Laying Tracks for Spiritual Awakening in Local Church — Richard Sipley

Well, you've had a lot of good preaching, so I'm not going to give you any more. Just like that but I have really been trying to get a message for this session and. And the Lord just kept shaking his head.

No like he did with the pastor session and said no. I just want you to get up there. You know what you're supposed to say and I want you to just get up there and say it and so I'm gonna try to Do that.

Okay. This is not a sermon. So if you have a hard time keeping no time this one. But I am just going to talk to you out of my heart. The subject is how to lay tracks in your church how to go back to the local church and lay tracks for spiritual awakening.

Distinguishing Revival from Spiritual Awakening

Now, one of the problems is that I've never been in the spiritual awakening and Probably you haven't either. I've been in revival and I'm distinguishing it because it'll help us understand. That's all I don't know if it can be distinguished.

So don't get hung up on the terms, but I've been in church revival. And I have a pretty good idea how that happens and I think we're moving toward that again in the city of Regina. But I think we're moving towards something else.

I think we're moving toward This tremendous spiritual awakening that's coming. It's going to sweep thousands upon thousands upon thousands into the kingdom of God. And that's what we've seen through history.

And that's what we have to see again that's what we're going to see by God's grace, we're convinced that we're committed to it and. And we just know that it's coming but now when I say to you how to lay tracks for that I'm at a very singular disadvantage.

Never having laid tracks for it and gone through it and come out the other side and look back and say oh. This is how you do it. Now we can look at history, of course and that helps us and we can look at the Word of God.

Pentecost, Revival, and the Birth of a Spiritual Awakening

So I want you to just look at Passage with me quickly as I start and so go to Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2 and Of course the famous passage of Pentecost. Beginning with verse 1 when the day of Pentecost was fully come they were all with one accord in one place.

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind. And it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as a fire and it sat upon each of them and they were all filled With the Holy Ghost.

Now that is revival tremendous revival bill preached on the sixth Pentecost thought it was fantastic. I'm going back and preach it in my church bill. So don't try that when you come the next time gonna use it.

I'll put quotes at the beginning and quotes at the end. But Anyway, this is one of those great great outpourings of the Holy Spirit and Of course, this is the great one at Pentecost and and the unique one I presume in many ways.

But now there's something very singular that followed on the heels of that immediately so you just turn the page and You come across this statement in verse 41 same chapter. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized in the same day.

They were added unto them about 3 ,000 souls and when a church grows from 120 to 3 ,120 In one day I call that a spiritual awakening. Don't you. And then of course it built right up to 5 ,000 men in a very short time besides women and children.

So we could say it was at least 15 ,000 by then probably more closer to 20 ,000 in just a few days probably and That continued so that multitudes more and more of both men and women were added to the church.

We have that statement and then many of the priests believe we have that statement it goes on and on like that. So what we're seeing here is a revival a tremendous outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the church as They tarry ten days together and they were all with one accord.

Finally. They got things right with each other and In one place they were together. Their hearts were right and they believed and expected and they prayed they waited and the Holy Spirit came on them and there's this great revival among these believers outpouring of the Holy Ghost and Then a tremendous spiritual awakening where thousands were gathered into the kingdom.

Swept like a fire through Jerusalem until they finally said their enemies cried with tears in their eyes. They have turned the world upside down or come here. Now they they were absolutely out of control.

There's nothing they could do and they could kill them or jail them or do whatever they wanted and just swept like a fire. Now that's a great spiritual awakening. At least it is for me. How about you?

Wouldn't that suit you. Right here in Toronto or wherever you're from it would me now there's something I think we have to be careful of when we come to this kind of a conference and So I Want to caution us on this and try to give us some tracks to run on.

Applying Revival Without Damaging the Local Church

That will help us as we go back to our local church because we have to go back to that. Don't we and I'll tell you unless it's a very unusual church it won't be just like what you've been in here the last few days because you understand that people have come together from many places of like mine and like hunger and and like desire and you know, so it's a concentration and.

So it's great, isn't it? But then of course you can't stay here forever and God wants us to get filled up and then go out and do something and so we go back into our churches and place of business and work and whatever and.

