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         Pastor Mike Mounts

The Call to Revival (Online Video)

 

INTRODUCTION

Some time ago I mentioned that I have been concerned over the fact that we have not been seeing souls coming to Christ.  By the way, does that concern you? Are you talking to your unsaved friends and family about Jesus? Are you at least, inviting them to a worship service? Oh, how my heart breaks. How I long to see the church broken and burdened over lost souls. When we do, neither I, nor anyone else, will have to convince you of calling on God, repenting of our own selfish complacency, interceding for our unsaved friends and loved ones, and without hesitation, sharing the Good News of Christ with them.

 

  In that same message, when I expressed my concern over not seeing souls coming to Christ, I also expressed what Satan had brought to my mind. I got to thinking that if we sang just the right combination of songs, if I preached just the right message, and if I worded the invitation in just the right way, maybe, just maybe, souls would respond.

 

  Now hear me out. I believe it's important that I invest quality time in prayer and preparation of every sermon, and I do. It's important that we prayerfully consider the choice of songs, and that as God's people sing them with grace in our hearts to the Lord. It's important to give a clear presentation of the gospel and what it truly means to trust Jesus as Savior and Lord of one's life. I definitely seek to do that. But if we're not careful, anything beyond that becomes manipulation. We cannot and must not try to do the work of the Holy Spirit. We must never try to play on people's emotions where people simply make an emotional response (cf., Matthew 13:20-21).

 

  As a church, we are responsible to faithfully fulfill our part in the Kindgom of Christ yet, at the same time, fully rely on God's Holy Spirit to accomplish His will. "All is vain" apart from His work and ministry.

 

  But that is also true when it comes to preaching about the need and the call to revival. Jesus clearly and directly addressed each of the seven churches of Asia. But it was up to each individual church and each individual in the church how or if they would respond. That's exactly why Jesus said to each church, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."  How each church responded and how we respond today to The Call To Revival is of utmost and eternal consequence.

 

  We're not just talking about a building or it's property. We're more than just a social gathering or meeting place. We are the church of the living God, the body of Christ; redeemed by Jesus Christ, and called out by God, unto God, and for God. The church doesn't belong to us; it belongs to god. The church isn't for us. The church exists for God and His glory.

 

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  Everything that God has every done has had the ultimate purpose of giving Him glory. The purpose of this vast universe is to give glory to God. The supreme goal of creation is to give glory to God.  The apostle Paul wrote:

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  There is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. (1 Corinthians 8:6; NASB)

 

  All things were created through Him and for Him. (Colossians 1:16).

 

Look at Psalm 148:

 

Praise the LORD {Hallelujah!}

 

Praise the LORD from the heavens;

Praise Him in the heights!

Praise Him, all His angels;

Praise Him, all His hosts!

Praise Him, sun and moon;

Praise Him, all you stars of light!

Praise Him, you heavens of heavens,

And you waters above the heavens!

 

Let them praise the name of the LORD,

For He commanded and they were created.

He also established them forever and ever;

He made a decree which shall not pass away.

Praise the LORD form the earth,

You great sea creatures and all the depths;

Fire and hail, snow and clouds;

Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;

Mountains and all hills;

Fruitful trees and all cedars;

Beasts and all cattle;

Creeping things and flying fowl;

Kings of the earth and all peoples;

Princes and all judges of the earth;

Both young men and maidens;

Old Men and children.

 

Let them praise the name of the LORD,

For His name along is exalted;

His glory is about the earth and heaven.

And He has exalted the horn of His people,

The praise of all His saints---

Of the children of Israel,

A people near to Him.

 

Praise the LORD! [Hallelujah!]

 

  The supreme purpose of His new creation, the church, is to glorify God. Christ has purchased His church not only to be recipients of His grace and glory but to reflect His grace and glory. The apostle Peter wrote in his first epistle:

 

  But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you our of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

 

  Did you know that the church is even God's university for angels? As the holy angels view the church, they learn of the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. They learn of His amazing grace and the unsearchable riches of Christ. These are "things which angels desire to look into" (1 Peter 1:12). And when they do, they can offer even greater praise to God. Remember what Jesus said in Luke 15?

