Revived By His Spirit

Mark Finley: He's preparing a people who are bathed in his righteousness, justified by his grace, sanctified through his power. They love his truth. They count all things but loss for Christ.
Guest (Male): This is Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message, Revived by His Spirit. Enjoy and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up to date with Hope Lives 365 and Pastor Mark by going to hopelives365.com. And now Pastor Mark Finley.
Mark Finley: A number of years ago when Mark Hatfield was the senator of Oregon, he visited Mother Teresa in Calcutta and he spent a day with her at the house of the dying. He noticed the long lines of people impoverished, poverty stricken, sick, decrepit. Many of them on the verge of death. One after another came to be treated by Mother Teresa and the Sisters of Mercy there. And toward the end of the day, Mark Hatfield looked at Mother Teresa and he said, I just have one question to ask you. How can you bear up under the heavy burden of all these people coming? How how can you possibly do that? And she said to him, my dear senator, I'm not called to be successful. I'm called to be faithful. The word of God does not call us to a life of popularity, power, or prestige. The word of God calls us to faithfulness, faithfulness to Christ, faithfulness to the teachings of Christ, faithfulness to the church of Christ, and faithfulness to the mission of Christ. And there is a very close relationship between this theme of faithfulness, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and revival. And that's what I want to talk to you about tonight. The relationship between faithfulness to Christ and revival, the relationship between faithfulness to the teachings of Christ and revival, faithfulness to the church of Christ and revival, and faithfulness to the mission of Christ. Begin by briefly looking at the life of one who was faithful, Daniel. The year was 605 BC. Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem. We look at the story in Daniel the first chapter. So if you have your Bible, I invite you to take it and turn to Daniel chapter one. When Daniel was taken captive, Nebuchadnezzar's thought was to immerse Daniel and his friends in the philosophy, the culture, and the religious practices of Babylon. His goal was to totally eradicate their Jewish identity. So he gave them names. Now when a Jewish mother named her children, the Jewish mother typically gave her children names that represented something about the gracious character of God. Daniel's name, for example, meant God is my judge or God is the one that vindicates me. God is the one who sets all things right. His name was changed to Belteshazzar, the keeper of the hid treasures of Bel because of course Bel Marduk was the chief god of 13 gods of Babylon. And so Nebuchadnezzar's goal was to totally eradicate Jewish identity and totally have have Daniel and his friends accommodate to the culture of Babylon. God begins the book of Daniel with the story of Daniel, a captive in a corrupt, godless society. His mind could easily have been shaped by that society. He was under almost incomprehensible pressure to conform. But we read in Daniel chapter one verse eight, these were and take a look at Daniel one verse eight. The scripture says, but Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank. So the that meat and wine was offered to Babylonian gods. It was not in harmony with the health principles of Israel, neither was it in harmony with Daniel's commitment to serve the one God. The scripture says that Daniel purposed in his heart. The word purpose means he determined, he decided, he chose. In the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament, the heart is used in a special sense to refer to both the seat of the intellect and the emotions. And so the book of Daniel begins with the story of a young man who is pressured to conform to his culture, who has this almost incomprehensible pressure to conform. But yet rather than being adapted by the to the culture around him, the he he was faithful to God. And the challenge that Daniel faced is the challenge that we face in this generation. The real battle just before the coming of Christ is a battle of faithfulness. It's the battle for the mind. The devil will do everything he can through this godless, secular society to influence our thought processes. Because the mind is the seat of our thoughts. The mind is the spring of our actions. Satan did everything possible to influence Daniel's mind and emotions through the enticements of a pagan culture around him. Now in the book Prophets and Kings, page 479, we read this amazing statement, and I quote, among the children of Israel who were carried captive to Babylon at the beginning of the 70 years captivity were Christian patriots, men, and I add women, who were as true as steel to principle, who would not be corrupted by selfishness, but who would honor God at the loss of all things. Men, women who were true to principle as steel. They were hardened. They would not budge. Now the experience of Daniel and the Hebrew captives in Babylon powerfully reveals that it's possible to be faithful to God in the most challenging circumstances. God's call to faithfulness in a corrupt, immoral, godless world in the last days of our history is a call to let his love shine out of our lives. As time comes to a screeching halt, God's call is once again to understand our identity in Christ. Once again to be God's man, to be God's woman in this generation. Once again not to yield to the culture around us. Once again like Daniel to be filled with the Holy Spirit and be transformers of culture, not to be transformed by culture. To be shapers of culture, not to be shaped by culture. Now there are four aspects of this faithfulness that we want to study this evening. First, the