Many hungry Christians are reading everything they can find about past moves of God. We somehow sense that if we really want the holiness and the fullness of His manifest presence to dwell in our midst, then we have to find out how. But the question some are asking is: Will God revive us again that we His people may rejoice in Him? Psalm 85:6
The answer to the question is yes, if we humble ourselves and repent. There is still hope for the revival and a Great awakening in West and other nations. Several prophets have expressed the view that God promised to revive us, and that they will be a large harvest for souls. As extraordinary as all past awakenings and revivals were, there were only foretastes of what it is to come. When you read all these stories of how God gave revivals in the past, you are moved with great emotion and conviction, asking the Lord to please do it again!
We are tired of just going through the motions in both private and public meetings. But revival has to begin in our hearts, when the sins of our nations, the corruption, the injustice, the lawlessness, the economy, the broken society, the backslidden church, and everything that grieves, humbles, and distresses us as Christians, draws us to our secret places and cry out for a mighty outpouring of God’s Spirit.
That is when we should expect a revival. We should not scold and reproach sinners, we’ve all sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but rather we should pray for the compassion of the Son of God to grip our hearts, so that we might feel His compassion and grace.
As much we would like to build more church projects and do all kinds of good things in the Lord’s name, but without a real spiritual awakening, the church will not be able to remove the reproach and restore Christianity to the place it should have in the estimation of the public. The church is the most powerful institution in any land but without revival, everyone will hold the church in contempt.
It reminds me of a story written about Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s brother Klaus who had chosen a career in law and became a top lawyer at the German airline Lufthansa. In a dispute about Dietrich’s choice of theology Klaus homed in on the problem of the church itself calling it “a poor, feeble, boring, petty, bourgeois institution.” “In that case,” said Dietrich, “I shall have to reform it.” Whether this was defiant rebuff to his brother’s attack or perhaps a joke, as the writer of that story indicated, I don’t know. What I know is that we need a revival and a reformation in the church worldwide, not just in the West.
We’ve built very good worship houses, written countless books on success and happiness and there is nothing wrong with that, but while this may gain some sort of respect from the world, it doesn’t stem the tide of wickedness in societies. As a matter of fact, it misleads worldly people about the real nature of Christianity and the church. God’s people are thirsty, and they will not be satisfied till they have drunk deep from the Fountain of Living Water. John 7:38. A. W Tozer said that:
Pastors and teachers are giving sound Bible exposition—but all this may be carried on in such a way as to leave the hearers devoid of any true spiritual nourishment. For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience they are not the better for having heard the truth.
Tozer’s terrible words apply to our day as accurately as it did to his:
There is today no lack of Bible teachers to set forth correctly the principles of the doctrines of Christ, but too many of these seem satisfied to teach the fundamentals of the faith year after year, strangely unaware that there is in their ministry no manifest Presence, nor anything unusual in their personal lives. They minister constantly to believers who feel within their breasts a longing which their teaching simply does not satisfy.
We desperately need to preach the genuine Gospel of Jesus Christ which leads to righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Other than that we are just preaching what the Word calls “another gospel” which can’t save or redeem people and prepare them for an eternity with their Creator.
History tells us that the gospel based only on changing the social standing of man and meeting his temporal needs is more likely to cost his eternal soul and destiny. Without being born again, the blood of Jesus Christ, and the Cross, all our efforts of evangelizing will be futile. Hell and Heaven are real places but this subject has received very scant attention among professing Christians and preachers.
We also need to pray for our politicians, governmental leaders, the media, education leaders and every sector of society that directly or indirectly affects our lives. Whether we agree with people who are in positions of power or not, we are commanded to pray for them so that we lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. (I Timothy 2:1-2 NKJV)
We should become responsible citizens in every area of our lives by engaging practically in the political process, and standing up for justice and righteousness in our nations but, having a full knowledge that the problems of our time are not economical or political or social issues as important as these may be. The central issues of our time are moral and spiritual in nature, and our calling as a church is to declare Christ’s forgiveness, hope, and transforming power to a world that does not know or follow Him.
