Day of Prayer, August 2, 2020 - 8:45 and 10:15

    

Our church has experienced several full days of prayer and they have always been a tremendous spiritual highlight in the life of our church.  But these days normally have been connected with our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting.

But the Lord has led me to make this Sunday (August 2) as a "Day of Prayer."  With our teachers and students going back to school in the coming days and with the addition of COV-ID in the mix, I just felt a heavy burden to call the church to prayer.  

So, I hope all our teachers, secondary education students, and college students will be here in one of the services so we can pray for you and send you with God's blessings.  Two services at 8:45 and 10:15 - or if you must, watch online at rfbc.sermon.net or on Facebook at Rainsville First. 

 

The Shofar

This past Sunday I shared with you my Shofar and I told you some about how the Shofar was used.  Let me do a little more....

The blowing of the ram's horn (shofar in Hebrew) is used to usher in the biblical festivals of Israel, including the Sabbath, and to inspire people to amend their lives and repent.

The sounding of the shofar 1) symbolizes freedom and liberty;  2) proclaims the anniversary of the creation of the world, 3) is a reminder of the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai, and 4) is a sound that is guaranteed to confuse and chase Satan away.

The shofar is the most often made from a ram's hoary, but the horn of a sheep, goat, or antelope can be used.  However, you should never, never use the horn from a steer, as this would be reminiscent of the golden calf made by the children of Israel as described in Exodus 32.

From biblical description, there are three different sounds blown:  TIKIYAH - a single long blast. SHEPHARIM - 3 medium blasts in succession.  TRUAHAH - 9 short, staccato blasts.

It is the sound of the trumpet (shofar) that is associated with the second coming of Jesus as spoke in I Thess. 4:16 and I Cor. 15: 51,52.

Respectable Sins by Tim Challies

Jerry Bridges gave many gifts to the church, not the least of which was his 2007 book Respectable Sins. In it he coined a term that describes a whole category of sins that might otherwise escape our attention. “Respectable sins” are behaviors Christians (sometimes individually and sometimes corporately) regard as acceptable even though the Bible describes them as sinful. They are subtle or refined in such a way that we may even dress them up to become a kind of virtue. Bridges offers many examples: anxiety and frustration; discontentment; unthankfulness; impatience and irritability; worldliness; and so on.

One tricky aspect of this list of respectable sins is that its contents can change over time. What was respectable in one era can be scandalous in another before once again fading back to respectability. Today I’d like to offer a few suggestions of sins we may consider respectable here in 2020, with a special focus on sins that are fostered and spread online.

Suspicion. This is a polarized age that is made worse by news outlets and social media that thrive on praising insiders while vilifying outsiders. The ideal of objectivity has been replaced by the vice of suspicion. While the Bible does praise wisdom and discernment, it rejects suspicion, especially toward our fellow believers. We have no right to doubt others by default or to have a cautious distrust of them, as if they are guilty until proven innocent. We cannot allow ourselves to be suspicious of the actions, motives, or salvation of brothers and sisters in the Lord. After all, love is shown not only in our actions, but also in our attitudes, for “love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7). While we always need to be on guard against false teaching and false teachers within the church, we equally need to be on guard against suspicion within our hearts. There’s nothing respectable about it.

Gossip. Our ubiquitous digital devices and always-on social media have given us the ability to communicate with unparalleled speed and scope. But with this great power comes a sobering responsibility, for the Bible often warns about the power of our words and our tendency to use them poorly. Both life and death are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). We are responsible to not only speak the truth about others, but also to turn away from those who do not. After all, it takes two to gossip and just as it is sin to speak ill of others, it is sin to listen undiscerningly. Yet the Christian world, and perhaps especially the Reformed Christian world, is absolutely chockablock with gossip. From the pulpit to the pew, from the conference green room to the conference livestream, gossip is rampant. It is whispered in the name of important information and blogged in the name of discernment—both ways of dressing it up in respectable apparel. But if it isn’t true and it isn’t edifying and it isn’t necessary, it is gossip. Truly, gossip may be thebesetting sin of this movement and a major contributor to her current or coming collapse.

