March 5th, 2023|WIC Weekly

WIC Weekly March 5th 2023

Warsaw International Church

Mobile +48 601 331 032

Worship every Sunday at ul. Miodowa 21 (near Old Town) at 11:00 AM

Entrance from Schillera Street

Email: pastor@wic.org.pl

Website: http://www.wic.org.pl

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WIC WEEKLY 5 MARCH 2023 FROM PASTOR HARRY

Spiritual Nourishment

We Can Have A Revival Greater Than Pentecost by Hyman J. Appelman

Only a sweeping religious awakening will bring God back and save our land. We need a religious awakening that will expose the bitter, devilish, hell-begotten evil of sin! But how may we have such a religious awakening?

As in the time of Samuel, as in the time of Ezra, as in the time of Elijah, as in the time of Jehoshaphat, as in the time of Luther, as in the time of Knox, as in the time of Wesley, as in the time of Moody, there must be a general, sincere renunciation of every known sin.

No great revival ever began without that repentance and confession. Judgment must begin at the house of the Lord – with yourself and myself, dear fellow Christian. How can we expect sinners to get right if we ourselves who claim to be the children of God are not right? We must empty our hearts if we expect God to fill them. “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Pet. 4:17).

Oceans of Intercessory Tears

As Moses prayed at the Red Sea, as Joshua prayed before the walls of Jericho, as Elijah cried on Mt. Carmel, as Jesus wept in Gethsemane, as Paul and Silas lifted their voices in supplication in Philippi, we, too, must take hold of the horns of the altar of grace and pour out the tidal wave of agonizing supplication and intercession that will constrain God to do His mighty works on our behalf!

Oh, brethren! Oh, sisters! We must pray! We must pray alone; we must pray in groups; we must come to the prayer meetings; we must pray in the secrecy of our own closets. We must pray for ourselves. We must agonize for each other. We must intercede for our Christian leaders and workers! “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Eph. 6:18).

We must baptize our communities, our cities, our nation, this world, in an ocean of intercessory tears – as we plead the promises of God and the blood of Jesus Christ for the salvation of a lost world rushing on to hell. We must pray down a soul-saving revival! “...As soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children” (Isa. 66:8).

A congregation can do it. “If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chr. 7:14).

Two Christians can do it. “...If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 18:19).

One saint of God taking hold of the altar of grace and hanging on can pray through to victory. “...The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (Jas. 5:16).

But oh, what more can be done when all of us repent of our sins, rededicate ourselves to the Lord, and again renew our prayer covenant with God and with each other! I tell you, we’d have a revival that would be greater than Pentecost! God give us the grace to pay the price in repentance, in dedication, in supplication – that Pentecost might be repeated in our life and in our time, in Jesus’ dear name.

Our News

Last Sunday we broke another attendance record for recent times, with 75 at the worship service. People are hungry for the Word and for worship. We particularly welcomed two Muslims – from India and Mozambique. They said that they believe that Jesus is the Saviour. That is good to hear. But then they cannot at the same time say that God did not come to earth as a man, Jesus. That’s because only God can save a person, and if their faith really teaches that Jesus is the Saviour, then logically the Muslims should believe that Jesus is God. One man cannot save another man.

Last Sunday the new Church Council held its first meeting right after the service. It’s good to see several fresh faces among them – all of them being members who are already serving us actively in their different capacities. Together with our many skills and interests we can help steer the church according to the vision that the Lord gives us.

I haven’t heard much about what’s been happening in the USA this last week since the President of Asbury University closed the worship there. Some people are saying that wasn’t the right decision, because it “quenched the Spirit”. They point to the fact that in the 1970s, during the “Jesus revolution” when many hippies came to Christ in California due to one pastor’s efforts (as you’ll be able to see in the forthcoming movie “Jesus Revolution”), that pastor (Chuck Smith) encountered much opposition in his own church after loads of long-haired drug takers started attending the services. However, he didn’t give in to their pressure, and very many young people became committed Christians, going on to become pastors and missionaries themselves.

Our young people’s home group is also doing well, with 15 attending the last meeting.

