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REVIVAL
Spiritual Revival's are both Biblical and Historical. Will we see another great national Revival in the western world as we did in the 18th century, 1859, 1904, etc?
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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on
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Curious. From your POV what is the context of Hebrews 10:25?
Thanks in advance,
LT
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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on
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Psalm 84:4
Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;They will still be praising You. Selah
Psalm 84:10
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
John 2:17
Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”
1 Timothy 3:15
but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
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Permalink Reply by Fix You on
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LT
My answer will have to be in the form of a mini-Bible study...sorry...
The book of Hebrews was written to the early Jewish Christians. These believers were suffering from persecution from the Jews themselves and were also very confused with their new-found faith. Even Paul had to tell them that they couldn't continue going over and over all the basics of Christianity for ever. In chapter 5 he writes
"We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness."
So this group of Jewish Christians are weak in the faith....they are in desperate need of one thing in particular......we'll discover what it is quite soon..
Because they were mixing up their old Legalistic Rituals with Christianity....the book is full of Paul's explanations as to how the shadows of the Law and Prophets were all fulfilled in the Messiah. Paul writes....
Hebrews 13:9-10
Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them. We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
Paul goes on to instruct them to avoid falling back into their old sinful ways....and here is that missing piece of advice which Paul knows by his own experiences will really help them to resist the pressure on them to revert back to Lawkeeping
Hebrews 3:12-13
See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.
Yes...it was ENCOURAGEMENT. Paul told them to encourage each other...which means to be there for each other, to support each other, to care for each other, to be a micro-community which will always be there to assist any who are in need or are feeling that things are getting to tough for them. Because Paul warns them that if they fall back again into lawkeeping, then the holy spirit will be unable to bring them back again into grace.....
Hebrews 6:4-6
It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, becauseto their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
More evidence of their thinking that they should go back to giving animal sacrifes in the temple is given below.............
Hebrews 7:11
If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood
And here Paul has to teach them that they are under a completely new covenant with God, and that all the symbols of the old were fulfilled in Christ
Hebrews 8:13
By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear
Hebrews 10:1
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming
So Paul tells them these encouraging words himself
Hebrews 10:22-24
let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
And here is the true message of 10:25....this is what Paul is telling them''''
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds
But...HOW?
Hebrews 10:25
".....let us ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER..."
....and towards the end of this letter, Paul adds
Hebrews 13:1
Keep on loving each other as brothers
In 10:25, Paul was only telling them to get together for one purpose...mutual encouragement. He didn't tell them that they had to do this on a specific day, or time, he didn't tell them that they all had to meet together at the same time or at the same place, nor did he tell them to act out any rituals or liturgy at these meetings. All he said was...in modern language was...."don't stop getting together with each other or socialising, because you all need each other for the purpose of mutual encouragement"
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Fix You,
Encouragement and fellowship are certainly a major part of the community's responsibility, one to another. There is also a call to prayer and teaching (Acts 2:42). The apsotle Paul mentions the positions of pastors and recognition of elders and deacons. The body is not meant to be fragmented, but gathered together serving the purposes of God through His church (the local body). The final chapters of 1 Corinthians speaks directly to the church and the behavior expected within the church gathering.
Has the church always acted like the church? Has there been abuses within the church? Have men tried to take control? These questions are very different than whether the church should gather together as the body of Christ under the leadership that God establishes locally.
I would also comment that without the local church gathered together and working together the spreading of the gospel would be hindered past and present. Paul was supported at least at times by the local congregations. Missionaries today are supported by local congregations. This would be nearly impossible if the body was fragmented and did not come together with purpose and under leadership.
I will stop for now and expect there will be more discourse on this.
Lord Bless,
LT -
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Fix,
I will only ask the following question.
1. Do you go to church, are you a member of any particular church?
If you answer no, Why not? -
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When I asked the Lord for release from this particular church He gave me the parable of the wheat and the tares ... to me this mean't He himself will separate me out and in His good time. I am to stand. It has less to do with attending church as with standing in this situation. He is growing my faith through this trial. Teaching me to lean on Him and not myself. Teaching me to submit and in doing so finally the torment from Satan has ceased. I believe my husband and I are there for His purpose ... for His glory. There to exhort and lift up those that are being similarly oppressed.
As far as Hebrews 10:25 goes and the replies already made. We need to look at the whole chapter. To me verse 25 and 26 says more about departing from the faith ... about abandoning the truth in Jesus Christ...His gospel...His worship and His people. It is a must that we have regular fellowship with other believers being united to preserve our faith and witness...to stay strong not forsaking each other but lifting each other in unity. But this has little to do with the 'church' of today ... the endtime church is filled with apostasy ... strife ... the extreme of either legalism or humanism.
10:39 says we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. We are to draw near to God. We are to hold fast the profession of our faith and we are to consider one another. So do we stay in the Laodiceanism church of the end times ... should we compromise? No ...we should pray for discernment. We are to keep our eyes fixed on Christ ... He is our main priority. True disciples love to meet and study God's Word. They are knit together in love while growing in the understanding and knowledge of God's truth. ( Col 2)
In many churches people wear religious masks ... hard to hear but true... and they are themselves deceived.
