REVIVAL......: another definition would be to recover, repair or restore. Hosea 10:12 says: "Sow to yourself in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord till He come and reign righteousness upon you."
What is fallow ground? I believe, Fallow ground is ground that has been fruitful, and then it has been ploughed over, and no seed has been sown in it, and therefore it has become unproductive.
Michael’s Notion: there is a human emphasis here -- it says that we are to break up -- you break up your fallow ground. Now take another aspect of it here in Psalm 85:6 "Would Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee." So here, there is an absence of joy, of vitality -- there is an absence of ecstasy.
The very word "revive" presupposes life. I believe, you can only revive what has already had vitality -- life that has become sick, weak, or apathetic. I think the nearest analogy I can give you is a recent case of a man who apparently drowned. He had been under the water for an incredible amount of time. Then somebody pulled him out and worked and worked on him, and eventually life came again. This is actually what it means to revive:
It means to revitalize. It means to restore lost power. It means to recover lost energy.
In the Acts 3:19 we read, "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord." Whatever else we say about revival we have to recognize this, that Revival is an act of mercy in the sovereignty of God.
There is a vast difference between revival and evangelism. When we speak of revival in Christian life we think of church advertising, "Our revival will begin next Sunday night at a certain time and it is going to finish the next Sunday night at a certain time." Obviously this is something purely mechanical; it is something which men have engineered.
I think that one of the offenses of revival, in the historic sense, is that it cannot be organized. When revival comes it changes the moral climate of a community, city, state and nation. You can have revival that covers a church, you can have a revival that covers a city and You can have a revival that covers the whole nation -- and I am thinking in this context more than in the other contexts (though sometimes revival spreads from here to there -- like fire spreads.)
Acts 3:19 (Amplified Bible) I like the Amplified Version
19, So repent (change your mind and purpose); turn around and return [to God], that your sins may be erased (blotted out, wiped clean), that times of refreshing (of recovering from the effects of heat, of [a]reviving with fresh air) may come from the presence of the Lord;
Possible Prayer
From this time forward, I want to change the direction of my life and follow you. Give me a hunger for your Word and a desire to spend time with you every day. I pray that I would love you with all my heart and all my soul and all my strength. Help me to obey you without hesitation and be faithful to YOU. Help me to love others and to demonstrate my love through concrete actions. Protect me from all evil. Give me wisdom to make right decisions that honours YOU.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
27 January, 2010. WORD OF THE DAY!!
HOPE: - it means to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence in a person or thing in which expectations are centred.
Michael Moses: The hope in God with whole confidence is all we need each day to make it through. God cares for those who suffer and promises that not only will they be rescued from their suffering, but they'll receive many more times of what they lost. Maybe you've been hit with something medical or financial. Maybe your family is in a crisis or someone you love is gone or you found yourself out of work, out of money even out of hope. Whatever the storm would you allow me to suggest why it might be happening? For the same reason it happened to Saul, so you would finally be able to hear the voice of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Something very exciting, very enlarging happens to your life when you realize that what you do every day does not have to be "everyday stuff." It’s relationships and opportunities to point someone where you are in your life in Christ. So nothing you do is meaningless, not when you do it to help someone who's spiritually dying, it’s hope you are giving them.
They can see through the amazing beauty of joy and hope that only a Saviour Jesus Christ can give. If you'll turn away from your despair, and maybe bitterness, anger, and self-pity, and give your brokenness to Him, He can do that miracle for you. The songwriter was right when he said, "All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife. But He made something beautiful of my life." That unloseable relationship with God comes only one way, because we're away from the God we need so much; away by our choice, not His. We've repeatedly chosen our way instead of His way and we've built an eternal wall between us and God. A wall that God Himself acted to tear down by sending His only Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for all our sins when He died on the cross.
We should find our Hope in God alone. He is the only one who can give us true rest since he is our rock and salvation. You can't tell what God is going to do for a wonderful finish to this game or journey He know the end from the beginning. If you don't give up before that harvest comes! I just hope you don't miss that grand finish because you gave up on the game too soon! Don’t give up and only hope in Him... Without Jesus Christ and the hope of eternal life, our lives would be ruled by a fear of death. But Jesus has triumphed over death; it is no longer the ultimate end of life, and it no longer hangs over everything we do and think. What hope awaits Christians at the end of a life lived in service to Christ? An inheritance of eternal life, something we're entitled to not because of our own actions, but because of Christ.
