Ignite Your Passion for Jesus E-Book

Tom Phillips

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Seitenzahl: 454

Beschreibung

We desire revival in our personal relationships with Jesus, but many of us don't know how or where to begin. Although revival may be first of all a movement of God, too few resources offer practical guidance on how to align ourselves to receive it daily.   Ignite Your Passion for Jesus is a twelve-week guide designed to help you deepen your relationship with Jesus. Each day includes - a key verse, - an inspirational reading, - questions for reflection and application, - revival truths, and - spirit-empowered faith experientials.   Revitalize your heart and relationship with Jesus as you pursue Him and experience His pursuit of you in personal revival.

Leseprobe

BroadStreet Publishing® Group, LLC

Savage, Minnesota, USA

BroadStreetPublishing.com

Ignite Your Passion for Jesus: Your Guide to Experience Personal Revival

Copyright © 2019 by Tom Phillips

978-1-4245-5931-2 (softcover)

978-1-4245-5932-9 (e-book)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Unless indicated otherwise, all Scripture quotations are taken from the English Standard Version. Copyright © 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Scripture quotations marked TPT are from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188, USA. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked MSG are from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture quotations marked MEV are taken from the Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked EHV are taken from The Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV), New Testament & Psalms ©2017 by the Wartburg Project. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scriptures quotations marked NABRE are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. All Rights Reserved. Scripture quotations marked JUB are taken from the Jubilee Bible (or Biblia del Jubileo), copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010, 2013 by Russell M. Stendal. Used by permission of Russell M. Stendal, Bogota, Colombia. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked WEB are taken from The World English Bible (WEB): World English Bible, public domain. Scripture quotations marked CSB are taken from the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission of B&H Publishing Group, Nashville, Tennessee 37234, USA. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked DARBY are taken from the Darby Bible (DARBY): The Darby Bible, public domain.

“Lead Me to Some Soul Today,” Will H. Houghton, © 1936. Renewal 1964 Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, IL 60188. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Stock or custom editions of BroadStreet Publishing titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, ministry, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please email [email protected].

Cover and interior by Garborg Design at GarborgDesign.com

Printed in the United States of America

19 20 21 22 23 5 4 3 2 1

To my wife Ouida

and our children, Cara, Matt, and Molly.

TOM PHILLIPS

To Anne Marie Armistead,

who first believed I could write

and set me free to do so in unconditional faith.

EMILY ADAMS

Contents

Forewordby Dr. David Ferguson

Forewordby Bill Bright (first edition)

IntroductionThe Time Is Now

Chapter 1A LIFEstyle OF Revival

Chapter 2Beginning with BROKENNESS

Chapter 3JOY IN True Repentance

Chapter 4THE FOUNDATION OF Obedience

Chapter 5Prayer AS RELATIONSHIP

Chapter 6KNOWING Jesus

Chapter 7REVIVAL within Your GIFTS

Chapter 8AN Evangelism EXPLOSION

Chapter 9A KEY TIME in Revival History

Chapter 10JESUS REVIVED in Our Nation

Chapter 11Vision for World AWAKENING

Chapter 12ONE HEART at a Time

Appendices

Notes

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Foreword

By Dr. David Ferguson

Legacy is often defined as “what you leave behind when you leave.” In his earthly ministry, Jesus lived each day with legacy in mind. Even from his baptism, Christ was preparing the disciples for his eventual departure. Jesus certainly ended his time on earth with clear evidence of purpose!

My friend, Tom Phillips, is living out part of his legacy as a global champion of spiritual awakening. This significant resource not only reflects Tom’s legacy, but it will also bring clarity to your legacy as a passionate follower of Jesus.

Since we develop and deepen our legacies with intentionality and purpose, this interactive, experiential resource provides a clear framework for a life lived on purpose. You will realize more of your purpose through exercises that guide you in how to love the Lord and live His Word, love people, and live His mission.

Across the pages of the Gospels, we find people who encountered Jesus and went away different, changed, and transformed. Lives were changed because they had been with Jesus. Far too often, our contemporary resources, classes, and small groups leave us unchanged. To make matters worse, we realize we are unchanged, and the people in our lives notice we are unchanged. Not so with this resource! Thanks to Tom’s stewardship of passion and leadership for a Jesus Now Awakening, the power of the Gospel is transforming pastors, churches, and communities across the faith spectrum. With Tom’s commitment to spiritual awakening, your commitment to fresh encounters with Jesus, His Word, and His people, you can realize the transformation that was possible in the first century!

Tom’s book, Ignite Your Passion for Jesus, is unique. It is unlike any of the resources you’ve likely read before because the exercises in each chapter were written with the specific goal of engaging you in a Spirit-empowered faith. These exercises are created to move beyond seeking to simply know or study God’s truth and move toward actually experiencing it. Why is this important? It’s only an experiential, Spirit-empowered faith that can live out a Jesus Now Awakening.

