"Avoiding A Counterfeit Revival”

I¶ - I brought with me this morning some of my little boy Jack’s jeans...hole in the knee...What do you expect? A pastor’s kid ought to have “holy jeans” should he not? Oddly enough, from what I understand, the more full of holes & rugged looking a pair of jeans are, the “cooler” they’re supposed to be. In fact, some people buy “stone-washed” jeans so that they’ll be in style.

From time to time, however, you’ll see jeans with patches on them...Today, you can get iron-on patches to repair the holes...pre-shrunk & elastic... stretch w/ fabric. But back in Jesus day, patching a garment wasn’t so easy. In fact...

T¶ - Jesus used a parable of an unshrunk patch to illustrate the fact that He came to completely transform the lives of His followers - not merely patch up their old lives.

(SCRIPTURE READING)

R¶ - In REVIVAL, JESUS DOES NOT JUST “PATCH-UP” YOUR OLD LIFE. HE MAKES ALL THINGS NEW! But, so often, people experience a counterfeit revival - a mere “patching-up” of the old life rather than a surrender to the new! They don’t want a complete change of clothes. They just want to wear their same old torn carnal garment instead of receiving a new spiritual garment from God. What are some “patches” that we apply to our lives that rob us of genuine revival? The PATCH of...

1.)...REFORMATION without REGENERATION.

This applies primarily to the lost - if you haven’t been regenerated {i.e. “Born-again”}, you’re lost. “You must be born-again.”(John 3)

We make promises to God that we’ll “do better.” But Christianity is not “do-betterism,” it is a complete change from within brought about by the Spirit of God!

You may promise to do better &, as far as humanly possible, you might behave better. But God doesn’t grade on a curve! He demands total righteousness. His standard is perfection!

(Matt. 5:48)...And perfection = NOT HUMANLY POSSIBLE!

The inability to attain God’s standard causes some to reject Christianity. they think it is futile... don’t understand God’s grace... They may join the church, but there is NO INNER CHANGE!

Billy Graham - “I’ve spent my life preaching the gospel...watched thousands, literally millions walk the isle to accept Christ. Until I die, I’ll never know how few of them really meant it.”

And because so many think that Christianity = just “do-betterism,” the result = a torn spiritual life marked by FAILURE & a RETURN to the carnal living. (2 Peter 2:22)

[TR] The problem is, they never truly cross the line of repentance...leads to...

2.)...REGRET without REPENTANCE.

Feeling sorry for sin is NOT the SUM of REPENTANCE!

Regret by itself didn’t restore the prodigal son to his Father! (Luke 15:18) “I will get up and go to my father” Regret can serve as a CHEAP SUBSTITUTE for repentance.

“Repentance”{METANOIA}-a change of mind. Repentance = more than regret for sin, it involves turning from your sin & turning to Christ! (Acts 26:20)“performing deeds appropriate to repentance.”

Unfortunately, in the church, so many don’t believe that they have to turn!

Parable of the 2 Sons ill.(Matt. 21:30)“...and went.”

Trouble is, some think the solution is to “get religion!”

[TR] That leads to the 3rd patch we use as a substitute for revival!...

3.)...RELIGION without RESTORATION.

We’re talking about OUTER change as opposed to INNER change.

Pharisees problem & John’s rebuke ill. (Matt. 3:7-8)

I mentioned “do-betterism” in respect to non-believers. However, believers can fall prey to a cheap counterfeit revival resulting in “do-betterism” as well.

Problem w/ “do-betterism,” = we make PROMISES w/o POWER.

Instead of complete renewal, We make deals with God! {“I’ll stop drinking, lusting, stealing, I’ll even start GIVING, if you’ll just forgive me.”}

Bottom line = We want to appease our conscience w/o having to give up control of our lives.

Jesus never said “Follow Me & you can decide to give up whatever %age of your life you want!” He said: “If any man will follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

We may be emotionally moved by a message & go forward & make a “decision.” But if that is all we do, there has really been no inner restoration!

[TR] The patch has “pulled loose” from your spiritual garment again!

R¶-In REVIVAL, JESUS DOES NOT JUST “PATCH-UP” YOUR OLD LIFE. HE MAKES ALL THINGS NEW! But we can apply “patches” to our lives that rob us of genuine revival? The patch of...Reformation without Regeneration...Regret without Repentance...Religion without Restoration.

A¶-If you use any of these “patches,” you may fool yourself into believing that you have experienced genuine revival, but what you’ve done is INOCULATED yourself against genuine revival.

I¶-Don’t try to “patch things up with God.” He doesn’t want His children to wear torn, tattered carnal garments. He has a whole new spiritual garment for you if you’ll step forward & receive it.