Journey to Revival Week 6

REVIVAL LOVE

Romans 5:5 “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

We are on week 6 of a 12 week time of prayer and study for revival and awakening.

This week, we’re talking about allowing God’s love for Jesus Christ to shine though our lives.

Below the video link is a historical example of revival.

You are invited to go through this time of study and prayer either individually (i.e. journal), or gather a group together to pray and discuss each week’s topic. Our guide for this time will be the scriptures, prayer, and the book “Revival Rising.” You can get this book at http://www.seedbed.com

Feel free to share this video study with your friends.

From the book Revival Rising:

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Journey to Revival Week 5

REVIVAL GLORY

2 Corinthians 3:11-12: “And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.”

We are on week 5 of a 12 week time of prayer and study for revival and awakening.

 

This week, we’re talking about allowing God’s glory to shine though our lives. Below the video link is a historical example of revival.

You are invited to go through this time of study and prayer either individually (i.e. journal), or gather a group together to pray and discuss each week’s topic. Our guide for this time will be the scriptures, prayer, and the book “Revival Rising.” You can get this book at www.seedbed.com

 

Feel free to share this video study with your friends.

 

From the book Revival Rising:

EXTRAORDINARY EFFECTS

Revival love pours out on Jonathan Edwards’ church in 1742. This revival under the ministry of Mr. Buell exceeds the one eight years before. A visit by George Whitfield some months earlier triggers events leading to the revival.

In the month of May, 1741, a sermon was preached to a company, at a private house. Near the conclusion of the discourse, one or two persons that were professors, were so greatly affected with a sense of the greatness and glory of divine thing they were not able to conceal it—the affections of their minds overcoming their strength, and having visible effect upon their bodies. . . .

About the beginning of February, 1742, Mr. Buell came to this town. . . . There were very extraordinary effects of Mr. Buell’s labors; the people were exceedingly moved, crying out in great numbers in the meeting-house, and a great part of the congregation commonly staying in the house of God for hours after the public service. . . .

Mr. Buell continued here a fortnight or three weeks after I returned: there being still great appearances attending his labors; many in their religious affections being raised far beyond what they had ever been before: and there were some instances of persons lying in a sort of trance, remaining perhaps for a whole twenty-four hours motionless. . . .

Journey to Revival Week 4

REVIVAL EXPERIENCE

We are on week 4 of a 12 week time of prayer and study for revival and awakening.

We, have talked about the power of revival comes from God. We’ve also begun to ask the Holy Spirit to be released in us, to fill us, to open our hearts more.

Last week, we looked at the culture around us to see if a spirit of revival is present.

This week, we’re talking about making sure we are ready to experience all revival and spiritual awakenings bring.

You are invited to go through this time of study and prayer either individually (i.e. journal), or gather a group together to pray and discuss each week’s topic. Our guide for this time will be the scriptures, prayer, and the book “Revival Rising.” You can get this book at www.seedbed.com

This week, we’re looking at REVIVAL EXPERIENCE.

This week’s scripture is from Ephesians 3:19
“and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Feel free to share this video study with your friends.

 

HOLY ATMOSPHERE

Revival life sparks the 1970 Asbury Revival. In chapel a student shares how God is awakening and cleansing his heart. Revival takes over the Kentucky campus, causing all classes to be suspended. Below are selected entries from one student’s journal of the one hundred and eighty-five hours in chapel.

I sit in the middle of a contemporary Pentecost. A few moments ago there came a spontaneous movement of the Holy Spirit. . . . The scene is unbelievable. The altar has been flooding with needy souls time and time again. Two and one-half hours have passed. A joyous religion. Hands in the air. Pointed toward God—He never fails. . . . Seven hours have passed. . . . A seminary student yearns for God to move in the seminary. There is a quiet, yet beautiful Spirit here right now. . . . People are kneeling in front of seats. . . . Exactly twenty-six hours have passed. The altar has just been flooded with souls. Deep repentance. Unusual Spirit of holiness at this moment . . . Forty-eight hours have passed. Almost fifteen hundred people here in Hughes. The altar is filled. . . . Seventy-two hours have passed. Revival has spread to other Christian campuses. This revival is taking a national form. . . . 106 hours have passed . . . 11: 15 p.m. 700 to 800 people in Hughes . . . There is a very holy atmosphere here.

~From “Revival Rising”

Journey to Revival: Week 3

REVIVAL CULTURE

We are on week 3 of a 12 week time of prayer and study for revival and awakening.

We, have talked about the power of revival comes from God. We’ve also begun to ask the Holy Spirit to be released in us, to fill us, to open our hearts more.

This week, we’re looking at the culture around us to see if a spirit of revival is present.

You are invited to go through this time of study and prayer either individually (i.e. journal), or gather a group together to pray and discuss each week’s topic. Our guide for this time will be the scriptures, prayer, and the book “Revival Rising.” You can get this book at www.seedbed.com

This week, we’re looking at REVIVAL CULTURE.

