Revival: Embracing God's Everlasting Promises and Urgency

 

Summary

In the message from Amos 9:13, we are reminded of the boundless nature of God's promises. Unlike human promises, which are often temporary and limited, God's promises are like an ever-flowing fountain, always full and ready to be fulfilled again and again. This particular promise speaks of a time of revival, both literal and spiritual, where abundance and rapid growth will characterize the Church's experience. The imagery of the plowman overtaking the reaper and the mountains dropping sweet wine symbolizes a season of extraordinary spiritual harvest and rapid growth in grace.

Historically, the land of Canaan was a place of great fertility, and this promise assures us that it will be so again. However, the deeper spiritual meaning points to a revival within the Church, where souls will be gathered in abundance, and the work of God will proceed with unprecedented speed. This revival is not just about numbers but about the quality of conversions, where even those from the most unlikely backgrounds will become fervent followers of Christ.

The message also emphasizes the importance of labor in God's vineyard. Revival does not negate the need for diligent work; rather, it calls for increased activity among God's laborers. The promise of revival should stimulate us to greater exertion, knowing that God is sovereign over the hearts of men and can bring about change in the most hardened individuals.

Furthermore, the message serves as a warning to those who have not yet turned to Christ. The opportunity for salvation is presented, and the urgency of the moment is highlighted. The call is for individuals to respond to God's invitation, recognizing that the time for decision is now.

Key Takeaways:

1. God's Promises Are Everlasting: Unlike human promises, God's promises are inexhaustible and can be fulfilled repeatedly. They hold both literal and spiritual meanings, offering hope for both present and future fulfillment. This assurance encourages us to trust in God's faithfulness and anticipate His continued work in our lives. [00:30]

2. Revival Brings Abundant Harvest: The imagery of the plowman overtaking the reaper signifies a time of spiritual abundance and rapid growth. This revival is characterized by a surprising ingathering of souls, where the Church will witness conversions in unprecedented numbers and speed. It challenges us to prepare for and participate in this divine work. [04:38]

3. Labor in God's Vineyard: Revival does not eliminate the need for diligent work; rather, it calls for increased activity among God's laborers. The promise of revival should stimulate us to greater exertion, knowing that God blesses the efforts of those who labor faithfully in His field. [13:44]

4. God's Sovereignty in Salvation: God is the absolute monarch of human hearts, capable of bringing about change even in the most resistant individuals. His grace is triumphant, and He can lead the unwilling heart to yield to His love. This truth reassures us of God's power to save and transform lives. [27:26]

5. Urgency of Responding to God's Call: The message serves as a warning to those who have not yet turned to Christ. The opportunity for salvation is presented, and the urgency of the moment is highlighted. The call is for individuals to respond to God's invitation, recognizing that the time for decision is now. [44:25]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:10] - Introduction to God's Promises
- [00:30] - The Everlasting Nature of God's Promises
- [01:33] - Historical Fertility of Canaan
- [02:48] - The Current Barrenness and Future Hope
- [03:50] - Spiritual Revival and Its Signs
- [04:38] - Surprising Ingathering of Souls
- [06:48] - Expectation of Abundant Harvest
- [08:15] - Continuous Cycle of Harvest and Sowing
- [10:16] - Rapid Growth in Grace
- [13:44] - Increased Activity in God's Work
- [18:20] - Conversion in Unlikely Places
- [25:07] - Extraordinary Conversions
- [27:26] - God's Sovereignty in Revival
- [32:07] - Stimulus for Further Exertion
- [44:25] - Urgency of Responding to God's Call

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
- Amos 9:13

Observation Questions:
1. What imagery does Amos 9:13 use to describe the promise of revival and abundance? How does this imagery relate to the concept of spiritual growth? [00:10]
2. According to the sermon, how does the historical fertility of Canaan relate to the promise of revival in the Church? [01:33]
3. What does the sermon suggest about the relationship between God's promises and human effort in the context of revival? [13:44]

Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the sermon interpret the rapid growth and abundance described in Amos 9:13 as a metaphor for spiritual revival within the Church? [04:38]
2. In what ways does the sermon suggest that God's sovereignty plays a role in the process of revival and conversion? [27:26]
3. How does the sermon address the urgency of responding to God's call, and what implications does this have for individuals who have not yet turned to Christ? [44:25]

Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a time when you experienced a personal revival or renewal in your faith. What circumstances led to this, and how did it impact your spiritual growth? [04:38]
2. The sermon emphasizes the importance of labor in God's vineyard. What specific actions can you take to increase your involvement in your church or community's spiritual work? [13:44]
3. Consider the concept of God's promises being like an ever-flowing fountain. How can this perspective influence your trust in God's faithfulness in your current life situation? [00:30]
4. The sermon highlights the urgency of responding to God's call. Is there an area in your life where you feel God is calling you to make a decision or change? How can you respond to this call with urgency? [44:25]
5. Think about someone in your life who seems resistant to the gospel. How can you pray for them and engage with them in a way that reflects God's sovereignty and grace? [27:26]
6. The sermon mentions the surprising ingathering of souls during revival. How can you prepare yourself and your community to welcome and disciple new believers effectively? [04:38]
7. Reflect on the idea that revival requires both divine intervention and human effort. How can you balance prayer and action in your personal ministry or service? [13:44]

Devotional

Day 1: The Everlasting Fountain of God's Promises
God's promises are not like human promises, which can be fleeting and unreliable. Instead, they are like an ever-flowing fountain, always full and ready to be fulfilled repeatedly. This assurance of God's faithfulness encourages believers to trust in His promises, knowing that they hold both literal and spiritual meanings. The promise in Amos 9:13 speaks of a time of revival and abundance, where the Church will experience rapid growth and spiritual harvest. This promise is a reminder that God's work is ongoing and that His promises are inexhaustible, offering hope for both present and future fulfillment. [00:30]

Isaiah 55:10-11 (ESV): "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."

Reflection: In what area of your life do you need to trust in the everlasting nature of God's promises today? How can you remind yourself of His faithfulness in this area?


Day 2: A Season of Spiritual Abundance
The imagery of the plowman overtaking the reaper in Amos 9:13 signifies a time of extraordinary spiritual harvest and rapid growth. This revival is characterized by a surprising ingathering of souls, where the Church will witness conversions in unprecedented numbers and speed. It is a time of both literal and spiritual abundance, where the work of God proceeds with unprecedented speed. This revival challenges believers to prepare for and participate in this divine work, recognizing that it is not just about numbers but about the quality of conversions. Even those from the most unlikely backgrounds will become fervent followers of Christ. [04:38]

Joel 2:23-24 (ESV): "Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil."

Reflection: How can you prepare your heart and life to be part of this season of spiritual abundance? What steps can you take to participate in God's work of revival today?


Day 3: Diligent Labor in God's Vineyard
Revival does not eliminate the need for diligent work; rather, it calls for increased activity among God's laborers. The promise of revival should stimulate believers to greater exertion, knowing that God blesses the efforts of those who labor faithfully in His field. This call to labor is a reminder that while God is sovereign over the hearts of men, He invites His people to participate in His work. The promise of revival is an encouragement to be active and diligent in the work of the Lord, trusting that He will bring about the harvest in His time. [13:44]

1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV): "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."

Reflection: In what specific ways can you increase your activity in God's vineyard today? How can you be more diligent in the work God has called you to do?


Day 4: God's Sovereignty in Salvation
God is the absolute monarch of human hearts, capable of bringing about change even in the most resistant individuals. His grace is triumphant, and He can lead the unwilling heart to yield to His love. This truth reassures believers of God's power to save and transform lives, even in the most unlikely places. It is a reminder that no one is beyond the reach of God's grace and that He is sovereign in the work of salvation. This understanding should inspire confidence in God's ability to bring about change and transformation in the lives of those around us. [27:26]

Ezekiel 36:26-27 (ESV): "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules."

Reflection: Who in your life seems resistant to God's love? How can you pray for them today, trusting in God's sovereignty to transform their heart?


