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Discussion Forum : Revivals And Church History : Revival? – Or Spiritual Revolution? – Part 1

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 Revival? – Or Spiritual Revolution? – Part 1


[b]Revival? – Or Spiritual Revolution? – Part 1[/b]
[i]by Jay Rogers[/i]

Let me share my greatest hope about “revival.”

I have been a student of revival and spiritual awakening since 1985 when I was converted to Christ as a college student in Boston, Massachusetts. I know that revival and spiritual awakening are cyclical in human history. God is taking us toward a time "when the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt" (Amos 9:13). In other words, there will one day be a time of universal revival. I don't know if this will be in my lifetime, but the Bible predicts that it will happen. So I believe it.

Since I have been a Christian, I have been in the middle of several movements that were called "revivals" by their promoters. I believe that the Holy Spirit was in it, but there was also something lacking. The Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century transformed America’s social landscape. Recent “revivals” are seriously deficient in this vision.

Here is a statement that would surprise most Christians. Today in America, we are in the midst of a spiritual awakening among young people. Looking at social trends, some would doubt this. But here is the irony of our Godless post-Christian nation: I could speak in almost any public school classroom in America and talk about God. Ninety percent of the students would be open to what I had to say. There would be no reprisal because it would seem normal to these young people to hear about God. No one would complain. In fact, this generation thinks about spiritual reality far more than any generation in America’s recent history. What they lack is leadership. Every youth evangelist I have talked to agrees that this is the most spiritually open generation of young people that they have ever seen. There is already an awakening among youth. Every revival starts like this. The youth are the kindling that set fire to the old logs.

The problem is that every time there has been a "revival" in the past century, we find a lot of adults wanting to receive an emotionally fulfilling experience that will help them with their worldly needs. Mature Christians don't need to feel “comfort in Zion” (Amos 6:1). We who received salvation when we were young already know about the excitement of being newly saved. Now God wants us to lead the next generation so that they can go beyond what we experienced.

What we need are adults who can lead youth to go to the next level. What we need in the next few years are older leaders who can hold “Second American Revolution” seminars for young people. There is no doubt that there is always a new crop of young people who are consumed by a zeal for God. But we need to be faithful to reap the harvest. Soon, as Amos predicted, “the plowman shall overtake the reaper.” In other words, once we begin to be faithful to the young disciples whom God has given us, we will receive many more than we know what to do with.

What do we need to do? The answer is simple. Young people are only looking for leadership to encourage them in what they have been called of God to do. It has been in their hearts all along. New converts need to be trained how to take the revival, not only to the mission field through evangelism, but also into the business world, politics, the media, education and all the power bases of the society. Then we will have something more than a revival. We will have spiritual awakening. We will have army of young people who will take back America for God.


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 2006/8/13 17:54Profile
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 Re: Revival? – Or Spiritual Revolution? – Part 1


[b]Revival? – Or Spiritual Revolution? – Part 2[/b]
[i]by Jay Rogers[/i]

The problem with some Christians is that they see “revival” as a mystical or highly personal spiritual experience. Revival has this element to it, but it cannot stop there. It must be carried out into all the world around us. Jesus did not call us simply to be “in the world but not of it.” He called us to be transformers of the world system. The sad fact is that most adult Christians have already missed their call to spiritual awakening. The vast majority of church-going America is too culturally irrelevant to be used of God to transform our society. In the meantime, our nation’s young people are ready to receive their marching orders. Can we move beyond our own pietistic foolishness to see the need and act as Joshua and Caleb who led a generation of revived youth into the land of promise?

Most adults do not believe that America can be transformed into a Christian nation. We see the reality of evil and lose heart. We have become as “grasshoppers in the eyes of giants.” This was the attitude that Joshua and Caleb confronted in the wilderness. God told Joshua and Caleb that they and the younger generation under 20 years of age would be the ones to go into the Promised Land because they had wholeheartedly followed God. They had full faith and belief in God that He could defeat all of their enemies once they went into the Promised Land to conquer and possess it.

Do you have the faith of Joshua and Caleb? Are you able to stand with the youth of the current generation? Are you ready to be used to lead an army of young people? Do you want to know what the plan of God is? Do you feel an urging to do something that can be used of God even though most Christians around you are fearful to upset the world system? The only effective plan of action is from God’s Word itself. God will begin to unfold His plan if you will simply covenant yourself with God’s purposes revealed in scripture.

Covenant Prayer: A plan to reclaim the promises of God for our generation

Covenant prayer is a method of praying whole passages from the Bible that contain God’s promises to His people. As you begin to read the scriptures, look for prophecies concerning Israel that are applicable to what you see around you today. As you begin to pray these scriptures, they will come alive and you will be inspired to believe great things for your nation. Every book of the Bible contains covenantal promises, but there are two places that are paticularly rich.

If you will spend just a few minutes each day not just reading but praying and meditating on the following passages, see if God does not give you a vision for revival in our time.

1. Isaiah chapters 52 - 66
2. Deuteronomy chapters 28,29


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