Chapter 6
(effective 4-12-2010)
The Tempest in the Day of the Whirlwind.
Revival is in the Heart of Christ.
The King of love, my Shepherd is.
!!! May The Fire Fall !!!
Advance the Gospel !!
Revival: Plant It In Your Mind!!
Purpose It In Your Heart!!!
Are you sanctified, separated, and serving?
Revival is God’s Finger Pointed Right At Me !!!!!
(Wilbert L. McCleod)
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“Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.” (Revelation 5:13)
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“And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” (1 John 5:20)
All That We Have is His.
“If America is headed to committing suicide, it’s going to be your business and mine to see that it doesn’t. Beloved, the kind of people that this country needs are the kind of people who are sitting in these pews listening to me preach. Every church in this country ought to have people like you and me in it being instructed and led by the Holy Spirit and by the Word of God.
God has a right after He has saved us to tell us how to live and what to do. And that’s why you and I come together to live for His glory, we’re trying to do what He tells us to do, and we’re trying to give all that we have in His service and to His glory.” (Carl McIntire)
“Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.”
(Psalm 61:2)
Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
By faith on heaven’s table land;
A higher plane than I have found,
Lord plant my feet on higher ground.
I’m pressing on the upward way,
New heights I’m gaining every day,
Still praying as I’m onward bound,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
I want to live above the world,
Tho’ Satan’s darts at me are hurled;
For faith has caught the joyful sound,
The song of saints on higher ground.
(from a Christian hymn)
“The heavens are higher than the earth. So are my ways higher than your ways.” (Isaiah 55:9)
God Is Expecting Much From Us.
Nations and societies change when the Gospel is preached.
Humility is pride in God. Human pride is God in humility
Professing is not practicing. Little fire in the first, all fire in the second.
"But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:6-7)
“God wants you to serve and to serve you must be sanctified. You can’t get to the second part until you get to the first.” (Jack Hyles) “Sanctified” means that you are set apart for the will and purpose of God. Those who are sanctified are committed to the truths of God and are witnesses to His power and grace.
The psalmist asked,
“Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?"
(Psalm 85:6)
Your Calling Ought To Be Sure.
Some people say they are called to be an evangelist when they really need to call an evangelist to get themselves straight. You can’t smell like Philip Morris, look like a hippie, wear your hair like Mr. T or whatever, have a double 5 O’clock shadow, and convince this old boy that you’re called to be an evangelist. You haven’t even accepted the call to be a Christian.
Don’t say you’re saved without being willing to act like it: let it show on the outside - what’s in your heart ought be reflected upon your very face.
I can deal with the holier than thous, and the kinder than thous, but the humbler than thous -- now that one frosts me. They can really be sneaky. They can humble right in under the fence the moment you aren‘t looking.
Lord, make me humble but never tell me you’ve done it.
Moses was called by God to begin a revival…
“In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagle’s wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now, therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine: And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” (Exodus 19:1-6.)
Slight not what is near to aim at what is far.
(Euripides)
“When we build, let us think we build forever.”
(John Ruskin)
God is expecting something of you and me.
“God’s people are regenerated, born again, washed in the blood, and ought to be responsible, righteous, godly people. This tomfoolery where we try to see how close to the world we can get and how much like them we can become and if we can go to all the places they go, and do all the things they do -- cut it out and get back to being a responsible, righteous, godly and holy people.” (Dr. Shelton Smith)
The need of this hour…
A modest but fully committed band of truly Christian people whose meditations are sweet, whose ministry is afresh with flame and oil, who have kept their charge and will take up a parable.
Pilgrims, strangers, and aliens -- gentle but unashamed and separated men of a goodly heritage -- who will weep with singleness of heart in God’s ear. These will want dearly to be used of Him in the great expectation that He will meet the desperate need of our nation for a Holy Ghost revival.
Revivalists ought stay the narrow course, be wholly given to Him, keep the revival close to your praying heart at all times, be filled with and stirred by the Spirit, believing that it will happen as surely as night turns into day, as the darkness gives way to the dawn, as Hell must yield forthwith to all-sufficient and infinite grace.
