Releasing Our Faith for Revival
Dear Friend,
It took 10 plagues to shake Pharaoh’s grip on Israel. What 10 plagues will it take to bring America back to God? Time is running out. Liberties are drying up. We would be better off living six months with a heart aflame from repentance and prayer, devouring sin in high and low places, turning this nation back to God, then die after 90 years loaded with theological degrees and every honor of man.
God weeps when he sees the destruction that the lust for power has brought. His heart is broken as He sees those He loves going into a Christ-less eternity, as they refuse to accept the redemption that Jesus provides. God’s love causes Him to weep among the homeless, the hungry, and the hurting who are denied help by many who claim to be Christians.
Just as Moses could not mistake the sight of the burning bush, a nation cannot mistake the sight of a man or woman on fire for God. God meets fire with fire. The more fire there is in the pulpit, the less fire there is in hell.
A call to repentance is a call to turn or burn. It is repentance that produces revival as the hearts and minds of people are changed about God, sin, and hell. It is the power of the Gospel that produces such a change.
The call to repentance is certainly relevant for a nation that has converted the seven deadly sins into the seven virtues for successful living! The end result has been the idolatry of possessions which has created a system which now molds and shapes our thinking. The sin of gluttony is called “super sizing” until obesity has become a national epidemic. Sexual activities that were once considered perversions and even illegal, now are considered normal by many who even refer to themselves as Christians. Pride is considered a virtue. Anger and aggression have become the way to get ahead in much of politics and the stimulation of covetousness is the foundation of the advertising system.
In II Chronicles 7:14 we are given the formula for revival. It is there that the Lord God Almighty declares, “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 I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” We can believe God to heal our land because of the reality of Christ’s death and resurrection.
If we repent and come to Him Jesus will give us life both now and for all eternity. It is then we will be awakened to the love of God like never before. When this happens, we will desire to share the love of God in both word and deed with everyone we meet. That is the revival spoken of in Psalm 85:6 when it cries out to God, “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
This is our day for revival, if we will only release our faith and believe what Jesus said in Mark 11:22-24, “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.’”
Now is the time for us to release our faith and believe God to send forth the Holy Spirit which results in a mighty revival. Remember, it is “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord Almighty” (Zech. 4:6). The one thing we can do the most to honor God is to have faith in Him. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
We must have faith in God and speak to that mountain of hate, violence, broken homes, gambling addictions and culture of alcohol and drugs, commanding it by faith in Jesus Christ to be thrown into the sea. The Bible tells us and shows over and over with God all things are possible. With His power at work in us, we can plunder hell and populate heaven.
If more people prayed by faith, shared the hope and freedom from sin Jesus provides, then we would see the miraculous unfold to the extent a revival would take place. This would be a revival of not only words but deeds, to the extent no one would be homeless in America tonight. Sharing the gospel and helping the hurting and homeless takes faith. After all, without faith we can’t please God and, “Everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23).
As we see the sin around us, let us cry out with the prophet, “My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within, my heart is poured out on the ground because my people are destroyed, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city” (Lamentations 2:11).
The question is, “What would happen if I became desperate enough to wrestle with God like Jacob, until my heart was broken over the pain of this generation of children and youth whom Satan has ravaged?” As I hear story after story about the terrible things people are doing to each other, I find myself asking, “What would happen if I were prepared to engage in the spiritual warfare necessary to see people set free from satanic chains that hold them in bondage?”
I must accept the fact that I can’t really live a life of faith and pray effectively without the Holy Spirit’s help for, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for” (Romans 8:26).
As we begin to pray in the power of the Spirit, we will be revived and then will aggressively come against Satan in the powerful name of Jesus with the sword, which is the word of God. In James 4:7 we are told, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
As we pray, believing for a revival, we will see the fulfillment of Joel 2:28, 29, “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”
How we must pray that God will raise up for us great leaders like Abraham Lincoln, who called both the north and the south to repentance in his second inaugural address. Today in the midst of social unrest, we accept Lincoln’s words when he says, “The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”
Daniel expresses this in his intercessory prayer found in Daniel 9:1-19. He begins his prayer by confessing his sins and that of his nation. Then he calls upon God for mercy and forgiveness.
As stated earlier II Chronicles 7:14 promises, “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 I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Jesus makes it clear that earnest intercessory prayer performs a vital role in destroying the citadels of injustice as He asks, “Will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you; He will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:7-8).
Since 1972 the New Life Evangelistic Center staff have been believing God for an awakening in the greater St. Louis – Mid-America area. It is hard to keep praying, believing that a revival will come as promised in Joel 2:28, 29.
Instead of revival, it seems that in reality, we are experiencing what Habakkuk 1:24 expresses, “How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore, the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.”
Giving up is not an option. The answer is given in Habakkuk 2:3-4, “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it lingers, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright – but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness.”
It is by faith that we shall live during this time of social unrest in the middle of so much hatred and bitterness. We must repent of our sins so we can be revived, renewed and revitalized as we seek God’s will for our lives. Then as men and women of faith, we must pray earnestly for revival in America. As we do this, we can know that Christ’s power will work in us in a mighty way as we share the good news Christ is Risen. When this happens, we will see Him do exceedingly more than we can ask or think as He brings forth a revival in us and through us.
Our prayer of faith for revival must be “…revive us, and we will call on your name. Restore us Lord God Almighty, may your face shine on us, that we may be saved” (Psalm 80:18-19 NIV).
Peter proclaimed the gospel to those who had crucified Christ. He boldly under the anointing of the Holy Spirit cried out, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that He may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you – even Jesus” (Acts 3:19-20).
Repenting, turning to God, having our sins wiped out by our Messiah, Jesus produces revival within us. Along with this revival comes a vision for change.
Joan of Arc had a vision to see France saved. Her vision was a military one. The vision of New Life Evangelistic Center is a spiritual one. It is to see a revival that would sweep throughout the land.
This vision for a revival took many different paths throughout the years. It was anchored in prayer and the scriptures. Fulfilling the vision included: helping the homeless, the incarcerated, the lost and lonely as the gospel of Jesus Christ was shared in word in deed. This involved preaching the gospel, baptizing, making disciples, teaching and obeying Chris’s commands as Matthew 28:19-20 declares.
The vision to share the good news that there is hope, Christ in Risen has been and continues at New Life Evangelistic Center to be shared in spite of the trials and tribulations. We must work to tell everyone in word and deed that there is hope because Christ is Risen. As we do this, we must never forget we are “more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37 NIV)
The time has come for us to earnestly pursue the vision for revival God gave New Life Evangelistic Center over fifty-three years ago. It involves not only seeing St. Louis but all Mid America coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. As we look at St. Louis, Springfield, and all the area in-between, we can feel overwhelmed with all the crime, homelessness, and hopelessness. It is easy to think that this is an impossible vision for revival to see fulfilled. For that reason, we must earnestly pray and ask out Heavenly Father to send forth the Holy Spirit to encourage, strengthen, and motivate us daily. Never forget that with God all things are possible. Now we must continue to share the gospel by passing out the ZOA Free Paper, preach the word as we directly helping those in need and pray and pray some more.
Let us join together releasing our faith and believe God for a great revival. Never forget that “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26 NIV).
Yours in Christ,
Larry Rice