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Topic: Is There Spiritual Awakening Today? - Ron McGatlin
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Posted: 10/16/2009 at 1:12pm
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Is There Spiritual Awakening Today? - Ron McGatlin
There have been many major outpourings and revivals in the past centuries in the USA and other parts of the world.
Is it possible that Jesus is doing more in the world today than we know about?
Have we allowed the news media and our particular denomination to be our only source of spiritual awareness of the world?
Most of us tend to accept what we see around us in our local setting and what we see on the news as the way things are everywhere. And it appears from what we see on TV, and in our local setting, that evil is abounding and God is not doing much about it.
Unfortunately, the news media does not do a very good job of reporting what God is doing in our world. You will hear and see about wars and evil works of men and nations from around the world. But mighty moves of God, such as thousands coming to Christ and awesome works of God will not be on your local news tonight. Though entire nations may be affected by the powerful works of God, they will not be reported through the mass media.
Even our denominational reports will usually contain only those reports that involve our particular denomination and may ignore or even discredit other moves of God.
We are left to focus on the happenings within our own sphere in our own local church. Many times this focus is more about our own emotional needs and physical aches and pains than what God is doing in the world. We are pleased when a few people are occasionally added to the church, and very satisfied with the quality of the funeral services for those who are passing on, and the beauty of our weddings for couples coming together. Certainly these needs are important and must be addressed. But when they become the sole spiritual focus of our life, we may be missing much of the great work God is doing in the world today. We could be missing a great outpouring of His Spirit bringing revival to much of our world.
Have we allowed the news media and our particular denomination to be our only source of spiritual awareness of the world? Have we, like the Pharisees of the first century, allowed our particular doctrines and church practices to become so important to us that we are in danger of missing what Jesus is doing in the world? Do we subconsciously feel that if our denomination is not doing it, it probably isn't Biblically correct?
In the day that Jesus Christ walked in his natural body upon the earth teaching and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, many religious people totally missed it. The great events and miracles taking place around them were seen as something other than the Son of God proclaiming the kingdom of God. It was not just the heathen who missed it; the established religious leaders also could not see. Many people who lived at the same time and in the same place where the mighty works of God were taking place, were not aware of what was occurring. Religious leaders of that day were convinced that Jesus was not doing things the right way and that His doctrine was wrong.
This led to their finding fault with and violently opposing Christ Jesus and the kingdom he preached. For the most part, the Pharisees and religious people missed the great first century outpouring of the Spirit and mighty works of God. They missed what Jesus was doing while they held fast to their particular religious system and doctrines. Recently a local pastor of a major denominational church admitted to his church, ?If I had been there, I am concerned that I would have been one of those who missed what Jesus was doing because it did not fit my structure of beliefs.?
Is it possible that Jesus is doing more in the world today than we know about? And is it possible that neither myself, nor any other person, nor any denomination, has all of the light of God? Is it possible that we are in danger of missing some of the great works Jesus is doing through the Holy Spirit in awakenings and outpourings in our world today?
There have been many major outpourings and revivals in recent past centuries in the USA and other parts of the world. Secular history, like secular media has not done a good job of reporting nor recording these past moves of God.
Here are some examples of only a few of the moves of God in recent history:
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit brought revival among the American colonies in 1734-5. Over 50,000 were converted. Jonathan Edwards described the characteristics of that move as, first, an extraordinary sense of the awful majesty, greatness, and holiness of God, and second, a great longing for humility before God and adoration of God.
In 1739 there were astonishing moves of God in England. The Wesleys and Whitefield along with about 60 others held a prayer meeting in London. The Spirit of God moved powerfully on them all. Many fell to the ground, resting in the Spirit. Whitefield started the next month to preach to the Kingswood coal miners in the open fields. By March 20,000 attended. Whitefield invited Wesley to take over, and so in April Wesley began his famous open air preaching which continued for 50 years.
David Brainerd, missionary to the North American Indians saw a powerful visitation of God in October 1745. Whole communities were changed by the power of the Spirit. Crime and drunkenness dropped, idolatry was abandoned and marriages repaired.
In 1800 a powerful outpouring and revival touched America, especially the frontier territory of Kentucky. Thousands were converted. Many strange reactions accompanied the move of the Spirit then, including strong shaking and loud cries.
