Hello and welcome! We continue
with Spring Camp Meeting 2011.
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We have a
wonderful audience here.
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We have many from different
parts of the United States.
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Is anyone here from
outside the United States?
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Anybody? Yes! We
have a couple here.
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Another over there.
Very good; praise the Lord!
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How many are from southern
Illinois? Raise your hand.
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Oh, a few of you.
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How many outside
of southern Illinois?
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The majority of you.
Welcome every one of you.
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We know that you'll be blessed
because we've been praying
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for God's blessing. And
the speakers have been praying.
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The singers have been preparing.
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And we know that God has
a blessing in store for us.
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So we hope that you will prepare
yourselves to be blessed.
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During this program we
are going to have a wonderful
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message in song
by Sr. Tammy Chance.
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I will tell you
about that in a moment,
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but first let me tell you
about our speaker for this hour.
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It is Pastor Jay Rosario.
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That's the way you say
it in Spanish: Rosario.
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In English it's Rosario.
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But he is a pastor
now in central California
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and he will be bringing
a message to us on revival.
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Actually the
title of his message is:
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Helping Churches
Experience Revival.
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Helping Churches
Experience Revival.
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This is part one.
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That means there's
a... at least a part two.
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Very good; you're well
aware of what's going on.
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So this is part one. We hope
you will jot down some notes.
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And also not only
that it will be just notes
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and something you
say "Amen" to today
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but that you will put
into practice these principles
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that you will hear so
that there can be revival...
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not only in the churches
but for us as individuals.
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Amen? The music
you are about to hear
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is by Sr. Tammy
Chance who has a wonderful
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sweet spirit about her and
you will see that in the music.
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Uh, she will be
singing He Will Carry You.
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Before she sings I would like
to ask you to stand for prayer.
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Stand for prayer and then
after prayer Sr. Tammy Chance
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will lead us in song. And
the next voice you will hear
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after this beautiful message
in song will be the voice
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of Pastor Jay
Rosario. Let us pray together.
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Our loving heavenly Father,
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we come to You in Jesus' name
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and we ask, Lord, for
a blessing from heaven.
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We pray, Lord, that
as we hear this music
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that it will elevate our
hearts to Your throne of grace
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and You will lead us, Lord,
into holy communion with You.
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And also, Lord, as we hear
the message You have for us
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through Your
servant, Pastor Rosario,
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we pray that Your Holy
Spirit will be upon him.
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Use him mightily, Lord,
to speak to Your children.
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We pray that Your
children here will be blessed
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and Your children
wherever they are in the world.
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We ask for these things in
Jesus' holy and blessed name,
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Amen. Thank you,
you may be seated.
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There is no problem too big
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God cannot solve it.
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There is no mountain too tall
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He cannot move it.
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And there is no storm too dark
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God cannot calm it.
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There is no sorrow too deep
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He cannot soothe it.
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If He carried the
weight of the world
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upon His shoulders,
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I know my brother that He
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will carry you.
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If He carried the
weight of the world
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upon His shoulders,
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I know my sister that He
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will carry you.
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He said: "Come to Me
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all who are weary
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and I will give
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you rest. "
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There is no problem too big
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God cannot solve it.
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There is no mountain too tall
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He cannot move it.
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And there is no storm too dark
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God cannot calm it.
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There is no sorrow too deep
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He cannot soothe it.
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If He carried the
weight of the world
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upon His shoulders,
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I know my brother that He
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will carry you.
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If He carried the
weight of the world
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upon His shoulders,
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I know my sister that He
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will carry you.
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I know my
brother, I know my sister,
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I know that He
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will carry you through.
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He will carry you.
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Amen.
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Hello everyone. Hello.
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Thank you for that beautiful
music. Wasn't that beautiful?
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Amen. Have you been
enjoying yourselves?
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Amen. What an
exciting time to spend together
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with people from
different parts of the country
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and different parts of the world
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to talk about the most
important person in the world.
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Amen? Amen. And that
is the Lord Jesus Christ.
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It is a privilege
to be with you all.
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I bring you greetings from
sunny and beautiful California.
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It's good to be in the Midwest.
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And I see that you
have been somewhat generous
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sharing a little bit
of your weather challenges
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even all the way to the West.
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I just heard last week
that we had a... there was a
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tornado seen, an
alert, in northern California.
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Kind of a crazy world we
are living in today, right?
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We know that it's only
going to get more extraordinary.
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As long as we're on
the same boat with Jesus
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it's all good. Amen? Amen.
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Well I'm excited to
be here... I'm humbled
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to be rubbing shoulders
with such amazing presenters
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and such an amazing audience.
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We have an exciting
presentation this morning
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entitled Helping
Churches Experience Revival.
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I believe this is a
relevant subject to all of us
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and I think it kind of
goes in harmony with the mission
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of the world-wide
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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We know that that's
one of the initiatives
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for the global church, and
that is revival and reformation
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here and now. So I'm
really excited about the message
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and I trust and pray it
will be a blessing to you all.
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Let's have prayer just to
make sure that the right speaker
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is here this morning. Amen?
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Not Jay Rosario
but the Holy Spirit.
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Just bow your
heads with me as we pray.
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Father, we rejoice
that You see beauty in us
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when at times we
don't and when others don't.
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And we come before
You right now humbled
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and at the same time,
Father, we're very excited
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at the potential that You give
to each and every one of us.
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We want to pray in a special way
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that You may hide
me behind the cross.
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We would see Jesus.
00:10:17.52\00:10:19.13
We do not want to hear
the philosophies or the
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perspectives of mortal man.
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We want to hear from an
infinite God. So please, Lord,
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we ask that You make tabernacle
with us in this moment
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that we may abide under
the shadow of the Almighty.
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That we may feel You close
and that we may be in close
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proximity to Your kingdom.
00:10:39.26\00:10:40.69
Bless us, we pray.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
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Revival. When
you think of revival
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what comes... what's the
first kind of images that comes
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to your mind... when
you think of revival?
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The Holy Spirit.
OK, anything else?
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Awake. Anything else?
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Change. OK.
00:11:00.01\00:11:02.20
Anything else? Renewal.
00:11:02.50\00:11:04.91
OK. Jumping up and getting
excited is what one of...
00:11:05.21\00:11:08.23
our singer says. And you're
totally welcome to do this
00:11:08.43\00:11:11.05
if you feel the Spirit moving.
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Just be mindful
of those around you.
00:11:13.60\00:11:15.76
So... Walking in the light.
00:11:16.79\00:11:18.27
So when we think of revival
there's so many different
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pictures that
come into our mind.
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One of the pictures
that I get into my mind is
00:11:22.19\00:11:23.75
somebody who is
on their death bed
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and who is at the brink of dying
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and then... you know
what this is, right?...
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revival takes place. Yeah.
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So the word revival
communicates a back to life.
00:11:37.80\00:11:41.64
Yeah? In fact,
the word re implies
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that there's a repetition.
00:11:44.63\00:11:46.27
And vival is in Spanish vida.
00:11:46.37\00:11:50.73
Right? You have this
word vida which basically
00:11:50.93\00:11:52.61
is associated
with the word life.
00:11:52.81\00:11:55.87
So the word revival is
really the coming back to life.
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And some churches can use
a little coming back to life,
00:12:01.03\00:12:05.62
Amen?
00:12:05.72\00:12:07.10
Actually, if I'm bold enough,
00:12:07.76\00:12:10.07
and I hope I don't get
stoned, but some churches
00:12:10.28\00:12:13.08
really don't need
revival... they just need vival!
00:12:13.18\00:12:16.28
Right? Because revival
is that you've been alive;
00:12:17.74\00:12:20.46
you've died. Revival... you
need to come back to life again.
00:12:20.66\00:12:23.51
But some churches
have never been alive.
00:12:23.71\00:12:25.54
They just need to live.
00:12:25.74\00:12:27.73
So we're going to talk a
little bit about revival.
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We're going to talk a little
bit about what is revival.
00:12:30.33\00:12:32.13
We're going to talk
about why do we need revival.
00:12:32.33\00:12:34.86
And we're going to
talk about what you can do
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as a lay person in your church
00:12:37.19\00:12:39.34
to bring a little revival
into your congregation. Amen?
00:12:39.54\00:12:42.66
Amen. And I hope
you're encouraged.
00:12:42.86\00:12:44.46
I remember a story...
a very interesting story.
00:12:44.77\00:12:47.27
I'm not sure if
this is true or not.
00:12:47.47\00:12:48.65
I hope it's true because if
it is it would be really good...
00:12:48.85\00:12:51.02
especially in this message.
00:12:51.22\00:12:52.24
Uh, the story is
told about an atheist man.
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I have a lot of good
friends who are atheist and, uh,
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this particular atheist man was
approached by many, many people
00:12:59.81\00:13:04.65
in the... from the
church down the street.
00:13:04.85\00:13:07.59
You have to understand
this town - this community - was
00:13:07.79\00:13:10.11
very small and everybody
knew that he was an atheist.
00:13:10.32\00:13:13.47
You know, the town has to be
very small if everybody knows
00:13:13.57\00:13:15.82
that you're an atheist.
00:13:15.92\00:13:16.96
So everybody
came... knocked on the door.
00:13:17.26\00:13:19.62
Everybody
dropped off literature.
00:13:19.82\00:13:21.31
Everybody invited him to church.
00:13:21.52\00:13:23.04
Everybody
invited him to concerts.
00:13:23.24\00:13:24.56
Everybody invited him to
vegetarian cooking classes.
00:13:24.76\00:13:26.57
You name it... they've done
it all, they're tried it all.
00:13:26.77\00:13:29.36
And everybody just
pretty much had written him off
00:13:29.56\00:13:32.71
as somebody who's absolutely
impossible. You need an army
00:13:32.91\00:13:35.77
to bring
conversion to this individual.
00:13:35.97\00:13:37.86
And one particular
situation took place that really
00:13:38.16\00:13:41.13
kind of invaded the headline
news and all the journals
00:13:41.63\00:13:44.83
and the papers
in this little town.
00:13:45.03\00:13:46.25
That particular church,
composed by not so many people,
00:13:46.65\00:13:52.05
and though there was a lot
of activity was really a church
00:13:52.25\00:13:54.95
that didn't have a
whole lot of... didn't have
00:13:55.05\00:13:57.87
a welcoming presence into it.
00:13:57.97\00:13:59.97
Some of you may understand
what I'm talking about.
