======================================================================== A REVIVAL IN FOLLOWING THE RIGHT CHRIST by Edgar Reich ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon emphasizes the importance of revival through returning to the Lord, repentance, and following Jesus wholeheartedly. It shares powerful stories of faith and martyrdom, challenging listeners to examine their commitment to Christ and count the cost of discipleship. The message calls for genuine repentance, surrender, and a willingness to forsake everything for the sake of following Jesus. Topics: "Revival", "Commitment to Discipleship" Scripture References: Hosea 6:1, Luke 14:25, 1 John 1:9, Revelation 2:5, Matthew 16:24 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon emphasizes the importance of revival through returning to the Lord, repentance, and following Jesus wholeheartedly. It shares powerful stories of faith and martyrdom, challenging listeners to examine their commitment to Christ and count the cost of discipleship. The message calls for genuine repentance, surrender, and a willingness to forsake everything for the sake of following Jesus. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pastor Roy, thank you, Zachary, for that beautiful worship music, and I'd like to welcome all of you that have joined tonight via internet, via YouTube, and I'd like to welcome friends and business associates from all over the world, and also my friends at Queensway Baptist, and then those friends we have visited recently, and all of my family. So thank you for being on this call tonight. The message is a revival in following the right Christ. The Bible says, let us test and examine our ways, and let us return to the Lord. In Hosea 6 verse 1, the prophet said, come and let us return unto the Lord, for he has torn us, but he will heal us. He has smitten, and he will bind us up. Now, if we do what the word says, I believe we will experience that. And so we are looking for revival, and the first question might be, what is a Christian revival? Well, according to Richard Owen Roberts, revival can be summarized in one word, God's presence. In revival, God is speaking very clearly through a preacher. God is moving. God then is restored to his rightful place. God is manifesting himself among his peoples in a watching world. It is achieved through turning back to God through repentance. Now, you might ask me, what effect does revival have upon a community or a church or a region? And I'd like to share with you from a short revival that took place on the island in Burnary in Scotland in the 1950s. And the story comes from this little book, The Nature of a God-Sent Revival. The eyewitness account is from Pastor Campbell, and he has written this booklet, and he wrote on what happened, I only can give a synopsis because of the time we have. But an elder had prayed and arranged a meeting in a local church on the island of Burnary in Scotland. Now, he had great faith. He asked God for a specific preacher by the name of Duncan Campbell. He wanted him to come to the island, but he didn't know where Campbell was or how to contact him. He talked to God, and he said, Lord, we're arranging a revival service tomorrow morning at 9 p.m., and he needs to be there, and he had faith. Now, Pastor Duncan Campbell at that time point was in a large Bangor Christian convention in England. He was the main speaker. He was hundreds of miles away. He was sitting beside the chairman for the convention, and he was suddenly gripped by the conviction that he had to leave the convention and had to make arrangements to travel to Burnary Island in Scotland right away. So he started whispering to the chairman, and the chairman was shaking his head, and he said, you can't go. I need you. You're the keynote final speaker. You need to stay, and Duncan Campbell said, I have to be obedient to God. I believe God is calling me. I must leave, and so he left the convention to go to Burnary Island in Scotland. The following morning, he got on an airplane to Glasgow, Scotland, and from there went to Stornoway by plane. Then he took a car across the island to a ferry boat that took him to Burnary Island, which had only about 500 people at that time point. He arrived without knowing that this elder had prayed for him and that God had brought him. The day the church service was to take place, he was accommodated and then told, we have a church service tonight, and then he met this elder that had prayed for him. His name was Hector McKinnon, and 80 people came to that service at nine o'clock at night, and after the service, nothing special happened in the service. Hector said to Pastor Campbell, I hope you're not disappointed that this revival didn't take place yet, but you know, God is hovering over us, and he will break through any minute. They were leaving the church at about 11 p.m. now after the service, and they were walking down the hillside from the church to the main road, and all of a sudden, the elder stood still. He took off his hat. He said, Mr. Campbell, God has come. God has come. See what is happening, and Pastor Campbell turned around, and he saw the crowd that had left the church. They were on the hillside, and they were falling on their knees, and they were repenting. They