Hello friends and
welcome once again
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to 3ABN's Spring
Camp Meeting 2011.
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The blessings have been
flowing from day to day.
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The people of God are
receiving strength from above.
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And once again we'd like
to thank you for tuning in.
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For those of you who
are too far away to join us
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just take time right now
to sit down and listen to
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a powerful, Bible-centered
message by Pastor Jay Rosario
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who visits us from the
Central California Conference.
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This is part 2 in "Helping Your
Church Experience Revival. "
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Every one of us needs revival.
Can you say Amen to that?
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And you'll discover that
revival cannot be sustained
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without the Word and
without the Holy Spirit.
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But Pastor Jay
Rosario will continue the trek
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through the Word of God
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putting the pieces together.
Hoping that your desire
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is to be revived by the
presence and power of the Lord.
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If you are within the
southern Illinois area,
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we'd like to invite
you. We have today, tomorrow,
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and we have a wonderful concert
tonight... Friday evening.
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The Pillars Project is going
to be released... the second one
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which is about Pillars hymns,
and you don't want to miss that.
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So come out to enjoy some
wonderful, Christ-centered music
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to the glory and
honor of the Lord.
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But right now we want to
focus our minds and our hearts
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on receiving what
God has in store for us.
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And I think it's fitting that
the song that God has impressed
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me to sing is one
that really focuses on the
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very strength and
essence and foundation
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of what revival is all about.
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The title of that
song is There Is A Savior.
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There is
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a Savior.
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What joys expressed.
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His eyes are mercy,
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His word is rest.
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For each
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tomorrow...
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for yesterday...
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there is
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a Savior
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who lights our way.
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Are there burdens in your heart?
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Is your past a
memory that binds you?
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Is there a pain deep inside
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that you've
carried far too long?
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Well, there's
strength in your heart
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with His good news.
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There is a Savior
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and He's forgiven you.
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There is
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a Savior.
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What joys expressed.
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His eyes are mercy,
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His word brings rest.
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For each
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tomorrow...
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for yesterday...
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there is a Savior
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who lights our way.
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There is
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a Savior.
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What joys expressed.
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In His eyes I've found mercy,
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His word brought
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rest.
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For each
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tomorrow...
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for yesterday...
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There is
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a Savior
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who lights our way.
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There is a
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Savior
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who lights our
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way.
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There is a Savior!
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Amen! Thank
you, Pastor Lomacang.
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Multi-talented. Amen?
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Amen. He's a
preacher and a singer.
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The Bible says that we need to
covet the earnest gifts, Amen?
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Oh, it's a
blessing to be here at 3ABN.
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Umm, we've been
learning quite a bit
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and we have another
exciting presentation.
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Um, but before we do
so as our custom is here
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let us bow our heads for prayer
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and invite the real
presenter... the Spirit.
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Father, we want to thank
you because You are a Savior
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and Your name says it all.
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You save us from ourselves.
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You save us from complications
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and we need to be saved in this
particular occasion as well.
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Father, our many
churches also need to be saved
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from spiritual lethargy
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and they need to be saved,
Lord, from the formalities
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and the deadness that
they find themselves in.
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And we ask that in this
presentation You may help us
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to be able to
understand a little bit more
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what we can do as lay people
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to help our
churches experience revival.
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Is our prayer in
Jesus' name, Amen.
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Amen! Well, this is part two
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of... continuation of
our previous presentation
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on helping
churches experience revival.
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And let's do a little
review just to make sure that
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we're all on the same page.
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What is revival? We
talked a little bit about this.
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A renewal, right?
It's coming back to life.
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Coming back to life
from the spiritual deadness.
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And we said that many
churches need to be revived
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because at some point
in history they were alive
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but for whatever reason
they died spiritually...
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they need to be
revived. And we also said that
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some churches
don't need revival...
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they just need "vival"
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because they've
never been alive. Amen?
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So revival implies that they
need to have life once again.
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Now, how do we find...
how do we experience revival
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according to Exodus...
not Exodus... I got the letter
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right, E... Ezekiel.
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Ezekiel 37 and where else?
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Luke 24.
Somebody remembered that.
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How does Ezekiel 37 explain
to us how we get revival?
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The Word... and what else?
And the Spirit of God, right?
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When you put these
two things together
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be very, very careful
because a spiritual explosion
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is what's going to follow.
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So what we saw in Ezekiel
chapter 37 is that there was
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a valley of dry bones.
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And the valley of dry
bones represented who?
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Israel. And the Israel in
the Old Testament was who?
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The church. So the
church was found in a dead, dry
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spiritual experience.
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And the question was:
"Can these bones live? "
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And Ezekiel I would
imagine scratched his head
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in doubt and said: "Oh Lord,
only You can answer that. "
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And many of us, when we
think of our own churches,
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we say: "Can these bones live? "
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There's good news.
Those bones can live. Amen?
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Amen. Don't give
up on your churches
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because even in your
church revival can be a reality.
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We also
discovered in Luke chapter 24
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that Jesus - finding 2
disciples on the road to Emaeus
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that were disappointed...
they were discouraged,
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they were in need of revival -
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and Jesus also brought
to them the Word of God.
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But not only did He
bring the Word of God.
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What else did He do? He
went inside their home -
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remember? - and He broke bread.
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He spent time
building personal relationships
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with people who needed revival.
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So we're learning a little
bit more about what revival is
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and how to... how to
help somebody or a group of
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individuals experience revival.
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It's not just
preaching to them. Amen?
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It's spending time with them.
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It's listening to them.
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And that's
exactly what Jesus did.
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And we found out why it
was that Israel in Ezekiel 37
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and these two
disciples on the road to Emaeus
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experienced the
spiritual deadness.
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You guys remember?
What was it that they lost?
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They lost hope. In
both cases they lost hope.
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Hope in their role
as a special people.
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Hope in the
prophesies; hope in the message.
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Hope... hope in their mission.
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They lost hope in
all of these things,
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and that led then
to spiritual deadness.
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Ladies and
gentlemen, if we lose hope
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in the message of God, the
only thing that will follow
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is spiritual deadness.
And I believe the reason why
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there's so many churches
that are spiritually dead
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is because of that...
because we have lost hope
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in the three angels' messages.
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We have lost hope in
the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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We have lost hope
in that "good old news"
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that Jesus is a
friend of sinners.
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There is hope for the hopeless.
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We also discovered that revival
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doesn't always begin large.
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But revival - the
majority of the times -
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is initiated by
something very, very small.
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Yes? So when you
talk about revival
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we're not always
referring to every individual
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buying in to this experience.
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What we're talking about
is a group of individuals
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who catch a vision
and little by little
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it becomes contagious. And they
win one person after the other
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one by one, one by one until
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there's an exceeding great
army as we saw in Ezekiel 37.
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And that exceeding
great army was ready for war.
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Now revival is a blessing. Amen?
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But we know that
every blessing that God has
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Satan has a counterfeit.
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So although revival is a
blessing and the Bible speaks
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volume about revival,
there's also this thing called
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the false revival.
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And the closer and closer
we come to the end of time
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we're going to see
more manifestations of the
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false revival.
And if we're not aware
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of what true revival
is, ladies and gentlemen,
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we are in danger
of being swept away.
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The greatest example of
revival that we see in the
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New Testament is
none other than Pentecost.
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When we think of Pentecost
we usually think of several
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things. What comes to our minds
when we think of Pentecost?
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Speaking in tongues. What else?
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The Holy Spirit.
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Fire, baptism...
all these things, right?
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How was it that
Pentecost took place?
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There was a spokesperson.
Who was that spokesperson?
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It was Peter.
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What was it that Peter preached?
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Because if that message created
such a powerful aftermath
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of 3,000 people getting baptized
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then we'd better
preach that message, Amen?
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Amen! So what was that message?
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Well really the bulk of that
message was an Old Testament
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prophecy found
in the book of Joel.
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If you have your Bibles, I
want to invite you to go to the
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book of Joel. Joel is
right after the book of Hosea.
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There's Daniel, Hosea, Joel.
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Joel chapter 2.
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Joel chapter 2. This is
kind of like the foundation,
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this kind of was the
nucleus of Peter's message
00:14:01.38\00:14:03.27
on the Day of Pentecost.
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And really this is a prophecy
of revival to a certain extent.
00:14:04.68\00:14:07.58
Joel chapter 2, and when
you're there please say "Amen. "
00:14:07.78\00:14:10.45
Amen. Joel chapter 2
beginning in verse 28.
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The Bible says: "And
it shall come to pass"
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When?
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"afterward... "
some time in the future
00:14:18.25\00:14:20.01
"that I will pour out" What?
00:14:20.31\00:14:23.17
"My Spirit on all flesh.
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Your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy.
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Your old men shall dream dreams.
00:14:28.56\00:14:30.44
Your young men
shall see visions.
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And also on My manservants
and on My maidservants
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I will pour out My
Spirit in those days.
00:14:36.13\00:14:38.67
And I will show wonders in
the heavens and in the earth:
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blood and fire
and pillars of smoke.
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The sun shall be turned into
darkness and the moon into blood
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before the coming of the great
and awesome day of the Lord.
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And it shall come to pass
that whoever calls on the name
00:14:50.28\00:14:52.81
of the Lord shall be
saved. For in Mount Zion
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and in Jerusalem there shall
be deliverance. " Amen? Amen.
00:14:56.20\00:14:59.94
"As the Lord hath said among the
remnant whom the Lord calls. "
00:15:00.07\00:15:04.20
So Joel chapter 2 - this
portion of scripture - was
00:15:04.50\00:15:06.95
really what Peter was
basing his Pentecost sermon on.
00:15:07.15\00:15:12.07
Now it's very interesting
when you look carefully in
00:15:12.27\00:15:14.05
verse 28 because
there's a promise there.
00:15:14.16\00:15:17.41
And the promise is that
God is going to pour out
00:15:17.61\00:15:22.25
His Spirit. Is
that what He says?
