Foundations for Christian Mission, Student Workbook, SW04

/ 3 8 1

F O U N D A T I O N S F O R C H R I S T I A N M I S S I O N

Let God Arise! (continued)

For a Dynamic Spiritual Awakening

Regardless of the terms used in scholarly literature on God’s visitation in revival or awakenings (e.g., revival, renewal, refreshing, revelation, etc.), the reality spoken of within these materials all refer to the same truth. What is this truth? These materials all point toward the need, above all else, of God’s presence as the critical factor in all renewal and witness for the Kingdom. America’s inner cities today especially demand a fresh visitation from the Lord. God must arise in the city; he must come down and scatter his enemies, and shed abroad his goodness and provision. The Holy Spirit must be outpoured upon the city if it is to be won for Christ. Nothing short of God’s own presence in the city will suffice. No other solutions hold the promise of lasting or comprehensive change occurring in the lives of the millions who languish in the city. None of the typical answers can touch the lives of so many; no solutions of government, social philanthropy, political or jurisprudential reform, or the hiring more policemen and crime fighters or eliminating various kinds of “immoral elements” in impoverished neighborhoods will overcome the spiritual powers and principalities which plague our inner city communities. Spiritual needs must be met with spiritual resources. Neither will an anemic, sluggish, and worldly-minded church accomplish this task of setting the captives free. We are called as believers to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might (Eph. 6.10-12). Jesus is the warrior of God who will consummate God’s victory on earth at his Second Coming (cf. Revelation 19.8ff). Only when Christ reveals himself, he who alone is able to bind “the strong man of the devil” and set his captives free (cf. Matt. 12.25-30), can we expect the freedom, wholeness, and justice of the Kingdom to liberate the lost in the city.

Entreat the Favor of the Lord for Global and Local Concerns

Because we wholeheartedly believe that God loves all peoples everywhere, we concentrate our prayer efforts with an emphasis on both global and local concerns. “Global” concerns mean that every time we gather we do not merely pray for the needs of America’s inner cities alone, but for the needs of the entire globe, in cities, nations, and among people groups where the Church of Jesus Christ is bearing witness, as well as for all those who have not yet heard of the saving Gospel of the Lord.