Regaining Lost Ground

Pastor Shane Idleman: You bend, you break, you humble yourself, and I will honor that atmosphere. I will honor that environment. Lord, let your fire fall. Consume mediocrity, consume my carnality, crush my hypocrisy and my pride. He who yearns, he who thirsts, he who hungers shall be what? Filled, shall be satisfied.

Real hunger? We can say, "Yeah, I'm hungry." No, you know what real hunger looks like? You've got to find somewhere to eat. Real thirst? You have to find something to drink. Because it's not fulfilling. True fulfillment, true joy comes from being filled with God's Spirit.

Guest (Male): Thank you for joining us here at Westside Christian Fellowship, located in Leona Valley, California, one hour north of Los Angeles. Today on Regaining Lost Ground, we return for the conclusion of the message titled Let Revival Fire Fall. It is the final sermon in the series Theology on Fire.

Spirit-filled Pastor Samuel Chadwick, when commenting on revival, said, "Nothing would turn the nation back to God so surely and so quickly as a church that prayed and prevailed. The world will never believe in a religion in which there is no supernatural power. A rationalized faith, a socialized church, and a moralized gospel may gain applause, but they awaken no conviction and win no converts."

Be stirred to supernatural prayer-filled action with this fiery message from Pastor Shane as he walks through the importance of true devotion to Jesus and sounds the alarm for how crucial it is to heed God's call for revival. You can hear the whole message at Pastor Shane's YouTube and Rumble channels. Make sure to subscribe today. For more information, visit us online at westsidechristianfellowship.org. We also encourage you to hear more truth from Pastor Shane with the Idleman Unplugged weekly podcast. And now from Westside Christian Fellowship in Leona Valley, California, here's Pastor Shane Idleman.

Pastor Shane Idleman: He will baptize you with the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself said, "If you believe on me, as the Scripture say, out of your belly will flow rivers of living water." The prophet said, "His word is in my heart like a burning fire, shut up in my bones. I can't hold it back." If you have not experienced this, you might want to check your surrender. How many of you in this room can say that?

I don't say that to be mean, I say it to motivate. I say it to encourage you. If you can't say, "His word is in my heart like a burning fire," if you can't say, "When I believed on him, out of my belly flowed rivers of living water," then there's a kink in the water hose. There's a kink in the water hose. There's nothing coming out. The problem's not with the water, it's on. I truly believe that you have all of the Holy Spirit as a believer, but does he have all of you?

There are kinks in the water. We're not allowing it. Most of us know what that is. We say, "I know I need to [fill in the blank]. I know God wants me to [fill in the blank]." But Shane, it's my one little vice. We know what's preventing that outflow of the Holy Spirit, that downpour from coming in our lives. I believe God wants to challenge us this morning. He wants to challenge me. When he challenges me, I'm challenging you. How's that? Fair deal?

Jesus is coming. It just cracks me up because people will get offended by this title: He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. The Bible says that. To me, that's not just normal Christianity. That's not boring Christianity. That's the fire of the Holy Spirit. The fire is the anointing, the unction, the power of the Holy Spirit working through your life to make a difference in the lives of others. That can't be a selfish prayer.

"Lord, give me power so I have power." Give me the power. I believe that's one reason why many people don't experience the power of the Holy Spirit. "If I could just have healing, if I could just preach like that person, if I could just, oh, I would just be so great." We often want that power. But you've got to get to a point where you say, "I don't want the power, I want God. I don't want the gifts, I want the Gift Giver. I want to know you, God. Whatever you have for me, I want to know you." That's the person God will use.

