What America REALLY Needs!

In the fall of 1904 a revival broke out in Wales. Before this awesome event church membership had declined, people had become indifferent to religion, and churches has become extremely formal.

Enter into the story a young man by the name of Evan Roberts. Roberts was a coal mine worker who had a great burden for revival. For 13 years he prayed for a great outpouring of God's Spirit. Leading prayer meeting with different groups became a major emphasis in his life. In 1904 Evans answered the call to preach and on October 31, 1904 following a Monday night prayer meeting 17 young people stayed to hear a message asking people to put away unconfessed sin & any doubtful habits, obeying the Spirit of God promptly, and confessing Christ publicly. That night all seventeen responded to his preaching.

Night after night the crowds continued to roll in. The Spirit of God was poured out on the nation and God's people returned to Him. The lost were saved in huge numbers - 70,000 in two months, 85,000 in five months, and over 100,000 in the six months following that October meeting.

The commitments that were made during this time were life changing. Taverns had to close because of a lack of business. The crime rate dropped. People paid old debts and made restitution for thefts. There was even a slowdown in the coal mines as the mules had to learn a new language!

With all of our political talk over the next few weeks and concern about the leadership of our nation...what America REALLY needs is a revival among God's people and a Spiritual Awakening in our United States.

Revival is the act of God in bringing His people back to a place of spiritual vitality. This usually happens after a time of spiritual decline. Are our churches in decline?

Spiritual Awakening happens when a large number of people (or large % of people) experience salvation in a short period of time. Do we need to see an awakening in our communities and our country?

I bring this up today because our country is in a mess. We are in a mess financially, socially, and morally. The citizens of this country have place too much faith in government and not enough faith in God. It's not the role of government or the President to lead our nation in true faith - that's the mission of the church. Why isn't this happening? Because our churches are in desperate need of Revival. And until our churches experience an outpouring of God's Spirit we will never see the Spiritual Awakening that we long for.

Regardless of who gets elected in November and whether or not our Congress passes a huge bailout for the housing markets - we need Revival. Believers, this is a call to prayer. We need to join together and ask God for a revival among His people and an Awakening that will reach every state and every person. May God grant our requests and may Jesus be glorified in His church.

**Information about the Spiritual Awakening in Wales comes courtesy of "Fresh Encounter" by Henry Blackaby & Claude King.