rough draft - not a thesis - not theology - just an appeal to see and understand where we are and what's going on
June, 2012
I cannot believe how fast our nation is moving to destruction. In the last year alone, numerous headlines of death, filled with murder-suicides in record number; horrific acts of immorality and other sinful headlines that continues to erode any shred of decency in our land. Drugs and alcohol have continued to destroy lives, families and thrown billions of dollars away on consumption and waste. Families, meaning traditional families, are almost removed from existence. Suicides are at record rate with young people and soldiers. And while many have looked for answers to correct this free fall from morality and our very existence; the one people, the church, who could do something about it, has not and will not do anything about it.
Where are you church? You have the power of God to change lives, families, communities and yes, a nation and the world, where are you?
I can rehearse the many accounts of old, dead saints and their writings against their times. They saw sin, they saw immorality, they saw evil prevail. And yet, God gave the promise, 'Upon you, Peter, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' But to look at the current conditions of our land, hell is prevailing. God is still God and He will prevail we know. But souls are dying in sin and their eternity is hastening on. At every venue, the church is weak and powerless to correct the assault of darkness and hell. Such times have been of old. And God corrected with REVIVAL and/or judgment. God restored the rightness of His ways to His creation and He will do so again. This all happened because they had abandoned His way; they had rejected His standards and evil had been allowed to prevail. Many are now saying and relying that revival is our only hope.
Revival is not the several days of meetings by a church with a special speaker coming in. That is the common associated terminology. Revival is God! In all His fullness coming into a place and changing it into His likeness. The Hebrides revival of 1949, changed whole hamlets and villages, where the presence of God was so evident in such powerful mighty ways. The Canadian Revival of 1971 - 1972, spread throughout the provinces and even down into the northern tier of the US. These movements are the most recent. I could easily site the Great Awakenings and their impact on the nation. But in 1904- 1905, the Welsh Revival went global to many nations with the impact of God upon their lives and way of life. For all purposes of our current condition, a global revival is the most needed.
Revival is that which comes to God's people, the church. The church in North America is so desperately in need of revival. When I ask the question of where the church is, I remember Bonar's comment: "I looked for the church and found it in the world; I looked for the world and found it in the church." And after 150 years, since this Scotsman made this comment, it is true of us today in the US. What has led us here is not the one step decision that turned us away but many steps away from God with numerous decisions.
These decisions are political and spiritual decisions working congruently toward the promotion of Satan's desire. His desire is to undo anything that brings glory to God. And he works in and through the systems of nations, people and situations to achieve his desired end. We see historically the failure of the church and politics to curb several devices of Satan that allowed for a great tolerance of sin and iniquity among the people. Two such instances of this was 1933, following the 'Great Depression' (or should I say, in the midst of the great depression); and 1973, Roe vs. Wade. This two events in our nation over the last 100 years, has opened the flood gates to much grievous, offensive sin to provoke God. Look at the damage of alcohol upon our nation. How many deaths? How much money thrown away? How many lives, marriages and families ruined? How much time used up to waste on its consumption and 'paryting'? Give thought to the answers to these questions. And understand the connection between that step and decision and the drug culture that followed afterward. One door opened the other door.
Then turn and see the abortion ruling by the Supreme Court in 1973. Look at how much innocent blood has been spilt on the ground that we have to answer for before God. God declares in the Old Testament that murdered men, their blood must be answered and atoned for. (Deuteronomy 19:10) And the innocent blood is just as accountable. Manasseh shed the blood of the people for no reason that his own desire. And God declared that years after his death, the land was still polluted by his acts of murder. The blood was still upon them. Judgment fell on Judah because of his acts and the rebellion of Judah to do anything about it. I could very easily make the argument of our national choices, sins and war and judgments. But I pray you can follow the steps to where all this is headed.
For example: In the 1950's and 60's, rock music and worldly things became so influencing on our way of life. The techno advance of TV, radio and movies influencing lives, choices and patterns. Out of this came a mood of rebellion, sexual revolution, pressing more time for entertainment and gave God less time became a way of life. The influence of the drug culture was given an open door by these events set into motion. The young people wanted a choice of their own to do what they wanted and not what was established. Fornication, lusts, and the onslaught of every thing indecent came from these coupled steps together. Sin has always been present, but the influx and spread of the younger generation became more prevalent it seems. And as they garnered steam, we see 40 years down the road our excess of flesh, lusts, porn, and carnal ways of living daily. Not just in the world, but in the church. Cause and effect - reap what you have sown.
And now we come to this day and age, that has allowed for the sin of homosexuality to grace itself into the political, social and religious circles. This sin has always been. We know the historical accounts of Sodom and Gomorrah; the edict in Romans 1; the practices of the Roman Empire and the other civilizations that only sought to 'do wickedly continaully'. God meets every choice and decision to live counter to His ways. And every person, family, city, and nation/empire and civilization that has sought their own fleshly, sinful ways has been destroyed and removed. To think that our nation is any different is short-sighted and blinded to the reality of Who God is and what God does in the affairs of men.