Resolute To Do His Will.
“Abundant living begins where most of us are and helps us advance day by day in Christian truth and experience until abundant living is fully realized. It helps us acquire mental and spiritual maturity so desperately needed in this darkened world. Through it we may discover the real Christ and become His devoted followers, resolve to think His thoughts and do His will.” (E. Stanley Jones)
Fires of Renewal and Revival
“For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?” (Esther 8:6)
“When I look back on the processes of history, when I survey the genesis of America, I see this written over every page: that the nations are renewed from the bottom, not from the top…” (Woodrow Wilson)
“In the past we have had a light which flickered, in the present we have a light which flames, and in the future there will be a light which shines over all the land and sea.” [Winston Churchill]
Can you give to the revival… your blood, your sweat, your toil, your tears, your all ?
“Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.” (Jeremiah 6:16)
“No man cared for my soul,“ cried the psalmist David.
(Psalm 142:4)
“Then there is the difference of this day toward lost souls. People do not care anymore. Oh the difference of this day. Oh the carelessness. No one seems to be concerned over the lost.” (Lee Roberson)
Revival is a new beginning of obedience to God.
(Charles G. Finney)
“Many Christians have been praying for soul-winning power and all the time remaining powerless, wondering what was the matter, when God simply had His ears closed against their cries because of their unclean hearts. Sin harbored -- just holding it fast and unwilling to surrender it -- how contemptible in the sight of God.” (Dr. Len G. Brighton)
A true Christian is neither ashamed of the Gospel nor a shame to the Gospel.
“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”
Everywhere a Witness.
“Seek the peace of the city whither have I caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.” (Jeremiah 29:7)
“Wherever the Christian is, he has a responsibility for the welfare of those around him: to demonstrate a Christ-like life before them, to pray for them, to share his faith with them, and to manifest Christian love toward them.” (from Points of Emphasis)
“I think we’re trying to get people to witness who just don’t love Jesus. But you will fall fresh in love with the Lamb of God when you think about Him as the One who hung between Heaven and earth for you. Then you’ll be a walking talking witness for Him.” (John N. Hamblin)
“Make up your mind to act decidedly and take the consequences. No good is ever done in this world by hesitation.” (Thomas Henry Huxley)
We need to decide to have revival and not look back.
So many passages in our Bible speak of yielding ourselves to God, praying for the Father's will and walking humbly before God but yet how many Christians truly understand what they are reading? We are to yield, as William Cowper has put it, "what most I prize" to God. (Author unknown)
“The height of your accomplishments will equal the depth of your conviction.” (William Scolovino)
“For I am ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”
“I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me.”
(Philippians 4:13)
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. (John 15:1-5)
“Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundant above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worth in us.” (Ephesians 2:20)
Our moral standards have evaporated…
“Ladies and gentlemen, do you realize how we’ve degraded ourselves, how our moral standards have evaporated? Do you understand how all this crime and corruption and dope are coming out of the hearts of men? The heart of man is desperately wicked. It’s deceitful, who can know it? You just look at the crime and the dope and the sex, the abortion, and the homosexuality, and you can see it. There is no fear of God before our faces, there’s no recognition that there’s a penalty for this sin. And we’re in a situation right now, ladies and gentlemen, where this country needs to confess, repent, and turn from its wicked ways.” (Carl McIntire)
“You and I, my fellow citizens, need to be strong in our faith that all nations, under God, will reach the goal of peace with justice. May we be ever unswerving in devotion to principle. Confident but humble with power, diligent in pursuit of the nations’ great goals.” (Dwight D. Eisenhower)
Cannon to the right of them
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
(The Charge of the Light Brigade, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson)
If we’re going to save America, we have to get America saved.
The King of glory passes on His way.
Alleluia!! Alleluia!!
“The truth is incontrovertible. Panic may resent it, ignorance may deride it, malice may distort it, but there it is.” (Winston Churchill)
Christ Crucified: is What We Preach.
