No one sends soldiers into the field without first being trained. Therefore, it is essential that we first have revival in the Christian community if we are serious about engaging the real enemy. And if we are successful in engaging the enemy then through God’s grace we may still have an opportunity to turn this country around before it’s destroyed by those in power. The revival I am talking about is the one that begins in your life, not the life of your neighbor, your friend, or your relative, but that begins in your life. When it starts there then it will spread, but it must begin with you first. Each of us must look into the mirror and see who we really are. How much have we gone into the world and sampled the pleasures the world has to offer?  Or how much have we ignored God’s will for our own selfish ambition? First, we must take a hard look at ourselves.

What does revival look like? What does it really look like? We see mass transformation in process, everyone growing, everyone is becoming holy, everyone is repenting, and everyone is getting excited. We also see people returning to those foundational truths of Christianity and applying those truths to their life. We see people expecting God to do great things and remembering what He has done in the past. What a glorious thing to sit and recall all that Christ has done for you. If we search our heart we all have stories where God has delivered us from danger, filled our hearts with love, witnessed His miracles, and many other things. Let them be landmarks that you return to again and again in your Christian pilgrimage. Dear friend, you will know when revival comes in your life, because your face will be lit with the glory of God, your heart will beat more strongly, and your excitement for knowing Jesus Christ will return in a wave of exhilaration. When revival comes in your life then join with us by calling on every Christian in your church, through social media, and beyond to start praying for revival in their life. But again, let it begin in you first!

How bad has this country become? First the homosexuals came out of the closet, then the baby killers, and now the atheist. I watched some of the interviews with these atheists who marched on the State Capitol and I cannot say that I am surprised at their overwhelming support for our current president, Barack Obama. When a country turns her back on God then all manner of evil and wickedness will abound, then they will raise up their own leaders to lead them. I say it’s time to bring revival back to America. Let’s start right here right now in the name of Jesus. Don’t wait for my war manual (Stand Firm) to be released in August, but start today by training in spiritual warfare. Encircle the camp of the enemy and lift your prayers to the God of heaven; plead with Him to change their heart. Let us pray for all those who are still in bondage to the old life unable to break the chains that hold them to the old sin nature. Let us pray that their every thought will be taken captive by the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s holy people can no longer look upon sin but must come out and be separate from a world that is engulfed in all manner of sin. In so doing we will be made strong to engage the enemy and deliver the day. God help us!

But let’s go a little deeper. How could this ever happen in our world? Many in our world today are convinced that religion is the problem and more specifically the difference in one’s religious or theological views. Hollywood has been making this point for years with nearly every movie to hit the box office. Take a closer look and you will see films portraying people from different religions working together for a common goal. You will see them demonstrating mutual respect and acceptance of one another’s religious views. The United States has seen their own President read from both the Koran and the Bible in a speech to the Muslim world. We have also seen the Roman Catholic Church create a dialogue with other world religions to garner mutual respect. But this is just the beginning because it only lays the ground work for removing the divisive force between religions and paves the way to a universal peace.

Before proceeding we must ask the question: “Why does it appear that Christianity in this country is so vehemently attacked while other religions seem to go relatively unscathed?”  I will answer that question with one word: “exclusiveness.” For two thousand years now the world has had a very big problem with the exclusiveness of Christianity. We must return to Ancient Rome to see how this all started. Rome was an empire that had embraced every known religion. Every time Rome conquered a country she would allow its gods to be brought into an equal footing with the rest. But Christianity arrived claiming to be the only true religion above all the rest and spoke of Jesus Christ as their only King which caused them a great deal of difficulty ensuing the great persecutions.

To this day many still believe that Christianity has tormented the world with its prophets of doom proclaiming Christ as the only way and its refusal as a certain path to the burning pits of hell. To preach the exclusiveness of Christianity is seen as divisive working against the possibility of world peace. As the world grows more tolerant of other world religions it has become less tolerant to Christians bent on winning the world for Christ. It is the belief of this author that the coming Antichrist or the one claiming to be the true prince of peace will outlaw any and all religions to proselyte. That is, to preach Christ to someone of another religious group would be punishable by death because it would be seen as an act of terrorism. This would be the first step in silencing the voice of Christianity and it would cause the entire world to rejoice and send gifts to one another (see Revelation 11:10). Many believe to silence Christianity would usher in a time of universal peace with mutual respect and acceptance of all world religions.

