I can't count on one hand the number of revivals I have attended in my life time. I think they may take both hands to number. I can, however count on one hand how many revivals I have preached, as a mater of fact I can count on one finger...So Far.
But if there is one thing that I am passionate about it is the rekindling of that fire that you get when you first receive salvation and are baptized by the Holy Spirit.
Our nation is facing a crisis and from here we only see images on the nightly news. Some of us see it online but we know that for us in this community it has little affect. In some ways we are so well isolated that even the Pandemic had little impact on us. As we start moving around and our little town starts coming back to life we are still a little weary of those who might introduce the virus into our community. And we, with caution, follow the mandates of the health organizations we hope that we are not impacted by those that are careless.
You walk into Ridley's and there are markings on the floor which indicate new rules to follow, and in the Family dollar you see the same. Some are fancy some are not, but they all indicate a change that affects all of us. Some of us wear masks to protect us from spray, and that seams to be a new norm.
When I watch shows on TV about travel when ever you see Japan they always seem to be wearing masks. Maybe it's not such a bad Idea after all.
A side note here and a little humor, as a young child an ear injury made me very hard of hearing, and I learned to read lips when people would talk to me. Well now I am 71 and I realize that my hearing has gone down hill and I am back to reading lips when I can't hear you. My hearing seems to affect a range of tones and in those tones I can't make out the words. So imagine, if you will my dilemma when it comes to talking to people with masks on. I have gone so far as to find an app on my phone that will listen for me and print what it hears. So I can read what is being said. This comes in handy during the Sermons on Sunday. Speaking of sermons, I think I should get on with mine for tonight. If you have your Bibles Lets go to Matthew;
24:1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you ,not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
When you look at Jerusalem today there is no temple, because shortly after the death of Jesus the Romans tore it down as Jesus had predicted. But there was another reason God allowed this to happen Because the temple of God was no longer a building that required certain laws and rituals to be followed but the Temple has moved to the hearts of those who follow Christ the Son. Who gave his life to ransom everyone. Every one knows John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
My wife passed away from cancer in 2013 and her favorite saying was “I am a “whosoever”. And we used to sing a Hymn that said, “whosoever surely meanth me.”
John 3:16 is the Good News, this is the message that turned us from our sin and set us on the path to eternity with God the Father and Jesus the Son. This is the hope that gives us peace that is not understood by the rest of the world. This is the news that we are told to share, 2 Timothy 4:2
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
There is no time like the present that we as followers and servants of the most high God must step up to the plate and represent the truth. But, How do we do that if over the year we have lost that zeal that we had when we first realized we needed the saving Grace of God The Father through Jesus Christ blood on the cross.
Revelations 2:4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. (NKJV)
How do we rekindle those flames in our heart to be passionate about informing those that do not know. Revelations 2:5 has the answer. We have let the worlds pleasures cloud our quest for the truth. The things that we own tend to run how we believe and we like sheep have strayed.
Isaiah 53:6
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
How do we renew that fervor? Again we turn to Revelations 2:5 “Repent and do the first works” Just what does this mean?
How about going back to the beginning and renew that relationship recommit your life to Christ and get back into the word, and if you have already got back into the word try reapplying it to your daily routine and actions or reactions with others.
I have a confession to make at this point; I wasn't always a lover but I was a fighter. I am a veteran I spent 18 years in the military from the late 60s through the late 80s, I was drafted in 1969 when the draft was anyone who could breath.
I know that during that time my respect for life was not where it should be, and lets leave it at that.
In June of 1972 I was home on leave visiting my wife's family and her mom and dad were devoted Christians. They shared the gospel with me many times and I was just not that receptive. If you know the story Jesus told about the Parable of the sower, you know there are four different stages of growth in the seeds sown. I think we all go though those stages as we come to the knowledge of salvation. My wife's parents were big fans of Billy Graham. And after watching and listening for three nights in a row to one of his crusades I went to my knees on the third night and with the help of my father in law, I accepted Christ right there. That was in June of 1972. However, When I returned back to the base I returned back to my non-believing buddies and to drinking and partying.
Life went well I earned many medals until in 1985 I realized that through all the drinking and partying I had become an alcoholic, and for 5 years previously I had no memory of my actions, I need to add here that I had a security clearance much higher than a lot of other members and when the commander discovered that I was an alcoholic that clearance was removed and a court martial was set up to punish something I did that was stupid. It was at that time I realized that I had allowed Alcohol to become my God and the consequences was the loss of a career that I really loved. I turned my heart and mind back to Jesus, and I went to my knees and prayed that the cup I had chosen be taken away from me, and from that point on my addiction to alcohol had been taken away. No longer did I crave a drink.
