Revival

[0:00] The Bible speaks about the last days, perilous times. We know we're living in such eventful days, such chaotic times, if you like,! bent on self-destruction, this world that we live in.

[0:14] ! And the Lord is coming soon. We see those signs all around us. As a people, we see our nation. We've forgotten God. It's a pagan nation, really, today, Australia.

[0:25] It's in deep trouble. And why? Why is this so? Australia is in trouble because our churches are in trouble. And the fault lies at the feet of the professing churches of our land.

[0:39] Apostasy prevails in many quarters. And there's a widespread spiritual darkness that seems to overwhelm our nation. It's as if we're ripe for destruction.

[0:50] Something is wrong, terribly wrong, in our nation. And in our churches, by and large, churches speaking globally, as it were, of churches as it were. And the Bible tells us that God is sick of this.

[1:04] Literally, as we know of the Laodicean church. He rebukes that church. He's disgusted with that church. With the so-called solemn assembly and their efforts at worship, which he calls vain and just noise.

[1:19] What is going on in churches across our land in these days? Sometimes it's as if it's a circus show, a worldly entertainment atmosphere, the atmosphere of a nightclub.

[1:32] Something has gone terribly wrong. It's as if it's missed the whole point. And Christianity is in a sickly state across the world.

[1:43] Because people have forsaken God. Judgment is at the doors. And so it's a good time I put to you today to reflect on the state of the church.

[1:55] And what is happening. What it is now and what it could be. What does God want His church to be? What is the condition of the church?

[2:06] It's as if there's an indifference to spiritual things. An apathy. An unconcern. A spiritual slumber. A paralysis that seems to grip the church. And an appalling neglect of spiritual things.

[2:20] And the blind leaders leading the blind. People don't know their Bibles. And it seems that they're absent from Bible study. Perhaps that's the reason. And there's a prevailing coldness of prayerlessness.

[2:35] A worldliness. A carelessness. And Christianity seems to have settled for a brand that is cozy and comfortable.

[2:47] Complacent. No wonder our nation is in trouble. This pagan nation called Australia. In this era of crisis.

[2:59] It's up to us, the people of God, to shake ourselves from our spiritual slumber. We, the church of God, are meant to be a separated people.

[3:11] Holy. Undefiled. This is classic Christianity. As God has designed it to be. Historic Christianity. What the church is meant to be.

[3:22] It's his heart for his church. And this is what we need to go back to. And so we need revival. Revival. That's my theme today.

[3:34] Revival. Our nation is in trouble. The church is meant to be God's great instrument for God's work. For the evangelization of the world. For the center of blessing for the world.

[3:46] It's meant to be his church. Us. The saints of God. We're meant to be that. Yet, sadly, how we have fallen. I'm talking, broadly speaking, how we have fallen, as it were, of the church across the world.

[4:01] And God's wrath is about to fall. As we see the soon coming of our Lord. How we should plead for his mercy. And seek his face. How can we restore the sacredness of the church?

[4:14] In Habakkuk 3 verse 2. We see Habakkuk's prayer. Just one verse there. Habakkuk 3 verse 2. Habakkuk cries.

[4:27] O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid. O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years make known.

[4:39] In wrath remember mercy. Habakkuk cries. O Lord, revive thy work. We need a revival. We need a revival.

[4:50] A radical change. A fresh consecration to God. A refreshing of that zeal, of that passion. That action that he wants for us.

[5:01] Revival. It is our greatest need. As the people of God. True Bible revival. We see through Bible times where some people are going to be and such instances happened.

[5:12] Revivals happened. In the days of Jonah. In the days of Noah. In the days of Josiah. Nehemiah. Each revival rested on the word of God.

[5:23] And its proclamation with power. Where those that were saved, were truly saved. And God worked a work. Each time there was a destruction of idols.

[5:34] And a restoration of true worship. And gladness and joy. I've been encouraged of late where I've read some of the classics of Christianity.

[5:45] Some of the books from yesteryear. About what Christianity can look like. Where God did work in revival days. In real revival. And down through church history.

[5:58] We have likewise seen such mighty awakenings of churches and communities. Where many people have been saved. Gloriously saved. And whole nations have been blessed.

[6:09] As they've experienced God's touch. And his amazing saving work. In people's lives. And he's not finished yet. O Lord. Revive thy work.

[6:20] May that be our prayer. We need a revival. Andrew Murray said this. A true revival means nothing less than a revolution.

[6:32] In the days of Josiah. Nehemiah. Each revival rested on the word of God. And its proclamation with power. Where those that were saved.

[6:43] Were truly saved. And God worked a work. Each time there was a destruction of idols. And a restoration of true worship. And gladness and joy.

[6:55] I've been encouraged of late. Where I've read some of the classics. Of Christianity. Some of the books from yesteryear. About what Christianity can look like.

[7:07] Where God did work in revival days. In real revival. And down through church history. We have likewise seen. Such mighty awakenings of churches.

[7:19] And communities. Where many people have been saved. Gloriously saved. And whole nations have been blessed. As they've experienced God's touch. And his amazing saving work.

[7:30] In people's lives. And he's not finished yet. And he said. Oh Lord. Revive thy work. May that be our prayer. We need a revival.

[7:41] Andrew Murray said this. A true revival. Means nothing less than a revolution. Casting out the spirit. Of worldliness and selfishness.

[7:53] And making God. And his love triumph. In the heart and life. Revival means nothing less than a revolution. Now this is a revolutionary book isn't it?

[8:06] Isn't it? God's word. And let me define that word revolution. It's defined as the overthrow. And thorough replacement of an established system. Or government.

[8:17] A radical and pervasive change in society. A sudden, complete or marked change in something. We need such a revolution.

[8:29] We need a revolution in the church. In the church of God. In us. Revival. It's been variously described revival as an awakening.

