Give Me That Old Time Religion
Ecclesiastes 12:1-7
1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, {the grinders...: or, the grinders fail, because they grind little}
4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
1 Corinthians 13:11
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. {thought: or, reasoned} {put away: Gr. vanish away}
As a people, we need to understand what it means to “remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth”.
In order to remember, you had to be there.
Proverbs 22:6
6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. {Train...: or, Catechise} {in...: Heb. in his way}
When I was a child, I remember going to the house of God.
I remember when God did many miraculous things.
I remember when I was going to the valley as a teen; there was another teen there that had a blood disease.
I remember that she stood up in front of the congregation and she declared that she had just been touched by God and that she was healed.
The next day she said she had to go back to the doctor, but she knew that she was healed, and she was.
I remember as a teen in Cambridge I was outside painting the deck and a woman came up to the parsonage and had revealed to the Pastor how her husband was in the hospital and that they did not expect him to make it through the night.
I remember, as I was painting, I heard them start to pray on the inside of the trailer, they now start to speak in tongues and I felt the Presence of god as He showed up on the inside of that trailer.
The man recovered and as far as I know he might still be alive today.
I remember the day that I was filled with the Holy Spirit as a teen, I remember that shortly there after how God started to give me dreams that were coming from Him.
Train up a child in the things of God and when they are old they will not depart from it.
Take them to church and tell them what God has done in your lives.
Ecclesiastes 12:1-2
2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
In ones youth, life appears all bright, if there is rain you know that sunshine will soon follow.
When we get older it is not quite the same, clouds seem to follow after the rain.
The mind seems to lose its power of recovery and cheerfulness.
Ecclesiastes 12:3-4
3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, {the grinders...: or, the grinders fail, because they grind little}
4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
As we start to get older, we start to lose our courage, things that we would do as a child, we have lost our courage to do these things when we get older.
Sometimes, as an adult, we can’t do some things because we are not able to do so.
As a child we are more agile, and we are able to move around a whole lot better.
What we need, as a church, is a faith we had as children.
As a child, I knew that God could do anything, I had a faith that really is hard to explain.
A childlike faith…
Luke 18:15-16
15 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
Except you come as a child, you see that is what the Kingdom of God is all about.
Are you starting to doubt what the Word of God says?
As a child, did you doubt or did you just believe what the Word said?
What we need to do is get back to that old time religion.
If that old time religion was good enough for past generations, then why is it not good enough for us?
The reason why I preached this today:
Dream 4-5-08
I dreamed me and some other people that I used to go to church with, as a kid, were going back to our old house. It was our old house, but then again it wasn’t. I specifically remember seeing a young lady.
Interpretation
Except you come as a child, you see what the Kingdom of God is all about.
Old house represents that old time Pentecostal preaching, what I have been taught and what I have seen.
It was our house but yet it wasn’t.
It was our house because it is already ours; it wasn’t our house because we are not living in it.
Don’t you think that it is time to live in what God has already showed us that we can have?
Judges 6:13
13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
Where are all of the miracles that are fathers have told us about?
John 14:12-14
12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
Again, believe means to be obedient to Jesus, what He says to do.
When we do what the Word says to do, we do not doubt and we ask in what we are living in, the Name of Jesus, we ask and the Word says that He will do.
Again when we are being obedient to the Son:
Where are all of the Miracles that we have heard about?
Give me that old time religion and live what the Word tells us to do, then we will see more Miracles take place.
Ecclesiastes 12:1
1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
“Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth.” Get your kids and grandkids in the house of God.
It is time to live in what we have heard about; it’s time to start hearing what the Word is speaking.
A child like faith
Our bun man where I work came in the other day and he told me that his daughter who is 6 years old heard the voice of the Lord.
The Lord asked her, “Do you love me?”
The mother asker what she said, the little girl just nodded her head yes.
A child like faith, this little girl believes that she can and when you believe that you can all things become possible.
Where are all of the Miracles, and where is the speaking voice of God?
We live in a Prophetic generation that ought to be living what the Word says to do.
The Word of God ought to be alive and active in our lives.
We ought to be able to read the Bible and our Spiritual ears ought to be hearing what God is saying.
Yes, we have had Miracles in this building; yes we have had signs and wonders.
We have had people who are dreaming dreams and they are having visions.
Are we taking what He is speaking and applying the Word to our lives?
Job 33:14-18
14 For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;
16 Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, {he...: Heb. he revealeth, or, uncovereth}
17 That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. {purpose: Heb. work}
18 He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword. {from perishing: Heb. from passing}
God is speaking in one way or another, but He wants us to get some of that old time religion.
Some of that old time faithfulness, people of old came to church and they expected to receive what God had for them.
Give me that old time Holy Ghost and fire.
God is trying to take us somewhere today; He is trying to take us back to faithfulness, attending church and even being faithful in giving God His tithes and offerings.
Where are all of the Miracles? Where is your faithfulness?
Remember what you have been taught and apply these principles to your walk of faith.
Romans 10:17
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
What have you heard and what are you applying?
CLOSING
Do you want that old time religion?
Do you want all the miracles that we have heard about?
Do you believe in what the Bible says?
Get faithful in your walks of faith and you will see all the miracles that you have heard about.
If you want that old time religion, come up this morning and tell God you are going to be
If you are intersted in seeing some more God given dreams go to:
http://www.ourchurch.com/member/w/windoffaithdrea/
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