1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
6 There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.
7 He came for a witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him.
8 He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light.
9 There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John bore witness of Him, and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'"
16 For of His fulness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
18 No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
John 1:1-18

Saturday, October 13, 2012

From Rebellion to Restoration

What is revival?
"Behold, I long for Your precepts;
Revive me through Your righteousness." (Psalm 119:40 NASB)

--> consider the First Great Awakening and Jonathan Edwards:
The word ‘revival’ infers that something is dead or dying. The early 1700s in America were marked by spiritual decline and immorality. This was a time when few people attended church and there was little interest in spiritual things. But in 1734, in the small, unassuming church of Jonathan Edwards, 25% of the town converted to faith in Christ over the course of six months. The revival spread throughout the region and beyond. The Holy Spirit of God was at work in the souls of humanity.

Jonathan Edwards said, ‘God has also seemed to go out of his usual way in the quickness of His work...on the hearts of many….There was scarcely a single person in the town, either old or young, that was left unconcerned about the great things of the eternal world …The town seemed to be full of the presence of God…it never was so full of love and full of joy.

2 Chronicles 7:11-14
Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD and the king's palace, and successfully completed all that he had planned on doing in the house of the LORD and in his palace. Then the LORD appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

I. Pride leads to ... Rebellion
--> when we start to believe that we are ok without the Lord's work in our lives, then we fall into pride and selfishness. We are useless. We are like walking zombies within our church.
--> pride was the first sin that brought the archangel, Lucifer, down to earth as Satan, our enemy. It separated him from God, and it does the same to us.
'... Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.' (James 4:6-8 NASB)

II. Humility leads to ... Restoration
"Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you." (James 4:8-10 NASB)
--> we acknowledge our sin (laughter turned to mourning, joy turned to gloom) and it brings about repentance!
--> here is where we find true JOY, and as we are humbled, we are exalted and restored!

"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11 NASB)

**information on Jonathan Edwards: http://www.revival-library.org/pensketches/revivals/1st_edwards.html
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