[8:41] Coming to life. A refreshing. A visitation. It is a people saturated by God. Revival. It means to restore lost power.

[8:52] To revitalize. One author said revival is simply New Testament Christianity. It's the saints going back to normal.

[9:03] Revival means new life from God. Revival is his outpouring. His visitation. His quickening to life.

[9:14] To be revitalized. Brought back to life. Evan Roberts was a man who knew revival. His watch word, he said, was bend the church and save the world.

[9:27] That was his prayer. Bend the church. He prayed 11 years for revival. And God moved in Wales in 1904. God bent the church back into shape.

[9:39] God bent the church. Then the church. Then the church. We are in desperate need of revival. For God to shape us and make us what we are meant to be.

[9:52] As his people. Let's rise to our own responsibility. Here. Now. We are the church. The people of God. Let us seek him with all our hearts.

[10:05] Amen. Let us seek him with all our hearts. And pray. Lord. Bend the church. There are some features of revival we can see.

[10:16] As God has moved down through history. And as evident in the scriptures. What happened when revival came. Some. Four features if you like.

[10:27] That I can touch on. There's probably many more. And we can seek the same God. For the same work. In the same way. In us. Today.

[10:38] In the 21st century. And the first feature of revival. I'd like to note today. Is prayer. Prayer. We must get back to the upper room.

[10:50] As it were. We must have a praying church. To be a praying people. It's been said that many churches. Have replaced the upper room.

[11:01] With the supper room. It's as if we need to attract sinners. With hot food. Instead of red hot sermons. We try to engineer things. By human effort.

[11:13] And human method. But we neglect to pray. We neglect to pray. Brothers and sisters. Oh Lord. Revive thy work.

[11:24] We need a revolution of prayer. People of God. Of believing prayer. Of fervent prayer. Of persevering prayer. Of agonizing prayer. Of soul travailing prayer.

[11:36] And prayer is the heart cry. Of revival. Prayer acknowledges our dependence upon God. It acknowledges that we need him. We need his grace.

[11:47] We need him to move. We acknowledge that he is in control. And we lay hold on him. On his hand. Prayer says we rely on God.

[11:58] How we need to pray. Amen. Don't we need to pray? We do. We must do. Pray.

[12:09] It's been truly said that the greatest power entrusted to man is prayer power. But how many of us miss that?

[12:21] That strange omnipotent power that is put into our hands. Yet it lies so largely unused. We neglect to pray.

[12:32] We can make that mistake. Pray saints. Pray. We need as a church to have that spirit of prayer. And for the spirit of God to make intercession through us.

[12:46] With such spiritual prayer. With seasons of prayer. With fresh communion. With God in prayer. How we must pray. We must pray.

[12:57] And it needn't be wait till we come to church to pray. Make prayer a habit. A day by day. Praying. Be in prayer.

[13:08] For God to move in us. To work through your ministries here. To work through the people as you gather. And as you go out. That the spirit of God would make intercession through you.

[13:21] For those things that he burdens you for. So be in prayer. For God to work. And when we join in prayer, God will do the work. He will do the work.

[13:32] And he will get the glory. And that's what matters, isn't it? As we learn to pray biblically. Pray with urgency. Pray with a holy desperation. For our city.

[13:43] For our land. Let us learn to pray. A man called Whitfield. A well known man of God. Prayed this prayer one day.

[13:55] He prayed that the Lord would make him an extraordinary Christian. And God did. What will you pray? What will you pray?

[14:07] What a prayer. That's a prayer we can pray. Whitfield was an extraordinary man. He preached an average of ten sermons a day.

[14:19] Sorry, a week. That would have been hard. Ten sermons a week. God mightily used him. Mightily used him. And God answered his prayer.

[14:30] Another good prayer someone prayed is, Oh Lord, teach us how to humble ourselves and to get out of thy way. That's a good prayer, isn't it? Sometimes we can get in God's way.

[14:42] Lord, teach us how to humble ourselves and to get out of thy way. In other words, we can be sometimes that obstacle for revival.

[14:53] For God to work. It's been said that some people are like barnacles on the old gospel ship. It were better that some weren't there.

[15:04] Because they're slowing the ship down as it were. Let's not be a barnacle. Let's get on board the gospel ship. And be a part of God's work. Let's be in prayer.

[15:16] How we need to pray. And get out of God's way. So that he can truly do his work. And God can truly use you. As you are less and he is more.

[15:30] As John the Baptist prayed. When we pray, we tap into God's strength. God's strength. We have so many weekly Christians. Why is that?

[15:41] Because they've not tapped into the power of prayer. It's been truly said that prayer is weakness leaning on omnipotence. Omnipotence.

[15:52] God's all-powerfulness. We lean in our weakness on that. And when we come to pray, we rely upon God. And it shows our dependence upon him.

[16:04] That's when God can move. That's when God can move in our lives. Another quote from Jonathan Edwards. Another mightily used of God. Is this.

[16:15] Nothing sets a person so much out of the devil's reach as humility. Nothing sets a person so much out of the devil's reach as humility.

[16:29] O Lord, revive thy work. Pride is a barrier to God's work. We can get prideful. Even in good churches like this one.

[16:40] I know I'm speaking for my church. We think we're in a good church. Sometimes we get proud of even that. And that's wrong, isn't it? That we need to have that humility before God. We thank God for churches like this.

[16:53] But we need to avoid pride in every aspect. And so, prayer will help us to be humble and to seek his will. To seek what he wants for us.

[17:04] It's been said again, prayer is designed to adjust you to God's will. Not to adjust God to your will. You know, sometimes people pray as if they can tell God what to do.

[17:17] Like he's their errand boy of sorts. But yet, we are his servants, aren't we? And prayer is to shape us to his will. So, we need to find God's will and to do it. And so, let us wait on the Lord, brothers and sisters.

