(307) 733-3706
HomeVisitAboutMinistriesEventsMessagesGive Sign in

Messages

Women's Bible Study - October 18th, 2023

October 18, 2023 · Deborah

Scripture referenced 17 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

  • 1 Chronicles 12:32 the people of Issachar understood the times they were living in and knew what to do

    32 Of the children of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their heads were two hundred; and all their brothers were at their command.

    World English Bible · Read it in another translation

    Keep this verse

Matthew 24

signs of the end times: wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, false teaching, persecution

1 Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way. His disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple.

2 But he answered them, “You see all of these things, don’t you? Most certainly I tell you, there will not be left here one stone on another, that will not be thrown down.”

3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?”

4 Jesus answered them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray.

5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray.

6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren’t troubled, for all this must happen, but the end is not yet.

7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places.

8 But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.

9 Then they will deliver you up to oppression, and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name’s sake.

10 Then many will stumble, and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another.

11 Many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray.

12 Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold.

13 But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved.

14 This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

15 “When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house.

18 Let him who is in the field not return back to get his clothes.

19 But woe to those who are with child and to nursing mothers in those days!

20 Pray that your flight will not be in the winter, nor on a Sabbath,

21 for then there will be great oppression, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be.

22 Unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved. But for the sake of the chosen ones, those days will be shortened.

23 “Then if any man tells you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or, ‘There,’ don’t believe it.

24 For there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.

25 “Behold, I have told you beforehand.

26 If therefore they tell you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t go out; ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ don’t believe it.

27 For as the lightning flashes from the east, and is seen even to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

28 For wherever the carcass is, that is where the vultures gather together.

29 But immediately after the oppression of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken;

30 and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.

31 He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

32 “Now from the fig tree learn this parable. When its branch has now become tender, and produces its leaves, you know that the summer is near.

33 Even so you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

34 Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away, until all these things are accomplished.

35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

36 But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

37 “As the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

38 For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship,

39 and they didn’t know until the flood came, and took them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left.

41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one will be left.

42 Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes.

43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

44 Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come.

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has set over his household, to give them their food in due season?

46 Blessed is that servant whom his lord finds doing so when he comes.

47 Most certainly I tell you that he will set him over all that he has.

48 But if that evil servant should say in his heart, ‘My lord is delaying his coming,’

49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with the drunkards,

50 the lord of that servant will come in a day when he doesn’t expect it, and in an hour when he doesn’t know it,

51 and will cut him in pieces, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. That is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Ezekiel 38

the nations that will form an alliance and attack Israel in the end times

1 Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him,

3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Behold, I am against you, Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.

4 I will turn you around, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords;

5 Persia, Cush, and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet;

6 Gomer, and all his hordes; the house of Togarmah in the uttermost parts of the north, and all his hordes; even many peoples with you.

7 “‘“Be prepared, yes, prepare yourself, you, and all your companies who are assembled to you, and be a guard to them.

8 After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples, on the mountains of Israel, which have been a continual waste; but it is brought out of the peoples, and they will dwell securely, all of them.

9 You will ascend. You will come like a storm. You will be like a cloud to cover the land, you, and all your hordes, and many peoples with you.”

10 “‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “It will happen in that day that things will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan.

11 You will say, ‘I will go up to the land of unwalled villages. I will go to those who are at rest, who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,

12 to take the plunder and to take prey; to turn your hand against the waste places that are inhabited, and against the people who are gathered out of the nations, who have gotten livestock and goods, who dwell in the middle of the earth.’

13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions of it, will ask you, ‘Have you come to take the plunder? Have you assembled your company to take the prey, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’”’

14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and tell Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “In that day when my people Israel dwells securely, will you not know it?

15 You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you, and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army.

16 You will come up against my people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land. It will happen in the latter days, that I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when I am sanctified in you, Gog, before their eyes.”

17 “‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Are you he of whom I spoke in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for years that I would bring you against them?

18 It will happen in that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord Yahweh, “that my wrath will come up into my nostrils.

19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath I have spoken. Surely in that day there will be a great shaking in the land of Israel;

20 so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, all creeping things who creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the surface of the earth will shake at my presence. Then the mountains will be thrown down, the steep places will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground.

21 I will call for a sword against him to all my mountains,” says the Lord Yahweh. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother.

22 I will enter into judgment with him with pestilence and with blood. I will rain on him, and on his hordes, and on the many peoples who are with him, an overflowing shower, with great hailstones, fire, and sulfur.

23 I will magnify myself, and sanctify myself, and I will make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.”’

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Daniel 12

there will be an increase in knowledge in the end times

1 “At that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who stands for the children of your people; and there will be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time. At that time your people will be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book.

2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

3 Those who are wise will shine as the brightness of the expanse. Those who turn many to righteousness will shine as the stars forever and ever.

4 But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end. Many will run back and forth, and knowledge will be increased.”

5 Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on the river bank on this side, and the other on the river bank on that side.

6 One said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be to the end of these wonders?”

7 I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by him who lives forever that it will be for a time, times, and a half; and when they have finished breaking in pieces the power of the holy people, all these things will be finished.

8 I heard, but I didn’t understand. Then I said, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these things?”

9 He said, “Go your way, Daniel; for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.

10 Many will purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked will do wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand; but those who are wise will understand.

11 “From the time that the continual burnt offering is taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there will be one thousand two hundred ninety days.

12 Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred thirty-five days.

13 “But go you your way until the end; for you will rest, and will stand in your inheritance at the end of the days.”

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Matthew 9

Jesus told his disciples the harvest is great but the workers are few

1 He entered into a boat, and crossed over, and came into his own city.

2 Behold, they brought to him a man who was paralyzed, lying on a bed. Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, cheer up! Your sins are forgiven you.”

3 Behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man blasphemes.”

4 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?

5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven;’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk?’

6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins-” (then he said to the paralytic), “Get up, and take up your mat, and go to your house.”

7 He arose and departed to his house.

8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

9 As Jesus passed by from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax collection office. He said to him, “Follow me.” He got up and followed him.

10 As he sat in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples.

11 When the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

12 When Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do.

13 But you go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

14 Then John’s disciples came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast?”

15 Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch would tear away from the garment, and a worse hole is made.

