Revival and Sonship - Pastor Sandra Roach

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Thanks for listening, and we pray this message encourages you today.

Today we're going to um the title of my sermon is Revival or Sonship.

And if you're part of Summit Church Family, you know that it has been always been on my heart for the church to experience revival.

This past weekend the Lord spoke to me about revival and sonship.

It's not that you can have one or the other.

You see, you get all of him.

You don't get a part of him, you get all of him.

He brought you into himself.

And he came into you.

You see, revival relies on cycles of needing to be revived again and again.

Sonship breaks the cycle of needing God to revive his church again and again to continually pursue his presence.

You see, when we come in to fellowship with God, when we're born again, when we're born from above, we are born into his habitation.

And so we've been trying to get to where we are.

And it's my heart for the church to see that we're already there instead of striving.

Revival is to bring people back to God.

Sonship is to a continuous face-to-face relationship with Him.

Wow.

That's so good.

As I was standing in the sanctuary this weekend, in His presence, I was flooded with this reality.

You know, I for all of these years I have pursued, when I began to read about revival, even as a young woman, when I began to read about revival, I thought, oh God, I want to experience that in you.

That's not in church as usual.

I want to experience the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

I want to experience the flood of your glory.

I want to see waves of people coming into the kingdom of God.

Lord, it's my heart to see these things that I've read about.

Many of us have read about revival.

We've heard about revival.

We've longed for revival, but we've not experienced revival.

Revival has always been our cry to restore what seems to be lost.

But listen to the scripture.

John 1, 12 and 13 says this: But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

We were born of God, we became new creations.

Our DNA changed to heavens.

Heaven recognizes us.

We are no longer living down here.

The Bible tells us in Ephesians we're seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, far above all principalities and powers.

You see, we look down on what the enemy's doing.

We have authority, we have governance over what God has placed in us.

Hallelujah.

If you're visiting today, I want you to know that as a son or a daughter of God, he has placed you where you live to take authority over the works of the enemy and fulfill the call of God, and his glory will fill the earth.

The knowledge of his glory will fill the earth like waters cover the sea.

You know what that's like, sons and daughters knowing who they are.

We're just filling up the earth with the knowledge of who we are in him.

Hallelujah.

So why revival?

There are millions in the church crying out to God, begging him, Lord, send revival.

Why is that?

Do we need him to come and clean up the mess in the church?

That's not God's purpose for sending revival.

Is it because he wants more souls to come into the kingdom?

Beloved, revival isn't to bring souls in.

Revival is to awaken and breathe life on a dead church.

On those who are in the church that are just playing church instead of being the church, those who have fallen asleep.

Romans reminds us, awake, O sleeper, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you life.

This is glorious.

This is glorious news, but we're going after something and we don't know what it is.

Maybe revival is to heal the sick, to see sign, wonders, and miracles.

Is that what revival is about?

Do we need revival to be able to lay hands on the sick and see them recover?

Is that what revival is about?

So why does God send revival?

Because the church cries out, and we're sons and daughters.

He has greater, but he sends what we ask for.

You see, beloved, I want you to understand that there is a power.

You are created in his image.

Hear me say this: you're created in the very image of God.

He spoke, and the world came into existence.

The Bible tells us in Proverbs that you hold the power of life and death in your tongue.

Oh, we love to say that when we want something, but beloved, I want you to know this that He has put in us heaven.

Heaven is in us.

His spirit, the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead, dwells in our bodies.

He lives in us.

When we speak, he wants it to be according to his word, not according to what you heard someone say, what you heard that we needed.

Beloved, I want to tell you something.

Revival is for those who live in bondage.

Sonship is for those who attain to what God says about them.

Oh, this is this is this is powerful.

Am I cutting down revival?

No.

Don't get all upset.

Oh, she doesn't believe in revival anymore.

I want to tell you something.

I've seen moves of God, I've been part of moves of God, and then after it lifts, I've seen people go back to the way they used to be.