Our team (from the Great Commandment Network) has developed the experiential exercises included within Ignite Your Passion for Jesus. The Great Commandment Network is an international collaborative network of strategic, kingdom leaders from the faith community, marketplace, education, and caregiving fields who prioritize the powerful simplicity of the words of Jesus to love God, love others, and see others become His followers (Matthew 22:37–40; 28:19–20). You will find the exercises we added within brackets throughout this resource. When you see the brackets, pause to prayerfully complete each prompt. These exercises are designed to encourage a Spirit-empowered faith—moments when you move beyond knowing God’s Word to actually experiencing it.

This book is part of the Jesus Now Awakening resource series, which has been designed to engage followers of Jesus as they impart both the Gospel and their lives while living out a relevant, daily faith (1 Thessalonians 2:7–8). Just as the Word of God became flesh and “moved into the neighborhood” through the prompting and power of His Spirit, so we can live out a Jesus Now Awakening in our world (John 1:14 MSG).

We have drawn a framework for spiritual growth from a cluster analysis of several Greek and Hebrew words, which declare that Christ’s followers are to be equipped for works of ministry or service. Therefore, within Ignite Your Passion for Jesus, you’ll find specific exercises that we designed and organized around four themes. A Spirit-empowered disciple:

• Loves the Lord (Acts 13:2 NASB) – Exercises designed to strengthen this area of spiritual growth are marked L1–L10.

• Lives His Word (Acts 6:4 NASB) – Exercises for building up this aspect of spiritual growth are marked W1–W10.

• Loves People (Galatians 5:13 NASB) – Exercises intended to equip this area of growth are marked P1–P10.

• Lives His Mission (2 Corinthians 5:18 NASB) – Exercises provided to strengthen this area of growth are marked M1–M10.

Imagine this: You’re on a journey in Ignite Your Passion for Jesus. It’s as if you’re going for a walk. As you read through this resource, we invite you to walk:

• In the light of God’s Son—John 8:12

• In the light of God’s Word—Psalm 119:105

• In the light of God’s people—Matthew 5:14

The bracketed boxes and exercises in them incorporate these three sources of God’s light. They’ll encourage your awakening journey as a Spirit-empowered disciple of Jesus. God’s Word reminds us that it’s vitally important to walk in the light: “Walk while you have the Light” (John 12:35).

The Great Commandment Network has developed the experiential exercises, the Spirit-empowered discipleship framework, and the Spirit-empowered outcomes that we included in the appendices of this resource. We have listed each of the forty outcomes in Appendix 2. With all these contributions, the Great Commandment’s deepest desire is to serve our friend, Dr. Tom Phillips, and the Jesus Now Awakening.

Be sure to use Ignite Your Passion for Jesus as a personal devotional, small group study, or in one-on-one discipleship. Tom has combined the power of story with practical exercises and passionate encounters with Jesus to help rekindle your First Love!

Read it and reap great reward.

Dr. David Ferguson

GreatCommandment.net

Foreword to the first edition

By Bill Bright

On July 5, 1994, I felt God lead me to begin a forty-day fast for two purposes. The first was to pray on behalf of a great spiritual revival and awakening in America and the world. The second was to fast and pray for the fulfillment of the Great Commission throughout the world. Though I have been committed to these two purposes since my conversion to Christ in 1945, I have recently sensed a special urgency.

As believers in Christ, we are at war with the enemy of our souls, and I think it is a matter of life and death to hundreds of millions that we be faithful to our Lord and fight the battle for the souls of men like never before in history. Unprecedented opportunities to help fulfill the Great Commission are now open to us.

The world in which we live is rapidly changing into a place where suicide, drug addiction, and murder are the norm, and being part of a normal nuclear family is unusual. Americans are selfish and cynical, and the church—the body of Christ—often seems asleep. Ignite Your Passion for Jesus is a call for the church to wake up to revival, one heart at a time.

We cannot ask God for too much as it relates to the fulfillment of the Great Commission if our hearts and motives are pure, and we do everything according to His Word and His will and for His glory.

Still, there are human hindrances that can stand in the way of fulfilling these goals, including pride, lack of faith, mediocrity, and carnality. There is no place for such attitudes. In the front lines of battle, soldiers know that their very lives depend on unity and cooperation as they support their fellow soldiers.

In this book, Tom Phillips encourages the church to stop waiting for God to pour out revival and to aggressively become a vehicle through which God can do that very thing. Revival begins in our hearts as we say, “Spirit of God, breathe on me. I’ll be obedient. I’ll walk in faith. I’ll fast. I’ll pray. I’ll share Your Word with all You put in my path.” As we take these steps, we will become vessels God can use to help bring revival to believers and an awakening to seekers after truth—an awakening to those around us, to our country, and to the world.

Ultimately, if we are going to see the world reached for Christ, you and I must die to self (Galatians 2:20), a biblical truth Tom emphasizes in this book.

I appreciate the heart Tom has carried for revival for so many years. He shares his heart in this guidebook, and if you listen carefully, you’ll learn and grow. It’s time to change the world through personal revival. I stand on tiptoe with anticipation to see what God is going to do in and through His church and in and through you and me.