Christian Films

Watch wonderful free Christian films of hope and encouragement! They include films about the life of Jesus, testimonies of Christians who have suffered persecution, and excellent cartoon films for both children and adults on Christian spiritual reformers and missionaries. The link is: https://www.vm1.tv/

Prayer Requests

We’re all encouraged by the continuing increase in attendance at services. Perhaps the Spirit of revival is starting to blow over from Asbury. In any case, the attitude to have is that “revival is a man called Jesus whom we never cease to worship”. To worship the Lord is to be in heaven, and heaven can be around us here on earth. Let’s pray that we ourselves may rest in such a state, and then we’ll be encouraged in every situation. Pray for a great spiritual awakening in our own countries, in Poland and Warsaw, and particularly among English-speaking foreigners in Warsaw, who are our main participants at services.

May we pray against all powers and principalities of the devil, by crying out to Christ for mercy and victory over the enemy. May Christ free those who are clogged up by their sins and cannot see the truth of God’s love and goodness. Everyone who hasn’t been born again is in captivity to Satan. May we love them and pray for their regeneration.

Last Sunday’s sermon was preached by Pastor Harry on further reflections on the Asbury revival (Isaiah 64:1-9)

Why has there been no significant spiritual awakening in our times? There used to be mighty awakenings in past times. Hundreds of thousands of people would come to the Lord during a particular awakening. Their lives would be permanently changed. Even unbelievers would sense the presence of God in a town or area even before they got to it! In a great awakening in America over 200 years ago, people on board ships a couple of hundred miles from the coast were converted, not even knowing about the awakening taking place on the land! But in our days, for a very, very long time now, no great movement of God has occurred. It’s as if He’s given up on us. We Christians feel so dry, so isolated, so desperate to experience the presence of the Lord.

And now, all of a sudden, something strange and special seems to have taken place at Asbury University in the USA. Students couldn’t stop their morning worship service. Before long, people from all age groups and from all over the world were flocking to be in the presence of God in the auditorium where this was happening. People who know nothing about revivals were asking why this should be taking place in such an insignificant small-town university. But those who had some knowledge about the history of spiritual awakenings were not at all surprised, because Asbury University has a rich tradition of revivals.

What was different this time was that Christians all over the world immediately got to hear about it, because of the influence of the social media and the Internet. And also because so many people are just desperate for God to show up. The state of the world is going from bad to worse. All we hear about is Putin, earthquakes, pandemics and other natural disasters. On top of all that, the Body of Christ isn’t in good shape, especially among leaders. Pedophilia; sexual deviation and immorality; financial greed; alliances formed with political parties; and preaching unbiblical doctrines – all these have had the effect that so many people – especially the young – want nothing more to do with the church.

So those Christians who are still left are everywhere crying out for God to reveal Himself anew. They are so desperate that no one any longer pays attention to theological differences. The various churches are seen as putting up barriers that separate one Christian from another. People no longer want that. Does it matter to me if you are a Baptist or a Methodist, or charismatic or evangelical? It doesn’t matter how we worship, as long as we worship together in harmony and unity – and that’s what’s been happening at Asbury.

There wasn’t even that much preaching of the Gospel. Instead, Jesus was the Gospel Himself, and all the hymns and songs were about Him. It was a unifying Jesus movement – and then the university president decided to shut it down, because the university and the small town just couldn’t cope with the overwhelming number of pilgrims coming in from all parts of the world. It was disrupting the life of the students too, who have exams coming up. The headlines in the media were: “President ends revival on Thursday”.

But can you actually end a revival? Do you remember how, in Acts 5, the Jewish High Council wanted to kill the apostles for accusing them of putting the Messiah to death? One respected member of the Council – Gamaliel – told the Council to leave the Christians alone. Because if they weren’t from God, their movement would collapse. But if they were from God, the Jews wouldn’t succeed in overthrowing them, because they would be fighting against God!

Now, I think that’s excellent advice. If what happened at Asbury was just built on emotions, then it would be not much different from worship in any charismatic church – except that the worship service lasted for two weeks! But if this is just the beginning of a truly amazing movement of the Holy Spirit, then it will spread round the world and no one will be able to stop it. You can’t stop a movement of God if God decides to move!

