Part 3: Is There Hope for a Christ Awakening in America in 2016?

Third of a Four-Part Series

During February’s 50th anniversary Super Bowl, over half our nation will eyeball TV screens and mobile devices to watch the top two NFL teams strive to become football’s world champions. Days prior to the kickoff, of course, various experts and sports commentators will argue facts to support their confidence about which team will prevail.

With greater fervor than I could ever muster for a football game, I want to show you what I believe is solid evidence that we could see God-given Christ Awakenings at any time in our nation’s churches in 2016—yes, this year!

In Part 1 of this series we asserted that as God’s people we have no other hope than for God to awaken us!

In Part 2 we saw that Christians in America’s churches desperately need this reintroduction to Christ that he is so ready and willing to give us.

Now, as promised last time, Part 3 presents reasons why all of us should pray and prepare for Christ Awakenings in America in 2016 with an unwavering hope that we will not be disappointed. In other words, how can we know for sure such a grace is at hand?

Christ Awakenings in America in 2016?
Seven Confidence Builders for You!

What a year this could be! I want to look with you at what I call “Seven Confidence Builders” designed to fill Christians everywhere with great expectations for 2016. I believe they are irrefutable. See how they help to build your confidence about the possibilities.

The Seven Confidence Builders are:

The Decisive Person
The Divine Pattern
The Dark Prospects
The Disturbing Paralysis
The Dramatic Preparations
The Distinctive Praying
The Determined People

Let’s examine each one briefly.

Confidence Builder # 1: The Decisive Person

God intends for his Son to be the focus of everything—at the end of history as well as every step along the way. He has no greater desire. In whatever he does, his ultimate purpose is to sum up all of heaven and earth under Jesus as Lord (Eph. 1:10). Every Christ Awakening—including the Final Revival (Rev. 21-22)—is meant to accelerate, intensify, and expand this process. In such seasons God dramatically intervenes to restore Christ’s rightful role as Redeemer King among his people and to more fully advance his kingdom among the nations. The Father’s passion should lead us to pray and prepare with confidence for Christ Awakenings to unfold right now.

Confidence Builder # 2: The Divine Pattern

God is faithful and consistent in all of his ways. He has been pleased to grant times of significant renewal and revitalization to many generations of his people, from Genesis to the present. One day he will culminate all revivals in the Final Revival—the consummation of everything in Christ. Since historically he has granted innumerable Christ Awakenings, and since God is no respecter of persons, we can be assured that what he’s done for others he will do for us. We need not doubt that he is able, willing, and ready to grant such a “re-set” right now. Therefore, with confidence we should pray and prepare for this without delay.

Confidence Builder # 3: The Dark Prospects

God loves the world and longs to see his Son exalted among all of earth’s peoples. But he knows the world is currently facing extraordinary crises and challenges beyond its own resources. In addition, humankind suffers under the dominion of both sin and dark spiritual powers. Therefore, deliverance for the nations—for America itself— rests, as always, on God’s sovereign intervention among his people to reveal more of the glory of his reigning Son. He intends to push back the darkness by releasing fresh solutions through believers made fully alive to the supremacy of Christ in a manner equal to and even surpassing the desperate needs (and opportunities) of our time. In fact, Christ Awakenings in the Church really are the only hope he currently holds out to a dying world. Therefore, because the fame and reign of Christ must prevail against all darkness, with confidence we may pray and prepare for new waves of victory right now.

Confidence Builder # 4: The Disturbing Paralysis

God loves the Church and intends to bring glory to his Son among the nations primarily through his people. But he also sees that the desperate condition of the world is due, in large measure, to the Church’s struggles with its own spiritual impotency, brokenness, dullness, division, and sin. Because of our calling in Christ he will not leave us indefinitely in this powerless state. Since he is committed to the welfare of Christ’s body for the advancing of Christ’s kingdom, he must deliver us. Our paralysis is not the last word. He intends to awaken us to a much fuller revelation of the greatness of his Son because he knows such an outpouring of the Spirit is the only way into the needed restoration and liberation of his people. Like the dark prospects around us this other reality inside the Church should drive us toward renewed hope in Christ. That’s why we can pray and prepare for Christ Awakenings today with solid expectations.

Confidence Builder # 5: The Dramatic Preparations

The increased commitment of the contemporary Church to fulfill the Great Commission forms nothing less than a prelude to a fresh Christ Awakening movement just ahead. The great increase of new Christians in churches among the nations; the remarkable potential in resources, technologies and workers just waiting to be released; the comprehensive strategies for world evangelization developed by many streams of the Church; the growing collaboration among Christians on many fronts to complete the task—all this and more cries out for fulfillment through the kind of mobilization every Christ Awakening brings. Clearly God is setting the stage worldwide for new advances of Christ’s kingdom. Since this is his work of preparation surely he will not fail to bring it to completion. Let’s boldly seek him for Christ Awakenings among his people even as we rejoice in its certainty.

Confidence Builder # 6: The Distinctive Praying

In unprecedented fashion, God is stirring up his people worldwide to pray unitedly, specifically, increasingly, and persistently for a Christ Awakening in every part of the body of Christ. He is doing so by giving believers all over the globe a common vision for the need for radical revival. There’s a broad-based, biblical agreement on what a genuine Christ Awakening looks like. There’s a growing conviction that such a move of the Holy Spirit is near as we commit to intercede for it together. Since God is stirring up the Church to pray with a distinctive Christ-exalting focus and consensus then surely he does not intend for us to pray in vain. These are requests he promises to satisfy fully. We should prepare for those answers without fear of disappointment, standing on tiptoe as we wait for him to act.

Confidence Builder # 7: The Determined People

God is galvanizing a critical mass of people worldwide convinced that widespread Christ Awakening movements are the only hope for the Church, as well as for the nations, including America. Fearless in their confidence that there is so much more God wants to do in this generation for his Son, they are willing to pay any price to prepare the way for the Father to do it, beginning with repentance. In addition, they are active in spreading to other believers the same compelling hope in Christ. With their numbers increasing, these “activists” seek to foster and serve Christ Awakenings with Christians and congregations wherever they go. Thus, they are a strong sign of the nearness of a Spirit-given reintroduction to God’s Son among God’s people. In fact, they form the very first phase of the awakenings that must come. So then, all of us should join them to get ready, because they are evidence that the “time is at hand”.

So then, do we have any hope that America could experience a Christ Awakening movement in 2016?

Look again at the extraordinary rationales we’ve just uncovered—then you tell me!

My final part of this series will tackle a critical follow-up question: If Christ Awakenings should start to unfold across America in 2016, what do we need to do to be ready to wholeheartedly enter in?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: David Bryant

Known as a proclaimer of Christ and Messenger of Hope, David Bryant is the founder and president of Proclaim Hope!, a ministry whose goal is to serve a nationwide Christ Awakening. David is the author of five books, including Christ Is ALL! Join in the Joyful Awakening to the Supremacy of God’s Son.