[17:30] And seek after our Lord until we find him. Tarry, wrestle, travail in prayer. In prayer.

[17:41] Our heart cry is for revival. It may take sacrifice on our part to pray. Do not be put off to pray. Take that time.

[17:52] Make that time to pray. It's been said that when the sacrifice is complete, the fire will fall. The sacrifice must have to be complete. God might have to take us through some things till we come to that place where the fire can fall.

[18:07] Till the sacrifice is complete. And so, it is clear, brothers and sisters, that we need prayer. Prayer is one of the features of revival. Down through history, in the word, when God moved, the people prayed.

[18:21] A second feature of revival that I note that stands out to me is this. Power. Power. We are often too man-centered in how we act as a church.

[18:34] We have a lot of machinery, but not a lot of heaven-sent power. Habakkuk prayed, O Lord, revive thy work.

[18:49] God needs to do the work. And we need that divine takeover. That revival, that old time power. The old time power. Not just any power, but the power of Almighty God.

[19:04] That is the power that we need. In revolution, in a revolution, there is a change of government, a shifting of power. A new power and a new authority takes over.

[19:18] As we know in countries, it happens. Revolution. It's not always a good thing. But revolution is when there's a change of power, a shifting of power. And so in revival, there is this revolution, a shifting of power, where we come under God's rule and authority over our lives.

[19:37] And so that God may truly reign as King over his people, we need his power, the Spirit of God. And when I talk of the Spirit of God, the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit of God, I'm talking about the real, not the sham.

[19:55] There's a lot of talk about the Holy Spirit in some quarters, but it's largely sham. Sadly, we need the power of the Spirit of God.

[20:09] The power of Pentecost. The real thing. For God to flood us with himself, with his power, for an inrush of divine life, for the breath of heaven, the indwelling Spirit of God, the Spirit-filled life.

[20:27] How we need that. And God wants us to have that. As we yield to him, we'll know that. God moves by our willingness and his power. They work together.

[20:39] And so let us come humbly and seek that. Let us resign as the master of our own destiny and let him be truly Lord and truly take charge.

[20:52] That's what happens when we get saved. We confess Jesus as Lord. And we must have that power from on high. We can know that.

[21:03] God's power. His fresh outpouring. And so it's been said that every believer needs a personal Pentecost, as it were, we come to that place where we truly hand over the reins of our lives.

[21:18] And we know Pentecost brought the church to that place of a real witnessing power and a purification. That was the marks of the real Pentecost.

[21:30] And God is omnipotent. He is all-powerful. And we come to know that power today. That wonderful reality of our almighty, omnipotent God on whom we can draw today.

[21:42] Micah 3 verse 8 it says in part, But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord. But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord.

[21:56] That's a confession we can make as his people. Our Lord said, as someone put it, Go ye. But he also said, Tarry ye. And the tarrying had to come before the going.

[22:09] You know there was the empowerment as the church then was a witnessing force. As they waited for God's empowerment and then they became a force to be reckoned with. Another preacher said this, There is nothing the church of God today needs so much as spiritual power.

[22:26] And there is nothing which we can have so easily if only we are prepared to pay the price. If only we are prepared to pay the price.

[22:37] Charles Spurgeon was one who knew about revival. It was said at his church that it experienced a constant revival. He said this, Without the Spirit of God we can do nothing.

[22:51] We are as ships without wind. We are useless. End quote. So we need people of God to realize that almighty power that is wanting to work in us.

[23:09] To mobilize his church. A great man of prayer, Ian Bowne said this, What the church needs today is not more machinery or better.

[23:20] Not new organizations or more novel methods. But men. Whom the Holy Ghost can use.

[23:31] Men of prayer. Men of mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods but through men. He does not come on machinery but on men.

[23:45] He does not anoint plans but men. Men of prayer. Of course we could say men and women of prayer. People of prayer.

[23:56] That is what God looks for. For him to use. And so we need the old time power. Power from on high. God's power. Holy Ghost power.

[24:07] The real power of God. Power to witness. So we see prayer. We see power. Thirdly another feature we could reckon of revival as it has happened in history is passion.

[24:25] Passion. One of the biggest problems in Christians today is cooling off. You know when some people buy a house there is a cooling off period. As if they might change their mind.

[24:37] You know when you become a Christian there is no cooling off period. Is there? No sir. No cooling off. We are not meant to cool off as God's people. We are meant to fire up.

[24:48] And so we are meant to have passion. And in these last days as we see sin abounding and we see sadly saints slacking. Passion.

[24:59] Passion. Where was it? It was in my life one day and then it kind of like dwindled a bit. It's like Matthew 24.12.

[25:10] The Lord says, And because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold. It says, The love of many shall grow cold in these days when iniquity and sin is abounding.

[25:25] What about us? Let's check our temperature as it were. Have we grown cold? General Booth said he was not satisfied to see men converted.

[25:38] He longed to see them become soldiers of the cross. Warriors for God. Do we settle for being converted?

[25:50] Or do we want to be soldiers of the cross? There is a coldness, there is a deadness that can sap our strength. And take that passion that we should have.

[26:01] That our Lord wants for us. Let us not be idle Christians. Let us join as it were the war effort. And actively enlist under the command of our great commander in chief.

[26:13] Our Lord God. Let us enlist. Let us hearken to his command. Let us enter into this cosmic battle that rages all around us. This battle for souls.

[26:24] The devil is not slacking. What about us? Spiritual warfare is a reality. We are engaged in it.

[26:36] This fight. The good fight of the faith. And for this fight we need a renewed passion. A renewed passion. Let us pray for that. People of God. Let us pray that God will work and revive us.

[26:48] And make us what he wants for us. To have that revival of a God given passion. A spiritual passion. Of course there is earthly passions. There is fleshly passions. But we are talking about spiritual passions here.

