The Church
Becoming Unoffendable video : theLab Broadcast tonight
As predicted, last night’s message on Becoming Unoffendable had great impact!
You can watch that video, or listen to the audio right now at http://media.johnburton.net. You can also read along with the notes as I teach.
Also, TONIGHT at 8:30pm theLab Broadcast is on the air!
Simply head on over to http://media.johnburton.net/live right at 8:30pm, and that’s it! The video should be playing.
Spread the word about the gathering of 1000 intercessors in Detroit. We’re looking for 1000 people to travel with us each week as we pray in a different church every Friday night.
I’ll be talking about this and more TONIGHT on theLab Broadcast!
See you there, and be sure to check in and use the chat room!
Raising the Dead teaching video : Becoming Unoffendable : Noon prayer
Watch my latest teaching, Raising the Dead, at media.johnburton.net now! And, this Sunday, I’ll be teaching my most requested sermon, Becoming Unoffendable.
First—We have landed our next location for theLab this Friday at 10pm! Head on over to www.revivallab.com for info. ALSO, you can receive an alert on your cell phone each week. We’ll text you the location.
Simply text: follow revivalinfo to 40404.
The teaching Raising the Dead had quite an impact this past Sunday, and the altar time was wild. Prophecy was intense and people were lit up! See it all now at media.johnburton.net.
THIS SUNDAY at 6pm I’ll be teaching my most popular and most request sermon, Becoming Unoffendable. This message has the potential to literally and radically change the way you think about life, and to set you free!
NOON PRAYER
Every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from NOON to 1PM we’re contending in unified prayer for revival in Detroit.
Join us at the International House of Prayer East Detroit for this important hour of prophetic intercession as we encounter God, pray with passion and enjoy the rapid advance of the vision.
Seeking early adopters : Breaking away from the marginal Christian experience
The call at Revival Church : Three burning focuses will help rip the Christian church out of a marginal, stale state into a tremble that never ends.
I’m waiting.
I’m looking.
The strategy of God in this nation requires people who refuse to live according to a skewed Christian experience that has suffocated the church into a near flat line.
As a leader with a humanly impossible mission to call together people who will form their entire lives around the prayer room and the activity of the Holy Spirit, I find myself waiting and looking as I sound the alarm for the willing ones to move into position.
A radical response will result in a nuclear explosion of shock and awe that the nations of the Earth will witness—and then tremble.
My current city of Detroit must wake up. The church must destroy the habit of a casual response to a terrifyingly urgent call to repent, to respond immediately and to follow the feverish pace of the Holy Spirit toward revival.
During a prayer & whiteboard session on Monday, God refined the burning focus of the Detroit mission. We are intent on calling people together to participate in the mission at Revival Church… and the call is unapologetically and necessarily extreme:
REVIVAL CULTURE
The focus every day at Revival Church is to develop a culture of revival. The presence of God simply must press against us at every turn. It’s hard to believe that church services actually are allowed to continue without it! How can we teach and worship without the fire of God burning in our midst?
This culture is impartation and refreshing driven—meaning, God desires to impact, heal, deliver and pull destinies out of every one of us. Additionally, this focus results in communities of fiery love. People who are intentionally committed to one another… people who become family…who go deep in relationship and Holy Spirit fueled love.
Also, a key focus of this ministry is taking the fire of revival to the cities of the Earth. (If you are ready to book me, go to www.johnburton.net/booking) Teams of revivalists will be moving out with me as I minister in churches, at conferences and other events. We desire to train and coach others into a vibrant culture of wild revival.
REVOLUTION MANDATE
The second strategy of our ministry is all about reformation. Revolution.
Understand, the Sunday style of ministry must end. The 24/7 church must emerge. Now.
People who are used to living their lives throughout the week and attending church for a couple of hours on a Sunday morning must brace for an abrupt shock to their systems. A Kingdom perspective is being imparted into the forerunners who will be leading the church into it’s new reality.
Today, the church tends to be focused on feeding people… tomorrow the focus is for the people to feed God. To minister to him. To pray.
