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Another Awakening “stands knocking at the door”. Rev. 3:20 Will we “hear His voice,” and open the door to our Lord Jesus Christ?
Previous awakenings began with The Reformation in the 1500s, led by great saints including Martin Luther, John Wycliffe, John Hus, William Tyndale, and thousands of martyrs known to God. It brought attention to God’s Word, and spoke courageously against the religious Pharisees of their age. Its great truths based upon God’s Word were: “Christ alone, Scripture alone, faith and grace alone, and to the glory of God alone.” With the invention of the printing press, thousands began to obtain a copy of the Bible to read for themselves, and much of Europe was delivered from the tyranny of religion. The godly exercise of freedom, both religious and political, that we enjoy today in America, and to some extent throughout the world, is the result of the Reformation, a Great Awakening. Another Great Awakening in the 1700s was the result of men like John Wesley in England, and Jonathan Edwards, Charles Wesley, George Whitfield, and many other godly and powerful preachers in America. This awakening to Jesus Christ and the Word of God had a great impact upon the further development of America as a Christian nation. One of the lasting effects of this Great Awakening was its message of the importance of holiness and sanctification in the Christian life. In the 1800s, the Christian world experienced a Great Missionary Awakening. Faithful pioneer missionaries such as Hudson Taylor (China), William Carey (India), Adoniram Judson (Burma), Robert Moffet and David Livingstone (Africa), and thousands of other saints, known and unknown, courageously went and laid down their lives for the sake of reaching our world for Jesus Christ. Most of them died in the lands they were called to, often within months of arriving. Today, because of their obedience to the Word of God, we call ourselves “evangelicals,” have “mission budgets” in all our churches, and regularly give to reach our world for Jesus Christ. In the 1900s, we had two Great Awakenings. The Fundamentalist movement and the Pentecostal movement. Although these awakenings have had strong differences with each other, both have contributed greatly to one another and to the Kingdom of God. The Fundamentalist movement was a stand against the growing influence of liberalism in some churches. It attempted to define for Christians the “fundamental” or “essential” truths of Biblical Christianity. Some of these “fundamental” truths are: the inspired inerrancy of the Bible; Jesus Christ is God; He was born of a virgin; He died to atone for our sins on the cross; He rose from the dead; He will visibly return to judge the living and the dead; belief in a literal Heaven and Hell, and a belief in all the miracles of the Bible. The pro-life movement in our churches, support of Israel as a nation, and a strong emphasis on moral righteousness are some examples of the fruit of the fundamentalist movement. Men like Dr. Jerry Falwell (Independent Baptist), Dr. D. James Kennedy (Bible Presbyterian), W. A. Crisfield (Southern Baptist), J. Vernon Magee (teacher), Billy Graham (evangelist), and countless others, are linked to the “fundamental” movement in America. If you consider yourself a “Bible-believing” Christian, then you have a great debt to the “Fundamental Awakening.” The Pentecostal and Charismatic movements were also “Great Awakenings.” This “Spirit-filled” awakening has demonstrated the importance of looking to the Holy Spirit for enabling power to preach the Gospel, and has emphasized the importance of faith working together with the Word of God. This has brought greater joy and freedom in our worship, a surge of world evangelism, and the fruit of love among believers. From this awakening, we have seen the birth of the Assemblies of God, the Church of God, thousands of independent Charismatic churches, godly leaders like David Wilkerson, Pat Robertson, Jack Hayford, James Robison, and thousands of denominations, churches, missionary agencies, and leaders. Although all “Great Awakenings” have their differences, strengths, and weaknesses, they all hold to the testimony of Jesus Christ and the Word of God. Each has strengthened the Kingdom of God. In our present world, Pentecostal/Charismatic and Fundamental/Baptist Christians are the principle targets of Anti-Christ movements in the growing worldwide persecution of the followers of Jesus Christ. The “Great Awakening” At Our Doorstep Every Great Awakening follows obedience to the Word of God. We, especially pastors and Christian leaders, should ask ourselves if there are important commands of our Lord and the Apostles that we are neglecting in our “church doctrine,” particularly here in America where the most prosperous Christians in our world live. Our Lord’s most important command was that “we love one another.” Love is clearly defined by our Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostles. “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother (fellow Christian) in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:16-18 (NIV) Indeed, if Jesus Christ laid down His life for us, we ought to lay down our lives for our brethren. If another “Great Awakening” comes, it will not be based upon the “prosperity gospel,” and it will not be a worked-up emotional state of mind for the sake of “revival.” It will not come by “legalistic” effort, or by priding ourselves that we go to a church with the “right” doctrine. It will certainly not involve the religious pride of man that is