Why Do We Need Revival?

Romans chapter 13 this morning and we will finish what we started last Sunday morning. Do we need revival Do you need revival? For regardless of whatever you think the answer may be for others for our our church in general, and and I certainly hope that it is your desire that our church have revival and that we we see more people come to Christ and we see more people faithfully committed to worshiping and serving and growing the Lord together with us. I hope that is a burden. But that will not happen if I don't need revival or if you don't need revival.

If we determine it's everybody else that needs revival except for who? For me, then we won't have revival because revival is a personal thing. Revival starts as the Holy Spirit stirs our hearts to wake us up to our needs, to burden us for the lost, to give us a zeal and a fire to serve and to bring glory to our God. So, do you need revival? Do I need revival?

Romans chapter 13 and beginning in verse 11. And that knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep. For now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent and the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light.

Let us walk honestly as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering or partying and wantonness, not in strife and in envying. Put you on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Lord, thank you for your word. Thank you Lord for the encouragement we find here to wake up Lord.

This is a serious business, father, which so often times, we take too lightly in our churches More importantly, in our own lives, our own hearts. Lord, we get wrapped up in things that don't matter, things that are passing away. We let go of the things. That are so important, that are of eternal value. Lord, I pray that you would bring revival to our hearts in the coming weeks.

I pray Lord that as we allow the light of God's word to shine upon our hearts, that it would expose some areas that are lacking. Lord, some sin that we've been tucking away. Some affection for other things that has taken your place. That we would be willing to deal with. That you might bring revival.

That you might bring a love for Christ into our hearts. That you would take away the things that are between our soul and our savior. That you would bring in the lost and save their souls. That our church's testimony would shine brightly and grow greatly. Lord, give us revival.

We pray. In Jesus name, started last week looking at this passage When it talks about waking up, when Paul writes it here, he's he's not talking about, you know, you you you sleep too many hours each day and you need to wake up. No, he, this is a spiritual metaphor. We need to to wake up spiritually. We need to open our eyes to what's going on around us.

We need to to recognize the desperate need of the world for Jesus. The desperate need for us to be a testimony before them. The desperate need that we have to draw close to him. And not keep him at arm's length. The desperate need we have.

To put out those things that have infiltrated our heart and robbed us of our affection and our joy In Jesus Christ. It's high time we wake up. What is it? What is it in my life? What is it in your life?

That is dimming our light, our testimony, that is robbing us of our joy, that is diminished our love. That is not reaching others for Jesus Christ. Yes, we need revival. Have you grown complacent? Have you fallen asleep at the wheel?

Have you lost your zeal to serve Christ? To win the lost, to defeat sin in the flesh each day of your life. It's a battle. It's daily, Luke says. It's a daily battle.

Have you given up? Have you thrown in the towel? Have you lost sight of the heavenly prize? For the treasures of the earth. Do you need revival?

Why is it we need revival? Well, the first thing we see in this passage that Paul brings out in Romans 13 is this, the time is short. The time is short You need revival because your time is short. You need revival because the people around you, their time is short. We have but a moment in eternity to serve the Lord here.

To love him here. To draw close to him here. To preach and proclaim the word of God here to the lost and dying around us, to bring glory to his name. In in James four fourteen, it says, whereas you know not what shall be on tomorrow, for what is your life, it is even a what? Vapor.

It's a vapor that appearth for a little time and vanisheth away. Like that steam that comes off the pot as it boils. Kinda put your hand through it and it's there and it's it's gone. Just moment and then it vanishes us, vanish it away, vanishes away. That is what our lives are here on Earth in respect to eternity.

It's brief. Our time is brief. And the Bible reminds us, Hebrews nine twenty seven as appointed unto men wants to die but after this, the judgment. When that time on earth vanishes away, we will all stand before God. We will stand at one of two great judgments.

The Bema seat, the judgment seat of Christ in which the saved in Christ Jesus will be rewarded for those things that they have done in the flesh, for the praise and honor and glory of the God who saved them. And many there be that will stand there that day and will watch their life go up in what? Go up in smoke. Like that steam that vanishes away. Because they didn't use it as God's child.

To bring glory to his name. And then there's the great white throne judgment. If you don't know Christ as Lord and savior, you'll stand there. If you've never repented and turned to Christ in faith received him as the the payment for your sins. And as your Lord, then you'll stand at that judgment and the Bible says, you'll be judged based on whose works.

