Can We Have Revival in Our Time? | Spiritual Awakening

Eli, listening to a new beginning with Greg Laurie, a podcast supported by harvest partners for more ways to deepen and challenge your spiritual walk and roll and pastor breaks free online courses sign and harvest out alert. We live in the house but we can learn after the turbulence of the 60 genuine revival called Jesus read more issues we need to repeat this generation and realize we another Jesus racial unrest there is in the air or another virtual weight problems are too numerous to mention 24 hour cable news where anyway today is a new beginning. Greg Laurie says there's a treatment for what ails is not found in the old approach political We need to invite God onto the sea starts right at our front door. The believers need to take the lead out plot by what I don't know you wake up in the mornings of the smell of bacon. I'm not making this up. It's called the weekend in bacon alarm clock to know how such a device works the way it works is you take a piece of frozen bacon, put it in the special plot before you go to bed 10 minutes before you are the way the bacon starts cooking so you wake up to that amazing smell. I love that for vegetarians.

I don't know what to say.

Maybe they have amazing broccoli your copy amazing tale. What is the thing with Kale. I don't why do so anyway so and by the way, I love bacon. How many of you love bacon raising are guided to just love it I love the smell of bacon in the morning but my favorite meal of the day is breakfast followed only by lunch and dinner, but I do love that time. So the same way for America to wake up and smell the bacon and here's why.

As we look at the prophetic scenario. By that I mean as we look at the end times events. It is alarming to not find the reigning superpower on the face of the earth in the last days chain of events.

You can certainly find the nation Israel.

You can find the nation I ran I think you can make a pretty good case for Russia and perhaps even China. But where is the reigning superpower, the United States of America worldly cares and we need to know every nation has a lifespan. Every nation has a beginning, a middle and an end. Let's in the minds of ancient Babylon only lasted for 86 years. The powerful Persian Empire did a bit better. 208 years. The glory of Greece was eclipsed after 268 years mighty Rome ruled for almost 9 centuries the British Empire adored for some 250 years under great power in the US a is around 1235 years old and counting.

But here's what we need to know every nation's days are numbered.

The Bible says righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to the people. So if we turn from righteousness, that we turn from God, working to face the consequences. Listen to this knowledge brings responsibility.

America is not like just any other country out there. I do believe in American exceptionalism were a special nation blessed by God. In many ways the only nation I think we could even compare ourselves to is the nation Israel, a nation that was founded on biblical principles and the sin that was founded in the belief in a God who plays this year so I think there's a responsibility the goes of the great privileges we have in this nation in particular that we abandon God. If we forget God. Even worse, if we rebel against God. There will be consequences to pay, but I have a suggestion of thought as to why we cannot find America in the end time scenario and here's what I think and maybe were not there because of a massive spiritual awakening of this great awakening if you will, or maybe a 6 x 7 happens and it changes the course of our country.

You see what I don't understand why revival would change our position in the prophetic scenario. Listen, if millions of Americans were caught up to heaven, we wouldn't be the superpower we are today. I mean how many Americans are Christians are no polls are taken and usually half of all Americans either born-again followers of Jesus Christ. How many of you believe that by the way, okay good because I had a bridge. I wanted to sell you. I don't believe it either so there's over 300 million Americans at least super conservative and say let's say of one third of America really were Christians. Let's say there were 100 million Americans who believed in Jesus and of the correct way, or maybe a revival or to happen and so our numbers swelled to 100 million.

Now imagine this of 100 million people were caught up to meet the Lord in the air if they just disappeared you think that would affect our nation. Of course it would imagine the effect of our country of 100 million people. People in industry, governments on military, business, agriculture, education, medicine suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth.

No Hollywood and the press would be largely untouched but I'm talking about the rest of the nation. It would certainly have a crippling effect on our entire nation and upon our infrastructure. With this much we know all nations. As we know them are going to change, expand, or shift to some degree or another is the whole global situation rearranges for the events of the end time so we need to pray for another spiritual awakening the United States we've had for great awakening in America.

The first great awakening the 1700s allowed by such men as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield preceded the Revolutionary war, the birth of America lasted from about 1740 to 1742 with around 50,000 people added to the churches of New England know that may not sound like a lot, but I was only had a population of around 300,000 thought was significant.