And then we have to to try to apply what we've learned what God's done for us now if we're not careful We will cause more harm than good. Okay, that's as a warning now. Somebody says what kind of tracks do we lay?

One of the problems with this kind of a conference is is sometimes we go home from it So blessed and so excited about the truth. We've heard That we are ready to change everything immediately tomorrow and we go back to our church and we become iconoclasts and we start breaking statues and Tearing down altars and changing the whole program and turning everything upside down and it's absolutely Impossible for people to handle that and you must realize that they haven't had Revival and they haven't been lifted and they haven't experienced what you've experienced and they simply can't handle it.

Okay. Somebody says what kind of a church is it? That is the most likely to have a Revival and precipitate spiritual awakening in its community. Now I would tell you what I think. Okay, so you don't have to agree with me and I'll love you even if you're wrong, all right.

But what I think is that the church that is walking in the most careful obedience to God Before the revival is the church that's likely to have the most positive results afterwards. Now, what do I mean by that?

Well look at Acts 2 42. We've had the revival now the beginning of the spiritual awakening 3 ,000 conversions in one day which is to go on and on and it says in verse 42 and they continued Steadfastly, they continued now if you're going to continue something you have to have already been doing it.

Don't you don't you? Or else you or else you're starting to do it. You're not continuing. And they continued steadfastly in the Apostles doctrine. That is a study teaching and preaching and study of the Word of God.

All right. You agree with that? Good solid doctrinal biblical preaching and teaching and learning and so forth and in fellowship and is getting together as Christians and fellowshipping and sharing and doing some of the things we've been doing here and in breaking of bread and I take that to be things like the Lord's Supper and and the ordinances of the church and In prayers prayer meetings now now what's been outlined here very briefly is sort of a church program.

Isn't it? Doctrine fellowship. Breaking of bread and prayer meetings. It sort of covers the gamut of church programming and not only did that happen. But it says down in verse 47. They were praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord kept on adding to the church daily those that were being saved.

Literally, so the evangelism program went on now. Let me talk to you out of my heart what I think. Because I was in a church in the city of Akron that experienced revival. But in this revival movement, I have seen churches experience revival and I have seen those churches afterwards.

Once the whole thing is sort of settled down and people kind of got back to normal. I have seen some of those churches get into trouble and Not go on with God and sometimes have splits and all kinds of problems.

But the church I pastor in Akron that didn't happen and the church I'm pastoring now that didn't happen but the church went on and grew and God continued to bless. So here's what I think and here's what I want to talk to you about.

Preparing Churches Through Obedience and Existing Ministry

If you want to lay down tracks for spiritual awakening not only do you go back home and begin to pray and work and teach with these Principles and the things you've learned here and began to really live the spirit-filled life Daily in your home and in your church and at work and wherever you are but I believe that you need a church that is already obeying God and Having revival and having spiritual awakening does not negate All of the things that church ought to do in obedience to God.

Right, oh. You're not sure about that. So you're being very quiet because you don't want to get committed for instance when revival came to the church in the city of Akron we already Had a strong evangelism ministry in that church and people were already being saved on a regular basis.

And people were already being baptized and already coming into the church in a regular basis. I mean it was already a regular thing in that church to have people converted week by week by week and coming into the church and being taught and Growing in the Lord and being baptized and becoming members of the church and this was already in progress.

It wasn't something that just suddenly began because we had revival. We did have revival a very intense Revival for three weeks when God came and we had no crusade and no evangelist and nothing organized.

Except God came in and answered a prayer and in his grace and mercy and we experienced revival at a very deep level. But before we experienced that revival the church was doing many things, right? Our elders were trained and Their wives and they were already out.

Visiting and praying with people and visiting the sick in the hospital and the people that were shut in they were already ministering to the needs of the congregation. Financially through benevolence where they had need they already had home Bible studies going they already had a visitation ministry going.

They already were doing many of the things that God has called a church to do. Now if you want to trace this in the scriptures. What I want to tell you is that before Pentecost Jesus and the disciples were already doing many of the things that they continued.

