The Great Awakening

 

"If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves,
and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then
I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
2 Chronicles 7:14

The Great Awakening: Spiritual Revival in Colonial America is a powerful, yet brief, documentary of the work of the Spirit of God in the very critical, developing years of our nation. Listed below is a synopsis of the incredible truths that I have gleaned from watching this video multiple times. Watch it prayerfully. Watch it together as a family. Show it to your Sunday School class or home Bible study group. And dear pastor, I would encourage you to watch it personally and present it to your congregation. Please read my thoughts and watch the video...

1. Some 100-150 years following the arrival of the Pilgrims and Puritans upon the North American shores, a steep spiritual decline occurred as many of the newer settlers were more focused upon material prosperity available in the New World rather than religious liberty.
2. Established congregations, in a vain attempt to remain relevant among a growing population disinterested in the things of God, began to promote church membership among those who had no experience of personal conversion.
3. The Age of Reason, a cultural philosophy and godless worldview originating in Europe that denied the inspiration and authority of scripture, began to be the accepted viewpoint of those desiring to be associated with an educated and enlightened society.
4. During this time of extreme spiritual decline, a Dutch Reformed circuit riding evangelist began traveling among the wilderness communities of New Jersey and New York, preaching the necessity of the new birth and the accompanying evidences of that birth in the lives of true believers. His ministry was vehemently opposed at the beginning, but his preaching eventually resulted in the mass conversion of both ministers and church members who possessed a "form of godliness but denied the power thereof."
5. William Tennent, along with his son, Gilbert, having a great burden for these newly converted ministers, opened a training school for these men in Pennsylvania that became known as the Log College, as the established Bible colleges and seminaries did not emphasize biblical conversion. Gilbert began to preach a powerful message that would be widely distributed via print in the larger cities entitled "The Dangers of an Unconverted Ministry."
6. These small, flickering flames of awakening were only beginning, and would eventually explode across the developing colonies of America through the preaching and teaching of giant men of faith like Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, John Wesley, and others. Churches and pastors that embraced this work of God witnessed phenomenal growth, while new congregations of Methodist churches were established that followed the teachings of Wesley.
7. As the spiritual fires began to increase in intensity and spread to new areas, fierce opposition began to arise within established churches and denominations. The work of the Spirit of God among the general population through the fiery preaching of anointed men was attacked by those who decried this type of activity. Liberal pastors and denominational leaders labeled the awakening as being too emotional; the awakening evangelists promoted a vulgar gospel demanding personal repentance of sin; and that these types of services were to be completely avoided as they displayed no measure of respectable religion. (Whether you read the Bible or church history, you will always find unregenerate religious leaders vehemently opposing the true work of God's Spirit. Sadly, I have often seen this with my own eyes.)
8. THE DISSENTERS: In the southern colonies, a wave of awakening bypassed the established denominational network of churches, giving rise to an ever-expanding number of laymen who would hold services in their homes and read the printed messages of Whitefield and other preachers. This eventually led to the building of "meeting houses" when the homes of host families were too small to hold the gatherings. This work ultimately led to an experience of church planting, as evangelistic pastors arrived who began to see God establish Bible believing Presbyterian and Baptist churches in the frontier areas of the south.
9. The floodgates of amazing grace were now open from the New England colonies all the way down into the deep south. The radical working of God's Spirit transformed countless lives and saturated communities with bold, Bible believing homes and churches. Without this undeniable work of God's grace, these struggling colonies probably would have never had the vision, nor the faith, to declare independence from the only superpower in the world at that time. The dream of establishing a nation that would embrace a constitutional philosophy of limited government, religious freedom, and the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all citizens was based upon a biblical worldview of personal morality and responsibility. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance” (Psalm 33:12)

I pray that you will watch this brief yet powerful documentary. I pray that you will understand that without a divine intervention of spiritual awakening today, our country will not be able to continue as a shining light in the midst of global darkness. And I pray that you will join me in crying out before it's too late: "DO IT AGAIN, LORD, DO IT AGAIN!" Amen...

https://youtu.be/vELS8e8hATk?si=Mty9Wf31ZXcXOyXP