1997-20

SERMON NOTES

TITLE: CHRIST AND OUR COMFORT ZONE

TEXT: Luke 12:51-53

51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.

52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three.

53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." (NIV)

INTRODUCTION: We have just completed over 2 weeks of revival services last Sunday evening. Now you might think, or even say, "Since we have had revival, things are going to be better; I will have fewer problems, and they will be less severe. I have been touched by God, and so people will like me better. My family relationships are going to be better." You might make such statements as these, along with many more.

Now I don't want to burst your bubble this morning, but I must warn you that this may not be the way it will be. Note with me our Scripture text. Here, Jesus is saying that when we truly follow Him, problems will come, even in our own families. Now this will be especially true in families which are divided; where not all of the family serves the Lord. It may even happen in families where all are Christians, but are following the Lord at differing levels and paces. Some will come from this revival with renewed dedication, renewed consecration and commitment; others will hardly be changed at all. And these differing responses will cause conflict.

Think back with me for a moment. The entrance of Jesus into this world as the Messiah was a traumatic event. Look for a moment at the lives of Mary and Joseph. They certainly had their comfort zone messed up. Now Mary had to deal with the response of people who would not believe that her Child was conceived of the Holy Spirit; that He was truly God. Can't you imagine the reaction of all the dear little sisters in the Lord when they learned of her condition? What was she to tell Joseph, and would he even believe her? She must have been filled with anxiety, and surely was moved out of her comfort zone.

And what about Joseph? He must have had much mental anguish, and a great inner battle when he found out his espoused wife was pregnant (and not by him). How long was it before the angel spoke to him? How costly it was to both of them to give birth to the Messiah, and to have the responsibility to raise Him.

And today, the Lord's coming into our lives is traumatic; He causes upheaval; everything must change.

I. Revival is sometimes more than many of us can handle. Remember when Jesus healed the demoniac; the man who lived in the tombs; who could not be held even with chains. Now let's recall the reaction of the people to this move of God, for it was certainly that. When is the last time you saw a lunatic healed, and restored to his right mind?

Mark 5:1-20 records the story for us. You will recall that Jesus healed this man; He cast the demons out of him into a herd of hogs (about 2000 of them). And then it says that the people begged Jesus to leave their region of the country. His presence was more than they could stand; it was too upsetting. Their response was, "This is just too much! We like it better the old way; our simple life has been disturbed. Jesus, will you please leave?"

Jesus came to them as Savior, but though they were lost, they did not want Him; He came as deliverer, but they would rather remain in bondage than have to change. He, the Creator, was not welcome by His creation. He is not always a welcome guest.

Today, you may think or say, "I would certainly not have that kind of response." But, if you were totally honest this morning, were you secretly glad when the revival was over. You were tired; going to church every night is tiring and disruptive to your life style. You had no time for yourself. The truth is that sometimes we are more tolerant of an evil force than we are to the holy presence of Jesus. We are more comfortable with our lives as run by the world than we are when Jesus enters the picture. After all, we can just sit at home, watch TV, drink soda, have times of feast and fellowship if we live according to the pattern of the world. But Jesus does not allow us this comfort zone. He would rather have you pray, read your Bible, live as a witness, and even do witnessing for Him.

How about you? Do you want Jesus to move on now; to leave you alone so you can get back to your old life? Or has revival, which is an encounter with a Holy God removed the veil from your eyes, and allowed you to see your life as God sees it? You see, true revival uncovers the stark and absolute nature of a man, as well as revealing the glory of God. Do we really want God to live in our midst; in our homes, and in our church?

II. Revival brings changes to our homes. Now the truth is that most of us like the way our homes are; at least, it would seem so, since we do little or nothing to change the status quo there. We seem to like all the bickering and fighting, the lack of peace and presence of war. We like to be able to come home, and live any way we want to. In our homes, we feel that we do not have to answer to anyone for what we do.

But that is not true. When Christ really comes in revival, our homes have to change. First, we must begin to live together peacefully. We are to be like our Lord, and He said that He was leaving His peace with us; it is His will that we live in peace in our homes.

We will have to change the things we do. There must be more prayer and Bible reading, and less watching of TV (good or bad); there must be a setting aside of things which are evil, but which we have come to tolerate over time. There must be a cleansing in our homes. Bad things must be gotten rid of, and not replaced by other bad things. Rather, we must replace them with good and holy things.

