Have you been to a metal recycling center? I have been several times while working in my dad's garage. A few times each year we would haul off the "junk iron". We would sell the metals to the salvage yard. We normally spent 1 or 2 days separating and loading the metals. It was a nasty and time consuming process. However, when we arrived at salvage yard it only took moments for the giant magnet to draw all the iron to itself. I have watched engines, axles, water pumps, coil springs and bolts lifted will equal easy! It was amazing watching the effects of the magnetic power on iron! However, the cork gaskets, pieces of paper, and rubber houses, missed in our cleaning, were left behind! The magnet attracted items with a same composition as itself. In similar fashion, some day Jesus Christ will come for His church. Only those who have been saved with taken to meet the Lord in the air( 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). The KJV reads " caught up to meet the Lord in the air". The word phrase "caught up" understood in the light of the Greek is very interesting! It is means to remove by force. Rapture is the term used today because of the influence of the Latin translation of the New Testament. Some day, Jesus will come again and believers will be instantly and amazingly transformed and transported to meet the Lord by His great power. He will call us out with His powerful voice, just like He did with Lazarus in John 11, and up. If Jesus had not used his name and simply called "come forth", the whole graveyard would have burst open! He is the Resurrection and Life! Some day, He will call out and all the graves of believers will burst open and the dead in Christ shall rise and those who are living will be changed in a split second! Only those with His nature will be drawn to Him. All others will be left behind! Will you be left behind?
During the time of the rule of Oliver Cromwell over the British empire, there was a financial crisis. The government had very little silver. Cromwell sent his officials to look for silver. They reported back to him the only place silver was found was in the churches. The statues of the saints were made of silver. To their report Cromwell replied, 'melt down the saints"! Our churches need to experience a "holy melt down"! We must experience real revival if the church is to make an impact in our gospel hardened and God rejecting culture. We must confess to the Lord that something is missing. He already knows, but He desires for us to confess the sin and repent of our complacency. The first step to spiritual renewal is the awareness we are not right. In Revelation 2:1-7, the Lord Jesus Christ, Head of the Body, rebukes the Ephesians. He calls back to "first love". He then commands the fellowship to do three actions(verse5). First, the CALL TO REMEMBER. The Ephesians had not lost their passion for Christ but left it! They loved the Lord but not with the same fervency of the early days of their salvation. we, too, if we are to experience revival, must reflect upon our walk. Do you and I have a burning passion for the Lord Jesus? I am really excited about His word, His work, and His witness through us? Have we lost the joy of our salvation? All of us need to experience a reviving work of the Holy Spirit because it is impossible to walk in victory over them the Devil, the temptation of the world, the battle with our sinful nature, and the fatigue of our circumstances without it! Many of us have fallen to a lower dimension of living! Second, the CALL TO REPENT. The Lord Jesus said it is sinful to love Him with less than "first love". This is not the opinion of the pastor, the leaders of denominations, or movers and shakers in the Christian culture. This is the diagnosis of the Great Physician and Lord of the church! Here is a sin most all Christians can commit and not worry about being "churched". It is very seldom a message or even mentioned in a message. There is a lot of talk about God's love for us, but there is very little mentioned about love for Him. Read Matthew 10:34-39 again. Don't water it down. He assumes the position of first priority! We must confess and repent of our gross sin. Because we are so prone to excuse our attitudes and actions, the Holy Spirit is the only one who can bring us to brokenness! When was the last time someone repented in your church for not loving Jesus with" first love"? When were the alters packed full with broken hearted people overflowing in tears because of conviction produced the Spirit? Revival will never come without a return of conviction and repentance within the churches, and that will not occur without preaching the rest of the story! Third, The CALL TO RETURN. Repentance is not genuine unless it is a change in both attitude and action. Christ calls for the fellowship "to do first works". They were already active in service, but Christ calls for them to walk with a passion for Him. They were to have a consuming passion to glorify Him and to fellowship with Him! Let me ask you, how is your prayer and bible study time? How often do you witness for Christ? When did you last chose to do something sacrificial just because you loved Him? Do you praise the Lord outside of church? He calls all Christians into a deep and vibrant personal fellowship with Himself through the presence of the ever-present Holy Spirit! Christianity is not a religion, regiment, or a routine. Christianity is a personal relationship with the Living Lord Jesus who has saved us! This why we need revival! It is impossible to stay in close commune with the Lord without it. We are not historical reenactors meeting occasionally to portray something long ago in history! We are participants in the on going Story! Jesus Christ lives today and He makes a difference today! When the flames of revival are fanned, the church will fall in love with Jesus again and then the world will see the power of God! WE NEED A "HOLY MELTDOWN"!
