AN URGENT WARNING AGAINST LUKEWARMNESS

Rev 3:14-22

AN URGENT WARNING AGAINST LUKEWARMNESS

The last of the Seven Churches was Laodicea, whose name meant "justice of the people". It was about an 100 miles inland from the Aegean Sea, 40 miles southeast of Philadelphia, and due west of Colosse. Laodicea was known for its wool industry, a famous medical school and its banking industry. Because the city did not have a good water supply nearby, it had to depend more on diplomacy than military strength to prevent a siege.

This Scripture was not meant to instruct the Laodiceans only, it has a wider aim. The actual church of Laodicea has passed away, but other Laodiceas still exist—indeed, they are sadly multiplied in our day, and it has ever been the tendency of human nature, however inflamed with the love of God, gradually to chill into lukewarmness. The letter to the Laodiceans is above all others the epistle for the present times.

Q "15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot."

In this instance, Laodicea's Spiritual temperature is omnisciently understood to be "neither cold nor hot". Our LORD prefers a more straightforward profession of unbelief ("cold") or faith ("hot"). "He that is not with Me is against Me: and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth" (Luke 11:23).

Q "16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth."

Lukewarmness is the transitional condition of having been warm-- but now backslidden. The true warmth, like the glory of God, has departed from Miserable Laodicea. "And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the Ark of God was taken" (1Samuel 4:21).

Like the lukewarm and nauseous mineral spring water near ancient Laodicea, the Lukewarm church at Laodicea caused God to vomit them out of His mouth. Again, the God of Truth (Psalm 31:5) refuses to hold up a compromising and uncertain standard of gray. He-- and His people-- must be known by the certain sound of fervent hot "HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD" (Zechariah 14:20).

Q "17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:"

The stark contrast between the Laodicean's perception of themselves, i.e., "rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing", and the LORD's perception of them. i.e., "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked", is the difference between self-deception and a true assessment. "For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself" (Galatians 6:3).

Q "18 I counsel thee to buy of Me Gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and White Raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with Eyesalve, that thou mayest see."

The only advice worth taking, comes from God. "22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? 23 Turn you at My Reproof: behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known My Words unto you" (Proverbs 1:22-23). The LORD Jesus gives counsel concerning the repentance of Laodicea's so-called Christianity:

(1) purchase the "Gold tried in the fire" (Revelation 3:18) by seeking "first the Kingdom Of God, and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33),

(2) acquire "White Raiment" (Revelation 3:18), which is the "Righteousness of Saints" (19:8) flowing from a right relationship with Jesus Christ, and

(3) confess your wretched condition of self-deception to the LORD "anoint thine eyes with Eye salve, that thou mayest see" (Revelation 3:18).

Q "19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."

God is love (1John 4:8), but that does not mean that He will not chasten His people for sinning. Ask Adam and Eve if sin had consequences. It is actually a matter of joy that the LORD sees something about Deceived Laodicea's sonship, that Laodicea could only prove by repentance. "6 For whom the LORD loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons" (Hebrews 12:6-8).

Q "20 Behold, I stand at The Door, and knock: if any man hear My Voice, and open The Door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me."

The words in this verse are for the church at Laodicea.The words were for those with ears to hear, not those needing ears . This section of Revelation has the words of Jesus Christ to the pastors of seven churches of Asia. The church of the Laodiceans was self-confident and self-righteous. Jesus rebuked them for their lukewarm condition and haughty spirit, and He described them as being spiritually wretched, miserable,poor, blind, and naked! They needed a personal relationship with Him for true spiritual riches.

The benefit offered by Jesus in the verse is fellowship, not salvation from hell. The Lord Jesus Christ offered the members of this church His personal presence for spiritual communion and fellowship, not regeneration or justification. These saints were already saved from hell as much as they could be; but they were living a miserable existence without a personal relationship with Christ. This offer was the fellowship and joy that John described elsewhere (I John 1:1-10).

However, notice that the LORD Jesus Christ is standing outside of the church at Laodicea-- knocking for permission to enter. Though God does give "repentance to the acknowledging of the Truth" (2Timothy 2:25), He only receives that repentance from a voluntary submission from the sinner. "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:18).

ü Lukewarm Laodicea is also composed of those professed Christians who have never actually been saved-- but are still known to God to be elect-- in addition to the backsliders of Laodicea. These Elect-But-Lost Laodiceans are among those who repent at the Second Coming of the LORD Jesus Christ. "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen" (Revelation 1:7).

ü Elect-But-Lost Israel will also repent at the LORD's Second Coming. "Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the Earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children" (Isaiah 66:8). Both of these will enter as subjects of our LORD's Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20:6)

Q “21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My Throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His Throne."

Overcomers of this Church Age "shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years" (Revelation 20:6). "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith" (1John 5:4). The LORD Jesus-- our Example of overcoming-- has graciously invited us to share the inheritance of His Government with us. And, if we will share with Him in judging this world, then should we not be careful to exercise love when making judgments about our daily life? "2 Do ye not know that the Saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?" (1Corinthians 6:2-3).

Q "22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."

Let no man say that he has not been warned. It has always been a matter of whether or not we have been willing to listen to the counsel of the Holy Spirit. "24 Therefore whosoever heareth these Sayings of Mine, and doeth Them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a Rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a Rock. 26 And every one that heareth these Sayings of Mine, and doeth Them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it" (Matthew 7:24-27).

