Revival, What Would Jesus Do

2/15/03 Revival, What Would Jesus Do?

Have any of you in here today ever tried to do something that you did not really feel like doing?

Or, have you ever tried to convince someone of something you were not convinced of yourself?

Here I am, I have four Children, and My wife is Pregnant..

If I were to stand up here and try to explain to you what it was like to have a baby kicking inside the womb, I would not be very effective, I would not be very convincing because I have no idea what if feels like.

But, if my wife were to come before you today and if she were to describe what that feels like, I know that she would describe it with happiness and joy.

She could describe it and I bet that the women in here could almost feel the babies kicking inside themselves.

Because my wife could be describing a heart felt true to life experience that has happened to her.

She knows what she is talking about.

I have come to realize in my ministry that a man can read a lot of books and commentaries, a man can study the Bible, and a man can even come up with a sermon.

But,

If God has not given him the message,

If God has not put that message on his heart and given him a burden for the subject at hand,

Then the message will hold no meaning for the people that he is trying to deliver that message to.

When I get through with the Sunday services, I start asking God what he would have me bring during the next weeks services.

Now, every message in the Bible pertains to all of us to a point.

But, as each of us progresses in our service to the Lord here at Midway Baptist Church, as we see a vision of what God has in store for us to do,

I can go to Gods word and go to God in prayer and he will basically say to me…

“Here is a message that is needed this week”

And then, with his help and guidance, I will start to prepare the message.

The subject matter today has always been important to me, and I am sure it has always been important to you.

But I believe that the Lord wants us to hear a message about revival today.

I said wants us to hear,

Not wants you to hear.

I know I tell you all the time, but I don’t think I can emphasize enough the fact that before any of you ever hear a sermon that I preach, it has already been preached to me.

I have already been convicted many times before you even know the topic at hand.

The message that I want to bring today is going to be a hard message for me to bring.

Oh, it is not going to be hard because of the subject matter,

no,

It’s not going to be hard because of the people I am going to bring the message to,

No,

I am willing to say to you today that this is absolutely one of the kindest and most loving congregations of people I have ever been around.

No, the message today is going to be hard for me to bring because of what God wants me to do in my life, in regard to this message.

You see, God has put a real burden on my heart and I struggle with it at times.

A preacher is no different than you,

They have trials and tribulations and temptations, just like any one else.

I guess this really all started for me back in 1993.

I found something in the Library of the Church that would later become the first Church I would pastor….

In that Library, I found something called “Books on cassette”

What a fantastic invention…

You see, I am not a big book reader.

I study the Bible and stuff but I am not real big on taking a book and reading it.

I get frustrated while reading a book.

And I have blamed Denise for my frustrations about reading…

Denise and I can both sit down together and start reading a book, and I can look over at her and say,

Hey, what page are you on?

And she will say something like

“I am on page 48, what about you”

Well, I kind of thought I was a speed-reader because I was on page 10.

So this is frustrating to me….

But anyway, I found something out there at the church that was the best thing I had ever seen,

It is called, books on cassette!

I picked up a book on cassette and since I traveled about 80 miles a day round trip back and forth to work, I had the book on cassette finished in no time.