Slander. Closely connected to gossip is slander. When we slander another person we utter false statements meant to damage their reputation. The way we can make this sin respectable is to insist that we are warning others away from a false teacher and protecting naive and helpless sheep. We are only damaging that person’s reputation because we have such love and concern for others! What we tend to do, then, is pass on information we have heard through the channels of gossip, but have not verified or validated. And so we follow the lead of people who have fabricated information for the ugliest of motives and we spread it around as if it is true. Though our motives may be good (or, at least, not utterly depraved) our actions are still sinful. Be warned: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak” (Matthew 12:36).

Meddling. Neil Postman once asked this question: “How often does it occur that information provided you on morning radio or television, or in the morning newspaper, causes you to alter your plans for the day, or to take some action you would not otherwise have taken, or provides insight into some problem you are required to solve?” In most cases the answer is “not very often.” The same might be asked of information we glean from social media or other sources of Christian news and information. How often do we actually do anything about it? And perhaps even better, how often is it really our responsibility to do something about it? Postman lamented the impotent cycle in which “the news elicits from you a variety of opinions about which you can do nothing except to offer them as more news, about which you can do nothing.” I’m convinced we experience something similar today where we receive news about which we can do nothing, so what we do is pass it on, broadcasting our opinion, our joy, our outrage. But passing it on is not a neutral act. It can, in fact, be an act of meddling, the action of a busybody. Broadcasting opinions about situations that have happened at a great distant from us, that do not concern us, about which we can do nothing, and about which we know very little, seems to match the very definition of meddling.

Idleness. Every new technology brings with it both benefits and drawbacks, and social media is no exception. People can use social media to be tremendously productive—to unleash their gifts, talents, time, energy, and enthusiasm for the good of others and the glory of God. But people can also use social media to be tremendously unproductive. Their use of social media can reflect idleness and indolence. We can dress up our use of social media as building platform or expressing discernment or offering encouragement. But if we are honest with ourselves, for many of us it is a means of escape from the real world and from our real lives. It is laziness, not productivity, and the Bible has repeated and sobering warnings about those who are lazy (e.g. Ecclesiastes 10:18, Proverbs 19:15, 1 Thessalonians 5:14). Ironically, the people who are most active on social media may also be the most idle.

Impugning. To impugn is to dispute the truth, validity, or honesty of another person’s motives. And closely connected to disputing another person’s motives is suggesting that you know the truth behind them. There is so much of this in the Christian world today, and it generates so little disapproval, that it must be classified as respectable. Yet a little biblically-guided introspection should tell us that we often don’t even know our own motives, and if we do not know our own, how could we possibly know anyone else’s? James 3:17–18 challenges us that “the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” 1 Corinthians 4:5 warns that we must “not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.” If we are to assume anything about another person’s motives, we must assume the very best, not the very worst. When it comes to a brother or sister in Christ, it is sinful to assume bad motives; it is sinful to fail to assume good motives.

Each of us is a saint, yet each of us is still a sinner. As such, we remain attracted to certain sins and prone even to dress them up in respectable garb. It is a good and necessary discipline, then, to examine ourselves to consider not only the sins we consider ugliest, but also the ones we consider most beautiful. We do this knowing that even the most “respectable” of our sins is odious to God and, for that reason, ought to be equally odious to his people.

A Brief History of Spiritual Revival and Awakening in America by Patrick Morley

A Brief History of Spiritual Revival and Awakening in America

June 30, 2015 in Patrick Morley Blog

In describing what happened in Jonathan Edward’s Northampton, Massachusetts church in 1734, observers said, “It pleased God…to display his free and sovereign mercy in the conversion of a great multitude of souls in a short space of time, turning them from a formal, cold, and careless profession of Christianity, to the lively exercise of every Christian grace, and the powerful practice of our holy religion.”1

That’s about as clear a definition as we’ll ever get! During a revival, God supernaturally transforms believers and non-believers in a church, locale, region, nation, or the world through sudden, intense enthusiasm for Christianity.2 People sense the presence of God powerfully; conviction, despair, contrition, repentance, and prayer come easily; people thirst for God’s word; many authentic conversions occur and backsliders are renewed.

Revival and awakening are, generally, synonyms. The larger the geography a revival covers, the greater the tendency to call it an awakening.