were crying out to God. They were asking for forgiveness, so Pastor Campbell saw and heard their cries of penitence. He heard their cries of sorrow, and he heard their regret for having done wrong. It was now 11 p.m. at night, and then the meeting continued on that hill until 4 a.m. in the morning. You see, when revival comes, don't stop God. Don't interrupt, but give him space, and God will do mighty and wonderful things. Now, it's interesting to me that the people there were willing to go to a church service at 9 p.m. at night and stay for two hours, and I would have considered for them to be very good people, very good Christians, that they would go there, and yet they were repenting. Why were they repenting? Well, beloved, perhaps when we look at our society today, where many no longer believe in God, and when we look at churches and what many of the pastors preach, they say that God will meet your need. God will be a blessing to you. It's all about you. Ask him, and he will meet your need, and there is no requirement for the people in the church to do what God has asked them to do. Repentance is abhorred and not necessary because people say the grace of God already covers it. He's love. Why repent? Why feel badly about sinning? And then we make up a picture in our mind of Jesus, the Son of God, as only a gentle shepherd who carries us on his shoulders. By the way, that is absolutely true when you're sick and when you are in need. He will do that, but he also has requirements of his sheep. He asks us to fulfill his commandments, and he said, if you love me, do my commandments. Now, may I ask, is the true Christ Jesus of the Bible the one that we hear so often about, that he forgives everything, he doesn't require anything, there is nothing that he has in mind for us, or is there another Christ? The Lord wants to help us to break up foul ground that he might work revival in our lives. Total cleansing requires painful honesty before God. True repentance involves dealing with sin itself, which is a horrible offense toward a holy God. Jesus spoke to five churches, and that was after his resurrection, in the book of Revelation, and he told them, look, repent. There are things that are going wrong in your life, and repentance involves turning around from those sins and going a new way. Now, God's soul is available to us to help us and to lead us into true repentance, and we can ask him for help when we see that perhaps some of the things we do are not in agreement with God. Now, I wonder if I were to become a Christian today, what requirements would you place on me to follow Christ, the Son of God? And you might answer and say, oh, that's easy. I can answer that. All you do is believe in Christ, that he died for you and your sins, and then ask him to save you, and you're done. You're born again. You are a new creation. There are many people out there that have not experienced that new creation. You're struggling. Has your life been changing? Are you becoming a new creation? K. Arthur said if you don't plan to live the Christian life totally committed to knowing your God and to walking in obedience to him, then don't begin, for this is what Christianity is all about. It is a change of citizenship. It is a change of governments. It is a change of allegiance. If you have no intention of letting Christ rule your life, then forget Christianity. It's not for you, said K. Arthur. And I agree. Jesus told us to believe in him, but believing in Jesus then shows up in action. It implies that there are those things that we ought to do when following Christ to experience that new life, that new belief, and that there is evidence of change. If I truly believe in someone, then I would follow what this person is doing. For many in North America, it has meant saying the prayer but declining to follow the son of God, Jesus Christ. Some of you have turned back the way you once lived before to a life of sin, to a life of defeat, to a life of wandering. Can this story be true? Beloved, it is true. We have a great, incredible God. He has given us the son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to give us a new life, to give us hope if we truly follow him, if we repent from our sins. And why do we do that? Well, we do it because he has died for us on the cross. He has given us new life. He has taken shame and death and beatings and crucifixion upon him to pay for your and my sins. We can have hope. We can have that new life even in the midst of what is going on right now. Now Jesus, the son of God, explained to us some of his requirements in Luke chapter 14 verses 25 to 35. If you want to follow that and if you have a Bible, it says in Luke 14, 25 to 35, what Jesus had on his heart. And not all people could take that by the way. Some turned away from him. I'm using a new living translation to make it easier for young people to understand. And here it says in verse 25, a large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, if you want to be my disciples, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else, your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot. You cannot be my disciple. I require that of you, said Jesus. So please don't get mad at me, but this is what God wrote through his son in the Bible. He desires love from you and from me to such an extent that it would look this way when we compare it with love for our family. And then verse 27, and if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. But don't begin until you count the cost for who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there's enough money to finish it. Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, there's the person who started that building and couldn't afford to finish it. Or what king would go into war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him. And if he can't, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. And then Jesus said, so you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own. Salt is good for seasoning, but if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? Flavorless salt is good, neither for the soul nor for the manure pile. It is thrown away. Anyone who has ears to hear should listen and understand. So in this first verse of this passage in verse 14, he said, love me because I desire your love because I gave my life for you. And he said, by comparison, the way you love your mom, the way you love your dad, the way you love your sisters and brothers, it might look like, hey, they're much love I want from you. Now, may I ask you a personal question? How much do you love Jesus? I'll tell you, I've come to a place where I love him with all of my heart, my soul, my mind, and my strength. And why do I love him? Many of you know me from the business side. Many of you know me from before when I walked in great sin. But beloved, there was a day when Jesus had mercy on me and I was on my way to hell. And I can show you a picture here. And in this picture, you can see an open grave on the right. That's the black spot. And there's earth there. And I found myself on the bottom of that grave six feet down. And I was on my way to hell, beloved, because of my sins. And Jesus gave me new life. He saved me. And he covered my sins through his blood on the cross. And so I'm so grateful to him. I love him so much. I try to do right. I'm not always successful. But I do have experienced a new life, a different life. Praise God, it is possible. And then when you think about your available time and what might show even God that you love him or Jesus that you love him, you have to have communication with a person. And when you have communication with a person here, an unseen God and an unseen Christ, it is called prayer. You talk to him, but you can tell him everything that is on your heart. And then through the Bible, he will speak to you so you can read the Bible. And beloved, there is a famous preacher, Leonard Ravenville. He said this about prayer. No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing. The people who are not praying are strained. We have many organizers, but few agonizers, many players and pairs, but few prayers, many singers, but few players, lots of pastors, but few wrestlers, many fears, few tears, much fashion, little passion, many interferers, few intercessors, many writers, but few fighters. Failing here, we fail everywhere. The foundation of your Christian life is to start talk with God and to start a relationship with him and to also read his word. Is it possible that God is saying to all of us, test and examine your ways and return to me? And then in the second requirement, Jesus said in verse 26, love me more than your own life. And again, it was a comparative statement where Jesus said that the distance between me and loving your own life ought to be so great that it appears to be like eight for your own life. And then Jesus continued in verse 26 and he said, you don't want to do that. You cannot be my disciple. Is it possible that God is saying to all of us, test and examine your ways and return to me? You see, I'm saying these things and they might be hard for many of my Christian brothers and sisters. They're hard for me too. And yet God says judgment starts in the house of God. If I fail in the house of God, judgment starts with me. It doesn't start out in the world where people don't know much about God or much about Jesus. It starts right here in the house of God. And then Jesus continued and he said in the next verses, in verse 27, and if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. Now a cross today to us is like jewelry we wear. It gives us a good feeling to wear and even many unbelievers wear crosses. But what did Jesus mean? A cross in Jesus' time meant death. Often in today's times, Christians interpret this to die to the old self, but it meant much, much more, beloved. In Christ's times, it meant really serious, serious consequences. It meant physical attacks. It meant giving your life physically. And so believers who heard these words from Jesus, they understood that it might literally mean what we call martyrdom. That is when you get killed because you believe the word of God and you believe this Christian God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In other passages in the Bible, Jesus was also clear on this point. And he said, and he's also speaking about now, all these are the beginnings of sorrow. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you. And you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. So if I truly follow Jesus, he said to consider that it may include suffering. We live in a culture that turns away from pain of any kind. We have any little pain with pills and yet Christ suffered in his body. And we are reminded in the Bible where it says on yourself also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done away with sin. And that's wonderful help. If you have any dissenting sins, getting sick isn't so bad because it may tear you away from those addictions. Praise God. And I know of many testimonies where people said, unless God had not done this to me, I could never have been saved. And so I'm so grateful. So Jesus also said, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. You see, when we as Christians die, we have a better place, a better place than the earth. So there's nothing to fear. There's nothing to be worried about because we are going to a wonderful place without tears, without sorrow, without pain, without death. And so God has a better place for us. So we need not to worry about that. And then he reminds us, don't worry about people that oppose you, but they cannot kill your soul. Rather be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny, yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your father's care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid. You're worth more than many sparrows. Now carrying your cross includes the work that Jesus has chosen for you beforehand. He has special work for you to do. And you might ask, what is that work? And I don't know what that work ought to be. Well, you start with the Bible. You start with the New Testament commandments. Love Jesus with your first love, love the Father, love your neighbor, forgive those that hurt you, and esteem others better than yourself. And may I ask you whether you're sharing the gospel with others. And then after you do all these things, then God may call you for a specific service in your life. But count the cost, count the cost. Jesus had explained it, that it might begin with the construction of a building, but do you have the money? Do you have the time to continue and finish that building? He mentioned a king who was going to war. Did he have enough soldiers to win that war? And so Jesus says, count the cost of becoming a Christian. Count the cost of becoming my followers as Christian. Count the cost of becoming a disciple of Christ. And here are a few examples of that. I've done some research on the persecuted church, and I found in Iran a prison called Avian Prison, and it is one that has Christians in it. Torture takes place. The women are raped. And the prison commandant, he called a group of Christians, and he gave them good news. He thought he was going to tell them, I'm going to let you go if you won't share your faith. And he thought, they're not violent, so I can do that. So Christians were brought before him, and he said to them, I will release you if you promise not to share your faith with others. They were to speak with the other Christians in the jail and get a consensus on the answer. The next day, the leaders came back, and they stood before that prison leader, and they said, our answer is unanimous. They said, we have spoken with all. We believe we have a great God who gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ. This great salvation is so great. It's not understood. It's not even comprehended, because it gives us an eternal life of wonderful presence with God. And so we cannot give that up. This life has been given to us through Jesus Christ, and it is so great for eternity that we cannot deny it to anyone that is willing to hear it. We will testify, and yes, we understand you will stay in jail. Here's another testimony. Before I give that other testimony, may I ask what you would have chosen? The group of Christians was discovered in China by communist soldiers. Their pastor had a forbidden Bible. This was a number of years ago, and the Chinese soldier captain took the pastor's Bible and threw it to the floor. He said to the group, I will let you go, but you must spit on this Bible, for it is a book of lies. Anyone who refuses will be shot. The believers seemed to have no choice but to obey the officer's order. The soldier pointed the gun at an old man, and he said, you first. The old man slowly shuffled to the Bible, knelt by the Bible. He said, Father, please forgive me. Then he spat on the Bible, and the captain let him leave. One by one, they spat on the Bible. Then came a young girl, 16 years old. She was overcome with love for the Lord. She knelt down and picked up the Bible. She wiped off the spittle with her dress. She said, what have they done to your word? Lord, please forgive them. The communist soldier took his gun, held it to her head. Then he pulled the trigger. Now we look at this, and we shed tears, and we say, how could God let this happen? But you see, this young girl went to a better place. This young girl was with Christ in heaven. So God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. He will take care of any hurt, of any sickness. He will take death away. He will take war away. Praise God. Now this is the cost. This is doing the will of God. If you have love, keep Jesus' commandments. He reviews our lives as a testimony, and that is not evil