[27:01] A spiritual passion. That our highest aim should be for God's glory in our lives. In our church. To advance his kingdom. To have that holy desperation.

[27:14] When we won't settle for mediocre. We will aspire to God's excellence. We will have that Christ like compassion.

[27:28] We will know. We will hear that call. We will know that divine imperative. We must. We must. We must be about. Our Father's service. Our Father's business. Our Father's service. Our Father's business.

[27:39] Our Lord says that he has come to seek and to save that which is lost. And his commission is our commission.

[27:50] His mission is our mission. To seek and to save the lost. That will think of those who know him not yet. And will care enough to tell them.

[28:02] To have that passion rekindled. That passion for the word. That passion for prayer. That passion for souls. To consider the hell bound men and women.

[28:15] That we rub shoulders with. That will care enough to tell them. I read a gripping truth lately. That holiness is about more than what we don't do.

[28:29] You know, of course we know. There's things to abstain from. To keep a wide margin from. A barge pole from. To keep well clear of. Certainly things we should not do as a Christian.

[28:45] But holiness is much more than what we don't do. It's about what we do do. What we do do. It's not so much a list of what we don't do.

[28:58] As about what we do do. Our Lord says in Luke 6, 46. And why call ye me? Lord, Lord.

[29:09] And do not. The things which I say. Holiness is about what we do do. What can we do.

[29:21] The church has grown cold. Across our planet. That burning red hot passion that we ought to have. It's grown dim.

[29:32] Yet it ought to be, brothers and sisters. That wild horses would not drag us away from an opportunity to fellowship. To study. To get together. Wherever we can.

[29:43] Whenever we can. Fellowship. We won't miss that. When we get this kind of zeal. This constraining love. This passion renewed.

[29:55] This urging from within. As God's people. He can truly use us. In His way. And so this passion from within.

[30:07] Should fire us. It should inspire us. It should change us. It should move us. It should propel us. It should drive us. It should constrain us. It should constrain us.

[30:18] And take us. To active service. You know. The ministry is not to a select few.

[30:29] It's for all. All of us are to be. In the ministry. And full time. In reality. In the ministry. This passion from within.

[30:40] Should make. The difference in us. So we've seen. This much need. Of regaining a spiritual freshness. To revisit.

[30:51] That freshness. To revive. That first love. To seek God. To get that passion back. To lay hold on God.

[31:04] And I'm not meaning to. To question. For you. This is to me. I'm. Preaching to myself. And. Consider your. State.

[31:15] I'm not here to. Point fingers at anyone. But this is a challenge. That I issue to myself. O Lord. Revive thy work. Revive thy work. Revive thy work.

[31:26] We need. Revival. Don't we? We do. Don't we? We need revival. A revival of prayer. Of. Holy Ghost power. Of. God given passion.

[31:37] And. Fourthly. We see another feature. Another feature. A revival is this. The presence of God. As God enlivens us. And refreshes us. One by one. With his spiritual life. We can know a foretaste of heaven.

[31:48] His presence. With us. Revival has been defined as God. In the midst of his people. In revival there is an overwhelming sense of his manifest presence.

[32:08] In Acts 3 verse 19. The preacher said. Repent ye therefore. And be converted that your sins may be blotted out. When the times of refreshing.

[32:20] When the times of refreshing. Shall come from the presence of the Lord. He said that times of refreshing will come.

[32:31] How is our awareness of God? Do we know that sweet wonder of his presence? Do we sense his presence? And not. At a particular holy time.

[32:43] Not. As if we clock on and clock off. God's presence as it were. And then we forget about God's presence. So we get together again. But. His presence is always with us.

[32:56] Times of refreshing. Will come from his presence. When you meet with him. In your living room. Your lounge room. In your workplace. As one preacher has said.

[33:09] The most awful aspect of hell. Is that God. Is never there. God is never there. After a billion years in hell.

[33:21] The sinner has no hope. That God will ever come. Even for a moment. What a sad place to be. Just to not have his presence. But here and now we can have his presence. Here and now in our lives below.

[33:33] We can know his presence. Day by day. Moment by moment. And so we want the opposite of hell. We want heaven. We want God's presence. Don't we? The presence of God.

[33:44] And sometimes we can go through the motions of worship. And we neglect God. And we neglect God. Even as we worship and fellowship. We must have the reality.

[33:56] God is here. Now. And this should shake us. And shape us. And change us. The presence of God. The presence of God. In our lives.

[34:07] One of the big problems that Samson had. Was when. He lost the presence of God. In his life. Judges 16.

[34:19] Samson lost the presence of God. In his life. And he didn't even miss it. He didn't even realize.

[34:30] He'd lost it. Judges 16 verse 20. It says. She. Delilah. Who had tricked him. She'd revealed the secret of his strength.

[34:42] And his hair was shorn. His hair had represented his separation unto God. And Delilah had tricked him. And it was cut off. Judges 16 verse 20.

[34:54] And she said. As he was lying there. The Philistines be upon thee. Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep.

[35:06] And said. I will go as at other times before. And shake myself. And he wist not. That the Lord. Was departed.

[35:17] From him. You know. He was used to. Shaking himself. And. But. Something. Was missing.

[35:28] The presence of God. Samson did not know. That God had departed from him. Now friends. There are churches today. Operating today. That have lost. The presence of God.

[35:39] That's not the reverent. Worship and singing. That we've known here today. There's an emptiness. A form. And in some quarters.

[35:50] There's an empty noise. An entertainment. A thrashing. Banging. Showing spectacle. And people. Try to worship.

[36:03] But they're oblivious. They're unaware. Of the fact. That God. Never shows up. Anymore. God has left them.

[36:14] There are churches now. Once great tabernacles. Where the people of God. Would gather. In holiness. And fervor. I know. I've seen.

[36:25] Some record of church history. Even in South Australia. There was great. In gatherings. Of souls. And the Lord. Once moved.