And if any of us are judged on our works, we're in big trouble because all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God and it'll be revealed that day and all of those whose names are not found written in the book of life. Those who have never trusted Christ as savior and become a child of God by faith will be cast into the lake of fire. You say, but pastor, that's not me. I'm on my way to the Bema seat. I'm not on my way to the great white throne.

Praise the Lord. But don't forget this while you're praising the Lord You're still going to give an account at the judgment seat. And your neighbor your coworker, your friend, your relative that is without Christ, they're going to stand. At the great white throne judgment Your time is short to win them to Christ Their time is short. And once is the point when a man wants to die, then comes the judgment and their fate is sealed.

Why do we need revival? Because we need to get serious about the fact that every soul is going to go to one place or the other. To heaven or to hell. And it's serious business. We need to wake up.

To how serious it is and how short our time. Second reason, we need revival is because we so easily become entangled distracted by the things of the world. We so easily become lulled asleep by the things of this world that we need God to wake us up again and to free us from those entanglements. That weighed us down in our service and our love for him. Second Timothy two, three, and four, thou therefore endure hardness a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

No man that warth entangled himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who have chosen him to be a soldier. See, soldiers know that they can't entangle themselves with all kinds of worldly distractions while they're in service of their country Because when their country calls, they must answer. And they must obey and they must follow and they must fight and nothing else matters. In this world They must not become entangled and you say, well, you know, I'm not a soldier. So, that's not me.

Well, guess what? Timothy wasn't a soldier either. What was Timothy? He was a servant of Christ. Who are you?

Servant. You're a servant of Christ. And as servants of Christ, we are soldiers and the army of the Lord. We fight against principalities and powers in high places. We fight against sin.

We fight against Satan. We are in a great battle for the souls of men and women, boys and girls. We are in a great battle between God and Satan. We have the wonderful opportunity to serve in the army of the king of kings. Do we recognize that?

Or are we too busy being entertained and lulled to sleep by the world. I'm afraid that all of us or many of us suffer. From this issue of worldly entanglements and being lulled to sleep by the world. The first thing we need to watch out for is the entanglement of the pleasures of this life. First John two fifteen through 17, John wrote, love not the world neither the things that are in the world.

If any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the father but is of the world. And the world passeth away and the lust thereof but he that doeth the will of God what? Bideth or continue it forever. John writes, he says, do not love the world or stop loving the world.

Stop putting the things and the lust and the pleasures of the world before the need to love and serve and stay true to your savior Jesus Christ. The word love that starts that verse, that's the same word agape that you find in John three sixteen. For God so loved what? World. The world.

That he gave his only begotten son. God loved us so much that there wasn't anything that God wasn't willing to part with to have who? To have you. Not even his what? His only begotten son.

He loved you that much. He was so unwilling to let you go. That he let go of his own son. For you. That's how much God loves you.

What does God ask of us? He asked that we love him. And he asks us that we love not the world that we'd be willing to let go of the pleasures of the world for our love for who? For our love for Jesus Christ. He loved us so much.

He gave himself for us. Why is it that we put the pleasures of the world, the lust of the eyes, and the lust of the flesh, and the plight of life before our love for Jesus Christ. That is contrary. Contrary to what Jesus did for us and what who we should be as Christians. The pleasures of the world though are very attracting and as Christians, we have become very enamored.

I'm afraid often with its amusements and with its pleasures. We sacrifice our testimony alcohol and drugs and promiscuity is rampant in the church of today. Not just in the world. We sacrifice time spent with God and in church for amusements that we find more important How many people just won't come to church on a Sunday night because they can't miss the ball game? Who has first place?

We need to love Christ. Amen. We need to let go of the things of the world. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him. Deny.

Deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. That pleasure that you think you can't live without, that amusement that you just must have? Do you really believe that you can't live without it? Don't have to nod your head but just look at me. Do you really believe that you cannot live without that pleasure?

Do you really believe that you cannot live without an amusement? If you're a Christian, you know better. What you can't live without is the love of Jesus Christ. That's right. What you can't live without is salvation.

What you can't live without is returning that love to him. Growing in your faith. Let go of those pleasures. There's pleasure in sin for only a what? Short.

