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Good morning! Welcome again to morning devotions and thank you for letting me
spend this time just walking through the Bible together and getting all excited
about the words of life.
One of the most beautiful truths in the Bible is the life
of John the Baptist. We begin to see his story as we open the book of Luke today.
It tells us the purpose of his life.
He would go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah
to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to
the wisdom of righteousness; to make a ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Jesus was a revival that came to the Jewish people.
He was a revival movement.
After four hundred years of
no manifest presence of God among them since the prophet Malachi,
now John the Baptist comes to turn the hearts of people and prepare them
for a new move of God for revival.
In the church age, about every twenty five years, we see a fresh wind of the
spirit blow across the church. It has been about twenty years now since the last revival.
It's going to be interesting in the days ahead to watch God again begin to prepare the
hearts of His people for revival
John the Baptist
preached a message of "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
John the Baptist went in the spirit and power Elijah; a very strong ministry;
a very corrective
ministry; a very challenging ministry. he was not an i'm ok, you're ok kind of a preacher
He was an in-your-face challenge.
He challenged the false prophets of the day.
He challenged the sins of that day.
You're going to begin to find that ministry is changing.
In the days that we live in
this no Bible in the services, this social club kind of church thing.
See? there's going to be strong challenges beginning to rise up to it.
One of the characteristics of a season just before revival is a famine for the
Word of God.
There are so many churches today that there's one verse and stories that are
told and they say that's all the people want.
It doesn't matter what people want. They need to hear the Word of God and know
what God expects of them.
I was shocked to hear the other day that the number one rated show on television
and the last
was a story of the Bible in the History channel.
It beat all the zombie things and all the top-rated shows.
Normal people again wanted to hear the Bible!
So, you're going to begin to see some very strong challenges beginning to
take place in the next few years as
God prepares people
for another move of God; as God
prepares people for revival.
God is going to be getting in people's faces. There's going to be strong challenging ministry
being spoken; as God turns the hearts of fathers to their children;
as God turns the disobedient
to the wisdom of righteousness. Isn't that fascinating?
"To the wisdom of righteousness";
as God turns the hearts of his own people
to the wisdom of living right
I was talking to Brother Avanzini the other morning on the phone.
He said it's amazing the churches he goes to, they don't want to hear
about holiness. They don't want to hear about living right.
They don't want to hear about repentance.
I was reading a blog the other day. It was talking about a
style of churches in the world today.
They just say "believe and receive." They've left out the concept of repentance
and a changed life.
It's going to be interesting.
As you read the life of John, you realize
there is preparation that is required for revival
We're beginning those days now.