Revival and national awakening will stem from a personal awakening says Southern California Pastor Shane Idleman.
The lead pastor of Westside Christian Fellowship said that about a decade ago, he prayed for God to bring revival to churches. God's response baffled him because of the huge cost it is asking the church to deliver.
"Do you truly want revival? Do you truly yearn for an awakening? It will cost you. National awakening begins with personal awakening when we look in the mirror, repent, and turn toward God. He is our only hope," Idleman wrote in his commentary published by The Stream.
While clarifying that his writing is more of a plea than a rebuke, Idleman believes that Pastors and Christians "must lead the way" to the nation's awakening. This "way," he added, should be expected to be the "narrow and difficult" one as opposed to the numerous "wide and popular" ways offered by the world.
"We must fast like it matters, pray like we mean it, and seek God as if everything depends upon it, because it does," was his forceful plea.
America in a Cesspool of Moral Filth
"America thinks that she is hearing from God, but she is not," said Idleman in his observation of the family, church, government, and schools' responses to the rampant depravity around them. New laws that openly "call evil good and good as evil" are being introduced and enacted, but what are the Christian leaders doing?
Among Idleman's cited examples of depraved thinking in America were the ironic disparity on laws protecting animals versus abortion of babies, blasphemous song lyrics regurgitated by the entertainment industry versus the shadow banning of godly contents on social media, and the rise in sex-trafficking but with the porn industry still not outlawed.
"Most on the liberal left would have no problem imprisoning anyone who disagreed with them, and that's exactly where the Equality Act is going. Unless you accept, rejoice in, and validate sin, they are coming after you. An awakening is our only hope," said Idleman.
Reading further the details in his article, Idleman's contention goes far beyond moral concerns. He obviously has God's pending judgment in mind once America's sins reached its peak. This principle was from the Bible account of God judging Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as the other nations where wickedness was so excessive that God must intervene with temporal judgment.
Only One Remedy
Calling the present depravity as America's Stage 4 Cancer, the founder-creator of the WCF Radio Network showed from the Bible the "cure." He said that the only way to reverse God's judgment is through an "awakening. "
"We see throughout the Bible that there is only one remedy, one solution, one cure, to reverse the judgment of God: an awakening. During times of crisis, the cure for judgment was to return back to God," continued Idleman while quoting Joel 1:14:
"Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord."
An awakening, according to Idleman, will change the nation from the inside out and that it "must begin in the pulpits as well as the news." Nonetheless, he maintained that revival is the sole of act of God's Spirit and that it cannot be manipulated. That does not, however, excuse laziness on the part of the believers.
"An awakening is when we till the soil through brokenness, humility, and surrender via fasting and prayer. God responds by rending the heavens with a downpour," stressed Idleman.
The Cost
Bringing to mind some of the godly men who toiled in prayer for national revival like David Brainard, John Hyde, and William Bramwell, the "Regaining Lost Ground" host warned against complacency and apathy. He also reiterated the importance of prayer and fasting as a spiritual discipline that will aid the birthing of an awakening.
"When awakenings spread across our landscape, Christians spent countless hours praying and fasting. They paid the price! When pastors stood at the pulpit they preached boldly about the cross, sin, judgment, and repentance. They could say, 'Thus saith the Lord,' because they were filled with the Holy Spirit, not Hollywood. They didn't work the awakening up, God brought it down because His Word was honored," Idleman said.
