Conviction or Compromise?

Historian Peter Marshall wrote, “Surely the time has come, because the hour is late, when we must decide. And the choice before us is plain – Christ or chaos. Conviction or compromise.”

Now what’s amazing about that statement is that it was spoken in 1944, 9 years before the first edition of Playboy, 23 years before more than 60 million babies would be aborted in their mother’s wombs, 73 years before the United States Supreme Court would radically redefine marriage, 76 years before presidential candidates would say that transgender rights are a Civil Rights issue, and 77 years before the fact that only 10% of Americans go to church on any given Sunday. I don’t think Peter Marshall could have imagined America falling this low.

In 1969 Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ wrote, “We live in the most revolutionary period of human history. Social Band-Aids give little hope for a cure or even an improvement. A revolution is needed.”

I’m convinced America has stepped into its most serious crisis. But I believe, more than ever, that a cultural revolution will take place after personal revival breaks out!

America’s history has been marked by great revival movements, without which we would have crashed and burned long ago. To give one important example, our nation was greatly impacted by a prayer revival that moved through America starting in 1857.

I shared this a few weeks ago, Jeremiah Lanphier, a businessman, acting in obedience to the Spirit’s leading, began to promote a weekly “Lunch Hour Prayer Meeting.” Only 6 attended the first meeting, and 20 the second. But within a few months, thousands were praying every day of the week. The revival spread from city to city and shaped the history of our nation!

"Calling the crowd to Him with His disciples, Jesus said, 'If anyone will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.'" Mark 8:34

I have read that, from 1857 to 1858, 1 million former church members went back to church, and at the peak of the revival, there were more than 50,000 salvations a week! And as a result of this sweeping revival hitting the city of Chicago, the powerful ministry of D. L. Moody was born, and within 10 years, slavery came to an end in America.

According to historian Mary Relfe, “The Revival of 1857 restored integrity to our government and our churches…A compassionate society was rebirthed. The reins of America were returned to the godly.”

Come on believers! Let’s stay involved in our churches and let’s believe that God can do it again using all of us together in the bond of unity and the power of the Spirit! Don't you want to be a part of the next great move of God?

And so, let’s keep it simple, our prayer should be, “Do it again, Lord! Do it again!”

Pastor Dave