Revival: Power by the Word and Spirit
N/A • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 2 viewsNotes
Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
Connection
The Church at large in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and North America has a lack of power.
Lack of Power—yet lots of methods, programs, conferences, retreats, gatherings, and ministries.
Lack of Power—yet no presence at prayer meetings, no hunger for God’s blessings.
Lack of Power—but evangelicals are content with numbers, speed, and statistics.
Lack of Power—and many are living in low levels of holiness, indulging in besetting sins.
Lack of Power—which leads to a lack of spiritual health, Christlikeness, and conversions.
So what do we need to counteract this lack of power? Revival. How shall we get Revival? Only by pleading for God’s sovereign and extraordinary grace, while diligently attending to his ordinary means of grace.
Theme:
Revival: Power by the Word and Spirit
Need:
There is a great need for true revival by the Word and Spirit of God Almighty. So great is this need—that we have forgotten it’s necessity. We have become content with our lukewarm state. We have become content with leaving our first love. We have become content with sleepiness and worldliness. We have lost the power of God by indulging in sin and the world.
“There is no subject which is of greater importance to the Christian church at the present time than that of revival. It should be the theme of our constant meditation, preaching, and prayers” - D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.
But there is always a temptation to revivalism. Trying to think that you can force revival from the heavens by your human schemes and methods. We cannot force the hand of the Almighty. Revival is entirely dependent upon his free blessings and grace to lavish upon us. Some people try to force revival apart from preaching Christ. But as we shall see in our text this morning—there is an organic relationship between the power of God in our midst, and the preaching of Christ in our pulpits. What God has joined together, let no man separate.
Spurgeon said that if you aren’t going to preach Christ then you ought to “go home and never step into the pulpit until you have something worth saying’.
Purpose:
To instruct the saints in the source of true spiritual revival and power; to comfort the saints in the Gospel of Christ Crucified, who is the power of God; and to exhort the saints to seek the power of the Word and Spirit in our own lives, and for revival at large in our church and city.
Read Text:
1 Cor. 2:1-5 ESV
PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY
(1) True Revival is by the Word of God - v. 1-2
(1) True Revival is by the Word of God - v. 1-2
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
According to the blessed Apostle, inspired of the Holy Spirit—if we want genuine revival, we need to give up secular philosophy, eloquent speech, and human wisdom. We need to stop ordering our church around what the world wants, and their itching ears. We need to stop using wordly tactics to sanctify our worship, preaching, and evangelism. We need to get back to the simple Gospel—to the word of the Cross. If we want the power—it is only tethered to the cross.
If we want genuine revival we need to stop trying to add things to the message—and we need to stop subtracting things from the message. If we want genuine revival we need to stop depending upon our own inventions and genius—and we need to start depending wholly upon God and His Word. If we want genuine revival we need to stop catering our message and watering it down in the fear of man—and we need to start preaching the whole counsel of God, all joint to the Gospel of Christ Crucified, in the holy fear of God which is the beginning of true knowledge and wisdom. If we want genuine revival we need to abandon autonomous and secular reasoning tactics—and we need to build our entire lives around the Gospel of Christ, where all true knowledge and wisdom which is deposited in Him, and is lavished on us in the Word. If we want genuine revival we need to stop trying to reason from bare natural revelation—and we need to start reasoning, like Paul, from the Scriptures of special revelation.
We need to actually believe what Paul says, that the word of the Cross is the testimony of God! It is his witness. There is no higher witness! There is no higher authority! The Triune God is the highest court of appeal. He must be our chief presupposition. He must be the light that lighteth the world. He must be the foundation, the starting point, the beginning, the principium.
His testimony, His Word, his speech, his special revelation in Scripture—must be the lens through which we see everything in the world (Isa. 8:13; 20).
Listen to what the Apostle says in earlier verses about the testimony of God, the abandonment of Greek Philosophy, and the whole-hearted dependance upon the power of God in the Word of the Cross:
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
From these verses we see that The Gospel of the Cross of Christ, the pure and simple Gospel, given to us by the special revelation of God, is not to be founded upon natural theology and natural reason and natural eloquence—why? Lest the cross is emptied of its power. The power of the cross lies in the power of God, in the Word of God, by the Spirit of God. If we found the word of the cross upon fallen human reason, Paul says, we empty it of its power among us.
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
Here Paul reminds us that the word of the Cross, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the testimony of God Almighty is foolishness to the world. It is folly. It doesn’t seem plausible. It doesn’t seem right. It doesn’t jive with their worldview, their thinking, their assumptions, their principles, their autonomous fallen reason. For them, their use of Logic is that of Judge, which is guided by their own standard of acceptability.
