Revival, Fakes & Arks

I was talking with my prayer group this past Wednesday about revival. We were discussing such things as: “What is true revival? Why does it seem that we are not having revival in the church today? What can we do to encourage revival? Etc…” There is no doubt all of us have a desire to se the excitement and hunger for a moving of God to come once again upon the Church. And that’s exactly what revival is all about. It concerns those who have been “vived” or made alive in Christ, being revived. The main reason revival isn’t sweeping the Church today is because believers are not totally submitted to the Lord. Their lives are not characterized by a passionate desire to see God move in great and mighty ways. They’re not willing to totally surrender their agendas, their time, their treasure, their talent to be used by the Lord as He uses them to display His glory and draw sinners to the throne of grace. In a sense, we generally think that all we need is a “get out of hell free” card and our lives are complete. And in that state of hard-heartedness, the revival fires will not fall. Christ left us here after salvation for a reason – so that we would be revived again, and again, spurred on towards evangelism and proclaiming the great works of God so that those who don’t know Christ may have an opportunity to discover true hope as they respond to His eternal plan for their lives.

Recently, I have been more and more aware of a rather disturbing trend among certain groups of Christians that I believe is just as detrimental to the Holy Spirit’s moving as hard-heartedness – feigned or false revival. It appears to be a true moving of God’s Spirit in miracles, signs and wonders being manifest, but a closer look reveals that some of these events are not exactly as they seem. People are paraded across stages, proclaimed as healed, only to return to their wheelchairs and sickbeds immediately following the service. Some of these folks are desperately wanting to believe they’re healed, and will actually take a chance at walking. But ultimately, many of them were only “charged up” by adrenaline or motivated in the excitement of the moment. The leaders of these revivals will proclaim all of these as God’s miraculous movement when it fact, they are not. They even justify their claims by saying, “All we’re doing is reporting what we see. Besides, what we’re reporting will build the faith of the others.” So in a sense, they think they’re helping the presence of God and helping build up the faith of God’s people. They’re helping God stir the fires of revival.

I am reminded of the time when David was attempting to move the Ark of the Covenant into the Temple. David had a hunger in his heart to return the people back to God… He longed for revival. So David set about to restore something that had not succeeded in previous attempts. In the process, David tries to seek out the Lord thru the ark. And as such, I believe he seeks covenant renewal with God in an inappropriate way. The attitude reflected in his statement: “Let us bring the ark of our God back to us” shows that his intentions were manipulative at best. David was essentially saying, “I’m going to put God in His rightful place so I can achieve my own religious objectives.” And the people of Israel agreed because it seemed the right thing to do. And David did what was “right in his own eyes instead of fully seeking the Lord.”

Perhaps out of pride or maybe out of arrogance, David didn’t properly prepare for moving the ark. And when difficulty arose and it seemed as if the ark was going to fall, a man named Uzzah reached out to “help move the ark” and God struck him down. He took the sacred things of God very lightly and paid a heavy, heavy price.

I see a great similarity in some of the contemporary revival outbreaks. In an attempt to reestablish the presence of God and stoke alive the fires of revival, many times we’re attempted to “help move the process along”. And sometimes the things that have happened have been nothing short of religious deception. Not only are there feigned healings, but over the past 10 to 20 years, things have happened in these “revival meetings” that are not Biblical. Manifestations of “holy laughter”, “holy barking”, “holy howling” and various other supposed movings of the Holy Spirit that find no place in the scriptures. Revival cannot be forced. It is not necessary for us to attempt to help God move revival along. Revival is a sovereign move of the Lord in response to the complete surrender of His people to His purposes. When we are desperately, passionately, and diligently seeking a true move of God, He will respond. Every true revival movement in history has been marked by believers humbling themselves, turning from their sin, and diligently seeking God’s righteousness in prayer & daily practice. And in that process, the believers are seeking God alone, not seeking to find Him thru miracles like David sought Him thru the Ark. When this is our heart, true revival will break out and we won’t have to fake, feign, or help the process along. And we will see the miracles, signs and wonders follow as God moves among us.