A man named Jeremiah Lanphier started holding noon prayer meetings in New York in September 1857. By October, it grew into a daily prayer meeting attended by many businessmen. By March 1858, newspapers carried front page reports of over 6,000 attending daily prayer meetings in New York and Pittsburgh. In Washington five daily prayer meetings were held at five different times to accommodate the crowds. In May 1859, there was only about 800,000 people in New York, of which 50,000 were new converts. Charles Finney was preaching in those days. New England was profoundly changed by the revival and in several towns no unconverted adults could be found!
The Ulster revival of 1859 brought 100,000 converts into the churches of Ireland. It began with four men starting a weekly prayer meeting in a village school near Kells, in the month of September of 1857? the same date that prayer began in New York.
The awesome moves of God continued and increased in the 1900s around the world. A few of these outpourings were:
The Welsh revival, 100,000 were converted in Wales during 1904-5.
Azusa Street in Los Angeles 1906, drew people from around the nation and overseas. There were awesome miracles and manifestations of the Spirit.
In the Belgian Congo in 1914 the whole place was charged as if with an electric current. Men were falling, jumping, laughing, crying, singing, confessing, and some shaking terribly. This particular one can best be described as a spiritual tornado. People were literally flung to the floor or over the benches, yet no one was hurt. In prayer, the Spirit came down in mighty power sweeping the congregation ? bodies trembled with the power ? people were filled and as drunk with the Spirit.
In Rwanda in June 1936, the famous East African revival began and rapidly spread to the neighboring countries of Burundi, Uganda, and the Congo (now Zaire), then further.
Argentina in 1954, the largest stadium seating 110,000 was filled for weeks as 300,000 made commitments to Christ and hundreds were healed each night for three months.
Soe, a city in Timor, Sunday 26 September 1965 ? It was reported that people heard the sound of a tornado like wind, and the appearance of flames above the Reformed Church building. Healings and evangelism increased dramatically. Hundreds of thousands were converted. About 90 evangelistic teams were formed which functioned powerfully with spiritual gifts. The first team saw 9,000 people converted in two weeks in one town alone. In the first three years of this revival 200,000 became Christians in Timor alone.
God?s power visited Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, on February 3, 1970.
The Jesus Movement exploded in 1971 among hippie and counter culture youth in America in the early seventies.
Nagaland, a state in the North East of India, began to experience revival in the 1960s and has continued in revival. By the early 1980s it was estimated that 85% of the population had become Christians.
Many other outpourings and major moves of God have occurred in recent decades ?far too many to mention here. Hundreds of thousands of people have been and are being converted ? countless miracles of healing and deliverance from every evil work and darkness have been and are occurring. In this decade, the 1990s there has been a notable increase in the major moves of God around the world and in our nation. But we do not see these things on our evening news nor in many of our denominational reports.
Would you like to have reports and first hand accounts on what God is doing in the 1990s in spiritual awakenings in our nation and around the world? Here are a few examples:
A major Christian broadcasting network reported 6 million conversions in their work worldwide in 1990, which was more than the previous 30 years of results combined.
Revival swept Cuba in 1988. One church had 100,000 visitors in 6 months! A miraculous healing in one church led to nine days of meetings in which 1,200 people were saved. The pastors were imprisoned, but the revival continued. In another church where over 15,000 accepted Christ in three months. In 1990 a pastor whose congregation never exceeded 100 meeting once a week suddenly found himself conducting 12 services a day for 7,000 people.
In East Germany small prayer groups of ten to twelve persons started to pray for peace. By October 1989, 50,000 people were involved in Monday night prayer meetings. In 1990, when these praying people moved quietly into the streets, their numbers swelled to 300,000 and the wall came down.
Reports indicate that more Muslims have come to Christ in the past decade than in the previous thousand years.
An estimated 3.5 million people a year become Christian in Latin America now.
Evangelists continue to have massive healing evangelistic crusades in Africa, often with hundreds of thousands attending in the open air. In February, 1995, in spiritually resistant Ethiopia, up to 115,000 attended meetings daily. In five days more than 100,000 made commitments to Christ and as many were filled with the Spirit and thousands received healing. Around 10 million a year are becoming Christians in Africa.
In Benin (West Africa), on January 26 to 31, 1999, in a six day evangelistic campaign 640,000 people came to hear the Gospel, and some 200,000 called upon the Lord for salvation. Chains of demonic darkness and voodoo were broken. The glorious delivering power of God burst upon the multitudes. Many were pitifully pain-racked, afflicted, possessed and even insane. But when prayer was made, miracles took place just as in Biblical times - the blind saw, the deaf heard, the cripples walked, cancer victims were cured and mad people became sane. Mister Adoni was totally blind for 12 years. He can see now!
An estimated 12 million a year are becoming Christian in China now with unprecedented moves of God?s Spirit, healings, miracles, and visions of Christ.
As of this time 4,286,734,449 people have seen the Jesus film, the full-length movie based on the life of Christ. The film is translated into 712 languages. Showings have occurred in 236 nations and territories. 1,524 denominations and organizations use the evangelistic film in addition to Campus Crusade for Christ International, which coordinates its international translation and distribution. 148,616,752 people have indicated decisions to accept Jesus Christ as their personal saviour. In addition over 375 million have heard the radio or audio cassette version and 32,437,310 Jesus Film video cassettes are in circulation.
In Argentina it is estimated that evangelical Christians have tripled in five years to three million, about one tenth of the population. There is not room enough in the churches, some have removed the seats so more people can be packed in. Thousands of people attend open-air meetings every night of the week in large cities where miracle healings are commonplace in every service.
There have been major outpourings in this decade, in the USA, numbers of conversions and renewed souls are beyond counting as powerful outpourings of God have brought awesome revivals. New life has surged into hundreds of thousands of people, including many young people and children. Lives are being changed, addictions broken, relationships healed, documented miracles of healing are occurring, and worship has entered into a new level of living praise to God.
In Toronto, in 1994, 120 people had gathered for regular services when the power of God swept in and began to powerfully move upon the congregation. Since that time the outpouring has continued to this date with multitudes coming from around the world to be changed and to receive from God. Millions around the world have been touched by this renewal and who can count the conversions and radically changed lives?
In Pensacola on Fathers Day in 1995, the power of God swept into a denominational church. Hundreds of thousands have been converted as multitudes of people from all over the world have come to this powerful revival that continues to this day. Day after day hundreds are running to the alter in tears to give their life to God. Lines form early in the morning outside the church for the 7:00 PM service that evening.
In Smithton, a Missouri farm town of 532 people, on March 24, 1996 at 6:12 PM, the power of God hit like a bolt of spiritual lightning in a small community church. For over three years now, hundreds of people have packed into the church for each of the five powerful services held each week. Over 250,000 people from every state in the USA and over 30 foreign countries have attended. No attempt is even made to keep count of the many conversions and multitudes of changed lives.
In Baltimore, on January 19, 1997, The power of God suddenly was poured out during the Sunday morning service. Revival continues to this date with powerful works of God and intense worship and praise. Again no attempt is made to keep up with the numbers of conversions and changed lives.
In multitudes of other places across the USA and around the world revival fires have ignited and lives have been changed in the last years of the 1900s and the first years of the 2000s. There are far too many churches where significant spiritual outpourings have brought revival to even attempt to know of them and list them all. Some of these have burned brightly for months and others have continued for years to change lives and restore honor to God in our world.
In 2002 there is major shifting taking place and the spiritual awakening in our world is turning toward "kingdom revival". Revival is touching families and moving out to the work place, the market place, and the education place as every aspect of life is becoming the kingdoms of our God. Redeemed people are redeeming the land. Cities and communities are being transformed.
Can it happen in your city too?
Like the first century Pharisees we can criticize these works and renounce them as something other than the works of God. Or we can sincerely pray and personally investigate some of these hot spots of spiritual outpouring in our day, as I have done and continue to do. It may not be wise to reject or accept on the basis of what the news media or someone else says. Until you have been to some of these places and experienced the powerful presence of God for yourself, no one can explain it to you. And once you have experienced the presence of God as the first century believers did and as multitudes are experiencing today you will know the truth.
Why not start now to earnestly pray for true kingdom revival to come to your church and your city? Why would God not want you to have a Spiritual awakening and a first century type outpouring in your city? Even if you believe some things are wrong in the way things are being done, why not pray for the real thing, the powerful works of God to be released in your city among your people?
Prayer and willingness to change or two consistent prerequisites for true kingdom revival.
Ron McGatlin
Edited by Moderator on 10/16/2009 at 1:12pm
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