Wayne Van Gelderen: Revival of the Heart

I believe God is ready as he has always been to do a mighty work I believe with all my heart that he's ready to do a mighty work here in particular and I don't say that lightly and I think that in these days in which we live we need to Alette the bad news that we continue to hear shake us to our core to cause us to realize that we have always had what we've needed for a major move of God then why not that's the big question I've been talking a lot to our folks and especially my leadership and I said you know we're seeing we're seeing touches of revival but real revival is life-altering and honestly I don't think that we really want revival from our human standpoint because real revival is going to radically change every life in this room and this church do you really want revival the song says but let's talk about it tonight from different angles that I trust can be a help to you the moving of God in one Church can affect a nation most of you have probably heard of the mighty outpouring of God upon Jubal Stearns Daniel Marshall and others that were connected with him God did a deep work in their heart as separate Baptists of the Latin the 1800s and they went down to North Carolina and they had a great revival in that little church they were out in a country town there weren't any big towns now in North Carolina in those days but before long they had 600 members which was a great miracle of God and from that church 1,000 plants came out in 25 years and you've probably heard the statistics an estimated 5000 churches sprang up in the very next generation the Bible Belt came from one church who had a few men who met with God can you imagine if this church had that same kind of move you know we see we seem so insignificant in our country with all of its secularism and all of the darkness around us my friend when God comes on the scene everything changes let's see we've not seen it like we should and God wants to do it James Stewart was the last great revivalists of the Western world he was an evangelist that primarily was working in Eastern Europe he began his ministry post World War one and of course Europe had been through a lot and God used that setting to enable him to go into many of the Eastern countries Eastern what we would call Eastern Europe countries and entire cities came to know God the reason we don't know much about that revival is because World War two came up which section of Europe got hit the hardest Eastern Europe Hitler on one side Stalin on the other but before Satan used them to squash what was happening hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people came to know God and James Stewart had to come to America after that and here's what he wrote that I think is so significant we live in a day characterized by the multiplication of man's machinery and the Dominion of God's power the great cry of our day is work work work new organizations new methods new machinery the great need of our day he says his prayer it was a masterstroke of the devil when he got Church to generally lay aside this mighty weapon of prayer now listen to this the devil is perfectly willing that the church should multiply its organization and definitely contrive machinery for the conquest of the world for Christ if it will only give up praying there is a great need for more intercessors in vital union with their ascended Lord who will agonize inside the veil for the deliverance of the church from its spiritual slump see he knew what God would do if people would fast and pray now folks the greatest move in the history of the world is going on right now for the cost of Christ we're not seeing it in America for you go to northern Africa you go to the Middle East Iran for instance you go to Indonesia of all places of course we all know about China India there are more people being saved right now than have been saved at any time in the history of the world by the way God's still on the throne God is still working we must not gauge what's going on from what we're seeing in the world around us here in America it is a mighty work of God but I want you to know if you will study any one of those movements they are all preceded by weeks and months of prayer and fasting always every time and you will always find a group of people who have come into personal revival that then leads to a mighty move forward my subject tonight is the revival that we need in our hearts the revival of the heart my friends must be very careful about something don't be waiting for God to just zap us with revival we must not be fatalistic about that you know we're we're viable starts right in your seat the revival at Lancaster Baptist Church the revival where you may come from college student he is going to come through prayer and it will come through that church obviously or this church seeking the Lord but it really does start with a few people who come into real revival could I ask you tonight as we talk about these things to dare say or I would like to be that one wouldn't you like to have personal revival that would make a difference around you you can if you would you can if you would you see revival just think of the word its life again re vive vive means life life again whose life it is the life of our glorified Savior we talked about God's on the throne he's fine I'm telling you my friends if we could see the splendor of Jesus Christ right now he's the head of the church he is in all power he is over the entire universe he has defeated and