America has a deep, rich history of revivals and awakenings.

Revivals in America: A Well-Traveled Road

The Great Awakening, 1734-43

In December 1734, the first revival of historic significance broke out in Northampton, Massachusetts, where a young Jonathan Edwards was pastor. After months of fruitless labor, he reported five or six people converted–one a young woman. He wrote, “[She] had been one of the greatest company-keepers in the whole town.”3 He feared her conversion would douse the flame, but quite the opposite took place. Three hundred souls converted in six months–in a town of only 1,100 people!4 The news spread like wildfire, and similar revivals broke out in over 100 towns.5 Starting in Philadelphia in 1739, George Whitfield’s dramatic preaching was like striking a match to the already-underway awakening. An estimated 80% of America’s 900,000 Colonists personally heard Whitfield preach.6 7 He became America’s first celebrity.8

The Second Great Awakening, 1800-1840

In 1800, only one in 15 of America’s population of 5,300,000 belonged to an evangelical church.9 Presbyterian minister James McGready presided over strange spiritual manifestations in Logan County, Kentucky. The resulting camp meeting revivals drew thousands from as far away as Ohio.10 11 Rev. Gardiner Spring reported that for the next 25 years not a single month passed without news of a revival somewhere.12 In 1824, Charles Finney began a career that would eventually convert 500,000 to Christ. An unparalleled 100,000 were converted in Rochester, New York, in 1831 alone–causing the revival to spread to 1,500 towns.13 By 1850 the nation’s population exploded fourfold to 23,000,000 people, but those connected to evangelical churches grew nearly tenfold from 7% to 13% of the population–from 350,000 to 3,000,000 church members!14

The Businessmen’s Revival of 1857-1858

In 1857, the North Dutch Church in New York City hired a businessman, Jeremiah Lanphier, to be a lay missionary. He prayed, “Lord, what would you have me do?” Concerned by the anxious faces of businessmen on the streets of New York City, Lanphier decided to open the church at noon so businessmen could pray. The first meeting was set for September 23–three weeks before the Bank Panic of 1857. Six attended the first week, 20 the next, then 40, then they switched to daily meetings. Before long all the space was taken, and other churches also began to open up for businessmen’s prayer meetings.15 Revivals broke out everywhere in 1857, spreading throughout the United States and world. Sometimes called The Great Prayer Meeting Revival, an estimated 1,000,000 people were added to America’s church rolls, and as many as 1,000,000 of the 4,000,000 existing church members also converted.16

The Civil War Revival, 1861-1865

The bitter dispute over slavery thrust our nation into the deadliest war we’ve ever experienced. By the end, 620,000 Americans lay dead–one out of every 50 of the 31,000,000 people counted in the 1860 census. At the start of the Civil War in 1861, it seemed as though the soldiers for both sides had left their Christianity at home and gone morally berserk. By 1862, the tide turned, first among the Confederate forces. An estimated 300,000 soldiers were converted, evenly divided between the Southern and Northern Armies. 17 18

The Urban Revivals, 1875-1885

Young businessman Dwight L. Moody participated in the Great Revival of 1857 as it swept Chicago.19 Moody later conducted revivals throughout the British Isles where he spoke to more than 2,500,000 people. In 1875, Moody returned home and began revivals in America’s biggest cities. Hundreds of thousands were converted and millions were inspired by the greatest soul winner of his generation.20 At this time, the general worldview of Americans was shifting away from a Christian consensus. Darwinism and higher criticism were gaining traction, and Moody became the first evangelist to come under attack–accused of making religion the opiate of the masses.21

By the turn of the twentieth century, the mood of the country was changing. Outside the church, it was the era of radio, movies, and the “Jazz Age.” World War I led to a moral letdown and the Roaring Twenties. When that era came to an abrupt end on October 29, 1929, followed by the Great Depression, there was surprisingly little interest in spiritual revival.22 Inside the church, a half-century long battle raged between evangelicalism and theological liberalism which had penetrated major denominations.23 The effect was that twentieth century revivals were more limited in scope, and lacked the broad impact on society of earlier awakenings.24

