Revival: Wake Up!

1 Corinthians 15:34 "Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame."

Ephesians 5:14 "Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light."

Where’s the beef? Alright, you caught me, I haven’t used any Scripture yet. Well, today’s post will be entirely a discussion of four key passages. Anymore, when I think of revival, I think of the two passages of Scripture quoted above. “Revival is a personal responsibility.” I don’t remember where I first heard that statement (I think it may have been in Ian Murray’s book - you know, the thinner one), but it has echoed in my mind more than any other statement on revival that I have ever heard or read. I preached a message when I was a youth pastor that pointed out this very truth and made the application that revival involves both a Private Labor and a Public Labor. Let me explain.

Hosea 10:12 "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you."

Jeremiah 4:3 "For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns."

By “Private Labor,” I mean this; breaking up the fallow ground of our own hard hearts. We do this by humbly examining and acknowledging our many sins. Let me recommend that you spend some time meditating on James 4. Let God really break your heart and then “seek the Lord, till he come.” Jesus told us to pray “importunately” for the Spirit. Beg God to fill you, change you, and use you.

Galatians 6:7-10 "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith."

By “Public Labor,” I mean simply get the gospel out. The old ways still work, but they take time! In America our problem seems to be that we are too lazy and too used to instant gratification and so we quit before we see the blessing!

Consider these notes on Galatians 6:9-10:

• Call to Spread the Seed (Ecc. 11:5-6)
  Proliferation of the gospel

• Confidence - we shall reap
  Promise of success

• Condition - in due season
  Pursue until due season

• Caution - word of warning - if we faint not. (1 Cor. 15:58)
  Patient Steadfastness
  

• Compassion v10
  Profitable service

Wake up sleepy Christian!

Romans 13:11-12 "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."