When fire falls, it consumes the old and the spiritual life is reborn. When fire falls, it purifies and it removes contaminants. When fire falls, it changes the landscape forever. Another verse that's very relevant is Matthew 3:11. Check out this scene. John the Baptist is down at the Jordan River. He's baptizing people. He said, "I baptize you into repentance, repenting of your sin." But he said there's one coming after me whose sandals I can't even carry. What will he do? He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

It's funny how people mock that, yet it's in the Bible. A conservative church would never say that. Baptized by the Holy Spirit? Well, that's what the Bible says. I'm just reading the Bible. Now, people take that and they do weird things, things that are just not biblical. They do it in the name of the Holy Spirit. Oh, brother, you just need a baptism of the Spirit. We give it a wrong name. The bottom line is this: Jesus is coming. That's why he is called the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit.

He will overwhelm a person with God's power and God's presence. That's who's coming after me. John the Baptist says, "I am nothing. I'm a nobody. I'm just baptizing you into repentance. But when Jesus Christ comes, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit, which as a result is fire." If somebody's filled with the Holy Spirit, they're not going to be filled with ice. It's always fire, always filled with fire. That's why I did the study, Theology on Fire.

I do want to ask some questions I've asked before, and maybe in a different way. Bible student, have you received fire? Bible student, you know who you are. You love theology, but have you received fire? You love pneumatology, the study of the Spirit, but have you received the fire of that Spirit? You love to dissect Greek and Hebrew, but have you received that fire? Have you received this mighty filling of the Holy Spirit?

You know, it's so interesting. Many years ago, I think it was a hundred years ago when I'm reading some of these things back then, we do things a lot different now. Before they'll call—I know a church locally, I'm not going to say names—there was a position opened up many years ago. Youth, I believe it was, young adults. I went and said, "Hey, I might be interested. I believe God's calling me to this." Well, we can't even interview you. Why? Well, you didn't go to seminary. Oh, well, pardon me.

A hundred years ago, they would never ask that question. They asked one question: Has he received his baptism of fire? Theology is important, right? We all agree. I've got books to the ceiling. We study it. We love it. It's the study of God. But theology without fire is dead. Fire without theology is chaos and confusion. You have to have both. So there was a call: here's a pastor coming, okay, has he received what Jesus said, his baptism of fire?

I don't care if he has a PhD in church history. I don't care if he has a master's degree in hermeneutics and homiletics—I don't even know if they give that degree. They said, "Has he received his baptism of fire?" Because that's how you get the pew on fire—the pulpit has to be on fire. That's the only way. Because the fire of God, the fire of God works through an empty vessel who's broken before God and says, "God, unless you speak, I don't even want to go up there."

That fire that's in the heart, that burning fire that's burning and I can't shut up, that goes out and it sets the pew on fire. Then that pew sets the valley on fire. Then that valley sets the state on fire. Then the state sets the country on fire, and the revival fires are burning again because God brought the first flame. That's how it works. Has he received his baptism of fire? But have you? Mom, Dad? People say, "Well, you need that because you're a pastor."

I think I need that more as a parent. Pastor, you're preaching. Yeah, but you're a parent snapping at your children, yelling at your children, can't keep your emotions in control. How much more do you need the power of the Spirit in your family? I've got a couple hours on Sunday, but I've got a whole big week around people. Have you received that fire? Church member, have you received that fire? That's why I titled it Let Revival Fire Fall. You create the environment.

We forget that. Sometimes we pray and we tell God, "Lord, would you do this?" God says, "You provide the environment. I'll do it." How many people are praying but not obeying the word? James says those who hear but do not do are living in deception. They come to prayer meetings. "Shane, God's not answering my prayer." Well, are you a doer? Are you obeying? "Well, maybe someday." The answering comes after the obeying. Rebellious children think they can negotiate with God. It might work with your parents, but not with God.

You provide the fire and I will provide the sacrifice. There's even ministries that make fun of that song. You might not like it, I got it. There's preference. We love the old hymns, we love the new stuff. But I've noticed that those who poke fun at it have not received it. Those who don't like emotional songs, those who don't like things like this, have not experienced it. Because when you experience it, you love it. That's why those of you who've been saved and set free, you love Amazing Grace.