The Apostles continued to do after Pentecost only now. They got a tremendous surge of power. And what they were doing before and doing rightly and in obedience to God. Now they did with a tremendous upsurge of power and blessing.

So I guess what I want to say to you to to start with this Afternoon is that if you want to go home and prepare a church for spiritual awakening. Not only do we go home and do these spiritual things? I would talk about them in a minute.

But I need to talk about this first. Okay, not only do we do those good things you've been learning here in this conference. But we make sure that our church is living as far as we can get it to live in obedience to God.

You say well, I thought that's what revival is supposed to do. Well, I hope revival will give that a tremendous boost. Well, we need to be doing the things to obey God before and I'll tell you what happened in Akron and it's exactly the same thing that happened in Regina.

What happened in Akron was that when we had the revival and and and you know that great surge of blessing and people getting right with God and going to the cross and being filled with the Spirit and marriage is put back together and all these things happen then.

We had tracks for people to run on people looked around said, let's see. What can I do now? I'm all revived. We said that's fine. You know, we got something for you to do right here you you want to serve the Lord don't sit around and soak and sour.

We got we got a job for you. God's met you and gifted you what it's God laid in your heart. Well, I think I should be teaching children good. We've got a place for you right over here. Get you trained start teaching children win them to the Lord.

Somebody says well, you know, God's taken away all my fear of man, and I think I ought to be witnessing great. We have a witnessing program put you right in here and train you how to handle the Word of God and you can get right out there and start winning soul.

Say well, and I actually have people come and say, you know, I really think I should be an elder. I Mean out of total humility and love for Jesus. They they got right with God. I said, I think it should too.

Let's let's start getting you ready. I'll tell you what we'll do. We'll make you a junior elder and you start going out with this elder and learning how to be an elder and learning how to pray and how to love people and how to minister to people and When we set up our nominating committee next year around we'll see if we can find a spot and and get you into being elder.

Sure, why not? You ought to start serving the Lord. Do you understand what I'm saying? Am I making any sense to you? Somebody said well, I thought if we had a revival and a great awakening, I mean, it'd be automatic.

No, no, no. God didn't make us automatons and Revival isn't gonna make us automatons or machines either. I mean, we're not gonna be like a robot and say now praise God. I'm filled with the Spirit. No.

If you don't know how to lead somebody to Jesus. If you really don't know how to lead somebody to Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit won't suddenly teach you how it'll certainly give You the power and the love and the desire.

All right, and it may take away your fear of man. Which may be the main reason, you know Kennedy said that the reason he never won souls as a pastor for so many years was because he had back trouble. Said he had a great big Yellow stripe right down the middle of his back.

Well Revival can get rid of the stripe. Absolutely. You meet God and deal with self and pride that nasty giant. And get him nailed on the cross. So self doesn't matter anymore and let your heart get filled with the Holy Spirit of God.

You suddenly wake up and open your eyes start to love people and God will take the yellow stripe off your back. But somebody may need to sit down with you and just teach you how to present the gospel.

I don't know sure you can give your testimony and you may win people to Jesus right away without it. But you still may need some help and some direction. Do you understand what I'm saying? So What I'm trying to say about the local church is That we need to be doing the things in the local church that God has told us to do.

And if you've got a church that is not doing anything, it's supposed to be doing and believe me. There's a lot of them that aren't I? Mean there's a lot of churches where they just come to church on Sunday and they have a few Sunday school classes and the preacher gets up and preaches and they go through the same old form of service and sing the same old songs and they go home to the same old dinners of roast beef and mashed potatoes and Eat the preacher for dinner and that's what they do.

We can't a week out they have a missionary convention they have what they call a revival once a year that isn't a revival and They just go on and on and on church never grows. Nobody's ever saved. Nobody's ever baptized.

Nothing ever happens and Don't think that a revival will suddenly change all that and turn your church into a Dynamic powerful soul winning church that is doing the whole will of God. It won't just automatically happen.

Now. It may mean that some people will come alive and be ready to do something. But somebody better tell them what to do. That's why God gives us leadership. Amen. Well, some of you are with me, but if the rest of you aren't you gonna wish you were.

