False Revivals and False Christs
We'll praise Jesus today
everyone. One thing that our Lord Jesus warned us about in the end times were
false prophets and also people going around claiming to be Christ or claiming
to have salvation. And that is exactly what we're seeing today. We see a lot of
Christian churches and the Christian culture claiming that they're having these
revivals, they have these prophets, revival meetings, and you see a lot of
people attracted to this because it has the appearance that something big is
happening. And a lot of these revivals that you see with the young people, it's
mostly all sensation. It's all about feeling, it's all about going to the
altar, lifting your hands, singing all these so-called worship songs. But in the
end it has nothing to do with true repentance, a true word from God, and real change.
It has everything to do with just feelings, sensations, looking good. And this
is a huge deception within our Christian culture. So many times throughout
history there have been these so-called revivals. There's a preacher that comes
along and says “all these people are spiritually dead, we need to revive”. And
the so-called revival does not bring about the repentance that God desires for
us. Remember that Jesus said, where the vultures gather, there the body lies. It's
like a dead body. A lot of these Christians are spiritually dead, and all the
vultures are like the demons gathering around there. And people go, “oh look,
there's something going on”. And people flock to these meetings because the
people are saying, “Jesus is here, he's in the inner room, Jesus is there,
you're going to have to go out to the desert to meet him”. And we were
specifically warned about this, that he's not going to be hidden in the inner room
somewhere, he's not going to be tucked away on some college campus that we have
to go all the way to Texas, or all the way to the East Coast or the West Coast
to be able to get a peep and see Jesus. But in the end times when the Lord is
returning, it will be evident, as much as lightning you see going from the East
to the West, so will the return of the Son of God be. We're not going to miss
it. And if we truly are Jesus' disciples, then we will be looking up, our
redemption draws nigh. And instead of thinking that we need to join in one of
these revivals, or one of these big prayer meetings, or getting involved with a
prophet that's in America, rather we have to seek Jesus in our hearts, because
we know this is a spiritual kingdom.
The kingdom of God is in
our midst. It doesn't come with the signs such as men perceive it, that it's a
physical kingdom that's being built up in Africa, or built up in America
somewhere, but it is in our hearts. And if we truly repent and give our heart
to Jesus Christ, then he can start working inside of us and be changing us from
the inside out. The problem is most people are looking for sensational music
that they're calling worship music, sensational stories about Christians that
are persecuted, or Christians that came from a hard background and gave their
life to Christ. They love this kind of entertainment, but it's not creating any
change. Don't be looking for the perfect prophet, or the perfect speaker, or
the perfect pastor, or the perfect church with worship arts music. This is the
thing that Jesus warned us against. Instead of running after these things and
trying to find the next revival, seek the Lord and ask Him what you need to be
doing in these days.
We know that the end is
near. We're living in the end times. Our death could be tomorrow. If we live it
should be for Jesus Christ, and if we die it should be for Him. And instead of
trying to just preserve ourselves and hide, we ought to be shining as a light for
the world to see and calling people to repent that the Lord's house may be
full. We want the wedding supper of the Lamb to be full of people so that God's
kingdom can be full of guests, that it won't be empty. When Jesus tells the
parable, He says “none of those that are originally invited will be able to
make it in”. Those original people were the Jews. They were people that said
they knew God. They knew Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They were God's chosen
people. But they despised Jesus. They rejected the chief cornerstone. They
threw that out. They didn't want anything to do with God's salvation. And so
salvation was then offered to Gentiles, people that are not Jewish by blood or
descent.
But spiritually, if we put
our faith in Jesus Christ, we have that same faith as the patriarchs Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob. And we put our faith in Jesus Christ and we also will receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit and come into this newness of life, this new
covenant that God has created with all of those who want to enter into His
kingdom. The blessing is for you. It is for me. It is for all nations. Anyone
who will put their faith in Jesus, believe that He died on the cross, that He resurrected
and that we should now do the works of righteousness, not living in the old
sinful life, but throwing off all the things that are sinful and ungodly and
living holy, living righteous and calling people to be disciples, starting with
our own family. We need to make sure that our own household is in line, that
we're teaching our own children about Jesus. So are we being transformed from
the inside out in our own households or are we deceived like these Christians
in the pop culture that are always looking for what's trending, always looking
for what's cool, what sounds good, what's sensational? Are we always looking
for Jesus in the inner room? Are we deceived by that or are we really seeking
first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, His kingdom in our midst, that
is in our hearts?
I want to pray for those
of you that do want to put your faith in Jesus, that want to overcome this
world and by overcoming be part of the next world that is Jesus' kingdom. “Lord
Jesus, I pray for my fellow brothers and sisters across the world. I pray that
they can truly be called out and unshackled from all of the bondage of this world,
all sin and evil and demonic influence. I pray that they can truly be set free
of those things, that they could put their faith in You and not have the
worries of this world, but the things of this world will grow dim in the light
of Your glory and Your awesomeness. I pray that You fill us with the power of
Your Holy Spirit and that we can walk in the newness of life with You,
partaking in Your new covenant, that we can be washed by Your blood, that we
can drink Your blood and eat Your flesh and just be part of You, Lord, having
Your cup and eating Your supper. I pray that You be with us and let us just be
light and salt, shining for You and preserving what is left, that more people
may enter into Your kingdom and have everlasting life. In Your name I pray,
Lord Jesus, Amen.”