Martyn Lloyd Jones said in one of his Sermons “I know of nothing in the spiritual life more discouraging than to meet the kind of person who seems to give an impression that he or she is always on the mountain top”

"The Tajpuri: The Bengali tribes of Bangladesh"

INTRODUCTION:
A cluster of 6 tribes closely related to the Bengali. Most of the Bengali groups are easily defined by their common language, Bengali. However, there are several smaller tribes who are also referred to as Bengali, but speak languages other than Bengali. Their languages belong to the Assamese-Bengali sub-group of the Indo-Aryan language family and include these groups: the Hajong and Kishanganjia of India; the Hajong and Tajpuri of Bangladesh; and the Rajbansi and Kayort of Nepal.
The Tajpuri live in the plains of Rangpur, which is located in northern Bangladesh near the border of India.

WHAT ARE THEIR LIVES LIKE?
About 80% of the Bengali who live in India and Bangladesh are involved in some type of farming. Wet rice is their primary crop, and wheat and potatoes have also recently been added. Some have remarkable skills in weaving and embroidery. They make items that can be traded in the weekly markets.
Muslim invaders began conquering the Hindu regions of Bangladesh in the twelfth century. When many of the Bengali tribes were overrun in 1600-1700 A.D. by Muslims, they took refuge in the hills. They later returned and settled in the adjoining plains where most have continued to live.
The "clan system" was formerly unknown to the Tribal Bengali communities. However, when these tribes embraced Hinduism, they accepted the twelve clans associated with the Hindu castes.
The various Bengali tribes, like most other people groups of South Asia, have a clear division of labor. Regardless of a family's occupational specialty, the men do jobs that take place outside of the home, while the women are responsible for the tasks that can be performed inside the home. Among these tribes, land has always been individually owned. Small family farms, which are usually about one hectare in size (about 2.5 acres), are often sub-divided.
Most marriages in Bengali society are arranged. However, there are marked differences between the Hindu and Muslim wedding ceremonies. When mates are being chosen, caste and social rank are very important considerations. In rural areas, married couples almost always live with or near the groom's parents. The only exception to this practice is among the Tajpuri; and even they are gradually conforming. Most of the tribal Bengali communities have special dormitories where single young men live. This "house" is also used as a meeting place for the village elders. The racial origin of one Bengali tribe, the Tajpuri, is surrounded by much controversy. Although they claim to be the descendants of great kings, they belong to a matriarchal (female-dominated) society.

WHAT ARE THEIR BELIEFS?
In general, the various Bengali tribes are "Hinduized" religionists. Although they have adopted the Hindu caste system and the worship of millions of Hindu gods, they also continue to practice their ethnic religions. Only one Bengali tribe, the Tajpuri of Bangladesh, has a considerable number of Muslims (almost 30%). Nevertheless, they too, practice some of their ethnic beliefs alongside Islam.
The Bengali's tribal religions are based on the belief in a variety of village and household gods. The people also believe in life after death. Village elders are responsible for conducting the religious ceremonies.
Like other tribal groups, the Bengalis are animists, believing that the spirits of the gods live inside the mountains, the rivers, and the forests. Therefore, many objects in nature are worshipped. However, as they are becoming more and more educated, many are coming out of their world of superstition, animism, and magic.

WHAT ARE THEIR NEEDS?
The Scriptures are not yet available for the Tajpuri tribes. The Tajpuri report only one Christian brother among their population of 12,000! At the present time, their greatest need is to have the Gospel in their own language. Perhaps the second greatest need is for better education.
Because most of the tribal Bengalis are Hindu, they have been subject to much persecution and religious conflict. The groups living in Bangladesh comprise only a minority of the population (11.3%), and have also experienced great rejection and religious persecution. Those in India are viewed as refugees and are therefore treated as outcasts. These groups need to know the love and acceptance of Jesus Christ.

HOW TO COMMUNICATE THE GOSPEL (COMMUNICATION
STRATEGY) TO THE TAJPURI:
To effectively communicate the gospel in the Tajpuri culture some of the important strategies are as follows: -
i. Establish a personal basis of friendship and acceptance with the people because they are a very hospitable people. It is always good to go if it is personally sponsored by some belonging to the village.
ii. It is very important to learn about the religion of the Tajpuri culture. Since they believe in the universal God and we can show them that God is not an alien God but he is GOD -THE CREATOR.We can show from the Bible some of the references:
As the Tajpuri believe that no one has seen God and we can agree with them but we can remind them from the scripture
'No one has seen God at any time, the only one begotten God (Jesus Christ) who is in the bosom of the Father has make Him known'-John1: 18
'And He (Jesus Christ) is the image of the Invisible God, the first born of all creation'- Col 1:15
iii. Learning of language is a very good communication strategy to spread the gospel to the Tajpuri. Cameron Downsend the founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators shares of his experience with an Indian at Guatamela who asked him, "If your God is smart, why can't he speak our language?" so learning of language is a most effective strategy.
iv. Education is another important tool for the furtherance of personalization.
v. Medical missions: work of rooting out the Tajpuri superstitions, belief and ideas, particularly relating to the ideas of demons. They say every sickness they tell it is of the devil, building of hospitals, rural health centers and medical center is a good strategy of spreading the gospel. They believe in evil spirits who brings sickness so instead of offering medicines they offer sacrifices so we do medical missions to this tribe i.e. by opening hospitals. Healing not only to cure the body but also to restore man for which he is created. Healing becomes a means to an end.
vi. If we are prepared for 'power encounter' it can be a very effective communication strategy for the spread of the gospel. We can demonstrate to the people that our God is powerful by demonstrating on the sick man.
Bishop J.W. Pickett, in his important study "Christ's way to India's Heart" says
"The process of extracting individuals from their setting in Hindu or Moslem communities does not build a Church. On the contrary it rouses antagonism against Christianity and builds barriers against the spread of the gospel...."
vii. We should have a positive attitude & approach to the Tajpuri religion & culture. We should show respect to their culture because some of the things like filial piety respect of old people living a holy life etc are some of the norms in the Tajpuri culture.

