Now is a good time to reacquaint ourselves with these three terms revive awaken and restore which have come to us from America’s past.
The term normally called revival usually refers to a spiritual condition or renewal occurring within the church’s membership. When the church member’s faith was considered to have stagnated, become lukewarm or worse, Jesus Christ Himself told the Apostle John to write to the seven churches in the book of Revelation. A way for believers to recognize and treat this malady of those churches is to look specifically at (NASB) Revelation 3: 19-21 19Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. 20Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. 21He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” This is ultimately the goal of revival.
When one looks at the term awakening, from a believer’s perspective one is looking at a national movement towards a massive growth of and from non-believers to becoming believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A significant number of conversions of people within our society have occurred in the U.S. at different times. The number of times this has occurred has been approximated to be every 75 to 80 years. The first event is recorded to have happened prior to the Revolutionary War. Subsequent awakenings have usually happened after other U.S. wars. Examples of these are the Civil War and at the end of WWII. Many consider The Jesus Movement of the 1960’s, not to be confused with hippie-dom that arose out of the peacenik movement of the late 1950’s, to be a separate awakening in the US.
Other times have shown us other awakenings. One significant example comes from other locales. The reason for the huge growth of believers in these other countries is that there have been major persecutions of believers already living in those places. These types of significant conversions can be traced back to the earliest Christians being persecuted by the ancient Romans. But there is one event in these United States that doesn’t quite fit any mold. It has come to be known as the Businessmen’s Revival.
The businessmen’s revival began 1857 by Jerimiah Lanphier in New York City. Its origin can be traced back to a simple lunch time prayer meeting. By May of that year it has been noted that some 50,000 people had become new believing Christians. There are estimates of well over a million people joining churches as new believers during this awakening. There is another awakening that needs to be mentioned and that is the Billy Graham Crusades. A large number of people came forward in those altar calls, either under the umbrella of revival or as new believers, worldwide.
All of this history has been identified to help us see how it all relates to current events and understanding how the Bible leads us. Just look at Proverbs 14: 34 “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.”
The first thing we need to realize is that the Holy Spirit is calling out to those non-believers and it is our job to present the good news, the Gospel, to those individuals helping to bring them into a saving relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ. One would have to be very near sighted to not see how God is at work here in our nation right now. A new administration, consisting mostly of Christians, is rejecting the abhorrent evil that has overtaken our government institutions over the last 70 years. (NOTE. This has been since the Jesus Movement and the Vietnam War. Also remember it’s near the 75 to 80 year reference to prior awakenings.)
A restoration is needed and it has begun. One can’t restore anything without removing that which is worn out and bad. This goes for a country as well. In order for there to be a restoration of the United States the evil that has infiltrated our government, our justice system, our education system, and our health care system including mental health care – i.e. transgenderism – in our society needs to be eradicated and removed. That work has begun thanks to President Trump’s current Administration.
Now is our turn to get up and get moving. There are many verses within the Bible that reinforce our need to be involved. One idea envisions and proclaims this concept. A verse that expresses this thought well is Matthew 9: 37, 38, “37Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’”
There is something more that needs to be done while doing a restoration project. The not good stuff needs to be replaced with new or rebuilt pieces. These new and rebuilt national institutions must have a solid foundation. The solid foundation can only be done by having the people turning to the author of Truth and proclaiming a faith in His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. That is the only way we will see a true restoration of this Nation. Believers have been called to this endeavor. Does the phrase, “Therefore, go make and make disciples…,” from Matthew 28: 19 ring any bells?
Ultimately, for a complete change, we need a spiritual revival in our church and an understanding of a need for everyone to do the job we have all been called to do. When everyone is pulling in the same direction, there can be a new awakening happening in the USA. A revived and awakened people can restore this country of ours and we can be a beacon of light for the rest of the world.
A fitting conclusion that speaks of doing God’s work and also of rejoicing can be found in the words of John 4: 34-38, “34Jesus *said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. 35Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. 36Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.” In this way we can be revived, we can awaken others and we can restore our nation.