Isaiah 29:13-14 ESV
And the Lord said:
“Because this people
draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me
is a commandment taught by men,
therefore, behold, I
will again
do wonderful things with this people,
with wonder upon wonder;
and the wisdom of
their wise men shall perish,
and the discernment of their discerning men
shall be hidden.”
So, for many years now it has become apparent that the
church at large, at least here in America, has gone the way of the world. They
have joined forces with the world in order to attract the world to their
gatherings. They have turned worship services into stage productions, and many
of their pastors have become comedians and entertainers instead of preachers
(ministers) of the Word, of the whole counsel of God, the gospel of Christ.
Thus, the gospel of our salvation has also been diluted and
misrepresented in order to give people a “quick fix” which guarantees them
forgiveness of all sins, and which guarantees them heaven as their eternal
destiny, but which makes no demands on their lives for death to sin, obedience
to Christ, and submission to Christ as Lord of their lives (See Rom. 6:1-23;
Eph. 4:17-24).
The Holy Spirit has been shoved out of most of these
churches, and he has been replaced with marketing books on how to build or to
grow your churches, i.e. your businesses. Bible studies have largely been
replaced with studies of books written by mere mortals, some of which teach a
false gospel of grace and/or which are manipulative, deceptive, and which mingle
Christianity in with other religions and their practices.
Church fellowships are more about eating and talking and
playing games or watching movies or sports on TV, and Jesus may not even be
mentioned. Conversations in these fellowships are often no different that
conversations among those who make no profession of faith in Jesus Christ. For,
these fellowships are merely for social purposes, and not for the glory of God.
So, the church gatherings, when they were happening, turned
more into Christianized versions of what the world was offering, and that is
why the world enjoyed the gatherings, too. But, Jesus was no longer the head of
most of these gatherings, and most of them were not being led by the Holy
Spirit, for now they were being led by men and their marketing schemes.
Where We Are Now
So, a good picture of where the church, at large, is right
now, is mainly a bunch of empty buildings across the country which are
whitewashed on the outside to give the appearance of righteousness, but they
are empty inside, void of the Holy Spirit, and void of the power of God,
because they are drawing their strength from the world and humans, and not from
God.
And, since this has been apparent for a very long time, the
Lord has sent many messengers to his people to point this out to them, and to
call them to repentance and obedience to Christ. And, this was and is a call
for revival of God’s church here in America, and many of us have been praying
for this for a very long time.
Well, historically speaking, the way the Lord often brought
his wayward people to revival, especially after he had sent his messengers to
the people and they would not listen, was to bring judgment upon them in order
to get them to wake up spiritually and to call on God in repentance and faith.
And, I believe the Lord is saying now that this is what he
is doing with this global pandemic. He has allowed this to take place to get
the attention of his adulterous and idolatrous people in order to bring them to
repentance so that he can revive their hearts. He has been warning about this
for many years through his messengers, and now it has come into being.
But, how it is to all be played out is in God’s hands, and
in his timing. For, this could be the final play, or this could be just another
step or phase in the process of the final act. But, what I am certain of is
that God is allowing this in our lives right now because he wants us to call on
him in truth. He wants us to seek his face, to humble ourselves, to pray and to
turn from our wicked ways so that he can heal us and so we can be revived.
Isaiah 29:15-16 ESV
Ah, you who hide deep
from the Lord your counsel,
whose deeds are in the dark,
and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”
You turn things upside
down!
Shall the potter be
regarded as the clay,
that the thing made
should say of its maker,
“He did not make me”;
or the thing formed
say of him who formed it,
“He has no understanding”?
There are a whole lot of people who call themselves
Christians who do not take God and his Word seriously. So, they continue to
play with fire believing that they will not get burned, because someone has
convinced them that their sins no longer matter to God, or that God can’t even
see when they sin, and that God will do nothing about their continued sinful
practices, either.
They think that because God is a God of love, and he is
gracious, merciful and forgiving, that he will not discipline or judge them for
their many adulteries and their idolatry. But, they forget that he is also a
God of justice and righteousness, and he is a God of his Word. And, he warned
the worldly, adulterous and idolatrous church in Revelation 2-3 to repent of
their sins or else he would bring judgment upon them. And, the rest of
Revelation is about those judgments.
So, if you are claiming faith in Jesus Christ, but you are
still living in sin, according to your flesh, doing what your evil heart
desires without regard for God and, in fact, right in his face, then don’t be
surprised when judgment comes upon you. If you are putting on a show of righteousness
on the outside while you secretly sin against God and others, thinking that no
one sees, not even God, then your thinking with regard to God is way off.
Isaiah 29:17-21 ESV
Is it not yet a very
little while
until Lebanon shall be turned into a
fruitful field,
and the fruitful field shall be regarded as
a forest?
In that day the deaf
shall hear
the words of a book,
and out of their gloom
and darkness
the eyes of the blind shall see.
The meek shall obtain
fresh joy in the Lord,
and the poor among mankind shall exult in
the Holy One of Israel.
For the ruthless shall
come to nothing
and the scoffer cease,
and all who watch to do evil shall be cut
off,
who by a word make a
man out to be an offender,
and lay a snare for him who reproves in the
gate,
and with an empty plea turn aside him who
is in the right.
I find much hope in these words. This encourages my heart
that good is going to come out of our world crisis, at present. Satan means it
for evil in our lives, but God means it for our good, for the salvation of
human lives, and for the revival of his wayward people.
Again, I don’t know the timing of all of this, for I am not
God. I just believe that, biblically speaking, God uses times such as these in
our lives to correct, to rebuke, to chastise, to discipline, and to encourage,
to train in righteousness, to make us holy, to prune us, and to get us ready to
meet him in the air. And, so I believe this is what is happening now.
Isaiah 29:22-24 ESV
Therefore thus says
the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
“Jacob shall no more
be ashamed,
no more shall his face grow pale.
For when he sees his
children,
the work of my hands, in his midst,
they will sanctify my name;
they will sanctify the
Holy One of Jacob
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
And those who go
astray in spirit will come to understanding,
and those who murmur will accept
instruction.”
Again, I see revival of the church in these words. I believe
this is an encouragement from the Lord that what appears now to be devastating
and tragic will bear fruit for God’s eternal kingdom. Hard times are used of God
in our lives to prune us and to make us holy. So, this is for our good.
I know that what we are going through presently is not
pleasant. And, I know that it could get much worse, depending on how far this
is taken at this time. But, I hope and I pray that each of us will take this
opportunity to call out to God in our suffering, to seek his face, to repent of
any known sin in our lives, and to walk now with our Lord in full surrender to
his will.
Seek
the Lord
An
Original Work / July 20, 2012
Based
off Isaiah 55
“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.
Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,
And your soul will delight in richest of fare.
Give ear to Me, and you will live.
I have made an eternal covenant with you.
Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”
Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him.
Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.
Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.
Freely, God pardons him.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,”
declares the Lord, our God.
“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.
It will not return to Me unfulfilled.
My word will accomplish all that I desire,
And achieve the goal I intend.
You will go in joy, and be led forth in peace.
The mountains will burst into song… before you,
And all of the trees clap their hands.”
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