Today, the church gathers together, on average, 2-4 times a month. Tomorrow, people will be together several days a week.
Today, people tend to seek out teaching. Tomorrow, they will receive equipping and instruction with an expectation of response…ministry…action.
There are a lot of changes coming, and the call is now for the early adopters to respond and change their lives unlike few are willing to. At Revival Church, we are setting up shop to appeal to these early adopters.
REVELATION DRIVEN
The entire church and Christian experience must be driven by the voice, activity and revelation of God himself.
It must become normal for every Believer to be a person of extreme, zealous and fiery prayer as their primary activity in life. The church must embrace this primary mandate. Revival Church certainly does.
As prayer becomes the primary reason we gather together in the church, and the number one activity of our lives, we’ll hear God’s instructions clearly and continually.
Revival Church is called to be a prophetic revival center for the region. We must hear God. We must have people in our midst who are zealously on their face in night and day prayer. This is non-negotiable.
I’ll say it very clearly. If Detroit is to experience Kingdom normalcy… a revival culture… drastic and momentous change must come now.
Are you hungry enough for such a drastic interruption in your life? Are you willing? OK, let’s go. It’s time.
THE REVIVAL CHURCH CALL
So, what’s the minimum call for this new-form mission at Revival Church?
- Be early for prayer every Sunday at 5pm
- Make it extremely rare to miss a Sunday evening service.
- Nurture a life of radical prayer, study in the Word and pursuit of God’s presence.
- Participate in theLab, our weekly 8:30pm Monday radio show at www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/thelab.
- Participate in all, or as many as possible, of our weekly prayer meetings at IHOPE. We pray at noon every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. www.ihopedetroit.org
- Be extravagant tithers and givers
- Be an extreme communicator—participate in theLab, email us about what God’s revealing to you regarding the mission, be in contact with leadership and share your heart as often each week as you can.
- In order to understand the Revival Church vision, read John’s books, starting with 20 Elements of Revival (www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/resources)
The 24/7 church is emerging, and we’ll soon find ourselves in corporate ministry together at least 20 hours a week on the low end… and this transitional call of less than 8-10 hours a week will help ease our way into that new structure.
I’d love to hear from you! Are you ready to join the wild Revival Church family of revivalists? Contact me directly at [email protected].
Important video : New Revival Church prayer : wrecked by a mandate
I’m wrecked by the mandate of revival in Detroit and in the cities of the Earth.
First, the magnitude of the mission we’ve been called to steward is EXTREME. It requires a massive prayer effort…and that’s just to get us started on the journey.
Until further notice, starting Monday, December 27th, I’ll be at IHOPE-Detroit praying on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from noon-1pm. Let’s see an army of intercessors and revivalists pray together several times a week as we prepare for the coming outpouring.
Speaking of the magnitude of the call, here’s what’s wrecking me and what’s burning within:
- 1000 Intercessors: In early 2010 God gave me a clear mandate to cast the vision for 1000 intercessors to intentionally and regularly gather, pray, stir the prophetic and release the plans of God into the region. I’m wrecked because of the weight of this call, and because the challenge to see even 10 or 100 people commit to this type of high level assignment is severe. CHUCK PIERCE and CINDY JACOBS sounded the alarm for 10,000 intercessors in each state this past summer. I don’t think it’s a coincidence. Detroit must see these intercessors who are revival minded step into place! So goes Detroit, so goes the world. Right now, the call is simple. We need 1000 intercessors to be on the weekly radio show theLab, every Monday at 8:30pm. That’s it. The place: www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/thelab.
- Reformation: A primary call of our mandate in Michigan is to call the church into a great reformation. The resistance to such a massive cultural change is absolutely insane. The enemy has done a phenomenal job of bewitching so many in the church, and the church and the body is deeply wounded because of it. You can watch a video that I just recorded about this bizarre resistance to commitment and mission in the church here. I’m wrecked because the call is so demanding but the response is so apathetic. I think of forerunner ministries like IHOPE-Detroit who are one of the few who are carrying the call of night and day intercession… and they are led by some of the most wholehearted and precious people I know. Yet, the call for financial support of their critical ministry is met mostly with silence. Reformation is needed. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… the churches must be full of laborers. We are to pray for the laborers to move into position… the harvest is greater than the manpower available to handle it… and that’s an issue!
Leave your comments and let me know what you think. Are you ready to press toward revival with us? Let’s go!
The Absentee Church : Time of extreme risk : George Barna
Leaders are increasingly alarmed about the body’s casual approach to the mission of the church
Even the most spiritual and mission-minded Christians seem to be pulling back from the corporate gathering, from the church in America.
I recently talked with a pastor who said he was disturbed that a couple of his key leaders were absent from a special church event. He was beside himself. Apparently they didn’t replace this mission critical event with something of more spiritual significance, but simply to relax and enjoy a night out on the town.
In this biblically historic season, the potential is great but the church is at extreme risk of becoming nearly powerless in most of American culture. The call must be to gather continually and to pray fervently.
Kay Sharpe, a friend of mine, sent me this email:
We had revival (I mean, full-tilt, make Brownsville Toronto and Lakeland look tame) … we were about to ramp it up… and suddenly most of the people who make it all “work” had “other things to do” —
I wept.
George Barna discovered in a recent poll:
Although there were a few subgroups that were more likely than average to experience church-based accountability, there was not a single segment for which even one out of every five people said their church does anything to hold them accountable.
The people are pulling back, often only attending a church service a couple times a month (statistically, twice a month is considered regular church attendance). There is little accountability and an increasing resistance to a raised bar of commitment to the mission of the church. There’s also an alarming trend to adopt personal spiritual missions (usually good and God given) but outside of the context of their local church. The calls and mandates that God lays on our hearts must be carried out within the structure and context of the broader corporate mission—the church.
Barna:
In a society in which choice is king, there are no absolutes, every individual is a free agent, we are taught to be self-reliant and independent.
There are other issues that keep people away from a diligent commitment to the local church. I taught recently on “The Spirit of Insignificance” and would recommend strongly that you take some time to listen to it (www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/teaching). I’ve discovered that most people believe that it matters little if they pull back and miss church services, prayer events and other ‘all church’ corporate meetings. If we understood that our absence has an exponential impact on the rest of the body and on the mission of the church there’s no way we’d miss an event (with very few, rare exceptions), regardless of how many times a week the church doors are open!
Another key issue for the departure from the church is that people tend to treat the church like an number of other places they visit throughout the week. People to go the grocery store to get stuff. They go to a restaurant to get some food that satisfies. They go to a baseball game to be entertained.
The church, however, must be treated with a much different approach. The church isn’t like a grocery store, but it is very much like a military. While there are personal benefits to enrolling in the Army (free food, insurance, etc.), the call is to serve. There is surrender of a lot of personal freedoms for the sake of the health of the nation. Time freedom, how we spend our money, comforts, the way we live all changes as we embrace our assignment in the church. Of course, the blessings that are attached to this kind of commitment, the spiritual impact, is phenomenal. However, with that in mind, consider this additional finding from Barna:
Growing numbers of people are less interested in spiritual principles and more desirous of learning pragmatic solutions for life.
Again, people want to go to church to learn life skills, to gain some nuggets of inspiration that will help take them through the next week. They want the church to make their life better instead of their life making the church better. To use the church in this manner is tragic. I have found that people are invigorated and inspired when deep, challenging and Holy Spirit communicated spiritual principles are taught, but it’s rare to actually respond by living up to that level of challenge.
Barna:
When asked what matters most, teenagers prioritize education, career development, friendships, and travel. Faith is significant to them, but it takes a back seat to life accomplishments.
Americans consider survival in the present to be much more significant than eternal security and spiritual possibilities.
Most will participate in church to a degree when they receive help, discover friendships, feel connected, etc., but it is truly a special and rare thing to find true soldiers who connect and commit because they have a plan and a call to pour out and serve regardless of disappointment, frustration, other life focuses, offense or rejection.
Allow me to state this clearly: The call to the church as it prepares for revival will not be easy, convenient or fulfilling much of the time. It will often be exhausting, disappointing and slow to develop. However, the cost is worth it as we trust that God will, in time, impact people for eternity.
