A Passion for God’s Presence
Pastor Rod Thompson
Midland SDA Church
May 30, 2020
Read Judges 2:7-10
As you go back and read the story of Israel you see the theme of that story woven in time after time, don’t you? You have a group of people who truly have a born again experience, they see the power of God, they live out their faith and they walk with God. And maybe it’s like that for a generation, or two, or maybe even three – but eventually you get to a place where, even those who are supposedly God’s people don’t know him.
Judges 17:6 sums it up pretty well. It says, “In those days there was no king in Israel, everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
Do you see the problem with that? I think that when we look at that we have the tendency to say the problem is that people were doing what they thought was right in their own eyes. We say that was the problem with Israel. But I want to submit to you that it was not the problem – but rather it was a symptom of the problem.
I want to suggest to you that the real problem was that in those days they had no king. You see God had intended that He would be their king. That they would see the great and mighty works that he had done for them and the people would teach their children to trust and follow God as their king. And that generation after generation would follow God.
That’s why, when Samuel was old and the people asked for him to appoint a king over them he was very displeased and he went to the Lord in prayer and God said to him,
1 Samuel 8:7 Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not rein over them.
You see, that’s the real problem isn’t it? When we don’t have God to rule over us, we do what is right in our own eyes.
Read Judges 2: 11-19
The people followed Joshua while the miracles were flowing and God was working mightily on their behalf. But when the next generation came up that didn’t see the miracles, they didn’t have a personal experience with God, so they went their own way, they didn’t have God as their king over them.
So they started doing what seemed right in their own eyes and they started serving other gods. And whenever that happens, whenever we reject God as our king, we walk out from underneath the umbrella of God’s protection.
And so trouble comes their way. But eventually the people do cry out to the one true God for help and He has compassion for them and He raises up a judge to help them. Judges like Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, and Deborah.
He raises up a judge or prophet who would try and lead them back to God. Like He did in the time of Judges 6 when the people committed harlotry with false gods, So God allowed the Midianites to come in and harass Israel, but when the people cry out to God He raises up Gideon.
So the angel of the Lord comes to Gideon and he tells him to gather an army and go out and fight the Midianites and God will give the victory.
You know the story, Gideon raises and army of 32,000 men, but God knows that if they go out and win the victory they will claim that they did it in their own strength. So God whittles that army down to 300 men.
Can you imagine? Three hundred men to go out against an army of 120,000 Midianites.
I don’t know about you but I don’t like those odds. It makes me think of that verse where Jesus said, count the cost. He said,
Luke 14: 31 “or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?”
But it should also remind us of
Zechariah 4:6 Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord
It was not by the power or might of Gideon or his army that they won the battle. But it was through prayer and the Spirit of the Lord that the victory was won.
So as we look at the church today we must realize that church growth and our personal spiritual growth is not gained by power or might.
Evangelistic programs and church growth techniques are great and wonderful. The only problem is they don’t work without prayer and the Holy Spirit.
Even the best made car in the world doesn’t move without fuel. So what we need in the church today is NOT a better engineered strategy. What we need is a source of power.
We dream of a vibrant Christ worshipping community of faith that evangelizes the world with love and power, a church triumphant with the Holy Spirit.
But what we see instead are congregations in plateau or decline, composed of people who are enthusiastic about worldliness and apathetic about their faith.
The Open Church P2
J.H. Rutz, listed the top 10 problems facing the church today
Apathy
Shallowness
Worldliness
Failure to give
Pastoral burnout
Teenage dropout
Fear of evangelism
Flabby self discipline
Maxed out schedules
Chronic shortage of strong and committed individuals (its what he calls the state of the church today)
But what was the state of the New Testament church? It was sold-out discipleship, turning the world upside down with its message and life. Spreading like wildfire across cultures, hurdling the obstacles of paganism, it turned the world upside down. It was powerful!
A.W. Tozer
If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today 95% of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 9% of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference.
So what is it that really works? When it comes to converting people, in growing the kingdom, in living in God’s friendship – what is necessary? It is the Holy Spirit.
Another book, another plan, another seminar, another 5 step training plan – Is that what we need? These are not the answer
We don’t need more formula’s – we need more filling. We don’t need more plans – we need more power, We don’t need more strategies – we need more Spirit.
So let’s look beyond the symptoms, let’s get to the heart of the problem. And what is the problem.
Read John 15: 4-5
Here we see God’s solution for us. Here we see the way to recapture the vitality of the early church. Jesus declared to His followers just before He returned to heaven
Acts 1: 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Here’s what happened: They waited on the Lord, they prayed. They received power when the Holy Spirit filled them. And then – and only then – did they go out evangelizing the world with the gospel.
