Jubilee 2026: A Purified Bride

Victory Life Church, Central — Friday, July 24, 2026

Scripture Reading

Titus 2:11–14 (NIV)¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

  

Transition

All week we’ve heard a consistent call. Pastor Duane reminded us that God has opened the windows of heaven, but prepares His own house first. Josh challenged us to empty the jar of what is keeping us from Jesus. Colin called us to faithfully steward what God has entrusted with increase. Corey invited us into a life of prayer that prepares us for what is ahead. Tonight, I’d like to ask one more question: What kind of people is Jesus preparing?

Introduction

God is moving in this generation. We don’t want to be storm-chasers, passive observers, or cynical critics. We want to be active participants in what God is doing, but for it to happen right here, where God has planted us. We see a pattern for revival and large-scale renewal:

2 Kings 4:1–6 (NIV)¹ The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.” ² Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.” ³ Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. ⁴ Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.” ⁵ She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. ⁶ When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.” But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

We prepare the vessels; God pours the oil.

God provides the fire; His people keep it burning. God has always worked according to certain spiritual patterns.

• The First Great Awakening (1730s–1740s)—Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield called thousands from “inherited religion” to “personal conversion.”
• The Second Great Awakening (1790s–1840s)—millions came to Christ, fueling missions and social reform.
• Fulton Street Prayer Revival (1857–1859)—one ordinary prayer meeting became a nationwide prayer movement, and hundreds of thousands were converted.
• Then just a few decades later, revival broke out in Wales, Korea, and at Azusa Street (Early 1900s)—different nations, the same pattern: prayer, repentance, and hunger for God.
• The Jesus Movement (late 1960s–1970s)—God saved a generation the church had nearly written off.
• And just three years ago, the Asbury Outpouring (2023) reminded us that God still moves in ordinary places through ordinary people.

Different centuries. Different nations. Different generations. Different expressions.

But again and again, the same patterns emerge:

Prayer is the Preparation.

Repentance precedes Outpouring.

The Fruit must outlast the Fire.

Prayer and Repentance

Prayer lays the groundwork for God to move. As Pastor Duane reminded us this week,

“God begins with His own house. Before He changes a city, He changes His people.” ~ Pastor Duane

Prayer is the Preparation.

Prayer is our humble admission that only God can save, transform, and awaken: grace!

Titus 2:11 (NIV)¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.

Every great revival has been marked by conversions; prayer prepares the spiritual atmosphere. Yet, it begins with our humility. We never outgrow our need for God’s grace!

Prayer keeps us in alignment with the ‘frequency of heaven’ and the Father’s will.
Grace keeps us aligned with the character of the Son.

James 4:6 (ESV)⁶ But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Repentance precedes Outpouring.

“God cannot fill what we refuse to empty. Jesus cannot heal what we insist on protecting.” ~ Josh Surratt

If we no longer call people to repentance, why should we expect revival? The call to repentance isn’t only for our neighbors, it begins with our own humility.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV)¹⁴ if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

In 1907 (Pyongyang Revival), when a respected Korean pastor publicly confessed his hatred toward another leader, corporate repentance swept through the gathering and ignited revival: 30,000 converts within 7 months.

Prayer prepares the way. Repentance ignites the fire.

Repentance is to renounce all that is getting in the way of our relationship with Jesus. There is a name for whatever competes with our attention, affection, and devotion: idolatry.

Idolatry isn’t just bowing to statues. It’s giving our deepest affection to anything that isn’t Christ—approval, comfort, money, power, politics, entertainment.

James 4:6–9 (ESV)⁶ But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” ⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

James calls us to sobriety concerning how easily we excuse ourselves from the sin we indulge in. We cannot be casual about sin or divided in our devotion. We must take the call seriously to renounce all that divides our hearts and loyalty, all that competes with a pure love for Jesus.

“Purity of heart is to will one thing.” ~ Søren Kierkegaard

This one may be more of a challenge to our day-to-day lives. Paul is clear in Titus: God’s grace not only saves us but also trains us. Josh reminded us, “Jesus will not merely satisfy your thirst—He confronts whatever keeps you from living water.” Following Jesus isn’t merely a status; it’s a life of training.