Audio and notes : A must hear message : A spirit of insignificance
Last night’s service was simply indescribable—freedom reigned as spirits of insignificance were broken off!
Man, I have to tell you—if you make a habit of skipping out on the services at Revival Church, change your habits! You are missing a lot!
God was moving in dramatic fashion all night last night! The prophetic was ramped up and lives were rocked! Aaron Crider brought us into a place of encounter through worship and I delivered a message that people are already requesting so they can listen again and share it with ministry teams and friends.
The sermon is now ready for you to stream or download!
Head on over to www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/teaching and listen to A Spirit of Insignificance.
PLUS—I’ll be discussing this topic further LIVE online TONIGHT on theLab radio show at 8:30pm EST.
Go to www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/thelab tonight and listen in OR call in and listen at (323) 679-0954.
Here’s the notes from last night’s teaching, A Spirit of Insignificance:
A Spirit of Insignificance
I. The Gathering
a. A massive mission requires a massive response
i. Key moments in history require two things:
1. Gathering together
2. Prayer
ii. Acts 2
iii. Gathering and praying in the garden (vs. sleeping)
1. Joe Sazyc- The mosque was packed at 6am, and he went to his prayer meeting where there was one person.
2. The major issue I’m seeing right now is the lack of the prayer fueled corporate gatherings.
3. Exhortation- the churches must be full! A weak person’s simple prayer on a night like tonight can be what it takes to launch revival!
a. I’m calling the church of Detroit to be in position… we are declaring that we don’t participate based on what we get out of it… the church isn’t there to entertain us… we must work! We must understand the tactical needs… we need everybody in church all the time. The vision is huge, and we’re awaiting an army.
b. Pastor Loudermilk- we need you in church!
c. IHOP- every day
d. Brownsville- 5pm-1am every day! 2000 in line by 7am every morning!
iv. This call to gather, the call to the 24/7 church is being fought against by the enemy incredibly.
1. My thought was that due to the hunger of revival in Detroit, it would be easy to sound the alarm and gather a desperate army.
2. However, the hunger is overshadowed by a variety of issues.
v. People are kept from the corporate mission for many reasons
1. Distraction
2. Business
3. Apathy
4. An inability to look past personal struggles to focus on the city
a. The church is inundated with fixing people’s problems instead of the people coming together and fixing problems.
vi. Today I want to hit on the issue of insignificance
1. It’s common to feel that our participation, our attendance, our prayer, our response isn’t important.
2. We’ve discussed the definition of religion quite a bit.
3. A spirit of insignificance will cause us to believe that we have no hope of bringing anything to the mission, so we default on participating based on what the mission can bring to us.
II. Insignificance
a. Judges 6:1-2 (ESV) 1 The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2 And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds.
i. We see the enemy scattering the church.
ii. The power of unity and corporate advance was diluted to the point of having no effect as they separated and hid in caves.
b. Judges 6:3-6 (ESV) 3 For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. 6 And Israel was brought very low because of Midian…
i. Step one: In the time of desperation, it’s time to cry out.
1. Verse 6: And the people of Israel cried out for help to the LORD.
c. Judges 6:7-8 (ESV) 7 When the people of Israel cried out to the LORD on account of the Midianites, 8 the LORD sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage.
i. Step two: God sends a prophet with instructions and encouragement.
d. Judges 6:9-10 (ESV) 9 And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 And I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.”
i. Step three: Obedience
ii. Enter- Gideon!
e. Judges 6:11-13 (ESV) 11 Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, sir, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
i. Gideon was complaining that things were bad, that things weren’t changing, but he didn’t realize that he was the reason! It was his fault and the fault of the Israelites that things were bad… and it is him who must turn things around.
f. Judges 6:14 (ESV) 14 And the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”
i. God spoke to Gideon based on his true identity, not his perceived identity.
g. Judges 6:15-16 (ESV) 15 And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”
i. Those who perceive themselves to be insignificant are but a moment away from initiating a move of God that will be felt throughout the city!
