Will There Be Another Jesus Movement?

Will There Be Another Jesus Movement? - By Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org

 

And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. -Romans 13:11

 

I once asked Pastor Chuck Smith if he thought there would ever be another Jesus Movement. He answered, "Well, people were desperate for revival back then. I am not sure people are desperate enough right now."

 

That may be true. How desperate are we? The reality is that often we pray for prosperity in our nation and in our own lives. But the fact is that revival often explodes when there is calamity. The Third Great Awakening happened after the stock market crashed.

 

What is revival? A simple definition is "to come alive again." Revival is the spark, if you will, that starts the engine. And periodically we need a new spark.

 

Revival is like waking up from your sleep. One person defined it as nothing more or less than a new beginning of obedience to God.

 

The great evangelist Billy Sunday once said, "They say that a revival is but temporary. So is a bath, but it does you good."

 

A revival may be only temporary, but we need one right now.

 

We are not praying that nonbelievers have a revival, because they don't need one. They need salvation. The church needs revival. Revival is a church word, and it is for believers only-believers who once, perhaps, were more alive than they are today and need to be revived again.

 

C.H. Spurgeon said, "To be revived is a blessing which can only be enjoyed by those who have some degree of life. Those who have no spiritual life are not, and cannot be, in the strictest sense of the term, subjects of revival. . . . A true revival is to be looked for in the church of God."

 

Revival starts with you and me. Then it affects the church. And then the church affects the nation.

 

 

What We Can Learn from the Jesus Movement - By Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org

 

I have heard all about you, LORD. I am filled with awe by your amazing works. In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by. And in your anger, remember your mercy. -Habakkuk 3:2

 

I came to Christ in 1970 during the Jesus Movement, which gave me a front-row seat to the Fourth Great Awakening in the United States-the most recent in our nation. Looking back, I remember five things that were part of a typical church service during that time.

 

First, there was a sense of expectancy in the service. No one was ever late for church because you couldn't find a seat if you were. You came expecting God to work. You came with a sense of openness, anticipating what the Lord was going to do.

 

Second, the Word of God was always taught. That gave stability to us. In fact, I still have my Bible from those days. I marked it up-so much so that some of the pages are coming out of it.

 

Third, people participated in the worship. We effectively saw what we simply know as worship now. In the late 1960s, there were no electric guitars, for the most part, on church stages. There were no drum kits. It was completely different culturally. Things we take for granted now didn't exist back then. But people engaged in worship. They participated in it.

 

Fourth, believers brought nonbelievers to church, evangelistic invitations were extended, and people were coming to Christ. Every week there was the sense that God wants people to be saved.

 

Fifth, there was a belief in and a constant teaching of the imminent return of Christ. We believed that Jesus was coming back again.

 

The kids of the Jesus Movement are now grandparents. But just as in the 1960s, and specifically 1968, we have riots in the streets. We have racial unrest. We have a drug epidemic. There's a sense of hopelessness in the air. We need another Jesus Movement. We need another spiritual awakening.