You see, Paul isn’t against Logic and Reason, Wisdom or Philosophy—but he is against a sinful use of logic, reason, wisdom, and philosophy—such that fails to set Scripture as the highest authority in all of life, which fails to submit to the Scriptures even when it doesn’t make sense to us, which fails to let the Scriptures be the sufficient and authoritative Word of God, in the hands of Christ the Lord. This is what Paul says in Colossians:
I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
When one fails to do this, Paul says, the Gospel is folly to them. They have not built their worldview on the Word of God—and thus they won’t accept the word of God because of their pseudo-wisdom—which God says he is going to destroy, and thwart, and demolish.
And this isn’t just a problem for unbelievers, this is the daily battle for believers too! This is the reason why need to be daily renewing our mind, transformed in heart, and actively taking every thought captive to obey Christ and His Word, by the power of His Spirit—the Scriptures are sufficient to teach on matters of faith and obedience—and the daily journey of Christians is submitting every area of life to them, and not going beyond what is written (2 Tim. 3:15-16; Ps. 19:7-11; Ps. 119:97-104).
So, the Lord has told us that the power of the Gospel rests in the simple proclamation, the unashamed proclamation, the bold proclamation, the pure proclamation, the courageous proclamation, the faithful proclamation of the Word of the Cross. ,Where is the power? In the preaching of Christ and Him Crucified—in whom is deposited all wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:2-3). Christ is not an additional piece of knowledge that we add or supplement to our unbelieving worldview, to then perfect it—no—Christ is the beginning of true knowledge and wisdom (Ps. 36:9). The fear of the Lord is the beginning of true knowledge and wisdom (Prov. 1:7). We must take this to the streets—we must scatter the word of God. And if we fail in this, God might just bring persecution to bring us to a place of obedience.
The Scriptures give the only foundation for even beginning to have true knowledge and wisdom. Because unless we accept the God of wisdom and knowledge—we have forfeited true wisdom and knowledge by our own fallen, and unbelieving principles. This is God’s World, and to understand God’s World we need God’s Word—but not just the word of God in general, we need the sum and substance of the Word of God—the Word of the Cross, the Gospel of Christ Crucified—a stumbling block to Jews, and folly to the Gentiles—but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God! (1 Cor. 1:22-24).
And what exactly is this word of the Cross that we must rest upon? It is the message of how Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth—that He became flesh, becoming truly human. That He is God in the flesh. That he who made the heavens and earth became a swaddled babe. That he who gives life and breath to all creatures, began to breathe the air of his own creation. And then he grew in stature, perfectly obeying his Father in heaven, fulfilling all righteousness, every jot and tittle and the law, moral, civil, and ceremonial. He perfectly obeyed from the heart, in actions, and in deeds. And then he who created the trees of the forest took an old rugged cross upon his own shoulders as he marched up to that dreadful hill, at Mount Calvary. And there he was hung by Romans, killed by the Jews, rejected by his own people. There he went willingly to lay his life down for his sheep. There he went boldly to save sinners. There he went fearfully, to bear the wrath of his Father in heaven. There he went earnestly, for the joy set before him, to bring many sons to glory—all those whom the Father had given him. And there he hung, nails in his hands and feet—and there he drank the cup of God’s wrath to the full. He satisfied every ounce of infinite and eternal justice. His body was broken and slain and whipped and in agony—but this did not even compare to the affliction of his soul, where He spiritually bore the sins of his people. There he felt the pains and pangs of God’s fury, anger, wrath, indignation—where he suffered for every sin, small and great, quenching the waves of God’s tremendous judgment. There he hung—God on a tree—in human flesh, bone of our bones, and flesh of our flesh—and there he hung—until that final hour, when all the enemies of hell assailed him, yet when all the enemies of hell were defeated—when all the sins of his people were defeated, yet when all the people of God were set free. And he cried out: eli, eli, lemasabacthani—tetelastai; my God, my God, why have you forsaken me—it is finished. And through simple faith and childlike trust, repenting and turning from our sins—casting the entire weight of our souls upon His merits alone—his life, death, and resurrection—all that He did becomes applied to our lives, our hearts, our souls—all the spiritual blessings that are in Christ, become ours by faith.
And oh beloved, here is what Scripture says that the Cross of Christ accomplished for all those who repent and believe from the heart:
(1) Expiation—all of your sins were thrown on the back of Christ, he was accounted with the transgressors, he was dealt with as if he were you. What you deserved—he bore. Your guilt and shame—he wore (2 Cor. 5:21).