Same fear.

Come on.

Same bondage.

I've seen people go through what they call revival, and in two days they're back addicted to the things they were before revival.

Come on, church.

We need to be mature Christians.

We need to mature.

We need to walk fully in what God's word says.

So why does God send revival?

Because we ask Him.

And keep on asking.

The church has a revival mentality that believes it will fix everything that is wrong in the church.

Do you hear me?

We believe that it's the quick fix, it's the band-aid.

We need to get together and pray for revival.

And God doesn't send revival because a group of sons and daughters are sitting there praying for what they already have.

Oh, come on.

Friday night the Lord came and wrecked my view of revival and sonship.

So if revival is to restore what is lost in the church, what have we lost?

Let's talk about what maybe we've lost.

Have we lost sonship?

Is that what we've lost?

Have we lost our inheritance in Christ?

Have we lost the Holy Spirit?

Oh my, where is the Holy Spirit at?

We've lost the Holy Spirit.

You see, some of the church speaks this week.

Have we lost our ability to pray?

Have we lost our ability to hear from God?

These are questions that immature Christians ask all the time.

Why?

I used to think that the church was the way it was, that we were immature because we were raised in religion and we had to work for the love of God.

And we had to, after he saved us, then we had to work really, really hard to keep what he gave us.

And see, I was raised in that all my life.

I don't know what it's like to never be in church.

My dad was a pastor.

We were in church every time the doors were open.

And I got to be around a lot of really, really good religious people who taught me well to live in bondage to fear.

They were wonderful people, but guess what?

They were taught to live in bondage to fear.

Brothers and sisters, I feel the Holy Ghost today.

He's here to teach us some things.

A church that focuses more on more on events than on our identity as sons and daughters and our continual communion with the Holy Spirit.

Just constantly talking about the next event instead of you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

You are sons and daughters of the living God.

You carry within you his very glory.

You were born again unto the blood of Jesus.

My blood changed the day I was born again.

I was born from above.

I was born of God and not of man.

Hallelujah.

Glory to God.

Pastor, you're preaching like you're mad.

I'm preaching like I'm passionate about what the word says.

You see, we should be way beyond continually seeking revival and enjoy the fullness of abiding in Christ.

Oh, come on.

Don't get me wrong.

I love to be a part of the church that is full of the fire of God.

Amen.

Don't you love when the fire of God is present, when God begins to move and his fire comes?

That's an event.

I have chosen to carry his fire.

I have chosen every morning to get up and stoke the flames.

I just go into his presence and throw truth on my fire.

Come on.

And his fire begins to grow and get bigger and bigger.

Come on, church.

Well, I just, you know, I feel uncomfortable talking to people about Jesus.

Let me tell you something.

Why don't you just get the fire stirred up and show up?

Just show up, church.

Just show up.

And every word that comes out of your mouth will glorify him.

I've told you all this before, but there are some vesters here today.

So I feel like I have an opportunity to share again.

I went to a church that I was on staff with, and it was a church that I had to get out of to experience the presence of God.

And so they asked me to come back, and I did.

It was wonderful.

It was, I was, I was a youth pastor then, and it was wonderful hugging on these people and getting to fellowship with those that were teens and now they're grown up with their own families.

It was wonderful.

So I was talking to one of the ladies there, and she said, Listen, Sandra, do you have anything to say to me that doesn't have to do with Jesus?

I said, Why no?

He's my life.

Well, don't you think that's obnoxious?

No, I think it's my identity.

I'm a daughter and I like to talk about daddy a lot.

Hallelujah.

Praise the Lord.

So can the church be filled with the love and fire of God and not be what is classically termed in revival?

I've heard churches say that they've experienced revival.

When revival lifted, listen to this, this is horrifying.

When revival lifted, we had a smaller church than when we started.

The people were worn out from work and left.

Right there is your answer.

You see, in his presence is fullness of joy and life forevermore.

Oh, hallelujah.

It's not exhausting for me to be in his presence.