17 Neither do people put new wine into old wine skins, or else the skins would burst, and the wine be spilled, and the skins ruined. No, they put new wine into fresh wine skins, and both are preserved.”

18 While he told these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.”

19 Jesus got up and followed him, as did his disciples.

20 Behold, a woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years came behind him, and touched the fringe of his garment;

21 for she said within herself, “If I just touch his garment, I will be made well.”

22 But Jesus, turning around and seeing her, said, “Daughter, cheer up! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.

23 When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players, and the crowd in noisy disorder,

24 he said to them, “Make room, because the girl isn’t dead, but sleeping.” They were ridiculing him.

25 But when the crowd was put out, he entered in, took her by the hand, and the girl arose.

26 The report of this went out into all that land.

27 As Jesus passed by from there, two blind men followed him, calling out and saying, “Have mercy on us, son of David!”

28 When he had come into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They told him, “Yes, Lord.”

29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”

30 Their eyes were opened. Jesus strictly commanded them, saying, “See that no one knows about this.”

31 But they went out and spread abroad his fame in all that land.

32 As they went out, behold, a mute man who was demon possessed was brought to him.

33 When the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke. The multitudes marveled, saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”

34 But the Pharisees said, “By the prince of the demons, he casts out demons.”

35 Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.

36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.

37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

38 Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest.”

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Isaiah 6

Isaiah's vision of the Lord on his throne, his confession of unworthiness, and his call to be sent

1 In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple.

2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face. With two he covered his feet. With two he flew.

3 One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!”

4 The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 Then I said, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of Armies!”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar.

7 He touched my mouth with it, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven.”

8 I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!”

9 He said, “Go, and tell this people, ‘You hear indeed, but don’t understand; and you see indeed, but don’t perceive.’

10 Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.”

11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?” He answered, “Until cities are waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land becomes utterly waste,

12 And Yahweh has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many within the land.

13 If there is a tenth left in it, that also will in turn be consumed: as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stock remains when they are felled; so the holy seed is its stock.”

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Acts 3:19

repent and turn to God so sins may be wiped out and times of refreshing may come

19 “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord,

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

1 Corinthians 5

do not quench or be unresponsive to the working of the Holy Spirit

1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles, that one has his father’s wife.

2 You are puffed up, and didn’t rather mourn, that he who had done this deed might be removed from among you.

3 For I most certainly, as being absent in body but present in spirit, have already, as though I were present, judged him who has done this thing.

4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, you being gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

5 are to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole lump?

7 Purge out the old yeast, that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place.

8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old yeast, neither with the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

9 I wrote to you in my letter to have no company with sexual sinners;

10 yet not at all meaning with the sexual sinners of this world, or with the covetous and extortionists, or with idolaters; for then you would have to leave the world.

11 But as it is, I wrote to you not to associate with anyone who is called a brother who is a sexual sinner, or covetous, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or an extortionist. Don’t even eat with such a person.

12 For what do I have to do with also judging those who are outside? Don’t you judge those who are within?

13 But those who are outside, God judges. “Put away the wicked man from among yourselves.”

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Romans 3:23

all fall short of the glory of God

23 for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

1 John 1:9

if you confess your sins he will forgive you and cleanse you

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

2 Timothy 3:16

all scripture is divinely inspired and useful to teach, train, rebuke and correct

16 Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness,

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

2 Thessalonians 2:15

stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teachings passed on to you

15 So then, brothers, stand firm, and hold the traditions which you were taught by us, whether by word, or by letter.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Revelation 3

the Lord's letter to the church in Sardis calling it spiritually dead and urging it to wake up

1 “And to the angel of the assembly in Sardis write: “He who has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars says these things: “I know your works, that you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

2 Wake up, and keep the things that remain, which you were about to throw away, for I have found no works of yours perfected before my God.

3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If therefore you won’t watch, I will come as a thief, and you won’t know what hour I will come upon you.

4 Nevertheless you have a few names in Sardis that did not defile their garments. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.

5 He who overcomes will be arrayed in white garments, and I will in no way blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.

7 “To the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia write: “He who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says these things:

8 “I know your works (behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut), that you have a little power, and kept my word, and didn’t deny my name.

9 Behold, I give some of the synagogue of Satan, of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but lie. Behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.

10 Because you kept my command to endure, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, which is to come on the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

11 I am coming quickly! Hold firmly that which you have, so that no one takes your crown.

12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will go out from there no more. I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and my own new name.

13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.

14 “To the angel of the assembly in Laodicea write: “The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of God’s creation, says these things:

15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot.

16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth.

17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing;’ and don’t know that you are the wretched one, miserable, poor, blind, and naked;

18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich; and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see.

19 As many as I love, I reprove and chasten. Be zealous therefore, and repent.

20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me.

21 He who overcomes, I will give to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father on his throne.

22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.”

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Jeremiah 33:3

call to God and he will answer and tell you things you do not know

3 ‘Call to me, and I will answer you, and will show you great and difficult things, which you don’t know.’

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Isaiah 43:19

God saying he is about to do something new, making a pathway through the wilderness

19 Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs out now. Don’t you know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Isaiah 55:11

God's word will not return empty but will accomplish the purpose for which it was sent

11 so is my word that goes out of my mouth: it will not return to me void, but it will accomplish that which I please, and it will prosper in the thing I sent it to do.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

1 Peter 3:15

always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that you have

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear:

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

Deborah brought the final message of this Bible study series on the theme of revival, tying together the current moment in world events with the personal call every believer has to stay spiritually alive and share their faith. She drew on Isaiah 6, the story of John Piper's Passion Conference address, and her own journey back to the Lord to make the case that revival is not a distant church phenomenon but something available to every person in the room right now. The message closed with a personal story about her brother's near-death experience and his confession of faith in Christ.

What was said

Deborah opened by grounding the lesson in the present moment. She walked through signs Jesus described in Matthew 24, including wars, natural disasters, false teaching, and persecution of believers, alongside Ezekiel's description of a future assault on Israel and Daniel's prediction of an explosion in knowledge. Her point was not to alarm but to argue that understanding the times should sharpen a believer's sense of purpose rather than produce anxiety. She referenced 1 Chronicles 12:32, the men of Issachar who understood the times and knew what to do, as the model for how Christians should respond.