(2) Propitiation—not only were your sins thrown on the back of Christ, but the wrath of God was poured on the soul of Christ. The dregs of eternal flames were poured into his very being. He didn’t just bear your sins, he atoned for them on that cross (Rom. 3:25).
(3) Redemption—not only were your sins paid for in full, but that very price freed you from bondage to sin and corruption, from bondage to the wrath of God, from bondage to Satan and his minions, from bondage to your wicked heart, from bondage to death and decay. You were set free, you were saved in full (Eph. 1:7).
(4) Reconciliation—not only were you set free from the wrath to come, but you were also brought near to your God and Father. You who were once a child of wrath become a child of God. You who were once a hater of God became a lover of God. You who were once an enemy of God became a friend of God. You who were once estranged from your Creator—have been brought near by the blood of Christ (Col. 1:21-22).
And oh this Cross of Christ is unsearchable in its beauty and glory, in its power and majesty, in its effectual grace, in its sovereign might, in its oceans of love, in its shining of the wrath of God, and in its washing away of all of our sins. For all eternity we will ever be going deeper into the Word of the Cross, but never away from it. I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. Will you make the same commitment? To never go on, but to ever go deeper—to plumb into the depths of the riches of the Cross of Christ! To cry out: Gal. 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
Oh to stay near the old rugged cross!
“‘Paul Washer writes: There is simply no way to exaggerate the centrality and preeminence of the gospel. It is not the only message in Christianity, but it is first in rank, dignity, and beauty. It does not supplant the other great truths of Scripture, but it is their cornerstone and the prism through which their true wisdom is revealed and comprehended. To put it plainly, there is no Christianity, no religious devotion, and no true spirituality apart from the person and work of Jesus Christ. His gospel is the greatest revelation of God to men and angels, it is the only means by which fallen humanity might be saved, and it is the great means by which the Christian is motivated and guided to true piety or godliness. On this John Flavel says: ‘Oh how should all hearts be taken up with Christ? Christians! Turn your eyes upon the Lord. Look and look again unto Jesus. Why stand ye gazing on the toys of this world, when such a Christ is offered to you in the gospel? Can the world die for you? Can the world reconcile you to the Father? Can the world advance you to the kingdom of heaven? As Christ is all in all, so let Him be the full and complete subject of our desire, and hope, and faith, and love, and joy; let Him be in your thoughts the first in the morning, and the last at night’”
If we want true revival, we must stand firm upon the Word of the living God, that word above all earthly powers—we must set the testimony of God as our highest authority in all of life. The Scriptures which are self-attesting, and self-authenticating—which are not only intellectually, but philosophically and practically our highest and ultimate appeal in all of life!
And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,
If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.
And we must tether ourselves to the central message of the Scriptures—Christ and Him Crucified!
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
(1) True Revival is by the Word of God.
This brings us to our second point:
(2) True Revival is by the Spirit of God - v. 3-4
(2) True Revival is by the Spirit of God - v. 3-4
And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
If we want genuine revival we need to recognize that the objective Word of God is not enough in and of itself. Paul says: the word of the Cross if folly to those who are perishing. So what is needed? What effects the change? What brings a man from being unable to accept the things of the Spirit to accepting the things of the Spirit? What brings a man from rejecting the Word of God as folly to accepting it as the foundation of true wisdom? What brings a man to forsake his sin, self-righteousness, self-sufficiency, self-exaltation, and sinful rebellion? What brings a man to a radical transformation in his worldview? In his thinking, choosing, and feeling? Nothing less that the demonstration of the Spirit and of power! Nothing less than the new birth. Nothing less than the effectual calling of God’s irristible grace! Nothing less than the radical heart surgery that God performs upon all of his precious sheep! Nothing less than God’s granting of faith and repentance! Of God’s turning us from idols to serve the living God!
The Word going forth does not alone have the power to save men and women. The Word of God must be joined by the life-giving power of the Spirit of God!
And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
It’s only the demonstration of the Spirit, the power of the Spirit, the new-birth of the Spirit, the regeneration of the Spirit, the new eyes, heart, mind, will, and nature given by the Spirit that leads one to accept the Word of the Cross as the true wisdom and knowledge of God, and as our only hope in life and in death!
This is why we must plead for the Spirit of God to rend the heavens and come down. For where the Spirit of God is lacking in presence and power, we will be lacking in conviction and comfort. Where the Spirit of God is withholding his blessings and graces, we will be low in such blessings and graces. It doesn’t matter if we merely fill our heads with the Word, if we are not pleading with the Spirit to put that word in our hearts, then there will be no true spirituality. Oh come Holy Spirit, breathe of God, breathe on me life anew! Oh come Holy Spirit, fill us, revive us, and grant us the holy fear of God.