Bill Bright

Founder and President Emeritus, Campus Crusade for Christ (now CRU)

INTRODUCTION

The Time Is Now

Everywhere you turn, the news looks bad. Reports of violence fill the national and international news. Countries are at war. Millions of children suffer abuse while others are aborted daily. Senseless crimes and terrorist acts have stunned many. Consider these recent headlines: More than one thousand people die in the destructive path of Cyclone Idai;1 Two teens who survived Florida school shooting commit suicide;2 Sri Lanka mourns nearly three hundred who died in Easter Sunday terror attacks.3 Throughout the world, darkness erupts in every setting.

Some people choose not to read newspapers or magazines or listen to the nightly news. They wave it off, proclaiming, “It’s all bad. What’s the point?” Perhaps it’s a matter of perspective. You can see those events from your view as a human or from Jesus’s view. I read the news with extreme interest as I desire to see world events from Christ’s perspective. My prayer has been from 1 Chronicles 12:32, to be like the people in the tribe of Issachar who “had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” I’ve prayed and asked Jesus to help me be a person who understands the times, to see through His eyes what He is doing, and then to know how to respond during a particular “chairos” moment in time.

A chairos moment is a special moment in time that is predetermined in history. The Greek word appears only a few times in the Bible; it’s not the normal Greek word for time, chronos, from which we derive “chronology” or “time.” One of the places Scripture uses chairos is in the word “times” in Acts 17:26–28, which states:

And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, “For we are also His offspring.” (NKJV)

The Lord of the universe used this concept of chairos to indicate a special moment, and today in history our world stands in such a time—a time when our world looks incredibly dark. We wonder, “Where is the Good News?” God reveals a bit of His purpose in this passage in Acts—that we should seek the Lord, grope for Him, and find Him. Those words mean that we have an invitation and responsibility as Christians to grow in our intimacy with Christ.

Why? Because, as the Scriptures note, it is in Him that we live, move, and have our being. Our life and breath are based on our relationship with God—intimacy with the Creator through Jesus Christ. It is only through this intimacy with Jesus that we can move out and effect change in our world. Revival begins with “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

A chairos moment may have begun, or is about to begin, in your own life. Henry Blackaby, coauthor of Experiencing God, wrote that people should determine where God is working and jump in the middle of it.4 Dark events are taking place on earth, but perhaps Jesus is working in the midst of them. If you and I turn our attention to focus on Jesus, we will see how He is working personally in our hearts and calling us to open the door for revival in our communities, our country, and the world. He is beginning a worldwide awakening to revival one person at a time. Jesus is leading you and me into refreshing, experiential, and personal revival.

As you choose to take advantage of this chairos moment and seek personal revival, be kind to yourself and understand that sustaining a lifestyle of revival is by faith and trust in Jesus. The journey toward igniting your passion for Jesus will ultimately require you to give Him everything, all of yourself, in exchange for all of Him. The pilgrimage throughout the meditations in this book must impact your life and transfer into daily surrender to Christ. Otherwise this would be only an intellectual exercise. “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Before we begin, here are some steps to consider:

The experiential devotionals in the “Walking in the Light” section at the end of each day will help you chew on and respond to what you read. Give yourself permission to move at your own pace. Probe for honest answers to issues. A key ingredient of reflection is looking deeply. Remove any masks or self-doubt and look deeply into yourself. Seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Remember Jesus’s promise: “He, the Spirit of truth, . . . will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come” (John 16:13 NKJV).

Each day you will find quotations, definitions, and, in some cases, songs to help you think and worship. Take time to read and listen to these treasures. Eat them. Stop and sing the songs. Look them up online and listen to them. Offer them back to Jesus. Post them in your world if they’re particularly inspiring. Worship is key to rekindling our fire.

You will also find Bible passages within every day. Meditating on and memorizing these verses will throw wide the gates of your heart and invite the Holy Spirit to move in every moment of your life. You will begin to see Him work out His Word in specific situations in your everyday life so that you come to know it experientially. Hiding God’s Word in our hearts and minds is vital to rekindling spiritual fire.

Jesus is calling the world to revival now, one heart at a time. In Ignite Your Passion for Jesus, you can find anew your personal and loving Lord and Savior. Revival begins with knowing and proclaiming, “God, I know that you love me.” A word of warning, though. If your primary focus is on yourself or only things confined to this earthly world, this book will frustrate you. When Emily Adams first started working and writing with me on revival a few years ago, the Lord gently began to bring her into ongoing personal revival. Here is what she wrote about the process:

A Beginner’s Experience of Personal Revival

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If you truly want to follow me, you should at once completely reject and disown your own life. And you must be willing to share my cross and experience it as your own, as you continually surrender to my ways. For if you choose self-sacrifice and lose your lives for my glory, you will continually discover true life. But if you choose to keep your lives for yourselves, you will forfeit what you try to keep.” (Matthew 16:24–25 TPT)

Get ready to die. Personal revival isn’t a lifestyle, it’s a deathstyle—constant dying to self. You will probably feel like a camel passing through the eye of a needle. Prepare to be crucified into Jesus. “The way is narrow” may begin to have entirely new meaning for you. You should probably read Matthew 22:1–14, Luke 14:7–35, Philippians 3, and 1 Peter 4 before deciding if you really want to do this.

