1st Great Awakening – 1730s-1740s – Wikipedia - People became passionately and emotionally involved in their religion, rather than passively listening to intellectual discourse in a detached manner. People began to study the Bible at home.. Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield
2nd Great Awakening – 1820s – 1840s – camp meetings, revival services. Estimated 20,000 attended a service in KY. Baptists & Methodists became large… Cumberland Presbyterians originated.
3rd – 1858-1908 – Missionary Awakening – Dwight L. Moody. Christian colleges… YMCA. Salvation Army.
Revival in America – how many times have we heard it? How many times have we prayed for it? It’s like ‘blah blah blah’, we talk about it a lot, and it never comes. Is God dead? Has He stopped moving in lives like in years past? Will He ever send revival? Will we ever see it?
Do you need revival? Right now – in your heart. Do you want it? Are you willing just this once – to invite God to show up? Are you willing to say – “if you are real God, if you are really here among us – then show me – speak to me… today – now!”?
I am convinced that the key to real revival is with this group right here, right now, (and in other churches all across the world). Not the gays and the drunks and the dopeheads and the prostitutes. Not the bars and the casinos, not the atheists and the satan worshipers. All these people need Jesus, and need to be reached – but I believe it must start right here – you guys got up early, got cleaned up and dressed up (most of you), and drove over to this little church today. And I trust and believe that God has a message for you today, not because I’m giving the message for I am a very fragile, fallible vessel, but because I trust God’s word will not return void. My prayer is that God gets me out of the way, and God himself speaks to your heart.
JEREMIAH 1:9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."
Jeremiah rec’d his commission, calling from God. He had a message to deliver. Notice God’s message has 2 uplifting components: build and plant. Yes, God wants to build something in you, to plant and make grow His blessings and wondrous love. But the uplifting is preceded by twice as much destructive actions: uproot, tear down, destroy and overthrow. This first part is often neglected in modern churches. We hear a feel-good uplifting sermon, but we haven’t dealt with what must come first – tearing down of obstacles to true faith and commitment and relationship with Christ. If revival is to come, we must confront our condition – where do we stand?
Imagine a rough, neglected patch of land. A gifted gardener could come in and create a beautiful place. But first the weeds must be pulled, the rocks removed, the land prepared. Only then can the gardener begin to plant and nurture and grow a fine garden. So it is in the church. So it is in the heart. Does God need to till up the ground in you? Does He need to rake and prune and pull out any disobedience, sin, or secret place?
I want us to invite God’s Spirit to freely move among us – I want most of us to get uncomfortable, because I believe most of us need to have some radical heart surgery today. There is nothing hidden or unknown to God. He knows that deep, dark secret. He knows where you stand.
Exekiel 11:19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
do you dare this morning to pray the psalmist’s prayer?
Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart…
Just this once, dear God, show us our heart condition! Show us where we stand with You! Look deep inside, tear away the masks, take away the pretense, and show us our heart.
4 Types of People here this morning. You will be one or the other. Ask God to reveal to you which.
1) Sinner and 2) Seeker
1 Corinthians 2:14-3:3
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned
Paul refers to our first type of person as the one ‘without the Spirit.’ One who does not have the indwelling of the Spirit of God. The spiritually dead. There are men & women, boys & girls all across this land, who, for one reason or another, are sitting in a pew somewhere, and they are lost, dead in their sins, without Christ.
does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God
this one cannot grasp the things of God. Doesn’t accept them, rejects them. God moves in the church, hearts turn to Him, and the worldly man is out of place. What’s the big deal? They think it’s funny. The Bible says spiritual things are foolish to the lost.
for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them
don’t blame the worldly man – he’s not capable of grasping the things of God, it’s foolish to him… tithe? Are you crazy??… come back to church at night? No way!… love my neighbor? Do you know what my neighbor has done to me?… daily Bible reading? Witnessing? I don’t have time… I just visit church to keep mama happy, or I’m here to be with my girlfriend.
