We’re living in a very confusing, chaotic disrupted deceptive time in history. The pandemic we are living through seems to be waning. As we appreciate and pray for those on the front lines and those infected with the virus, we are also aware that there are sinister forces at work to use this situation of vulnerability for their own devices.
Campbell Morgan once said:
Revival cannot be organized, but we can set our sails to catch the wind from heaven when God chooses to blow upon His people once again.[1]
Interestingly, a few years ago there was an article in National Geographic entitled Earth Getting Mysteriously Windier[2]in which it states, “In the past 20 years, winds have picked up around 5 percent on average. Extremely strong winds caused by storms have increased even faster, jumping 10 percent over 20 years, according to the new analysis of global satellite data.” Now while this article is a bit dated (2011), but a National Weather Service report for this year confirmed it has been windier than usual.[3] my layman’s observation of windiness tells me the last few years have been more windy than usual. My neighbor’s trees were blown down into my yard on two occasions recently. What do we make of this? Maybe the Lord is telling us He is about to blow a wind of revival into our land.
God used wind to part the Red Sea at the Exodus (Exodus 14:21; 15:10). God used wind to bring quail to feed His people in the wilderness (Numbers 11:31). God used wind to end a drought with Elijah (1 Kings 18:45-46). God uses wind to blow away the wicked (Psalm 1:4). Through Ezekiel God brought a wind that brought life to dead bones (Ezekiel 37:9). Jesus compared the move of the Spirit to wind (John 3:8). Jesus breathed on the disciples to give them the Holy Spirit (John 20:22). On the day of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit was introduced by “a rushing mighty wind” (Acts 2:2).
There’s are many others occurrences of God’s use of wind in the Bible. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word translated “Spirit” is ruach, in the New Testament it is pneuma. Both of these words carry the idea of breath which is closely associated with wind. So maybe, just maybe, the LORD is doing something and the wind is a sign of it. Maybe like G. Campbell Morgan said, we should set our sails to catch the wind of God.
Awakening. We need revival. We need what is called, an awakening. We need to call on God to awaken and awaken us. Here are some verses to that affect:
Isaiah 51:9–11 (NKJV)
9 Awake, awake, put on strength,
O arm of the Lord!
Awake as in the ancient days,
In the generations of old.
Are You not the arm that cut Rahab apart,
And wounded the serpent?
10 Are You not the One who dried up the sea,
The waters of the great deep;
That made the depths of the sea a road
For the redeemed to cross over?
11 So the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness;
Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
We need to call on the LORD in prayer to awaken to our circumstances. We need to cry out to Him to intervene. His promise according to the prophet Isaiah is that was that God’s people would be restored. God is able to restore us again. If turn from our sins and cry out to Him, He will hear us. A “broken and contrite heart – These, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:17) But we need to awaken and serious about our spiritual condition.
In the New Testament it states:
Romans 13:11–14 (NKJV)
11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Folks, we need to put off the junk we’ve accumulated in this world and put on Jesus! That, that is a true awakening. That is what the revival of awakening is all about.
Awaken About What?
Awaken to Political Exploitation. A politician once said something to the affect of, “Never let a crisis go to waste.” The underlying meaning here is that a “crisis” is an opportunity for government to take more control over society and the people. And we do see that:
- Growing Calls for One World Government – Prophecy News Watch[4] – “Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called on world leaders to form a “temporary” global government in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The ex-Labor prime minister, stressed the need for a task force comprised of world leaders, health experts as well as leaders of the international organizations that could have executive powers to execute the response. Brown would like to see the G20 lead this charge in co-operation with the UN Security Council while giving more resources and power to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.”
- Bill Gates Calls for a “Digital Certificate” to Identify Who Received COVID-19 Vaccine – The Vigilante Citizen[5]– “Bill Gates recently stated on Reddit that “digital certificates” will be used to identify who received the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine. And these certificates will also be used to identify who can conduct business or not. Here’s how this plan is already backed by a massive organization called ID2020. . .. For years, Bill Gates has been at the forefront of research regarding global pandemics and mass vaccination campaigns. In the past decade, Gates went on record several times stating that the world was not ready for a global pandemic. In October 2019 (only a few months before the apparition of COVID-19) the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (in cooperation with the World Economic Forum) hosted Event 201, a 3.5-hour table-top simulation of a global pandemic.
