Revival Nights 3b

What’s the Sign

You may not see everything God is doing YET… but there will be SIGNS….

Intro:

We live our lives looking for signs….

Road Signs

Warning signs

Exit signs.

Bathroom signs…. Can you just be clear…don’t give me a picture that needs the spiritual gift of discernment

A wedding ring is a sign of a covenant

A diaper bag is a sign of a parent

Readers are a sign…. We aren’t as young as we once were….

What is the sign of your MIRACLE

What is the sign of a SPIRIT FILLED PERSON

What is the sign of REVIVAL

Because I believe there are SIGNS we are seeing right now.

1.) the SIGN of your Miracle

I want to take you back to night ONE…

The altar was broken, Elijah rebuilt the altar .. the sacrifice was placed on it, the water poured out..

THE FIRE FELL!!!!

But thats not where the story ends….

Israel didn’t just need the FIRE… they needed rain

They had been living through a drought for more than 3 years!!! I believe your drought ENDS tonight

1 Kings 18:41–45

“41 And Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.’ 42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. 43 ‘Go and look toward the sea,’ he told his servant. And he went up and looked. ‘There is nothing there,’ he said. Seven times Elijah said, ‘Go back.’ 44 The seventh time the servant reported, ‘A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.’ So Elijah said, ‘Go and tell Ahab, “Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.” ’ 45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rainstorm came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.”

I hear the sound… the sound of miracles… I hear the sound of REVIVAL

But wait, there isn’t even a cloud in sight…… YET

Faith can hear what your eyes cannot see… YET

ELIJAH went BACK UP THE MOUNTAIN

Don’t miss this… he went back… back to the altar that he rebuilt… back to the place the fire fell… you don’t build an altar for a one time use… you learn to go back… back to the place of surrender, back to the place you meet with God… back to the place of sacrifice…

And HE PRAYED

Because the same God that sent FIRE… is about to SEND RAIN

he tells his servant

GO LOOK…. Again….again… again…again… 7 times

I wonder how many of us stop at 6….

Don’t mistake DELAY for DENIAL

You’ve been praying for your child….. GO LOOK AGAIN

You’ve been praying for your marriage…GO LOOK AGAIN

You’ve been praying for God to restore…. GO LOOK AGAIN

the sign of a big miracle maybe smaller than you think

1 Kings 18:44

“44 The seventh time the servant reported, ‘A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.’ So Elijah said, ‘Go and tell Ahab, “Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.” ’”

You don’t need a BIG CLOUD… when you have a BIG GOD….. your faith isn’t in the size of the cloud… it is in the size of your GOD ….

2.) THE SIGN of a SPIRIT FILLED LIFE

So what is the sign of a SPIRIT FILLED LIFE…

The scriptures never give FEELING as the sign of FILLING…

You may feel him, you may weep, you may experience energy, you may experience emotion… and I thank God for those moments where we FEEL HIS presence

But feelings aren’t the goal…

BOLDNESS IS!!!

Acts 1:8

“8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’”

God doesn’t fill you for ENTERTAINMENT… He fills you for empowerment

BOLDNESS ..

BOLD JOY

Acts 13:52

“52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”

During opposition… during the persecution of the early church.. they are filled with JOY

Because they were FILLED with JOY and the HOLY SPIRIT

Romans 14:17

“17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,”

Can I tell you that CIRCUMSTANCES won’t always be good….. BUT GOD IS ALWAYS GOOD…

Bold Worship

I’m reminded of of the time Paul and Silas are put into prison… unfairly, beaten, flogged and locked up… their response isn’t complaining… their response isn’t to plead their case…

Why because they are FILLED with the SPIRIT

the sign of a SPIRIT FILLED PERSON is a WORSHIP FILLED MOUTH

Acts 16:22–25

“22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”

Worship often precedes freedom!!

Someone tonight needs to worship WHILE… worship WHILE the doors seem closed

Worship while the situation seems hopeless

Worship while the life seems to be headed in the wrong direction

Bold TESTIMONY

Acts 4:31

“31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

The result of the filling…. IS BOLDNESS

This is the same peter that denied JESUS… what changed, ACTS 2.. that is what

Peter denies Jesus 3x

Jesus restores Peter 3x

Peter filled with the HOLY SPIRIT preached and 3000 get saved….

FILLED PEOPLE ARE BOLD PEOPLE

FILLED PEOPLE talk about JESUS

FILLED PEOPLE build HIS KINGDOM

3.) The Sign of REVIVAL

The sign of your miracle… small cloud

The sign of a spirit filled person …. boldness

So what’s the sign of REVIVAL…

Full buildings

Louder worship

People crying

the sign of a revived church…. Is a church that changes the world

The disciples were filled in the upper room but didn’t stay in the upper room

Acts 1:8

“8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’”

The purpose has always been…. MORE CHANGED LIVES….

Revival is our starting line not a finishing line…. We haven’t arrived… we’ve just begun

THE SPIRIT FELL>>>>>> the CHURCH GOT SENT

If God has filled you, its because HE IS SENDING YOU

If God has filled you, its because HE wants to use you

If God has filled you, its to BUILD HIS KINGDOM

Closing:

What’s the sign

Your miracle is on the way, you may need to return to the altar you rebuilt

The spirit is filling

Revival is coming

So what are we going to do

Acts 8:17

“17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.”

Let’s all leave here FILLED with the HOLY SPIRIT