[36:36] In great. Earth shaking power. There was great. Harvest of souls. As many. Were swept. Into the kingdom of God. Now. Sadly. These places.

[36:47] Are spiritually. Empty places. We see. Liberal doctrine. Has taken over. And. What good there was. Is.

[36:58] Scarcely. There now. Sadly. And the glory of God. Has departed. There may still be some activity. And form. And noise. Perhaps. A circus show.

[37:09] A disco. A crowd. But God is not there. He left them long ago.

[37:21] And so too. Brothers and sisters. Let us not settle. For the shallow. And the superficial. Let us not settle. For that. But refresh that passion.

[37:32] Renew that passion. That love. That God will give us the burden. He wants us to have. That awful sense of the. Majesty of God. The holiness of God.

[37:43] Let's be an active part. Of this God blessed church. Let us be an active part. Where God truly shows up. In our fellowshipping. And he works amongst his own people.

[37:56] God has designed us to fly. In formation. Rather than fly solo. Let me explain. It's been said that Canadian geese.

[38:11] Who fly in V formation. Fly 70% further. Than the individual goose would. On his own. And God has established his church likewise. For us to support one another.

[38:23] Now I'm not saying that you're a goose. But I'm saying it's good to act like a goose. To act like geese. And fly in formation.

[38:34] Fly in formation. Fly together as it were. Get into fellowship. And support one another. May we as a people get serious about longing. For God's presence.

[38:45] That we make it a habit. To enter in. To God's presence. As we prayerfully. Convene a meeting. As we prayerfully. Gather. And God's presence is here.

[38:56] By his spirit. And it's here every time. We meet as a church. So if there's other meetings on the calendar. That you're not perhaps in the habit of getting to. Make a change today.

[39:09] Decide today. I'm not going to miss God's presence. I might miss something. In that meeting. That I don't normally go to. Now of course there's reasons. Valid reasons. Why we can't always make it.

[39:20] But let's not make an excuse. If we can. Let's make it. Let's not miss that meeting. Make the effort to be there. And so do you want God's presence in your life.

[39:33] Enter in. To the holiest. And boldly so. Recognize the shortness of time. I know there's not a clock to watch here. So. Recognize the shortness of time. And the importance of eternity.

[39:45] Of eternity. That is what we must think of today. Excuse me. I'm used to preaching a bit louder than this.

[39:56] But I've got a throat problem. Recognize the importance of eternity. Recognize that Christ is present. And he's actively in charge. And so we must encounter the presence of God.

[40:07] To encounter the presence of God. As we open the word we encounter his presence. Don't we? We recognize Christ is present. And actively in charge. As we open his word.

[40:19] As we open our hearts. Our souls unto him. Sadly brothers and sisters. We live in a world. In a time. Where truth is neglected.

[40:30] The bible tells of the truth being. As it were fallen in the street. We see that. It's like a piece of paper just thrown away. As someone would scrunch it up. And just throw it down.

[40:42] And tread over it like rubbish. That's what people are treating the bible like today. Truth is fallen in the street. Just like a piece of garbage. A piece of litter.

[40:53] Truth is fallen in the street. And sadly. It's happening all across. In churches that I know.

[41:07] That I would have counted as good churches. There's a subtle slow change. And it's dangerous people.

[41:20] Truth is neglected. It's fallen in the streets. And so. That's why we have circus shows today. That call themselves churches. That's why we have seducing spirits at work.

[41:31] And people don't realize it. They don't stop to question. To test the spirits. They've lost the presence of God. And I'm staggered as I see what some settle for these days.

[41:43] Across churches across the nation. It's sad. And it's also sad to see good churches limping along. I've done some visits around about.

[41:54] And good churches in some quarters they're limping along. And good churches in some quarters. Why? Because there's a slackness that's set in. We need revival.

[42:06] We need revival. That God's people will truly be revived. When we see back in history when God moved in times of reformation. The people return to the scriptures.

[42:18] They return to the scriptures to Bible sense of living. And teaching. And preaching. And living. And so too we can, as God works in us, O Lord, revive thy work.

[42:33] And friends, as we know this word, as we open these pages, we can truly know and experience our Lord. And look, I say this in my church, that sometimes we can say, Oh, those churches over there are like this and like that.

[42:51] But I say, let's look at ourselves. Let's look at ourselves. I say from my church, the church where I minister normally, we need to lift our game.

[43:03] We need to look at ourselves. That we don't slip. Because you can get prideful in a good church. And that's a problem too, isn't it?

[43:15] And so, the word of God must have its rightful place, not to be a neglected book. Do we truly believe this book? That is the inspired word of God. Do we? We've lost the presence of God, because we've lost the word of God.

[43:32] It was when King Josiah heard the words of the book, and he acted on them, that God moved him and the nation. In 2 Kings 22 verse 11, the time is where the scroll had been hidden and then found.

[43:48] And it came to pass when the king had heard the words of the book, of the law, that he rent his clothes. As he heard the words, he tore his clothes, his royal robes, as a sign of his repenting, of his conviction, of his responsiveness to God, and God's word.

[44:12] What of us? Have we neglected this book? Does it get dusty through the week? We must hear the voice of our shepherd.

[44:23] And we have a trustworthy Bible, God's book. So let us truly value it. It is divine wisdom. So I exhort you as the people of God to love your Bible.

[44:35] And it's been said that we should be wounded by the Spirit's sword. Now when your preacher gets up here, sometimes it's easier for a visiting preacher to cut and slash and prod and stab you.

[44:48] But when the preacher gets up here, we need to be wounded by the Spirit's sword. And that will do us good. It's a scalpel in the hands of our Master Surgeon.

[44:59] Let us read it through and live it out. Let us return to the basic things of the Word of God and prayer, and soul winning and revival. There's a preacher that said this, Let us turn to the Word of God.