As I I Think I know that this is right what I'm talking about here today and then after Pentecost. They just went right on doing those same thing. See before that. Let me ask you a question before Pentecost.

Was there anybody? That was praying. Okay before Pentecost, was there anybody was preaching. Was there anybody that was witnessing? Were there any anybody winning any souls? Oh, absolutely. Jesus sent the disciples out two by two in the villages and they weren't enough.

So he got 70 more and sent them out and he gave them his power and they went out and preached the men should repent. And that the kingdom of God was at hand that they should believe on Jesus and they cast out devils and healed the sick.

And they did all these ministries fact. They came back and they had a prayer Service they said hallelujah, even the devils are subject to us and they were very excited. I Mean that's before revival. They're doing a lot of good things a lot of right things and God was even blessing some of it.

You see how they did run into some snags. They had a bad spirit sometimes and they made a lot of mistakes and They ran to some demons that couldn't handle and some other things. But They were already doing most of these things and after Pentecost They knew what they were supposed to do and they just went right on and did it only now they did it with power and now the Holy Ghost came down on the population and prepared their hearts and now they were ready for an awakening and there were thousands converted and So don't mistake me.

I'm not saying go home and get your church all highly organized. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm just saying that the local church that is already walking in simple obedience to God and obeying the Great Commission and doing some of the things they ought to do is The church that when revival comes is going to come out of the other side of revival hot for God and moving For God and going straight out into the world and winning the loss to Jesus Christ the church that is not Doing any of the things they're supposed to do is very likely after the revival to sit around and praise God together and tell each other what a wonderful time they've had for a number of months and then go right back to doing nothing and Become critical and ingrown and sour and wonder what was wrong with the revival.

Okay. Still love me. I Want this thing to work now. So you say what tracks. Well I'm not gonna tell you all the tracks because I might tell you how to you know What God wants you to do it. He might not want you to do it at all.

He might want you to do something else. But but I think your church needs to very carefully sit down and decide what it means to obey God as a church now. Let me talk to you personally. One of the things that causes division in the body of Christ is for someone to meet the Lord in a very special way and then go home and and really think that they're going to get everybody around them to experience exactly the same thing right away and Just start pushing it on everybody and trying to change everything going into the board meeting and say man If you had been where I've been and you've been in the blessing.

I've been in this week. I tell you everything we're doing is wrong. Whoo, watch out. You get a one-way exit right out of the board meeting it won't work, you know and Don't take your pastor out for coffee and say pastor, you know, I hate to tell you this but we've been doing everything wrong in this church and you're preaching wrong and Whoo careful.

It won't work that way. What can you do? Now I really believe in this so listen carefully. I believe that one of the things God wants us to do. However, he's working in our life. I believe one of the things he wants us to do is to pray and ask him to lead us to someone who is hungry and who will be like-minded and whom we can influence personally for God who is hungry and wants to be influenced for God and And find another man or another woman that God leads you to that is hungry and searching and longing for something better than they have and start to get together with that person and share with them the Word of God and what God is doing in your own life and Love them and pray for them and help them to come in to an experience of The fullness of God's Holy Spirit in their life the same as God is doing in your life.

Discipling Leaders and Sharing Ministry

All right. That's one thing now. I Want to speak to pastors for just a minute because I didn't get to say everything the pastors want to say the other day. So you layman don't you close your ears? Okay, because you can you're part of this.

Some sometimes pastors say to me. Well pastor. You're in a large church now. But if you were in a small church like mine where we have 50 people or 30 people or whatever it is. Well, what would you do if you went in a church like that?

I'll tell you what I would do. I would do two things. Number one, I would look around and I would try to find the man who was the obvious leader in the church and I would get that man and make friends with that man and love that man and pray for him every day of my life and do Everything in my power to get close to that man and try to bring him in to whatever experience God has taught me and Try to help him and disciple him into being a man of God and I would share with that man my dreams and my visions.

In fact, I still do that. I was talking to a couple of pastors at lunchtime. They said how do you how do you get something done when you go into a board and there's somebody in the board that opposes?