The first great awakening. The second great awakening from the 1790s to around 1840 was led by many, including Charles Finney. It was during the days of the wild West. The law was disregarded. Sexual sin was rampant and they got these events called Camp meeting chair for her to those before one with a work that set up a tent above in the forest put sawdust on the floor. Preachers would common share the gospel and thousands and thousands of Americans came to faith. During that time and that it would have huge crowds in the so that was a significant awakening in our history.

The third great awakening was around 1857 1859 in the way that began is unique. There was a 48-year-old businessman named Jeremiah Lanphier begin a prayer meeting on Fulton St. in New York City and his infirmity was very small but then it exploded. Why did it explode the stock market crashed and so suddenly thousands of people were showing up for this time of prayer within six months. 10,000 people in New York City gathered daily for prayer.

Can you imagine such a thing like that happening today. It's reported that 15,000 New Yorkers were converted from March to May and there were 10,000 additions.

The church membership, listen weekly around that time. Around 1 million people came to believe in Jesus. Now that brings us to the fourth great awakening in the last one in American history and I'm of course talking about the Jesus movement though I was privileged to have a front row seat for it because I came to Christ in 1970 and found myself smack dab in the middle of a full-blown spiritual awakening. By the way, we did not know it was a spiritual awakening what was happening. I just thought it was normal Christianity because I had no point of reference in a way it was normal. Christianity normal in a New Testament sense normal in the way that it's supposed to be, as opposed to a water down version that we often see in its place today, but I think it's a good thing to reflect back on what God is done in the past. Jonathan Edwards was a part of the first great awakening made this statement and I quote it is been found by experience at the tidings of remarkable effects of the power and grace of God in any place 10 greatly to awaken and engage the minds of persons and other places." Let me rephrase that. Stories of revival often spark other revival master Greg Laurie will have the second half of this message just a moment, everybody Greg Laurie here. You know my uncle Fred Jordan at one of the first Christian TV programs out there. It was called church in the home.

I remember watching it as a little boy when I was living with my grandparents we have church in the home for you every weekend is called harvest@invitedharvest.org we have worship in a message of God's word. So join us this weekend for harvest of home harvest.today Pastor Greg is bringing an important message called can we have revival in our time, part one were discussing how to bring revival to our land, much as we saw during the time of the Jesus movement so as we look back historically, we asked the question, is there anything we can learn. Let's consider the backdrop of the country when the Jesus movement happened. It happened in the late 60s early 70s. No, you know, for those of you that are been around for a while like me.

You remember the 50s and in the early 60s.

In the early 60s were a lot like the late 50s.

It was an idyllic time we had come through World War II and people were building homes and guarding families and there was an optimism in Eisenhower was our president and and technology was sort of exploding that one of the latest developments with something called color television. Up to this point in event black and white. I member the first time I saw color TV was at a friends house and we went over and looked in the window of his front room and watched with great envy the wonderful world of color.

The Disney program so you know there was sort of this excitement. This is a time when the Elvis was the king of rock 'n' roll. James Dean was acting in films and Marilyn Monroe was in her prime. So there was a poll actually taken by CBS News and they ask people what decade would you most likely travel to. If you could most people chose the decade of their childhood, but by and large a decade that one out with the 50s people wanted to live in the 50s cars were super cool I mean anything from 55 to 57 amazing cars does a great time and I was sort of the early 60s to but then we had a brand-new president that really marked a change in our culture and really a change in the 60s. John F. Kennedy was elected president. We went from a 70-year-old grandfather to a youthful senator with a young family occupying the Oval Office but Kennedy was quickly put to the test by the leader of Russia at that time Nikita Khrushchev Khrushchev was determined to expand the Russian Empire and so one of those things was he was putting missile sites over in Cuba, which is not far from our shores, especially Florida.

Kennedy became aware of this and they had this this conflict that's called the Cuban missile crisis, and there was a moment where America thought we were getting engage in a full-blown nuclear war. I remember in school when I was a kid we would have drills in our classroom work in case there was a nuclear explosion. We went under our desks if you remember that you would've helped been under your desk. I know it's a nuclear blast. But I'm under my desk will be fine. Right here job so that kind of a scary time but everything change in America when our president was assassinated on November 22, 1963 television was pervasive at that time in the whole country found out about impact everyone remembers where they were when Kennedy was assassinated. It's as though we watched it in real time. It was hard to believe that one man, Lee Harvey Oswald could kill the president of the United States and effectively.

