Notes from Revival

Bro. Jeremy Overstreet from Macedonia FWB Church visited Sulphur Springs the last week of September for our Fall Revival. We had a great week of fellowship and heard some great messages. Here are some of my favorite quotes and notes from Bro. Overstreet's sermons that week:

• We get further by praying than we do by condemning. If you don't like the way someone is living, don't condemn them...pray for them!


• You should be more concerned with what God thinks of you than you are about what other people think of you.


• Our character affects our conduct. Who we are will always show up in what we do.


• Satan is our accuser, but Jesus is our advocate! If God is for us, who can be against us?


• Don't ever let Satan drag you down with your past sins. God has forgiven you and has moved your sins as far as the east is from the west. Only Satan remembers the sins of the past, and he will try to use them to drag you away from God.

The week was full of some great preaching and wisdom. I may post full sermon notes later, but these were just some of the high points.

July Revival - Part Two

"Revive Us"
Sermon by Bro. Rick Taylor 7/12/09

Psalm 119:37 "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way."

"A half-hearted approach to living for God will NEVER satisfy our souls." - Bro. Rick

Revival is a continual state of seeking God and His will. Revival begins when we INDIVIDUALLY seek God. We must all recognize our need for revival individually before we will see a revival in our churches and communities.

Revival will come when we SEEK it!

1. Revival comes when we prepare.

a. Concern "turn away mine eyes from vanity" (Psalm 119:37 a)
- Do we care enough about our spiritual condition to be concerned about revival?
- Do we recognize our own need for revival and our own sin?
- Jesus wants us to live in knowledge and spirit. He wants us to be able to recognize our sin and our need for revival and for us to seek Him.

b. Cry Out
- We need to pray for revival!
- You can't serve God without knowing God.
- Do we care enough to pray? Do we continue in prayer? (Acts 1:14)

c. Cost
- Revival comes with a cost: We need to let God purge our lives of the things that are hindering our relationship with Him.
- When God asks for a SACRIFICE, that is exactly what He wants from us! If we don't have to pay a cost of some sort, where is the sacrifice? (see 2 Samuel 24:24)
- What kind of price are you willing to pay for revival? Are you willing to give your time? Are you willing to pray? Are you willing to change?

2. Revival comes when we make it personal

a. Conviction
- Revival comes when we get ready for our personal walk with the Lord to improve and when we are ready to change. (Psalm 85:6)
- How do we measure up to God's standards...in holiness? in faithfulness? in devotion?
- We need to pray for God to show us HIS ways "quicken thou me in thy way." (Psalm 119:37)

b. Confession
- We must confess that Jesus is the ONLY way and that there is NONE OTHER by which we can be saved.
- So we seek ONLY GOD to fulfill the empty places of our hearts?
- We cannot fix our problems on our own, but GOD CAN!
- We must recognize and admit that God is the only one that can revive us - and that we cannot do this without Him!

c. Conversion
- "quicken thou me in THY way" God's way is always better than ours. We must change from going our way to following His way.
- If there is no change, then there is no salvation. If there is no change, then there is no re-dedication. If there is no change, then there is no conversion. If there is no change, then there is no revival.
- Jesus didn't come here to make us better people. He came to make us more like HIM!
- Jeremiah 29:12-13 "Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." You must seek revival with ALL of your HEART!

July Revival - Part One

This month, we have been enjoying a great revival during our Sunday morning services. We would love for you to come join us during our services at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. and for Sunday School at 9:30 a.m. every Sunday morning!

Our first Revival speaker was Bro. Danny Williams (7/5/09). He serves as director of the Free Will Baptist Children's Home (check it out at http://www.fwbhome.org/).

2 Timothy 4:6-8
"For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."

What gives Paul his confidence?

1. The Present - In verse 6, Paul says, "I am ready..."

a. Ready to be offered
Paul understood sacrifice (Philippians 2:7)
He knew what it meant to live for Christ (Romans 12:1-2)

b. Ready for his departure
Paul knew that he was ready for death because he had confidence in his relationship with Christ. Are you ready?

2. The Past - in verse 7, Paul says, "I have..."

a. I have fought a good fight
Paul was confident that he had fought for a worthwhile cause and that he had done his best.
Check out Ephesians 6:13-18 for the Armor of God that we all need to fight that good fight.

b. I have finished my course
Each of us has a course that God has planned for our lives. Every course is different, and we all have to learn to run the race with patience.
*There is no more noble way to die than to be running the course God has set for us.

c. I have kept the faith
We should always stay faithful ( 1Timothy 4:12 "...be thou an example unto the believers in faith...")

3. The Future - In verse 8, Paul awaited his rewards

a. There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness
Our crown is set aside just for us! Matthew 6:19-21 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
We get to wear the VICTOR'S crown, not the ruler's crown, because only God is worthy of the ruler's crown.

b. The reward shall be given "at that day"
We will be rewarded at the day of the Lord's return

c. The reward will be given to "ALL of them also that love his appearing"
We all can earn a crown in heaven - but when we receive our crowns, it will not be for the things that WE did...it will be about the things that we allowed Jesus to do THROUGH us.