Season. Short time. And then comes the consequences. God says, let go. Second thing, we looked at last week is this, second thing that we get entangled with are the treasures of this life.

Not just the pleasures of this life but the treasures of this life. Lay not up for yourselves treasures spawn worth where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moths nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal for where your treasure is there will your heart be also. When I first read that passage, I thought to myself, yes, where your heart is, there will your treasure be. Bless you, go steep. But is that what that verse says?

No. It doesn't say where your heart is, there will your treasure be. It says, where your treasure is, there will your what? What you treasure in this life is going to lead your what? It's going to lead your heart.

What you value most in this life, what you treasure is where your heart is going to go. It's going to fill your heart. It's going to push other things out of your heart. Jesus pleads with those midst We're have be the He's We're be going a that. Bit disciples.

He's also talking to you Christians Are we allowing the treasures of this life to usurp the rewards of heaven? And if we are, do not be deceived. They will push the love of Christ out of your life and out of your heart. You will grow cold to God if you are warm to the treasures of earth. There's a there's a a commercial.

I don't know if you can see it. It's on the bottom now. It says, what is your number? I have in blue at the bottom of the screen there. There's a commercial for some retirement planning bank or investment firm or something that was on TV last year.

I saw it several times and the question was what is your number? And they're talking about your retirement number. Is six figures? Is it seven figures? Is it eight figures?

Is it nine figures? Is it you know, what is your number that you, need to have in order to retire? And you know something, this world is consumed with their what? Their number. Their bank account.

What they got to have. They got to have this house. They got to have these cars. They've got to have these toys. They have to have, you know, this number in their bank account.

If you've got a bank account that has 7 and 8 figures in it, wonderful. I'm not deceiving myself into thinking that that's the number I'm shooting for. I tell you the number I'm shooting for. The number I should be shooting for. That is an infinite number an infinite number of days that I'm going to spend with my savior in heaven.

An infinite treasure that is his beautiful place a mansion that he has prepared for me. Christian, is that the number you're shooting for? Or have we been co opted by the world distracted by that other number I think it's important have life insurance, help take care of my family. I think it's important to save money. What are you living for?

What is your treasure? Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. How many Christians sacrifice church time with God opportunity for ministry even family for that number. How sad? Doesn't God say in his word but seek you first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.

Doesn't God say, I'll take care of you if you will put me what? First. He does, doesn't he? Not only do we struggle becoming entangled with the pleasures of this world, the entanglements of this world, we didn't get to last week as this. We also struggle particularly in The United States with becoming entangled with the comforts of this world.

Turn if you would to Revelation. Revelation chapter three. Don't have room to squeeze it onto the projector up there in one slide. So, we'll turn there and look at it. Revelation three fifteen.

Revelation two, John was writing to the church at Ephesus when he says, I have one thing against you. You've lost your first love. You need to repent and turn back and do the first works. In other words, you need to push these other things out. These love of pleasure and love of treasure and comforts of this life.

You need to refocus on what we're doing here. Loving and serving Jesus. Revelation chapter three, John is writing to the church at Laodicea and he has an even more scolding rebuke for them. Revelation three fifteen. I know thy works that thou art neither cold nor hot.

I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of thy mouth. The prevailing interpretation of this passage is that cold is bad and hot is what? Good. That cold is being cold toward God and uninterested in God whatsoever and hot is being zealous and on fire for for the Lord.

But I don't think that's what these two terms mean. The city of Laodicea was had one city, another city, Hierapolis on one side and Colossae on the other. And the one city was known for its clean, cold, crisp water, refreshing water. The other city on the other side of them was known for its hot springs. That people would come and rejuvenate themselves in.

Now, the hot springs and the cold refreshing water were both what? Good. They were both good But what happened was the city of Laodicea didn't have its own water supply. So, it brought water piped in from the city that was miles away that was cold and by time the water got to Laodicea, it was what? It was lukewarm.

It wasn't hot like the Springs Of Colossae. It wasn't cold like the waters of Hierapolis. It was disgusting. It was lukewarm. It was dirty.

It had been piped in from miles away and it was disgusting. Well, here's the problem. The church at Laodicea was disgusting to God. It wasn't. The water wasn't hot.

The water wasn't cold. It was just disgusting. You wanted to spew it out of your mouth when you drank it. Now, why was this? Well, look if you would follow in the passage there.

