Bro Gary Kelly Sunday Morning 12/4/11

Bro Gary Kelly Sunday Morning 12/4/11

Psa 85:6  Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?

We are all going to experience many times when our physical and emotional man is totally exhausted.  It is important to know what to do when this is the case.  When this is the case we can say, “Oh God I need you to revive me so that I can do what is pleasing in thy sight.”

Isa 57:15  For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

He dwells with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit.  It is good to be broken this morning.  There are at least two ways that brokenness comes. 

We can fall on the rock, “God I see where there are areas in my life, areas of hardness, things that need to be broken so that I can have come what needs to come and leave what needs to be left.” 

There are also occasions when God says, “I have had all the arrogance from that individual that I am going to take,” and the rock falls upon them and grinds them to powder.

The eternal God is looking clear across the world this morning for men and women that are of a humble spirit.  The promise is that He will revive them again.  It is not wrong to need to be revived. 

It may be at the very peak of our good times that we realize that “Oh God I need you to revive me.  I don’t want to make a mistake in the exact situation that I am in that would hinder me or some other precious soul.” 

God “dwells in the high and holy place, with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble.”

It is part of the ordained plan of God to revive the humble and the contrite.  God is the source of reviving.  I’m not making a slam to you needing to go for a walk or see a lake.  This message is not about that; it is about the deepness in our soul that nothing can revive but God.  Only God can revive a spirit.  Only God can revive the heart.

Life places us in a position of needing to be revived. 

The first symbol of Christ that I would like to look at is the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden.

Gen 2:8  And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Gen 2:9  And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Gen 2:10  And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

Gen 2:11  The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

Gen 2:12  And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

Gen 2:13  And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

Gen 2:14  And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

Gen 2:15  And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

Gen 2:16  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

Gen 2:17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

The Tree of Life was right there in the garden.  It is amazing to me, one of the mysteries of life, Adam and Eve who had total liberty to eat and enjoy the Tree of Life and could enjoy it and the fruits of it.  Because God is God, He also planted a tree that they should not touch. 

Each one of us in this audience that has reached the age of accountability knows the value of innocence.  We thank God for the children that are in this audience this morning.  It is wonderful that they are born with innocence.  It is important that parents labor to keep those children innocent.  Exposure to sin opens the door to the flowing in of a river of no return. 

Adam and Eve had free access to the Tree of Life and when they chose to sin they lost that access.  We will see where the access comes back later.  God chose to reveal to Solomon the Tree of Life.

Pro 3:13  Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

Pro 3:14  For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.

Pro 3:15  She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

Pro 3:16  Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.

Pro 3:17  Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

Pro 3:18  She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

Wisdom is one of the marvelous fruits of the Tree of Life.  When I think of the greatness of God!  4000 years before Christ, according to history, Adam and Eve had access to the Tree of Life.  I came along in AD 1949 and I have access to that same tree.

This wisdom is better than the gold that was around the Garden of Eden.  That gold will perish.  Wisdom will lead us to life eternal. 

God knows how many days you need to get your spiritual work done.  I’m talking about that work for God the seed that He has designed for you to sow.  I don’t know who you are going to meet tomorrow.  I do know that the wisdom of God will position you not only with the opportunity but with the wisdom to know how to sow the seed. 

You and I can be thankful that we live in a country that has had great respect for the teachings of Christ. 

Verse 18:  Wisdom is a tree of life to all that find her. 

I’m always amazed with Solomon; he was so gifted of God.  Why wasn’t he satisfied with what God had for him? 

I don’t believe that there is any out there that is worthless or dumb.  I believe that if they can get a hold of God they will be like Buddy Robinson who stuttered until he got to talking about God.

May God revive us to realize what the birth of Christ is all about.  It is not about anything tangible, or at least that is not all that it is about.  God sent His son so that the Tree of Life would be available to us.  He sent it so that you and I could have something to access that would produce happiness.  Life will make you unhappy. 

I thought as I heard these Kelly children singing on pew 2, “Oh I hope that Myron can hear them singing every once in a while.  I hope that my brother, their other grandfather, can hear them singing.  I hope that their great grandparents can hear them singing.” 

