DO WE NEED REVIVAL IN THE CHURCH?
Do we need a spiritual revival in the USA? Do we need revival in our own hearts?
I believe revival is our only hope.
Since the USA has been in existence God has used revival and "Great Awakenings" to prick and renew the hearts of people for him both saved and unsaved. This has been taking place about every 50 years for the past 250 years. The last which occured on the Island of Lewis between 1949 and 1953. Lewis is an island located about 760 miles north of London, off of the coast of Scotland.
Since that time America has fallen asleep and become complacent with God and his blessings. We have walked away for the very hand that provided the freedom and wealth to our families, state and country. We are now paying the price for our sins.
We have turned from our maker and have traded beauty for ashes. As the body of Christ we have exchanged Godliness for a lukewarm existence in a church pew dealing with our own day to day existence never looking outside our own walls at a hurting and often dying world.
We have watched as churches have given up their steeples and stained glass for a more seeker friendly shell, all the while ignoring the fact that God doesn't just want us to change the apperance on the outside but wants us to go further and RADICALLY change the inside as well. God doesn't just want want change in apperance but change of heart towards Him and His Spirit.
Without Holy Spirit guiding our lives in all we do and say, there will be no revival or "Third Great Awakening". Without God changing the state of our hearts and of our nation we will cease to exist as a blessed country. We will go down in history as a country that lost it's foundation and heritage that was God breathed.
Don't be fooled by politically correct individuals both from the pulpit and outside that say the natural disasters have not been occurring by Gods hand. I believe with all my heart they have been happening because he has been removing his hand of blessing from our country and the world because we have turned from him. We have lost our first love and God is a jealous God who longs for His Bride.
Satan is the ruler of this world. Second Corinthians 4:4 says this:
4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Notice god (little g) refers to Satan. He was banished to earth the day God threw him from Heaven. He was given dominion over the earth. God in his mercy and grace decides to protect with his hand of blessing. I believe the natural disasters and financial upheaval has been a wakeup call to us as a people not only in the US but the world.
Second Chronicles says this:
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Who are my people? Its all of us as the body of Christ. We must turn from our wicked ways and honor God with our lives and walk by faith and not by sight. We must leave behind our complacency and run after God with all we have. We must seek His face with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. If we don't we will surly parish.
Imagine what would happen if instead of Christians going to church to be ministered to we came to church to minister to others. What would it look like if we became FULLY immersed in the power of Holy Spirit in all we said and all we did instead of ignoring Him and His true position in our lives? What would happen if when the elders of our churches prayed for the sick, they were healed?
If we burned to let God lead our lived with his Spirit, would the church have a 50% divorce rate or would it the Spirit of Almighty God reach in and heal the broken hearts and spirits that have held us captive in our depression and doubt.
The questions I have are these. Where are we, where do we want to be and why aren't we there? I believe it all has to do with the state of our hearts as the body of Christ and our lack of desire for God. Revival starts in the church and the church is filled with people who are known as the Body Of Christ. If the church is sick it needs to be made well. It is made well by the power of Holy Spirit.
Unfortunately we have ignored his voice and lost our way. We have become complacent, politically correct and scared to open our mouths for fear of offending others or making mistakes
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I think Francis Chan in his book "Forgotten God". Sums up what I'm saying:
“I’m willing to bet there are millions of churchgoers across America who cannot confidently say they have experienced His presence or action in their lives over the past year. And many of them do not believe they can. The benchmark of success in church services has become more about attendance than the movement of the Holy Spirit. The “entertainment” model of church was largely adopted in the 1980’s and ‘90’s and while it alleviated some of our boredom for a couple of hours a week, it filled our churches with self-focused consumers rather than self-sacrificing servants attuned to the Holy Spirit….The light of the American church is flickering and nearly extinguished, having largely sold out to the kingdoms and values of this world….We are not all we were made to be when everything in our lives and churches can be explained apart from the work and presence of the Spirit of God….shouldn’t there be a huge difference between the person who has the Spirit of God living inside of him or her and the person who does not?”
A.B Simpson also has clarity in his teaching about Holy Spirit:
Hindering The Holy Spirit
By A.B. Simpson
God let your Spirit pour out upon our hearts and churches all across America. Awaken those who are dead to you and revive those of us who have lost our first love. Father please forgive us for ignoring your voice. Give us wisdom and your children. Breath on our leadership both in our churches and government and bring us back to a right relationship with you.
HOLY SPIRIT COME!!!!!
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