And notice the contrast the Paul gives here. What cannot do what only the Spirit can do? What does he say? My speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom.
Greg Bahnsen writes: “When one becomes a Christian his faith has not been generated by the though patterns of worldly wisdom [with its autonomous and neutral reason]. The world in its wisdom knows not God (1 Cor. 1:21) but considers the word of the cross to be foolish (1 Cor. 1:18). If one keeps the perspective of the world, then, he shall never see the wisdom of God for what it really is; thereby he will never be in Christ Jesus who is made unto believers, ‘wisdom from God (1 Cor. 1:30). Hence faith, rather than self-sufficient sight [and reason] makes you a Christian, and this trust is directed toward Christ, not toward your own intellect [lean not on your own understanding]. That is to say that the way you receive Christ is to turn away from the wisdom of men (the perspective of secular thought with its presuppositions), and then to gain, by the illumination of the Holy Sprit, the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:12-16). When one becomes a Christian his faith stands NOT in the wisdom of men but in the powerful demonstration of the Spirit and of power [which is true wisdom that is deposited in Christ and his Word] (1 Cor. 2:4-5).”
It is not merely the mind and persuasion through logical argumentation, it is not merely that I am capable of being convinced of my need for Christ in the depths of my soul through brilliant explanation. It is not my eloquence. It is not my logic. It is not my persuasiveness. It is not my clarity. It is not my human wisdom. it is not my rationality.
It is the demonstration of the Spirit and of power! It is the power of the Spirit flowing through the power of the Gospel which is the power of God in the power of the Cross—it is the triune power of the triune God alone that will turn a wretched sinner into a saved saint. It is the omnipotent, all-powerful, all-mighty, all-wise, all-good, and all-glorious Spirit of God that must conquer your hearth, that must breathe new life upon you—that must grant you a new nature, a new mind, new desires, and new choices—only His life-giving blessings, only the demonstration of the Spirit and of power will bring this effect among us. And sometimes I wonder—WHERE ARE YOU LORD? WHERE IS YOUR POWER? WHERE IS YOUR SPIRIT’S BLESSING? WHERE IS THE FEAR OF GOD? WHERE IS THE FEAR AND MUCH TREMBLING? WHERE IS THE REVERENCE FOR JEHOVAH! WHERE IS THE POWER LORD? WE NEED REVIVAL! OH REND THE HEAVENS AND COME DOWN!
Until we find the power of the Spirit in our midst—we will not know the blessings of God. Until we get on our knees, wrestling with God—we will be lukewarm, worldly, weak, sleepy, foolish, prideful, driven to and fro by every wind of doctrine, being powerless in the day of Satan’s temptations. Until we find the power of the Spirit through God’s reviving blessings in our midst—then we will be nothing more than a holy community club. Until we find the demonstration of the Spirit and of power flowing through the means of grace, until we fall on our faces in the sight of God—we will be useless in his hands for the advancement of his Kingdom.
WHERE IS THE POWER LORD! REVIVE US LORD! WE WANT MORE OF YOU! WE WANT MORE OF YOU! WE WANT MORE OF YOU! LORD AND GIVER OF LIFE FALL AFRESH ON THIS CONGREGATION! HAVE YOUR WAY WITH US, IN US, and THROUGH US.
Spurgeon says: “Every growth of spiritual life, from the first tender shoot until now, has been the work of the Holy Spirit.... The only way to more life is the Holy Spirit. You will not even know that you want more unless He works in you to desire it.... The Spirit of God must come and make the letter alive, transfer it to your heart, set it on fire, and make it burn within you, or else its divine force, [power], and majesty will be hid from your eyes”
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
(2) True Revival is in the Spirit of God
This leads us to our last point:
(3) True Revival is in the Power of God - v. 5
(3) True Revival is in the Power of God - v. 5
so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
How shall we know that the Lord has given us revival? How shall we know that we are full of the Holy Ghost and of much power? How shall we know that the Lord is in our midst? How shall we know that God’s blessings have fallen upon us?
When our faith does not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. And when this power of God is flowing through our veins by the Spirit of God—bringing Holy Fruit, Holy Ambition, Holy Earnestness, Holy Blessings, Holy Knowledge, Holy Desires, Holy Decisions, Holy Aspirations, Holy Growth, Holy Increase, Holy Overflow, Holy Conversions, and the Holy Fear of God captivating our little hearts.