If Jesus' claims weren't true--if the promise of the kingdom of God and life after death was a lie--then Christians would be deluded and truly miserable. But our hope extends beyond just this life; we trust God's promise to us to reach past our short lifespan on earth. Christians have a "living hope" in Jesus Christ. We place our trust and hope in him, who died for our sins and was raised again from the dead. You can be sure if there was any other way that we could be forgiven, any other way we could go to heaven, God would have never had His Son go through what He did on that cross. But all the goodness, all the spirituality, all the religion in the world cannot pay our death penalty. Somebody has to die and somebody did. You and I did the sinning, but Jesus did the dying. He is your only hope, and He's offering you a chance to reach out and grab Him as your Saviour today.
If you're trusting in anything else to get you to heaven - your goodness, your religion, your reputation, and your knowledge about Jesus – I tell you now, you will never go there. It's all about Jesus and whether or not you've abandoned all other hopes and made Him your only hope. We're dead in our sins even before we die physically. That may be what you're feeling right now - the despair, the hopelessness. Inside, you're kind of like old barn - there are holes everywhere - you've just about giving hope of ever changing - you feel like it's all falling down. In your heart - maybe even in the eyes of others - your life seems ready for the end. Hang on. Here comes the Saviour and only Hope in Him
Bible Reference:
Psalm 62:5-6 (Amplified Bible)
5My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him.
6He only is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Defence and my Fortress, I shall not be moved.
Possible Prayer:
From this time forward, I want to change the direction of my life and follow YOU. Give me a hunger for your Word and a desire to spend time with you every day. I pray that I would love YOU with all my heart and all my soul and all my strength. Help me to obey and hope YOU without hesitation and be faithful to YOU. Help me to love others and to demonstrate my love through concrete actions. Protect me from all evil. Give me wisdom to make right decisions that honours YOU each day. Amen!!
Michael Moses: The hope in God with whole confidence is all we need each day to make it through. God cares for those who suffer and promises that not only will they be rescued from their suffering, but they'll receive many more times of what they lost. Maybe you've been hit with something medical or financial. Maybe your family is in a crisis or someone you love is gone or you found yourself out of work, out of money even out of hope. Whatever the storm would you allow me to suggest why it might be happening? For the same reason it happened to Saul, so you would finally be able to hear the voice of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Something very exciting, very enlarging happens to your life when you realize that what you do every day does not have to be "everyday stuff." It’s relationships and opportunities to point someone where you are in your life in Christ. So nothing you do is meaningless, not when you do it to help someone who's spiritually dying, it’s hope you are giving them.
They can see through the amazing beauty of joy and hope that only a Saviour Jesus Christ can give. If you'll turn away from your despair, and maybe bitterness, anger, and self-pity, and give your brokenness to Him, He can do that miracle for you. The songwriter was right when he said, "All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife. But He made something beautiful of my life." That unloseable relationship with God comes only one way, because we're away from the God we need so much; away by our choice, not His. We've repeatedly chosen our way instead of His way and we've built an eternal wall between us and God. A wall that God Himself acted to tear down by sending His only Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for all our sins when He died on the cross.
We should find our Hope in God alone. He is the only one who can give us true rest since he is our rock and salvation. You can't tell what God is going to do for a wonderful finish to this game or journey He know the end from the beginning. If you don't give up before that harvest comes! I just hope you don't miss that grand finish because you gave up on the game too soon! Don’t give up and only hope in Him... Without Jesus Christ and the hope of eternal life, our lives would be ruled by a fear of death. But Jesus has triumphed over death; it is no longer the ultimate end of life, and it no longer hangs over everything we do and think. What hope awaits Christians at the end of a life lived in service to Christ? An inheritance of eternal life, something we're entitled to not because of our own actions, but because of Christ.
