A recent video captures a California gathering where Mario Murillo calls people to Christ. Multitudes come running. The video is running wild on the internet.
I had the distinct honor of witnessing this same type of phenomenal event two or three times weekly for 60 months during the Pensacola Revival. As scores came from across the world, we shared that it was a repentance-based move of God stemming from three non-negotiables: Humility. Hunger. Holiness.
Steve Hill, the indefatigable evangelist who preached nightly, is now in heaven, but in my study I see my friend’s smiling face from a picture next to my desk. I can still hear his powerful voice proclaiming, “It’s time to get the sin out of your life!”
At the revival, Dr. Michael Brown led the school of ministry where I had the privilege of teaching practical theology to 1,150 students. Today many of them, like my daughter and son and his wife, are seeded throughout America and abroad influencing scores to radically live for Jesus.
How Did This Happen?
We challenged everyone with Bible basics: repent, totally trust Jesus and His finished work and obey Him as Lord for an “abundant life” (John 10:10) rooted in happy holiness. We shared how Jesus was humanity’s happiest person because “[He] loved righteousness and hated wickedness” (Heb.1:9a). Our message: no more compromise or coddling sin—live life to the fullest for the glory of God!
We took our cues from the book of Acts, where purity was a magnet to draw the Holy Spirit. It resulted in regular healings, dramatic miracles, angelic intervention and widespread evangelistic impact on entire cities. We regularly took inventory to reset our lives to please rather than grieve Him which brought more of His manifest presence and power.
This incredible experience brought transformation to our entire family. God can do it again on an even grander scale in our generation! May we pray: “O Lord, revive your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of these years make them known!” (Hab. 3:2b).
Time for Turnaround
As summer winds down and school begins, it’s time to clean up, declutter and get back on track for a productive new season. Likewise, with the surging housing market, many are making repairs and removing unsightly imperfections for the “big sale.” How about the church?
In a time of spiritual dryness, COVID “pestilence” and forces descending upon America like locusts to devour our heritage, God is calling us to clean house and earnestly seek Him for the only thing that can rescue us from destruction as a nation, another great awakening!
Sixty-year Bible teacher Austin Sparks cautioned us: “Beware of the peril of familiarity.” Let’s heed that admonition as we look afresh at God’s instruction for a turnaround:
“When I shut up the heavens and there is no rain, or when I command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence on My people, if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:13-14).
Senior prophetic leader Rick Joyner said God spoke to him that we will not experience divine intervention until we once-and-for-all obey the directive to “turn from our wicked ways.”
Getting Serious/Getting Sin Out
Are you ready to “get the sin out of your life?” Are you ready to get radical and forsake hidden, besetting sins? Deliverance is for the desperate not those who cover sins, compromise and stay comfortable. “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Prov. 28:13).
God loves us and America so He’s calling: “Examine yourselves” (2 Cor. 13:5a). “Let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1b).
I won’t roll out an exhaustive checklist of sins for a time of self-examination, but how about looking at the Ten Commandments and those areas where the Holy Spirit continues bringing conviction (like He’s doing now!)? Ignoring Him is like having a cube revolving around in our heart but continuing to dismiss the scratches. This smooths out the cube’s edges (as our conscience becomes dull). Let’s pray like the psalmist, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my concerns, and see if there is any rebellious way in me, and lead me in the ancient way” (Ps. 139:23-24).
The Two-Sided Struggle
Our battle for holiness is fought on two fronts. Let’s make no excuses, knowing “No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, and He will not permit you to be tempted above what you can endure, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13).
— Actions: Stealing, murder (exterminating babies), cheating, sexual impurity and immorality, gluttony, drug or alcohol abuse, materialism, laziness, unfaithfulness, slandering, etc. Rise up and respond, affirming the biblical reality that you are “no longer a slave of sin” (Rom. 6:6). Be encouraged knowing “One who cleanses himself from these things will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, fit for the Master’s use and prepared for every good work” (2 Tim. 2:21).
— Attitudes: Sinful anger, hatred, envy, jealousy, unforgiveness, pride, lust, ungratefulness and so on. Be aggressive in putting all of these to death. “I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not return until they were destroyed. I wounded them, and they were not able to rise; they are fallen under my feet” (Ps.18:37-38).
7 Helps to Navigate Gray Areas
Consider this: Television programs, music and movies (don’t dismiss homosexual-affirming sitcoms and animated shows like those on Disney Channel; occult themed books/movies; violent video games; certain concerts, immodest fashions and swimwear; entertainment celebrating “legalized” weed; smoking and vaping; alcohol abuse; violent martial arts; subscribing to cable packages and online video streaming featuring pornography, profanity, nudity, suicide, LGBTQ sexuality and graphic violence (Game of Thrones, 13 Reasons Why and more.). Visit parentstv.org for information and use nationwide filters such as Covenant Eyes and Kids Guard.
Ask yourself the following questions, applying the cited biblical principles, and trust the Holy Spirit to guide you where there’s no apparent chapter and verse.
1. Does it glorify God? (1 Cor. 10:31)
2. Can I do it in fullness of faith? If in doubt, better do without! (Rom. 14:23)
3. Will it ensnare me and bring me under its addictive power? (1 Cor.6:12).
4. Is it good stewardship of my time and/or money? (1 Cor. 4:2).
5. Will it dull my spirit and cause me to lose my edge in God? (Rom.12:11).
6. Does it set a bad example and cause others, especially younger and new Christians, to stumble? (Rom. 14:21).
7. Will it grieve the Holy Spirit? (Eph. 4:30).
Beneath the TV in our bedroom, I have the following laminated Scripture: “I will not put any evil thing before my eyes. I have hated the work of those who turn aside; I will not have it near me. Perverseness of heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil” (Ps. 101:3-4, ESV).
Parents are waking up to protect their children in what they watch. Nickelodeon started LGBTQ advocacy in 2017 with its 1.3 million weekly viewers, but they’ve plummeted to 372,000 in June 2021. Let’s stop the LGBTQ propaganda running rampant!
Here’s the Deal: If you realize the urgency of the hour and that without another great awakening, America is doomed, let’s get serious and “get the sin out of our lives!” Take inventory and then take your place in what can be one of the greatest interventions of God in history. {eoa}
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