Why One Cry?

Nehemiah Saw the Need -

Our Need is Overwhelming!

Nehemiah saw that the need was overwhelming

-Nehemiah saw:

Judah was in Great Trouble

Judah was exiled and all that was left were the poor and disenfranchised. All with skill were taken to Babylon.

Judah was shamed

The people were shamed by their neighbors. The once proud kingdom was in decline. Some estimate that there may have been as many as 1 million Jews living in Israel in 1000 BC with that number falling to just over 150,000 by 586 BC during the Babylonian exile meaning that only 1 in 10 remaining in the nation. Because of this historians have noted that during the exile that no major creative works and very little art and industry are found in the archaeological data from this time.

Jerusalem's wall were down

The wall of a city were important for defensive, political and cultural reasons. Walls protected from invaders, but they were also important places of meeting in Israel for judgment, they were symbols of political power, they allowed cities to regulate immigration and trade for the city. When Nehemiah heard that the walls were down, he wept.

Our Need is Clear.

In a recent survey by Mission Insite a few startling statistics have come out.

We are in Great Trouble: The Church is in Decline

In 2017 40% of Mississippians said they were active in a Religious Congregation or Community, as of 2021, only 1 in 4 or 25% answer the question the same.

We are In Great Shame: Agnosticism and Atheism are on the rise

In 2021 the fastest growing religion in Mississippi is the none with 1 in 3 Mississippians claiming no religious affiliation while at the same time the number of Mississipppians who claim to be Christians fell 3.4% from 56% to 53%.

Our Walls are Down: False teaching is on the rise

Only 1 in 3 Mississippians agree with the statement, "Jesus is the only way for Salvation." I want to let that sink in. Only 1 in 3 agree with the statement, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man can come to the Father but by me."

Not only that, but only 38.5% of Mississippians answer the statement, "I have a personal relationship with Jesus." 61.5% of Mississippians either don't agree or have no opinion.

In our own area, in 3 miles of this church, surveys show these startling truths:

67% of people disagree or have no opinion on the statement, “I believe God created a literal heaven and hell."

40% say they agree or are undecided about “I’m unsure/undecided about whether a god exists.”

67% disagree or have no opinion on the statement, “Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life while on earth.”

40 % disagree or have no opinion on the divinity of Christ.

Nationally

There are more unmarried mothers under age 30 than married mothers with 40% of all babies being born out of wedlock and 48% of first time births to unmarried women.

Over 7 million adults are on probation, parole or in jail or prison, more than any nation on earth.

40 million visitors peruse porn sites on the web each day, with the average age of first time visits being age 11. And the most religious states have the highest percentage.

Since 1973 roughly the same number of Americans lost their lives to abortion, 60 million souls) as the world-wide death toll in World War II.

As Dr. Erwin Lutzer puts it, “The God of the Bible will not endlessly tolerate idolatry and benign neglect. He graciously endures rejection and insults, but at some point He might choose to bring a nation to its knees with severe discipline.”

We are in a state of emergency, but as dark as it may seem God has shaken our nation before and he will shake our nation again.

Our land is in desperate need. There are many great churches, but despite all the normal work of the church what we need is a great revival that will lead to a spiritual awakening.

Revival is the extraordinary movement of the Spirit of God in the hearts of God’s people that produces extraordinary results.” - Richard Owen Roberts.

We need a Revival. So what did Nehemiah do? He trusted in God.

Our God is Overpowering!

Nehemiah realized that he could not solve the problems alone. So he turned to the only one who could. Nehemiah turned to God alone.

Nehemiah 1:4–5 ESV

As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,

As great as the need was, Nehemiah realized that he couldn’t solve the issues that Israel faced without the work of Christ.

Nehemiah was trusting in an extraordinary movement of the Spirit of God that would produce extraordinary results, but it begins with God’s poeple.

It is our CONFIDENT hope.

It is our ONLY hope.

Del Fehsenfeld Jr. , the founder of Life Action ministries said, “As Long as God is on his throne, revival is as possible as the sun rising tomorrow morning.”

We should believe that God can and will revive us. In the first 150 years of our nation, revival came every 30-60 years, but we’re in the midst of a gap. We have no fathers or grandfathers to tell us the great stories of revival and give us hope.

Because of this, we fret and we allow fear to rule us and to take our joy away. But God has and will move:

Samuel Davies, who was known as the Apostle of Virginia recounted the first great awakening. Here is an account from Davies told during a sermon in Virginia in 1757:

About sixteen years ago, in the northern colonies, when all religious concern was much out of fashion, and the generality lay in a dead sleep in sin, having at best but the form of godliness, but nothing of the power; when the country was in peace and prosperity, free from the calamities of war, and epidemical sickness; when, in short, there were no extraordinary calls to repentance; suddenly a deep, general concern about eternal things spread through the country; sinners started out of their slumbers, broke off from their vices, began to cry out, What shall we do to be saved? and made it the great business of their life to prepare for the world to come. Then the gospel seemed almighty, and carried all before it. It pierced the very hearts of men with an irresistible power. I have seen thousands at once melted down under it; all eager to hear as for life, and hardly a dry eye to be seen among them…Thousands still remain shining monuments of the power of divine grace in that glorious day. –Samuel Davies. Sermons on Important Subjects

Do you believe that God can send revival and awakening to our city? Would you be willing to pray for this over the next 8 weeks? Would you pray that God would awaken our church

Over the next several weeks, leading up to revival, we will be praying on Wednesday nights and looking to God to prepare our hearts. We will also be livestreaming one cry prayer times on Wednesdays.

Finally, I will be hosting OneCry Small groups on facebook live once a week. These will be times of Bible Study where we will join together to seek God’s face as a church.

The week before revival we will have a series of cottage prayer meetings in homes to pray for God to move.

And our sermons will lead us deeper into seeking God’s blessings and for revival to come to our church, our city, and our state.

Would you join me?

OneCry has developed a declaration of Spiritual Emergency. Today I’m going to ask you to stand and join me in reading this together, then as we worship the Lord, I’d like to ask you to join me at this alter as we pray for God to revive us as a church, and as a nation.

Will you join me today and over the next 8 weeks.