Shoulder To Shoulder #1338 -- 4/19/23 ---- "Is Another Spiritual Awakening Eminent? (Part 10) -- Start Taking It Seriously: -- Revival or Ruin"
"Standing Together, Shoulder To Shoulder, As We Fight the Good Fight of Faith"
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER is a weekly letter of encouragement Bob has written since 1997, covering many topics selected to
motivate people to be strong students of the Word and courageous witnesses of Jesus Christ. It is a personal letter of
encouragement to you, written solely to help "lift up hands that hang down".
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." -- Albert Einstein
“There is a common, worldly kind of Christianity in this day, which many have, and think they have -- a cheap Christianity which offends nobody,
and requires no sacrifice, which costs nothing, -- and is worth nothing.” – J. C. Ryle
Shoulder To Shoulder #1338 -- 4/19/23
Title: "Is Another Spiritual Awakening Eminent? (Part 10) -- Start Taking It Seriously: -- Revival or Ruin"
My Dear Friend and Fellow Pilgrim Partner:
Greetings again from the desert Southwest and Yuma, AZ. After a few days in the 90's, we are back again running over 10 degrees cooler than normal for this time of year in the Sonoran Desert of southwestern Arizona. Today will see us in the upper 80's instead of high 90's and low 100's. Breezes are up as well with some gusts hitting the mid teens. The next several days are predicted to be much the same. Other than missing friends and the beautiful colors of the Redbuds, Dogwoods, Flowering Crab, Wild Cherry, and all our bulb flowers, we have no regrets in selling our little 20-acre piece of Ozarks paradise.
FYI, since we no longer have to make that twice-a-year round trip back between chapel ministries, we are leaving Saturday for a long-dreamed-of AmTrak trip, with Cheri and Bob guarding us, along the Pacific coast and then up into the Glacier Park region and back. In the process we will also see a couple of our grandchildren. Bob will chauffeur us to the Northridge area of L.A. where our grandson is studying filmography at Cal State Northridge. After going to church with him and hopefully visiting the Reagan Presidential Library, we'll board at Simi Valley and for the next several days enjoy the beauties of God's handiwork as we meander back through southeastern California and Arizona.
For that reason, the likelihood of a letter next week is pretty remote. However, I do plan to write again the following week. Our trip will take us up to 9 or 10 days, depending on our weariness level at the end. So, if you think of the four of us, remember to pray for us. We absolutely loved train travel in Europe over the years we lived there, and are looking forward to this trip about which Jo Ann has been longing for over ten years. It will actually be our first real vacation trip since our 50th wedding anniversary trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota in 2010 which our children planned for us.
In the meantime, my heart remains drawn to the matter of revival and spiritual awakening. I hope you are not getting bored with the topic, because it is truly the most serious matter before the Body of Christ in the past 70 years or more. The future of the Church, its gospel proclamation, and the welfare of our nation depends much on whether or not Christians awaken out of their slumber, turn wholeheartedly back to God, and begin taking the gospel mission and message seriously. So, I'd like to look at another aspect of revival here. But first, give some thought to . . .
THIS 'N' THAT:
+ Excellent Source on Past Revivals: Last week during some of my follow-up research from my last letter, I ran across an exciting website that features abbreviated summaries and reports on 267 past revivals ranging from 1700 B.C. to 2010 A.D. While you and I might question the use of the term, "revival" for some of them, all certainly contain elements of what the word actually means in the Bible -- "bring back to life, restore to life, return to life".
Some of the accounts actually cover multiple outpourings of God on the same location. The list includes attempts of revival prior to the Protestant Reformation that were squelched or never reached fruition but prepared the way for future revivals. Obviously it is not possible to cover each one, so it seems like a good idea to share the link with you for your own personal research.