Go tell an unbeliever to listen to that. They'll be convicted and shut it off. Why? Because they've never experienced the amazing grace. It brings conviction and not comfort. And you have to pray so many—all the revivals I read about that I've been praying for, they start in the prayer closet. They start by men and women saying, "Lord, bend us. Break us. Let it begin with me. Let it begin in my home. Let it begin with me."

We've got to get our eyes off of California, off of Washington, off of whatever, and get our eyes fixed on who we are before God. Because God will say, "I'll take that one person." Gideon had thousands and thousands and thousands of his army. God said, "Get them down to three hundred." Three hundred? "Yeah, I just me and you." Actually, just God and Gideon would have been fine. Actually, just God would have been fine. So you and God are the majority.

That's why God says, "You bend, you break, you humble yourself, and I will honor that atmosphere. I will honor that environment. Lord, let your fire fall. Consume mediocrity, consume my carnality, crush my hypocrisy and my pride. He who yearns, he who thirsts, he who hungers shall be what? Filled, shall be satisfied. Real hunger? We can say, 'Yeah, I'm hungry.' No, you know what real hunger looks like? You've got to find somewhere to eat. Real thirst? You have to find something to drink."

I talk about it in my book, Desperate for More of God. Some of you remember this story. I headed out on the aqueduct for miles and miles, 15 miles, and I realized I was out of water. And I'm not drinking that. That branch is not treated yet. It hasn't gone through the treatment plant. So I'm out of water. By the time I get to my truck, you think I put my bike down and put the kickstand? I just dropped my bike, opened the truck, and just drank and drank and drank and drank.

Where's that passion for God? Where's that desire? "Lord, I want to drink. I thirst." He who thirsts for me will be filled. He who hungers for me will be satisfied. It's a deep yearning, a deep thirst. You can't just say it, you have to feel it. I want more of God or I don't want to have anything to do with religion. I want God's presence, I want God's power. That's why fasting is so important. You tell your flesh, "I smell the fajitas, but I want God more. I want God more."

"Lord, I'm going to deny the flesh to be filled with your Spirit." It's not some mystical thing, it's a denying of the flesh. That's why you often see fasting and prayer connected with revival. Because I can't pray well if I'm full and I've got grease dripping off my mouth and turkey on the plate—I'm so full. He says, starve yourself, starve your flesh, and then seek me with all of your heart. And you will be satisfied, you'll be full of my Spirit.

However, this is why a good majority of people leave Spirit-filled churches. They say, "I don't want fire, I want comfort. This Shane guy is trying to train me for the CrossFit games. I want to be a couch potato." You ever see those things? Those guys are crazy. But that's training. That's how we as Christians should be. Not physically, but there should be some soldier in you, some fight in you, some warfare. This is how we fight our battles—in worship and prayer with the fire of God.

This isn't a bad thing. Jesus received the fire of the Holy Spirit. Shane, can you prove that? Sure, just start in the gospels. After his baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus. *Epi*—it's a Greek preposition meaning upon—fully immersing Jesus in the power of the Spirit. He came up out of the wilderness after fasting and was filled with the Spirit of God. The fire of God. Everything he did, everything he touched, was because he was filled with God's Spirit.

We will never reach the level Christ was at because we don't know God's will. Sin is still in us and fighting against us, but we can be filled with God's Spirit. The Old Testament writers were just so convicting. They would say, "I set my heart on God. I set my heart on God. I engage my heart towards God." There's engaging, there's a setting that happens. Think about this for a minute. What man condemned to death would not fully surrender his life to the one who set him free?

All of us were condemned to death, were we not? Eternally. As believers, before we became believers. What person condemned to death, being set free eternally, not temporarily, being set free would not fully surrender their life and say, "Master, whatever you want me to do"? It's interesting, you'll see in recent translations they translate the word *doulos* to servant. The actual meaning is slave. *Doulos*. I will become your slave. The problem is we don't want a master because we want to be master.