on the part of God. The reason it's not evil is because he wants us to be a witness for evil people that see no other way forward and don't think that this is real. So God said, I'm going to send you as sheeps to wolves, and even if they tear you apart, you're safe and secure in my arms for eternity. But please share with them. And now in the fifth requirement, Jesus had said, give up everything you own. Other translations use the words forsake all. Some did this in the book of Acts. Some have done this during the past 2,000 years. And I love him so, and so I give my all. What we own really belongs to God when we are Christians, and he may ask us to use these resources for others, for the poor, for his glory and for his honor. And there were people in the New Testament who also had possessions, and they used them to do good for God, that such a man was Philemon. So God warns us, however, against the love of money. And you can even see in today's times, and if you're in the stock market, that money can be taken away overnight. Our sure security is with God forever and ever. Now in the closing of this passage, God refers to Christians when he said, salt is good for seasoning, but if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? How does this verse speak to you? Or he said, flavorless salt is good, neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown away. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. Please don't think, beloved, that I'm judging you. I'm judging myself. Judgment must start in the house of God. Jesus stated five requirements. Love me more than your family. How do I do on that? Love me more than your own life. How do I do on that? Take up your cross and follow me. How do I do on that? Count the cost. How do I do on that? Forsake everything else. How do I do on that? And so, beloved, you might respond and say, our church is doing okay, and I'm doing okay as a Christian, and what you're talking about, I don't agree with. Beloved, it's written in the Bible. It's what Jesus said. It's not what I said. Sadly, our thinking in the churches has been affected by things in the world. We often are now a shade of gray. I'm a part of this too, and I need to repent. And now, let me give you a proof of what I have said, the shade of gray, the shade of gray of Christianity in Canada. Christianity is dying in Canada, and who is at fault? Jonathan Van Meeren of Bridgehead wrote an article on March 17th, just very recently, the rapid decline of religion in Canada. He said 89% of Canadians no longer attend services. Canada now turns out is even more apart from God than Europe. Early this year, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada released the result of a poll examining church attendance. The poll revealed a nation utterly transformed by secularization, and the data also explains a lot about the state of Canadian politics. And so, to spell it out, a full 89% of Canadians do not attend any religious services, those affiliated with evangelical churches have dropped from 12% of the population in 1996 to 9% in 2015, to 6% in 2019, 6% now. After the First World War in Canada, 67% of all Canadians attended churches. Now, 6%, beloved, what has happened to us as Christians? Do we do the will of God? Do we examine ourselves? God says, judgment starts at the house of God. And similar happenings are happening in the United States. They're 80% say, almost 80% say they believe, but only 20% go to church. So what does your belief consist of? Jesus asked, do you love me more than your family? Do you love me more than your own life? You take up your cross and follow me and do what the Bible says, you count the cost, you forsake everything else. Jesus is saying, test and examine your ways and return to me. May I ask whether you are a Christian and whether you're following Jesus, the son of God? Your answer might be, I am a Christian, I try, but I really don't follow God. Would you be willing to repent? Would you be willing to pray? Lord, if there are some areas in my life where I'm not following you, please forgive me. I repent. I will turn around from that path. Perhaps you're not a Christian and you might say to me, why should I become a Christian and be eventually persecuted? It does not make sense what you're saying. It does make sense because the alternative is an alter, is an eternity of hell. I beg you, don't go there. A little persecution on earth is in no comparison to what hell is like. God is creating a new heaven without tears, without sorrow, and without pain. You can make it there by repentance, by praying for Jesus to save you and then to follow him. Jesus said his love and his association with you is better than to go to hell for eternity. And so please listen to him. And this is the last story I'm going to tell. And then we're going to conclude this message. At the end of the 18th century, many Welsh missionaries from England were giving the gospel in Northern India. There were still tribes of headhunters who killed and martyred many missionaries. The Welsh missionary who had survived much persecution finally saw his first converts. It was a family, but it wasn't a particularly brutal village of the Indian province of Assam. A husband and a wife with two little sons professed faith in