Beer, Wine and Spiritual Awakening

Last week I received an email from a JOY member. She said she was happy to hear me talk about "Reclaiming Friday Night for God." (For many Christians, Fri. had become a night of hanging out and even going out drinking We are reclaiming it as a night of worship and intercession.) She said she had been troubled by the worldly behavior of JOY members. One time, she mentioned, a TLC leader joked about a time when he/she was drunk. She was shocked.

The Bible says, "Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish. Let them drink...and remember their misery no more.... But it is not for kings." (Prov. 31:4-7) Drukenness is for those in pain, but not for those who have purpose. Further, 2 Timothy 2:2021 says, "In a large house there are articles ...some for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a person cleanses himself/herself from the latter, he/she will be an instrument for noble purposes...."

We are expecting a powerful work of God in our area. God is moving powerfully throughout our nation. For example, I went to Lakeland, FL last week and witnessed powerful healings. We are expecting a powerful work in our area also. We need to prepare it by holiness. Any revival of God was prepared by prayer and purity. It is that time.

I urge you:
1. Cleanse yourself of all worldliness.
2. If you see a brother/sister in sin, go and "gently restore" (Gal. 6:1). If you see a brother/sister in sin and walk away, you will share in the judgment of that sin because you did not warn him/her. It is like seeing a person walking toward a ditch and not warning him. We share in the blame. We live in a culture where everyone is to mind his/her own business, but that is not a biblical culture. You have a mandate to warn your brother/sister and gently restore the person. We are creating a new culture where we admonish and build each other in love.