Religion has nothing to do with Jesus Christ, anymore than reading a comic book will win someone out of Hell and into Heaven. We preach from the Word of God Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead, the salvation of the sinning soul. If you don’t, then you need to repent, humble yourself, and stand before God to seek His face, and receive power to be used of Him to spread His Gospel and win souls for Him.
King of the Jews. (Matthew 2:1-2)
“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem. Saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen this star in the east, and are come to worship Him.”
King of Creation. (Psalm 47:7; 95:3,6)
[]“For the Lord most high is terrible; He is King over all the earth.”
[]“For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.”
[]“O Come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.”
King of redemption. (Psalm 74:12; Colossians 1:13,14)
[]“For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.”
[]“Giving thanks unto the Father … Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us unto the kingdom of His dear Son.”
King of all the ages. (Psalm 10:16)
[]“The Lord is King is for ever and ever.”
King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God. (1 Timothy 1:17)
“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever amen.”
King of saints. (Revelation 15:3)
[]“Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty, just, and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.”
My King. (Psalm 84:3)
“…My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even Thine altars, O Lord of hosts, My King and My God.”
King of kings. (1 Timothy 6:15)
“…in His times, He shall show Who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; Whom no man hath seen, nor can see; to Whom be honor and power everlasting, amen.”
“Seek ye the Lord, and ye shall live, … ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth… They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.“ (Amos 5:6,7,10)
Jesus was never part of the milquetoast and puffery crowd.
He was a fundamentalist from the get go.
Seek Revival, my friend, beginning with you and me.
Invite the man that loves thee to a feast,
but let alone thine enemy.
(Hesiod)
“The main thing is, find out what Jesus wants, then say, “Lord, I will go anywhere You want me to go, do anything You want me to do, be anything You want me to be and say anything You want me to say, no matter whom it hurts or angers. You call the shots, and I will obey.” God doesn’t have a lot of people like that but He uses people like that.” (Dr. Curtis Hutson, Properly Placed Priorities)
To Jesus everyone is poor and sick. He established no charity foundations, He never pushed a civil rights bill, He had no target group, He kept no file of prospect cards, He held no support groups, and He met all men at the same place - the cross of Calvary.
Every true Christian should love the things that are clean honest and good. We are God-fearing people and reflect His holy name. In your home show the things that you love, that you delight in. Have a clean mind, clean life, clean home. We are to regulate ourselves, having respect for ourselves and for others. We are good revival material.
Lord, show me the way to go, tell me how.
No revival ever took place anywhere on earth which did not include the sacrifice of faithful men and women.
What the Most Virulent Enemy of Revival Looks Like.
“There is no worldly pride in obeying God, only contentment and gratefulness.“ People who have no values, no standard, do not want to hear from those of us that do. They’ll flaunt their own “religion” but will castigate another who would want to share his Bible and his faith. We who do so are called bitter (about what it is never said), old-fashioned, Bible-thumpers, fanatics, even lunatics. They say we wear our hearts on our sleeves, don’t listen, sow discord, and are unkind. They love to play tricks and to make us look silly in public -- to put us in our place. They gossip and are full of deceit. Many of them believe in their (strangely unique) hearts that they are doing God a service by tearing us down. They recruit others to join their gang. That’s just the way the world is today. But our enemies have not changed in character over the centuries, and neither has God, and neither has His Holy Word, and neither has the promise of Holy Ghost revival.
“But if thou shalt indeed obey ,,, and do all that I speak (God speaks); then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.” (Exodus 23:22)
“And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect.” (Circumspect means “wary, suspicious, cautious“). (Exodus 23:13)
Bite off more than you can chew
Then chew it.
Plan more than you can do,
Then do it.
“Will the sin of the nation stir us? We are a part of this day and time. We have a job to do. We ought to be stirred in our souls against sin and condemn it in every sermon. In every way possible. Let people know your attitude.” (Lee Roberson)
“His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his own gain, from his quarter.
Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.”
