Ruin Or Revival

 RUIN OR REVIVAL

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” - Isaiah 5:20

Our world is in a mess. The news headlines remind us of this fact every day. It would not be an understatement to say that our nation is facing judgment because she has embraced, encouraged and endorsed sin. Isaiah wrote, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil.” Sadly, that describes our nation today. Notice that God declares “woe” unto such people.

In the Old Testament, prophets were given the unpleasant task of preaching a message of judgment to nations. Israel was not exempt from the message of doom. As a result, God-ordained prophets were abused and tortured because of their faithfulness in preaching God's message. In spite of the “positive message” from false prophets, the prophecy of judgment actually occurred.

I am not a prophet or the son of a prophet. However, it is my firm belief that there is no political solution to our nation's spiral descent into destruction. Apart from a miracle of God's grace, our nation is doomed.

There are many “feel-good,” preachers who, like the false prophets of old, refuse to warn of bad news. While it is true that the Christian message is good news, it can only be fully appreciated in the light of the bad news. Only when unbelievers realize their guilt before a holy God will they really appreciate the cross and God's marvelous gift of eternal life.

Although we are commanded to spread the Gospel, our message does not negate the reality of judgment. When a nation proudly follows the path of Sodom and Gomorrah, the same judgment that fell on those two cities will certainly come to such a nation that embraces their sin.

There is only one hope for America. Only one. The people of America need to honestly admit their guilt and desperately seek God for mercy. Is this possible? Let me give you an example of a city that did this. Nineveh was an evil, wicked city. God sent Jonah to preach to them. His message was not a self-improvement, self-motivation sermon. Instead, he preached the message that God gave him. In forty days, Nineveh would be destroyed.

Surprisingly, this wicked city believed the message and repented, including the king! As a result, God had mercy and spared them.

This story gives me hope for our land. We need more preachers to preach the uncompromising truth of Scripture. We need to get serious about our situation. Let me put it bluntly. We are in a desperate situation … yet the American church seems oblivious to this fact.

I invite you to join with me in doing three things:

1. PRAY

If these are desperate times, we need to act like desperate people. We need to pray for America. We used to sing, “God bless America,” but she is not on blessing grounds today. Instead, we should pray, “God have mercy on America.” Pray for the American church to be revived. Intercede on behalf of the lukewarm church members. Pray for a mighty spiritual awakening to come to our nation. Pray for our leaders. If the king of Nineveh could repent, so can our leaders. We need to pray desperately because this is a desperate situation.

2. PREACH

Next, we need to faithfully proclaim the Gospel. Warn sinners to flee from the wrath to come. We need to point lost souls to Jesus. People need to hear the truth. There is good news and we need to spread it. If Christians got serious about sharing the Gospel, God would change this country! Lester Roloff once said, “If you want to save America, get America saved.”

3. PREPARE

As we pray and preach, we should expect a hostile response from the devil. Prepare for spiritual warfare. Put on the whole armor of God each day. Stand on the promises of God. America is worth fighting for. Souls are worth fighting for. As Christians, we fight on our knees, fighting spiritual battles with spiritual weapons. We shouldn't be surprised when persecution comes. The devil is a dirty fighter. We can't afford to get complacent or lazy. Too much is at stake.

I'm not giving up on America. Yet it may be that I'll never see a spiritual awakening in my lifetime. Perhaps America has gone too far. At the very least, I want to go to my grave fighting against the devil every step of the way. I want to finish well, living for the glory of God, preaching the Gospel and winning souls. Or as the late evangelist, Bill Stafford once put it, “I want to die with my boots on.”

What about you?

Revive Us Again

REVIVE US AGAIN

“Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?” - Psalm 85:6

I confess that I love old hymns. While I enjoy new songs, I also have a passion to keep hymns alive in the church. Someone once said that a good hymn is theology set to music. I couldn't agree more! Recently, the congregation at our church sang this grand old hymn:

Revive us again,

Fill each heart with Thy love;

May each soul be rekindled,

With fire from above!

If there has ever been a time that revival is needed in the America church, it is right now. We need a fresh move of the Spirit in congregations across our land. There is a dire need for God to do a mighty work in our hearts and lives. The Church should be making a powerful difference in our world. Instead, the world is making a woeful difference in our churches.

We need something more than paved parking lots, new choir robes and the latest programs. We need the power of God like never before.

There are many signs that indicate our desperate situation. When we consider facts like decreasing church attendance, increased heresy, the high divorce rate among believers, hypocrisy in churches, and apostasy that is so rampant, we know that revival is needed today.