crushed Satan he is in great glory and great power my friends he is the life that we're talking about and certainly when the life of God comes into a corporate body and Jesus is seen you've got revival but it starts with individuals that know Jesus in their individual hearts it's all about the presence of the Savior the Welsh revival of course is such a blessing to read of that RB Jones probably has the most important biography on that revival and he says if one were asked to describe in a word the outstanding feature of those days one would unhesitatingly reply that it was the universal inescapable sense of the presence of God revival is the exact answer - such a sigh as that of Isaiah 64 one all that thou what's red the heavens though thou woods come down that the mountains might flow down at thy presence in 1904 the Lord literally rent the heavens what does that mean the satanic power of this atmosphere here on this earth when God winds the heavens then his presence flows down and Satan the his foes were scattered he says the Lord had come down the mountains were gloriously melted into his presence so friends tonight what I want to talk about is the presence of God first and foremost in your heart Jesus is here tonight we are all in Vault by the Spirit of Christ and where two or three are gathered together he's in our midst he's in a very special way here tonight but he's not as manifest as he would like to be if Jesus was spiritually manifested tonight we'd be quite a bit different right now some of you been in situations like that I've had the privilege several times to be in situations where Jesus was so obviously there you couldn't do anything but get on your face that's what we're talking about Jesus is a real person he has sent us his spirit he has formed the body of Christ it's all about Jesus revival his life re excuse me aw Tozer says the practice of the presence of God consists not of projecting an imagery an imaginary object from within his own mind and then seeking to realize its presence it is rather to recognize the real presence of the one whom all sound theology declares to be already there you know here's a verse you've heard quoted over and over the Great Commission how does it end I am with you say it with me alway did he mean that Amen I am with you always even to the end of this age the world Amen so the promise is that the very presence of Jesus Christ will never be lacking to the faithful believer friends we're not talking tonight to try to work up an experience we're not trying to get us to get into some kind of emotional state in which we feel revival we're talking about being in a place in which Jesus will manifest himself he will manifest himself first and foremost in our very hearts turn with me now to our text tonight 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 three major things I want us to see here tonight as we look at revival in the heart the Apostle Paul was giving his philosophy of ministry in fact many people call second Corinthians the heart of Paul and he says in verse 1 of chapter 4 of second Corinthians therefore see we have this ministry as we have received mercy we faint not if you were to go back to the previous chapter you would see if the great Ministry of the Spirit of God versus the letter of the law and all that that was to be lived out in a church speaking of the very things we're talking about tonight he goes on and says in verse 2 but have renounced of the hidden things of dishonesty not walking in craftiness nor handling the Word of God deceitfully but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God I'm not going to go into that verse except to say this what he's saying is this is not a human work that I'm doing I have a ministry I received from Christ and I'm going to tell you why it is so important this is not humanly contrived verse three for our far gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is in the image of God should shine unto them for we preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your surgence or Jesus sake please note 4:6 for God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ but we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency may be of God and not of us Lord would you help us Lord I feel so weak tonight to try to talk about your very life and what that means to us Lord there's so much more I need to know about your reviving work the Lord I know that you want this message to be given tonight it's Spirit of the Living God would you do what man cannot do Lord would you open our minds and hearts would you give us what we need tonight Lord the possibilities are glorious if we would yield to you if we would get a hold of truth and I ask that you'll do that and just a wonderful way to night by your glory and your grace in Jesus name Amen first of all we see the darkness of our culture and honestly American believers are pretty thrown today we can be encouraged and you're very encouraged in a church like this but still there is a lot of unbelief that goes on because of what we are facing today in verse 3 we we read but if our gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds them which believe not now folks what is so exciting about revival in individual Christians lives and in the Church of the Living God is that when that occurs the gospel gets into the dark world but I think we better understand that the darkness of our culture is what we're fighting out there and Satan is controlling it but it's got us to very sobering