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To add to this I would like to say that the Word of God was written for the edification of all people. To me, it doesn't matter that an epistle is written to a particular group of people. It was written to edify a particular group, but we all as readers and students of the Word can glean much information from the written word to keep from stepping into the same hole. I study the Bible as though it were written to one person....me.
The Holy Spirit is going to give me the knowledge and the understanding as I read this very personal love letter from God Himself. God is educating me on His ways...all I have to do is listen to what He says. He gives this information so we will not step in the same hole that others have stepped into, some of which never could free their foot.
Blessings,
Rita
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True disciples of Christ desire to see revival ... we must consider that true revival is to start with us " If MY people who are called by MY name" ... that is the point most miss. We can easily look at our brother and try to take the speck out of his eye not even recognizing the log in our own eye.
The Bible says to fail not to assemble yourselves together. Yet the church is not the building ... we are ... the church is the body of Christ. Going to a building doesn't make you committed or a Christian. Two or three gathered together doesn't make you a Christian either. To be a Christian is to be a follower of Christ. Church is not something you go to or have ... it is who you are. We need to ask ourselves, "Are we assembling or just gathering." There is a big difference! People can sit in a church 200 and not be assembled ... or sit is a church of 5000 and still not be assembled.
People do not like what is different than themselves ... they are often afraid of it. In Revelation Jesus describes seven churches ... they are called to repentance. The church in Smyrna is not condemned by the Lord and they were persecuted.
We should look at and ask our Lord Jesus Christ to show us if there is any compromise within ourselves. He has shown me the idols I needed to lay down. He continues to show me hidden sins that I need to repent for as I allow Him to be Lord of my life.
We are to walk in the fear of God and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Pride separates us from God. There is no perfect man of God ... no one. Beside Satan man's worse enemy is 'ourselves'. While Abram slept God walked that blood covenant alone knowing fully that Abram could not have kept it to the letter. God alone took that reponsibility and paid the debt of our sin nature through the blood of the only perfect lamb ... His son Jesus Christ.
1 John 1:6
If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
While some churches gather in fellowship and meetings do they truly gather and assemble themselves ... are they truly about the Father's business? Joshua 9:2 ," That they GATHERED themselves together, to fight with Joshua and Israel , WITH ONE ACCORD."
In the past great revivals have always been about humility, repentance and seeking God's face. If we were to cry out to God with true humility to search our hearts and show us where we have failed, asking for forgiveness, truly seeking God's face... He promises to hear from heaven. True children of God have been chastened at times by the Father because He loves us. Revival starts with us ... God's church.
If we were to cry out in true humility to God for the sins of this country ... pride in ourselves, the sexual immorality and aborting 4000 babies a day... would He hear from heaven and heal our land? When you look back through the OT there have been times when God has held back His hand of judgement because of prayer and true repentance ... but in Hezekiah's time and in Ninaveh it was only for a season before His judgement came.
Let us join in prayer for revival instead of tearing one another down. Fix, I don't know your situation but I do know that there are times to leave and head for the cave of Adullah. Christ is to be your guide. God bless you and keep you in His presence.
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2 Chronicles 7:14 is an age old call for people to repent (turn away from) and come to the Lord. Because God is eternal, his words are eternal also.
Actually, the call would be to the lost, and to those who already know the Lord but have sinned. It was a call to the unbelieving Israel when it was written, but is also a call for those who do not know God today.
God's words do not fade. They are alive today and will continue to live tomorrow. Blessings are unlimited to those who hear them and heed them.
God's hand was extended then and it is still extended, calling all who will come to Him.
As I have said before, God's entire book was written to me...and to you.... and to any who will heed it.
Because God can see from the very beginning to the end of this age, and beyond, He already knows who the saved are and who the lost are. He names the conditions of the covenant...
Our job is to
Humble ourselves
Pray in repentance
Seek Him
And turn from our wicked ways
His promise is to
Speak from Heaven
Forgive our sins
Heal our land
I think that "heal their land" could also mean...heal their circumstances.
Christians have peace in their lives, even in the midst of harship, when they turn to the Lord. It is that "peace that passes all understanding." It is the ability, God given, that enables us to have the strength to deal with the undealable and change the unchangeable. Things might not change but our attitude does change once we have the Lord as our Savior.
The first thing we do is accept that God is who He says he is.
Then we humble ourselves, we stay quiet and listen to what he says, learning the instruction He gives.
We learn to pray to Him for guidance.
As we are doing all of the above we are being healed in the greatest way possible.
As we do our share, God is doing His share. Hearing, forgiving, healing.
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Amen ... We are called to exhort one another. We should be part of the body that ministers to one another. Sometimes we are called to admonish one another ( Romans 15:14) ... to caution or warn ... to instruct based on God's Holy Word. We are called to care for one another (1Cor 12:25) that there be no division or schism in the body. We are called to bear one anothers burdens (Gal 6:2). We are called to comfort one another (1 Thess 4:18 and 5:11) We are called to have compassion as brothers and sisters for one another (1 Peter 3:8) We are to confess our faults to one another so we can lift one another up in prayer (James 5:16) Forgive one another (Eph 4:32 , Col 3:13) just as we have been forgiven. These are some of the committments, as disciples of Christ, we should live out in our daily walk with Him. I am sure if I studied it out I could find many more to add.
