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RON'S BLOG Oct. 13, 2014 |
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SIGNS OF REVIVAL |
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My wife Barbara and I watched the Dove Awards for Christian music last night. We enjoyed it more than ever, and toward the end of the event, it occurred to us that the whole evening was more like a beautiful worship service than a display of human achievement. It was truly a night of glorious praise and worship of our Great God and the Lord Jesus Christ! Before announcing the award for "Best Artist of the Year"- Amy Grant confirmed our feelings by saying this: I heard a lot of artists whose music was new to me, and I feel a kind of energy in the music of the Church that I have not felt in all the years of making music. It comes as no surprise that in Bible times, when wars were to be fought, the musicians were sent out in front. It's a powerful place to be. [2 Chronicles 20:20-23] The winner was Hillsong United for the album that includes the incredible worship song, "Oceans." Near the end of the event they announced the "Best Praise and Worship Album of the Year." It went to Kari Jobe, a vibrant young worship leader who is known for encouraging huge audiences to praise the Lord and experience His presence. We were especially pleased with this worshipful event, and are hopeful that it is a harbinger of a great End Times Revival. With this in mind, I am including the conclusion of our latest book, The Church in Prophecy and History: Revelation Commentary Chapters 1-3. If you have read this far, you probably have the same earnest longing that I do for a great revival in our days. Is such a desire realistic? Yes, because God is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). In the book of Jonah we learn that even in such an evil place as Nineveh, the capital of Israel's enemy, the Assyrians, God wanted those who had never heard the truth to have the opportunity to believe and be saved. The prophet Jonah did not want the Assyrians to have that privilege, so he fled from God. After he had been caught, and then released from the great fish, the Lord sent him to Nineveh, and he did warn the people there to repent and turn to God. To his amazement, a great revival broke out, and huge numbers believed in the Lord. Nineveh was still eventually destroyed for its evil history, but at least those who would believe in God were given the opportunity to believe. Earlier, in Noah's time, God not only told him to build an ark, but also to preach righteousness to the people. In their case, the Bible says, their thoughts were "only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5). None of them repented and believed except for Noah's own family. Our generation is complex. There are places like parts of Central and South America, Korea, and parts of Africa where there are revivals going on now with amazing numbers of believers winning others to Christ. In China the underground church has grown exponentially and is spiritually strong in spite of persecution. Europe and North America, the bastions of the truth during the Missionary Age, have slowly grown apathetic. It i s worse in Europe, where many of the churches have become taverns or mosques, but it seems that the United States is following in their footsteps. How does God see our present world? We can be sure He still loves all of His creatures. Through His Son He has already provided salvation for all who will receive it. Like the Laodicean Church, there is still an opportunity for lukewarm Christians to be revived. But will we? Our young people desperately need to know the truth about Jesus, and a great many of them do not understand the Gospel. We cannot schedule a revival, nor do anything great to make it happen. But we can repent of our worldliness and pray: If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. - 2 Chronicles 7:14 Critics might point out the fact that this verse was given in Solomon's days to the Chosen People. But can anyone doubt that God would treat His adopted children in the Church (John 1:12; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5) the same way? Writing to the Corinthians, Paul made it clear that the things that happened to Israel are examples to us (1 Corinthians 10:6-11). To put it another way, if we care about the souls of people-including our own relatives and friends, how can we not earnestly desire for them to come to know the Lord? How could we not pray for the right circumstances in their lives to point them to Christ? Why would we not pray for another mighty revival for their sake? In conclusion, here are some of the promising developments of this present time that could lead to a world-wide revival, or to many smaller renewals. In future years, if we are still here, we will look back and notice whether or not they produced the desired result. If not, we will compose a new list and publish an updated commentary. Missionary activity - (See the extensive notes about the Missionary accomplishments of the Church in Chapter 3, verse 8). Even though missionary work has declined, there are tens of thousands of highly-trained, incredibly-devoted missionaries still taking the Gospel to the masses using all the methods that have been produced in the past, and utilizing advanced technology to finish the task of providing Scriptures to people everywhere. Most of the best results in our generation are the work of indigenous leaders in nearly every country of the world. Who knows when something very powerful might begin in some inconspicuous place that would lead to a wild-fire of revival and evangelism! Heroes of the Faith - People love heroes, especially in sports and entertainment. There are many dedicated, courageous Christians in government, the