So are you hungry? If so, seek God with your whole heart… Totally surrender to His work… Diligently pray and “cry out” to God for His people. Humble yourself, turn from your sinful ways, and pursue a lifestyle that is sold out to the holiness righteous purposes of God alone. ness Be wary of false teachers and false prophets that create division and claim to be connected in some way to new revelations of the Holy Spirit or a “New Anointing” that is marked with strange doctrines and emotions. Leaders of these “feigned revivals” are always quick to condemn anyone who question their teachings and the “new manifestations” of the Holy Spirit. You’ll take some heat when you stand for biblical truth, but not nearly as bad as the “heat” Uzzah experienced.

 

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Remember

This weekend we pause to remember those who have given their lives to defend the freedoms we hold so dear as Americans as well as defend the freedoms of others around the world. This is a special day for me. As a veteran, I am always moved when we celebrate Memorial Day. Each year I try to preach on Memorial Day Sunday in my uniform. When I do that, I stand behind the pulpit of our family of faith with great humility. By God’s grace He has allowed us to be born in the greatest country. I also count myself greatly blessed to have served along side so many great men & women in our armed forces. For many in our nation, however, the holiday often overshadows the reason we remember. Unless someone calls our attention to the fact, we don’t think about the individual soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who have died. I’m not saying celebration isn’t appropriate, but it’s important to remember those who made this day possible. I didn’t realize the significance of this day until I was serving in the military myself. As a kid I remember Memorial Day as the day summer vacation was getting ready to begin… It usually meant that we would have a long weekend. And if we were lucky, mom & dad would pile all five of us kids in the green hornet station wagon & we’d head to Fontana Lake. I also remember the Memorial Day sales down at the Canton Western Auto. On this weekend, they’d have all the iceboxes, bicycles, lawnmowers and grills moved out. And on certain street corners of our little town, you could find Veterans sitting at tables with a tin can for donations for the disabled veterans. They would hand out little silk poppies. My dad always dropped in a few coins and then hung the poppy on the sun visor of his car. I really didn’t know much about the poppy, just that it had something to do with the war. The poppy is memorialized in a poem called Flanders Fields that goes like this: In Flanders Fields the poppies blow; Between the crosses, row on row; That mark our place, and in the sky; The larks, still bravely singing, fly; Scarce heard amid the guns below; We are the Dead, Short days ago; Loved and were loved, and now we lie, in Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe; To you from falling hands we throw; The torch, be yours to hold it high; If ye break faith with us who die; We shall not sleep, though poppies grow, in Flanders Fields.

Many times we pass by veterans’ cemeteries and hear stories of the great sacrifices of brave men & women, but we forget that they were once just like us… Americans living their lives day to day with their families and friends… Some with children; others with brothers and sisters, but we don’t really think of them that way. We forget their sacrifice. We forget that they used to live among us and one day they gave all they had so that we could live in freedom. Often times I think we also forget that our Savior was much the same way. He came and lived among us as a man. He fought the greatest battle of mankind and then awarded us with the victor’s crown. And He gave all He had so that we could have freedom from sin and a relationship with God. This weekend, let’s not forget the sacrifice of our brave service men and women. And let’s also take time to remember the great sacrifice of our Savior… Give thanks for the freedoms we enjoy – both as a nation as well as the freedom we have in Christ

 

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Mysterious Ways, Porpoises and Manatees

William Cowper, [pronounced Cooper] was a poet and a hymnist. He was responsible for penning the words to some 66 hymns and poems of praise that took the Church in England to great heights of worship. It’s interesting to note that although Cowper encouraged others to find love, peace & joy in the Lord Jesus Christ, he suffered from times of very deep melancholy and depression. In fact, one night when he was in a particularly dark mood of depression and despair, he decided that he was going to end his life by jumping into the Thames River. Fortunately, God intervened. As he wandered the streets of London, looking for a bridge off of which to jump, the city was covered with an extremely thick fog. Cowper searched almost all night for a bridge. He stumbled blindly thru the fog, only to end up on the doorstep of his own home. After that episode, Cowper penned the words of a hymn that rings so true still today.

“God moves in a mysterious way,
   

His wonders to perform;
   

He plants his footsteps in the sea,
   

And rides upon the storm.”