so evident in many leaders today, and passed off as “the anointing.” The next great awakening will cost us something. It will certainly require great sacrifice on our part—and it could cost us our lives. The elements of a Great Awakening are at our doors. Although it may seem far away, it is increasingly calling out to us. It is crying out in its pain and in its need for our love. It is our brethren. It is the Lord. It is the persecuted church. Why are we the most prosperous Christians in the world? Do we think Christ died for us, and blessed Christians in America, so that we can, as the Apostle James warned, “hoard wealth in the last days...and fatten ourselves in the day of slaughter”? In these last days before the Lord’s return, while millions of Christians are being persecuted and are struggling to survive in the Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and Communist nations, are we to “dwell at ease in Zion”? Or are we here, as Queen Esther, “for such a time as this”? I strongly believe that another “Great Awakening,” will require a complete re-examination of our “traditional” understanding of giving in the New Testament. We need to recognize the overwhelming Biblical evidence that New Testament giving is directed primarily toward fellow Christians who are persecuted and in need. The only regular collection prescribed in the New Testament was to help persecuted and impoverished Christians (2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9). With more Christians suffering in our world than ever before in the history of the church, how can we dare call ourselves New Testament churches and Christians without giving substantial help to our brethren? We must be willing to bravely break away from giving under the law (10% to the church), and have the faith to teach and practice giving from a New Testament perspective—“Whoever is not willing to give up all that he has cannot be my disciple.” In Christ, we own nothing and we have the right to nothing. Instead, we have a debt of love we can never repay. Our lives are not our own; we have been bought with a price. We are to live as Jesus would live, we are to be giving as Jesus would give— if indeed Christ lives in us. He gave His all, and He did not even have a place to rest His head. In these last days, our love for our Lord Jesus Christ is going to be measured not by our words, but by our “real” love for our fellow Christians. “When I was hungry you gave me something to eat. When I was naked you clothed me….In as much as you did it to the least of these my brethren, you did it to me." Matthew 25:31-46. These are the words our Lord will speak when He comes in His glory with all His angels, and the nations are gathered before Him for judgment. We can have a Great Awakening. It can impact all our churches as all past awakenings have. A Great Awakening will require an honest re-examination of God’s Word, especially in the area of New Testament giving. It will require sacrifice and a re-examination of our life styles. It will require a “real” love for our Lord, expressed by our love for our persecuted brethren. It must begin with each of us, as followers of Jesus Christ. We must not obey the “traditions of men,” but the Word of God. We must speak out in our churches on behalf of our Lord, the Word of God, and His suffering people. It will not be easy. Tradition fights back hard. We all, to some degree, embrace comfortable traditions to avoid the pain of the cross. But we cannot yield any longer. Tradition is the leaven of the Pharisees, and it spoils the whole lump. It is deadly. It keeps us from the abundant life of the cross in exchange for legalism, and “a mess of potage.” It stands in the way of another “Great Awakening.” By our choice, we can have this “Awakening” in our personal lives, even if we do not see the Awakening in our churches. Yet, we still must try to awaken our churches to the call to help our brethren. A “Great Awakening” would result in regular offerings in our churches to help our persecuted brethren. It would bring great hope and encouragement to our brethren living behind the “gates of hell.” It would result in millions coming to faith in Jesus Christ, especially in the Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and Communist world, as they see “the love of Christians for one another.” This obedience to the Word of God would result in a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the American churches. Our love for our Lord and for our brethren would not just be “theological" in “word and tongue.” Our love would be “real.” We are living in the age of the martyrs, during an increasing “Christian Holocaust.” God help us if we do not help our brethren while we still can. Pray for this “Great Awakening.” If every Bible believing church in America were taking regular generous collections for the worldwide persecuted church, we would see the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Body of Christ since the first century. So simple, but will we do it?
“We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him." Acts 5:32
“I assure you, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.” Jesus Christ—Matthew 25:31-46
The consequence of neglecting our brethren is sobering.
Scriptures referenced: John 13:34-45; John 15:12-14; John 15:17; 1John 3:16-19; James 5:3,5; Amos 6:1; Esther 4:14; Mark 7:8; 2Cor chapters 8 & 9; Luke 14:33; 1Cor 6:20; 1John 2:6; Matthew 25:31-46; Heb 12:16; Gen 25:34; Gal 6:2; 1Cor 16:1-2; Rom 12:13; Gal 2:9-10; James 2:15-17; John 17:23; John 14:21
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