Renewal
Pre-Revival Winds of Prayer?
This week I taught a college course in Tacoma, Washington which focused on God’s global plan of salvation over the last 4000 years.
Yes, God has been directing history–His Story–from the very beginning.
I pointed out that in every generation there are five undercurrents–key factors–in God’s Kingdom enterprise. One of those factors, which can grow into a spiritual tsunami in nations, is a growing wave of desperate prayer that proceeds an outpouring of God’s Spirit.
In the United States, this spring, is God launching pre-revival winds of prayer?
Chapter Four of my book, The Fourth Wave: Taking Your Place in the New Era of Missions (available in e-book and in paperback), is called “What Causes Rising Tides?” When I first began researching mission movements and expansion over the past two millennia, I focused on the people that God used in various time periods. To name just a few:
- Peter, James, John and Paul in the Early Church era
- Willibrord and Boniface and Patrick during the Middle Ages.
- Count Zinzendorf, William Carey, David Livingstone and J. Hudson Tatlor during the first and second waves of modern missions.
- Loren Cunningham, Bill Bright, and Luis Bush in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Yes, God uses people to advance His work on earth “There came a man sent from God whose John was John” (John 1:6).
But He also works through five other key factors that unleash, sustain, and grow His waves of redemption.
1. Unity – among believers, the fruit of humility and prayer, is a key proponent in the advancement of God’s kingdom. Unity is the main focus of Jesus High Priestly Prayer in John 17–that his people “would be One as I and the Father are One” (John 17:21).
2. Revival – this is God’s people coming back to “life” through the power of His Spirit. Charles Finney said that “revival is nothing less than a new beginning of obedience to God.”
3. Providence – God has plans for peoples and nations in every generation. The key is finding what He is doing and flowing with His wise and righteous desires.
4. Technology – Using the tools of the time to share the Good News, whether it is the Roman roads and Greek language of the 1st century, the ocean-going ships of the age of exploration, the Gutenberg printing press of the Reformation, or the airplanes, sound systems, and Internet of the modern world.
5. Prayer – The fifth and maybe most important factor in God’s reviving nations is the power and dynamic of prayer. I call it either the fire or fuel of revival and missions. In fact, I normally put it first on the list because it seems to be the essential human activity that sets everything in motion.
When God’s people pray, then supernatural things happen. Chinese missionary Jonathan Goforth once explained: “There’s no secret to revival. Revival always comes in answer to prayer.”
As 2016 enters its fourth month, it appears that the God of the universe is launching some pre-revival winds of prayer that could certainly affect the United States and beyond. I not only want you to be aware of what He is doing, but also encourage you to join in–either on location or in your own home and community.
Something is afoot this spring. Desperate prayer is rising in the world’s leading missionary-sending nation. Here are a few of the encouraging signs.
East-West Revival Sandwich?
Amazingly, God has led two different spiritual movements to call strategic prayer gatherings on the same day–this Saturday, April 9, 2016–2600 miles apart. One is in the east in our nation’s capital. The other is in the west in the city of Los Angeles.
Washington, D.C. is the “city of authority”–where our laws are enacted and enforced. Los Angeles is the “city of influence”–the cultural and artistic hub of the United States of America.
On the same day and time, on two different coasts, in two of the most important urban centers of America, God is leading his people to gather to Him and pray desperately for our nation and world.
Here are the two God-inspired events.
1. Azusa-Now
This prayer gathering is an invitation from Lou Engle, leader of The Call, and a prophetic voice to this generation of youth. Lou says:
“Believing that decades of globe-spanning prayer have saturated the heavens, we will boldly ask God for the rain of revival on April 9th, 2016. We will consecrate an entire day — 15 hours — for the purpose of unity, miracles, healing, and the proclamation of the gospel. Our rally cry: Come, Holy Spirit! Instead of 120 in the Upper Room, we seek to gather as many as 120,000 in one place and one accord to simply exalt Jesus. And for inspiration, we turn to the most powerful expression of revival in modern times: the historic Azusa Street Revival of 1906.”
If you are anywhere near LA this Saturday, don’t miss a once-in-a-generation clarion call to the Church to embrace and receive a 21st century outpouring. If you live elsewhere, here’s how you can participate in Azusa Now:
- Phone apps: Apple – https://appstore.re/us/Ydnjbb.i. Android – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.doubledutch.the call
- Webcast: www.AzusaNow2016.com
Azusa Now is primarily a call to the Millennial Generation. We need another Azusa Street visitation from God. Will you join your heart and prayers with Azusa Now?