If you are going to receive all that God has for you, you have to want it as much as your next breath. You have to be willing to sacrifice organization, time, normalcy, ability, eating, drinking, sleeping, family, friends, career, security, money, fame, ambition, arrogance, strength, weakness, pride, entitlement, self-promotion, fear of man, inadequacy, perfectionism, independence, lust, idolatry, and above all, YOURSELF. To be empty enough to receive all Jesus wants to give you, you have to be willing to give up all else besides Him.

You will have to carry around a towel to mop up the blood of Jesus’s grace as it pours off the people around you. You will also have to let others mop up the blood of Jesus’s grace as it pours off of YOU. This process will be harder if you demand pristineness of yourself. Don’t be afraid of messiness. The grace you’re going to need to give birth to sustained personal revival is comparable to the grace you received for salvation.

As you become truly aware of God’s goodness, you will want to allow yourself to die in Jesus. The only way to come through the fires of revival is in the presence of Jesus. Believe that He is good. Believe that He loves you. If you believe those two things, He will take you through the fire. He doesn’t let those who aren’t ready have ears to hear or hearts to understand this message. Ignorance is the bliss of His mercy. Be sure you want to wake up, for once you do, there is no going back. Do not “stir up or awaken love until it pleases” (Song of Songs 2:7). You have to want more of Him so much that you are unwilling to go on unless He gives it to you.

You might feel like you are losing your sanity. Jesus will shake loose every structure in your life that is not from His Kingdom. You will lose the kingdom of this world. But you will gain the Kingdom of God. When you lose it all, you will gain permission to be the glove that God’s hand uses to bring about “the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them” (Matthew 11:5).

The battle is not between life and death—Jesus defeated death on the cross. The battle is between hope and despair. If you can have faith to DIE in the hope of God’s love, you will inherit Jesus’s new creation life on earth as it is in heaven.

CHAPTER 1

A LIFEstyle OF Revival

When people think of revival, they often think of it as a tent meeting during the summer, somewhere in the Bible belt. Shouting itinerant preachers predict doom for unrepentant sinners as they pound out their message on a wooden podium. “Bringing in the Sheaves” or “Amazing Grace” ring through the tent as the preacher gives the altar call. “Come now and give your life to Jesus,” the preacher says. “Recommit your life to Christ.”

“Quit sinning. Quit drinking. Quit having sex outside marriage. You can’t quit by yourself, but God can deliver you,” the messenger explains. “Return to Him. Let God help you.” Then he adds, “Don’t let God pass you by!”

It sounds cliché, but many have come to salvation through these meetings. Commitments were real. God was present. But what happened when the meeting was over, when the preacher left, when the people resumed their daily lives?

For some, their relationship with God culminated at the end of the Sunday night meeting. For others, it was just a beginning. God met them in that tent, and nothing was ever the same. What made the difference? For the first group, “The Revival” was an event to be planned, to be experienced, to come to an end. For the others, “revival” became a way of life. It wasn’t a one-night or one-week experience but rather how they began, ended, and lived each day. A constant spiritual renewal of their relationship with Christ.

And that is true revival—an ongoing renewal within. We cannot limit revival to a specific planned event. But revival does change lives, communities, and even the world.

Day 1

The Foundation—A Personal Relationship

In Mississippi, as an eight-year-old in my church’s biannual evangelistic event called a “revival,” I committed my life to Jesus Christ. It wasn’t a hell-fire-and-brimstone time. The pastor simply asked us, “Do you want to love God completely all your life?” He didn’t storm his audience with sin but talked about the love of Jesus. At the conclusion of his sermon, I responded to his invitation.

As I began to move forward, my neighbors in the pew tried to grab me. Luckily, I was so tiny—my nickname was Mouse—that they missed. They thought I was far too young to make such an important decision. Later the pastor agreed to talk with my parents, to pray about the validity of the decision. In the end, they all agreed, “Tom does know what he is doing.”

Almost twenty years later, one of my cousins said to me, “You really met Jesus Christ that night when you were eight years old, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did,” I said. “How could you tell?”

“Well, most of us in the South joined a church when we were young. And that’s all we did. But you were different. Before that day, you were one of the meanest kids I had ever known, and you changed!”

“I am praying for an old-fashioned, heaven-sent, Holy Ghost Revival that will sweep our nation from coast to coast.” – Billy Graham, 1949 and 2012

I have many faults. If you want the details, talk with Ouida, my wife! The Christian life has been a continual growth experience for me, a pilgrimage. But by meeting Christ personally, my heart and life changed. I am still on that pilgrimage.

The only way to understand the rest of this book is first to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The basis of our study in these pages is rooted in a relationship with Christ and His presence in our lives. The Creator of the universe loves you and wants you to know Him intimately, presently, and forever.

God has always loved you and will forever, whether you are His child or not. But He created us with the free will to choose whether to receive that relationship. The first man and woman chose to disobey God and go their own willful way. Many still choose to disobey God, and it results in a broken relationship. God’s heart breaks for these people.

Throughout history, an unholy people have tried to reach a holy God through various routes: religion, good works, ethics, morality, and philosophy—all without success. Our Father God has provided a way for us to have a restored relationship through Jesus Christ, and He is the only way. Because Jesus died on the cross for your sins, He took your punishment and made a way for the restoration of your relationship with God.

