Why Do We Need Revival? Part 3

Romans chapter 13, we will continue. Romans chapter 13 and in a moment, we'll we'll read verses 11 through 14. Why do we need revival? Why do you need revival? What does revival mean?

That means to revive. You can use that of someone or something that's dead, revive them. Actually, we don't have the power to actually revive somebody that's dead but I do know someone who has done that and has that ability not only to revive those who are physically dead but to revive those who are spiritually dead. In trespasses and in sins. By his power and by his sacrifice.

Revive means to wake up. To wake somebody up that's asleep. Many of us here today know the Lord as savior. We have been given life in Jesus Christ. We have been revived already but the question this morning is this, do we need to be woke up?

Do we need to be revived in our spiritual walk and fellowship and service and growth in Christ Jesus? Do we need revival? Look if you would in Romans 13 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, 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 and wantonness, not in strife and envying. Put you on the Lord Jesus Christ. Make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof. Let's go to Lord in prayer once more.

Lord, thank you for this opportunity today to exalt Jesus Christ, to lift up your name, proclaim your word. Lord, I pray as it goes forth that the Holy Spirit would take it and use it in our life. As the sword of the spirit, to bring conviction, to give faith, to challenge us, Lord, and our service for Jesus Christ, to give us comfort and hope, and to mold us more day by day into your image. We pray Lord if there be one here today that's unsure of their salvation in Jesus Christ that today would be their day of salvation. In Jesus name, we pray.

Amen. Amen. Verse here again says, and that knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep. Now, the writer of Romans is writing to professing Christians at the church in Rome. He's writing to people who have already been given life in Jesus Christ and he's saying to them in that church, now it is time.

It is high time. It is almost past time. To wake up out of sleep. Why? First Thessalonians five, five, and six, you are all the children of light and children, the children of the day.

We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as others do but let us watch and be sober. The world around us is spiritually dead and asleep, incoherent, they do not understand, they do not comprehend the things of the spirit. And they're asleep they do not see what's coming. They are not anticipating the coming of Christ.

They don't see the judgment. This just beyond death's door or the judgment that will come when Christ returns. They are asleep but you and me, we shouldn't be asleep, should we? We've been given life in Christ. We know what's coming and it's high time that we woke up.

Why? Because life is short. James four fourteen, whereas, you know not what shall be on the morrow for what is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a time and then vanish away. Life is short because after life comes to judgement.

Hebrews nine twenty seven is appointed on the man wants to die but after this, the judgment. We will all stand before either the great white throne judgment of the lost or we will stand before the bema seat of Christ for his the believers in Jesus Christ who are saved but we will stand at a judgment before God once we have passed from this life and that time is closer than we probably realize. Christ is returning to take his children home at the rapture and that maybe closer than you realize. Our time is short. The lost world's time is short.

We need to wake up. We need to get busy. We need to watch, be sober, be ready, be prepared for the coming of Christ is at hand. The judgment is at hand. In comparison to eternity, this life is just gone just like that.

This opportunity to tell others about Jesus. The day is drawing near. Second Timothy two, three, and four, thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that worth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. Not only do we need revival because the days are drawing near, we need revival because the hearts of many Christians have grown cold.

We have become entangled with the affairs of this life. We have become distracted. We have become distant in our relationship with the Lord. It has grown cold. Our spiritual growth has been stunted.

Because we have allowed ourselves to become so involved and so focused and so entangled with the things of this life that the things that are of eternal value have grown dim in our eyes and in our life. We must unentangle ourselves and in reality, we cannot do that by ourselves. Without him, we can do what? Nothing. But I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

We have become entangled with the pleasures of this life. First John two fifteen, love not the world. And he's not talking about the dirt. He's not talking about the wood. He's not talking about material things.

He's talking about the lust of this world. He says in the next verse, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life is not of the father but is of the world. Jesus says to to his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself. Take up his cross and follow me. If we are to take up our cross and follow the Lord and succeed in the mission that he has called us to, we've gotta set aside these other things.

These weights which does so easily beset us. These pleasures, these lusts, these desires that consume us, they must be cast off. We must be unentangled. We need revival because we've so easily are beset by those lusts and desires. We oops, the treasures of life.