She then introduced the story Natalie had shared with her about Pastor John Piper's address to 40,000 students at a Passion Conference. Piper told the students that two elderly missionary women, Ruby Ellison and Laura Edwards, had just died in a vehicle accident in Cameroon after decades of sharing Jesus in unreached villages. He then read a Reader's Digest piece about a couple in Florida who had retired early to cruise and collect seashells, and named that the real tragedy. Deborah used this contrast to argue that the American dream of comfort and early retirement is a misreading of what a human life is actually for.

From there she moved to Isaiah 6 and Isaiah's vision of the Lord on the throne, the seraphim crying holy, holy, holy, and Isaiah's immediate response of recognizing his own sinfulness. She connected that moment of undone-ness to the beginning of Isaiah's call and to her own return to the Lord after years of chasing business success in Orange County, finding success hollow and coming back to a place of saying, "Here I am, send me." Revival, she said, begins in exactly that place.

She then laid out three movements she sees in any genuine revival. The first is repentance, which she described not as a one-time event but as an ongoing, self-aware practice of naming where we have missed the mark and coming back into fellowship with God. She used the image of an archer's arrow and the distance it misses the target to explain what sin means in its original sense. The longer a person stays outside that fellowship, she said, the less they feel the conviction pulling them back.

The second movement is reinvigorating the spiritual life, meaning consistent time in prayer and Scripture. She cited Jeremiah 33:3, where God says to call Him and He will answer and tell us things we do not know, and described Henry Nouwen's reflection on how the spiritual life changes when we stop imagining God as hiding from us. She also pointed to the letter to the church in Sardis in Revelation, where Jesus tells a busy, active church that it is spiritually dead, as a warning that religious activity without real intimacy is not the same thing as being alive in the Spirit.

The third movement is realigning priorities. Deborah talked about Jonathan Edwards, who prayed for revival in Northampton and tracked both negative and negative and positive signs in his congregation. She named irregular church attendance, declining generosity, and lack of real interest in Jesus as warning signs, and named growing love for God and others, a willingness to give, and intentionality in daily life as signs of genuine revival. She shared the experience of hosting the Amani Maleli choir from Uganda and watching the community's generosity toward those orphaned children as one of the clearest pictures of the Spirit at work she had ever witnessed.

Deborah closed with the reminder from Isaiah 55:11 that God's word does not return empty, and told the story of her youngest brother, who after years of resistance called her last week to say he had been resuscitated after a bee attack, had experienced what he was certain was heaven, and was ready to confess Jesus as his Lord. She held that phone call up as evidence that no one should be given up on, and that sharing faith, even when it feels fruitless for years, is exactly the work revival calls us to do.

Doing a Bible study?

Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

  1. Deborah described sin as 'missing the mark' and said it puts a lid on the Holy Spirit working in our lives. Where have you noticed that pattern in your own life, and what did it take to recognize it?
  2. Deborah shared John Piper's story about Ruby and Laura dying in Cameroon, and contrasted it with the Reader's Digest couple collecting seashells in retirement. How does that contrast challenge the way you think about what a life well spent actually looks like?