God never forces us to respond. Each of us must accept that Jesus Christ paid for our sins through His death on the cross. As you give your life to Him, then you will have a right relationship with God.

If you have not given your life to Christ, is there any good reason why you shouldn’t invite Him into your life right now? If you have already given your life to Christ, how is He calling you to greater depths? To connect with a Christian counselor and receive free discipleship materials as you make your commitment to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, go to www.PeaceWithGod.net.

STEPS TO PEACE WITH GOD

1. God’s Plan—Peace and Life

God loves you and wants you to experience His peace and life.

The BIBLE says: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

2. Our Problem—Separation

Being at peace with God is not automatic, because by nature you are separated from God.

The BIBLE says: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

3. God’s Remedy—The Cross

God’s love bridges the gap of separation between God and you. When Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the grave, He paid the penalty for your sins.

The BIBLE says: “He personally carried the load of our sins in his own body when he died on the cross” (1 Peter 2:2-4 TLB).

4. Our Response—Receive Christ

You cross the bridge into God’s family when you receive Christ by personal invitation.

The BIBLE says: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).

To receive Christ you need to do four things:

1. ADMIT your spiritual need. “I am a sinner.”

2. REPENT and be willing to turn from your sin.

3. BELIEVE that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross.

4. RECEIVE, through prayer, Jesus Christ into your heart and life.

CHRIST says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in” (Revelation 3:20).

The BIBLE says, “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).

What to Pray:

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness. I believe that You died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I now invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as Lord and Savior. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Go to www.PeaceWithGod.net

Revival Truths

• Revival is a lifetime process, not only a one-time event.

• A personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the beginning of revival.

• Scripture assures us of God’s forgiveness.

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

ROMANS 10:13

Walkingin the Lightof God’sWord

His Abundant Gifts

As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

2 PETER 1:3–4 NKJV

Consider your relationship with Christ. Reflect upon how God has given you everything you need for life and godliness, enabled you to participate in the divine nature, and made you a joint heir of Christ.

When you became a follower of Christ and accepted His gift of salvation:

• You were adopted (placed as an adult heir) into the family of God (Romans 8:15, 23; Ephesians 1:5).

• God forgave all your sins (Ephesians 1:7; 4:32; Colossians 1:14; 2:13; 3:13). They have been removed “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12).

• You have been brought near and made a citizen of God’s Kingdom (Ephesians 2:13, 19; Philippians 3:20; Colossians 1:13).

• You are no longer a slave to sin. You are free by His Spirit to yield to God, obeying Him out of a desire to love Him (Romans 6:17–18).

• Christ has purified you and made you eager to do what is good (Titus 2:14).

• Jesus prays for you and the concerns of your heart (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25).

What does it do to your heart that not only did God love you so much that He did all the above for you, but that He also delighted in it? That He is eager and passionate in His love for you to give you a life of continuing revival. Express your heart to God.

Dear God, as I consider these truths revealed to me by You in Scripture—all that you have done for me when You saved me, how You have blessed me through your Holy Spirit with so many different blessings because of Your infinite love for me, my heart is stirred with __________. Please continue to reveal who I am in Your eyes so I can live intimately in Your transforming love.

L4. A Spirit-empowered disciple rejoices regularly in their identity as “His beloved.”

SPIRIT-EMPOWEREDFaith

Day 2

Delighting in Discipline

After meeting Jesus personally, I began the discipline of reading the Bible and praying nearly every day. Even as a young boy, God showed me the need to be disciplined and purposeful in life. I had a clear set of personal guidelines. Each night before I went to bed, I read a chapter of Scripture. If I forgot, then the next morning I would read two. If something prevented my reading and I missed again, the next night I read three. With this primitive schedule, the chapters could stack up quickly. Fortunately, I was lazy enough to not want to get too far behind. It wasn’t the purest motive, but it kept me on schedule. Through the discipline of Bible reading, I was learning more about God. In the process, I was changing, for something supernatural occurs in the heart when it absorbs the truth of God’s Word.

In addition to reading Scripture, I began talking daily with God through prayer. That beginning of my relationship with God was the sweetest part of my childhood. I couldn’t understand why anyone would not want to know God. If God made us and had a plan for our lives, then a person would be foolish not to know Him. Perhaps this view was a tangible example of coming to God as a child—living obediently through childlike faith. I learned that reading Scripture and praying were the way to grow in my relationship with Christ, so I innocently obeyed.

When I was in high school, our church had “cold turkey” visitation on Thursday evenings where we knocked on doors in our neighborhood to talk with others about Christ. That may sound like bold intrusion today, but in the South in those days, it was not. Back then, you usually didn’t call ahead; you just stopped by. If it was at mealtime, you had a meal. If the neighbor was out on the tractor, you got on and rode along. The farmer kept working while he talked with you.

What an adventure! As a young boy, I went from a rewarding personal relationship to moving outside myself to share Christ with others. It was a logical progression of spiritual growth. God’s love had changed me, and I wanted others to have the same opportunity. At times, the listeners openly received my message. At other times, they did not. What a shock to learn that not everyone had the contentment and security of a relationship with Jesus. What an even bigger shock to realize that many people rejected Christ.