The Revivals of 1905-1906

Word of the Welsh Revival of 1904-1905 spread to Welsh-speaking settlers in Pennsylvania in late 1904 and revival broke out. By 1905, local revivals blazed in places like Brooklyn, Michigan, Denver, Schenectady, Nebraska, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Taylor University, Yale University, and Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky.25 Billy Sunday, who became a key figure about this time, preached to more than 100,000,000 people with an estimated 1,000,000 or more conversions.26

The Azusa Street Revival, 1906

In 1906, William J. Seymour, an African-American Holiness pastor blind in one eye, went to Los Angeles to candidate for a pastoral job. But after he preached, he was locked out of the second service! He began prayer meetings in a nearby home and the Spirit of God, which they called “the second blessing,” fell after many months of concerted prayer. Eventually, the interracial crowds became so large they acquired a dilapidated Methodist church at 312 Azusa Street where daily meetings continued for three years. The resulting Pentecostal Movement and the later Charismatic Movement, which both exploded worldwide in the twentieth century both trace their roots to this revival.27 28 29

The Post-World War II Awakening

After World War II, in 1947 and 1948, Pentecostals experienced two strands of an awakening, one the Latter Rain Revival and the other the Healing Revival. Large numbers of evangelicals also experienced revival resulting in many conversions. It was at this time that a great generation of Christian leaders emerged. Bill Bright began Campus Crusade for Christ. In 1949, Billy Graham’s distinguished career, which popularized evangelical Christianity for a new generation, exploded on the scene during his Los Angeles crusade sponsored by the Christian Businessmen’s Committee.30 31 An estimated 180,000,000 people attended his nearly 400 crusades, and millions more viewed on television.32 College Revivals started as early as 1946, but when the prayer-based Wheaton College Revival of 1950 achieved national publicity, it sparked other college revivals throughout America.33

The Charismatic Renewal and Jesus Movement

During the late 1960s and early 1970s more revivals of national scope developed. The first strand was the Charismatic Renewal which spread far beyond Pentecostal and Holiness churches to college campuses, the Catholic Church, and mainline denominations.34 The second strand, the widely publicized Jesus Movement, emphasized turning from drugs, sex, and radical politics to taking the Bible at face value and finding Jesus Christ as personal Savior.35 Not surprisingly, this revival spread to college campuses, most notably the 1970 Asbury College Revival in Wilmore, Kentucky. Within a week the revival had spread throughout the entire country.36 In 1976 America elected a born-again president, and evangelicalism has continued to prosper from then to now.

The Mid-1990s Revivals

Despite the widespread secularization of society since the Cultural Revolution that began in the late 1960s, in the mid-1990s God once again brought a series of revivals, mostly to Charismatic and Pentecostal groups. In 1994 it was The Toronto Blessing, and 1995 ushered in the Melbourne Revival on Florida’s Space Coast, the Modesto Revival, and the Brownsville Revival in Pensacola, Florida, which recorded 100,000 conversions in two years.37 College Revivals swept across America, starting at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas, under the preaching of Henry Blackaby, a Southern Baptist.38

The Promise Keepers Revival, the most publicized of the mid-1990s Revivals, began in 1991 when 4,200 men descended on the University of Colorado to be challenged to live up to their faith. In 1993, 50,000 men assembled from every state and 16 nations. In the following years, stadium events were conducted in cities throughout the United States. A spirit of revival and transformation swept across America as millions of men attended. The revival reached it’s zenith on October 4, 1997, as 1,000,000 or more men gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. By the close of 2000, Promise Keepers reported 5,000,000 had attended 100 conferences. An additional 1,000,000 men have been impacted since.39

Ten Characteristics of Revivals

Each revival or awakening leaves its own heat signature; in 1740 youth led the way, in 1857 businessmen and prayer took center stage, and the 1906 Azusa Street revival was decidedly interracial. Yet all share common themes. What are the most frequently mentioned characteristics of revivals and awakenings in literature?