and 3 more questions in the guide

Open the study guide

Read the full transcript 8,380 words
We're gonna sing it together today rooted in your love. Just think about these words.
I'm telling you we love you. Oh, I am the branch you grafted into, sacrifice you went to, the cross for all my sin. And your grace is watering my soul. I'm giving you control. Have your way in me.
Because I am rooted in your love. I am rooted in your love. I am rooted in your love Jesus you are making all things new all my life is found in you I am rooted in your love Jesus we invite you here today come speak to us oh Jesus oh Jesus plan me your presence your love for me is you. Love I have for you I am rooted in your love I am rooted your love Jesus you are making all things new all my life is found in you I am rooted in your love Jesus roots grow deep, my roots grow deep, grow deep in you, your promise says I'll chew my roots grow deep, grow deep, deep in you, may my roots grow deep go deep in your promise says I'll chew my roots grow deep go deep deep in you sing that again may my roots grow deep go deep in you your promise as I chew my roots grow deep go deep deep in you you are making all things new all my life is found in you I am rooted in your love Jesus Sing that one more time. I am rooted I in your I am rooted in your love.
Jesus. You are making all things new my life is found in you I am rooted in your love Jesus
Lord, we just come before you today. We tell you that we're here to worship you. Worship you in your greatness and your kindness, your faithfulness, your mercy. We just remind ourselves right now who it is that we're singing to. The light of the world, king of kings, the Lord of lords.
And we actually just stop and think, lord, don't let us just sing another song, but let this be worshiped to you. And if we truly grasp that you inhabit the praises of your people and that you're here right now, How different would the posture of our heart be right now? So fix our eyes on you. We're here to worship you. That's why we're here.
We fix our gaze on you today as we sing light of the world.
Together wonderful to me let's sing that
bridge again together I'll never know Just with your eyes closed for just a minute, just with your own words, just loud enough for you to hear, just tell him, Jesus, I love you. I'm here to worship you today. I lay aside all the burdens and all the worries. It says a 117 different times in God's word to lift a new song to him. That's the song that comes from our spirit.
A love song to him. Let's just take a minute and just right where you are, with your eyes closed, just take a minute and just talk to him. Without us directing you, without their words on the screen, just talk to him for a moment. Lord, we thank you for the freedom to come before you like we are today. Thank you that that this word Hosanna, just like when Jesus you rode in into the city and the people cried out, hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest.
That they were they were crying out, that they recognized that you were their savior, that that you had saving power. The word hosanna means save us. Save us, Lord, as we sing that. We thank you for our salvation. We thank you for our salvation and security in you.
And we cry out to you, Lord, that you are the savior. Jesus, we just tell you we love you today. We ask that as Deborah comes and shares a word with us today that it would change us, that we would be changed by your word today. Open our hearts to what you have for us today through Deborah's teaching today. We thank you for it.
We honor your word today, and everybody said, amen. Have a seat, fill your coffee up, and we'll get started.
Do you wanna do it first? Yeah. Should I do it first? Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Okay. Okay.
Morning, ladies. Before Deborah gets started, I have a couple of announcements. I'll wait for the ladies at the back table.
I know. I have to pray to get them to be quiet. Oh, yeah.
What is it? 123. Eyes on me?
Yeah. That's what my one friend does.
123. Eyes on me. All right. I have a couple of announcements before Deborah gets started. So next week will be our last week of getting together.
And I want to invite you all to come one more week to our potluck. It's the most flavorful day.
It's flavorful.
On that note, have a pencil ready because I'm gonna tell you what your group is bringing. And small group leaders, if you wouldn't mind making sure that those that aren't here today know about this as well, maybe just shoot out a quick email. For Nancy and Heidi's group, we'd love you to bring savory egg dishes, kind of the the solid foods because you're solid. You can bring solid food. Fall fall style.
So egg dish is kind of the wholesome stuff. And I put Susie's group and Kathy Ward, she's much sweeter than me, on pastries. And the colorful, really healthy salads and fruit come from the vibrant Sammy and Casey's group because they're vibrant. And then Natalie and Lissa's groups are always quenching our thirst. So you're gonna bring drinks.
And we will get started at the same time. You'll come in and you'll put your food on the back. Semi's gonna set up some nice tables back there, and then we'll have a lovely message from Deborah and a quick potluck. Maybe not so quick. And then I also would like you to make a note that Deborah has secured the date and location for our Christmas luncheon.
This is the biggest event in Jackson in December. So don't miss it. So all the cool people will be there on December 6, and that will be at Snow King from twelve to two. And, again, small group leaders, please shoot out an email with these two items so that no one's caught off guard next week or on December 6. Okay.
Take it away, Deborah.
Thank you, Julia. Whoo. Alright. Yes. So, yeah, you don't wanna miss next week.
It's so fun with our potluck and Melissa doesn't know this yet, but we're hoping to have an extended time of praise and worship. And actually, I just have to tell you guys what happened. I I just felt the Lord telling me to send last week's message to a lot of non believer friends that we have. And one of the guys said to me, my husband and I have been planning sees with this guy forever, and he's like, I watched the entire thing, and I just wanna know, do you bring in a professional band? And I was like, well, you should just come to our Bible study because we get blessed with these ladies every single week.
Yay. We love them. Yeah. I love it. So and Natalie laughs at me because when she taught, she used a new word to me, and I love words, and it was bonking.
And when you run this I mean, there are just some great words out there, like, how amazing is the word hootenanny? It just makes me laugh. That has nothing to do with the lesson, but after last week because, oh my goodness, I don't think I've ever put as many hours into last week's message. I was seriously mentally bonking on this week. And I was like, Lord, now is the time not to bonk because we have to end on a strong note, and today we're ending on revival.
And I just can't even tell you how I I was sharing with someone, you know, I finished writing this study, I think in May, at the very beginning of June, and the Lord knew for a time such as this. Right? Because the question that I get from even nonbelievers constantly is, is this the end? I got a text when Israel was bombed and a nonbelieving friend and she said, okay, is it the end? Like, do I need do I need to accept your Jesus right now?
Like, I was like, the answer is yes, you do. Yes, you absolutely do. Whether it's the end or not, your end will come. So, yes, you do. And one of my husband's favorite verses is first chronicles twelve thirty two.
The people of Issachar understood the times they were living in, and they knew what to do. And I think for us as Christians, we need to understand the times we're living in, and we need to know how to react to those times. So I wanna just do a super quick review with you and some of the signs of the end times. Okay. This is from Matthew 24.
Matthew tells us there will be wars and rumors of wars, and we know from the Ezekiel 30 eight invasion that the big daddy war to look for is war will come up on Israel. And that chapter in Ezekiel tells us, so you just I'm telling you this just to be tuned in that the countries that will form an alliance and have an all out assault on Israel are do you know what they are? Turkey. It's called Tubal in the old testament, present day Turkey, Persia, present day Iran, and then boy, are they a bad player. And then if you go straight north of Israel, there's a land mentioned in the old testament that surrounds present day Russia and the Stan countries.
