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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Mark Howard

Why Revival Waits

And we need to take them the way he decides to give them and not the way we decide we need to get them.

The weather's a little different from here in Michigan, but other than that, I think the spiritual climate is the same everywhere.

I think there are people everywhere who are really wanting to do the Lord's will.

And I think there are people everywhere, even those who profess to be followers of Jesus, who simply aren't seeking His will.

And we're going to be talking about that.

In fact, throughout the day this morning I want to talk to you about revival and why revival tarries.

Our World Church, Seventh Day Adventist Church, for those of you who are Seventh Day Adventists, has just this last year in their annual session, annual council, voted to emphasize the need for revival among the Adventist people, well among the all Christian people, A need for revival in preparation for the coming of Jesus.

In response to that, there have been messages on revival, but I think that you're probably as clear as I am that this is not the first time Christians have talked about revival and it's certainly not the first time Adventists have talked about revival.

And we have to ask ourselves if it's not the first time, why do we keep asking and asking and asking and asking?

And it's not coming the way we would hope that it would.

And so we're going to be talking about that this morning.

And then this afternoon I really want to dwell on something that I think is really vital.

We're going to dwell on a topic that I think exposes why so many Christians struggle to stay on top of their game.

Why they have these roller coaster experiences and they're trying so hard to have an on fire experience but they struggle with it.

I think the Bible gives an answer for that.

And then our last message this afternoon is going to be talking about how we can prepare for the latter rain.

Are you aware that we are told that the latter rain when it falls will be falling perhaps on hearts all around us and we may not even perceive that it's happening.

And so I think these are vital messages that we need as we're preparing for the coming of Jesus.

Now I want to kneel now myself and ask God to bless our time in His Word if you'll bow your heads with me.

Heavenly Father this morning we thank you for your Sabbath day, we thank you Father for your Word, We thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit that has been given to equip the church for the transformation and the finishing of the gospel work.

We pray Lord this morning as we study in your word that your Holy Spirit would give us understanding, that the Holy Spirit would open our hearts and minds.

Father, may we not just be hearers of the word but doers of the word today.

In fact, even as I say it, I don't know how it's been here, but I would imagine with the General Conference initiative that you've heard messages on revival, maybe more, starting this year out.

And it's funny that I had somebody actually ask me, Pastor, when are we going to get past the messages about revival?

You know, it's 1 of those things we speak on.

We speak on it, we have the obligatory revival sermon once a year to make ourselves feel better.

We feel a little bit of pressure, like, okay, I need to make some spiritual recommitments, and then we're on with it.

When are we gonna have to stop hearing about revival?

It literally means to bring back to life.

And we're talking spiritual terms, we're talking about bringing back to spiritual life.

What does the Bible say, or rather who does the Bible say gives us spiritual life?

Jesus said it's the Spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing, right?

Now I want you to open your Bibles to Luke chapter 11.

I don't think any of these texts are going to be new to you, but I think the Spirit will speak to us this morning through these.

Luke 11 and I want you to go with me to verse 11.

Jesus has just finished talking about asking and seeking and finding.

And he says in verse 11, If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?

Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?

No father would think to do something like that.

If you then, being evil, know how to give what?

Good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give what?

Does God want to give the Holy Spirit to His people?

Adventists have prayed for revival in times past.

Here we are again, Christians the world over have prayed for revival, and you can read about great revival meetings all through history and so here we are again praying for revival and it's not here.

I'm going to share with you a statement from a book called True Revival.

It's a little book that's been actually, no it's not from True Revival, it's from Last Day Events, this particular 1, page 189.

And the author makes this statement here, there must be earnest effort to obtain the blessing of the Lord, not because God is not willing to bestow His blessing upon us, but because we are unprepared to receive it.

Here's another 1 from Evangelism, page 701, and it says, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the church is looked forward to as in the future, but it is the privilege of the church to have it now.

Seek for it, pray for it, believe for it, we must have it, and heaven is waiting to bestow it.

Heaven's waiting to bestow it, but we're not ready for it.

I don't think it's because we haven't been asking, but I fear that we perhaps we haven't been asking right.

I'm going to share with you an experience and we're going to go into a passage of scripture.

How many of you were able to attend the GYC this year?

At the GYC this year, and even for those who didn't, it wasn't there, it's not going to, you'll catch up quickly.

For the Sabbath school, what they did, they typically had a panel discussion where several people get up and they'll discuss 1 thing or another.

And what they did for the Sabbath school there at GYC is they played a video clip.

They were interviewing, somebody was interviewing people on the street, okay?

You didn't see the interviewer, you just saw the interviewees, and there were 2 questions asked.

The first question that was asked was, what do you think about Jesus?

And the answers, just 1 after another, were, oh, he's loving, caring, gracious, good, all these positive things.

Everything you could imagine, positive, without exception.

Then the interviewer went back to all the same individuals and asked question number 2.

Question number 2 was, what do you think about Christians?

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Why Revival Waits

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