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Hendersonville Seventh-day Adventist Church, NC

Brian Hindman

The Fruit of Revival

And I'm very thankful for the opportunity to be here this morning as we look at a message that I've entitled The Fruit of Revival.

And I don't know about you, but revival is something that always appeals to me because it relates to a continual need and a continual desire for a fresh experience with Jesus Christ.

I don't wanna be content with my experience yesterday or a week ago or 5 or 10 years ago or maybe when I was baptized, I think it was in 1981 that I was baptized, I think.

But I want a fresh, reviving experience with Jesus every day.

And right, isn't that how Jesus operates?

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed because His compassions fail not, they are new.

Every morning, new mercies, new compassions.

And I know we all need those mercies and compassions, and I don't know how much of the world seems to get along without that, in neglecting and turning their back on God and the blessings that He longs to give to us, which I would submit are largely spiritual blessings, not financial blessings or just prosperity gospel, but a spiritual growth and grace in knowing Him.

What does it say in Jeremiah 9, 23 and 24?

Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might.

Let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him or her that glorieth glory in this, that he understands and knows me.

For I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, righteousness and judgment in the earth, for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.

So the boasting or the exalting and celebrating is in knowing God.

That is the greatest thing that any of us can have.

I'm gonna ask the question this morning, what is true revival?

Which would imply that there can be a false revival that might be motivated and directed based on other motivations or desires, but I think true revival, there's 2 simple elements and they're found in the scripture, Psalm 119 verse 25, David who's writing in that Psalm says, "'My soul, my life that is, cleaves or clings unto the dust." And then he follows it up by saying, "'Quicken thou me according to thy word.'" The word quicken in the King James, the Hebrew, is actually revive, to give life.

The power of God has the power to give life in his word.

Also, combined and connected with that word, we find in John 6, 63, Jesus says, "'It is the spirit that quickeneth, ' there's that word quicken again, revive, give life.

It is the Holy Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing.

The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.

God's words give a message from the Holy Spirit and as we believe and act on those words, they bring the life and reviving influence, a divine power that God has for us.

We become partakers of the divine nature, as it says in 2 Peter 1, verse 4, that whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious what?

Precious promises and promises consist of words.

Precious promises and then the apostle goes on and says that by these, by these promises, by the words that God has given to us, Ye might be partakers or sharers of the divine nature.

The nature and character of God is contained in the word of God.

That is where we have a connection and understand what it's all about.

And so by believing and receiving those words, we receive the life that comes with it.

They are living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, according to Hebrews.

So we want the word of God, and we want the Holy Spirit acting upon that word to bring about a revival in our lives, and I hope that you're like me.

I need this daily, moment by moment, a continuing revival of spiritual life.

There's a statement in the spirit of prophecy that describes this experience under revival and reformation.

And I know our church worldwide, from the general conference on down, has had an initiative for a year or 2 or more now on revival and reformation.

And I think this is 1 of the clearest statements of what that really is like and what it's all about.

It says a revival and a reformation must take place under the ministration of the Holy Spirit.

Revival and reformation are actually what?

Revival signifies a renewal of spiritual life, a quickening of the powers of mind and heart, a resurrection from spiritual death.

And it's possible today that, and I think many people sadly are, that they are spiritually dead.

Paul says in 1 Timothy 5 verse 6, but she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.

So they are physically alive but spiritually dead according to what he is referring to.

But true revival will give spiritual life which leads to eternal life for all eternity.

And then it says revival signifies a renewal of spiritual life.

And I'm gonna skip down to where it says reformation signifies a reorganization.

If you just break down the word for reformation into its parts, you have re and the root word form.

Form is the shape or pattern that something takes.

And so to reform something is to give it a different shape, to give it a different appearance.

Of course we're talking about not based on what our sinful nature might cook up, but based on what the Holy Spirit and his leading in the word of God would design and pattern us to be after.

The perfect pattern, which is of course Jesus Christ.

So reformation signifies a reorganization, a change in ideas, in theories, in habits, in practices, things, my life is being changed, it's being reformed because of revival.

Continuing the statement, this is found in Last Day Events, page 189, it says, Reformation will not bring forth the good fruit of righteousness unless it is connected with the revival of the spirit.

So it's not enough just to try and reform things without a genuine connection with God because that will not lead to any long-term change or any real vital change from the inside.

You might can try to change the outside, but only God can change us on the inside, and that's where we all need the change to take place, on the inside.

So revival and reformation are to do their appointed work, and in doing this work, they must blend.

Reformation needs revival, genuine life, and revival needs reformation.

It's not enough just to say, I have a new, fresh experience with God today, and not have any corresponding change that would come from that revival of God working in your life based on what he says in his word.

The Bible is pretty clear that without revival we actually cannot obey God.

It's impossible according to the scriptures to obey God without revival.

The apostle says, for to be carnally minded, and by the way, carnally minded is the default connection, that's our automatic condition, being sinful, being born with a sinful nature, rather, at birth, not condemned to sin, but with the equipment and programming with a tendency to sin.

To be carnally minded leads to, in our default condition, leads to death.

But to be spiritually minded, that is to have the mind and thoughts of the Holy Spirit leading us to Christ, is life and peace.

And Romans 8 verse 7 puts it plain, because the carnal mind is enmity against God.

Enmity is warfare and hostility against God.

And it says why, for it is not subject to the law of God.

It is not willing to be subordinated to following what God says is right.

It cannot, under any circumstance or situation, be brought into subordination to the law of God in its natural condition to be carnally minded.

And then he continues and says, so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

It's impossible without a change taking place.

That change is what we want through revival.

Well, when I was younger, quite a bit younger, maybe 5 or 6 years old, my sister and I, somebody gave my dad a bow and arrow.

And this wasn't a toy bow and arrow, it was actually a real bow and arrow.

And boys and girls, I share this story, this is what not to do.

From the front end, this is, most of my stories a lot of times are what not to do.

So I don't wanna even put ideas in your mind about attempting what my sister and I, now we were young, and so that's kind of an excuse.

We didn't fully know what we were doing, but we were told not to play with the bow and arrow that had been given to my dad.

And of course, my dad wisely had it put away somewhere, and it was a bow that had to be strung, and so he didn't have the string on it.

Well we had seen it strung before and so my sister and I decided 1 day when I think dad was away and mom was busy with things to get that bow and arrow out and just see if we could play with it.

And I was texting my sister last night to be sure I got the details of the story straight, because this was a long time ago.

And she reminded me of some details that I'd forgotten, that we both were taking turns trying to hang on the bow to pull it down so we could get a string up on it so you can then use it.

But we finally, eventually, working together, were able to get this strung.

We lived out in the country in Burlington, North Carolina at the time.

And I was firing away and you know, there were horses in the pastures around our house, right near where we were, and luckily I didn't hit any of them, but I was just launching arrows, see how far I could shoot them, and then I had a great idea, instead of having to shoot the arrow and see how, you know, have to go fetch it, why don't I just try to shoot it straight up in the air?

Now I'm telling you boys and girls, that's not smart.

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The Fruit of Revival

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