(Isaiah 56:10--12)
The watchman and the shepherds in Israel had given away to selfishness and debauchery. They had abandoned their responsibilities towards God’s people and, instead of giving warning, they were blind to the impending danger. They were “dumb dogs,” unable to bark. Instead of watching they were dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. [L-A-Z-Y] Accordingly the Lord gives an invitation to the beasts of the field and the forest, metaphorically representing Gentile powers, to come and devour. (See verses Isaiah 56:9-12.)
All whom the Lord makes responsible to act as shepherds over His flock need to guard themselves against gradual decline from their duty and against either lording it over their charge allotted to them, or becoming possessed of sordid aims to acquire filthy lucre. (See 1 Peter 5:2-3.)
(W. E. Vine, Isaiah, Prophecies, Promises, Warnings.)
If well thou hast begun, go on foreright;
It is the end that crowns us, not the fight.
(Robert Herrick)
“If we were the New Testament normal, we would not need revival. Revival is not the normal. The New testament presents the normal. The reason -- and as far as I am concerned, the only reason -- that we need revival is to get back to the normal New Testament Christian life, as Christ offered it, as the disciples apprehended it, as the early church lived it.” (Armin Gesswein)
Lord, Help us to live for you!!
At Calvary.
Mercy there was great and grace was free;
Pardon there was multiplied to me.
There my burdened soul found liberty,
At Calvary.
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Years I spent in vanity and pride,
Caring not my Lord was crucified.
Knowing not it was for me He died
On Calvary.
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By God’s Word at last my sin I learned;
Then I trembled at the law I’d spurned,
Till my guilty soul imploring turned
To Calvary.
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Now I’ve given Jesus everything;
Now I gladly own Him as my King;
Now my raptured soul can only sing
Of Calvary.
O the love that drew salvation’s plan !!
O the grace that bro’t it down to man !!
O the mighty gulf that God did span
At Calvary
Revival. Do It Again, and Again, and Again.
Father, Lead Me Day By Day.
Lord, thank you for Thy goodness and Thy care. Lord, help us to know our blessings of this day, remind us of the opportunities and the responsibilities, prepare us and provide. Help us to stand true in these days of darkness, apostasy, and departure. Give us a heart for revival. Give us a heart for the souls of men. In Jesus’ name and for His blessed sake alone. Amen.
Today, I stand committed to pray more and to pray more passionately, to pray without ceasing and without fainting for Revival in America, and around the world.
The Problem. “The Price of Success is Less Than You Think.”
The above is an advertisement in the newspaper, for some type of schooling, I think. Can you sense for a second that the advertiser, for its very survival, needs to appeal to this dark side of its consumers? How terribly rotten the world is if this slogan appeals to our sense of democracy. Are we not just confirming what everyone already knows -- that we live in a society that settles for mediocrity if it pays well?
Success ought to cost a man something -- if not an arm and a leg then how about just a few tears, a little toil, some blood, and a wipe of sweat on the brow?
We do not seek excellence today, we don’t have dreams and powerful driving energy; we have the moment to account for, the pride of life and the lust of the eyes to foster, to be the evolutionary survivor among the fittest, or the fittest among the survivors. We hock everything toward those pursuits, and prostitute ourselves to the con men of religion who tell us we’re Okay after all and to hell with virtue. We ought not buy into this great lie.
The Head-in-the-Sand Gospel.
“Few Christians are … willing to admit that this same Satan can be - or worse, might be -- involved in their churches, much less in their homes, or personal lives. Believers are wont to quote glibly, ‘Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world…’ (1 John 4:4) and continue forward in a head-in-the-sand manner with regard to Satan’s access to the saint and his activities within the local churches of our day.” (Jeff Farnham)
“Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure that there is one rascal less in the world.” (Thomas Carlyle)
“There is a vast difference between what the Christianity we see about us today and the Christianity that you find in the New Testament.” (William MacDonald)
Obedience to God pays, disobedience doesn’t.
