A TIME FOR CHOOSING: IMPLOSION OR REVIVAL?
Are you praying (even fasting) today for America, for Israel and for the nations of the epicenter? Are you praying specifically for the Lord to raise up leaders who will get America back on the right track economically, spiritually and morally? Are you praying for a massive spiritual revival — a Third Great Awakening — that will turn hearts of millions back to true, sincere, saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and will once again make America the “shining city on a hill” she was for so long?
The blunt truth is this: We are in deep trouble as a nation. We are facing the horrific and accelerating breakdown of the family — infidelity, divorce, abuse. We are seeing accelerating apostasy within the Church. People are turning away from God, betraying family and friends and ignoring the life-changing message of the Bible. Crime is surging, especially violent crime. The pornography industry now makes more than ABC, CBS and NBC combined. Our national debt has shot past $15 trillion — 100% of our GDP — and there is no end of runaway spending in sight. Washington and Wall Street are rife with corruption. The number one highest-grossing film in the nation right now is called The Devil Inside. Tragically, the list goes on and on.
In this context, I just finished writing and editing a new non-fiction book entitled, Implosion: Can America Recover From Our Economic and Spiritual Challenges In Time? Lord willing, it will be published in June. But I need to begin talking about the message now because the issues are too important to wait. In the book, the most difficult I’ve ever had to write, I argue that America is not simply in decline; we are actually headed for collapse — an implosion — unless we make fundamental and sweeping changes soon.
Yes, we need strong, principled leaders with deep convictions who will return us to the Biblical principles that our Founders wove into the Constitution. This election season will give us the opportunity to choose such leaders — or not. But even in the best case scenario, even if we elect the right people who are serious about making major reforms in Washington and have a track record of results, they will not be able to save this country alone. We need so much more — we need the Lord to rescue us, to have mercy on us, before it’s too late. We need a series of spiritual revivals to break out in every region of the country to wake up a slumbering Church and reinvigorate pastors and lay people to preach the Gospel, make disciples, plant new churches, and care for the poor and needy with great boldness, courage and compassion. We saw God do this in America in the early 1700s with the first Great Awakening. We actually saw God do this again in the early 1800s with the Second Great Awakening. Now is the time to plead with the Lord for a Third Great Awakening.
But how? Where would such a revival start? The famed British evangelist Gypsy Smith had the right answer. “Do you really want to see a revival begin?” he used to say. “Then go back to your home and draw a circle around you on the floor. Then get down on your knees in the middle of the circle and ask God to convert everybody inside that circle. When you do that, and God answers, you are experiencing the start of revival.”
Where are you today? Have you given your life wholly and completely to Jesus Christ? Have you asked Him to forgive you of all your sins, to give you eternal life, and to fill you with His joy, His peace, and His wisdom and strength through the power of His Holy Spirit? If not, let this be the day you receive Christ into your heart by faith. Here’s a good, concise explanation of the Gospel. It helped my father understand the Biblical plan of salvation and showed him exactly how to receive Christ as his Savior, and it can help you, too. Please read it. Please pray the suggested prayer at the end with a sincere, humble and repentant heart. And please post a note on our Epicenter Facebook page to tell us that you’ve become a follower of Christ. Let us rejoice with you and encourage you and give you suggestions on how to grow in your new faith, and how to share your faith with others. Indeed, you could start by sharing this message with others.
If you’re already a follower of Christ, do you need a revival in your own personal life and in your family? If so, may I suggest you follow Gypsy Smith’s counsel? Go to your room. Close the door. Get down on your knees. Plead with the Lord to do a new and wonderful work in your heart, and to give you a new hunger for His Word and passion for serving Him regardless of the cost. Don’t make it a quick prayer. Invest serious time before the Lord confessing your sins and asking for His forgiveness and asking Him to refresh you and use you to advance His kingdom. Open the Bible. Ask the Lord to fill you with His Holy Spirit and to open the eyes of your heart so that you can truly see what He is trying to tell you. Make a commitment to daily prayer and Bible study when you first wake up in the morning (before the intensity of the day begins), and then again as you prepare to go to bed at night. And please post a message on our Facebook page and let us know what God is doing in you so we can encourage you in your spiritual growth.
This is a time for choosing — implosion or revival? Let us choose wisely. Time is short.
>> “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?’” (John 11:25-26)
>> “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” (1 John 5:12)
>> “A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet….’O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.’” (Habakkuk 3:1-2)
>> “’Yet even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments.’ Now return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil.” (Joel 2:12-13)