verses if we'll really look at them you see Satan uses the cosmos the world the world system to cause us not to see the light of the presence of Jesus and the truth about him given so clearly in his word the god of this world it refers not to the material creation but as Hebert says but rather to the mass of unredeemed humanity as an egocentric world system that is hostile to God it's central aim is self enjoyment and self aggrandizement and disregard or an open hostility to God see Satan doesn't come and oppress everybody and blind everybody now Satan does that and his demonic forces but where does the darkness mainly come from God of this world this age this cosmos the two major words that he used for world and so what we're dealing with here is that Satan in the human realm still is the God that controls culture Jesus defeated Satan at the cross the Kingdom of Heaven is moving forward folks he is in control the Church of the Living God is part of the spiritual Kingdom and we have victory in him but unfortunately we allow the devices of Satan that blind the world to darken our lives you see Satan fills in the need for God now what you think with me for just a minute here why is the world so powerful why do we get trapped by it so often why does it so successfully hinder us in what we know we ought to do how many of you would say that you have probably heard at least in your lifetime 500 messages on surrender may see your hand you all should every message is on surrender okay everyone could raise your hand why don't we get it well Satan's pretty shrewd he's a master and here's why he's so powerful when we were created by God we were created in His image we are spiritual we are an eternal Spirit we will live somewhere forever and God made it to where our life only has meaning if he is the center of our life now Satan to the lost world once Adam and Eve sinned and Adam and Eve were cut off from God Satan came in and became their God because they needed God listen to this from Major Ian Thomas he says so animals are like human beings in that they have a soul a capacity to think react and decide God however did not create animals with the capacity to be inhabited by their creator as man was instead God built into animals a unique and wonderful mechanism called instinct this is the indispensible means by which he protects them and governs their behavior in the need to study science and see all the just marvelous instincts of the animal world but as instinct is indispensable to animals instinct is indispensable animals in the same way that the Holy Spirit is indispensable to us in our humanity human beings are uniquely made with the capacity to be governed by God himself dwelling within the human spirit in ultimate identity with the human soul so that God within the human spirit gains access to the human soul then he plays that role in man soul which instinct plays in the animal teaching the mind controlling the emotions directing the will in this way according to his intended design and purpose he governs our behavior so that he is the origin of his own image source of his own activity dynamic of his own demands and is the cause of his own effect a lot is said there but the point is this if you don't have God directing you you got to have somebody directing you babies don't have instinct they were made for God God uses parents to start off with but my friends when Adam and Eve sinned and when the human race was thrust into the blindness of the unregenerate a life before coming back through the blood to Christ - to God Satan came in and became their God now I want you to think with me this may be I hope this point I'm gonna not want to make it too complicated it's real simple you've got to have somebody fill the need in your whole heart you've heard God put a god-shaped hole in your heart well that's that's absolutely true and so what Satan does is to this lost world he blinds them to the fact that they're made for God their whole life is for God there's nothing worthwhile about their life without God but he comes along and meets their needs and primarily he does it through culture and he is able to guide them and help them and meet their needs and they become absolutely hooked on Satan's world what about the carnal Christian you see if you're not walking in the spirit if we're not really living in personal revival we love the world and if we love the world the love of the father is not in us first John chapter 2 and so we do need to as we look at this passage here realize that God is ready to put the light into the lost world he wants to use believers he wants to do a mighty work but Satan is blinding them and unfortunately he is blinding believers at the same time let me just quickly throw this out at you he uses religion and philosophy and culture folks culture is not neutral no culture is neutral those of you going into missions do not buy into the fact that you've got to be exactly like the culture that you go to every culture has been orchestrated by Satan to keep people away from God we know it in our own culture yes there are neutral things about culture I've always wondered why do I wear this you know and why do I wear a suit you know I mean it's I'm all for wearing it but I mean that's culture that's Western culture which affects the whole world why do we do some things like well it's there's nothing right or wrong about it but the point is the there are in every facet of culture a majority of things that are satanic it's not neutral college students