PRAYER POINTS

• v Take authority over the principalities and powers that have kept the tribal Bengali bound.
• v Ask the Lord of the Harvest to send forth missionaries to live among the Bengali tribes.
• v Ask God to raise up prayer teams who will begin breaking up the soil through intercession.
• v Pray that the small number of Bengali Christians will be a light for the Gospel in these areas of spiritual darkness.
• v Ask God to raise up Christian schoolteachers to take the Gospel to these tribes.
• v Pray that Christian radio broadcasts, Bibles, and other literature will be made available to each of the Tribal Bengali groups.
• v Pray that God will begin revealing Himself to these precious tribes through dreams and visions.
• v Ask the Lord to raise up strong local churches among the Tribal Bengali by the year 2010.

( Prepared by Prabhat Thapa, Nepali Christian Fellowship, Laitumkhrah, Shillong-793003, Meghalaya, India. Phone: 91-364-2211241; 9436102491; E.mail: prareetav@yahoo.com
Mobile Number: 9436102491

prareetav

Martin Lloyd-Jones Take on Revival

Good Morning. Below is Martin Lloyd Jone's take on revival....

What is Revival? by Martin Lloyd-Jones

We can define it as a period of unusual blessing and activity in the life of the Christian Church. Revival means awakening, stimulating the life, bringing it to the surface again. It happens primarily in the Church of God, and amongst believing people, and it is only secondly something that affects those that are outside also. Now this is a most important point, because this definition helps us to differentiate, once and for all, between a revival and an evangelistic campaign. An evangelistic campaign is the Church deciding to do something with respect to those who are outside. A revival is not the Church deciding to do something and doing it. It is something that is done to the Church, something that happens to the Church. So then, what is it that happens? The best way of answering that question is to say that it is in a sense a repetition of the day of Pentecost. It is something happening to the Church, that inevitably and almost instinctively makes one look back and think again of what happened on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2. The essence of a revival is that the Holy Spirit comes down upon a number of people together, upon a whole church, upon a number of churches, districts, or perhaps a whole country. That is what is meant by revival. It is, if you like, a visitation of the Holy Spirit, or another term that has often been used is this--an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. What the people are conscious of is that it is as if something has suddenly come down upon them. The Spirit of God has descended into their midst, God has come down and is amongst them. A baptism, an outpouring, a visitation. And the effect of that is that they immediately become aware of His presence and of His power in a manner that they have never known before. I am talking about Christian people, about church members gathered together as they have done so many times before. Suddenly they are aware of His presence, they are aware of the majesty and the awe of God. The Holy Spirit literally seems to be presiding over the meeting and taking charge of it, and manifesting His power and guiding them, and leading them, and directing them. That is the essence of revival. And what does that mean? Well, there are general characteristics which you will find in every revival that you can ever read about. The immediate effect is that the people present begin to have an awareness of spiritual things such as they have never had before. They have heard all these things before, they may have heard them a thousand times, but what they testify is this: 'You know, the whole thing suddenly became clear to me. I was suddenly illuminated, things that I was so familiar with stood out in letters of gold, as it were. I understood. I saw it all in a way that I had never done in the whole of my life.' The Holy Spirit enlightens the mind and the understanding. They begin not only to see these things clearly but to feel their power. What are these things of which they become so aware? First and foremost, the glory and the holiness of God. Have you ever noticed, as you read your Bibles, the effect on these people as they suddenly realized the presence of God? Like Job, they put their hands on their mouths or like Isaiah they say, 'Woe is unto me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips.' They have just had a realization of the holi-ness and of the majesty and the glory of God. That always happens in a revival. There can be a lot of laughing and lightness, and obvious organization in evangelistic campaigns. Not so in a revival, but rather awe, reverence, holy fear, the consciousness of God in His majesty, His glory, His holiness, His utter purity. And that, as we have seen, leads inevitably to a deep and terrible sense of sin, and an aweful feeling of guilt. It leads men and women to feel that they are vile and unclean and utterly unworthy and, above all, it leads them to realize their utter helplessness face to face with such a God. Or, like the publican depicted by our Lord in the parable, they are so conscious of all this that they cannot show their faces. They are far back near the door somewhere, beating their breasts and saying, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' The holiness of God, their own utter sinfulness and wretchedness, their own unworthiness; they realize they have never done anything good at all. Before, they thought they had done a great deal, now they see that it is nothing--useless. Like Paul they begin to talk about it as dung and filthy rags. In their utter helplessness and hopelessness, they prostrate themselves and cast themselves upon the love and mercy and compassion of God. This is the convicting work of the Spirit who takes charge of the situation. People may be held in that state for some time--not only for hours but sometimes for days and weeks, and months. They may become almost desperate. Then they are given a clear view of the love of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ and especially of His death upon the cross. At last they see it. Oh, they had always believed it theoretically, but it had never truly become real for them. They had honestly believed it, yes, but they had never felt its power, they had never known what it was to be melted by it, to be broken by it. They had never known what it was to weep with a sense of unworthiness and then of love and joy as they realized that 'God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' Suddenly it all becomes real to them, and they are given to know that the Son of God has loved them and has given Himself for them. It becomes an individual and a personal matter: 'He died for me, even my sins are forgiven,' and peace comes into their hearts; joy enters into them and they are lost in love and in a sense of praise of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This