Greetings,
"But My people would not hearken to My voice; and Israel would none of Me."
"So I gave them up unto their own hearts' just: and they walked in their own counsels."
"Oh that My people had hearkened unto Me, and Israel had walked in My ways!"
Psalm 81:11 - 13
The hour is late; the need is great; and we must pray so as to prevail! - D Biser
One of the catalyst that God stirs me with to pray, to seek Him, to serve Him, to be obedient to Him is to answer this question: "What is at stake?" And the answer - "Everything".Future is at stake; souls are at stake; our nation; our families fate; our society are all at stake; but above all ETERNITY. is at stake for humanity.
If all this is at stake, then why would we not be more emphatic about that which really matters. Why would we not be engaged to seek God's Divine Presence and help? Why would we not do something about it? Now when I say 'do something about it" I am not referring to the church's answer to this, in humanism. Humanism has created our dilemma and must be recognized and dealt with. Or our plight will bring us to a place of 'no return'.
What Plight?
Within the past month, the numerical stats of the SBC came out, reporting a loss across the board in everything from new church plants, to baptisms. membership decreasing, attendance, are all reflecting the reality of our nation and our time, that God is not among us. God wants to be among us, but the truth is that our actions reveal whether we really want God or not. And our plight is found in this truth that the Lord has declared in the Scripture, 'you have forsaken me, therefore I will forsake you'. Our plight is that we are dangerously close to Ichabod in the North American Christian church.
The church in our last 50 years has allowed abortions, and homosexuality, and drug use to be legalized. All of which to the judgement of our nation and upon our future. We have become humanist, where we quote, 'I can do all things through Christ'; and yet with the practice of Nike, "I will 'just do it'" The ways of the world have taken over our music and disciplines. We would rather watch a movie about prayer than actually pray. Movies have become a snare to the church today and siphoned millions of dollars away from what could have done the mission work and translations. All the while we applaud the use of movie genre to best Hollywood. Such things can only happen when our priorities are wrong and our understanding of our plight is obscure.
Our plight is that we need God now, more than ever. A Divine visitation, His Manifest Presence to come down as in revivals long ago. For when that happens, He makes the wrongs right. Humanism dies, because faith is resting and trusting in God alone. Sin is put away and once again holiness is sought, lived and promoted. "Be ye holy, as I am holy". herein is our plight, that all the spiritual disciplines that brings us to God are abandoned and God is forsaken and forgotten. Replaced with new methods and means of men to apply spiritual truths to make us rich, happy and at ease. We have lost our way.
Cause & Affect
God declares cause and affect with our relationship between Him and His church. This is on the corporate level as well as the individual. If we 'draw night unto God, He draws night unto us'; if we 'abide in Him, He abides in us'. But if we forsake and forget Him, He will forsake and forget us. Thus our choices, routines, habits, daily lives create cause and affect with God or without God.
Our nation, it cannot be argued, is reaping the affects of judgement and wrath due to their loud, public, majority driven agenda of forgetting and forsaking God. All in these decades has the voice of the people been heard loudly that they do not want the church, the bible nor God. Only in times of calamity and harm do they even acknowledge Him. And even in the last crisis hours of our nation they seek to blame God or not even acknowledge Him. They seek to remove God from the very midst of their lives and the impact of their lives. Now it is one thing to expect this of lost people, but of His church?
You cannot dismiss the research I did last year in regards to corporate prayer times among SBC. It was revealed that corporate prayer meetings are not done by 85% of entities and churches. Only a small remnant of 12 - 15% have an hour of corporate prayer per month. Hell rejoices at such cause and affect of the sin of prayerlessness among the church. His church has allowed for the world to creep in and now occupy too much of their budgets, positions, services, plans and priorities. It is about seeker friendly, rather than God friendly. Can God bless that which dishonors Him? Cause and affect, you cannot replace what God has stamped as His ways and Word for what man wants. If they want that then let them go to the 'lions, moose, or ruritan clubs'. The church is not a social place, but a holy place. And when wayward, lost men dictate the path of the church, hell has its will and way with it. Less Bible, preaching, teaching, prayer and more meals, music and methods. As Bonar said, 'I looked for the church and found it in the world; I looked for the world and found it in the church." this cannot be if we seek to please God, advance His kingdom and put hell on retreat.
Therefore, acknowledge that our plight is happening due to cause and affect in our relationship and obedience or disobedience to God. And herein must be our focus of examination as a convention, as the church, and in our own personal self-examination. Answering the question, 'Lord, am I right with You?' And I believe with all my heart that the soul, the group that comes before the Lord in such examination of cause and affect, that the Holy Ghost will speak and direct. Saying, "This is the way not walk in ti." Oh brethren, the affects of our nation, homes, and hearts and houses of worship today is directly linked to our cause of relationship with God.
IN order to correct the plight of our day, this must be understood, examined and corrected. And this is found in the remedy suggested next. . .
Remedy
The remedy is easy, 'return unto the Lord'; 'restore holiness in the church and in our hearts'. Get back to the old paths. The first Great Awakening in the 1700's came about because of this very returning unto the Lord. Our young nation was falling rapidly into open sin, retreating from the church and living and functioning for self. Over in Scotland pastors had seen the handwriting on the wall and addressed it. They called for 'Concerts of Prayer'. Of which they would fast and pray the first Tuesday of every month. And within that first week have a time of corporate prayer for beseeching God to help, forgive and renew them. God came and in answer to that call. Jonathan Edwards read of this and adopted the same thing. Shortly after that revival came to the church and spread into spiritual awakening among the lost masses of the United States.
Herein is our remedy, return unto the Lord, as He has commanded and spoken. Get back to private prayer and fasting; mourning over personal sin and corporate sin and national sin; weep over the lost and the advancement of hell; and gather together corporately to cry out to God to hear and answer. Be diligent to respond and obey and let it not be said of us, 'I was not disobedient unto the heavenly calling'.
Much time has been lost, yet God has still afforded us time to repent and gather before Him. For the last decade the issue has gone out to church leaders, generally falling on deaf ear. All the while touting, 'appreciate your heart and we agree, something must be done, but we don't know what.' But if we know something must be done, then why not follow the word of the Lord? Why wait till its too late? Why must we always wait too late and call for gathering after a calamity or disaster before we seek the Lord. Let us seek Him now, 'for who knows if He will return and repent and leave a blessing behind for us.' Our remedy is to call upon Him and to return to a practice of holiness and surrender to Him.
It is time to seek the Lord; it is time to return to the old paths; it is time to fall in love with God all over again with whole heart, not half-hearts. the choice of response reveals the heart. And now a short window is extended to see the response. My prayers and voice continues to speak that which the Lord has laid on me for the glory of His Presence and Name to be found among us.
blessings,
Until,
Dan Biser
Started: May 27, 2019
Continued: 6/4; 6/8;
Finished:
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