ii. Moses felt insignificant… he stammered. One of the greatest stories in history was in front of him.
iii. Gideon remembered that God delivered them from Egypt… what he didn’t realize was that someone with the same insecurities as himself was the deliverer.
h. As the story unfolds we see God continue to advance his plans through seemingly insignificant means.
i. An insignificant man, Gideon, is now called to lead an insignificant army against a city.
i. Judges 7:2-7 (ESV) 2 The LORD said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’ ” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained. 4 And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.”
i. The least and the weakest is leading 1% of the army available to him.
ii. Now, an insignificant man with an insignificant army was to attack with an insignificant method.
iii. Remember David, an insignificant man with an insignificant army (none) used an insignificant method to defeat Goliath. Joshua used an insignificant method to take down Jericho. Let’s see what Gideon did.
j. Judges 7:15-18 (ESV) 15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.” 16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon.’ ”
i. It makes no sense!
k. Judges 7:19-22 (ESV) 19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the LORD set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled…
i. You are significant!
ii. A small army is significant!
iii. A strategy of prayer is significant!
Detroit strategy tonight with Miles Anderson
Miles Anderson TONIGHT at Revival Church!
First, have you registered for THE THINNING OF THE VEIL conference with Michele Perry? Head on over to www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/events and register TODAY!
Yesterday was easily one of the most powerful and most important days in Revival Church history. Miles Anderson from Revolution House of Prayer in Manitou Springs, Colorado met with our church staff all day and imparted strategies for intercession, deliverance and for dealing with the warfare in this region.
TONIGHT he will be ministering at Revival Church at 6pm. If you want to experience a highly prophetic atmosphere with some serious breakthrough anointing, don’t miss this special event.
Miles is a great friend and a General of the faith. For years he woke up every morning at 4am, seven days a week, and covered me, my family and the ministry in intercession. His strategies of breakthrough are powerful and effective and he is intent on seeing the church rally together in Detroit.
Prayer starts at 5pm and we would love to have you join us!
For a map and directions, click here.
The Spirit of Absalom/20 Elements of Revival teaching
The Spirit of Absalom
This has to be the fastest I’ve ever uploaded a message… but it had a great response, and I thought you’d be impacted as you listen to it.
Just a few hours ago I taught on the divisive spirit of Absalom… it’s one of my most requested teachings, and it sheds a bright light on the brilliance of the enemy to draw God’s people to himself.
Also, here’s some diagrams for you to follow along with the part of the teaching on the spirit of Absalom. It’s from my book, Covens in the Church.
Tired of church and religion? New Teaching : The Spirit of Gideon
Are you just tired of church? Has your hunger for God led to disappointment?
Do you ever find yourself getting frustrated because people aren’t moving ahead in the power of God, with fire in their eyes, to advance the Kingdom?
Stop! In a day where people are tired of church, where people are moving from church to church, conference to conference in hopes of finding a move of God, where they are nearly giving up in frustration… we have to reconsider our strategies.
Instead of waiting for others to change and systems to change, we can just take on the attitude of a mighty man of valor. We must, in humility and in boldness, move out in fervency and might!
You should not be frustrated, discouraged, casting blame and waiting around for things to change—YOU should be moving… as a weak person with little resource, little experience… moving out in the spirit of Gideon.
There are religious altars to be torn down and cities to be taken!
Sunday night at Revival Church I taught an impromptu message on this in a powerful, prophetic atmosphere. God was teaching us something important for our mission here in Detroit. We can’t wait and hope for God to pour out… we must move, we must initiate… NOW!
Open your bible to Judges 6 then head on over to www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/teaching and listen to “The Spirit of Gideon.”
Party atmosphere at Revival Church
Healings in a Party Atmosphere at Revival Church
That last two weeks at Revival Church have been amazingly free and alive. Laughter has been breaking out, and last night we had at least three instantaneous healings.
God is AMAZING!
There was such life and freedom throughout the night… I was buzzing as I was preaching on the pleasure of God.
That teaching can be heard at www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/teaching, and the full notes (I only made it through the introduction last night) will be included below.