00:15:22.55\00:15:24.62
He says: "I will pour
out My Spirit on all flesh. "
00:15:24.82\00:15:28.70
By the way, "all
flesh" is inclusive, yes?
00:15:30.33\00:15:33.10
That means that
you can be a recipient
00:15:33.79\00:15:35.91
of the baptism
of the Holy Spirit.
00:15:36.11\00:15:37.67
So let's run to Acts
chapter 2 to make sure that
00:15:38.28\00:15:40.73
we're really correct in our...
in our case here that Peter's
00:15:40.93\00:15:46.65
sermon in Acts chapter
2 is really based on Joel.
00:15:46.76\00:15:49.68
We said that in Joel
chapter 2 we saw clearly
00:15:49.71\00:15:53.16
that God says: "I
will pour out My Spirit. "
00:15:53.36\00:15:56.88
Very clear.
00:15:57.08\00:15:58.18
But notice what
Acts chapter 2...
00:15:58.38\00:15:59.87
Notice some of the
details that we have.
00:16:00.07\00:16:01.78
You have Peter's
sermon beginning in verse 14.
00:16:02.18\00:16:04.76
And the Bible says in verse 14:
00:16:05.86\00:16:07.45
"But Peter standing up
with the eleven raised his voice
00:16:07.75\00:16:10.62
and said to them: 'Men of Judea
00:16:10.72\00:16:12.14
and all who dwell in Jerusalem,
let this be known to you
00:16:12.34\00:16:14.80
and heed my words.
00:16:15.00\00:16:16.66
For these are not
drunk as you suppose
00:16:16.86\00:16:18.60
since it is only the
third hour of the day.
00:16:18.80\00:16:20.34
But this is what
was spoken by' Who?
00:16:20.55\00:16:22.67
'the prophet Joel. ' "
00:16:22.87\00:16:24.98
So far so good, yeah?
00:16:25.18\00:16:26.34
We just went to Joel;
we just saw the prophecy.
00:16:26.54\00:16:28.53
Peter says: "Let me
quote the prophet Joel. "
00:16:28.93\00:16:32.75
So far so good. But
there's something interesting
00:16:32.95\00:16:35.47
that you find in his quotation
00:16:35.67\00:16:38.88
of the very
verses that we just read.
00:16:39.08\00:16:40.80
"And it shall come to
pass in the last days says God
00:16:41.00\00:16:44.40
I will pour out My
Spirit on all flesh.
00:16:44.60\00:16:47.24
Your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy.
00:16:47.45\00:16:49.64
Your young men
shall see visions.
00:16:49.84\00:16:51.34
Your old men
shall dream dreams. "
00:16:51.54\00:16:53.93
Does that sound familiar?
00:16:54.23\00:16:55.32
Yes! It's almost
verbatim to Joel chapter 2.
00:16:55.62\00:16:58.97
But there is a minor detail
00:16:59.37\00:17:03.11
in Acts chapter 2 that
Joel chapter 2 does not have.
00:17:03.31\00:17:06.72
It's almost unnoticeable
if you read it very quickly.
00:17:07.75\00:17:12.62
Let's read verse 17 once again.
00:17:12.93\00:17:14.85
"And it shall come to
pass in the last days says God
00:17:15.05\00:17:17.82
that I will pour out
My Spirit on all flesh. "
00:17:17.96\00:17:20.22
Is that what it says?
00:17:20.42\00:17:21.45
Well according
to my translation -
00:17:22.98\00:17:24.26
I have the New King
James - it actually says
00:17:24.36\00:17:25.88
"And it shall come to
pass in the last days says God
00:17:26.08\00:17:28.97
that I will pour out... "
00:17:29.17\00:17:31.41
And then there's a
really tiny word. It's almost
00:17:33.63\00:17:37.07
unnoticeable. It's
apparently insignificant.
00:17:37.27\00:17:40.27
"I will pour out... "
It doesn't say My Spirit
00:17:40.57\00:17:43.25
but rather it says what?
00:17:43.45\00:17:44.71
"of My Spirit on all flesh. "
00:17:44.91\00:17:49.75
Interesting. Why in
the world does Peter say
00:17:49.95\00:17:53.41
"I will pour out of My Spirit"
00:17:53.61\00:17:56.37
when Joel said what?
00:17:56.57\00:17:57.88
"I will pour out My Spirit. "
00:17:58.08\00:18:00.46
Now is that a big difference?
00:18:00.66\00:18:02.17
"Of My Spirit" and "My Spirit? "
00:18:02.38\00:18:04.19
What's the difference?
00:18:04.49\00:18:05.63
My Spirit means what?
00:18:06.42\00:18:07.92
All. It means the
totality of the Spirit.
00:18:08.13\00:18:10.55
"I will pour out My Spirit. "
00:18:10.65\00:18:11.92
But when I say: "I
will pour out of...
00:18:12.12\00:18:15.98
My Spirit, "
what does that mean?
00:18:16.18\00:18:18.25
It means that it's a
portion but not all of it.
00:18:19.31\00:18:23.46
You guys follow?
So in Acts chapter 2
00:18:23.76\00:18:25.96
what Peter is implying -
at least, that's what the
00:18:26.06\00:18:28.84
evidence appears to teach
us - is that what they were
00:18:28.94\00:18:32.58
experiencing in Acts chapter
2, the experience of Pentecost,
00:18:32.68\00:18:36.21
was only... was only...
00:18:36.31\00:18:41.32
was only... Amen?
00:18:41.72\00:18:44.04
a partial fulfillment of
the prophecy of Joel chapter 2.
00:18:44.34\00:18:50.29
Why? Because in the
not-so-distant future
00:18:50.49\00:18:54.45
Amen? Joel chapter 2
is going to be fulfilled
00:18:54.65\00:18:58.35
in all of its totality.
Amen. And God is going to have
00:18:58.45\00:19:02.26
recipients of the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
00:19:02.36\00:19:04.97
And I don't know about
you but I would love to be
00:19:05.17\00:19:07.47
one of those
recipients. Amen? Amen!
00:19:07.57\00:19:09.49
So Acts chapter 2 teaches
us. And we look at Pentecost.
00:19:09.63\00:19:12.72
We're like: "Wow!
That's so incredible!
00:19:12.92\00:19:14.20
How could it be?
3,000 people; one message.
00:19:14.40\00:19:17.35
Wow! "
00:19:17.55\00:19:19.24
Can you imagine? If this
was only a portion of the
00:19:19.54\00:19:22.54
Holy Spirit, can you
imagine what would happen
00:19:22.64\00:19:26.86
if the entirety of the
Holy Spirit is poured out
00:19:27.06\00:19:29.71
into God's
people in the last days?
00:19:29.91\00:19:31.89
Amen. There is going to
be an outrageous revival
00:19:32.09\00:19:36.07
of primitive faith and
godliness amongst God's people
00:19:36.17\00:19:38.66
and Pentecost will be
repeated. But the difference
00:19:38.86\00:19:41.98
is that the second Pentecost
is only going to be bigger
00:19:42.19\00:19:45.32
and way more powerful.
Amen! And ladies and gentlemen,
00:19:45.52\00:19:48.10
when I look at Acts
chapter 2 I get encouraged.
00:19:48.20\00:19:50.28
You know why? Because
I see the recipients of
00:19:50.38\00:19:52.58
the Holy Spirit...
and they're human beings.
00:19:52.68\00:19:55.63
Peter was a human
being, was he not?
00:19:56.93\00:19:59.09
Peter was a human
being that made mistakes.
00:19:59.39\00:20:02.70
Amen. Peter was a human being
that slipped and fell at times.
00:20:03.00\00:20:06.69
When I look at Peter
I resonate with Peter
00:20:07.64\00:20:09.77
because a lot of his
flaws I can see in my own life.
00:20:09.87\00:20:13.15
And yet it is this man that
has weakness and that has flaws
00:20:13.35\00:20:17.91
that was sanctified and that was
used to be the main instrument
00:20:18.12\00:20:23.09
to communicate
this powerful message
00:20:23.19\00:20:24.84
which led to the Pentecostal
outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
00:20:25.04\00:20:27.59
Amen. So if that
was true with Peter...
00:20:27.79\00:20:29.72
in order words, if God can
use Peter, ladies and gentlemen,
00:20:29.82\00:20:31.97
he can use any single
one of us in this room.
00:20:32.17\00:20:34.92
Amen? Amen.
00:20:35.12\00:20:36.67
So don't let the
devil get the best of you.
00:20:36.97\00:20:38.99
If you slipped and fell,
look at the life of Peter
00:20:39.19\00:20:41.70
and follow his
example... he went to Jesus.
00:20:41.80\00:20:43.72
In fact, we're told...
you can study it carefully...
00:20:43.75\00:20:47.14
right after Peter
denied Jesus three times
00:20:47.34\00:20:49.73
he was running
through the woods.
00:20:49.93\00:20:51.75
He was in
shame; he was in guilt.
00:20:51.85\00:20:54.67
And he had an
experience that was so powerful
00:20:54.77\00:20:56.71
that the Peter
of post-repentance
00:20:56.91\00:21:00.81
was way more powerful than the
Peter before he denied Jesus.
00:21:01.01\00:21:05.09
So there's hope. And maybe
you find yourself denying Jesus.
00:21:05.29\00:21:08.71
Ladies and gentlemen, we just
have to come back to the Lord
00:21:08.91\00:21:11.95
and recognize that even in
this broken body that we have
00:21:12.15\00:21:16.54
and sometimes
our broken experience
00:21:16.64\00:21:18.56
God can still use us.
00:21:18.76\00:21:20.37
The Bible tells us that
the end time will have a bigger
00:21:20.57\00:21:23.30
Pentecost.
00:21:23.50\00:21:24.94
There will be a bigger
outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
00:21:25.04\00:21:27.52
However, every
blessing that God has
00:21:27.72\00:21:30.60
Satan has a counterfeit.
00:21:30.90\00:21:33.32
And if we look in Revelation...
