Reviving and Restoring the Antioch Vision

Pr Jonathan Loh
02-07-2017

Christian life is not just attending a meeting or a service.

We are to encounter the Holy Spirit.

Those who come before God have to come with faith. With daith we can only find favour in God. Faith is believing when we cannot see.

Many are desiring the things that we can see. How many desire the things that cannot be seen?

Expect, pray for the unseen. That is the kingdom of God.

Joshua 14:6-9
6 Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea.

7 Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.

8 Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the Lord my God.

9 And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God.

Do you still remember the Lord's call for your life? Do you still remember the days when you were passionate to read the bible and to seek God's face? Do you still remember when the power of the Holy Spirit came upon you? Do you still remember the fire that you had for the Lord in sharing the gospel?

We are an antioch church. We had a vision and mission of reaching 30,000 souls for Christ.

But it is not about chasing numbers and figures. Rather, it is about obeying the Word of God. We are called to obey His Word. To obey is a blessing. Attending a service is an act of obedience. Come with an expectation and with a heart of obedience. It is not about how much you can offer. If you only value how much you offer to God, that is not favourable in the eyes of God. It is not about offering a small portion and expecting a greater return.

Obeying is greater than sacrifice.

The scripture says they sent out twelve spies to scout out the land. Caleb and Joshua said they should enter. The land is full of milk and honey. The other ten are like seeds without faith. They had the seed of unbelief and they believed that it is not possible. They thought that they would not be able to enter the promised land.

Many of us have the seed of unbelief planted inside of us. We water it, fertilise it and grow it.

Every time we say we are old, we are retiring, that it is up to the young generation, we end up being useless. We are already defeated.

Moses told Caleb that the land that your feet walk on, that the land shall be yours. God also told His people that they would inherit the land of Canaan.

The antioch vision would come to pass for you and your descendants.

Caleb already mentioned it 45 years ago. God gave him a life for the past 45 years.

Joshua 14:10-13
10 And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.

11 As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.

12 Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said.

13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance.

Old people are good examples.

Caleb was 85 years old when he finally entered the promised land.

Physically he was old but he's young inside. He said, "Lord, give me the mountain!"

When Caleb asked for the mountain, they were facing obstacles.

They came to Joshua by faith and said, "Give me the land."

It's well known that Joshua's shout brought down the walls of Jericho. During the battle against the Amalekites, Moses passed along the power of God through his raised hands.

This 85-year-old man saved the land for his descendants. This 85-year-old still remembered the Word from the Lord for his life.

We are here to fulfill the will of God through our obedience. We are here to obey and to see the Antioch vision come to pass.

Ministries and home fellowships do not grow because of our own disobedience. There is great disunity.

Unity is strength. Disunity is sadness. Disunity destroys the church. Disunity destroys the will and purposes of God.

This is the house of the Lord. This is the church that God had placed you in. Our future is in the Lord. This is our home.

Ask for the Lord. Ask for His kingdom instead of asking for material things.

Lord, send the spirit of Caleb to [Your church].

Inside all of us is a young heart. Make full use of your age, your energy and your passion. Enter the battlefield and fight for His kingdom.

Fill the world with the fruits of the Holy Spirit and the power of the Holy Spirit. That is the vision and dream from the Lord for us. That is the antioch vision.

Like Caleb was important to the young generation of his time, you are all so important to the young people. You are all spiritual parents. You are the future of the church. You are the future of His kingdom.

Lord, restore us with the passion for Your kingdom. Lord, revive us with fire once again.

Experience the reality and power of our God.

We are here for God's glory. [The church] is the glory for the Lord. [The church] is the [Lord's] glory for Malaysia. [The church] is the [Lord's] glory for the region and the world.