{"id":4054,"date":"2012-09-01T06:00:36","date_gmt":"2012-09-01T13:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lightbearers.org\/?p=4054"},"modified":"2019-12-05T22:58:38","modified_gmt":"2019-12-06T06:58:38","slug":"the-hour-has-come","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lightbearers.org\/blog\/the-hour-has-come\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hour Has Come"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was, without doubt, one of the highlights of my life: more than a thousand young people standing arm in arm, committing themselves to God and to making a difference in Europe. Even now as I write, my heart thrills within me as I remember that site and that night. It will be with me for the rest of my life, of this I am certain.<\/p>\n

GYC Europe<\/a> was, by all accounts, a wonderful success, as young adults from more than 40 countries convened in Linz, Austria from July 20-24. Forty countries! The theme was The Hour Has Come: A Call to Reignite the Dormant Embers of the Reformation<\/em>. And that\u2019s exactly what it was! The call was made over and over by preacher after preacher, from Pastor Mark Finley\u2019s opening message on Revelation 10 and the Advent movement to Sebastian Braxton\u2019s stirring closing commission.<\/p>\n

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Networking (photo by\u00a0Evan Louis).<\/p><\/div>\n

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Sold out hotel accommodations didn’t keep them from coming (photo by\u00a0Evan Louis).<\/p><\/div>\n

The call was made, yes, but more importantly; the call was responded to and accepted. I had the privilege and responsibility of preaching the evening meetings Saturday through Monday. My presentations centered, perhaps predictably, on the book of Acts. As I prepared and prayed for the forthcoming event\u2014an event of monumental significance\u2014I kept being drawn to the fifth book of the New Testament.<\/p>\n

As I prepared, questions circled again and again in my thinking. What happened to the church after the book of Acts? How did Europe end up, largely, in a state of secularism, skepticism and sensualism?<\/em> Was there any hope for Europe\u2019s spiritual future? Did the book of Acts hold the key to that future?<\/p>\n

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Many participated in the IMPACT Linz outreach on Sabbath (photo by\u00a0Evan Louis)<\/p><\/div>\n

In addition to the book of Acts, I found myself reading from Ellen White\u2019s The Great Controversy<\/em>. One chapter in particular arrested my attention: chapter 15, The Bible and the French Revolution. The sad saga that became France\u2019s history was, as I would preach, \u201ca legitimate reaction to an absurd religious system and an unworshipable God.\u201d Much of Europe\u2019s present predicament is directly traceable to the predicted apostasy within the Christian Church itself. That apostasy was foretold in, among other places, Daniel, Matthew, Acts, 2 Thessalonians, the epistles of John and of course, Revelation.<\/p>\n

You might say it this way: Rome sneezed and all of Europe caught a cold.<\/p>\n

And yet the Bible tells of more than the apostasy, the de-formation. It also speaks of the remnant and of re-formation.<\/p>\n

A Call to Reignite the Dormant Embers of the Reformation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That which was lost will be regained and restored. The gates of hell will not prevail against God\u2019s church! They bore sway for a time, yes, but the final victory belongs to God and His church triumphant.<\/p>\n

And the book of Acts holds the template. What once was will be yet again! What was deformed will be reformed and, at last, fully restored.<\/p>\n

The embers of a spiritually renewed Europe are gathering and warming. I have seen it with my own eyes, and I will never again be the same.<\/p>\n

Neither will Europe!<\/p>\n

Cover Photo by Ashley Bloom<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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