Says verse 17, because thou sayest I am rich, increase with goods and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor, and blind and naked. I counsel of thee to buy of me gold tried in fire that thou mayest be rich in white raiment that thou mayest be clothed and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear and anoint thine eye eyes with eye savage south that thou mayest see. God says the church at Laodicea, you're not cold, you're not hot, as a metaphor for their spiritual condition, you are lukewarm, I will spew you out of my mouth. Why? Because you say, I'm rich and I have everything I need.

God says, don't you understand that you're lacking everything you need? You have Laodicea was a rich city. Their people were well cared for. More than the surrounding cities and they thought, hey, look, we're well-to-do. Look at our beautiful city and God says, when I look at your beautiful city, I don't see what you see.

I see a church that is cold, dead. I see a church that disgust me because you have chosen the comforts of this life over the service of who? Of God. Now, be honest. How much do we enjoy the comforts of The United States Of America?

How many of us think, hey, I'm okay. You know, look, I've got my money in the bank, got a nice house, I got a nice car. Hey, you know, I go to church, you know, and and we're we're in good shape. God says, no. You're not.

The church in The United States Of America thinks it's in good shape. God says, no, you're not. Much of the church has completely lost the gospel. It's no longer preached. It's no longer taught.

It's constituency is headed to the lake of fire They're sitting in beautiful, comfortable churches and beautiful, comfortable homes and they're lulled to sleep while they're on the fast track to destruction. On the Broadway that leads to destruction but even Christians in good churches Do we look, act, talk, live a lot different are our affections as well caught up in the things of the world Think for a moment. You sit here this morning in a comfortable air conditioned church While every day, there are dozens if not hundreds of Christians killed. In other parts of the world for their faith in Jesus Christ. Whether there other Christians who starve because they live in countries that do not care if they live.

They live in countries where they're shot because they show up at church. And we think, hey, we're we're in good shape. Look at us. Yeah, look at us. They're dying for Christ.

What are we doing? We're sitting. A lot of times, that's about all we're doing. We're comfortable Praise the Lord for the comforts he's given us but don't mistake them for spiritual blessings. Don't mistake them for a sign that hey, we are we are spiritually, we're spiritual giants The thing that we need most probably is the thing that we want least And that is persecution.

Because we need to wake up We don't have to see persecution to wake up. We can't have revival. If we will recognize what's going on The other thing are the attachments of this life. The attachments of this life. Turn if you would to second Corinthians six.

Second Corinthians six, not only the pleasures, the treasures, the comforts of this life have entangled us and lulled us to sleep. We need to repent of like the church at Laodicea but also the attachments of this life are a problem for some. Not talking about the attachment to to pleasure, the attachment to treasure, the attachment to comfort, though those are all attachments but particularly the attachment to other people and to the popularity and the acceptance of the world. Remember Jesus says to his disciples, don't be surprised if the world what? Hate.

Hate you. But why would the world hate you? Well, because we represent something that offends them. We represent Jesus Christ. We represent God.

We represent the authority as well as his love. We represent the truth that they just don't want to what? To hear. Is that surprising? I don't think it is.

Just think for a minute. If you're at a job or you're at a friend's house or you're wherever and you're doing something and you're doing it wrong or or you've you failed in some way or or you've got a sin in your life and your friend wants to help you or your boss has told you to do something and you're not doing what he says and the boss comes and he says, hey, can you come here? Now, I told you to do this and why don't you do it and then, you know, do you want to hear that? No. Human nature does not like being rebuked.

You know, the world doesn't like being rebuked. They don't, they do not want to be confronted with God. They want God to stay over there and mind his own business in their minds and leave them alone. So, they, the Bible says, Jesus said, don't be surprised when they hate you. They hated me because before they hated you.

However, Seems like sometimes we don't listen all that well and we become attached to the acceptance of the world around us and we think we need it. Become entangled with it so that we can't serve God the way we want because the fear of men has become greater than the fear of who? Fear of God in our lives. The love of men has become greater than the love of God. The love of their acceptance has become greater than our love for their soul.

Therefore, God says here in second Corinthians six verse 14, he says, be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness and what communion hath light with darkness. What concord hath Christ with Belial or Satan? What part hath a believer, a believer in Christ with an infidel who is an unbeliever? What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God as God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people.

