REVIVAL - SPIRITUAL AWAKENING - j.b5z.net · Web viewDietrich Bonheoffer wrote a book entitled, The Cost of Discipleship. In his book, Bonheoffer differentiated between "cheap grace"

REVIVAL - SPIRITUAL AWAKENING

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INTRODUCTION:Once upon a time, when I was a young boy living In central Arkansas, we would attend

Revival meetings at our church each year. These meetings were usually conducted in the springtime or early summer months. My earliest remembrance of these evening meetings were three weeks long and we were all encouraged to bring friends who were "lost." We always had a guest Evangelist do the preaching during these evening sessions. The Pastor and visiting Evangelist would visit candidates to be saved during the day. Members of our church were asked to bring meals to the Parsonage for the Pastor's family and the Evangelist.

As I reflect on those meetings we called revivals, they were really more evangelistic than what I now understand to be revival.

I received Christ into my life at one of those meeting one hot evening in response to the Evangelist's explanation about what Hell is like. As a 14-year-old boy, I reasoned that anything would be better than spending eternity in such a horrible place. So if faith in what Christ did for me would get me into heaven and miss hell, I was all for it.

We would usually have several youth and adults "saved" during our meetings and a time to baptize them would be set. Our Pastor conducted the baptisms since the Evangelist had moved on to his next engagement. The church where I was saved did not have a baptistery but a sister church let us use theirs.

With time, these annual "Revivals" were reduced in length to two weeks, then to one week and finally to a weekend. As far as I am aware, they have been discontinued altogether now!

People seem to be too busy doing more important things like working shifts, attending sports, school, vacations, etc. to bother anymore participating in revival meetings anymore.

DEFINITIONS:I have come to understand that the definition of the word revival really means restoration or

return to an earlier state of spirituality rather than being converted from one state (lost) to another (Christian.)

I currently participate in a weekly prayer meeting specifically for revival. These meetings are being supported by a faithful few that believe our only hope for ourselves and generations to follow must be guided by renewed or revived churches. Moreover, they agree that revived churches must be much more influential in the affairs of the communities where they are located than is being

experienced.Some of these "Prayer Warriors" pray that God will

bestow a Revival on our nation or at least our churches, and local communities. Sometime the words "Spiritual Awakening" are used to apply to larger communities.

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Others pray that God will return them personally to a spiritual state they experienced earlier in their lives.

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Most of us that participate in these Prayer for Revival meetings are familiar with 2 Chronicles 7:14; "If My people who are called by My name (we Christians) will humble themselves and pray, will forsake their wicked ways (sin), He will hear us from heaven, forgive us our sins, and heal our land." Being persuaded that our churches and our land are spiritually sick, we pray, with a sense of urgency, to revive us personally, heal our churches, and heal our country. We want Him to perform the reviving yet we refuse to obey Him.

Jesus told us that He would build His Church and commissioned us to wait until empowered by the Holy Spirit then go into all the world making Disciples, baptizing them, and teaching

them to obey all that we have been taught. We have too often tried to do His job of building our local churches while failing to do our job of going and making Disciples of Christ. Our churches are sadly lacking for real Disciples of Christ.

The Apostle Paul instructed his disciple, Timothy, to teach men that will teach others. 2 Timothy 2:2 identifies the process of multiplication that Jesus intended for us to employ to share the Gospel (Good News)

with others. Our failure to follow His mandate of

making Disciples of Christ, has resulted in our churches being filled with infant Christians rather than mature ones.

We are each supposed to be active in going outside of our church buildings and making Disciples of Christ. We have failed to even make Disciples of Christ of those inside our building!

Over the years, we have spent our manpower and financial resources trying to educate church members rather than subjecting them to laboratory like situations by sending them out to make Disciples of Christ. The transfer of knowledge only keeps infant Christians coming back for more spiritual food. Babies can't feed themselves, they remain dependent upon others to feed them! Some adults have faithfully attended Sunday school for 50 years and have never lead anyone to Christ or made a single Disciple of Christ! Too many of our churches are like nurseries that never promote their babies to the next phase of their Christian growth! Churches are the only organizations that never graduate its students to leave the classroom and join the workforce!

A disciplined Christian life of abiding in Christ will result in Kingdom fruit bearing. Apart from Christ, we can do nothing -- but we keep trying!

Albert Einstein said, "If you keep doing the same thing, you will keep getting the same results!"

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BEING A DISCIPLE OF CHRIST IS COSTLY:Dietrich Bonheoffer wrote a book entitled, The Cost of Discipleship. In his book,

Bonheoffer differentiated between "cheap grace" and "costly grace." Bonheoffer ended up being hanged for his Christian loyalty by the Nazi at the close of WWII. Now that is costly!

Jesus repeatedly told His disciples that they must give up selfishness by executing self (take up their cross daily) and follow His example. Jesus told us that we must not put anything or anyone before Him.

Jesus said that if we would follow Him, He would make us fishers of men.

Revived Disciples of Christ seek to draw others into the Kingdom even at great personal cost.

It is unfortunate that we too often offer Christianity as a cheap commodity. We offer a worldly social club that is safe, attractive, comfortable, and without risk rather than costly Discipleship. We mislead Christians by making them think that they are being good Christians if they help mow the grass, keep the building painted, and tithe their income to support the organization. By consuming them with these "good things", they have no time for the "best - Discipleship."

