A Pattern for Revival

Dr. Michael Yussa and how the early church sought and heard the voice of the Holy Spirit. After they heard the Holy Spirit, they prayed some more. And then they commissioned Paul and Barnabas to go. Please listen to me carefully.

Hear me right on this one. The reason they were able to hear the Holy Spirit's voice so clearly is because they were surrendered to the Holy Spirit. Welcome to Leading the Way Audio with Dr. Michael Yussa. I'm sure that you've heard the phrase, walking in the Spirit. Topics like this can get quickly confusing and even out of control. That's why Dr. Yussa will take you to a biblical example to help guide you in your faith walk and minimize confusion. So if you're not able to stay until the end of today's audio feature, do remember that you can listen online through the Leading the Way Podcast.

Learn more about it at ltw.org. But since you're here now, listen with me to Dr. Michael Yussa. You know, growing up in the Middle East, you soon become conscious of the difference between pigeons and doves. You do. It's so easy to be able to know that the pigeon is almost a dove, but not quite. Now, pigeons are of the same family as doves. And sometimes pigeons look like doves, but they are very different.

They are very different. It is not an accident, therefore, that God the Holy Spirit was symbolized not by a pigeon, but with a dove. It is not an accident that when Jesus went down into that valley, into that River Jordan to be baptized, and then God the Holy Spirit testified that this is God the Father's beloved Son, He appears in the symbol of a dove and not a pigeon.

I'm a keen observer of what's going on among Christians, not just in this country, but around the world. And as a keen observer of what's going on in the churches and Christian activities around the world, whether it be in the professing church or the confessing church, I am personally convinced that there are many Christians who are practicing pigeon religion, not dove religion. Pigeon religion is a counterfeit of the Holy Spirit. What they practice may look like the Holy Spirit, may sound like the Holy Spirit, may even feel like the Holy Spirit, but in reality it is pigeon religion.

Let me explain what I mean. When somebody comes to me and says, Michael, God told me. And I listen to what they claim that God told them. And then in close analysis, I find that what God told them is inconsistent with the Word of God that is authored by the Holy Spirit of God. I have to conclude by saying this is a pigeon religion. Let me give you some more examples, okay?

So you understand what I'm trying to tell you. Christians who walk around carrying all sorts of bitterness and anger and resentment in their lives, no matter how spiritual they claim to be, they are practicing what? Pigeon religion.

Christians who are involved in malice, in fraud, in lying, in cheating, in unethical business practices, regardless of what ministry they are in, they are practicing what? Pigeon religion. Christians who cannot get involved in anything unless they control it and manipulate it and contrive and scheme all of the time, no matter what position they may occupy, they are practicing what? Pigeon religion. Christians who are covetous and greedy and discontented and give back to God next to nothing of what God has given them, they are practicing what? Pigeon religion. Christians who spend few moments of a day in the presence of God. Christians who do not spend time daily walking with God, they are practicing what? Pigeon religion.

Christians who are into all sorts of sexual immorality from adultery to fornication to the rest of it, no matter what they claim, they are practicing what? Pigeon religion. It is not surprising, my beloved friends, that the Apostle Paul stressed the fact that we must not grieve the Holy Spirit.

Listen carefully. I want to explain the word grieve in such a way that everybody will understand it. If you imagine a precious toddler who got scared or somebody yelled that beautiful little toddler and out of fear what happened out of that grieving process, you see their chin starts shaking and tears start coming and then they run away from the situation. That's what the word grieving of the Holy Spirit does. And when a Christian habitually sin, when a Christian constantly living in sin, they are grieving the Holy Spirit and the dove will fly, fly, fly away.

It doesn't mean that you lose your salvation, but you have grieved the Holy Spirit. So many Christian activities are built around pigeon religion. And that is why we see a whole lot of activities going on in the Christian life, in the Christian world. So many activities, but very little genuine Holy Spirit awakening.

Why? Because most of our activities are pigeon religion. Acts 13 gives us the pattern for the true awakening of the Holy Spirit, not pigeon religion. Human Holy Spirit awakening. Here's the pattern.

You want to know where it is, how it can happen. Here it is, Acts chapter 13. And I have three things that I want to share with you from the text. The first thing is that has to be unconditional surrender to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, verses 1 to 13 of Acts 13. Secondly, there has to be unwillingness to sugarcoat biblical truth, verses 14 to 42 of Acts 13. And thirdly, there has to be an uncompromising steadfastness in the face of opposition, verses 42 to 52. First, unconditional surrender to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, verses 1 to 13. The church in Antioch was a church that practiced dove religion, not pigeon religion.

