The Vital Need for Revival in America
Throughout history, great nations have risen to power and then fallen by their own demise. It happened to the Babylonian Empire (625 to 539 BC), the Medo-Persian Empire (558 to 330 BC), the Greco-Macedonian Empire (333 to 31 BC), and the all-powerful Roman Empire (31 BC – 500 AD). In the last two centuries the world has witnessed the fall of Hitler’s German Reich, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Mussolini’s Italian Empire, the Japanese Empire of Hirohito, the British Empire, and the USSR.1 How do these nations rise and fall so easily? How can they go from being a flood of influence to a drop in the bucket? At one time, with an emphasis on POWER, these nations rose to the occasion; but with the underlying tone of PRIDE, they crumbled to devastation. The city of Babel is an excellent example. The people wanted to "make a reputation for themselves," so they rebelliously took matters into their own hands.2 They said, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth."3 God was left out of their growth and developmental plans so the Almighty stopped the building of the tower and brought confusion to their language.
In light of historical and biblical examples, the United States of America must ask itself one simple question. As the economic and political power house of the world, are we to follow suit? While the Statue of Liberty stands tall and proud in the New York Harbor, America is quickly submerging its values in the waters of the Potomac. Why? Because we have gradually abused the blessings of liberty and freedom from the heaven above in order to strive for personal recognition and national gain. As Bill Bright described:
We live in a nation that has lost its soul. Our abundance has led to greed. Our freedom has become license to turn away from God and pursue the role of the prodigal. Our national religious heritage is being forgotten or ridiculed as irrelevant or old fashioned.4
As members of the body of Christ in America, we are partially to blame. We have become so comfortable and so safe in our own environment that we have unwittingly plunged ourselves into a daily struggle with complacency. It seems we have forgotten that, at one time, our great nation based its daily decisions and actions on absolute Christian truths. We have forgotten what it means to impact and influence those around us because we are afraid to stand up and make a difference. We don’t want to offend others who have different beliefs. We’ve grown to view God as an inconvenience and insult to others, rather than as the ultimate authority.
Let’s face it, our nation is lost. The body of Christ has adjusted itself to the ways of its worldly neighbors. Who are we kidding? If revival does not occur within the body of Christ here in America, our nation will be no different than the other great nations that rose to power and fell to destruction. Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 8:19-20, " It shall come about if you ever forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish. Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you would not listen to the voice of the Lord your God."5 Jim Nelson Black in When Nations Die, wrote, "Could our own culture already be in the latter stages of decline? Is it possible that America – once universally acknowledged as the foremost economic and military power in the world – may one day, perhaps very soon go the way of Greece and Rome."6 Until the body of Christ decides to whole-heartedly pursue revival for this nation, this demise will be the result of the United States of America.
The signs that our nation is on a self-destructive path and is in need of revival include the following:
- More and more people are turning away from faith in the God of the Bible. Biblical faith is becoming harder to find. It is becoming increasingly mocked in the media and rejected by Americans. Believers are turning lukewarm and cold; unbelievers are even more turned off to the message of Jesus. Hezekiah says of his nation in 2 Chronicles 29:6, “[They] have forsaken Him and turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the LORD, and have turned their backs.” Hezekiah could have easily been referring to many in our nation today – they are turning their backs on God. We need to be awakened to the relevance and wonder of God once again.
- Sin and immorality saturate every facet of society. Sinful lifestyles minimize the sacrifice Jesus gave on the cross. He died so we wouldn’t have to live in slavery to sin anymore, but many of us persist in sin anyway. Paul writes to the church in Corinth, “Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NLT). We in America shouldn’t fool ourselves, either. The sin Paul described is common in our society, and it does not bring about his God’s kingdom.
After Paul’s warning, he adds, “Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (11). Here we see God graciously offers to cleanse away our sinful pasts when we call on him. Like the woman caught in adultery and about to be stoned by the religious leaders, America needs to see Jesus step in. He tells the leaders ready to stone the woman only to cast their stones if they themselves are sinless. They put down their stones. Jesus says, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more” (John 8:11). He doesn’t condemn, but He commands us to leave our sinful lifestyles.
- Brokenness and hopelessness pervade lives everywhere in the nation. It only starts with the declining economy. Depression, anxiety, stress, illness, confusion, fear, lack of purpose, broken families, addiction, homelessness, suicide, a constant stream of negative news – all of this permeates America and speaks of broken lives that need Truth and renewal. Psalm 82:4 is a fitting cry to God: “Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.”
Our broken nation needs hope for revival and a new day in which “the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings” (Malachi 4:2).
1 Ames, Richard F. Rise and Fall of Nations, http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/cgi-bin/tw/tw-mag.cgi?category=Magazine19&item=1104108822, December 2005.
2 Ibid.
3 Genesis 11:4 NASB
4 Bright, Bill. " America Under Judgment," in The Coming Revival, http://www.thegreatawakenings.org/americaunderjudgment.htm, December 2005
5 Deuteronomy 8:19-20 NASB
6 Ames, Richard F. Rise and Fall of Nations, http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/cgi-bin/tw/tw-mag.cgi?category=Magazine19&item=1104108822, December 2005. |
 |
 |
“Revival is an invitation to discover God anew and to be transformed by taking God seriously each day, acting ‘upon the direction given to us by the Lord."
– Dr. Thomas Jones
Associate Professor, Taylor University |
|
The Disclaimer of Revival »
 The Definition of Revival »
The Vital Need for Revival in America »
The Benefit of Revival »
The Consequence if Revival does not happen »
The Strategy of Revival »
The Conditions for Revival »
The enemy and his goals »
|
|
|
