Will there be a Revival of the Church?
Eric
Summers
Will there be a Revival?
With these ideas in mind, will we see a church-wide revival in the Christian Church in America in these last days of the church age?
Yes, there will be a revival in the Christian churches across the USA and it will be the most successful revival in all of the 2,000 year church history. Unfortunately, the revival will occur after the First Fruits Rapture and it will then be too late for a majority of Christians to escape the Tribulation. The reason that the revival will occur later rather than earlier, is because few Christians have read or heard and obeyed the verse in 2 Chronicles 7:14.
This revival will happen because Jesus will somehow appear to unfaithful Christians just before the start of the Tribulation (Parable of the Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins). He will tell most of the Christian congregations that they have not been faithful to Him during their time on the earth but He loves them and has decided to prepare them spiritually so they can become faithful during the Tribulation. Read The Letters to the Seven Churches to see how the works of each of the seven churches are evaluated in the Book of Revelation. The only two churches that Jesus praises is the Church at Smyrna--the persecuted church and the Church at Philadelphia--the faithful Christ-centered Bible church or home church. The Catholic Church and the Protestant Church are given scant praise and much condemnation. The Mega or large TV church, the Laodicea Church is given no praise at all, only condemnation. For these three "left behind" churches, He encourages them to overcome their failures and to live for God and not themselves. If individual members would now participate in a revival, then they would become members of the Church at Philadelphia and be taken to Heaven in the First Fruits Rapture, just before the beginning of the Tribulation.
When Jesus appears at the very end of the church age, all Christians will somehow see him: Be ye also ready: for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh (Luke 12:40). They will be overwhelmed by the glory of His presence and because of this they will listen intently to every word He speaks to them and most will enthusiastically want to follow Him. Read The Last Days of the Church Age for details of this preparation given by Jesus to His less faithful followers just before the beginning of the Tribulation.
What's your response?
We are in the final days of the Church Age just before the beginning of the Tribulation, so there's not much time to begin a revival in our lives. We can start today to say no to evil and to pray and study and obey the truths found in our Bibles and to watch and pray for the return of Jesus. Those Christians that do these things will be transformed into Philadelphia Christians and thus be taken to Heaven when Jesus initiates the First Fruits Rapture. I suggest that you read the following article that presents several ideas for becoming a faithful disciple of Jesus: How to Crucify Self.
I have heard several
television and radio broadcasts and also read
articles on the Internet that suggest a revival
is needed for Christians across the USA. It is
my opinion that most, if not all Christians
could use a revival so I put down some thoughts
regarding the possibility of a revival taking
place in America and what we must do in order to
make it successful.
Let's first define revival from the Free dictionary:
Revival:
I believe that a revival is desperately needed by myself and for most of the Christians in the USA. We need to reawaken our enthusiasm for fellowship with and service to God and to turn from those things of the world that would lead us to sin against Him.
Here's what we need to do to have a Revival
Accomplishing a revival is not complicated, but it's not easy; here's the scripture from 2 Chronicles 7:14:
If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Some of the television programs say: "We should then elect Christian politicians into office so the nationwide revival can then start". However, there's nothing in this verse that says we must introduce the right legislation or to contribute money or time to elect a particular candidate to get the "right" legislation enacted in order to promote revival. It does say that a revival occurs at the individual level. Any Christian should first recognize their failings, because we all fail God daily. We should then get down on our knees and pray something like this: Lord, have mercy on me a sinner (Luke 18:13b). This shows our humility and that from our own power we have no spiritual strength. We should then confess our sins to God, asking for God's forgiveness for each specific sin we are guilty of: If we confess our sins, He is just and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). Since we are sorry for and turn from our sins and ask for the forgiveness of God, we will then be cleansed from them and we can then ready for the next step.
We should then "seek God's face". This means that we should think on the things of God: His holiness and righteousness; His infinite power, such as His Creation of the Universe and the Earth and its inhabitants; His goodness--how He is very kind towards us, giving us many chances to repent of our sins and to then seek to do His will, (i.e., what He commands us to do written in the Holy Bible). We should praise Him in our prayers and recognize the wonderful things He has done for us; and we should open our hearts to Him: Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me (Rev 3:20). We should then begin a fellowship and a walk with Him. We should often tell Him that we love Him and we should give thanks to Him for the many blessings that He lovingly bestows upon us. We should then be aware of His holiness and praise Him for His goodness and the purity of His character.