In many of the links you will find additional links and hyperlinks that will help you dig deeper into that specific revival. As you study them, I think you'll also find universally common distinctives (such as I described in my previous three letters from Arthur Wallis' book, In The Day of Thy Power. So, if this interests you, go to https://romans1015.com/accounts-of-revival/ . In the left side-bar you will also find other resources that may interest you.
+ From a Ukrainian Friend: God continues to bless our ministry through others like you who send funds to help us continue ministering to friends and Christian ministries in Ukraine. Our view of Life Unlimited Ministries as a shipping dock that receives and ships His resources remains our view and intent. So far, since the war began we've been able to send around $40,000 to individuals and ministries who would normally "fall through the cracks" with other better known organizations -- largely because they have no access to their huge warehouses, don't know what to do, or are in more remote areas and are unknown to these organizations. Just this week we were able to send $4,000 to six ministries and individuals.
One such person, "Masha", is a friend helping provide food and clothing for children in need of kidney transplants. She has helped with the Spanish work we started in 2004 in Kyiv, particularly in their work in outlying orphanages. I thought you might like to read her Facebook message I received from her this morning:
"Hi dear Bob and Jo Ann, thank you so much for remembering us here! I would be very glad for any help! Glory to God and thank you! I still have some of the money you sent, i will report on all I've spent. But children definitely need all the time. Spring is there, and usually when new season comes they need clothes, so I'm so grateful for your hearts and helping us financially. We are fine here. Sometimes desperate , hearing about all the people we have dead , both soldiers and civilians. But trusting God we'll be able to win with His help, and submitting our hears to Him. God bless you a lot."
As always, if you or your church would like to send funds to our ministry designated to our ongoing Ukraine project, you can send me a Facebook message, an email at lifeunlimited@pobox.com, or text/call me at 417-693-5149. As always, your gift is tax deductible.
+ Pro-Kid Resources: By now you've certainly heard about all the attacks Christian actor Kirk Cameron has endured because of his efforts to but good historically accurate, values driven, and scripturally sound books for children in libraries. Cameron is both a devout follower of Christ, a strong patriot, and a man committed to conservative values. In the event that you are looking for good books that support both Christian values and America's Judeo-Christian history, you might want to check some of them out at https://bravebooks.us/products/freedom-island-book-club?utm_id=Subscriber+Reviews+-+Kirk%27s+List&mc_cid=8d758e5f97&mc_eid=0972696452&al_pg_id=71eeb91e-8373-4a1e-9e7a-4ed587a540f0 .
QUOTES FOR THE WEEK:
> "A baptism of holiness, a demonstration of godly living is the crying need of our day." -- Unknown
> "There is no revival possible in any fellowship without a price being paid." -- Dr. Alan Redpath
> "Revivals begin with God's own people; the Holy Spirit touches their heart anew, and gives them new fervor and compassion, and zeal, new light and life, and when He has thus come to you, He next goes forth to the valley of dry bones... Oh, what responsibility this lays on the Church of God! If you grieve Him away from yourselves, or hinder His visit, then the poor perishing world suffers sorely!" -- Andrew Bonar
> "Revival comes from heaven when heroic souls enter the conflict determined to win or die -- or if need be, to win and die! 'The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force'." -- Charles Finney
> "When is a revival needed? When carelessness and unconcern keep the people asleep." -- Billy Sunday
> "The problem with dealing with the panorama of revival, is most people use far too small a brush and paint with a much too short a stroke. Revival must been against the backdrop of history, the plumb line of scripture, and the light of eternity. Otherwise, it won't seem important to many, will be restricted by most, and impossible to experience by others. True revival draws its necessity from the historic past of scripture, builds its hunger on the hope of the future, and rests its assurance on God's promises for the present." -- T. Allen Robburts
> "Revival brings back a holy shock to apathy and carelessness." -- Winkie Pratney
IS ANOTHER REVIVAL POSSIBLE? IS ANOTHER AWAKENING EMINENT?
While many Christians do not feel there is much hope for America at this point -- (because of its 100 year track record of turning its back on God) -- there are others who are far more optimistic and confident. I hope they are right.