Joel 2:12-18 talks about revival ... As Rita said revival is about hearing, forgiving and healing ...turning to God ... putting away things that are between the Lord and ourselves. Turning to God with all our hearts ... taking serious the covenant committment we partake in through Jesus Christ with God ... being genuine in our repentance ... taking time to fast and pray.
John Wesley wrote, "Give me one hundred men who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I will shake the world."
R. A. Torrey said, "I can give a prescription that will bring a revival to any church or community or any city on earth." His prescription was three-fold: First, let a few Christians get thoroughly right with God. Second, let them bind themselves together to pray for a revival until God opens the heavens. Third, let them put themselves at the disposal of God for him to use as he sees fit in winning others to Christ. Torrey went on to say, "I have given this prescription around the world. It has been taken by many churches and many communities, and in no instance has it ever failed; and it cannot fail!"
Look up the 1970 Asbury College Revival ... you will see and hear about a revival that will bless your soul. As I think about it I can see Torrey was right in his evaluation.
What if we as a group ... yet individually ... committed to join in repentant prayer and in the study of God's Word everyday, seeking God's face for revival until the Lord opens the heavens? What if we committed to be open to His leading and witness to each person the Lord sends across our path ... ? What if we prayed with expectation that the Lord will come bringing revival to our churches and communities. Are we willing? Could we be used by God in a way to turn our churches and communities to God? Could we? I
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Permalink Reply by Stacey Osana Arquines on
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We shall see. Do you worry of the future? Do you focus on your spiritual renewal? Live life to the fullest and Hope for all days that every day be a spiritual renewal.
God Bless You <3 :)
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Dear Stacey,
Do I worry about the future? Yes and No... I don't worry about my future. I know God is in control of the future. My name ... praise God because of his mercy and grace ... and because I repented, believe and received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior ... is written down in the Lamb's book of life. Even when the enemy tells me this isn't so I continue to stand in faith. And His Word will not return void. His promises are true.
What we are watching, daily in this lost world, is prophecy being fulfilled at what seems at lightning rate. My heart cries out for renewel in mostly a sleeping church. While it is still day ... we need to continue to work. James says faith without works is dead.
Do I worry about individuals who are lost... who think they are saved. My friend's neice died in an auto accident two nights ago. Only God can know a person's heart but she crossed the center line and died in an instant. She was only in her twenties. Was she born again? My friend does not think so. We all will meet Him after our physical death.Yes, Do I worry about people who have one foot in the world and one foot in the body of Christ? Yes. Jesus said you can not serve two masters.
I worry about the people that cross my path that think life will continue just as it has who will be caught unaware (parable of the virgins). I worry about my sisters and brothers who are unable to worship Jesus Christ in public without a threat to their very lives. I worry about the body of Christ who are in 'reeducation' camps in China as I sit here comfortably in my chair with a fat white cat curled up on my feet. I feel their suffering. So yes, I am concerned to such a degree that I pray with an urgency. I pray that I would be so in touch with the Father that I not miss the opportunity He provides to witness and plant the gospel seed. Romans 12:1-2 I pray to be a clean vessel that the Lord Jesus can use. I pray that I would not miss an opportunity to pray and move in humble ways yet with the boldness of a servant to Christ.
Do I focus on my own spiritual renewal? Yes, I try to start and end my day with the Lord. I try to keep Him at the center of my life during the day ... listening for His guidance in everything I do. Do I do this perfectly? No , but when I stumble the Holy Spirit who abides in me will lift me up , dust me off and place my feet back securely on the foundational rock. You are right ... spiritual revival starts with me ... and you ... and all of the body of Christ as individuals. The church as a whole needs to awake from complacency and build God's house. We are God's temple ... individually and corporately.
Paul told Archippus, “See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord” (Col. 4:17). In Philippians 1:6 he declared, “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” At the end of his life Paul said, “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:5). Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of God who sent me and to finish it” (John 4:34). On the cross he cried out, “It is finished” (John 19:30). My desire is to do the will of my Father in heaven. To be able to say, " Abba Father" when we come face to face and Him know me.
We all need to repent ... to turn to God ... to live in obedience to His will for our lives ... then we will see 2 Chronicles 7:14 in reality. Through Haggi God called the exiles " these people" not "my people" ... they delayed in building the temple of God. God said His house was in ruins ... I believe today God's house ... His people lay in ruins. I could go on and on ... but if we look around ... open our eyes to truly see the condition of the church we would all cry out ... lay our idols down and repent . There will come a day of reckoning.
My prayer is one of repentance and a desire for spiritual renewal in this country. Just as God led Ezekiel through the temple to show him all the abominations ... God is exposing to us the same if our ears and eyes are open to Him ... and as Ezekiel saw the glory leave I fear the glory has left this country. We need to fall on our faces in sack cloth and ashes.
God bless you Stacey ...
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