Acts 4:13
High Time For Revival
Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church
MBA of Texas Missionary Meeting
November 16, 2004
Introduction
We are living in exciting and difficult times. I have heard preachers say that they are glad they didn’t have to begin their ministries in today’s times with our world in such a mess. The face of ministry is changing before our very eyes. Our culture is changing so fast that few can keep up. In the space of just a few years, technology has brought us out of the world of isolated communities and churches so that we can be anywhere, talk to anyone, and find all the information we ever needed and more. Our post-Christian culture is making a lightening speed exodus out of church and into what seems right in their own eyes; not that they haven’t always done it, just not so outspokenly and with such open animosity and contempt for all things Christian.
The times in which we are living are shaking our churches up, and more and more we are being driven back to the faith of our fathers found in the Bible.
“Insulated Western Christianity is waking from the dreamworld that being a Christian is normal or safe. More and more, true Christianity is becoming what it was at the beginning: foolish and dangerous. ‘We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles.’ ‘The hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.’”
Its not just the people sitting in your pews who live in a dreamworld – I’m talking about you and me – God’s men in the pulpits – preachers and pastors and missionaries. We have built up some false sense of the pastorate that thinks that just because God has called us and stuck a Bible in our hands that the people are going to love us and the lost are going to embrace us. The face of ministry is changing, some for the worse, and some for the better.
In the midst of all the change: changes in our culture, in our churches, in our ministries and in our personal lives, one thing must remain the same as we hold true to our calling as God called preachers, and that is our duty to proclaim the glory of God by lifting high the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! “Give the Lord the glory due His name!” “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.” That is our purpose, that is our calling, that is our reason for being here today – to lift high the name of Jesus Christ to a world that is and has rejected Him, to churches that have forgotten Him, to saints that love Him, and to families that need Him.
· The answer for the broken-hearted is Jesus!
· The hope for the faint of heart is Jesus!
· The nourishment for those who hunger and thirst is Jesus!
· The comfort for those who mourn is Jesus!
· The only true freedom for those in bondage to their sin is Jesus!
The apostle Paul asked the question that begs our answer today – “How shall they hear without a preacher?” We ridicule the world today because they are trying so many things looking for the answers. Sexual perversion is being taken to new heights. The divorce rate among profession Christians is now higher than among nonbelievers. Drugs and alcohol are everywhere. We live in a culture of instant gratification, and it has infected our churches. People are looking for answers, and they’re dying to get them. I believe that people want the truth. They want to know the truth. They want to know about marriage and raising children and how to be good citizens. People want to know how to live right and live long. They want to know how to be good neighbors and good employees and good employers. People want the truth!
In a world where everyone is searching, we are like Philip, who ran to the Ethiopian and asked, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” Do they understand what they’re doing? Do they understand why they’re searching? Do they understand why they’re trying to fit so many things into that God-shaped void in their hearts? And the answer the whole world is screaming out to us is “How can I, except some man should guide me?” That man is you and me.
Now, the challenge you and I face is this: will we push ourselves away from the table to go and meet the need? I’m not talking about the dinner table, though some of us need to get away from that one too. The table I’m talking about is the table of comfort and ease. I’m talking about the table of satisfaction. I’m talking about the rut many of us have gotten into of spoiling our people and being satisfied with good attendance and a regular check. The challenge you and I face is coming to the Lord every day, day after day for the spiritual nourishment and refreshment that we need.
We’re living in a time when pulpits are filled with fat bellies and empty hearts. What we need is dirty knees and hearts aglow with the love and glory and presence of Almighty God! The tragedy in our day is that we’ve become a people who know the Word of God, but are not turning the world in any direction. Gospel preaching in the Bible got preachers killed and chased out of town. Nobody even knows we exist today. We’ve become ineffective in what we’re doing, so the question today is this: You know the Word of God, but do you know the God of the Word? “When [the people] saw the boldness of Peter and John…they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” I’m not questioning your salvation – I’m questioning your intimacy with Jesus Christ.
