The Awakening of Repentance?

On February 21st, 2018, America woke up, no longer on the threshold of a great opportunity but instead, staring it straight in the face.  In 2010, while visiting the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, NC, the Spirit began to stir inside me.  I walked through exhibit after exhibit that highlighted the life of "America's Evangelist", and was stunned at how much had been accomplished and how many souls had been touched by one life.  I was nearing the end of the evangelical maze and was getting ready to step into a theater where a short film was to be played to present the Gospel announcement to all who passed though the library, when the weighty presence of God sat right on top of me.  I sat down on a bench and stared at a wall that displayed a picture of the Reverend standing behind a microphone on a platform proclaiming Jesus to thousands of people.  This is what the Lord spoke to me: "You know, Billy is not going to be around forever.  There will come a day when I will bring him home to be with Me and when that day comes, someone will have to pick up the torch that he has been carrying.  Someone will have to accept that mantle.  Are you willing to carry that torch and wear that mantle?"   I will admit, His question terrified me.  I was afraid to answer.  The weight of His presence remained the entire drive home and when I was finally alone in my room, I collapsed on the floor and cried out in intercession for nearly three hours.  But even through that, the Holy Spirit began to comfort me as He kept repeating: "You will not be alone.  You will not be alone."

Our nation and the world woke up to the news that Billy Graham had passed into glory and the memory of what the Lord had spoken many years ago came back to me with a new word: "You are no longer on the threshold...you're in the house now!"  All morning, I received texts and read Facebook posts, all declaring the same things.

"There is a shift upon us..."

"The baton is being passed..."

"The mantle has dropped..."

"The awakening of the evangelists..."

"God is calling the evangelist to rise up..."

On and on, page after page, our brothers and sisters are seeing it in the Spirit, and while I generally agree with what they are saying, I take issue with this...why does it take the death of "America's Evangelist" to awaken other evangelists?  Has something changed?  Was this mantle of evangelism only on Billy Graham and now it is on all of us?  Wasn't this our mandate ever since Jesus commanded us to "go into all the world and make disciples"?  In the Old Testament, God worked through one man, whether is was Abraham, or Moses, or Joseph, or David, all the way up until Jesus.  He was the last ONE MAN that God ever used.  Once the Holy Spirit was given to the Church, we were collectively the ONE MAN, the Body of Christ.  So, now that the Reverend has passed, we are all of a sudden awakened as evangelists?  These are questions that I would like answered.  But my question at the top of that list still remains.  Does this awakening of the evangelists also mean an awakening of the preaching of repentance?  That is the gospel that Billy Graham preached...but that is not the Gospel the Church preaches today.  Now, before you start throwing stones at me, I understand that there are those out there that evangelize and preach repentance, I am referring to the Church as a whole...we do not evangelize...and we do not preach repentance.  Anymore, we don't want to step on anyone's toes and make them feel bad.  The message of the Gospel has been nullified by political correctness.  Justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ's righteousness alone is the gospel, the core of the Christian faith around which all other Christian doctrines are centered and based.  Instead, what happens today is that rather than preach repentance and forgiveness of sin which would bring conviction, a lot of the pastors and evangelists dangle the rewards and benefits in front of peoples faces...never telling them that there is a price that has to be paid, and that price is total and complete surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ.  You see all sorts of healing conferences, financial conferences, and deliverance conferences, and these Christians who have no true substance just blow from one to the next trying to drum up enough good works to pay for these benefits.  All the while never realizing that if they would just pay the price and surrender to the Lord Jesus and follow His commands these benefits would be inherently theirs.  All of them, because they have already been paid for through the blood of Christ.

       Yes, there is a shift upon us...but it has to be a shift in the gospel we preach!  No more ear-tickling, cotton candy (sweet to taste, but no true substance) gospel.  We need to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins if we are to have any lasting results on this world.  It has got to be the gospel of the Kingdom!    REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND!  It was the message our Lord brought, and it must be proclaimed until He comes again.  That much has never changed.  Thank you, Billy Graham, for being the forerunner and keeping the message of repentance alive.  Now it is our turn to pick up the torch and bring that light to the world.

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