Yet, it was these adventures of sharing my faith, along with prayer and Scripture study, that caused me to grow.

It is not just prayer and sharing that help us to grow in our faith. God gives us many exercises to “flex” our spiritual muscles. Richard J. Foster, in his excellent book Celebration of Discipline, listed several disciplines for spiritual growth. He discussed corporate disciplines like worship that reflect our part in the body of Christ, our need to connect others. These outward disciplines, such as service, relate to the way we live. Foster also discussed inward disciplines, which include meditation, prayer, fasting, and study. While discipline often conjures thoughts of punishment, or at best a negative influence, Foster stated that “God has given us the Disciplines of the spiritual life as a means of receiving His grace. The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that He can transform us.”5

“No one experiences the secret of freedom, except by discipline.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer6

In one of his sermons, Jim Tomberline, also discussed spiritual disciplines. He referred to them as “habits of the heart.” In 1 Timothy 4:7–8, we read, “Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” What are the spiritual exercises that keep a person spiritually fit? Here are eight key areas that Pastor Tomberline noted:

1. Renew your strength through worship (Isaiah 40:31).

2. Deepen your peace of mind through prayer (Philippians 4:6–7).

3. Strengthen your commitment through fellowship (Hebrews 10:24–25).

4. Expand your perspective through biblical exposure (John 8:31–32).

5. Increase your joy through witnessing (1 Peter 3:15).

6. Practice your love through giving (2 Corinthians 8:7–8).

7. Develop your talents through serving (1 Peter 4:10).

8. Restore your soul through retreating (Matthew 11:28–29).7

Growing in our relationship with Christ requires discipline. The word training in 1 Timothy 4:7–8 comes from the Greek word gumnazo, from which we get gymnasium. It is continual discipline in training that produces growth. In athletics, one often hears, “No pain, no gain.” It’s a comfort to know that any pain we might encounter is merely a growing pain. With Jesus, who has gone before us, we are to “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

Amazingly, we can receive discipline from Jesus by resting in Him instead of striving in ourselves, and true delight and love for God can motivate our discipline. Relationship is the key to consistent discipline: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).

Revival Truths

• It is through spiritual discipline that we exercise our spiritual muscles for growth.

• Discipline is not punishment but a way to put us before God so He can bring us into freedom in Jesus.

• Delight in Jesus is the key to resting in discipline.

Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

HEBREWS 12:1

Walkingin the Lightof God’sPeople

What Would Jesus Do?

Jesus said, “Follow Me.”

JOHN 1:43

Two simple but profound words can guide my daily walk as Light in a dark world: “Follow me.” Whatever may come my way today, Jesus has gone before me. He has led, and I’m to follow as I live in the “disciplines” of intimacy with Him.

“WWJD” is my key to following Him as I practice the “habits of the heart.”

• What would Jesus do becomes a guiding principle when uncertainty abounds.

• What would Jesus choose guides me away from a broad road of destruction onto the narrow road of life abundant.

• What would Jesus say guides my speech from unwholesome words and into words that edify.

• What would Jesus think guides my thoughts away from this world into His Word, which renews my mind.

• I find clarity and adequacy for daily living in the powerful simplicity of two words from the Gospel: “Follow Me.”

Pause to celebrate with a partner or small group:

“Recently I sensed an important “following” of Jesus as I faced and found strength to __________________.”

L9. A Spirit-empowered disciple yields to the Spirit’s fullness as life in the Spirit brings supernatural intimacy with the Lord, manifestation of divine gifts, and witness of the fruit of the Spirit.

SPIRIT-EMPOWEREDFaith

Day 3

A God-Directed Life

When I entered college, it was time to decide on a career. Medicine was a natural for me. I enjoyed people, I could think fast in an emergency, and I loved to witness while helping others. Medicine would be a great platform for sharing my faith because a doctor is often helping people in crisis as they consider serious life issues. But I felt a spiritual force pulling me toward the ministry, a pull I worked hard to ignore.

Around this time, my girlfriend, Ouida (who eventually became my wife), and I had been dating for two years. We came to a point in our relationship that we either needed to get married or break up. So we broke up—for two weeks!

During that time, I asked out another girl. We went to dinner and then returned to her apartment. While in the living room, I saw other couples, partially dressed, go in and out of a bedroom. I could see what was going on and walked out of the apartment, probably hurting the girl’s feelings. I didn’t belong in the midst of such obvious temptation. I knew God watched over me all the time, but I was also young with budding hormones. The Bible says, “Flee youthful passions” (2 Timothy 2:22)—so I did.

My date stood at the window watching me walk down the outside stairs of her apartment building. When I reached the bottom step, these wise words spoke to my mind: “What’s more important? Helping someone live seventy years with quality of life or helping someone live eternally?” God was speaking to me, and in an instant His profound, simple truth overwhelmed me. My legs lost all energy, and I fell to my knees. It was a chairos moment with God. I looked up to realize this girl was still watching me from her window above, while my weakened knees were glued to the concrete walkway. I couldn’t get up.

I prayed, “God, you’ve got to let me get up. This is one of the most embarrassing experiences of my life.” Finally, I was able to get up and walk away, and probably to her relief, I never saw that girl again.