00:14:00.17\00:14:02.17
It didn't have kind of
this... this friendly aura
00:14:02.38\00:14:05.86
surrounding it. And although
there were a few who were
00:14:06.06\00:14:08.31
actively involved in
this, that, and the other,
00:14:08.51\00:14:10.48
the collective body of
believers were kind of...
00:14:10.68\00:14:13.23
they were kind of
gloomy when they would worship.
00:14:13.43\00:14:15.40
And that explains
the difficulty in growth.
00:14:16.32\00:14:19.12
And what would happen is that
many times people would invite
00:14:19.53\00:14:23.15
people to come to
church and the few who attended
00:14:23.35\00:14:25.58
only came once. And that
was pretty much the last time
00:14:25.78\00:14:27.98
they attended.
00:14:28.08\00:14:30.09
And this particular church...
something happened that it...
00:14:30.19\00:14:32.10
it actually caught the flames.
00:14:32.30\00:14:33.71
Something happened that
it started catching on fire.
00:14:33.91\00:14:37.32
And everybody in town, of
course, it's a small town,
00:14:37.62\00:14:40.97
building catches on fire...
00:14:41.17\00:14:42.57
everybody's
going to know about it.
00:14:42.87\00:14:44.48
So everybody rushed to see
if there were any casualties,
00:14:44.68\00:14:48.74
to make sure that
everybody was doing all right.
00:14:48.94\00:14:50.48
Of course, the members
were the first ones there...
00:14:50.68\00:14:52.48
then the neighbors,
then everybody else.
00:14:52.68\00:14:54.87
And lo and behold, who
else do you think was running
00:14:55.07\00:14:58.20
toward the church? That atheist.
00:14:58.31\00:15:01.74
And everybody knew him,
00:15:01.94\00:15:03.24
even those who
weren't church members.
00:15:03.44\00:15:04.97
And the atheist was
sprinting to the church.
00:15:05.17\00:15:07.89
And I think he was one
of the last ones to arrive.
00:15:08.09\00:15:10.50
And all the church members
looked as the atheist was
00:15:10.70\00:15:13.40
approaching, and their
jaws were on the floor.
00:15:13.51\00:15:16.40
Like... And he
arrived at the scene.
00:15:16.60\00:15:19.67
Everybody was staring at him and
he felt kind of uncomfortable.
00:15:19.87\00:15:21.67
He said well like: "What are
you guys staring at me for? "
00:15:21.77\00:15:23.52
And he says... And
they all said to him: "Well
00:15:24.67\00:15:26.38
this is amazing. This is the
first time we've ever seen you
00:15:26.48\00:15:29.67
running to the
church! This is exciting! "
00:15:29.87\00:15:33.95
And then the atheist
kind of... catching his breath
00:15:34.15\00:15:37.41
because he'd been
running... he says: "Well,
00:15:37.61\00:15:39.63
this is the first time I've
ever seen the church on fire. "
00:15:39.83\00:15:42.87
Now there's... there's a
lot of lessons we can learn
00:15:47.94\00:15:51.30
from this story. Amen?
00:15:51.50\00:15:52.67
So here you have an
atheist. He's running
00:15:52.98\00:15:55.49
to the church because
finally the church is on fire.
00:15:55.69\00:15:57.73
Right? In the literal sense.
00:15:58.03\00:16:00.24
Now don't get any ideas. Amen?
00:16:00.45\00:16:02.45
I'm not suggesting anything.
00:16:02.86\00:16:04.44
The point is that
when the church is on fire
00:16:05.37\00:16:08.74
people are going
to know. Amen. Amen?
00:16:08.95\00:16:10.74
When the church is on
fire, everybody is going to know
00:16:10.94\00:16:14.33
that something is
happening in that church.
00:16:14.54\00:16:16.63
They may not know
exactly what's happening,
00:16:16.83\00:16:18.76
but they definitely will know
that there is something worth
00:16:18.96\00:16:22.72
going to this church for.
00:16:22.92\00:16:24.95
The people here are
having an amazing experience
00:16:25.15\00:16:27.94
that is attractive. Yeah?
That it kind of woos people.
00:16:28.14\00:16:33.61
And ladies and gentlemen, if
our churches were really on fire
00:16:33.81\00:16:37.66
people would be coming to us.
00:16:37.96\00:16:41.33
Now don't get me wrong.
I've been heavily involved in
00:16:41.53\00:16:43.20
evangelism for several years
00:16:43.40\00:16:44.68
and I'm all
about seeking the lost.
00:16:44.88\00:16:46.87
But there are several
places in scripture where
00:16:47.07\00:16:50.07
it talks about the
nations coming to us
00:16:50.27\00:16:52.77
and asking us: "Who is
the God that you are serving?
00:16:53.07\00:16:56.49
We want in; we want
in. " Ladies and gentlemen,
00:16:56.69\00:16:58.68
I believe that every single
church and I would go as far
00:16:58.78\00:17:01.91
as to say that every church
represented here this morning
00:17:02.01\00:17:04.28
has the potential of attracting
every single individual
00:17:04.48\00:17:08.16
in the neighborhood. Amen?
00:17:08.26\00:17:09.79
And it's all about what
is happening on the inside.
00:17:09.99\00:17:12.61
I've been involved,
like I mentioned before,
00:17:12.71\00:17:14.44
in evangelistic meetings, etc.
00:17:14.54\00:17:15.98
And you know, we sent so
many thousands of fliers to the
00:17:16.18\00:17:18.93
community. You guys
know what I'm talking about?
00:17:19.04\00:17:20.29
And there's
nothing wrong with that.
00:17:20.50\00:17:21.89
But I believe
that the greatest fire
00:17:22.09\00:17:23.72
is the members that are
coming out of that service -
00:17:23.93\00:17:26.47
Amen - glowing. Amen? -
00:17:26.67\00:17:28.81
with the glory of Jesus that is
wooing others into His presence
00:17:29.01\00:17:34.39
and into the same experience.
So you are the greatest flier.
00:17:34.59\00:17:37.64
You are the greatest
advertisement for the church.
00:17:37.74\00:17:39.78
It should not be a
handbill exclusively.
00:17:39.98\00:17:42.48
And maybe that's one of
the reasons why the Lord
00:17:42.68\00:17:44.63
can't bring more
people into our congregation.
00:17:44.84\00:17:46.69
And if you're here and if
you're kind of a little bit
00:17:46.99\00:17:50.14
borderline about to throw in the
towel in the case of your church
00:17:50.34\00:17:54.70
there's hope even
for your church. Amen?
00:17:55.00\00:17:57.68
Don't give up for your church.
00:17:57.88\00:17:59.38
We're going to talk a little
bit about how is it that God
00:17:59.68\00:18:03.37
can bring life, spiritual life,
to spiritually-dead people.
00:18:03.58\00:18:08.22
Maybe you're kind of
wondering to yourself:
00:18:08.52\00:18:10.45
"How in the world is God going
to cause fire in my church?
00:18:10.65\00:18:14.80
I mean, that's
going to be impossible!
00:18:15.00\00:18:17.58
I mean, have you heard my music?
00:18:17.88\00:18:19.03
Our church services before?
00:18:19.23\00:18:20.84
My goodness. " You
kind of fill in the blanks.
00:18:21.04\00:18:23.08
We all represent different
challenges in our local
00:18:23.18\00:18:25.98
congregations. But you may be
to the point where you're like
00:18:26.08\00:18:29.59
"I... it's going to be...
00:18:29.80\00:18:31.20
something... It's going to have
to require something very large
00:18:31.40\00:18:34.88
and very enormous in order for
my church to get back on fire. "
00:18:34.98\00:18:38.39
But I don't believe so. Amen?
00:18:38.69\00:18:40.75
What we are going to
discover is that revival
00:18:40.95\00:18:43.35
is not so much
something corporate
00:18:43.55\00:18:45.50
as something individual. Amen?
00:18:45.70\00:18:48.79
Although it does
manifest itself powerfully when
00:18:48.99\00:18:51.60
individual people who
have experienced revival
00:18:51.80\00:18:54.60
are collectively together.
00:18:54.80\00:18:55.95
That's kind of the whole
point of why we come together
00:18:56.15\00:18:57.92
as God's people. I want to
invite you to open your Bibles
00:18:58.12\00:19:00.47
to the book of Ezekiel.
00:19:00.67\00:19:02.07
Ezekiel. And we're going to
be using the Bible quite a bit.
00:19:02.27\00:19:05.99
Amen? So we're going to
do a little finger exercise
00:19:06.09\00:19:09.35
this morning. So I want
to encourage you to make sure
00:19:09.45\00:19:11.65
you have your pen handy
and if you have a notepad
00:19:11.75\00:19:14.19
to write. We won't get
through all the material but
00:19:14.22\00:19:16.84
we're going to be delving
quite deeply into the Word.
00:19:17.04\00:19:19.80
Ezekiel chapter 37 I
believe gives us a very symbolic
00:19:20.00\00:19:24.45
picture of revival.
00:19:24.65\00:19:27.01
Amen? Ezekiel chapter 37
00:19:27.21\00:19:29.72
and when you're there
please say a hearty Amen.
00:19:29.92\00:19:31.68
Amen. Wow! That
was a hearty Amen.
00:19:31.88\00:19:34.06
Hallelujah!
00:19:34.26\00:19:35.46
That was nice!
Ezekiel chapter 37
00:19:36.66\00:19:39.49
and maybe some of you
who are turning to Ezekiel 37
00:19:39.69\00:19:44.86
already know what Ezekiel
37 is a little bit about.
00:19:44.99\00:19:47.25
Amen. We have a sister
who knows what it's about.
00:19:47.45\00:19:49.85
Tomorrow morning we're actually
going to talk a little bit about
00:19:50.67\00:19:52.51
the last part of Ezekiel 37.
00:19:52.71\00:19:54.34
We're going to be talking about
this morning a little bit about
00:19:54.54\00:19:56.83
the first portion of Ezekiel 37.
00:19:57.03\00:19:59.34
Ezekiel 37 talks
about the dry bones.
00:19:59.64\00:20:03.73
Right? Let's pick up
the story in verse 1.
00:20:04.81\00:20:08.78
Ezekiel 37 verse
1 the Bible says:
00:20:08.98\00:20:11.41
"The hand of the Lord
came upon me and brought me
00:20:11.61\00:20:14.54
out in the Spirit of the Lord
00:20:14.74\00:20:16.82
and set me down in
the midst of the valley.