So they will form an alliance with Muslim countries and have an all out attack on Israel. And it's very interesting if you're tuned into the news today, what alliances are coming together. And we don't know if this is the war or if this is just a warming up to it. But I think we should be aware of that. One of the other things Matthew 24 says is that we will have an increase both in intensity and frequency of earthquakes and natural disasters.
I mean, you consider what has just happened in our lifetime, I remember the first major hurricane, Hurricane Katrina, we'd never seen anything like that. And now, how many hurricanes and huge cat hurricanes and tornadoes have hit our country, just our country alone? And the earthquakes are intensifying. Now, the enemy of lies will tell you that the climate is changing because of us humans. Right?
I have a word for them. Climate change is not a matter of us humans neglecting our environment. It's a matter of us humans neglecting our soul. Okay? Because the Lord says, when you get away from me, toward the end, many will leave him and I'm gonna try to wake you up and there's no better way to wake us up than through catastrophe.
It kinda gets our attention. So he's like, that's going to increase in the end times, false teaching will increase in the end times. I was so grieved to read last week that Andy Stanley, pastor of a mega church, son of the amazing and solid Charles Stanley has decided that he can rewrite God's word, that you can live whatever lifestyle you want and it's okay with God. That is so grievous to see pastors one after another turning away from the solid word of God. There will also be an increase from Daniel 12.
This is very interesting. There will be an increase in knowledge. Okay. You guys, what what happened in our lifetime? In order for knowledge to increase, we have to have access to knowledge.
Right? So what are the two big things that happen just in our lifetime? Internet. The Internet. AI.
AI and the little thing that we can't live without, our phones. We have instant access to knowledge. Now notice Daniel 12 doesn't see an increase in wisdom, but an increase in information and knowledge. We will also see, I think this is very interesting if you're tuned in, this push for globalization for one world government. We will see an increase in sexual immorality.
The morals will just go right out the window. And finally, in Matthew 24, and I share this with you so that you can gird yourself up. It says, this is the beginning of the birth pains with more to come and then you and I will be discriminated, cancelled, and persecuted. So in the end, there will be this worldwide turn against the Jewish people and the Christians. Okay?
Do we see that right now? I mean, see a coach who wanted to do a thirty second prayer, just minding his own business, fired and taken to court. What? That's crazy. So we're gonna see more of this.
Therefore, that leads us right into our lesson today. Do you think there is any better time for revival? I think this is the time for revival. And so what is revival? I gave you some definitions in your study guide, but revival is just a spiritual reawakening either individually, in a church, even a country.
A reawakening from our sleepwalking blue pill, remember the blue pill state of living numb and unresponsive to the Holy Spirit. So a revival means that I'm going to unleash the Holy Spirit within me. It's an unleashing of the Holy Spirit with believers who have the spirit, and it's a moving of the Holy Spirit with those who do not have the Holy Spirit within them. So revival can be with believers and non believers. In Matthew nine, Jesus was with his disciples, and he had been teaching them and he turned to them and he said, do you see do you see all these crowds here?
They are confused and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, the harvest is so great but the workers are few. And revival gets us going and doing our job that we were called to do. Now, Natalie shared this story with me a while ago that I I wanna share with you today because I think it's so relevant to today. It's a story about Pastor John Piper.
Do you all know John Piper? He is an amazing pastor, an amazing theologian, and in 2000 he was asked to be the keynote speaker at a passion conference with more than 40,000 students. And I'm gonna share some of the expert excerpts from what he said. He said to the students, you don't have to know a lot of things for your life to make a lasting difference, a real impact in this world. You don't have to be smart.
You don't have to be good looking. You don't have to be wealthy. You don't have to be from the right family. But you know what you have to have? You have to have a few basic glorious unchanging eternal things in here and in here and be so gripped by them that you are willing to live your life for them, even willing to lay your life down for them.
And then he shared that at his church, they received news that Ruby, Ellison, and Laura Edwards were killed in Cameroon, Africa. Ruby was over 80 years old, single all her life, and a nurse, and she poured out her life for the one thing. Do you remember Martha and Mary? What is the one thing? Sharing Jesus, getting to know Jesus, and sharing Jesus.
And Ruby poured her life out sharing Jesus. Laura was a doctor, and in her retirement, she partnered with Ruby. She too was pushing 80. And her and Ruby went from village to village in far unreached places sharing Jesus. And he shared with his church that they had just received news that the brakes and the vehicle they were driving went out, they went over a cliff and died instantly.
And he asked the students, he said, is this a tragedy? He pulled out an article from Reader's Digest and he began to read. Bob and Penny took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast. Five years ago, Bob was 59 and Penny was 51. Now they live in Florida, and they cruise on their 30 foot boat and they collect seashells.
Reader's Digest said, they are living the dream collecting their seashells. He said that's a tragedy. That is a real tragedy. And there are people in this country who are pushing, marketing billions of dollars to marketing telling you that the American dream is to retire and collect seashells. Well, here's the truth.
The Bible says, we are all going to die and after dying comes judgment. So when we stand before the creator and he says, Deborah, what did you do with that life I gave you? I am not gonna pull out my seashell collection and say, wasn't this amazing, Lord? No. And the point of Piper's story is not that you have to go to Africa to live a meaningful life.
The point of his story is you were called for the time you were called, and the place you were called to make a difference with the people that are in your life right now. That we were all called to make a difference with exactly where we are. Isaiah was a prophet in his country of Judah, and it was very much in the same place that America is at today. They had turned from God, The the priest in the temple were not teaching about the Lord anymore. Idolatry was rampant.
Immorality was rampant. Crime was rampant. And the Lord called Isaiah to make a difference with his people. I wanna read from Isaiah six because this passage is just so amazing. In the year, king Uzziah died.
This is Isaiah talking. I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne and the train of his robe filled the temple. Attending him were mighty seraphim, mighty seraphim are mighty angels. In fact, they're so mighty, they don't have two wings, they have six wings.
And they were singing, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is filled with his glory. Their voices literally shook the temple to its foundation and the entire building was filled with smoke. When I, Isaiah, saw the Lord in all his glory and beauty, and this was a man who followed the Lord, who loved the Lord so much that tradition has it, he was sawed in half at the end of his life because he would not deny Yahweh. He said, but when I saw how beautiful and holy the Lord was, I said it's over for me.
I'm doomed. For I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among people with filthy lips. And I have seen the Lord. Then one of the Seraphim flew to him with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs.
He touched my lips and said, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed and your sins are forgiven. And then the Lord said to me, whom should I send as a messenger to these people? Who will go for us? Who is us?
God the father, God the son, God the Holy Spirit. He said, who will go? Isaiah said, here I am, Lord. Send me. Send me.