Isn't it a shame, that after two weeks of revival services, some of your homes have already reverted to their former status and former way of running. There has been no change. But the presence of Christ in our homes will always bring about changes.

III. Revival brings changes to our church. Remember when Jesus, at the beginning of His ministry, came to his home synagogue in Capernaum. Now before this, everything had been peaceful, reverent, and orderly; it was all so predictable. Now Jesus had come, and the place was a madhouse. Why, one of the men in the community fell on the ground shouting, in church of all places. Why, a demon even came out of Him at the command of the Lord. And that brought more people. How disruptive. How nice our synagogue was before Jesus came. We were able to worship in comfort then.

And some of you have had a similar reaction. You say, "Preacher, how do you know what my reaction has been." Let me just say that many nights, I was a most interested observer of your faces and your actions, and they gave you away. Before you were able to get your mask back into place, your true feelings had made themselves known to me.

Jesus upsets our routine, takes us out of our comfort zone, and His very presence brings to light the hidden attitudes of our hearts. Simeon prophesied, "...This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed...."

Exactly what happens in revival is this: Jesus is glorified again in the church, and at the same time He rebukes evil and iniquity; His presence reveals the coldness and lethargy in us. Then we really find out what is in people's hearts. Revival always changes the church, bringing it to life again; taking it out of its comfort zone. And since we make up the church, our comfort zone is destroyed.

IV. Revival changes our relationship with others; it brings outspoken criticism and resistance. John 10:19-21 says that "At these words the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, 'He is demon- possessed and raving mad. Why listen to Him?' But others said, 'These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?'"

Why did they hate Him so? Jesus said it was "because I testify that what it does is evil?" Now we expect the world to have this response, but it also comes from the church. Arthur Wallis wrote, "If we find a revival that is not spoken against, we had better look again to ensure that it is a revival."

Is the current move and work of God being spoken against? Just this week, in my reading I ran across an ad in Jerry Falwell's "The National Liberty Journal", placed by Paw Creek Ministries, Joseph R. Chambers, D.D. author: "This fascinating video separates the truth of the Holy Spirit from false anointing. Included are excerpts of: Women howling like wolves; Excerpts from Toronto and Pensacola; Evidences of the psychic aspects of this false movement; Ministers laughing and joking in tongues." Only $20.00. Another, called Pensacola, Impartations-Apparitions, says: "This False Anointing of divination and spirits is creating a new class of 'impartation junkies.' They run from one 'Mecca' to another looking for a fix." "The sequel to "The False Anointing, this video reveals the truth about Pensacola! Included are examples of: young girls shaking so violently they appear bazarre and epileptic; Beatles music that alters consciousness; Guided imagery praying." Only $20.00. Mail your order to Paw Creek Ministries, 5110 Tuckaseegee Road, Charlotte, N.C. 28208.

Of course, we should speak against errors and excesses. The problem is that when there is a true move of God, dead proud religionists will oppose and malign it, because it uncovers the condition of their hearts.

Evan Roberts, used greatly by God in the Welsh Revival earlier this century, was well regarded, deeply loved and respected by many of his countrymen. But not be all. Dr. Forbes Winslow said, "I would have men like Evan Roberts locked up as common felons, and their meetings prohibited like those of socialists and anarchists as being dangerous to the public."

It is difficult to remain neutral when God is visiting His church. Revival is often the making or breaking of many churches and ministers, because it forces us to deal with the most fundamental of all spiritual issues: What will you do with Jesus? How will you respond to Him as Lord? He is here in our midst, and everything must be radically affected.

CONCLUSION: Nothing has been the same since Jesus came. The Jews have not been the same; think about their suffering since they rejected Him, and how divided their opinion if over Him. History has not been the same; most nations, believing on Him or not, date events from His birth. Religion has not been the same. And today, when He visits His church in revival, nothing will remain the same. He needs a lot of room to work, for a whole lot of shaking will be going on in fulfillment of Scripture.

Acts 17:30-31 tells us that now God commands all people everywhere to repent, for He has set a day when all will be judged. This is also a picture of revival, for it brings with it judgment, not just joy. The Lord comes with claims, not just charisma; He is not only delightful, He is demanding. He must be Lord of all, not just someone lovely whom we adore. He does not just fit in, and He makes no deals with anyone. To which of us did He say, "Choose your terms, and I will make you my disciple," or "Surrender half or three-quarters; that's enough." No, He died for us all; He died for all of each of us, and expects all in return. The King of kings will not accept a partial surrender, anymore than a general would. Surrender must be total and absolute.