now becomes the one thing that absorbs them. If they meet anyone they talk about it at once; everybody is talking about it, it is the main topic of conversation, it is the thing that absorbs all their interest. They desire to be together now and to talk about these things and so they get together, and they hold meetings. They meet every night to talk about these things and to praise God and to sing hymns to His glory. Then they begin to pray, and there they are, hour after hour, night after night, longing to finish work so they might get together with other people who have experienced this movement of the Spirit of God. And that, of course, in turn leads them to have a great concern about others who are outside and who do not know these things. I am giving you a synopsis of what you read in the books. They begin to get a concern for the members of their own family--husband, wife, father, mother, children, brother, sister--who do not know that they are outside. They tell them about it; they feel they must. There is a constraint that is driving them. They talk about it to people, to friends and to everybody, and they begin to pray for them. Prayer is always a great feature of every revival, great prayer meetings, intercession hour after hour. They pray for these people by name and they plead, and they will not let God go, as it were. They are intent on this with a strange urgency. And then, after a while, hearing of all this and seeing the change in those whom they have known for so long, these others who are outside begin to join the meetings and to say, 'What is this?' So they come in, and they go through the same experience. And so it happens and thousands upon thousands are converted. Indeed, the whole neighborhood seems to be full of the Holy Spirit. He seems to be everywhere. People are not only converted in meetings, some are converted as they are walking to the meetings, before they have even got there. Some are converted at their work, in a coal-mine, on top of a mountain. Some are awakened in the middle of the night. They went to bed feeling as usual, but they are awakened with an aweful sense of sin, and they have to get up and pray and plead with God to have mercy. Nobody has spoken to them at that moment--it is the Spirit of God that is acting. He is dominating the whole area. He is filling the lives of all the people. That is what happens in revival and thus you get this curious, strange mixture, as it were, of great conviction of sin and great joy, a great sense of the terror of the Lord, and great thanksgiving and praise. Always in a revival there is what somebody once called a divine disorder. Some are groaning and agonizing under conviction, others praising God for the great salvation. And all this leads to crowded and prolonged meetings. Time seems to be forgotten. People seem to have entered into eternity. A meeting may start at six thirty in the evening, and it may not end until daybreak the next morning with nobody aware of the passing of the hours. They did not have to provide coffee once or twice halfway through. When the Holy Ghost organizes things, time, the body, and the needs of the flesh are all forgotten. A revival, then, really means days of heaven upon earth. Let me give you one of the greatest descriptions ever written of what is true of a town when there is such a revival or a visitation of the Spirit of God. It was written by the great and saintly Jonathan Edwards about the little town of Northampton in Massachusetts in 1735. This work soon made a glorious alteration in the town. So that in the spring and summer following, the town seemed to be full of the presence of God. It never was so full of love nor so full of joy and yet so full of distress as it was then. There were remarkable tokens of God’s presence in almost every house. It was a time of joy in families on account of salvation being brought to them. Parents rejoicing over their children as newborn, husbands over their wives and wives over their husbands. The doings of God were then seen in His sanctuary. God’s day was a delight and the congregation was alive in God’s service. Everyone earnestly intent on the public worship. Every hearer eager to drink in the words of the minister as they came from his mouth. The assembly in general were from time to time in tears while the Word was preached. Some weeping with sorrow and distress, others with joy and love, others with pity and concern for the souls of their neighbors. This is God visiting His people. Days of heaven on earth, the presidency of the Holy Spirit in the Church, life abundant given to God’s people without measure. A revival is a miracle. It is the hand of the Lord, and it is mighty. It can only be explained as the direct action and intervention of God. Men can produce evangelistic campaigns, but they cannot and never have produced a revival. A revival, by definition, is the mighty act of God and it is a sovereign act of God. It is as independent as that. Man can do nothing. God, and God alone, does it. But not only can men not produce a revival, they cannot even explain it, and that again is most important. If you can explain what is happening in a church, apart from this sovereign act of God, it is not revival. A revival is something which, when it happens, leads people to say, as the townspeople said in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, 'What is this? What is it?' It is something that comes like a tornado. It is almost like an overflowing tide; it is like a flood. Miraculous things happen, things that are beyond the explanation and the wit of men. Finally, look at it as it is described in Acts 2. Here are the apostles meeting together for prayer in the upper room. They had been doing it for ten days. Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing, mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. That is it. Not always the sound, but always the consciousness of the mighty wind of God. The Spirit of God descends upon preacher, prayers, praying people, those meeting in conference. Do we know anything about that, my friends? Do we believe in God coming in and doing things that we not only cannot do, but cannot even understand, nor control, nor explain. Yea, I ask you, do you long to know such things? To see such things happening again today? Are you praying for such a visitation? For, believe me, when God hears our prayers and does this thing again, it will be such a phenomenon that not only will the Church be astounded and amazed, but even those who are outside will be compelled to listen and to pay attention, in a way that they are not doing at the present time, and in a way that men left to themselves can never persuade them to do. This is what God can do. This is what God has done. Let us together decide to beseech Him, to plead with Him to do this again. Not that we may have the experience or the excitement, but that His mighty hand may be known and His great name may be glorified and magnified among the people.