00:20:17.02\00:20:19.27
And it was full of... " what?
00:20:19.47\00:20:20.59
"bones. Then He caused me
to pass by them all around
00:20:20.79\00:20:24.54
and behold there were
very many in the open valley
00:20:24.74\00:20:27.89
and indeed they were
very... " what? "dry. "
00:20:28.10\00:20:31.05
So we know that they were bones
and we know that they were dry.
00:20:31.25\00:20:34.08
Verse 3: "And He said to me:
00:20:34.09\00:20:35.52
"son of man, can
these bones live? "
00:20:35.72\00:20:37.86
And that's a question
that I ask you this morning.
00:20:38.09\00:20:40.52
Can the bones live?
00:20:40.83\00:20:43.91
Well let's find out
if the bones can live.
00:20:44.11\00:20:45.46
Can the bones
live was the question.
00:20:45.76\00:20:48.87
"So I answered: 'O
Lord God, You know. "
00:20:49.01\00:20:51.93
And some of you are
saying the same thing.
00:20:52.04\00:20:53.12
"Lord, You're the only One
who can answer that question. "
00:20:53.32\00:20:55.80
Verse 4: "And again He said
to me: prophesy" or proclaim
00:20:56.80\00:21:00.97
or preach "to these
bones and say unto them:
00:21:01.17\00:21:04.52
"O dry bones... " hear
the philosophies of man.
00:21:04.72\00:21:08.35
No! Oh, I'm sorry.
00:21:08.96\00:21:11.70
I guess I have a different
translation. I'm sorry.
00:21:11.90\00:21:14.39
Let me try that again.
00:21:14.59\00:21:15.60
"O dry bones... "
hear really funny jokes.
00:21:15.80\00:21:18.41
Wow, I guess...
00:21:20.11\00:21:21.85
What does it say?
"O dry bones, hear...
00:21:22.06\00:21:23.83
the word of the Lord!
00:21:24.03\00:21:27.08
Thus says the Lord God
to these bones: 'Surely
00:21:27.18\00:21:29.62
I will cause
breath to enter into you
00:21:29.82\00:21:32.27
and you shall live.
00:21:32.47\00:21:34.83
I will put sinews on you
and bring flesh upon you.
00:21:35.03\00:21:38.23
Cover you with skin
and put breath in you
00:21:38.43\00:21:40.96
and you shall live.
00:21:41.16\00:21:43.25
Then you shall know
that I am the Lord. '
00:21:43.28\00:21:45.58
So I prophesied" - I proclaimed,
I preached - "as I was
00:21:45.78\00:21:48.90
commanded. And as I
prophesied there was a noise,
00:21:49.00\00:21:52.86
and suddenly a rattling,
and the bones came together
00:21:53.21\00:21:58.61
bone to bone. Indeed as I looked
00:21:58.81\00:22:00.85
the sinews and the
flesh came upon them
00:22:01.05\00:22:03.08
and the skin covered them over
but there was no breath in them.
00:22:03.28\00:22:06.10
Also He said to me,
'Prophesy to the breath;
00:22:07.40\00:22:09.95
prophesy, son of
man, and say to the breath
00:22:10.15\00:22:12.78
'Thus says the Lord God,
come from the four winds,
00:22:12.98\00:22:15.57
O breath, and
breathe on these slain
00:22:15.67\00:22:17.84
that they may
live. ' So I prophesied"
00:22:17.94\00:22:20.99
I preached, I proclaimed
- "as He commanded me,
00:22:21.19\00:22:23.54
and breath came
into them and they lived
00:22:23.74\00:22:27.00
and stood upon their feet
- an exceedingly great army.
00:22:27.21\00:22:32.86
Then He said to me:
'Son of man, these bones
00:22:33.06\00:22:35.64
are the whole house of Israel.
00:22:35.84\00:22:39.53
They indeed say our
bones are dry, our hope is lost
00:22:39.73\00:22:45.28
and we
ourselves are cut off. ' "
00:22:45.48\00:22:47.83
We're going to read the
rest of the story later on.
00:22:47.93\00:22:49.84
So here we have
this vivid description
00:22:50.04\00:22:52.36
of Ezekiel 37 and it kind
of looks like a sci-fi movie,
00:22:52.56\00:22:56.04
doesn't it? I mean wow! Here
you have a valley of dry bones.
00:22:56.24\00:23:00.51
Picture yourself
in the Grand Canyon.
00:23:00.61\00:23:02.30
Anybody been to the
Grand Canyon before?
00:23:02.50\00:23:03.82
Picture yourself
in the Grand Canyon
00:23:04.02\00:23:05.61
and picture that entire
canyon full of dry bones.
00:23:05.71\00:23:10.52
Kind of an eerie atmosphere, no?
00:23:11.70\00:23:14.15
I remember I was in... in
Lima, Peru, in South America
00:23:14.35\00:23:17.65
several years ago. And I
had the privilege of going
00:23:17.86\00:23:19.95
to el Museo de la Inquisición:
00:23:20.15\00:23:22.97
the Museum of the Inquisition.
00:23:24.52\00:23:27.08
I'm glad it was
only a museum. Amen?
00:23:27.28\00:23:29.49
And not an actual inquisition.
00:23:29.69\00:23:31.66
As we went through the
museum they took us underneath
00:23:31.86\00:23:34.51
the ground. It was dark.
00:23:34.54\00:23:38.19
It smelled very bad
00:23:38.39\00:23:39.84
and it was scary.
00:23:40.04\00:23:42.07
And we approached
one particular corner
00:23:42.27\00:23:43.98
of this long,
very tight, pathway
00:23:44.18\00:23:48.12
and as we got to the
corner, guess what I saw?
00:23:48.32\00:23:50.71
I saw the bones of many
00:23:51.11\00:23:55.87
of God's children
who were unwilling
00:23:56.07\00:23:59.02
to sacrifice their conscience -
00:23:59.22\00:24:01.92
Amen? - for
popularity or for position.
00:24:02.12\00:24:04.64
I saw the bones, many of
which I don't know the names of,
00:24:04.84\00:24:10.00
of individuals
that were willing to die
00:24:10.20\00:24:13.19
instead of go with the flow.
00:24:13.39\00:24:16.44
I saw bones. And as
I looked at these bones
00:24:16.64\00:24:19.56
I realized... It gave me
a little bit of a picture
00:24:19.66\00:24:22.68
of what Ezekiel experienced.
00:24:22.78\00:24:24.40
Now, being surrounded with bones
00:24:24.61\00:24:27.44
is kind of an extraordinary
unusual experience.
00:24:27.65\00:24:31.96
But what was Ezekiel
told to do to these bones?
00:24:33.21\00:24:36.05
To preach to
the valley of bones.
00:24:38.17\00:24:40.45
Now if being in the
presence of dead, dry bones
00:24:40.55\00:24:43.86
is unusual, preaching to a group
00:24:43.96\00:24:49.23
of dead dry bones
would be even more unusual.
00:24:49.43\00:24:53.29
Yeah? I'm sure Ezekiel
looked over both his shoulders
00:24:53.50\00:24:56.33
before he did this - Yes? -
00:24:56.53\00:24:57.62
to make sure that
nobody was looking.
00:24:57.82\00:24:59.30
And on top of that, preaching
to a group of dead, dry bones
00:24:59.60\00:25:05.23
who come alive is
even more unusual.
00:25:05.43\00:25:09.04
Amen? Amen.
00:25:09.24\00:25:10.81
So here you have
Ezekiel. And God told him:
00:25:11.01\00:25:13.36
"Ezekiel, I want you
to share a devotional
00:25:13.56\00:25:15.48
to this valley of dry bones. "
00:25:15.68\00:25:17.55
And Ezekiel said:
"Are You kidding me? "
00:25:17.75\00:25:19.32
But nonetheless,
that's exactly what he does.
00:25:19.72\00:25:21.99
Notice the Bible does not say...
00:25:22.19\00:25:23.59
God did not tell Ezekiel to
take out his musical instrument.
00:25:23.79\00:25:27.53
Amen? Now don't get me wrong.
00:25:27.73\00:25:30.37
If there's anybody in
this room that loves music,
00:25:30.48\00:25:32.72
it's yours truly. However,
00:25:32.93\00:25:34.27
I believe when we
approach the subject of revival
00:25:34.47\00:25:36.56
and we consider it
not only in the Adventist
00:25:36.76\00:25:39.78
perspective, even
in all of Christianity,
00:25:39.98\00:25:42.66
we immediately associate
it to? Music exclusively.
00:25:42.86\00:25:46.86
Right? Music has
definitely a place in worship.
00:25:47.16\00:25:50.10
And I love the hymns
and I love all the beautiful
00:25:50.30\00:25:52.12
master hymn writers in the past:
00:25:52.32\00:25:54.60
the Wesleys and
all the other ones.
00:25:54.80\00:25:57.52
But if you notice, Ezekiel takes
00:25:57.72\00:26:01.75
the valley dry bones and
brings them back to the source.
00:26:01.95\00:26:05.35
Amen? To the
energy and to the power.
00:26:05.56\00:26:09.16
I'm not saying that music
doesn't have the capabilities
00:26:09.36\00:26:11.99
of doing this, but in
this particular scenario
00:26:12.09\00:26:14.07
Ezekiel did not go the
musical instrument route.
00:26:14.27\00:26:18.15
Amen? And many a time
and in many a services
00:26:18.35\00:26:21.10
you have the music
that overwhelms the service
00:26:21.30\00:26:24.04
and you have a
10-minute devotional. Amen?
00:26:24.18\00:26:27.05
And I really... but here
we have kind of a good outline
00:26:27.25\00:26:30.40
of what we should do if we
really want to bring revival
00:26:30.50\00:26:32.83
into our churches.
00:26:32.93\00:26:33.96
So here we have the
valley of dry bones.
00:26:34.79\00:26:37.50
A question:
according to this passage
00:26:37.60\00:26:40.02
whom do the valley
of dry bones represent?
00:26:40.22\00:26:43.85
The house of Israel.
00:26:45.32\00:26:47.01
Now who was the house of
Israel in the Old Testament?
00:26:47.11\00:26:48.75
Ah... it was the church.