If Jesus' claims weren't true--if the promise of the kingdom of God and life after death was a lie--then Christians would be deluded and truly miserable. But our hope extends beyond just this life; we trust God's promise to us to reach past our short lifespan on earth. Christians have a "living hope" in Jesus Christ. We place our trust and hope in him, who died for our sins and was raised again from the dead. You can be sure if there was any other way that we could be forgiven, any other way we could go to heaven, God would have never had His Son go through what He did on that cross. But all the goodness, all the spirituality, all the religion in the world cannot pay our death penalty. Somebody has to die and somebody did. You and I did the sinning, but Jesus did the dying. He is your only hope, and He's offering you a chance to reach out and grab Him as your Saviour today.
If you're trusting in anything else to get you to heaven - your goodness, your religion, your reputation, and your knowledge about Jesus – I tell you now, you will never go there. It's all about Jesus and whether or not you've abandoned all other hopes and made Him your only hope. We're dead in our sins even before we die physically. That may be what you're feeling right now - the despair, the hopelessness. Inside, you're kind of like old barn - there are holes everywhere - you've just about giving hope of ever changing - you feel like it's all falling down. In your heart - maybe even in the eyes of others - your life seems ready for the end. Hang on. Here comes the Saviour and only Hope in Him
Bible Reference:
Psalm 62:5-6 (Amplified Bible)
5My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him.
6He only is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Defence and my Fortress, I shall not be moved.
Possible Prayer:
From this time forward, I want to change the direction of my life and follow YOU. Give me a hunger for your Word and a desire to spend time with you every day. I pray that I would love YOU with all my heart and all my soul and all my strength. Help me to obey and hope YOU without hesitation and be faithful to YOU. Help me to love others and to demonstrate my love through concrete actions. Protect me from all evil. Give me wisdom to make right decisions that honours YOU each day. Amen!!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Power of your praise.. Acts 17:16-30
I guess we all know that life... happens? What I mean is that there are situations, circumstance, and realities in life that you cannot control. (i;e natural disaster, loss of a loved one, loss of a job, getting injured or hurt, financial hardships etc.) The reality of life is that trials, hardships, and circumstances will come and we/you have the responsibility of how we respond and react during that season.
James 1:2 Dear Brothers, when troubles come your way consider it an opportunity for great joy.
Situations may come, trials and hardship do come, and through it all I want you to know that your response is your responsibility. How do you react/respond to adversity? I want to challenge us to understand and realize the power of praise
“Power of Your Praise”
v. 16 once we were on our way to prayer
• Satan hates when we pray
• Distractions Come to Deter the Focus
• Confront the Issue
• Dragged and Lied About
v. 22 in prison they were beaten and bound
• Beaten – tired, hurting (emotionally, physically, mentally) we get beat on
• Bound – by sin, pride, anger, addictions, past. There are things that bind us
You see Paul and Silas were doing a good thing! They go from fulfilling the mission, ministering boldly, to the floor of a prison cell (no cable, no 3 squares a day, no yard time) these men had the opportunity to be:
• Angry
• Frustrated
• Violent
• Depressed
However, Paul and Silas understood and choose that their response was their responsibility!
We read in v. 25 their response to this current situation.
v.25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God...
• These Men CHOOSE to pray and praise God
• Mid – Middle, in the middle of everything
• Midnight – the darkest hour
In the middle of the darkest hour, how many of you have found yourself in this place? In the middle of the darkest hour they praised God! They weren’t worried about their finances, they weren’t worried about what other people had said, they weren’t worried about the position they were in, and they prayed and praised God. These men had their focus not on the situation, but they had their eyes fixed on the Lord.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus...
v. 25 ...and the other prisoners listened to them.
• People look to see your response
• What will you say?
• What will you do?
• You are being watched!
People look and listen to see how you react or respond, and so does God and your reaction and response will determine the outcome.
v.26 suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. How Wonderful is God!!
• One Move of God can shake your world up!
• The foundation of your life will be shaken
• Your Foundation – Opinion, Lifestyle, Decisions, Experiences and Values
One move of God can shake it all up!
v.26 ...doors opened
• Things that once seemed impossible began to open up
• Your prayer/praise will open doors of opportunity in your life
• A career, a wife, financial breakthrough, ministry opportunities
v.26 ... chains came loose
• Only Paul and Silas? NO! Everyone’s chains fell off. Your praise can set someone else FREE!