[45:12] Let us turn to the Word of God. Let us turn to the Word of God. Let us turn to the Word of God. Let us turn to the Word of God. Let us turn to the Word of God. Let us turn to the Word of God. Let us turn to the Word of God.

[45:23] Let us turn to the Word of God. Let us turn to the Word of God. Let us turn to the Word of God. Let us turn to the Word of God. Let us turn to the Word of God. Let us turn to the Word of God. Let us turn to the Word of God.

[45:34] Let us turn to the Word of God. Let us turn to the Word of God. Let us turn to the Word of God. it is biblical and it can happen today in us. Because if it is biblical then it is timeless.

[45:48] And what is biblical is relevant. There's a lot of talk about relevance. This is relevant because it's timeless. What is it that's stopping revival? Another preacher said, sin is the only thing that hinders the revival of his church. Sin. So let's take a look at ourselves.

[46:15] Let's consider some challenges now of these timeless truths and how we can put this into action. Consider the tragedy of a powerless church. It's not God's will that his church be powerless.

[46:29] He says, without me you can do nothing. We need the Spirit's work. We need, as Habakkuk prayed, to pray, O Lord, revive thy work. What is the time? It is time to seek the Lord. It is time to seek the Lord.

[46:53] Again, it is time to seek the Lord. Hosea 10.12 it says, Go to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy. Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. Hosea was telling of an illustration of sowing of the seed.

[47:21] But he said that the ground was hard, was fallow, and it had to be broken up. And sometimes our hearts can get hard. I've got a really hard pulpit at home and I really smash it with my hand, but I don't want to break your pulpit here. Hardened ground. That's what people's hearts can be like.

[47:44] We need them to be broken up, don't we? God's presence in your life. Enter in to the holiest and boldly so. Recognise the shortness of time and the importance of eternity.

[48:00] Recognise that Christ is present and He's actively in charge. And so we must encounter the presence of God. Encounter the presence of God. As we open the Word we encounter His presence, don't we?

[48:14] We recognise Christ is present and actively in charge as we open His Word, as we open our hearts, our souls unto Him. Sadly, brothers and sisters, we live in a world, in a time where truth is neglected.

[48:31] The Bible tells of the truth being, as it were, fallen in the street. We see that it's like a piece of paper just thrown away, as someone would scrunch it up and just throw it down and tread over it like rubbish.

[48:44] That's what people are treating the Bible like today. Truth is fallen in the street, just like a piece of garbage, piece of litter. Truth is fallen in the street. And sadly, it's happening all across.

[49:04] In churches that I know, that I would have counted as good churches, there's a subtle, slow change.

[49:15] And it's dangerous people. Truth is neglected, it's fallen in the streets. And so, that's why we have circus shows today that call themselves churches.

[49:28] That's why we have seducing spirits at work. And people don't realise it. They don't stop to question, to test the spirits. They've lost the presence of God.

[49:39] And I'm staggered as I see what some settle for these days, across churches, across the nation. It's sad. And it's also sad to see good churches limping along. I've done some visits around about, and good churches, in some quarters, they're limping along.

[49:58] Why? Because there's a slackness that's set in. We need revival. We need revival. That God's people will truly be revived. When we see back in history, when God moved in times of reformation, the people returned to the scriptures. They returned to the scriptures to Bible-centred living, and teaching, and preaching, and living.

[50:26] And so, too, we can, as God works in us, O Lord, revive thy work. And friends, as we know this word, as we open these pages, we can truly know and experience our Lord.

[50:44] And, look, I say this in my church, that sometimes we can say, Oh, those churches over there are like this and like that. But I say, let's look at ourselves. Let's look at ourselves. I say from my church, the church where I minister normally, we need to lift our game. We need to look at ourselves, that we don't slip.

[51:08] Because you can get prideful in a good church. And that's a problem, too, isn't it? And so, the Word of God must have its rightful place, not to be a neglected book.

[51:20] Do we truly believe this book? That is the inspired Word of God. Do we? We've lost the presence of God because we've lost the Word of God.

[51:33] It was when King Josiah heard the words of the book, and he acted on them, that God moved him and the nation. In 2 Kings 22, verse 11, the time is where the scroll had been hidden and then found.

[51:48] And it came to pass when the King had heard the words of the book, of the law, that he rent his clothes. As he heard the words, he tore his clothes, his royal robes, as a sign of his repenting, of his conviction, of his responsiveness to God and God's Word.

[52:12] What of us? Have we neglected this book? Does it get dusty through the week? We must hear the voice of our shepherd. And we have a trustworthy Bible, God's book.

[52:28] So let us truly value it. It is divine wisdom. So I exhort you as the people of God to love your Bible. And it's been said that we should be wounded by the Spirit's sword.

[52:40] Now when your preacher gets up here, sometimes it's easier for a visiting preacher to cut and slash and prod and stab you. But when the preacher gets up here, we need to be wounded by the Spirit's sword.

[52:54] And that will do us good. It's a scalpel in the hands of our Master Surgeon. Let us read it through and live it out. Let us return to the basic things of the Word of God and prayer and soul winning and revival.

[53:09] There's a preacher that said this, Oh God, send a revival. Let it begin in me. That's another good prayer, isn't it?

[53:21] Let it begin in me. There's a famine in the land. We must have the faithful word. And brothers and sisters, revival is not just some historic theoretical concept from the past.

[53:38] It is biblical and it can happen today in us. Because if it is biblical, then it is timeless. And what is biblical is relevant.

[53:52] There's a lot of talk about relevance. This is relevant. Because it's timeless. What is it that's stopping revival? Another preacher said, Sin is the only thing that hinders the revival of his church.

[54:10] Sin. So, let's take a look at ourselves. Let's consider some challenges now of these timeless truths and how we can put this into action.