00:26:49.70\00:26:52.23
So Ezekiel 37 is giving
us a very graphic depiction
00:26:52.53\00:26:56.79
of the condition of
the Old Testament church.
00:26:56.99\00:26:59.54
And that's a pretty graphic
depiction, would you not say so?
00:27:01.08\00:27:04.09
And sadly, that depiction
- that spiritual x-ray -
00:27:04.12\00:27:07.34
is very accurate... even
today in some of our churches.
00:27:08.64\00:27:13.48
What is the point of Ezekiel 37?
00:27:14.43\00:27:16.06
Well there are several points.
00:27:16.27\00:27:17.27
One of those points is
that the church has a problem.
00:27:17.47\00:27:19.62
Amen. The second point is that
00:27:19.82\00:27:22.76
don't fret... there's a
solution to that problem.
00:27:22.96\00:27:26.78
And that's what I love
about the Bible is that.
00:27:27.08\00:27:29.33
That's what I love
about God is that He exposes
00:27:29.53\00:27:32.11
our shortcomings,
He exposes our flaws...
00:27:32.21\00:27:35.98
but He provides a solution.
00:27:36.18\00:27:38.22
And that's what Ezekiel...
00:27:38.42\00:27:39.66
Ezekiel is not standing
in the valley of dried bones
00:27:39.86\00:27:42.00
and he's pointing
fingers at all the bones.
00:27:42.10\00:27:44.47
"You're in this
situation because you did this.
00:27:44.67\00:27:47.04
You're in this
situation because you did that.
00:27:47.24\00:27:48.51
And it's your fault;
don't blame it on me.
00:27:48.61\00:27:49.88
I'm a prophet. I told you
this; you didn't listen to me. "
00:27:50.09\00:27:51.98
Is that what Ezekiel did?
00:27:52.18\00:27:53.21
No ladies and
gentlemen. He simply went
00:27:53.41\00:27:55.68
back to the fountain of truth.
00:27:55.88\00:27:59.52
He went back to
the wells of salvation
00:27:59.72\00:28:01.66
and he brought a little bit of
that to the valley of dry bones.
00:28:01.86\00:28:05.41
Now what happened
when Ezekiel preached
00:28:05.71\00:28:09.50
the word to the
valley of dry bones?
00:28:09.70\00:28:12.06
The Bible says that they came
to life but they were missing
00:28:13.72\00:28:15.74
something. They
were missing the breath.
00:28:15.88\00:28:19.00
Now what does
the breath represent?
00:28:19.20\00:28:20.50
It rep... We have several
occasions in scripture where...
00:28:22.27\00:28:25.20
Remember when Jesus
breathed on His disciples
00:28:25.39\00:28:27.44
and He said:
"Receive ye the Holy Spirit. "
00:28:27.54\00:28:28.98
Right? So breath is kind of
this symbol of the Holy Spirit.
00:28:29.18\00:28:32.43
And it's also a
symbol of inspiration.
00:28:32.63\00:28:35.81
In fact, if you
read II Timothy 3:16 -
00:28:36.01\00:28:38.06
which is a common
text we all know -
00:28:38.26\00:28:39.30
"All scripture is given
by inspiration of God. "
00:28:39.50\00:28:42.60
Well if you read in some older
translations it actually says
00:28:42.73\00:28:45.38
"All scripture
is God breathed. "
00:28:45.48\00:28:48.86
Isn't that interesting?
00:28:49.17\00:28:50.79
So God kind of breathed
into every page of scripture.
00:28:51.09\00:28:54.75
So that as you're
reading in the morning
00:28:54.95\00:28:56.99
in your quiet time with Jesus
you can take in a little bit
00:28:57.09\00:28:59.78
of that breath. Amen?
00:28:59.89\00:29:01.09
And by the way, that
breath is sweet. Amen?
00:29:01.19\00:29:02.96
So very good. So in Ezekiel
chapter 37 you have the breath
00:29:03.16\00:29:08.56
and you have the Word. And when
you combine these two things,
00:29:08.76\00:29:12.83
ladies and
gentlemen, be very careful
00:29:12.93\00:29:14.87
because an
explosion will happen. Amen?
00:29:15.07\00:29:17.95
But this is a good explosion.
00:29:18.25\00:29:20.16
OK? This is not like the
fire that we talked about
00:29:20.36\00:29:22.32
in our introductory story.
00:29:22.42\00:29:24.25
We need another
kind of fire, right?
00:29:24.45\00:29:26.11
We need another
kind of explosion...
00:29:26.21\00:29:27.77
a chain
reaction will take place.
00:29:27.97\00:29:29.95
The Bible tells us that the
bones began to develop tissue.
00:29:30.16\00:29:35.08
They began to
develop a nervous system.
00:29:35.52\00:29:38.79
Uh, the organs
started to develop.
00:29:39.09\00:29:41.36
Skin developed
and covered the bones.
00:29:41.56\00:29:45.08
Eventually what
was the final product
00:29:45.28\00:29:47.78
of this revival
project or revival experience?
00:29:47.98\00:29:51.06
Israel was
standing on their feet
00:29:53.36\00:29:57.64
and the Bible says "as
an exceedingly great army. "
00:29:57.84\00:30:02.67
Question: When an
army is standing exceed...
00:30:02.87\00:30:05.59
an exceeding army is
standing on their feet
00:30:05.79\00:30:08.17
what does that communicate?
What does that imply?
00:30:08.37\00:30:10.18
It doesn't imply at ease, right?
00:30:10.78\00:30:13.90
Attention. It implies that
they are about to do something.
00:30:14.30\00:30:17.98
They are about to
engage in warfare.
00:30:18.18\00:30:21.75
Ladies and gentlemen, that's
what every single congregation
00:30:21.95\00:30:24.90
represented here
should be doing. Amen?
00:30:25.10\00:30:27.56
Engaging in Christian warfare
00:30:27.76\00:30:30.77
under the banner -
the blood-stained banner -
00:30:31.07\00:30:34.01
of Emmanuel. Even in the
churches that we look and we say
00:30:34.21\00:30:38.68
"how in the world is this
church going to come to life? "
00:30:38.89\00:30:41.32
ladies and gentlemen we
see the divine prescription.
00:30:41.42\00:30:44.29
We see what the remedy
is for spiritual deadness.
00:30:44.49\00:30:47.32
Maybe you're
surrounded every single week
00:30:47.52\00:30:49.62
with a group of
believers and you look around
00:30:49.82\00:30:52.29
and it feels like you're
surrounded by a valley of
00:30:52.49\00:30:53.81
dead bones, there's
good news this morning.
00:30:54.01\00:30:55.82
Don't give up.
00:30:56.02\00:30:58.05
Don't walk out of
that church, Amen?
00:30:58.26\00:30:59.65
Don't give up because
maybe just maybe you are that
00:30:59.85\00:31:02.67
conduit, you are that instrument
that God is going to use
00:31:02.87\00:31:04.91
to create. You're going
to be that Ezekiel, Amen?
00:31:05.11\00:31:09.00
God is looking for
Ezekiels ladies and gentlemen.
00:31:09.20\00:31:11.20
Not Ezekiels that will point
the finger and blame people.
00:31:11.40\00:31:13.89
No, but will just lead people
back to the source of life,
00:31:14.10\00:31:16.65
the source of power, and
the source of conviction.
00:31:16.76\00:31:21.26
So the Bible tells us
in Ezekiel chapter 37 that
00:31:22.43\00:31:25.36
God is interested
in bringing His church
00:31:25.56\00:31:29.35
from spiritual
deadness to spiritual revival
00:31:29.55\00:31:32.46
so that they can be at
their post of duty, ready
00:31:32.66\00:31:36.20
to march forward at the
command of general Jesus.
00:31:36.40\00:31:40.34
But there's something
very fascinating when you look
00:31:41.85\00:31:44.22
at verse 11. It
comes as a little bit...
00:31:44.32\00:31:47.09
It gives us a hint as to
how the church actually fell
00:31:47.20\00:31:50.41
into this condition, right?
You ever wonder how in the world
00:31:50.61\00:31:53.71
did the church go from this
booming, global, international
00:31:53.91\00:31:58.69
kingdom? You know, we
think of the time of Solomon:
00:31:58.79\00:32:01.73
the golden age of
Israel. How did it go from there
00:32:01.93\00:32:04.10
to spiritual deadness?
Like what happened, right?
00:32:04.30\00:32:06.14
Well if you look at
verse 11 it tells us.
00:32:06.44\00:32:08.73
"They indeed say... " -
they being the house of Israel -
00:32:11.04\00:32:14.23
"our bones are dry. "
Now what does that mean?
00:32:14.44\00:32:17.28
"Our hope is lost. "
00:32:19.72\00:32:24.02
"Our hope is lost. "
00:32:24.95\00:32:28.07
Israel lost the spiritual life
00:32:28.37\00:32:31.31
because they lost hope
in their spiritual future.
00:32:31.51\00:32:35.74
And he says: "We
ourselves are cut off. "
00:32:35.95\00:32:38.07
Ladies and gentlemen,
listen to me very carefully:
00:32:38.17\00:32:39.63
when we lose hope in the
message that God has given us
00:32:39.83\00:32:43.24
there's only one place
that we are destined to go...
00:32:43.64\00:32:46.98
and that is a
valley of dry bones.
00:32:47.09\00:32:49.17
When we lose
hope in the children
00:32:49.37\00:32:54.46
that we have raised
who for whatever reason
00:32:54.66\00:32:57.47
have been wayward
and have fallen away,
00:32:57.67\00:32:59.94
when we lose hope
that God is actually able
00:33:00.04\00:33:03.45
to reach them and bring
them back, ladies and gentlemen
00:33:03.65\00:33:06.55
we are in danger of falling
into a valley of dry bones.
00:33:06.75\00:33:09.81
When you lose
hope in your marriage,
00:33:10.01\00:33:12.90
even in churches we have a
situation where the marriage
00:33:13.30\00:33:18.04
could be bad, yeah?
00:33:18.24\00:33:19.83
The marriage
needs a little revival.
00:33:20.03\00:33:21.57
If you lose hope
in your marriage,
00:33:22.78\00:33:24.87
that hopelessness is going to
bleed into your spiritual life
00:33:25.07\00:33:28.40
and you're going to
become a valley of dry bones.
00:33:28.60\00:33:31.27
Hopelessness equals
valley of dry bones.