Still others are more uncertain, -- just as I currently am. Personally, I don't have much confidence that America will ever fully recover politically, economically, socially, morally, or spiritually -- but at the same time I do believe a massive revival of God's people is probable, and a sweeping harvest of souls would be the result.
Contrary to the assumption of many, there is no guarantee that America will continue as a free democratic society simply because of the foundation upon which we were built, and because of our unshakeable support of Israel. Based on scripture's predictions, every nation will fail as we draw closer and closer to the arrival of the King to take over His kingdom. While the world rushes headlong toward secular globalism, Jesus is en route to declare his regency and take His rightful place as King over all other kings. His reign will be global -- global in its scope, perfect in its justice, and flawless in its function.
The question remains as to whether or not we will experience another divine rescue before He returns and that Kingdom is initiated. One needs to take a broad look at God's dealings with cultures and nations in order to gain a reasonable view of the possibility of another final outpouring in America. I've been hearing for a number of years that evangelism and church growth have shifted from the American "Caucasian" culture to the Asian, black, and Hispanic cultures.
Perhaps the same can be said about revival among God's people. There is certainly historical evidence that the thrust of missions, evangelism, and church growth has shifted several times from one continent to another in years past. In a way, it's as if the Master Harvester said, "This continent has had its day, and it's time to move to the next one."
Jo Ann and I have had the privilege of ministering in some thirty countries on three continents, and there is no doubt that the general spiritual level has varied greatly, as have the intellectual and emotional dispositions of those countries. The variances between them have had absolutely nothing to do with skin color -- but rather the cultural history, religious roots, and political forms found therein.
Generally speaking, at least in our own experience, we have found that resistance to repentance and revival have been far more prevalent in western European and North American countries, whereas the greatest receptivity have been in eastern European and Latino countries. The more socialistic a nation is, the more resistant it is to God's order and to His chastisements. Conversely, the more resistant a nation is toward God, the more determined and desperate will be a significant core of Christians who clearly see "the handwriting on the wall" and understand what they are seeing.
For the past 100 years, and particularly the past 70, the United States has followed the well-trodden path of other nations and has drifted more and more toward secular socialism, the ultimate demise of every nation that has chosen that pathway before us. This makes me wonder if those who analyze previous decades have had it right in saying that God's Spirit has shifted from North America and western Europe to Africa and South America.
Now, don't get me wrong: -- it is still possible for God to move powerfully. In fact, for the past twenty years there has been evidence of a growing spiritual stirring in numerous western European countries, particularly in France, Belgium, and others. The same is true in parts of Canada. But, if sweeping revival is to come to the United States again, it is apparent that much more has to happen that bring God's people to their knees.
Of those who believe that such a revival and awakening are on the way -- perhaps very near -- is Pastor Sam Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. Rodriguez served as an advisor to both Presidents Obama and Trump. He recently stated to CBN NEWS' Heather Sells, . . .
"Am I optimistic? Absolutely…are we on the precipice of a new Jesus revolution? Yes. Do I think more people will be saved in the next five to 10 years, if the Lord tarries, than ever before? Yes—100 percent."
You can see the entire interview at https://www2.cbn.com/news/cwn/precipice-new-jesus-revolution-top-pastor-says-asbury-and-2023-point-awakening .
GROWING EVIDENCE:
I have been observing a growing number of developments that lead me to believe that somewhere in the next few months, God's people will begin to emerge from their slumber in an increasing rate to the point that their ears hear and their eyes see how and why God wants to use them. We are already seeing the ripples of this with more and more well-known voices, previously silent or muffled, are speaking of their personal faith in Christ. I think there was a "hole in the dike" created when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Roe v. Wade abortion ruling last June.
Perhaps for the first time in decades, many Christians saw "the light at the end of the tunnel" and realized they actually could win some moral battles. The decision created a small but steadily growing trickle of Christians speaking out courageously for Judeo-Christian values. Then, it seems that NFL player Damar Hamlin's collapse on the field from cardiac arrest during the NFC championship game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals may have caused the dike to give way completely.