Clearly Antichrist will come claiming to be the true prince of peace and no doubt will win the noble peace prize. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

This podcast is becoming more true every day. We are at a breaking point.

Let’s be clear about one thing we are not talking about terrorists. We are not talking about an alien invasion. We are not talking about organized crime, but we are talking about people who gave us no warning that they would explode causing unbelievable carnage and untold suffering to their fellow citizens. From the best I can tell most of these people looked rather normal to their peers, family members and friends. Although one similar trait among them was that they appeared aloof, distant or a loner. What was going on to cause these people to explode? What kind of pressure were they under?

We all know that a boiler that has too much pressure will eventually explode. Let me suggest that this country has lost its way and are churning out citizens who expect everything to be handed to them on a silver platter with little or no work. They expect to be treated with honor and respect when they have never been taught how to give it. They look at all that the world has to offer and if they don’t get it then the pressure begins to build. Or if someone attempts to take away what they do have then the pressure continues to build to unsafe limits. Unfortunately most people in this country would be horrified to lose all of their material possessions, because they cannot separate their life from them.

Add to this the moral decline and the total disregard for the law and you have a recipe for disaster. As our leaders in high places are caught in every manner of sin and the talking heads continue to fan the flames of discontent, then many question their moral authority to pass laws or even their right to enforce them. Then if that were not enough the philosophy of tolerance has led many to reject the truth peddled by the establishment for their own set of values which in many cases are no values at all, but rank lawlessness.  Regrettably with this country’s drift away from Christianity and absolute truth, she has lost her moral anchor.  Set adrift in the sea of immorality she will continue her decline into lawlessness. So where will this all lead? Anarchy!

As the world comes crashing in from all around you it is time for every true Christian to take a deep look within and make sure you have not been captivated by the world of materialism. Can you give up everything for the cause of Christ knowing that He will not allow you to be tested beyond what you can handle?  Are you unsettled when you do not receive the honor and respect that you have become accustomed to or are you following the example of Christ who humbled himself to death even death on a Cross? Do you follow the world in their godless counseling and drugs to ease the pain or do you run to Christ who promises to be with us in the midst of our greatest suffering? Friends, it’s only going to get worse as we fast approach His Second Coming so please do not follow the world in these godless acts, but remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ to love one another so that the world will know that we are His disciples.

His Powerful Word is all we need for Life and Godliness (v3) 

The church lives in the age of information and worldly wisdom.  She has drifted away from preaching God’s Word alone.  It is no longer seen as sufficient to meet the needs of modern man.  God’s divine power is all we need for life and godliness.  This is the same power that created the universe and everything in it.  It is the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the grave.  It is the same power that brings life to those who are dead in their trespasses and sins.  But how do we get this power?

It comes through our knowledge of Him – our knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord.  And how do we get this knowledge of Him?  We get it through the written Word – the Bible.  We got it first in the Old Testament that prophesized His coming to redeem God’s people.  Then we have it in the New Testament that was written by the Apostles moved by the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle John said that if all was written concerning our Lord Jesus Christ all the books in the world could not contain that information.  But what was necessary for our salvation and living out a godly life during our pilgrimage upon earth was written down.  This was also recognized by all the early Christian Fathers who at that time were very careful not to add anything to or take anything away from God’s Holy Word.

Quote from Early Christian Doctrines, J.N.D. Kelley, “The holy and inspired Scriptures, wrote Athanasius a century later, are fully sufficient for the proclamation of the truth; while his contemporary, Cyril of Jerusalem, laid it down that with regard to the divine and saving mysteries of faith no doctrine, however trivial, may be taught without the backing of the divine Scriptures…For our saving faith derives its force, not from capricious reasoning’s, but from what may be proved out of the Bible.  Later in the same century John Chrysostom bade his congregation seek no other teacher than the oracles of God; everything was straightforward and clear in the Bible, and the sum of necessary knowledge could be extracted from it.  In the West Augustine declared that in the plain teaching of Scripture we find all that concerns our belief and moral conduct; while a little later Vincent of Lerins (c.450) took it as an axiom the Scriptural canon was “sufficient, and more than sufficient for all purposes.”

