What continues to take place in our nation shows the Church has not been the Church to our nation.
We have been so proud of our programs and ministries that are inward when the church should be outward.
If the pandemic has taught us anything, with all of our programs and ministries inward halted, the Church must be the “ecclesia,” the called-OUT ones.
We need revival!
Yes, pray for our nation. But we must share the only answer, The Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
May the Church be the Church.
Isaiah 64:1 – Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,
We need revival!
No revival is of sudden origin. Behind the startling outburst is a process which sometimes goes on for years, a purifying preparatory process.
Every outpouring of the Holy Spirit is preceded by earnest, agonizing intercession, accompanied by a heart brokenness and humiliation before a Holy God. Pastors and church members should be deeply concerned about the terrible discrepancy between the heart-stirring record of the Book of Acts and the condition of the Church today.
Revival is humiliating experience! When one, like Isaiah, sees himself in the light of God’s holiness, he must inevitably cry, “Woe is me!”
Deep spiritual awakenings, whether in local churches or in the nations of the world, begin with desperate people longing for The Lord to move among us!
God answers the prayers of desperate Christians in His call to Revival –
- Christians who are tired and weary of cold, mechanical services before God.
- Christian who are heartbroken over the dead-ness of the professing Churches and over sinners going to hell.
- Christian who are desperate about their own spiritual condition.
While it is true that when revival comes there is “joy unspeakable and full of glory,” this is not the case in the preparation for revival. There is no song, but repentance and groans; there is no laughter, but only Godly sorrow over our sin.
Richard Owen Roberts, a longtime champion of spiritual awakening, gives three characteristics of revival:
- It is extraordinary. ‘Without organization, advertising, or even sometimes human leadership, revivals have altered the hearts of men, the social attributes of millions, and the destinies of nations. True revival cannot be confined by state lines, national boundaries, economic class systems, social status, or denominational preferences.’
- It is a work of God. ‘No amount of human effort can produce true revival. Everything God had told us to do we ought to do, but having done it all, we must still wait upon Him to do what he alone can do.’
- It produces extraordinary results. ‘Conduct that has always seemed acceptable will appear unbelievably wicked. Prejudices that have characterized professing Christians for decades will be revealed for the grievous sins they really are. Private indulgences upon which a person has looked with favor for years will suddenly seem to merit all the wrath of God poured out forever. Prayerlessness, ignorance of Scripture, sins of omission, and failure in good works will no longer be defended by a myriad of excuses but will be laid open.’
Are we willing to allow God to perform surgery to expose all that is not of Him?
Only when we have been exposed and repented will God move upon His people.
Join me in the prayer of Isaiah 64:1, “Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence.”
-Dr. Tom Tucker