The church in Antioch was a church that was utterly dependent upon, a church that was totally submissive to the authority of the Holy Spirit. They were not enslaved to worldly business practices. They were not into manipulating people's emotions. They were not trying to appease their felt needs.

They were not entertaining themselves and mesmerizing people. In fact, verse 2 of chapter 13 says that while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, now notice this, put a circle around those words, ministering to the Lord. They were not even ministering to themselves.

They were not ministering to one another. They were ministering to the Lord in praise and adoration. While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke and said, set apart for me, Barnabas, and Saul, for the work.

Look at verse 3, Acts 13. After they heard the Holy Spirit clearly spoke, they fasted some more. They prayed some more. They got in the presence of God some more. And then they commissioned Paul and Barnabas, or Saul and Barnabas to go. Please listen to me carefully.

Hear me right on this one. The reason they were able to hear the Holy Spirit's voice so clearly is because they were surrendered to the Holy Spirit. And because they were surrendered to the Holy Spirit, they were able to obey the Holy Spirit. And because they were surrendered to the Holy Spirit and able to obey the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit then sent them out to serve Him. And therefore they ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit, not their clever ingenuity. They did not minister of their own clever ingenuity. They did not minister with their own brilliant strategies. They ministered according to the Holy Spirit's orders.

How? How do we know that? When they got into Cyprus, they went there not because they thought it was a good idea, not because they said, well, you know, Barnabas, you're from Cyprus, let's go there.

No, no, no, no. They went there on the authority of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit says go. And because the Holy Spirit wanted them to be there, because the Holy Spirit already wanted to be manifested among the people of Cyprus. And that is why we are told that when they got into Paphoth, there was that Jewish sorcerer by the name of, by Jesus, who was mesmerizing people with his magic, including the governor of the province, Paul, who was surrendered to the authority of the Holy Spirit, who was obeying the Holy Spirit, who was sent by the Holy Spirit, who was serving in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul goes there and he was able to blind that man for a time. Listen to this one very carefully. When you have unconditionally surrendered to the authority and the power and the leadership of the Holy Spirit, you will be able to discern. You will discern deception.

You will discern the truth. This magician's name was the son of Jesus, by Jesus. But in reality, Paul said, you are son of the devil. Meanwhile, the proconsul of the Roman governor of the area believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. And he turned to the Lord because he saw that these men who surrendered to the Holy Spirit came in obedient to the Holy Spirit, serving in the power of the Holy Spirit, exercising that power in front of him. So the first condition for genuine Holy Spirit awakening is an unconditional surrender to the Holy Spirit of God. Secondly, unwillingness to sugarcoat biblical truth. Unwillingness to sugarcoat biblical truth.

Verses 14 to 41. Now, beloved friends, I know and you know and I know that you know that today so many people want to downplay biblical truth. Today, many people want to downplay biblical preaching. Today, so many people are embarrassed about the biblical truth of the justice of God and the wrath of God. There are so many Christians who are embarrassed about the truth of hell, a place that is prepared for Satan and his demons and for those who have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ.

They are embarrassed about it. Today, so many people are running around saying, what we need to do is to make the gospel palatable to our society. What we need to do is to make the gospel to be acceptable to our culture. What we need to do is to make the gospel to be easy for people to believe.

And they may draw a crowd. But make no mistake about it, only willingness not to sugarcoat biblical truth will bring about the Holy Spirit's awakening. If you read it carefully, you will see that Paul knew that it is going to be very hard for the synagogue leaders in Antioch and elsewhere.

He knew it was going to be hard for the synagogue leaders everywhere he went. He knew it was going to be hard for them to accept that the entire Old Testament, the entire old covenant is about Jesus. That the entire old covenant found its fulfillment in Jesus. Paul knew that when he shows them from the word of God that Psalm 2.7, Isaiah 55.3 and Psalm 16.10 and Habakkuk 1.5 are all fulfilled in Jesus.

They're not going to like it. He knew that. He knew that the ones who have rejected the crucified resurrected Messiah are not going to easily accept what he says. But nonetheless, he refused to sugarcoat biblical truth. Paul knew that these Jewish leaders who had waited for so long for the Messiah to come, Paul knew that they're anticipating that he would be of the line of David. But that's about all that they knew.

