[Originally a Sunday Afternoon Musings on Scripture, this short article was designed to rally the church to revival. Not a revival of tents and jumping up and down, but a revival of passion for God and holiness, and purity centered in the word of God . May God yet grant this prayer from 11 years ago.]
Is the church in America destined for oblivion?
David Olsen describes a sea-change in the religious landscape of America. In his book, The American Church in Crisis, a longitudinal 16 year study looking at attendance in American churches and a whole host of related phenomenon, Olsen’s title sounds a significant alarm. The Church in America is indeed in Crisis.
My own assessment is that she (the American church) is declining in size and influence; she is weak in power, shallow in doctrine, lacking in sacrificial love and in short; she spends her resources and time on yesterday’s programs and trivialities while the world both near and far is still white unto harvest (Luke 10:1-2).
And while the church is in sad shape, it is never time to despair. Jesus is still enthroned. The gospel is still powerful. The word of God is still living and active. Our ascended Lord is still coming to judge the living and the dead (2 Tim 4:1). Our nation, and more importantly, the church in our nation could yet rise and make a difference for the Kingdom of God. But it will take a massive turning to God in repentance. The people of God need a passion for holiness.
It is against the Backdrop of The American Church in Crisis, (David Olson, 2008) … that I come to Ezekiel 14 and invite you to read the whole chapter and then read the following few words. Pray with me for the people of God to run into the arms of God.
Read Ezekiel 14:
Are we a land that Noah, Daniel, and Job cannot save?
- Are the idols in our hearts so many, so deeply anchored, so fervently worshipped that only judgment can dislodge them?
- Is famine and poverty and economic devastation our impending future?
- Are there beasts at our doors and swords on our borders and blood on our souls as well as our bodies?
- Is disease and sorrow and helplessness our looming horizon for our arrogance and deceit and thanklessness?
“The gates of hell shall not prevail against Your Church, Oh God, but You don’t need the United States to accomplish Your will. Oh spare us Lord God. Don’t let Israel’s fate become ours. Revive us for Your glory. Fan the flames of revival in our souls that the idols dwelling there would be banished from our hearts and judgment from our land. Amen.”
ChosenRebel's Blog 
This brings to my mind a passage that has been foremost in my thinking for most of the past ten years — Daniel 9. It is we, the church, who must fall on our faces before the living God and confess our failings. It is we, the church, who have failed to reproduce in succeeding generations. We have allowed this once great nation to drift away from the Christian values that were dominant in its founding. As we confess our failings, as righteous Daniel did, perhaps the Lord will be merciful and give us one more chance. Revival will not come as long as we blame someone else. Only when we ‘fess up to what we have done or allowed to happen is there any hope for revival, and even then it is the Holy Spirit who will bring it, not our actions. I believe that revival will not come through mighty preaching, but through the fervent prayers of the saints, united in love for God and concern for the world.
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