Glory to God.

I just get up, I close my door to my prayer closet, my prayer room, and I just get into his presence and it invigorates.

His presence invigorates me.

It's where I drink from the well of living water and get refreshed and get ready for the day, beloved.

The enemy comes in and says, This isn't working.

This prayer isn't working.

Look at what's going on.

This prayer isn't working.

I want to tell you something.

I'm not a person who gives up.

You hear me?

I am not a person that gives up.

I keep going.

You know why?

I keep my eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith.

Hallelujah.

Thank you, Lord.

Praise the Lord.

When would anyone who had a true had truly experienced the weightiness of God's presence, the incredible manifestation of the Holy Spirit, the love of the Father, leave under any circumstance?

I'll tell you.

I will tell you, hear me say this, church.

This is not from me, it is from the very mouth of God.

When you do not grow up your sons and daughters in your church, when you do not grow them up to know who they are, to abide in him, to walk daily in his presence.

When his weightiness comes, they can't hold it.

They can't carry it.

I believe with all of my heart we're getting ready to see the glory, the real glory of God, the true glory of God.

Not these crazy manifestations, this blah blah blah stuff.

Did you find out you got off the internet or whatever?

I'm not talking about that.

I believe that we're getting ready to walk in.

Somebody come on and walk through this door with me.

I believe we're getting ready to walk in to the greatest time that the glory is coming on the church of the living God, that the weightiness of his presence is coming.

Why?

Because we'll be grown up, because we'll be ready for him.

We'll be ready.

We want more, Lord.

We want more.

We're willing to be people of your presence.

Hallelujah.

Thank you, Lord.

You see, but we built a belief system on events that give highs instead of continuous presence.

We came into this room today, this sanctuary, this womb, where God's presence is and where he impregnates us with the word, and we become more like him.

Oh, Pastor, you're using weird language.

You better believe I am.

I'm using sons and daughter language.

I'm not using girlfriend, boyfriend language.

No, no, no.

Let me tell you something.

I ain't dating Jesus.

I am being prepared to be his bride.

Oh, hallelujah.

I'm gonna walk with him.

I'm gonna, I am made to be like him.

He doesn't want to come back for a baby, he doesn't want to come back for a carnal woman, he doesn't want to come back for a carnal man.

He wants to come back for a church, a bride, without spot or wrinkle.

And he made us that way.

And we've decided we have to work at it, and in working, the devil talked you out of it.

Okay, I'm gonna preach today if y'all don't care.

You see, when I came into this room with you, together, we worship God.

It wasn't an event.

It's sons and daughters who live a life of love, communion, and worship.

Absolutely.

Sons and daughters coming together.

I looked over at you.

You looked at me, we went, yeah.

Yeah.

See, if you just want a little bit, you're in the wrong place.

Because in the Church of the Living God, you get it all.

Go join a country club if you want a little dab of what God said.

If you're in it for fire insurance, go join a country club that has the as card holder.

We're a card holder, get out of jail.

We're a card holder, but we're not living in the fullness of who we are as sons or daughters.

I'm telling you, I want to be a daughter of the living God.

I am a daughter of the living God.

I am created in his image and his likeness, and it is beholden of me to speak like my father.

Hallelujah.

And the example I have been given is his son Jesus, who is our spiritual bridegroom.

Hallelujah.

Thank you, Lord.

You see, coming here to worship together as one.

Listen to this.

John 17.

Listen to this.

Jesus prayed this prayer for us.

I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one.

I am in them and you are in me.

May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much.

Can somebody say as much?

As you love me.

Hallelujah.

Praise the Lord.

Father, I want these whom you have given to me to be with me where I am.

Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved.

Me even before the world began.

Oh righteous father, the world doesn't know you, but I do.

And these disciples know you sent me.

I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so.

Then your love for me will be in them and I will be in them.

Listen to this.

He said, the glory, Jesus said, Father, the glory you have given me, because you loved me from the beginning, you have given to them the glory of God.

