Resistant to Revival

“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears; you always resist the Holy Spirit!” Acts 7:51

Stephen was chosen as one of the first deacons of the early church. He was a spiritually gifted man of unique qualities that endeared him to the people. Not only was his love for the church evident in his willingness to help the pastoral staff serve the needs of the congregation, he was also unafraid to challenge the intimidating tactics of the religious elite as they sought to silence the witness of Christ’s followers. The boldness of Stephen came at a high cost, however, as he was martyred for his unwavering faith and his uncompromising preaching of God’s truth.

Stephen accused his listeners of resisting the Holy Spirit. The Book of Acts is a history of the Third Person of the Trinity working mightily through the early believers. God had showed up, and He was showing out! Jerusalem was a place of an incredible revival among the church and an undeniable awakening among the lost. Amazing numbers of men and women were coming to faith in Christ, and the elitist Jews had had enough.

Is it not troubling to realize that when God begins to do a great work, that you will often find a work of resistance to His activity? This kind of action is not reserved solely to the testimony of scripture as revealed in the life of the church in the New Testament. As a student of revival, I discovered that the prophets of the Old Testament faced ridicule, threats and violent opposition whenever they exalted a message demanding repentance and remorse to those that would hear and heed God's voice. In fact, throughout history, this type of activity has been repeated time and time again.

The last message that I posted on Pulpit Truth was about our need to experience Showers of Blessings from the throne of God. As I have thought about that truth, I have reflected upon my own experiences when I saw men and women WITHIN the church seek to position themselves in OPPOSITION to the work of the Spirit of God. Oh, how my heart breaks when I realize that we are so often defeated from within! Our failures are not political, beloved, they are spiritual. And the sad truth is that some who are members of our churches DO NOT want to encounter the showers of grace falling upon us!

You see, friend, when revival comes, everything changes. EVERYTHING! The presence of God among His people burns away impurities, rights wrong relationships, corrects false doctrine, and restores the passion of worship to His people. Now the question must be asked: Are we ready for such an experience? Will we release ourselves to His control? Are we willing to yield to His lordship in all areas of our lives, homes, churches, and our work environments? Revival is not about what happens only inside a church building; it is an event that touches each area of who and what we are, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you and I are privileged to experience Showers of Blessings, please do not be one of those who will always resist the Holy Spirit. Seek Him. Love Him. Obey Him. And who knows, we might hear that lovely sound…the abundance of rain!

 

 

 

 

Showers of Blessing

“I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase.” Ezekiel 34:26-27

Do you remember the words of the beloved hymn “Showers of Blessing” from when the church was a little less contemporary in her worship? If you don’t know it, you should get familiar with the powerful truth of this precious, old song.

I began thinking about this hymn when I was called upon to pray this past Sunday night concerning the severe drought that we’ve been experiencing in our area of Mississippi. As I’ve traveled throughout the Southeast during the past few weeks, I realize that we are not alone in our need of moisture (excluding south Louisiana, which is still recovering from the historic floods of late summer, and those communities adversely effected by the torrential rains of Hurricane Matthew). All over this area of the United States, I’ve seen what would normally be lush green pastures transformed into ugly brown terrain. There is no doubt about it, we certainly need showers of blessing to fall and grant us some much needed relief.

But just as we need physical rain, we also need spiritual blessings to shower down upon us. Without an incredible move of the Spirit of God, we are headed toward disaster. Never in my lifetime could I have imagined that we as a nation would become what we are becoming today. We laugh at what breaks the heart of God. We applaud and promote what He clearly describes as unholy and wicked. We deny the importance of faith and the Bible in the establishment of our country. And we steadily increase the pressure to conform the church to the immoral and insane ways of the world.

The hymn writer said, “Mercy-drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead!” I, for one, am very thankful for the mercy-drops that I’ve experienced during my years of ministry, but we need so much more that mercy-drops now. We need the windows of Heaven opened, and the presence of the Lord to overwhelm our lives, homes and churches!

Here are the words to the hymn…

There shall be showers of blessing: This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing, Sent from the Savior above.

Refrain…
Showers of blessing, Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy-drops round us are falling, But for the showers we plead.

There shall be showers of blessing, Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys, Sound of abundance of rain.

There shall be showers of blessing; Send them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing, Come, and now honor Thy Word.

There shall be showers of blessing: Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing, Now as on Jesus we call!

There shall be showers of blessing, If we but trust and obey;
There shall be seasons refreshing, If we let God have His way.

Would you please join me in praying like we’ve never prayed before? Pray for broken and repentant hearts in the pulpits and pews across America! Pray for true revival to occur as we seek God’s face and grace! Pray that His glory would overwhelm us, and that we would once again be known as a people “who have been with Jesus!"

Showers of blessing, Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy-drops round us are falling, But for the showers we plead.

