Labouring for Revival

Amos 9:13 says - "Behold, the days come, said the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that sows seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt". Charles Spurgeon commented on this verse, "Notice the activity of labour which is mentioned in the text. God does not promise that there shall be fruitful crops without labor; but here we find mention made of ploughmen, reapers, treaders of grapes, and sowers of seed. The ploughman does not wait, because the season has not yet come for him to plough, but by seeing that God is blessing the land, he has his plough ready, and no sooner is one harvest shouted home than he is ready to plough again. And so with the sower; he has not to prepare his basket and to collect his seed; but while he hears the shouts of the vintage, he is ready to go out to work". Let's be about the Father's business and reap a harvest in due season.

1859 Ulster Revival - Preparation

Mr James McQuilkin - who many of you may not have heard of, was a man used of God here in Ulster in the revival in 1859. He was converted in 1856 in Ballymena by the witness of an English lady who just spoke to him about the Lord Jesus, and later on James McQuilkin went on to lead three of his friends to the Lord Jesus Christ. The four of them were saved, very early in the faith, but all four of them agreed and covenanted together to meet every Friday evening for prayer and for Bible study. They chose an old school house near Kells in County Antrim, and during the winter of 1857 and 1858 each of them gathered an armful of peat and made their way to the school house every Friday evening. The peat warmed their bodies, and the fire of God coming down from heaven warmed their heart as they sought God's face for revival.

Intimacy or proximity?

Luke 10:38-42. Mary chose intimacy with Jesus - being with Jesus no matter what else was going on around her. Martha chose proximity with Jesus - there were in the same house but she was distracted by what she was doing. Jesus didn't scold Martha for working or doing what she was doing. He was scolding her for being distracted. Martha could have been doing all the things that she was doing and still chosen intimacy with Him but she chose to be distracted by her doing. As followers of Christ, we are not called to stop everything we are doing and live our whole lives in only contemplation. Contemplation is an important part of our relationship with God but that is not the ONLY way we can be intimate with Him. As followers of Christ we need to be choosing to be always with Jesus, no matter what we are doing.

Recline and be satisifed.

I read these comments recently taken from the Bible passage Psalm 23. Green pastures are a reflection of the spring rains. The cold days of winter have passed. This Psalm reminds me a lot of a feast found in Mark 6. In this passage, Jesus tries to get away for a little rest and solitude. (He is unsuccessful in his attempt.) As he gets out of the boat, he sees the crowd that has assembled on that hillside and his heart aches. It aches because “they were like sheep without a shepherd.” They were vulnerable, empty, and unsatisfied.After a brief (but significant) conversation with his disciples, he tells the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. I don’t think it is an accident that the Good Shepherd who is filled with compassion makes the people lie down in green pastures. (It was customary to recline while eating.) And then... The Great Shepherd (Heb 13:20) provides a feast that leads to satisfaction and leftovers!

The Father wants His house back!

Isaiah 57:6 says; “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations”. We also see in Matthew 21:13 that Jesus declared that His Father's house would not be given over to thieves but that it would be a house of prayer. We are delighted to announce our own House of Prayer initiative at Portadown Christian Centre. We are calling our new "prayer space" net316. It is situated at Glenmahon Park on the Tandragee Road(town centre side). We are obeying the command of scripture to Ask in His name. We want to see our land and nations changed. We understand that we can see this performed one soul at a time. Lets give the Father His house back so that every church whether denominational or non-denominational can be truely called a house of prayer.