Beloved, the glory of God living in us.

That's Christ in you.

The expectancy of glory.

You see what?

I know the glory is there, but every day I'm expecting for the glory to show up.

I mean, when I talk to someone who needs a word from God, the glory of God shows up.

And we're still seeking what he prayed for us.

If you read John 15, you'll read about how we were created to abide in him.

And then you move over to John, John 17, and it's the prayer he prayed that we would be one with him.

The world would see and know that we are one with him.

Oh, hallelujah.

Do you believe that God answered Jesus' prayers?

Okay, I heard two people believe.

And I want to thank those two, but I'd like for the whole church to agree that if God is going to answer somebody's prayer, it's going to be Jesus.

Amen.

Come on, let's not get confused on this.

And he prayed it for us, beloved.

Hallelujah.

It was never God's plan anywhere in the Word of God that we build a relationship with Him around an event.

In 1995, I had a personal encounter with God, who had always loved me.

Holy Spirit spent one year teaching me.

You imagine that?

I would dream and I saw myself sitting on the side of a road, and people were walking by.

And the Holy Spirit came and sat down with me.

And he said, I'm going to teach you.

And I had my Bible opened, and all of a sudden, the words on the pages become gold.

And the Lord said, I'm going to teach you the glory of my word.

I'm going to teach you the value, the weightiness of my word, and that I want you to walk in it.

Hallelujah.

He taught me that I was a daughter of God, reconciled back to him through the blood of Jesus.

At no time has he turned his back on me.

Or you.

At no time has he turned his back on you.

No sin in my life has been powerful enough for him to quit loving me.

My, come on.

No failure could separate me from him.

And I was raised in a religion that taught me to fear that I might blow it and he would leave because he cannot be around sin.

He cannot.

He is so weak that he cannot be around sin.

Beloved, the Bible does not tell us that he is fragile, that he cannot be around me when sin is present.

Listen to this.

I'm going to read this to you out of Psalms 139.

I can never escape your spirit.

I can never get away from your presence.

If I go up to heaven, you're there.

If I go down to the grave, you're there.

If I ride on the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest ocean, even there, your hand will guide me and your strength will support me.

I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night.

But even in darkness, I cannot hide from you.

To you, the night shines as bright as day.

Darkness and light are the same to you.

Beloved, those times when you've been ashamed, you felt ashamed of things that you've done in your life and you thought God has given up on me.

He uh I've heard people say, well, I wouldn't go to church.

Why, why it would, people would be scared to death if I walked into church.

They would think something bad was going to happen if I came into church.

And you know what the Lord says?

And I'm celebrating because I'd been calling you to myself.

And I brought you to a place that didn't believe who that person was.

Come on, yeah.

Well, you wouldn't believe what they've been into.

I am not bel I am not moved by your past.

I am passionate about your future.

Oh, hallelujah.

Let me tell you something.

Your future is in him.

Your past is over.

Hallelujah.

I spent 22 years in pastoral ministry and years before that in parachurch ministry doing one thing.

One thing.

Teaching the church our identity in Christ and to know the love of God for you unconditionally.

Beloved, hear me say that.

The unconditional love of God.

Now the church has a problem with the phrase unconditional love of God.

We have a real problem with it.

Well, well, let's don't, we can't play around with sin, you know, if they're in sin.

You know, God don't love them if they're in sin.

Let me tell you about my my relationship with my children.

My daughter and my two sons.

If they were when they were young and they were ever going through a hard time, even now, if they're going through a hard time, and I begin to press in to pray, I seem to love them more than I ever have before.

I weep over them.

I talk to God about them.

I remind the Lord, remember the scripture you gave over their life.

I have a scripture for each one of my children.

Each one has a scripture.

And when the enemy comes to beat them up, I go back to that scripture and say, You remember, Lord, this is what you said about them.

I love them more.

If I'm that way as their mother, what is the father who created them in his own image and likeness?