We need to unentangle ourselves from of life. Now, are the material possessions. Those are the things you own. That's the money in the bank account. Jesus said to his disciples, others were listening, he said, to lay up treasure where?

And In not upon earth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Our where our treasure is what we value most is going to lead our heart. That's where our heart is going to go. And so many Christians are cold and dead and seemingly lifeless.

They haven't darkened the door of a church in years. They haven't opened their Bible, many of them in years to read God's word. What's happened? They've allowed the treasures of this world to become to take God's place in their heart in many respects and there's no place for God like there should be. They need to be revived.

The entanglement of the pleasures of this life, the treasures of this life, the comforts of this life. We looked at the church of Laodicea briefly last week. They thought because of their physical blessings and their comfortable life that that must mean that that they were really in good with God because they were comfortable. But that comfortableness only kept them distant from God. That comfortableness only made them complacent in respect to what?

Eternity. You see, it's a danger for us particularly in The United States. If you have traveled outside of The United States, you begin to recognize how comfortable we are here. All the luxuries and amenities that most of us enjoy, even those that are quote unquote below the poverty line compared to the rest of the world. It's so easy for us to get comfortable and feel secure in this life and not think so much about eternity.

It happens. It is a danger. It is a danger that I think almost all of us in part have succumbed to have been taken by, have allowed to impede our relationship with God. We need to be revived. We need to be refocused from the things of Earth to the things of heaven.

When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing it will be. The pleasures of this life, the treasures of this life, the comforts of this life, the attachments of this life. There is one attachment that should be above all other attachments and that's your attachment to who? Jesus Christ. That's your attachment to Jesus Christ.

He is the one who gave his life for you on the cross of Calvary. He is the one who created you and he is the one that you will spend eternity with. He is the attachment. He is the one that we're supposed to be looking forward to that day when we will be with him. Forgetting those things which are behind, Paul says, I look forward.

Those things which are before to the cries of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Paul says, the day that I stand before him. That's what drives me. That's my focus. That's my goal.

Be honest with ourselves. Oftentimes, most of our focus is right down here and right in fulfilling the desires of this and has little to do with that. If that's the case, what do we need? Help me out. Eric.

Revival. We need revival. We do. We've allowed ourselves become entangled in the pleasures of life, the treasures of life, the comforts of life, the attachments of life that have taken Christ's place. And then number five this morning, our last point which I didn't get to last week is this, another entanglement of life that I'm afraid has troubled many Christians, troubles many Christians today is this, the tragedies of life.

The tragedies of life. You see when it comes to the pleasures and the treasures and the comforts and the attachments, sometimes we that's a little easier for us to deal with actually. We see those. They're kind of glaring issues that we know to avoid. But sometimes these tragedies you just can't avoid They come upon you when you least expect it.

I was talking to somebody when I was youth pastor across the gymnasium that we had and I was on a six foot platform and I was talking to him and when I got done talking to him over there, I turned to walk this direction and when I did, my right foot slipped off the edge of the platform. My left foot stayed on the platform. So I went teetered over toward the concrete floor. I threw my arm out and I broke my elbow. And up until five years ago, I dealt with that silly elbow.

Finally, had surgery on but things happen so quick, don't they? One minute, you're talking the next minute, I'm laying flat on the floor. My wife's hollering thinking I crashed my head into the concrete. Praise God. It was my arm instead.

But things can change in an instant. We don't see it coming and then when it does come, we don't know what to do with it. It's not supposed to be this way. Bad things are supposed to happen to other people, not me, other people, not me. But you know something?

Man, deals with trouble in life as the sparks fly upward. You light a fire. The sparks are going to go what direction? Up. And as long as we're alive on this Earth, trouble is going to come our way.

Tragedy is part of life. Sorrow is part of life. You can't avoid it. But we need to learn how to deal with it. Because if we don't deal with it, we don't deal with it biblically in a godly manner.

It will wrap us up. It will entangle us. It will choke the life out of us. And how many Christians today are like that? They've allowed the tragedies of life to choke the life so to speak out of them in respect to their service for God and their growth in the Lord.

Romans eight twenty eight and twenty nine, we know that, what's the next word? Help me out. And we know that. All things. All things.

Not some things. All things work together for. Good. Good. To them that love the Lord, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. We're going to come back to that in just a moment. God says, all things work together for good to them that love the Lord. The good things and the bad things. They both work together for the good of God's children.