Plan A, Plan B, and then …
Since you got saved, the Devil knows that his Plan A failed. He knows he lost you forever because you are eternally secure. But he’s still not done with you. Though he knows he cannot have your soul, he kicks in plan B. Now he goes after your mind and body to corrupt you with carnality and worldliness. If successful, this enables him to embarrass God and neutralize your testimony to nothingness. (author unknown)
Help us to have the courage to embrace unpopular truths, to trudge the unpopular course, to bring to bear on man the unpopular realm.
Too Long Forgotten.
Everything we do anymore we do out of convenience, there seems so little sacrifice in the hearts of Americans anymore. We love what’s easy and eschew anything hard or negative.
We have as a result disinherited the cross, “sanitized” the Bible, ripped the churches from their Biblical moorings, sweetened the Gospel, and mellowed the precious and shed blood. Palatability of everything is the moral order of the day. We have cried “foul” to all things holy and right. We have forgotten God --- the infallible Word, the stain of sin, the Lamb of God, the cross of Calvary, the gift of grace, the indwelling Spirit, the day of redemption, the blood of atonement, the wrath of God, the lake of fire, the Book of life, the return of Christ.
Forgive us and revive our thoughts, O Lord, that we might always say “this we do in remembrance of You.”
"In Biblical days prophets were astir while the world was asleep. Today the world is astir while churches and synagogues are busy with trivialities." (Abraham Joshua Herschel)
The Revival Mind: How And What it Thinks.
“But we have the mind of Christ.”
(See 1 Corinthians 2:16; Romans 11:34.)
(I borrowed some from Henry Morris. Days of Praise)
A. The natural man. “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14.
(1) A reprobate mind. “And even as they (the ungodly) did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.” (Romans 1:28) “Reprobate” means a morally unprincipled person.
(2) A carnal mind. “… The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:7,8) “Carnal” means not spiritual -- worldly or earthly.
(3) A defiled mind. “…Unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.” (Titus 1:15) “Defiled” means to make filthy or dirty, to corrupt, profane, desecrate.
(4) A vain or futile mind. “This I say therefore and testify in the lord that ye henceforth walk not as other gentiles walk in the vanity futility of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of god through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.” (Ephesians 4:17,18) “Vain” means not successful, futile, hollow.
(5) A weary mind. (Hebrews 12:3)
B. The born again believer. “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2)
(1) A mind of love. (Matthew 22:37)
(2) A right mind. (Mark 5:15)
(3) A readiness of mind. (Acts 17:11; 20:19)
(4) An undoubting mind. (Luke 12:29)
(5) A humility of mind. (Acts 20:19)
(6) A renewed mind. (Romans 12:3)
(7) A persuaded mind. (Romans 14:5)
(8) A fervent mind. (2 Corinthians 7:7)
(9) A willing mind. (2 Corinthians 8:12)
(10) A lowliness of mind. (Philippians 2:3)
(11) A kindness of mind. (Colossians 3:12)
(12) A humbleness of mind. (Colossians 3:12)
(13) A mind of wisdom. (Revelation 17:9)
(14) A pure mind. (2 Peter 3:1)
(15) A sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)
(16) A servant’s mind. (Philippians 2:5,6,8)
The New Breed of Christians.
“Oft hath even a whole city reaped the evil of a bad man.” (Hesiod)
“A Christian is a man who feels repentance on a Sunday, for what he did on Saturday, and is going to do on Monday.” (Thomas Russell Ybarra)
“Not always actions show the man; we find who does a kindness is not therefore kind.” (Alexander Pope)
I sometimes wonder if the Christians I know today ever do anything out of a pure heart. They always seem up to something, yet never going anywhere to do it. They are so much like the world. Used to be that the world wouldn‘t take the Christian, so hated was he. But now the world has so many Christians wanting to come into it that they hold auditions.
We have a new breed of people in the churches today. They spend their time catching people instead of winning people.
“Is not a patron, my lord, one who looks with unconcern on a man struggling for life in the water, and when he has reached ground encumbers him with help?” (Johnson) (A patron is a common wretch who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery.)
Hypocrites Don’t Love the Word of God.