How is it that we read these fantastic reports of salvation in the book of Acts, and we see these photos of hundreds coming to Christ not so many years ago, but now we have whole Sundays go by and many of us put together don’t get a response? Listen, what do you think bothers the Lord more? That people aren’t bothered by our preaching? Or that we aren’t bothered that they aren’t bothered? We’re not even fazed by what is going on. It’s been said that…
· The Lord’s churches used to be a lightning bolt, now we act more like a cruise ship.
· We’re not marching to Zion – we’re sailing there with ease.
· In the Bible folk were amazed at the passion and conviction with which the Word was proclaimed, now they’re only slightly amused.
· I think about Jesus weeping over the people, praying and preaching. You can see Him agonizing over cities like Capernaum and Jerusalem; where is the weeping and praying and passion today?
· We have mistaken rattle for revival, doling out dry lectures for worship, and action for unction.
What is the answer? I’ve heard people say that our seminaries have got to change, and maybe they do. I’ve heard that our churches must change: we need to change the music; we need to change our styles of worship; we need to change our Bible versions; we need to dress down, liven up, loosen up and get with the times. You can do all that you want and you still won’t get what you need. Just look at the ones that are trying it. Let me tell you what we need…
We Need Revival In The Pulpit
A lady asked Billy Sunday one time, “Why do you folks keep having revivals when they don’t last?” He looked at her and said, “Why do you keep taking baths?” Lately I’ve been looking at the men in the first few chapters of the book of Acts, and I am struck by their ministries and by what motivated and inspired them. How long now have we been talking about the shortage of preachers and missionaries in our work? How long have we been talking about the millions of people without a true church to attend? How long have we been hearing about the number of cities in our own state with certain populations? For all the talk we’ve done about those things – how many men have been motivated to answer God’s call?
Do you know why? Because the motivation for dynamic ministry never comes from without. That kind of motivation might last for a little while. It might get you through a slump, but it is never lasting. The only motivation or inspiration that will transform your ministry from one of apathy and contentment and satisfaction to one like that of the apostles will come from within. Brethren – it’s time for revival: not church revival, but revival in the pulpit. While there are others, I want to share with you three areas of our ministries much in need of revival.
Prayer
“Poverty-stricken as our churches are today in many things, they are most stricken here, in the place of prayer.” Brethren, how many times have we scolded our people from the pulpit about their lack of prayer, knowing all the while that our own prayer life is not what it ought to be?
We can work and labor and visit and preach and teach and knock on every door in town, but without the power of God in it it’s all useless! Look at the early church in Acts, and what do you find those men doing? Acts 1:14 says,
“These all (these all who? Verse 13 names a bunch of preachers!) continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”
In Acts 3, Peter and John were headed to the temple for prayer. In Acts 6, deacons were selected because the apostles weren’t getting enough time for prayer. In Acts 10, Peter went up on the housetop to pray. In Acts 12, while Peter was in prison, the rest of the church was gathered together in prayer.
What good is all our labor if the power of God is absent? It has been said that…
“It is in this element that the pulpit fails in more often than in any other element. It is at this all-important point that it lapses. It may have learning, brilliancy, and eloquence, and may delight and charm. Sensation or less offensive methods may bring in crowds. Mental power may impress and enforce truth with all its resources. But without this [power], each and all these will be but as the restless assault of the waters on a [great boulder]. Spray and foam may cover and spangle, but the rocks are still there, unimpressed and immovable. The human heart can no more be swept of its hardness and sin by these human forces than these rocks can be swept away by the ocean’s ceaseless flow.”
There is a coffee shop here in town that I visit from time to time, and it never fails that when I get home my wife knows I’ve been. Why? Because the odor of smoke lingers on my clothes. Do you want everything you do to smell of the aroma of God? Then you’re going to have to spend some time in His presence through the frequent habit of prayer.
“Praying preachers have always brought the greater glory to God, have moved His gospel onward with its greatest, speediest rate and power. A non-praying preacher and a non-praying church may flourish outwardly and advance in many aspects of their life. Both preacher and church may become synonyms for success, but unless it rests on a praying basis, all success will eventually crumble into deadened life and ultimate decay.”
