Revival
Please Note: This is a lengthy article (It summarizes 4 sermons and over 40 hours of work). I humbly ask you to read the entire piece as it is an attempt to bring these 4 messages together. I have included a throne-room-review, with all the art work embedded in the file if you would rather print it out and read it away from the computer screen.
I want to tie together the messages of the last four weeks. This is very important to me, and I think its something important to us as a church. I actually have a very specific intention – I am trying to be faithful to a strong sense that I have (that I believe is from the Lord), that our shared vision needs to be renewed. I thought about this, prayed and studied a great deal while I was on sabbatical and I believe the Lord spoke to me in wonderful ways from my study of the book of Revelation. I am convinced that the vision of Christ’s exaltation presented to the church in this extraordinary book brings redemptive history together in a way that can energize the church in a time of great need. I am convinced that ours is a time where we need to see Jesus as preeminent, enthroned and with a dominion that is everlasting and ever expanding. (more…)
When Cyrus, sole King of the Medes-Persian empire issued the decree for the rebuilding of Jerusalem history demonstrated that God is sovereign over all things. Several hundred years before the prophet Isaiah prophesied by name that Cyrus would be raised up by God to be a deliverer for the Jewish people. It is truly an extraordinary prophecy. (Isaiah 44:24-28)
Yet, it took nearly 50 years for what God had determined to do to actually be accomplished. Cyrus did allow a great number to return to Jerusalem, and the building began in earnest, but later bogged down, and even experienced set back. The Lord raised up other prophets (Haggai and Zechariah) as well as Ezra and Nehemiah to see the work through to completion. Prophecy and human cooperation are meant to work together. God declares, but he calls upon us to partner with Him to bring it to pass.
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Brazil and the lights go on….
Please note that at the end of this article you can listen to and watch the video version of this piece. If you would prefer that just skip to the end.
Several years ago all of the elders at LOG made a trip down to Brazil to observe and participate in the work started by Tom & Kathy Padley. Others had visited Brazil in prior years, but something very special happened to all of us on those visits (which occurred over a period of two successive summers).
I was personally profoundly touched by the 3 weeks I spent in Nova Lima, and the surrounding communities. I observed a level of passion, intensity and devotion to Jesus that I had not ever seen in my 40 years of being a Christian. I saw poor believers gathering in small clusters, in homes, on front porches as well as believers in large gatherings. What touched me was the emotion and brokeness I witnessed every where I went. People were being changed, won to Christ, healed, and delivered from all manner of struggle. I was awestruck at the power of God, humbled by His presence and suddenly lights began to go on inside me mind. (more…)
Contrary to what you might think or even unwittingly believe – Christian Spiritual formation is not reserved for only the ’super’ spiritual. There is a sort of adage among retailers regarding people who write or call with concerns about a product. If you get a letter it probably speaks for many, many more who just won’t take the time. That is why it takes very little in the way of complaints for a company to respond (they know it is a representative sample). I think the following ought to be understood as a ‘representative’ sample.
One of the most theologically solid educational institutions in the U.S. is a school called Covenant College and Seminary in Georgia (Lookout Mountain). Recently the president of the Seminary told this story: Covenant Seminary gives an entrance examine in order to place its incoming students in the track of study which takes into consideration what they already know. 20 years ago (1988) 2/3rds of the students passed the Bible knowledge placement examine and 1/3rd failed. Today (2008) that number is reversed. 2/3 failed and only 1/3 passed. (more…)
This handsome old gentlemen is a great treasure of the Christian Church. J.I. Packer has taught, preached and written marvelously on Christianity for nearly 50 years. Packer has written classics like ‘Knowing God’, ‘Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God’, ‘Keeping in Step with the Spirit’, ‘Growing in Christ’, ‘Knowing and Doing the Will of God’ not to mention dozens of other popular and scholarly works on Christianity.
I had the great pleasure of hearing Dr. Packer many years ago at a conference arranged by Sword of the Spirit. He was spellbinding, full of warmth and a great gentlemen who treated his audience with great respect and affection.
It is possible to soak in the great J.I. Packer thanks to the technology of the internet and the wonderfully free I-Tunes software. If you don’t have it – go and download it on your computer, it won’t bite you! It is quite easy to do, and more than likely most who will read these words already have it and use it. Now listen carefully. Here is how you get the absolutely stirring 17 part series on the Puritans available through Reformed Theological Seminary’s virtual program.
1. Go to I-Tunes (through I-tunes, i.e. Open the program it will take you there)
2. On the left column of I-tunes click on the link “I tunes store” (relax, its free)
3. Under the heading I-tunes store click on the link ‘I-tunes U’
4. At the top of the page you will see a blank box (its a search engine) Type in the following – ‘Reformed Theological Seminary’
5. When you get the results you will see on the left of the screen a link for Reformed Theological Seminary, click it and it will take you to their specific site inside I-tunes. On the RTS Catalog on I-Tunes U heading click on the third link down, which is Church History. This will take you to a series of different lectures – Click on the one which reads – History and Theology of the Puritans. Click on it and it will give you the option of down loading on the lectures. They are totally free!
I am just about through the series and I have throughly enjoyed ever lecture. They are not for the faint hearted, but take your time and listen and I promise you that you will be edified. Some of the theology may not be your cup of tea, but the history lesson, the beautiful example of the puritan’s commitment to Christ, and to the Word will inspire you. Oh, one more thing. Here is the Puritan prayer for worship I promised. (From Sunday’s messsage)
It is the flame of my life to worship You,
the crown and glory of my soul
to adore You,
heavenly pleasure to approach You.