1. TIMING: Revivals emerge during times of spiritual and moral decline, which leads to intense prayer.40

2. PRAYER: God puts a longing into the hearts of many to pray for revival.41

3. THE WORD: The preaching or reading of God’s Word brings deep conviction and desire for Christ.42

4. THE HOLY SPIRIT: The Holy Spirit takes people to a spiritual depth they could not achieve on their own.43

5. CONVICTION: Affected sinners are inconsolable except in Christ.

6. GLORY FOR GOD: God receives praise, honor, and glory for bringing revival.

7. REFORMATION AND RENEWAL: Revival produces lasting fruit. New ministries are founded and society experiences a reform of morals as more and more people convert.44 45 46

8. MANIFESTATIONS: Manifestations like fainting, groaning prayer, and miracles vary by culture and denomination.47

9. MESSY: Revivals are messy–controversies swirl about miracles, abuses, excesses, suspicions, and theological disputes (to name but a few).48

10. CYCLICAL: Revivals inevitably crest and decline.49 50  

Is America Ripe for Revival Today?

A majority of Americans believe our country is going downhill. Yet church attendance as a percent of population has held steady since 1990, and probably since 1940.51 America added 50,000 new churches in the last 20 years of the 20th century to total 350,000.52 The number of born-again Christians has grown steadily to 46% of adults today.53 Given the state of moral and spiritual decay, how is that possible?

The answer is simple. Today, Christianity is prevalent but not powerful. The solution is spiritual revival and awakening.

We’ve not had an awakening in America of historic proportion for a long time. With such a great tradition of revival and awakening, a great base from which to start, and a great need to counteract the increasing moral and spiritual decline, our nation appears ripe for a fresh outpouring of God’s Spirit.

But history tells us that national revivals and awakenings cannot be manufactured. They are sovereign acts of mercy and grace by God Himself, when He supernaturally achieves in a short span what seems otherwise impossible. However, God loves to respond to the prayers of His people (e.g., 2 Chronicles 7:14).

While the decision belongs to God alone, He gives us the privilege of hastening the day through humble repentant prayer. Let us pray….

Until every church disciples every man…

Pat

Patrick Morley is the Founder and Co-CEO of Man in the Mirror.
© 2015.  Pat Morley. All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced for non-commercial ministry purposes with proper attribution.

 Endnote References

1 Jonathan Edwards, “A Narrative of Surprising Conversions,” Jonathan Edwards on Revival, Carlisle: The Banner of Truth Trust, first published in 1736, p. 2.

2 Keith J. Hardman, Charles Grandison Finney 1792-1875, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1987, p. 9.

3 Edwards, p. 12.

4 Frank Grenville Beardsley. A History of American Revivals. New York: American Tract Society, 1912, pps. 25-27.

5 Beardsley, pps. 28-31.

6 Beardsley, pps. 36-40.

7 Class Notes, Reformed Theological Seminary, Church History, June, 1998.

8 Harry S. Stout, The Divine Dramatist: George Whitefield and the Rise of Modern Evangelicalism, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991, p. xiv.

9 Beardsley, p. 211, and U.S. Census data.

10 Peter Marshall and David Manuel, From Sea to Shining Sea, Old Tappan: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1986, pps. 60-66.

11 Hardman, pps. 6-7.

12 Beardsley, p. 104.

13 Beardsley, pps. 142, 150, 161.

14 Beardsley, p. 211, and U.S. Census data.

15 J. Edwin Orr, The Event of the Century, Wheaton: International Awakening Press, 1989, pps. 52-56.

16 Orr, pps. 320-321.

17 Keith J. Hardman, Seasons of Refreshing: Evangelism and Revivals in America, Eugene: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 1994, p. 184-191.

18 Beardsley, p. 249.

19 Hardman, Seasons, pps. 197-198.

20 Beardsley, p. 287.

21 William g. McLoughlin, Revivals, Awakenings, and Reform, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1978, p. 141-142.

22 Hardman, Seasons, p. 242.

23 Hardman, Seasons, pps. 238-242.

24 Richard M. Riss, A Survey of 20th Century Revival Movements in North America, Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1988, p. 3.

25 Riss, pps. 44-45.

26 Hardman, Seasons, p. 236.

27 George Waugh, Flashpoints of Revival, North Charleston: BookSurge Publishing, 2009, p. 41.

28 Riss, pps. 46-47.

29 Hardman, Seasons, p. 243.

30 Hardman, Seasons, pps. 242-254.

31 Riss, pps. 1, 106-142.

32 Hardman, Seasons, p. 264.

33 Riss, p. 133-141.

34 Riss, pps. 147, 155-162.

35 Riss, pps. 147-149.

36 Riss, p. 153.

37 Waugh, pps. 111-113, 124-137.

38 Waugh, pps. 134-135.

39 http://www.promisekeepers.org/about/pkhistory, retrieved January 9, 2010.

