by The unsaved were evangelized, the saved were edified, our guest preacher returned home, and our routine is back to normal. Now what? In Acts 14:26-28, Paul and Barnabas finished a series of meetings and returned to their church in Antioch. They reported on “all that God had done with them” and how God “opened the door of faith” as souls were saved.
We too should review what God gave us through our Revival meetings. Why? Satan is at work to undo the work of God. Recently Pastor Belcher preached on the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. This parable shows the period of time from Christ’s work on earth to His Second Coming when the angels will gather the wicked and throw them into judgment. Until the end of this time, Satan is working hard to undo God’s Work in our church.
Last week, the seed was sown in the hearts of believers, the lost heard the message of salvation, judgment was pronounced, now it is time for the seed to be watered (1 Corinthians 3:6). Why? The seed did something special in every soil type, yet all but one seed was snatched away because only one was rooted into the preaching.
Our job is to defeat the work of Satan as he attempts to snatch the seeds that were sown. James 4:7-8 teaches that this can be as simple as 1, 2, 3: SUBMIT to God, RESIST the Devil, and CLEANSE ourselves. The excitement and charisma of Revival meetings makes #1 and #2 fairly easy. The problem comes through the neglect of #3 after these meetings, neglecting to applying the preaching by cleansing ourselves (1 John 1:9). This neglect substantiates the truth of Jesus’ parable; just how easy Satan can snatch away the seed that was sown in our meetings.
REVIVAL MEETINGS ARE OVER … NOW WHAT? We have heard great messages from the man of God and learn great lessons from God, now we must apply these to our lives (James 1:22-25). We can do this in accordance with Acts 14:28 which teaches us to remain faithful to church after the meetings, where Paul “abode long time with the disciples.” Time is the key factor that will tell if the seed truly rooted in. Therefore, it is time now to respond to what God gave us in our Revival meetings (Romans 13:11)?
