What God does is always purpose-driven. He moves in seasons! And I’m not referring to Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter. God’s seasons always coincide with what He’s doing on the earth. It seems that God brings necessary re-emphasis when and where it’s needed. The Church at large has a tendency to negate or at least minimize “the whole counsel of God.” Heavenly reminders continue to make history “His story!”
Because heaven continues to have a vested interest in the souls of men, God continually introduces new methods to propagate the Gospel, and to reinforce what Jesus Christ purchased by His death and resurrection. AND I BELIEVE WITH STRONG CONVICTION THAT GOD’S INTENDED AND ON-GOING AGENCY TO WIN THE LOST AND SUBSEQUENTLY DISCIPLE NEW BELIEVERS STILL REMAINS THE LOCAL CHURCH.
Although He uses parachurch and specific ministries to reach millions, His heart still yearns to see local churches complement, not compete with what He does on a much larger scale. For example, Billy Graham always used local church volunteers to work alongside him during his great crusades. Then, after each crusade ended, he funneled all new converts into local churches.
I remember while raising our children, I had to every so often sit them down and reiterate house protocol, as familial guidelines tend to slip over time. God does that for His children, too. Why? Calvary entitles us to share God’s fullness on the earth. And often He has to send us reminders!
Let me share a reminder of those things that God has rekindled in just the American Church over the past 200 years. This is not a comprehensive list, but it does illustrate the fact that God constantly sends reminders to we, who forget our “inheritance in the saints.”
Obviously, whatever God brings to the earth never operates on a “stop-start basis,” but rather overlaps one another. While the message remains “Christ and Him crucified,” methods evolve.
And all that God institutes on the earth is designed to strengthen and build the local church. A precursory look at the book of Acts and later, Paul’s epistles to the various churches, supports the idea that whatever God does on the earth, He funnels through the local church and desires that churches everywhere glean from the heavenly fall-out. Let’s begin, as much as possible, in a chronological fashion that takes us back to the 1800’s. Consider these “Reminders:”
Holiness Movement
Revivalistic Movement
Pentecostal Movement
Healing Movement
Jesus Movement
Crusade Ministry — Who comes first and foremost to mind when you think of crusade ministry? Billy Graham, of course.
Evangelistic Crusades (extended revivals)
Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship International
Women’s Aglow
Teaching Movement
Charismatic Renewal
Prosperity Movement
Prophetic Movement
River Movement
Tele-Evangelists
Promise Keepers
Pensacola Outpouring
Mega-Church Movement
Home Church Movement
Perhaps in a future blog I will elaborate on God’s purpose for each new “reminder.” But for today, remember that heaven works feverishly to bring “sons and daughters into glory.” I came to Christ in 1970, in the middle of a “salvation wave.” Later, around 1992, I heard the late Norvel Hayes say, “Over seventy-percent of ministers preaching the Gospel today were saved during the 70’s.”
I am part of that statistic and how I praise the Lord that I responded to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit during those years. That was my turning-point season!