00:33:31.67\00:33:35.51
Israel said:
"We lost our hope. "
00:33:35.71\00:33:37.87
Kind of makes sense why
the Word of God brings revival
00:33:38.07\00:33:41.64
because revival is
full of... hope. Amen?
00:33:41.84\00:33:45.03
The Bible is full of hope.
00:33:45.43\00:33:47.28
When Ezekiel preached the
Word I believe he was preaching
00:33:47.38\00:33:50.80
the promises of
God. I believe that!
00:33:50.90\00:33:52.49
It doesn't tell us
exactly what parts of scripture
00:33:52.69\00:33:54.68
he was preaching, but I
believe he was reminding Israel
00:33:54.88\00:33:57.62
in their dead condition that
God had a great plan for Israel.
00:33:57.82\00:34:00.89
God wanted them to become
this beautiful group of people
00:34:00.92\00:34:05.03
that would be a contagious
element so that they could
00:34:05.23\00:34:08.60
permeate the
truths of God's Word
00:34:08.80\00:34:10.52
throughout all of
civilization and antiquity.
00:34:10.72\00:34:13.05
That's what Ezekiel,
I believe, was doing.
00:34:13.25\00:34:14.97
He was reminding
them: "Your hope is lost.
00:34:15.17\00:34:17.41
Why is your hope lost?
00:34:17.51\00:34:18.53
Look at all of the wonderful
promises that God has for us. "
00:34:18.73\00:34:21.01
And as we look in the
past we say: "Wow, that makes
00:34:22.08\00:34:24.54
a lot of sense. "
Ladies and gentlemen,
00:34:24.64\00:34:26.20
we've got to look at
our own experience. Amen?
00:34:26.40\00:34:27.66
Have you lost hope
in your spiritual life?
00:34:28.06\00:34:30.00
Have you lost hope in
your morning devotions?
00:34:30.20\00:34:33.70
There's good news
for you today. Amen?
00:34:33.90\00:34:36.63
God has wonderful
thoughts towards you.
00:34:37.77\00:34:40.81
Even the things that
nobody else knows in the church
00:34:41.21\00:34:43.94
about you, God knows
them and He still loves you.
00:34:44.14\00:34:45.80
I haven't figured that one
out yet. I'm working on that.
00:34:46.00\00:34:47.48
Ezekiel 37 is a message of hope
00:34:49.25\00:34:51.01
but it's also a
message of self-assessment
00:34:51.21\00:34:54.06
and self-examination.
And ladies and gentlemen,
00:34:54.27\00:34:56.64
we have to be
honest with ourselves.
00:34:56.84\00:34:58.34
When we find
ourselves in spiritual deadness
00:34:58.54\00:35:01.27
we must embrace this truth.
00:35:01.47\00:35:03.39
See what
happens many times is...
00:35:03.59\00:35:05.57
You take a typical congregation
and it's spiritually dead.
00:35:05.71\00:35:08.26
It's a valley of
dry bones, right?
00:35:08.46\00:35:09.87
But then we wonder:
what can we do to revive this
00:35:10.84\00:35:14.38
church. And we
think, hmmm, the Bible...
00:35:14.58\00:35:17.46
you know, old story.
00:35:17.76\00:35:19.54
Let's take the
young people for example.
00:35:20.59\00:35:22.37
I'm a young person, you
know. What are we going to do
00:35:22.57\00:35:25.21
to get the young people on fire?
00:35:25.41\00:35:26.75
You ever wonder that?
00:35:26.95\00:35:28.07
Maybe in your church there's
several young people there.
00:35:28.17\00:35:31.27
What are we going to
do? You think the Bible?
00:35:31.48\00:35:32.72
They're going to be bored...
No, they're going to be bored
00:35:32.82\00:35:34.28
to death. What do we need to do?
00:35:34.38\00:35:35.48
And you start
getting what? Creative.
00:35:35.58\00:35:38.03
To our own detriment, right?
00:35:38.97\00:35:41.01
And we start to a
certain extent creating
00:35:41.21\00:35:43.95
an atmosphere of the
Holy Spirit that actually
00:35:44.15\00:35:46.35
ends an atmosphere
of the Holy Spirit.
00:35:46.45\00:35:47.75
Amen? Now don't get me
wrong. I'm not saying that
00:35:47.95\00:35:50.32
we can't be creative in
the sense of OK, you know,
00:35:50.52\00:35:52.91
what are some ways that we
could befriend the young people?
00:35:53.01\00:35:54.95
What are some ways that
we could build relationships?
00:35:55.15\00:35:57.30
I'm not saying that.
All I'm saying is that many
00:35:57.50\00:35:59.15
times if we're getting
creative to the point where
00:35:59.25\00:36:02.02
we are excluding the Word of
God which at the end of the day
00:36:02.22\00:36:04.26
is the remedy for
our lack of revival,
00:36:04.46\00:36:07.31
we really need to
check ourselves. Amen.
00:36:07.51\00:36:09.22
Because what we're doing
is just simply putting makeup
00:36:09.32\00:36:12.74
on a valley of dry bones.
00:36:12.94\00:36:14.34
And at the end of the day
guess what? They're still bones.
00:36:14.54\00:36:17.16
There is no life.
00:36:18.16\00:36:19.18
I have never seen
skeletons with makeup on. Amen?
00:36:19.38\00:36:21.94
And I think many times in
our approach, in our methodology
00:36:22.24\00:36:25.18
to revival and to church growth
00:36:25.28\00:36:26.90
we tend to want to beautify
a bunch of people that are
00:36:27.10\00:36:29.31
skeletons. And that's
not what God wants us to do.
00:36:29.41\00:36:32.25
God wants us to
present truth. Amen.
00:36:32.45\00:36:34.62
There's a reason why Paul
called it "the foolishness of
00:36:34.72\00:36:36.31
preaching. " Yeah?
It's a spiritual dynamic...
00:36:36.41\00:36:39.50
it's a spiritual thing. And
by the way, when you get a group
00:36:39.70\00:36:41.97
of young people together
and there's a strong, wonderful
00:36:42.07\00:36:44.95
social dynamic there
because you have to...
00:36:45.15\00:36:47.17
we have to embrace the reality
that we have to have a tight
00:36:47.37\00:36:49.28
social dynamic there.
00:36:49.38\00:36:50.47
But when you have the Word of
God in the middle of a group of
00:36:50.78\00:36:53.78
young people, watch out - Amen -
00:36:53.88\00:36:57.99
because something
incredible is about to happen.
00:36:58.12\00:37:00.53
Amen? And by the
way, look at our pioneers.
00:37:00.73\00:37:02.93
Yeah? Our pioneers
were young teenagers.
00:37:03.13\00:37:05.43
What happened? They
were surrounded with the
00:37:05.63\00:37:07.25
right other
kind of young people.
00:37:07.45\00:37:09.01
You put the Word of
God right in the middle
00:37:09.21\00:37:10.76
and there was an incredible
revival that took place.
00:37:10.96\00:37:13.25
Amen. So let us never,
never belittle the power
00:37:13.45\00:37:16.75
of the Word of God. Amen!
00:37:16.85\00:37:18.38
Remember how this world
was created in the first place?
00:37:18.58\00:37:21.10
How did God create the world?
00:37:21.50\00:37:23.36
He said: "All right,
guys, take out the hammers;
00:37:23.56\00:37:25.56
Take out the caterpillars.
" Is that what He did?
00:37:25.76\00:37:27.72
What did He say? He
said: "Let there be light. "
00:37:27.92\00:37:30.40
Boom! There was light.
00:37:30.60\00:37:32.04
All right, what else did He do?
00:37:32.24\00:37:33.57
He spoke
everything into existence
00:37:34.91\00:37:36.90
except of course when He
came to the creation of man.
00:37:37.10\00:37:38.97
He rolled up His sleeves. Amen?
00:37:39.17\00:37:40.78
He got His hands dirty.
00:37:40.98\00:37:42.67
But when you look at the...
the majority of the creation
00:37:43.07\00:37:46.18
account God spoke words into...
00:37:46.28\00:37:50.78
He spoke
something out of nothing.
00:37:50.98\00:37:52.96
Yeah? And when He
speaks things happen.
00:37:53.16\00:37:56.77
When you look at your
church you think to yourself:
00:37:56.97\00:37:58.60
"Oh my goodness,
there is no talent here. "
00:37:58.80\00:38:00.63
Right? "There is nothing here. "
00:38:00.83\00:38:02.67
When you preach the Word
of God to a group of "nothing"
00:38:02.97\00:38:06.69
something is
going to come out of it.
00:38:06.89\00:38:09.50
Because I read
in Genesis chapter 1
00:38:09.80\00:38:11.82
that the world was
"without form and void
00:38:11.85\00:38:14.40
and darkness covered
the face of the deep. "
00:38:14.60\00:38:16.76
So if you go to church
on Sabbath and you are in a
00:38:16.96\00:38:19.52
place that is dark and
void and empty and it's a mess,
00:38:19.72\00:38:22.65
well then guess
what? The Spirit of God
00:38:22.85\00:38:25.21
can take that ugly place and
turn it into a beautiful place.
00:38:25.42\00:38:27.94
Amen. But what is the secret?
00:38:28.14\00:38:29.60
The secret is how God created
the world in the first place.
00:38:29.70\00:38:32.70
He spoke it into existence.
00:38:32.90\00:38:34.35
So when you preach - when
you present the Word of God -
00:38:34.55\00:38:37.76
into places where
it's destitute of life,
00:38:37.96\00:38:40.85
I haven't figured it
out but something happens.
00:38:41.05\00:38:44.25
So don't ever underestimate
the power of the Word,
00:38:44.45\00:38:47.37
ladies and gentlemen.
00:38:47.57\00:38:48.77
When you look in Luke
chapter 24... run with me
00:38:49.07\00:38:52.88
to Luke chapter 24.
00:38:52.98\00:38:54.33
This is the Old Testament
account and I believe we have
00:38:54.53\00:38:56.47
a parallel New
Testament account of Ezekiel 37.
00:38:56.57\00:38:59.69
Not exactly but I think,
spiritually speaking, we can
00:38:59.89\00:39:02.56
see some parallels.
00:39:02.76\00:39:03.97
Luke chapter 24, of
course, speaks of what?
00:39:04.17\00:39:07.18
It's the last chapter
of the gospel of Luke.
00:39:07.48\00:39:09.20
It's the famous story
of the road to Emmaus.
