Saul was an ordinary guy who went out to look for lost donkeys. He didn’t have any expectations of being a king, nor did he set out to be king of Israel. All he wanted was to find his father’s lost donkeys and go back home, but not only were the donkeys found, Saul ended up being king of Israel (1 Samuel 9:1-27; 10:1-24).
I find myself in a situation like Saul’s. I did not set off from Africa to come and proclaim revival in America. We have our own problems in Africa, and when I set out, my purpose was to come and seek support for our evangelistic and teaching ministry in Ghana. I purposed to spend a few weeks or months then go back home with the support we needed, but little did I know that the Lord had other plans. The required support did not come as expected, and I found myself going from place to place like a gypsy in search of support.
When I look back now, I realize the Lord was trying to draw my attention to something, and everywhere I went I saw the same thing...
As I sought the Lord in prayer, He laid a burden for revival on my heart. I thought we needed revival in Africa, but here I was in another country, far away from home and now the Lord rekindles a burden He laid on my heart as far back as 1999. Specifically, the Lord led me to Ezekiel 22:30, to stand in the gap for America, to seek His face for revival.
Does America need revival? Absolutely! America has departed from the Lord and judgment is upon the land. Like a brother said, America today is like the Titanic, elegant and beautiful, with the passengers on board having fun, but the ship is sinking very fast, and unless the Lord intervenes, this nation would go the way of all great empires in history like Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome.
There is a moral and spiritual decline. There is also an economic decline from which this nation cannot recover, for it is part of the judgment upon the land and will get worse, unless the Lord saves the situation. All across the land, the glory of the Lord has departed and the church today is in a pathetic situation, being swallowed up daily by the world, having lost its salt and light and shine and taste. It is only a revival from the presence of the Lord that can save this situation.
So what is revival? Some associate revivals with all kinds of strange phenomena, but while revivals may be strange, many of these things we’ve seen are not true manifestations of the Spirit of God, and this is why we have not seen any true revivals in recent times. One unmistakable evidence of a true revival is genuine repentance. The Spirit of the Lord convicts people of sin and turns them to repentance and salvation. Multitudes turn from their old ways of sinful living to righteous living.
Revival is not a fleeting emotional experience that dissipates with time, but a sovereign work of the Spirit of the Lord on the hearts of people. Being a sovereign work of the Lord, revival cannot be organized, planned or scheduled, but we can pray for it and we have the promises of God that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
Is it God’s will to revive us? Absolutely! Instead of being despondent at the conditions we live in today, instead of expecting the Lord to return right now to save the situation, He says, “Occupy till I come” (Luke 19:12-13). We need to be on fire for the Lord and going about His work till He comes.
The church in America is not only in the Laodicean age but also in the age of Sardis (Revelation 3:1-2; 14-19). We need to humble ourselves and come before the Lord, with contrite hearts and fervent prayers and fasting and seek Him for a mighty spiritual awakening to sweep across this land and the whole world, and the time is now!
If we humble ourselves before Him and turn from our wicked ways and acknowledge that our church growth efforts and our purpose driven churches have failed to drive the world to the Lord, then He would come to heal our churches and our lands.
Look at the fields, they are already ripe for the harvest (John 4:35; Matt 9:37; Luke 10:2). There is definitely an end-time harvest according to the divine calendar, which is yet to be fulfilled, and rather than being discouraged, the conditions around us today provide a fertile ground for revival and we need to cry out to the Lord till He comes to sweep America and the nations in His glory and power.
Brother Amartey is a missionary from Ghana and lives here in Covington. He is available to speak on revival and tent-meetings, to stir up the brethren, encourage them and prepare them as they seek the Lord for revival. He also speaks on mountain-moving faith and dynamic and effectual prayers and you may contact him at brotheramartey@gmail.com.