Everything you that you bring in you bring in a program. It doesn't matter what the program is or how good it is. They're against it. I said simple. I never bring in any programs. They say what do you mean?

You never bring in any programs? Well said I never do. I always get other men of God on the board to bring in the programs. Bring them in. No. And I'm not chairman of my board even I hope you're not if you are trying to get rid of that as quick as you can.

I sit right next to him and And the board meetings and before we have the board meetings my church administrator and I we meet with him and we lay out the Board meeting and then we go into the board meeting and he's chairman of the board and I sit next to him so I can Help him if he needs help and I pray for him while he's leading the board meeting.

But I don't lead it and if I have a program that I'm convinced is of God I get with some godly men in the church and I discuss it with him and I ask him what they think and we have Prayer together and I listen to what they think and if they want to make changes in it.

Changes and we continue to talk and pray about it until their hearts are really heated with it and they are excited about it. And they think they've got the bugs ironed out and then I just go in the board meeting and sit there and pray and let Them present it.

Are you listening? So one of the major ways to get something for going for God in the church is to disciple godly men and women. Disciple them disciple them. That's the process get some godly men and women and disciple them and let them Let them take the place of leadership.

Or you say but I'm the leader. Well, then you haven't been to Calvary yet. Have you can be the leader without getting the credit? Amen. I was weak. You don't need the credit. Let's give the glory to Jesus, huh?

Let's give the glory to Jesus. Like some pastor some pastor. He had an assistant pastor and he took a friend in and he said he said Friends said well, how's your new assistant pastor doing? He said no.

He said I think he's doing. All right. So I've got him straightened out. Oh, he says all right said what have you taught him? He said well come in the sanctuary. I'll tell you one thing I've taught him and he came in the sanctuary said you see this chalk mark in a half Circle right around the pulpit said yes, he said I've told him never put your feet inside that circle.

Awful. Shooting. No, no, that's not. Why are we so threatened we're so threatened by our our. Our laymen and our laywomen that are men and women of God are so threatened by the people that God's given us to work with Us.

What is the matter with us? We say we've been to Calvary, but we're so threatened and worried. I say if there's anybody there that can do it better than me great. Let them do it. Bless God. Let's get the job done.

Amen. I could always tell what you're gonna get quiet. When I choose assistant pastors and we have six of them I try to find a man for each spot who can do that better than I could ever think of doing.

I Want a man in that spot. They can do it better than I can. Absolutely. And I want I hey, I let him go. I don't go. Oh, they do wonderful stuff. I don't go. Let him work and do that with your layman get with the leading lay men and lay women in your church and love them.

I get close to them and pray with them and share your heart with them and your burden and the fire that's in you and The vision you have for the church in the city share it with them and share it with them and share with them.

Don't take it into the board. Don't take it into the committee meetings. Don't talk about outside share it with these godly leaders and then just sit back and pray for them and then watch them. Go ahead and run with it.

That's the way to do it. Now that's that's one thing I do it get that kind of person the other thing I would do and I mean this with all my heart. I Would ask God to lead me to another man if I were a woman to lead me to another woman that God wanted to make into a soul winner and And then I would get with that person and pray with them and Love them and say listen, I think God wants to make you a soul winner.

Don't you think so? Well, I'll pray about okay. You pray about and let him pray about it and keep praying for him till their heart gets all stirred up and it start to get A burden and then say now you come with me and we're going and then take them out.

And take them with you. And say now you don't have to do a thing. Hey, don't be scared. You don't do anything just come with me and you sit there and pray for me and if the baby's getting away carry him out or the dog or turn off the television or whatever and you just come along and you just pray and you watch and go with me and Teach him how to win souls.

Evangelism in a Broken and Hurting World

Always say I'm gonna wait for the spiritual awakening. It won't work. No, no, no. What did Jesus say go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to how many? Every creature every creature and God can lead you the right people He can lead you.

But I'm going to tell you I was a pastor for many years and I got up in my pulpit and I said You go out and you bring them in. That's okay first few weeks till they found out I didn't do it getting awful quiet, but I tell you what.