00:39:10.48\00:39:14.17
Luke chapter 24. When you're
there, please say "Amen. "
00:39:14.37\00:39:16.18
Amen. Beginning in verse 13.
00:39:16.38\00:39:18.49
The Bible says in Luke
24 beginning in verse 13:
00:39:19.40\00:39:22.37
"Now behold, two of
them... " Two of the disciples.
00:39:22.57\00:39:24.72
"were traveling that same
day to a village called Emmaus
00:39:25.02\00:39:28.24
which was seven
miles from Jerusalem.
00:39:28.44\00:39:30.58
And they talked
together of all these things
00:39:31.69\00:39:33.59
which had happened. "
Now what just had happened?
00:39:33.79\00:39:35.90
Jesus was assassinated, right?
00:39:36.10\00:39:38.57
"So it was while they
conversed and reasoned
00:39:38.77\00:39:41.30
that Jesus Himself drew
near and went with them.
00:39:41.50\00:39:43.74
But their eyes were restrained
so that they could not know Him.
00:39:43.94\00:39:46.70
And He said to them: 'What kind
of conversation is it that you
00:39:46.91\00:39:49.76
have with one another
as you walk and are sad? '
00:39:49.86\00:39:52.30
Then the one whose name
was Cleopas answered and said
00:39:52.60\00:39:55.62
to Him: 'Are You the
only stranger in Jerusalem
00:39:55.72\00:39:58.64
and have not known the
things which have happened
00:39:58.84\00:40:01.30
during these days?
' And He said to them:
00:40:01.50\00:40:03.28
'What things? '
So they said to Him:
00:40:03.48\00:40:05.15
'The things concerning Jesus'
the - I add that the in there
00:40:05.35\00:40:08.24
by the way - 'Jesus' - the -
'of Nazareth who was a prophet
00:40:08.34\00:40:12.40
mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people
00:40:12.61\00:40:14.89
and how the chief priest
and our rulers delivered Him
00:40:15.09\00:40:17.54
to be condemned to
death and crucified.
00:40:17.74\00:40:19.97
But we were hoping that it
was He who was going to redeem
00:40:20.17\00:40:23.67
Israel. Indeed, besides all
this, today is the third day
00:40:23.77\00:40:27.37
since these things happened. ' "
00:40:27.57\00:40:30.21
So here you have Jesus who
is kind of masquerading Himself,
00:40:30.51\00:40:32.93
yeah? And He kind of
enters into the conversation
00:40:33.03\00:40:35.37
as if He doesn't
know what's going on.
00:40:35.57\00:40:37.47
And they're explaining to
Him what just had happened.
00:40:37.67\00:40:40.52
Jesus was
crucified. He was assassinated.
00:40:40.72\00:40:42.82
They're talking about
all of the headlines, right?
00:40:43.02\00:40:44.99
And if you notice carefully,
what was their reaction
00:40:46.38\00:40:50.49
to the headlines
about Jesus of Nazareth,
00:40:50.69\00:40:53.28
the promised Messiah,
who was just crucified?
00:40:53.48\00:40:56.24
I heard it over here somewhere.
00:40:58.45\00:40:59.87
Ah, we have a
theologian in the front row.
00:41:00.17\00:41:02.44
Right there in verse 21
00:41:02.74\00:41:07.11
we are told - and I
have the New King James -
00:41:07.31\00:41:09.35
depending on the translation
that you have the words are
00:41:09.55\00:41:11.10
a little different.
But it says: "But we were
00:41:11.20\00:41:13.27
hoping that it was He" - Jesus -
00:41:13.47\00:41:16.25
"who was going
to redeem Israel. "
00:41:16.45\00:41:17.96
So if they were hoping that
Jesus was going to redeem Israel
00:41:18.17\00:41:22.12
Jesus was just crucified
00:41:22.33\00:41:24.03
what are the implications?
00:41:24.23\00:41:25.69
They're hopeless.
00:41:26.83\00:41:30.44
They had hope at one point,
00:41:30.64\00:41:32.31
but because of the tragedy
that had just taken place
00:41:32.52\00:41:35.15
they lost it.
00:41:35.35\00:41:37.48
Where did we read that? Oh...
00:41:37.79\00:41:40.44
Ezekiel 37.
00:41:40.64\00:41:42.42
Ezekiel 37 told us
that the Israelites
00:41:42.72\00:41:45.90
when they lost hope
eventually they began
00:41:46.10\00:41:48.58
the downward path into
becoming a valley of dry bones.
00:41:48.78\00:41:52.53
They lost hope.
00:41:52.74\00:41:55.15
Luke 24... this is the
disciples... they lost hope.
00:41:55.25\00:41:57.95
Ladies and gentlemen, when
we lose hope in the message,
00:41:58.15\00:42:00.76
when we lose hope
that Jesus is coming again,
00:42:00.96\00:42:04.21
we are destined to the
valley of dry bones. Amen.
00:42:04.42\00:42:07.51
And when you look
at Luke chapter 24
00:42:07.55\00:42:10.24
we are told that this
group of people lacked hope.
00:42:10.45\00:42:14.18
And because they
lacked hope they also lacked?
00:42:14.38\00:42:15.88
Spiritual life. So that
means they were in need of?
00:42:17.59\00:42:19.71
Revival. The R word, yeah?
00:42:20.01\00:42:23.12
Revival. So here you
have Dr. Jesus, Amen?
00:42:23.32\00:42:26.12
He was a spiritual doctor,
00:42:26.42\00:42:27.90
and He's looking and He's
listening to the symptoms.
00:42:28.10\00:42:31.15
Amen? He's listening
to the spiritual symptoms
00:42:31.35\00:42:34.10
of these two patients.
00:42:34.31\00:42:36.27
And He's thinking:
"Hmmm, what medication
00:42:36.47\00:42:40.82
shall I use to bring
revival to these precious
00:42:41.03\00:42:44.97
patients that I have
that have lost their hope
00:42:45.17\00:42:49.01
in Me and in the Word
and in their salvation?
00:42:49.21\00:42:52.05
Where shall I go? Hmmm.
" Beginning in verse 27:
00:42:52.25\00:42:55.39
He goes to His cabinet, yes?
00:42:55.59\00:42:57.76
He opens His cabinet
and He looks at all of the
00:42:58.06\00:43:01.28
spiritual remedies.
And what does He do?
00:43:01.38\00:43:04.71
Verse 27... He pulls out
the philosophy of men, no?
00:43:04.91\00:43:10.19
What does it say?
00:43:10.29\00:43:11.68
Ah, there it is. Verse
27: "And beginning" where?
00:43:11.98\00:43:15.16
"at Moses... "
What does that mean?
00:43:15.36\00:43:17.10
First five books of
the Bible: the Pentateuch.
00:43:17.30\00:43:19.21
"and all the
prophets He expounded to them
00:43:19.41\00:43:22.49
in all the scriptures the
things concerning Himself. "
00:43:22.69\00:43:26.63
Question: what pill
did Jesus - Dr. Jesus -
00:43:26.83\00:43:31.24
prescribe to these
two patients that were ill
00:43:31.45\00:43:35.39
spiritually that were in need of
revival because they lost hope?
00:43:35.59\00:43:38.89
The Word. He went to the Word
of God, ladies and gentlemen.
00:43:39.19\00:43:43.11
Amen. Jesus in Luke chapter
24 is a figure of Ezekiel. Yes?
00:43:43.31\00:43:47.88
Ezekiel was in
chapter 37 of Ezekiel
00:43:48.02\00:43:51.09
and he was issuing
what? The Word of God.
00:43:51.29\00:43:53.45
That's what He was giving to a
group of people that were dead.
00:43:53.65\00:43:55.64
Jesus in Luke chapter 24
is doing the very same thing
00:43:55.84\00:43:59.18
to these two disciples
and He's taking them back
00:43:59.38\00:44:02.50
to the Word of God
and to the scriptures.
00:44:02.70\00:44:04.59
And telling them that all
of these things really are
00:44:04.79\00:44:07.39
talking about Me. Amen?
00:44:07.50\00:44:09.95
Even the Chronicles
talk about Jesus. Amen?
00:44:10.25\00:44:12.88
Don't be fooled.
Some of us grow weary
00:44:13.08\00:44:15.97
reading name after
name after name after name.
00:44:16.17\00:44:18.41
If you look carefully, you
will find the face of Jesus
00:44:18.61\00:44:21.14
in those passages.
So here you have Jesus.
00:44:21.24\00:44:23.36
He's talking to them, yeah?
00:44:23.46\00:44:24.64
In verse 21 they were hoping
that Jesus would redeem them.
00:44:24.84\00:44:27.75
In verse 27 He says
"Well this is the solution:
00:44:27.95\00:44:30.29
you guys
obviously have a problem. "
00:44:30.39\00:44:31.85
Well look down in verse 28.
00:44:32.05\00:44:34.40
"Then they drew near to the
village where they were going
00:44:34.60\00:44:36.38
and He indicated that
He would have gone farther.
00:44:36.59\00:44:38.80
But they constrained Him
saying: 'abide with us. ' "
00:44:39.10\00:44:41.32
Please stay.
It's almost nighttime.
00:44:41.52\00:44:43.60
" 'It's toward evening
and the day is far spent. '
00:44:43.71\00:44:46.03
And He went in
to stay with them.
00:44:46.13\00:44:48.71
Now it came to pass as He
sat at the table with them
00:44:48.91\00:44:51.31
that He took bread,
blessed and broke it
00:44:51.51\00:44:53.92
and gave it to them.
00:44:54.12\00:44:55.44
Then their eyes were
opened and they knew Him
00:44:55.64\00:44:58.58
and He... " what?
"vanished out of their sight. "
00:44:58.78\00:45:02.04
Verse 32 is critical.
00:45:02.24\00:45:06.22
If you believe in underlining,
00:45:06.42\00:45:07.65
please, this is
the text to underline.
00:45:07.86\00:45:10.18
"And they said to one another:
00:45:10.48\00:45:12.29
'did not our
hearts burn within us? ' "
00:45:12.50\00:45:17.75
And in order to
burn, what must you have?
00:45:17.95\00:45:19.89
You've got to have fire, yeah?
00:45:20.10\00:45:22.08
But where was it
burning? Where was it firing?
00:45:22.28\00:45:25.21
It was burning in their hearts.
00:45:25.44\00:45:27.53
Amen? It was
burning within them.
