The Cost of Revival (Compilation)
Revival requires a willingness to change and obey God, and may come at a steep cost.
In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes that revival cannot be nationalized, organized, or denominationalized. He highlights the origins of the church in the upper room, where men agonized and women organized. The preacher warns against mistaking rapture for revival, commotion for creation, and action for action. He challenges the church to be prepared for the next great awakening, which may come in 2004, and warns that it will require a significant cost and shaking of complacency. The preacher emphasizes the need for repentance, deep weeping for sin, and a Holy Ghost revival to truly move this generation towards God.
Full Transcript
The one single reason we do not have revival is we're content to live without it. Most revivals have literally started this way, with people of God falling on their faces and repenting with great crying and tears for their sins. Do you love America enough to say, changing the words of Patrick Henry from give me liberty or give me death, to give me revival or give me death? See we want Pentecost on our terms, we want a painless Pentecost.
We would love if we could to play all of our little games and sing all of our lovely songs and have them just come and join and fill our churches up. We think that that would be a great revival to have. I'm telling you now people, that ain't reality.
The reality is this, God brings such a shaking to the church. God brings such repentance and deep weeping for sin. And then the church starts to get.
My friends, we're not going to move this generation to God except by a Holy Ghost revival. That revival has never been born through a famous personality. Revival cannot be nationalized.
Revival cannot be organized. Revival cannot be denominationalized. The church of Jesus Christ began in the upper room with a bunch of men agonizing.
It's ending in the supper room with a bunch of women organizing. We mistake wrathful for revival. We mistake commotion for creation.
We mistake action for unction. What's the church going to do to the John the Baptist that God sends for the next great awakening? Hey, I believe it could be in 2004. I believe if it is, you know what? It'll shake us first.
It'll shake us so terribly. We're so complacent. The price is too steep.
Don't disorganize my life. Don't ask me to open my business half an hour after day instead of a whole day. Don't ask me to stay up at night.
Don't ask me to abolish my TV. Don't ask me to get rid of the trigger in my life. Now, we want revival, don't we? Do we want revival at that kind of cost? Because that's what it might be.
We're living in a day of arrogant, militant paganism. We're living in a day when people boast about sin people used to do in a corner and blush if they were found out. In the book of Acts, they did this.
They repented and they were baptized and they received the Holy Spirit. And until those three things had happened, nobody was satisfied. And in fact, they'd do them right in the middle of the night.
Because you've got to deal with sin fully. And you don't muck around with things like that because it'll kill you.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Problem of Complacency
- A. We are content to live without revival
- B. Revival requires repentance and deep weeping for sin
- II. The Reality of Revival
- A. God brings a shaking to the church
- B. Revival cannot be nationalized, organized, or denominationalized
- III. The Cost of Revival
- A. It requires a willingness to change and obey God
- B. It may require sacrifice and discomfort
Key Quotes
“We mistake wrathful for revival. We mistake commotion for creation. We mistake action for unction.” — Compilations
“Revival cannot be nationalized. Revival cannot be organized. Revival cannot be denominationalized.” — Compilations
“Don't disorganize my life. Don't ask me to open my business half an hour after day instead of a whole day. Don't ask me to stay up at night. Don't ask me to abolish my TV. Don't ask me to get rid of the trigger in my life.” — Compilations
Application Points
- We must be willing to repent and deal with sin fully in order to experience revival.
- Revival requires a willingness to change and obey God, even if it means sacrifice and discomfort.
- We must not mistake wrathful or commotion for revival, but rather seek the presence of the Holy Spirit.