THE KEY TO SURVIVAL IS REVIVAL!
Ps. 107:4-31
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: How Secret Identity Can Benefit You
1. A student in a large freshman college class was taking his final exam. The professor announced, “Time is up!” Students began walking to the front with their papers, but still the student kept writing.
2. In a few minutes the professor looked at him, "Hand in your exam now or I'm not going to accept it." The student kept on writing. The professor shook his head and started gathering his books and papers.
3. Ten minutes later the student brought his exam to the professor, who said, "I’m not going to accept your paper. It is late".
4. The student looked at the professor and said; "Do you know who I am?" He replied "No, and I don't really care!"
The student replied, "Good!" He lifted the stack of exams, and shoved his into the middle, shook them, and ran out of the room!
B. THE IMPORTANCE OF SURVIVAL
1. Practically everywhere you look these days you see someone wearing a mask — and rightly so. Masks are a symbol of the pandemic era.
2. The thought behind the mask is SURVIVAL. In fact, many health experts have said, “a mask is one of the keys to survival.” I question that statement! I believe the KEY TO SURVIVAL IS REVIVAL!
3. If there ever was a time the Church needed revival, it’s now! Churches have been closed in many countries. One-third of Christians who used to watch services online no longer do. Millions have gotten out of the habit of going to church and may never come back. This slide isn’t new, but it’s accelerating.
4. PUT UP SLIDES ON DECLINING CHRISTIANITY IN AMERICA
https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/
5. THE SITUATION IS DESPERATE BUT THE SAINTS ARE NOT! George Barna, the pollster, said, “This new America we see emerging is radically different.” Belief in the existence of God is down from 86% to 46% (1991-2021). The number of U.S. adults who “Don’t Believe” has tripled to 34% in 2021. 43% of Millennials (ages 18 to 36) reject the existence of God; only 2% believe in Hell. [“Declining Christianity Leads to Dramatic US Religious Realignment, Jun 8, 2021 | American Worldview Inventory, Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University.]
6. At the current dropout rates, only about 4% of American teens will end up as Bible-believing adult churchgoers. Do we care? [www.barna.org/churchless and www.barna.com/research/10-facts-about-americas-churchless]
7. If we care about God or lost souls, these statistics should bother us! The churches of America ought to be fasting instead of feasting, praying instead of playing, and weeping instead of sleeping! If God doesn’t send revival, our kids and grandkids may end up in a country hostile to Christianity!
8. There is always hope; God has a way of getting people’s attention! Read with me in Ps. 107:4-31.
C. TEXT & TITLE
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands…5 They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. 6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. 10 Some sat in darkness…prisoners suffering in iron chains, 11 because they rebelled against God’s commands and despised the plans of the Most High. 12 [They were] subjected to bitter labor…and there was no one to help. 13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. 14 He brought them out of darkness…and broke away their chains. 23 Some went out on the sea in ships…on the mighty waters. 25 [The Lord]….stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. 26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. 27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards; they were at their wits’ end. 28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress. 29 He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. 31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. Ps. 107:4-6;10-14;23-29;31.
TITLE: “The Key to Survival is Revival!”
I. WE GET OURSELVES INTO ALL KINDS OF TROUBLE
A. REASONS WE BECOME LAX IN FAITH
1. We humans have a way of getting ourselves into all kinds of hot water for various reasons:
a. because we think we’re invincible – “nothing bad can happen to me.” Ricky behavior, from driving motorcycles to sexual dalliances.
b. We think we’re in control of our environment;
c. We suppose we’re the masters of all the variables of our life.
2. So we do things we shouldn’t – we take risks, we mouth-off, we violate some of God’s standards. Psalm 107 talks about 3 situations where people were venturing into risky territory – and all 3 got into trouble.
3. They found themselves caught in terrible storms. Jonah found himself in a storm of disobedience (Jon. 1:3-4); the Patriarch Job was in a storm because he was obedient (7:17-18)! The 12 disciples were put into a storm so they might exercise faith (Mt. 8:24-26).
B. ARE YOU A CANDIDATE FOR REVIVAL?
1. It’s so easy to take our relationship with God for granted. It’s easy to think we have God figured out, that we have this whole Christianity thing down; where we don’t fear Him or tremble at His presence.
2. IF YOU NEED REVIVAL, NO ONE CAN GET YOUR REVIVAL FOR YOU. God’s made each of us a free moral agent; we each choose for ourselves. I can’t get revival for you. You can’t get revival for me. You must decide you want it yourself. If you’re waiting for someone else to give it to you, it’ll never happen.
3. ILLUSTRATION
a. I remember the true story of the 4 men, the last survivors of a sea tragedy, afloat in an open life boat. They were attempting to catch a few drops of rain in a piece of canvas to quench their tortured thirsts.
b. A small boat ventured near. “Please give us some water!” they cried. The other ship sailors replied, “Just reach over the side and get some!”
c. “We can’t drink salt water! We’ll die!” “No,” they said, “where you are now is near the mouth of the Amazon River! It carries fresh water many miles out to sea. You’re surrounded by fresh water. All you have to do is lower your bucket for a drink!”
d. It’s the same with us. We are surrounded with the wonderful freshness of the Holy Spirit. All we need to do is take advantage of the great satiating tide that sweeps around us!