The fact is there are a lot of downtrodden Christians out there today. There are a lot of angry Christians. Do Christians ever get angry? Yes, they do. And what's sad is that some Christians give place to the devil in their lives by staying.

The Bible says, be angry and sin not, let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Do not give place to the devil. But it's easy to get angry. Sometimes, it's pretty easy to stay that way. Angry at life, disillusioned with God because of terrible things which happened to them.

The unexpected loss of a loved one. The inability to keep a job and provide for their family. Catastrophic health problems which just seem to get worse as time moves along. A hurt due to mistreatment in the past which haunts them every day. For some it seems there is no hope in sight and the anger that is in their heart they just can't seem to get rid of.

And if they were honest with themselves they would recognize that that anger, some of it is focused on who? Wrongfully upon God. And it's tearing them apart and they seem to be without hope. That's what the devil wants them to think. That's what the devil wants you to be like.

But you don't have to be. And the devil's wrong. There is hope. There is hope in Jesus. You can get past the anger.

There are a lot of depressed and despondent Christians who carrying around a back breaking burden because no matter how hard they try to get it together, life just keeps throwing them curve balls and adding to the burden that they carry on their back. The feeling of being trapped. Have you ever felt trapped? I am When I was two years old, I fell and I hit my head against the back of my dad's plow. And somewhere up here on my monstrous forehead is a little tiny scar that is left from where I cut my head open on his plow when I was two years old.

Now, I don't think I actually remember what happened next but I have dreamed about what happened next. They took me to the hospital and they had to put stitches in my forehead and I was two years old. Two years old, two two year olds do not like to sit still, lay still, especially when they're being poked and prodded. And so they did something that I dreamed about for years to come. They put me in a straight jacket and they sewed up my head.

And years later, I started having dreams about being in a straightjack and I thought, what is, well, when you were two years old, they had to put you in a straightjack. And I felt what? Trapped. If I wrestle with David or I wrestle with Joshua and and I'm the one on top wrestling, I'm fine. They can kick me, hit me, spit on me, whatever they want to do, I'll be fine.

But if I'm the one on my back and they got me pinned down, I got about three seconds and I lose it. I feel what? I feel trapped. Now, some people have claustrophobia and they feel easily trapped when they're in a tight place because of something like that or something else. But you know something, there are a lot more people that feel trapped by the tragedies and sorrows and trials of life and they really feel trapped.

And some of those people are Christians. Feel trapped trapped in a bad relationship, trapped in a broken body, trapped in a destructive cycle, mindset, sin or addiction, trapped in a bad job, trapped in a doomed life which they see no escape. They feel trapped. Jesus says, God says there is a what? There is a way of escape.

There is a means to bear up under whatever it is that we're dealing with in life. There is grace sufficient to handle it. You know, some things you pray and God takes it away just like that and some things you pray like Paul did, Lord, take away this thorn in the flesh and says, God says, Paul, I've answered your prayers. I have given you grace sufficient to handle whatever the thorn was. God doesn't always take us out.

God sometimes gives us grace sufficient to get what? To get through. But sometimes in that process of getting through, we get our eyes off of Christ and then all of a sudden, we begin to feel what? Trapped. Remember Peter walking on the water?

He got out in the water and the waves and he was walking on the water to Christ and then he took his eyes off of who? Took his eyes off of Jesus and he started to look at the waves and he began to sink. Praise God. Jesus was there and he cried out and Jesus come. You know, Jesus is there for you and me the same way he was for Peter and when you feel trapped and when you get your eyes off of Christ and you begin to sink in the morass of life, Get your eyes back on Jesus.

He's there. He hasn't left you. He will help you. There is hope. There is hope in Jesus.

For those that feel trapped. A lot of Christians feel defeated and bitter. Bitter with life, bitter with friends, bitter with work, bitter with church, even bitter with God. You say, Christians, yeah, Christians, you ever met one? That was bitter with life?

Ask them, how are you doing today? When you ask them how you know how they're doing today, you know what you're going to hear about how they're doing today and it's not going to be pleasant because they look at life through a lens that everything is a trial and everything is an obstacle. Everything is hard and by the way, many things are obstacles and life can be what? Hard. But you don't have to look at it through those lenses.