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WHAT PREVENTS REVIVAL?We are the primary cause of spiritual revival prevention. God wants a revived people and

revived church more than we do.Our problem is that we get in the way. We try to cause

revival by our clever planning, motivation of others, and scheduling events. Jesus clearly tells us in John 15 that we must "Abide" in Him. We must let Him supply the spiritual power and energy to bring about fruit with us acting as branches drawing life from Jesus. We can bear spiritual

fruit but never produce spiritual fruit. He draws up spiritual life from The Father, and pushes it out through branches that remain attached to Him. God the Father prunes us so that we will bear much spiritual fruit.

The next series of slides illustrate how humans function. The first slide shows how each of us are designed and live before becoming a Christian.

Lost people make all of their decisions based upon inputs to their

minds from the outside world through five natural senses.

Each person has a temporary Body, an eternal Soul and an inner cavity for the Spirit of God. For the Natural (lost) man, Self is King. His soul is like an egg encased within a tough shell.

According to 2 Corinthians 4:4, Satan is the god of this world system and he uses worldly resources to stimulate the lost man's mind. We call these stimuli temptations.

Though the Natural Man is an unforgiven sinner, he may join a church for personal reasons; for

business contacts, a safe social life, to please someone, etc. If he joins a church, he will probably dress well and try to act like the other members. In some churches, he will be offered roles of responsibility and influence

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within the church. He may teach children, play an instrument or sing with the choir or praise band and begin serving on committees.

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WHY REVIVAL TARRIES:There is a second type of person who is a church member and largely responsible for the

failure of revival. He is a Carnal Christian (1 Corinthians 3:3).This person has become a Christian, been baptized, and accepted as a church member, but

never grown spiritually. For whatever reason, he has not become a Disciple of Christ. God, The Holy Spirit, has entered this man's spirit. The Holy Spirit tries to influence the Carnal Christian's choices but the man continues his dependence upon Self and his five external senses to make choices and ignores or quenches the influence of the Holy Spirit.

His choices and actions are much like the Natural Man. In fact, it is difficult to tell any difference in the way the Natural Man and the Carnal Christian function.

Unfortunately, our churches are filled with more Natural Men and Carnal Christians than

the next type; The Spiritual Christian. As a result, Revival Tarries because God is not permitted to run His Church! Worldly methods and programs dominate many churches because the leadership and membership continue resorting to secular ways!

The Spiritual Christian has matured in Christ. He has made Christ the Lord of his life and his self has been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20.). The Holy Spirit has become the dominant source of influence in this man's choices.FAILURE TO MAKE DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

Referencing the Introduction to this manual will show why so many churches are filled with Carnal Christians rather than Spiritual Christians. During those early days, the churches were primarily motivated to rescue or save souls, have them baptized, and become church members. Sunday school was expected to teach them enough Bible knowledge that they would be good Christians that would busy themselves with church related responsibilities. I can say that because that was the case in my life.

I was "saved" at age 14, completed school, got married, and became a faithful church member. Up to the age of 40 I remained a Carnal Christian as a deacon, church treasurer, teacher, and members of numerous committees. I cleverly used my engineering skills to perform my church responsibilities. I was encouraged by other Carnal Christians to keep up the good work! However, I had no real joy in my heart!

I told my wife that I could not work any harder in the church and I was getting very tired and frustrated. She really hurt my feelings by asking, "Do you study your Bible and pray?" I reacted

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in my Carnal way by exclaiming, "When do you think I would have time to do that? I am too busy serving to pray and study the Bible!"

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REVIVAL BEGINS AT HOME:Our home life was in disarray. Because of my many church responsibilities, I was absent

most evenings and every Saturday. Our three sons were beginning to resent the church since we no longer functioned as a family due to my over involvement.

God led us to take a one-year sabbatical to discover what was wrong. During this year, we continued attending church services but excused ourselves from all of our responsibilities. We learned to pray together and study God's word together. We enjoyed regular times with our boys studying the Navigator's discipleship manuals and memorizing scripture.

I became spiritually revived. I was approached to take charge of the church training program. I agreed to do so if I could teach what we had learned during the past year rather than teach from a church manual. Agreement was reached and for the next forty plus years, we have practiced and emphasized Christian DiscipleshipYOUTH MINISTRY:

Our typical concept of youth ministry is to hire someone, give him or her a title of Youth Minister, and consider our youth program successful if we attract a large number of students by playing games, feeding free pizza, and entertaining them with worldly events and programs.

Such youth, never discipled, usually leave the church because adult church is boring! Our churches are dying for lack of new, young, Disciples of ChristWHAT ABOUT YOU?

Please make an honest survey of your heart. Are you a Carnal church member for the wrong reasons? On the other hand, are you a disciplined Christian that exalts Christ in every aspect of your life? If you are the former, then Jesus considers you a lukewarm hypocrite that has lost your first love. You are a negative witness for Christ; you actually drive people away from Christianity rather than attracting them to Christianity.

Jesus said, "I will spew you out of my mouth!" (Revelation 3:16)

Written by: John Overton for Lost Sheep Ministries

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REVIVAL - SPIRITUAL AWAKENING - j.b5z.net · Web viewDietrich Bonheoffer wrote a book entitled, The Cost of Discipleship. In his book, Bonheoffer differentiated between "cheap grace"