If we really knew the history of our nation, see where we've come and where we are going, surely there would be a voice to say, "STOP! We can't go any further this way. We must return to God. WE must repent. WE must seek His face and mercy. We must have revival!" And that voice should be from God's Own people. But where is the voice? Where are you church? Where is the united front of God's people saying, 'Enough'?
In recent months, again all within this last year, I have sat amazed at the course of decisions and activity of my own Southern Baptist.
--First, there was the name change. Yes, they believed a priority was needed to be more relevant and have a name change that isn't so offensive. Really?? Of all the issues at hand, all the choices that could be made; we had to revolve around that one to occupy time, energy, money and position?
--Secondly, then this undertow of division between reformed Calvinism, Calvinists and Armenians. My! what a war of words. Again, the exercise of time spent on thought, energy, money and debating over one's own choice of theology. Can you not see, how Satan laughs? How this was his ploy all along? To occupy our thoughts and intents with being divisive among ourselves to keep us from the 'prize of our high calling?'
In William Gurnall's book, 'The Christian in Complete Armour', he sets before the reader to understand the ways of Satan. Know your enemy, as the old adage goes. His tricks, his devices, his ploys, his lies, his deceptions all running for one purpose, counter to that of our Holy God. And while a world perishes to hell, he keeps us preoccupied and busy with our own vanity and pride. Over 7 billion souls on the face of the planet currently, heading to eternity. One billion children, estimated of course, not at the age of accountability. And supposedly one billion Christians in faith. This leaves 5 billion souls to perish. Does it sound like the church is prevailing? Does it sound like the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church? Where are you church?
The two remedies that could restore us is removed from our midst by the majority of the church; the two remedies are: the Word of God and prayer.
I have argued continually to demonstrate that this generation has abandoned the Word of God. Recently, I had a woman that was challenged by me to read her Bible through from Genesis to Revelation. She testified that in her many years of being a Christian and in church, she had never read it all the way through. but was shocked to find that in Christian pastors in Jerusalem, that they had never read the Bible through all the way either. Many of these pastors, theologians who are raged in arguing their point of view, have never read the Bible through. Or if they do read it through, it is for their own vanity of choice in doctrine. Thus, they cannot be fed from it, for their intent is to use the Word of God for their own course, instead of God's. Where are you church?
The Word of God in its power is largely void in the pulpits, minds and hearts of the church. They do not know enough of the Word to keep them from sin, or to grant them a knowledge about how great our God is. And with that vacancy in their mind and heart, what has it been filled with? Men's words, worldly systems, organization, business means and obedience to the things established by hell. We don't even know why we are doing what we are doing. Tradition, orthodoxy and religion is our means of service. None of those things are wrong, so long as the Spirit of God is breathing upon them and in them. But if the Spirit is absent, then they are play toys of the devil to accomplish is priority.
The other thing left off that could be our refuge is - PRAYER. How corrupt are we in not knowing the power of prayer! Of all the instances of great saints, great verses in the Bible, great events that demonstrate the power of prayer, we lack any resemblance to these. The church is honest enough to confess, that prayer is largely removed from their 'house of prayer'. The confession of this is one thing, the repentance of it is another. They acknowledge that they should pray, they ought to have prayer meetings, they should do it more in their secret closets. But that is as far as it goes. They never repent, and never begin to pray. For some reason they justify their conviction of this sin and confession as enough to satisfy God. But God says, 'I look for a man'. God says, 'If My people. . .'; God says, 'MY eyes run to and fro to find a people so that I might show Myself mighty. . ." Where are you church?
Needless to say, with the Biblical examples of Manasseh, Josiah, Judah, Israel; the historical examples of Sodom, Israel, Rome, Babylon; and the political examples of courts, presidents, congress and voting, we are coming to the point of crossing that line of no return. The allowance of homosexuality in this nation will finish us. I know many are saying that we have already crossed that line. Again, I'm not here to debate every little point. Too many give themselves to that anyway. I'm here to demonstrate the significance of how late it is. Our time is rapidly eroding away. Judgment is coming, God will be glorified. Where are you church?
Church?? Where are you??
"It is time to seek the Lord"
'Return unto Me, and I will return unto you'
'Repent and do your first works'
'I would you were cold or hot, but because you are lukewarm I will spew you out of My mouth'
O church, please, understand what Satan has done to us. Understand the events of life and history. Understand the power that exists within us through His Word and prayer. And agree to exercise both, personally and publicly these two things of prayer and the Word of God.
With tears I close this appeal. . . .O church where are you??
I need you; my family needs you; my neighbors need you; my friends need you; this nation needs you; and the world needs you.
Satan has kept you occupied long enough with fighting yourself, dividing yourself. But remember God is not divided, 3 in 1. Unity is of God, division is of hell. Satan chose to divide himself from God; and now he seeks to make you follow after Him. Let us look unto Jesus and be one with Him and each other.
until,
dan biser
rdbiser@live.com
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