What would make God rejoice in us?
Isaiah 12:1-6
And you will say in that day, "I thank you, God. You were angry but your anger wasn’t forever. You withdrew your anger and moved in and comforted me. [2] "Yes, indeed—God is my salvation. I trust, I won’t be afraid. God—yes God!—is my strength and song, best of all, my salvation!" [3] Joyfully you’ll pull up buckets of water from the wells of salvation. [4] And as you do it, you’ll say, "Give thanks to God. Call out his name. Ask him anything! Shout to the nations, tell them what he’s done, spread the news of his great reputation! [5] Sing praise-songs to God. He’s done it all! Let the whole earth know what he’s done! [6] Raise the roof! Sing your hearts out, oh Zion! The Greatest lives among you: The Holy of Israel.
Question #1: “When do we need to see a spiritual renewal from God?
1. It is when there is a lack of love and confidence among Christians. If there is friction or division among God’s holy people that has come because there has been a slack of being alive and active in living a holy life. Christ loves us even if do not live up to all He desires. So believers need to love one another though some may disappoint us in their living for God. We are to love others as Christ loves them. When this is lacking we are in need of spiritual renewal.
2. When there is found in the church any spirit of discord, jealously or evil speaking spiritual renewal is needed. MT 5:23-24 "So if you are standing before the altar in the Temple, offering a sacrifice to God, and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, [24] leave your sacrifice there beside the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.” If those in the church know they are not getting along with another one and does nothing about it, it cannot be a healthy church and be blessed by God. In our life as a Christian we do not have to be accountable to the minister or a fellow believer but before God. He alone knows how much we are like Christ in being holy.
3. When in the church there is a spirit of worldliness.
1 JN 2:16 “For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world.”
“For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything we see, and pride in our possessions. These are not from the Father. They are from this evil world.”
“Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him.”
Romans 12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.”
“Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”
“Don’t become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants—what is good, pleasing, and perfect.”
Worldliness means that we conform to what the world is thinking and following that thinking in the way we dress, the way we talk, in our actions, what we find pleasure in, what we take time to think about and whatever take us away from God being first in our lives.
4. When in the church there is prevailing sin. James 5:17 “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” 1 John 5:17 “Every kind of wrongdoing is sin, yet there are sins that don’t lead to death.” Rom. 14:23 “for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”
“Anything that is not done in faith is sin.”
“If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.”
I would just like to comment that if we belong to God if we sin we are hurting His name.
5. If in the church there is a spirit of controversy. This is when people in the church have disagreements over non-spiritual issues. This has come in some churches over color of paint or carpet.
6. When you sense the wicked have more influence in the community than the church. When you know that the wicked are mocking the church and make light of the purpose of its existence for good. Examples of this are “Touched by an angel” was taken off the air because of its use of God’s name in a good way, “Under God” taken our of pledge, Ten Commandments removed and the media displays ministers of those who are to be Christians as weak and stupid people. I heard that students are forbidden to pray before their lockers before school starts.
7. When sinners become careless in their life. How do we sleep knowing that there are people who have no fear that they will end up in hell. It disturbs me that I visit people in our town who seem to have not sense that there is a hell that comes from living a life of sin.
Question #2: How important is it for us to see spiritual renewal in a time like this?
1. It is the only possibility of erasing the reproach on the church. There have been and will be many reforms tried but they will not be affective until the Holy Spirit is allowed to reign and bring conviction in people’s hearts. It has been said that many that are starting churches do surveys to find out what people would like in a church if they were to come. This is the Church of Jesus Christ and it His way that is the right way. Buildings, programs and plans of men come and go but what is needed is a pouring of God’s Holy Spirit.
2. It will be the means of bringing back the oneness that Jesus prayed for in His people. Why do we have so many denominations? There have been 70 new churches started in the Hamliton area in recent times Doug Goodell has told me. We need love to dwell in people’s hearts to bring them together for the cause of Christ. Do you feel coldness in the church due to lack of love in God’s people? Only the Holy Spirit can restore the love that is missing. Differences, Difficulties and disputes will not be allowed when the Holy Spirit is reigning. Take the 120 in the upper room. It took ten days of prayer for the Holy Spirit to come. Because they loved each other and God’s Spirit was among them the record says 3,000 people were save in one day. It also says that people were being added to the church daily.
3. This is the only way I know to avert the judgment of God on the church. In the O. T. we have many stories of Gods’ judgment falling because His people would not seek and live for Him. I fear that today. Are you as spiritually alive as God wants you to be? It says that God did not spare the people of old and do we think we are better than they? “Christians are more to be blamed for not being holy than sinners for not being converted.” The remedy for coldness in God’s people is one word REPENT! 2 CH. 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” There are churches and denominations that have ceased to exist because they failed to obey God and judgment came.
4. People are getting older and some are dying. Without new people finding Jesus and filling positions in the church the church will cease to exist. How many churches do you know today in this condition?
5. The ungodly will grow worse and worse if God’s Spirit does not come.
Question #3: When can we expect Spiritual renewal to take place?
1. When the wickedness of the wicked distresses the believer. This does not happen if they can only scold and shake their fingers at the wicked. The believer must feel driven to prayer, be broken hearted, have compassion and weep over the wicked. When the devil sets up something new in opposition to the believers it is a good sign that spiritual renewal is coming. His effect will drive Christians to go to God or if they let carnality rule they will be pushed away from God. I believe with all my heart that spiritual renewal has to come as we feel that there is not hope except that God come.
2. We can expect it when believers come together in a spirit of prayer for spiritual renewal. Elijah prayed seven times (perfect number) and the rain came. Abraham on pleaded with God six times and Judgment fell. When we pray earnestly that God save souls He will answer for the Bible tells us that God is not willing that any should perish.
3. When the preaching is directed for spiritual renewal. Many topics can be preached on but God is leading us to hear about spiritual renewal and I sense that this church is ready for God to come.
4. We can expect it when believers confess their sins to one another. It was what happened at Asbury Seminary in 1971. During a chapel service God came on the students and they began confessing to one another and revival came. Those students went to other colleges and because of what God was doing many were revived.
5. We can expect it when believers are willing to make the sacrifices to let God move. They want to let go of their busyness of life and the demands of people to let God have full attention. When we are not afraid of the consequences or ridicule or judgment from others because they have given themselves earnestly to God. This means that all the business that has seemed so important is of little value in the light of letting God be first in our lives.
A spiritual renewal should be expected when it is needed. If we need it, it is our duty to seek it. Do we have any reason to expect it to happen in our day? If God would ask you right now would you say, “Yes?”
Are you hungry for God enough to come pray for Him to move and start today?
