Revival in Our City and the World

Revival in Our City and the World

Nov 10, 2024

Pastor Dan Walker, PhD, MDiv



Voting with a Biblical Worldview – Part 8


Introduction

Today, we’re going to talk about Revival in Our City and the World. The election is over, and it was accomplished peacefully, resulting in a massive landslide. We have so much to be thankful for.
President Donald Trump will put into action much-needed biblical policies that we’ve been talking about in our message series, Voting with a Biblical Worldview. This was a sovereign move of God that defied all the pollsters. It was a landslide in the electoral college, the popular vote, the Senate, and the House.
Two elections for Donald Trump were prophesied 17 years ago by prophet Kim Clement. Here’s part of the prophecy. That’s amazing, isn’t it?

Daniel 2:21 (ESV): “He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.”

This election was an essential part of God’s plan to bring revival to our nation. Unfortunately, Amendment 3 passed, which was quite strange as Republicans took every state and federal office in Missouri. Most likely, the reason was that over $31 million came in from outside sources to advertise many lies about the amendment.
I was encouraged that our new governor Kehoe spoke of working to return Missouri to a pro-life state via legislation as soon as possible. As a church, God is calling us to help bring revival to our city, nation, and world. We have an unprecedented opportunity to spread God’s truth to a world looking for massive change.
On November 24, we’re going to have a Faith Promise Sunday with a Missionary to India to help us support our missionaries in 2025. Faith Promise pledge cards and brochures are in the seat backs if you haven’t already picked them up.

The Unchanging Call of the Church

We, as believers, are part of God’s worldwide church, the family of God. What is our primary call or marching orders as part of God’s army?

Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV): “… All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We are called to make disciples of all nations, leading them to be saved, baptized in water, and taught to obey all Jesus’ commands. Jesus promised to be with us in carrying out this mandate till He returns.
How can we carry out this seemingly impossible task?

Acts 1:8 (ESV): “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The only way that we can do what Jesus calls us to do is through the power of the Holy Spirit. In verse 4 of Acts 1, Jesus told His disciples to wait for the power of the Spirit to come. In Scripture, to wait on God is to actively seek that for which God directs.
The disciples gathered together in prayer until the Holy Spirit came upon them in power on the day of Pentecost as they were baptized in the Holy Spirit. We can’t fulfill God’s Great Commission on our own, but only through the Spirit’s power, which we must earnestly seek.

John 20:21 (ESV): “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’”

The Father sent Jesus to this earth to seek and save the lost. Jesus sent out His disciples 2,000 years ago on the same mission as He had. And He sends us out 2,000 years later on the same mission, into our world. He calls us to do the impossible, to reach all nations with the Gospel. The unchanging call of the church is to reach the lost across the world.

Application

This call is the same for believers, wherever and whenever they live. We are privileged to live in a very special time in history. This past week, we saw a miraculous result in the election, something unprecedented. We saw massive changes in voting across every state, every demographic, and every ethnicity.
People are crying out for change in their lives, for deeper meaning, for God. We must seize the moment. Pray for our new leaders across the nation, especially President Trump. Pray for his safety and for the Spirit of God to come upon him powerfully, as was prophesied decades ago.
We must earnestly pray and ask God to give us boldness and the Spirit’s power to be His witnesses, to spread God’s truth in every aspect of our lives. God calls each of us to spread His truth through our words, our lives, and our giving. We give our tithes to the local church to spread God’s truth in our city. We give our faith promises to missions above our tithe to spread God’s truth around the world. And God brings blessing into our lives as we answer His call.

Be Light in St. Louis

St. Louis is our immediate mission field; it is the place where God has planted us to shine His light into the darkness.

Romans 1:16 (ESV): “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Why does Paul write that he is not ashamed of the Gospel? That statement is here because many of us are tempted to be ashamed of the Gospel. To be ashamed of the Gospel means feeling embarrassment, reluctance, or fear about sharing God’s truth with others.
Rather than thinking about ourselves, we must believe that the Gospel is the power of God to save people, to make them children of God, to change their eternal destiny from hell to heaven.

2 Corinthians 5:18–20 (ESV): “… God … gave us the ministry of reconciliation; … Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

Each of us as believers has this ministry of reconciliation. It is our purpose in life to help people who have a broken relationship with God to be restored as children of God. God calls us to be ambassadors for Christ. We represent Jesus Christ to our city in our words and actions. As believers, God lives within us through His Spirit and speaks through us.

1 Peter 2:12 (ESV): “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”

Being witnesses is more than just speaking and spreading God’s truth. It is also doing good deeds, which are actions that reflect God’s love for others and our community. Go be light in our city of St. Louis. God calls us to both speak out and to do good works that others can see. Notice, we don’t hide our good works; we let others see them, but we give all the credit and glory to God, not ourselves. God calls us individually and as a church family to be light in St. Louis.

Application

Our Thrive St. Louis Christmas Blessing project is a wonderful way to bless our city. Not only are we helping the mothers who have chosen to keep their babies rather than abort them, but we are also showing that we are willing to help mothers in difficult circumstances make the right choice for life for their babies.
Remember our five-friend focus—five friends you are praying for daily. Some are not saved, some need healing, and others need to leave their woke churches and come to a biblical church like ours. It’s not enough just to pray for people, although prayer is essential. We need to follow up our prayers by speaking about Jesus and inviting people to church. We are entering into a season of harvest when prayers will be answered as we shine the light of Christ within our city.

Support World Missions Through the Assemblies of God

Romans 10:14–15 (ESV): “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?”

There are many nations around the world where few people have heard about Jesus. Some nations, such as Hindu and Buddhist nations, comprising over 2 billion people, have never heard about Jesus. Many other nations may have heard false things about Jesus but never really heard the Gospel.
These people around the world need missionaries to preach the Gospel to them. These verses tell us that missionaries need to be sent. Missionaries are sent from the local church, from churches just like ours. Missionaries raise their support from local churches across the country so they can go.
We are part of the Assemblies of God, which has thousands of missionaries in every country of the world. Because of our dedication to worldwide missions, we now have 450,000 churches, 436,000 ministers, and over 86 million members around the world. Every 30 seconds, a new believer is added to our fellowship.

Isaiah 52:7 (ESV): “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’”

God brings blessings on those who answer His call to world missions and those who send and support them. The primary purpose that God has for each of His children is to help save others through spreading the good news about Jesus. We do this by spreading the Gospel in our city and nation and by supporting missionaries around the world.

Philippians 4:15–16 (ESV): “And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the Gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs once and again.”

Paul thanks the Philippian church for sending financial aid to support him in his missionary journeys. As missionaries spread the Gospel in new areas, the new churches are rarely able to financially support the work of the ministry. Many of the countries around the world are far poorer than we here in America. God has given us much so that we can share with those who have less, so that they can hear the Gospel and be saved.

Application

How can you help support world missions through our larger fellowship, the Assemblies of God? Every year, we have a Faith Promise Sunday, which is coming up on November 24. Take a pledge card, if you haven’t already picked one up, and ask God what He would have you pledge. A pledge is a faith promise that, with God’s help, you will give a certain amount toward world missions in 2025.
The faith promise is above your tithe of 10% to the local church. Remember, without the local church, there will be no missionaries. Trust God to help you be part of the largest missionary movement that is changing history and preparing the way for Jesus’ return.

Conclusion

One of the reasons I know that God’s hand is on America and gave us a miracle in this past election is that America is, by far, the greatest missionary-sending country in the world. God has allowed darkness to cover our land these past four years so that we would turn to Him for deliverance through prayer.
Now that God has answered our prayers, He calls us to take action to win the victory. The action He asks us to take is to be witnesses in our city of St. Louis. To stop being ashamed and fearful of sharing the Gospel with friends, relatives, and neighbors. And God calls us to be world changers by supporting missions around the world.
May we be used by God to bring thousands into His Kingdom through our witness and by supporting missionaries all around the world.


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