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Monday 19 September 2011

Revivals -Part 2 – ‘Mizpah’ -- Aired Sun. Sept. 11th, 2011

REVIVALS – Part 2: ‘Mizpah’  - by Rev. Don Crisp

Last week Don Crisp introduced our theme verse for this series on Revival……   Zechariah 1:3 - Return to Me declares the Lord Almighty and I will return to you.

This week’s theme is taken from: 1 Samuel 7: 2-13  as the background for our Part 2 on revivals.

Verses 3 and 4 are as follows: “Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths[a] (Canaanite goddesses) from among you, and prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths,[b] (Canaanite goddesses) and served the LORD only.

There are so many stories in the Bible that speak of God’s people being renewed and revived.
But the history of Revivals is not limited to the pages of the Bible…….  History reports many as well….

·         Last week, during his message on ‘Gilgal’, Don mentioned  the ‘Great Awakening’  in 1734.
As 300 Missionaries were sent out from Germany to England and the United States.

·         Don also spoke of the Revival of 1863-64 during the Civil War where over 10%  of the Union and Confederate troops came to Christ…..  some 300,000 soldiers.

·         The Welsh Revival of 1904 was an instance where one man, Evan Roberts, brought over 1-Million people to Christ. His prayer was Lord, bend me: Align my will with yours.”

Return to Me declares the Lord Almighty and I will return to you.

 Revival happened even in the far North, at the the remote town of Pond Inlet is on Baffin Island
400 miles above the Artic Circle.

It’s accessible only by plane, thousands of miles away from any population centre.

In Feb 1999 God visited this mainly Inuit community in a special way – He brought renewed life to believers and new life to the unsaved. Joshua Arreak was leading worship at the conclusion of several days of bible teaching, and people were in prayer together:

He says: ‘And suddenly without our expecting anything supernatural, there was a visitation.’

Those who witnessed the dramatic changes brought by this revival said that it wouldn’t have taken place without prayer.  What happened at Pond Inlet was preceded by a year of fervent, regular prayer.

J. Edwin Orr explains:
‘Whenever God is ready to do something new with His people, He always sets them to praying.’
Then, when revival comes you can’t stop people praying.

Last week we established that God’s people needed to go to Gilgal……..A return to Gilgal  -  home base.
The place we go to meet God, for...
·         Remembrance
·         Renunciation
·         Restored relationship
·         Rest and Renewal

Gilgal was the place that God’s people returned after victory. Joshua 10:15-43
Gilgal is where we go to rest, following the battle.

Prayer at Mizpah - Today, we need to visit ‘Mizpah’ where we will be reminded of our Ebenezer, (1 Samuel 7: 2-13)

Mizpath - A place where we do business with God, for:
·         Commitment
·         Confession
·         Coming back to the Lord

Return to Me declares the Lord Almighty and I will return to you.

Titus Coan was used by God in Hawaii when revival came from 1835 to 1840.

·         He said that a mark of the revival was the tremendous hunger for God’s word.
·         The town of Hilo swelled to ten times its original size growing from 1,000 people to 10,000.
·         This was due to people moving in from outlining areas so they could attend church and hear  God’s word.

There’s the two key elements for Revival: PrayerGod’s Word.

That’s what happens at ‘Mizpah’.

Again, when revival broke out in Saskatoon Saskatchewan, Canada, in Oct 1971 we’re told that:
‘Criminals were… confessing their sins and giving themselves up to the police. Restitution was common. People paid long overdue bills. Some businesses opened new accounts to account for the conscience money being paid to them. Those who cheated at restaurants or hotels returned to pay their full bill. Stolen goods were returned.’

They experienced ‘Mizpah’

This happens when we experience  ‘Mispah’. May God open our minds, and our eyes to His truth.

You can be in Church and still miss the point of where our focus should be….. on – ‘prayer and His Word

My prayer is that God will open our minds, our eyes and our hearts to His truth.  To you, His people. This day, in His house from his Word.

May God open our minds, and our eyes to His truth.
May we open our minds and eyes to the truth about Mizpah.

To sum up, 1 Samuel 7:3:
·         Commit yourselves to the Lord
·         Serve Him only
·         He will deliver you
·         Assemble at Mizpah and I will pray or intercede for you.

At Mizpah the people:
Ø  Fasted
Ø  Confessed ….. "We have sinned against the Lord."

Victory over the Philistines followed
and then Samuel,  (V 12)  … took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen.

He named it ‘Ebenezer’…..saying: 

‘This marks the place where the Lord helped us’  -(the Message)

“Then Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel,” The result was that Verse-9 concludes saying: “ … and the LORD answered him.”

·         The result was that the Lord brought a great thunderstorm which caused great confusion among the Philistines and enables the Israelite warriors to overcome them

(V.10). “Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the LORD thundered with a loud sound upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel.

 (V. 11) And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and drove them back as far as below Beth Car.”

·         The Lord thundered against the Philistine soldiers and so confused them that it was possible for the Israelite soldiers to attack and defeat them.

·         It is significant to remember that Baal was the Canaanite storm god, and it makes the power of God’s thunder even more effective in shaking the Philistine army to the core.

The end result was that the Philistine domination over Israel was broken.

 
When we return to God.
When we return to Gilgal…… home base
When we do business with God in our hearts and make our commitment through confession and pray….. at Mizpah

The Psalmist reminds us in (20:7):
“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will trust the name of the LORD our God.”

Here’s the Truth:
·         God’s people found victory on her knees.
·         God’s people found victory through
Ø  Commitment
Ø  Confession
Ø  Coming back to the Lord

·         God’s people found victory at Mizpah.

Return to Me declares the Lord Almighty and I will return to you.

Here’s what it's about:
Ø  Everyday we need to meet with God….. that’s Gilgal
Ø  Everyday we need to meet with God at ‘Mizpah’
That’s our God appointment……..
Ø  Everyday we need to remember our ‘Ebenezer’
That place in our heart where we draw near to God.

Today’s Prayer:
“Our Gracious Loving Heavenly Father, how we thank you for ‘Mizpah’. We thank You that we can draw nearer to the heart of God. We thank You Heavenly Father that You watch over us, and You guard over us, and You draw us closer to Your side. And today, Father, I pray for victory for those who are listening to this message. Wherever they need victory in their lives, Lord, may they just release it to You, and receive their victory that is found only in Jesus Christ.
We give you thanks and we give you praise, Father; that we can go to Gilgal to meet with you; that we can meet with You at Mizpah’ and do business with You. Almighty God, knowing full well that You will take whatever our circumstances are, and give us the victory that is needed, according to Your timing, indeed , according to Your will.
Lord, hear our prayer this day. Encounter our lives, today. Impact our hearts, today. We pray all these things in Jesus’ name, today. Amen.”
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Heads up for next week’s message, entitled:
 ‘If My People’  - which is based on  2 Chronicles 7:14  “ if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
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To hear this week’s Broadcast, in full, go to:

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