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REVIVAL EVANGELISM |
REVIVAL AND SPIRITUAL AWAKENINGBy Jeff Ziegler and Jay Rogers (Not Full Text - Source www.forerunner.com
jrogers@forerunner.com) The "Three R's" of Christianity In order to form a comprehensive understanding of revival and spiritual awakening, we must begin with our initial definitions about the nature and purpose of revival and then add each of the restored doctrines and areas of testimony since the time of the Reformation. We must start with the framework of historical orthodoxy and then build upon this foundation with the subsequent principles and doctrines emphasized in each successive revival. In addition to defining revival, we must also incorporate the definitions of spiritual awakening's accompanying fruits, namely: reformation and restoration. Let's define the three foundational tenets of revival theology: REVIVAL - This begins with a recovery of the Lord's testimony in a given generation. The resulting effect of the revived Church on society with large numbers of people being converted is termed a spiritual awakening. REFORMATION - This is defined as the corresponding effect of a spiritual awakening on a particular society. Great social reforms occur due to the sanctifying power of a revived Church acting as a redeemer to its culture. RESTORATION - This occurs as each successive wave of revival restores great truths which were part of the normal experience for the early Church of the apostolic age, but had been lost during the time of the Middle Ages. These three great forces, working together throughout time, have brought us to a crucial juncture in history. We desperately need to understand what God has accomplished in the past and to examine the current state of affairs. The purpose of such understanding is to create an atmosphere within the Church of our generation which is conducive to yet another wave of revival which will reform the nations and complete the Great Commission. As we begin to understand the mechanism through which God was worked in the past, we will be able to ask the following questions and give some answers about the future: * What are the chances another revival of the magnitude of the First and Second Great Awakenings occurring in our generation? We should first mention that there is revival happening all over the world today. There is spiritual awakening which has swept hundreds of millions of people into the Kingdom of God within the last decade. There is revival in Africa, South America, the former Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, the South Pacific Islands, and Southeast Asia. The sheer volume of this "World Awakening" not only rivals but even surpasses what happened in America in centuries past. As we turn to our own nation and Europe, we see that the supposedly "Christian" nations of the world today are freaks in terms of revival experience. Nevertheless, in times of great darkness in America's past revival has dawned bringing new light and hope. So we can hope and pray for a Third Great Awakening in America which will surpass all past experience. * What will be the effects of future awakenings on the societies of the world in terms of reformation of culture? The most obvious effect of revival in the past decade was in dealing a death blow to communism - the dreaded enemy of liberty and Christian culture. Although the secular press has not presented this fact, the Church was more instrumental in bringing the downfall of many communist governments throughout the world than any other single force. In our own nation we can see that the coming awakening will bring an end to abortion - America's number one social issue. Reform efforts of a revived Church will also overthrow ungodly influences in art, music and the sciences. We can expect that lewd homosexual art, rock music, and the theory of evolution will be targets of the awakened Church. The plethora of social problems our nation now faces - sexual immorality, AIDS, racial problems, economic woes - are reformation tasks for the Church of the new awakening. * What great truths are there left to be restored to the Church? We can understand what is next on the agenda by examining God's end time promises to his Church, especially those found in Isaiah 60 and those found in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). God will bring about a spirit of unity through prayer which will be the impetus for an awakening of global proportion. Walls which separated denominations and movements will be let down, or in some cases violently destroyed in order to allow a "flowing together" of the Body of Christ for the purpose of intercessory prayer. The fruits of this prayer will be the fulfillment of the following biblical promises: A) Signs and wonders akin to the experience of the New Testament Christians. (The dead will be raised, highly specific prophecies will be given, etc.) B) All the nations will be discipled in fulfillment of the Great Commission. (In some cases whole ethnic groups will be converted, in many nations at least one-third of the country will be converted with many Christians occupying the highest seats of government.) C) Poverty, hunger, disease will all but be eliminated as Third World nations are evangelized. D) Great wealth will come into the Church which will be used in the reformation of international political, economic and social problems. E) Israel will become a respected nation in the world as the majority of ethnic Jews living within its borders are converted. Sources: www.forerunner.com |
