I live in the United States of America. I was born here in
1949. America is what I know. This is where God placed me. And, so a lot of
what he gives me to share is related to my nation. But, some of this may apply
to other nations, too, so if you don’t live here, just let the Lord speak to
your heart regarding your nation, and the church in your nation, and your own
life, too.
The church at large in America and America as a nation have
been on a massive spiritual and moral decline for a long time. I know that A.
W. Tozer was writing about this in the early 1940’s, even before I was born, so
this may have been going on my whole life. I don’t think I really became aware
of what was going on, though, until about 1999. That is really when my eyes
began to be opened, but the Lord greatly opened my eyes in 2004.
That is when the Lord revealed to me the crisis situation today’s
church in America is facing. And, it has only gotten much worse, not better,
with the passing of time.
For, the church invited the world and the government and big
business into union with them back in the 1950’s. And, it only got much worse
with the megachurch (Rick Warren) movement that swept across America’s churches,
regardless of church denomination, in the 1990s or earlier, and continuing on
to the present.
So, the church at large in America shifted away from feeding
the sheep of God’s pasture to marketing the church to the world, and thus they
changed the focus of their gatherings to what would draw the world into their
meetings. Thus, the church began to compromise with the world to attract the
world, and thus they also compromised the gospel message to make it more
palatable and acceptable to the world, too.
So, the vast majority of the church went the way of the
world and of big business, and thus they stopped teaching on sin, judgment,
repentance and obedience to Christ. But, they made salvation from sin a mere
acknowledgement of Christ or some words repeated after someone else in a
prayer, which then guaranteed the adherents eternal life with God, unqualified,
regardless of how they lived their lives from that moment forward. Many of them
even encourage continuance in sinful practices.
And, so the Lord has been calling his wayward church back to
himself for some time now, perhaps my whole life. And, he has been warning of
judgment if they did not repent (such as in Rev. 2-3). But, he has been
promising healing and restoration for the repentant and for the obedient.
But, it would appear as though most of his church, which has
wandered away from him and from the purity of his word, is not listening to his
warnings and his calls for repentance and obedience. But, they have continued
on in their worldly ways, mostly ignoring God with regard to their day to day
lives. For, they don’t appear to be taking his warnings seriously, although God
has many warnings to the church in the New Testament.
So, I believe God is now judging America and the church in
America, and perhaps in other nations, too, for their adultery, their idolatry,
their corruption, their unfaithfulness, and their refusal to heed his warnings
and his calls for repentance and for obedience to his commands. And, that is
why we are going through what we are going through right now. But, God has a
purpose in it all, and I believe good is going to come out of it.
But, too many people are looking to humans to save them from
all of this, or they think if they do all the right things that they will be
safe, but that is a false sense of security, for God is our only hope for salvation
in all of this.
Isaiah 57:14-21 ESV
And it shall be said,
“Build up, build up,
prepare the way,
remove every obstruction from my people's
way.”
For thus says the One
who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high
and holy place,
and also with him who is of a contrite and
lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit
of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
For I will not contend
forever,
nor will I always be angry;
for the spirit would
grow faint before me,
and the breath of life that I made.
Because of the
iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry,
I struck him; I hid my face and was angry,
but he went on backsliding in the way of
his own heart.
I have seen his ways,
but I will heal him;
I will lead him and restore comfort to him
and his mourners,
creating the fruit of the lips.
Peace, peace, to the
far and to the near,” says the Lord,
“and I will heal him.
But the wicked are
like the tossing sea;
for it cannot be quiet,
and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
There is no peace,”
says my God, “for the wicked.”
So, the call here, again, is to repentance, which is a
forsaking of our former lives of living for sin and self, and it is a
transformation of heart and mind of the Spirit of God away from sin to walks of
obedience to Christ. So, God is saying to his church to remove every obstruction
which stands in the way of us walking in purity of devotion and in faithful
surrender to him as Lord.
And, he is letting us know with whom he dwells. He dwells
with those who are contrite of heart and who are humble in spirit. He dwells
with those who walk (in conduct, in lifestyle) according to the Spirit of God
and not according to the flesh; who walk with him in obedience to his commands
(Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; 1 Jn. 2:3-6).
So, even though God is allowing us to go through this time
of trial right now, and we don’t know how long this is going to last, it will
have its time when it will come to an end. But, he may take us home to be with
him before it does end, too. But, that is ok, for he sometimes rescues his
righteous ones from calamity through death (see vv. 1-2).
But, so many who call themselves Christians are not yet
taking this to heart. They are not yet calling on God in truth, seeking his
face and his counsel, and they are not humbling themselves before God. But,
many are going on with their backsliding, and some of that may have even
increased.
But, we serve a loving God who is not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And, his goal in all of
this is to bring us to repentance and obedience to him so that he can heal us,
and so that he can revive us, and so that he can restore us to pure fellowship
with him.
For, he wants to lead us in his ways and in his truth. He
has a purpose for our lives, and it isn’t for our own self-pleasure and
self-indulgence. But, it is that we would be for his praise and glory, and it
is that we would honor him with our lives in all that we are, and say, and
think, and do.
But, many will still refuse him, and they will go on in
their wickedness, so there is no peace for them, for those who will not bow to
God and submit to his will, and who refuse to walk in his ways – in the ways of
righteousness and holiness (Gal. 5:16-21; Eph. 5:3-6; Gal. 6:7-8; Rom. 2:6-8).
So, don’t be like the wicked who refuse to repent and to
humble themselves before God. For, the Word of God teaches us that if we walk
(in practice) in sin that we will not inherit eternal life with God, but that
we will die in our sins, instead (Lu. 9:23-26; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn.
1:5-9).
But, for those who do repent, and who turn away from their
wicked ways to follow our Lord in obedience to his ways, there is a promise of
healing and of restoration and of revival. For, our God is completely faithful
in all that he does. So, put your trust in him today, and let him be Lord
(owner-master) of your life, if you have not yet done that.
And, if what we are going through as a nation, and as the
world, is troubling you in spirit, and you are afraid, and you don’t know which
way to turn or who to believe, please, please don’t put your trust in humans to
save you. Put your trust solely in God, for humans are going to fail you, most
certainly, but God will not fail you. If you put your hope in him, he will not disappoint.
Great
Is Thy Faithfulness
Thomas
O. Chisholm / William M. Runyan
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my
Father;
There is no shadow of turning with
Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions,
they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will
be.
Summer and winter and springtime and
harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses
above
Join with all nature in manifold
witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and
love.
Pardon for sin and a peace that
endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to
guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for
tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand
beside!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath
provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto
me!
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