Do you feel a strange disconnect when at church? Do you wonder what all the fuss is? Would you really rather be somewhere else? You may be a worldly man, slave to sin, and lost and going to hell. Spiritual things are a mystery to you. “Why do they get up so early every Sunday? Why do they give hard earned money away? Why do they care about their neighbor, the hurting, the poor?”
two types of this person: sinner and seeker. (sinner is used just to help with alliteration – we all are sinners here today), but sinner being a worldly person who has never truly committed his or her life to Christ. Not really interested.. so caught up in sin and the ways of the world that Christian things are just boring and dull, have no real appeal to him. Heart darkened and corrupted by the ways of the world.
Seeker – one who is lost, and has not acc. Christ, but is beginning to desire a relationship with the Lord. Still don’t understand it all, but seeking, wanting to know more… knows there’s more to this life than living 70-80 years then dying. Wants to believe in God and go all out, but is just not there yet.
If you are here this morning and a seeker – Jesus says ‘seek and ye shall find’. Knock and the door will be opened to you! If you want to know forgiveness, and peace, and the answer to your need – you should look no further – He is here, and the answer is found in a life-changing radical relationship with Jesus Christ! God calls to you, and says ‘come’. God placed that desire to know Him in your heart, He is the missing part of your life, He is able to answer your heart’s cry, to forgive you, to give you a second chance, to let you start over! Don’t miss out on a life like no other – walking with God in newness of life!
God’s invitation will be for you in a few minutes – come, receive forgiveness, receive the Lord – invite Him into your heart to be Lord and Savior.
1) Sinner 2) Seeker
3) Sold-Out
15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment:16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
The spiritual man, the sold out. The believer who is being changed by God into the image of the savior. I don’t know anyone who’s arrived there yet, but praise God, day by day, many are walking with Him and allowing Him to be Lord of their lives. Sold out to the cause, living as best they can for Jesus and His kingdom.
Office workers / janitors / mayors / factory workers / missionaries / McDonald’s employees / construction workers / executives / rich / poor / famous / unknown
all kinds and colors and nationalities / young and old – sold out for the cause of Christ.
The mighty army of God. We may get wounded, we may lose ground, but the sold out church of God is going to win the fight!
Are you in this army – ready to follow Christ wherever He leads? You may already have your marching orders, you may still be in boot camp… but you have enlisted! You’ve left all to follow the cause. You are 100% committed to the fight.
have the mind of Christ.
The sold out! Our scripture says we ‘have the mind of Christ.’ It’s pretty easy, if you’re observant, to know this individual. Because he or she thinks like Jesus, tries to live like Jesus, loves like Jesus, has a focus on the things of God, rests in Christ, has peace in the storm, and is building up the kingdom of God.
makes judgments about all things
This man has discernment, is able to examine the scriptures and find the Word and will of God
Spiritually minded, focused on Christ. Does what Jesus would do, thinks like Jesus. Not perfect! Not arrived yet! But on the journey – walking day by day with Christ.
he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment
the spiritual man is not necessarily a popular guy in today’s world, even in some churches. Definitely different, misfit, weird, ‘all he ever does is go to church’, ‘he’s one of those ‘religious right wingers’, ‘she thinks she’s better than everybody else’… etc.
Christian – you are not subject to any man’s judgment. You are not of this world. You have been bought with a price. Your life is not your own. Don’t expect to ever win a popularity contest. Don’t think your worldly boss will understand you. Don’t hope that the old worldly crowd is going to embrace you! But know this – you do not have to answer to the peer group at school or any other worldly person – they do not understand the sold-out believer and never will. Thank God, their opinion doesn’t count – you are not subject to any man’s judgment!
We are in the world, but the sold out one is not of the world!
1) Sinner 2) Seeker 3) Sold-Out
4) Shallow
3:1 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?
Grown men and women, boys and girls – still babies in God’s eyes, infants in Christ. Not able to grasp or understand God’s will and ways – only able to take ‘milk’, not solid food.