- Video – World Health Organization (WHO). Director: “We’ll be breaking into your homes to physically remove your infected children and family members. – True Pundit.[6]
- Google to Release Your location data to help fight coronavirus pandemic – CNN Business by Amy Woodyatt[7]
- Did Bill Gates Just Reveal the Real Reason Behind the Lock Downs? – Zero Hedge by Rosemary Frei[8] – In the article it states, “It appears that rather than let the population be exposed to the virus and most develop antibodies that give them natural, long-lasting immunity to COVID-19, Gates and his colleagues far prefer to create a vast, hugely expensive, new system of manufacturing and selling billions of test kits, and in parallel very quickly developing and selling billions of antivirals and vaccines. . . .” Article continues by quoting Gates – Eventually what we’ll have to have is certificates of who’s a recovered person, who’s a vaccinated person……Because you don’t want people moving around the world where you’ll have some countries that won’t have it under control, sadly.You don’t want to completely block off the ability for people to go there and come back and move around.So eventually there will be this digital immunity proof that will help facilitate the global reopening up.” [Some time on the afternoon of March 31 the last sentence of this quote was edited out of the official TED video of the interview. Fortunately, recordings of the complete interview are archived elsewhere.]
- State Police Cite PA Woman for ‘going for a drive’ amid stay-at-home Order [9]
- Watch: Police Raid Church’s Drive-in Service, Issue $500 Tickets to Entire Congregation [10]
- Snitching on Christians Now Pays Big Money in China [11]
- NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio wanted people to snitch on each other for not social distancing. NYers shot it down. [12]
- A Cashless Society is Coming – Confirming What the Bible Prophesied 2,000 Years Ago – by Ron Ross The Christian Post[13] – “Very powerful forces are pressing passionately for a worldwide cashless society, and the Bible has predicted the move for centuries. Two years ago (2015) Bill Gates promoted it. “The key to this will be mobile phones,” he wrote. “Already, in the developing countries with the right regulatory framework, people are storing money digitally on their phones and using their phones to make purchases, as if they were debit cards. By 2030, two billion people who don’t have a bank account today will be storing money and making payment with their phones.” The technology is in place. Chris Skinner, author of The Future of Banking and Digital Bank wrote: “We already have contactless payment terminals, fingerprint recognition payments, micro and mobile payments. The only logical step is to introduce non-card based (i.e. biometric based) payment systems.”
- What in the World is Happening – Rapture Ready – Rob Pue[14] – “A theory that I find much more plausible is a coming global financial reset — as the world economy is destroyed under the guise of a deadly “pandemic.” This seems like an opportune time for the implementation of a new, one-world currency. Debt would be erased, the slate wiped clean and the world would start over with this new currency, which would, of course, be a DIGITAL currency. In fact, during the stimulus package negotiations in Congress, Nancy Pelosi even floated the idea of a “digital wallet” which would be mandatory for all.”
- There’s another article that is troubling because it concerns the restriction of information. In an article entitled George Soros and Bill Gates Funding Facebook’s Fact Checkers [15]it says in part: “Social media giant Facebook has announced that its fight against fake news will involve third-party fact checking organizations, however there are grave concerns about the legitimacy of those groups after it was revealed George Soros and Bill Gates, as well as other Clinton donors are funding the fact checking drive.”
Awaken to a Powerful Evangelistic opportunity. The idea to, “Never let a crisis go to waste,” cuts both ways. As people are challenged and tried, God draws them to Himself. In Psalms it states:
Psalm 66:10–12 (NKJV)
10 For You, O God, have tested us;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.
12 You have caused men to ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.
God, in His discipline, to awaken people from spiritual lethargy, will bring testing. His objective in such testing is not merely punitive. His objective is instructive and to bless; to bring people “out to rich fulfillment.”
And, from some reports, it would seem that people are turning to God during this time of world crisis:
- Bible Publishers Reporting Jump in Sales Amid Coronavirus Fears[16] by Michael Gryboski – The Christian Post – “Publishing companies that sell Bibles have reported an increase in purchases in recent weeks, likely connected to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
Tyndale House Publishers, a Christian publisher based in Carol Stream, Illinois, saw a considerable increase in their Bible sales last month compared to March 2019.
This includes their Life Application Study Bible sales going up 44% and sales of the Immerse Bible going up 60%, according to Jim Jewell, an executive at Tyndale.
