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REVIVAL NEWS |
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REVIVAL NEWS |
BELIEVE FOR REVIVAL - By John Dawson
When my friend Floyd finished preaching and called for repentance, I was the first to my feet. During the message I had seen myself clearly, and I was ashamed. I publicly confessed my sin that day and asked the others at the conference for prayer.
What was my sin? Embezzlement? Adultery? No, the Holy Spirit was convicting me of the sin of unbelief. In that stark moment of honesty I realized that I had low expectations of what God would do in my city.
What do you expect God to do in your city? Or to put it another way, who is your God? Is He the God of the Bible? Your God is only as big as what you expect of Him in space and time. What do you expect Him to do here on earth in this generation?
Don't tell me about the God of your theology. It's easy to SAY that He's all-powerful, but do you EXPECT Him to do powerful things here and now?
The God of the Bible is the God who sweeps in like a mighty rushing wind. He answers by fire. He is the God of great awakenings and generation-wide revivals.
The time of my repentance came not long after God had used me and others to lead a great citywide outreach during the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. We had experienced a touch of revival at that time, but now I was seeing myself two years later as just a busy religious executive struggling to manage the results of a past success. I had lost sight of the big picture. I no longer felt the sense of God's mighty presence brooding over the city.
I looked back at the man I had been during that outreach. I remembered what it had been like to weep and to pray and to allow God to fill my heart with a citywide vision.
As I repented of my unbelief and its root of pride, God came in mercy and began to fill my heart with a gift of faith for the future, a renewed faith for revival in America's cities.
We as believers hold the fate of our cities in our hands. Revival or judgment-what will it be?
Strangely enough, the answer may be both. If we look to church history, we see that judgment and revival often happened at the same time. Think of John Wycliffe, the "Morning Star of the Reformation" (1330-1384). At the same time he was disseminating his new English translation of the Bible, more than one-third of the English population died of the Black Death. The followers of Wycliffe, known as Lollards, affirmed obedience to the Word of God and brought to the English church a tremendous wave of repentance from dead works.
What will happen in the end times? Some say a great falling away while others predict a worldwide revival. Again the answer is both. The Bible predicts a great polarization of darkness and light at the end of the age. Satan will unmask his kingdom and intensify his efforts. There will be no illusion of middle ground. On the other hand, the Spirit of God will be poured out on the earth, and an unparalleled harvest will be gathered into His kingdom.
It is time to exercise worldwide faith, to pray worldwide prayers and to expect a worldwide outpouring of God's Spirit. More than half the people who have ever lived are now alive. The world population has climbed past 6 billion.
If we don't have an awakening in this generation, more people will go to an eternity without Christ than in all the past generations put together. I can't see God allowing that to happen. Business as usual is not good enough; there is not enough time.
What we must have is a sovereign outpouring of the Holy Spirit on God's people, followed by a great awakening among the lost. King David's last recorded prayer is a heart cry for a worldwide revelation of God's glory: "And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended" (Ps. 72:19-20, NKJV).
Is it possible that there will come a time soon when the whole earth will be filled with His glory? I believe the prayers of David and the saints of many generations will be answered as the Great Commission is completed in the midst of an end-time outpouring of God's Spirit that will surpass all others.
In true revival the Holy Spirit is poured out in awesome power. The Hebrew word for "spirit" is "ruach," which comes from the root meaning "to breathe out violently, implying explosive force or energy." On the Day of Pentecost, timid believers were transformed into bold evangelists who feared God more than people, and the gospel was preached with power resulting in a great harvest.
If you observe events in our day that you consider to be God's judgment, don't doubt or lose hope. Look up and see God Almighty. His work of chastisement is to prepare us for the power. Like the early church we are to gather in unity, humility and repentance, waiting for the Spirit to be poured out-and continuing to believe for revival.
Adapted from "Taking Our Cities for God" by John Dawson, copyright 2001. Published by Charisma House. This book describes dynamic and life-changing strategies to help you tear down the strongholds that have held your community back from its full spiritual potential. It shows you how to take part in a clean-up effort that will open the heavens above your city and allow God's blessings to flow freely.
(OpenHeaven has no commercial interest or bias in the sale of this book)
John Dawson is a well-loved author and leader. He is founder of the International Reconciliation Coalition, a global network dedicated to healing wounds between people groups and elements of society. He is former founder/director of Youth With A Mission-Los Angeles.
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