On the other side of the nation, at the same time as Azusa Now, up to 30,000 pastors and spiritual leaders will also be crying out to God to bring a nation-shaking revival to America. United Cry DC 16 is a broad movement of groups of pastors and leaders.
“Gathering in our Nation’s Capital has been of historical and spiritual significance. It has been a major gathering place for Christians to come together in solemn assembly to pray and repent for their nation. Each time thousands of Christians gathered to pray in Washington, DC, our nation encountered significant events and God intervened.”
“Throughout our American History pastors have also always played a significant role in bringing about spiritual and social transformation in our nation. We need our pastors to rise up, teach us how to pray, and lead all of us within the Body of Christ back to a relationship with the Lord! Strong times call for strong measures – It’s time to gather again and pray!”
So while the youth are crying out to God in the west, the pastors and leaders will be crying out to Him in the east. “From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the Lord’s name is to be praised” (Psalm 113:3).
Maybe God will use April 9, 2016 to fulfill Malachi 4:6: “And He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.” That’s the last verse of the Old Testament–and it’s loaded with significance.
The coming of Jesus follows.
3. National Day of Prayer – May 5, 2016
One month after Azusa Now/Cry Out DC16 comes the annual National Day of Prayer for the United States. Some 40,000 gatherings for prayer will take place around the nation on that date. This year’s theme is “Wake Up America” which seems to line up with the building crescendo of prayer that God is inspiring.
I will be in the nation’s capital that week for a variety of meetings with the National Prayer Committee and the official prayer meeting on Capitol Hill and the evening city celebration.
Go to the NDP web-site and find out what’s happening in your area. If there’s nothing nearby, why not schedule your own prayer meeting at school, church, or in your home?
4. Together 2016 – July 16, 2016
In July, God has initiated another national gathering of youth to call out to God for revival in America and around the world. Called Reset or Together 2016, it follows the legacy of past Washington For Jesus, Promisekeepers, and The Call movements to mobilize this generation to seek God’s face.
The leaders of Together 2016 want America to reset–a great modern word for repentance. They are praying for one million young people to join them on the National Mall on 7-16-16.
Can you come? If not, can you join in prayer?
A final prayer focus of note is Franklin Graham’s Decision America Tour 2016 where the evangelist is traveling to the capital city of all fifty states this year to lead gatherings for repentance and prayer. Please go to the web-site and look up the date for your state–then go in person or pray right where you are.
There are many things to intercede for in America and world. Broken families. Back-slidden cultures. A slumbering Church. Racial division. Millions of aborted babies. Economic malaise. Floods of refugees. The scourge of terrorism.
Columnist Steve Berman believes that God could even use our prayers, like he did during the dark days of the Revolutionary War, to bring a change of godly leadership to America:
“We, however, like George Washington, can submit ourselves to prayer. Those who do pray and seek God know His power and that He can conduct 9,000 troops to safety under the eyes of the red coats. He can certainly change the hearts of disaffected and estranged voters.”
“So when the time comes to unify, God can be in our midst to draw us together. There’s a more powerful force than politics (thank God He is) at work here, and the answer to our unity problem is found in Him, not in polls, or personal insults, or accusations.”
Exactly right–through God’s power.
Will you join God’s pre-revival winds of prayer?
Right Revolt–Wrong Standard-Bearer
Pundits have been saying for months–some for years–that the driving force of the 2016 electorate is an unabashed and unleashed anger at the political establishment in the United States.
It’s especially aimed at Republicans elites. We’re told that anger fueled the rise of the Tea Party in 2010 which took over the House of Representatives. But nothing changed. Then a new wave of angst led to the toppling of the Senate in 2014.
But nothing again happened.
So Donald Trump is now riding this populist heat wave to the top of the Republican nominating process.
There’s only one problem.
It’s the right revolution but the wrong standard bearer.
I’d like to first say something about the “anger” thing which seems to be the word-du-jour at the present. In one of the most inspiring concession speeches I’ve ever heard by Florida Senator Mario Rubio, he also referred to this phenomenon:
“The politics of resentment against other people will not just leave us a fractured party. They’re going to leave us a fractured nation. They’re going to leave us as a nation where people literally hate each other because they have different political opinions.”