That passage is so important to me because I've shared before how I was raised in a Christian home, but it was just all up here, had not dropped down to here. So all through my twenties, I wasn't following the Lord at all, and I wasn't searching for him. And when I had my kids, I could feel the Lord drawing me back to him. And when I found myself in BSF Bible study, this passage was shared and I was just overcome with emotions. I think I cried for a week because I was like, Lord, I have missed you so much.
That I believed that stupid American dream and my husband and I worked our butts off to start our business, and I remember driving down the four zero five because in Orange County, we call our freeways the. And I was driving down the 405, and I could not stop crying because I was like, it's not making me happy. It's not fulfilling this inner need that I have. Our business is successful and I'm so empty. It didn't work.
And that was my journey back to the Lord. And I would sing the song. I I wouldn't listen to sing it today, but it's an oldie from Maranatha 17. She's like, yeah, I'm not feeling that song. But it yeah.
The words are great, but basically, whole song just says, here I am. Send me. Send me. And I would just play that song over and over, and I was like, Lord, you send me. I wanna be in your purpose now because I've been outside your purpose, and I don't like it.
And I wanna be with you. So I wanna share with you what I learned in my journey about revival because you know what revival really is? It's having that fire in your soul, passion for Jesus. And I told the Lord when I came back to him, I will never leave you, and I will always be on fire for you. And so people ask me after twenty eight years, how are you still so passionate about Jesus?
Well, first of all, on your handout, revival begins with repentance. Revival begins with repentance. Acts three nineteen says, repent then, turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out that times of refreshing.
Anybody
need refreshed? Times of refreshing may come from the Lord. So I looked up that word refreshing. Guess what it means? Revival.
Yes, it does. And it means that there is new breath in you. Holy Spirit infused breath. Because here's the thing, sin quenches the Holy Spirit in our life from working. It's like sin puts a lid on him.
He's in us, but sin puts a lid on him. I think I put this verse in your handout from the amplified. First Corinthians five, do not quench, subdue, or be unresponsive to the working and guidance of the Holy Spirit. And remember in chapter one when we talked about sin is just anything that's less than God's best for us. Sin is missing the mark.
Well, back in the day when an archer would pull back his bow and shoot his arrow at the target, the distance that he missed like if he was up here, that distance was measured and it was called the sin, like the distance that you missed. And so the same is true with us. The bull's eye is being in the perfect will of God. Just being in fellowship with God where I can hear him and feel him moving. But you know what?
We're just we're fallen humans. So we miss the mark a lot, don't we? I mean, I know I do. I miss the mark all the time and God says, don't worry about it. Because Romans three twenty three, you all fall short of the glory of God.
You all sin. We all do. We all miss the mark. At first John one nineteen, if you would just confess, just be self aware and say, yeah, Lord, that thought was definitely not from you. So I'm gonna lay that down.
I I repent of that. Just be self aware. Confess and he will forgive you of everything and you're back in the center of his will. You're back with him. And what's very interesting, was thinking about this when I was writing it and I put this in your study guide that missing the mark more than anything to me is just missing out an intimacy with my Lord.
Because I'm bounced out of the circle when I sin and I can't hear Him. And you know, you guys know this. We've all done this. When we stay out here for a long time, we hear Him less and less, don't we? Like we we don't at first, when we're right here, the nudging that we send, the conviction is pretty strong, but the longer we see out here, we just start feeling okay with it.
God says, you wanna be on fire? You wanna you want to tap into what life is about? It begins with repentance. Just be self aware and name it. And I can tell you that it continues with repentance and it will end with repentance because none of us are Jesus.
We're all gonna mess up. So just say you're sorry and move on. Okay? Number two, revival means reinvigorating our spiritual life. Revival means reinvigorating our spiritual life.
You've heard this many times throughout the study. Our Christian faith is not a religion of boxes to check off. It's a relationship. And Jesus says, spend time with me. Invest in me.
How do we how do we say that anybody is our good friend or that we love anybody? Well, we've learned some things about them. Right? I can't say a stranger is my best friend. I don't know anything about that stranger, but I know something about the people in my life that I love.
My one friend left the valley in September there part time and she said to me, Deborah, I do not want you to text me for the next several months. I want you to call me. I wanna connect with you. So call me because I'm really bad about calling. And she's like, call me.
And you know what Jesus says in Jeremiah thirty three three? He says, you call me and I will answer every time. We're not gonna get his voicemail. He says, you call me, I will answer. And here's the really amazing thing.
I will tell you things you don't know. He will tell us things about him that we don't know, things about our self that we don't know, and things about this world. He says, give me a call. Give me a call. Invest in me.
Second Timothy three sixteen tells us that all scripture, this is why the Bible is so important. It is divinely inspired. Yes. Written by forty different men. That's true.
But God put on their hearts what to write in those books. Divinely despired, inspired. And God says, why? Why did I give you my Bible? He tells us in second Corinthians three sixteen and seventeen.
He said, gave it to you because it's really useful to teach you, to train, to rebuke you, and to correct you so when you get out of his lane, that little nudge that's rebuking and correcting and to train you in the right way of living. So I just had my two year old grandson that I'm totally obsessed with. Oh my gosh. Just just little chunk of burning love. But he is too.
So do you think he needs a little training and rebuking? I'm in the kitchen and I turned around and our parcels are like this height and he's standing on it and he goes, hi Nana. And I was like, oh my gosh, Griffin how did you get up there? And then he popped down and he showed me how he climbed up. I said Griffin, no, no, no.
If you do that, you're gonna get an owie. And he looked at me and he goes, owie? And I said, yes, you do not want an owie. That's a no, no. We don't want you up on the barstool.
And that's what Jesus is saying to us. I wanna rebuke you and correct you because I don't want you having owies in this life and we're gonna have a lot when we get out of his lane. So revival means reinvigorating our spiritual life. I love Henry Nouwen. Are you all familiar with Henry Nouwen?
He has some really deep things to say. He said, I'm beginning now to see how radically the character of my spiritual journey will change when I no longer think of God as hiding out and making it as difficult as possible for me to find him. He just says, call me. I'll tell you. Open my word.
I'll teach you. I'll train you. He doesn't make it difficult for us to find him. He is the one who is looking for me while I'm doing hiding. Isn't that the truth?
Like he he's there every day. We're just not showing up. So when we're ignorant of God's word, the problem is we're not very discerning. We don't have a spirit of discernment. Being in His word gives us that spirit of discernment to know what's right or wrong, to know the narrative that we're listening to whether it's truth or lies.
In second Thessalonians two fifteen, Paul wrote, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teachings we passed on to you. Because if we don't keep a strong grip on the truth that's passed on, we get really wonky and we end up way out here because we don't even know that what we're doing is wrong. In Revelation, the Lord writes to the church in Sardis and he calls it the spiritually dead church, a church that desperately needed revival. And he wrote, I know all the things you do, that you have a reputation for being alive, but you're dead, so wake up. Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead.
