2 Chronicles 7:14
There’s no two ways about it, the annals of history bear conclusive testimony to the fact that no revival has first come without there first being a concerted effort by God’s people in prayer! Humility and prayer go hand in hand like bread and butter. The proud man does not pray and will not pray; why? He genuinely senses no need for God in his life! Yet, before God sends a revival, He burdens His people and sets them a-praying!! Yet; if God’s people are going to seek His face in prayer for a heaven-sent revival out of a God-given burden, then they must be willing to get serious with God in the area of personal holiness!! No more compromise!! The door of sin in our lives must be shut!!!
Will we not believe God in our day for a revival? It’s time to seek the Lord Brethren, until He comes again to visit His people. Away with unbelief, the call goes out for all true believers to unite together in prayer to the purposed end that God might send again revival into our midst!
Ezekiel 37:1-10
The days are dark and the hour is critical. Is it too late for revival? When all hope is gone, and we are brought to the end of ourselves, face to face with impossibility, GOD so often shows up in awesome power! The LORD looks for a man of faith upon whom HE can place HIS hand. Here is a call to return to the old paths of prophetic preaching and earnest prayer. May GOD breathe upon HIS people once again in a mighty revival of the preaching of the WORD of the LORD, and the moving of the SPIRIT of the LORD! But, how long before we BELIEVE the LORD to do such a work?
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Acts 2:37-47
There are five key distinctives/characteristics that authenticate true revival; #1, conviction of sin; #2, repentance from sin; #3, confession of sin; #4, restoration on account of sin; and #5, the conversion of sinners. Note that each of these characteristics of true revival deals a deathly blow to sin!! There’s no escaping this biblically or historically. Any revival that supposes itself to be such where sin is not the focus of the Spirit’s dealings in returning a people back to the Lordship, authority and worship of God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son is NOT revival!!
In part two of this two-part sermon, we address the final three key distinctives; confession of sin, restoration on account of sin and the conversion of sinners.
Acts 2:37-47
There are five key distinctives/characteristics that authenticate true revival; #1, conviction of sin; #2, repentance from sin; #3, confession of sin; #4, restoration owing to sin; and #5, the conversion of sinners. Note that each of these characteristics of true revival deals a deathly blow to sin!! There’s no escaping this biblically or historically. Any revival that supposes itself to be such where sin is not the focus of the Spirit’s dealings in returning a people back to the Lordship, authority and worship of God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son is NOT revival!!
In part one of this two-part sermon, we address the first two key distinctives; conviction of sin and repentance from sin.
1 Peter 1:13-16
We are in desperate need of a revival of true holiness! Its high time the people of GOD obey this commandment from the LORD, “BE YE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY!” How? Brother Brian shares and acrostic that the LORD had recently given him H-O-L-Y. H-Hunger, O-Obedience, L-Looking unto JESUS, and Y-Yielding to the HOLY SPIRIT!
You can listen to more of Brian’s sermons here:
Psalm 85:1-7
We are living in a dry and thirsty land! A land which once flowed with milk and honey is now a barren wasteland. An unthinkable thing has taken place in the assemblies of Laodicea, the Lord of glory is outside His own Church, knocking to come back in!! A cry goes forth “The Philistines be upon thee…” and a Church waking out of its sleep arises to go out as at other times, not knowing that the LORD has departed!!
By what means shall the Church recover itself in this our day? Without hesitation I tell you; there’s only one hope for this backslidden nation and the dying Church that lingers within it? REVIVAL!!
Romans 13:11-12
This is a clarion call for the Church of JESUS CHRIST to awake out of spiritual slumber! Why? Because it is OUR TIME, it is WAR TIME, and it is time to WORK while it is still day. The primary work and the primary weapon is……PRAYER! There is a strong call for the people of God to give themselves to prayer in this message.
