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Plymouth-Sorrento SDA Church

Ralph Henderson

Following the Instructions

Our topic this morning is follow the instructions.

As our series continues, revival and reformation.

And this morning as we were talking about revival, I want to remind you again, the word revival simply means to bring alive, to quicken, or to activate.

Remember we've used that word a couple of weeks ago in the seed of revival, and we talked about how God wants to activate his people.

In our discussion of witnessing this morning, we saw that the disciples, through the power of the Holy Spirit and prayer, were activated into a spirit of mission going out.

And by the time they had done their work, Paul said in Colossians that they had preached the gospel to every creature under heaven.

And we are told that the revival that will take place in these last days, the outpouring of the latter rain, will be much greater than the first rain or the early rain at Pentecost.

So we have a lot to look forward to, don't we?

We have a lot to hope in, but it's going to depend on us.

The other word that we're looking at is reformation, and reformation is not merely just following a set of forms.

Reformation means that you have been revived, and so now you are reformed in thoughts, in practices, in habits.

If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.

So if you are truly revived, you are a new creature and you are starting to put away the things of the world, those old habits that you once loved and cherished.

And I want you to know this morning that we are not here just to fill another pew, another seat.

You're not here this morning just to fulfill a commitment that you made to somebody to come visit a church.

You're not here this morning just to meet up with a friend you haven't seen in several weeks.

You are here this morning because we have come into God's house to worship Him, to listen to His Word, and to follow His leading.

This morning I'm going to ask that we kneel for prayer, but before we do, I want to ask something.

I want, as I am praying for you to be praying yourself, that God will put His words in my mouth and I also pray that you would help Him as I recognize that really I'm just like an old rusty nail on the wall, but that Jesus today on that old rusty nail would hang a picture of Jesus Christ.

So as we begin this morning, let's kneel together and pray together.

Our loving Father in heaven, it is again with humility that we kneel before you today.

You have told us in your word if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face.

We are coming to you in prayer, knowing that prayer is the very breath of the soul.

Knowing that you have promised that when we pray that you are willing to open up the storehouse of heaven and that there will not be room enough to receive the treasures and the gifts that you long to give us and Most importantly the gift that we should desire above all others your Holy Spirit We pray this morning Lord that that your Holy Spirit will move in our hearts that right now as we are kneeling before you, that we will recognize that you see to the very depths of our soul, if we have brought anything un-Christlike into this room this morning, that you will remove it just now.

If there is anything within any 1 of us that will keep you from performing the work you long to do in us, please remove it just now.

We ask that you would teach us now by your Holy Spirit, that we will sense your presence in our hearts, that we will go away from this place renewed, revived, refreshed, empowered by your Holy Spirit.

So bless us to this end, we pray, and we ask it in the precious and holy name of Jesus.

Our topic this morning again is follow the instructions.

There are 2 things that I want you to do this morning as we begin.

That means I don't want you to be distracted And I want you to know that because we've got a lot of bodies in this room and the air conditioner is working Okay, it's going to go up and down as to how we feel If you're a man and you have a coat on, take your coat off.

Because we're not going to all be distracted by the fact that we're hot and sweaty.

I don't want you to be distracted this morning.

There are going to be people who are late that will walk in.

How many of you have seen a person before?

So this morning, I don't want you to be distracted when they walk down the aisle to find a seat.

You know what people look like, they're just trying to find a seat so they can hear the word.

And if you're distracted, then the devil has accomplished his task.

And you're all fanning already, but that's okay.

As long as the fanning doesn't distract you.

I want you to simply think because we are talking about the most important thing that can happen in our lives And that is to be revived by God That is what we need the work will never be finished if we are not revived as a people.

God is going to be speaking to you through His Word this morning.

Are you going to sit there and say, Oh, that's not me?

Are you going to follow through with the old Laodicean ways and say, oh, that's for somebody else, it's not for me, it's for all of us this morning.

Remember Jesus' very words, not my will but thy will be done.

So since we are talking about following the instructions, what better place to go than the instruction manual as we begin.

Isaiah chapter 55 verses 6 through 9 the other day as we were over here dealing with some of our problems Jack was here and he saw the sign out front that said follow the instructions and he said well What is what is that all about pastor?

And I said well you tell me Jack what do you think that follow the instructions is about?

And he said, well, I know that you've said before that the Bible is what?

The B-I-B-L-E, basic instructions before leaving earth.

So it must be about Bible and Bible study I said amen it's about Bible and Bible study and it is the basic instructions before leaving earth so if you don't follow the instructions do you think you're going to be leaving earth about 3 of you said no Well the rest of you can get with me afterwards and tell me the other ways there are to get there because I've heard that people believe there's more than 1 way.

But I have to tell you that in the basic instructions before leaving earth In John 14, 6, the Bible says very clearly, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

I understand in this word that there's only 1 way.

Beginning in verse 6, Seek ye the Lord while he may be found.

Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his what?

His thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon.

Now here's the part that I want you to think and remember.

Because God says, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, sayeth the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Now, hopefully we're getting a picture now as to why we want to read the book of instructions.

Because the book of instructions was written by men of God and inspired by God so that they could tell us how we can live our lives in order to be ready to meet our Savior.

Revival and reformation begins in the heart.

That means revival and reformation begins in you and it begins in me.

Now I want to tell you something this morning that's very sobering, and I'm hoping that this is going to perk your ears up just a little bit.

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Following the Instructions

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