Enjoying God!
I. Our Vision
a. We started this church with one big idea.
i. To know God, in the depths of his personality, is incredible!
ii. Our job is to make it easy for people to thoroughly enjoy God.
iii. He is so worth it!
iv. John Piper- we value most what we delight in most.
1. God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in him.
2. We spent our money on a trip to Disney World.
3. It was incredible and worth every penny.
a. The $4 hot dogs, $3 Mickey ice cream bars, the long lines, the hot weather- all worth it!
b. We were there 8 days and we were up at 7am on 7 of them to enjoy as much pleasure as possible!
c. All of this pleasure doesn’t even come close to the pleasure that knowing God brings!
d. Psalms 16:11 (NKJV) 11 You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
e. The idea here is to live our lives in the presence of God!
4. If we truly understand what we have in knowing God, the church, not Disney World, will be the happiest place on earth!
b. This idea is in direct contradiction to religion.
i. To have a relationship with God is to enjoy him, to trust him, to love him and to be satisfied in him alone.
ii. However, religion is man’s attempt to use God to get what he wants.
1. That’s very different.
2. C.S. Lewis- Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
c. As we continually and aggressively grow in God, we will discover the greatest, deepest and most overwhelming satisfaction comes as we are simply with him.
II. He Is Passionate About Us
i. John 3:16 (NKJV) 16 "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.
ii. Rev 4:11 (KJV) 11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
iii. If you saw the Passion of the Christ, you have an idea how passionate Jesus is for you, for the one who drove the nails.
III. Five Steps To Enjoying God
a. Surrender
i. Salvation
1. We can’t enjoy life if we aren’t free!
2. Our sins and our separation from God make it impossible to enjoy God.
a. That’s why Jesus came!
b. Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, F29 To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
3. Best decision I’ve ever made!
4. Not because of some hope of going to heaven, but because of how amazing life on earth really is!
5. Isaiah 12:3 (NKJV) 3 Therefore with joy you will draw water
From the wells of salvation.
a. It’s wonderful to be free!
b. When our savior was on his way to the earth, the angels declared- rejoice!
c. Luke 2:10 (NKJV) 10 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
6. Wildman
ii. Surrendering our thoughts and opinions
1. After salvation, the act of surrender must be continual for us to flow in the life of God.
2. 2 Cor 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ
3. The word ‘arguments’ could be translated ‘reasonings’.
a. Every thought that rises up in our minds that speaks against the truth of the Word of God must be brought into captivity.
b. Another translation of that word is ‘imaginations’.
c. No matter how logical something may seem, if it contradicts the Word, it’s merely an imagination.
d. As a third-century man was anticipating death, he penned these last words to a friend: "It's a bad world, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people are the Christians–and I am one of them."
e. We surrender not only our lives, but also our frustrations, our fears, our doubts, our arguments against the truth of the Word.
f. This brings us to the next point- we must trust God entirely in order to enjoy him.
b. Faith/Trust
i. We can accept Jesus into our lives, but if we don’t trust him with everything, we can’t truly enjoy him.
1. We will be leery of him and that causes us to remain at a safe distance from him.
2. This is why he told us from the very beginning to die to our selves.
3. Matt 16:24-25 (NKJV) 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
a. What a dilemma!
b. So many Christians live their entire lives trying to find life- if only they would lose their life, carry their cross- then their lives would be amazing!
4. Romans 8:5-6 (NKJV) 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
a. If we have set our minds of discovering human answers to life’s challenges, we won’t give room for God to bring a supernatural answer!
b. Heb 11:1 (NKJV)1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
i. There is a very important truth here- if we truly live by faith, then our enjoyment is based upon what is unseen vs. what is seen!
ii. Circumstances cannot steal our joy!
iii. The reality of what our faith is based on is more tangible than the unpaid bills, the sickness in our body or the struggles in our lives.
iv. In the midst of it all, we rejoice because we know God’s taken care of us.
v. Jer 29:11-13 (NIV)11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
vi. So- how do we know what to have faith in?
c. Romans 10:17 (NKJV)17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
d. This bring the third critical element needed to thoroughly enjoy God- The Word!
c. Growth in the Word
i. It’s easy to enjoy God when we believe the Word is true!
ii. It’s alive!