Run with me to Revelation
00:21:33.52\00:21:35.36
chapter 13. In
Revelation chapter 13
00:21:35.46\00:21:38.44
we have this amazing
chapter that talks about
00:21:38.64\00:21:40.97
the specific
details of end-time events
00:21:41.17\00:21:44.82
associated with the beast power
and the mark of the beast power.
00:21:45.02\00:21:48.15
We don't have time
to get into specifics,
00:21:48.35\00:21:50.40
but when you look carefully
in Revelation chapter 13
00:21:50.60\00:21:53.46
you see clearly that one of the
tools that the enemy is going to
00:21:53.66\00:21:57.31
use is false revival. When you
look at Revelation chapter 13
00:21:57.41\00:22:02.81
and you look in verse 13
00:22:03.02\00:22:05.59
the Bible says he -
the beast - performs what?
00:22:05.79\00:22:09.47
Great signs so
that even he makes what?
00:22:09.67\00:22:14.08
fire come down
from heaven on the earth
00:22:14.28\00:22:17.27
in the sight of men.
Ladies and gentlemen, what
00:22:17.47\00:22:19.22
happened on the day of
Pentecost? What came down?
00:22:19.32\00:22:21.53
Fire. There was fire.
In Revelation chapter 13
00:22:21.73\00:22:24.53
we have Satan's Pentecost.
00:22:24.73\00:22:27.27
It's a false revival.
00:22:27.47\00:22:29.29
And the Bible tells us that
it's going to come down on earth
00:22:29.49\00:22:32.31
in the sight of men
00:22:32.91\00:22:36.15
meaning that it's
going to be visible.
00:22:36.36\00:22:38.13
Meaning that many
will be led astray.
00:22:39.07\00:22:40.82
Verse 14: "He deceives
those who dwell on the earth
00:22:40.92\00:22:45.24
by those signs which he was
granted to do in the sight...
00:22:45.27\00:22:48.79
in the sight of the beast
00:22:48.89\00:22:50.15
telling those who dwell
on the earth to make an image
00:22:50.39\00:22:52.36
to the beast who was wounded
by the sword and lived. "
00:22:52.46\00:22:54.91
One of the things
that Satan is going to use
00:22:55.11\00:22:57.35
in opposition
towards God and His people
00:22:57.55\00:23:00.07
is he's going to use
false signs, false wonders.
00:23:00.27\00:23:03.54
And he's going to create a
false revival that's going to
00:23:03.74\00:23:06.74
sweep all over the place.
00:23:06.84\00:23:08.11
And many people
are going to see this.
00:23:08.32\00:23:10.07
They're going to see
all of these amazing things
00:23:10.27\00:23:11.93
and they're
going to be led astray.
00:23:12.17\00:23:14.01
Ladies and gentlemen,
we need to be very careful
00:23:14.98\00:23:17.06
that we are not
swept to the false revival.
00:23:17.16\00:23:19.56
Now it's interesting because
there's an Old Testament story
00:23:19.76\00:23:21.84
that talks about
fire coming down.
00:23:22.14\00:23:24.53
Actually, there are
many Old Testament stories.
00:23:24.73\00:23:26.40
But there's one in
particular that comes to my mind
00:23:26.51\00:23:28.01
in the book of I Kings.
When you look at I Kings
00:23:28.11\00:23:31.23
and we take a look at
chapter 18 you find a showdown
00:23:31.43\00:23:35.01
between God's representative and
Satan's representatives plural.
00:23:35.21\00:23:40.89
You find Elijah - who
we don't have time to... to
00:23:41.12\00:23:45.48
develop this - but when
you study the story of Elijah
00:23:45.68\00:23:48.05
from beginning to end
it's literally a pattern
00:23:48.25\00:23:51.13
of God's people's
experience in the end of time.
00:23:51.33\00:23:54.07
So what Elijah went through is
what you and I will go through.
00:23:54.27\00:23:58.91
Especially... I really like the
last part of the story of Elijah
00:23:59.11\00:24:01.03
when he gets translated. Amen?
00:24:01.13\00:24:02.51
Amen! That's the good part.
00:24:02.71\00:24:04.12
Then he lives
"happily ever after. " Amen?
00:24:04.87\00:24:06.77
I Kings chapter 18 we have
the showdown on Mt. Carmel.
00:24:07.80\00:24:10.58
We don't have time to
get into all the details.
00:24:10.78\00:24:12.18
Some of you are
familiar with the story.
00:24:12.38\00:24:14.38
There was... The issue
on Mt. Carmel was what?
00:24:14.58\00:24:18.21
The issue was
the issue of worship.
00:24:19.08\00:24:21.72
And you had two
different approaches to worship.
00:24:22.73\00:24:26.87
At the end of the day there's
only 2 kinds of worship, right?
00:24:27.90\00:24:30.67
There's true worship
and there's false worship.
00:24:30.88\00:24:33.57
And when you look at
the 400+ prophets of Baal
00:24:33.77\00:24:36.97
they had a very interesting
way of calling on their God.
00:24:37.17\00:24:41.15
What were some of
the things that they did?
00:24:41.46\00:24:43.28
To sum up... to take
all of those those answers
00:24:47.70\00:24:49.95
and put them together, we
could just say they were wild.
00:24:50.05\00:24:53.06
Right? It was almost abnormal.
Like, what are they doing?
00:24:54.17\00:24:57.36
They started cutting themselves.
Like, what are they doing?
00:24:57.56\00:24:59.34
Right? It was
externally very flamboyant
00:24:59.44\00:25:03.99
for the lack of a better term.
00:25:04.19\00:25:05.41
But when you look at
what happened after they did
00:25:06.21\00:25:09.79
all of these outrageous things
00:25:09.89\00:25:12.18
the Bible tells us
that there was no answer.
00:25:12.48\00:25:16.51
It was all an emotional rush.
00:25:17.41\00:25:21.65
And then God's
prophet approaches
00:25:21.95\00:25:26.30
and he says indirectly: "Let me
show you how to worship God. "
00:25:26.60\00:25:32.56
And let's pick up the
example in I Kings chapter 18
00:25:32.76\00:25:36.19
beginning in verse 36.
00:25:36.29\00:25:37.59
"And it came to pass at
the time of the offering of the
00:25:37.79\00:25:40.13
evening sacrifice that Elijah
the prophet came near and said:
00:25:40.23\00:25:43.28
'Lord God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Israel
00:25:43.48\00:25:45.61
let it be known
this day that You are God
00:25:45.81\00:25:48.77
in Israel and I am Your servant
and that I have done all these
00:25:48.97\00:25:51.67
at Your word. Hear
me, O Lord, hear me
00:25:51.87\00:25:53.69
that this people may
know that you are the Lord God
00:25:53.89\00:25:56.22
and that You have turned their
hearts back to You again. '
00:25:56.42\00:25:58.59
Then the.. " what?
"fire of the Lord fell
00:25:58.79\00:26:04.18
and consumed the burnt sacrifice
00:26:04.38\00:26:06.28
and the wood and
the stones and the dust
00:26:06.48\00:26:08.35
and licked up the
water that was in the trench.
00:26:08.45\00:26:10.72
Now when all the people saw it
00:26:10.92\00:26:12.78
they fell on their faces
and they said: 'The Lord,
00:26:12.98\00:26:15.63
He is God. The
Lord, He is God. ' "
00:26:15.83\00:26:18.95
Now how did Elijah
approach the altar?
00:26:19.15\00:26:22.46
In a very
prayerful, in a very humble
00:26:22.76\00:26:27.32
in a very reverent
manner. And what was the...
00:26:27.52\00:26:30.73
what was the conclusion
or the result of that?
00:26:30.93\00:26:33.93
There was fire that
came down from heaven.
00:26:35.08\00:26:37.31
Remember we talked
about fire in the past.
00:26:37.51\00:26:38.86
Remember we talked a little
bit about the disciples on the
00:26:39.17\00:26:42.67
road to Emaeus?
00:26:42.77\00:26:44.25
What did they experience
after spending time with Jesus?
00:26:44.35\00:26:46.48
There was fire. And by the way,
00:26:46.51\00:26:48.69
they were
breaking bread with Jesus.
00:26:48.89\00:26:50.46
They were talking with Him;
they were hanging out with Jesus
00:26:50.66\00:26:53.20
and then there was fire.
00:26:53.40\00:26:54.82
There was revival.
00:26:55.02\00:26:56.86
There was an explosion inside.
00:26:57.06\00:26:58.33
So when you look
at I Kings chapter 18
00:26:58.54\00:27:00.95
we see that the devil is going
to counterfeit this experience
00:27:01.90\00:27:05.71
on Mt. Carmel and he's
going to deceive many people.
00:27:05.81\00:27:09.77
When you look at many of
the things in today's world
00:27:10.07\00:27:13.56
that are labeled revival,
ladies and gentlemen, they are
00:27:13.76\00:27:16.27
nothing more than
an emotional exercise.
00:27:16.38\00:27:19.52
They're nothing more than
just an empty, emotional rush.
00:27:19.72\00:27:22.48
I remember on one occasion I
was working as a Bible worker
00:27:22.68\00:27:25.58
in northern California
and a good friend of mine was
00:27:25.68\00:27:28.78
giving Bible studies
to another young man.
00:27:28.88\00:27:31.24
And this young man was,
you know, pretty on fire.
00:27:31.44\00:27:33.86
He was pretty excited about,
you know, the things he was
00:27:34.06\00:27:36.54
learning. And this
young man was a Christian.
00:27:36.65\00:27:38.93
And he invited my friend
to go to their charismatic
00:27:39.13\00:27:44.16
youth revival.
00:27:44.26\00:27:45.88
So my friend
got a little scared.
00:27:47.43\00:27:50.18
He didn't really know
what to expect so he called me.
00:27:50.48\00:27:54.60
"Hey, Jay, how's
it going? " I'm like:
00:27:54.63\00:27:56.35
"I'm doing good.
