Psalms 74:2 “Remember the people (NATION) you purchased of old, the tribe of your inheritance, whom you redeemed — Mount Zion, where you dwelt.”
In every society or culture we have what we call “opinion makers.” These are people who use words to make a living. We see how God used George Whitfield who came in with a message from the Lord; he brought in the right opinion and led us into the great awakening and the American experiment.
Same thing took place in Europe over 500 years ago when Martin Luther stood up with a message from God and we have the Western civilization we have today.
However, in the Western world we are in the process of losing this connection with the Lord. Consequently, we are in need of more George Whitfield’s and Martin Luther’s.
Isaiah 60:1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.”
There are three words that we are hearing quite often: reformation, revival and transformation. Reformation is the ministry of John the Baptist preparing the way for the Lord; revival as Martin Lloyd Jones put it is God passing by, and transformation is the result.
This past July 4th we celebrated our 239th year of when we (USA) declared our independence. God has been reminding me that before we had our independence that the Lord sent a powerful preacher to our shores called George Whitfield. He had a powerful influence upon our country and there was a spiritual awakening. One could say that before our independence we had a reformation – a calling back to God and to the things of God.
A war of independence was fought and through the revolution we gained our independence. We were set free and through that freedom a new experiment was undertaken that never had been done before in the history of mankind; that man could govern himself.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE says “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The references to God in the Declaration of Independence provide a foundation for a moral argument within civil society that brought the transformation.
One can ‘Google’ and read the rest of the declaration, but what the Lord was showing me was the pattern that was laid down for reformation, revival and transformation. In the case with the birth of the United States we had George Whitfield (reformation) calling us back to the truths of the Word of God and to our responsibilities. Thomas Jefferson to Richard Price, in 1789 said: “Reformation in government follows reformation in opinion.” George Whitfield in his powerful preaching was bringing in the opinion of God. This was the forerunner of what was to come. It was said about Whitfield in his biography: “More than any other preacher of his day, he made the Great Awakening a vital, far-reaching force, religiously, socially, and politically, in America.” In America he preached a series of revivals that came to be known as the Great Awakening of 1740.
Revival, but in this case revolution, where we were set free with the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE – the law of the land – is what brought in transformation or reconstruction. Yes, there are many things wrong that need fixing in our country, but there is no doubt about the transformation or reconstruction that has taken place in our country over these past 239 years to be a free society with the freedom of religion, freedom of the press, habeas corpus (this is a legal action through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. It is an important legal instrument safeguarding individual freedom against arbitrary state action), trial by jury, and a representative legislature.
Thomas Jefferson said: “Every generation needs a new revolution.” In reading the first paragraph of the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE the thought that came is that God wants to raise up tens of thousands of pastors who from the pulpit will be calling the people to exercise their responsibility and come back to the fundamentals that our country was founded on. Gary Bauer said: “Pastors were instrumental in America’s founding. The Church has long been a pillar of strength in our society. We need their leadership in turning the tide and once again making America a shining city upon a hill.”
Through this ‘reformation’ we will see a revolution of love (God is love) in the hearts of millions that will spark them into a labor of love in every aspect of society, and this will bring in the transformation. (1 Thessalonians 1:3)
Chuck Colson said: “We need to confess our moral failures and our national sins. We need to repent of the lies that justify killing innocent babies and the elderly. The road to renewal begins on our knees. And it’s there that we hear soul-searching questions from God himself, asking: ‘How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.’” Psalms 82:2-4