REVIVAL TODAY? YES, ITS POSSIBLE

Let me begin with thee vital questions:

1) REVIVAL TODAY? YES, ITS POSSIBLE

2)ARE THE DAYS OF GREAT REVIVALS OVER WITH?

3) ARE SERVICES WHERE WAVES OF GOD’S GLORY PASSING THROUGH THE HOUSE OF GOD OVER?

I still believe we are serving a God who answers by fire. In fact we ought to be having greater revivals today than we’ve ever had because:-
Acts 2:17-18
17 in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

ITS NOT TIME TO SLOW DOWN, ITS TIME TO ACCELERATE.Our passion for Christ should be greater and our burden for the lost should be driving us to the highways and hedges.

1) Maybe we do not have revival because we do not earnestly pray for it.

ü We pray, but often without feeling

ü We pray, but often without faith.

ü We pray, but often our prayers are very formal.

ü We pray to keep the church going, but how many of us pray specifically for revival

üFaith-filled revival praying brings revival-“ Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, ( I Tim 4:1)
depart - To go away; leave.
faith - Loyalty and allegiance to.

2) Maybe it’s because we don’t have to offer what we used to.

3) Maybe it’s because of compromise and the lack of our own faithfulness that we don’t have the power to lead people to Christ or to heal and deliver them.

4) Maybe our own conduct and behavior is pushing people away instead of drawing them in.

Rom 13:11-12
11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

Look at the world, our family members and friends. The Devil is snatching lives and souls away every day.God, give us power to stop him.]

• FRIENDS, REVIVAL WAS NOT BORN OUT OF JUST A DESIRE FOR ONE, BUT BY PLEADING THE CAUSE WITH GOD. BESEECHING HIM TO POUR OUT HIS SPIRIT ON US. RAIN DOWN YOUR RIGHTOUSNESS ON US. GIVE BIRTH IN OUR HEARTS A DESIRE TO KNOW YOU IN WAYS THAT WE’VE NEVER KNOWN YOU BEFORE.

• I BELIEVE HE WILL SEND A REVIVAL BASED UPON OUR COMMITMENT TO BE OBEDIENT TO HIM. TO FOLLOW HIM WHERE EVER HE LEADS.

• REAWAKEN OUR FAITH. DON’T JUST STIR US BUT CHANGE US FOREVER.

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WHAT IS REVIVAL?

IT IS RESTORING OUR LIVES TO USEFULNESS AGAIN AND THAT’S ONLY FOLLOWED BY:

1. PURGING OURSELVES FROM THE WEIGHTS AND SINS AND INSLAVING HABITS THAT KEEP US FROM THE FAITHFULNESS THAT GOD REQUIRES AND DESERVES OF US.
2. THE TOTAL SURRENDER OF OUR WILL TO HIS WILL.
3. THE LOOSING OF OUR LIVES SO THAT HE CAN LIVE IN AND THROUGH US.
4. IT’S COMING BACK TO THE PLACE OF ACCEPTANCE WHERE YOU PRESENT YOUR LIFE AND BODY A LIVING SACRIFICE TO GOD.
5. IT’S REINLISTING INTO HIS SERVICE. BEING AVAILABLE WHEN AND WHEREEVER HE CHOOSES.
6. IT’S ONLY HIS MERCY THAT HE WOULD SEND A REVIVAL TO US.
   

FRIENDS, REVIVAL IS ANOTHER CHANCE.
IT’S NOT HIS FAULT THAT WE GROW COLD OR LUKE WARM IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM.

WHEN IS IT FINALLY EVIDENT THAT WE NEED A REVIVAL? DO WE NEED ONE TODAY? DO WE NEED ONE IN THIS CHURCH? DO YOU NEED REVIVAL IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE? I DO.

WE NEED REVIVAL WHEN:

• When there is no family harmony.
• When we can’t forgive & forget.
• When there’s no spiritual growth.
• Family member not filled with holy spirit.
• No outreach at personal and church levels.
• No tears on altars.
• When Calvary becomes meaningless ( insensitive and non moving)

Ps 85:6-7
6 Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?
7 Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.

We’ve been afflicted by the world long enough.
We’ve been oppressed long enough.
Satan has hindered the work here at our church long enough.
He has hindered our people from using their ministry gifts.
He has hindered the growth of our program, and the growth of this church long enough.
We are rebuking you in the matchless name of Jesus Christ. You must take your hands off of this ministry.
We must have revival.
These are the last days.
If there is sin within the membership of this church, we must
repent and get it under the blood of Jesus.
There is so much work to do and so little time in which to do it.

