Remnant Rising

Joel 2:32 (NKJV) “And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls.”

What is a remnant? A remnant is a small portion among God’s people who are called out, preserved, and prepared to be His holy instruments of revival and restoration.

A remnant of cloth preserves the color and pattern of the original.

When making sour dough bread you begin with a starter. It is the starter that ensures that when other loaves are eaten, burned, stolen, or ruined, you can begin again.

When God’s people depart from Him in unfaithfulness, He will call, preserve, and prepare a small remnant by which to restore a faithful covenant people.

They are the covenant starters.

They reflect the original pattern for the church.

The remnant is called out by and unto the LORD

They are called out of sin and corruption, whether it be in the world or in the church

2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1 (NKJV) “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’ 17 Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.’ 18 ‘I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’ 7 1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

The remnant is preserved by the Lord for Himself

Isaiah 1:9 (NKJV) “Unless the LORD of hosts had left us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been made like Gomorrah.”

When the LORD judges the corruption in the world and in the church, He preserves a remnant of faithful covenant followers for Himself.

The remnant is prepared for the Lord’s purpose

God calls His remnant into the “wilderness”

The wilderness is a place of separation

Sometimes this “separation” can feel like “isolation” (hidden season)

The wilderness is a place of spiritual testing

Deuteronomy 8:2–3 (NKJV) “And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.”

The wilderness is a place of spiritual renewal

Renewing our first love for Jesus Christ

Hosea 2:14–16 (NKJV) “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her. 15 I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. 16 And it shall be, in that day,” says the LORD, “that you will call Me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer call Me ‘My Master,’”

The wilderness is the place of spiritual formation

Forming our character to reflect the excellencies of Christ

Isaiah 43:18–21 (NKJV) “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 20 The beast of the field will honor Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen. 21 This people I have formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise.”

The wilderness is a place of spiritual preparation

Preparing a highway for the LORD

Isaiah 35:8 (NKJV) “A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray.”

Luke 3:3–6 (NKJV) “And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”’”

The highway prepared:

Every valley shall be filled (oppression lifted)

Every mountain and hill brought low (pride broken)

Every crooked place shall be made straight (corruption uprooted)

Every rough way will be made smooth (stumblingblocks removed)

Will YOU be a part of this holy remnant?

Not everyone is a part of this remnant

This holy remnant exemplifies the glorious bride of Christ

Ephesians 5:25–27 (NKJV) “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”

This holy remnant is the instrument through which Jesus Christ will accomplish His work of revival and restoration

2 Chronicles 16:9 (NKJV) “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him…”

This holy remnant will experience the “new thing” (new work) that the LORD is doing

The Church Triumphant (Bill Gaither, Gospel Artist)

“God has always had a people, many a foolish conqueror has made the mistake of thinking that because he has driven the church of Jesus Christ out of sight, he has stilled its voice and snuffed out its life. But God has always had a people. The powerful current of a rushing river is not diminished because it's forced to flow underground. The purest water is the stream that bursts crystal clear into the sunlight after it has fought its way through solid rock. There have been charlatans who like Simon the magician sought to barter on the open market that power which cannot be bought or sold. But God has always had a people. Men who could not be bought and women who were beyond purchase. Yes, God has always had a people. There have been times of affluence and prosperity when the Church's message was nearly diluted into oblivion by those who sought to make it socially attractive, neatly organized and financially profitable. It has been gold plated, draped in purple and encrusted with jewels. It has been misrepresented, His church, ridiculed, blotted and scorned. These followers of Jesus Christ have been, according to the whim of the times elevated as sacred leaders and martyred as heretics. Yet through it all their marches on that powerful army of the meek, God's chosen people who could not be bought, flattered, murdered or stilled. On through the ages they marched. The church, God's church, triumphant, alive and well! Now listen child of God. It's alive! Discouraged pastor, it's His Church and it's alive! Lonely Missionary sow your seeds with confidence! It's alive my broken hearted friend! Old saint you're not alone and forgotten, the Church is alive! Busy mother cast your cares on Jesus! It's alive young student. You're not alone in serving the Lord! Faithful father there is rest in the Lord! The Church is alive! Cynical skeptic you haven't killed God with your noisy unbelief. He's alive! So family of God raise your hands and praise the Lord. For the Church, God's Church Triumphant is Alive and Well! ‘To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.’ Revelation 2:21-22)” –Bill Gaither, Gospel Artist

Response to the Word

Are you ready for God to do a new thing in your life?

Come to the Cross of Jesus and be cleansed from the sins of your past.

Separate yourself from this world so that you might be part of this holy remnant that God will use in these last day.

Related Media

Related Sermons