So it makes us all the more desperate to see a movement of God right here, in Warsaw International Church, now that we’ve seen a little of what it could look like. And we can perfectly understand the mood of the prophet Isaiah in today’s reading: “Oh, that You would burst from the heavens and come down!” “Your coming would make the nations tremble”. But Isaiah tells us to be patient and wait: “You are a God who works for those who wait for Him”. What does that mean?

It means that if we don’t wait for God, and stop praying to Him, if we lose patience with Him, then we stop expecting Him to come – and we turn away from Him. That’s the worst thing we could possibly do, because God isn’t going to work for us if we don’t wait for Him! Our business is to desire Him and seek Him with all our hearts, as we pray to Him with ever greater hunger.

Isaiah says that God has been very angry with His people – that’s you and me – because we are constant sinners. Even as Christians! How many of us can really, honestly, say that our hearts are on fire for the Lord? I’ll leave that thought with you. We are all infected and impure with sin; and even when we display our righteous, godly deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Our sins sweep us away like the wind – yet no one calls on the Lord or pleads with Him for mercy. That is so tragic – and it leads to Isaiah’s terrible conclusion: “Therefore, You, Lord, have turned away from us, and handed us over to our sins”. So it’s not that we sin because God doesn’t come us; but rather the other way round: God doesn’t come to us, because we sin.

So you see: we are still not close enough to God. Maybe we have good worship, like those thousands of people at Asbury – but how deep does it really go? Are we repenting of our sins? Are our sins humiliating us, making us weep with shame? Or do we think we are OK with God, and others are the ones who are sinning? Nice songs about Jesus can sound good on our lips – but what counts is that the Lord transforms us into totally new creatures, where sin has no more place, and holiness reigns. When that happens, we will have a true spiritual awakening.

But don’t despair that Asbury seems to be over. It could be just the beginning of what the Lord is going to do in the lives of His children. We are even more thirsty and desperate now than before, and this will continue until the rain falls down on us from heaven. The promise is in the next hymn we’re going to sing: “I Will Make The Darkness Light Before Thee”. The ”high place” in that hymn represents our deepest sins, which only God can remove – and He will. Every single line of this hymn is a promise from God, of what He’s going to do in the lives of His children. Sing it carefully, and apply each line to yourself. Amen.

Readings and Hymns for the 5 March service

Verse for the week: “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).

Theme: You can’t change the past, but Jesus can change your present and future.

Psalm: 86 (selected verses)

Reading: Matthew 11:20-30 (CEV)

Offering verses: Luke 6:37-38

Hymns:

(At start) Hosanna, Hosanna

[:Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest:]

Lord, we lift up Your name,

With hearts full of praise.

Be exalted, O Lord my God,

Hosanna in the highest.

[:Glory, glory, glory to the King of kings:]

Lord, we lift up Your name,

With hearts full of praise.

Be exalted, O Lord my God,

Glory to the King of kings.

O God You Are My God

[:O God, You are my God,

And I will ever praise You:]

I will seek You in the morning

And I will learn to walk in Your ways

And step by step You’ll lead me,

And I will follow You all of my days.

Praise Him, Praise Him

Praise Him, praise Him,

Praise Him with your song,

Praise Him, praise Him,

Praise Him all day long!

[chorus] For the Lord is worthy,

Worthy to receive our praise,

For the Lord is worthy,

Worthy to receive our praise

Praise, praise Him, praise Him,

Praise Him with your heart,

Praise Him, praise Him,

Give Him all you are

Praise, praise Him, praise Him,

Praise Him with your life,

Praise Him, praise Him,

Lift His name up high.

Holy Ground

We are standing on holy ground,

And I know that there are angels all around;

Let us praise Jesus now,

We are standing in His presence

On holy ground.

(After sermon) How Great Thou Art

O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder

Consider all the works Thy hand hath made,

I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,

The power throughout the universe displayed;

[chorus] [:Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!:]

When through the woods and forest glades I wander

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;

When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,

And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze;

And when I think that God His Son not sparing,

Sent Him to die – I scarce can take it in,

That on the cross my burden gladly bearing,

He bled and died to take away my sin:

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation

And take me home – what joy shall fill my heart!

Then shall I bow in humble adoration

And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!

(At end) Blessed Be The Name

O for a thousand tongues to sing,