In an interview with The Christian Post on Tuesday, Jewell said he believes concerns over the pandemic “has upended almost everyone’s lives in some way.”
“It’s not surprising that people turn to the comfort and clarity of the Bible in times of trouble and uncertainty,” he said, adding that social media engagement for Tyndale was also growing.
“On [our Facebook page for the] New Living Translation, where we post Bible verse memes, engagement was triple what it was last March and up 72% from just last month.”
Jewell told CP that this was not the first time a national crisis has led to higher Bible sales. He said in the month after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, “Tyndale Bible sales were 57% higher than October of 2000.”
Alabaster Co. of California, which was founded in 2017 and sells books of the Bible individually that have visually artistic features, reported a 143% boost in sales compared to last year.
Brian Chung, co-founder of Alabaster, told Fox News that he believed the sales jump occurred because “people are looking for hope and restoration.”
- Most Americans Say Coronavirus Outbreak Has Impacted Their Lives – Pew Research[17]
- The Apocalypse as an ‘Unveiling’: What Religion Teaches Us by Elizabeth Dias of the NY Times – Interesting that a secular newspaper would have such an article. People are thinking!
- Study Shows Even Non-Religious Americans Are Turning to Prayer as a Result of COVID-19 – CBN [18] – “A new poll from Pew Research Centerreveals that the COVID-19 outbreak is changing Americans’ religious habits, drawing more people to the power of prayer. More than half of all US adults have prayed for the coronavirus to end, including people who say they rarely pray and those who don’t belong to a religion. Americans who are feeling the impact from COVID-19 have revealed that their religious practices have changed as a result of the pandemic. The poll shows that 55 percent of people overall in the US are praying for God to end the outbreak. That number includes 86 percent of the Americans who already pray daily, along with 15 percent of the people who rarely pray but have now started praying because of the coronavirus. And more research shows it’s not just in the US. There’s been a huge global spike in prayer interest over the last month. “Google searches on prayer…skyrocketed during the month of March 2020 when the COVID-19 went global,” writes Jeanet Sinding Bentzen, a researcher at the University of Copenhagen.
- And then this article in the Wall Street Journal entitled, A Coronavirus Great Awakening by Robert Nicholson[19] – “Could a plague of biblical proportions be America’s best hope for religious revival? As the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II approaches, there is reason to think so.
Three-quarters of a century has dimmed the memory of that gruesome conflict and its terrible consequences: tens of millions killed, great cities bombed to rubble, Europe and Asia stricken by hunger and poverty. Those who survived the war had to grapple with the kinds of profound questions that only arise in the aftermath of calamity. Gazing at the ruins from his window at Cambridge University, British historian Herbert Butterfield chose to make sense of it by turning to the Hebrew Bible.
“The power of the Old Testament teaching on history—perhaps the point at which the ancient Jews were most original, breaking away from the religious thought of the other peoples around them—lay precisely in the region of truths which sprang from a reflection on catastrophe and cataclysm,” Butterfield wrote in “Christianity and History” (1949). “It is almost impossible properly to appreciate the higher developments in the historical reflection of the Old Testament except in another age which has experienced (or has found itself confronted with) colossal cataclysm.”
Americans, chastened by the horrors of war, turned to faith in search of truth and meaning. In the late 1940s, Gallup surveys showed more than three-quarters of Americans were members of a house of worship, compared with about half today. Congress added the words “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954. Some would later call this a Third Great Awakening.
Today the world faces another moment of cataclysm. Though less devastating than World War II, the pandemic has remade everyday life and wrecked the global economy in a way that feels apocalyptic.
The experience is new and disorienting. Life had been deceptively easy until now. Our ancestors’ lives, by contrast, were guaranteed to be short and painful. The lucky ones survived birth. The luckier ones made it past childhood. Only in the past 200 years has humanity truly taken off. We now float through an anomalous world of air conditioning, 911 call centers, acetaminophen and pocket-size computers containing nearly the sum of human knowledge. We reduced nature to “the shackled form of a conquered monster,” as Joseph Conrad once put it, and took control of our fate. God became irrelevant.
Who will save us now that the monster has broken free?