We think God will ruin all the fun, God will take all my money, He'll put me in the mission field, and I'll just sit at home crabby, crabby, crabby. I've found the most people are crabby, crabby, crabby who haven't done that because it's not fulfilling. The true fulfillment, true joy comes from being filled with God's Spirit. When you wake up going, "I'm doing what God wants me to do." I reached out to that person like God wanted me to do. I went to the hospital homes like God wanted me to do.

I'm doing his will. I'm obeying his word. I'm raising my family. I'm leading people to the Lord. I'm loving God. I'm doing what God's called me to do. There's tremendous joy there. That's where you get joy. That's where joy comes from. Joy comes from obeying God and doing his will. And when the flesh takes over and says, "No, I don't want to do that. I'm going to do what I want to do," oh, miserable. I have no joy. I'm anxious. I'm irritable.

Oh, this stinks. But I'm a Christian, what's wrong? I know what I can do. I'll get a prescription or I'll drink, and we try to fill in that void and it doesn't work. It only works when a person surrenders everything. I've found that I don't worry about finances as much or my life as much or how things are going. "Well, Lord, you have this. That's your deal. That's yours. I'm just the slave. You're the master." So think about that this morning.

What man condemned to death would not fully surrender his life to the one who set him free? What we do usually, on the first of each month, is we have communion. We have communion at the front, we have communion up top at the balcony as well. During worship, I'm not going to come back up, but during worship, you come and you partake of communion. What we do is we look at what Christ has done. You know the songs we love to sing? Oh, the blood, oh, the blood.

What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. And we remember that time of communion. Communion's a wonderful opportunity to get back on track because Paul also says, do not take it in an unworthy manner. This is the time to do heart surgery. Don't go to your cardiologist, go to God on this kind. Don't get on a v-fib or an EKG or any of that. Go to God on this type of heart surgery and say, "God, cleanse me, clean me. Is there anything in here that's not right, that's not honoring you? I don't want to take communion in an unworthy manner."

For others, you go up and you take communion and you come back to your seat or whatever, you can stand, pray with your spouse, and you just want to be encouraged. Maybe you need to remember what Jesus did. Remember the cross. Remember how he died for us. And we remember. Isn't it important to go back and remember? Because we forget. Oh, that's right. That's why we're here. That's why we're here. Can you imagine if Jesus was out front on the cross like he was in that movie?

You might come a little different. I don't know if I could get through the front door, weeping. Weeping at the front entrance, weeping and saying, "Oh my God, not for me? For me?" And you see the risen—you see him before he's the risen Savior, you see him on the cross. Yeah, it would change your worship. There would not be a dry eye in this building. So that's what communion does. We remember this. We remember what happened.

Finally, as always, if you don't know Christ, if you have religion but not a relationship, if you've been going through the motions, if you've maybe been trusting in your parents' salvation or you're raised in a good Christian home or you went to a Christian school, you're going to have to do business with God individually.

Hello, this is Pastor Shane Idleman. I wanted to let our listeners know that due to budgeting issues, we will be removing Regaining Lost Ground from some of the radio stations that we currently air on. Therefore, to continue listening to the sermons, I want to encourage you to follow me and Westside Christian Fellowship on YouTube and Rumble today, as well as other social media platforms.

Again, due to budgeting issues, we will be removing Regaining Lost Ground from some of the stations that we currently air our program on. Therefore, to continue listening to the sermons, I want to encourage you to follow me as well as Westside Christian Fellowship on YouTube and Rumble and also follow us on all other social media platforms as well. If you have questions, please reach out to us at westsidechristianfellowship.org. Again, that's westsidechristianfellowship.org.

Westside Christian Fellowship is located 60 miles north of Los Angeles in Leona Valley, California. Thank you again for listening to today's message of Regaining Lost Ground, where we are reminded daily: times change, truth does not.