And I find that your actions do not meet my requirements. I thought, wow, that is that is a very powerful verse because he's sending that letter to a church. And what he's basically telling them is, I don't really care about your busy busy religious activity. I don't really care because you're spiritually dead. I'm not even invited into the activity.
You're just doing it for yourself to check off your list. God wants our hearts. He wants our hearts, and that's why we talked about the spiritual disciplines because they ignite a desire in my heart to be with him. So number three, revival realigns our priorities. We have to realign our priorities if we're going to have revival.
If we're gonna have passion, if we are gonna have a fire in our spirit for the Lord, we have to change some things in our life. I was reading about Jonathan Edwards because in the seventeen hundreds, America experienced this great revival. And Jonathan Edwards was this young pastor who went to Northampton to help his grandfather and his grandfather's church, and his grandfather passed away. So Jonathan Edwards took over the church and he was praying, praying, praying for revival because revival always begins with with prayer. And he's praying for revival and it started to happen.
And he wrote, he wrote a journal for us that we can read, and in his journal, he wrote that I had so many conversations with people in my church, and I asked them, where is your heart? And remember when we talked about we can say we're something, but I only really know who you are. I only really know who I am by what I love. Because what I love to talk about, what I love to do, where I love to spend my money, that's who I really am. And so he asked them, what do you love?
Where do you spend your time? What do you want out of this life? And he his strategy was to point them to what he termed as negative signs for revival and positive signs for revival. He said the negative signs were strong emotions that were out of control either physically or spiritually because they weren't controlled by the Holy Spirit, and they were not self aware. When we're controlled by the Holy Spirit, he's constantly saying, Deborah, no.
No. That you're getting out of line here with me. Strong emotions, irregular worship service. Do you know that since COVID, church attendance has dropped 30%? Irregular church worship service, a lack of desire to give in the form of serving hospitality and money.
I was like, wow, that is so interesting because in your study guide I wrote, never has a generation been blessed with so much and given so little. One of the signs of revival is generosity and not just with money. Are you generous with your attitude of gratitude? I mean, do you see all the blessings we have? Are you generous with your encouragement with others?
Are you generous with your praise? And of course, it does come down to money because that is that is a red flag for our hearts. That is a litmus test for where my spirit is. And I I was looking up all the definitions for generosity, like why is it so important to be generous? It's important because no, no one was more generous than Jesus.
He would give you everything he had and he did, and he wants us to model him. So here's the definition I came up with generous and why it's so attractive and why it lights a fire in us. Generous means you have a spirit of kindness that is willing to see the goodness and potential in others and then you take action to help them. Generosity means you have a spirit of kindness, a fruit of the spirit, that is willing to see the goodness and potential in others, and then you take action to help them. You want to participate in rebuilding their lives.
Can I tell you this summer, I got to see this spirit of generosity play out in real time? We had my husband and I were helping a choir from Uganda called the Amani Maleli choir, and these kids are orphans, and these kids have literally nothing. I mean, they have a little backpack with their clothes. Literally nothing. In Uganda today, the average pay with wage is about a dollar 77.
It's a very poor country. And these kids came into our valley, into our home, and I've never seen a more generous spirit. They were so generous with their love, their hugs, they would hug you every time they walked past you. With their joy, with their gratitude, they kept asking me, can we clean up your kitchen? Can we do this?
Can we do that? Unbelievable generosity. But more than that, the generous many of you in this room spirit that you had with those kids. It increased my faith. It was it was like watching the Bible play out in real time because so many of you had a spirit of kindness and you stepped in to help those kids.
And some of you gave so much, and I will tell you that today, I am so thrilled to share that they will have their school because of you, because of so many of you. And that I it just I kept telling my husband, it's just it's just shifted my heart to in the weirdest way, love Jesus more. Because I it's like I could see him working through people. It was really one of the most beautiful experiences I've ever had, and I've had a lot of experiences like that. But the reaction to these kids and the kids' reaction was so generous and beautiful.
Well, Edwards also said other positive signs of revival are an actual interest in Jesus. Do you know what is so grievous? How many women have said to me in Bible study, I'm just not that interested in him. Like, I don't know why. I mean, could it be that maybe we need to repent of some sin, maybe pride?
I don't know. I mean or could it be that we need to repent of doubt that we just don't believe he is who he says he is? That he loves you with an eternal love, and he wants to be in relationship with you. If you can't honestly say you're really interested in him, just ask him. Ask him to just flame just to build a flame of fire with that little flicker that's in you.
Ask him, he will. Ask him to see him at work. Ask him to see him through other people, through circumstances. It's hard to wake up in this valley and not believe there's this amazing, beautiful creator. Right?
Another mark that Jonathan Edwards said of revival is that your love for God and others will grow. A life well lived is others focused. Can God meet all the needs in this world? Yes. He absolutely can.
But the amazing thing about God is he chooses to part parcel out to every one of us these opportunities to partner with him and to be an answer to someone's prayer. And I can tell you, there is no thing in this world that compares to that. There is nothing in this world that will bring meaning to your life than helping others. It is the greatest blessing. Another shift in priorities, other than just being generous with your time and your words, is being intentional with your day.
We've shared with you that the Lectio three sixty five devotional is just a beautiful meditation and I love how it ends every morning. This is how it ends and it focuses my day in the right place. It says, Father, help me to live this day to the full, being true to you in every way. Jesus, help me to give myself away to others, being kind to everyone I meet. And Holy Spirit, give me a heart for the lost, proclaiming Christ in all I do and say.
You want a life with meaning? Just meditate on that for a while. First Peter three fifteen says, always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you for the reason, for the hope that you have. A life that is not wasted is a life that is willing to take risk. Remember last week we talked about this is a risky faith, this Christianity, and God's gonna ask you to step out of your comfort zone and oh my gosh, actually say the name Jesus, and maybe share him with others.
It is so important that we step out of our comfort zone, but I see so many Christians who who risk their calling because they want to be so comfortable, and that is not a life guys. That that is a sleepwalking blue pilled life. In Isaiah forty three nineteen, the Lord says, and I think this is for us today. He says, I'm about to do something new. I have already begun.
Do you not see it? Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. You know, with our anxiety rates, our suicide rates, our depression rates, there are so many people that are just dry.
They're dry. And Jesus said to the woman at the well, she said to him, would you he said to her, would you give me a drink? And she said, why are you asking me for a drink? And he said, that's true. Because if you knew who I was, I'm Messiah, you would ask me for living water.
