ARE WE AT THE BEGINING OF THE NEXT GREAT AWAKENING?

[Vine Abider]

4 hours ago, Stan Murff said:

One can do that without going to a building on Sunday morning.

In fact, your personal relationship with the Lord should come before church, family, work, etc, etc.

Agreed!  (we can get together with believers out in the cow pasture)

2 hours ago, Stan Murff said:

Yes, gathering is something we are told to do in God's Word.

And we need to understand that this is one of the primary avenues satan uses to spread false doctrine and deception.

Because people have a tendency to get along just to be getting along so if they attend a church for a while and have friends there and the church starts teaching false doctrine and all the people buy in to it... most people will go ahead and support the false doctrine (which is sinful) just so they don't lose fellowship with the people they know.

This is how the ecumenical movement is growing so fast where people are believing that all religions lead to salvation and sadly many Christians are being deceived by this movement which is the stage being set for the one world religion that will accompany the one world government and the anti-christ.

Unfortunately, this can happen. The ekklesia is comprised of a bunch of imperfect people who are called to love other imperfect people.  And somehow God uses the gathering of the body regardless - so by sight it looks like a big mess, but by faith we see "I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not withstand it!"

[Big Boy Stan Murf]

58 minutes ago, Vine Abider said:

Agreed!  (we can get together with believers out in the cow pasture)

Yeah, but if the once saved always saved peoples arrive there will be cow patties in the cow pasture!  Ha Ha!

[Vine Abider]

2 hours ago, Stan Murff said:

Yeah, but if the once saved always saved peoples arrive there will be cow patties in the cow pasture!  Ha Ha!

And then all of us one Spirit one body one Lord Christians can get together and do some frivolous cow tipping!

[Ray12614]

Well . . . I can only comment from my own experiences . . . and my local church attendance as an founding elder/leader there.

We are experiencing BOTH trends . . . Awakening and falling away, new members and loosing others . . .  and there are several reasons why this is happening, Most of which is the 'foundations' that our people are building on. There are those who take scripture seriously and implement them into their daily lives (building on the Rock) and those who don't read or study their Bibles for themselves, and/or hear the Word, but, for other reasons never build their lives on that solid teaching (building on sand) . . . 

During the (overly hyped) early days of the pandemic my local church adopted an common sense approach to our congregation where we met online, doing FB and Youtube live streams. After some weeks we found out that the 'pandemic' was not nearly as deadly and wide spread as the media kept telling us, so we then did both live stream and in person services, which we continue to do today for those outside our local areas, and for those who cannot or will not attend due to illness or even due to fear of covid (yes the fear still has hold on them). I am NOT minimizing covid . . . I lost several dear friends to that plague BUT I have had to pray for more people hurt by the various 'vaccines' (wrongfully called a vaccine).

Here is what the last 3 years of doing 'in person' and 'remote' Church has taught me . . . 

1. Remote live stream is good for reaching members with bible teaching, yet, somehow lacks the personal in-house anointing on it.

2. Members who attend remotely Never encourage other members who desperately need encouragement and/or exhortation. To put it bluntly their remote attendance has zero effect on the rest of our church body (remote or in person). Their giftings are never used because they are absent from the body. Many watch from the comfort of their homes in an common not Holy attitude towards the Word that is preached, and the Gifts manifested in-house. It is more of a 'movie' to them that they can critique instead of experience the presence of the Lord first hand. Sure they can (and I have done this) type "AMEN", or, give a 'heart' or thumbs up jesture, but again had zero effect for the minister, or the congregation.

3. We can and do pray for people remotely when they request it, and somebody online and in house sees it, but, I challenge you to lay hands on people, and anointing them  with oil remotely. IF you can figure that one out, I am all ears.

Yes, I am getting a little off topic (sorry moderators), but I wanted to share that we are BOTH experiencing Awakening and Apostacy at the same time. When those who are remote fall away there may be weeks or months before we know about it.

So, at my church . . . we preach Truth of Scripture, warn the 'unruly', comfort the feeble minded, show compassion and pray for those who come and give them encouragement and help as we can and the Lord enables. Remotely doing this is much harder.

My 2 cents . . . hope this helps somehow . . . 

Grace and Peace . . . 

 

[Starise]

I see us approaching two subjects here, but mostly the status of the church and how some of us view it as opposed to the status of the world.

I believe any great awakening will go far outside of the church. The LORD works in mysterious ways and often uses the least likely tools. For all we know God will save a whino who had not been exposed to a bible his entire life to lead a revival. If the church is dead, the Lord doesn't need it.

The world will continue to have these cyclic sorts of events that some take to mean the end times, but in reality, have gone on for thousands of years. Add to this the great falling away predicted to happen, and we see it happenng in the US and other countries, so something a little different IS happening this time. Countries once solidly Judeo Christian are toppling to the other side. The Lord told us this would happen. The true CHURCH however will just grow stronger while the compromised churches that fell to apostacy will zip right into the rest of the world godless as ever. The CHURCH is all of us that are believers, so this doesn't happen "out there' somewhere. No- it begins with you.

[backontrack]

On 8/27/2023 at 9:47 PM, Ausie 52 said:

No, I think we are living at the beginnings of the 'Great Apostasy'.

Funny I see people every  week come forward to receive Christ and many healings as well.

James River Church

[FJK]

30 minutes ago, backontrack said:

Funny I see people every  week come forward to receive Christ and many healings as well.

James River Church

It's always wise to keep the parable of the sower in mind when we see people come forth.

[Marilyn C]

Here in OZ the church organizations that are growing are the ones who are preaching `Kingdom Now,` theology. They believe that the church (organizations and congregations) will take over the` 7 mountains` of society and then deliver it to the Lord when He comes.  The `7 mountains` are - government, education, law, media, entertainment, sport, arts. 

They believe that as long as a `good` person or Christian is in charge of those areas then we will have reached that goal.

They believe that `rapture` doctrine is negative and they say they preach `hope` for this next generation. They don`t preach that up front all the time, but you can check out their beliefs and you will find it. 

The focus is on `feelings` and having the `atmosphere of the presence of God. ` Hyping people up brings its own atmosphere. Be wary.

Well, all I can say is that when the Peace negotiator comes on the scene, East will mix with West and there will seem to be `Peace and Safety.` 

[Neighbor]

On 8/28/2023 at 5:47 PM, Vine Abider said:

Agreed!  (we can get together with believers out in the cow pasture)

Seems a poor choice of location for a meeting to me. 

I tend to think God is pleased when He is honored. worthy   That He is honored  in design and careful construction of buildings that have thought behind their design,  and are built with sacrificial labor and finances put into them. Not that they are holy but that God is!  Also I believe God wants order in his house not just a tumble on the cow paddies.  

What has he said to people that took their place of corporate worship casually and treated it carelessly in the past: “Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.” 

 Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying,  “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this [a]temple to lie in ruins?”  Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!

 “You have sown much, and bring in little;
You eat, but do not have enough;
You drink, but you are not filled with drink;
You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm;
And he who earns wages,
Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”

 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!  Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the Lord.

 

 

 

[backontrack]

1 hour ago, FJK said:

It's always wise to keep the parable of the sower in mind when we see people come forth.

Well the Sower is really working there in a big way every week for the last year every week.