What are you up to? "
00:27:56.56\00:27:58.13
So he tells me: "You know,
I've just been invited to this
00:27:58.33\00:28:00.23
charismatic youth revival. "
00:28:00.33\00:28:02.52
I'm like: "All
right, well have fun.
00:28:02.75\00:28:04.30
I hope you enjoy it. " He
says: "No, no, no, no, no, no.
00:28:04.40\00:28:06.60
I don't want to go by myself. "
00:28:06.80\00:28:08.36
And I'm like: "But aren't
you? Didn't somebody invite you?
00:28:08.77\00:28:11.86
Aren't you? " "Yeah,
but can you come with me? "
00:28:12.06\00:28:14.67
And I'm like: "Why do you
want me to come with you? "
00:28:14.97\00:28:16.87
He said: "I don't know...
I don't know what to expect.
00:28:17.17\00:28:18.94
I'm kind of afraid. " I said:
"Sure, I'll come with you. "
00:28:19.14\00:28:21.43
"All right. " So I hang up.
00:28:21.63\00:28:23.01
You know, five minutes
later I started getting nervous.
00:28:23.21\00:28:25.32
I'm like: "Man. " So
then I picked up the phone
00:28:27.79\00:28:30.97
and called my other friend.
00:28:31.07\00:28:32.31
"Hey, how's it going,
man? How are you doing? "
00:28:32.51\00:28:33.94
"Um, oh nothing. "
"Listen, what are you doing
00:28:34.86\00:28:37.28
tomorrow? " And eventually
I invited... I told him the
00:28:37.38\00:28:40.59
whole story. He
says: "Sure, I'll go. "
00:28:40.69\00:28:41.86
So here we were Sunday
morning. We were invited to this
00:28:42.07\00:28:44.92
charismatic youth revival.
00:28:45.12\00:28:46.93
And we get into the
park... The place is packed.
00:28:47.13\00:28:49.94
We barely found a parking spot.
00:28:50.14\00:28:51.64
We get out of the
car. We carpooled there.
00:28:51.84\00:28:53.73
We were praying the
whole way, of course.
00:28:53.93\00:28:55.36
All the way there.
00:28:55.57\00:28:56.64
We get out of the car and
we're kind of taking baby steps
00:28:56.84\00:28:59.78
like this into... 'cause
we don't really know what to
00:28:59.98\00:29:03.45
expect. We're like: "Oh,
what are we going to say?
00:29:03.56\00:29:05.40
What are we going to
do? " And I hope we weren't
00:29:05.60\00:29:09.09
holding hands. But I
vaguely remember I was...
00:29:09.19\00:29:11.31
I vaguely remember I was
very close... rather close
00:29:12.49\00:29:15.58
to each other as
we opened the door.
00:29:15.68\00:29:17.90
It was kind of like the
three Hebrews in Daniel:
00:29:18.11\00:29:20.76
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
00:29:20.96\00:29:22.35
We were going to enter
into an unexpected situation.
00:29:22.45\00:29:26.10
So as soon as we
opened the door...
00:29:26.30\00:29:28.06
no exaggeration... as
soon as we opened the door
00:29:28.26\00:29:31.20
we were almost like
kicked back. We were almost
00:29:31.40\00:29:33.95
pushed back by the
sound of the heavy music.
00:29:34.05\00:29:36.92
I mean, I thought in California
there's a lot of earthquakes.
00:29:38.19\00:29:40.72
And I thought when we walked
inside: "Oh, we're in the middle
00:29:40.92\00:29:43.39
of an earthquake. " It
wasn't. It was the vibration
00:29:43.49\00:29:45.19
of the music. And as
we walked and as I looked
00:29:45.29\00:29:48.64
down in the altar there was
a group of I don't know 60-70
00:29:48.84\00:29:53.75
young people and they were
literally jumping up and down.
00:29:53.85\00:29:57.65
Jumping up and down.
00:29:57.95\00:30:00.43
Jumping up and down.
00:30:00.63\00:30:01.67
Not only were they
just jumping up and down.
00:30:01.78\00:30:03.03
They were jumping up
and down; they were yelling;
00:30:03.23\00:30:05.28
and they were screaming.
And the guy on the piano was
00:30:05.48\00:30:07.73
getting down... he
was doing his thing.
00:30:07.94\00:30:09.93
And I was like:
"Man, look at this!
00:30:10.14\00:30:12.23
What's going on? " And we sat
at the last - you know how it is
00:30:12.43\00:30:15.51
the last row.
Like way in the back.
00:30:15.71\00:30:17.71
And I think we were still
holding hands at this point.
00:30:18.01\00:30:20.39
And I said to myself:
"Wow, this is so bizarre.
00:30:21.64\00:30:24.98
This is so
interesting. " And everybody was
00:30:25.18\00:30:27.42
in this emotional rush and
it went on for a very, very
00:30:27.62\00:30:30.23
long time. I thought:
"Well OK, 20 minutes of this
00:30:30.34\00:30:32.48
and then they're going to
get into the devotional. "
00:30:32.58\00:30:34.49
No. Twenty
minutes, 30, 40, 1 hour.
00:30:34.89\00:30:38.78
It was just
constant emotional rush.
00:30:38.98\00:30:42.15
Now don't get me wrong. I
believe there was a lot of
00:30:42.35\00:30:44.69
beautiful people in
that... in that youth revival.
00:30:44.79\00:30:47.52
Lot of sincere people.
00:30:47.72\00:30:49.41
This is not
pointing fingers at nobody
00:30:49.61\00:30:51.75
or making fun of
anybody. The point is that
00:30:51.85\00:30:54.34
if you were to speak to
one of those young people
00:30:54.54\00:30:56.77
after that revival and ask them
00:30:56.97\00:31:00.08
"What did you learn? "
00:31:00.28\00:31:01.38
"What did you learn
today in this revival? "
00:31:02.56\00:31:05.79
what would they tell you?
00:31:06.10\00:31:07.65
"Oh, I don't know. I
just felt really cool...
00:31:07.95\00:31:10.64
felt really nice. "
00:31:11.04\00:31:12.40
Does that make
sense? In other words,
00:31:12.60\00:31:14.59
revival in many cases
today is not something that is
00:31:14.79\00:31:17.95
educational. It's not
something that disciples.
00:31:18.16\00:31:21.14
It's not something that teaches.
It's just an emotional energy.
00:31:21.34\00:31:24.38
Why? Because they know
that young people love energy.
00:31:24.51\00:31:26.65
They love the flow of the
emotions. So what do they do?
00:31:26.85\00:31:29.09
That's exactly
what they give to them.
00:31:29.19\00:31:30.89
Does that make sense? So
when I left that charismatic
00:31:31.09\00:31:34.33
youth revival I learned
quite a bit in the sense
00:31:34.43\00:31:36.75
that I realized the
difference between God's revival
00:31:36.85\00:31:40.68
and the difference
between Lucifer's revival...
00:31:40.88\00:31:43.29
Satan's revival.
God wants to not only
00:31:43.49\00:31:46.29
inspire our hearts, He
also wants to educate the mind.
00:31:46.49\00:31:51.22
Now don't get me wrong.
I'm not saying that we should
00:31:51.42\00:31:53.49
come to church and
experience worship as robots
00:31:53.69\00:31:56.83
because I think we need to
tap into the emotions. Amen?
00:31:57.03\00:32:00.12
I mean, if you read the Psalms
there's a lot of emotion there.
00:32:00.32\00:32:02.66
Amen? "In the morning when
my prayers rise up to Thee,
00:32:02.86\00:32:06.58
O Lord. " "As the
deer panteth for... "
00:32:06.78\00:32:08.77
This is a lot of
emotional communication to God
00:32:08.97\00:32:12.76
and I think we
need to tap into that.
00:32:12.86\00:32:14.48
But I think the charismatic
youth revival that I went to
00:32:14.68\00:32:17.94
was a little bit on the
extreme if you would not say so.
00:32:18.14\00:32:20.94
So I think we need to
have a balanced approach.
00:32:21.14\00:32:23.28
And I think that's what
Elijah teaches us in I Kings.
00:32:23.39\00:32:27.13
We see that Elijah
comes in a reverent manner
00:32:27.33\00:32:29.83
and maybe even in an
emotional. He's approaching God
00:32:30.03\00:32:32.34
saying: "God of Abraham,
God of Isaac and Israel. "
00:32:32.54\00:32:36.07
These are kind of... You
can even hear in his words
00:32:36.37\00:32:39.15
that there was a lot of emotion
overflowing in his heart.
00:32:39.35\00:32:41.71
Ladies and gentlemen, we live
in an age that we are all about
00:32:41.91\00:32:45.91
the feelings. And
many times if it feels good
00:32:46.11\00:32:49.71
but it goes contrary to the
Word it's OK if it feels good.
00:32:49.91\00:32:53.85
At the end of time God
is going to have a people
00:32:54.15\00:32:57.71
that are going to say
"No! " to the false revival
00:32:57.91\00:33:00.91
and they're going to experience
God the way that the disciples
00:33:01.11\00:33:03.51
did in the book of Acts.
00:33:03.61\00:33:05.02
When you look at Acts
chapter 2 yes, you have
00:33:05.22\00:33:07.74
an emot... Yes, you
feel the presence of God.
00:33:07.94\00:33:11.00
Your emotions are touched.
00:33:12.04\00:33:15.00
But not only are
your emotions touched
00:33:15.20\00:33:17.22
the Bible says in Acts chapter 2
the Pharisees, their consciences
00:33:17.42\00:33:21.37
were touched. They
were under conviction.
00:33:21.57\00:33:25.15
Why? Because there
was a particular message
00:33:25.35\00:33:27.33
that went through the mind
and finally gripped the heart.
00:33:27.53\00:33:30.24
And they said: "Men and
brethren, what shall we do? "
00:33:30.44\00:33:32.41
"Repent and be baptized. "
00:33:32.61\00:33:34.71
There was education there.