In this message, I want to be crystal clear about revival. First of all, we are going to consider what revival is not, then we explore what revival really is.

1. WHAT REVIVAL IS NOT

There are many misunderstandings about revival. Most church members have a wrong concept about revival.

First of all, revival is not about extra meetings. Sure, you can dedicate a series of weeknight services and call it revival, but that does not guarantee that revival will arrive that week. For many people, “revival meetings,” are just extra church services and nothing more.

Secondly, revival is not primarily about conversions. Obviously, evangelism is highly important, but it is not revival. Most churches “schedule,” a revival with the desire of seeing souls saved during the special services. They want to see numerical growth. Some believe that scheduling revival services is the quick way to gain new members. If conversions do not occur during a series of “revival” services, some think that the extra services were a failure. While it is true that conversions are the often the result of revival, revival is not primarily about seeing souls saved.

2. WHAT REVIVAL IS

Revival is about God's people getting right with Him. Revival is about seeing Christians repent of worldliness, sin and compromise. Revival is a sovereign move of God among His people, drawing them closer to Him. Revival is a season of refreshing, the downpour of God's mercy on the dry, parched church. We need revival showers to sweep away our spiritual drought.

Real revival changes lives. If you want to have revival, but also maintain the status quo, you misunderstand what revival is all about. Revival is all about change. Our churches have too many Pharisees who look for others to change, but never seek to change themselves. Revival is about God changing me.

Revival begins on an individual basis, but spreads like fire. Oh, that our lives, families and churches were engulfed with revival fire today!

When revival comes, apathetic believers are set ablaze with spiritual passion. When revival arrives, the church become evangelistic (and yes, this leads to the salvation of souls). Revival brings renewed desire for holy living. Revival leads people into deeper levels of obedience and love. As Vance Havner once put it, “A revival is the church falling in love with Jesus Christ all over again.”

Be aware of this. An evangelist cannot produce revival. A genuine revival cannot be organized. Revival is a move of God. It is a divine work that only He can do. However, we can pray and prepare for revival. We should present ourselves to the Lord as candidates for revival. G. Campbell Morgan once said, “We cannot organize revival, but we can set our sails to catch the wind from Heaven when God chooses to blow upon His people once again. ”

Set your sails today. Perhaps the breeze of revival may come our way today!

Kill The Snake

 KILL THE SNAKE

“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” - Romans 8:13

I was cutting weeds with my weedeater recently, when I noticed something moving where I had just been cutting. I looked back and saw the back half of a copperhead snake slithering away. He darted back in an area where I couldn't reach him. I wish I could have killed it. I hate snakes!

Evangelist Billy Sunday once said, “One reason that sin flourishes is that it is treated like a cream puff instead of a rattlesnake.” He is right. Sin is very much like a poisonous snake. First of all, like a snake, sin is deceptive. Most snakes blend in with their surrounding, making it difficult to spot them. Secondly, like the pit vipers here in the mountains where I live, sin is deadly. Copperheads and rattlesnakes are dangerous vipers and should be treated seriously.

One of the reasons the American church lacks power is because of sin. Sin is condoned. Sin is excused. Professing believers practice secret sin and then pretend to be spiritual on Sunday. One sign of genuine revival is the repentance of God's people. These days, most church members expect sinners to repent, but they never intend to do so themselves.

It is one thing to encounter a pit viper in nature, it is another thing to deliberately bring one into your own home. When we allow sin to continue in our lives, we've unleashed a pit viper in our lives.

If a man is home with his family and sees a copperhead snake move behind a couch, does the man simply lean back in his recliner and say, “Out of sight, out of mind”? Does he wishfully hope that the snake will find its way out of the house? Absolutely not! For the sake of his family's health, as well as his own, he will do everything possible to locate and remove the dangerous reptile right then. He won't go to bed until the snake is gone.

That is how we should deal with sin. Paul wrote, “... if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” The “deeds of the body,” that Paul writes about are sinful deeds. The word, “mortify,” means to kill or slay. As Puritan John Owen once wrote, “Be killing sin or sin will be killing you.”

Is there a sinful snake on the loose in your life? Be assured that you, your family and others will be harmed. Perhaps there is a whole den of snakes on the loose in your life. How do we exterminate the snakes of sin?