We should then be aware of the good works that He will then prepare for us to accomplish: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10). Once we understand these directives from God for good works, we should go out and accomplish them through the power of the Holy Spirit. We should then stop cheating in our businesses, stop viewing pornography, stop having extramarital affairs, stop overeating, stop driving aggressively and disobeying traffic laws, stop thinking evil thoughts (especially of violence to others and wanting to "get even" with others that may have hurt us), stop gossiping, stop yelling at our spouses or children, start bringing up our children in the way of the Lord, start reading and discussing the Holy Bible with our family, start praying daily (Prayer, a hands-on Workbook ) for our needs and praising God, and start being kind to people rather than being disrespectful. Do you get the idea--we should repent of our evil ways and begin a life of discipleship. The Holy Bible gives in great detail how to become a disciple of Jesus Christ, so it must be studied daily to show us how to be faithful to Him.
If these actions were to be started by a majority of Christians in the USA there would be a tremendous revival in this country. Crime rates would drop. Abortions would drop. Divorces would drop. Alcohol and drug abuse would drop and so on. God would fix the unemployment problems in this country. He would stop the droughts, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and flooding. He would cure the diseases and depression. There are tremendous advantages for us if most Christians would be disciples of Jesus Christ, while we are living in this world.
Note that the 2 Chronicles verse says nothing about what God expects the unsaved to do--it says what we Christians should do. If Christians were to obey this scripture, God would find a way to also reduce the crime and sin that is committed and make the USA a safer place to live in. Nothing is too difficult for God to accomplish.
Let's first define revival from the Free dictionary:
Revival:
1.
a. The act or an instance of
reviving.
b. The condition of being revived.
2. A
restoration to use, acceptance, activity,
or vigor after a period of obscurity or
quiescence.
3. A new
presentation of an old play, movie, opera,
ballet, or similar vehicle.
4.
a. A
time of reawakened interest in religion.
b.
A meeting or series of meetings for the
purpose of reawakening religious faith,
often characterized by impassioned
preaching and public testimony.
5. Law.
Renewal of validity or effect, as of a
contract or judicial decision.
Items 2 and 4b would be a good definition of revival: A meeting or series of meetings for the purpose of reawakening religious faith, often characterized by impassioned preaching and public testimony and a restoration to use, acceptance, activity, or vigor after a period of obscurity, quiescence or neglect.
Items 2 and 4b would be a good definition of revival: A meeting or series of meetings for the purpose of reawakening religious faith, often characterized by impassioned preaching and public testimony and a restoration to use, acceptance, activity, or vigor after a period of obscurity, quiescence or neglect.
I believe that a revival is desperately needed by myself and for most of the Christians in the USA. We need to reawaken our enthusiasm for fellowship with and service to God and to turn from those things of the world that would lead us to sin against Him.
Here's what we need to do to have a Revival
Accomplishing a revival is not complicated, but it's not easy; here's the scripture from 2 Chronicles 7:14:
If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Some of the television programs say: "We should then elect Christian politicians into office so the nationwide revival can then start". However, there's nothing in this verse that says we must introduce the right legislation or to contribute money or time to elect a particular candidate to get the "right" legislation enacted in order to promote revival. It does say that a revival occurs at the individual level. Any Christian should first recognize their failings, because we all fail God daily. We should then get down on our knees and pray something like this: Lord, have mercy on me a sinner (Luke 18:13b). This shows our humility and that from our own power we have no spiritual strength. We should then confess our sins to God, asking for God's forgiveness for each specific sin we are guilty of: If we confess our sins, He is just and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). Since we are sorry for and turn from our sins and ask for the forgiveness of God, we will then be cleansed from them and we can then ready for the next step.
We should then "seek God's face". This means that we should think on the things of God: His holiness and righteousness; His infinite power, such as His Creation of the Universe and the Earth and its inhabitants; His goodness--how He is very kind towards us, giving us many chances to repent of our sins and to then seek to do His will, (i.e., what He commands us to do written in the Holy Bible). We should praise Him in our prayers and recognize the wonderful things He has done for us; and we should open our hearts to Him: Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me (Rev 3:20). We should then begin a fellowship and a walk with Him. We should often tell Him that we love Him and we should give thanks to Him for the many blessings that He lovingly bestows upon us. We should then be aware of His holiness and praise Him for His goodness and the purity of His character.
