ARCI – 2020 October 4
>> HashTag # Church has left the building!!
- Aligning with God
- Season of sifting…Peter >> Luke 22:31
- Where the heart of man is tested and tried
- To see how far off one is from the truth of the Word
- Giving us an opportunity to repent (change direction)
- …realign ourselves in Christ
- … back to the straight and narrow path of the Way, Truth & Life.
Church has left the building
- Not about us trying to contain the Spirit of God
- …but about God trying to contain & align us through His Spirit
- >> Taking the vehicle of our lives back to the manufacturer for (spiritual) service
- …to ensure that we make it in the journey of life into eternity in His presence
Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NKJV)
- “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
- I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.
- >> The motives behind what we do — the thoughts & intentions of the heart
- …If I am preaching water and drinking wine, it is all to naught in the eyes of God
- …for righteousness must accompany salvation in our walk with God…Isaiah 45:8
Revelation 3:10 (NKJV)
- Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
- >> God will look after His own during the time of trial and testing
Luke 22:31-32 (NKJV)
- And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.
- But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
- >> During the exam, the Lord still rooting for you to pass, then to go and encourage others
- …You can’t ask Him for assistance during the exam, but His grace is sufficient
- … Apostle was saying >> you have to go through the fire to see what you are really made of
Isaiah 26:9
- My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit within me diligently seeks You. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
- >> Peter thought that he was OK with the Lord until the test came & he denied him 3 times
- >> I may have been thinking that I am OK with God…until Covid came
- … as an individual
- … as a family
- … as a Church
- … as a country
>> Challenged: do I really know Jesus or just know about Him?
- You cannot really know someone you don’t have an intimate relationship with
- The difference between reading the Word & studying the Word
- I read to know about Jesus (newspaper) , I study to know Jesus
2020 still the Year of Breakthrough & Magnification
>> Its not over yet, may have come in an unexpected manner…
- Many have been broken, some have broken-through
- >> Others have been broken to breakthrough!
- Many have been diminished, some have been magnified
- >> Others have been diminished to be magnified in Christ!
2 Chronicles 16:9 (NKJV)
- For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him
- >> Am I available for the Lord to demonstrate his power through me?
During this season,
- If nothing has changed positively in our spiritual life…
- There is a problem
- We need to take stock
- …personally as individuals
- … as families
- …..as a Church
- ……..as a nation
And purpose to be Repented, Restored & Revived
- According to the will purposes and plans of God.
>> Repentance
- Both of the heart & mind >> thoughts & intentions
>> Restoration
- Of the Spirit of God operating within us
- Operating in the fullness of who I am in Christ
>> Revival
- Manifestation of life, and life in abundance
Revival >> Requires Church to leave the building
- Operate in the Spirit & outside the box (of flesh, world & religion)
>> Starts with Repentance & Restoration
# May the Lord help us complete our walk in Repentance & Restoration
- So that we usher in the period of Revival
- … in our families, Church, Nation & the world
Romans 8:19 (NKJV)
- For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
God & the world is waiting for you,
…God & the world is waiting for me
……God & the world is waiting for us
THE LIVING WORD 4 LIFE 