Day 5: The Urgency of Responding to God's Call
The message serves as a warning to those who have not yet turned to Christ. The opportunity for salvation is presented, and the urgency of the moment is highlighted. The call is for individuals to respond to God's invitation, recognizing that the time for decision is now. This urgency is a reminder that life is fleeting and that the opportunity for salvation should not be taken for granted. It is a call to action, urging individuals to respond to God's call and to make a decision to follow Christ today. [44:25]

2 Corinthians 6:2 (ESV): "For he says, 'In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.' Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

Reflection: Is there an area of your life where you have been delaying a decision to follow Christ? What steps can you take today to respond to God's call with urgency?

Quotes

God's promises are not exhausted when they are fulfilled for when Once performed they stand just as good as they did before and we may await a second accomplishment of them, but God's promises are as a fountain never emptied ever overflowing so that you may draw from them the whole of that which they apparently contain. [00:27:57]

The promise still stands true that one day in the very letter Palestine shall be as rich and fruitful as ever it was. There be those who understand the matter who assert that if once the rigor of the Turkish rule could be removed if men were safe from robbers if the man who sowed could reap and keep the corn which his own industry had sown and gathered the land might yet again laugh in the midst of the Nations. [00:02:37]

According to the metaphor here used the Harvest is to be so great that before the Reapers can have fully gathered it in the plowman shall begin to plow for the next crop while the abundance of fruit shall be so surprising that before the Treader of grapes can have trodden out all the juice of the vine the time shall come for sowing seed. [00:04:45]

God is about to send times of surprising fertility to his church, when a sermon has been preached in these modern times if one sinner has been converted by it we have rejoiced with a suspicious Joy for we have thought it's something amazing, but Brethren where we have seen one converted we may yet see hundreds. [00:06:48]

God does not promise that there shall be fruitful crops without labor but here we find mention made of plowmen Reapers treaders of grapes and Sowers of seed and all these persons are Gert with singular energy. The plowman does not wait because saithi the season has not yet come for me to plow but seeing that God is blessing the land he has his plow ready. [00:13:44]

The plowman does not wait because saithi the season has not yet come for me to plow but seeing that God is blessing the land he has his plow ready and no sooner is one Harvest shouted home then he is ready to plow again and so with the sower he has not to prepare his basket and collect his seed but while he hears the shouts of the Vintage he is ready to go out to work. [00:14:04]

God is absolute monarch of the hearts of men, God does not say here if men are willing but he gives an absolute promise of a blessing as much as to say I have the key of men's Hearts I can induce the plowman to overtake the reaper I am Master of the soil however hard and Rocky it may be I can break it and I can make it fruitful. [00:27:26]

The Lord when he means to save Sinners does not stop to ask them whether they mean to be saved but like a rushing Mighty Wind the Divine influence sweeps away every obstacle the unwilling heart bends before the potent Gale of Grace and sinners that would not yield are made to yield by God. [00:28:25]

The duty of the church is not to be measured by her success, it is as much The Minister's duty to preach the gospel in adverse times as in propitious seasons we are not to think if God withholds the Dew that we are to withhold the plow, we are not to imagine that if unfruitful Seasons come we are therefore to cease from sowing our seed. [00:32:07]

Recollect that even when this revival comes an instrumentality will still be wanted, the plowman is wanted even after the Harvest and the Treader of grapes is wanted however plentiful that vintage, the greater the success the more need of instrumentality. [00:36:11]

I have frequently remarked that in any Revival of religion it is not often the children of Pious parents that are brought in but those who never knew anything of Christ before, the ordinary means are usually blessed to those who constantly attend them but the express effort and the extraordinary influence of the spirit reach those who are outside the pale of nominal Christians. [00:43:25]

There is a turning point in each man's life when his character becomes fixed and settled that Turning Point may be today it may be that there shall be some solemn seat in this Hall which if a man knew its history he would never sit in it a seat in which a man shall sit and hear the word and shall say I will not yield. [00:45:00]

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Transcript
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