Christ and were baptized. The village leaders decided to make an example out of the husband. They arrested the family. They demanded from the father to renounce Christ publicly or to see his wife and his children murdered. When he refused, his two boys were executed by bow and arrow. The boys died. The Indian man was given another chance to renounce his faith in Christ. The man again refused, and he said, I have decided to follow Jesus. Though I may wonder why I have to experience this pain, I will follow the world behind me, the cross before me. I will follow. And then he was told, we will kill your wife if you don't give up your Christian faith. And then he said to them, though none go with me, still I will follow. No turning back. No turning back. And his wife was killed before his eyes, still refusing to let go of his trust and hope in Jesus. The man was killed and martyred and followed by his family into glory, into the presence of God. He went into a better life. The life he gave up had no comparison with the life he gained in heaven, beloved. So the little boys were there. His wife was there. He himself was there. The tribal chief could not understand why a man would allow his family to be killed for such faith. And he later turned to God and he became a Christian. And then he led his whole tribe to become Christians. And witnesses told later on this story about this man who after seeing his children killed, the world I leave behind me, the cross is still before me, that I will follow Jesus, no turning back. Though none go with me, still I will follow. Will you decide now and follow Jesus? Jesus is asking these five questions. Do you love me more than your family? Do you love me more than your own life? Do you take up your cross and follow me and do what the Bible says? Do you count the cost? Do you forsake everything else? The prophet Hosea said, come and let us return unto the Lord for he has torn and he will heal us. He has smitten and he will bind us up. Now, if the Lord has spoken to you and you are a non-Christian, would you be willing to bow your head before God, confess your sins before God, and then ask Christ Jesus to save you? But don't pray unless you count the cost, unless you're willing to follow. Because this Christian life is nothing if you stop after the prayer and you don't follow. You say, I don't know how to say that prayer. Will you help me? Well, you could bow your head wherever you are right now, even with family surrounding you. Will you bow your head right now and I'll say the prayer and you can follow me in saying these words. And so I bow my head with you. Lord, I am a sinner. I have fallen short of your glory. I have done many evil things. I will tell them to you now. I repent of them. I want to turn around. I ask you, son Jesus, to have mercy on me. Have mercy on me, Jesus. Forgive me my sins. I want to follow you. I believe you died on a cross to cover my sins with your blood. I believe you rose again. I believe you will come to this earth again. Please forgive me, save me, and make me a new person. I will follow you in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. If you have said this prayer, please, please just use your own words to talk with God. If you have a Bible, start reading your Bible, I suggest in the book of John in the New Testament, and then send an email to Pastor Roy here at this particular venue, and we will help you to walk on this new way. If the Lord has spoken to you and you are a Christian, would you bow your head before God and his son Jesus? Would you ask him to help you with a spiritual inventory where you need to change and then repent and pray and ask him to cleanse you anew? God is faithful and just. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You can start a new walk in the newness of life, and with his help, you can work out those things in your life that need to change. Thank you for listening. Let us pray. Lord, help us to return to you now, our God, for you have torn us and you will heal us when we repent. You have smitten us and you will bind us up when we leave wicked ways behind. Lord, we thank you for this time in the world where you remind us that you are God and you are in control. We give all glory to you, our Father, and your son, Jesus, who's able to keep us from falling away and who will bring us back with great joy into the glorious presence of you, the Father, without a single fault. Lord, please save those that don't know you yet and that have just prayed. Help us Christians to repent where we're not following the ways we should. Help us to repent and please bring revival. Now, Father, in Jesus' name, please bless all those who have joined tonight in this service via the internet, via YouTube. Protect them and their families from all harm from COVID-19, Lord. Lord, help them to know you and to experience a wonderful new life. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you again so much. And now I turn it over to Brother Zachary. He will just lead us in one final prayer. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/YgtmjBVvsWw.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/edgar-reich/a-revival-in-following-the-right-christ/ ========================================================================