[54:22] Consider the tragedy of a powerless church. It's not God's will that his church be powerless. He says, without me you can do nothing.

[54:33] We need the Spirit's work. We need, as Habakkuk prayed, to pray, O LORD, revive thy work.

[54:44] What is the time? It is time to seek the LORD. It is time to seek the LORD. Say it with me. It is time to seek the LORD.

[54:57] Again, it is time to seek the LORD. Hosea 10.12 it says, Sow to yourselves in righteousness, Wreathed in mercy, Break up your fallow ground.

[55:09] For it is time to seek the LORD, Till he come and rain righteousness upon you. Hosea was telling of an illustration of sowing of the seed.

[55:22] But he said that the ground was hard, was fallow, And it had to be broken up. And sometimes our hearts can get hard.

[55:33] I've got a really hard pulpit at home, And I really smash it with my hand, But I don't want to break your pulpit here. But, you know, Hardened ground. That's what people's hearts can be like.

[55:45] We need them to be broken up, don't we? Our hearts can get hardened, like fallow ground. Even as Christians, we can get cold and hard.

[55:56] God wants to break that hardness, That pridefulness, that hard heartedness. It is time to break up your fallow ground.

[56:07] I know back at home, our garden is at times very dry, And the ground is very hard. And I've had to really cultivate it, And work it over, and picket it, and spike it, And turn it over, Because the ground was hard.

[56:23] And now it is enriched, And the water can penetrate, And the ground is no longer hard, And it is fertile, and growing. And that's what God wants for us, In our spiritual lives.

[56:37] As we question the state of our hearts, He wants you to be fruitful for Him. It's His will that we bear fruit. A big problem these days is sleeping Christians, Inactive Christians, Spiritually inert.

[56:57] There's an inertia, A lack of momentum, We're just stuck. Stuck in a rut. It is time to seek the Lord.

[57:10] It is time to seek the Lord. To mean business with God. There's a preacher said this, It is a desperate hour. The trouble is the situation is desperate, But the saints are not.

[57:22] It is not too late in the day for half-measures, Hard and ground. That's what people's hearts can be like. We need them to be broken up, don't we? Our hearts can get hardened, Like fallow ground.

[57:36] Even as Christians, We can get cold and hard. God wants to break that hardness, That pridefulness, That hard-heartedness.

[57:48] It is time to break up your fallow ground. I know back at home, Our garden is at times very dry, And the ground is very hard.

[57:59] And I've had to really cultivate it, And work it over, And picket it, And spike it, And turn it over, Because the ground was hard. And now it is enriched, And the water can penetrate, And the ground is no longer hard, And it is fertile, And growing.

[58:18] And that's what God wants for us, In our spiritual lives. As we question the state of our hearts, He wants you to be fruitful for Him. It's His will that we bear fruit.

[58:30] A big problem these days, Is sleeping Christians, Inactive Christians, Spiritually inert.

[58:42] There's an inertia, A lack of momentum, We're just stuck. Stuck in a rut. It is time to seek the Lord.

[58:55] It is time to seek the Lord. To mean business with God. There's a preacher who said this, It is a desperate hour. The trouble is, The situation is desperate, But the saints are not.

[59:07] It is not too late, In the day for half measures. Sorry, It is too late, In the day for half measures. The need is too urgent, And the time is too short.

[59:18] A desperate hour. Seek the Lord. To mean business with God. There's a preacher who said this, It is a desperate hour. And we have much more time to see this, It is a desperate hour. The trouble is, The situation is desperate, But the saints are not.

[59:30] It is not too late, It is too late, In the day for half measures. The need is too urgent, And the time is too short. A desperate hour. Isn't it desperate?

[59:41] Isn't it desperate? Isn't it desperate? You see the signs, We know what's happening in the media, The signs are all around us. Time is short.

[59:52] It is a desperate hour. And we have much need of watchfulness. The need is urgent. There's no better time now, Than to seek the Lord. No better time.

[60:03] In these darkening days, It's high time to awake. We've been sleeping long enough. It is time for a reality check.

[60:14] A personal self-examination. Friends today, I implore you, As God would beseech you, I believe through me today, To think of how, How can I, Be moved by God.

[60:29] A preacher may have said this, That I'm repeating this verse, This quote again, There is nothing, The church of today needs so much as spiritual power, And there is nothing which she can have so easily, If only we are prepared to pay the price.

[60:49] Pay the price. Are you willing to pay the price? Friends, Sometimes we've actually got to stop, And think, And take a stop take. Where am I at spiritually today?

[61:03] It's certainly time to, Seek the Lord. Seek the Lord. And break up your fallow ground. We know, Friends, There's much scriptures, We're only just scratched the surface, There's only, There's many other features of revival, We could talk of.

[61:17] We've just talked about, Some aspects today. But, It is a reality, That God wants to restore His people. In Psalm 23, We read of our great shepherd, He restoreth my soul.

[61:32] He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me, In the paths of righteousness, For His name's sake. And He wants to be our great reviver. And so, It's His will, For His church.

[61:46] That there be a revolution, On the inside of us. A restoration. A renewal, Of our devotion, Of our zeal, Of our love for our saviour. Revolution.

[61:58] That's a word that, Evokes all sorts of thoughts. A revival calls for revolutionary methods. A change of government, On the inside of us.

[62:10] A change of society. A heart change. And friends, As someone has said, God wants a total commitment. Not a token commitment.

[62:23] It reminds me of, You know, You might be reminded of this, If you ever have bacon and eggs. Where, Someone supplied, The eggs.

[62:35] It was a token commitment. Partial commitment. Someone supplied the bacon. It was a total commitment. The bacon was a total commitment. What about you?

[62:47] And your commitment to Christ. Is it a token commitment? Or is it a total commitment? So, Let's seek God for that. That we, His church, His whole church, Locally, Right here, And beyond, In other places, Where we meet.