you better get a hold of this you know you brought it you were brought up in American culture you're going to have to realize that the Bible is really going to confront a lot of American culture and it's not because previous generations believed it it's because the Bible approach that deals with it who is in control of our life religion and philosophy Satan wants men to depend upon themselves religion is all about that mystical experiences we could go on then look at the philosophy secular humanism rules today and people are absolutely blinded by scientific secular philosophies and in just a total non God perspective then what about society at large Fijians chapter 2 verse 1 says and you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins where an in time past ye walked according to the course of this world according to the Prince of the power of the air the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience among whom also we had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and we're by nature the children of Wrath even as others culture that affects our lifestyle Satan has authority in this arena and he is constantly manipulating to cause us to have the lust of the eyes the pride of life the lust of the flesh arts family structure materialism fashion now with media you have a whole lifestyle that is not a kind of heart and life that God created us to live and so we have to be aware of that it's not neutral what about government that's another bit may think you have Satan controlling and you can study the scriptures such as Daniel in chapter 10 of Daniel where he heard about the fact that the Prince of Persia that satanic power was getting the medo-persian Empire ready to go we are facing folks in all the political structure you pull your hair out sometimes wondering what's going on what's going on is that Satan is blinding the minds of them that believe not he is working on keeping people under his control and so the object of his blinding is as according to this passage to keep the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God to shine unto them to get all keep away the good news Satan does not want people to wake up to the fact that God created them and he's ready to meet their needs but my friends in that wonderful when people get saved and I just heard yesterday many of you may have heard of John Wickham the author of Genesis flood happened to be with him he's 95 or 96 years of age got to hear his testimony again as an atheist on Princeton University campus somebody just simply witnessed to him and guess what happened light came in and a man who had a totally warped view of life and science and everything else came to a full knowledge of Jesus Christ but I've got to move on here I think you can get the idea this matter of Satan's tool of blinding is tragic out there in the world but my friends he's a defeated foe he is no match for Christians but right now we're no match for him because we don't have a revival in our hurts so the danger for the believer and I'm just going to mention these because I want to get to the final point here tonight the danger for the believer is first of all self dependence isn't that exactly what Satan is doing with the world trusting our own abilities to see God work that wonderful abiding passage he that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me ye can do nothing and so if he can get us to look to ourselves if you look with me at our passage here verse 5 for we preach not ourselves but whom Christ Jesus the Lord folks revival is the very life of Christ and if we can if if he can get us to think the world is neutral and allow the world in and then we try to do ministry through our own power we try to work hard at being a good Christian and we try to do this but yet we're still we're not fully broken about how our life is being affected by this world that's around us he's got us and you have the typical good Christian who's trying to do well but their their lifestyle is not what New Testament Christianity is and they are looking to themselves they don't have that relationship with Christ and the Christian life seems frustrating and hard and that's a great danger for us and then as I've already alluded to the love for the world he blinds us and takes away our heart valentine's day who do we really love the adulterers and adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world as an enemy of God my friends if the deep need of our hearts if our affections if our purpose if our sense of identity if that which motivates us is that all the world then we're an enemy of God I'm gonna make a statement I trust you won't take an offense at this but I think most of Bible Christianity in America is a enemy to God today now I don't say that in the fullest sense but I'm doing it according to this passage my friends we have enough Christians in America that America to me should be shaken with the power of God but we're blinded Satan is the one meeting the needs of our heart not God we're either doing God's will or we're doing same as well and we don't like to think that that way but that's what it says that's why I said folks if we really had revival according to Acts we'd be willing to sell everything we had for meeting the needs of the work of God pretty radical we'd be willing to meet seven days a week or that's radical well not around here but I mean we laugh about that our church we're pretty do testament on that one mhm but but you know what I'm saying their lives were completely