Revival Festival

 

Sermon - Revival Festival
Ephesians 5:15,16; Colossians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 6:2–11; Acts 16:25,26; 12:5–10

Prayer: O Father! Grant us Your precious message from the Word. Just as children are cleansed under flowing waters from the gutters during the rainy season, cleanse and correct our spiritual lives daily. May everyone who reads this message not think, “This message is not for me,” but rather, give them the grace to accept it.

Hearing, believing, and practicing God’s Word brings one kind of experience. Proclaiming God’s Word brings another experience. Through Moses, God presented both curses and blessings to the Israelites on two separate occasions (Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28). Moses first shared these teachings during his service in Leviticus and again at the end of his life in Deuteronomy. His death is recorded in the final chapter of Deuteronomy.

God raised up Luther in the country of Germany and brought forth the Bible. Even the powerful sermons from the Bible were proclaimed through him. Extracting living messages from the Bible is a great work. Because God used Martin Luther to bring the Bible to light, godly men like D.L. Moody began writing and proclaiming living messages. In the 20th century, just as sermons began to be heard across many nations through radio broadcasts, within 14 days, Luther’s teachings were heard throughout all of Europe.

Today, a sermon can be heard simultaneously in all nations through modern communication systems. Yet, all that is preached comes from the Bible itself.

God revealed things progressively—first to Moses, then to the prophets, then to the disciples, and to John. Ultimately, the "Bible Mission" was also revealed. Still more will be revealed before the Second Coming. More will be revealed even during the Millennium.

In the 15th century, Luther brought the Bible out into the open. Today, we are practicing those teachings and praising the Lord for the blessings that have come through them. Luther did not know how far the message of the Bible would reach, but the Bible continues to grow and expand in influence.

When Luther made the Bible accessible to the people of his time, enemies rose up—just as insects swarm when a lamp is lit. The Christian religious leaders of that era called Martin Luther a pig and said he was a wild boar ruining the vineyard of God. They accused him of being a drunkard. Luther lived for 67 years. He wrote many books and finally died of heart complications. Even today, his writings remain in Germany. Some of them still haven’t been translated from German. These writings are full of joy. Though there were obstacles and accusations, the kingdom of God had to move forward.

Luther remained courageous, though he did have a moment of despair. Enemies surrounded him, but so did friends—such as Frederick, who was in government, and Melanchthon, a friend and fellow writer. Because of this support, Luther continued his work. Not only that—especially because hard times are inevitable—we must make use of time and adversity wisely.

This is not the end of the sermon, but rather the conclusion we have set for now. May God bless this message!

Prayer: O Father! May Your children not dwell on how troubles arise, but only consider the solutions You have given for overcoming them. When a snake comes, we try to kill it—we do not waste time wondering how it got there. Similarly, when troubles and famines arise, grant us the wisdom to untangle the knots.

Help us sing joyfully, like Paul and Silas, who sang despite having nothing lacking. Do not allow laziness or ignorance to take root in us. Grant us grace to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

We rejoice in the memory of the events that took place 400 years ago. Make the Bible accessible to everyone, just as it was to Luther. Give all people the grace to read and write Your Word. Amen.