 

Focusing on the Finish

Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry. 2 Timothy 4:11

In the Rio Olympics, one of the most exciting events proved to be the men’s 10,000 meter race. Mo Farah, the defending Olympic champion from Great Britain, was favored to win, if the pace was not so fast as to destroy his trademark kick during the final 400 meters. Three African runners bolted to the front of the pack with the intention of keeping the race at a fast pace. Farah was at the far back of the field of runners when he decided that he should maneuver towards the middle of the pack and run with his training partner from the United States, Galen Rupp. When Farah caught Rupp, he decided to move in front of him and keep a close eye on the Africans in the lead. Then, the unthinkable happened.

When runners in front of Farah were jostling for position, he slowed just a bit to give them room and Rupp accidentally tangled with his friend, sending Farah crashing down on the track! The champion and favorite to win the gold medal was rolling on the track surface while other runners sidestepped him to keep from tripping and falling themselves. Farah was now faced with a decision. He could bang his fists on the ground and crawl to the infield, crying aloud over what had happened, or he could get back up and finish his race. Farah chose the latter. Jumping to his feet as quickly as possible, he looked for Rupp and started running to catch up. Rupp was looking back and calling to his friend, “Get behind me! Get behind me!”

Farah not only moved into a comfortable position behind Rupp to regain his composure, but when the time was right he displayed the strength of a champion and made his move. With legs churning and heart pounding, Farah started toward the front to position himself for the victory. Shortly after the bell rang to signal the final lap, Farah was catching up to two of the Africans who had been in the front for the duration of the race. He eventually overtook them in the final turn and then began to run down the leader, passing him in the final straightaway to secure the win! The man who had fallen was eventually placed on the highest pedestal, received his gold medal, and heard the national anthem of his beloved adopted country as it was played in the massive stadium.

I have often heard the phrase: “It’s not how you start that’s important, it’s how you finish.”  In a spiritual context, there is a lot of truth in that statement. Now beloved, please understand, our God is concerned about each and every step of faith in our lives. He wants us to start well, AND He wants us to finish well. The life of faith is not a sprint, however, it is more like a marathon. Therefore, you and I can take a tumble in the journey and still, by His grace, get back up and keep on running! Paul, writing to the church in Corinth, said, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.” Simply stated, the beloved apostle says, “Run to win!”

Paul was not very fond of pouters and quitters. In fact, he and Barnabas parted ways over the failure of a gospel companion, John Mark. As they were making plans for another missionary journey, Barnabas desired to put John Mark back on the team, and Paul said, “No way!” So these two gospel warriors set out on different paths, Barnabas with John Mark, and Paul with Silas. Years later, however, while awaiting death in a Roman jail, Paul requested that Timothy come visit him and bring John Mark, who Paul describes as being “useful to me for ministry.” We do not know all that happened in the life of this young man, but we do know that undoubtedly he had gotten back up from his initial failure while traveling with the apostle Paul and was running his race of faith with passion and focus. We may not know of the cities that John Mark visited or the churches that he planted, but we do know that God used this man to write the shortest of the four Gospels, the Gospel of Mark.

Beloved, you and I may get knocked down on the journey, but don’t stay down. Get back up, start running afresh and anew. Focus not on your failure, but on the finish. Keep your eyes on Jesus, and who knows, you might just end up wearing the victor’s crown!

The Sounds of Silence

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst of it. For there, those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, and those who plundered us requested mirth, saying “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” Psalm 137:1-4

This testimony of the Israelites in this Psalm is extremely touching and moving to anyone who has ever found themselves out of the will of God. The Jewish people had long neglected the commands of scripture, and were also guilty of ignoring the clear warnings of God’s prophets that He had graciously sent to them. And what was the result?  They were eventually overthrown by an invading army and carried away captive into the land of Babylon. It was after this sobering event that their captors asked to hear some of the famous songs of praise from the lips of God’s chosen people. The reply to this request is so very powerful. They “wept” after “hanging their harps upon the willows” and said, “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?”

If you have ever been sidetracked in your journey of faith, you know how difficult it is to sing songs of praise in what Psalm 137 calls a foreign land. I remember foolishly making statements years ago that can only be likened unto the boasting of Peter on the night of Christ’s arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. These past few years have made me realize how arrogant I was to make mindless claims of what I would and would never do based upon the limited understanding of my own self.

The truth is, we have no idea what we will face in our lives, and we have no idea how we will respond. Recently living in what felt like a Babylonian experience, my heart had no real joy in singing the “songs of Zion” for quite a while. During the last few weeks, however, I have experienced my broken chords of praise beginning to vibrate once more.

I am so thankful for His amazing grace working in my life, my family, and hopefully, in a new season of gospel ministry. Thank you for praying for us. Doors of preaching opportunities continue to swing open for me, and I am most humbly grateful.

