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Lord, Rend the Heavens, and Come Down . . . Isaiah 64. Prayer’ Role in Revival and Spiritual Awakening J. Chris Schofield, PhD. Defining the terms. Revival—Believers experiencing a restoration of fellowship with God (Psalm 85:6)
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Lord, Rend the Heavens, and Come Down . . .Isaiah 64 Prayer’ Role inRevival and Spiritual Awakening J. Chris Schofield, PhD
Defining the terms • Revival—Believers experiencing a restoration of fellowship with God (Psalm 85:6) • Spiritual Awakening—Large numbers of lost people becoming aware of God, His presence, their spiritual condition and need for Christ.
A Spiritual Check-up—How Are We Doing? • Decline of our Churches • Losing our Culture • Church is Blending with the Culture • What can we DO?
The Contemporary American Church and its Evangelistic Effectiveness • Clegg and Bird, Lost in America • Percentage of adults attending church is decreasing • Half of churches in America did not add one new person through conversion growth (1999)(8000 SBC churches) • Conversion rates—Lost people lose-85:1 ratio • More churches closing than being planted each year
Conversions to other religions and dropouts increase • Christianity in the west has been declining for fifty years • Church people believe and behave like unchurched counterparts What can we do?
PRAY! • It’s time to Pray—Jeremiah 33:3 • Why does Revival Tarry?—James 4:1-10
Biblical Solutions/Principles • 2 Chronicles 7:1-18 • Ezekiel 37:1-14 • Nehemiah 8-9 • Acts 2; 4:23-33
Historical Examples • Florence, Italy (1492-95) • Layman’s Prayer Revival (1857-58) • Moravian Revival (1727) • Lewis Islands (1949)
Praying For Revival and Awakening • Psalm 85 • R-eturn • E-yes and Ears • V-ision • I-nvolvement • V-ictory • A-cknowledge • L-ost