Tag: Faith

Understanding the Importance of Religious Revivals

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Based on a writing by Rev. CHARLES G. FINNEY (1792–1875)

Let’s talk about religious revivals – what they are and why they matter. It all started with an ancient prophet named Habakkuk who, facing troubled times, prayed for God to “revive” his people’s faith. This idea of revival has been important ever since.

At its core, religion is simply about people choosing to follow God willingly and sincerely. But here’s the challenge: we naturally drift away from this commitment. Think of it like a New Year’s resolution – we start with good intentions, but slowly slide back into old habits. This is why revivals become necessary.

Throughout history, most religious growth has happened through revivals – periods of intense spiritual awakening. Imagine a sleeping person needing an alarm clock. People get spiritually drowsy, distracted by life’s many demands and entertainments. These distractions are like a strong current pulling us away from shore. To swim back, we often need a powerful burst of energy.

Looking at history, we see a pattern: God creates a period of spiritual excitement, people turn to Him, then gradually drift away as daily life takes over. Think of it like a family that grows closer after a crisis, then slowly drifts apart until another event brings them together again.

Ideally, we wouldn’t need these spiritual wake-up calls. In a perfect world, faith would grow steadily, like a well-tended garden. But reality is different. Just as political campaigns and advertising bombard us with messages that shape our thoughts, these worldly influences need to be countered by equally powerful spiritual experiences.

Here’s what’s important to understand: a revival isn’t a miracle that suspends natural laws. It’s more like waking up and using abilities you already had but weren’t using. Think of a couch potato – they have the muscles to run, they just need the motivation to use them.

When a revival happens, it starts with Christians rediscovering their original enthusiasm for faith, like couples remembering why they fell in love. This renewal then spreads. Spiritual truths that seemed dull become vivid and real. People develop genuine concern for others’ spiritual well-being. Often, the change reaches even those considered “hopeless cases” – the most unlikely people can have complete changes of heart.

The whole process involves three key players: God, someone sharing spiritual truth, and the person being changed. Think of it like helping someone learn to swim: there’s the designer of the pool (God), the swimming instructor (the teacher), and the swimmer (the person changing). The truth itself is like the water – essential to the whole process.

Even small actions can have big effects. Sometimes just seeing someone’s genuine concern can start a chain reaction in a community. It’s like how one person’s smile can brighten a whole room. The key thing to remember is that revival involves both God’s work and human participation. While God provides the truth and power, people must choose to share and respond to it.

That’s what revival is about – a return to spiritual health through a combination of divine influence and human response. It’s as natural as waking up from sleep, as practical as farming, and as personal as falling in love. It happens when people are deeply moved to make real changes in their lives and turn back to God.

Justification by Faith

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This is a simplified sermon based on a work by John Wesley

Based on Romans 4:5 – “To the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.”

Introduction

How can a sinful person be made right with God? This is one of the most important questions anyone can ask. Until we’re at peace with God, we can’t have true peace or joy in this life or the next. How can we find peace when our own conscience condemns us, let alone God who knows everything? What real joy can we have while God’s judgment hangs over us?

The Foundation of Justification

Let me explain how this all works:

Originally, humans were made in God’s image – perfect, holy, and pure. We were made to love God completely and live in perfect relationship with Him.

God gave humans a perfect law requiring perfect obedience. We were fully capable of following it.
But humans disobeyed God. Through Adam’s sin, death and separation from God entered the world. This affected all of us – we all inherited this broken relationship with God.

But God loved us so much that He sent Jesus, His only Son, to save us. Jesus became human to represent all of us. He took our sins upon Himself, suffered the punishment we deserved, and died to make things right between us and God.

What is Justification?

Justification is God’s pardon – His forgiveness of our sins. It’s important to understand what this means:

It’s not about making us actually righteous – that’s sanctification, which comes later.
It’s not just about clearing us from Satan’s accusations.
It’s not God pretending we’re righteous when we’re not.

Simply put, justification means God forgives our past sins because of Jesus’ sacrifice. He treats us as if we had never sinned, not because we deserve it, but because Jesus took our punishment.

Who Can Be Justified?

Here’s the amazing part – God justifies the ungodly. Not the good people. Not the almost-perfect people. The ungodly. The sinners. The broken. The ones who know they need help.
This is crucial to understand: You don’t need to become holy before God will accept you. In fact, you can’t. That’s backwards. God accepts you first, then begins making you holy.

How Are We Justified?

There’s only one requirement: faith. But what kind of faith?

It’s more than just believing facts about God.
It’s a deep trust that Christ died for your sins personally.
It’s believing that God loves you and gave Himself for you specifically.