media, education, science, and other fields. Some of them might have the platform to influence great numbers of young people for Christ. Time will tell. Prayer movements - There are many prayer movements today. Some of them are led by young people. This is especially significant since bright young people and young adults have been leaders in past revivals, and it is primarily for their sake that we desire to experience such a renewal. Historically, major revivals have often come from college youth movements. Christian music - Just as most the great hymns of yesteryear were the product of revival movements, so inspiring new music, performed by exceptional young artists, are making an incredible impact on people today. Our book, The Church in Prophecy and History: Revelation Commentary Chapters 1-3 is available from Amazon.com. Christian movies and videos - The Jesus Film Project (mentioned in Chapter 3, verse 8), which has been seen by more than 6 billion viewers, is still being shown to approximately 3.8 million people per year in more than a thousand languages. Actually some of the highest-grossing movies on the big screen have been Bible epics or faith-based stories. In 2004 Mel Gibson shocked the movie industry by making the blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ." It became the highest grossing R-rated film in the United States. (It was rated R because of the violence Our Lord suffered.) The most popular 2013 TV series was "The Bible," with more than a million viewers. Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, the producers of that series have now released the biblically-accurate and moving "Son of God." And they are planning on a follow-up series in 2015 on NBC called "A.D.: After the Bible." An independent film, "God's Not Dead," had surprising success at the box office and delivered a powerful Gospel message for young people and young adults. Several other Bible or faith-based movies are in process, and the trend is seen as a surprise movement from Hollywood. Television and Radio keep improving with new applications and technological advancements. TBN, CBN, Sky Angel, Daystar and other TV satellite networks reach most of the planet with Christian programming. Trans World Radio (TWR) is the largest media ministry, and it is still expanding. They project that by 2015 they will be able to deliver Christian content to nearly 60 percent of the people in the world in their own language. Salem Broadcasting is another extensive provider of Christian content, but there are hundreds of smaller networks and Christian stations that also feed the mind and spirit of Christians. Some of these programs are Christian talk radio. These informative broadcasts help inform Christians of important events that could lead to revival, and mobilize the Christian community for action when necessary. As mentioned above, The Internet has become the preferred source of information for many people. Web based videos now rival television's viewing audience. An almost unfathomable number of videos are now available via YouTube and other providers using smart phone service and the Internet. Some of these "go viral" and can suddenly and unexpectedly be seen by millions of viewers. Many of these spontaneous successes have been Christian stories or messages. Books- Solomon said "Of making many books there is no end" (Ecclesiastes 12:12). Printed books are less popular at the moment, but Amazon.com had started a new free book publishing service to stimulate the production of new literature. This upsurge will not just appear on paper, but will be electronically transmitted instantly and inexpensively to computers and smart phones all over the world. A new thing--something we have not yet considered--might be the most likely form that the Lord, the ultimate creative genius of the Universe, will use to launch an end time revival. The Bible story is a continuous progression of new things from God's own hand. The Creation, the Flood, the call of Abraham, the birth of Isaac when Abraham was 100, Joseph's rise to power in Egypt, the burning bush, the Exodus, manna in the wilderness, supernatural conquests, the prophets dreams and visions, the star that led the Magi, the human birth of the Son of God, Jesus miracles, the apostle's miraculous ability to speak in other languages on the Day of Pentecost, and so many other innovations demonstrate the endless variety of God's dealing with mankind. The whole chapter of Isaiah 43 reminds believers of God's creativity. Here are just two verses from that chapter: "Do not remember the former things, What will the Lord do in our times to bring about a revival? Will we be part of it? Please join me in asking the Lord to allow us to be involved in whatever He is going to do! |
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Carrie Underwood is raising the bar for herself with her new single "Something in the Water." The song marked the best-selling first week of the star’s entire career!The song is about her Christian faith and and it ends with her singing a portion of "Amazing Grace."
•What exactly is “The Rapture”?
•Is “The Rapture” a Biblical concept, or merely a fictional plot device?
•What does the term mean?
•What are the implications of “The Rapture”?
“There’s somebody saying what I’m saying to you / Opened my eyes and told me truth / He said just a little faith and it’ll all get better / So I followed that preacher man down to the river and now I’m changed.”Underwood then sings a portion of ‘Amazing Grace.’
In the judgment scenario, it is possible that the U.S. will have been crippled by a nuclear attack before the final End Times conflicts begin. It is also possible that the nation will have just lost its importance on the world scene, and will have declined like all the former empires in history.