We need a great revival of prayer in our pulpits brothers, and the only way it is going to come is by more prayer. We must be a people who are willing to pray, pray, and then pray some more. Prayer is the language of need – and I ask you this morning, who has a greater need for the presence and the power and the purpose of God than we His preachers?
Preaching
Not only are we in need of revival in prayer, we are in need of revival concerning our preaching. Read the great sermons of Peter and Paul in the book of Acts. You won’t find any dry lectures there. You won’t find any little talks. What you find is Spirit-filled men preaching with great boldness and conviction. You find men who spoke the truth in love to a people who didn’t just disagree with them but were outright hostile to them. Listen to part of Peter’s sermon in Acts 3.
“The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; and killed the Prince of life…Repent ye therefore, and be converted…”
In chapter 4…
“the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them…”
The next day, these rulers asked,
“By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel…be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
What made the difference in Peter’s preaching? What made him so bold? What gave him such conviction? The Sadducees and scribes could see it – verse 13 tells you.
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”
Let me ask you something brethren: when you are done preaching, can your people tell you’ve been with Jesus? I’m not asking if you worked up a good sermon. I’m not asking if you were doctrinally sound. I’m not asking if you told the truth. I’m asking you whether anyone can tell that you’ve been with Jesus, and more importantly, have you been with Jesus?
You see, I’ve not been preaching as long as most of you have, but I’ve been preaching long enough to know that I can fool the folk sitting in the pews in our church. TBI taught me enough to help me work up an outline that flows from point to point. I can have all the right references, stomp a little bit, use voice inflection and pitch, spit and holler if I need to, and when its all said and done the folks will talk about how inspired I sound. But when everyone goes home and I’m left alone, I know whether I have been with the Lord or not, and if I really have, the people closest to me will notice the difference.
“The life-giving preacher is a man of God, whose heart is ever athirst for God, whose soul is ever following hard after God, whose eye is single to God, and in whom by the power of God’s Spirit the flesh and the world have been crucified and his ministry is like the generous flood of a life-giving river.”
Is your preaching filled with life and power? Is it changing lives and stirring the people? Or has it been reduced to something less satisfying, both to you and your people? It is time for revival in our preaching.
Evangelism
Let’s be honest – most believers do not share their faith. According to recent studies, it takes about 85 church members to reach one soul for Christ. Even when we include ourselves in the number, the ratio doesn’t change that much. We just don’t share our faith.
I know you have heard, and like me many of you have even said, “Go out and spread the Word, and if you have to, use your Bibles.” It’s catchy, and I liked it so much I’ve used it more than once, but I’m learning now that it’s really not that biblical. You look at every convert in the Bible – not a one of them came along and said to themselves, “Hmm, that’s a fine looking person over there. He loves his family and attends church every Sunday. He’s nice and doesn’t cuss or drink. I think I’ll accept Christ.”
Now I know that’s a little exaggerated, but you won’t find that in the Bible. Everyone who was saved in the Bible did so after the gospel was shared with them. Jesus and Nicodemus. Jesus and the woman at the well. Jesus and the woman caught in adultery. Philip and the Ethiopian.
Not to have a heart for evangelism is to not have a heart for Great Commission work. It doesn’t matter how much money we send overseas if we’re not willing to share our faith at home. Jesus didn’t commission us to hole up and hold out faithful. He told us “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” It’s not a popular work. It’s not always an easy work. In fact, it can be downright unpleasant, but again, Jesus said, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before [it hated] you.” Peter said,
“If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy [are ye]; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.”
Now let me make something very clear that you really already know. Jesus said that “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name…” The only evangelism that will do anyone any good is that which is done in the name of Jesus Christ. When we’re sharing our faith, we’ve got no business or reason to confront a person in his lostness with some of the things we say. Suppose you went up and told someone that you were out knocking on doors in the name of your church and you told them you were just an old fashioned Landmark Missionary Baptist and you wanted them to come to church.
Think about how wrong something like that would be. We’re not old-fashioned. We may have some good old songs and preach a good old message and even have some fine old members, but there’s nothing old-fashioned about the work of the Lord. I hate that – we’re just as fresh and relevant as the evening news. Jesus never said to go out in the name of a church or even a work. Do you know why we’re not building more churches and reaching more people? It’s because we’re more worried about converting people to the ABA or to a Missionary Baptist church than we are about reaching them in the name of Jesus Christ.
