Sermon Tone Analysis

The Normal Christian Life.

Rev 3:14-22

In reading accounts of the revivals, I have come to a conclusion that anything short of that experience daily in our personal lives, of us who make up the Church, are in a back sliding and don’t know it.

To day is the time of settling on our leas.

The time when Christ is knocking at the door of the Church.

(And get this into your minds and hearts that the Church is the living body of Christ not the building as so many are apt to call it today.

"sanctuary" “Temple”)

A time of praying for Holy Ghost power while denying the Holy Ghost His rightful place.

John Calvin said, “The sin of the OT was the rejection of Jehovah God.

The sin of the NT was the rejection of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

And the sin of today the church age is the rejection of the Holy Ghost.”

A time of preaching great sermons but they are dead letters.

A time of great learning in the Church, Drs.

Of this and that, degrees in this ‘ology’ and that ‘ology’ and yet no personal knowledge or experience of God.

A time of denying a big percentage of Scripture by placing themselves in certain pockets of time and saying this Scripture is not for our time that was for the Apostles time and yet at the same time saying that, they are Bible believing Christians.

Their Bibles must be very thin.

You must realise afresh that, NOW is the dispensation of the Holy Ghost, a continuation of the work of the Holy Spirit.

That work that began at Pentecost when He Jehovah came and entered His Church and His presence was so mighty in them, that all who were there, were mightily convicted of sin and cried out “What shall we do?”

This was not the first revival as some might call it.

This was the birth of the Church.

God coming to His purchased possession, to dwell in His Church.

God left His dwelling place, that temple which was built by Solomon.

Remember what was said then?

But will God indeed dwell on the earth?

behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?

1Kings 8:27

Even though he built a dwelling place for God he knew it was too small for Jehovah.

What place indeed could contain Jehovah?

Right down through the years this was the place that the Jews turned to.

Came back to.

As far as they were concerned this was the Holy city because God was there.

And the following is what happened because God was present.

1 When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language; 2 Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion.

3 The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.

4 The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs.

5 What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest?

thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?

6 Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs? 7 Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob; 8 Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.

Ps 114

When we come into the N.T.

We have Jesus’ words If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

John 14:23

Paul speaking to the Corths.

“for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” God present in His people.

24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him.

And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. 1 Jn.3:24

2Cor.

6:16

No more was God dwelling in a temple made with hands, no more just Judah and Israel; He changed His abode to the individual believer (who makes up the Church) Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple.

Malachi 3:1

That was the reason for the great phenomena.

And these phenomena would be a normal continuance in the Church’s life as long as the Church walks with God.

This was the meaning of “I will dwell in them”

2Cor 6:16 for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people

God’s burning holiness, which none could ignore was/is always with His people.

If this is so, why are there periods of time when it seems that God is far away?

Would God blow hot and cold on His people?

Except His people walked with Him no more.

How could this Mighty Holy God (“Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?

Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

The Burning Holiness of God.)

How can this Holy God dwell in His church and the ungodly around not be mightily affected?

One and only explanation ‘God is with them no more’

Look at the record of this in the Acts of the Apostles (Holy Spirit) from the day He came to dwell in His Church.

When the Church walked with God.

Acts 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 4:31-32 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.

31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

Acts 5 12-14 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.

13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: (“Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?) but the people magnified them.

14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)

Heb 2:5 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and giftsb of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

That was the start of it and in a fairly short space of time the Christian Church had spread over Asia

Justin Martyr, one of the leaders in the church about A.D. 150, said this:

There is no people, Greek or barbarian, or of any other race, by whatever appellation or manners they be distinguished, however ignorant of arts or agriculture, whether they dwell in tents or wander about in covered wagons, among whom prayers and thanksgivings are not offered in the name of the crucified Jesus to the Father and Creator of all things.5

Many say that, that time has passed; it was for the early Church!

I say this is absolute nonsense.

The Lord said to Moses, is the Lord’ arm waxed short?

Num 11:23

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me Ps.66:18

This was how it started and continued till sin entered and cut off the power of God.

Till the Church no more walked in the light.

Till man took the glory, till he no more believed the Word of God.

As Isaiah 66:5 says, “Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word”

How will a Holy God live in a dirty house?

But down through the years men and women got themselves into line with God again.

God again resumed His place in the Church and the only thing happened that could happen, the ungodly were converted.

These happenings were named revivals because individuals confessed their backsliding and got into line with God the Holy Spirit.

Some of these awakenings lasted longer than others.

Coming to the 14-16 century, Wickliffe, Huss, Luther, Zwingle and John Knox.

The great awakening in America in 1735 lasted unabated for about 25 years.

Others lasted different lengths of time the 1859 revival that we are so familiar with lasted for about 2 years obviously the effects are felt long after.

But what I’m trying to show is, the “time” limit was not because God wanted to give a wee injection of spiritual growth into the Church and then leave.

The normal life of the Church ceased, because of man’s carnal behaviour and self-esteem.

Sin came in and the Holy separated from the unclean.

Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:

But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hida his face from you, that he will not hear.