“Men may live to a great age in days of comparative quietness and peaceful progress, without ever having come to grips with the universe, without ever vividly realizing the problems and the paradoxes with which human history so often confronts us,” Butterfield wrote. “We of the twentieth century have been particularly spoiled; for the men of the Old Testament, the ancient Greeks and all our ancestors down to the seventeenth century betray in their philosophy and their outlook a terrible awareness of the chanciness of human life, and the precarious nature of man’s existence in this risky universe.”
The past four years have been some of the most contentious and embarrassing in American history. Squabbling over trivialities has left the public frantic and divided, oblivious to the transcendent. But the pandemic has humbled the country and opened millions of eyes to this risky universe once more.
“Sheer grimness of suffering brings men sometimes into a profounder understanding of human destiny,” Butterfield wrote. Sometimes “it is only by a cataclysm,” he continued, “that man can make his escape from the net which he has taken so much trouble to weave around himself.”
For societies founded on the biblical tradition, cataclysms need not mark the end. They are a call for repentance and revival. As the coronavirus pandemic subjects U.S. hospitals to a fearsome test, Americans can find solace in the same place that Butterfield did. Great struggle can produce great clarity.
“The ancient Hebrews, by virtue of inner resources and unparalleled leadership, turned their tragedy, turned their very helplessness, into one of the half-dozen creative moments in world history,” Butterfield wrote. “It would seem that one of the clearest and most concrete of the facts of history is the fact that men of spiritual resources may not only redeem catastrophe, but turn it into a grand creative moment.”
Could a rogue virus lead to a grand creative moment in America’s history? Will Americans, shaken by the reality of a risky universe, rediscover the God who proclaimed himself sovereign over every catastrophe?
Awaken to God’s Truth
In light of all the good and the bad, in light of all that is going on, what should we, God’s people do? We need to awaken to the truth of God’s word and keep the following in mind.
- Awaken to the Truth that God can use this situation for His good.
The truth of God’s word is that God can bring good from “all things,” “for those who love” Him, and “who are the called according to His purpose.” That’s us Christian! God can bring good from all that has befallen us. You just have to trust Him and look for His will and way. You just have to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Look what God tells us in His word:
Romans 8:28 (NKJV)
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
James 1:2–4 (NKJV)
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
1 Peter 1:6–9 (NKJV)
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
Time to awaken to our need to build our faith.
- Awaken to Your need to Lean on the Lord
In all of this we need to lean on the Lord:
Psalm 28:7 (NKJV)
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him.
Psalm 32:7 (NKJV)
7 You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.
Psalm 35:1 (NKJV)
1 Plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
Psalm 42:5 (NKJV)
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
For the help of His countenance.
Psalm 43:1 (NKJV)
1 Vindicate me, O God,
And plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!
Instead of cowering in fear over what the enemy is throwing at us, we need to see God as our shield; keep God in between us and our enemy. Instead of hiding in our homes alone, we need to hide in the Lord. Instead of defending ourselves, we need to lean on Jesus to defend us. Instead of being discouraged we need to have hope in Jesus. We need to plead for God to intervene on behalf of our entire nation.
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Selah
2 Timothy 4:17 (NKJV)
17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also, I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
The Lord has given us a spirit of power, love and a sound mind, and He stands with us to empower us to proclaim the life giving gospel.
- Awaken to the Fact that Truth Is Important
As the Bible and our Lord Jesus attests, we need to awaken to His truth and proclaim it far and wide:
Psalm 25:5 (NKJV)
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.
Psalm 26:3 (NKJV)
3 For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,
And I have walked in Your truth.
John 17:17 (NKJV)
17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
John 18:37 (NKJV)
37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”
Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
John 15:26 (NKJV)
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.
John 16:13 (NKJV)
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
1 Timothy 6:20 (NKJV)
20 O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—
2 Timothy 1:13 (NKJV)
13 Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.
- Awaken to the Truth You Don’t Have to Attend Every Argument You’re Invited To
We need to guard against foolish arguments and baseless fanciful speculations.
Titus 3:9–11 (NKJV)
9 But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless. 10 Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.
- Awaken to the Truth we are in a Spiritual Conflict
The reality is that we are in a spiritual battle. There are physical players in this battle, but they are the pawns of our greatest enemy, Satan. We need to awaken to this face and act accordingly.
