Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, shared three important questions every person should ask themselves to identify if they need a personal spiritual revival.
"Revival starts with you," he said, adding that it's easy to point out the spiritual flaws in others. "It starts with me in realizing that God wants to revive me personally. Before there can be a revival in the church, there must first be a revival in you."
"Do you need a personal, spiritual revival?" he asked. To answer that question, one must answer a few questions, Laurie contended.
First, was there a time in your life when your passion for Christ was stronger? Second, was there a time in your life when you read God's word more faithfully and were more involved in church than you are now? Third, was there a time where you shared the Gospel more and looked for opportunities to engage people with the message of Jesus Christ?
If the answer to any of these questions is "yes," then you need a spiritual revival, Laurie said.
"These are signs of someone who has left their first love," he said, referencing Revelation 2. "Jesus said to the church of Ephesus, loose paraphrase, 'Hey, I know you guys are busy, I know you're discerning, I know you work hard, I'm great with that, but let me just tell you something. I have something against you; you have left your first love. So, remember therefore from where you have fallen and repent."
Laurie defined revival as "waking up from sleep" and "waking up from sin."
"You know you are having a revival when you are hungry for God's word," he said, referencing Nehemiah 8:1. "That's a good sign, if you are."
In September, Laurie hosted the 28th annual SoCal Harvest revival crusade, which was held at Angel Stadium in Anaheim and livestreamed across the country. The event, which featured performances from stars like Lecrae, Jordin Sparks and Jeremy Camp, saw over 10,000 people give their lives to Christ.
Earlier this year, the pastor hosted the annual Harvest America revival event in Glendale, Arizona, which saw over 3,000 people make "decisions for Christ."
In a June interview with The Gospel Herald, Laurie revealed that Harvest events have seen hundreds of thousands of people embrace Christianity over the past few decades.
"Last year...we know 25,000 people made a profession of faith," Laurie told GH. "People will respond, and that's because God's word does not return void."
He added, "Harvest America is current for any climate because the gospel is a timeless message and it's always relevant. The basic questions of humanity never change, and the truths found in the gospel never change. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
"Everybody needs Jesus," he said. "If they're old, young, rich poor, if they're in America, Europe, Africa, China, Japan - everybody needs Jesus. No one is beyond the reach of God."
The United States desperately needs revival, the popular pastor contended, and encouraged every Christian to pray that the country soon experiences a "great spiritual awakening"
"We need to pray 2nd Chronicles 7:14 over our nation: 'If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land,'" he told GH.
He reiterated, "We all need to be pray in America for a spiritual awakening, because we desperately need one right now."