Laurie's preferred theory is that there could be another great revival. He says,
In some ways, things have never been worse morally. Yet there is great opportunity for the gospel. There is an open door for believers to go through to reach out to other people.If there is a great End Times revival the number of born-again Christians will increase. Then, when the Rapture takes place, the nation will suddenly be left without many of its best citizens, and could become less relevant on the world stage.
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake” (Matthew 24:9, KJV).At the same time, he stressed that this is an opportune time for evangelism. In addition to stadium crusades, he says the Good News will be proclaimed to thousands and broadcast over the Internet to reach even more. In addition, a powerful new My Hope film will soon be released with a never-before-seen message from his father, Billy Graham about Heaven. This will give Christians a reason to invite friends and loved ones to their homes and churches to hear the Gospel.
“The stated purpose of displaying The Cross at Ground Zero to tell the story of how some people used faith to cope with the tragedy is genuine and an objective observer would understand the purpose of the display to be secular.”
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that certain "closely held" for-profit businesses can cite religious objections in order to opt out of a requirement in ObamaCare to provide free contraceptive coverage for their employees.The 5-4 decision was the first time the court has ruled that for-profit businesses can cite religious views under federal law. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion. The document calls the contraceptive mandate in its current form "unlawful."
Three out of four Americans believe the Bible is the word of God, according to a new Gallup poll; some say the literal word, others that a supreme being inspired the text.However, only 28 percent said they believed the Bible was the "actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word." This is down from the 1970's when about 40% said it was the literal word of God.
President George Washington, accompanied by Congress, proceeded to St. Paul’s Chapel where, as one of his first official acts, he offered a prayer of dedication to God on America’s behalf.Read the rest of the article for inspiring stories of past leaders and encouraging words from some of our current politicians.
- "Jesus," received more than 18 million mentions while Chinese President Xi Jinping received 4 million mentions.China’s 100,000 censors, evidently continued to ban the term "underground church."
- "Bible" receuved 17 million mentions while Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse-tung's "The Little Red Book," received fewer than 60,000.
- "Christian congregation" was mentioned more than 41 million times, while "Communist Party" yielded just 5.3 million mentions.
I calculated that mathematically, it would have taken trillions of trillions of trillions of years, to randomly evolve into a structure as complex as the human eye, but the universe was presumably to have existed only for 13 billion years.
In fifth place, last week's surprise opener, "God's Not Dead," had another big week-end.
At this pace, it could easily clear $50 million as it plays into the Easter holiday weekend, a robust result for any independent film, let alone one explicitly geared toward a Christian audience."Son of God," meanwhile, has earned $57.9 million over five weeks.
The film, which opened on just 780 screens nationwide, took in more than $2.8 million Friday. It's likely to be the No. 3 movie for the weekend.Meanwhile, "Son of God" is still drawing crowds and staying in the top ten this weekend. It is showing on 2,129 screens and has garnered $53.6 million so far.
The article says this looks like the year that "Hollywood finds religion." "Noah," the controversial big budget film will be released next Friday, "Heaven Is for Real," will begin showing on April 16, and others are coming later this year including Ridley Scott's "Exodus," "Last Days in the Desert" and "Mary."
"Son of God," the first major cinematic retelling of the story of Jesus in more than a decade, confounded Hollywood elites, mainstream critics, and industry experts Sunday with a staggering $26.5 million box office take.
"First off, I want to thank God because that's who I look up to," the new Oscar winner said. The assembled actors, directors and industry heavy hitters grew rather quiet, unsure how to react to his overt religious praise.
Son of God is a version of the hit Bible miniseries, featuring new and used footage, focused just on the story of Jesus Christ. The Bible averaged 11.4 million viewers during its five-week run on the History channel."The Bible" was the top-selling miniseries on DVD of all time.
Other Bible-based films that are scheduled for release this year include Darren Aronofsky's Noah, starring Russell Crowe (March 28), and Ridley Scott's Exodus, starring Christian Bale as Moses (Dec. 12).
It's possible – and constitutional – for Christian teens to fight against political correctness to defend their right to worship, meet, and perform.
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New Revelation commentary just released! 
THE CHURCH IN PROPHECY AND HISTORY Amazing predictions. . . Astonishing fulfillments! for the future  CONNECTING THE DOTS A Handbook of Bible Prophecy Also available: Free Study Guide. |