• Things that bind us: addictions, sin, past, anger, depression, chains put on by others, what limitations do you have in your life? God wants to break that off of you.
I could stop here, pray, and we all go about our day. However, I want you to see the reason Paul and Silas went through, what they went through and God came through for them and He will do the same for you..
Text v.27-33
What made this all worth it was the changed life of a jailer and his family.
• Jailer Saw the Difference
• He Felt the Difference
• He Wanted to Experience the Difference
How does he do this? Paul says it very simply in v. 31 Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.
You see, God gets all the glory. Two men, faced with a difficult situation responded with great joy. Their response broke the chains that were forged to keep them bound, and led to the salvation of many. God can do the same for us. I feel like I have preached myself happy..:)
I guess we all know that life... happens? What I mean is that there are situations, circumstance, and realities in life that you cannot control. (i;e natural disaster, loss of a loved one, loss of a job, getting injured or hurt, financial hardships etc.) The reality of life is that trials, hardships, and circumstances will come and we/you have the responsibility of how we respond and react during that season.
James 1:2 Dear Brothers, when troubles come your way consider it an opportunity for great joy.
Situations may come, trials and hardship do come, and through it all I want you to know that your response is your responsibility. How do you react/respond to adversity? I want to challenge us to understand and realize the power of praise
“Power of Your Praise”
v. 16 once we were on our way to prayer
• Satan hates when we pray
• Distractions Come to Deter the Focus
• Confront the Issue
• Dragged and Lied About
v. 22 in prison they were beaten and bound
• Beaten – tired, hurting (emotionally, physically, mentally) we get beat on
• Bound – by sin, pride, anger, addictions, past. There are things that bind us
You see Paul and Silas were doing a good thing! They go from fulfilling the mission, ministering boldly, to the floor of a prison cell (no cable, no 3 squares a day, no yard time) these men had the opportunity to be:
• Angry
• Frustrated
• Violent
• Depressed
However, Paul and Silas understood and choose that their response was their responsibility!
We read in v. 25 their response to this current situation.
v.25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God...
• These Men CHOOSE to pray and praise God
• Mid – Middle, in the middle of everything
• Midnight – the darkest hour
In the middle of the darkest hour, how many of you have found yourself in this place? In the middle of the darkest hour they praised God! They weren’t worried about their finances, they weren’t worried about what other people had said, they weren’t worried about the position they were in, and they prayed and praised God. These men had their focus not on the situation, but they had their eyes fixed on the Lord.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus...
v. 25 ...and the other prisoners listened to them.
• People look to see your response
• What will you say?
• What will you do?
• You are being watched!
People look and listen to see how you react or respond, and so does God and your reaction and response will determine the outcome.
v.26 suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. How Wonderful is God!!
• One Move of God can shake your world up!
• The foundation of your life will be shaken
• Your Foundation – Opinion, Lifestyle, Decisions, Experiences and Values
One move of God can shake it all up!
v.26 ...doors opened
• Things that once seemed impossible began to open up
• Your prayer/praise will open doors of opportunity in your life
• A career, a wife, financial breakthrough, ministry opportunities
v.26 ... chains came loose
• Only Paul and Silas? NO! Everyone’s chains fell off. Your praise can set someone else FREE!
• Things that bind us: addictions, sin, past, anger, depression, chains put on by others, what limitations do you have in your life? God wants to break that off of you.
I could stop here, pray, and we all go about our day. However, I want you to see the reason Paul and Silas went through, what they went through and God came through for them and He will do the same for you..
Text v.27-33
What made this all worth it was the changed life of a jailer and his family.
• Jailer Saw the Difference
• He Felt the Difference
• He Wanted to Experience the Difference
How does he do this? Paul says it very simply in v. 31 Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.
You see, God gets all the glory. Two men, faced with a difficult situation responded with great joy. Their response broke the chains that were forged to keep them bound, and led to the salvation of many. God can do the same for us. I feel like I have preached myself happy..:)
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