The Obstacles To Revival
Third in the series: Revival – Reviving Me, Reviving the Church & Reviving Our Community
Perth Bible Church July 29, 2007 AM Rev. Todd G. Leupold
INTRO:
Show video: “re-fuel”
Don’t you hate it when that happens! All that power, all that beauty, all that impressive chrome and customizing . . . and it’s all stuck in a dead state? Why? Because, it has no fuel. It has all of the appearance, all the internal hardware, all the specialization to blast out of the gates and perform some truly impressive feats. Yet, it is going nowhere. For all it has been given and equipped with, this sports car lacks the one thing it needs the most to be of any use.
Come to think about it, this sounds an awful lot like some churches I’ve known. I’m ashamed to say it also sounds an awful lot like me in various periods of my life. God has blessed and equipped in ways I can’t even begin to imagine and stands by ready and eager to “supe” me up even more! But, lo, I drive my life headlong through the potholes and dips of worry, cultural pressures, personal desires and selfishness, pride and cynicism. I’ve burned out my tank hitting them all. Suddenly, I begin to feel as empty as my gas tank. I forget about all the power and potential available to me if I would just receive a fresh fill-up. With all the power and equipment to roar gloriously, I find myself instead choosing to be a Sunday afternoon casual cruiser.
PRAYER
Read Together: 2 Chronicles 7:14
re-state “Humble Themselves”
What does this mean?
Why is this necessary?
There is something which is blocking revival in our lives. Something which is somehow hindering God’s power. Something the likes of which, the only antidote is our voluntary humility!
One & Only One Thing That Hinders God’s Power & Blocks Revival:
Unconfessed & Hidden Sin in God’s people!
The late George T. Stephens declared: “There is just one thing that hinders God’s power and stands as an obstacle to revival. That is unconfessed and hidden sin in the hearts of Christian people. Sinners outside our churches are not the ones who keep back blessing; it is sinners inside our churches who do. Uncleansed and unsurrendered Christians are the greatest obstacles that block God’s way” (True Revival, pg. 44).
Isaiah 59:1-2,12
[Note: the following outline is built around those first presented by George T. Stephens in his message “Obstacles to Revival,” and Donnie Martin in his message, “Conditions That Make Revival Crucial. The ’melding’ and ’fleshing’ of these outlines is mine under their influence. My apologies if I have in any way made something lesser out of something greater!]
SIN BEGINS & GROWS IN THE HEART
What kind of heart is fertile ground for sin?
1)A Crowded Heart
- Our hearts are crowded any time that we allow other desires, concerns, dreams, worries, or
fears occupy the space that belongs to Jesus.
- 2 Timothy 2:4
To please the recruiter, no one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of everyday
life.
- 2 Timothy 4:10a
for Demas has deserted me, because he loved this present world
- Colossians 3:2
Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth.
- 1 John 2:15
Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for
the Father is not in him.
What may be crowding your heart today?
2)A Cold Heart
- Matthew 24:12
And because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold.
- 1 John 4:7
Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has
been born of God and knows God.
- Revelation 2:4
But I have this against you: you have abandoned the love you had at first.
John 14:15
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
A. W. Tozer once wrote: “Revivals come only to those who want them badly enough. The problem is not to persuade God to fill us, but to want God sufficiently to permit Him to do so. The average Christian is so cold and contented with his wretched condition that there is no vacuum of desire into which the blessed Spirit can rush in satisfying fullness.”
3)A Corrupt Heart
A corrupt heart is one that allows any impurity to seep in.
Ephesians 5:3
But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as
is proper for saints.
- Psalm 101:3
I will not set anything godless before my eyes. I hate the doing of transgression; it will not
cling to me.
- Philippians 4:8
Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable--if there is any moral excellence and if there is
any praise--dwell on these things.
A SINFUL HEART EMBRACES 5 OBSTACLES TO REVIVAL
1.) An Unforgiving Spirit
- Matthew 11:25
And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that
your Father in heaven may also forgive you your wrongdoing.
- Hebrews 12:15
See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up,
causing trouble and by it, defiling many.
- We choose to withhold forgiveness, because we see it as a way to hurt our offender. But, in
reality, we are most hurting ourselves by putting up a barrier between us and God!
2.) A Spirit of Criticism & Faultfinding
- Too often we weigh the faults of others with our thumbs on the scales.
- Rather, we need to remember Franklin P. Jones’ words: “Honest criticism is hard to take,
particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger.”
- Just imagine, if you would, what it would be like if for just one day we all focused as
much on finding and fixing our own faults as we normally spend finding and fixing someone
else’s?!
- Matthew 7:3
Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but don’t notice the log in your own eye?
- Ephesians 4:30-32
And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit, who sealed you for the day of redemption. All bitterness,
anger and wrath, insult and slander must be removed from you, along with all wickedness.
And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also
forgave you in Christ.
The Rev. A.B. Simpson penned this warning: “I would rather play with forked lightning or
take in my hands living wires with their fiery currents than speak a reckless word against any servant of Christ, or idly repeat the slanderous darts that thousands of Christians are hurling at others to the hurt of their own souls.”
3.) Lack of Restitution
- Restitution is so often the forgotten and lost Christian principle! Yet, we see it from the very
beginning, when the first sacrifice was made and given unto God!
- Simply asking or even receiving forgiveness is a beginning, not an end, where restitution is
appropriate.
- Psalm 51:12-13
Restore the joy of Your salvation to me and give me a willing spirit. Then I will teach the
rebellious Your ways, and sinners will return to You.
4.) An Unwillingness to Sacrifice
- Shortly before his death, Dr. J.B. Chapman chastised a gathering of preachers when he said,
“We have reached the place where one plays a handsaw and another gives a ’Life’s Story,’
gathering a big crowd and we call that revival. No! That is not a revival; that is a farce.
Tears sweat, and blood are the price of a revival, and some of us are not willing to pay the
price.”
- Luke 14:27
Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
- Mike Regele, in Death of the Church, sums it this way: “Simply, we can die because of our
hidebound resistance to change, or we can die in order to live..”
- More than once, I must confess, I have allowed my old self to rise from it’s ashes only to have
to humbly come before Christ and put it to death once more that I might greater live for Him!
Perhaps, today is your day to die so that you may live?!
5.) An Unwillingness to Allow Sufficient Time For God to Work
- In seeking revival, we must remember that it is God’s work in us. As such, it will take its
course in His time according to His will and wisdom.
Too often, we fail to see or sustain revival because we give up and turn away just as it’s about to take it’s course.
As George T. Stephens explains: “It takes three weeks to hatch a chicken from an egg. That is the law of nature. The laws of the spirit are closely allied. If you put eggs under a hen for just one week, you will not have chickens running around but something that smells bad! . . . It takes time for God to tumble the idols out of the hearts of His people. It also takes time for God to convict sinners of their sin and bring them to repentance and faith. If we will tell God that we do not care how long it takes, but that we will pray until He pours out the blessing He longs to give, then a heaven-sent revival will come”
(pp. 53-54).
CONCLUSION:
How is your heart today? Is there any part of it that is Crowded, Cold, or Corrupt?
Is there anything for which you harbor an unforgiving spirit?
A Spirit of criticism and faultfinding?
In which you have withheld appropriate restitution?
Have you demonstrated an unwillingness to sacrifice?
Have you been too impatient and/or self-focused to allow God sufficient time to work His revival in you? In others? In Perth Bible Church?
Will you unnecessarily allow any of these obstacles
to keep you, your family, your church, and your community from experiencing a powerful revival
to the glory of the Victorious Lord Jesus?