Holy Spirit will never be poured out corporately unless it is poured out on your heart and mind individually. So the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is not something that is merely a corporate outpouring on a general population. The church is revived because men and women are revived. Faithfulness to Christ is always the basis, always the foundation for witness for Christ. That's why our theme is revived to witness. Take your Bible, please, and turn to Revelation chapter two. In Revelation the second chapter, we read about a church that was doctrinally pure. We read about a people that exhausted their lives in labor. But we read about a people in the church at Ephesus who lost their first love, who lost their connection with Christ. In Revelation the second chapter, I read in verse four, after Christ commends them in verse two for knowing their labor and their patience and how they have tested the apostles and and tested those who claimed they were apostles, but found them liars. They were doctrinally introducing error. After in verse three of Revelation two, writing to the church at Ephesus, he talks about how they have persevered, how they've had patience. But notice verse four. Nevertheless, I have this against you. You've left your first love. I was interested there in two things. First, verse two where it says, I know your works and labor. The word labor in that passage comes from an ancient Greek word which means you labored to the point of exhaustion. Now here's a church that labors to the point of exhaustion. Here's a church that defends doctrine. But here's a church that ultimately becomes powerless because its heart is empty and void and it's left lost its first love. Chuck Swindoll in his book Intimacy with God makes this remarkable comment. He says, noise and words and frenzies hectic schedules dull our senses, closing our ears to the still small voice and making us numb to his touch. Somebody said superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. Our greatest need is not for more intelligent people. Our greatest need is not for more gifted people. Our greatest need is for more deep people.
Guest (Male): We'll be right back with Pastor Mark Finley. We thank you for listening and hope you're enjoying today's message. Our mission is to attractively present the Christ-centered biblical truths of scripture in a practical, relevant way to people around the world so that they may experience the abundant life that Christ offers and effectively share with confidence his life-changing truths with others. You can support this ministry and help us reach even more by going to hopelives365.com/donate. And now back to Pastor Mark Finley.
Mark Finley: The Holy Spirit comes to us in times of quietness. The Holy Spirit comes to us as our Bibles are open meditating on the amazing grace of Christ. And it is the life-transforming power of the Holy Spirit that enables us to be revived to witness. I'm impressed with this statement in the book of Ministry of Healing, page 58, amidst the hurrying throng and the strain of life's intense activities. He, who is refreshed, that is by the Spirit of God, will be surrounded with an atmosphere of light and peace. He will receive a new endowment of both physical and mental strength. His life will breathe out a fragrance and will reveal a divine power that will reach men's hearts. The truth of the matter is you and I are powerless to reach men and women unless the living Christ is dwelling in our hearts. And in the quietness, God wants to speak. In our challenges, God wants to speak. In the difficulties of life, God wants to speak. In our problems, God wants to speak. In our perplexities, God wants to speak. In our weakness, God wants to speak. In the resounding successes of our life and in our flat-out failures, God wants to speak. Will you give God time to speak to your heart? Will you fall on your knees and say, Jesus, all I want is to know your will in every given situation. Speak, Lord. Give me the wisdom to know your will, the strength to do your will, and the courage to accomplish the purpose I was born for. If we are not faithful in our devotional life, if we do not know Christ personally, if we do not experience his presence daily, if our lives are not transformed by his word, our religious experience will be shallow, superficial, and hollow in our devotional life. Makes all the difference. Again I repeat, the Holy Spirit will never be poured out on a church corporately unless it's poured out upon you and me individually. It is the infilling of the Holy Spirit individually. When men and women are on their knees repenting of their sin, confessing their weakness to God, meditating upon the amazing grace of Christ, allowing his life to mold and shape their lives. It is that experience with God that enables the Holy Spirit to do something for us so we can do something with us. The Holy Spirit can never do something through me until he does something to me. So faithfulness to Christ is a prerequisite to receiving the Spirit of God. The second aspect of faithfulness, in addition to faithfulness to Christ is faithfulness to the teachings of Christ. The Holy Spirit will be poured out on those who stand uncompromisingly for truth. Remember it was Jesus who said, sanctify them through thy word. Thy word is truth. Now for some doctrine has almost become something to be avoided. It's not only neglected, but it's treated with skeptical contempt in some circles. Now the word doctrine simply means teachings. Where would we be as Christians without the teachings of Christ? His teachings on the second coming of Christ, his teachings on salvation, his teachings on the Sabbath, his teachings on the sanctuary, his teaching on the state of the dead. You see, you cannot separate Christ from his teachings. When we talk about accepting Jesus, we're not talking about accepting some mythical Christ, some ethereal Christ. We're talking about teaching the accepting the Christ of the Bible. And if you look at Acts chapter two verse 41 and 42, for example, in in the book of Acts, when the disciples baptized 3,000 on the day of Pentecost, they did not accept some ethereal mystical Christ. They accepted the Christ of the New Testament and the teachings of Christ. The evidence for that is found in Acts chapter two verse 41 and 42. Notice it. Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. Now notice they gladly received the word of God. In that day about 3,000 souls were added to them. They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and the breaking of bread and prayers. Now you can't continue steadfastly in something that you don't know. So the two expressions that I'm interested in are this, those that gladly received God's word and secondly they stood steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. You cannot separate Jesus from his word because Jesus is the living word. And you cannot separate Jesus from his truth because Jesus is the embodiment of truth. And you cannot separate Jesus from his teachings because Jesus is the author of all true doctrine. Revival will not come to a church that downplays doctrinal truth, that compromises biblical teachings, and that lives in violation of scriptural standards. God is longing for a people who are totally committed to Jesus and they're totally committed to his word, not allowing the culture around them to shape their religious experience. They're not embarrassed with the doctrines of Christ because Jesus gave them and he is the embodiment of truth. For Jesus himself said, when the spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth. John 16:13. And Jesus added in John 6:63, the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are truth. So it's the Holy Spirit that works through the word of God and the teachings of Christ that transforms our lives. Now here is a very insightful statement in the book Christ Triumphant, page 85. Those who think it matters not what they believe in doctrine, so long as they believe in Christ, are on dangerous ground. What kind of ground are they on, everybody? What kind of ground? Do you want to be on dangerous ground? Is that the place you want to stand? You want to stand on a solid foundation of the word of God. Revival will come when the Christ of the word burns in our hearts through his Holy Spirit, making his teachings real in our lives. Of this we can be certain. Of this we can be certain. Bible prophecy predicts an end time people who love Jesus, who love his truth and proclaim it to the ends of the earth. The light of his word will illuminate the world. The teachings of Christ will stand in sharp contrast to the false doctrines of the apostate system Revelation calls Babylon. His people filled with the love of Christ, changed by the grace of Christ, empowered by the spirit of Christ will proclaim the truth of Christ to a last day generation. That ancient prophet in the Old Testament makes this amazing prophecy about God's end time people. Habakkuk chapter two verse 14. For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. His truth will triumph at last, ridiculed, mocked, scorned, crushed, marginalized. The all-powerful word of God will defeat its foes. As James Russell Lowell, the poet, put it so well, truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne. Yet that scaffold sways the future. And beyond the dim unknown stands God keeping watch above his own. Genuine revival never compromises biblical doctrine for the sake of a feel-good religion based on a superficial emotional experience. The Holy Spirit leads us to deep repentance, heartfelt confession, obedience to the word as the basis of all true revival, and the reception of the spirit in the fullness of power. So this Holy Spirit comes on individual hearts who are faithful to Christ. The Holy Spirit comes to men and women whose minds have been captivated by the word of the living God. And the Holy Spirit comes to men and women who are faithful to the prophetic movement that God has raised up in the last days of our history. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus gives us the assurance that his church will triumph at last. The New Testament writers echo this theme.
Guest (Male): You've been listening to Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you've enjoyed today's message and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at hopelives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to hopelives365.com/donate. And now a final thought from Pastor Mark.
Mark Finley: The church is God's fortress, his city of refuge which he holds in a revolted world. Any betrayal of the church is treachery to him who has bought mankind with the blood of his only begotten son. Christ holds the church in his hands. It is his fortress, his city of refuge. It is his oasis in a planet of rebellion. It is a light in darkness, a beacon in the night shining brightly on the dim lit path ahead. Christ in his church will triumph. I love that old hymn, onward Christian soldiers. It's I love the phrase, crowns and thrones have perished, kingdoms rise and wane, but the church of Jesus constant will remain. Gates of hell can never against the church prevail. We have Christ's own promise that can never fail. All the demons in hell will not defeat God's purposes for the church. Christ's church will triumph at last. Christ's church will rise to its destiny. There will be a people of some generation at some time on their knees seeking God. The Holy Spirit will be poured out upon them. There will be a people faithful to the word of God. There will be a church that rises clear as the sun, mighty as an army with banners. There will be a church that fulfills the prayer of Christ.