 

 "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance" (v. 7). Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (v. 10)

 

The apostle Paul declared:

 

To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent [in order] that now the manifold [multi-colored, multi-faceted] wisdom of God might be made known by [through] the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Ephesians 3:8-11)

 

  Just as rain droplets serve as a prism to refract the sun's rays so we can see the colors of the rainbow the supreme purpose of the church is to glorify God, to reflect His grace, His glory, and His manifold wisdom, even before the holy angels--- which in turn, enhances their praise to God. Absolutely amazing! But this only takes place as you and I continue to humbly yield every aspect of our lives to Him.

 

  All that God has done regarding His church is:

 

To the praise of the glory of His grace (Ephesians 1:6).

Tot he praise of His gory (Ephesians 1:12,14).

To Him be gory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen (Ephesians 3:21).

 

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CONCLUSION

 

  Do you know that God longs to break through our mundane routine and mediocrity, and actually do something in and through us that's totally out of the ordinary? Keep in mind, it's not about man's glory; it's all about His glory. But what a privilege to be used of Him to arrest the attention of those outside the church.

 

  As I close, please listen to the words of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones:

 

You see, Israel alone represented God and His glory. All the other nations of the world were pagan; they had their various gods, and they did not believer in or worship the God of Israel. But God had chosen Israel. He had made a nation for Himself in order that through them, He might manifest His own glory and that they might bear this testimony to all the nations of the world. That was the real function of the children of Israel, and the other nations were watching them and were ready always to scoff at them and to ridicule the. Whenever the nation of Israel was defeated, the other nations would say, "Where is their God? Where is His power?" (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Walking With God, Crossway, 2003, June 10).

 

  Today we, the church, "are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood a holy nation His own special people that [we] may proclaim the praises of Him who called [us] out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy" (1 Peter 2:9-10).

 

  May our unsaved friends, family, and community know, see, hear, and ultimately experience that God is definitely among us and is at work in-and-through the Harrison Church Family. May we be a people and a place where mediocrity and the mundane are out of place. May there be exuberant, Spirit-filled worship in every service. May folks sense the warmth of Christian love and unit. With every message that is preached and every lesson that is taught, may the Holy Spirit use it to edigy believers and also convict and convert the lost. May we no longer be known as "New Church;" a name coined back in the 1870's. But may we be known as the church on the move, where  God is on the move, and the Lord Jesus Christ is glorified!

 

  May God be so much at work that we don't want to miss a service. May He be so much at work in-and-among our people that we're in no hurry to leave a service; people are praying around the altar; people are praying with one another; souls are coming to Christ; our young boys and girls are trusting Jesus as their Savior; entire families are coming to Christ; young men and women are seeking God's will for their lives; others are committing themselves to fulltime ministry; and all the while, God continues to open doors of opportunity for the Harrison Church.

 

  Can you visualize that in your hearts and minds? Truth is, that's what a biblical New Testament church really looks like and where God is truly glorified!

 

  I'm sure you've seen the Direct TV commercial: The Settlers. They are settlers and they settle for cable TV. The voice-over at the end says, "Don't be a settler. Get rid of cable and upgrade to Direct TV.

 

  I don't want to be a settler. I won't settle for the mundane, mediocrity, or the status quo. I won't settle for barren altars and a dry baptistery. I won't settle for complacency. I won't settle for dry and dead services.

 

  I long to see God move as He truly desires. I long to just stand back and see Him at work: changing lives, changing families, changing a community--- and all for His glory!

 

Pastor Mike Mounts preached this sermon on April 3, 2016 in the morning service to the congregation of the Harrison Free Will Baptist Church. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New King James Version.