You’d think that after hearing God loud and clear I would have submitted to His call, but I still held on to my dream of becoming a doctor. Later that same summer, the Lord spoke to me again. “Tom, you’re going to be a preacher.” Immediately I protested. These were not the words I wanted to hear, even though I had been asking His direction for my life. Intellectually I wanted God’s direction to be the same as my desire.

“If we really knew just how much He loves us, we would always be willing to receive anything from His hand.”

– Brother Lawrence

One day during the early part of the summer, I read Billy Graham’s syndicated column, “My Answer,” in the Daily Corinthian, the local newspaper of Corinth, Mississippi. Dr. Graham wrote that he prayed about everything. He even prayed when he parked his car because if he prayed about where to park, then he could help people as God guided him.

So I too began praying about where to park. Every time I prayed about parking, I sensed God’s direction, and each time I left my car, someone with a need would be there. After helping them, I often had an opportunity to talk about Christ. It was amazing, and the many opportunities began to convict my heart because I thought, Wow, God cares about all the details in people’s lives, including mine. Even parking is important to Him. Well, if where to park is important, then everything is important—especially my calling in life.

Perhaps as you read this, you feel discouraged, as though you may have missed God’s call for your life. Remember that there is nothing wasted in the kingdom of God. Though my journey of faith started at a young age, Jesus will begin with you right now where you are, regardless of your stage in life. Don’t feel discouraged if you are further along in life but just now beginning to follow His plan for you. God will redeem lost years for His children.

As we grow in our relationship, we grow in our obedience, and His plan and purpose for our lives come forward. Perhaps God is not calling you into “professional” ministry, but He is calling you to minister as He directs you in your daily life. When Jesus Christ walked the earth, He carefully followed God’s direction in His life. One of His keys to following God’s will each day was to focus on God’s desires and not His own.

It may be completely new to you to realize that God cares about the intimate details of your everyday life. Even if thinking about God’s direction isn’t new, it may be a good reminder for you. God’s direction in your life isn’t always specific. The Lord wants you to trust Him step by step for His direction.

Revival Truths

• Everything in your life is important to God.

• God will guide you in making decisions if you ask Him.

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

JOHN 5:19

Walkingin the Lightof God’sWord

Reveal, Empower, Provide

Lazarus became very sick to the point of death. So his sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, our brother Lazarus, the one you love, is very sick. Please come!”

JOHN 11:2–3 TPT

Jesus heard the word of His Father and courageously yielded to it. He lived life directed by His Father. In John 11, we observe an example of the Father revealing His word and the Son exhibiting courage to yield to His Father’s will despite a request from His friends.

Living a God-directed life:

• Informs judgment: “He remained where he was for two more days” (John 11:6 TPT).

• Empowers courage: “Finally, on the third day, he said to his disciples, ‘Come. It’s time to go to Bethany’” (v. 7 TPT).

• Clarifies vision: “This sickness will not end in death for Lazarus, but will bring glory and praise to God. This will reveal the greatness of the Son of God by what takes place” (v. 4 TPT).

Pause and practice, allowing God’s Spirit to direct your life.

• Ask God to reveal through His Word the areas in your life in which your opinions might be coloring your judgment: Lord, help my beliefs, behaviors, and relational encounters to align with Your Word.

• Ask the Lord to empower your decision making: Heavenly Father, may I have the boldness to address issues in my own life and to offer courageous confessions when appropriate. Help me to stand for what is right and not “cave in” to others’ pressure. Also, Father, grant the awareness and the grace to hold others accountable for their growth.

• Ask God to provide clarity and confirmation through His Word regarding His will in your current situation: Lord, give me a clear purpose in life and the ability to support and encourage others in following a clear purpose.

L2. A Spirit-empowered disciple listens to and hears God for direction and discernment.

SPIRIT-EMPOWEREDFaith

Day 4

Decision Time

As Billy Graham pointed out, God cares about our prayers for parking—and a lot more. After realizing God cares not just about parking but also about what I did with my life, I finally asked, “God, what do you want me to do?”

During the final night of another evangelistic campaign in my hometown, the voice that responded to my question was so booming I thought everyone in the church heard it—yet no one seemed to notice a thing. God was again speaking to my mind. I clung to the back of the pew with white knuckles, weeping because I realized God had called me to preach. It wasn’t what I wanted. At the age of nineteen, my only goal was to be a wealthy physician. I didn’t want to put up with church boards or elders or people who think they are the majority stockholders in the pastor’s life. Raised in the church, I had seen preachers tormented by carnal congregation members. I didn’t want that for me or my future family.

My mind filled with stereotypes about pastors. I didn’t want to eat a lot of chicken. I didn’t want to get fat. I didn’t want to spend days counting nickel-and-dime offerings. I didn’t want to be a preacher, but I knew God had called me; I knew His voice. I wanted to trust Him, but I wept thinking of giving up my dreams to follow God’s call.

From listening to God, I knew I should respond publicly and make a commitment, but I just didn’t want to. I was proud and fearful. I didn’t go forward. After the service that night, I was desperate to find Leroy Tubbs, our pastor. I felt like I would burst open. I finally spotted him outside the church. I grabbed him, jerked him into a side room off the narthex, and fell on his shoulder broken and bawling.