00:45:27.73\00:45:30.37
How? What was it
that caused the burning?
00:45:30.57\00:45:33.05
What was it
that caused the fire?
00:45:33.25\00:45:34.66
It says: "While He
talked with us on the road. "
00:45:35.07\00:45:39.41
Ladies and gentlemen, if
you want your heart to fire
00:45:39.65\00:45:42.45
and burn with revival,
you know what you need to do?
00:45:42.65\00:45:44.36
Take a little walk
with Jesus - Amen! -
00:45:44.56\00:45:47.30
and hear His voice...
because that's exactly what
00:45:47.50\00:45:49.78
these disciples experienced:
He talked with us on the road.
00:45:49.88\00:45:52.85
Take a walk down
the road with Jesus.
00:45:53.15\00:45:55.96
"And while He opened
the scriptures to us. "
00:45:56.06\00:45:59.54
There was fire in the
hearts of these disciples.
00:46:00.90\00:46:03.51
And notice, they
didn't just sit on that fire
00:46:03.71\00:46:05.80
and go "like
wow... this is so nice!
00:46:06.00\00:46:07.48
We have fire burning
inside of us so let's jus...
00:46:07.68\00:46:10.86
Yeah, let's just continue
sitting and hanging out.
00:46:10.99\00:46:12.90
You know, we're
having a great time.
00:46:13.10\00:46:14.45
Jesus just came by.
00:46:14.65\00:46:16.20
We realize that there
is a lot of hope for Israel
00:46:16.40\00:46:18.44
so we're just going to hang
out for the rest of the day.
00:46:18.64\00:46:20.16
In fact we're just going to stay
here for the rest of the week
00:46:20.36\00:46:22.46
and we're not
really going to do much
00:46:22.66\00:46:23.77
because we're having
such an amazing time in here
00:46:23.87\00:46:25.56
that we're just going to
hog this fire for ourselves. "
00:46:25.76\00:46:29.20
Is that what it says? No!
00:46:29.40\00:46:30.79
No ladies and gentlemen.
In verse 33: "They rose up"
00:46:30.99\00:46:33.67
when? "that very hour
00:46:33.87\00:46:36.96
and returned to Jerusalem. "
00:46:37.57\00:46:40.12
Now remember, how far
was Emmaus from Jerusalem?
00:46:40.32\00:46:42.36
Seven miles from Jerusalem.
00:46:42.56\00:46:44.74
They had... They didn't
have, you know, busses or,
00:46:44.94\00:46:46.67
you know, Toyota
Camrys back then, yeah?
00:46:46.87\00:46:48.79
So they had to walk. I'm sure
they were running and leaping.
00:46:48.99\00:46:51.62
Amen? They were running
and leaping back to Jerusalem
00:46:51.82\00:46:55.03
why? What were they looking for?
00:46:55.23\00:46:56.66
They were looking
for the rest of the crew.
00:46:57.06\00:47:00.05
They were looking
for the rest of the team.
00:47:00.25\00:47:02.74
They were looking for the
rest of the brothers and sisters
00:47:02.94\00:47:06.59
in church. "The eleven
and those that were with Him
00:47:06.79\00:47:09.98
gathered saying:
'The Lord is risen indeed
00:47:10.18\00:47:12.26
and has appeared unto Simon. '
00:47:12.46\00:47:13.91
"Told of all the things
that had happened... " Verse 35:
00:47:14.11\00:47:15.98
"on the road and how He was
known to them in the breaking
00:47:16.18\00:47:18.97
of bread. " So here
we have the divine remedy
00:47:19.17\00:47:23.98
for revival. The two
disciples on the road to Emmaus
00:47:24.18\00:47:28.57
were walking. They were
kind of dragging their feet,
00:47:28.77\00:47:30.84
talking about all the gloomy,
gloomy stuff that had just
00:47:30.87\00:47:33.11
taken place. Jesus interrupts
that gloomy gloominess.
00:47:33.22\00:47:36.34
He brings some sunshine;
He brings the Word of God.
00:47:36.54\00:47:39.30
Not only does He bring
the Word of God, but what else
00:47:39.50\00:47:41.59
does He do? He
didn't just preach to them.
00:47:41.69\00:47:45.14
What else did He do?
00:47:45.44\00:47:46.87
He went inside their home.
00:47:49.19\00:47:51.24
Amen!
00:47:51.44\00:47:53.00
Amen? Did He not do that?
00:47:53.20\00:47:55.09
Why did He go inside their home?
00:47:55.39\00:47:56.65
Well, because
they invited Him. Yes.
00:47:57.85\00:47:59.89
But what were they
doing inside their home?
00:48:00.00\00:48:01.51
They were... they were eating.
00:48:02.80\00:48:04.85
Eating is a
wonderful thing, Amen?
00:48:05.05\00:48:06.66
Especially when you
have some good food!
00:48:06.86\00:48:08.73
And I'm blessed in my
church because potlucks?
00:48:09.51\00:48:11.28
Oh Lord, have mercy.
It's beautiful in there.
00:48:11.48\00:48:13.23
So Jesus went inside the
home and He was sharing a meal.
00:48:14.26\00:48:17.73
Now of course in the Hebrew
culture and many other cultures:
00:48:17.93\00:48:19.98
the Hispanic
culture, the Filipino culture,
00:48:20.18\00:48:21.73
many many other cultures,
00:48:21.93\00:48:23.10
it's common when you share
a meal it's kind of a sign of
00:48:23.20\00:48:26.09
a connection, a
friendship, a bond, yeah?
00:48:26.29\00:48:28.60
So what Jesus was doing here
00:48:28.84\00:48:31.08
is He was
sharing a meal with them.
00:48:31.23\00:48:33.17
He went into their
home; He spent time with them.
00:48:33.37\00:48:37.03
He was developing and
building relationships.
00:48:37.33\00:48:40.88
And after that took
place, after He prayed,
00:48:41.08\00:48:44.39
after He blessed the
food, why He disappeared
00:48:44.59\00:48:46.50
you know that's a... a
good theological question
00:48:46.70\00:48:48.69
that we don't
have time to unpack.
00:48:48.79\00:48:50.01
But while He prayed
and while He spent time
00:48:50.21\00:48:53.17
then is when the fire was built.
00:48:53.38\00:48:57.31
Ladies and gentlemen, if we want
revival to take our churches
00:48:57.51\00:49:01.25
it must begin in
the home. Amen. Amen?
00:49:02.48\00:49:06.45
Although, yes, we
do need the Word of God
00:49:06.55\00:49:07.99
and we do need to proclaim
it and we do need to share it.
00:49:08.02\00:49:10.12
True, but we need to
remember two things...
00:49:10.22\00:49:12.61
and we're going to develop this
in part 2 of our presentation.
00:49:12.81\00:49:16.03
That revival is
spiritual power, point number 1.
00:49:16.23\00:49:19.83
How do we know
it's spiritual power?
00:49:20.03\00:49:21.58
Well because we saw
it in Ezekiel chapter 37,
00:49:21.78\00:49:23.43
We see here in Luke chapter 24,
00:49:23.63\00:49:25.47
that both Ezekiel and Jesus
are coming with the Word of God
00:49:25.67\00:49:29.12
to bring spiritual
life... spiritual power.
00:49:29.32\00:49:32.12
But it's also not only
spiritual power but it's
00:49:32.32\00:49:35.04
also social power.
00:49:35.21\00:49:39.42
And we're going to go through
the book of Acts eventually
00:49:39.63\00:49:41.95
in part 2 and
we're going to see how...
00:49:42.15\00:49:45.44
What does a church
that is revived look like?
00:49:45.64\00:49:48.70
You want to see a
perfect church? Yes.
00:49:48.91\00:49:51.15
Well then you have to
stay tuned for part 2.
00:49:51.28\00:49:53.40
OK? That's the
commercial for part 2.
00:49:53.70\00:49:55.69
We're going to take a look.
00:49:55.72\00:49:56.89
What does a perfect
church look like? Right?
00:49:56.99\00:49:58.86
What does the ideal church that
is revived actually look like?
00:49:59.06\00:50:02.69
And the book of Acts
gives us that picture.
00:50:02.89\00:50:04.84
We have... Notice, we
didn't have to go to a local
00:50:05.04\00:50:08.14
book store to pick
up some guy's new idea.
00:50:08.34\00:50:10.72
It's in the book of Acts.
00:50:11.02\00:50:12.53
It's been written
there for thousands of years.
00:50:12.73\00:50:14.28
Now I'm not saying
that we can't, you know,
00:50:14.48\00:50:16.65
think a little bit more
creative and look at other
00:50:16.75\00:50:20.06
different things and approaches
00:50:20.16\00:50:21.83
how we can perfect
our approaches. But
00:50:21.93\00:50:24.25
at the end of the day the
Word of God is our manual.
00:50:24.45\00:50:26.04
So we must go with the Word of
God and actually do what it says
00:50:26.24\00:50:29.01
and the book of Acts
gives us this beautiful picture.
00:50:29.11\00:50:31.30
And I have to warn
you, when we get into part 2
00:50:31.60\00:50:35.30
of this presentation and we show
you a picture of Acts chapter 2,
00:50:35.50\00:50:38.95
you may be tempted to
change your membership
00:50:39.15\00:50:41.50
into that church. Amen?
00:50:41.60\00:50:43.20
Praise God!
00:50:43.40\00:50:45.44
But you can't do that because
that church is not around.
00:50:45.74\00:50:47.54
Amen? But the idea is so
that that church... that model
00:50:47.74\00:50:51.80
of that church can be duplicated
in all of our churches.
00:50:52.00\00:50:54.11
Amen? Revival is possible.
00:50:54.21\00:50:56.04
You may be attending a
church that is absolutely dead
00:50:56.24\00:50:58.86
and you're wondering to yourself
"how in the world can I... "
00:50:58.97\00:51:01.35
Uh, there's hope! Amen.
00:51:01.45\00:51:04.37
Don't give up. Do not
walk out on that church
00:51:04.51\00:51:06.25
because you may be that Ezekiel.
00:51:06.45\00:51:08.11
And what you need to
do is bring some sunshine
00:51:08.31\00:51:10.62
into that church.
Don't point your finger.
00:51:10.82\00:51:12.79
Don't be negative.
There's already enough
00:51:12.99\00:51:14.71
negativity in the church, Amen?
