Compartmentalizing The Christian Walk Part 4

Today we stand in need of another reformation, for the bride is once again a silenced minority. The bride is being disrespected, insulted and discredited by the world at the hands of the establish church and governments.

      The Catholic Church continues to be the largest church in the world. The protestant church, in a way, has become a part of the establish church, at least here in America.

      The prosperity gospel, the materialism, the all about me gospel, the give me, give me gospel and the gospel that rejects the fact the God’s people must change, has indeed taken over.

      Through history God has used revivals to reveal to us what was needed in a particular time in history.

      The emphasis of The First Great awakening of the 1730s and 1740 can be seen in the following quote:

“In all these Protestant cultures during the middle decades of the eighteenth century, a new Age of Faith rose to counter the currents of the Age of Enlightenment, to reaffirm the view that being truly religious meant trusting the heart rather than the head, prizing feeling more than thinking, and relying on biblical revelation rather than human reason.”

 

         This First Awakening was for the church; it was a massive assault against the established church. It was the contrary of what was acceptable by the prestige and by the powerful. Baptists and Methodist led this revival.

      The Second Great Awakening stated in 1790 and extended all the way to the early 1900s. This was a revival of new souls; it was what was needed at the time.

      The Third Great Awakening started in the 1850 and also extended trough the 1900s. This was the beginning of the Social Gospel. This revival confronted and fought for the abolition of slavery, but also placed a great emphasis on holiness. So this third revival was not only designed to affect the world, but also the character of the church. The Methodist led the way in the doctrine of sanctification.

      The Azusa Street Revival gave us a sense of our need for God’s Spirit. This revival re-introduced something that seemed to have been taken away from the pages of the Bible, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. This time God used a black man by the name of William J. Seymour, son of slaves, to lead the way of this great revolution. This was the start of the Pentecostal denomination.

      So through these four revivals God gave us the true Gospel of Salvation through Jesus. Everything starts there. Without salvation we have nothing. Through these four revivals we saw a massive evangelism as new souls were added to the Kingdom. We also saw God’s desire to affect the world. Through these four revivals we saw sanctification become centered in the Christian life. We also saw God establishing our need for His Spirit to be able to accomplished what we are called to carry out.

 

      So what about today? Today we stand in need of another revival. This time God is bringing all the four great revivals of the past in one. As we make Jesus our Savior and our Lord, walking in the Spirit will become the center of our live. Bearing the fruit of the Spirit is what will indeed make us the light and the salt of the world, as we become one bride.

      If I have to give a name to the revival that is coming I would call it a Revival of Unity and Holiness. It will be one that will also be for the church, but it will also bring millions into the kingdom. The world will see a church where brothers and sisters from different nationalities and denominations will come together as a true family.

      The church will indeed be a church that will embrace holiness and will stop using our imperfections as an excuse to pursue surrendering to sin. This will be a revival where people will study the Scriptures and measure everything by the Word.

      I see a church that is alive, I see a church that is prophetic, I see a church that is powerful, I see a church with amazing music that the world will envy. I hear new songs, new sounds and new rhythms. I see a talented church, but not just talented, but also filled with character and the anointing of God. I see these things and more, for those are the things that will be needed for that crucial hour.

      We must understand that the establishment, in everything, functions through powerful networks. However, we the church, function through God’s Spirit manifested in God’s most dangerous tool against the world’s system, revival.