Give Lots and Don’t Be Afraid

Last Sunday I prayed in the services just before the offering. I sensed the Lord leading me to pray that we would be generous in our giving and not live out of fear. The Lord has to deal with me often about fearfully holding on to things, especially my money. And certainly we are living in times that can cause one to pause and hoard. So I guess I was actually praying for myself.

When I came home, I sat down for my daily Bible reading. I’m reading through the chronological Bible, and no, I did not get up early enough to do it before church!

Anyway, the reading for the day included Psalm 112. Now, maybe most of you have this one memorized—and I just missed this when I was struggling to get Psalm 23 down. But this was not a familiar Psalm to me.

It reads, in part (vs. 4-8), “When the darkness overtakes the godly, light will come bursting in. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous. All goes well for those who are generous…Such people will not be overcome by evil circumstances….They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the LORD to care for them. They are confident and fearless....”

There it is. Give lots and don’t be afraid. That is how we, as the Church, will be called to minister in coming days when fear may overtake the faint of heart and times may get more difficult. But we can give generously, share the love of Christ often, and walk confidently in our trust in our God!

Shouts of Joy

I stepped outside my home and heard the roar of the crowd. Although I live three miles from Hazeltine golf course (the site of the recent PGA championship), apparently the wind was just right to carry the crowd's cheers a good distance. And from the sounds of it, it must have been a pretty spectacular shot!

I was actually on my way to the Rock the River music festival on Harriet Island. For months, thousands of people have been praying and preparing for this evangelistic outreach to young people. I had never heard of most of the bands playing, and I must admit feeling a bit old around the raucous music. But I was proud of us older generations who were there to support the youth, some with Kleenex sticking out of their ears as sound buffers!

The gospel message was preached several times with simplicity and Scriptural clarity. Although some 23,000 people were milling around and at times appearing distracted, God’s Spirit still penetrated hearts. Nearly a thousand people walked forward to the front of the stage to make decisions for Christ that day.

That brings me back to the crowds at the golf tournament. Sure, it was probably fun to see celebrities play at such a high caliber. Sure, there were probably some thrilling moments.

But none of that compares with the thrill of seeing youth stream forward to give their lives to Jesus Christ. Just imagine the roar of the heavenly crowds cheering us on! Certainly no golf shot could ever match the eternal shouts of joy when God's Kingdom was advanced last Sunday afternoon.

The Next Spiritual Awakening

If you don’t believe we are in need of a spiritual awakening in our nation, you aren’t obsessed with Fox News and other media outlets like I am! Seriously, you cannot live in this nation without some awareness that a movement of God is desperately needed.

Historically, this nation has experienced some powerful spiritual awakenings that have dramatically changed the spiritual climate of society. However, we are perhaps 150 years overdue for another nationwide, saturating awakening.

But there are hopeful signs! Before every great spiritual awakening, there were some common indicators that we’re beginning to see emerge once again.

One of the first signs is an increase in the use of revival and spiritual awakening language. In the past few years, great movements of prayer have been rising up, including alliances of Christian ministries devoted to prayer for revival. Eighteen years ago I wrote my first article on revival. I wasn’t quite sure what it was, but I was aware that there had to be something more to faith in Christ than what I was seeing displayed in the Church. Now the call for revival is becoming commonplace in prayer circles.

Another sign is an increase in the fervency of prayer among the “remnant.” These are the pastors and intercessors who have prayed faithfully and sought God for a greater move of His power in our midst. More and more prayer warriors are joining the ranks of those praying fervently for revival. This is one of the most encouraging and hopeful signs, as almost all revivals have started with less than 12 people praying. God loves to work through a remnant!

As we close in on a desperately needed move of God in our nation, there are two more indicators that will increase just prior to revival breaking out (I learned this through an interview with Billy Wilson of Awakening America):

• There will be an increase in united, extraordinary prayer. This prayer is passionate, fervent, and repentant in nature—and this is increasing exponentially!
  



• There will be a restoration of integrity to the pulpit. You will begin to hear greater boldness in messages based on the truth of the gospel, and it will include the message of repentance. Not only will the messengers of the gospel proclaim the integrity of the gospel more clearly, they will also experience their own repentance and transformation. This is something we should all long for our own lives.

Keep your eyes on the horizon. Revival fires are not far away. Keep praying; keep repenting. As we humble ourselves in brokenness, God will draw closer and closer to us. Come, Lord Jesus!