"Our vengeance is revival!"

I don’t normally listen to sermon podcasts or watch videos. I may be an oddball about that. I am a reader. When I do listen to podcasts, they’re more news-oriented.. or about a Bigfoot sighting.

However, one of my friends is the Executive Pastor at Lakepointe in Texas. On Facebook, he recommended a sermon that his pastor, Josh Howerton, preached this past Sunday. Tim doesn’t normally recommend sermons, and I just finished listening to it (after telling you I normally don't!).

It's powerful - but especially the part where he addresses our culture (which I’ve clipped below):

This past Sunday, I was not scheduled to preach. I was in Little Rock last Friday to officiate the funeral and graveside of my father. However, after all the events last week, I knew I needed to shepherd my church with words of hope, encouragement, exhortation and prayer. Here is my brief message:

In Josh’s message, he urged followers of Jesus to do as followers of Jesus were commanded to do - love our enemies.

“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” (Matthew 5:43-44)

The best response of the Christian church is to devote our lives fully to making Jesus known while simultaneously living our lives in joyful obedience. In other words, we trust God and live for His glory as “public Christians” in these days. In Josh’s words, “Our vengeance is revival!”