Renewal not Revival
The Church doesn’t need a revival. It needs renewal! To revive something is to merely bring back to life that which already existed. No matter how many times we revive the church, it will still be a culturally bound, religious institution that is an irrelevant factor for most of humanity.
Jesus said we could not put new wine in old wineskins. To do so causes the loss of the new win. "And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins" (Mark 2:22, NKJV). Since the birth of the church, every revival, every move of God has been lost in a vain attempt to make it fit into the old wineskin of a church that did not embrace the teachings or the ministry model of the Lord Jesus!
The Destruction of a Legalistic Message
Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord asked this question, Now therefore, what have I here," says the LORD, "That My people are taken away for nothing (Is. 52:5)? He wants to know why people are taken captive and held in oppression for no reason! If He is our deliverer, if He is our salvation, if He is our source we should not live in defeat and bondage.
The Gospel of Peace introduces people to the finished work of Jesus, and brings them to the revelation that God has made peace with man through the cross of Christ, there is no need to be afraid of God. In the absence of fear, every healthy human emotion grows and flourishes.
When people hear, believe and feel the limitless love of God they are empowered to the quality of life God intended! To experience the love and acceptance of the Creator causes a quantum leap in self worth. Since faith works by love, it causes the believer to exude faith in every situation.
When people accept righteousness as a free gift, they win the battle over sin, destructive behavior and crippling emotions. They break free from the bondage of legalism and self doubt. When believers encounter the grace of God they enter the realm of limitless possibilities!
The World Believes What we Preach about God
Isaiah continues to answer His own question by pointing out the problem. "Those who rule over them Make them wail," says the LORD (Is. 52:5). What leaders teach people about God is the key to the quality of their life, and the global Impact of the church. The preaching of an angry, legalistic God has rendered the church powerless and defeated, and made the world angry.
In this telling prophesy, we grasp the ugly reality that it is what has been preached and modeled to the world that makes the world blame God for all the pain, suffering and destruction. God identified the fruit of leaders who preach a negative, legalistic message when He said, people go into captivity and hate God! "And My name is blasphemed continually every day" (Is 52:5). Because God is blamed by the church for the suffering of world, mankind hates and blasphemes God!
The leaders in Isaiah's day were no different than the disciples in the time of Jesus. They were more interested in ruling over people than serving them. They minister control not freedom. For two thousands years the church has been controlled and disempowered through fear and legalism! It has alienated people from God's love! It has neutralized grace, and it has destroyed righteousness.
A Day of Renewal
But God foretells of a day when all that would change, a day people will know the difference between who God really is and who He has been inaccurately proclaimed to be. The world will see the difference between the Gospel that sets men free and religion that serves only to keep man under control. "Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore they shall know in that day that I am He who speaks: 'Behold, it is I” (Is 52:6).
Knowing and believing the truth about God makes it possible for people to experience the quality of life promised by the Lord Jesus (John 10:10). It brings all the promises of God within the grasp of every believer (2 Cor 1:20). It gives freedom from all the curse of the law (Gal 3:13). It ends the religious struggle to earn righteousness (Rom 3:21-22). Seeing God as He is, delivers us from death to life, bondage to freedom, darkness to light, fear to perfect love.
The Gospel of Peace Changes Everything
Then He addresses the most important part of this divine revelation. What is it that will finally free people from the oppression of a negative concept of God? The apostle Paul called it the Gospel of Peace (Rom 10:15)! Isaiah foretold that people who heard the truth would say, "How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims (the gospel of) peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
Jim Richards and the team of World Changers have pioneered the Gospel of Peace to the world! The worldwide best selling book, The Gospel of Peace, has influenced the preaching of hundreds of thousands of leaders and the lives of millions of believers worldwide. If you have heard the Gospel of Peace it probably came to you directly or indirectly through this ministry. Since 1972 Jim Richards has pioneered an uncompromising message of the unconditional goodness of God.
It has been through the generosity of those who have been influenced by this message that the world has come to hear the message of grace, peace, faith righteousness and unconditional love. God has brought us together to fulfill Isaiah's prophesy and change the way the world sees God!
The Ultimate Generosity
Jesus said the greatest act of generosity, an act that could only be repaid in heaven, is when a person gives to help someone who has no way to repay them. By becoming a World Changer you will transform the lives of people around the world, people you will never see in this life. The reward you will receive in this life will be a heart affected by a level of generosity so great that it changes you ability to prosper. And in heaven, you will hear Jesus say and express His thanks to you personally.
Today you can join Dr Jim Richards, along with hundreds of thousands of people around the world who are fully committed to Changing the Way the World sees God! Today you can become a World Changer!
If this message has changed your life, if you are thankful for what knowing grace, peace, faith righteousness and unconditional love has done for you, if you want to be a World Changer, this is your chance. Become a world changer today and together we will Change the Way the World Sees God!
To discover the benefits of partnership, become an online World Changer and receive your partner packet click here Online World Changer
If you would rather speak to a member of our World Changers Support team call: 256-536-9402 ext 1.