When, then, the Asbury Revival broke on February 8th, it appears that the movement has broken through into more noticeable evidences. However, the breech in the dike has not fully opened, and it will probably be a number of years before the impact of what has started will be entirely seen. This is the case with almost every revival that has ever occurred, both in the Bible and around the globe throughout history. Just as moral decline and rejecting God don't happen overnight, revival seldom happens instantaneously.
Victor Davis Hanson, a distinguished fellow of the Center for American Greatness and the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, is an informed voice worth hearing in our day. He is an American military historian, columnist, a former classics professor, and scholar of ancient warfare. He has been a visiting professor at Hillsdale College since 2004. In an April 13, 2023, op ed, he said, . . .
"Our enemies do not fear us, our allies judge us unreliable, and neutrals assume America is in descent and too dangerous to join."
He then pointed out a number of warning flags that must be taken into account, stating, . . .
"Why is French President Emmanuel Macron cozying up to China while trashing his oldest ally, the United States?
"Why is there suddenly talk of discarding the dollar as the global currency?
"Why are Japan and India shrugging that they cannot follow the United States’ lead in boycotting Russian oil?
"Why is the president of Brazil traveling to China to pursue what he calls a “beautiful relationship”?
"Why is Israel suddenly facing attacks from its enemies in all directions?
"What happened to Turkey? Why is it threatening fellow NATO member Greece? Is it still a NATO ally, a mere neutral, or a de facto enemy?
"Why are there suddenly nonstop Chinese threats toward Taiwan?
"Why did Saudi Arabia conclude a new pact with Iran, its former archenemy?
"Why is Egypt sending rockets to Russia to be used in Ukraine?
"Since when did the Russians talk nonstop about the potential use of a tactical nuclear weapon?
"Why is Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador bragging that millions of Mexicans have entered the United States, most of them illegally? And why is he interfering in U.S. elections by urging his expatriates to vote for Democrats?
Both negative and positive developments play into how God may be setting us up for another great national revival. All of these developments may at first seem irrelevant to our topic of revival, but I believe they are further evidence that our nation is in chaos and headed for destruction of our form of government and way of life unless revival comes -- and comes soon. They shift the idea of "revival" from the "theological" and "theoretical" into reality and the "essential".
REVIVAL OR RUIN -- BEGINNING TO TAKE NOTICE SERIOUSLY:
Christians have known for generations that righteousness exalts nations and sin destroys them (Prov 14:34), and that a nation that recognizes, honors, and obeys God will be blessed (Ps 33:12). What we too often fail to recognize, though, is the slow, insidious, and devious pattern that is used to bring a nation down. Today, however, the far left extremists have become so brazen that, not only have they exposed their agenda, but they make no apologies for it. And Christians, for the most part, are still choosing to remain silent, duck their heads, run for cover -- and cower in defeat, waiting for the return of Christ.
Some voices, however, have the courage to speak out, understanding the connection between the moral/spiritual world and that of the social/cultural/political world. I receive articles weekly -- so many that I cannot keep up with them all -- that make it abundantly clear that the cultural conditions of a society do NOT rest on economic and political issues, but rather on moral and spiritual principles. I remind you again -- politics is always downstream from culture; culture is downstream from values; values are downstream from religion; and religion is downstream from one's view of God -- the One true God. It is impossible, therefore, to segregate what is happening politically, morally, and economically from what we believe and live as Christians.
Dr. J. Alan Branch is professor of Christian ethics at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO. On April 19 2023, he posted an article entitled, "Will Democracy survive in the United States?" on the school's website, “For the Church” at ftc.co. He referenced Dr. Alan Redpath's classic book of 1996, Has Democracy Had Its Day? in which even then the author was raising the question as to whether or not America could survive as a democratic republic governed by the rule of law and not by the will of men.
