Sparks from the Gospel Anvil
Psalm 24:1-7
What was King David to do? After 30 years without the Ark of the Covenant, David wanted to bring it back to Israel. While David was certainly grateful for the peace that existed in Israel in those days; he knew that Israel was still far away from the Lord. It was during the days of King Saul, that Israel lost sight of their relationship with the Lord. David wanted to make that situation right, he wanted to bring his people back into the Presence of God! To do this, David knew he was going to have to lead the nation to Obed-Edom, the Gittite’s house, to get the Ark and bring it to Jerusalem. David knew that Israel would never be where they needed to be with the Lord UNTIL the Ark was restored as the centerpiece of the Israelite’s everyday life. This Ark was symbolic of God’s presence among His people, but it had not been kept in the central position that it deserved; and as a result, neither had God. Now we do not have an Ark like Israel did; But we still need the PRESENCE of GOD just as much as they did. This Psalm was written by King David to celebrate the moving of the Ark; From Obed-Edom’s house to Jerusalem. To re-establish the PRESENCE of the LORD in Jerusalem. We too, need the PRESENCE of the LORD in our life, also in our homes, school, our city, our county & even our country! You see never was the Church more richly organized than she is at the present hour; Her ministers were never more thoroughly equipped For the proclamation of the Gospel. Yet, who does not feel that there is something lacking, Some large and heavenly baptism of power, To give authority to those who preach & reality to those that hear. I recall the remark that Sir Walter Scott once made as he stood before a portrait of Robert Burns. He looked at it for a moment and then said, “Yes, the luster is there, but it is not lighted up!” And it seems to me that what Sir Walter Scott missed in the portrait of the poet is what we all miss in the Church. The luster is there of method and efficiency, Of able preaching and devoted service; Yet, somehow, if we look at things right, that luster is not lighted up, and nothing will light it up Except the PRESENCE of GOD.
A large baptism of The Holy Spirit is the church’s deepest need today. Many people agree that “fellowship with God is man’s highest privilege”, But fellowship with God does not come without a standard.
The Scriptures said, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth.” (Ref. 1 John 1:6) So, my question for you today is this, Are you walking with God? Are you in touch with the Eternal? Are you Aware of the Almighty? Are you God Conscious? Are you abiding in Christ? This is what Real Revival is! Did you know that Revival is the most prostituted word in our vocabulary today! A.W. Tozer defined revival as “that which changes the moral climate of a community.” & Leonard Ravenhill said that, “I find all kinds of people interested in revival. I don’t find many people burdened for it. People are very interested in revival, but we don’t start to break the fallow ground. We don’t prepare the way of the Lord.
It was Charles Wesley who wrote the hymn,
“See how great a flame aspires, kindled by a spark of grace.
Jesus’ love the nations fires, sets the kingdoms all ablaze.
To bring fire on earth He came, kindled in some hearts it is,
Oh that all might catch the blaze, all partake the glorious bliss.”
Jesus said, “To bring fire on earth have I come.” Did you hear anybody preach on that text? What kind of fire? Well, surely not hell fire. Holy Ghost fire! The most devastating fire of all is not the fire that consumes a building. It isn’t even the fire of hell. The greatest, most devastating fire, is the fire of God. We say, “God is love, God is love, God is love…” And yet our God is a consuming fire. “Who shall abide the day of His coming,” Malachi says. “He is like a refiner’s fire.” Mathew 3:16, “He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and Fire.” But you see, that aspect is not stressed in the day in which we live. Everybody talks about the baptism.
So what do you mean by the baptism? There is a baptism with the Holy Ghost and Fire. Not just with the Holy Ghost, but with Fire. When He comes He will, “thoroughly purge His floor and burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Which, again, can happen individually, or it can happen in a church, or it can come and work through a whole community or it can work through a whole nation. A real revival is not religious entertainment where crowds gather to hear outstanding preachers And musical programs; neither is it the result of sensational advertising; Revival is an “awareness of the Presence of God” that grips the whole community . This is the vast difference between our modern campaigns & true revival. In the former hundreds may be brought to a knowledge of Christ & churches experience a season of blessing, but as far as the community is concerned little impact is made; the taverns, dance halls, and movies are still crowded, and godlessness marches on. In a revival, The Spirit of God like a cleansing flame sweeps through the community.
Divine conviction grips people everywhere; the strongholds of the devil tremble and many close their doors, while multitudes turn to Christ! This is what happened in the Great Awakening with Jonathan Edwards
And with the American Revival of 1857; The Welsh Revival of 1904; The Hebridean Revival in 1949; With the ashes of past revivals before us – for those scenes today are only history – we may ask the question: CAN THOSE SCENES BE REPEATED? CAN GOD SEND A SIMILAR REVIVAL IN OUR DAY? In every age, the revival resources of God have been waiting to be “turned loose” when God could find men who could stand before Him
in holiness, prayer, and faith and make it possible, and to those who travel the highways of the world, there are obvious and encouraging signs that God is again “preparing the way” for a new spiritual awakening.
What Was The “Secret” Of These Men? (1) THEIR FAITH IN A “COVENANT-KEEPING” GOD! Here were men who believed the tremendous fact that REVIVAL lay within their power, through the “Covenant” promises of God.
Had God not declared: “If My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways: then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).A covenant is an “agreement” BINDING ON BOTH PARTIES. If then, God is a COVENANT KEEPING GOD, this promise is binding upon Him as well as upon us if WE fulfill OUR part of the covenant, then HE must fulfill HIS! If God is God, then He is TRUE, then His WORD MUST COME to pass, and we can absolutely DEPEND upon it! God has promised revival, therefore He is waiting to send it.