Who made him to be like, I'm telling you, I want you to hear this today because somebody is going to be changed today from a religious mentality to a son and a daughter mentality.

Come on.

The devil wants to destroy you and make you believe that you're worthless, but I've come with a message from the one true living God.

And he said, I created you, I've kept you, even in your worst time, I've been there fighting for you.

Hallelujah.

See, we're not dogs and cats.

Although I've had a really good dog and a cat.

And, you know, I believe God has set a place for them.

Praise the Lord.

But I'm telling you, we're sons and daughters.

Humanity was created to be sons and daughters of the Most High God.

Come on, somebody.

Hallelujah.

Glory to God.

You see, beloved, that's the love of Christ in us.

How could I do that?

Because I came to know the one who loved me and never gave up on me, never turned his back on me when I sinned.

During that time, I was delivered.

Hear me say this.

During that year with the Holy Spirit, I was delivered of an orphan spirit.

I didn't have a deliverance team get me together in a room.

They had fasted and prayed because this could be a big one.

They didn't do that.

No.

Jesus came with the love of the Father.

And he showed me, girl, you're daddy's girl.

You're not some orphan, but you're living like an orphan because you believe he loves you conditionally.

Beloved, I want you to know he loves you with the unconditional, never-changing love of God.

Never-changing love of God.

That's how he loves you.

Hallelujah.

Praise you, Lord.

Hallelujah.

A dear friend of mine said to me these words yesterday.

We've prayed together for years.

And so sometimes I'll talk to her and we'll we'll I'll preach my sermon to her.

And she said this built within our DNA is a craving for fellowship.

With Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

There's a craving within us.

But how do we respond most often to the craving?

Entertainment, events, fun activities, and carnal counterfeits for time spent abiding in Christ.

So that's good.

I'm going to use that in my sermon.

Let me say this: nothing is wrong with events.

Nothing is wrong with fun activities.

You're in a city of fun activities.

And we hope you get to experience a bunch of them.

And spend you money while you're here.

Drop a little in for God too, praise the Lord.

But listen, when we're mature, when we're sons and daughters, we can do all of those things and still abide.

Abide in Christ.

Hallelujah.

You can actually do everything, and he'll be with you.

This is how we were meant to live.

You see, sons and daughters of God don't need to pray for a visitation of revival because they've already become a habitation for the Holy Spirit.

Do you hear that?

Why would we pray for something we have?

We pray for God, send a visitation.

We want you to come and visit your people.

And he's saying, I already have, and I call you a habitation of the Holy Spirit.

Hallelujah.

The truth is we carry within us a move of God.

Revival will last for a season.

Sonship will last for eternity.

So do we need, do we really need revival?

Yes.

For many, revival will ignite within the church a hunger for God.

But if we do not go beyond revival and teach sonship, we will become revival seekers, always crying out for another revival, another outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Beloved, I'm telling you, there was a time in my youth where we were going, every time God was moving somewhere, we were going to jump in the car and go experience the next great move of God.

I did that for Brownsville Revival.

Oh, I couldn't wait to get there.

Spend a week in Brownsville School of Revival.

It was glorious.

It was glorious.

But beloved, nothing compares to walking daily in the manifestation, the habitation of God in you.

Hallelujah.

Praise the name of the Lord.

We were created to live under the outpouring of glory.

Some of you don't understand that he's pouring out on you and you don't feel like you're getting wet.

And you're soaking wet and don't know it.

Come on, hallelujah.

You see, after the revival services are over, then people are seeking something else.

You see, the ascended meeting that was here on Friday and Saturday, it was called Revival Services.

Okay.

And then I had this encounter right here in a revival service where God began to speak to me.

And I tried to voice it, and I saw people looking at me like, you're seeing a dog hearing you.

And the Lord said, No, don't, you've not fully cooked on this yet.

Let's back her up.

So I had to back her up.

But you see, God came to reignite the fire of his presence on those who needed to return to truth.

That's what he did here.

My heart is for you to understand who you are.