The leader of the free world. A lot of people thought there was conspiracies and others involved and they did a great report on it number the Warren commission and they determine there was one lone shooter but many experts believe that is the moment the 60s shifted, and was shortly after that that for Liverpool lesions landed on our shore were on the Ed Sullivan show there called the Beatles they were followed by a bunch of other bands known as the British invasion and then culture began to change before our eyes almost monthly.

Certainly yearly. Add to this effect that the Vietnam War is raging young American boys are coming back in body bags and it was a draft back then. We all wondered how we get to be next.

And then the worst year of the 60s happened it was 1968, our president is already been assassinated and no Martin Luther King is assassinated as well. Robert Kennedy, the president's brother sorta stepped into the gap and decides to run for the presidency, and many are hoping that he's going to turn the country around. There's sort of an optimism in its gaining momentum, but as he announced what we had basically was claiming victory in the California primary and he addresses supporters at the Ambassador Hotel and amending certain hand surgeon can shot Bobby Kennedy three times, only two months after Martin Luther King was killed.

Now Kennedy is been assassinated only five years after his brother.

The Vietnam War is raging on Watergate is about to happen an entire generation of young people are dissolution. There is huge protests there's riots in the streets. Kids were rebelling against society and turning to drugs, sex and rock 'n' roll. The slogan at that time was turned on to an in dropout and you know the church was not effectively reaching this generation. John Lennon of the Beatles was famously quoted to say the Beatles are more popular than Jesus and for many, that was actually true in my case it was time magazine came out with a cover issue with these words on it is God dead and some liberal theologians announce that indeed he was. So things are bleak. Things are dark. Things are desperate and God intervenes, God intervenes, and the Jesus movement explodes on the scene suddenly seemingly out of nowhere, but right in God's time schedule, thousands of young kids are coming to Christ, so time magazine runs a different cover in 1971 with the image of Christ on the front and the words that Jesus revolution.

Here's what happened. The church is that open themselves to the Bible experience revival. The church is that close their doors to it did not experience it. But one man open the doors of his church, and you on the Leo's talking about Pastor Chuck Smith. He let it happen. Chuck was, you know he was not some hipster guy. He was just your basic middle-aged balding man who was pastoring a church you can see, I admire him a great deal think that after him and I he saw these hippie kids and he wanted nothing to do with any thought they also get a haircut take a bath right so what his wife had a burden for them.

His wife Kate and I was praying for the kids to come to Christ and just sort of opened his heart up a little bit and wanted to meet an actual living, breathing, hippie, and does so one day his daughter Jan came home with this hippie kid named John who was a Christian and he told Chuck a little bit about what was happening with the kids and then John introduced Chuck to another hippie kid weapon to be a preacher and that guy's name was Lonnie Frisbee and Lonnie was really used by God, along with Pastor Chuck to bring the Jesus movement to a place of complete explosion. Lonnie was sort of like Nitro to Chuck's glycerin. The combination just blew up and Lonnie was this charismatic preacher that drew kids and so you might see the kids came for Lonnie and they stayed for Chuck because Chuck stabilize things by teaching the word of God, but something was happening in MS right when I came to Christ effect. Lonnie was preaching on my high school campus Newport Harbor high and I came to Jesus and started going to cover Joplin walked in there and I was just overwhelmed.

There were people everywhere. There were people up the aisles and they were worshiping God and God was at work and lives are being changed in we saw contemporary worship born before our very eyes, and you know it wasn't long after that that I came up to Riverside from Orange County and we started a Bible study up your return and the church are in right now harvest Christian Fellowship so listen.

The church globally was influenced by the Jesus movement, but we've all gotten older I mean your words affect the kids of the Jesus movement now grandparents I went to grandparents day and my grandkids school recently that just makes you feel old to even go to grandparents day. You know, but there we are so civil grade that's a nice little history lesson, but the you know so what so what listen. We should not live in the past but we can learn from it. We should not live in the past but we can learn from it now if you look at this generation and realize we need another Jesus movement. Just as in the 60s and specifically 1968. We have riots in the streets.

