DESTINATION GOD

Nothing Like it

(or, When you Gotta Have, You Gotta Have It)

Hosea 10:12 -- Plant goodness, harvest the fruit of loyalty, plow the new ground of knowledge. Look for the Lord until he comes and pours goodness on you like water.

Let’s talk about revival. First, what revival is not. It is not an event. Or evangelism. Or emotionalism. Although there may be elements of one or more of these present in revival.

When it is boiled down, a revival is when God reveals things about Himself to us. He wants to fill our heart with Himself. He wants to set us free from whatever holds us captive. He wants us to enjoy His presence. He wants our love for Him to overflow into service to and for others. And He wants us to reflect His love into our world.

And if you look at the above, you will see a theme. Most of what revival is centers around relationship. And, unfortunately, this filters over to our relationship with God. We zoom into prayer, rattle off a short list of what we need, then zoom off to the next project or appointment. If God wanted to talk to us, He couldn’t because we don’t give Him the time.

I believe that we might not ever encounter the kind of revival we could and should have, and the kind of revival God wants for us, unless we arrest the culture’s view on relationships. To do this we need to:

1. Fix our relationship with GOD. Psalm 95: 1-7
2. Fix our relationship with EACH OTHER in the CHURCH
3. Fix our relationships OUTSIDE the church

Delivered at Prospect UMC, Covington GA, 4-29-2012

2 Chronicles 20:15b: “This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's.”

I want to set the stage by telling a story. In the Bible we call ‘em parables. Jesus made a great many of His points through the use of parables. For that reason, I want to use a parable today:

The Ballad of Jed Clampett.

Come and listen to a story 'bout a man named Jed; Poor mountaineer barely kept his family fed; Then one day he was shooting for some food, And up through the ground come a bubbling crude 

A man named Jed… 1. Remember you are CREATED by God. Ps 139:14 (CEV) -- and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me … of this I have no doubt.If we are to live a life God blesses, we must begin by remembering one foundational truth: WE ARE NOT GOD.

2. Recognize you are created in the IMAGE of God. Gen 1:26a (Msg) -- God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature.  

Poor mountaineer… 3. Be HUMBLE. Col. 3:12 (CEV) -- God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient. God is incomparably high and great, but He humbles Himself to take notice the things He created.

4. Be GENTLE.  Mt 5:5 (CEV) -- God blesses those people who are gentle. The earth will belong to them!

He was shooting for some food… 6. Be FAITHFUL to do your part. I Corinthians 16:13 (Msg) -- Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you've got, be resolute.

When up from the ground came a bubbling crude… 7. You will be BLESSED for faithfulness. Ps 119:2 (Msg) -- You're blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him.