REVIVALTALK

Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”             In Matthew 11:28 Jesus issues an invitation to enter into His rest. Notice the first three words in this verse, “Come to Me.” We enter into His rest by accepting the invitation. We embrace this rest as a promise from God.             There is an invitation to those who are weary and heavy laden to enter this rest by faith. There are a number of invitations in the Scriptures. Let’s examine some these invitations. There is an invitation to salvation. Romans 10:13 says, “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” There is an invitation to follow th...

  Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”             In John 10:10 Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” The latter part of this verse reads, “I have come that you might have life.” What kind of life? Abundant life. John 10:10 from the Amplified Bible reads, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].”             An abundant life is a life that overflows. It is a life marked by purpose instead of emptiness. Only Jesus can fill the emptiness of...

  I Samuel 15:1-3 - “Samuel also said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the Lord.  2  Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt.  3  Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”             In verse 1 the Prophet Samuel encouraged King Saul to “heed the voice of the words of the Lord. This is a tragic story of disobedience. Saul partially obeyed the Lord. Partial obedience is disobedience. I Samuel 15:9 says, “But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and we...

  Matthew 22:37-38 – “Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.”             To take the initiative means to act before being asked, to step forward rather than wait, and to assume responsibility for doing what is needed. What is the Love Initiative? God took the initiative to love. He made the first move toward us. I John 4:19 says, “We love Him because He first loved us.” The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”             One of the most famous New Testament Scriptures is found in John 3:16. The first six words of this verse reads, “For God so loved the world.” What motivated the Father to send His only begotten Son into the world? Love. It is...

  Genesis 2:18-24  – “And the Lord God said, ‘ It is  not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.’ Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought  them  to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that  was  its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.    Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: ‘This  is  now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’ Therefore a man shall l...

  James 5:16 – “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”                    Why have I titled this devotion as iPray? Most have heard of the iPhone, iPad, or the iPod. Have you ever wondered about what the i   in iPhone means? I did some research and this is what I learned. The i in iPhone means internet, individual, instruct, inform, or inspire.   When the original iMac was created, the "i" in iMac stood for Internet. It was designed as a Mac for the Internet?             What does the i in iPray stand for. It stands for the following: Intercession-  which means to mediate or to stand in for another. It means to make a petition on behalf of another. I Timothy 2:1 says “Therefore I exhort f...

  2 Timothy 3:1 – “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come.”             We are living in perilous times.  The Apostle Paul prophetically wrote the headlines that dominate our news today.  The Church must make a choice.  Are we going to be a people who have a form of godliness and deny its power, or are we going to be a supernatural people?   Our mandate is clearly defined in the scriptures.  Jesus commanded us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel.  In Mark 16:15–18, “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by...

  Romans 13:11 –  “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” We are living in serious times. We have entered what the Bible defines as the “the last days.” I believe we must get serious about our walk and relationship with God. The word serious means something important, weighty, sincere, and requiring careful attention.  Merriam-Webster  defines serious as “deeply interested; devoted.” [ I ] James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” I will use the word serious as an acrostic to encourage you to draw closer to God.  S – Seek first the kingdom of God . Matthew 6:33 says, ““But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” E – Embrace the Holy Spirit . Galatians 5:16 says, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you ...

  2 Chronicles 29:3 – “In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them.”             King Hezekiah was a reformer.  He came to the throne at a very difficult time in the southern kingdom of Judah’s history.  He succeeded his father, Ahaz.  Ahaz had done evil in the sight of the Lord.  2 Chronicles 28:1-4 reveals the following about the character of Azah: “Ahaz  was  twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do  what was  right in the sight of the Lord, as his father David  had done.  For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made molded images for the Baals. He burned incense in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and burned his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lor...

  Romans 11:29 – “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” In our study of the Scriptures, we learn that every individual is called of God. This calling is not reserved just for pulpit ministry. We often refer to pastors, evangelists, or fivefold ministers as being called of God. You were born with a divine destiny. You are called of God to ministry. Ephesians 4:16 says, “from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” Dr. Frank Damazio defines the call of God as “For the Christian leader, the call of God is the point of revelation, the personal foundation for ministry.”  There are four things we need to understand about the call of God in our individual lives: 1.      It is a holy calling . II Timothy 1:9 says, “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling.” 2.  ...

  Romans 12:1-2 – “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”             God is calling His church back to the altar of prayer. In Matthew 21:13 Jesus made this declaration, “And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”  We are called to be a “house of prayer for all people.” He meets His people at the altar.             The altar is a place of encounter. We have a meeting with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the altar of prayer. Catherine Brown defines the altar as “a meeting place between H...