00:33:35.01\00:33:36.57
So we need to be very careful
when we talk about revival
00:33:36.60\00:33:39.45
because there's a lot of
things that are called revival
00:33:39.65\00:33:41.66
that really are not revival.
00:33:41.76\00:33:42.87
Let's take a look
at Acts chapter 2.
00:33:43.07\00:33:44.49
Talking about
revival quite a bit.
00:33:44.69\00:33:45.78
We're just seeing a little bit
of the other side of the coin.
00:33:45.98\00:33:49.83
And we're recognizing
that in the last days
00:33:50.03\00:33:52.87
there's going to be
another type of revival.
00:33:53.07\00:33:54.90
But we need to be very
careful that we don't fall
00:33:55.10\00:33:56.90
into that kind of a revival.
00:33:57.00\00:33:58.22
Acts chapter 2: what
does a church that is revived
00:33:58.42\00:34:01.56
look like? Amen?
00:34:01.76\00:34:03.44
Let's be practical.
We're talking about revival.
00:34:03.65\00:34:05.69
We're talking about
this, that, and the other.
00:34:05.79\00:34:06.88
But at the end of the day
what does the church that has
00:34:06.99\00:34:09.61
just experienced
revival look like?
00:34:09.71\00:34:11.43
Well, I think there
is no better example than
00:34:12.53\00:34:15.53
the church of
Pentecost in Acts chapter 2.
00:34:15.64\00:34:18.51
What did the church look like
immediately after the Spirit
00:34:19.58\00:34:22.30
of God was poured out?
00:34:22.40\00:34:23.48
Immediately after there
were 3,000 people baptized?
00:34:23.58\00:34:25.93
What did it look like? Well,
so glad you asked that question
00:34:26.13\00:34:28.57
because in Acts
chapter 2 beginning in verse 40
00:34:28.67\00:34:30.98
it gives us the very specific
detailed characteristics
00:34:31.18\00:34:34.38
of what that church looked like.
00:34:34.68\00:34:36.91
Let's take a look at Acts
chapter 2 beginning in verse 40.
00:34:37.11\00:34:39.28
The Bible says: "And
with many other words... "
00:34:40.20\00:34:42.36
I wish we had those
many other words written
00:34:42.46\00:34:44.25
so we could read them.
00:34:44.35\00:34:45.53
"He testified and
exhorted them saying:
00:34:45.73\00:34:47.44
'Be saved from this
perverse generation. '
00:34:47.74\00:34:50.97
Then those who
gladly received the" what?
00:34:51.17\00:34:53.70
"the Word were baptized. "
You see, this kind of revival
00:34:53.90\00:34:57.11
there was the
communication of the Word.
00:34:57.31\00:35:00.21
"And that day about 3,000
souls were added to them. "
00:35:00.41\00:35:03.79
Now listen carefully
to what verse 42 says:
00:35:04.00\00:35:06.22
"And they continued steadfastly
in the apostles' doctrine
00:35:06.42\00:35:10.28
and fellowship, in the breaking
of bread and in prayers. "
00:35:10.48\00:35:13.41
Did you see that?
There's a key word there.
00:35:15.48\00:35:17.36
"They continued. "
00:35:17.56\00:35:20.19
A church that has
just experienced revival
00:35:20.39\00:35:23.52
is not experiencing a
fleeting emotional rush.
00:35:23.73\00:35:27.63
Why? Because you have
the word continue there.
00:35:27.83\00:35:30.75
And when you have
the word continue there
00:35:30.78\00:35:33.33
you have another word
that also is implied there
00:35:33.53\00:35:36.01
and it's the word consistency.
00:35:36.11\00:35:38.08
Does that make sense? It's
a day-by-day constant growing.
00:35:38.28\00:35:41.88
Constant taking of steps.
00:35:42.08\00:35:43.96
And if it was
just an emotional rush
00:35:44.16\00:35:45.70
Acts chapter 2 on
that particular day
00:35:45.90\00:35:48.22
it would have been a
fleeting emotional rush
00:35:48.42\00:35:51.02
and it would have
been back to square one
00:35:51.13\00:35:52.61
in Acts chapter 3. But
we know that's not the case.
00:35:52.81\00:35:54.74
"They continued... " Verse 43:
00:35:55.04\00:35:57.51
"Then fear came upon every
soul and many wonders and signs
00:35:57.71\00:36:00.94
were done
through the apostles. "
00:36:01.14\00:36:03.71
44: "Now all who believed
were together and had all things
00:36:03.91\00:36:07.96
in common. " We
talked about unity.
00:36:07.99\00:36:09.65
"And they sold their
possessions and goods
00:36:09.95\00:36:12.45
and divided them among
all as anyone had need. "
00:36:12.55\00:36:16.06
If you were a
member of this church,
00:36:16.26\00:36:17.53
all of your needs were met.
00:36:17.74\00:36:19.03
Spiritually...
socially... even financially.
00:36:19.24\00:36:23.14
Amen?
00:36:23.44\00:36:25.30
"So continuing... " We have
the word continuing again there.
00:36:25.60\00:36:28.36
"daily with one accord in
the temple and breaking bread
00:36:28.56\00:36:31.00
from house to house, they
ate their food with gladness
00:36:31.20\00:36:34.39
and simplicity of heart,
00:36:34.59\00:36:36.04
praising God and having
favor with all the people.
00:36:36.24\00:36:39.06
And the Lord added
to the church daily
00:36:39.26\00:36:42.10
those who were being saved. "
00:36:42.30\00:36:43.87
I don't know about you,
but when I see that church
00:36:44.08\00:36:46.38
I'm tempted to call the
secretary of that church
00:36:46.58\00:36:49.73
and accept my membership.
00:36:49.93\00:36:52.59
Amen? Amen. That's
an exciting church.
00:36:52.79\00:36:55.46
But the point is that your
church can become this church.
00:36:55.76\00:36:59.52
Because it's the same
Holy Spirit that came down
00:36:59.92\00:37:02.87
2,000 years ago that has
promised to come down into your
00:37:03.07\00:37:06.31
congregation as well. Amen.
00:37:06.41\00:37:08.19
Now in verse...
there's so much here.
00:37:08.30\00:37:10.14
There's so much
characteristics here, but
00:37:10.34\00:37:12.09
verse 42. I'm going to
talk a little about verse 42
00:37:12.29\00:37:14.51
because you have the
concept of continuing.
00:37:14.71\00:37:17.17
You have the
concept of follow-up.
00:37:17.37\00:37:19.71
Amen? Many times there are
so many evangelistic campaigns
00:37:20.01\00:37:23.89
that are conducted
and many times we tend to
00:37:24.00\00:37:27.51
want to pressure
people in making decisions.
00:37:27.71\00:37:30.72
Yeah? And then
they make the decision
00:37:30.92\00:37:32.93
and then we say: "Nice
to meet you. Goodbye. "
00:37:33.13\00:37:35.74
And then a year
later guess what?
00:37:35.94\00:37:38.19
Yeah, goodbye.
They're not there.
00:37:38.59\00:37:40.37
They're gone. Why?
00:37:40.67\00:37:42.54
Because there wasn't follow-up.
00:37:42.74\00:37:44.86
When you realize that people...
they had 3,000 people coming
00:37:45.06\00:37:48.06
into the faith. And
when somebody is baptized
00:37:48.16\00:37:50.95
they're not graduating. Amen?
00:37:51.15\00:37:52.25
They're just being
initiated to a certain extent.
00:37:52.65\00:37:55.56
They're... they're spiritual
infants that need attention.
00:37:55.76\00:37:58.79
They need love;
they need compassion.
00:37:58.99\00:38:01.00
They're going to slip
and fall, make mistakes.
00:38:01.21\00:38:02.74
Judging them is not
going to help. Amen?
00:38:02.94\00:38:04.87
You need to take them
in as your own family.
00:38:05.07\00:38:08.76
But you have these two
characteristics in verse 42
00:38:08.96\00:38:13.27
that almost seem at
opposite spectrums -
00:38:13.37\00:38:17.04
And they're not opposites.
It's just that today's...
00:38:17.34\00:38:19.81
in the church life of
today we see them as opposites.
00:38:20.01\00:38:23.54
They "continued steadfastly
in the apostles' doctrine
00:38:23.74\00:38:27.47
and fellowship in
the breaking of bread
00:38:27.67\00:38:30.35
and in prayers. " Now
let's talk a little bit about
00:38:30.55\00:38:33.34
our churches today. How
about I get in trouble for this?
00:38:33.54\00:38:35.73
This is my last
presentation so I think it's OK.
00:38:35.93\00:38:37.95
Today we have many different
churches. And by the way,
00:38:40.75\00:38:42.81
this... I'm talking
Christianity in general.
00:38:42.91\00:38:45.50
You have churches
that are considered liberal
00:38:45.80\00:38:49.94
and then you have churches
that are considered what?
00:38:50.34\00:38:52.53
Conservative.
00:38:52.73\00:38:54.31
OK. Now let's talk a little bit
about liberal and conservative
00:38:54.61\00:39:00.18
Christian churches today.
00:39:00.38\00:39:01.59
Because generally
speaking we categorize churches
00:39:01.79\00:39:04.57
in this manner because they
have certain characteristics.
00:39:04.77\00:39:06.79
So question... let's talk about
the liberals for a minute here.
00:39:07.19\00:39:10.20
When you go to a liberal church
00:39:10.41\00:39:12.81
what are certain
things that you encounter?
00:39:13.11\00:39:15.84
What do you experience?
00:39:15.85\00:39:17.40
Friendly... Ah,
somebody says friendliness here.
00:39:22.21\00:39:25.37
OK. So usually speaking, when
you go into a liberal church
00:39:25.67\00:39:28.95
they're very
friendly. OK, what else?
00:39:29.05\00:39:30.41
They're very happy;
there's warm smiles. What else?
00:39:32.09\00:39:34.48
Very upbeat music, right?
And that's an understatement.
