Thursday, January 12, 2012

Pastor's Circle - Michael Catt

Michael Catt is the pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, GA. Dr. Catt joined The Matt Friedeman Show to talk about One Cry and America's need for revival. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

What is One Cry?

I've been in several meetings as this initiative was rolled out.
People from across the country have come together believing that this is the year to call the nation to revival.
It is a pivotal year.
How can we position ourselves for revival?
I think the first thing that we have to do is humble ourselves before God.

We have tried every program, and every scheme, and we've got the best technology in the world, but we still haven't seen an awakening in us like the revivals of the past.

One Cry is trying to get intercessors to bombard heaven, to try to get God to send revival to this nation.
Can technology hurt us rather than help us?
I think you're right. We are bombarded with noise, and I think it distracts us. We can tweet about God more than we can talk to him.

I think we need to be sure our first priority is having a relationship with Christ, and sharing that relationship with other people.
Is it dangerous to seek God's hand more than we seek his face?
Absolutely. We have limited revival to a meeting. We put revival on the calendar. Revival is where the people of God get their hearts right with God.

The reason the church is not impacting the culture is because carnal people don't care about lost people.

But when we get our hearts right, we will care about what God cares about. And one of the things he cares about is the lost.
What are some things that are keeping the Church from revival?
One is prayerlessness. The Church lacks power because it lacks prayer. When you study the history of revival, they have always been birthed in prayer and unapologetic preaching of the gospel.

The second thing is fear of man. We fear man more than we fear God, and it affects the way we live.

The third thing is pride. That's why you don't see people confessing and building relationships and getting right with each other. It's pride.

We call our sin a mistake, an error, a defect we were born with, but no matter what you call it, it's sin.
How can we make sure to seek revival for the right reasons?
I think it was Tozer who said, "When revival comes, some people who are in leadership in the Church will be disqualified." People have to decide either to go with God or to continue in mediocrity.

John Edwards was a leader in national revival, and he got fired from his church. Revival doesn't eliminate our problems, it just gives us another set. But they're better problems.

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