Yet even as we want to surrender to Him, we find ourselves reverting to serving the Lord out of habit, or trying to worship by our old ways. We compartmentalize our lives, and assign Him to one. But as revival comes, He no longer fits into our box. He still takes seriously His position as head of the church. We cannot just add Him into our lives for a thrill, for some neat new manifestation of the Spirit. We cannot simply invite Him to show up for an hour or two, and then leave Him in the church building.

Rather, He must be an integral part of our lives, at home, at school, at work, in the marketplace, in our leisure time. He must be a major part of every area of our lives, and that frightens us. Note the response of the people when the demon-possessed man was healed. Mark 5:15 says, "and they were afraid." God, in all his power, can be a little frightening. When He calmed the storm for the disciples, they were terrified, because even the winds and waves obeyed Him.

Revival is more than we asked for, more than we reckoned we would get, so a lot of people just check out on revival. They want to maintain their rights, and their comfort zone. They want to keep their seat on the throne. Easier to strut than to surrender. And pastors and other leaders are not immune. By nature, many like to run the show; to know what is going to happen, when, how long, and by whom. We like to start it and stop it at will. But leaders must be willing to hand over control to God. It's His church anyway, isn't it? His reputation is at stake; His kingdom is being built. Are we looking for safety or for the Spirit; for the Holy Ghost from heaven or for high grades from headquarters in Springfield?

So here is the way it is. We beg Him to come, then He shakes us out of our comfort zone, and we beg Him to Go. We pray for a visit from Him, and then plead that He will leave, so we can go back to being comfortable. We ask Him to come near us, and then urge Him forcefully to depart from us.

We must stop running from meeting with the Lord at the altar, even if it is getting late. I remind you that the history of the world is getting to a late point also, just before His return. We must stop, and let God be God, even though it means death to the flesh.

Here is the sentiment that stopped most past revivals: "We like things the way they used to be!" And when we say that, God simply says, "Okay, have it your way." And then catastrophe comes. Where God's Spirit is not valued, His presence will soon vanish. He will let us do what our own carnal minds think best. That is no mistake on His part; it is rather an act of judgment.

We must not allow these things to stop, or even to hinder this revival. We must not retreat into our safety zones, where we can shut the presence of God out. We must instead invite Him to come and do as He wishes, with humble, dependent, obedient hearts. We must not resist Him, but must receive Him. We must run to Him rather than from Him.

We must not make the mistake of calling the trickle of His blessings and visitation we have received a flood, for it is only a small trickle of what it can do. We must make Him the star of the show, the Master of what is happening.

Spurned revival today may mean the end, not only for us, but for America and the world. We are seeing a shower of God's blessing in response to years of praying and fasting by many saints. But we must have more than showers; we must have a downpour. And when it comes, God forbid that we say it is too wet or stormy, and wish again for dry weather.

The floodgates of heaven must open, so that His downpour can come in, flushing out what needs to go, washing away everything not built on the Rock. Let it wash away all the muck, the mire, the garbage.

Though our lives in the past may not have been all they could be; though we may at best have ignored the Lord, He is still willing to work with us. In the story of the man who was delivered, we find him wanting to go with Jesus at the end of the incident. But the Lord told him, "...Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you." That man was obedient, and began to tell all living in the Decapolis his story, and all were amazed.

Christ sent him. He is also sending us. We are to take what the Lord has given us here, and give it to our families, our friends, our fellow workers, to all we come into contact with. Christ is willing to use us though we may have failed in the past. There is still mercy extended. The end of the story has not yet been written.

We must soften our hearts to His leading; we must renew our faith; we must resist the enemy, and call out to the Lord for mercy, refreshing rain, and restoration.

When we have learned from our mistakes, He will come in even greater power. This is the hour we have longed for, so don't let it pass by you. Tomorrow may never come. Jesus still seeks willing vessels; will you have Him as Lord? Will you allow Him to invade your comfort zone? Or will you ask Him to leave, so you can go back to the way you used to be?

We must invite Him in. Come in, Lord Jesus. You are welcome, Holy Spirit. Come in and disrupt us. Make us uncomfortable where we are, so that we will leave and do your will. You have said for us to go into the harvest field, for it is ripe now to harvest.

OSAGE GOSPEL LIGHTHOUSE, Linn, MO 5-25-97 am