Revival
It was a beautiful day and I was really enjoying my morning walk. I was experiencing the presence of God as I was caught up in worshipping Him. As I approached the elementary school near our house there were several children lingering around waiting for the school day to begin. I overheard a young lady of about 10 or 11, say to a boy about the same age; “Who you callin a homosexual? You want to make somethin of it”? Before he could reply, another boy in the group rode off rather rapidly on his bicycle, and this boy who was being addressed, called after him; “Where you goin whore”? I pulled up short in my tracks, and just stood there in a state of shock! I stood there for several minutes pondering what I should do. Should I try to talk to these youngsters? The more I thought about that, the more I knew, to do that would only make matters worse. So I prayed for them, while my spirit grieved over what was happening to our children. What would make children that young so angry and immoral? Nothing but the breakdown in the family. Is it any wonder that we are seeing so much violence in our high schools, and even our middle schools, when our elementary school children are already so corrupted?
I have been meeting with a group of pastors weekly to pray for revival in our land, and we are beginning to see answers to our prayers, as denominational walls are coming down and plans are underway to have every home in Palm Beach County receive a video tape of the “Jesus Story”. God has used this film mightily to bring many to the saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior, particularly in third world countries where there has been a famine on the preaching of the gospel. Although there have been favorable results in our country when this film has been distributed to mass markets, I have reservations as to how effective it will be in producing real revival to a people that have heard and rejected the gospel.
Maggie and I were at a couples retreat recently where this Christian businessmen’s group were bemoaning the fact that their numbers were shrinking, and they couldn’t seem to draw young men into their organization. A number of attendees gave wonderful testimonies as to how God had worked in their lives, and the key note speaker kept referring to the fact that when it came to the Body of Christ, these attendees were “the cream of the crop”. I agreed with her, but then thought; “If they are the cream of the crop and they certainly have been striving to have revival, how are we ever going to see revival”? They can’t even stop the decline of their own organization!
The Lord wasted no time in answering. He said, “Dick, if my people are going to see revival, they are going to have to do it my way”. I was then made to see that the church has been going about revival the wrong way. They continue to use those methods that have never produced lasting results. Get a dynamic spirit filled person and hold evangelistic crusades. This has seemed to work pretty well in the past. We have seen some seemingly great revivals with big named preachers like John Wesley and Billy Sunday. Some who are well known and still active in our day; Billy Graham, Eric Bonhoffer, Ravi Zacharias, Ron Hutchcraft, Mario Murillo and others. Recently I heard Mario Murillo say that God had told him to stop having revivals, because He wasn’t into revivals. That came as quite a shock to Mario who has one of the best records of success holding evangelistic crusades. In obedience Mario immediately canceled his planned crusade and spent several weeks seeking God, whom he said confirmed to him that He wasn’t into crusades. But what did Mario do? Even as I write this, he is gearing up for a major crusade in San Francisco. Now I’m not trying to criticize Mario Murillo. He is one of my favorite evangelists, and one who has had tremendous success (as man counts success) in his crusades. Thousands make decisions for Christ every time he conducts a major crusade, but God told him, and He told me, that is not the way to have revival. You see every time God pours out His Spirit, whether it be in Toronto, Brownsville, or San Francisco, we have meetings. And who comes to those meetings, the lost or the redeemed? Oh we get a few sinners thanks to the persuasive power of some of our more diligent saint’s, but 95 to 98% that show up are already saved! So we have a great hallelujah party, which makes us feel good, but doesn’t really do a whole lot toward winning a lost world to Christ.
Well if that’s not the way to have a revival, what is? The Lord said, “Restorative Justice”! He gave me Matthew 9:13, “But go ye and learn what that meaneth. I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
The W.W.J.D. bracelets have become very popular, because they remind us to ask ourselves; “What would Jesus do”? Well Jesus; If you’re lookin below, you know it’s worse now than when you were walking these streets. Evil is waxing worse and worse. Why we even have little kids cursing each other, and if that weren’t bad enough, we have kids killing kids. Jesus says, “I came to seek that which was lost. I have come to bring the father’s back to their children, and the children back to their fathers. I will restore broken homes, 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 will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land. I will heal the broken hearted, and I will restore broken families, because I am the Restorer”.
God is not looking for big name preachers, and He is not looking for big crusades. He wants those who are called by His name to reach out to those who are hurting. Those who are bleeding and dying on their own Jericho Road. To bind up the broken hearted, and to set free those who are held captive by their sins. If you want to know who it is that God is calling to be a part of His army for this end time harvest read the first chapter of I Corinthians, paying particular attention to verses 26 through 31.
If you should decide to join this mighty army, and would like to know where to go to get into the campaign for lost souls, let me make a couple of suggestions. Look for hurting people! Those who don’t know that there is a God in heaven who loves them, and wants to rescue them from the one who comes to steal, kill and destroy. Your church may have a support group for those who are seeking to recover from addictions to alcohol, drugs, sexual perversions or food addictions. Or you may want to get involved in a nursing home or prison ministry. Wherever you decide to plug in, get involved.
One of the biggest ministry fields anywhere is the Criminal Justice Ministry. One out of every five in our country, is, or has been involved in criminal justice. Either as a victim of crime; Having a close friend or family member in jail or prison; A police officer or correctional officer, or part of the legal profession.
Some of the most neglected people in all the world are the victims of crime. While the perpetrator of the crime gets a lot of attention, no one seems to notice how much suffering their victims are going through. Recently I heard some of the most heart rendering stories of those who have been victimized by crime. People who have had their mates raped, or murdered; Others whose children were snatched out of their lives through a senseless act of violence. Whose only salvation was a deep abiding faith in God. The majority of crime victims don’t know the Lord. What about them; how are they to be comforted? If you have ever been a victim of crime, you know the pain. It doesn’t really matter if it was a violent crime. If your car was stolen or your home was burglarized, you felt violated, almost as much as if you had been raped. And it was painful!
What an opportunity to reach out in Christian love and compassion. I wonder what would happen if the church stopped acting like the priest and the levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan. If they reached out to those who are bleeding and dying on their Jericho Road. I believe we would see true revival!
If you would like to see how you can be involved in our ministries to crime victims and to the families of those who are incarcerated, please contact us…