“His purposes will ripen fast,
   

Unfolding every hour;
   

The bud may have a bitter taste,
   

But sweet will be the flower."

It’s so easy to wander the streets of life looking for a moving of God’s power. One look around the church landscape and we wonder if He even goes to church any more. I realize when 2 or 3 are gathered in His name the Scriptures promise He is in their midst, but many times we gather in written name only, not according to the character of His name. Make no mistake however, God still moves in mysterious ways. A lot of times though, He’s not moving where we’re looking. But that doesn’t change the fact that there’s a mighty move of God that is in full swing and hasn’t stopped since the day Jesus said “It is finished”. I admit that at times I don’t understand it… but the Bible says His ways are not my ways and His thoughts are not my thoughts. To think that we have to fully understand, or can fully understand what He is doing is quite presumptions on our part though, don’t you think. I submit to you that what we so often try to do is keep Him in the nice little box we’ve constructed to house his presence. You know, that place we figure we can control what He does, how He does it, and what the end result will be. Sometimes those little boxes have steeples and crosses sitting on top of them. We call them churches, but they’re actually little boxes we’ve built in an attempt to hide away in our religious comfort zones.

How many times do we refuse to step outside our comfort zones because we’re convinced that Jesus doesn’t operate in the unknown. I’m not saying that He necessarily wants us to try to be like everybody else, but how many times do we automatically write off everybody that is different than us? But the things that we reject as being uncomfortable and out there on the edge aren’t a risk for Jesus. He’s comfortable operating in the realm of the uncomfortable, unknown.

I believe there are also times when we’ve incorrectly believed that we have to conform to some earthly pattern or some denominational doctrine in order to experience the mysterious moving of God. That’s not the truth either. God moves in every arena that will proclaim the name of Jesus and boldly share the message of the Gospel. He is simply looking for those who have hearts that are diligently seeking the truth and will hear His voice of truth. You don’t have to follow any person, any movement, or any breakout of the Spirit’s moving; simply be obedient to the voice of truth. I believe that if your heart is truly set on having an encounter with The Lord of the Universe, it can happen in your bedroom, in the synagogue, in the church, in a revival, in the car, in the backyard, or any place else where you finally surrender to the power of the Lord… The place isn’t important. It’s your focus on His active presence and the fact that He wants to consume your total being… To take control and use you as an instrument of His peace, His healing, His grace and His love.

Several years ago my family and I were on vacation in Destin, Florida. We took a small pontoon boat out to an area to do some snorkeling in a beautiful area filled with all sorts of colorful fish and sea life. On the way out, our boat was surrounded by a group of porpoises. These gentle creatures were almost like an escort for our party, leading us to water that was clear and calm. The truth about porpoises however, is that they are viscous hunters. My buddy Jay Liner was telling me this week how they will actually work together to push fish up on the shore. When the fish hit the dry land, they are totally out of their comfort zones. They can’t breathe without the water and they can’t really move without swimming. So what do they do? They give up essentially, and are quickly consumed by their pursuer – the porpoise. The porpoise will hit the dry land chasing after these fish. But being out of the water doesn’t harm the porpoise. It doesn’t breathe water; it breathes air. So it’s not out of its comfort zone. It consumes dinner and then waits for the waves to wash it back into the deep.

I think God wants to push us all out of our comfort zones. He wants to take us where we’ve never been. He will do whatever it takes, to include pushing us to our end so that we will have no other place to go but to Him.  And because of His great love for us, He is tenacious in His pursuit. He never gives up the chase. He’s not trying to drive us to follow a person or follow a flurry of miraculous acts. He wants to push us to the end of our defenses to the place where we are helplessly desperate for Him. And when we reach that place, like Cowper, we’ll know it because we will behold His mysterious ways in our own lives. Where is that place? I’m not sure but you’ll know when you get there. It may be a place where you’ve exhausted all means to take care of your problems on your own. And in desperation you cry out to Him from a heart that’s broken and isn’t trying to tell Him when and how He has to move in your life. It may be simply in a time of quiet personal worship or when you’re together with other believers focusing solely on the Lord and not all the things around you. One thing is for sure – He’ll do whatever is necessary to encounter you if you are truly seeking Him.

