The Power of Prayer and the Revival of the Church

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1 Today's Topic: Do You Love Me More Than These?
The Sunday before last, I shared on My House Shall Be Called a House of Prayer. Sadly, many brothers and sisters do not remember such an important topic. Everyone must remember, this is a saying of the Lord Jesus! This sentence contains the determination of our God to establish a praying church! Because a praying church is a church connected to the power of God! It is a necessary vessel for God to bless and serve that generation!

We are the first generation to build this church. The church can be established and filled with the glory of God, the church has the manifestation of God's mighty arm, the church can transform people's lives, seeing the sick healed and the oppressed set free, not because of anything else, but because we are building a praying church! Establishing a church where every brother and sister is willing to pay the price to serve the Lord through prayer! Without the fire of prayer burning, without the establishment of a prayer altar, I quote Pastor Hsieh Hung-chung, other ministries cannot be sustained. This is exactly what our Lord Jesus said, My house shall be called a house of prayer! That is the church that the Lord Jesus wants to build! I think we should pray to God, may God do a miracle, as long as the church we build is still on earth, no matter which generation it is, it shall be called a church of prayer! Amen!

Brothers and sisters, you must know for sure that every great spiritual revival in history was brought about by a small group of people praying! But every great revival is because it is mixed with all sorts of people mixing into the church. On the surface, it is very revived, but the church cannot transform these people but is transformed by these people, leading to the revival not being able to continue! God's strong presence quietly disappears when people are sharing the benefits of revival! It is not that God wants to leave us, but that we have left the initial prayer of revival, that is, left God! I pray that God will make all of us people who bring revival! And even more, I pray that God will make all of us able to transform everyone who comes to the church, so that the revival of the church can continue! Every time I think of these things, looking at those churches established through prayer by the first generation, which have become entertainment venues today, my heart is filled with a sense of melancholy. A pastor told me that your church is still small, so you can serve like this. Wait until your church is big, and see! What he meant was that when there are more people, you will not be able to serve them. Actually, I really don't know what will happen in the future. But I absolutely do not want it to be like that. So, with melancholy, pray and look up to God. God answered my prayer, and God revealed to me: You must constantly transform everyone who comes to the church. Make them people who pray, people who love Me, and the church will surely become a holy, united church with My presence! What they say will not be a problem, and I will surely be with you until the end of the world! My heart was greatly comforted! From that time on, I mustered up courage. I no longer care about the number of people. I only care about what God cares about - My house shall be called a house of prayer! Amen!

Tell the person next to you: I only care about what God cares about!

The Determination to Love the Lord Jesus and the Path of Transformation

For anyone who cannot or is unwilling to be transformed into someone who loves the Lord, I will say one sentence: Brother/Sister So-and-so, I cannot shepherd you anymore. Those who have heard me say this know what I mean. May God keep me from saying such things often. Last week, I said it twice. Brothers and sisters, let us not underestimate the Lord Jesus' determination to build a holy, united, loving, praying church! That is, transform one when they come in, transform two when they come in. We should also have such a determination. As long as we obey God, God will surely be with us until the end of the world. It is the same with our own families, not to make them nominal Christians, but indeed to become Christians who pray, draw near to God, love God, and serve God. The Lord Jesus set an example for us. When people saw Jesus' mother Mary coming, they said, Your mother has come. As a result, the Lord Jesus said: Who is my mother, who are my brothers and sisters? Whoever does the will of my Father is my mother, my brothers and sisters. This is the Lord Jesus' determination!

Transform into what? Transform into loving the Lord! Loving the Lord is loving the church. Today, Christians receiving grace from the Lord Jesus is very common. I have read some testimonies, all of which are testimonies of receiving grace. Very touching. But I don't see her testimony of loving the Lord. Playing mahjong as usual, swearing as usual, still having a bad temper. But that is not what the Lord Jesus wants. You come to the gate of heaven with a pile of testimonies of the Lord Jesus giving you grace, and the Lord Jesus will say, I do not know you. How do you think I will settle accounts when you show me these? This is not what I want. What I want is not how much I love you, but how much you love me! Yes, the Lord Jesus gives you a job, that doesn't mean you are great, it is the Lord Jesus who gave it to you. Even those wicked people who are going to be destroyed, doesn't the Lord Jesus also give them sunshine and rain? That cannot explain anything.

So, today, I want to remind everyone of one sentence: Do you love the Lord Jesus more than these? This is the topic I want to share!

Ask the person next to you: Do you love the Lord Jesus more than the blessings God has given you? Everyone answers: Yes!

Let's look at today's scripture.

2 Today's Scripture: John 21:12-15
Jhn 21:15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon son of John (John 16:17 calls him Jonah), do you love me more than these? Peter said, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said, Feed my lambs. Jhn 21:16 Again Jesus said, Simon son of John, do you love me? Peter said, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said, Take care of my sheep. Jhn 21:17 The third time he said to him, Simon son of John, do you love me? Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, Do you love me? and he said, Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you. Jesus said, Feed my sheep.

3 Prayer – Choose a Church That Loves the Lord Jesus!
Pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!

4 See the Transformation of a Christian Life From Peter’s Life Transformation - Love the Lord Jesus Himself

• Briefly introduce the background of Peter and this passage

• Called to follow the Lord with worldly purposes and wrong Christian concepts

• Start to know the way of eternal life

How real is eternal life.

Tsunami warning.

People die - 200,000 die every day, 4 times the number of deaths from the Japanese tsunami.

• Began to serve with the flesh, and suffered great setbacks

• Began to return to his old business, to fish, but could not catch fish

o Recognize again that the Lord Jesus is the Lord

Choosing the Life-Transforming Path of Loving the Lord Jesus

• Confronting new choices – loving these things, or loving the Lord?

• Only those who love the Lord can pioneer the history of the church.

5 The process of believing in the Lord is a process of elimination – many are called, but few are chosen.
Eating the bread – 12,000 people

Seeing Jesus ascend to heaven – 500 people

Praying in Jerusalem – 120 people

Those who love the Lord and offer themselves for Him

Many left Jesus. Peter followed Jesus to the very end.

6 Continuously transform your life to love the Lord, not to love these things.
6.1 Loving the Lord Jesus is our voluntary choice.

6.2 Loving the Lord Jesus requires our verbal declaration; the Lord Jesus loves to hear us say that we love Him!

6.3 If you love God, God knows!

6.4 Obtaining the best blessing - What God has prepared for those who love Him is beyond what eyes have seen, ears have heard, or the human heart has imagined!
1Co 2:9 However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him—

God gives Himself to us!

7 Conclusion: The key to obtaining life is to love the Lord Jesus!
Those who give their lives for the Lord Jesus will gain life!

 
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