00:51:14.81\00:51:16.26
Go in there with some sunshine.
00:51:16.46\00:51:17.84
Show... If you have it
all figured out, show them how
00:51:18.04\00:51:20.23
it's done. Amen?
00:51:20.33\00:51:21.62
Take the love of Jesus in there.
00:51:21.83\00:51:23.50
Take the Word of God. Show
them how being connected to the
00:51:23.71\00:51:26.12
Word of God is so much
more powerful and so much more
00:51:26.23\00:51:28.34
awesome. Amen?
00:51:28.44\00:51:29.89
And then you will have a
bunch of people that will
00:51:30.09\00:51:32.24
experience what the disciples -
00:51:32.34\00:51:33.46
those two disciples
on the road to Emmaus -
00:51:33.66\00:51:35.15
experienced. They're going to be
like "Man, we feel this burning
00:51:35.25\00:51:37.82
inside of us. We
feel this... this fire. "
00:51:37.92\00:51:41.81
Let's take a look at that
fire. Jeremiah. This is my
00:51:42.01\00:51:44.47
last text for this presentation.
00:51:44.57\00:51:46.04
Jeremiah chapter
20. Jeremiah chapter 20.
00:51:46.15\00:51:49.47
That fire; that
fire. Jeremiah chapter 20.
00:51:49.57\00:51:52.72
What is that fire?
00:51:52.83\00:51:53.87
What does it look like?
00:51:54.07\00:51:55.21
Jeremiah chapter 20... we're
going to take a look at the...
00:51:55.41\00:51:58.02
the second half of that text.
00:51:58.22\00:51:59.86
When you're there please
say Amen. Jeremiah chapter 20.
00:52:00.07\00:52:02.76
Amen. In verse 9 it says:
00:52:02.96\00:52:04.92
"But His word was
in my heart like...
00:52:05.12\00:52:09.38
a burning fire. " And
when you have burning fire
00:52:10.51\00:52:13.07
who knows what happens?
"It was shut up in my bones. "
00:52:13.27\00:52:16.42
Now wait a second. We said
that Ezekiel 37 was a valley
00:52:16.52\00:52:19.24
of dry? bones. Now all
these bones are on fire.
00:52:19.34\00:52:23.95
That's revival. "I was
weary of holding it back. "
00:52:24.15\00:52:27.89
There was so much fire I
got tired of restraining myself.
00:52:28.97\00:52:31.69
Talking about Jesus. Amen?
00:52:31.89\00:52:33.39
"And I could not. " When
you have a group of believers
00:52:34.45\00:52:38.06
that are together and they have
the fire of the love of Jesus,
00:52:38.26\00:52:40.97
the fire of the Word of God,
00:52:41.17\00:52:42.52
they cannot help
but share Jesus. Amen?
00:52:42.72\00:52:45.21
I want to close with
sharing an article with you
00:52:45.41\00:52:47.61
that I saw that I thought
was very, very interesting.
00:52:47.81\00:52:50.78
In the New York Times about
a forest fire that took place.
00:52:50.98\00:52:54.91
A forest fire
that burnt 800 acres.
00:52:55.11\00:52:57.81
A fire that forced the
evacuation of 2,000 people.
00:52:58.01\00:53:00.94
A fire that damaged 56 homes
00:53:02.04\00:53:04.39
and caused about
$84,000 in damage.
00:53:04.69\00:53:09.54
Does anybody want to take a
guess how that fire started?
00:53:09.78\00:53:12.57
A careless flick of a cigarette.
00:53:14.64\00:53:17.31
Something so
apparently insignificant.
00:53:17.61\00:53:20.33
Something so apparently small
00:53:20.53\00:53:23.15
created this great, vast fire.
00:53:23.36\00:53:27.43
Now ladies and gentlemen, we
need a different kind of fire
00:53:27.73\00:53:30.98
but with that magnitude
- that same magnitude -
00:53:31.18\00:53:32.85
in our churches.
00:53:33.05\00:53:34.47
And maybe you're wondering:
"Well what can I do for Jesus? "
00:53:34.70\00:53:36.87
Well remember, it was a tiny
00:53:37.17\00:53:39.06
apparently insignificant
cigarette that did that.
00:53:39.26\00:53:41.70
It was a tiny spark that
created this kind of revolution,
00:53:41.93\00:53:45.19
this chain reaction of
flames and fire and burning.
00:53:45.39\00:53:48.64
And maybe, just
maybe, you are that match
00:53:48.88\00:53:51.60
that God needs in order for
that church to catch on fire.
00:53:51.81\00:53:55.22
Don't underestimate the
potential that you have.
00:53:55.52\00:53:58.34
Don't underestimate what God
can do with you and through you.
00:53:58.54\00:54:03.22
Don't let your failures and
your humanity get in the way
00:54:03.32\00:54:06.74
of what God can
do for you. Amen?
00:54:06.84\00:54:07.97
We all have challenges;
we all have our issues.
00:54:08.17\00:54:11.00
But maybe... Ask the
Lord: "Lord, what can I do
00:54:11.20\00:54:13.59
for my local congregation? "
00:54:13.69\00:54:15.05
Because many a time we
find ourselves going to church
00:54:15.25\00:54:17.34
trying to receive revival
and it not being found there.
00:54:17.54\00:54:21.80
And maybe God is asking
us: "Well, wait a second.
00:54:22.00\00:54:24.48
Maybe we need to bring a
little bit of the revival
00:54:24.69\00:54:26.25
in our experience. "
00:54:26.35\00:54:27.86
Inside the congregation
permeate the atmosphere
00:54:28.07\00:54:30.70
with that attractive,
beautiful portrait of Jesus
00:54:30.80\00:54:33.57
and maybe then - and ONLY then -
00:54:33.78\00:54:36.38
will others catch on that
vision and will others recognize
00:54:36.98\00:54:42.79
that they have been missing
out on this awesome experience.
00:54:42.99\00:54:45.45
And then and only then will not
only your church be on fire -
00:54:45.75\00:54:49.15
Amen? - but your whole
community will be on fire.
00:54:49.36\00:54:52.35
And like the atheist who started
running towards the church
00:54:52.55\00:54:55.92
because finally he saw something
exciting going on in the church,
00:54:56.22\00:54:59.18
said: "Wow, the church is
on fire. This is the first time
00:54:59.49\00:55:01.83
I've ever seen it on fire, "
00:55:01.93\00:55:02.95
maybe you'll find a lot of
people running to your church.
00:55:03.15\00:55:07.02
Maybe you'll find a lot of
old, former members that have
00:55:07.23\00:55:11.55
left. And the Lord
is going to shock you.
00:55:11.65\00:55:15.57
"Wow, what are you doing here? "
00:55:15.77\00:55:18.26
"How long has it been? " Yeah?
00:55:18.46\00:55:20.99
Maybe... maybe your children.
00:55:21.29\00:55:23.89
I know there's a
lot of parents here.
00:55:24.09\00:55:25.92
I know there's a lot of grand-
parents here that have been
00:55:26.12\00:55:27.96
praying for
their... for their children
00:55:28.06\00:55:29.66
and their grandchildren.
And by the way, I'm a product
00:55:29.76\00:55:31.76
of a
grandmother's prayer by the way.
00:55:31.86\00:55:33.39
Amen. If my
grandmother didn't pray for me,
00:55:33.59\00:55:35.82
somebody else would be
speaking to you this morning.
00:55:36.02\00:55:37.52
So don't lose hope in
what God can do for you.
00:55:37.73\00:55:42.65
Don't lose hope in those
around who have maybe slipped
00:55:42.85\00:55:46.76
and feel because of the
circumstances and situations
00:55:46.96\00:55:51.05
in life. And recognize
that even your church -
00:55:51.16\00:55:53.91
your little
church if it's little -
00:55:54.11\00:55:55.44
something great
can come out of that.
00:55:55.64\00:55:58.26
Now don't expect everybody
to catch the vision overnight.
00:55:58.46\00:56:01.35
Amen? Some of
these things take time.
00:56:01.55\00:56:04.37
Not only does it take time
00:56:04.57\00:56:06.13
but sometimes you
have to do it one on one.
00:56:06.33\00:56:08.68
Don't expect to preach a sermon
and then everybody's on fire.
00:56:08.88\00:56:12.20
Doesn't always
happen like that. Amen?
00:56:12.40\00:56:14.42
Jesus went into the home.
00:56:14.63\00:56:17.01
He spoke; He smiled.
00:56:17.21\00:56:20.75
He shook hands; He encouraged.
00:56:20.96\00:56:24.15
He gave hope; He loved.
00:56:24.45\00:56:27.29
He shared; He shared more.
00:56:27.32\00:56:30.27
He explained and then
there was fire that took place
00:56:30.47\00:56:34.24
in the hearts of those people.
00:56:34.34\00:56:35.67
You know what you
can do for your church?
00:56:35.87\00:56:37.30
Very simple. You can pray for
the leadership of that church.
00:56:37.50\00:56:39.91
Amen? Amen. You can pray
for the elders of that church.
00:56:40.01\00:56:43.08
You can pray for the
pastor of that church.
00:56:43.28\00:56:45.14
Let's not be negative towards
the authority or the leadership
00:56:45.34\00:56:47.72
of the church. Amen?
00:56:47.82\00:56:48.95
Let's respect it;
let's pray for them.
00:56:49.05\00:56:50.64
And another thing you
can do as a lay person
00:56:50.84\00:56:53.03
is you can join the elders
in visiting some of the sheep.
00:56:53.33\00:56:56.09
Amen? Because when you
visit some of the members
00:56:56.29\00:56:59.61
you will realize
"Wow, even in our own ranks
00:56:59.81\00:57:02.77
there are people like
those two disciples on the road
00:57:02.97\00:57:04.99
to Emmaus.
00:57:05.09\00:57:06.26
There are people in the same
condition that are down and out,
00:57:06.46\00:57:09.33
that are hopeless, and
they come and they congregate
00:57:09.53\00:57:11.94
every Sabbath
morning at our church. "
00:57:12.04\00:57:13.73
And we think everybody's fine
00:57:13.93\00:57:15.28
because unfortunately we have
a very shallow and superficial
00:57:15.48\00:57:17.87
experience with one another.
00:57:17.97\00:57:19.18
But Jesus wants to
create a revival and revolution
00:57:19.38\00:57:21.64
of love and of mercy. Amen?
00:57:21.74\00:57:24.05