Newsweek Magazine recently boasted that Christianity in America was dead. This slap in the face to the church in America only served to wake her up. Many took the comment and held it up before the Lord as Hezekiah did with the boasts of the Assyrian general against the Lord. It is most encouraging to see so many Christians responding to the continuous assault from those who hate or reject God. Many Christians are arising to proclaim that this is not a post-Christian America, but a pre-Christian America, because we are going to have a revival in America that eclipses all others.

    True Christianity does thrive under persecution, but it was hard to imagine just a few months ago how fast Christians in America would be uniting and mobilizing. This is in preparation for persecution, so when real persecution comes, we can expect an even greater awakening. It is most encouraging to see real evidence that the church in America in general is responding in the right way to these actions against her—she is resolving to stand with courage and boldness against the arising darkness of the times. In the past, we have had visions of a coming great awakening in America, and now we are seeing evidence of strong foundations for it to be built on.

    It is now possible to perceive America not only recovering her freedoms and basic moral fabric, but emerging from these times stronger and much wiser than ever before. The church in America is awakening from her slumber, and it is going to get exciting, but we must also expect many to fall away during this time and not be discouraged about it. The emerging battle over religious liberty and freedom of speech in America is going to be won or lost by Christians, but as in any war, there are likely to be some defeats before victory. George Washington led an army that had been defeated time and again for almost six years, but they did not give up and remained ready to take bold action when the opportunity came to win the ultimate victory.

    For this reason, we must resolve to fight for the worthy cause regardless of whether we are suffering defeats or winning victories. It is not only about victory or defeat, but about the cause for which we are fighting. If it is a worthy cause, we must resolve never to surrender and never to give up the fight until there is victory. Therefore, clearly defining the cause is one of the most important issues right now.

    The ultimate purpose of the church at the end of this age is to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom throughout the world. Jesus said the end of this age could not come until this was done in every place. This is what we must resolve to do regardless of the opposition. As the first apostles declared when the government of their time demanded that they stop preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus, we must declare that we must obey God rather than men, which we must always do when the two are in basic conflict. This is something that we must settle in our hearts right now. If we are not willing to pay any price to be faithful and obedient to the Lord, then as the Lord Himself taught, we are not worthy of Him.

    For the last few decades, the most prolific message in the church in America was about how the Lord would bless us, and mostly bless us with money or possessions. This emphasis must change. It is now time for courage and sacrifice for the sake of His gospel. It is time for an emphasis of such words of Jesus, as we see in these Scriptures:

    We will find our lives even more if we will lose them for His sake. Even if our physical lives are taken, it only becomes much better for us. Christians should not only die better than any others, but we should live with this hope in such a way that we live the life of the cross, a truly sacrificial life that does all things for the sake of the gospel. The church in America is now one of the greatest opportunities for this that we have ever had. Do not miss out on it.