That's all that he had in common with them. Because in their idea was that this Messiah was going to have earthly power just like King David. That he's going to be earthly king just like King David. Their preconceived idea of the Messiah that he is going to be a military hero and a military conqueror just like David. And like their counterparts in Jerusalem, they have allowed their preconceived ideas of the Messiah to cause them to reject the real one when he came. They did not accept a crucified resurrected Jesus as their Messiah. But that did not deter Paul one bit from proclaiming him as the fulfillment of all the old covenant. Now some of you know this, through the years, I have been with evangelical leaders, wonderful people.

I'm not talking about liberals who don't believe the Bible. I'm talking about wonderful evangelical leaders who have said to me through the years, Michael, in your face gospel preaching will not win you friends. Michael, you must understand that in your face proclamation will close doors for your ministry. Michael, you must understand that in your face Jesus is the only way to heaven will kill your ministry. They said these things to me on numerous occasions. One of them said to me, he said, listen, we don't disagree with you theologically, but this kind of in your face preaching is not going to work. Tone it down.

Well, I'm still here. And as long as God gives me a breath, I will not sugarcoat biblical truth. First, unconditional surrender to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Secondly, unwillingness to sugarcoat biblical truth.

Thirdly, uncompromising steadfastness in the face of opposition. Whenever, listen carefully, I'm going to tell you, whenever the Holy Spirit is obeyed, whenever there is proclamation of biblical truth, there will always be two distinct responses. Now in America, there's a third one that says, I don't care. But there's always those two distinct responses.

In fact, those are the most troubling people. One guy said to me some time ago, he said, well, you could be telling the truth. He could not. It doesn't matter to me. I don't care.

And I think he represents the spirit of the age. But as always, the two distinct responses, those who believe and thus become saved and those who reject and fight and thus sign their own eternal death. And in Acts chapter 13 there, you see Gentiles and some Jews were delighted to hear the message, but some of the Jewish leaders threw Paul and Barnabas out of town. First reaction, there in verse 48 and 49 of Acts 13. When the Gentiles heard, they began rejoicing and glorifying the Word of God.

Here's the first reaction. The second reaction, verses 50 and 51. But the Jews caused some devout women of prominence to rise against them and the leading men of the city. And they incited persecution against Paul and Barnabas.

What did Paul do? He shook the dust off his feet, just like Jesus told the disciples to do. Now, beloved, I want to tell you this is very ominous act.

This is not just a simple thing to do. It's very ominous. Because the Jews in Paul's day were very scrupulous of not bringing Gentile dust into Israel and into their dwelling places. And the shaking of the dust off their feet was their way of not bringing unholy things to a holy place. And when Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet, they were saying to these Jewish leaders that we consider you to be worse than pagans. That's incredible when you think about it. You could not get a stronger condemnation.

I'm getting ready to close. I want you to listen to what I'm going to tell you. There's a lot of confusion about this. This day and age, we have this quirky idea that says that loving sinners mean that we never tell them that they are sinners and they desperately need Jesus. We have this quirky idea that says that loving sinners means that we must not only accept them, but we must also accept their sin as well and rejection. We have this quirky idea that says that loving sinners means that never to condemn the rejection of Jesus Christ as their own jeopardy for eternity. Pray tell me what kind of love is that? That is not biblical love. It's a fallacy. Why?

Because according to verse 48 of Acts chapter 13, only the preaching of biblical truth will bring those who've been appointed unto salvation to Jesus Christ. Now listen, I'm not recommending rudeness. Far from it. I have a hard time being rude to anybody, even those who have maligned me. I'm not recommending rudeness at all.

Far from it. There is a world of difference between rudeness and speaking the truth in love. For true love compels us to warn people of the consequences of their sin. True love compels us to tell people the truth about their eternity that is awaiting them of torment in hell.

True love compels us not to sugarcoat the biblical message. And there may be a person here today who says, you know Michael, I've always been into religion. I've always been a good person and I always thought that I will make it to heaven because I'm really a good man, a good woman. I've been a church man, church woman all my life, but I've never come into a relationship with Jesus Christ. I've never come to the realization that I'm sinner by birth and sinner by practice and I'm heading for hell without Jesus. My denomination, my church will not get me to heaven. Today, I want to repent of my sins.

I want to accept the forgiveness and the salvation and the eternal life that Jesus made possible when he hung on that cross 2,000 years ago. This is Leading the Way. Learn about Dr. Michael Youssef and how to stand with him in passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth around the world when you visit ltw.org.

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