Why We Need Revival, Pt 1

Our church is anticipating a great movement of God in our church and in Anderson. I have been asking you to be in prayer for our upcoming revival and over the next few days, I am going to share with you some reasons why we need revival.

I would like to start by encouraging you to read Lamentations 1:1-11 as you prepare your hearts over the next few days. If you were in our Bible study this past Sunday night, then you are familiar with the context of the passage. If you were not, let me give you a quick recap: Jeremiah prophesied in Jerusalem, but the people of Israel would not listen. What ended up happening is that the Persians took over as God's means of punishing Israel for her idolatry. We know of this as the Babylonian exile. In Lamentations 1, Jeremiah is walking through the ransacked city of Jerusalem in mourning for the place he called home and the people he loved. 

Earlier today I was walking through the streets of downtown Anderson as I was getting somethings together for our women's ministry silent auction. As I walked, I came across a few disturbing scenes. If you have never walked Main Street on a cold rainy afternoon, let me tell you what you will find. Possibly a homeless man who appears to be strung out on drugs. He would be the guy speaking to the statue in front of the courthouse and awkwardly approaching women walking on the sidewalk. You might even come across someone stumbling out of one of the downtown bars drunk at 2:30pm. You will likely watch two or three people screaming at each other on the steps of the courthouse and you will see shops that are dirty, closed, and dilapidated. Go back to Lamentations 1. How lonely is the city?

That is just a Tuesday walk on Main Street. When you start doing the research into the statistics, here is what you find: Anderson county has just under 200,000 people (190, 641 in 2013). Are you ready for the breakdown? in 2012, Anderson had 7 murders, 10 rapes (that were recorded), 386 burglaries, 1,458 thefts, and 126 auto thefts. Here is what that breaks down to for our city...184 crimes per square mile.

So, why do WE need revival? We need revival because Anderson needs Jesus. We need revival because our city is broken. We need revival because our church is not just a house where we can safely gather Sunday after Sunday, but a place where we can be equipped to be used of God for His purpose. We need revival because tonight as I type this email a student at one of our high schools will be pressured to have sex, try drugs, or drink underage. We need revival because by the time we watch the morning news tomorrow, a news crew will have arrived to report on a crime in our city. WE need revival because Anderson needs US to bring the light of Christ.

As we look to Revive This Nation, pray for our city. Pray for the brokenness. Pray that God will use us to magnify His great light into the darkness.