I think that in his comments, Dr. Branch reveals one of the reasons the United States comes under such attack; it is because we feel our values and form of government are built upon certain fundamental principles found in God's Word. In that man was created by God, for Him, and to Him (Acts 17:28; I Cor 8:6; Col 1:16), it stands to reason that his governing structures should be aligned to what God says. Dr. Branch stated, . . .
"Discussing the future of democracy must . . . be placed squarely in the context of the biblical purposes of government and the forms of government used to achieve these purposes.
"At least three primary purposes for government emerge from Scripture. First, government provides order instead of chaos. The Christian doctrine of government presupposes the twin doctrines held in tension that mankind is both made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26 – 28) and is simultaneously fallen and capable of unspeakable horrors (Romans 3:23). Because of man’s sinful nature, government is necessary to provide order and prevent descent into the anarchy of gang rule and oppression.
"Two other purposes for government clearly emerge from Romans 13:1 – 7 and 1 Peter 2:13 – 17: Government exists to promote good and restrain evil.
"Secularists have forged a distorted version of separation of church and state into the public psyche, convincing people that religion is intensely private and religiously motivated ideas are not welcome in public discourse. If democracy is to survive, we must convince our non-believing friends that this wrong-headed version of the separation of church and state may get them what they want in the short run – silencing Christians – but in the long run if the government can silence one group, other dissident groups had best beware as well. . . ."
Dr. Branch went on to say, . . .
"A democracy with a citizenry whose conscience is informed by Biblical categories offers the best chance for ensuring basic liberties and self-correcting abuses; a democracy with a citizenry whose conscience lacks Divine accountability will soon descend into something undemocratic. The greatest danger for democracy is that the people themselves will lose any sense of morality, and then democracy becomes a blunt instrument to force the most immoral ideas off on a reluctant minority.
In his book, Democracy in America, French philosopher, Alexis de Tocqueville said, . . .
“Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot, . . . and what can be done with a people which is its own master, if it be not submissive to the Divinity?”
This is why revival in the lives of believers -- massive wide-spread revival -- is so essential for our future, both as Christians and as a free nation. No wonder the far-left socialists are implementing the very principles that Lenin used, that Hitler used, and about which Sol Alinsky wrote in Rules For Radicals in 1973.
WARNING SHOTS:
Monica Showalter, a financial and international journalist with extensive experience writing for Dow Jones, Wall Street Journal, The American Thinker, Forbes, and other business and political journals pointed out in her September 20th, 2013 article, Six Principles Of Propaganda Lenin Used To Consolidate Power, published in the Investor's Business Daily op ed. I think it was a shot across the bow ten years ago is even more relevant today than it was then. Because it points so strongly toward our need for revival -- even though clearly not a Christian article in any way -- perhaps we should give it some serious thought. Hopefully, it will help stir our hearts more desperately for true revival. Showalter wrote, . . .
"Having attained power in late 1917 on a raft of promises — land to Russia's peasants, bread to Russia's starving cities and peace to Russia's World War I-weary soldiers — V.I. Lenin was able to dispense with every one of them by advancing civil war from 1918 to 1921 to justify his acts by crisis. In place of promises of liberty and rights, Lenin gave Russians propaganda, empowering the Bolsheviks to govern through knoutish messages, if not the barrel of the gun. In so doing, he sought to undermine Russia's weak democracy and to transform society fundamentally.
"'The Russian Revolution was permeated with propaganda of a forceful and brutal kind,' wrote historian Dmitri Volkogonov in his 1995 "Lenin: Life and Legacy," based on materials briefly available from the Soviet archives.
"The propaganda was used not so much to win people over with ideas but by bludgeoning them with coercion, repression and making examples. 'The type of propaganda that the Bolsheviks carried out is absolutely central to our understanding of the regime they created,' wrote Peter Kenez in "The Birth of the Propaganda State: Soviet Methods of Mass Mobilization, 1917-1929."