00:39:36.42\00:39:39.26
Some liberal churches
have serious music, right?
00:39:40.67\00:39:43.44
Kind of like what I mentioned
with this revival experience
00:39:43.64\00:39:45.93
we had in northern California.
00:39:45.96\00:39:47.11
And even though...
there's nothing wrong with being
00:39:48.28\00:39:49.54
friendly, right?
There's nothing wrong with that.
00:39:49.64\00:39:50.77
There's nothing
wrong with smiling.
00:39:51.40\00:39:53.68
There's nothing wrong
with having firm handshakes.
00:39:53.88\00:39:55.30
But what are some of the
problems that you have in
00:39:55.40\00:39:57.44
liberal churches? Somebody
said "lack of reverence. "
00:39:57.54\00:40:02.45
OK. Lack of calling sin "sin".
00:40:04.71\00:40:06.62
So can we say lack of the Word?
00:40:09.07\00:40:11.38
Amen? So there's a
lot of friendliness.
00:40:12.47\00:40:15.22
People are very welcoming.
00:40:15.73\00:40:17.58
A lot of compassion...
accept you as you are.
00:40:17.78\00:40:20.62
The problem is that
they leave you there, too.
00:40:20.92\00:40:23.13
Right? We're going
to accept you as you are
00:40:23.43\00:40:25.52
and then we're going to leave
you in that same condition.
00:40:25.62\00:40:27.19
And generally speaking,
when you... when it comes time
00:40:27.39\00:40:30.74
for the public discourse,
there's not a whole lot of
00:40:30.84\00:40:33.59
spiritual calories, yeah?
00:40:33.69\00:40:35.66
Tends to be a lot of just
kind of jokes here and there
00:40:35.86\00:40:38.80
and there's no
depth... spiritual depth.
00:40:39.00\00:40:41.01
Does that make sense? So
that's... so as you can see
00:40:41.21\00:40:43.49
liberal churches have some good.
00:40:43.69\00:40:45.32
Can we say that? We see
that there's friendliness.
00:40:45.52\00:40:48.42
They tend to be very aware
of the needs in their community.
00:40:48.62\00:40:52.87
They tend to be
very humanitarian...
00:40:53.07\00:40:55.27
community services. They tend
to be a lot of... But they don't
00:40:55.37\00:40:58.01
when it comes to
spiritual discipleship
00:40:58.11\00:41:01.19
they don't challenge people
00:41:01.32\00:41:03.14
because they tend to want
to be everybody's best friend.
00:41:03.28\00:41:07.15
But in doing that
they don't disciple people
00:41:07.28\00:41:10.33
or challenge them. Yeah?
00:41:10.53\00:41:12.25
I think that may be a fair
analysis of liberal churches.
00:41:12.39\00:41:15.33
And, of course,
we're generalizing
00:41:15.43\00:41:16.65
so it's not always in this case.
00:41:16.75\00:41:17.77
All right, conservative.
We picked on the liberals.
00:41:17.97\00:41:19.46
Let's talk a little
bit about the conservatives
00:41:19.66\00:41:21.30
or the
ultra-conservatives, right?
00:41:21.40\00:41:22.71
When you go into an
ultra- conservative church
00:41:22.91\00:41:24.44
what do you experience?
00:41:24.64\00:41:27.16
Formality. What
else? Judgmental.
00:41:28.81\00:41:33.28
What else?
00:41:33.68\00:41:35.00
Boldness. Rules are
more important than people.
00:41:37.44\00:41:41.75
OK, so mission minded.
00:41:42.25\00:41:44.94
So when you go into an
ultra- conservative church
00:41:45.14\00:41:48.47
they tend to emphasize rules.
00:41:48.67\00:41:52.36
They tend to emphasize works.
00:41:52.56\00:41:54.92
They tend to emphasize theology.
00:41:55.12\00:41:58.12
Right? There's a
lot of regulation.
00:41:58.32\00:42:02.47
There's a lot of policies.
They tend to point the finger.
00:42:02.67\00:42:05.08
They tend to judge, right?
00:42:05.28\00:42:07.74
It's almost like a
spiritual competition.
00:42:07.84\00:42:10.00
OK? Very unfriendly.
00:42:11.49\00:42:13.21
Very unkind at times.
00:42:14.42\00:42:16.57
You could kind of give the
impression of coldness, yeah?
00:42:16.77\00:42:20.06
I'm talking about
ultra- conservative.
00:42:20.26\00:42:21.76
But... so we're
talking about all of that.
00:42:22.82\00:42:24.21
But what do you find in
general ultra-conservative
00:42:24.41\00:42:28.77
churches that are
maybe something good?
00:42:28.80\00:42:31.25
They stick to the Word!
00:42:33.78\00:42:35.21
OK. So when it comes time
for the preaching of the Word
00:42:35.41\00:42:39.01
there's a lot of...
there's a lot of meat.
00:42:39.21\00:42:41.78
OK. Right? There's a lot
of spiritual depth there.
00:42:41.98\00:42:45.03
Granted it could be sometimes
dry and very, you know,
00:42:45.23\00:42:49.11
not a whole lot of life
in it, but there's a lot of
00:42:49.31\00:42:52.34
meat, there's a
lot of bread, right?
00:42:52.54\00:42:54.10
There's a lot of
emphasis to truth.
00:42:54.30\00:42:56.07
There's a lot of
emphasis to standards.
00:42:56.27\00:42:57.92
There's a high
calling; there's challenge.
00:42:58.02\00:42:59.99
Are you guys beginning
to see the picture here?
00:43:00.29\00:43:02.22
So in other words, in
conservative, ultra-conservative
00:43:02.52\00:43:05.00
bubbles you have some good.
00:43:05.20\00:43:08.25
You have norms;
you have principles;
00:43:08.45\00:43:10.11
you have foundations.
00:43:10.21\00:43:11.55
But it tends to be very
shallow as far as relationships.
00:43:11.85\00:43:15.90
Tends to be very cold.
00:43:16.10\00:43:18.33
Tends to be very formal
00:43:18.53\00:43:19.80
and it's like a
spiritual competition, right?
00:43:19.90\00:43:23.01
Then you have the liberals.
Those are the friendly...
00:43:23.11\00:43:24.85
friendly people, right?
00:43:25.05\00:43:26.36
A friend of mine said:
"Liberals are the good guys
00:43:26.56\00:43:28.23
with bad ideas. "
00:43:28.33\00:43:29.71
Very friendly; very loving.
Just beautiful personalities.
00:43:30.84\00:43:34.31
Very wooing. They're very...
they're just very friendly
00:43:34.41\00:43:37.84
people, right?
BUT... there's no challenge.
00:43:37.94\00:43:40.70
It becomes more of a social club
00:43:40.90\00:43:43.87
rather than a place
that you go to find the Lord
00:43:44.07\00:43:46.69
and to learn about
the mission of the church.
00:43:46.89\00:43:49.46
So the point is that liberals
and the ultra-conservative camp
00:43:49.86\00:43:54.20
are both in
unhealthy conditions.
00:43:54.40\00:43:59.13
Right? And the devil
is as happy as he can be
00:43:59.53\00:44:02.90
as the church continues
to attack the liberals...
00:44:03.10\00:44:06.96
conservatives
attack the liberals
00:44:07.17\00:44:10.02
and the liberals attack the
conservatives. You know why?
00:44:10.13\00:44:12.03
Because as long as
you have these two bubbles
00:44:12.23\00:44:14.01
guess what? The
church is not united.
00:44:14.21\00:44:15.92
Amen? And when you
read the book of Acts
00:44:16.32\00:44:18.41
you don't have conservatives
and liberals. Amen?
00:44:19.43\00:44:21.13
You have the church.
And the interesting thing is
00:44:21.33\00:44:23.63
that you have two very
prominent characteristics.
00:44:23.73\00:44:26.45
One which is probably
the heaviest prominent
00:44:26.75\00:44:29.32
characteristic of
the conservative circle
00:44:29.42\00:44:31.55
and you have a very prominent
characteristic of a liberal.
00:44:31.65\00:44:34.63
Acts chapter 2 verse 42:
"And they continued steadfastly
00:44:35.64\00:44:38.27
in the apostles'
doctrine. " Amen.
00:44:38.37\00:44:41.52
Now we said that the apostles'
doctrine you're probably not
00:44:41.62\00:44:43.79
going to find in a
liberal church. Probably not.
00:44:43.89\00:44:46.29
You'll find the doctrine
of, you know, the famous people
00:44:46.32\00:44:49.14
of the world. The
celebrities, right?
00:44:49.24\00:44:50.88
But you're not going to
find the apostles' doctrine
00:44:51.08\00:44:52.65
generally speaking
in a liberal church.
00:44:52.76\00:44:54.37
So that is a
strong characteristic -
00:44:55.40\00:44:57.43
a good characteristic -
00:44:57.53\00:44:58.67
generally speaking in
a conservative context.
00:44:58.77\00:45:00.87
But it doesn't just stop there.
00:45:01.07\00:45:02.88
Not only do they have
the apostles' doctrine
00:45:03.08\00:45:04.89
they also have... fellowship.
00:45:05.09\00:45:08.08
What does fellowship imply?
00:45:08.28\00:45:09.66
Friendliness. There
is a social connection.
00:45:10.89\00:45:13.58
There's breaking of bread.
00:45:13.68\00:45:15.44
And that's generally not
found in conservative circles.
00:45:15.64\00:45:19.51
That's found
where? In liberal circles.
00:45:19.72\00:45:22.13
You guys... are you guys
beginning to see the picture?
00:45:22.23\00:45:23.78
I believe that when the
Spirit of God is poured down
00:45:23.98\00:45:26.50
in the last day church,
the walls of liberals and
00:45:26.70\00:45:29.05
conservatism is going
to be completely destroyed.
00:45:29.15\00:45:32.08
Amen. Because both
groups are somewhat unbalanced.
