Roadside revival - Bro Caleb Roadcap 12-17-2023

When they spread their clothes in the way, and when he was come nigh.

Even now at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude

of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice, all

the Mighty for all the mighty works that they had seen. Let us pray

this portion of scripture. Most of us, if not all of us,

should be very familiar with this. This is the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ,

right before he's beaten, right before he's crucified. It is recorded in

all four of the Gospels. And but leading us up to this, I

want to go back to chapter one of Luke and look at some events that

lead up to this point. And all these things are gonna tie together into

this this thought that I've had about roadside revival. If you've ever seen a

roadside tent meeting, or maybe some other kind of roadside attraction, most of

the time it will catch your eye, you'll notice it, and it'll demand

your attention. This is because it interrupts the normal or the expected of what

you're seeing. If you're driving past these empty fields, or you know,

you just see some trees, maybe up north you see some cornfields and then

seemingly a random tent. It's gonna grab your attention. You're gonna wonder what's

going on over there. And if you're Black, Brother Road Cafe, maybe

you're in somebody. And if you don't know that story, you should ask

them after church. If you're driving down the residential street, there you'll see

some empty yards and you'll see maybe some kids playing, but then all of

a sudden you'll see tables and you'll see things spread out in people shop and

that'll grab your eye. And for the treasure seekers among us, you want

to stop and you want to see what you can find. And this time

of year, we got the Christmas lights and you be driving down there's some

of those people that they're bringing to you, like Brother Rocap talked about,

and they don't decorate, they're not festive. But then there's those houses that

they're all decked out, and it just grabs your attention. And it's something

on the roads and it then demands your attention and it catches your eye.

And truly, on this road of life, there are many things that are

gonna pop up and they're gonna demand our attention. There's so many things in

life that they're gonna arise, and we've thought where there we react to it

somehow. It may be the birth of a child like we've experienced recently.

It might be the death and the family. It might be a medicor or

financial need. Like Pastor preaches, it's always something. There's always something that

is gonna come up. In Luke chapter one, we read about Mary.

She's a young girl and she's she's serving the Lord the way that they knew,

how she's serving the Lord, the way that he commanded the Jews.

She was doing daily what she was required of, what she was requested to

do at home, and all of a sudden, the Angel came and her

life truly was interrupted. In verse twenty eight, Gabriel, the Angel appeared

under her, and he told her that her life was gonna be forever changed.

And as I was thinking on this event, my mind went back to

when Sister Howe taught the two Sunday school classes together, the young adult and

the Youth, and we were doing a Sunday School series on remember that Creator

in the days of that Youth, and she got it talking about marry one

of the one of the lessons and how she was a young girl. She

was a young lady, but yet she served God in such a way.

She was obedient. She lived her life in such a way that God could

use her. And for all of us, no matter what your age is,

then we live in such a way that God can use us. Why

But so the angel came and it was her life changed. She was going

about her normal day, She was going about her normal routine. It was

on her road of life, and all of a sudden it popped up out

and know her an angel, a light from God saying something's about a change

in your life. And Luke chapter two, we go over and we read

about the shepherds. Now, real quick, I want to define a revival.

It can be there's a few different definitions, and it might mean something

different for each one of us. But it could be an improvement in the

condition or the strength of something. Number two, it can be an instance

of something becoming popular, active, or importance. Again, it can mean

a restoration, a rebirth, or a reawakening. Now, using my mind,

the Bible says that these shepherds were watching their flocks over the sheet,

and it was by night. And I got to think, and maybe they

were used to this being up all night. Maybe they took shifts, but

I imagine if it somebody like me, somebody like some of us, they

probably got tired, they probably started getting sleepy. It's just the same old,

same old. But then all of a sudden, can you imagine the

angel hears And I don't know that that would shock me. Have you ever

been on the road and God forbid, but you kind of get sleepy and

all of a sudden somebody something happens and it jerks you awaken. You're good

for a while. I believe that these shepherds got a jerk awake. There

was a road side of revival. They were reawakened, they were awoke,

they were you know, brought back to brought back to their consciousness. The

scene of the stars, the moon, the sheep, the fields, it

was all all of a sudden that God, the Angel from God came in

and demanded their attention. And just like Mary, their lives were changed in

that moment. And revival it changes our lives. They just had to change

our lives. That's what Jesus did throughout his whole life and his ministry,

and that's what he continues to do. Today. You know, he traveled

through those towns and villages and it was outside, it was here and there.