1. ENACT A HEALTHY FEAR

I have a healthy fear of snakes. I don't faint or panic when I see one, but I am acutely aware of the danger. When it comes to sin, we tend to underestimate the power of sin and overestimate our ability to deal with it. We need to understand the nature of sin. We should treat sin seriously. Furthermore, we should hate sin. We should hate sin just like we hate snakes. Jesus was commended by His Father because He loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Let's do the same.

Furthermore, we need a healthy fear of God. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. These days, there aren't many sermons about fearing God. Perhaps that is why our churches are in a mess. People don't fear God like they should. The writer of the book of Hebrews said, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” When we fear God, we tend to treat sin seriously.

2. EMPLOY A HELPING FRIEND

In some areas, snake infestation requires the aid of an animal control specialist. Well, we have a specialist who can help us get rid of the snakes of sin. Our text says, “but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” Notice this is “through the Spirit,” that the deeds of the body are put to death. You and I are not able to rid ourselves of the snakes. We need a professional. The Spirit is our helper. He is our friend. A sword can easily sever the head of a snake. The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit. It is the weapon that Jesus used on the mount of temptation. Let's use it ourselves and watch this sword slay the serpents in our lives.

3. EMBRACE A HOLY FUTURE

Snakes reside where there is food. If you keep the grass and weeds trimmed, snakes tend to stay away. Snakes enjoy devouring mice and ground squirrels. They love blackberry vines, where small birds come to dine. Clean up the area and you often rid yourself of snakes. The same is true of our lives. Come to the Lord and experience His cleansing. Cooperate in the sanctification process. Keep your heart and mind clean. The snakes will have a harder time entering a clean area. Get clean and stay clean.

We need to treat sin seriously. We need to go into attack-mode and take drastic action. If you found a rattlesnake in your home, you'd take drastic action, wouldn't you? That's how you need to respond to sin.

Take drastic action.  By the power of the Spirit, kill the snake of sin!

What's Happened To Our Singing?

WHAT'S HAPPENED TO OUR SINGING?

“How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?” - Psalm 137:4

Whatever happened to congregational singing in our churches? Occasionally, you'll find a church with lively singing, but most churches have anemic congregational singing. Musical accompaniment can easily drown out the voices of the congregation because so few are singing. Why is that?

You'd think that Christians would be excited and thrilled at the opportunity to sing. We have a reason to sing! When we got saved, the Lord placed a song in our hearts. In Psalm 40, the psalmist wrote, “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.” When God delivers you, there is an overwhelming desire to sing about it!

Sadly, this is missing in our churches. Why has the singing diminished so much?

Part of the problem is the consumer mindset that many members have. They don't come to participate, but receive. They tend to judge a service by what they get out of it. They want others to sing to them. They want to be entertained. They want the message to be short, yet inspiring. They want to leave feeling better about their lives. Of course, that is not how church is meant to be. As believers, we should gather to worship. We are not there to worship ourselves, but God. As such, it is not what we get out of the service, but what we put into the service that matters.

I think there is another issue that is keeping people from singing. It mirrors the problem Israel had when they were in Babylon. Their captors requested that the Jews sing one of the “songs of Zion.” Instead, the captives responded, “How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?” Like the Jews, many in our churches won't sing because they no longer have a song. The devil has robbed many Christians of their song. Do this describe your life?

When Israel was in Babylon, they had no song to sing. Today, the Babylon of our sinful society has infiltrated the lives of believers, robbing them of their song. It is good to get Christians out of Babylon. It is even better to get Babylon out of Christians.

King David was a musician and songwriter. Yet there came a time when he lost his song. In Psalm 51, he prayed, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.” He had lost his song. Let us learn a lesson from David. The only One who can restore a song is the One who gave it in the first place. Instead of trying to work up a song, cast yourself before God and ask Him to restore your song. Don't be content with a life void of heavenly music. Don't moan the blues when you could be singing the songs of Zion. Seek the Lord above for the song you've lost.

For the captive Jews, they couldn't sing a note when they were far from home. Brethren, this world is not our home. We have a home not made with hands. When we get home, we will participate in the greatest concert ever. I don't have much of a singing voice here, but I will over there. Heaven will be a place of glorious music. We will sing for an audience of One. Our voices will never tire. Our joy will be complete. Every believer will have a song. A song of love. A song of praise. I can't imagine how great the singing will sound over there. It is exciting to know that I'll get to join in the singing!

I think it is time to emphasize singing once more! This is one thing we can do on earth that we will get to do in heaven. Let's consider this life our practice session. The One we will sing to in heaven presently enjoys our praise here on earth.