The Promise of Restoration

"I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten" Joel 2:25

The promises of God can be misused and abused by those who teach and believe a false gospel that has a primary focus on good health, temporal comfort and financial prosperity. The truth of God can be twisted to say whatever the wickedness of man wants it so say. That's why it's dangerous to go out on a limb when considering a promise like the one found in Joel 2:25. Looking at the context of this book of the Bible, I understand that the initial message is directed toward the people of Judah. As Joel presented a stern message of judgment to those who refused to live a repentant lifestyle, he also gives a hopeful message of restoration to those who would return to the Lord in humility and brokenness.

What a great word: restoration. When a marriage is restored, a church, a family, or a community is restored following an event that is tragic and heart rending, it is reason to celebrate and rejoice. Likewise, when a life or ministry is restored, it is also time to celebrate and rejoice. Remember the great ending in the story of the prodigal? When the oldest son refused to come to the celebration, the father said to him: "It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.” Luke 15:32

God's promise to "restore to you the years that the locust has eaten" gives me great hope for the future. I know that I cannot travel back in time to correct wrong actions and attitudes, but I can put my faith in the One who promises me restoration! I know that I cannot go to those places and preach messages to those people that I refused to go to during the past few years, but I can put my faith in the One who promises me restoration! I know that I cannot undo what's already been done, but I can put my faith in the One who promises me restoration!

A sweet promise from Heaven...RESTORATION!

Thank you for praying - God bless you!

Originally emailed on August 8,, 2016

The Patriot - The Prophecy - The Preacher

In the opening scene of The Patriot, one of my favorite movies, Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) says, "I have long feared that my sins would return to visit me, and the cost is more than I can bear."

Each time that I would watch that movie, I thought of my own rebellion, and wondered if my heart would be broken in similar ways that I had broken the hearts of others. The Bible says, "The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation." The Bible also says, "Do not be deceived, God will not be mocked; whatever a man sows, that will he also reap." I know that some may say that my theology is somewhat off target, but it does not diminish the truth surrounding my personal fears concerning my past failures.

Following my email last week, I realized that my silence over the past few years resulted in many of you not knowing our family situation. We are still in the Starkville/Sturgis area of Mississippi, and our home became what sociologists call a multi-generational household when Apryl moved back with her boys following their birth in October of 2012. We are all still adjusting to our "new" normal, and by God's grace, we will do more than survive, we will thrive!

After preaching and writing on the "Ministry of Sorrow" and how that God uses everything in our lives to conform us into the image of His dear Son, I admit that my initial response to Micah and Eli was less than ideal. Looking back, I realize now that God was teaching me that too much of my life was still about me and my reputation, and not about Him and His glory.

This journey called life is about growing, learning and maturing, and I've got a long way to go. I appreciate so much the kind and gracious responses that I received last week. We all need real friends to pray and encourage us as we all walk by faith, and I am blessed to know of your love and concern. When a local pastor learned of my recent availability, he invited me to be in his pulpit. Thank you, Randy, what a great blessing to once again be with the wonderful people of the Wesley Community Church. I am also privileged to be preaching in our home church, Friendship Baptist Church in the Craig Springs community near Sturgis, on this upcoming Sunday during both services..

 

Thank you for praying for us in this new journey of faith - God bless you!

 

Originally emailed on July 29, 2016

The God of Another Chance

“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you. So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord." Jonah 3:1-3

 
When life circumstances upset our journey some four years ago, the spiritual and emotional dagger thrust into my heart dealt a fatal blow to my faith. I continued to immerse myself in my ministry responsibilities, but I was simply going through the motions. It finally culminated in me deciding to step on the sideline and remove myself from the game. The only problem is, when Heaven and Hell are hanging in the balance, this is no game.
 
Now that I've had time to reflect on who, what and where I am on this pilgrimage, I have come to the conclusion that it is time to put myself back into a position of availability to the Lord and His kingdom activity. My employer has been very gracious to me in allowing me to move from a full-time to a part-time position. This will give me the privilege of having time to devote to whatever type of gospel ministry that God might desire to put me in. I am not trying to resurrect my evangelistic organization, nor do I feel compelled to try and re-birth our church plant. I simply want to hear and obey.
 
Let me close by saying that I love my family immensely. Tammy is still the most beautiful woman in the world, my own personal super-model, super-wife, super-mom and super-grandmother! Our daughters are gorgeous, intelligent young women who continue to own parts of my heart that I hope they will always treasure. Micah and Eli are growing, and becoming more and more special to me everyday. Tammy always wanted four children, and like most men, I always wanted the opportunity to raise a son. We just didn't know that some of our dreams would become a reality in the way that they did. Like I told her a few days ago, I now have two little men who share my name and carry my likeness. May I be the godly example to them that they need and deserve.

I would count it a privilege if you would pray for us all. Thank you - God bless you.

Originally emailed on July 21, 2016