It won't work like that. No, you say but but I'm not a soul winner. Well. Well, listen, there are a lot of hungry people out there today. Don't you think so? I Mean, they're hungry people out there. This is a messed-up world.

And I mean, I don't care if they're rich or poor. This is a messed-up world people are sick and they're hurting and they're in pain and their lives are breaking up and their marriages are breaking up and their homes are breaking up and their bodies are breaking down and they are in awful shape and I tell you if you Just try it.

You don't have to be good at it. If you just try it a little bit and pray about it and trust God you'll win some souls. I don't care even if you don't try very hard God will almost hit you over the head to help you win some souls and How are churches going to be ready for spiritual awakening if there's nobody in the whole church that has a hot heart and that and it Is interested in souls, so we have said about our church That if there's any program in our church That does not finally Down the line minister to bring people to Jesus that program has to go.

I don't care how sacred a cow it is. We may not be able to shoot it today. Tomorrow. But it'll get lame and fall over somewhere and we'll just let it die or something. But we're not going to keep any program and we got a list.

And my administrator is good at that. He's he's a lot more cruel than I am. He's ready to shoot something right now. I'm a little more tender. Compassionate, but he's ready to just go out with a revolver and knock him off.

You know, I say wait wait. I'm not as bold as that. Take it easy but Everything should minister Salvation of souls see the Christmas program. Oh, you say don't touch that that is sacred. Well. The the Christmas cantata.

Oh, you're trying to ruin the church. Don't you have a Christmas cantata? Yes, we do. But you know what it better present the gospel. And when we get to the end of it. They get the gospel. Because this senior pastors on that platform at the end of it and preaches the gospel.

You have a baptismal service. Hey, we send out beautiful invitations that are like a wedding invitation and Everybody's getting baptized. Gets a whole handful of them for all their relatives and friends and people they work with and people neighbors next door and everything else.

And they all have these beautiful invitations and it's inviting them to their baptism. And all these people they think why my poor neighbor he didn't get baptized the baby must be. I'll go see him get baptized.

And they're sunk. Because it takes us a whole hour. To get him back to about every two or three months. It's so much fun. You see all those sinners sitting out there and you preach the gospel and then all these people get in there.

We tell them you got two minutes two minutes would drown if you take any longer than two minutes. You do three things you tell them what you were how you got saved and what you are now and they're there their Testimonies are looked over carefully by our minister of personal care organized it and then boy what fun we have.

They come down into the waters of baptism and they share the gospel and all these poor sinners are sitting out there and their eyes getting bigger and bigger and. Then some of our people they have baptismal parties all set up for that Sunday night after the service.

You know and they invite their friends that came and they're going home have something to eat and they take them home afterwards. You know this person got baptized. Are you getting the idea? See, we just aren't serious about we just play about all this business.

Then we say now we're going to have revival and a spiritual awakening and all that's going to get cured. I think that what will happen is Those good things that God is helping us to do. They'll get a running start and they'll really go.

They'll really go see the reason I know that so is because out in the mission fields like Bill has said there's some spiritual awakening. Taking place and I went down to Lima Peru and I stood up to preach in one of our newest churches that seats 2 ,000 people Pueblo Libre Church in the well, the church grew from 150 to 15 ,000 in 10 years and I still have to preach in this church that seats 2 ,000 people and they have two baptismal tanks the front of the church one on each side and They baptize usually about a hundred people every baptismal service and they go zoop zoop.

Zoop each side take some hours. See the difference. I mean, they've got a the Holy Ghost has given them a tremendous Empathy and the thing is just just running wild. People getting saved. President of the church in Peru is only 36 years old and the pastor of that church that seats 2 ,000 people and and has people saved anywhere from 30 to 50 60 every Sunday is.

That man's only been a Christian five years. He's senior pastor. That's the way the church is growing. So you see don't you want that to happen here? Then let's let's do the things right now the third thing that I'm going to shut up I've talked about they're getting your church leadership and discipling them getting somebody and teaching them to win souls.

Cultivating Prayer for Awakening

The third thing get some people and I should have started with this. But I'm ending with it because it's the most important of anything. I'm going to say get some people to pray. Get some people to pray.