40 Riss, p. 5.

41 Beardsley, p. 342.

42 Beardsley, pps. 345-346.

43 Beardsley, p. 343.

44 Edwards, “An Account of Revival,” p. 148.

45 Waugh, p. 31.

46 Beardsley, p. 333.

47 Hardman, Finney, pps. 198, 249.

48 Riss, pps. 6-7.

49 Beardsley, p. 53.

50 Riss, p. 42.

51 Stanley Presser and Mark Chaves, “Is Religious Attendance Declining?” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (2007), 46(3), pps. 417-423.

52 John C. LaRue, Jr., “Three Church Myths,” Leadership, Wednesday, February 21, 2001, retrieved from ChristianityToday.com.

53 Barna.org, “Barna Survey Examines Changes in Worldview Among Christians over the Past 13 years,” March 6, 2009, retrieved from barna.org

An appeal to rightly apply 2 Chronicles 7:14 by Steve Gaines, written July 03, 2017

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (BP) -- As we approach July 4th, many pastors preach about Christians in America repenting of sin and turning back to the Lord so that He will bless His churches. One text they often use is 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NASB):

"[If] My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

Is that an appropriate application of this text?

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To be clear, these are God's words spoken to Solomon, King of Israel. Likewise, the "land" referred to was the land of Israel. When the Israelites sinned against the Lord, He would send the plagues mentioned in verse 13. But if they responded by humbling themselves, praying, seeking God's face and turning from their wicked ways, God would hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land.

Can Christians in America find any appropriate application from this text?

The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:16 (NASB), "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness." The word "Scripture" in this text referred to Old Testament Scripture. That would include 2 Chronicles 7:14, rightly interpreted.

Likewise, when the apostle Paul cited Old Testament examples of rebellion in Israel's history that prompted God's punishment, he noted that they also served as warnings for Christians living under the new covenant. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:11-12 (NASB), "Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall."

Is America Israel? No. Is God an American? No. But can warnings and promises to God's people in the Old Testament be applied to Christians today? Absolutely.

Regarding 2 Chronicles 7:14, it is very appropriate for any Christian to obey the spirit of this text by endeavoring to humble himself or herself, pray, seek God's face and turn from wicked ways, trusting that God will hear, forgive and heal.

The apostle Peter, speaking to a group of first-century Christians, said this: "For you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God" (1 Peter 2:10 NASB). Today, followers of Jesus are God's people. Christians are those who are "called by [His] name." Therefore, it is appropriate that we apply the timeless truths of 2 Chronicles 7:14. How suitable for all Christians in America, and in any other nation, to humble ourselves, pray, seek the Lord's face and turn from our wicked ways, asking Him to graciously hear from heaven, forgive our sin and bring spiritual healing to the ailing, impotent churches in our land.

In 2 Chronicles 7:14, we note three precepts that are consistently called for by God throughout Scripture: humility, hunger and holiness.

The first requirement for such spiritual healing is humility. "[If] My people who are called by My name humble themselves." It is always good for Christians to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). God will share His glory with no one because God alone can handle His glory. Every redeemed human being should give all glory to Jesus for salvation and every benefit it brings.

Frankly, modern Christianity is marked by far too much arrogance and condescension. For instance, all of us need to use great caution and wise deliberation when posting on social media. The Bible says, "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear" (Ephesians 4:29 NASB). The word "unwholesome" is the Greek word sapros, meaning "rotten." Here it refers to speech that is likened to "garbage" or "trash." Frankly, there is too much "trash-talk" on social media. Humility is always becoming in any child of God.

The second requirement for spiritual healing is hunger. We see it in 2 Chronicles 7:14 in the words: "(If) My people who are called by My name ... pray and seek My face." Jesus urged His followers to "hunger and thirst for righteousness" (Matthew 5:6 NASB). All Christians in America -- and other nations -- would do well to increase our hunger for godliness. We should taste and see that the Lord Jesus is good (cf. Psalm 34:8).

