig deep. Some of us might have to access places we never accessed before. But I believe the best times are ahead of us.

We must bring people

Listen if we don’t bring people I believe Jesus will start filling these pews with people from the streets. I know that verse was about the transition from Jews to gentiles, but if we don’t cry out. If we don’t gather people into the house of God than I believe Jesus will find people who will come and it may not be here.

2 Chronicles 7:19–22 ESV

19 “But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 21 And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 22 Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’ ”

If we don’t act. Jesus will find a place that will. If we don’t worship. Jesus will find a place that will. If we don’t surrender. Jesus will find a place that will. If we won’t multiply Jesus will find a place that will.

I’m believing Saturday for a full house. I’m believing Saturday for movement of the Spirit. I’m believing Saturday that we will have a mighty encounter with God in this church and I don’t plan on leaving until we do. I’m tired. I’m tired of the pain. I’m tired of the struggle. I am tired for trudging through life waiting for death as if dying is the only victory I have left. I need an awakening. I need a renewal. I need a refreshing move of Jesus. I need a break through. I want to experience what they are experiencing in Asbury, but I don’t want to have to leave Nicholson to experience it.

We are God’s people. And the God’s promise still stands. If we humble ourselves and pray. Will you take this week and pray with me? Will you take this week and seek the face of God for his anointing to flow. Will we set everything aside. Risk it all. Invite everyone we know. Challenge everyone we encounter. Will we seek the face of God? Because if we won’t God will find someone that will. He will find a church willing to encounter Him. And then we will be sitting on the sidelines. Watching. Wishing it was us.

So lets make it us.