“And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)
Some of the finest self-proclaimed Christians in my town hide their Bible in their computer and forget about it. Or they hide it under their bed or in the rack in the front of their pews.
I make no apology when I say a Bible is to be out in the open where everyone knows you have it, that you live by it, that you love it, that you eat it, that you share it, that it’s part of the genuine Christian persona, that you’ll even die by it. I don’t mean just any old Bible, I’ll die for one only and that’s the King James Version. Many have already died by all those other versions -- died spiritually.
There are people in my family who are avid churchgoers, who go to Bible studies, who do church work (of some kind), who socialize at the church, but who are wholly indignant when I try to give them a Bible. You would think that I’m trying to give them a nuclear bomb. And they act at times as if they see themselves as being much better Christians than the real Christians who read the Bible and live their lives according to it.
“Give not that which is holy to the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” (Matthew 7:6.
Don’t offer anything to people who can’t appreciate its real value.
Anticipating Revival.
“Let those who sneer at revivals find something that has produced a blessing and benefit equal to that of a revival of religion before they open their big mouths.” [Billy Sunday]
Please pray for Revival, in our homes, our schools, our churches, our nation .. And beginning in our own hearts.
With prayer and supplications, continue in personal soul cleansing, and alert your fellow yolk people that Revival is in the air.
Safely Onward.
The Christian walk is a walk of daily submission-- daily yielding ourselves to God and with humility look to Him for strength, laying at His feet our desires and receiving in exchange His desire for us. We need not fear tomorrow...only trust in the Lord and He will see us through every day and will guide us safely onward. "What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (1Cor 6:19-20)
“For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." [1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23]
"Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” (James 4:10)
The Open Door.
“Withal praying for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: that I may make manifest, as I ought to speak.” (Colossians 4:3,4)
Remember that God’s full revelation is the Bible. There is no longer any mystery, Christ is Lord, He gave His life for His people in payment for their sins, and now sits on the right hand of God in heaven.
Christ stands by for you to open the gate that He may come in. And when you do and He does, your gate will turn into a pearl, your body into a temple, your heart into a treasure, your soul into an anchor, your mind into a spirit of soundness, and your life into an eternal reality. [author unknown]
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear My voice and open the door, I will come into him… “ (Revelations 3:20) If you look at this passage, you’ll see it is a picture of Jesus standing outside of the latter-day church (of Laodicea), knocking and pleading to be allowed to reenter.
The purpose of an open door is thus to preach the Gospel of Christ, and to speak the mystery of Christ.
Doors of opportunity (testimony) are opened by the Lord in answer to prayer.
There are three criteria for keeping the door open:
Having little strength of your own and therefore relying on God’s.
Jealously guarding the integrity of God’s Word.
And upholding the name of Christ as Creator, Savior, and coming King.
God Wants Excellence, to Go Beyond the Norm.
“What shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits toward me?” (Psalms 116:12)
Today we live in a world in which mediocrity is not only common, it is celebrated. What a disturbing thought that most people seem to be happy to find the lowest common denominator and attach themselves to it. On the contrary, we know God is pleased with excellent work, since His Word states in Psalms 16:3 that His delight is in the excellent. We must … then go beyond that expectation.” (Baptist Bread)
“Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival.” (author unknown)
With God’s Help, We Too Can Help.
Kindness goes a long ways lots o’ times when it ought t’ stay home. [Kin Hubbard]
“In its deepest sense love is the perquisite of Christianity. To feel toward enemies what others feel toward friends; to descend as rain and sunbeams on the unjust as well as the just; to minister to those who are unprepossessing and repellants, while others minister to the attractive and winsome; to be always the same, not subject to moods or fancies or whims; to suffer long; to take no account of evil; to rejoice with the truth; to bear, believe, hope, and endure all things, never to fail -- this is love, and such love is the achievement of the Holy Spirit. We cannot achieve it ourselves.” (F. B. Meyer)
“Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.”
Union Admiral David G. Farragut,
at the Battle of Mobile Bay, Alabama.
Will You Be a Committed Christian?