If this was true, revival did not depend on GOD, but on His PEOPLE KEEPING THE CONDITIONS OF THE COVENANT! (2) THEIR HUMBLING BEFORE GOD!
“If My people … will HUMBLE themselves!” God is HOLY, and humanity must humble itself before Deity. Before man can stand upon Holy Ground he must be clean. “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart: who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully; he shall receive the blessing of the Lord.”()Psalm 24 KJV)
Is this literal? How can we have clean hands and a pure heart? After committing adultery with Bathsheba and having her husband Uriah murdered, Nathan the Prophet confronted David, It is in Psalm 51 we hear these words- Create in me a clean heart and restore a right spirit within me. We need to be consistent in our walk, (clean hands and a pure heart) Our work (who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity) are you proud? And our words (nor sworn deceitfully) -every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment. Some people speak today as if they had been to hell and had the devil as their professor;
(3) THEIR TRAVAILING AND PREVAIILING IN PRAYER! revival that has broken upon the face of the earth has been preceded by the people of God upon their knees travailing before God.
And how did they pray; not the half-hearted, sentimental, churchly, half-doubting prayers to which we are accustomed today and which accomplish so little. As one listened to these men literally wrestling with God,
drawing into the spiritual conflict every power and energy they possessed, one was reminded of the prayer of the Master in Gethsemane: “Who, in the days of His flesh…offered up prayers and supplications with strong cry and tears”The men who had covenanted to stand in the gap for revival, PRAYED! In desperation, they stormed the throne of God. Burning passion, concern for the lost, and absolute confidence in God, gripped every word that fell from their praying lips. They prayed until they lay helpless and exhausted. What depths of reaching out to God! They prayed until they travailed, and they travailed until they PREVAILED! They prayed UNTIL GOD ANSWERED! TRAVAIL must always precede PREVAIL!” When Zion travailed she brought forth.
Lt. Charles Smith is commanding officer of the Salvation Army of El Dorado.
• • •
Ancient Words
Miracle of Resurrection—Walk to Emmaus
After Jesus appeared first to Mary of Magdala outside the tomb in the garden area (Mark 16.9-11) on that glorious Sunday morning, he next appeared to the rest of the women who had been spoken to by angels at the empty tomb when they had come with spices to anoint his body (Mk 16.1, Matt 28.8-10). From this appearance (twice to the women), they all excitedly carried the news of Jesus being seen alive to the Eleven and the others in the inner circle of Jesus’ followers. The men, however, just could not believe what they were saying and in fact said their words “seemed like nonsense”( Luke 24.11). Peter ran to the tomb to check out their story and view the strips of linen and a folded head-cloth. He wondered what happened while John entered the same tomb moments later and believed (John 20.3-9). Later that evening Jesus rebuked all of them for their lack of faith and their “stubborn refusal” to believe the women who had seen him after he had risen (Mk 16.14).
Seven miles to the northwest of Jerusalem is a small town called Emmaus meaning “warm springs”. Two men are walking to Emmaus that Resurrection Sunday when a stranger comes up along their side. The stranger is Jesus and seems to play a type of “Cat and Mouse” game the rest of that day. Two of the inner circle are walking to the village of Emmaus as they talked of the day’s events. They have heard of the empty tomb from the women earlier that morning and are discussing all of the day’s events. Jesus comes up alongside the pair and enters the conversation without being recognized (Luke 24.13-49). “What are you discussing….”, Jesus asks. With downcast faces, one replies, “Are you new to Jerusalem? Haven’t you heard about the things going on?” Jesus, still not known by the two travelers, responds—“What things?” “About Jesus of Nazareth!” they reply and then continue with a recapping of events over the past three days. The still unknown visitor, Jesus, then begins to explain in the Old Testament scriptures all that was said about the Messiah. Let’s see…. that would be from Genesis to Malachi and for the next seven miles they walk and listen intently as Jesus in the OT is explained.
Can you imagine that Bible study with that Teacher? No doubt the “Stranger” quoted from Isaiah, “And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (9.6”), “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—-the Spirit of Wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord—-and he will delight in the fear of the Lord (11.1-3), and “After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many and he will bear their iniquities (53.11)”. No doubt the “Stranger” spoke of Adam (& Eve), Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Ruth, David, Jonah along with other kings and prophets. The Emmaus pair are amazed and have Jesus join them for supper. While breaking bread, their eyes were opened and they saw him—-and then he disappeared from their sight! Their hearts burned within, they rushed back to Jerusalem to report the women’s testimony was true. The Eleven (minus Thomas) and the others were assembled behind locked doors (Jn 20.19) and suddenly Jesus appears. All are alarmed thinking they see a ghost. Jesus calms them with words of peace, shows them his nailed scarred hands and feet, and dines with them on broiled fish and honeycomb (Luke 24-42, KJV-BRG). Jesus breathes on them the Holy Spirit, opens their minds to understand the Scriptures, and asks them to stay in Jerusalem until Pentecost. The Kingdom has now come and fully enveloped the hearts and minds of his chosen ones! The Apostles are now ready to deliver the Miracle of Resurrection sermon to the world!
May our hearts “burn” as we learn of the Christ from the lives of men and women from Ancient Words. May our eyes be opened to the power of his Spirit as explained—Eph 1:17-23 “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms…”
Scott Johnson is pastor at East Faulkner Church of Christ and author of the BRG Bible. Bible questions can be sent to [email protected].