Riffraff Revival

1 Cor 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

When revival comes it will most likely come during a time of great persecution. It will not be led by the PhDs and the celebrity Pastors. Indeed, many celebrity pastors may head for the hills or compromise to keep their position and wealth.

I believe that the next great revival will be led by the weak, base and foolish. It will be the unlearned who have been with Jesus. It will be the blue collar folks. It will be former addicts, pimps, felons, fornicators, liars and thieves whom God has cleansed and gifted.

Too long the Church has placed too much stock in degrees to the point of idolatry. We have looked at celebrities and made the many ones who God called to feel inadequate and useless to the Kingdom because of the few. "How can I serve as I have no college?" College is nice, but if you have the Word and the Spirit you can be as Jesus at twelve years old instructing the professors or like "ignorant" fisherman who have been with Jesus confounding the council.

We have exalted and sought the "not many" over the ones who God said were the majority of the Body. We have built mansion churches to attract the wealthy and celebrities when we could have been Minimalists using those millions to meet the needs of the poor and do what we could to lift them out of poverty. Give them skills to benefit themselves as well as the society. We needed to be leading them to find their spiritual gifts and their place in the Body rather than just a place on a pew.

Preachers want new jets instead of flying commercial finding people who need to hear about Jesus in tourist class. Remember Jesus looked not at what the rich gave, but what they kept and praised a widow who gave all she had. Two mites with a right heart is more impressive than two thousand that is possibly pocket change with a prideful heart. Indeed, if Jesus and the Apostles are truly our mentors none of them were rich or popular with the rich in power.

We look for the erudite and handsome when even Paul who might have thirty PhDs today was not much to look at and was not at all an erudite speaker, but had power as he cast all that would make him appealing in the flesh into the dung pit relying only on the Holy Spirit because he knew he was weak. Indeed, not many want a resume like Paul's though they may want his ministry's fruit. Even Jesus' appearance was not anything that would make Him stand out in a crowd.

Persecution is coming. I believe that with all I have. An election may give us a few more years to prepare for it, but I do not think it will prevent it. America has been fat and spoiled for long time. Indeed, spoiled brats whining when we have it better than most of the world's population.

We have sat, soaked and soured when we should have been empowered or made church a concert and motivational meeting promising prosperity. I believe God is more concerned about our piety than our prosperity and holiness before our health.

1 Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

We are not destined to suffer the wrath of God, but that does not mean we shall not suffer the wrath of man to purify us. We have brought it upon ourselves. Instead of purifying ourselves pointing out our heretics we have ranted against the unbelievers for their sins when we were called to speak the truth in love to save them. Jesus came for that, not to condemn the world.

On the other hand, we have mingled with ungodliness in the name of love leaving truth in the background or removed completely. We went into the world rather than being separate and calling them out. Both sides of the coin lack the power of God because truth, grace and love are a type of trinity. Leave out any one of them or exalt one above the other and you have corrupted them all. Both sides of that coin generate disrespect and hatred from the ones the true Gospel came to save.