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October 2009-posts
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
This weekend we will look at Acts 5 in my sermon "Can I Be Honest with You?" Since we have been examining "life-giving" statements in the Book of Acts, you may wonder what is inspirational about, "Hey! Is that all the moolah, Ananias? Because it's curtains for you!" (That would certainly pep up any small group, huh?!) The remarkable thing is what the effect of this uncanny act of God had on the fledgling Church.
After this incident with Ananias and Sapphira, "great fear" (reverence, awe, wonder, amazement) came on the church (v. 11.) They saw clearly portrayed how seriously God feels about sin. But some of the most remarkable miracles (sick people healed by Peter's shadow) followed this challenge to apostolic authority by Ananias and Sapphira. Apparently the early church responded rightly to the challenge. They searched their hearts for any vestige of dishonesty and asked God to purify them completely. The result? Revival.
R. A. Torrey writes, "I can give a prescription that will bring a revival to any church or community or any city on earth. First; let a few Christians get thoroughly right with God themselves. This is a prime essential. If this is not done, the rest that I am to say will come to nothing. Second; let them bind themselves together in a prayer group to pray for revival until God opens the heavens and comes down.' Third; let them put themselves at the disposal of God for Him to use as He sees fit in winning others to Christ. That is All!"
Evangelist Gypsy Smith put it even more succinctly when he was once asked how to start a revival. He answered, "Go home, lock yourself in your room, kneel down in the middle of your floor. Draw a chalk mark all around yourself and ask God to start the revival inside that chalk mark. When He has answered your prayer, the revival is on."
IT'S TIME TO DRAW THE CHALK MARK, FRIENDS! God has been powerfully stirring our congregation about asking Him to start the revival in us. If you want to help join the revival already in progress, I invite you to "Furnace Prayer," a no-holes-barred, unabashedly Pentecostal prayer meeting in the sanctaury every Sunday morning from 9:00 - 9:20 a.m. I will see you Sunday!
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