devoted and within just ten years Judea Samaria and Galilee had been reached with churches all over by laymen going out from the Jerusalem church radical Christianity revival Christianity and so we we need to understand that Satan is doing all that he can to take God's love from our hearts in our dependent upon dependence upon him Galatians 6:14 but God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world my friends the cross of whom our Lord Jesus Christ you see what this passage there in Galatians if I had time to speak on it says is if we are all about Christ and what he did on the cross and the victory his death burial resurrection and now ascension into glory if we really had that into our heart in life the world would be crucified to us and the world and we to the world it's not even a problem for Christians listen you find godly revival Christians you don't find worldly Christians the two don't go together and folks I'm telling you are trying to do Christianity today in a cultural setting that allows pop culture to get in I think is really killing us you see Christians that that are in revival change the world transform the those that get saved to Christ likeness revival is Christ and so we've got to reject all self dependence we've got to not think we're godly just because we're consistent believers but we've got to ask ourselves are we really spirit filled are we living daily with the reality of Jesus wherefore let him to think if they stand to take keyless Tefal and if I had time I'd love to talk to you about what Christ did for us on the cross Romans chapter 6 sin does not have to have dominion over us our flesh has been rendered ineffective we can't have sin the world doesn't have to have any hold on us it can be crucified to us oh there's so many wonderful truths that we could talk about with that but I want to get to the third point here's where my heart is the dynamic of the Savior Paul said we don't preach ourselves with Jesus Christ the Lord verse 6 for God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ simple thought here folks Jesus wants to know you you are as important as any revivalist you've ever heard about any great leader that you know he died for you equally you are precious to him he loves you from the depths of an infinite soul he right now on the throne is very aware of your heart your response to what's being done here tonight and he wants to have a love relationship with you that grows sweeter every day to where you know him it's the dominating love of your life it isn't just self rigor in Christian disciplines and I'm all about Christian disciplines it's a genuine relationship because you know him that's revival and you know why I know that can happen who indwells you tonight spirit of the Living God right and what's one of his main purposes to manifest the father and the son to you John 14 even where spirit-filled Jesus becomes a person to us I'm telling you folks when you when you when you start meeting with Jesus life just changes New Testament Christianity all of a sudden there's no more of a puzzle you're made for him everything about you is for him he created you he'd put the breath of life in you and of course he died for you everything you've done wrong today he suffered for you and he loves you and he bears that even now you are extremely important to him he wants your life not just to see power through it though he wants it for the world he loves you and he wants to direct you and have your life be the fullness of what he created you to be and that he died for you to be eternal life started the moment you're saved we're experiencing eternal life and we ought to be in heaven on earth right now that's what God has created for us and folks we need to be broken that we're not there we need to surrender completely we had a several our prayer meeting with the Deacons a few days ago and I said gentlemen I've really appreciate our deacons have been rising in this matter of revival I said fellas are you really ready because we're all going to have to admit the only reason this church hasn't had revival is us we got to get broken and I tell you in that Permian there was there were tears there was honesty I walked into the service that night after that prayer meeting and the presence of God was there doesn't take many doesn't take many Owen Murphy who talked at the Luas awakening recounts the reaction of men and a barn but in Psalm 24 was read who shall ascend to the hill of the Lord and stand in his holy place he that hath clean hands in the pure heart and it goes on and they got ahold of that the Spirit of God broke them and they got on their faces that night before God and said Lord we want to ascend into your holy place we want your presence do whatever took and God dealt in their hearts and God began to sweep across the Hebrides islands there near Scotland happens every time I'll just be give you a couple of personal illustrations I was a ensemble leader after my junior year of college I had five ensemble members that weren't necessarily the most spiritual guys around I wasn't much ahead of them but you know so I'm leading them and guess where I ended up California well back in those days there was not a Lancaster Baptist Church and I was in one dead church after another I got to the middle of July I was empty you know it's like to hear yourself preach when you only got four messages and you've said everything you know every time you know it sinned and then you're struggling with your ensemble members about