Unfortunately, I think that many of us over the years haven’t been truly seeking an encounter with Him. When you encounter Jesus, your life will be changed. We’d rather not be changed. We’d rather stay in control. That’s why we’re staying in the safe zone, seeking the trivial things of man. We’ve been seeking the religious dogma of denominationalism. We’ve been following after things that we perceive as miracles, signs and wonders instead of following the Lord of Hosts. The Bible clearly tells us that the evidence of God’s presence follows those who know Him. But I’m not so sure that God’s presence always accompanies those who only seek out another thrill or another miracle dog and pony show… Oh people! That our hearts would yearn for the Lord who is the Lover of our souls! Because the organized church today seems to not have that fervent love and desire to encounter Christ alone, the mysterious ways of the Lord have all but disappeared from among us. We don’t expect it any more. We don’t evangelize as passionately as the early church. We’ve become hunted by Satan, driven into the dark corners and rendered ineffective instead of chased by God and consumed by His Spirit.

There’s another mammal in Florida called the Manatee. They’re sometimes called sea cows. They’re large, lethargic type mammals that are vulnerable to extinction. But they’re not being wiped out by natural enemies. Their numbers are quickly dropping due to being struck by boats and slashed with propellers. Some get entangled in the nets of fishermen or swallow monofilament fishing line that often clogs the digestive system and slowly kills them. Because they are inactive and just lay around under the surface of the water, they are prone to every sort of danger in the ocean. Unfortunately that resembles a lot of believers today as well. We’ve gotten comfortable in our “Holy Huddles”, sitting around singing Kum-Bah-Yah, holding hands and encouraging each other to hang in there and hang out until Jesus Comes. As a result, we’re prone to many of the enemy’s attacks. Our focus is on ourselves and inwardly focused ministries, not outwardly focused evangelism and taking the gospel to the streets. So we lay around, basking in the ecumenical practice of our “faith”, believing God is smiling on us and pleased that we would care enough to show up once a week, toss Him a tip in the offering plate, and sit thru a sermon… And we’ve become spiritually shallow, weak, lethargic, slow, living with shallow dreams, and vulnerable to extinction.

But praise God, there’s a rumbling in the air… there’s a storm arising. And I find myself more and more frequently praying, “Rain down! Rain down! Let Your power fall. Let Your voice be heard! Come and change our hearts as we stand on Your Word! Holy Spirit, rain down!” God is issuing a clarion call for the bride to prepare for the bridegroom. And He’s sending us out into the field to bring in those whom He is inviting to be a part of the wedding party – the lost, the beaten down, the oppressed, the captives… And I believe He is raising up a new generation of hungry Christians in the world today. Believers who are tired of the same old religious junk they’ve been a part of in the past. They’re tired of dreaming hollow dreams. They’re willing to say as Bob Moorhead so eloquently penned, “I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, chintzy giving, dwarf goals. I do not need preeminence. Prosperity, position, prominence, plaudits or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded.” [I am hungry Lord. I want to] “… live by Your presence, lean by faith, walk with patience, lift by prayer and labor by power… I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I will not give up, shut up, or letup, until I’ve stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ!”

“I will not look back, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense and my future is secure…” because it’s in your hands Jesus… that’s the realm of the unknown and you’ve got that under control. Let our prayer be “Lord, stir us… Lord move us… Lord tear down the strongholds that bind us and keep us away from your glory… Lord, forgive us for allowing the precious presence of your Spirit to somehow become so familiar to some and so frightening to others because of the abuses of sinful men, that we have tried to do this thing in our own power… Teach us to take our eyes off of the things of this world, to include the preachers, prophets, people, the church members, the evangelists, etc… and help us to keep our focus on you and you alone… Lord help your moving power not to become extinct in the Church because we have bought into a form of Religion and denied the power that you sent to be our source of strength and comfort. It’s all about you Jesus… I’m hungry for You… I’m thirsty for You… I surrender to your work – NO MATTER WHAT! WHAT EVER IT TAKES!”

So… Are you ready? Will you pray that bold prayer today?