We have racial unrest. We have a drug epidemic. There's a sense of hopelessness in the air. How desperate are we for another Jesus movement. How desperate are we for another spiritual awakening. The prophet Habakkuk understood this when he prayed this prayer and have a good three to her all about you, Lord, I filled with thought by the amazing things you've done, but in this time of deep need. Provide your work as you did in years gone by. Show us your power to save us, and in your anger. Remember mercy. Have a good thing Lord of her all the stories about the old days. Do it again, revive your work again. The psalmist says in Psalm 85, six, will you not revive us again that your people may rejoice in you how badly we want to see another Bible is reality. Often we pray for prosperity in our nation and in our own lives, but the fact is revival often explodes when there's calamity.

Remember the third great awakening happened after the stock market crash I will test Chuck Smith if he ever thought there would be another Jesus movement. This answer was, well, people were desperate for revival back then and I'm not sure people are desperate enough right now to how desperate are we Greg Laurie pointing out how revival is the answer for the ills we see in our world today and will talk about how revival can start with this message continues here on a new beginning is a study. Pastor Greg is titled can we have revival in our time, part one investor Greg, I think I've heard you say that God never wastes our pain when we face painful times. It's not for nothing, but God can use it sometimes in pretty miraculous ways. And we have a resource available right now that discussions at the way that's true God is a purpose in the things that he either does or allows in our life.

And I know there are times when things don't make sense.

Hey, I've had those times to like Lord, what you doing, why did you allow this to happen. What is the purpose of this and frankly there are some things that I don't have an answer on that.

You know when I look back on our son going to be with the Lord. 13 years ago. I still question that I still wish that it never happened.

But having said that, I can look back on the times since then.

I can see how God is change me in these change my wife and these change our son, our son was actually not walking with the Lord and that event of his brother going to be with the Lord just woke him up spiritually in the he's committed himself to Christ effect now is a pastor at our church. I can look at how Kathy and I were willing to go and do things we've never done before and take risks with never taken before and and try things we've never tried before. So I've said that I was thinking of all these good things that happen without my son died I wish he could have been here with us for this, but there are some questions that will never be answered. This side of heaven. But look, don't waste your pain. You can take your pain and you can use it as a tool to help others you know.

The apostle Paul says that he comforts with the comfort that he himself is been comforted with and I've found that I am able to bring words of comfort and assurance to others who lost loved ones and speaking of losing loved ones. We have a very special book that is just come out a brand-new book that we want to offer to you that will bring comfort to you and your times of difficulty. It's written by the whole Tony Evans family.

Now you know Tony Evans he's on the radio. With this program or urban alternative and he's a prolific author, but he wrote this book, along with his daughters crystal and Priscilla and his sons Anthony and Jonathan. This is a wonderful godly family and a lot of that is due to the powerful influence of their mother Lois Lois went to be with the Lord recently. So the whole family got together and wrote about the impact of this event on their life in this book they call divine disruption subtitled holding on to faith when life breaks your heart to send you this book is going to be an encouragement to you or someone you know and maybe you don't feel like you need a book like this right now. Well, you may need it sooner than you realize.

Let me send it to you for your gift of any size and whatever you sent in return will be invested by us so we can reach new people in new places with the hopeful message of the gospel. So whatever you can do is greatly appreciated out some of you can send a lot be generous if you can't some of you maybe can only send a little. Whatever you said.

I'll send you back a copy of this brand-new book, divine disruption and we have your copy waiting for you right now let us get this on its way to you what a healing resource for you or for someone you know who's in pain right now. What a great personal ministry on your part to get this book and gifted to them with your prayers will send you the book divine disruption to thank you for your donation is an investment in helping us bring the hope of the gospel each day here on a new beginning. So get in touch today. You can find us online@harvest.org or write us at a new beginning. Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514 or call us anytime 24 hours a day seven days a week at 1-800-821-3300. Again, that's 1-800-821-3300 are you receiving Pastor Greg's daily devotions each day via email is not what's take care that right now you can sign up today free of charge@harvest.org and you receive a daily inspirational thought from God's word each day in your inbox again. Go to harvest.org the next time the importance of revival in our time apart. God wants each of play.

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