Pastor Pat McFall
July 6, 2014 - W1427

We are starting a new series called “Victorious”. Today’s sermon is a part of this series, and will be about cultivating a lifestyle of revival.

The mid 1960’s to the 1970’s, was an era that encompassed the civil rights movement, sexual revolution, psychedelic drug experimentation, and the Vietnam War. During this chaotic period in history, the “Jesus Movement” also began in Southern California, which proliferated throughout our nation and into the world. It was God’s revival and answer to the question, “Is there anything better in here (the church) than what is happening out there in the world?” During this time, my pastor, who was an unshaven barefoot hippy, got saved in a little Four Square Church back home in Salinas, California. People were also being baptized by the thousands in the ocean along the California coast.

So at the age of 16, I asked God to be a part of this revival. I wanted to cultivate a hope for revival that would bring about drastic change in our community, state and nation through His love.

Did you know that every time someone gets saved – it is revival!

Every day we can experience revival through His Word.

We can cultivate a lifestyle that sets the stage for a move of God to transform us, and the world around us.

Big idea: A lifestyle of Revival is built around intimacy with God, honesty with self and passion for others.

The Bible says, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.” (Math. 13:44)

Jesus is talking about the Kingdom of God. When we see the goodness of God and compare it to every experience and significant event in our lives, very little compares to Jesus and the Kingdom of God. My mindset changes so that I don’t want to party like that anymore, so that I don’t care about worldly success anymore. This is because I only want to be successful in the eyes of God. Therefore, intimacy with God becomes my whole-hearted pursuit in life.

1. Revival brings a powerful understanding of exactly who God is.

Revival shows an awakening of this commitment and devotion to God.

In Psalm 27 David said that his only desire was to gaze upon the beauty of God and to be in the house of the Lord all of the days of his life.

Pastor A.W. Tozer said, “The world is perishing for lack of knowledge of God, and the church is famishing for want of His presence.”

An instant cure for most of our religious ills would be to enter into the presence and spiritual experience of God. To become suddenly aware that we are in God and that He is in us is revival. Therefore, to be in the presence of God, and to be transformed by Him is done through:

Application: Seek to be devotional, not just do devotions.

Let us have more conversations with God through prayer. Pastor Wayne says that you have an everyday appointment to meet with the King.

Twenty years from now, I hope my three-year old son Jaden would want to be with me, instead of coming to me for money or to use my car.   I am hoping that my son would approach me because he wanted to be intimate with me. I want my devotional life with Jesus to be like that.

The entire world is consumed by an industry of entertainment that is designed to grab our attention. When we come to church, we bring our electronic gadgets, other attention grabbers and our agenda’s with us; however, we need to check these things in at the door, and give God our undistracted worship.

The Bible says, “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that His kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” (Rom. 2:4)

“You therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else. For whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself because you who pass judgment do the same things.  Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do so such things is based on truth. So when you a mere human pass judgment on them, and yet you do the same things, do you think that you will escape God’s judgment?” (Rom 2: 1-4).

Paul is talking about the people of Rome practicing idolatry, practicing immoral sexuality, and embracing paganism. He addressed this issue when he said that the people’s eyes were no longer on the kindness of God which would have driven their self-reflection. Instead, they were spending a lot of time judging everyone else.

When we do not have an accurate view of who God is and when we do not have our eyes focused on Him, then the only thing that we have to compare our life with is everyone else around us. Our eyes are focused on other people’s business.

2. Revival leads us to honest reflection and repentance.

Jesus said that we see the sawdust speck in another’s eye and don’t remove the plank that is in our own eye. Having a correct view of God, will drive us to repentance, and will allow us to see people as God sees people.

One day a pastor was walking down the street and he notices a group of ten-year old boys surrounding a dog. Worried that they may be harming this dog, he yells, “Hey! What are you boys doing to that dog?” The boys reply that it is a stray dog, and that they are deciding who will get to take him home. They decided that the one who tells the biggest lie gets the dog.

The pastor replies, “I can’t believe you are going around telling lies. When I was a boy I never told any lies!” After a while, the littlest boy said, “Pastor wins, give him the dog.”

Sometimes we have a misconception of how we are thinking and behaving. Therefore, start having conversations with God in prayer.   Start by asking yourself this question. “Am I more concerned with the sins of others, than my own sins?” Our answer to these questions will help us learn to see God and people rightly.

Another hallmark of revival is addressed in John chapter 13. Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and showed His disciples what servant-hood was like, while urging His disciples to do the same for others. Jesus said, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.” (John 13: 34-35).

One of the primary ways to evangelize people is to live by example. Show people how we live in unity as a church. Then the people of the world will see this and think, “Is there anything there that I may need?”

3. Revival compels us towards passion for others.

Jesus’s heart was filled with compassions. The platform which the great commission was launched from was based on love and passion for others.

At age 16, I met Jesus during a powerful Sunday night service. This experience changed me, and I realized that God wanted other people to also know Him. Therefore, my brother and I started sharing our faith with our friends, and I connected with friends who had this same passion. I then started to see people as God saw them.

Before this understanding, the only reason for talking to people who had not given their lives to Christ was to get a conversion prayer from them; however, Pastor Wayne said at the last DCAT conference, “Don’t count conversions right off the bat. Instead, count on conversations.” This is because conversations are rooted and grounded in love. At New Hope we have experienced this over and over again through our services and through small groups.

Application: Start having conversations with people.

In intimacy, have conversations with God. In repentance, have conversations with ourselves. In passion, have conversations with people. Start up a conversation with your neighbor or co-worker, or a person that you may bump into at the store and see what God does in the middle of that conversation.

A lot of my mentors have written down on cards the names of 3-5 people. They keep these cards in their wallets as a reminder to regularly pray for them. Praying for these people tills the ground for God to prepare their hearts, and enables God to draw them to His love.

When situations get too difficult for me to handle, I get down on my knees and start praying for a miracle. Let’s start praying for miracles of healing, over our finances or whatever may be pressing us to our limits because God has every resource available to Him, and He will bring the provision that we need.

If we have passion for others, then we will be willing help others who need revival. The good news is that everything has to change, and revival changes everything. If we do not embrace the daily process of revival, then we might become a church without concern for conversation. If we do not embrace this lifestyle of the kindness of God, then we will lack the desire to take ownership of our sin, and we will become a church unmoved to share God’s love.

Share a word of encouragement, and miracles will take place. Let’s be a church family that cultivates a lifestyle of revival every day.

Questions:

• What is revival?

• What are the 3 points that Pastor McFall discussed?

• How do we enact revival?