1. Phillip Brooks- The Bible is like a telescope. If a man looks through his telescope he sees worlds beyond; but if he looks at his telescope, he does not see anything but that. The Bible is a thing to be looked through to see that which is beyond; but most people only look at it and so they see only the dead letter.
2. So we find ourselves in a trial and our initial response is to complain and lose our joy.
3. But then! We open the 100% true Word of God!!
a. Hark, what do we have here?!
b. 2 Cor 4:16-18 (NKJV) 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
c. Behold! Now our misery can turn to joy as we believe the Word of God is true!
d. Psalms 119:103-104 (NKJV) 103 How sweet are Your words to my taste,
Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 Through Your precepts I get understanding;
Therefore I hate every false way.
e. C.S. Lewis- I would recommend you either believe God up to the hilt, or else not to believe at all. Believe this book of God, every letter of it, or else reject it. There is no logical standing place between the two. Be satisfied with nothing less than a faith that swims in the deeps of divine revelation; a faith that paddles about the edge of the water is poor faith at best. It is little better than a dry-land faith, and is not good for much.
iii. In addition to making it easy to enjoy God by feeding our faith, the Word reveals the incredible depth of God!
1. What could be better?
2. Rev 19:11-16 (NKJV) 11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
3. Wow!
iv. The way we see God, the way we make decisions, the way we perceive challenges will change as we stand on the Word.
v. Challenges can become thrilling instead of heavy.
vi. Burden is light.
vii. We can easily enjoy God as we devour his written word to us!
d. Worship/prayer
i. Deeply immersed in meditation during a church service, Italian poet Dante Alighieri failed to kneel at the appropriate moment. His enemies hurried to the bishop and demanded that Dante be punished for his sacrilege. Dante defended himself by saying, "If those who accuse me had had their eyes and minds on God, as I had, they too would have failed to notice events around them, and they most certainly would not have noticed what I was doing."
1. To get lost exalting God is amazing!
2. The greatest part of the Christian life for me is prayer and worship!
3. I am fanatically addicted to it!
4. 1 Chron 16:11 (NKJV) 11 Seek the LORD and His strength;
Seek His face evermore!
5. For many, prayer is the means to the end.
a. It should not be that way!
b. Being with God is the end!
c. Col 4:2 (NKJV) 2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;
ii. It seems strange that God calls us to exalt him.
iii. He knows that we will experience life and freedom if we do!
iv. In order to enjoy God, not only must we trust him, but we must interact with him always.
v. It is a common temptation of Satan to make us give up the reading of the Word and prayer when our enjoyment is gone; as if it were of no use to read the Scriptures when we do not enjoy them, and as if it were no use to pray when we have no spirit of prayer. The truth is that in order to enjoy the Word, we ought to continue to read it, and the way to obtain a spirit of prayer is to continue praying. The less we read the Word of God, the less we desire to read it, and the less we pray, the less we desire to pray.
vi. Alfred Lloyd Tennyson- More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.
vii. When asked how much time he spent in prayer, George Muller's reply was, "Hours every day. But I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk and when I lie down and when I arise. And the answers are always coming."
e. Right relationships
i. In regard to relationships- Make sure there is a fire breather in the mix!
ii. Spend time with people who are can’t stop talking about God!
1. In order to enjoy God always, we must hang with people that share our passion!
2. Acts 2:42 (NKJV) 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
3. This is why it’s so important to come together each week at church- to fellowship, to worship, to grow together!
a. 3 times a week- Sunday, Wed, small groups.
b. Heb 10:24-25 (NKJV) 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
4. It’s a critical element of life on earth- finding joy and life in relationships with others.
5. People crave intimate relationships!
iii. Testimony of kid in mall
IV. Conclusion
a. So, to enjoy God we simply pursue him!
i. Surrender
ii. Faith/trust
iii. The Word
iv. Worship/Prayer
v. Relationships