I got back into the word, this time I dedicated my life to Jesus. And I started to emulate His actions and serving others in the name of Jesus. I eventually felt the calling and became a Pastor of a church, as an interim pastor for about a year. But a Pastor of a church was not my calling. I was lead to Kansas City, Missouri where I became a back yard missionary, I served at a homeless mission as a maintenance supervisor. But I was in an environment with hopelessly addicted men and homeless. The missionary helped these men to kick their addiction through the principles found in the Bible. For the last 20 years of my working life I served the addicted and homeless, and to this day I will give a hand to those who need help when and where I see the need.
I said all of that to get to this point, When Jesus was given unrestricted access to my life My heart changed. I find my heart so softened that I sometimes catch myself tearing up at the SPCA commercials or at anything that causes pain to another human. I especially tear up when I see a non-Christian accept Christ for the first time. Seeing the Holy Spirit at work always reminds me that God is still in control and on His throne.
When was the last time you prayed and put your heart into it? I don't mean a rehearsed prayer, but one where you pour your heart out to Christ and ask for forgiveness and guidance. When was the last time you told Jesus you love Him? I think it's time again to turn back to that First Love, and rekindle that fire, and become excited again about the fact that you are saved. Most of you have the pilot light burning but, the flame has gone out, and some again have let the cares of this world completely blow out you pilot light.
Jesus loved you enough to spread his arms in acceptance and shed his blood on the cross for you. I have always thought if I was the only human on earth would He have died for me? And He assured me that He would have died just for me. And you can rest assure that He would have died just for you also.
When I started this sermon I wanted to talk about Mathew chapter 24. But The Holy Spirit had different plans. And we talked about rekindling the fire. But why do we need to rekindle the fire? Because of Matthew Chapter 24. Starting in verse 3.
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
We have seen a lot of those in our lifetime we have seen people get led astray and ended up dying over a false profit claiming to be the savior.
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
There will be many things to try and shake our faith but we must remain faithful and stay in The Word to prove what is the truth and what is not.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Kingdom against Kingdom here represents the spiritual warfare that we are experiencing at the present. The devil is attacking the church big time and the sooner we realize it the sooner we can go to our knees and join this battle. You have seen all the churches close their door over a Virus. This is an attack by the devil himself, and most of the church does not see it.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.
We already see the hate in many other countries and it is even starting in our own country.
10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
We can see that today, if you stand up for the morals that God asks of us we are offending those that worship their own gods. But it will get worse before it is all over there will come a time where we will be hated so much that we will be killed for what we stand for, and we need to pray that we will stay strong until the end so that we will hear the words of affirmation from the Father of all.
11 then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
Does this sound familiar? It is unfortunate that, that hate has been in the hearts of some since the inception of this country or even since the beginning of time. And Now those that feel hated are pushing back with some within the law but a few outside the law.
13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
So Hang in there stay faithful, Pray, pray and pray again. Jesus said we are to love all people even if it hurts. Those hurts will be washed away when we come into the life that has been reserved for us as believers.
Tell people about your hope and what gives you a peace that goes beyond others understanding. How you came to Know Jesus is a good place to start.
I have seen many miracles, since I met Jesus and he called me more than I can number. But sharing them with non-believing people sometimes helps them to see the light.
We are in a spiritual battle and we all have been called to fight through prayer and witnessing. On a political note, I have seen many TV preachers preaching that Christians must pray and vote for those that are righteous or support righteousness. There are to many in our government trying to put down Christianity, and keep Religion. Our constitution sets up an environment where all people are free to worship as they please. The government does not have the authority to tell us who or what to worship. And that My friends is another sermon all together.
Revelations 3:10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
Although this is somewhat controversial in some denominations I believe that the faithful will not suffer with the rest of the world when the great tribulation comes. I believe we will be taken up to be by the saviors side to prepare for the big battle that in which we will be spectators. Because Christ will defeat evil once and for all and recreate the world for us to live in for all eternity. And that my friends is why we do not fret over what is currently happening because it is just the beginning. As a Pastor friend of mine said, “In light of the current status of this world, I am no longer looking for signs but listening for the trumpet.”
So Lets get back into the Word and relight that fire that once gave us joy and peace.