You can get free from that bitterness that life has put in your heart. They've given up, given up on beating sin, given up on their relationships, given up on church, given up on spiritual growth and service. They are defeated and they need revival. They are defeated. They need revival.

I am I asked Steve before the service this morning if he'd let me use him as an illustration. Several years ago, brother Steve caught a virus that affected his heart and he went from being a very healthy young man to having all kinds of health problems. Eventually, that led to the stroke that he had and now, brother Steve has to get around in that wheelchair. And his one arm leg do not work like they should and they're supposed to. You know, there's a lot of people like brother Steve that are miserable, depressed, despondent.

They feel trapped. And their bitter souls. But I'm thankful for brother Steve. Because that doesn't describe him. He is none of those things by God's grace and God's power, God's love.

How can it be that someone who might otherwise feel trapped can thank God for what he's done in their life. How can it be that someone that has lost a loved one unexpectedly can get pass that sorrow and move on and thank God for what he's done. How is it that person whose marriage has fallen apart? How can they get past that? And move on.

There is hope in Jesus Christ. There is hope. There is deliverance. They need encouragement. They need a new outlook on life.

They need a good kick in the pants. They need to get right with God. They need hope. God will give it to them and God will give it to you and he will give it to me if we will learn to trust him. To listen to him.

To lean on him. Do these in any way describe you? If so, you definitely need what? Revival. Please take a moment to listen to what God has to say to us from Romans eight.

And then in respond to him in hope. Romans chapter eight, here in 13, just turn back a few pages to Romans eight. I have ten minutes or about that to get through the three points of my conclusion. Don't you hate when pastor say, oh, I'm on my last point and their last point has three points. Romans chapter eight verse 17.

Paul writes, and if children then heirs, heirs of God, and join heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Look down if you would in verse 23. Not only they but ourselves also which have the first fruits of the spirit. Even we ourselves grown within ourselves waiting for the adoption to with the redemption of our body.

For we are saved by hope but hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man see it, why does he yet hope for? But if we hope for that, we see not. Then do we with patience, wait for it. Back to verse 18, Paul says, for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Christian, you can should have hope. A hope that raises you up over. The circumstances of life and gives you a peace and joy and wakes you up and gives you revival because this life is not all there is. This life is not all there is. In this life, we will have trouble but this life is not all there is.

John fourteen one through three, Jesus said to his disciples, let not your heart be troubled. He knew what kind of trials they were facing. Almost everyone of them was executed for their faith. He said, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me and my father's house or many mansions.

If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself where I am there you may be also. He has reserved a place in heaven for us who know him as Lord and savior and the rewards of heaven will make the troubles and troubles and and sufferings of earth seem little and small. They seem huge right now. I know that.

Some of you have dealt with trials and tragedies that I can't even imagine at this point but you know something? There's one who can. Jesus Christ. He is suffered with the same kind of infirmities that we have. And he knows and he's there.

Most importantly, he's prepared a place for us And Paul says this, I reckon the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. That day, when we stand before Christ, we are like him. It will be worth it all. It will be worth it all. Matthew five eleven and twelve, blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.

Rejoice and be what? Exceeding glad. Exceeding glad. For great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted they, the prophets, which were before you. Jesus said, you're going to suffer, yes, for my sake, yes, be exceeding glad.

For great is your reward in heaven. This life isn't all there is. First Thessalonians four thirteen, Paul writes, but I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those or them which are asleep, that those who have died in Christ, that you sorrow not even as others which have no what? I understand why the world out there, the unsaved world needs psychiatrists and drugs and all kinds of things to try to help pull them up out of the depression and anger of life. The Christians, we have something better.

We have Jesus Christ and we have hope in him. There's a place reserved in heaven for us. All of this will be gone. It says that Christ will wipe away all what? All tears from their eyes.

No more sin, no more sorrow, no more pain, no more suffering. Jesus Christ took all of that on himself on the cross and one day, he will wipe it. From our lives and we will spend eternity with him in a wonderful place called heaven. Secondly, I want us to see this in verses twenty six and twenty seven. Paul writes, likewise, the spirit also helpeth our infirmities.

For we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the spirit itself make it intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the spirit because he make it intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Second of this, this life is not all there is. But while you're here, God hasn't left you alone. God doesn't tell us, oh yeah, yeah, just just just think about eternity. You know, you'll you'll manage, you'll manage.