CONCLUSION: In a certain factory, where each man was required to finish so much work in a given length of time, bells were rung at intervals to remind the men just how much time they had left. "The men work better when they realize that the day is slipping away from them," the manager explained. The same thing is true of us concerning spiritual things. We need often to be reminded that "the time is short." "The night cometh when no man can work" (John 9:4). We work better when we realize that the day is slipping away from us.

Back to Christ, Back to the Cross

Back to Christ, Back to the Cross ~

The church growth movement during the last three decades of the 20th century has brought about an explosive growth of churches worldwide. Churches are growing rapidly in Asia, Africa, South America and the former Soviet Union. Consider the following statistics:
Evangelicals are growing in number, by 4.7% to 5.3% per year. That figure is more than three times the rate of world population growth.
176,000 new believers are added to the church daily.
4,000 new churches are formed each week.
Once the church was predominantly Caucasian; today, 65% of the global church is composed largely of people from various other races.
But, with all this, something is still missing, something very important. The churches appear to have a blurry center. I have had this growing conviction that, if the church is to affect national renewal and global transformation, it would need a new breed, a new generation of pastoral leaders. Leaders who sound the trumpet call: “Back to Christ, Back to the Cross.” They will fill their churches with Christians who are both Christlike and cross-bearing. They will, like the apostle Paul, say, “I have been crucified with Christ…” (see Gal. 2:20). This is the center that I believe the church needs to regain.

For too long we have seen many of our church leaders being entertained by celebrities and champions. As a result, they have become more celebrity-conscious rather than Christ-conscious. They want to become more like John Maxwell, the leadership guru. Or, like Rick Warren, the church-health specialist. Becoming more Christlike is taken for granted, if not totally overlooked.

Also, for too long we have measured success in the ministry in terms of mega-churches—big buildings, big attendance and big budgets (cash). These big churches have become like shopping malls attracting religious consumers, church-hoppers and the curious. People are drawn to our cathedrals, but not to Christ—not to the cross. The result: we have converts but not changed lives, members but not ministers, decisions but not disciples of Christ.

The need of the hour is a new breed, a new generation of pastoral leaders—leaders who will faithfully and fearlessly call God’s people back to Christ and back to the cross. Leaders who will lead the church back to its – one and only center.

In their book, Reclaiming God’s Original Intent for the Church, authors Wes Roberts and Glenn Marshall quote the Cambridge Declaration of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, which states, in part: “As evangelical faith becomes secularized, its interests have been blurred with those of the culture. The result is a loss of absolute values, permissive individualism, and a substitute of wholeness for holiness, recovery for repentance, intuition for truth, feeling for belief, chance for providence, and immediate gratification for enduring hope. Christ and His cross have moved from the center of our vision.” I believe that if the church is to regain its Center, we need to pray to the Lord of the harvest to raise up a new breed, a new generation of transformed pastoral leaders—leaders in whose lives Christ and the cross are central, not just cerebral. Back to the Center—back to Christ and the Cross. Any center less than this is anathema to the Church.

Adapted with permission from: Back to Christ, Back to the Cross by Philip C. Flores – national coordinator for TOPIC Philippines. The article appeared in Evangelicals Today, Vol. XXXII, No. 2, pages 22 & 25, published by the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, Quezon City, Philippines. If interested, you may contact Pastor Philip Flores at this email address: pcflores@laguna.net

HEAVEN- SENT REVIVAL

HEAVEN- SENT REVIVAL

Do you love surfing? No surfer tries to create waves. If the waves aren’t there, you don’t surf that day. On the other hand, when surfers see a good wave, they make the most of it, even if it means surfing in the middle of the storm. God makes/creates the wave, surfers is to ride them.

Many churches and Christians want to manufacture waves (revival). They organize revival meetings using gimmicks, programs or marketing technique.You might sometimes hear a Church or evangelist announce: ‘We’re going to hold a revival.’ That’s an impossibility. You can hold a series of special meetings which is what is often meant by revival, but that isn’t revival as the bible teaches it to be. Revival isn’t a work of man; it’s something God does. It’s given from above; not manufactured below.

Duncan Campbell: ‘It takes the supernatural to break the bonds of the natural. You can make a community mission-conscious. You can make a community crusade-conscious. But only God can make a community God-conscious. What we need today is a Heaven- Sent Revival.

“The single greatest need in our land today is heaven-sent revival! Revival comes at the sovereign, gracious decision of God to send a fresh movement of His Spirit among his people… (but) Revival will not come unless it is desired. It is an invasion from heaven at the request of the saints on earth.” (Raymond Perkins, Sermon Central).

TEXT:

“Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You?” (Psalm 85:6).
“O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years!” (Habakkuk 3:2).

WHAT IS REVIVAL:

Chayah: sustain life, be restored to life or health; to cause to grow; restore. Something that’s alive will be growing and bear fruit!

D.M. Panton describes a true spiritual revival as “onrush of divine life into a body threatened to become a corpse”

Christian Evans, a famous Welsh preacher whom God used to stir the nations of Wales on several occasion had this to say: “revival is God bending down to the dying members of a fire just about to go out and breathing into it until it burst into flame.”

Quite simply, revival means to “Wake Up & Live”

Edwin Orr, who in his book The Second Evangelical Awakening in Britain wrote: “Revival takes place when we experience ‘time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord’”

’ Duncan Campbell’s succinct definition of revival is: ‘A community saturated with God.’

SYMPTOMS OF HEAVEN-SENT REVIVAL:

1. PRAYER: We see there are four elements in prayer – adorations, confession, thanksgiving, and intercession (ACTS). The spirit of prayer and worship gripped the disciples even before Pentecost. The need of prayer as a preparation for revival cannot be overemphasized. Prayer here is more than just asking God to send a revival:

F It means self-examination and confession of sins: Self-examination means we let the Lord turn His search light on us and reveal to us our carnality, corruption, and casualness.

F It is a time of remembering our broken vows before the Lord( Ecc 5:1-6) and the wrongs we have committed against others ( Matt 5:23-24)

Prayer leads to true humility because it is in His presence we realize our nothingness and His holiness (Isa 6:1-5). Prayer is also an expression of our inability and our inadequacy and therefore a pleading for His strength and His power ( Matt 26:41) God is pleased with such sacrifices and His fire will invariably fall on them ( Psa 51:17-19)

When Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord, the fire fell. God breaks and makes His men on their knees. When Jesus prayed Heaven was opened (Luke 3:21) When the early church prayed, the place was shaken (Acts 4:31) Prayer releases the power of the spirit to affect the earth.

I believe we have preached enough about revival and published enough about revival, but have not prayer enough for revival. The more we pray for revival the more we will long for it.

Leonard Ravenhill (1907-1994) rightly says, “One main reason we have no revival is that we have learned to live without it”

June 30, 1905, was the day a revival truly began in India. Pandita Ramabhai ran a Care Centre for Indian Widows called ‘Mukti,’ south of Bombay. She was teaching the Bible when the Holy Spirit came in power. All the women and girls began to weep, confess their sins, and pray for the Holy Spirit. Girls became stricken down under conviction of sin while studying, attending the industrial school or at work. Lessons were suspended, and all Mukti began seeking God. Two young girls were so gripped with the power of the Spirit that they prayed for hours and hours, until their faces literally shone with a heavenly light.

2. WORD OF GOD (PREACHING & TEACHING): Revival increases the thirst and intensifies the hunger for God and His word among His people. Let the ministers of God spend maximum time in the presence of God to “speak in the light what God tells them in the dark” (Matt 10:27). This way the revival flames will be further fanned. God is not interested to pour our His spirit on His people just to excite them or make them feel good. NO! He is interested in the “world” He sent His Son to die for the World. He sent His spirit to convict the World of sin and woo sinners to the saviour. He anointed the 120 disciples on the day of Pentecost that they might be His witness throughout the whole world.

Evans Roberts (1878-1951) of Welsh revival prayed “Lord, bend the Church and bless the World”. Most of the revivals of the past have given birth to great missionary and evangelistic movements. But there are also stories of revival which died out too soon, one of the main causes being the failure of the leaders to channels the revival blessings into aggressive evangelism and soul winning. Revival is not an end in itself. It’s a means to an end, the end being evangelism.David prayed “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.{Then} I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You.” ( Psalm 51:12-13) It is necessary that we understand why we pray for revival. Revival is not evangelism but revival begets evangelism.

Brian Edwards says: ‘Preaching in revival times is not always graceful or polished, or even eloquent, but it is always powerful. By this word "powerful," I do not mean only that it changes lives, though it does that, but that the sermons are real and felt by the congregation.’

Dr. R. L. Hymers, Jr states: ‘When the revival power of the Holy Spirit comes down on a church everyone will know. The preaching will be "with great power." It won’t just be the preacher going through the Bible, teaching it verse by verse. Oh, no! There will be great power in the preaching. It isn’t something a preacher can plan out. It isn’t something you can prepare for. It isn’t something you can organize.’

3. HUNGER FOR THE WORD. When God’s Spirit revives the church there’s a craving for the Word. The people can’t get enough! It’s a ‘dangerous’ time for Pastors and teachers – they can get worn out! 1 PETER Ch 2 v1 speaks of this great hunger for the word: ‘As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the word.’ Most of us will have seen a new born babe that’s breast fed who gets a whiff of mum’s milk. It’s like a bloodhound!

Titus Coan was used by God in Hawaii when revival came from 1835 to 1840. He said that a mark of the revival was the tremendous hunger for God’s word. The town of Hilo swelled to ten times its original size growing from 1,000 people to 10,000. This was due to people moving in from outlining areas so they could attend church and hear God’s word.

People really listen as if for eternity with bated breath. George Whitefield described the scene at Olney in Buckinghamshire in 1739: ‘Though it rained all the time, yet the people stood very attentive and patient. All, I really believe, felt, as well as heard the Word, and one was so pricked in the heart, and convinced of sin, that I scarce ever saw the like instance. The Word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword.’

This is reminiscent of an occasion recorded in NEHEMIAH Ch 8: 3 ‘[Ezra] read it [the Book of the Law of Moses] aloud from daybreak until noon…in the presence of the men; women, and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.’

Today we talk about short attention spans and so on, yet when the latest Harry Potter book comes out thousands of younger and older people read it through in one sitting! Ah, but when God’s Spirit works there’s a tremendous appetite for the Word of God, and we can’t put it down as it were!