You know, that's just being a normal townsperson and there's a crowd of

people. That's a roadside attraction. You see, Jesus only won your healing.

God healed, he raised people from the dead. He did so much.

We all know about the things that he's done and that he did.

And you know those roadside of revivals they broke out when Jesus came through.

Got to thinking about the way that this servant was coming about for me was

last in preparation for last Sunday going into a mockly. I was pat it

on my heart about when Philip rans that Ethiopian Eunich, who was in his

chariot head home. This man he came to Jerusalem and he was he came

to worship, and now he was on his way home. He's just going

about his day. He's traveling and the spirit of God both the apostle Philip

to running to catch up to him, and that in itself is something awesome

that he could run and catch off with a chariot. But he comes and

the man's reading the scriptures. Aunt Philip asked him, you know, what

is it that you read? And he says, and he says, but

I don't understand what you know. I don't understand who's this prophet talking about.

And I love that Verson says that Philip preached unto him Jesus and as

he went out there, that's what I told. That's what you know.

We tried to tell those people as you're going about your day, but here's

a roadside attraction, here's something that's breaking up the normal, and we want

to tell you about Jesus. And then brother Nathaniel Wednesday night, as the

as the Lord had knew so mightily towards the end, he was obeying the

Lord, and he was saying, make way for the King, make way

for the King. And my mind went back to this that we read about

Jesus coming through in his triumphal jury. And and then some of the readers

you may have already thought about the apostle Paul and how he was on his

way. He was on the road when all of a sudden that that bright

light it shown, and it demanded his attention and knocked him off his high

horse, and it caused him to be blind and his life changed, his

life changed completely. I got to thinking about Lydia by the riverside in Philippi,

how they were having their normal Sabbath paramede. But then the apostle Paul

came as laid by the Lord, and he told them about a better way

if you would, about Jesus, and they were baptized, and how God

used them, used her specifically. You know, God has a way of

showing up and interrupting our routines. He offers something more. He shows us

a change in direction for our lives, even our ministries to go about.

I didn't ask God to be a preacher. I didn't if I could say,

I didn't want to, I didn't watch it. But when he shows

up, when he demands your attention, when he begins to call you,

when he changes your life, you just need to go with it. I

got to thinking there's you know, billboards, carnivals, there's so many things

that you know, there are the lights, it's different, It demands your

attention and many things that Some things offer things that are good. You know,

you see McDonald's billboard and you want to fra pay. That's that's something

good. But then there's those billboards on the road that they offer things that

aren't good and it's not secing that we should be, you know, paying

attention to. Also though in life, there's like brother Rodcap talked about,

there's people that are gonna have attitudes and emotions. It's gonna flare up,

it's gonna pop up seemingly out of nowhere, and it's gonna demand a reaction.

And like pastors talked about, your reaction, it means something, and

it'll either show that you're strong in Christ or that you're weak in the flesh.

And that's something that if we can talk to hold, is that something

we need to be careful about, is how are we portraying Jesus to these

people that people in our regular everyday life. If it's a road, it's

if you can say it's a roadside pop up, it's a it's something when

out of nowhere somebody gets mad at you for cutting them off anything. We

just gotta be careful how we show Jesus. I believe all of us we

understand that there are there are chances on this road for revival, but there's

also chances for ruin. I'm sure many of us have been in a car

accident. Sometimes. I'm sure all of us have witnessed a car accident,

seen it one Timothy one to nineteen. This first got in my heart and

says, holding faith and a good conscience, which some haven't put away concerning

faith, have made shipwreck. If you're holding faith, I think of it

as holding your steering room. If you let go of it, if you

put it away, you're gonna make shipwreck. You're gonna get in an accident.

On this road. There's you can have revival, you can have ruined.

The Lord also began to deal with me though that there are, and

I believe it to be more often than not, that we must be in

search of what we're after. God will, God will send that message.

God the Holy Ghost will interrupt the service to get our attention. He'll pull

for us, he'll draw for us. But you know, really, the

true believer, the belief, the ones that know about what we need to

be in search of what we're after. We need to be seeking for it.

Whatever revival means to you right now, whether it's the Holy Ghost,

whether it's healing, whether it's a meeting of any need that you have,

we've got to interrupt our own cycle of daily life. We've gotta be the

the billboard that's set. We've got to put it in there that hey,

I need to pray, Hey I need to seek boar, Hey, I

need to search see God and see what he's saying for us up north,

especially in the summer. Some of us have done it. We're on Saturdays.