You can listen to more of Brian’s sermons here:
Psalm 20
Well, we could sum up, in just seven words, the weight of so many of our self-inflicted ills; “...ye have not, because ye ask not”. (Jms. 4:2). We find ourselves living in an age of tremendous prosperity; of comfort and ease; a season where it appears that in the Western world no one lacks for anything. Outwardly; materially, we are filthy rich, yet inwardly; spiritually, we are poverty stricken! Such is the temptation to find our comfort and take our ease in this world. Where is our confidence truly found? Is it found in God or in our material surroundings?
This sermon is a heartfelt call for the people of God to sense again their pressing need for God in everything and to cry out to the only one who can sustain His people in this critical hour. Oh, that we might discover again the secret place of prayer!
Part 24 – What Is Church Leadership?
Mention the words church leadership today and you’re bound to be greeted with a mixture of different responses ranging from the pessimistic, to the mundane, to the optimistic. Sadly, it is not without good reason that church leadership has gotten a bad rap over the last few decades. What is one to say when secular news outlets expose nationally the money racketing scams of some of the wealthiest Evangelical pastors in the US? When I say wealthy, how much are we talking about; hundreds; thousands; hundreds of thousands? How about tens of millions and in the case of one pastor by the name of Kenneth Copeland, a self-confessed billionaire! The world and indeed many outside the Mega-Church scene, look on in horror at this catastrophe of justice and cry out, how can a minister/servant of God, appointed by God to serve the people in Christ’s stead, profit off them to the tune of millions of dollars? Naturally, this is a scandal and an outrage!! Then there is the growing epidemic of Evangelical pastors being caught out in gross sexual immorality and being exposed nationally for an on-looking world to see? No wonder then, when one mentions the words church leadership eyebrows are raised. As a result of all these abuses, along with many more not mentioned, many of the poor sheep of Christ’s have had enough and have vowed to never enter a Church building again. Instead, they choose to meet at home with small groups of believers without the added burden of being under these types of pastors.
It is crucial in this final teaching part that we take a look biblically at the function and appointment of church leadership and what the proper response is to be of those who sit under their authority.
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http://traffic.libsyn.com/bethesdashalom/24_What_Is_Church_Leadership.pdf
Part 23 – What Is Church?
We are living at a time in history where it seems that anything that is of long standing tradition is being called into question. Renewed calls go forth on every side, calling for change. Out with the old and in with the new is the resounding voice of this post-modern generation. Whether it’s marriage; the family home; politics or education; that which once served our forefathers well for centuries and in some cases, from the dawn of time, is being re-examined in light of the new-fangled philosophies being offered by the so-called experts. Sadly, as one looks to the Church, it too follows suit with this itching craving for that which is new. In a period where Church attendance in the West is in decline and atheism and secularism is on the rise, fighting for its “perceived” survival, the Church believes that unless it becomes relevant to this “youth” driven generation, then it will disappear from society and die of old age (literally). In an effort to try and retain the young people who are leaving the Church in their droves, the Church feels pressured to rediscover itself and if need be, reinvent itself to meet the needs of a changing population. Everything from “who” constitutes the Church to the “way” we ought to do Church is on the table for consideration. High-tech marketing research companies are being employed to find out what the local communities want from their local Church in the hope that Church attendance might be boosted and the needs of the community met. Fun days replete with BBQ and games; a nursery for the toddlers; a coffee shop; sports events and a whole host of other amusements ranging from Bingo to Yoga; all now are high on the priority list of what is deemed to make a “successful” Church. In a vastly changing tolerant society, it is felt that the Church’s decline is owing to the fact that the Church has lost touch with the people. However, upon closer inspection, we shall see that losing touch with people is not the root of the Church’s problem so much as it is that the Church has lost touch with God.
In this twenty-third teaching part, we shall explore from Holy Scripture “who” and “what” the Church is.
Download teaching notes (pdf)
http://traffic.libsyn.com/bethesdashalom/23_What_Is_Church.pdf