“American needs a vibrant conservative movement, but one that’s built on principles and on ideas, not on fear, not on anger, not on preying on people’s frustrations.”
We lost a great candidate in Marco Rubio. Watch his full speech and weep for our stupidity.
Now back to the anger problem.
There are a few of things I know about anger and most of them are bad. First, anger is an emotion that usually flairs up when you don’t think. It’s not for stable, thoughtful minds–just for loose cannons that like to spit out smoke.
Second, last time I checked, anger is a sin. It is usually a selfish response to something I don’t like. The Bible tells us quite clearly to not let the sun go down on our anger (Ephesians 4:26, 27). In other words, deal with it daily and don’t let it poison your inner being.
Yes, I know there’s a place for righteous anger. But I only trust God to practice it perfectly with a right motivation. Most times I try to do it, I mess up the situation with bad attitudes and actions.
So anger is usually a destructive, immature force.
And we’re happy about it driving the American electorate?
We shouldn’t be. The better response to injustice and poor leadership is deep burden and positive action. I think of the response of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the plight of blacks in the 1960s. That was a revolution worth emulating. Anger took a back seat to passionate impact.
If anger (sin) drives your voting, then you will pull the lever for angry (sinful) people. Which tells us why Donald Trump is riding the Republican wave.
I’ve already made the case that a back-slidden American nation, whose evangelicals seem to have left our shores (or their values), are looking for a king to rescue them. The Donald fits that description. He’s tall, tough and uncouth, and embodies the things that many Americans desire (wealth, supermodel wife, and entertainment fame).
He’s also extremely vulgar, childish, mean, unprincipled, and cunning. Street smart would be a good word with emphasis on the part next to the pavement.
A third of the Republican Party, including many Christians, are unthinkingly following an angry man. To understand how ridiculous this is, check out this two minute video by humorist Andrew Klavan.
It is right and necessary to rescue the Republic from the entrenched bureaucracy. But we’ve chosen the wrong standard-bearer and now only one good alternative is left.
Ted Cruz. Revolutionary. Man of faith. Principled. Courageous. Not an anger-induced barbarian.
Listen to the wisdom and warnings of an economist and a prophet.
Thomas Sowell
“There is a reason why polls repeatedly show Donald Trump producing the highest negative reactions of any candidate of either party. Yet the small hard core of Trump supporters seem oblivious to his antics, his recklessness and his all-consuming ego.”
“Some of these supporters may simply not be paying careful attention. But there have also been some very knowledgeable and intellectually talented people who have backed Trump. Sometimes it takes a high IQ to evade the obvious.”
“What does Trump offer his supporters that makes them so willing to overlook so much? He boldly articulates the resentment and anger they feel at having been betrayed by smug elites in general and the Republican establishment in particular.”
“Charismatic leaders who articulated the just grievances of the people have often risen to power on the basis of that talent alone. And those who put them in power have often paid a catastrophic price afterwards. That story was repeated in countries around the world in the 20th century.”
“Will that story be repeated in America in the 21st century?”
“The only candidate who has any real chance to stop Donald Trump at the ballot box is Ted Cruz. But the Republican elite, who have never liked Senator Cruz, may prefer to stop Trump with chicanery at the convention. That can cost Republicans the votes of Trump’s followers, putting Hillary Clinton in the White House — and the country on the ruinous road to a point of no return.”
Mario Murillo
“It is now or never for America. Embracing the reality of that statement is our major hope. Whatever we are going to do—we must do now. Don’t delude yourself into thinking we have more time. You deceive yourself at your own peril. Those who handle warnings carelessly, will almost certainly be fatalities in the maelstrom.”
“In the midst of these great horrors we are still a divided church. This is the most jaw dropping fact of all: U.S. Christians refuse to unify. Everything is at stake—how is this possible? What decadent arrogance allows Christian leaders to keep building empires? Why do they steadfastly refuse to join their brothers and sisters in the struggle to save the nation? How can they ignore the deafening air raid siren? What will they do if the church is driven underground and their little kingdoms are gone in an instant?”
“What has happened to America and the church is dreadful. But just as dreadful as these things are that is how wonderful it is to know that all God needs is a core. 1 Samuel 14: 6 says, ‘Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.’
