Remnant Revival Ready
Matthew 7:24 - 27
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Message:
When I was first married I was working a lot of midnight shifts.
We lived in the country so I thought I should buy a dog as an added measure of protection.
My wife was a cat person so she insisted the dog go outside. That meant I had to build a dog house.
I am not a carpenter. I started with a wooden pallet and I stuck a 2 X 4 at each corner and then I tried to build the roof.
I did not lay out a frame or walls and as a result I had more angels on that roof than you could find on a protractor.
It was a real bad looking dog house.
I'm sure the neighbors had no idea what it was and even my dog was confused. That dog was so embarrassed to live in that dog house that he rarely came out afraid of what the other dogs in the neighbourhood might think. I can hear all those neighbor dogs barking out their laughter at my poor dog's situation.
Many Christians are like that about their churches today. They are afraid to invite people in for fear they will see the crooked walls and the crooked floors that are the lives that they are trying to build their faith upon. You see we in the church have got it all wrong today when it comes to how we build our churches.
We cannot build them on our lives we must build our churches on Jesus. He is the author and perfecter of our faith.
You see we must be willing to admit that even though we are all cleaned up and sanitized Christians – we are still sinners in need of the saving power of Jesus Christ.
Romans 3:23
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
We need to be confident that our foundation goes deep below the surface of our shallow lives. For that reason we needed to be grounded in the deep word of God. The Gospel of John starts by telling us that that word of God is Jesus in the flesh.
We need to be in our Bibles digging deeper and deeper every day into the truth of God because the Father of lies is trying his best to confuse even the Saints of God. We need to go back and read again those words which were planted in our hearts so long ago.
We need to be certain about how we think about God.
How do we understand Him and know His character and His will for our lives?
That can only be discovered when we read His word and allow His word to reveal those things to our hearts and minds by the revelation of His Holy Spirit. Then His word can change our hearts and minds into the living stones that we desire to be then we can be placed upon the foundation that is Jesus Christ. Stone upon stone upon Rock.
They say that actions speak louder than words.
It is not enough for us to know God and to Know Jesus we must be transformed from the inside out. Our motivations must be in line with God’s will for our lives, our concerns must be to please Jesus before pleasing ourselves.
When we are driven by the will of God our church will touch the lives of others in a way that will draw them to God. Mark 3:35
Time is short we must live with a sense of urgency about the lost around us.
We can all see that God’s timeline for the church is nearing its completion. The recent events in Paris France this past week confirm that we well may be the church of the Last Day’s the Remnant Church. If we are that Remnant Church we must sew onto ourselves patch upon patch so that we become a beautiful quilt of souls bound together by the saving power of Jesus Christ.
My dear wife once had three sewing machines in the house but she could never get even one of them to work. Her heart was in the right place and she had the enthusiasm to start but there was no one to teach her. I fear our churches are like that.
How many Bibles do you own? How well do you know them? Have you had anyone help walk you through the Bible? If not you may be like my wife wanting to know just how does all of this work and how can I make my life into a life like the one Jesus calls me to live unless someone instructs me.
Saints it is time for us to build up our churches with Disciples. Iron sharpens Iron as one man sharpens another the Bible says.
We need to sharpen our testimonies and our Bible knowledge so that we can teach others.
1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
A time is coming when many will be looking for answers as this world continues to fall apart all around us. Natural disasters, economic collapse, wars and rumors of wars abound. We have the answers but are we ready to share them in such a way that others will follow Christ? Do we have enough Disciples among us to teach all those who will come through our doors?
I hazard a guess that there are many at church today in Paris. Many who have not been at church for a long time and maybe some who have never been to church before. Some moved by the tragedy and others thankful that they narrowly missed being included as a victim. People there are searching for answers and looking to God for faith in these troubled times. It is my prayer that those in the churches are ready to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those whose hearts are overwhelmed by grief and loss.
It is time for us to know what we believe as well as who we believe in so that we will be ready in the event such tragedy also strikes our shores. We must prepare the church now for the work of discipleship as many will come to us wanting to live a life with faith in God. Only when we are grounded and standing on the Rock of our salvation can we teach others how they too can be built up by faith to withstand the full force of the violent elements that rage against the believer.
I believe that the greatest Christian revival in this new millennium is about to break out. The recent signs of persecution point us to that conclusion. That means we have a short amount of time to prepare our churches for the multitudes who will seek refuge and reassurance in the days ahead.
Let us then prepare to strengthen one another in the faith so that in the time of greatest need we will be ready to help the greatest number. Be built up in the faith by studying God’s word, and by acting out His will for your life as you stand ready to give an answer for the hope that is in you despite these troubling times.
Pray for the people of Paris France and all those who are the victims of such despicable and cowardice acts. Pray even for those who carry out such acts that they might repent and come to Christ before it is too late for them.
My admonition and blessing for you all is this from 2 Peter 3:18
I encourage you to be built up in the knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever – Amen.
2 Peter 3:18
