THE GREAT AWAKENING – Part 2
By W. G. Guy
The great awakening refers to the moving of the Holy Spirit to draw people to the knowledge and revelation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as the one and only means of redemption from our corrupt and sinful state. People who have no knowledge of God’s love are considered to be in state of spiritual sleep and need to be awakened to the eternal life giving truth. They need to wake up, thus the great awakening.
This awakening not only applies to those who do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, but it also applies to a good portion of the church that has fallen asleep to the truth of the entire Word of God and His purposes for us. Consider that the following verse was written by the apostle Paul to the believers at Rome:
Romans 13:11-14 – And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Waking people out of a deep sleep requires more than just calling out to them. They are so deep in their spiritual sleep that they just do not respond to mere words spoken to them. So how do you waken someone out of a deep sleep? Any mother knows this as they attempt to awaken their child from a deep sleep. They have to shake the child awake.
So it is with the coming great awakening. It will require a great shaking to wake people up to their true spiritual need to repent and change from their sinful and corrupt lifestyle. This shaking will be severe and very disruptive. Many will resist it and try to go back to their sinful state of slumber as some don’t like to be woken up suddenly. However, others will be open to accept the life-giving message of the gospel that will be the only means of true spiritual awakening. They will wake up to the true spiritual light that will shine unto them.
This will be a great opportunity to be a true witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. Those of us who have a close relationship with God through Jesus Christ will have great opportunities to show that light to those who are still in darkness. This will also require us to be equipped with the power to be a witness for Him by the ability that God promised by the Holy Spirit:
Acts 1:8, 38-39 – But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. ….Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
We need to be ready to be His witnesses in this time of shaking; we should not become fearful of the shaking but see it as God’s effort to wake up those that are asleep. The shaking will be severe as every institution of man will be shook, including the churches that men have built.
Hebrews 12:25-27 – See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
God will initiate this great shaking, and it will be for His purposes. No man can bring about the changes needed to correct the corruption in this world or in our government and institutions. This requires the hand of God to intervene in our affairs. Believers need to pray for God’s intervention and to bring about the great shaking that will wake people up to their need to repent and turn to God through Jesus Christ. This will be a time of great opportunity and will lead to the great awakening. Notice that the shaking has already begun!
By W. G. Guy
The great awakening refers to the moving of the Holy Spirit to draw people to the knowledge and revelation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as the one and only means of redemption from our corrupt and sinful state. People who have no knowledge of God’s love are considered to be in state of spiritual sleep and need to be awakened to the eternal life giving truth. They need to wake up, thus the great awakening.
This awakening not only applies to those who do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, but it also applies to a good portion of the church that has fallen asleep to the truth of the entire Word of God and His purposes for us. Consider that the following verse was written by the apostle Paul to the believers at Rome:
Romans 13:11-14 – And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Waking people out of a deep sleep requires more than just calling out to them. They are so deep in their spiritual sleep that they just do not respond to mere words spoken to them. So how do you waken someone out of a deep sleep? Any mother knows this as they attempt to awaken their child from a deep sleep. They have to shake the child awake.
So it is with the coming great awakening. It will require a great shaking to wake people up to their true spiritual need to repent and change from their sinful and corrupt lifestyle. This shaking will be severe and very disruptive. Many will resist it and try to go back to their sinful state of slumber as some don’t like to be woken up suddenly. However, others will be open to accept the life-giving message of the gospel that will be the only means of true spiritual awakening. They will wake up to the true spiritual light that will shine unto them.
This will be a great opportunity to be a true witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. Those of us who have a close relationship with God through Jesus Christ will have great opportunities to show that light to those who are still in darkness. This will also require us to be equipped with the power to be a witness for Him by the ability that God promised by the Holy Spirit:
Acts 1:8, 38-39 – But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. ….Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
We need to be ready to be His witnesses in this time of shaking; we should not become fearful of the shaking but see it as God’s effort to wake up those that are asleep. The shaking will be severe as every institution of man will be shook, including the churches that men have built.
Hebrews 12:25-27 – See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
God will initiate this great shaking, and it will be for His purposes. No man can bring about the changes needed to correct the corruption in this world or in our government and institutions. This requires the hand of God to intervene in our affairs. Believers need to pray for God’s intervention and to bring about the great shaking that will wake people up to their need to repent and turn to God through Jesus Christ. This will be a time of great opportunity and will lead to the great awakening. Notice that the shaking has already begun!