the very things we're talking about well anyway I'll never forget it I said Lord I'm about to quit I am so empty where is the reality of Christianity fellows went down some I put us some night a nice hotel in the ocean and they were enjoying it they were all Midwesterners you know and I had no heart to do that I was in my room I didn't even notice it's getting darker and darker and darker outside and I didn't turn any lights on I just said lord I need you I just need you I have nothing to give I am desperate and you know when you get desperate and broken I realized how empty I was a week I was I hope critical I was how proud I was and God dealt with me dealt with me hard you know and be careful about experience this this wasn't experience it's just a meeting with God I said lord I need you now never forget he met with me just simply in my spirit maybe if you've had times like that but he really met with me and I'm ever realizing I don't care what the churches are doing I don't care what's happening it's real Jesus is real got up and preached that next Sunday morning and the floodgates opened God was just good to me I started into the ministry I went to a school camp first school camp I think that was had happened really in the Midwest at least and I happen to be the preacher and I was just a kid out of college and I was frustrated there was it was our school of 200 and probably 125 were lost that was back when you know it was get everybody in a sort of evangelistic tool and for the first three days I preached and I just preached hard trying to knock the devil out of them all did was stir up the devil and I'm member on that Thursday I was sick and went out on the pier it was a misty cool fall day there in Wisconsin and I was getting sicker sitting on the pier but I said Lord I can't stand it I got to have something and all of a sudden God began to deal with me and broke my heart about my selfishness about my lack of walk with Him and I didn't love those kids and for the next two hours the love of Christ for those kids swept across my heart it wasn't me it was just the grace of God I was desperate I was broken I walked in that night only had a few minutes to prepare spoke 12 minutes the presence of God so came upon that school camp that I had to stop preaching because kids were coming forward weeping and the message was not good because I was saying what God want me to say but it was not good I had laryngitis don't try to find a tape of it it was a tape back then it it was lousy but you know when God meets with you everything changes 85 kids came to know Christ that night and there are kids around the world I tell you what God was doing was telling trying to teach me and it's taken a long time to learn it that my presence is what you need my presence is what you need I want you to notice that notice there in verse six and like we're gonna have to finish the light that shined out of darkness of creation because he created us for him now that new light of redemption the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ what does face in the Old Testament mean all the time the presence of God Prince you can know Jesus you can knowing today should have just been a wonderful day of knowing him you don't see his face physically but I'm telling you if you walk with Jesus you'll know him my father and I would just end with this illustration my father really walked with God I was very very blessed he loved this passage he had a godly mother and he would often say folks when I get to heaven I will know the touch of Jesus because I have felt that touch in the lives of spirit filled believers I'll know his voice because I've heard it and I'll know his face because I've seen it folks right now I see Jesus and some of you you know I'm talking about in his very face in your own spirit how are we going to reach this dark blinded world let the light shine because it's shining in our heart don't pray for a great movement out here pray for a great movement in here pray for God to break us pray for God to deal with us to show us all of the world that said it's all of our selfish motives all of the things that are keeping us from knowing him folks we don't walk with him like we should and I can tell you there'll be no revival in America until there's first a brokenness and the fundamental churches all across this land he has been ready to walk with us and we walk as others do far too much Oh to spend an hour with God a day Oh to walk with him Oh to heaven touches let me read Duncan Campbell the Lewis awakening I'll finish with this Duncan Campbell on the revival that was there said but in revival when God the Holy Ghost comes when the winds of heaven blow suddenly the community becomes God conscious a God realization as in the case of the Hebrides revival 75% of those received before they ever got near the meeting place could God do that in Lancaster could not God do that in your hometown I can tell you that he can do it if the presence of God is in here first the face of Jesus did you see him today did you see did you already talk with him have you really been in love with him today I'm not talking emotion here I'm talking spiritual reality it should be the reality of Jesus president should be the dominating aspect of our life and it can be because you have the Spirit of God 24/7 it can be done

Channel: Lancaster Baptist Church

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Length: 45min 48sec (2748 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 15 2018