God’s Promise and Our Responsibility

Session #3 – Michael Catt, Pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church

• "I grew up in a dead Southern Baptist Church until God brought Vance Havner into my life, rocked my world, and showed me the power of the Bible."
  

2 Chronicles 15:1-16:14

• One of the great reforms or revivals in the Old Testament under Asa; 9 times you find "seek the Lord"
  
• 14:4 – Asa calls a new generation to seek the Lord of their Fathers. This is important because no generation can live on the faith or experience of the past.
  
• 14:7 – Asa declares "the land is ours"
  
• 15:2 – "The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him he will forsake you."
  
• Based upon his traveling and talking, Michael believes that very few church are really experiencing the power and presence of God.
  
• Vance Havner – "People talk about holding a revival; I want to turn one loose."
  
• In the moments of victory that we can start to think that it was our power, our ingenuity, our programs that made the differences. Our blessings can be our curse.
  

1. The Assurance of God's Blessings

• Azariah doesn't mince words with the king: God will be with you, if you are with him.
  
• God provides assurance that he will give you everything you need
  
• "You've spent all this time talking about shovels when you're supposed to be digging for gold"
  

  
   

2. The Accompanying Reminder

 

• Be warned: God is not spurned without consequences
  
• Revival is a full-length mirror look at oneself; no longer justifying ourselves; no longer making excuses
  
• God doesn't have any favorites, but he does have intimates – men who seek after God in special and unique ways
  
• 1 Sam 3:19 – the Lord was with him
  

  
   

3. The Arresting Definition of Warning

 

• We long for the manifest presence of God, and the warning from God is that he may very well depart
  
• Where is the urgency? Where is the brokenness?
  
• If you forsake him, he will forsake you.
  
• The question is not whether or not the Lord knows you; the question is whether or not you know the Lord
  
• The Lord always meets people at their point of desperation
  
• Blind Bartemeus – "What do you want me to do for you?" What do you want Jesus to do for you this week at Heart-Cry?
  
• Unless the men of God start acting like men of God, our men won't become men of God.
  
• Unfortunately, Asa failed in the later part of his reign. Asa went from faith to fleshly reasoning. We have to finsh strong. We are never safe until we get home.
  
• You are always one un-prayed over decision away from God removing his blessing.
  

4. A Sure Promise

• God is looking for a man who is righteous
  
• Could God trust you with an outpouring of revival?
  

5. A Sure Warning

• You can't bask in the promises and neglect the cautions
  
• We need to live with holy dissatisfaction, longing to see an outpouring of God's power and presence in the church again
  

The question is not: Is the Lord with us? The question is: Are you with the Lord?