Sheep in pasture

Sheep in pasture
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Monday, September 7, 2015

A Better Way


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqMflpl35yE
August 23, 2015
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Summer Sermon Series:
“Revive Us Again O Lord!”
Adapted from “Revival” by Adam Hamilton
Theme: A longing for holiness…
1 Peter 1:13-16 MSG Bible
Ezekiel 37:1-10 AMP Bible


“A Better Way”

Prayer for God’s Word to be heard through me…

Ezekiel 37:1-10
37 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.
2 And He caused me to pass round about among them, and behold, there were very many [human bones] in the open valley or plain, and behold, they were very dry.
3 And He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, You know!
4 Again He said to me, Prophesy to these bones and say to them, O you dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath and spirit to enter you, and you shall live;
6 And I will lay sinews upon you and bring up flesh upon you and cover you with skin, and I will put breath and spirit in you, and you [dry bones] shall live; and you shall know, understand, and realize that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service].
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a [thundering] noise and behold, a shaking and trembling and a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
8 And I looked and behold, there were sinews upon [the bones] and flesh came upon them and skin covered them over, but there was no breath or spirit in them.
9 Then said He to me, Prophesy to the breath and spirit, son of man, and say to the breath and spirit, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath and spirit, and breathe upon these slain that they may live.
10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath and spirit came into [the bones], and they lived and stood up upon their feet, an exceedingly great host.

Have you ever been to or seen pictures of the desert? All of the pictures I have ever seen, it looks like a dead, sandy place. Not anywhere I would really want to live. Now I know there are places that don’t look that bad but my vision of it seems a little too rough and rugged to me. But I think that the most amazing thing about the desert is that when the rains come, it is transformed into something of beauty. What seemed dead comes alive in vibrant color. How beautiful it must be to actually be there when that happens…an awakening of something most may think is barren.

Like the desert scene and the scripture from Ezekiel that I read, our Spirit’s may feel as if they are a dry desert place. All things around us may seem dead to us. But as God breath’s His breath of life His Ruach upon us, we come alive and live again…the word Ruach means breath, wind, Spirit…of God. This is what we need as we are revived…given mouth to mouth by God. I have heard it said that it’s like having an elephant on your chest…you can’t breathe. And like those bones…we need the sinews and ligaments reattached…we need flesh and skin attached. Then we can receive the breath of God that brings us alive again. It can be a process not just a quick regeneration…

As I shared last week, this summer…we are embarking on a faith journey together. We are going to be intentional with our faith and our God. We are going to ask God to revive us again with that passion for Him and His word. We are going back to a time when people met in fields and sheep barns. We are going to look at what made a difference in their lives…why their era was different than ours and what is the same. We are going to take a walk with John Wesley and see how he lived out his faith.  My prayer is that we will be challenged and changed…that our Spirit’s will be filled and energized so that when we leave our church each Sunday and go out into the world as light bearers of the King. As we become those light bearers I pray that we bring revival to our community and beyond…to the ends of the earth. But as I stated last week…it all begins here…within ourselves…being intentional with our faith…with our Spirit…with our God. We want a revival within our souls…
So…Revival…
·         a reawakening of faith or renewal of commitment to religion
·        an evangelistic meeting or service intended to effect such a reawakening in those present.
Last week we talked about being intentional…wanting to awaken what may have fallen asleep within us… As we Long for Holiness we need to be intentional with what we do in order to achieve our deepest longing.

Longing for holiness is not a onetime thing…it is a way of life. We have heard the expression “holier than thou” about those who think they have achieved it in their life time. This is called a journey for a reason. When we stop longing for holiness or think we have achieved it, we need a long conversation with God…we need to look into His word and through that encounter with the Divine, God will either lift us up or correct us whichever is needed.



So longing for holiness…what does this mean?
Holiness is the state or quality of being holy. We want to be holy…as the 1 Peter from this morning states:
As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”
We want to live a life pleasing to God for he has called us to be holy as He is Holy. This is something that cannot be completed…even attempted…without God. We are to live a life set apart from the world, not as the world. As we reach for this type of faith, it is not only about intellect and knowing God’s word but it also a heart matter. Studying His word as well as reading devotionals works both the mind and heart muscles. Reflecting on God’s word feeds both as well.

So how can we have this type of revival…how can we work both our minds and Spirits? Well one way is to do everything to the Glory of God. Brother Lawrence did everything in life for the glory of God. Even when he was washing dishes he did it for the glory of God. We can turn all the events of our daily life into holy ground as we think of ways…think of how we can do it to the glory of God. Sometimes it just takes a new way of view our daily lives as one set on the mission of doing it for the glory of God.

We can change the “feeling” of what we do by agreeing with “for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory.” We can recite these words as we think about our daily lives and if it is bringing God glory or not. This is what I want you to try for the next week. Recite the Lord’s Prayer and when you get to this part think about if you are living your life in this way? If not…think of ways that you can.

Breath Prayers is another good way to refocus our minds. Some use scripture or a hymn to breath in and out their prayer. One piece of scripture is Psalm 115:1…breath in “Not us, O Lord, not us” then breath out “…but to you your Name give glory.” We refocus from us to You O Lord.

Revival is not easy…it requires change and intentionality. But if we but just turn our hearts back to our First Love, He is faith to return back to us. But again it’s all about choice. God will not “make us” come back to Him but woo’s us back through His Spirit within us. When we are intentional about our everyday life we become more aware of the divine within us as well as around us. We can again have that “joy of our salvation”. Maybe…just maybe…as we reach out to God with all we are and all we have we will be changed and renewed. But as I have always said…it begins with you and with me. As we begin that journey back we too shall cry out…”Revive us again O Lord”. This we pray in the strong and precious Name of our Lord Jesus Christ…

Amen…

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