I've been dwelling on the subject of revival lately, and on the future of America, and particularly the American church. I think that many of us pray for revival, but we must realize that when God revives a country, or a people group, He usually doesn't start with the sinners. Why? Because the fact that so many sinners are not saved, is not His fault. It is largely the responsibility of we who claim to be believers. God works mightily, but He created man so that He might use man as a tool through which to do His work.
The Church of America has fallen asleep, and many who sit in its pews, and wear its T-shirts, and hand out its tracts, and sing in its choirs, are spiritually dead. They have no desire to serve God, apart from gain, or a feeling of acceptance among their Christian peers. But most others have never been challenged to completely surrender themselves and their all to God, and they do not know that there is more to being a Christian than being accepted in Christian circles. They do not know what God requires of all of us. I like the statement Paul Washer once made. At a recent conference, he said, "This country is not Gospel-hardened. It is Gospel-ignorant." It has not heard enough of the Gospel, in black-and-white, to be Gospel-hardened.
The Church, many years ago, began to be influenced and infiltrated by humanism. But unfortunately, that influence of humanism has not stopped with "liberal theologians" or churches that compromise on issues like evolution or biblical literacy. It has disguised itself in such a way as to deceive the "fundamentalists"(*gasp!*)
Why has humanism been so pervasive? Because it is human nature to look at and focus upon self. This is one of the great reasons why sanctification and holiness need to be taught and emphasized in America's Christian churches and teachings again, because it is through sanctification that we learn how to be true and consistent followers of God -- our nature is exchanged for His, by the power of His Holy Spirit working in us.
Below is a video I found some time ago on GodTube. It is a very harmonious conglomeration of the teachings of various "revival leaders" (if such is a proper term to use in God's kingdom, because HE is the "revival leader"!). It is eye-opening.
One of the sermons from which you will hear often, is the once-famous "Ten Shekels and a Shirt," by Paris Reidhead, who became a missionary to Africa in the 1940s. Sometime, I intend to include these, and discuss them, in a near-future post here. The sermon is worth a post (or two) of its own. To get a head-start, you may listen to the audio here, or read the text here.
In the meantime, please watch the video. May God move you through it.
OK, I have a confession to make. Today, I had a little bit of a lax in my schedule. So I decided that today would be a good day to update my blogs. And do they need it! The only one I have been updating lately has been my blog Meet the Founding Fathers (did I mention it's only one of my five blogs?), because of my weekly meme, Founding Fathers' Quote Friday. By the way, stay tuned for my newest post there tomorrow, because it begins our next monthly theme of VIRTUE. If you have a blog (it doesn't have to be a history blog), and if you know the words of the Founders, feel free to join my meme! Be sure to leave a comment, so I can bring readers' attention to your FFQF posts!
And now you are impatiently awaiting my confession. OK, here it goes. Somehow, I got distracted with a little "toy" I found at www.despair.com. It's pretty much a mockery of motivational gear, and of the relationships in the workplace between employer/employee. But they let you make some of your own "de-motivators," and I couldn't help but make a few. Here they are:
