The church of God will continually fall away from the steadfastness in the faith. Those who cannot be faithful to God under temptations to disobey him are not worthy of his kingdom. So God allows evil men to come among his people who would lead them away from God and his order, to try to test who among them are faithful and true to him...

Where was God in all this? How many of us have thought this? It would be easier if the wicked were punished immediately. If i could see their failure and then their punishment results. The Psalmist then tells us of his observations, life isn't fair, you can do good, you can be faithful, you can still fall on hard times, maybe even more difficult times...the scales are not balanced.

Maybe you have said to your self, " If Jesus was really who he said he was, how come everyone didn't believe him? Why did the religious leaders reject his message?" This questions rings across centuries.

Don't let your freedom in Christ dilute your words. The person you most influence is closest to you. How many times do you really have the answer but because of the lack of witness in your own life your words fall to the ground. Why is no one listening?? Could it be your words not lining up with your walk?

Have you ever encountered an area in your life where you seemingly keep being tempted and tried? Many times we would think it was Satan himself tempting us. We blame everything on him and think to ourselves, "He's trying to get me!" Or you may even think you need deliverance to get free?? You need to break through so you can break free! This may be the season for victory in this area of your life.

Revivalists of the past preached, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God!" or "Without Holiness, No one Will See God!" A sermon with that title today would shock most of the conscience of the American church. We need preachers that will come out of their prayer closet on fire with a message from heaven. John Burton says, "We should preach in such a way that people either hate you or fall in love with Jesus."

He desires to have you! It's not about what you can get or gain, but your desire should be to have Him. Like a waiting virgin, pure, holy, un-defiled. You would say, "That's Not Me!" But He says, "Yes it's You!" That's what is so spectacular about Him. He is waiting for you and has adorned you and graced you in His Holiness. We must remain pledged to Him alone. He is preparing His Bride the Church for a wedding.

The Holy Spirit needs a vessel to flow through. That vessel is usually a frail, flawed human being. The problem isn't the message of revival, the problem is that people who love God are prone to be fickle and are easily discouraged by hard circumstances which will come in full force during a revival. Revival is God moving within frail, human vessels. In most examples of supernatural activity in the Bible, God needed a willing vessel. Are you ready for the good in revival and the bad in revival?

What exactly does it mean to "raise and Ebenezer?" This name comes up exactly three times in the Old Testament. Two of those times the name comes up to simply identify a specific place for specific events, but the most important occurrence of this word is right here in 1 Samuel 7:12.

Let's be honest, the God of the Bible and His Word can be disturbing, offensive and challenging to even the brightest mind. At times, we may even feel that this God of the Bible is embarrassing. The truth is, our God is who He claims to be and He doesn't apologize or make any excuses for His behavior. His ways are higher than our ways! The test of our faith is fully trusting in this God that we are barely able to comprehended. Audio insert clip: Francis Chan