At first, he didn’t understand my tears, but when I finally could tell him, he rejoiced. Pastor Tubbs knew that Jesus had been working in my heart for about two years, but neither of us could understand the purpose. At that moment, he knew. He encouraged me to transfer to a Bible college instead of returning to the University of Mississippi. After my decision to change careers, my concerned parents brought me back home to attend a local junior college. They thought I was mentally cracking up. As a pre-med student at Ole Miss, I was a success, making excellent grades, and they couldn’t comprehend the apparently sudden switch in career choices.

Confusion reigned. I headed toward the pastorate, for I wanted to be obedient to Jesus’s call on my life. Meanwhile, my family and friends thought I was nuts and told me so. But I knew that the Lord would guide my decisions. He had prompted me and was leading me. It was a chairos moment—a “Wow!”—when God intervened in my life and I responded.

Worship ExperienceListen to “New Wine,” by Hillsong Worship:“In the crushing,in the pressing,You are making new wine.”

God speaks in many ways but mostly through His Word. Another way God speaks is through people in our lives. Through a “multitude of counselors there is safety,” the Bible says in Proverbs 11:14 (NKJV). At times God also speaks in the still, small voice or through circumstances of life—positively and negatively. When God speaks, we must trust Him.

Revival Truths

• Following Christ and His goals for our life is a matter of obedience.

• God speaks through the Scriptures, to our minds during prayer, and through other people.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

PROVERBS 3:5–6

Walkingin the Lightof God’sWord

Opportunities for Nourishment

As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.

1 PETER 2:2 NKJV

One of the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations is to reduce malnutrition, a condition that occurs when the body doesn’t get enough nutrients.

Christ followers are nourished into personal revival as we receive and yield to God’s Word. To receive the nourishment of God’s Word, we must take full advantage of every opportunity to encounter God in Scripture and experience its nourishing benefits and blessings.

• As we hear the Word of God taught, preached, and shared, our faith will be strengthened: “faith comes from hearing the message” (Romans 10:17 NIV).

• As we read the Word, we will receive blessings: “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy” (Revelation 1:3 NIV).

• As we study the Word, God will approve us as “a workman who . . . correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 NIV).

• As we memorize it, we will be less vulnerable to sin: “I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11 NIV).

• As we meditate upon God’s Word, we will increasingly yield to it: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8 ESV). Our meditation on the Word will also produce spiritual prosperity, health, and fruitfulness (Psalm 1:1–3).

Consider these five opportunities for nourishment from God’s Word. How many have you taken advantage of this week? Sadly, too many of God’s children remain “babes” in their faith as they come to hear God’s Word preached or taught by others, but rarely take advantage of other avenues of nourishment.

Pause now and take a moment to express your gratitude to God for providing so many different ways for us to be strengthened by His Word. Decide which one these opportunities you will take advantage of today. Will you memorize the suggested Scripture passage for this week? Will you spend time meditating on particular passages or stories of Christ? Will you spend time studying this week’s sermon text for yourself, allowing God’s Spirit to impress you with insights?

Lord, I sense your prompting to more deeply nourish my life in Your Word through additional priority on _________________________________________.

W1. A Spirit-empowered disciple is frequently led by the Spirit into deeper love for the One who wrote the Word.

SPIRIT-EMPOWEREDFaith

Day 5

Revival 101

Throughout this week, we have focused on our personal relationship with Christ. We’ve considered our initial commitment, the importance of spiritual disciplines, and the need to hear God and obey His call in our lives. These are the foundations for personal revival and spiritual renewal. Let’s begin to look at revival as a concept that moves beyond our personal lives to impact the lives of others.

Lewis Drummond, a gifted evangelist and professor, became my mentor during seminary. Dr. Drummond loved to tell people how to know God, and I took every course I possibly could from him. One of those courses was entitled Revival 101. I went into the class with a preconceived notion of its content. To me, revival was an evangelistic campaign, and I thought this course would teach me the how-tos. I signed up believing I knew what to expect, but I found something totally unexpected.

Dr. Drummond described great periods of history when the Holy Spirit moved on a people in a powerful fashion. He began in the Bible where God intervened in the affairs of men and women, then in history with nations transformed through His intervention, or chairos moments. Dr. Drummond challenged us regarding how such movements came through prayer, brokenness, and humility. Once an individual is spiritually broken, then God can intervene in a mighty manner.

I learned that revival is a continual process of brokenness and restoration, not just a one-night event or even a series of meetings. As I listened to his explanation, my heart jumped. I suddenly knew that I was born for revival and to be part of a spiritual awakening—an awakening that I believe is now in the toddling stages of touching America and the world!

This call to revival is not exclusive or only for me. I believe the Holy Spirit is right now in the process of establishing the call to revival over the lives of many, if not all, of His children. When the Lord gripped Emily Adams’s heart for revival at twenty-one years old while she was sitting in the breakroom of the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, NC, she said to me, “You have shown me that for which I could live the rest of my life—Jesus REVIVED in us!”

“Revival is about God. His children meeting with God, the nation being confronted with Him.” – Colin Urquhart