“Martin Luther said, ‘One with God is a majority.’ Gideon proved this. When all of Israel was dulled by immorality, and failed to rally to the cause, God honed 300 men to save the nation. God seeks a core that will not hold back in prayer, action and sacrifice. He seeks you.”
“You and I can’t wait for the church to wake up. No pastor should stall revival in committee. No soldier of Jesus should look for the right amount of support or a consensus. There is nothing—and no one to wait for.”
“The anger you see in the election is not political…it is rooted in their spirits. They are sick to death of the lies of our culture. They feel outrage at the betrayal of our leaders. If we seize this moment—if we go full bore—if we abandon ourselves to outreach—we will see the greatest harvest in 40 years.”
These are voices of burden and intelligence.
Let’s stop being foolish and angry. Ted Cruz is a true statesman/outsider that could lead America into a time of desperately needed renewal. We must repent of both our anger and apathy and join a righteous revolution that would make our founders proud.
We don’t need a king.
We need a principled-leader who will point us to the King of kings.
The Iowa Caucuses and Economic Freedom
Over the past forty-five years I’ve given thousands of messages in various parts of the world–many of them focused on the theme of freedom in Christ and how it applies to nations.
But, I’ve only written one song during my lifetime–never published–but often in my heart when I sit down at a piano to plunk on the keys.
The name of the song is “Let the Lamp of Freedom Shine.”
After the Iowa caucuses and a recent economic report, that song is once again burning in my heart.
First, let me share a few thoughts about freedom. They contain three important ideas:
1. Freedom is a goal or END in life.
In an individual, it is the truth that sets a person free (John 8:32)–the heart of the salvation message. God wants all human beings to be free from the penalty, power and presence of sin. Only Jesus, the Savior, can accomplish those things in a human heart.
It’s also true that in nations, the degree of civil liberty is determined by the godliness found in the people and their laws. The more God-fearing and Christ-honoring a nation is, the greater degree of true freedom it will enjoy.
Why? Because freedom is not the license to do what you want. It’s the wisdom to do what you ought. It comes through trusting God’s Word, Christ’s salvation, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Good people produce good laws = freedom in society. Thus liberty is a cherished goal of both individuals and nations.
2. Freedom is also a MEANS to an end.
Liberty is a means to both meaningful relationships and also to fruitful ministry. God liberates people to restore intimate relationship with Himself and fruitfulness in their service. Free people can love God and serve others.
In nations, the free-er a people are, the more successful they will be in helping protect other nations, provide finances and humanitarian aid, and serve the purposes of world evangelization.
Example: America in the 20th century used her freedom to defeat the Nazis and Japanese, rebuild Europe and be the first to help with human disasters around the world, and sent the most missionaries into other nations.
Another example: A non-free China, with three times as many people as the US, did not help the world in any of these instances. They were hindered from being a blessing to other nations.
Free individuals and nations can truly bless others.
3. Freedom is costly to achieve and maintain.
Benjamin Franklin wisely told an older woman after the US Constitution was ratified: “You have a republic, Madame, if you can keep it.”
Franklin and other founding leaders knew that freedom required character and commitment to achieve and maintain it. As Thomas Jefferson declared, “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.” In other words, liberty needs to be fought for in human lives and national laws in every generation.
Here is Samuel Adams prophetic warning in 1779:
“A general decay of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous, they cannot be subdued, but once they lose their virtue, they will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader…If virtue and knowledge are highly valued among the people, they will never be enslaved. This will be their security.”
History shows that godly nations have the tendency, over time, to allow sin to eat away at their foundations, and in so doing, take away their freedoms.
That is America’s problem in the 21st century. By abandoning God and the virtuous character that only He can create, we are losing our liberty.
Each year The Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal survey the economic freedom of nations around the world. Economies aren’t everything, but are often an indicator of the good principles of a given society. For many years, the United States of America was the free-est nation in the world because of the godliness of our people and laws.
Not any more.
Ed Feulner, Heritage Foundation’s founder explains:
“The 2016 Index shows that the United States’ global ranking is No. 11, with a score of 75.4 (on a 0-100 scale, with 100 being the freest).”
“Others might envy being No. 11 on a list of 178 countries, but we tend to hold ourselves to a higher standard. We’re trailing Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Chile, Ireland, Estonia and the United Kingdom. We’re not even the freest economy in North America.”