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Sowing Seeds At Home

The month of May begins our emphasis on Evangelism and Missions as a church. You will hear several sermons and lessons regarding outreach and sharing your faith with your friends, relatives, associates and neighbors. I am convinced that over the past several years, believers have lost their love for unbelievers and have turned inwardly, seeking only to establish comfortable church groups. As a result, many congregations are dying out. When you have no children, a family line will die out… That’s what is happening to many churches. Sure, we still talk about evangelism and leading others to faith and salvation, but about all we do is talk… And we talk amongst ourselves – in our “holy huddles” while we sit around singing Kum Bah Yah and feeling good about ourselves. But we aren’t hitting the mark when it comes to talking about the love and grace of Jesus to those who don’t know Him. And as a result, those who don’t know Him continue to travel down the road to eternity without hope in Christ. Dr. Chuck Kelly once said: “Southern Baptists are a harvested-oriented denomination in the midst of an unseeded generation.” How true that is! This generation isn’t seeded because we aren’t sowing the seeds. And the results are obvious. I’m not a big “numbers” guy, although I do believe in salvation and baptism. I just sometimes think we can be interested in numbers for all the wrong reasons – primarily because they make us look good. But if you look at the statistics, you’ll see that there has been a steady decline across the nation when it comes to salvations and baptisms. The reason? We’re living in an unseeded culture. What’s even more staggering is that we’re not even reaching our own children with the gospel. It used to be that the children of Christians were witnesses in their schools, both by their lives and testimonies. But now, believers are sending their lost children to schools, colleges and universities that are openly antagonistic against Christianity. And instead of being a light in the darkness, we’re herding off our kids into these places like lambs led to slaughter. But that’s what happens whenever we lose sight of the imperative of preparing our families for eternity. We’re good at preparing them for sports. We spend half the year traveling every weekend to different places so they can participate in a sports event. And we neglect to take them to church or share the gospel with them or pray with them. Folks, it’s time we woke up! We can redeem the time that’s left. If I could say anything to parents today that will help you with your children, it would be – “Get them into church. Don’t let them talk you out of being a part of the youth group. Don’t be lazy about insisting that they are involved. And take time to pray with your kids. Tell them about Jesus and help create a desire to know more. And when the Holy Spirit starts moving in their heart, lead them in the sinner’s prayer as they come to faith.”

The majority of problems I have to deal with when it comes to children and youth can be directly traced back to the fact that their parents dropped out of church or grew lax in their faith. You can tell your children what to do until you’re blue in the face, but they will learn from and become what you demonstrate by your life. Most likely, they’ll grow up to be like you. So… what kind of generation are you producing? Are you planting seeds of the Gospel in your own home? We’ve all got to do better to raise our children right, equip them for the work of ministry and create an environment where the seeds are richly planted everywhere our feet touch the ground. There’s one thing I know for certain, God will hold each of us parents accountable for the way we minister in our homes. So how are you doing thus far?

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Gumball Prayer

One Sunday following a sermon on prayer, I was handed a folded piece of paper from a gentleman who looked to be in his late 50’s or early 60’s. I stuck the paper in my pocket and later opened it to read an unsigned note. The note basically said, “Why bother praying? God doesn’t answer my prayers.” He then went on to explain that he had prayed for God to do certain things for him and nothing had been done. He had prayed for God to do certain things in his children’s lives and nothing had been done. He talked about several things he had asked for but none of them had been given to him. He did state that he was a Christian and a deacon and had tried to live a good Christian life, but he had basically come to the conclusion that prayer was useless.

As I thought about that note, I wondered how many of us see prayer that same way? Is God really nothing but a “gumball” machine to us? Is that what prayer is all about? Do we see prayer like this: We kneel at the machine; put in our prayer; pull on a lever and expect our wishes to fall out of the sky? Surely we have a better relationship with God than that don’t we! How many times do we simply thank Him for our salvation? How many times do our prayers express thanksgiving to the Lord for healthy children and grandchildren? How many times do we thank Him for air to breathe, food to eat, a home in which to live and all the rich blessings He has given us? What kind of perspective is it for a “Christian” to value their relationship with God and the effectiveness of prayer solely on whether or not God does a good job granting our wishes? One look at the mission field in places like South Africa, where the AIDS epidemic has infected hundreds of thousands of men, women, children, and babies, and we would see that we have so much for which to be thankful. One look at the villages we minister to in Nicaragua where the men die in their early 30’s from poison they absorb into their bodies while working in the cane fields to support their families on $3.50 a day and we see that we are tremendously rich. God doesn’t love those people any less than He loves us either… But He saves them the same. He hears their prayers the same. And He offers them the same hope He gives to us... Hope that goes far beyond the troubles and shortcomings we face in this life. Hope that extends "to infinity and beyond". Hope that is eternal - a home in heaven - for those who come to Him in childlike faith and accept His sacrifice for our sin. What a cheap view of God to see prayer like putting a quarter in the machine and getting a gumball. Sometimes I really wonder if we get it! I wonder if a lot of us who claim salvation really got it! 

Do we value our earthly parents that same way? Am I one of those kids that think my mom and dad don’t love me and it does no good to talk to them if they don’t give me a shiny new bicycle? Is that really the way I define their love for me or the effectiveness of talking to them? No… of course not. There is so much more… And there is so much more with God too… Prayer is effective, even when we don't get exactly what we want. God hears the prayers of His children and He knows exactly what's best for us. Many times He will not answer because we aren’t listening to Him. We want something from His hands and He wants our heart. And if He’s really God, He knows what we need far better than we know for ourselves. To that man I would humbly say, “Don’t give up on prayer my friend. Don’t give up on God either. Just see Him for who He is and trust Him. Spend time with Him. Look for the blessings He has given to you – they are many. Take great joy that He's your Savior. How much more could He give you than His own life and an eternity of hope beyond this mudball, Earth? And be careful about what you may be teaching your children and your grandchildren about what defines the goodness of God and what constitutes a relationship with the Father.” And one more thing... none of us can live "A good Christian life". If we could, Jesus wouldn't have had to die on the cross. If we humbly submit in obedience to Christ, we'll find that God's grace is the key to everything. God doesn't answer our prayers based on how well we perform either. We are to simply spend time with Him - talking, listening, worshipping & praising the One who gives us life and all that is in it... Let's find our delight simply in being His children... can we do that? It'll change your outlook about gumball prayer...

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LOST In The Fray...

Have you ever been lost? I remember being in the middle of the desert in Iraq when my vehicle suddenly quit. We didn't have GPS back then, and trying to use a map and a compass to “dead reckon” your way in the desert is almost impossible. First of all, there aren’t any mountains around you, and the sand dunes are prone to change overnight if the wind is blowing hard enough. So, my driver and I opted for the next best option, we took stock of the weapons we had available, armed ourselves and headed out, certain that if we encountered any civilians we would be able to “persuade” them to help us. As fate would have it, we found a farmer. This man quickly noticed the fire power we were toting, and generously offered to use his tractor to haul our “Hummer” to the nearest military unit. We weren’t sure of our location, but this man knew where we were. He also know the location of our closest ally.

Many times in life we may find ourselves in unfamiliar territory in the spiritual sense. We face numerous situations that can lead us to be overcome with emotions such as fear, doubt, anger, and etc. When we find ourselves in such predicaments, we may be prone to make choices that can cause us to fall into sin and trouble. During those times, it’s important to realize that we may not have the strength to “reckon” our way out; nor do we have the will power to make the right choices. But the power of Christ within us – the same power that raised Jesus from the dead – is more than sufficient to lead us to do the right thing. But we have to first admit our inability to find our way on our own and ask God for help. We don’t like to do that. It means we are no longer in control. But it is a necessary step if we want to live a life that honors the Lord. So the next time you find yourself in a situation where the odds are favorable for you to choose a path that leads to disobedience and sin, take stock of the power of Christ within you and follow Him. If you’ll take that small moment to consider where you are, who you are, and whom you are with, you’ll find that you are more likely to make the right decision. And soon you’ll also find that you’re no longer lost in the fray, floundering between following the way of the Spirit or the way of the flesh… 

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