Wherefore, come out from among them and be you separate, saith the Lord and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you. Now this is he is quoting from the Old Testament but Paul is bringing the Old Testament concept into the New Testament. Now in the Old Testament God actually isolated Israel from the rest of the world in Canaan or at least that's what they were supposed to do. They were supposed to cast out the idol worshippers and they were supposed to somewhat in a way isolate themselves in the land of Israel. Now, does God want us to isolate ourselves today as the church?

Does he? Wants to isolate ourselves. No. I see somebody shaking heads. No.

God does not want to isolate us Because how are we going to reach out to a lost and dying world with the gospel if we're isolated in a monastery on top of a mountain somewhere? God says, let your light so what? Shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. How can they see our good works if we're isolated? Now, God doesn't want to isolate us.

God wants to separate us. God wants us to be different. He wants us to be salt and he wants us to be light and we cannot do that if we are yoked together that is if we are tied into relationships with others that are pulling and tugging us the wrong what? The wrong direction. God is saying go this way, your friends are saying go that way and you're caught in the middle.

What does God say that needs to happen with these friendships that are pulling you away from God? Those attachments, they need to be what? Severed. They need to be severed. So that you can follow who?

God without being pulled by the attachments of the world. Let me say, pastor, well, I've been a Christian long time and I don't have many non Christian friends and the ones that I do certainly are not pulling me do not have a a tie to me that pulls me the wrong direction. Well, praise the Lord if that's the case. But don't fool yourself into thinking that that's always the case when it may not be and be careful who you invite into your home. I'm not talking so much about the kind of person that walks in in two legs.

I'm talking about the friend, the person that's on a screen that sits in your living room. That you become attached to. You know, one of the reasons we like the TV that we like is because we vicarious, we live vicariously through the people on that screen. Be careful. The kind of life you're living vicariously through the people on that screen.

That you're inviting into your home. You say, but I don't live that way. No, but are you getting a lot of enjoyment out of watching them live that way? Be careful. The attachments of this world are strong.

We need to sever them. It may mean at times taking that TV and out of our home or unplugging that cable. Or stop calling that friend Let go of those attachments. You need to wake up. We're being drugged often times the wrong direction and we don't even know Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.

You need revival and then finally, to close the tragedies of life. We talked about the pleasures of life and the treasures and the comforts and the friendships or the attachments and this one doesn't quite seem to fit but yet I think it does. The tragedies of life. Romans eight twenty eight and twenty nine and know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did know, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the first mourn among many brethren.

For the sake of time, I'm going to expound on this one next week. And I at least wanted to hit on it this morning. Do not allow the sorrows and the tragedies of life to come between you and your savior. If you're not careful, you will. They'll grab a hold of you and you'll grab a hold of them.

They'll hold you back. Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, we thank you Lord. That in Jesus Christ, we have the victory That you have said that we are more than conquerors. That you have said we can overcome the world through the one who has overcome the world for us, Jesus Christ.

Lord, you have told us in your word. That we need to not entangle ourselves with things that will weight us down and hold us back in our service and in our love for Christ. Lord, we do need revival because we have those entanglements because we have grown cold. In some area of aspect of our life, there's something that we are holding on to Lord that is in in the way of us holding on to you. Lord, we're busy Some of us are faithful and being busy but Lord, have we traded busyness for a growing relationship and a growing love for Christ.

Lord, you told the church at Ephesus that they had left their first love, that they needed to repent. Lord, is there anything in our life that you've exposed this morning? That has robbed us. Some of our affection and love for Christ robbed us of time that we should be spending with you. Robbed us therefore of the joy and peace that comes in Jesus Christ, our savior.

Lord, what is it that we become entangled with? Lord, I pray that we would be willing to go to you this morning. Lord, forgive us of our sin. Lord, forgive us of that thing that you brought to our heart and mind or those things this morning. Lord, help us to be honest with you.

Lord, help us not to brush em under the rug and put em off till next week. Lord, may we deal with them here and now. Lord, forgive us of our sin. Lord, reinvigorate our love for Christ. Bring us revival.

Lord, we need it. Our church needs it. Our community needs it. Help us to see it today. Help us to yield ourselves to you.

Lord, help us to trust you. To trust you more. We pray Lord if there's one here today that's never trusted you as a lord and savior of their life That is yet in their sin. I pray that they'll come as we give this hymn of invitation today. In Jesus name, we pray.