That’s an amazing fall from freedom. American economic liberty behind Estonia and Chile, and even second on our own continent to Canada?
Feulner continues:
“As recently as 2008, the United States ranked seventh worldwide, had a score of 81, and was listed as a ‘free’ economy (a score of at least 80). Today, its score of 75.4 — which matches its lowest score ever — means it’s ‘mostly free,’ the Index’s second-tier economic freedom category.”
The United States of America, “mostly free?” Land of the free and home of the brave?
On the economic front, Feulner lays out our downward spiral:
• Rule of law: Property rights are guaranteed and the judiciary functions independently and predictably. But the protection of these rights has been uneven. Polls show that public trust in government is at the lowest it has been in a decade.
• Government size: The top individual income tax rate is 39.6 percent. The top corporate tax rate is among the world’s highest: 35 percent. Total government spending amounts to about 39 percent of gross domestic product. That’s $29,867 per household. The national debt clocks in at a staggering $135,000 per taxpaying family.
• Regulatory efficiency: The regulatory burden continues to increase. More than 180 new major federal regulations have been imposed on business operations since early 2009 with estimated annual costs of nearly $80 billion.
• Open markets: The average tariff rate is 1.5 percent. High tariffs increase the price of clothing, sugar imports are restricted, and foreign investment in some sectors is capped.
Heritage ends its analysis with this question and mandate:
“‘So is the United States destined to continue this slow decline? No. We can change course. Restoring economic freedom is prerequisite to revitalizing and brightening America’s future,’ writes index editor Anthony Kim. ‘2016 is the year to reaffirm the principles of limited government, free enterprise, and rule of law so that we can reconstitute an America where freedom, opportunity, and prosperity flourish.’
Take three minutes of your day and watch Heritage Foundation’s powerful summary of the 2016 Economic Freedom Index. Here it is.
Which brings us to Iowa–the opening dash in the race for the US presidency. Many people believe that this election could determine global history for the next one hundred years or more. That’s because if America does not turn back to freedom in 2016, we could be headed off a financial and societal cliff that will engulf the world in chaos.
I know that’s been said about other US elections. But it’s never been truer than today.
In the United States, the Democrat Party is leading us toward that cliff. Their progressive agenda is fighting for a secular America, devoid of God and biblical morality, and dependent upon a social welfare state. We have fallen from seventh in economic freedom to eleventh under their watch.
The Democrat presidential candidates consist of a disheveled 74 year old socialist (whose economic approach is one step from communism) and a 68 year old former Secretary of State who was responsible for four deaths in Benghazi, Libya–then lied about it. She also kept her government e-mails on a private server which may have comprised American security and could bring an indictment.
In the Iowa caucuses, 99% of Democrats voted for two white senior citizens. Guess it’s not really a party of inclusion and diversity at the present time.
On the Republican side, Texas Senator Ted Cruz used a strong ground game, a national base of support and principled leadership to pull off a stunning victory over real estate mogul Donald Trump. Ted Cruz is an articulate evangelical Christian. His wife is the daughter of career Christian missionaries.
He’s also Hispanic and in his mid forties (and not a Canadian citizen).
Marco Rubio, the freshman Tea Party senator from Florida also beat expectations and came in a strong third in Iowa. He is telegenic, likeable, with a strong message of restoring the American Dream (which is liberty). Marco Rubio is also Latino, and a humble and devout Catholic.
He, too is in his forties.
Ben Carson, an African-American renowned neurosurgeon came in fourth. He’s also a man of faith.
To summarize, in the Republican side of the Iowa caucuses, which registered a record turn-out of 186,000, sixty percent of the caucus-goers voted for minority candidates (Hispanic and African-American). Apparently the Republican Party is not just the club of old white males.
Funny how perceptions (or deceptions) can be totally false.
I believe that either Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio (or others!) could help lead an American renewal or renaissance. Leaders aren’t everything, but in biblical history they often were used by God to bring change. My wife leans toward Rubio. I lean toward Cruz.
Cruz-Rubio or Rubio-Cruz? Two young Hispanics pointing America back to godliness and freedom. Cruz signs all his letters and e-mails “For Liberty.” Rubio talks about freedom to pursue the American Dream.
Let the Lamp of Freedom Shine!
I’m going to be praying, serving, giving, voting and humming that song all year long in 2016.