Now What?

Now What?

April 27, 2008 Morning Service

Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK

Rick Boyne

Message Point: We can’t let “revival” just be an event on the calendar; we must keep those fires burning.

Focus Passage: Mark 2:21

Supplemental Passage: (2Ch 7:14) if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Introduction: Holey jeans

I. Reformation without regeneration - Illustration of the car with the bad engine.

a. We make promises to “do better”; Christianity is not ‘do-better-ism’.

b. "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48) it isn’t “humanly possible” to be perfect.

c. The call to be perfect causes some to reject Christianity; they may join the church, but there is no inner change

d. Because folks buy into this “Do better-ism” Christianity, they have a torn spiritual life marked by failure and return to carnal living: 2Pet 2:22 “It happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘a dog returns to its own vomit’ and ‘a sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.’ They never cross the line that leads to repentance.

II. Regret without repentance

a. Feeling sorry for sin is NOT the SUM of REPENTANCE! Regret didn’t restore the prodigal son to his father. ((Luke 15:18) “I will get up and go to my father”)

b. Regret can serve as a CHEAP SUBSTITUTE for repentance.

c. In Acts 26:20, Paul says that we should perform “deeds appropriate to repentance”.

d. Unfortunately, in the church, so many don’t believe that they have to turn! They think that all you need to do is to “get religion”. TR to third patch

III. Religion without restoration - OUTER change as opposed to INNER change

a. The Pharisees were best at “religion”. Matthew 3:7-8, John the Bapt rebukes them: But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? "Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance; (Mat 3:7-8)

b. 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.”}

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

d. 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.”

Invitation: 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. 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. 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.