But then the tragedies of all tragedies happened – the Bible was not given to the common people and it was only interpreted by the Catholic Church.  At which time many unbiblical doctrines were added and many of the clear doctrines were removed so that God’s people were plunged into the darkest era of the church.  It was not until centuries later that God’s Word was rediscovered and given back to the common people as a rule for all of life and piety.

Once again the power of God’s Holy Word transformed His people bringing them out of darkness and back into the wonderful light of His Gospel.  The entire western world took a giant step forward out of the dark ages and into God’s marvelous light.  Once again the Bible became the only authoritative guide for God’s people and revivals swept across Europe and even into this country.

But what’s happened in our day?  Again the church has drifted away from its biblical roots and entered a new era of being lukewarm.  Faith and the Bible are no longer the norm, but the reason of man through the philosophies and psychologies of the world has entered in and has choked the Word of God and the results in the church are devastating.

We see this so clearly in the seventh church of the book of Revelation, which many believe that is a clear representation of the last church before Christ’s glorious return from Heaven.  Here was a church who thought she was rich and in need of nothing.  She had her expensive places of worship, the best of music, and the most beautiful sermons that modern rhetoric could deliver.  Yet she is a church with the form of godliness but has no power to really change lives.  And here is the reason why.  She took the hot teachings of God’s Holy Word and mixed them with the cold and frigid teachings of the world and ended up with a lukewarm church making little or no impact upon the lives of God’s people or the world.  And what does Christ say at this point to the church living in the last days?  Repent or I will spit you out of my mouth.  He tells them to be one or the other – hot or cold but stop combining your worldly wisdom with my Holy Word that can change lives.

And friends, that is exactly the power of God’s holy Word – it is meant to change lives – to grow people from one degree of glory to another.  No preaching should take place in the pulpits of our churches unless it is God’s Holy Word.  It is time for the churches of America to repent.  It’s time to return to clear biblical preaching alone for it is the only thing that will change the heart of man.

If a church is not growing spiritually there is a good chance that it’s dead.  Now I am not talking about numbers, but I am talking about spiritual growth.  We hear so much about numerical growth in our churches today and somehow relate that to a healthy church.  I would rather have a small church that is spiritually alive than a huge church that’s spiritually dead.  You simply cannot equate the two as the same.  However, I will say that a spiritually alive church will attract more because God will add to their numbers day by day.  If God is going to call out the sinners in this area and send them to a church – which one do you think that he will add them to?  He will add them to a church that is alive and growing in Christ by the power and authority of His Word – the Bible.

His Powerful Word gives us great and Precious Promises (v4a) 

There is no hope in the world today and this too has greatly influenced the modern church.  There is no wonder the church has turned to the world searching for hope.  This is one of the greatest dangers facing the modern church – she has lost her hope.  We, like Eve in the Garden, have questioned God if He can really deliver on His promises.

God had promised Abraham that He would make him into a great nation.  He has fulfilled His promise even unto this day.  This promise includes all of Christianity throughout every age for we are His spiritual descendants.  We have seen the fulfilling of the promise made to Israel that they would be a blessing to all nations because of their coming King of Kings after the lineage of King David.   We have seen the promise of the Holy Spirit that has been poured out upon all believing men and women fulfilled at Pentecost.  And since that day we have seen many other great and precious promises fulfilled in the life of believers.  Yet the world wants to take that hope away which destroys our faith in the Risen Lord.

Briefly, I want to look at just one great and precious promise this morning that we as the people of God have misplaced and no longer believe –really believe.  The first promise is found in II Corinthians 5:17, it says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”  On the surface everyone in this auditorium will say I believe that, but do you really?  Friends, this is an awesome promise!  This means that when you come to Christ and make Him your Lord and begin to let His Word make changes in your life, you will never be the same.  It means that the old hang-ups will soon pass away.  It means that no matter what your past was, no matter what your environment was, no matter what your daddy or grand daddy did – you will be changed.  Old things will pass away.