This faith is the only condition for justification. You don’t need to do good works first. You don’t need to clean yourself up first. You just need to trust in what Jesus has done for you.
Why Faith?
You might wonder why God chose faith as the only requirement. One reason is that it completely eliminates human pride. When you come to God by faith:

You must look only at your own sinfulness
You can’t claim any goodness of your own
You must come as a sinner needing mercy
You can only rely on what Jesus has done

If you’re reading this and feeling the weight of your sins, here’s the good news: You’re exactly the kind of person God is looking to save. Don’t try to make yourself better first. Don’t wait until you feel worthy. Come to God just as you are – broken, sinful, and needy. That’s when you’ll find His mercy.

Don’t plead your good works. Don’t plead your sincerity. Don’t even plead your humility. Plead only what Jesus has done for you. If you feel completely unworthy of God, you’re exactly where you need to be to receive His grace. Trust in Jesus Christ right now, and you will be reconciled to God.

The Comforter

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A modern adaptation of C.H. Spurgeon’s sermon delivered on January 21, 1855

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.” – John 14:26

The elderly Simeon called Jesus the consolation of Israel, and indeed He was. Before Jesus actually appeared, people looked forward to His coming like someone watching for the morning star that promises the dawn. When Jesus walked the earth, He must have been an incredible source of comfort to those lucky enough to be His companions. We can imagine how quickly the disciples would run to Jesus with their problems, and how His voice alone would calm their fears.

Like children with a father, they brought Him every need, every complaint, every sorrow, and every struggle. And Jesus, like a skilled doctor, had the perfect remedy for every pain and the right medicine for every problem. What a blessing it must have been to live alongside Jesus! Even sorrows then must have felt like blessings in disguise, since they gave people a reason to seek Jesus for help. Some of us might wish we had been born in that time, when we could have rested our tired heads on Jesus’s shoulder and heard His kind voice saying, “Come to me if you’re tired.”

But Jesus had to leave. Important prophecies needed to be fulfilled and crucial purposes accomplished. He had to die to take away our sins. He had to rest in the grave for a while to make death less frightening for those who would follow Him. He had to rise again so that we who will die believing in Him might also rise in glorious bodies. And He had to ascend to heaven to claim His victory, to defeat the forces of evil, and to show His power.

“It’s necessary for me to go,” Jesus said, “because if I don’t go, the Comforter won’t come.” Jesus had to leave. The disciples had to weep. His followers would be left without their comforter. But listen to Jesus’s kind words: “I won’t leave you alone like orphans. I will ask the Father to send you another Comforter, who will stay with you forever.”

Despite His enormous mission – a mission so huge it might have consumed anyone else’s attention completely – Jesus didn’t abandon His small flock of followers. Before leaving, He gave them words of comfort, like a Good Samaritan tending to wounds. He promised: “I’ll send you another Comforter – someone who will be what I’ve been to you, and even more. This Comforter will console you when you’re sad, clear up your doubts, support you in hard times, and act in my place on earth, doing what I would have done if I had stayed.”

Now, before we talk about the Holy Spirit as the Comforter, let’s look at this word more carefully. The original Greek word has several meanings. Sometimes it means “teacher” or “instructor.” Often it means “advocate.” But most commonly, it means “comforter,” which is what we’ll focus on today.

Let’s look at three main points:

  1. Who is the Comforter?
  2. What is the comfort He gives?
  3. Who receives this comfort?

First: The Comforter

Let me describe what makes the Holy Spirit such a perfect Comforter. First, He is incredibly loving. When we’re hurting and someone who doesn’t really know or care about us tries to help, their words just bounce off like rain on marble. But when someone who deeply loves us offers comfort, their words are like music to our ears. They know exactly how to reach our hearts.

The Holy Spirit loves you more than you can imagine. Try to measure heaven’s size, weigh all the mountains, count every drop in the ocean, or number all the grains of sand on every beach – and still you wouldn’t come close to measuring how much the Holy Spirit loves you. He has loved you for ages past, loves you now, and will love you forever.

He’s also completely faithful. Nothing hurts more than having a friend desert you when times get tough. But the Holy Spirit never does this – He stays faithful forever. You might be sick and unable to go to church, but He’ll visit you in your sickness. You might face overwhelming problems, wave after wave of trouble, but He remains faithful. You might sin and feel unworthy, but that doesn’t change His love. He knew all your faults before you were born and loved you anyway.

The Holy Spirit never gets tired of comforting you. Sometimes when we try to comfort others, we get frustrated because their problems keep shifting or they resist our help. But the Holy Spirit never gives up. Even when we run from comfort or refuse help, He persistently pursues us with His consolation.

He’s also infinitely wise in how He comforts. Human comforters often misunderstand the problem and give wrong advice. But the Holy Spirit perfectly understands what’s wrong and knows exactly how to help. He never makes mistakes in His comfort.

His comfort is completely safe. Some kinds of comfort are dangerous – like telling people to drown their sorrows in entertainment or pleasure. The devil sometimes offers false comfort too, telling people they’re fine when they’re not. But the Holy Spirit’s comfort is always true and safe.

He comforts actively – not just with words, but with real help. He prays for us, gives us promises, and provides grace. And He never fails in His mission to comfort – when He sets out to console someone, He always succeeds.

Best of all, He’s always present. You never have to send for Him or wait for Him to arrive. He’s always right there when you need Him.

Second: The Comfort

Some people misunderstand how the Holy Spirit works. They think He gives new revelations or messages. But that’s not how He comforts us. Instead, He reminds us of truths we already have – especially truths about Jesus. He helps us understand and remember what God has already said.

The Holy Spirit whispers to our hearts: “Remember, someone died for you. Look at Jesus on the cross. See His wounds, His sacrifice. That proves you’re secure and loved. God loves you eternally, and even this trouble you’re facing is for your good. Every hardship is helping you grow. God disciplines those He loves, just like a good parent.”

Sometimes the Holy Spirit pulls back the curtain a bit and lets us glimpse the glory of heaven. That’s when believers can say, “Let troubles flood in like a tidal wave – I know I’m heading home to God, and that’s all that matters.”

Third: Who Receives This Comfort?

Now, let’s be clear about who can expect this comfort. You can’t pick and choose which parts of God’s gifts you want. Some people want forgiveness but don’t want to change their lives. Some want heaven but don’t want holiness. It doesn’t work that way – God’s gifts come as a package deal.

You can’t have true comfort without first experiencing conviction of sin. The Holy Spirit first shows us our guilt and need for Jesus before He comforts us. Have you felt this conviction? Has your soul been humbled before Jesus? Are you looking to His sacrifice alone for your salvation?

If not, you shouldn’t claim His comfort yet. The Holy Spirit convinces us of our sin before He comforts us. You need His complete work in your life, not just the comfortable parts.

Conclusion

As you leave today, ask yourself: Do you know this Comforter? If not, remember this: if you don’t know Him as Comforter now, you’ll meet Him as Judge later. This isn’t a truth we can afford to ignore – we’re not guaranteed tomorrow.

But here’s the wonderful news: Anyone who believes in Jesus will be saved. Your sins, no matter how terrible, are no barrier. Your guilt, no matter how great, is no obstacle. Whether you feel like the worst sinner alive – if you believe in Jesus tonight, every sin will be forgiven, every crime erased, every wrong made right. You’ll be saved through Jesus Christ and stand secure in heaven.

That’s the glorious good news. May God help you trust in it today.

May these words find their home in your heart through the work of the true Teacher – God Himself.

The Meaning Behind ‘Keep Turning Your Eyes On Jesus’

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JEFF TURNER

Michael Booth on the Message Behind The Booth Brothers’ Latest Song, “Keep Turning Your Eyes On Jesus”

The Booth Brothers’ latest release, “Keep Turning Your Eyes On Jesus,” is a powerful reminder of faith and perseverance. The song, written by Jim Brady, Dave Clark, and Don Cook, carries a message that Michael Booth deeply resonates with.

Booth shared some insight into the song’s creation, highlighting the significance of its simple yet profound message. “Keep turning your eyes on Jesus. Jim Brady, Dave Clark, and I believe Don Cook wrote that together. It was one of their only times they got together and wrote some songs, big writers, and I love it,” Booth said.

For Booth, the song embodies the essence of Southern gospel music, which often focuses on delivering simple truths in a relatable way. “So much of Southern gospel is simple truth, but simple is profound,” he explained. “It’s again packaged in a joyful happy way just to remind us the constant walk with Christ is keeping our eyes on him.”

With its uplifting melody and encouraging message, “Keep Turning Your Eyes On Jesus” serves as a beautiful reminder to remain steadfast in faith, no matter the circumstances.

Joseph Habedank on Adapting Methods to Reach a Broader Audience

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JEFF TURNER

Southern gospel music continues to evolve, offering a spectrum of styles from deeply traditional to more progressive sounds. Joseph Habedank, known for leaning toward the progressive side, recently discussed the direction of his latest project, Autobiography, in a conversation with gospel legend Gerald Wolfe.

While Habedank’s sound may have evolved, his core message remains unchanged. “Yeah, I was just talking to Gerald yesterday about, you know, we don’t change our message ever, but we do change our method,” Habedank shared. He emphasized the need for adapting approaches to reach a diverse audience, saying, “The Bible talks about this… preach the gospel to every creature, not just, you know, young people, old people, middle-aged people, not just Americans, everybody.”

This shift in method has proven successful for Habedank, who has witnessed significant growth in his ministry. “So far, especially in the past year, we’ve watched just amazing growth and we’re so grateful, so grateful for that,” he said.

With Autobiography, Habedank continues to balance the timeless message of gospel with a fresh, progressive sound, aiming to reach listeners from all walks of life.