You get in the garden, you go looking for that guard self,

you go out looking for that garbage show, and see what you can find.

You know when you go out what you're looking for. And I was

thinking about the wise men, how the shepherds, they were interrupted. They

were surprised. Mary, she was interrupted, She was surprised. But those

wise men, they knew what it was that they were looking for. They

saw the star, and they went seeking, and they went looking, and

they had to push into that. And I just want to read this.

There's a song that says that the wise men still seek him. It says

for years they must have watched the heavens day and night. How else would

they have known that a new star was in sight. It wasn't in the

paper, it wasn't advertised. Not really sure how they did, but somehow

they got wise. They rode their camels across the desert, gird and sand.

They couldn't fly. You know, there was no planes back then.

When they met old Heron, who was out to steal their joy. I

appreciate that Sunday school lesson. This morning they brushed off old Herod and found

God's baby boy. Well, today we traveled different, but were wise men

justice Dame still talking about the old days and that blessed night he came.

I heard it's out there and he's trying to deceive. But a whole low

full of heroits can't stop those who believe. Wise men still seek him,

those on earth who realize how much they need him, following Jesus wherever it

may lead them, wise men still seek him. They're looking for that river

that never will run dry, the one and the only one who can bring

meaning to their life. They're searching for the only way through Heaven's open door,

bringing gifts to offer him, just like they did before. How much

more in the spiritual should we be seeking? Should we be looking for that

that's to come. I don't believe we've worn it out, But God has

said to seek him. God has said, to mock and it'll be open

there's still a door of opportunity. And I believe that without a shadow of

a doubt. There's those of us who do come expecting that without of a

doubt, God is bigger and better than our expectations, and he will do

more than what we expect. A surprised and isn't a surprise when you come

looking for it? I said, a surprise interruption looking for God to move

what he does. It's not a surprise. What do you say looking for

it when you're prepare in your heart for it an answer to your prayer.

It's not really a surprise when you've been looking for it on with your own

heart. You have chased after this and sought for it. Keep going what

God just bent you to do. Many times, you're the one that has

to first break the cycle. You're the one that has to put up that

detour sign in your own life and change and interrupt your regular life. Real

Jesse, I got to think of all I had was my story. Right

right before I turned nineteen, I believe it was nineteen. I knew that

I needed a change my life, just the the cycles, the not really

getting anywhere really with God. I knew that I had to make a change,

and the revivals the richer. There's so many. All pastors told you

what you need to do for me when they got to hitting praying at home,

seeking at home, doing the work at home, working for it,

that was me. That's what I needed and that's what I began to do.

And when I broke discycles, when I started praying more, when I

started earnestly seeking. It wasn't but a little over a month that the Lord

killed me with the Holy ghost that he's completely changed my life. If we

could all stand here, we are coming out of a series of revival services,

though we've been in the revival spirit, and it can seems with us.

Did you go in expecting our daily routines? They were interrupted for a

little over a week as we we came to church every service, But was

anything other that you're eating, you're sleeping, and your shopping schedule changed?

And I don't mean that in a mean spirit to be rude. I ask

myself these questions, did anything in my life change besides my sleep habits,

my shopping habits, and I eating habits when I eating just because I look

things for later in the evening. Again, this is a spiritual bathway this

road of life. There's many opportunities for revival, but there's opportunities for ruin.

There's things that will, without a doubt pop up in this life.

You either need to reject the ruin. You need to accept the opportunity that

God has for us. Because there's also a time when this road ends.

So we need to make way for the King while we can, and while

there's time, and come to the auldiers, search your hearts. God wants

to give somebody a road side revival, but you've got to break the cycle

in your life. You've got to be the one that besides that, I'll

stop and I'll see, and i'll heat and I'll heal to what God is

doing for me right now and what he's calling and what he's what He's providing

this opportunity that I have. God bless each morning. Change me, change

says changed changs and it's a home resly like a ball. You want to

agree, Oh, I have just said I'm not satisfied, Lisa, the

change the sord m hm, oh, chase me, chased me. Let

me say this. I like what it said. Anything we don't say so

we say change me as not mean to lead change me, change me.

No be standing the same, want to be. You'recking you want to change

than twenty three