Have you ever had your life radically transformed by God?

I have noticed that the believers who have experienced a season of Holy Spirit awakening that has transformed their lives, family, church and community can never be satisfied to live in a realm of complacency.

This is particularly true for those who have been a part of the spiritual leadership of a move of God. For such people, there is a hunger that propels them forward to see another awakening, no matter how challenging the situations that may be surrounding them.

We are living at a point of bold historic transition. There is political, social and spiritual upheaval all over our planet, as well as constant conflict within our culture. This is a time of passage between generations with confrontation concerning thoughts, belief systems, words, decisions and actions.

Complacency is easier when the status quo prevails. Yet, when the very foundations of our value systems are being smashed to smithereens, the church can no longer maintain a lethargic attitude.

Only spiritual awakening can combat the soul-sucking tide of wickedness.

In this tumultuous time, I believe we are in the beginning stages of a global Holy Spirit awakening. The current harvest of lost people coming to Christ is a prophetic indicator of His goodness and unmerited favor that will intensify in the near future.

This season will give the church a short window of opportunity before the coming cataclysmic worldwide crisis of unprecedented darkness. I hear the Holy Spirit saying that we must not squander this opportunity.

God is calling us to influence, impact and invade the culture of our generation.

The eyes of the Spirit are looking for willing, hungry vessels: Are you one? Is your heart hungry for an awakening that will transform your life?

In Isaiah 52:1, the prophet gives us a picture of pre-revival, or what I call "Holy Spirit awakening preparation." It's an appeal for the people of God to break through the spirit of slumber that has made them cozy, comfortable and complacent.

Even more radically, it is a call to arms against the spiritual stupor of our generation, a state of near-unconsciousness or insensibility, similar to a drunken stupor. The prophet knows that the people of God are bound, captive, broken, powerless, almost unconscious and embroiled in the blame game of accusing others for their problems.

Remember that Isaiah had tasted spiritual awakening in magnificent fashion earlier in the book. Chapter 6 portrays one of the most powerful encounters with the Holy God recorded in Scripture. And also note that Isaiah is not a spiritual novice. He has already prophesied with incredible precision during the first 6 chapters of the book. He even receives a pre-Christ revelation of the forgiving power of the blood of Jesus.

Then in one moment everything changes: "In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up" (Isa. 6:1).

In a moment of spiritual, political and emotional upheaval, the man of God experienced spiritual awakening. Within moments, the holiest man of that day is crying out "Woe is me! I am ruined." Then the holy fire of God cleanses him for prophetic ministry to the nations.

Fast-forward to Isaiah 52. The only hope for Israel, the people of God, is for the same kind of experience on a national level. Fire must fall, a time when God's people are stirred up to appear vigorous for their own deliverance.

People must awaken and put on their strength, bestir themselves and awake from their despondency, pluck up their spirits and be encouraged with hope in God.

And so Isaiah launches his pre-awakening missile: "Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city. For the uncircumcised and the unclean will no longer enter you" (Isa. 52:1).

Over the course of the next few weeks we will unpack the "Five Spiritually Potent Principles" contained in this passage: We must be aware of the time, awake to the truth, alert to the problem, arouse to action and be active in Christ.

These five principles are the key for Holy Spirit awakening in this critical hour.

Mikel French has challenged spiritual awakening all across America, where many celebrations extended into multiple weeks, and has conducted celebrations in France, Sweden, Russia, Romania, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, Germany, South Africa, Malawi, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Haiti, Japan, Singapore, India and Thailand. He conducted an outreach celebration in Manila, Philippines, reaching 200,000 teenagers with The Book of Hope. Through the generous support of partners, he has presented the message of Jesus Christ to millions of people in the nation of Russia through televised citywide Soul-Winning Celebrations. Mikel considers it an honor to assist in conducting the annual pastor's conference, where thousands of pastors from Russia's 11 time zones come for training, teaching and equipping. Mikel and his wife, Marsha, reside in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Rebecca Moore contributed to this article.

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