Chris sang with passion last night. We sang an old song titled "I Went to the Enemy's Camp." We sang triumphantly about going to the enemy's camp and taking back what he has stolen as we claimed back ground lost to the enemy. Chris sang about one of his children who has been attacked by the enemy. We sang about taking back the students of Paradise. We sang about our joy. I thought about the vision Satan has wanted to steal from my life. I took it back by faith.
Chris got lost in worship. He ministered under God's anointing. He played his guitar till his fingers ached and then he pressed on and played some more. God sure uses him. He and I have laughed together, witnessed together, and wept together during these days. He is a true brother.
Once again we were ushered into God's presence. I preached from [Luke 4:14-21]. Jesus has still come to preach the gospel to the poor. He is still setting the captives free. Those bound by sin for years Jesus has the power to set free. Those bound in religion and what other people think He can also set free. Jesus is anointed to give recovery of sight to the blind. My focus on this point is that Jesus restores the vision and dreams that God sets in our hearts.
I recounted in my own life how Satan has tried to steal the vision and blind me God's destiny for me as a pastor, author, and the future of Faith Community Church. One area Satan has worked over time in recent days has been to blind me to God's vision for this revival.
Jesus also frees those oppressed. The word oppression means "bruised, crushed, beaten down." How many people wander through life dealing with those issues? Their lives are a wreck and yet the church often has little interest in helping them. Jesus made Himself to all types of people. We must do the same.
One of the things that struck me in verse fourteen is how Jesus came in the power of the Holy Spirit. I have been in a lot of different churches and I can tell you most of the ones I have been in do not talk about the Holy Spirit often. Jesus called the Holy Spirit our helper in John 16 and said it was to our advantage that Jesus would go away but the Helper would come. In [Luke 24:49] Jesus counseled the disciples to remain in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came. We know that took place in Acts 2:1-4. He told the disciples in [Acts 1:8] they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them to witness to ends of the earth. That is exactly what they did.
Sadly the power of the Holy Spirit is missing in many churches. We say we believe in the Trinity but do not have much regard for the Holy Spirit. Personally I have welcomed the Holy Spirit at Faith Community Church. This does not mean we seek weird signs. I simply want the Helper to come empower our worship, preaching, evangelism, and discipleship efforts.
Now the question for us is are we living in the power of the Spirit. Do we minister in the power of the Holy Spirit. Are we Spirit led individuals. If we are not then that would explain why there is so little power in the church today. We have money. We have programs. Those things do not always translate into the power of God.
No one came to the altar last night. Last night felt more like a teaching session than preaching. People sat under the word of God and were fed. God spoke and people responded in other ways than kneeling at the altar. The work of God touched all of us deeply in our souls.
Yesterday afternoon while praying I want back through my journals over the past three months to see the different ways God has spoken to me especially about the revival. Two things stuck out. I sensed in the beginning the Lord leading us to hold a two week revival. We are entering into the second week but I had entertained doubts about not finishing it. I committed in secret to meet through today (Sunday) but thought of canceling the rest of the services. While God has definitely moved we still have not made significant headway in the community. While reading my journal entries I felt strongly we needed to commit to meeting for the entire second week. I shared this with the congregation last night.
I am tired but not like I was tired in Seminole during that revival. The messages have come clearly each day. I have not had to struggle for them. Still I have preached all God has put in my heart for the past eight days including the Solemn Assembly. Expending yourself like that is wearisome but God strengthens day by day and at times hour by hour. Regardless of the outcome we are supposed to meet for the next week. So we press on.
The second thing that struck me while reading through my journals had to be God leading me not to quit the revival too early. My instructions are to meet and when God is ready to end our meetings He will instruct me to do so. Until then I must not entertain quitting. I did not do this in Seminole. After months God convicted me I had ended the meetings too early. Honestly I did so because of sheer exhaustion. I do not want to make the mistake of ending too early. So we press forward until at least July 29th. Quitting is not an option. Step by step we continue our pursuit of God and revival. Like Chris and I keep saying, we must keep praying, singing, and preaching. The rest is up to God. The revival rolls on.
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