Titus 2:12 (ESV)¹² [grace is] training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

We renounce competing loves because Jesus is worthy of an undivided heart.

In early 2023, an ordinary chapel service at Asbury simply never ended. A student confessed sin. A small group stayed to pray. Soon an entire generation was seeking Jesus—not a celebrity, not a platform, just Christ.

John 15:4–5, 7-8 (ESV)⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing… ⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

The Fruit must outlast the Fire.

Eventually, every large movement of God faded. Why? Because somewhere along the way, people stopped pursuing Jesus with the same passion that prepared the vessels in the first place. Revival fades when we begin chasing revival instead of Jesus. When personalities replace Christ, institutions replace dependence.

The goal of revival isn’t extraordinary meetings. It’s extraordinary devotion.

Colin said it, “Protection is not the game plan; increase is.” Revival may begin with extraordinary moments; but transformation happens through ordinary obedience.

Revival fades whenever Jesus ceases to be the center.

Corey sobered us up with a perspective of how after 2020, the Church entered a different historical moment that demands greater spiritual vigilance rather than greater political confidence. Like the disciples in Gathsemene, the external pressure of the moment exceeded their internal spiritual capacity to bear it.

“The weight of the external world was bearing down on the smallness of their internal world.” ~ Corey Russell

Jesus Purifying His Bride

Colin talked about “increase” Wednesday night; an “increase mandate.” He reminded us that “Protection is not the game plan, increase is.” He described an anointing for increase on this house; Corey described as an anointing for expansion; more regions needing a move of God from this house. Yet, increased influence and expansion requires increased holiness.

Titus 2:12–13 (NIV)¹² [Grace] teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

Holiness

Grace trains us to say no to idols. Grace trains us to live holy lives while we wait for Christ’s return. Grace doesn’t merely forgive us; it trains us in the way of holiness.

2 Corinthians 7:1 (NIV)¹ Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

2 Corinthians 7:1 (ESV)¹ …bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

During the Welsh Revival, coal miners encountered God so mightily that they stopped swearing completely. Their pit ponies no longer understood their commands because they had been trained to respond to foul language. Wales had been so transformed that even the animals noticed. That’s how deeply grace transformed ordinary life.

In all of the end-times fervor we have had for the last 50-100 years, one thing must be clear:

Jesus desires a pure Bride that is His very own, and His alone.

And if He’s returning for a pure Bride, then He’s preparing one now. Jesus gave Himself, not just to forgive your sins so that you can do whatever you want. Jesus gave Himself to redeem you out of ALL wickedness, and to purify His people, His Bride, FOR Himself.

Titus 2:14 (NIV)¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

The proof of love is obedience.

John 14:15 (NIV)¹⁵ “If you love me, keep my commands.

[Wedding Vows] “Will you take this man to be your husband? Will you commit yourself to his happiness & his fulfillment as a person & to his usefulness in God’s Kingdom? Will you promise to love, honor, trust & serve him in sickness & health, in adversity & prosperity & to be true & loyal to him, forsaking all others, as long as you both shall live?”

If this mighty move of God is on the horizon (and, spoiler alert, it is), then what kind of person will you be? As a passive observer watching? The critic nitpicking? Or will you allow yourselves to be purified by Jesus, being an active participant, unlocking the “windows of heaven” for an outpouring? Will you become Jesus’ fully devoted, purified Bride?

Jesus is more interested in preparing a holy people than producing a spectacular meeting.

Conclusion/Integration

What are you willing to commit? I’m not asking whether you want revival. I think everyone in this room wants revival. I’m asking something deeper: Will you let Jesus prepare you? Will you let Him expose the places where your heart has become divided? Will you let Him train you in holiness? Will you let Him become your first love again? Will you let Him make you the kind of person He called you to be? Jesus isn’t preparing an audience. He isn’t preparing consumers. He isn’t preparing spectators. He’s preparing a people who belong completely to Him.

Revelation 2:2-5 (NIV) ²I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. ³You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. ⁴Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. ⁵Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”

Revival, an Awakening…it’s in the air; we’re praying for it; we’re preparing for it; but revival has never been God’s final goal. God’s goal has always been a people. A people who are His very own. The Father’s goal has always been a beautiful Bride for His Beloved Son.