4. A.W. Tozer 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 so contented with his wretched condition that there is no vacuum of desire into which the blessed Spirit can rush in satisfying fullness." [Born After Midnight]
II. THE TURNING POINT: NO PLACE TO LOOK BUT UP
A. EVERYTHING WAS GETTING WORSE UNTIL...
1. In Ps. 107, all 3 episodes followed the same pattern. First, they got away from God. Next, they got into trouble. Third, they got so desperate that they finally began crying out to God! The moment they involved God in their situation, things began to change for the better. INVOLVING GOD IS THE KEY TO THE SUPERNATURAL. God can do more in 5 minutes than you can do in 5 years!
2. SOMETIMES BAD THINGS CAN TURN TO GREAT GOOD! If blind Bartimaeus hadn’t been blind – he might never have met Jesus and obtained eternal life. The same is true of many people here today – they were driven to Jesus by their difficulties!
3. THERE MUST BE A TURNING POINT FOR EACH PERSON
a. [Defined]: “It’s a time when an important change takes place which effects the future of the person.”
b. “It’s a point in a chain of events where there’s a shift from one direction to another – a turning point.”
4. The catalyst for repentance & a changed life was trouble.
Psalm 119:67, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word,” and Ps. 119:71, “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.”
5. Sometimes it takes suffering for the direction to change. When direction changes, the future changes.
B. THE TURNING POINT
1. In Psalm 107, the people in the desert, the prison, and the ship finally got to where there was no place to look but God. When they finally hit rock-bottom, laying flat on their backs – there was no place to look – but up!
2. It was then that they cried out to God; God had their undivided attention. It won’t happen until we’re sick of our lives, our condition, our situation, our darkness and our despair. They didn’t cry out to the Lord until they were desperate.
3. When you feel like things are over your head – remember – they’re UNDER GOD’S FEET!
4. “REVIVE” = “to live again; to rise from the dead; an awakening of God’s people. CONDITIONS OF REVIVAL? Hunger. Prayer.
5. The moment you commit, [TURNING POINT] things occur which would have never otherwise have. A stream of events issues from that decision!
III. WE SERVE A GOD WHO BRINGS DELIVERANCE
A. THE GOD OF MERCY
1. God has made us a promise; Ps. 50:15, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” NKJ
2. It’s wonderful we serve a God who is merciful and loving, who forgives us over and over again.
3. God will always hear the cry of those ready to give up their sin and serve Him. He is “Mighty to Save!”
B. ILLUSTRATION: THE WAY OUT
1. The parents of James Bryant were alcoholics; at a young age he too became one. He got married and had a son. He tried to break free from alcohol with his own strength, but couldn’t.
2. He told a street preacher how hopeless and helpless he felt. The preacher gave him two scriptures; “When we were without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly”; “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believed on His name.”
3. Jim said to himself, “If it’s true what this man says, then there’s a way out!” At home he knelt in prayer, repeating the texts. As the alcohol craving hit him at 3 o’clock in the morning, he went down to his knees; “O God! Deliver me from this curse. Give me the power to become a child of God!”
4. Jim said, “In that moment Christ broke the power of cancelled sin and He set the prisoner free. I rose from my knees, born again by God’s Holy Spirit!” [Walter Knight’s Master Book of New Illus., p. 709]
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. A few years ago in the country of Burkina Faso, West Africa, there was a young man named, Jean-Charles. The religion of his country taught of demons, and his family constantly sought protection. They went to witch doctors to try to keep the evil spirits away.
2. When Jean-Charles’ uncle became demon possessed, his father tried to use "magical charms" to rid his uncle of the demons. Nothing worked. Jean-Charles’ uncle was kept chained to a tree for more than a year.
3. Then Jean-Charles’ aunt told about a Christian pastor in the town. She had seen people healed and delivered when this pastor prayed for them. “How much must we pay?” Jean-Charles’ father asked. “It’s free,” she said. He said, “If it’s free, it can be no good.” Instead, Jean-Charles’ father went to a more powerful sorcerer. But still nothing happened.
4. Finally, in desperation, the family sent for the pastor. The pastor arrived with two other believers. When the pastor preached the Word of God, it was the first time Jean-Charles ever heard the name of Jesus.
5. Then the pastor got down on his knees and prayed for Jean-Charles’ uncle. When he said, “Amen,” the demons were gone! The next Sunday, the family attended the pastor’s church, bringing the uncle with them. He was well!
6. When they returned to their village, Jean-Charles’ father told his neighbors, “This religion is the truth. I’m going to follow Jesus.” Jean-Charles’ father burned all his “magical charms.”
7. Some villagers began to persecute the family. One witch doctor even tried to kill them! But he failed. He testified, “I’ve never failed before. You must have the true God.”
8. Today Jean-Charles pastors a church and teaches at an Assemblies of God Bible school in Burkina Faso. We serve a mighty God! [Today’s Pentecostal Evangel, July 4, 2004]
B. THE CALL
1. If you really want help, you need to call on the name of Jesus. How many of you need prayer this morning? Prayer always turns the tide when we’ve gotten away from God.
2. How many of you need a new installment of fresh fire? Call on God; He still answers by fire! PRAYER.
[The title and part of the introduction came from a message by William Bryant Wilmore.]