So let's praise Him in song!

Paul's Prayer Request

PAUL'S PRAYER REQUEST

“Brethren, pray for us.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:25

The older I get, the more I need to pray. Furthermore, the older I get, the more I need others to pray for me. Southern Gospel Music pioneer, James D. Vaughan, once penned the words of this song:

I want my friends to pray for me,

To bear my tempted soul above,

And intercede with God for me,

I need the prayers of those I love.

Pride can keep us from asking others to pray. Sometimes we see the needs of others and our needs seem to pale in comparison, keeping us from asking for prayer. That is wrong. We need to pray for each other. James wrote, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” We are commanded, by Scripture, to be transparent about our needs and seek the prayers of our brothers and sisters.

Why is it important to ask for prayer? First of all, because we need God. Our needs can often seem overwhelming. Situations can be demanding. Life can be stressful. Our burdens can seem too heavy. Jesus said, “Without me, you can do nothing.” The problems of life remind us of this truth.

Secondly, we are weak. We are mere humans. We have extreme limitations. There are problems we can't solve. There are needs we can't meet. There are conditions we can't improve. We are weak people in dire need of divine help.

Third, God has abundant resources available, many of which are available to those who pray. God has no shortage of blessings. His grace is endless. His mercy is everlasting. The answer to our problems may be one prayer away from being realized.

Next, we need each other. We need our brothers and sisters. If the effectual prayer of a righteous man avails much, how much more when we pray together about a need? There are many things I can't do. I can't restore a marriage. I can't heal a person of cancer. I can't resolve the complex problems of our nation. Yet when I pray, I am talking to One who can do all these things and so much more. We need to pray for one another. Jesus said, “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.” That's a good reason to pray together, isn't it?

Paul requested prayer. There are times we should, too. Let me make a few suggestions. First of all, pray yourself before asking others to pray. It is easy to make a prayer request, it is another thing to pray yourself. Before requesting others to pray for you or your concerns, make sure you are praying yourself.

Secondly, don't be selfish in your prayers. If you ask others to pray when you have a crisis or need, be sure to also pray for others who make similar requests. If your need is met or your crisis is past, be sensitive about the needs and prayer requests of others. If you're having a good day, remember that someone close to you is not. If you're enjoying an answer to prayer, pray for those who are in dire need of an answer right now. We need to pray for others and have others pray for us.

Third, exercise wisdom when making a request for prayer. You don't need to share all the details of the request. If it is a critical situation, you may say so without revealing specific information. Don't turn a prayer request into gossip, either about your request or the request of others.

Finally, expect God to respond. God hears and answers the prayers of His people. We should pray with faith, expecting answers. This expectation is not an act of arrogance, but an act of faith. We don't expect answers because of the length or strength of our prayers. Neither do we expect answers because of our merit or worthiness. Instead, our expectation is based upon God's promises. Our expectation is a response of faith to the faithfulness and integrity of God & His Word.

As I get older, I realize that I need the prayers of others. What about you? If the Apostle Paul asked for prayer, shouldn't we? Are you facing situations that feel overwhelming? Reach out to believers and ask for prayer. Start with your church family, but also include other believers you know. Don't be too proud to ask for prayer.

To paraphrase the Apostle Paul, I close with this request: Brethren, pray for me.

Be A Berean

 BE A BEREAN

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” - Acts 17:11

You can't believe everything you hear. From social media to the news media, from office gossip to the community rumor mill, so much misinformation abounds. How can we discern what is credible and what is not? How can we separate truth from fiction?

Testing information comes down to trust. Can we trust the source of the information? Office gossip can't always be trusted. Rumors that circulate through the community aren't always accurate. The news media often offers filtered information based upon their own bias. Social media is totally unreliable.

I have found a source of truth. In fact, it is the truth. Jesus said, “Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth.”  God's Word is the truth. We can depend upon the Word of God at all times. The Bible should be our guidebook, our source for wisdom and our daily manna. Since God is the author, we can depend on this Book. Read it daily. Meditate on it slowly. Study it regularly. Obey it consistently.

Sadly, American church members tend to ignore the Bible. Sure, we claim to believe the Bible. We publicly state that the Bible is God's Word. Yet few read it daily. From more than one pulpit, I asked for a show of hands when I posed this question: “In the past 7 days, how many of you read from your Bible every day?” Sadly, only a minority of people raised their hands.

