Click here for Stream or Download
Here is the Script:
Witness and Service: The Fruit of Revival
‘You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea
and Samaria, and to the end of the earth’ ” (Acts 1:8, NKJV).
Our title for this lesson implies that witness and
service is an outgrowth or fruit of revival.
Revival being the change that occurs in our hearts and minds when the
Holy Spirit is allowed to work in them. If
witness and service are a fruit of revival, then revival precedes witness and
service.
Fruit in the Bible are a product of abiding (John
15). So, if witnessing and service are a
fruit, then it means that it can only happen when we abide in Christ and He in
us; in other words: the Holy Spirit abides in us.
Our lesson
states that, “the purpose of revival is to fill our hearts with such a love for
Jesus that we long to share this love with every person possible. (In revival
we are exposed to the love of Jesus, and begin to experience it. It is the Holy Spirit who sheds abroad
Christ’s love in all of us.) In genuine
revival, our own hearts are wakened to God’s goodness, compassion,
forgiveness, and power. We are so
charmed by His love and transformed by His grace that we cannot be silent.
In
contrast, a “revival” that focuses on one’s “spiritual experience alone” misses
the mark. (IT is not a true revival as
defined by Ellen White). If it develops attitudes critical of others who do not
measure up to one’s “standard of holiness,” it is certainly not heaven
inspired. If the emphasis of revival is to merely change external behavior
rather than to change hearts, then something is wrong.
Changed
hearts lead to changed behavior. Genuine revival never leads to
self-centeredness or, especially, to self-sufficiency or self-exaltation.
Instead, it always leads to a selfless concern for others. When our hearts are
renewed by God’s grace, we long to bless and serve those who are in need. All
genuine revival leads to a renewed emphasis on mission and service.
There is
no doubt that there was a contrast in behavior in the disciples. Before Christ was arrested they were fighting
for supremacy. Just before the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit they were of one accord; what changed? When Christ was arrested they all fled in
fear. After the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit they now preached to those from whom they fled in fear, telling them
“you crucified Christ. What changed?
Our Lesson
states that At Pentecost, the disciples were changed people. Something happened
to them so that the Spirit could do something through them. The Holy Spirit had
done something for them so that He could do something with them. Ellen White gives insight into what happened,
“After
Christ's ascension, His disciples--men of varied talents and
capabilities--assembled in an upper chamber to pray for the gift of the Holy
Spirit. In this room 'all continued with one accord in prayer and
supplication.' They made thorough work of repentance by confessing their own
sins. Upon them was laid no burden to confess one another's sins. Settling all
differences and alienations, they were of one accord, and prayed with unity of
purpose for ten days, at the end of which time 'they were all filled with the
Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance.' {7MR 94.4}
Did you
notice repentance was part of what happened?
And according to Ellen White repentance is the first step for
revival. So, the Spirit overflowed from
their lives to refresh the lives of others.
Jesus put it this way: “ ‘He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has
said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’ ” (John 7:38, NKJV).
The root word for “believes” in the Greek here is pistis. It means much more
than a superficial belief or mere intellectual assent. It is a rock-solid
belief or confident trust. It is a dynamic, life-transforming faith in Christ,
who poured out His life on the cross for the sins of humanity. Jesus’ point is
that when His love quenches our spiritual thirst, this love flows from our
hearts to the people around us.
Why has
not the church become one as the disciples did, why have they not received the
latter rain? The answer is very simple:
true revival has not occurred. If there
is no fruit there is no abiding. Christ,
in the person of the Holy Spirit, is still waiting by the door knocking that we
may let Him in, so we can purchase from Him what we much need or, in the
context of the Samaritan woman: that we may get from Him living water that will
cleanse, refresh and quench our Spiritual thirst. Our greatest problem is we do not know how
thirsty we truly are.
by His o � e t �/� ��� nnot be silent.
In
contrast, a “revival” that focuses on one’s “spiritual experience alone” misses
the mark. (IT is not a true revival as
defined by Ellen White). If it develops attitudes critical of others who do not
measure up to one’s “standard of holiness,” it is certainly not heaven
inspired. If the emphasis of revival is to merely change external behavior
rather than to change hearts, then something is wrong.
Changed
hearts lead to changed behavior. Genuine revival never leads to
self-centeredness or, especially, to self-sufficiency or self-exaltation.
Instead, it always leads to a selfless concern for others. When our hearts are
renewed by God’s grace, we long to bless and serve those who are in need. All
genuine revival leads to a renewed emphasis on mission and service.
There is
no doubt that there was a contrast in behavior in the disciples. Before Christ was arrested they were fighting
for supremacy. Just before the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit they were of one accord; what changed? When Christ was arrested they all fled in
fear. After the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit they now preached to those from whom they fled in fear, telling them
“you crucified Christ. What changed?
Our Lesson
states that At Pentecost, the disciples were changed people. Something happened
to them so that the Spirit could do something through them. The Holy Spirit had
done something for them so that He could do something with them. Ellen White gives insight into what happened,
“After
Christ's ascension, His disciples--men of varied talents and
capabilities--assembled in an upper chamber to pray for the gift of the Holy
Spirit. In this room 'all continued with one accord in prayer and
supplication.' They made thorough work of repentance by confessing their own
sins. Upon them was laid no burden to confess one another's sins. Settling all
differences and alienations, they were of one accord, and prayed with unity of
purpose for ten days, at the end of which time 'they were all filled with the
Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance.' {7MR 94.4}
Why has
not the church become one as the disciples did, why have they not received the
latter rain? The answer is very simple:
true revival has not occurred. If there
is no fruit there is no abiding. Christ,
in the person of the Holy Spirit, is still waiting by the door knocking that we
may let Him in, so we can purchase from Him what we much need or, in the
context of the Samaritan woman: that we may get from Him living water that will
cleanse, refresh and quench our Spiritual thirst. Our greatest problem is we do not know how
thirsty we truly are.
No comments:
Post a Comment