I believe you can be a true born-again believer and fail to be what God has called you to be. Our scripture here indicates that there are those among us who have never grown up. This implies a Christian who should be walking, running, living for Christ; Serving, growing, maturing in their faith. Yet, these shallow believers are still only able to drink milk, can’t take solid food. Still crawling, needing to be coddled and attended to, still prone to temper tantrums, still making messes…
v.3 You are still worldly. … are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?
If this verse indicts you, the world has overtaken you. Sin and compromise are routine in your life. You’ve never grown up. You’ve been lazy, weak, spineless. You have no victory, no joy, only defeat and bitterness. Your sin continually reminds you that your heart is far from God.
Example: Demas, once a fellow worker with Paul
Colossians 4:14 our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings
Philemon 1:24 Demas is called Paul’s ‘fellow worker’
Paul’s letters (not in chronological order); 2 Timothy is considered by scholars the last.
2 Tim 4:10 for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.
I would imagine that Demas went to Thessalonica and joined a church. He probably was a pretty faithful attender, maybe served on some committee. But the Bible says he ‘loved this world’. The shallow Christian loves this world. Caught up in sin, peer pressure, pleasure. No real commitment, no growth, only compromise.
REVELATION 2:4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.
another shallow: Mark. Acts 12:25 – early church: Paul, Barnabas, John, Mark
In Acts 15 we see that Mark had deserted them. Paul felt so strongly that Mark was shallow and not committed that he refused to allow him to go on his next missionary journey.
but Mark’s story doesn’t end there. In Paul’s last letter, as his ministry was nearing an end, he said these words: 2 Tim 4:11 … Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. In Philemon, Paul calls Mark his ‘fellow worker’
Obviously Mark had repented, come back to the Lord, and was used by God once again. Went on to write the 2nd gospel.
If you are shallow this morning, be a Mark – get up, turn back, get busy. Repent and allow God to restore you and grow you up.
But sadly there are many Demas’ – I’m not sure you want to change. I’m not sure you want to turn back to God. I’m afraid you’re like most of my kids were with the baby bottle: you kinda like the bottle – it’s easy, convenient, spill-proof, tastes good. But at some point, we’ve had to say ‘enough’s enough – you’re 6 years old, no more bottle for you’. (jk)
Is God at the point with you, dear Christian, where He’s crying ‘enough milk already! – it’s time to pull you up to the table, give you some spiritual meat and get you ready to work!’ Laborers in the field need more than a bottle of milk!
No wonder America has fallen. No wonder our churches are lifeless. We are filled with Shallow Babies, Demas’, who should be mighty warriors for Christ. Our pastors and leaders have to spend far too much time trying to coddle and entertain and clean up after these babies, while the world slips further and further away from God.
Shallow Christian, you do not have to stay where you are. You have tasted the goodness of God, you have come to Him, you can return! He calls you to come home. Repent, turn to Him, and let Christ grow you up – mature you into a man/woman of God!
Which are you this morning?
Sinner - far from God and His plan for your life, you know there’s a better way, there’s hope
Seeker - ready to get your heart right with God, ready to know Christ as Lord & Savior
Shallow - babe in Christ, ready to grow up and be a man / woman of God
Sold-Out
Which do you want to be?– are you happy where you are? Or do you want more? Do you want all that God has in store? What must you do to find that relationship, that forgiveness, that peace that your heart longs for?
Christian – does the Holy Gardener need to go to work? Do you need to allow Him to uproot your sin and compromise? Do you want revival?
Lost friend – are you a seeker? Do you need to come to Christ – and receive Him as Lord? Listen to me – the Only way you will find peace and forgiveness is through a relationship with Jesus Christ. You can seek and search, you can try this world and it’s pleasures, but you cannot find love, peace and forgiveness apart from Jesus. Are you ready to settle it once and for all – now? It’s your time.