It shouldn't shock us to realize that many common practices in our churches are based more on tradition than truth. We've allowed culture to define us rather than Christ. To make things worse, false doctrine and heresy has infiltrated the church. Yet most church members are oblivious to all of this. A good understanding of Scripture would make them aware of this.

The devil loves Biblical illiteracy in our churches. Since he is a liar, he can easily deceive those who are ignorant of the Bible's instruction.

When the Apostle Paul visited the Bereans, the Bible says, “... they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Here was the Apostle Paul preaching to them, yet they searched the Scriptures to verify that he spoke the truth. Let us do the same with all the information that comes our way, including preaching! Whether it is a talk show host, a newscaster, a celebrity or a televangelist, we need to carefully compare what they say to the truth taught in Scripture.

Beware of critics who try to lecture Christians about the Bible. These self-proclaimed “experts” try to lecture us about the Scriptures even though they don't believe the Bible or read it themselves. On one hand, they will label a Christian as a hypocrite for falling short of the Bible, but will criticize Christians for believing what the Bible teaches on controversial subjects.

We need to be like the Bereans. Be quick to believe and receive the Word, but careful to examine those who preach it. Furthermore, we need to dismiss anything and everything that violates Scripture, whether it comes from a political lectern, a news desk or a pulpit. We don't need political correctness today, we need Biblical correctness.

A dusty Bible is often the sign of a dirty life. I hear some say, “I believe the Bible from cover to cover,” but it appears that they haven't cracked the cover in some time. Charles Spurgeon once said, “Visit many good books, but live in the Bible.”

The Bible is a special gift from God. Let us cherish this gift. If the Bible is God's Word (and it is), then we should treat it seriously.

I don't like to be lied to. More than likely, you don't either. How do we know if we are being lied to? The Bible is the only standard of truth that we can use to test the information that comes our way. Let us use it wisely and regularly.

Be a Berean.

Waiting On The Lord

 WAITING ON THE LORD

“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him” - Psalm 37:7

In 1979, the Happy Goodman Family revived an old Stamps-Baxter convention song called, “Better Hurry Up.” The song was the title-song of the album. I always liked the cover of the album. The cover seemed to show Howard, Vestal, Rusty and Sam at an airport terminal rushing to catch a plane. The song itself was a typical, up-tempo convention song that went #1 for the legendary family Gospel group. The message of the song was simple: lost people need to hurry up and get ready for the Lord's return.

One of the problems we face today is the fact that believers are unbelievably busy. Daily expectations force us to hurry on so many levels. While we are challenged to be productive and efficient in our work, our schedule away from work tends to be just as frantic. As a result, we relate with each other in passing, creating superficial relationships. Furthermore, stress becomes more than an emotional problem, it actually creates physical issues.

Like any relationship, our walk with the Lord requires quality time. Just making it to church once or twice a week seems a challenge for most people. Daily devotional time is rare among believers because they have a problem squeezing it into their overcrowded schedule.

Even at church, we are in a hurry. Some think it is nearly a crime for a pastor to preach beyond his normal quitting time on Sunday morning. It seems like many want to spend the least amount of time necessary at church.

The only way to really have an intimate walk with God is to reserve quality time to spend with Him. In spite of all the demands being placed on our time, we have to deliberately set and keep the right priorities. We have to be intentional about our spiritual growth. There is no substitute for time spent alone with God. You can't have a clean life and a dusty Bible. Neither should you expect a mighty harvest when you allow weeds to grow in your life.

Each day, we need to set a time to be with Jesus. This appointment is more vital than your doctor's appointment or the scheduled oil-change for your car. Since it is the most important event of the day, we should treat it as such. Guard this time rigorously. Time spent with God is never wasted time.

The psalmist wrote, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him.” Even though the world is urging us to stay busy, we need to get alone with God and stay there. Sometimes it is healthy to go on an electronic fast. Turn off the wireless connection. Unplug the internet router. Refuse to turn on the television. Instead, grab your Bible and spend time with the Lord.

Furthermore, we need to wait on Him. The blessings of spiritual fellowship don't come quickly. They require time and patience. The answer to specific prayers often require us to wait. Even now, we are waiting for our Lord's return. We don't wait on God because He is slow. Instead, we wait on Him because we are trusting Him to work everything out just right --- according to His schedule.

As Isaiah wrote, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Whether we are flying, running or walking, we go forward in the strength of the Lord.

When you consider how patient the Lord has been with us, who are we to complain when we must wait for Him?

He is worth the wait.