I’m not saying that who we are isn’t important – it is – but the Bible says that “whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” It is time for a revival: a return to evangelism done like it was in the Bible – “come and meet a man…” Andrew said. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” You get them saved, then you can worry about teaching them all that other stuff – but lead them to Christ first.
As we were door knocking yesterday, the church member that was with me asked me, “Brother Kevin, why don’t we knock on doors in our church?” and do you know my answer? Because I can always find something better to do. Brethren, some of you today are just like that. I’m not everything I need to be, and the only answer is for revival: renewal, a freshness of spirit in the pulpit, in the closet, and on the streets.
Conclusion
People are starving for the glory of God – they just don’t know it. But we do know it, and unless a revival takes place in our pulpits, we’ll move on as though nothing is wrong. When this week is over, you can go back home to your churches and continue just like you were when you left. Now I realize that some of you enjoy great intimacy with the Lord. You’re on fire, your heart is aglow, your face is shining, your sermons sound like they have come from the throne of heaven and you’ve got holes in the knees of all your pants – but who among us could not be closer? Who among us couldn’t enjoy greater fellowship with God? Who among us couldn’t spend more time in the closet? Who among us doesn’t need more of the power of the Holy Spirit in our preaching?
Who among us couldn’t use less of a critical spirit? Less of a bitter spirit? Less of a complaining heart? Some of you are on your last leg. You’ve pulled into town dusty and tired, wanting to skip out on some of the meetings so you can catch up on some sleep at the hotel. You’re weary and worn out, and what you want is some sleep. Perhaps what we really need is not more sleep, but genuine revival. Some of you are discouraged. You’ve been waging war against the enemy, and you even feel like you’ve been waging war right in your own church, and you’re ready to lay it all down. Everywhere you turn you only find another obstacle, another battle to fight, another problem to solve, and you wonder whether the people to whom you minister will ever get what you’re saying.
Perhaps there’re not any problems – life is good and fine, but you know that you’ve grown fat and content at the table of ministry. Have you grown complacent in the pulpit? Is your church less than what it ought to be? The answer isn’t going to be found at the seminary or in the latest program. “America’s living on borrowed time. We passed the safety line years ago. We’re heading for hell as quick as any nation on earth. But if we saw the glory of God on Sunday in every church in America, we’d shake the country for God the next week.” Brethren, the only way that’s going to happen is if it starts in the hearts of God’s preachers.
Yes, these are difficult and exciting times, but I am thankful that they are so uncertain. It is the very sense of uncertainty, and the constant shifting we are finding in our culture that is going to keep preachers on their knees begging for intervention from God.
It is time He shook things up – and it is time He shook us up. It’s time God took the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the religious leaders and the political leaders and the unbelievers of our day and rattled our cages, and it is my prayer and hope, and I hope that you will make it your prayer and hope, that we as God’s preachers will allow Him to shake us out of our respective places of comfort and cause us to hunger and thirst for the life-changing revival that must take place in our pulpits, and then, when we have become unsettled, when we have become unsatisfied, when we have been pushed far enough into the corner of despair over the condition of the world and of our churches, may we be drawn so closely into the presence of the Lord that though our words may seem ignorant, and the preaching of the cross as foolish, may we rejoice and lift high the name of Jesus in such a way that the whole world, our churches, and most importantly our Lord be able to say,
“These men have been with Jesus.”
Thank you for allowing me to speak, and may God bless you.
Works Cited
Piper, John. Brothers, We Are Not Professionals (Broadman & Holman Publishers: Nashville, TN) 2002
Acts 4:13
Ravenhill, Leonard. Weeping Between the Porch and the Altar. www.ravenhill.org/weeping1.htm
Ravenhill, Leonard. Why Revival Tarries (Bethany House Publishers: Bloomington, Minnesota) 1979
Bounds, E.M. The Classic Collection on Prayer (Bridge-Logos Publishers: Gainesville, FL) 2001
ibid.
John Piper and Wayne Grudem, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books) 1991