That you live in the heart of the King.

He is inviting you to communion at his table forever.

Now, as I was praying through this, the Lord said, I want you to read this passage in the Bible that shows exactly what I'm describing to you today.

I want to read it to you.

It's found in 2 Samuel chapter 9.

2 Samuel 9 · chapter mention

One day David asked, Is anyone in Saul's family still alive?

Anyone to whom I will show kindness for Jonathan's sake?

He summons a man named Ziba, who had been one of Saul's servants.

Are you Zebba?

The king asked.

He said, Yes, sir.

Zebba replied, The king then asked him, Is anyone still alive from Saul's family?

If so, I want to show God's kindness to them.

Ziba replied, Yes.

One of Jonathan's sons is still alive.

He's a cripple in both feet.

Where is he?

The king asked.

In Lodabar.

Zebba told him, at the home of Mekair, son of Amil.

So David sent for him and brought him from Mekir's home.

His name was Mephibosheth.

He was Jonathan's son and Saul's grandson.

When he came to David, he bowed low to the ground in deep respect.

David said, Greetings, Mephibosheph.

And Mphibishef replied, I am your servant.

Don't be afraid, David said.

I intend to show kindness to you because of my promise to your father Jonathan.

I will give you all the property that once belonged to your grandfather Saul.

That's a lot of property.

Saul, the first king of Israel.

Wealth, honor.

And you will eat here with me from the king's table.

I hope you're hearing this, beloved.

Mephibosheth bowed respectfully and exclaimed, Who is your servant that you should show such kindness to a dead dog like me?

Then the king summoned Saul's servant Zibah and said, I have given your master's grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family.

You and your sons and servants are to farm the land for him to produce food for your master's household.

But Mephiboshef, your master's grandson, will eat here at my table.

Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

Ziba replied, Yes, my lord, the king, I am your servant and I will do all that you have commanded.

And from that time on Mephiboshef ate regularly at David's table, like one of the king's own sons.

Mephiboshef had a young son named Micah.

From then on, all the members of Ziba's household were Mephiboshef's servants.

And Mephiboshef, who was crippled in both feet, lived in Jerusalem and ate regularly at the king's table.

But did you hear what Mephiboshev said of himself?

He called himself a dead dog.

A dead dog was invited forever to eat at the king's table.

Beloved, I want you to know that that's a picture of the church right now.

We have been called to eat at the table of the Lord.

We have been called to abide with him forever.

We will never be withdrawn as long as we live here on this earth.

We abide in him.

And one day we will be with him.

We will step over.

This is so beautiful.

We'll step over.

And we'll be with him.

Well, Pastor, I don't want to die.

I got a lot of living to do.

No Christian should ever say that.

You don't realize that you will live forever.

You will live eternally with him.

I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go, I'll come again and receive you to myself.

Hallelujah.

Praise the Lord.

You see, David saw Mephiboshev and treated him as a son.

Seeing yourself as a son or a daughter of God will lead you into a life of complete communion with him.

That's who he called us to be.

That's what he said about us.

We we live with one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom of God, thinking this is how you do it.

Beloved, I want you to shake off.

Shake it off and step over fully into the kingdom of God.

That's your right, that's your inheritance.

You see, God called us to take land.

God called us here to take land.

Every step we take is God's feet taking the land.

Every word we speak is God's message to the land.

And it belongs to sons and daughters of God.

Hallelujah.

These people out here that are in need of a savior.

These people out here who are who are dying of drug addiction and addiction to pornography and and to uh people that are caught in sex trafficking, all of these things.

You see, that wasn't God's plan.

God's plan was for them to be a son or a daughter.

And so being filled with Him when we go out, we're coming in contact, His presence.

Always see yourself this way.

When you walk this earth, you are exuding His presence.

When you abide in Him, even if you don't abide, you're still You're still in.

If you said yes to the Lord, if you've been born from above.

Beloved, it's time for the church to mature.

It's time for us to grow up.