Illustration: A few years back the Lord called my wife and I to Pastor a small community church that had two active deacons; one of which I became very close to during our 2 ½ year tenure. We had noticed the Sunday School record books held a sad truth, the church had been on a gradual decline for several years.
Then Bro. Lester called me to the side one Sunday afternoon and said, “preacher, we didn’t get this way over night.”
Biblical truth: The mighty Solomon temple doesn’t exist any longer; the truth is it didn’t come down overnight but over duration of time. The people of God had forgotten whom they were, their purpose and calling, over time sin crept into the house, causing judgment. The New Testament sheds light on the meaning of the passage, when Jesus came into the temple and run the people out and turned over the money changers tables and said, “My house shall be an house of prayer but you have turned it into a den of thieves.
The churches journey from being red hot and fervent for the Lord to a cold complacent and rather lethargic group meeting together for the purpose of paying tithes, sharing past experiences and evening fellowship didn’t take place over night either. It started with a laxity in prayer, a loss of focus on the major importance of the church, and then just plain laziness.
Now if we, the local church are to experience true revival there are something’s we must do, first on the individual level and then on the congregational level.
1. Remembrance
2. Repentance
3. Renewal
These are the three areas that attention must be given and where our focus will be this morning.
I. Remembrance
Note: The term “remember” is not written in the text but rather expressed through Jehovah’s voice. Therefore, what are we to remember?
1. The manifested glory of God
There is nothing like the day that Christ called you unto himself, cleansed your soul and introduced to you this new and living way; this is the manifesting of Christ’s love upon the heart of the believer.
Bro. Philip Doddridge stated it this way in the old hymn O Happy Day
O happy day that fixed my choice on thee, my savior and my God! Well may this glowing heart rejoice, and tell its raptures all abroad.
Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away!! He taught me how to watch and pray, and live rejoicing every day; Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away.”
The Old Testament sacrifice produced a feeling in the hearts of the people much like salvation does for the New Testament convert, glee and an overwhelming happiness that bubbled over.
What we need in the local church this morning is to take a moment and go back in our minds to the day that Jesus washed our sins away and remember the joy and gladness that we felt, and then, yes, then remember how we just couldn’t wait to tell the good news; that Jesus saves, Jesus saves.
2. The devotion once given to God
In the life of most Christians, and for that matter most congregations; there was a time when more attention and devotion was given to the Lord than there is today. We need to remember the former days when we prayed with fervency for that God would make himself known among his people, we prayed for the lost and followed up with personal one on one evangelism. Church, do you remember when your parents and grand parents wanted to see a mighty move of God and when they came together on the lord’s day, much attention was to prayer? What happened church? Has God changed, has the purpose of the church changed?
No, the immutable God will never change; therefore the purpose of the church must never change.
A. Exalt the Lord in adoration
B. Exalt the Lord in prayer
C. Exalt the Lord in song
D. Exalt the Lord in devotion
Many Christians have made a pilgrimage from a “Mary” that set at the feet of Jesus and adored him to a “Martha” who is full of activity, complaining, and spiritual deadness.
We must look back and remember the days when we had a hunger in our hearts for the teachings of Christ, and then REPENT!!!!
4. The founding principles of the local church
Every church congregation has an origin, that place of beginning when someone or a group of people felt the overwhelming need to start a local church. That church plant was started on the principle of worship, evangelism and mission and if not its motives were impure from the beginning.
A. Remember the fire of our parents and grandparents
B. Remember the service of our forefathers
Now as we remember the glory days and how those dear Saints of God worked diligently for Christ and His coming kingdom, we can see how far we have come, from what some may call humble beginnings. We must return to those humble beginnings and be renewed in the same power for which they exhibited, the power of the Holy Ghost.
II. Repentance
Quote:
Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement; he is a rebel who must lay down his arms . . . This process of surrender—this movement full speed astern—is what Christians call repentance. Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means killing part of yourself, undergoing a kind of death.
C. S. LEWIS
Note: Our text verse speaks of “turning from their wicked ways”, but what is implied?
Anything that is contrary to the nature and attributes of God is sin, and man is sinful, even on our best days as a follower of Christ we are only sinners saved by grace. What we are to do is turn from self towards God, forsake our own and pickup his will.
1. Deny self
Matthew 16:24
24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
2. Deny the world
1 John 2:15
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Note: The biggest error in Christianity: Is our adaptation to the standards and principles of the world into the eternal church of God.
(1 Most congregations want a CEO and not a Pastor
(2 Most congregations want a man educated D Min or D.D. and have perverted the word of God by making education a prerequisite to ministry.
Now there is nothing wrong or shameful about education as long as that education was obtained and used for the glory of God; but when it lifts up the soul in pride: dear friend, it has become sinful and a reproach.
Some of the same principles hold true for many believers; we want the best of both worlds:
(1 Many want to live, walk, dress and for all intentional purposes be just like the world.
Some congregations worship style leaves me baffled: you walk in and listen and it sound just like a barroom on Saturday night, without the smoke of course.
The church has traveled along ways since its infancy that is recorded in the book of Acts.
3. Return to its biblical heritage
A. The early church was a Holy Ghost filled church, Acts 1:8
B. The early church was a gospel preaching church, acts 2:14-38
C. The early church was a loving, caring giving church, Acts 2:42-47
My friend we say we want “Revival” and we’re not even willing to walk across the isle and apologize to the brother we have wronged; yes, we say we want “Revival” and we will walk by a brother in need and we have more than enough to help; what we need to do is REPENT!!!!!!!
Revival will not come; it cannot come, until God’s people remember who they are and start acting like Christians!!!
Dear friend true repentance will affect every part of your life, from your wallet to your T.V. and everything in between.
To the readers on Sermon Central, listen the truth hurts but it will set you free.
We can’t have the best of both worlds, you either want to follow Christ and be a REAL church, experiencing REAL revival or your nothing more than a group of people meeting together for fellowship and worship of a God who is not present.
D. The early church was a praying church, Acts 12
Have you taken time to read the prayer of King Solomon in the 6th chapter? What we need is for some prayer warriors to standup and be counted, and then pray as they have never prayed before; pray for REPENTANCE to take place in the house of God. Dear friend “REVIVAL will come!!!!!!!!!
Quote:
Prayer is the backbone of a revival. . . . Instead of substituting new ideas such as religious films or social entertainments, why not really try the God-given method for revivals: “Pray without ceasing”?
JOHN W. BASHAM
Sadly many of our congregations have removed the old mourners bench that sat in front of the pews and beside the communion table. I remember as a boy how people would gather around the old wooden bench before service and pray for God to come down and make himself known among the people. I think most congregations would rather have a dry dead service with prayers that only go as high as the ceiling; no power, no manifestation of God’s glory, just church as usual.
Do we need repentance??
OH YEA
I strongly believe that if God’s people would remember the former days, when we walked in the pathway of holiness, we would experience something awesome: Revival, renewal of the spirit in our hearts and minds that would be so strong that we would love each other fervently with a pure heart.
III. Renewal
Quote:
Revival is the inrush of the Spirit into a body that threatens to become a corpse.
D. M. PANTON
John 6:63
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
1. Renewal is a new attitude towards sin
True, Jesus loves sinners: but Jesus also hates sin any kind and every kind of sin.
What we must do is allow the sweet spirit of God to develop in our hearts a holy hatred of sin.
2. Renewal is a new interest in the great commission
A church that lives in a continual state of revival is one that is “ON MISSION” for Christ.
3. Renewal is a new obedience to the Word of God
4. Renewal is a new found love for prayer
5. Renewal is experiencing God in great power
Pray for Revival to take place in the Churches