Just think about eternity. No, God says, not only have I taken care of eternity but I have provided you with something wonderful where? Right here, right here, and right now and that is the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, disciples, it's better for you that I go away because when I go away, then the father is going to send the comforter. He'll be with you.

He'll be in you and he'll help you and as Paul says here, he'll pray for you. Groanings which cannot be uttered. We're not alone to deal with these troubles. God knew we were going to have the troubles and God has sent us a helper, a comforter. John fourteen sixteen and seven.

Jesus says, I will pray the father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not neither knoweth him but you know him for he dwelleth with you and shall be what? In you. In you. Jesus said it. Going away.

Don't let your heart be troubled. Gonna send you the spirit. And you won't have to face this alone. Christian, there may be tragedies in your life Horrible tragedies. You may be of have been treated mistreated horribly, abused.

You may have had to deal with broken homes and broken lives. And broken bodies. But you know something, no matter what it is you're going through, you're not alone. Amen. God has given us his spirit.

Heaven right here inside of you. A Do not lose hope. Walk in the spirit. You will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. The flesh wants you to give up.

God wants you to go on. And then verses twenty eight and twenty nine and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. This life is not all there is. God has given us his spirit to help us through the troubles of life. God has a purpose in the sorrow, in the struggle, in the tragedy.

God knows what he is doing. We may not know what's around the bend. Tragedy and sorrow and trials may catch us unprepared. They don't catch God unprepared. God knows what he's doing.

God knows what's coming and what he allows you to go through as a Christian has a what? Has a purpose. God doesn't say they're all good. No, some of them are really, really, really bad. But God says, if you'll trust me, I will take the bad things and I will work them together for your good.

For your good, for your benefit. Now, sometimes, if it were our decision, we would say, well, God, you know, just just let this particular benefit pass. I'm okay the way I am. I don't need help in this area. But God knows best.

God knows better. And if we will learn to trust his word, if we'll learn to trust his hand in our life, then, we can deal with the good and the bad of life. With a much different focus and with hope and with hope. All things work together for good to them To those to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose, that's a Christian. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate or predetermine to be conformed to the image of his son.

What is God doing in your life? I know what he's doing. He's conforming you to the image of. Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, his son.

And that's a good work. Sometimes, it's going to be painful. Sometimes, it's going to be hard. Sometimes, we're going to put ourselves through the ringer and sometimes, somebody else is going to put us through the ringer and sometimes what seems to be simply an accident of life is going to put us through the ringer. But above it all is a sovereign God who loves me, who cares about me, who knows what he's doing, and if it's in my life, he has allowed it for my benefit and if I'll just trust him, if I'll just run to him, if I'll wake back up to the love of my savior, for me and ask him to help me to understand and to help me to overcome, to give me grace sufficient.

He will. Ask and it shall be given unto you. Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened. Unto you.

In closing, James one two to four. Brethren, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations. Knowing this, the trying of your faith worketh patience. Let patience have a perfect work that you may be perfect and tired, complete, wanting, lacking, nothing. God knows.

He'll take care of you. Trust him. Have hope. Take it to him in prayer. Do not allow yourself to stay entangled.

We need revival. Let's pray. Dear God, thank you Lord. There's some things as we look at some of these points to say, well, that that's not primarily my issue. Lord, there's something you brought out in our life as we've looked at these things as we prepare our hearts for revival.

Lord, that we know that there is a pleasure of life, a treasure of life, a comfort of life, an attachment of life. Tragedies in life that we have allowed ourselves to become entangled with. We have been lulled asleep. Or we have become bitter. We've been running from you rather than running to you.

Lord, we do need revival. We need revival in our hearts so that you can glorify yourself in our life that through us, you will draw others to yourself. Lord, thank you for the opportunity we have been given. Lord, the time is short. Impress upon our hearts the need.

Behold, day, today is the day of salvation. For someone who's here today and doesn't know you, Lord, I pray that you wouldn't allow them to walk out of this place. Without dealing with that today and I pray Lord for us who would know you as savior that we wouldn't push off to the side whatever you're dealing with us today. That we might deal with it head on. To give us hope.

To give us cleansing forgiveness, victory In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.