"A number of patterns emerged:
"1. Ends Justify The Means. The broken promises that Lenin's regime started delivered just the opposite. He guaranteed a free press, but in his first two days of communist rule he halted it, ordering opposition newspapers shut down and censorship re-instituted. He called it temporary, but it wasn't.
"Lenin also won power with promises to broaden land ownership, but immediately issued 60 decrees to end private property, including a secret directive to destroy state archives of land, factory and building title deeds before anyone could protest. To war-weary soldiers, Lenin promised peace. But he immediately impressed them into the new Red Army, holding their families hostage to ensure their loyalty.
"All this was justified in his mind by one idea: consolidating power. In setting off civil war, Lenin put Russia on a war footing that justified any atrocity, broken promise or use of propaganda that served to establish communism.
"2. Firstest With The Mostest. Besides implementing a strategy of lies, Lenin also was quick to seize the semantic high ground in the same way his military commander, Leon Trotsky, was swift to seize territory. Like Nathan Bedford Forrest, the 'firstest with the mostest' general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, Lenin swiftly altered and manipulated the meanings of words, intellectually disarming opponents.
"As early as 1903, at a party congress, Lenin won a membership issue by a single vote. But from then on he called his faction "'he Bolsheviks,' or majoritarians, and his opponents 'Mensheviks,' or minoritarians. It didn't matter that the Bolsheviks never were a true majority among Russia's revolutionaries; what mattered was the perception of power.
"Lenin repeated the tactic by dubbing Bolsheviks 'Reds' to signal an affinity with the bloody violence of the French Revolution, while their battlefield opponents were saddled with 'Whites' to link them with the discredited French Bourbon dynasty. Lenin also took title to the word 'democracy,' disarming opponents who were then unable to project a coherent message. By controlling words, Lenin controlled perceptions of reality.
"3. Never Let A Crisis Go To Waste. As propagandists, however, the Bolsheviks were not especially persuasive. 'The Russian socialists have contributed nothing to the theoretical discussion of the techniques of mass persuasion,' wrote Kenez. They 'never looked for and did not find devilishly clever methods to influence people's minds, to brainwash them.'
"Their newspapers were notoriously gray, mechanically spouting simple, choppy messages such as 'All Power to the Soviets!' 'Create a New Socialist Man!' and 'Bread! Peace! Land!' What they were expert at was making these gray organs into monopolies. Instead of persuading with words, Lenin simply closed other papers, leaving only the Bolshevik publications. The resultant monopoly intensified the impact of his Bolshevik message, according to historian Robert Service.
"4. Demonization. In denouncing opponents, Lenin was obsessive, virulent and personal, calling them 'bloodsuckers', 'insects', 'spiders', 'leeches', and 'vampires.' The bourgeois were 'ex-people.' The murder of Czar Nicholas II and his family was termed 'a humane act.' Then there were 'hoarders', 'wreckers', 'saboteurs' and, worst of all, 'Kulaks' — the prosperous and industrious peasants of whom Lenin spoke only 'with the most seething hatred,' as Volkogonov put it.
"But Lenin rarely made such statements in public. Volkogonov discovered most of these characterizations secretly hidden in Soviet archives. In public, Lenin wanted to be pictured as a jolly apostle of Marxism.
"5. Propaganda of Example. Perhaps the most disturbing means of propaganda against Russia's mostly illiterate population was the use of example as part of a reign of terror. Public hangings and shootings served as well as any written material to force Russians into submission. 'These swine have to be dealt with so that everyone will remember it for years,' Lenin wrote. Terror wasn't confined to those who defied Lenin. 'We must execute not only the guilty. Execution of the innocent will impress the masses even more,' wrote Lenin's commissar for justice, according to historian Brian Crozier in his 1999 "The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire."
"To reinforce the Bolsheviks' monopoly of ideas, churches were targeted for destruction because Russian peasants believed what they heard there. Sacred objects were looted and saints' relics tossed into the dirt as priests were shot. Only hollow husks remained as reminders that the old faith was now dead.
