The Notion Of An Awakening - #1 Series

* At this point, it would be easy to make this swirling statement: If we don’t awake out of our spiritual slumber (which Paul wrote about), then this country will not be here for our children. By the way, while this statement might well be prophetic, it is not the correct spiritual motive for awakening to God. As much as I love this great country, restoring America to days past is not really God prime directive. The only country which, as far as I know, God has ever chosen is Israel – God’s not looking for a country or nation. Guess what else, “God is not even looking for a church.”

* God is looking for a man. God is looking for a woman. God is looking for individual who will surrender their whole hearts to Him. He seeks those who will totally & completely give their lives to Him. In Ezekiel He said, “I sought for a man among them that would make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land.” Pause there and thing about that. God didn’t seek the land (nation) He sought the man. It always begins with one person. That is how this spiritual awakening will have to begin – one person at a time.

* Let’s finish the verse, “I sought for a man among them that would make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it.” Reading this text today has a different impact than it did before say – Last Sunday evening when Ray Woods made the application from the time of Abraham asking God to spare Sodom.

* Now we get to the crux of the matter which was, in the time of Ezekiel, the saddest part of the matter. It is found in the last part of this verse. Let me explain like this, it’s the Epilog.

* To think that God looks and, on occasion, finds no one is a little sobering to me. You have heard your pastor say it many times; our country, culture, community, and church are in spiritual trouble. Mankind, as we know it, has turned his back on God. One of the truths which us, in the church, have failed to ‘get’ is this: “If this country & culture has turned their backs on God – it is because the church first turned away.” God’s call is return to me & I will return to you & you will find ME when you search for me with all of your heart.

* I use the term “Spiritual Awakening” because I don’t believe any authentic believer in this body has purposely turned their back on God, but I have no difficulty believing that without realizing it, we have nodded off to sleep in the service of our Lord. Blame? Matters not. The real deal is – what will we do with this opportunity. I end with a story from John Avant.

* The topic is football. The game is the game which has been touted as the biggest wipeout in football history (at any level). The teams? Georgia Tech and Cumberland. The score, 222-0. In that game was a player who would later become a prominent attorney. His name was Bert Patty. Best I can tell Bert played at Cumberland and was on the kick-off receiving team. During one of the kick-offs, Bert fumbled the ball and it bounced toward another guy so Bert said, “Pick it up!” And the other guy said, “You dropped it, you pick it up.”