Yet, we hear just the opposite in the world today and unfortunately we hear it also in the modern church.  Friends, God promises to change you so much that you will not even know yourself a few years after following Him.  In fact, the Apostle John says, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.  But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  (Now, watch this!) Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”  (I John 3:2-3)  Friends, the world has robbed the church of its hope for change.

This is seen most clearly in the worldly system of psychology which has entered the church.  It has done so through its literature, through its books, through its counseling and even through its preaching.  This is a tragedy!  For it has not helped people to change by putting off the old life and putting on the new, but it has kept the church in bondage to endless psychological counseling, drugs, and even hospitalization.   We have become a nation that is being counseled.  Over 21% of the nation’s population which is about 44.7 million people is currently being counseled by some form of psychology for some form of mental illness.  This has also been translated into the modern church.

Friends, the world needs to return to its biblical hope by revisiting the promises in Scripture and believing them – believing that God will fulfill His promise.  The Bible says, “Praise be to the Lord…Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.”  (I King 8:56)  God will fulfill His promise.  He will deliver you from the bondage of your past.  He will cure you of all the emotional and psychological problems that disturb you.  He is the one who has the power to do that and He chooses to do it through the proclamation of His Holy Word and your application of it.  Friends, do you really want to change and be all that God wants you to be?  If so, then you just need to begin by believing it!

His Powerful Word enables us to participate in the Divine Nature (v4b) 

What is it that keeps us growing in Christ?  What keeps us putting off the old nature and putting on the new?  What allows us to escape the corruption in the world that causes evil desires?  It is our participation in the divine nature – it is our communion with the risen Lord – it is our fellowship with God the Father – it is our companionship with the Holy Spirit.

It is rather sad that many in the modern church never get to this point.  They have joined a social club.  They like the friendship of the people.  They like doing things with their family.  They like the good music and the participation of their children in worship.  They may even like the sermons, but here is the problem: they don’t really have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  They do not hear his voice.  They do not hear the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  They don’t feel the warming in their heart when the Scriptures are read.  Moreover, when they read the Word of God there is a veil over their eyes.  They don’t understand what they are reading or how to apply it to their life.  Their non-participation in the divine nature has left them in bondage to the old nature following all of its evil desires.

While preaching in a crusade in Riga, Latvia many years ago (in fact two weeks after the revolt in Moscow), there was a Russian military officer with whom I had the privilege to share the Gospel.  After I had shared the Gospel he said it made perfect sense and he would love to receive Christ, but how could he know for sure that Christ is real?  I remember telling him that he just needed to step out on faith believing and then Christ would make Himself known in a very real way.  He said, “I will think about it.”  The next day was my last day in Latvia and I preached my last sermon at the Russian church.  I was surprised to see this same Russian military officer come forward at the conclusion of the service to accept Jesus Christ publicly.  Later I had an opportunity to share with him about his decision.  He said simply, “After you left I prayed believing and Christ made Himself real to me.  I know that He is alive!  So I asked him to be my Lord.”  Praise God for His powerful Word!

Dear friends, it’s time to let God’s Holy, authoritative, sufficient Word change your life for ever- to grow you from one degree of glory to another – and to allow you to participate in His divine nature.  Just imagine the possibilities!  Imagine with me for a moment what would happen if the church would follow this principle of sanctification in the Holy Spirit.  I will tell you that we would be an oddity in today’s world for people would come from all over just to be a part of God working in the lives of His people.  This building would never be big enough to contain its worshippers.  It would be a glorious day indeed.  This participation in the divine nature is a calling to His glory – to His power and majesty – to His goodness – and to His love.

I am sure that is exactly what the Apostle felt when he was on the Mount of Transfiguration.  Listen to his own words, “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.  For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.’  We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.”  (II Peter 1:16-18)

Wow!  Notice that Peter and the other Apostles with them also received honor and glory!  It takes your breath away when you participate in his majestic glory.  It fills you with awe when you participate in His glorious fellowship.  It humbles you when you participate in His divine nature.  Friends, let’s let God be God and respond to His calling today!  He wants this day to be different in your life.  You respond to His calling today to participate in His divine nature made possible by the simple, yet powerful gospel of Jesus Christ.