[63:05] That we be such a church. Of one heart, One soul, One spirit at a time. Seeking God, For revival. These truths are timeless. These truths are relevant, For us, Right here, Right now, In the 21st century, In Adelaide, And in China, Wherever.

[63:23] We need, To seek the Lord. And so, Corporately, As a body, Individually, One by one. Where does revival begin? If you look down at your shoes, It starts with the person, Sitting in your shoes.

[63:39] It starts with you, With each one. It starts with each one, It starts with each one, That is here today. As you, As saved people, Are revived, And refreshed, And re-energised, For the race ahead.

[63:52] It is time, And I'm talking to you, To work for Christ. To go to work. It starts with the person, That you look at, Every day, In the mirror, In the morning.

[64:05] It starts with you and me. To regain that zeal. To take a fresh, Look at ourselves, And our Lord, And regain that fire, That touch, That heart.

[64:19] You might say, You might say, You're not talking to me, You're talking to somebody else, That's here today. I'm not ready. When will you be ready? Don't put it off.

[64:31] You might say, I want a token commitment. I just want to, Have a, Kind of carefree, Kind of Christianity. I just pay lip service. But it's not heart deep. He wants total commitment.

[64:45] He wants, Total commitment. I urge you today, To not play games. To not play church. But to get real.

[64:57] You might say, I'm not worthy. I'm not trained enough. I'm not able. I'm not strong enough. Maybe one day. No. Make it today.

[65:09] Make it today. You don't have to wait till you're qualified. You've got some training. That'll help. But don't make that the excuse.

[65:21] Don't make whatever's tying up your time, The excuse that's stopping you. Say to the pastor here today. Say to one of the deacons. One of the elders here today. Say, I want to, I want to serve God more in my life.

[65:35] And I'm sure, I'm sure the pastor's got plenty of jobs for you to do. I know, Speaking for myself, There's always something, Somebody else could do. You know, And sometimes, As a pastor, You know, A preacher, You can get busy, Doing all the odd jobs, And running around.

[65:52] And, Sometimes I have to stop myself and say, I'm actually robbing someone of a ministry. Someone else could be putting these chairs out. Someone else could be doing this administrative task or that.

[66:07] I'm robbing someone else of a ministry that they could help, And they could play a part in serving God. Tell your pastor, I'm available.

[66:20] I want, I want to serve God. Show me something that I can do. Have the courage to say that today. God uses people. You know, Sometimes we might think, I'm not able.

[66:33] But it's down through history we see, That God has used the most humble. The most inadequate. The most untrained. The most unlikely.

[66:44] Of people. The most ordinary and average. If you're humble enough, God can use you. God can use you.

[66:56] And so, Let us be a channel of blessing, For God to use. Pray as Whitfield did. Make me an extraordinary Christian. Revival happened and it still happens, As we see God still works.

[67:11] O Lord revive thy work. Let's make it our prayer. We need a revival. In prayer. In power. Heaven sent power.

[67:22] In passion. Soul deep passion. And we will see truly, The presence of our God with us. It is time to seek the Lord.

[67:36] Time to trust him. With your life. From this day forward. And from here on. Trust God with your life. Let's stop making excuses. Ask God to use you.

[67:51] To fill you. To show you his way. And what he wants for you. For the rest of your life. Trust this good shepherd. He will restore your soul. It is time now.

[68:03] For the awesome conviction. The brokenness of a, The brokenness of realizing our sin. The breaking up of fallow ground. Those hardened things that need to be smashed in our lives.

[68:17] So that God can truly work. And make us fruitful for his kingdom. And so let's ask ourselves, Brothers and sisters today.

[68:28] I urge you. I pray this has not been to load you down. But to lift you up. To see what God can do in your life. As you break up the fallow ground.

[68:39] As you recognize and toss out. And demolish those idols. Those things that take his place. And as you repair that broken altar. Refresh that worship.

[68:51] As you plead the promises of God. As you take the promises of this timeless truth. And put it into your life. As you put yourself at God's disposal.

[69:03] As you enlist today. As a soldier of the cross. As you tread the pathway of the cross. Nothing will be too hard for you. Nothing is going to sway you.

[69:14] Because your gate is set. You are. Your face is set like a flint. And friends. In ministry. In the Christian life. It's going to be hard.

[69:25] But don't let anything put you off. Don't let anything put you off. Tread the pathway of the cross. Whatever it takes. Whatever it costs. To pay the price.

[69:37] Pay the price. You will be mocked and scorned. People will laugh. And attack you. You will face much challenge. And hardship. But you must press on.

[69:49] Press on regardless. And plead for his grace. Let us pray. Our Lord God. We thank you. That you are. Our great God and saviour.

[70:00] We thank you. Lord God. That. You gave. Everything. And you give everything. That we need. We pray. Every soul here. Those hearing. Afar.

[70:11] We pray. Lord. Humble us. Bend your church. Revive thy work. In my brother. My sister. Here today. Help us. To see. It is time.

[70:22] It is time. It is time. revive thy work O Lord in me in my brother my sister here today help us Lord to see it is time it's time enough it's time now to seek you to seek your face to seek your will to seek how we can further live to please you to volunteer to awaken to revive to refresh Lord we pray for there's any here if yet to even trust you that they'll say Lord what would you have me to do they'll confess you as Lord as Savior they'll see that the cross where you bled and died was for our sin and the payment was made in full helpers Lord as believers now to tread the pathway of the cross to break up the fallow ground to seek you refresh Lord that prayerfulness renew that power that victorious Christian life that you want for us power over sin power to witness that passion that we won't be selfish with our Christianity but this passion will drive us to tell others while we can and

[72:08] Lord for that presence of God that we know we don't switch on and off it's not something we leave behind when we leave this place but that presence of God goes with us your presence is with us and you'll never leave us nor forsake us in Jesus name Amen Amen.