Revive us again!

In case you haven’t heard about it, there is currently a revival going on at Asbury University in Kentucky.  For several days now, there has been a steady stream of people entering the university chapel to pray and worship God.  It all started when a chapel service ended, and nobody left.

That building has now been occupied with worshippers, sometimes a full house, for over a week.  Why does this matter?

If nothing else, it demonstrates that God is at work in the world!

At a deeper level, it shows us that the human race has not been forsaken by the Lord. 

Among the most socially impactful revivals were the Great Awakenings in New England in the 18^th century, sparked in large part by the faithful biblical preaching of Jonathan Edwards.

Even a cursory study of history will show that periodically over time, in various places in the world, movements of the Holy Spirit have taken place that have had an impact on society.  Perhaps you remember the Toronto Blessing from the 1990s as an example of this.

A dear friend and colleague and I drove to Toronto one snowy Sunday night to witness this movement.  Seated with some seminary professors in the back row, we took it all in.  People were laughing, people were doing “carpet time” (as it was called), being slain in the Spirit.  It was vastly different from what my service that morning had looked like!

But in all honesty, as one with the spiritual gift of discernment of spirits, I was not alarmed.  

While it might not have been “my thing”, I found it difficult to doubt that God was at work in the midst of that.

Revivals are great.  Everybody likes a show.  What really matters, though, is the fruit that is borne from it.  As my friend, John G. Stackhouse, Jr., wrote recently, the revival at Asbury will have been a remarkable work of God if there is some seed of growing discipleship demonstrated among the people affected by it.  

Should we pray for revival in our hearts, our homes, our churches, our nations?  Undoubtedly, yes!  And as we do, let’s likewise pray for the desired result of revival:  changed hearts and lives.  Otherwise, we will have enjoyed the sizzle, but not feasted on the steak.

God is still active in our world.  He has not forsaken us, the pinnacle of his creation.  Let’s pray that many, many people are directed to follow Jesus with greater devotion as a result of revival.

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15.5, NLT).

Sacrifice

As Remembrance Day approaches, the word “sacrifice” looms large.  We remember, with gratitude, those who gave their lives in the service of our country’s freedom and sovereignty.

But sacrifice is not limited to those who die in battle.

Yes, often, we think of Jesus’ words to his disciples – a veiled reference to himself – when he said, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15.13, NLT). 

But the notion of sacrifice also relates to our own walk with God.  The apostle Paul wrote to the Roman church, “I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you.  Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind he will find acceptable.  This is truly the way to worship him” (Romans 12.1, NLT).

He calls us to give – once for all, as a victim – our bodies, which contextually refers to our whole selves – as a living sacrifice.

As disciples of Jesus, our worship involves the complete giving of every part of us to God, in his service, for his Kingdom, for his glory.

So, yes, gratefully remember those who sacrificed their lives for Canada’s freedom.  And gratefully sacrifice your body, your mind, your soul, for the glory of God, who in Jesus Christ has redeemed you for his good purpose.

The Cost of Discipleship

**USING NEW AND IMPROVED AUDIO CAPTURING TECHNOLOGY!** In this worship gathering, we learn about how the world hating Christ-followers is nothing new. How do we withstand it? Jesus helps us understand in John 15.18-16.4. The message itself begins at 30:09.

Hate

This Sunday at St. Paul’s Church, Nobleton, I’m going to talk about hate.  It’s a pertinent subject, since there’s a lot of it going around these days – but not all of it gets publicized in the same way.

Jesus tells his disciples the blatant truth in John 15.18-19 (NLT):  “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world.  I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.”

That seems like pretty bad news.  How do we survive, let alone thrive, in a society where we are surrounded by hate? (You’ll have to stay tuned for the answer to that.  You can join us at 10:00 a.m. for worship on Sunday, or tune in to our live-stream on Facebook, or later on YouTube or on the church website.)  Hatred toward followers of Jesus is not widely talked about, perhaps because the church has been a dominant force in society for so long…but it isn’t anymore.

But the good news is that there is help.  We aren’t consigned to live the Christian life alone.  We have the Holy Spirit, and each other.  Each is important!

The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, given to us by the Father and the Son to live in and through us when we come to him in faith.  Living the Christian life without the Holy Spirit is like trying to breathe without oxygen: it can’t be done.  The Holy Spirit is our Helper, our Advocate in the midst of the hate the world offers.

There are a lot of “one another” phrases in the New Testament, and these underscore how important Christian community is.  We need each other if we are going to make a difference in a world of adversity. We need each other in both a macro and a micro sense, sharing corporate worship as well as a deeper intimacy with the Lord and each other through small groups.

The world will hate us for following Jesus, because it hates Jesus.  But the good news is that the church of Jesus has been historically proven to thrive under persecution.  Think of the Christians in China, forced underground to continue their devotion to the Lord.  Imagine how much community means to them!  Imagine how much they rely on the Holy Spirit!

We don’t know much about persecution here in the west…yet.  But we can be ready for it by relying on the Holy Spirit and each other.

See you on Sunday.

You’ve Got A Friend

The song many of us remember, popularized by James Taylor, reminds us of what a friend can be.  Jesus talks about this in John 15.9-17.  How are we friends with Jesus?  And how do we demonstrate our friendship with him?  We answer these questions in the message, which starts at 13:15.  The service includes the Lord’s Supper.  Our substitute musician called in sick today, so I was left to accompany all the singing.  Sorry about that!

Spiritual Viticulture

Staying connected to Jesus, as a branch to a vine, is important, because it’s how we naturally bear fruit.  Instead of focusing on bearing fruit, we’re called to focus on being disciples of Jesus, which means we’ll naturally bear fruit.  Based on John 15.1-8, you can listen to “Spiritual Viticulture” at 28:05, or watch the whole service below.

Tangled Vines

Today, we received three young people into membership as they made their first public profession of faith.  I aimed this message not solely at them, but I did see it as an opportunity to remind everyone of what we’re getting into when we sign on with Jesus.  Based on John 15.1-17, you can listen to the message here, or click the link below it to watch the video on Facebook (member or not).

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