Today, the churches of America are suffering from a case of causal Christianity! These are the days of discount Christianity. It does not cost much to profess one is a believer in Jesus Christ. The words devotion and sacrifice have almost disappeared from the vocabulary of 21st century American Christians. The "selfie" generation has succeeded the "have it your way generation". The result is a self-centered church that glories in in her image! It is all about "us". It is time for us to come back to the "old-time religion" of deep reverence and love for Jesus Christ that is manifested in sacrifice and devotion to Him above all else. Paul reminds us, in Roman12:1-2, we are living sacrifices to the Honor and glory of Jesus Christ! He is worthy of the honor and glory. He is to be first above all others. Anything or anyone else that assumes that position is idolatry! It is time to tear down the idols! The first place to start is in your heart. Have you crawled off the altar and assumed the throne?
There is a familiar phrase all Christian have heard at one time or the other, "let go and let God". While there is great truth in the quote, it does not mean the burden of responsibility for our spiritual vitality has been removed from us. We are responsible and accountable to the Lord Jesus Christ for condition of our hearts(Romans12:1-2). Let me ask you , Are you on fire for the Lord? If you are not, then who is to be charged with the sin of your complacency? Does the guilt fall on your pastor, Sunday school teacher, church fellowship, or even the Holy Spirit? Excusing our sin is a sinister trait handed down to us in our spiritual DNA from our first parents who fell in the Garden of Eden! Let us face the truth and confess that we are to blame for the lack of enthusiasm and zeal. We need a fever of heart warming to break out in the body of Christ! You will remember the experience of the two depressed disciples of the Lord on the day of the Resurrection. They did not realize Jesus Christ had risen from the grave until the Risen Lord encountered them on the Emmaus road. Luke records for us their experience in Luke 24:13-35. I want you to notice verse 32. They experienced "holy heartburn" while listening to Jesus Christ expound the Old Testament prophesies concerning His work done on the cross. Oh, how we need a chase of "holy heartburn" as Vance Havener used to say or "heavenly heartburn' as C.H. Spurgeon used to preach! There is no place for lifeless preaching, joyless living, and powerless service in the church of the Living Lord Jesus Christ! How then do we explain so many dying churches and powerless preachers? The explanation is the quenching of the work of the Holy spirit in our hearts and church homes! We must not ignore the Holy Spirit! Please read Acts 1:8,Romans 12:11 Ephesians 4:30 and 1 Thessalonians 5:19. Paul reminded Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:6 to 'stir up the gift in him" which in the original language means to "life again the fire". The word picture of the Greek is powerful. The fire must be tended. Timothy was to "fan the flames" of the fire put into his heart by the Holy Spirit. He was responsible for the condition of his heart. Let me say it clearly, there will be no revival until we confess our sin of acting independently of the Holy Spirit's power and ignoring His presence!! When was the last time you saw an altar filled with broken hearted believers over the complacency of the hearts and coldness of their church. When was the last time you heard a pastor confess his bankruptcy of spiritual power? Our churches have been more like an episode of the "Voice" or "American Idol" in which we want to win the approval of the world! Our churches have been more like a Branson variety show hoping to give every a good time for their buck! Yet, we are as lifeless as a cemetery !God forbid!!! it is time for the church to be ignited with a holy passion for the honor and praise of the Living Lord Jesus Christ. Where has the fire gone? Why are we so content to live on the substitutes? Let's fan the flame by confessing our sin of independence and indifference to the Holy Spirit! Are you on fire for the Lord? Is church on fire for the Lord? When was the last time the Spirit did something in you or your church that only He could the credit for doing the work? I am a Baptist, and that is right, I said it! Revival will never come until we confess our sin of quenching the Holy Spirit. FAN THE FLAMES!!!
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Doug MillerEvangelist Archives
May 2021
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