This week’s scripture is from Galatians 3:3
“Are you so irrational? After you started with the Spirit, are you now finishing up with your own human effort?”

Feel free to share this video study with your friends.

Journey to Revival: Week 2

REVIVAL LIFE

We are on week 2 of a 12 week time of prayer and study for revival and awakening.

Last week, remember we talked about the power of revival comes from God. This week, we’re asking the Holy Spirit to be released in us, to fill us, to open our hearts more.

You are invited to go through this time of study and prayer either individually (i.e. journal), or gather a group together to pray and discuss each week’s topic. Our guide for this time will be the scriptures, prayer, and the book “Revival Rising.” You can get this book at www.seedbed.com

This week, we’re looking at REVIVAL LIFE.

This week’s scripture is from Ephesians 3:16-17:
“I ask that he will strengthen you in your inner selves from the riches of his glory through the Spirit. I ask that Christ will live in your hearts through faith.”

Feel free to share this video study with your friends.

If you need to get caught up, here is last week’s video:

 

Journey for Revival: Week 1

We are beginning a 12 week time of prayer and study for revival and awakening.
You are invited to be part of this journey for the next 12 weeks, either individually, or gather a group together to pray and discuss each week’s topic. Our guide for this time will be the scriptures, prayer, and the book “Revival Rising.” You can get a copy of the book at Seedbed.

This week, we’re looking at REVIVAL POWER.

This week’s scripture is from 1 Thessalonians 1:11-12:
“To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his call, and may fulfill every good resolve and work of faith by his power…”

Feel free to share this video study with your friends.

The Journey Continues

Click here to read Acts 28.

Paul makes it to Rome.

His journey to Rome was full of turmoil, danger, unrest, and more. Yet through all of this, Paul kept his faith. That’s remarkable!

Paul believed God when He said Paul would make it to Rome. I wonder how many times Paul had to remind himself of that? After all, the shipwreck would have been enough for many to give up and lose hope. But Paul does not lose his faith. He keeps encouraging the soldiers to keep going. He keeps sharing about God every chance he gets. Paul is the one person who seems to be holding it all together.

Think about your life journey. How many hardships have you lived through? How many times did you consider giving up? It would be easy when things just got too hard for us; but we should keep pressing forward, especially if God has truly called us to do what we’re doing.

It would be so nice to be able to say that our life is going to be easy. But that would not be accurate. Our life will be filled with more hope, more peace, more joy, more love all because of Jesus Christ. Oh, we will falter at times; but He is always with us. Jesus guides us and we get to bring people to Him in every circumstance.

What I love about the book of Acts is the movement of the Holy Spirit in the lives of ordinary people. Ordinary people who have answered the call of God on their lives and went out to do incredible things because of the power of the Holy Spirit within them.

Paul’s life is remarkable, to me, because he seems to keep his faith (most of the time) in all situations. His is a story that inspires me, not to be just like Paul but to be able to continue proclaiming Jesus Christ wherever I am and through whatever I’m doing.

This may be the end of the book of Acts, but the story is not complete. We get to carry on what the Holy Spirit began in us and continue to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to the ends of the world. How will you live out the calling God has placed on your life?

Acts 1:8

Rather, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Matthew 28:19-20

Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.”

Peace Beyond Understanding

Click here to read Acts 27.

You know the feeling. You have had days where nothing seems to go right. Weeks. Months. Year(s). It is hard to see anything past what is going on right before us. We’ll hear people say things like, just change your mindset and be more positive. But the truth is that is not what changes our minds so we experience peace.

Paul, the prisoner who is part of the shipwreck, writes in Philippians 4:6-7 to be anxious about nothing, present your requests to God, you will experience a peace beyond understanding (paraphrase). This same person wrote this when he was imprisoned earlier.

Imagine that. Peace in the midst of chaos. A peace beyond understanding. Have you ever felt this before? This is more than a simple feeling. This peace is something that seems to overtake you and helps you be able to function in the midst of the chaos around you.

This is what I believe is happening to Paul. He is imprisoned; but he is on a voyage to Rome and the ship he is on gets destroyed. He has to be the voice of reason and help the soldiers do the right thing because of faith not because of fear. We see what happens when people react from fear (soldiers) and also from faith (Paul).

So now the question remains, how do we get this kind of faith, this kind of peace? Paul did not do anything. Well, he did do one thing, he prayed and stayed connected to Jesus Christ. This kind of peace and discernment only came from God. God is the one who encouraged Paul and gave him the wisdom about what needed to be done to help protect and save the people he traveled with.

Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of Christ. As you go about your day, your week, remember the only source of true peace comes straight from Jesus Christ. Keeping Jesus Christ at the forefront of your mind, of your heart, gives you the ability to remain outwardly and inwardly calm when everything else around you seems to be falling apart.

This is a great way to think about the Christian life of faith. It is through faith we believe God’s presence is here and is real. It is through faith we believe the promises of God will stand firm and last eternally. It is though faith we believe we can do all that Christ calls us to. This faith is also a gift from God (Romans 12).