Will you grow in the knowledge of the Lord? Will you become stable in doctrine and decisive on matters of spiritual importance to God? Will you seek His face and receive His direction? Will you live for and honor Him? Will you act like a Christian should act?
I believe that if there were a band of true Christians bent on winning souls to Christ, willing to go out tirelessly for the Gospel, bent on pleasing God in what they did, God would not bring judgment upon America. (Jack Hyles)
What are you doing to save America (passing internet slop all day long to all your friends doesn’t count one inch -- that‘s hurting America, not helping her.)
“We are hypocritical if we talk about world evangelism and are not actively involved in personal evangelism.” (Clarence Sexton) How many souls have you won to Christ?
“Never esteem anything as of advantage to thee that shall make thee break the word or lose the self-respect.” (author unknown)
Revival Begins With Pleading.
Moody said, “When I read the Bible, God talks with me. And when I pray, I talk to Him.” Then Moody added, “I need to do most of the listening.”
The person who has a burden for souls should have time every day that he spends alone with God reading the Bible and praying . John 15:5 says, “He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.”
The people of God can influence the choices and decisions of this generation, we can do it by pleading -- praying with passion to God that he would bring Revival, Holy Ghost Revival… saturate our own hearts, our homes, our schools, our churches, our government, indeed all the world with a heart for Revival !!
We Want What’s Legitimately Ours.
We want our churches back. We want the backsliders back. We want our children back. We want our government back. We want the scoffers turned, the heretics sent packing, and the hypocrites to look in the mirror and say “I have sinned.”
We want what’s legitimately ours, though we be pilgrims and possess nothing. And bring holiness back, rip the stony hearts from our flesh -- restore to us a heart of flesh. Create in us a clean heart, and bring us refreshed, eager again to Zion.
God Save America!! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
No one and Nothing Can Stop Revival.
“The simple truth is, mankind is insatiably wicked but no more wicked than he has been since the Fall. The truth is, there is great tendency toward spiritual decline and unbelief, but this is not essentially different from what it has always been. In Bible times it was so. It was so in all the ages of great revival. Wickedness, apostasy, and all the distractions in all ages have never prevented great revivals when God’s people paid God’s price, and they can’t prevent revival now.” (John R. Rice)
“He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” (Psalm 126:6)
The Language of Soul Winning !!!!!
We need to take the Gospel to the world with white-hot intensity. We need to turn the flame up high.
Read the account of the lame beggar at chapter 3 of the Book of Acts.
“Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” (Acts 3:6)
“ … There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby ye must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
“ … Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold … but with the precious blood of Christ, as a Lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Peter 1:18,19)
“And all the people saw him walking and praising God.” (Acts 3:9)
The Revivalist’s Oath of Office.
“Business as usual” and “not in vain” will be the spirit that will sustain this Revival. The higher the price, the more determined I am to set out on the Lord’s work. And I love to flaunt my determination, especially at the ravening wolves along the way. I really do, Jesus is on my side, what can they do?
Devoted to His Cause.
“Revival should be our prayer, our passion, and our priority.
It (revival) should be the normal state of things in every church. What should be, could be and will be -- when we believe God as we should and give ourselves devotedly to His cause.” (Sermons on Great Preaching on Revival)
I have found in life that for each one who admires you for not compromising, there are a hundred who hate you because you won’t. Maybe a thousand people will give you the boot, but remember there are many occasions where you are the one giving the thousand the boot. In the Bible, that is more the rule than the exception.
We Must Be Prepared to Take Great Risks.
People of conscience must dare to become involved for the cause of righteousness. This means risking criticism, risking some sort of reprisal, risking estrangement from friends, and risking actual physical danger. But much more often it will call for initiative and time and hard work in sharing information to support just causes, in enlisting support on the part of concerned individuals, and helping people to see the moral and spiritual values at stake. Christians must become more fervently devoted to the Gospel of Christ, to make known its saving message, and interpret its ethical message -- for the cause of righteousness requires persons saved by the grace of God and committed to the principles of Jesus Christ.” [Points of Emphasis]
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