Hindrances to Real Revival
Acts 16:16-24
Introduction
The Encarta Dictionary defines hindrance as somebody or something that prevents or makes it difficult for somebody to do something; and act of obstructing progress.
We need to understand tonight, that satan doesn’t want us to have or experience real revival. There are some folks in the church and in the community that would rather if we would not have real revival, because it just might cramp there style, they might loose a little influence. Satan won’t freely give up territory that he has been holding for years without a fight.
It won’t be the lost that will hinder this revival, it will be the people of God that will hinder revival from coming to the church.
In order for us to have a successful revival effort we need understand that there are hindrances to real revival. Tonight from this passage of scripture I want us to learn what three of those hindrances are.
Read Scriptures: Acts 16:16-24
I. Wild fire is a hindrance to real revival
Vs. 17 “This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”
Wild fire is anything that distracts us and keeps us from the real fire, which is true revival. Satan is in the “wild fire”.
Wild fire not real fire tells you, “you are alright just like you are”. Wild fire not real fire says it is okay to rationalize your sin, because nobodies perfect. Wild fire not real fire elevates experience over the truth of the word of God. We can’t have revival apart from the Word of God, and if satan can use “wild fire” to distract us from hearing the word of God he will.
It’s the barking like dogs and roaring like lions that I talked about Sunday morning, wild fire distracts us from being obedient to God. Satan is in the wild fire, Jesus is in the real fire.
This girl was a distraction for Paul and Silas, and they recognized the “wild fire” from the real fire and they didn’t let it deter them. This girl was excited, she was loud, she looked and sounded spiritual, the problem was it wasn’t real, and her life didn’t back up what she was saying. Her enthusiasm wasn’t motivated by the Holy Spirit, it was motivated by satan in order to distract Paul and Silas.
We need “real fire” in the church, not this “wild fire” stuff that just distracts us from what we need to be doing.
II. False Professions is a hindrance to real revival
Vs. 17 “This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”
If we listen to the words of this girl, “These men are servants of the Most High God”, that is true, “Who are telling you the way to be saved”, that is also true.
She is saying all the right things, she is making a good profession, the problem is she is not saved. We in the church make a big mistake when we believe that everyone who walks this isle and makes a profession of faith is saved, that simply not true.
I heard a story about a young preacher who went to his first church to pastor, and after getting on the field he noticed some rather unbiblical things that some of the church members were engaged in, so as he noticed those things he would preach about them during his sermons, and one particular lady while in her Sunday School class made a comment that since this new preacher and gotten on the field she has to go home and take two valume because of the stress of this preacher, preaching so hard, and one of her class members said, “well if you would just get saved, then you could enjoy church like the rest of us”.
There we many through the years, who have walked this isle and made professions of faith but they were never regenerated, they were never born again, because when you are saved, truly born again, your profession is going to be followed by change and obedience.
People will say I come from a long line of Baptist, I grandmother was the head of the WMU, my grandfather invented the brotherhood fish fry in the state of La. I was Baptist born, and Baptist bread, and when I died I’ll be Baptist dead, in fact I already have my plot reserved in the cemetery. But in there life, they have never served God, never done anything in the church.
There are some in this church who will not get anything out of our revival services, because what they need is not revival they need to be saved.
III. Tradition is a hindrance to real revival.
Vs. 20-21 “They brought them before the magistrates and said, "These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
In many churches traditionalism is killing the church. “We’ve never done that before”, We’ve never done it that way before”. If it is staying true to the word of God, and it is reaching lost people with the Gospel then we shouldn’t have a problem with it.
Tradition will kill a revival effort in the Church. Before God affirmed his call for me to pastor this church, we went and preached at other churches, and at one particular church, if you lifted a holy hand to the Lord, then you would be looked down on.
Traditions will block the flow of the Holy Spirit in the church, because we bind God and hold Him to only act in the way that he has in the past, when God may want to do a new thing.
Isaiah 41:9 “See, the former things have taken place, and the new things I declare…”
“These men teach customs that is unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice”, what they are saying is they are trying to get us to do something that we’ve never done before.
Well at the church the other day we sang a song we never sang before, what’s that got to do with anything, if it is theologically correct then we shouldn’t have a problem with it.
This is such a hindrance to revival, because as soon as people get excited in the church, and things start happening, then they get nervous, and try to douse out the fire out of fear we might have do something we’ve never done before.
Conclusion
Listen I pray that we would not experience any hindrances to revival, but I’m not naive enough to believe that satan won’t try to stop it. I pray that we will search our hearts tonight, and truly desire real revival, if you look further down in that passage I believe we will find ingredients for revival, with are prayer, the scripture says in verse 25“about midnight Paul and Silas were praying”, then there is praise, “and singing hymns”, then there is passion “the other prisoners was listening to them”, no doubt there was passion in there praise, they were able to rise above there circumstances and praise Jesus. Those are the ingredients that we need for real revival.
Then if we look further still we will see the intention of real revival, in verse 30 the guard after the earthquake and none of the prisoners escaped, the said “sirs what must I do to be saved”, that’s why we the church needs a real revival, so that we can have an impact on the Lost.