They gave themselves to prayer. We must understand our need for prayer.
The church has a fantastic future, because all things are possible with God.
Sons and Daughters of God, P280 EGW
The Lord is willing to do great things for us. We shall not gain the victory through numbers, but through the full surrender of the soul to Jesus. We are to go forward in His strength, trusting in the mighty God of Israel.
Prayer is the way forward to revival, power, and growth.
Read 2 Chronicles 7: 14 (Scripture reading)
Here is the essence of renewal – the promise of God for us today. It would be well for us to consider the 5 conditions for renewal embedded in this text
1. We belong to God and are His people
2. We must call on His name
3. We must humble ourselves (which means removing egotism and self-interest from our lives)
4. We must pray and seek Him
5. We must repent of our sins
Then God will hear our cry and will answer our prayers and will renew us. It’s not some program that we buy into, but an organic relationship with God.
Instead of a strategy it is a commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ
So what is our part in renewal?
Selected Messages, book 1, P121
A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work… But it is our work, by confession, humiliation, repentance, and earnest prayer, to fulfill the conditions upon which God has promised to grant us His blessing. A revival need be expected only in answer to prayer.
Renewal takes place when people take God seriously and spend considerable time seeking Him
The unknown Christian, the kneeling Christian, P 3
We may be assured of this: the secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer.
Here is a realization that I have come to in my own personal walk with Jesus – I am the greatest challenge to my spirituality.
You see the battle is not out there. The battle is in my own mind, my own heart.
Spirituality is about two things that are completely contrary to our culture and values and world views and nature.
It involves a submissive life and a connectedness with God.
In his book, the Big Four, Dr. Joseph Kidder talks about spending two weeks trying to cut down a tree with a hand saw. He said, in 2 hours of hard work I managed to make a scrape in the side of the tree. And then he talks about how his neighbor, moved by pity came over with his chainsaw and they finished cutting up the tree and then they cut a second down and all up in a few minutes.
That’s something like the difference between God’s power and our power. The tragedy of too many Christians is that we submit too much time to human effort in the place of divine strength. The results are obvious.
When we try to accomplish by human means what can be done only by spiritual ones, we embezzle God’s authority.
The words power and prayer appear numerous times in the book of Acts. Prayer is the means by which God releases His power into the world.
The problem the church (and individuals) struggles with is not a lack of power. Infinite power is available for the asking. No, the difficulty is rather with us. We don’t call for the power., and then we complain that we don’t have it.
Abraham prayed – just one man – and Lot was delivered from the fiery destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
Moses prayed – just one man – and the waters f the sea parted
Joshua prayed – just one man – and the walls of Jericho came down
David prayed – Just one man – and the stone from his slingshot was guided to the head of goliath, and the giant fell
Elijah prayed – just on man – and fire came down from heaven and devoured the sacrifice
Daniel prayed – just one man – and the mouths of the lions were shut
Esther prayed – just one woman – and God delivered the whole nation from destruction
If you listen, you might hear people in the church saying things like, If we had a better pastor, if we had a better program, If we had better people, If we had more resources, If we had this or that we would be able to do spectacular things. Evangelism and church growth would overflow our seats and fill our church budget. But it is not by power or might, but by the Holy Spirit that God’s work will be done.
If the faucet is not connected to a reservoir of water, it will only disappoint. The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him.
Testimonies to Ministers, P169
Those who do not learn every day in the school of Christ, who do not spend much time in earnest prayer, are not fit to handle the work of God in any of its branches. … those who become coworkers with Jesus Christ, and who have spirituality to discern spiritual things, will feel their need of virtue and of wisdom from heaven in handling His work.
So, what could God do with you, in you, and through you if you transformed your life into one of prayer. Pray as if your life depended on it. If you have no desire to pray, ask God to give you some.
Make prayer your habit. Get into the habit of praying every day for this church, your children, grandchildren, spouse. Pray with friends and get yourself an accountability partner.
Pray as a ministry to the lost, pray for at least five individuals every day. Love them, minister to them, meet their needs. When the appropriate time comes share your values and testimony with them and watch and see what God will do in their lives.
Some of them will fall in love with Jesus. They will do it in answer to your prayers, your ministry, and your attractive Christian life.
Then one day you’ll be walking on the sea of glass, and someone will come to you and say. “Thank you for taking an interst in me, I am here because of you.” Wouldn’t that be a glorious reward?