00:45:32.28\00:45:35.52
And when I read the Bible
00:45:35.72\00:45:37.13
I find Jesus, who's walking
in the streets of Galilee.
00:45:37.23\00:45:40.37
And there's a conservative group
of people called the Pharisees
00:45:40.57\00:45:42.90
and there's a liberal group
of people called the Sadducees.
00:45:43.10\00:45:45.39
And then in the
book of Acts guess what?
00:45:45.59\00:45:47.76
You have the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit
00:45:47.96\00:45:49.56
and the church is composed
of Christians who are balanced.
00:45:49.76\00:45:53.98
Amen? So I believe that
a church that is revived
00:45:54.18\00:45:56.88
is not going to fall
into this liberal/conservative
00:45:56.98\00:45:58.97
business because the
devil loves us to spend time
00:45:59.17\00:46:02.13
talking and arguing
and attacking each other.
00:46:02.33\00:46:04.02
Because as long as
we're doing that, guess what?
00:46:04.23\00:46:06.13
The church will never be united.
00:46:06.33\00:46:08.46
When I read the book of
Acts I find a church that is
00:46:08.67\00:46:10.87
a winsome church. It's a
church that is attractive.
00:46:11.07\00:46:13.80
It's a church that is friendly
00:46:14.00\00:46:15.28
but it's a church
that has foundations.
00:46:15.48\00:46:17.35
It's a church that has
Pillars of our Faith. Amen?
00:46:17.55\00:46:20.36
It's a church that you
can go to and find God.
00:46:20.66\00:46:23.71
It's a church that
you can be challenged.
00:46:23.91\00:46:25.72
It's a church that is
friendly, that meets your needs.
00:46:25.93\00:46:27.88
They're not interested
in you as a number. Amen?
00:46:28.08\00:46:30.19
Amen. On a report that they send
to the evangelism committee. No.
00:46:30.39\00:46:34.37
They're interested in you
as a person because they know
00:46:34.57\00:46:36.48
that Jesus died for
you as an individual
00:46:36.58\00:46:38.41
and they're interested
in being your friend...
00:46:38.61\00:46:40.79
not only being a
fellow church member.
00:46:41.09\00:46:43.96
They call you, they visit you,
00:46:44.26\00:46:45.77
they ask: "Do
you have any prayers?
00:46:46.07\00:46:47.87
Is there any
need that you have? "
00:46:48.07\00:46:49.53
And they listen carefully
and they think when they go home
00:46:49.63\00:46:53.35
"How is that I, as a Christian,
can be a blessing to my brother?
00:46:53.55\00:46:57.13
How can I as a Christian
be a blessing to my sister? "
00:46:57.33\00:47:00.09
And it's a church that
is constantly being united.
00:47:00.29\00:47:02.85
Why? Because everybody's trying
to outgive everybody else.
00:47:03.05\00:47:05.78
It's not a competition.
00:47:05.98\00:47:07.42
It sounds like wishful
thinking ladies and gentlemen
00:47:07.62\00:47:09.25
but it isn't.
Because Acts chapter 2
00:47:09.45\00:47:12.10
is a record of events
that took place on this planet
00:47:12.40\00:47:15.75
with the same type of
people that are present here.
00:47:15.96\00:47:19.31
Christians that are
walking in the light
00:47:20.41\00:47:23.10
who at times slip and
fall but little by little are
00:47:23.30\00:47:26.08
constantly approaching
closer and closer to the
00:47:26.18\00:47:28.05
kingdom of God. Amen.
00:47:28.15\00:47:29.59
Revival... When
revival sweeps the church
00:47:29.79\00:47:32.94
the church is going to
be the most attractive thing
00:47:33.14\00:47:35.98
in the neighborhood. Amen.
Handbills are great to send out.
00:47:36.08\00:47:40.16
We're going to be doing an
evangelistic meeting this fall
00:47:40.36\00:47:41.90
in my church. That's wonderful.
We're going to send thousands.
00:47:42.00\00:47:44.69
But the greatest
flyer for any church is you.
00:47:44.89\00:47:48.77
Amen. Your smile...
because a flyer can't smile.
00:47:48.97\00:47:51.92
Right? A handbill can't say
"Hello, what is your name? "
00:47:52.12\00:47:54.77
But you can. And God
wants to use you as the greatest
00:47:54.97\00:47:58.70
advertising for the church
and for the kingdom of God.
00:47:58.90\00:48:01.37
Problem is that many of our
churches that don't have revival
00:48:01.67\00:48:05.11
we don't realize why that is.
00:48:07.06\00:48:10.15
We don't realize that
all the issues in the church
00:48:10.35\00:48:13.10
are just symptoms. And
many times we fight over the
00:48:13.20\00:48:17.51
symptoms in the church rather
than the root of the issue.
00:48:17.61\00:48:20.06
Or we're going
around in circles like this.
00:48:20.70\00:48:21.88
We spend years - 20, 30 years
- battling over little issues
00:48:22.08\00:48:24.66
that are symptoms
instead of trying to figure out:
00:48:24.86\00:48:27.02
"OK, what is the
host of this problem? "
00:48:27.22\00:48:29.39
Right? And even in health
00:48:30.47\00:48:33.48
it's a lot easier to deal
with the host issue rather than
00:48:33.78\00:48:36.72
just trying to deal with
the symptoms of the issue.
00:48:36.82\00:48:39.05
But that's what we do
in our local churches.
00:48:39.25\00:48:41.43
We need to remember that
a church is more than just
00:48:41.46\00:48:45.35
a building. A church is
a community of believers.
00:48:45.45\00:48:49.14
But that community of
believers are made up of
00:48:49.34\00:48:53.09
these little things we call...
well, some of them are not so
00:48:53.29\00:48:55.19
little... these things
we call homes or houses.
00:48:55.29\00:48:59.48
So when you have a church
that is congregated together
00:48:59.68\00:49:02.41
what really do you have?
00:49:02.61\00:49:03.70
A collection of different homes
00:49:03.90\00:49:05.62
that meet
together on a weekly basis.
00:49:05.92\00:49:08.30
All the issues that
are found in the home
00:49:09.68\00:49:12.83
are going to be
transferred into the church.
00:49:13.03\00:49:15.00
And many... Many of us, we
look at the youth in the church.
00:49:16.22\00:49:19.11
I look at my youth in the church
sometimes. I have to be honest.
00:49:19.31\00:49:22.05
"Ah, right? Why?
Can't you stay awake?
00:49:22.25\00:49:26.89
Just listen to the
message. Stop texting each other
00:49:27.09\00:49:29.64
you know, during the
message. You know, why? Ah... "
00:49:29.84\00:49:32.30
But we need... We need
to have mercy on some of our
00:49:32.60\00:49:34.47
young people, First of all,
we need to remember that revival
00:49:34.59\00:49:38.00
begins in the home. Revival
begins at the family altar.
00:49:38.20\00:49:42.52
It begins in the living room.
00:49:42.72\00:49:45.02
And the Bible tells us
that the father - Amen -
00:49:45.22\00:49:49.46
the father... careful study
that you realize that the father
00:49:49.66\00:49:52.82
is the priest of the home.
00:49:52.92\00:49:55.97
Well why does the
Bible call him a priest?
00:49:56.32\00:49:57.97
Where do priests
usually hang out?
00:49:58.17\00:49:59.74
In the sanctuary. And
the sanctuary are places
00:50:01.38\00:50:02.94
that are holy.
Do you accept that?
00:50:03.04\00:50:06.06
So the husband, the father,
is the priest of the home.
00:50:06.26\00:50:10.69
And if the priests hang
out in places that are holy
00:50:10.89\00:50:13.05
and the husband hangs
out at home, that means that
00:50:13.25\00:50:16.53
the home is a holy place. So
guess what ladies and gentlemen?
00:50:16.73\00:50:21.22
We don't treat our
home like a holy place.
00:50:21.42\00:50:23.58
Our homes... there's a lot
of irreverence in the home.
00:50:23.88\00:50:26.38
There's a lot of unclean things
that enter into our homes.
00:50:26.68\00:50:29.60
Amen? There's a lot of
disrespect in our homes.
00:50:29.80\00:50:32.65
There's a lot of lack of
love and lack of respect.
00:50:32.85\00:50:35.82
And by the way, family worship
is becoming an extinct art.
00:50:36.02\00:50:39.59
How many families spend
10 minutes together in prayer
00:50:41.65\00:50:44.48
and in the reading of the Word?
00:50:44.68\00:50:46.46
Lord have mercy.
00:50:46.76\00:50:48.43
So for six days our
young people in the home
00:50:48.63\00:50:52.19
do not spend time with
each other as a family.
00:50:52.39\00:50:54.58
They do not
spend time in prayer.
00:50:54.78\00:50:56.69
They don't read the Bible.
00:50:56.89\00:50:58.09
They're not trained how to
be in the presence of holiness.
00:50:58.29\00:51:01.64
They're not trained
how to read the Bible.
00:51:01.84\00:51:04.46
Then on the
weekend we go to church,
00:51:04.76\00:51:07.68
we dress up as nice as we are,
00:51:07.69\00:51:09.36
and we bring our
nice little smiles, right?
00:51:09.56\00:51:11.30
And then our young people are
fidgeting; they can't sit still.
00:51:11.50\00:51:14.97
They're texting.
Well, you know why?
00:51:15.07\00:51:17.36
Because they're not
being trained in the home.
00:51:17.57\00:51:19.42
Amen. Any issue that you
have in the home is going to
00:51:19.62\00:51:22.41
manifest itself in the church...
00:51:22.51\00:51:24.36
maybe even in the liturgy...
maybe even in the board meeting.
00:51:24.56\00:51:27.65
The point is that when
you have issues in the church
00:51:27.85\00:51:30.12
don't take it out on the church
00:51:30.22\00:51:31.57
because the
church is not at fault.
00:51:31.77\00:51:34.03
Those are symptoms. You've
gotta deal with the root issue
00:51:34.23\00:51:36.81
of the problem,
ladies and gentlemen.