I invite you to take some time today and thank God for His presence. Seek him throughout your day because he is guiding you and is forming you to be a vessel to share his love and his grace. Everything around us does not have to be perfect; but we should remember we have a perfect God that is all around us and within us.

Convincing Arguments

Click here to read Acts 26.

When was the last time you tried to convince another person (not family or friend) about coming around to your way of thinking? How did it go?

I love talking with sales people. They really know their stuff, and you can tell the ones who are passionate about their product/service. People in sales are always fun to talk with because you know their goal is to try and sell you on what they’re offering; but at the same time, it is the customer who really is in control of the situation.

People are going to hear what they choose to hear. If a person is convinced they need ______ product, it is because the value of the product/service for their life was heard. On the other hand, if a sales person offended the potential buyer, all the potential buyer will hear is how they don’t like what the sales person is saying. There is always a line to walk when trying to sell any product or service. The two things that must be demonstrated are: 1) passion about the product/service and 2) knowledge about the product/service.

Look at today’s passage in Acts 26. Paul gives his testimony many times and is in positions to defend himself a lot. But, is he really trying to prove himself right? No. Even though he is in custody, he is still doing his best at sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with all he encounters. Paul is even placed in in front of powerful rulers that willingly listen to him.

All this time, we can see that Paul has had many hardships and difficulties throughout his ministry and missionary journeys; but he did not waste any opportunity. Paul was still, first and foremost, a slave (servant) of Jesus Christ and was compelled to share Christ wherever he was and with whomever would listen.

How does this go for us today? I hear many people say something like, “all my friends are Christian.” To that response I say, “well, you don’t know enough people.” Another thing I hear a lot is “everyone around here goes to church.” Then I say, “nope.”

One of the things that gets in our way is our own perception of reality. All we have to do is look around and see that not everyone knows Christ. Even Jesus’ own followers miss the boat at times. But it is all because of God’s incredible grace that we are given chances to talk with people about Jesus Christ.

Have you noticed what happens within you when you seize the opportunity to talk about Jesus? I hope you feel like I do and sense an overwhelming feeling of joy and peace. Sharing Christ to others is not just good for them to hear and be ushered to the throne of grace; but it is also important for us to share because it is a great reminder for us about who Jesus Christ is.

So, do we have to be the best or most convincing sales people when we talk about Jesus? Not at all; but we should allow our passion for Him to come out in such a way that people are willing to listen. When we do not quench our passion, the Holy Spirit uses that to draw people to God through Jesus Christ.

We will not always get our words correct; but we can continue to share the hope, joy, peace, love, grace the God through Jesus Christ offers the entire world.

In the Presence of the King

Click here to read Acts 25.

How nerve wracking it is for people to stand in front of people of power. What do you think your real reaction would be to stand in front of a president? A king or queen? A CEO of a billion dollar company? Your own boss who may not come around that often? I find it interesting that sometimes we will act one way until that person enters the room or we are brought before them.

The Apostle Paul knew who his only King was and is: Jesus Christ. His only goal was to serve Christ by proclaiming Christ risen from the dead. Paul knew that the people he was standing in front of was of no match to the King of kings. He only feared God.

Take time to read through the scripture today. Notice how many “important” people Paul is brought in front of. There was Festus, the angry crowd, King Agrippa, Bernice, and the entourage. I wonder how many people are reading this now and wondering why I placed the angry crowd as important people?

Look at what is being done to Paul. He has been placed in front of Caesar’s court and is giving his testimony and his defense to the highest court in the land. The angry crowd that is present is important because they were the ones to bring Paul to this particular time and place. What is interesting is that even though they did not get their way (Paul being executed), they should still be considered important because they unknowingly followed a plan of God to take the gospel to Rome via Paul. This crowd was the loudest voice and brought a lot of attention to the imprisoned apostle.

But then we have Festus, and King Agrippa. These are people who have great, human, power in this area. They are the ones where final decisions for the area are made, and people try to appease them and flatter them just to get whatever is wanted. I think this is where most of us stand when it comes to being in the presence of power. We want to try to make them like us so nothing bad happens to us and we can get the most comfortable life possible. Most of the time the people in positions of power may not see the real people because everyone will put on a front to act their best.

Paul knows something even more important. He knows the only King to be true to is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the King of all the kings and Lord of all the lords. Paul knows that he doesn’t have to be flattering to the rulers in front of him because the only ruler he answers to is Jesus Christ.

How about you? What or who makes you more nervous? I tend to think we get more nervous in the presence of humans in positions of power than we do for Jesus Christ. We tend to give more accolades to the people rather than the God of the universe. Oh, we go to worship each week; but do we worship God? Or do we really worship what we’re doing? This is a tough question to really think about.

As you go through your day, through your week, journey through life, remember this one thing Jesus Christ is the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. Everyone else we come in contact with is another person either to minister to or join in ministry with.

You have been called to be a witness to Christ to the world. You have been placed where you are “for such a time as this.” The presence of the one true King is with you always.