I thought of: “offenses are going to come, woe to that man by whom they come.”  I’m not going to tell you of those that lie about me. 

I have a savior and I have a heavenly father.  The Tree of Life is just as well and alive as it ever has been.  Happy is the man that gets wisdom and understanding.  God help me to have wisdom and understanding so that I don’t hinder myself by what I allow to come into my mind.

This wisdom is as a tree of life!

God allowed John to go to the Isle of Patmos, a desert that contained snakes and lizards.  John didn’t allow this to hinder him.  He was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.  Pray earnestly for me.  (This man that received this revelation referred to us as little children.)

 Here is where I am so earnestly convicted:

Rev 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

As far as you and I know, John was completely alone on the isle of Patmos.  Accommodations were not acceptable at all.  His thought though was that he was in the isle called Patmos for the Word of God.   

According to history, he was exiled there and the thought was that he would die there.  This is not what the plan of God was.

Rev 1:9  I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Rev 1:10  I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

God help me and you to know how to prepare our self to be in the Holy Spirit of God on the Lord’s Day. 

It is not wrong to take care of things that need to be taken care of on Saturday.  This message is to challenge us that so want to be a light and a witness to learn how to be in the Spirit.  Wednesday night we were praying and seeking God for prayer requests that were so close to our heart. 

John was in great difficulty, but his testimony is reviving to us.

Rev 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

In our minds we may think that no one has ever had a problem but me.  There are no new problems, they are all old problems.

Though Adam died and his sin passed on to all of Adam’s race, the tree of Life never changed.

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Rev 22:1  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Rev 22:2  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Rev 22:3  And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

This river that flows is a marvelous thing.  In the midst of it and on either side of it is the Tree of Life.  The Tree of Life is not just in heaven this morning.  God ordained that the Tree of Life be in the midst of the river and on the time side of the river.

Jesus is the Tree of Life and every month you are going to have needs that cannot be met by anyone other than Jesus.  You don’t have to wait until heaven.  People may think that “I’m going to wait until Heaven and Jesus will be there and I’ll have all my needs met.”  Let me interrupt your thoughts, Jesus is on the time side of life and will meet your needs here. 

For whatever your need is in December, get it met in December and for all of eternity.  Allow Jesus to be the Alpha and Omega, the beginning of a new life and an ending of an old.  It could be the ending of thought patterns or personality issues.  We all have different personalities.  God knows how to bring everyone of us exactly where we need to be. 

The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.  There is healing through the leaves of the Word of God.  The stripes and the blood are a part of the Word of God.  God’s word always produces when we take His counsel. 

To fulfill my need and your need, we have access to the tree of Life and we go there.  We are going to need comfort this month.  We are going to need a great outpouring of the Spirit of God to be able to help Sister Alice this month. 

We may have other needs this month.  Let me invite you to the tree.  It is not plastic fruit.  Take it and eat it.  Take the leaves and apply them to your heart, to your wound.  Have you wounded yourself?  Go over there and take a leaf and hold it close.  Have you been wounded or pierced?  Someone you love has a razor sharp tongue or elbow?  Take the leaf.

My burden is that God would make alive the burden of His son coming to earth so that God could revive men and women.

The song, “Search me O God” was written during the peak of a revival in New Zealand.  In 1936 there was a young, apparently shy, minister there.  He heard some aborigine girls singing a song: “Farewell, goodbye.”  The tune went over and over in Bro Or’s mind.  It was early Sunday Morning that some words began to come to his mind.  He took an envelope out and started writing the song. 

The part of the song that speaks to me is: “Oh Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee.”  Sitting under an excellent preacher will not revive you.  It takes you being willing to be revived by the Tree of Life, by God the Father, and by Jesus the Son. 

If we were in a situation to have church from now to the last day of this year and if everyone worked hard at it, we couldn’t cover the greatness of the birth of Christ. 

Oh Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee.
Send a revival and start that work in me.

We don’t have much control over anyone else.  We can deal with our self.

May the tree of Life that God planted and sent, find us there often around the tree enjoying what is ours because God sent His only son.