Ephesians 2:1–3 (NKJV)
2 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
1 John 5:19 (NKJV)
19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
2 Corinthians 4:3–4 (NKJV)
3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
1 Timothy 5:15 (NKJV)
15 For some have already turned aside after Satan.
- Awaken to the Temporariness of the Things of This World
Folks, there are no U-Haul trailers attached to funeral hearses. You can’t take your stuff with you. Yes, we should be good stewards and caretakers of what God has entrusted to us. But rather than being unholy hoarders, we need to invest in the things of eternity. C.T. Studd’s words ring in my ears constantly, “This one life will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last. When I am dying how happy I’ll be, if the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.” Can you say that?
Psalm 34:19 (NKJV)
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
1 Timothy 6:7 (NKJV)
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
- Awaken to the True Nature of the Church – Church is Not Limited to a Building – We Can Worship Without a Building
The Church is more than buildings. Yes, its great to physically meet together in a church. And when we are able to do that again we should have a fellowship banquet to surpass all others. I can’t wait to hug and kiss my fellow Christians. But the Church is not a building. We are the “temple,” of the Holy Spirit. We are churches! Places where the Holy Spirit dwells:
1 Corinthians 3:16 (NKJV)
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (NKJV)
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
I agree with A.W. Tozer who commented:
If you burn down the church building and drive away all the people. You have not disturbed Christian worship at all. Keep a Christian from entering the church sanctuary and you have not in the least bit hindered his worship. We carry our sanctuary with us. We never leave it. – A.W. Tozer
- Awaken to Signs – There was recently an extremely rare quadruple rainbow.[20] I saw that and felt, “Okay Lord, what do you want me to learn from such a rare sight?” The Lord brought to mind the following verse:
Ezekiel 1:28 (NKJV)
28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.
So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.
Glory in God over the beauty of His creation and when He blesses us with unique manifestations of it. Awaken to His signs and worship Him.
9 Awaken to the Truth That the Wicked Have No Right to Refer to God’s Word
I’ve noticed a certain politician who ahs tried to coopt scripture in an attempt to take what she believes is the high ground. Such hypocrisy is exposed however by the same politician being one of the foremost supporters of abortion! Before we start assuming and presuming on holy ground, we need to address the areas of life where we are living contrary to Holy God. God cannot and will not bless a nation that murders innocents in the millions! And so we those (regardless of party affiliation) who would try to manipulate scripture to their own advantage and political expedience, I suggest they read this verse from God’s word:
Psalm 50:16–17 (NKJV)
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,
17 Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?
- Awaken to Pray for Everyone – Friends AND Enemies
If we are not praying for our politicians, we have no right to criticize them, for our prayerlessness makes us culpable in their ineptitudes and sins. We need to be praying for all government representatives, regardless if we seen them as enemies or not:
1 Timothy 2:1–2 (NKJV)
2 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
James 4:8 (NKJV)
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Psalm 33:12 (NKJV)
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.
Pray until there are no more enemies in our land. Pray for unity. Pray for a conviction of sins. Pray for a desire to live holy and for new hearts. Which leads us to the final aspect we need to be awakened to.
Awaken to Salvation! – Pray for the salvation of those around you. Start with family member, friends, neighbors, community, and politicians. Pray for the salvation of all. And, if it is not yet the case, pray to receive the gospel by faith yourself. Know it well enough that you can share it with others. THE TIME IS SHORT!
Realize eternal life is not a matter of religion, but involves personally knowing God –
-
- John 17:3 – “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
Realize sin separates people from Holy God –
-
- Psalm 66:18 – “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear”
- Isaiah 59:2 – “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you”
- Habakkuk 1:13 – “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness”
Realize you are a sinner –
-
- Exodus 20:1-17 – Examine and assess yourself by the Ten Commandments
- 2 Corinthians 13:5 – “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?”
- Romans 3:10 – “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one”
- Romans 3:23 – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
- James 2:10 – “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” (also Gal. 3:10)
Realize there is a penalty for sin –
-
- Matthew 25:46 – “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life”
- Romans 2:8–9 – 8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;
- Romans 6:23a – “For the wages of sin is death,”
- Galatians 6:7-8 – 7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
Realize you are lost and need to be saved from your sins –
-
- Luke 9:25 – For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?
- Luke 13:3 – 3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
- Luke 18:11 –11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.