"According to Volkogonov, Lenin ordered the use of poison gas on at least one village before it was leveled. 'The dictatorship means — take note of this once and for all — unrestrained power based on force, not law,' wrote Lenin.
"6. Blame Your Predecessor. As happened anytime socialism ever had been tried, it was a failure. Lenin's much-desired civil war cost 13 million lives and his ruinous economic policies triggered the famine of 1921-1922. YouTube has many videos of Lenin speaking, with the salient feature being his propensity to blame his predecessor, the Czar, for the economic havoc. Eventually, he would have to backtrack on communism to hold on to power. But error was never admitted and his New Economic Plan proved just a breather ahead of even worse horrors to come under Joseph Stalin."
FINALLY:
Does any of this ring a bell for you? I should think so; I should hope so! Do you see any of Lenin's strategy in play here today? Say, for example, . . .
+ Broken promises
+ Biased puppet press
+ Executive orders
+ Increased governmental control
+ Consolidation of power
+ Creating crises
+ Word-smithing and misleading
+ Making the minority look like it's a majority
+ Name calling
+ Restricting or eliminating opposition
+ Relabeling and twisting meanings
+ Distorting reality and facts
+ Monopolizing influence and sympathetic entities
+ Hiding the real power behind "front men"
+ Demonization of the opposition, making an example of them
+ Restriction or elimination of religious influence
+ Create fear and intimidation by threats and "example"
+ Destroy religious and historical relics
+ Gut the religious and educational systems
+ Blame your predecessor
This is a most troubling list! With rare if any exception, we find virtually every one of these twenty actions embedded in those six principles. In many ways we could say that we are on the direct pathway to either revival or ruin -- one or the other. I see no other option before us.
The interconnect between the moral/spiritual/religious and the social/political elements are indisputable -- and entirely unavoidable. So, when we consider revival, we can never disconnect it from its relationship to and potential impact on the culture in which it is either taking place -- or desperately needed. Midwestern Seminary's Dr. Alan Branch, noted earlier, concluded his aforementioned article by stating, . . .
"For any preacher or church concerned about passing on liberty and democracy to the next generation, the most important thing you can do is share the Gospel with as many people as possible and teach your congregation to be soul-winners. For democracy to be effective, the populace must be able to practice a degree of moral self-control. The most certain way for moral restraint to pervade in a republic is for men and women to be born again, and when they are saved, one of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control."
One thing is imperative that we understand: -- the end goal of revival is not to save America for the sake of another country surviving the onslaught of sin and godless values. The end goal is to break, restore, cleanse, and empower the Church to get serious about successfully proclaiming the Gospel. That doesn't come without cost. The revered Dr. Alan Redpath, British scholar, evangelist, author, and former pastor of Moody Memorial Church, succinctly said, . . .
"There is no revival possible in any fellowship without a price being paid."
Revival will never come as long as Christians are not willing to risk everything for the mere manifest presence of the God of all creation and Rescuer of the perishing. Playing it safe will never relieve us of trouble, but risking it all will guarantee divine victory.
In His Bond, By His Grace, and for His Kingdom,
Bob Tolliver -- Romans 1:11
>>> To access past "Shoulders" letters, listed by date and number, go to https://welovegod.org/guide/forums/forum/shoulders/ <<<
"Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness,
examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." -- Dr. Luke (Acts 17:11)
"A fire kept burning on the hearthstone of my heart, and I took up the burden of the day with fresh courage and hope." -- Charles F. McKoy
Life Unlimited Ministries
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Copyright April, 2023
"If Jesus had preached the same message that many ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified." -- Leonard Ravenhill
"The time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the Church will have clowns entertaining the goats." -- Charles H. Spurgeon
If this letter has blessed you, feel free to forward it or copy from it, with proper credits, to any and all you wish.