4. AWESOME WORSHIP: After God delivered the Israelites from the threat of Pharaoh through the miracle Red Sea crossing, the people celebrated by singing: EXODUS Ch 15 v 1-2 ‘Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.’
When God’s revives His people He revives their tongues too – in singing! Thomas Payne says: ‘The ministry of song has played a very important part in most spiritual revivals, and might have been tenfold greater had this gift been better appreciated and more fully consecrated to the service of God.’
In a revival in Lowestoft, England in the 1920’s worship was awesome: ‘”O the singing!” people have said again and again as they tried to describe how the sound flooded out of the churches and into the streets.’
Again during revival in Borneo in 1973 it was testified that: ‘Somehow the singing was different. There was something beautiful, real and sweet about it.’

5. PERSECUTION: Persecution is a terrible thing and yet repeatedly throughout the history of the church it has become a tool for revival, to purify the saints. “The apostle was cruelly and seriously beaten they took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and {then} released them” (Acts 5:40). Persecution brings boldness to believers.

Spiritual Explosion in china- it has trebled (Communist revolution in 1949; Three Self Movement in 1954)

6. OPPOSITION: When revival comes, it is immediately followed by Satan’s opposition. The healing of lame servant as a great challenge to the great adversary, thrown into prison, commanded to cease preaching ( Acts 4)

7. MARTYRDOM: The 1^st martyr was Stephen (Acts 8:54-60). His martyr proved only a signal for further advance. The martyrdom of Stephen led to the evangelization of all Judea and Samaria, to the founding of a mission church in Antioch and to the worldwide propagation of the gospel. “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church. The law of missionary works is increased through suffering”

8. SOCIAL IMPACT. What a world of difference revival makes to the Church. And at the same we can say what a difference it makes in the world! There is a real impact that is witnessed as a result of revival. ‘Ours is an age of style over substance. Many think that revival means promotion, slick advertising, charismatic leadership, and emotional preaching. There may be a big show, but what is the end result--the fruit? Heaven-sent revival is seen in the long-term, life changing effect of the Gospel.’ Anon.
In the Welsh revival of 1904 this eyewitness report recorded concerning the ponies that worked in the coalmines: ‘The horses are terribly puzzled. A manager said to me. “The haulers are some of the very lowest. They have driven their horses by obscenity and kicks. Now they can hardly persuade the horses to start working, because there is no obscenity and no kicks.’” There was a quick re-education programme needed for the poor ponies!
Of the revival impact in Borneo in 1973 it was said simply that: ‘The trees still have oranges.’ In other words children no longer stole them as they were used to do.
When revival broke out in Saskatoon Saskatchewan, Canada in Oct 1971 we’re told that: ‘Criminals were… confessing their sins and giving themselves up to the police. Restitution was common. People paid long overdue bills. Some businesses opened new accounts to account for the conscience money being paid to them. Those who cheated at restaurants or hotels returned to pay their full bill. Stolen goods were returned.’

CONCLUSION:

We are living in a time of church history when revival is not a luxury but a necessity. Revival delays because prayer decays. Let’s repair the broken altar of our prayer life so that the fire of God may again fall on us. Then every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Christ is Lord ( I Kings 18:38-39). Ask the Lord of the harvest and Revival for hunger and thirst for the Word of God. “A Passion for Souls” just as John Knox said “ Lord, Give me Scotland or I die”. However be prepared for suffering, persecution, opposition and even martyrdom.

HOSANNA

TO BAN OR NOT TO BAN-DA VINCI CODE

TO BAN OR NOT TO BAN

I have been following the battle for the banning of the DA VINCI CODE and on the eve of the release of this film world wide I would like to say my part. One of the unique qualities of Jesus Christ during His life on earth was His ability to be silent in the face of false accusation. (In fact false accusation was the ONLY way that they could nail Him to the Cross, in order to fulfill God's eternal plan of salvation for all humanity). I believe this is the stance that all Christians require to take. After all Christian means 'little Christ' and the very title indicates that we need to emulate Him. WHAT WOULD JESUS DO if He was here on day of the release of the Da Vinci Code? I believe He would stand silent.
He does not need to defend Himself or prove anything to anyone. He is GOD and He is Truth. No one andnothing can change that. Psalm 2 in the Bible says - Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing...against the Lord and against His Christ?...He who sits in the heavens shall laugh. The LORD shall hold them in derision....Now therefore, be wise O kings, be instructed you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son lest He be angry.' As Christians, our feelings rage when we see our Lord maligned and ridiculed, and it is natural for us to run to His defense. But we must rise from the natural to the supernatural. The Bible says that the 'reason' He suffered silently, while committing Himself to Him who judges righteously, was to teach us, His followers, to do the same. So down through theAges they have thrown us to the lions, burned us at the stake, imprisoned us in solitary confinement and tortured us with unspeakable means for our faith, yet out victory comes in suffering in silence because He taught us how.
And didn't He rise from the dead and have the last laugh over His enemies? That is also the end result for all those who put their trust in Him. That is the reason He is the one Man in all of history who has influenced the world more widely and deeply than any other. So I write to all Christians everywhere...the Da Vinci Code will pass, and many more attempts will be made to disprove Jesus and His divinity, but He and we will have the last laugh. So stand still and see the salvation of our God. We live in time and space, and so we get impatient and restless, but He lives in eternity and even through this He is working out His eternal plans. Doesn't it say in Proverbs 15:4 in the Bible, 'The Lord has made all things for Himself, yes. Even the wicked for the day of doom?' The Da Vinci Code is just another book, but Jesus Christ is not just another God!

-AUTHOR UNKNOWN