THE REVIVAL WE NEED

“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.” - Psalm 138:7

Things are a mess here in America. Politically, there is turmoil and corruption in our land. Socially, we are a selfish nation, filled with self-seeking, self-serving citizens. Morally, our nation has embraced and promoted sinful lifestyles and practices. Financially, our country has serious debts that will never be repaid in my lifetime. Worst of all, we are spiritually bankrupt with no shortage of religion, but severely lacking in righteousness.

The American church is not much better. Rather than impacting our society with the truth, the Church is being impacted by sinful society. The American church is apathetic toward sin, lacking in holiness, and anemic in its evangelistic zeal. These days, churches seek to be “cool” and “relevant” --- which are really goals that lead to compromise. Many pastors refuse to preach the whole counsel of God, seeking instead to bring messages that impress and please a crowd. Instead of pleasing God, most churches are working hard to please the world. In many cases, church attendance is dwindling and the influence of the Church is either dying or dead.

To their credit, there are churches, denominations and pastors that realize that everything is out of alignment. Many are trying to bring fresh life into their churches with new programs. While new programs may be good, they are not the main answer to the problem.

We need a turnaround. We need a spiritual breakthrough. We need a mighty move of God. We need revival in our churches. We need the kind of revival that honors God, changes lives and impacts the culture.

I am not an expert, but I feel that there are some basic things we need to do.

1. RETURN TO THE BIBLE

First of all, let's return to the Bible. I am not putting down all Christian books, but the Book we need most is God's Word. Our problem isn't a lack of information, but a lack of application. God has given us all we need to life and godliness --- and it is found in the pages of God's Word. We need to get back to reading the Word, believing the Word and obeying the Word.

2. RETURN TO PRAYER

The American Church needs to emphasize prayer meetings again. As individual Christians, we need to get back in the prayer closet. For some foolish reason, we think American will be improved at the voting booth. No!!! America can be changed when God's people return to the prayer closet and get serious about the Lord and His will.

3. RETURN TO SPIRIT-FILLED LIVING

Rather than living by the flesh, we need to live and walk in the Spirit. We need to be Spirit-filled, Spirit-led believers. It is hard to minister to others out of the overflow of your life if the well is empty. We need to obey the Bible's command to be filled with the Spirit. The Christians in the book of Acts didn't wait on the political climate to improve before they obeyed the Lord. They were filled with the Spirit and were used of God to impact the world.

4. RETURN TO EVANGELISM

The devil and the world has deceived believers into believing that evangelism is wrong and evil. We should share the Gospel because God COMMANDS it, not because it is popular. Jesus has never been popular with the world. The world has always resisted and hated the evangelistic effort of believers. Yet souls are dying without Christ daily. In the book of Ezekiel, God compared his servants to watchmen of a city. A watchman was responsible to stand guard and watch for an approaching enemy. If the watchman refused to warn the residents of impending danger, their blood was on his hands. I can't help but think that the American church has blood on its hands. We've been playing church while souls are perishing. God have mercy on us.

Jesus is coming soon. When He returns, will He find us faithfully doing His will or foolishly living out our own goals and dreams?