Because I I know you and I know you have tried to find fulfillment in all these men and it hasn't worked for you. And whatever way we try to find our fulfillment in this world, Jesus says, I'm the only one who's gonna quench that thirst for you. I'm the only one. There's nothing out there that's gonna do it. I mean, it can distract you.
It can distract you for a long time, but at the end of the day, it doesn't quench your thirst. And there's something about sharing Jesus with others that increases your faith. I can't explain how it works, but it just makes you feel closer to him, and it keeps that fire burning in you. And as I stated in the study guide, Jesus is not for sale. This isn't some cheesy sales pitch I'm talking about.
I'm talking about just planting seeds. Like the other day after church, I ran in the market and the person was like, how's your day going? I said, actually, really great. I got to go to church today, sing amazing songs, be with amazing people. If you ever wanna go, I'm telling you right now where I sit, so come join me.
Planting a seed. What they do, that's between them and the Lord. It's not our job to convert anyone, that pressure's off, but it is our job to share our faith whenever we possibly can. We, Greg and I pray for opportunities to do this and we have many non believers in our life. We have this couple that we've been planting seeds, planting seeds and every time we go to dinner with them, I get in the car and I say, that's the last time we're gonna see them because they they they just look at us like we have three heads or something.
So this is amazing. She calls me and she says, okay, I know you do that prayer thing and our grandson is really, really sick. Like, this is serious, really sick. I'm like, okay. Greg and I are on it.
We prayed. We prayed. We reached out. We we reached out. They had to go out of state to be with them for a while.
They just got back to town. They called us and said we need to go to dinner. So we go to dinner, and she goes, Deborah, he's okay, and I want you to know, because I always tell her, please don't say you prayed to the universe. That just like means nothing, and it's so impersonal, like it makes me cringe, and she laughs at me. She goes, I didn't pray to the universe.
I prayed to God almighty, and my grandson is healed, like he's okay. The man says to my husband, we need to go to lunch. I have a lot of questions for you. You don't know, guys. You don't know.
Isaiah fifty five eleven says, because we all have people in our life that we're like, I'm just giving up on them. You know what? It's been so long. You know what Isaiah fifty five eleven says? My word that goes out from my mouth will not return to me empty.
It will accomplish the desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. It is doing a work. Even if people cancel you, it's okay. Even if people don't talk to you again, you put the alive word of God in their heart. I have two brothers.
One hardcore Christian follows the Lord with all of his heart and so does his family. Other brother, youngest brother, mercy me. Anything he can do to be out here, he did in his life. We've been praying for him, planting seeds for him. He lives a very different lifestyle.
He knows sister loves him. I'm bigger sister. I've always protected him. He knows that. But not been interested in Jesus.
He called me just last week. He said, I have to tell you something that happened to me. So he has advanced Parkinson's, he's younger, and he he goes through a lot of trials physically, and I'm like, somebody is knocking on your door. And he just laughs at me. So he calls me and he goes, Deb.
So I was working in the yard and I got bit by a bunch of bees. My brothers and I, all three of us are deathly allergic to bees. He said I was bit by bees, and I didn't have time to get to my EpiPen, and I passed out. This lady drove by, saw me, called 911. The ambulance came and he said I had to be resuscitated.
And he goes, but I have to tell you, I almost didn't want to be resuscitated. I could feel them working on me, but I was in the most beautiful, glorious garden, and I felt no pain. It was amazing. And I said, Carrie Dean, do you think you are in heaven? And he goes, oh, I know I was in heaven.
And I said, wait a second. Do you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior? And he said, yes, I do. And I said, a second. You have to say that with me because I I think I'm hearing what I wanna hear.
Do you confess with your mouth? Say it with me. And he said, yes, Deborah, that's why I'm calling you. Jesus Christ is my Lord and my savior. So don't ever give up.
I mean, my brother's 56. Don't ever give up on a single soul. The book of John, Jesus tells us that he came to give us real life and eternal life, more and better life than we ever ever dreamed of. So revival starts with repentance, Revival starts with reinvigorating my soul by spending time with the Lord and realigning my priorities. What else in this earth is more important than knowing Jesus and sharing Jesus?
That phone call meant more than anything in this world could ever give me. Miss Lisa, take us home, girl. Yeah. Just take us home to be with Jesus.
What a great reminder not to give up on man, I'm convicted, you know, like you you minister to or you share and you share and you just think, ugh. Like, Lord, can you do can you do something? Like, what that's such a good reminder. Just close your eyes with me. Just close your eyes and maybe with what Deborah said, maybe there's something in there that maybe you just need to spend a minute with the Lord.
Maybe there's repentance that needs to happen in your heart. Maybe you've given up on praying for a certain person that the Lord's put on your heart because you just thought, oh, it's just not gonna happen. If it hasn't happened already, it's just not gonna happen. Lord, we repent because it it's almost like it has something to do with us, and it's all about your spirit, the power of your spirit. And we ask that you would just blow your spirit over us, that our hearts and our spirits would be revived, Lord, to share you.
Refinerless fire, strengthen what remains. As we, your church, you bear your light. Lamp of flame, city bright,
Lord, we acknowledge that it's by your spirit. It's all by your spirit that hearts are turned to you. That true revival happens. And it does, it starts with repentance. So as we, your church, repent of our sin, Lord, start with us.
Start with us and just breathe a fresh new wind. Break our hearts for what breaks yours. That's our prayer. Let us have eyes to see the hurting people right around us. Even today, Lord, as we leave here.
I'm just reminded of, you know when you're looking and shopping around for a new car and that's where your focus is you're looking around you're looking around when we were looking for a car for our son and we were looking at rav fours those toyota And all of a sudden because that's where my heart was focused, I saw them everywhere. Everywhere, everywhere. I was like, my gosh, there's a thousand RAV fours in this town. I'd never noticed one before, but I just feel like by the spirit right now that if our eyes are fixed on the people, we ask the Lord that that morning when we wake up. Lord, show me someone who's lost and hurting and that I can share my faith with today just like looking for that car.
He's gonna highlight those people to you. All of a sudden, they're just gonna be all around you. But if we don't ask, if we're not intentional, if that's not where our focus is, we'll just we'll never see it. We'll never notice unless we're intentional. So Lord, that's our prayer today.
Let us be intentional of what you have for us each day. Let us not get so busy we forget to ask Lord. Bring me someone today that needs the good news, the life saving eternal good news that I hope, that I know, that I live in. So that's our prayer today that revival would start with us. And then just out of that overflow of intimacy with you, Lord, and asking you and being intentional, you would just bring those people to us.
We tell you we love you, Jesus. Be in our small group time as we discuss. Pray we would be real. That you'd come and meet us in a mighty way in these conversations. In Jesus' name, amen.
Were there any other announcements today? That's it. Does, is everyone small group meeting in the same spot today or is anyone moving? Same spots. Okay.
Ready, set, break.

Share this message

Every word on these came out of the message. Download one and post it anywhere.

Scripture

Written up from the message given at First B Jackson. If something here reads oddly, the recording is the record.

Come find us

90 West Kelly Ave, Jackson, WY 83001 · Sundays at 9:00 and 11:00 am

Sign in to save messages and keep notes

Written up by Recap Sunday