“Redigging The wells of Revival” (John 1)

Jesus is our God

“Re-digging The wells of Revival”

We are beginning a new series entitled “ Re-digging the wells of revival”

“Revival is a season of extraordinary divine visitation causing deep repentance, supernatural renewal, and extensive reformation in the Church, along with the radical conversion of sinners in the world, often producing moral, social, and even economic change, local or national.

We need the supernatural and the power of God. We need Jesus.

A well represents an opportunity! A source of life.

seasons of revival are so distinct and real that we can actually date them and identify them geographically, as in the First Great Awakening in the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s

Second great awakening

The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant revival movement during the early 19th century in the United States. The movement began around 1790, gained momentum by 1800, and after 1820 membership rose rapidly among Baptist and Methodist congregations whose preachers led the movement.

The Haystack Revival at Williams College, August 1806 Several students taking shelter near a haystack during a thunderstorm began to pray for world evangelization. As they prayed, they were overcome with a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

The revival here in Hawaii from 1820 to late 1840s was a continuation of what God was doing throughout the United States.

During the Welsh revival the whole country was transformed by the manifest presence of God.

The Beginnings of the Welsh Revival, 1904-1905 started with a group of young people thirsty for a deeper knowledge of God and an intimate relationship with Him. Evan Roberts, the prime catalyst used of God in this revival, was virtually unknown when this great work of the Spirit started.

The revival in Brazil that started in the late 1970’s 1976, I remember how people were open, they wanted to hear about Jesus, they were so hungry for the gospel, soft hearts repenting, lives changing.

In every revival we experience a fresh revelation of Jesus!

Our prayer is that you will have a fresh revelation of Jesus during this series.

I would like to begin, with the book of John, we are during the season of lent, where churches from around the world are preparing themselves to celebrate the life of Jesus, His death and resurrection.

The gospel of john was the last one written, John was very clear why he wrote another gospel.

Joh 20:30 Now there are many other wonder-works which Jesus performed in the disciples' presence which are not recorded in this book.

Joh 20:31 But these have been recorded, in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life, as bearers of His name.

Let’s pray

The apostle John outlived the other disciples by 40 years, all the others have died and now false teachers were infiltrating the early church, the book of John was written to confront the false teachings and heresy of the days.

John was written in the late 90’s AD, some believe that was in 98 AD

Just to give you an idea

The great fire of Rome breaks out and destroys much of the city beginning on July 18 in the year 64. Nero the newly renovated Temple of Herod was burned by the Roman general, Titus, following a Jewish revolt that began a few years earlier, in 66.

Roman destruction of Jerusalem On August 10, 70 A.D. (the 9th of the Jewish month of Av), according to Jewish chronology, the very day when the King of Babylon burned Solomon’s Temple in 586 B.C.,

The philosophy of Socrates and Plato. Socrates (c. 469–399 B.C.)

Socrates was a Greek philosopher and is considered the primary source of Western thought. Because he could neither read nor write, much of what we know of his life was recorded by his students Plato and Xenophon. His “Socratic method” laid the groundwork for Western systems of logic and philosophy, delivering a belief that through the act of questioning, the mind can manage to find truth.

Greek philosopher Plato was a student of Socrates and later became a teacher of Aristotle. He was a priori, a rational philosopher who sought knowledge logically rather than from the senses. He went on to establish the Academy in Athens, one of the first institutions of higher learning in the Western world.

Plato (c. 428–348 B.C.)

Their philosophy was alive and well in the church

During the time John was written a system Gnosticism was infiltrating the early church.

1. a prominent heretical movement of the 2nd-century Christian Church, partly of pre-Christian origin. Gnostic doctrine taught that the world was created and ruled by a lesser divinity, the demiurge, and that Christ was an emissary of the remote supreme divine being, esoteric knowledge (gnosis) of whom enabled the redemption of the human spirit.

Confusing concepts of Jesus.

John wrote to bring correction to the false teachings, it was written to confront the heresy that was coming into the church

Every one of the gospels begins in a different place

Matthew, begins with Jesus genealogy, Jesus was the promised Messiah.

The central message of Mark’s Gospel is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has come to earth (Mark 1:1), that “the kingdom of God is at hand,” and that all should “repent and believe in the gospel” (1:15).

Luke, begins with the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist.

“The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” ( Luke 19:10 ).

John began his book going back even before genesis, in the beginning

Joh 1:1 In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. [Gen_1:1; Isa_9:6]

Joh 1:2 He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God.

Joh 1:3 All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him not even one thing was made that has come into being.

The message for this morning is Jesus is God

Our relationship with Jesus needs to be very clear in our hearts and minds. The enemy throws lies and deception on our way, we need to hang on to what is truth.

3 important things we need to remember about Jesus

1 The creator of All things.

The Logos was with God and was God Himself

He is part of the Godhead, Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, three in one.

In Greek philosophy they talk about the logos, everything that exist it was first conceived in a thought

The bible teaches us that to have a thought, it had to be a thinker, so God was from the beginning.

This is a Powerful declaration of the existence of Jesus Christ, so clear that even a child can understand, as the old Chuck Smith would say would take a Jehovah witness to confuse, this verse.

Many people believe that Jesus, was a good man, or a prophet, or that he somehow He was less than God, don’t let lies diminish your relationship with Jesus, any thing besides God makes Him a liar because He said in John 10 “I and the Father are one “

He is the Son of God, in perfect unity with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, God Himself and He loves us.

Remember that when you pray next time in the name of Jesus. It will change your prayers.

Joh 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Joh 1:5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

2 He is the light of the world

Joh 8:12 Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, "I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."

We are like a blind man trying to lead the blind without Christ, following Him is how we can see and help others along the way.

John connects Jesus to I Am, the name God gave to Moses.

Joh 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."

John records the 7 I Am’s of Jesus

1. I am the bread of life (John 6:35)

2. I am the light of the world (John 8:12)

3. I am the gate for the sheep (John 10:7)

4. I am the good shepherd (John 10:11)

5. I am the resurrection and the life (John 11:25)

6. I am the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6)

7. I am the true vine (John 15:1)

3 He gave us the privilege to become children of God

Joh 1:10 He (Christ) was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.

Joh 1:11 He came to that which was His own [that which belonged to Him--His world, His creation, His possession], and those who were His own [people--the Jewish nation] did not receive and welcome Him.

Joh 1:12 But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name-- [Isa_56:5]

Joh 1:13 who were born, not of blood [natural conception], nor of the will of the flesh [physical impulse], nor of the will of man [that of a natural father], but of God [that is, a divine and supernatural birth--they are born of God--spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified].

He was in the world and the world was made by him

The world knew him not

He was the promised messiah, but they said we want Caesar

We don’t receive salvation through inheritance; We can say my parents were Christians or they attend this church. Is not by the will of the flesh, we may even come to the conclusion that the Christian life is a benefit to us and our family.

Is a gift from God to those who believe, we can not will to be a child of God, we must have a relationship with Jesus. Our spiritual birth comes from God from His Spirit.

As we pray for revival, We need a fresh revelation of Jesus, begins with you and me.

Jesus is our God

1 The Creator of all things

2 The light of the world

3 The one who gives us the privilege to become children of God.

As many as receive him became children of God

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Joh 3:16