We should then be aware of the good works that He will then prepare for us to accomplish: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10). Once we understand these directives from God for good works, we should go out and accomplish them through the power of the Holy Spirit. We should then stop cheating in our businesses, stop viewing pornography, stop having extramarital affairs, stop overeating, stop driving aggressively and disobeying traffic laws, stop thinking evil thoughts (especially of violence to others and wanting to "get even" with others that may have hurt us), stop gossiping, stop yelling at our spouses or children, start bringing up our children in the way of the Lord, start reading and discussing the Holy Bible with our family, start praying daily (Prayer, a hands-on Workbook ) for our needs and praising God, and start being kind to people rather than being disrespectful. Do you get the idea--we should repent of our evil ways and begin a life of discipleship. The Holy Bible gives in great detail how to become a disciple of Jesus Christ, so it must be studied daily to show us how to be faithful to Him.
If these actions were to be started by a majority of Christians in the USA there would be a tremendous revival in this country. Crime rates would drop. Abortions would drop. Divorces would drop. Alcohol and drug abuse would drop and so on. God would fix the unemployment problems in this country. He would stop the droughts, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and flooding. He would cure the diseases and depression. There are tremendous advantages for us if most Christians would be disciples of Jesus Christ, while we are living in this world.
Note that the 2 Chronicles verse says nothing about what God expects the unsaved to do--it says what we Christians should do. If Christians were to obey this scripture, God would find a way to also reduce the crime and sin that is committed and make the USA a safer place to live in. Nothing is too difficult for God to accomplish.
With these ideas in mind, will we see a church-wide revival in the Christian Church in America in these last days of the church age?
Yes, there will be a revival in the Christian churches across the USA and it will be the most successful revival in all of the 2,000 year church history. Unfortunately, the revival will occur after the First Fruits Rapture and it will then be too late for a majority of Christians to escape the Tribulation. The reason that the revival will occur later rather than earlier, is because few Christians have read or heard and obeyed the verse in 2 Chronicles 7:14.
This revival will happen because Jesus will somehow appear to unfaithful Christians just before the start of the Tribulation (Parable of the Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins). He will tell most of the Christian congregations that they have not been faithful to Him during their time on the earth but He loves them and has decided to prepare them spiritually so they can become faithful during the Tribulation. Read The Letters to the Seven Churches to see how the works of each of the seven churches are evaluated in the Book of Revelation. The only two churches that Jesus praises is the Church at Smyrna--the persecuted church and the Church at Philadelphia--the faithful Christ-centered Bible church or home church. The Catholic Church and the Protestant Church are given scant praise and much condemnation. The Mega or large TV church, the Laodicea Church is given no praise at all, only condemnation. For these three "left behind" churches, He encourages them to overcome their failures and to live for God and not themselves. If individual members would now participate in a revival, then they would become members of the Church at Philadelphia and be taken to Heaven in the First Fruits Rapture, just before the beginning of the Tribulation.
When Jesus appears at the very end of the church age, all Christians will somehow see him: Be ye also ready: for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh (Luke 12:40). They will be overwhelmed by the glory of His presence and because of this they will listen intently to every word He speaks to them and most will enthusiastically want to follow Him. Read The Last Days of the Church Age for details of this preparation given by Jesus to His less faithful followers just before the beginning of the Tribulation.
What's your response?
We are in the final days of the Church Age just before the beginning of the Tribulation, so there's not much time to begin a revival in our lives. We can start today to say no to evil and to pray and study and obey the truths found in our Bibles and to watch and pray for the return of Jesus. Those Christians that do these things will be transformed into Philadelphia Christians and thus be taken to Heaven when Jesus initiates the First Fruits Rapture. I suggest that you read the following article that presents several ideas for becoming a faithful disciple of Jesus: How to Crucify Self.
| As a whole, the Christian church will not be revived before the start of the Tribulation. However, there can be a revival at the individual level. If you want a revival for yourself, it will happen because God will see to it that you are revived. You just need to ask God the Father to revive you: My Father in Heaven, I want a revival to begin in my life and I want it to start right now. Please forgive me of my sins and help me to be more holy and more faithful and to obey and walk daily with You. I can only do this through your power. Through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen. |