“Edwards writes: True grace is no dull, inactive, ineffectual principle; it is a powerful thing; there is an exceeding energy in it; and the reason is, that god is in it; it is a divine principle, a participation of the divine nature, and a communication of divine life, of the life of a risen Saviour, who exerts himself in the hearts of the saints, after the power of an endless life. They that have true grace in them, they live; but not by their own life; but Christ live sin them: his Holy Spirit becomes in them a living principle and a spring of divine life: the energy and power of which is in Scripture compared to fire. Matt. 3:11: I indeed baptize you with water, but he that cometh after me is mightier than I , whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire’. True piety is not a thing remaining only in the head, or consisting in any speculative knowledge or opinions, or outward morality, or forms of religion; it reaches the heart, is chiefly seated there, and burns there. There is a holy ardor and love in everything that belongs to true grace: true faith is an ardent thing.
We need the power of the Spirit to instill the power of Christ in our souls—so that we can be living sermons of these passages:
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.
And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.
Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains might quake at your presence—
But where is this power found? It’s not an abstract, mystic force that just comes upon us—it’s the life-giving power of the Risen Christ, by his Word and Spirit—it is spiritual power in the inner man that is lavished upon us as we receive, believe, meditate on, cherish, and exalt the Word of the Cross—of Christ Crucified.
Simon the Magician, merely wanted the power of the Spirit without faith in Christ—and he was shown to be a hypocrite, who was in the bond of iniquity. Let us never divorce the power of the Word and Spirit from the Message of the Cross, which is folly to those who are perishing—but to us it is the power of God, for Christ is the power and wisdom of God.
But there is another temptation—lets not be people who, according to Paul, “Have the appearance of godliness but deny its power” (2 Tim. 3:5). Let’s be people who have both the appearance of godliness, and it’s genuine spiritual power in our souls by the Word and Spirit of God. Let our faith not rest in the wisdom and methods and philosophy and plausibility of men—but in the power of God, in the power of Christ, in the power of the Spirit!
for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
So what does true revival and power in the Spirit produce? What does it look like? How can we be sure that it has come, and how can we be sure that it is lacking in our midst?
Edwards gives 12 signs of true revival: (1) The indwelling of the Spirit, (2) true love for God based on who He is, (3) a love for God for His holiness, (4) a spiritually enlightened mind, (5) accompanied by deep-seated conviction, (6) evangelical humility, (7) authentic affections from genuine conversion, (8) accompanied by a Christlike character, (9) with a holy fear of God, (10) a sense of God’s beauty and glory, (11) a longing for more of God, and (12) visible fruit in Christian practice and life.”
Oh that our faith would rest in the power of God, by the Word and Spirit—and that we would exemplify, embody, and emulate these honoring fruits of God’s increasing presence in our lives. Let us not quench, resist, or grieve the Spirit—for only He can bring the power that we so desperately need. Join me, heart and soul, in pleading with God for revival—for the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, far beyond what we can think or imagine! But not far beyond what God is capable of.
(3) True Revival is in the Power of God
Hear now our conclusion:
(C) True Revival in the Church of God is always by the Word and Spirit of God which leads to the Power of God
(C) True Revival in the Church of God is always by the Word and Spirit of God which leads to the Power of God
Lloyd-Jones says that Revival is an experience in the life of the church when the Holy Spirit does an unusual work, enlivening and quickening and awakening the sleepy church members, and then in converting masses of people to Christ Jesus”
Let us long for this, let us pray for this, let us wrestle with God for reviving graces and blessings. And let us not get to the end of our lives and say these words on our death bed, which were spoken by Sutcliffe, an old Baptist minister:
“I wish I had prayed more for the influence of the Holy Spirit; I might have enjoyed more of the power of vital godliness. I wish I had prayed more for the assistance of the Holy Spirit, in studying and preaching my sermons; I might have seen more of the blessings of God attending my ministry. I wish I had prayed more for the outpouring of he Holy Spirit to attend the labour of our missionaries in India; I might have witnessed more of the effects of their efforts in the conversion of the heathen”
Oh to the contrary, let us pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit, revival by the Word of God, and an outpouring of the power of God in the preaching of the Word of the Cross.
Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
Come, dearest Lord, descend and dwell,
by faith and love in every breast;
Then shall we know and taste and feel
The joys that cannot be expressed.
Come, fill our hearts with inward strength,
Make our enlarged souls possess;
And learn the height, and breadth, and length,
Of thine immeasurable grace.
Now to the God whose power can do,
More than our thoughts or wishes know;
Be everlasting honors done,
By all the church, through Christ his Son.
(C) True Revival in the Church of God is always by the Word and Spirit of God which leads to the Power of God
(C) True Revival in the Church of God is always by the Word and Spirit of God which leads to the Power of God
Amen, let’s pray.
