13 Modern Challenges to Awakening and Revival
8. The lack of preaching on heaven, hell and eternity.
When was the last time your pastor preached a message on hell? Enough said. (Read Matt. 3:7; Luke 16:19-31.)
9. The lack of the fear of the Lord in our churches.
Nowadays it is very common for evangelical church attendees to live together in sin, engage in pre-marital sex, engage in drunkenness, dance at night clubs, post lewd pictures on Facebook, use foul language, and listen to ungodly music—all in the name of grace and as a response against excessive legalism.
Even worse, there is no accountability in the church. Those who live like this are allowed to serve as ministers and leaders! The Bible teaches us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 9:10). Proverbs describes the fear of the Lord as the hatred of sin (Prov. 8:13). With so many Christians and leaders living continually on the edge or diving into a life of sin in the name of exploring their grace in humanity, it is a huge hindrance for a real move of God because such behavior grieves rather than attracts the Holy Spirit (read Eph. 4:29-5:10).
10. The lack of personal, family and congregational prayer and seeking of Gode
While most Christians are decrying atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair for successfully taking prayer out of public schools in the early 1960s, we must admit that prayer was taken out of Christian homes way before that happened. Few are the believers I know, even conservative activist believers, who have erected a family altar in their homes and are seeking God regularly with their spouses and their children.
Furthermore, I have heard for the past 20 years that surveys have shown the average pastor only prays about 22 minutes per day! How can we expect an earth-shattering revival if the leaders of our congregations are not even seeking God! (For more on this read Why Revival Tarries by Leonard Ravenhill.)
