THE NEGLECT OF AN AWAKENING (3 OF 12)
by Jerry Watts
The Neglect of An Awakening (3 of 12)
Series: Aiming at an Awakening
Jerry Watts
Luke 13:5
• The message of Jesus to every lost person, saved person, and to the church is consistent. It is "REPENT." When He began His teaching ministry, in Matthew 4, His message was clear, "Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." When He gave His last message to His church, the message continued to be the same (Repent) but to those who were called by HIS name, His message carried a twist (Repent or ELSE).
• In the words of Vance Havner, "The church today wants to do everything else BUT repent." We say we love Jesus, we bear His name, and we even say that we follow Him; yet the one thing which He calls us to do, the one thing which keeps us walking in the Spirit, and the one thing required to keep us sensitive to His leadings is the thing which we seem to neglect.
• Writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul writes to the Corinthians, "Awake to righteousness and sin not, for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame." To the Romans he wrote, "It is now time to wake up from our sleep (slumber)." Paul also writes in Ephesians 5:14, "Get Up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and the Messiah will shine on you." Don't like the sound of the "Messiah shining on you?" Here's the deal, when He shines on you - He will shine through you.
• We are call in and through God's word to repent of our sin and awaken to His Spirit, His will, and His ways. Candidly as I've already said, we really don't care to do this for many reasons. One reason is that it's difficult. Face it, we are all (everyone) eaten up with human pride.
• To humble ourselves runs against the grain of our upbringing, training, and nature. Yet, the Bible repeatedly calls us to 'humble ourselves before God' because "God resists the proud but He gives grace to the humble."
• So what is the word for us when we neglect to repent, neglect humbling ourselve ...
Series: Aiming at an Awakening
Jerry Watts
Luke 13:5
• The message of Jesus to every lost person, saved person, and to the church is consistent. It is "REPENT." When He began His teaching ministry, in Matthew 4, His message was clear, "Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." When He gave His last message to His church, the message continued to be the same (Repent) but to those who were called by HIS name, His message carried a twist (Repent or ELSE).
• In the words of Vance Havner, "The church today wants to do everything else BUT repent." We say we love Jesus, we bear His name, and we even say that we follow Him; yet the one thing which He calls us to do, the one thing which keeps us walking in the Spirit, and the one thing required to keep us sensitive to His leadings is the thing which we seem to neglect.
• Writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul writes to the Corinthians, "Awake to righteousness and sin not, for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame." To the Romans he wrote, "It is now time to wake up from our sleep (slumber)." Paul also writes in Ephesians 5:14, "Get Up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and the Messiah will shine on you." Don't like the sound of the "Messiah shining on you?" Here's the deal, when He shines on you - He will shine through you.
• We are call in and through God's word to repent of our sin and awaken to His Spirit, His will, and His ways. Candidly as I've already said, we really don't care to do this for many reasons. One reason is that it's difficult. Face it, we are all (everyone) eaten up with human pride.
• To humble ourselves runs against the grain of our upbringing, training, and nature. Yet, the Bible repeatedly calls us to 'humble ourselves before God' because "God resists the proud but He gives grace to the humble."
• So what is the word for us when we neglect to repent, neglect humbling ourselve ...
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