00:51:37.01\00:51:38.66
I don't know what issues you're
going through at your church
00:51:38.86\00:51:40.50
but I can guarantee
you that those issues
00:51:40.70\00:51:42.33
find their
inception in the home.
00:51:42.53\00:51:45.31
So what do we need to do?
00:51:45.51\00:51:46.95
Well, we discovered already
that revival is two things:
00:51:47.05\00:51:49.22
spiritual power
and social power.
00:51:49.42\00:51:52.31
We saw that Jesus in
Ezekiel brought the Word of God
00:51:52.51\00:51:55.22
but we also saw that
Jesus went into the homes.
00:51:55.42\00:51:58.07
He listened; He broke bread.
00:51:58.27\00:51:59.78
We see in the book of Acts
the church that was revived.
00:51:59.98\00:52:01.96
It wasn't just a church of a
bunch of theology and doctrine.
00:52:02.16\00:52:04.71
It was a church of fellowship.
00:52:04.91\00:52:06.61
It was a church of
meeting each other's needs.
00:52:06.81\00:52:08.75
So if this is the case
and in order to bring revival
00:52:09.76\00:52:12.43
to the church we need
to bring it to the home,
00:52:12.53\00:52:14.72
well, guess what? Very simple.
We need to bring two things
00:52:14.82\00:52:16.90
into the home: spiritual
power and social power.
00:52:17.00\00:52:20.46
And you as a lay person
can be actively involved
00:52:21.56\00:52:25.14
in constructing
evangelism in your church.
00:52:25.34\00:52:28.72
Know what you can do?
Visit your fellow members. Amen?
00:52:29.02\00:52:32.46
Amen. And say: "Hi, I came
to visit with you and just have
00:52:32.66\00:52:36.61
a prayer. " That simple.
Go in there; have a prayer.
00:52:36.71\00:52:39.87
And you can say: "You
know, I have a real burden
00:52:39.97\00:52:42.39
to see our church become
what God wants it to become.
00:52:42.59\00:52:45.88
Why don't we pray for the
rest of our church family?
00:52:46.08\00:52:49.44
Those that are
struggling with marriages.
00:52:49.64\00:52:50.82
Those that are
struggling with these issues.
00:52:51.03\00:52:52.35
Those that are
struggling with that. "
00:52:52.55\00:52:53.60
Guarantee you... that person's
going to be very, very moved
00:52:53.80\00:52:56.02
and very impressed because
you're coming on a Tuesday
00:52:56.12\00:52:59.38
rather than on Sabbath
when everybody looks good.
00:52:59.58\00:53:01.68
Right? Everybody's dressed...
00:53:01.88\00:53:03.71
but it becomes very shallow,
becomes almost very plastic
00:53:03.91\00:53:07.36
and you can't really...
00:53:07.56\00:53:09.22
there is no appli... there
is no practical application
00:53:09.42\00:53:13.20
to the spiritual
remedy that we have.
00:53:13.40\00:53:15.25
And in closing, I want to take
us to our last text, which is
00:53:15.56\00:53:18.33
found in the Old
Testament book of Malachi.
00:53:18.44\00:53:21.33
Malachi is the last
book in the Old Testament.
00:53:21.73\00:53:24.78
And there's a last... In
fact, there's the last chapter
00:53:24.98\00:53:29.02
in the book of Malachi
which is the last book in the
00:53:29.12\00:53:30.93
Old Testament towards the
last few verses of the entire
00:53:31.03\00:53:34.50
Old Testament we
have a powerful promise.
00:53:34.63\00:53:37.35
I believe it's a challenge
but it's also a promise.
00:53:37.55\00:53:39.56
Malachi chapter 4. When
you're there please say "Amen. "
00:53:39.76\00:53:41.52
Amen. The Bible
says in Malachi chapter 4
00:53:41.72\00:53:44.19
beginning in
verse 5... says: "Behold
00:53:44.39\00:53:46.35
I will send you
Elijah the prophet... "
00:53:46.66\00:53:50.53
We just talked
about Elijah, didn't we?
00:53:50.73\00:53:52.39
Mt. Carmel. There
was revival, right?
00:53:52.59\00:53:54.25
This is talking about
the Elijah experience.
00:53:54.45\00:53:56.44
The Elijah message.
00:53:56.64\00:53:58.23
In other words, I will send
you the revival of Elijah. Amen?
00:53:58.43\00:54:01.88
"before the coming of the great
and dreadful day of the Lord. "
00:54:02.08\00:54:04.54
Well what day is that?
00:54:04.74\00:54:05.76
It's the second
coming of Christ.
00:54:06.06\00:54:07.91
Right before Jesus
returns in the clouds
00:54:08.12\00:54:10.32
He's going to send us
the revival of Elijah. OK?
00:54:10.52\00:54:13.63
How is that revival
going to manifest itself
00:54:13.83\00:54:16.29
in our human experience?
00:54:16.49\00:54:17.93
Verse 6: "And he" - Elijah the
prophet, the Elijah experience -
00:54:18.13\00:54:23.84
"will turn the hearts of
the fathers to the children
00:54:24.04\00:54:29.44
and the hearts of the
children to their fathers. "
00:54:29.64\00:54:33.58
Isn't that interesting?
00:54:33.78\00:54:35.14
It doesn't mention
anything about the church.
00:54:35.34\00:54:36.85
But what does it talk about?
00:54:37.16\00:54:38.81
Talks about the family circle.
00:54:39.11\00:54:40.98
Talks about the family altar.
00:54:41.18\00:54:43.01
The Bible tells us that before
Jesus returns in the clouds
00:54:43.11\00:54:45.65
of glory God is going to
send the Elijah experience
00:54:45.75\00:54:49.00
to His people. And the way
that it's going to fundamentally
00:54:49.20\00:54:52.16
manifest itself is not in
the liturgy or the program
00:54:52.36\00:54:55.16
of the church. Amen?
It's going to manifest itself
00:54:55.26\00:54:58.15
in the day-to-day
experience in the home.
00:54:58.25\00:55:00.38
The hearts of the
fathers are going to be turned
00:55:01.30\00:55:03.75
towards their children.
You know what that means?
00:55:03.85\00:55:05.72
That means there's going
to be social intimacy between
00:55:05.92\00:55:09.23
parent and child.
00:55:09.43\00:55:11.16
And ladies and
gentlemen, when you have a home
00:55:11.36\00:55:13.29
where the father's hearts
are turned to the children
00:55:13.49\00:55:15.72
and the children's
hearts are turned to the father,
00:55:15.92\00:55:17.75
when you have
unity, when you have love,
00:55:17.96\00:55:20.23
when you have
acceptance, compassion,
00:55:20.43\00:55:22.59
when you have
exhortation, encouragement
00:55:22.79\00:55:24.65
in one home and you
multiply that by fifty
00:55:24.75\00:55:27.08
you have the church
in the book of Acts.
00:55:28.25\00:55:30.31
Amen. I don't know how
many homes are represented
00:55:30.51\00:55:32.92
in your church
but I do know this:
00:55:33.02\00:55:34.95
that if the revival
of Malachi chapter 4
00:55:35.06\00:55:37.89
sweeps five living
rooms in your church
00:55:37.99\00:55:40.77
you're going to be
able to tell the difference.
00:55:41.07\00:55:43.44
And revival is contagious, Amen?
00:55:43.64\00:55:45.75
Amen. It spreads.
Starts small... but it spreads.
00:55:45.95\00:55:49.15
And it all begins in our homes.
00:55:49.45\00:55:53.82
So before we try to bring
revival to somebody else's home
00:55:54.02\00:55:56.62
Amen? - let's evaluate
our own hearts and ask God:
00:55:56.72\00:56:00.34
"God, how do I stand before You?
00:56:00.54\00:56:03.21
How are my family?
How is my family doing?
00:56:03.41\00:56:06.16
How are my kids doing?
How's my marriage? " Right?
00:56:06.26\00:56:09.07
Ask those
questions and ask yourself
00:56:09.27\00:56:11.67
"If every other home in
the church were like mine,
00:56:11.87\00:56:15.62
would we be in a
favorable position
00:56:15.93\00:56:19.12
or an unfavorable position? "
00:56:19.32\00:56:22.06
Maybe God is calling
you to begin a small group
00:56:22.46\00:56:25.57
in your home. Amen?
00:56:25.77\00:56:27.59
Maybe God is asking you
to invite your fellow members
00:56:27.89\00:56:31.76
that are in a
spiritually dead condition
00:56:31.96\00:56:34.02
God is calling you to invite
those dead bones into your
00:56:34.22\00:56:37.19
home - Amen? - so that as you
spend time reading the promises
00:56:37.29\00:56:40.80
of God and you have
people around your living room
00:56:40.90\00:56:43.43
that are hopeless,
their marriages are hopeless,
00:56:43.63\00:56:45.78
their children's
spiritual condition is hopeless,
00:56:45.98\00:56:48.25
you think: "Is
there any solution? "
00:56:48.35\00:56:50.67
As you spend time in fellowship
00:56:50.87\00:56:53.23
learning each other's
favorite color - Amen? -
00:56:53.53\00:56:55.98
it becomes very shallow
at times in the church...
00:56:56.18\00:56:58.57
we don't even know
who we like as people...
00:56:58.67\00:57:00.67
you will realize that when you
go to church the next Sabbath
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oh, it is so much sweeter.
00:57:03.90\00:57:06.34
The singing is more rich.
00:57:06.54\00:57:08.27
The worship
service is more intimate
00:57:08.47\00:57:11.15
and you experience
the presence of God. Amen?
00:57:11.35\00:57:13.51
I don't know what your
church is experiencing,
00:57:13.71\00:57:15.40
but if you forget everything
that I said, remember this:
00:57:15.50\00:57:17.67
revival can sweep
even your church. Amen!
00:57:17.87\00:57:21.44
Let's ask God to do this
and begin in our lives. Amen?
00:57:21.58\00:57:25.83