How to Have a Personal Revival
How to Have a Personal Revival
The World is Waiting for You
February 5, 2005 and February 6, 2005
Introduction
If you are hearing my voice today there is one thing that is almost certain about you. Somewhere whether it is on the surface or way down deep, you want to know and walk with God.
You may be struggling with how to do it or how to know if you are on track but all of us really really want to serve God and know Him.
I was thinking about that last week and spending time with the lord and I realized that I could use a personal revival, I bet you could too. I wrote down some things and shared the quick version last week. I can’t get it out of my system so I want to pass it on to you.
The subtitle of this message is “The world is waiting for you”. I want to focus on the fruit of a personal revival. People are watching for authentic changed imperfect people who have answers. Our motto or slogan now seems to be;
REAL PEOPLE /REAL GOD/ REAL ANSWERS. I was thinking about the life of John the Baptist. He came saying repent and get ready. Jesus is coming. To us that means of course He is coming physically but He can show up in a special way in our lives. What do we need to do to make our lives ready for Him?
I want what you want; in our heart of hearts we want to please God and experience His joy.
Matthew 3 NIV
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the desert,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’” a
4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
/11 “I baptize you with b water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” [1]/
1. COME CLEAN
-If John was calling for anything; it was AUTHENTICITY.
-He was calling those to account who projected a relationship with God but it wasn’t authentic.
-As a matter of fact it is correct to say that he was hardest on the religious leaders.
-John had the audacity to say that if you really repented your behavior should be different.
-He said ‘I am just here getting you ready for Him. He will show up but you need to have the way prepared. You need to be ready for Him when He comes.
-What does that mean for us?
VIDEO CLIP-“Sunday Christians”
Lamentations 3 NIV
40 /Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. 41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven, and say: 42 “We have sinned and rebelled and you have not forgiven. [2] /
2 Corinthians 13
5 /Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? 6 And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. [3] /
-A very good exercise here is, after you have spent time alone with God and a sheet of paper, ask your spouse to tell you what they see when they look at you. Get a mirror so you can here the truth.
-Faithful are the wounds of a friend.
2. GET CLEAN
-What was the message of John to the people? Repent.
-In the original language it simply means to change your mind or purpose.
-Put away/confess/repent/turn from so you can turn to.
-Tell God what has been going on.
-Find a friend and tell them as well.
-Confess your faults one to another so that you may be healed.
-You may need a friend or counselor. Someone you can be honest to.
-Confess it and get it in the light.
-God is a consuming fire and His presence burns up sin and trash.
· I have spent adequate time on this part in the past. I am assuming you want reality enough to be real.
3. SHARE YOUR FAITH WITH OTHERS
Philemon 6 NIV
6 /I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. [4] /
-One of the best ways to take your faith out on the highway and blow out the dust is to share Jesus with someone.
-Tell somebody about what He has done for you. Maybe you aren’t a natural evangelist. Do it anyway.
EXAMPLE
A man called his pastor and said; “My wife just left me and our kids are all rebelling against God. Could you please explain the difference to me between the pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, and post-tribulation rapture?”
(How many think that didn’t really happen?)
-I heard about a church that is breaking up over whether or not they should teach Calvinism.
-We need to have the wisdom to know what is most important.
-I notice that if I study too many books about the Bible without reading the Bible I get confused and doubt becomes a real issue for me.
-Telling people about Jesus clears the fog.
-It is like a pastor telling every thought and every book he is reading to the church. They get confused.
-It all comes down to the; PURITY AND SIMPLICITY OF DEVOTION TO CHRIST.
-There are plenty of things I would like to know about from Scripture. I wrote folders on creation/end-times/Godhead. I would love to know all there is to know about those things.
-I have been to Bible school and seminary and been an avid student of Scripture for almost 30 years. I have questions. I have opinions.
But most importantly;
I HAVE JESUS.
2 Corinthians 11 NIV
3 /But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. [5] /
-Knowing the answers won’t help if you aren’t sharing the information.
-I witnessed to a guy on the way to church a few weeks back. I don’t do this enough.
-Tell somebody….burst the dam….it will free you and bring JOY. It will activate what is in you.
DVD CLIP “Insignificant Witness”
4. WORSHIP GOD
Colossians 3 NIV
16 /Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. [6] /
Ephesians 5 NIV
/18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. [7] /
Message
/Don’t drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ.[8] /
-Get beyond your head.
-Break through the veil of the flesh.
-To some people this sounds silly and useless. That is because they haven’t experienced the presence of God.
EXAMPLE
Charlie LeBlanc’s perspective on Hillsongs. Passion presence of God. Simplicity.
John 4 NIV
23 /Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” [9] /
Message
/Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.”[10] /
-Whatever aids you need to shut out the world and be your true self before God-START DOING IT and BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT.
-If it is the Gaithers, Hillsongs, or organ music…..do it.
-Sometimes just sing out of your innermost being. Sing a new song.
(Kent Henry coming on 3 Wednesday nights in March to teach on the Psalms/David-a life of worship)
-Staying in the Word and in Worship opens you up to be honest before God and with yourself.
-Everyone worships something. You were created to worship.
-Worship God.
-Worship is the real you worshipping the real God.
· COME CLEAN
· GET CLEAN
· SHARE YOUR FAITH IN JESUS
· WORSHIP GOD AND BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT
John the Baptist said He is coming to baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire!! Get ready.
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a Isaiah 40:3
b Or in
[1]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Mt 3:1). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[2]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (La 3:40). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[3]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (2 Co 13:5). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[4]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Phm 6). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[5]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (2 Co 11:3). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[6]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Col 3:16). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[7]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Eph 5:18). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[8]Peterson, E. H. (1995). The message : New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs (Eph 5:1). Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress.
[9]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Jn 4:23). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[10]Peterson, E. H. (1995). The message : New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs (Jn 4:1). Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress.