헬무트 하우바일 목사님의 개인적 부흥 설교문 > 방송

Personal Revival 

What does 'revival' mean?
'wake up from sleep', 'bring back from death', 'make someone interested in something'. (Duden). And in the Bible? To receive a personal or general impulse from God. (Deuteronomy 18:15; Ezra 1:5) God gives us, among other things, impulses to seek revival to a new life. (e.g. Rev 3, 14-22; Mt 25, 1-13 etc.)

Why do we need new life?
We were born in sin. Romans 7:14 But I am carnal, sold under sin. (Reading recommendation: Rom 7:14-20). Sin is a dominant and controlling power. The Bible calls this being under the law of sin or also being carnal. Understandably, we cannot enter the kingdom of God that way.

Romans 8:1-2 shows that the basic relationship with Christ (In Christ Jesus) with the subsequent relationship with the Holy Spirit (the law of the Spirit) gives us new life (makes alive) and sets us free from the law of sin and death. The new life is called spiritual (see vv.4,5,6,9)

Jesus shows how revival happens.
Nicodemus, a leader and teacher in Israel, an excellent scholar of the Word of God, active and competent in the faith, visited Jesus. He didn't think at all that he might be lacking spiritually. He was spiritually dead and had no idea. - So it is also according to Jesus' diagnosis with the end church. Rev 3:17: You say: I am rich and have enough and need nothing!, and do not know that you are wretched and miserable, poor, blind and naked.
     We should all examine ourselves before God: Am I born again and did I abide in the new life?
Jesus said:
John 3:3 Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
In verse 5 he says the same thing in other words:
Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Jesus names two elements here: water (as a symbol of my surrender of my life to Jesus), and spirit (my "renewal in the Holy Spirit" Tit 3:8). It is about biblical baptism. (Romans 6:3.4). It should be a sign for the burial of my old person and the resurrection as a new person with Christ, a sign that we have given up our own ways with the willingness to follow Jesus and his word in everything from now on, a sign for my surrender of life and my covenant with Christ.
     Luke 9:23-24: Whoever wants to follow me must deny himself and take up his cross DAILY and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

Jesus is speaking here about our discipleship: "Anyone who wants to follow me..." He shows that it is a fundamental surrender of our lives to him and that we confirm or renew this surrender daily. “Whoever wants to follow me must deny themselves and take up their cross DAILY and follow me.” Jesus advocates daily discipleship. (See 2 Cor 4:16; 1 Cor 15:31). What does Jesus say about the spirit in his prayer lesson. Let's read his great appeal in
     Luke 11:9-13: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. Because he who asks receives; and whoever seeks will find; and it will be opened to anyone who knocks. . . . If ye then, who are wicked, can give good gifts to thy children, how much more, will the Father in heaven give the Holy Ghost to them that ask him.
     This last 'ask' means from the Gr. keep asking, keep asking. We need the Holy Spirit because Jesus dwells in us through Him. (Eph 3:16.17) Daily prayer with a promise creates a constant connection with Jesus, of which he speaks in John 15 in the parable of the vine and the branches. This causes a posiive change in our character. We come from the carnal to the spiritual life with its precious changes. This makes it important for us to tell other people about Jesus.

What does surrendering your life to Jesus mean?
The remarks of Jesus in Luk 9, 24 (whoever loses his life for my sake will find it) shows us that it is a matter of completely surrendering our lives to him. Is that a huge demand?! It is not a requirement at all, but an expectation based on love. The Bible compares our relationship with Jesus to a marriage. Did you give yourself completely to your partner at your wedding and he gave himself to you? Wasn't that a matter of course?   Jesus gave himself fully for you. Your life of constant surrender to Jesus leads to the best life there is for you. You are guided by infinite love and divine abilities. Jesus always wants to give you his love. Therefore: Abide in me, and I abide in you (John 15:4) How does that work? “By constantly receiving his Spirit (Luke 11:9-13), and living a life of unreserved surrender to his service. (Luke 9:23-24)” It is about constantly sustaining the new life through daily surrender to Jesus and through daily asking and receiving the Holy Spirit. This allows us to grow and mature in the best relationship there is. It leads us step by step to a powerful, joyful, attractive and eventful life.

Do we devote the time that is due to the main thing in the faith? What is the main point in biblical faith? Jesus clearly shows in John 3:1-8 (conversation with Nicodemus about the new life) and in John 15:1-8 (parable of the vine and branches) that if we are not born again and without abiding in the new live, neither do we have new life here, nor get eternal life. And that has to do with living in total and constant surrender to Christ and His wonderful love, and being filled with the Holy Spirit on an ongoing basis. Since there is nothing else by which we can get the new life, this is the main thing in faith. Do we devote the time that is due to the main thing in the faith?

What is actually the most important knowledge? What should I know under all circumstances? Ellen G. White said: It is certainly important that we become familiar with the reasons for our faith, but the most important knowledge to be gained is the experimental knowledge of what it means to be born again." (CSW 64.3) What is experimental knowledge? It is the knowledge we have gained - in this case - from our experiences with God. In this case, it is not only about general experiences with God, which are of course very important and valuable, but also about experiences that let us recognize whether we are in the new life, whether our life, our character , has been changed, or is in the process of changing, through our relationship with God.

Are you revived? Are you in the new life? Revival has three steps.
 

Step 1: New life through being born again

Jesus makes it clear in John 3:1-8 that without this new life we cannot enter God’s kingdom. 

It is necessary to be born again and to remain in this new life. Jesus said: “Abide in Me and I in you.” (John 15:4 NKJV) When this new life doesn’t exist, then we are spiritually dead. Having new life is the foundation of a Christian life and also the basis for further growth.

Step 2: Growing in the new life through service and witness 

Whoever lives in the new life, has the desire to serve. For him it is a matter of serving God and thereby growing and maturing spiritually. Whoever doesn’t have the desire to serve, has to ask themselves if they are even filled with the Holy Spirit. We can only experience the fullness through the reflex blessing of our service for God. 

Step 3: Maturing to receive the latter rain 

Whoever matures in the early rain will be prepared for the latter rain (Zechiariah 10:1). Only those who have matured in the early rain can receive the latter rain, which will help them survive the most difficult phase of the end time and also be a witness for Jesus. 

    I think that it is important for us to realize that revival is not a one-time event, but rather it is a continually progressive development, because new life has to do with our relationship to Jesus and the Holy Spirit. 

     Praise and thanks to God that He has shown us the way. We are glad that we can traverse the path of revival.

My life: Growing up in the Advent faith, baptized at the age of 17, always coworking in the church. Emotionally moved at the age of 34: I confessed my sins, changed my life and got up an hour earlier for morning prayers. But there was one thing I deliberately didn't want to do: give my life fully to Jesus so that he can use my life as he pleases. Before that I was shy. A year later, through the sudden death of a friend age 41 (preacher), the question arose in me: ... and if God were to call you as a preacher? I didn't want that under any circumstances. I struggled with God. A week later, as I was kneeling helplessly on the bed, it came very quietly, "God loves you!" After a few moments, this led to full surrender to God's love and "life in abundance" (John 10:10) and a year later to a call from God to change careers. From the overview of a long and fulfilled life I can say: It is wonderful to trust Jesus. It is wonderful to have a new life with Jesus in your heart and to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. –

I wish this to everyone with all my heart    AMEN