- Luke 19:10 – 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
- John 3:18–20 – 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
- John 8:24 – 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
Realize Jesus paid the penalty for you –
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- 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
- 1 Peter 3:18–22 – 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
Realize your salvation is a free gift from God
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- Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
- Ephesians 2:8–9 – For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
- Titus 3:5 – 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
Realize God did this because He loves you –
- John 3:16 – 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
- Romans 5:8 – “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
- 1 John 4:9–10 – 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Realize salvation requires a repentant-heart-faith decision from you to receive it – To “repent” means to confess to God and forsake your sin. To “believe” or have “faith” unto salvation means Forsaking All (others or other means of salvation) I Trust Him.
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- Acts 3:19-20 – “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you”
- Acts 16:31 – “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved”
- John 1:12 – “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name”
Realize salvation is a matter of the heart –
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- Acts 8:36–38 – Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” 37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
- Romans 10:10 – “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Realize now is the time to call on God to be saved from your sins –
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- Romans 10:13 – For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
- 2 Corinthians 6:2 – “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
A SALVATION PRAYER:
If you believe the above Gospel and are willing to trust in Jesus with all your heart as Savior, if you want the forgiveness of sins and eternal life God in this Gospel freely offers to you, with all your heart, pray this prayer:
“Dear God, I have sinned and disobeyed Your Laws. I admit I deserve eternal punishment. But I repent; I confess my sins to You and forsake them. I ask that You please forgive me, not because of any good works I have done, but because I believe Jesus paid the just penalty for my sins by dying for me on the cross. I believe He rose from the dead. I believe that with all my heart. I receive it by faith, as a gift of Your grace. Help me to live for You. Please Holy Spirit fill me, give me spiritual life, eternal life. Please help me to know you Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit. Help me grow in a relationship with You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Now, begin praying and reading your Bible daily, regularly. Find a church that believes in and teaches the Bible as the word of God. Find a church where the Gospel is preached and people believe in being born again. Find such a church and become a part of your new eternal family. And tell someone else about what God has done for you. Don’t go by feelings, live by faith in Jesus. He is faithful. He will help you. Remember this:
2 Corinthians 5:17 – 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
1 Corinthians 10:13 – 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
2 Timothy 2:15 – 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 3:16–17 – 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Acts 2:42 – 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
[1] https://www.christianquotes.info/quotes-by-topic/quotes-about-revival/
[2] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/3/110328-earth-storms-winds-global-warming-science-environment/
[3] https://www.weather.gov/lmk/ItsBeenWindyThisYear
[4] https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=3933
[5] https://vigilantcitizen.com/latestnews/bill-gates-calls-for-a-digital-certificate-to-identify-who-is-vaccinated/
[6]
https://truepundit.com/video-world-health-organization-who-director-well-be-breaking-into-your-homes-to-physically-remove-your-infected-children-family-members/
[7] https://www.click2houston.com/news/national/2020/04/06/google-to-release-your-location-data-to-help-fight-coronavirus-pandemic/
[8]
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/did-bill-gates-just-reveal-real-reason-behind-lock-downs
[9] https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/state-troopers-cite-pa-woman-for-going-for-a-drive-amid-stay-at-home-order/
[10] https://www.toddstarnes.com/faith/watch-police-raid-churchs-drive-in-service-issue-500-tickets-to-entire-congregation/
[11] https://churchleaders.com/news/348038-snitching-on-christians-now-pays-big-money-in-china.html
[12] https://nypost.com/2020/04/22/bill-de-blasios-snitch-line-met-its-inevitable-fate/
[13] https://www.christianpost.com/voices/a-cashless-society-is-coming-confirming-what-the-bible-prophesied-2000-years-ago.html
[14] https://www.raptureready.com/2020/04/12/what-in-the-world-is-happening-by-rob-pue/
[15] https://newspunch.com/george-soros-bill-gates-facebooks-fact-checkers/
[16] https://www.christianpost.com/news/bible-publishers-reporting-jump-in-sales-amid-coronavirus-fears.html
[17] https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/03/30/most-americans-say-coronavirus-outbreak-has-impacted-their-lives/
[18] https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2020/april/study-shows-even-non-religious-americans-are-turning-to-prayer-as-a-result-of-covid-19
[19] https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-coronavirus-great-awakening-11585262324
[20] https://www.boredpanda.com/rare-quadruple-rainbow-double-rainbow-amanda-curtis-long-island-ny/?media_id=rare-quadruple-rainbow-double-rainbow-amanda-curtis-long-island-ny-3&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=organic