The final requirement for spiritual healing is holiness. "[If] My people who are called by My name ... turn from their wicked ways." Holiness comes by means of repenting from sin. Repentance means to confess our sins and turn away from them. That leads to true holiness.

These three emphases from 2 Chronicles 7:14 -- humility, hunger and holiness -- are much needed among Christians today, whether we live in America or not. Just because 2 Chronicles 7:14 was not written to Americans does not mean that Christians in America cannot benefit from its admonitions by obeying its precepts. Again, "all Scripture is profitable." The warnings in the Old Testament "were written for our instruction."

Many Christians in America are praying for a fresh spiritual awakening and revival among those of us who know Jesus Christ. I for one am praying for American Christians to embrace genuine humility, hunger and holiness. I am also praying that the Lord will graciously see fit to hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and send His much-needed healing.

When I think of it that way, I don't know of a verse in the Bible that serves as a better guide for praying for revival than 2 Chronicles 7:14.

Let Freedom Ring by James Emery White

On the 4th of July, I’m always reminded of times I’ve traveled in countries where freedom is severely curtailed. Or where the people had been freshly freed from the chains of injustice, and the joy of their release was palpable. I was in Johannesburg on the 10th anniversary of the end of apartheid. I was in Korea when the border between North and South was electric with tension. My most powerful memory came from Moscow, where I was teaching shortly after the fall of communism. One night a group of us went to the famed Bolshoi Ballet. It was a long, wonderful evening, and after we took the subway back to where we were staying, the students said, “Come and let us celebrate.” The other two professors with me were as tired as I was, but the students were so intent on our joining them, that we went. And then we found out what celebration meant to them. They wanted to gather in the dining room and sing hymns and worship God. And we did, late into the night, with more passion and sincerity than I have ever experienced. It didn’t matter that we didn’t know how to sing in Russian—we worshiped God together. But I went to bed puzzled. I had never seen such passion for spontaneous and heart-filled worship. I was curious as to why they were so ready and eager to offer God love and honor. I received my answer the following Sunday when I was invited to speak at a church in North Moscow. A former underground church that had met in secret (as so many churches had been), they were now meeting openly in a schoolhouse. I had been asked to bring a message that Sunday morning. I didn’t know that I was in for a bit of a wait. The service lasted for nearly three hours. There were three sermons from three different speakers, with long periods of worship between each message. I was to go last. When it was over, I talked a bit with the pastor of the church. I was surprised at not only the length of the service, but the spirit and energy of the people. Throughout the entire three hours, they never let up. In spite of the length of time, they never seemed to tire. Even at the end, they didn’t seem to want to go home. “In the States,” I said, “you’re doing well to go a single hour before every watch in the place starts beeping.” (This was before smart phones.) He didn’t get my weak attempt at humor, but he did say something that I will never forget. “It was only a few years ago that we would have been put in prison for doing what we did today. We were never allowed to gather together as a community of faith and offer worship to God. And we are just so happy, and almost in a state of unbelief, that we can do this now – publicly, together – that we don’t want it to end. And not knowing what the future might hold for us here, we know that every week might just be our last. So we never want to stop. So we keep worshiping together, as long as we can.” As I left, his words never left my mind. I thought to myself: “I will never think about worship the same again. I’ve been too casual about it, too laid back, taken it too much for granted. These people know what it’s about – really about – and because of that, they have been willing, and would be willing again, to suffer for it. To be imprisoned for it. To die for it. Because they’ve discovered that it holds that high of a yield for their life. It has that much meaning and payoff and significance. It matters that much.” And it should matter that much to all of us. Happy 4th of July. James Emery White Editor’s Note This blog was originally published in 2013, and the Church & Culture Team thought you would enjoy reading it again.

About the Author James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, NC, and the ranked adjunct professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also served as their fourth president. His newest book, Christianity for People Who Aren't Christians, is now available at Amazon or wherever books are sold. To enjoy a free subscription to the Church & Culture blog, visit ChurchAndCulture.org, where you can view past blogs in our archive and read the latest church and culture news from around the world. Follow Dr. White on Twitter , Facebookand Instagram.