Give me power by thy Spirit to help me worship now,
that I might forget the world,
be brought into fullness of life,
be refreshed, comforted, blessed.
Give me knowledge of Your goodness
that I might not be
over-awed by Your greatness,
Give me Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God,
that I might not be terrified,
but be drawn near
with filial love;
with holy boldness;
He is my mediator, brother, interpreter,
branch, daysman,(arbitrator) Lamb;
Him I glorify, in Him I am set on high.
Crowns to give I have none,
but what You have given I return,
content to feel that everything is mine
when it is Yours,
and the more fully mine
when I have yielded it to You.
Let me live wholly to my Savior,
free from distractions,
from carking (distressing) care,
from hindrances to the pursuit of the narrow way.
I am pardoned through the blood of Jesus -
give me a new sense of it,
continue to pardon me by it,
may I come every day to the fountain,
and every day be washed anew,
that I may worship thee always in spirit and truth.
I grew up in a Christian home. This is something for which I am deeply grateful. My father, Charles, also grew up in a Christian family and at least on my dad’s side this Christian linage goes back several generations. This is a wonderful blessing.
I was also taught to be highly suspicious of Pentecostalism. Most of this ‘caution’ was prejudical and unfair. My Baptist theological orientation was ‘cessassionist’, meaning that I was taught that ’signs and wonders’ belonged exclusively to the age of the apostles and the first century. Over many years of inquiry, study and experience with balanced teachers I came to see that there was no ‘theological’ reason to believe that spiritual gifts and signs and wonders had ceased. Additionally, there was and is good evidence to suggest that spiritual gifts and signs and wonders had continued through the centuries among the body of Christ. (more…)
You may never hear about it, or it may become the next ‘big’ thing in Charismatic circles. Is it real? Is it fake? Is it revival?
First, let me say that at this time (5.7.08) what is taking place in Lakeland, Florida is not similiar to The First Great Awakening, the Second Great Awakening, The Welsh Revival, or even the Azusa Street Revival. All of these examples were characterized by a deep sense of repentence, great sorrow for sin and a powerful renewal of simple gospel truths. Even, Azusa, the beginning of the modern pentecostal movement in the U.S. had this element of repentence and deep sorrow for sin.
So far, this is not what is being reported concerning the ‘revival’ in Lakeland. Does that mean it is not a genuine move of God? The verdict is out on that one. The presence of ‘alleged’ healing miracles doesn’t by itself prove that what is going on in Lakeland is a revival, or even that it is from the Lord. Jesus said (21) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (22) On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ (23) And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (more…)
It was just a simple invitation to pray that led a small group of people in 1898 to meet on Saturday evenings from 9 to 10 for prayer. They met at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago to cry out for an awakening. Within a short time, the group grew to 300 passionate intercessors. A few members remained to agonize and intercede into the early hours one Sunday morning.
R. A. Torrey joined this small group to pray for a worldwide revival. During that intense intercession, Torrey asked God to send him around the world. Within a week of the close of the prayer meeting, two strangers approached Torrey and asked him to come to Melbourne, Australia to preach. These two men had left Australia months before in search of a man that they believed God would use to bring revival to their nation. Upon meeting Torrey, they felt they had found God’s man.
The result of that Chicago prayer meeting was an invitation for Torrey to come to Australia. Torrey arrived in Australia in 1902. 15,000 tried to pack themselves into the meeting hall. It is estimated that Torrey and his partner Alexander led over 100,000 souls into the Kingdom of God.
All this had its beginning in Chicago with a small group of people praying, “Revive thy work, Oh Lord!” May God raise up such prayer warriors in our day who will daily cry out, ” REVIVE THEY WORK, OH LORD!”
The gods had condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly rolling a rock to the top of a mountain, whence the stone would fall back of its own weight. They had thought with some reason that there is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labor.
There is something very compelling about this myth. It is a vivid picture of futility. Again and again Sisyphus tried to get the stone all the way up the hill and have it stay, only to see it roll back down again. Sometimes waiting on God feels like this – futile and hopeless labor. Will He ever come through? How many prayers will we have to pray? How long will He make us wait? When will the things we have ask Him for come to be?
There is a quote that strikes me as helpful: “Satan strikes either at the root of faith or at the root of diligence” (Puritan John Livingstone). I have found this to be a true insight concerning the nature of prayer and persistance in prayer. Satan prosecutes a relentless war against faith and faithfulness. He works to draw the intercessor away, to cause him or her to doubt, to lure one into the place where we utter – “What’s the point, this won’t work to change a thing.” (more…)
THE CALL of a REVIVALIST
-by Tina Dyer.
I will attempt to help you understand the call as a revivalist. When we look at others who have gone before us, it can help us with where we find ourselves currently. Though we see through a glass darkly, it still helps to catch just a glimpse of what we are going through. We could be called “forerunners” or revivalists or “reformers”….
It can be seen as one who runs in front of the crowd. One who will search out the best path for others who will soon follow. One who will be the first to encounter un-plowed territory or land. Your vision or perspective will be vastly different from others as your eyesight will see from a completely different vantage point.You are much like the “Pioneers” of old who headed west in search of new land to settle in. They had to trail blaze through uninhabited land to make a way for others to cross with ease. They were “way makers” and “visionaries”. What kept them pressing forward was a dream, a dream that held great promise of a better land in which to settle and grow strong roots. (more…)
