“Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city." - Acts 8:4-8
When Philip preached in Samaria, great things happened. People heard and heeded the Word. Lives were changed. Miracles took place. The Scripture states, “And there was great joy in that city.” Wow!
What if this happened in your hometown? What if it happened to an entire region or country? Actually, that is exactly what we need. While others seek political or social change, I am praying for a spiritual change to take place here in my region … and right here in the United States.
Do we need a revival or an awakening? The answer is that we need both. There is a difference between a revival and an awakening. A revival is a divine move of God among His people, typically at a local church. An awakening is a wide-spread move of God bringing many sinners to saving faith in Christ.
The colonies actually enjoyed a spiritual awakening in the 1730's and 1740's. Historians refer to it as the Great Awakening. God used the preaching of men like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield to reach thousands of souls with the Gospel. A second Great Awakening occurred around 1800 and a third in the 1850's.
Our churches need a fresh move of God. We need revival. Typically, genuine revival produces mass evangelism which often results in an awakening. A revival that never penetrates the four walls of a local church will never last and it is questionable whether it is really revival at all.
When churches experience revival, refreshed believers boldly take the Gospel into the community and beyond. The same Spirit who brings revival also fuels revived believers into becoming effective evangelists. When the community and region gets stirred by the Gospel, the local churches are invigorated by this, causing revival to continue.
We need revival in our churches. We need an awakening in our communities, our region, our nation and across the world. The United States used to be the greatest missionary-sending country in the world. Now we've become one of the largest mission fields. When Christians experience revival, they realize that they are missionaries right where they are. Homes, communities and workplaces are ripe harvest fields in dire of need of missionaries like us. May God raise up an army of believers to penetrate this world with the Gospel!
A genuine revival is rare these days. Our nation has not seen a spiritual awakening in my lifetime. We need both a revival and an awakening.
I want to see revival in my lifetime. I long to see a spiritual awakening occur in this nation. I am tired of the status quo. I am frustrated with the spiritual apathy that is prevalent in America. I am sick of seeing churches compromise with the world rather than impacting the world. I am saddened to see so many churches closing their doors. It is heartbreaking to realize that over 150,000 people die daily, many of them without Christ. Meanwhile most church members seem to be playing games at the foot of the cross.
Our problems are obvious to see, but the solution requires a miracle. The only hope for this world's woes is the person of Jesus Christ. Only He can revive our churches. God is the only One who can take lukewarm church members and set them aflame with revival. It takes a mighty move of God to revive the cold churches in our communities. This is something we can't produce. Only God can provide it. It begins with people like you and me. We need to get serious about spiritual matters and seek God passionately for revival and an awakening.
Today is a good day to begin.
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