Oct
12
This text is found in the book of Judges chapter sixteen, verse twenty. Samson had, for years, been anointed by the Lord and done many exploits in the power of the Holy Spirit. He was a Nazerite - seperate from the world, but he fell in love with a woman who beguiled his heart and while he slept upon her knee she robbed him of his strength.
Is this a picture of the church in North America today - once glorious, once anointed by the Holy Spirit, but now asleep on the knees of the world, robbed of its strength, weak and powerless and, what is worst of all, completely unaware the the Lord has departed from her.
My heart weeps and groans because this certainly is the state of the church in this nation today. God has departed. He no longer inhabits His sanctuary. He has written “ichabod” on her doors, and we don’t even know it.
Who is there who will rouse themselves like David and say “Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed;will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, Until I find out a place for the LORD, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.”
Oct
11
Sound the Alarm !
Filed Under Judgment
Blow the trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm in My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;
For the day of the LORD is coming,
For it is at hand: Joel 2:1
Blow the trumpet in Zion,
Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
Gather the people,
Sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and nursing babes;
Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber,
And the bride from her dressing room.
Let the priests, who minister to the LORD,
Weep between the porch and the altar; Joel 1:15-17
With all my might I am sounding the alarm. Several weeks ago we witnessed the destruction that was brought upon Galveston and Houston by a huge hurricane. Now we are witnessing the economic infrastructure of the US and of the world begin to crumble. Despite all this, everyone carries on with business as usual - INCLUDING THE CHURCH. I believe that these are events are meant to wake us up, but if we don’t respond, there will be greater and more profound events that WILL shake us out of our slumber.
We are fast asleep. God is trying to wake us up - bring us to our senses, rouse us from out lethargy, but we go on as if nothing was wrong, oblivious to the fact that something is TERRIBLY wrong.
Thy church has lost its power. The salt has lost its savor. We are poor, wretched, miserable blind and naked, and yet we say that we have “need of nothing”.
What is it going to take to wake us up. To anyone who may read this post I cry - WAKE UP! Get on your face before God. Ask him to search your heart. Ask him to shoe you your sin. Ask him to set you heart on fire for HIM. And… pray on behalf of the church that God would shake her and wake her - before it is too late. If we do not shake ourselves then he will do it. If we do not fall on the rock, the rock will fall on us.
To fellow believers I cry, let us acknowledge our true condition. We do NOT have the power of the early church. We are NOT bringing deliverance to the captives. We are not having a substantial impact on our culture and our nation. We have lost our first love. We need to repent and return to the Lord our God that he may grant us times of refreshing.
Is there anyone out there who hears my cry. Join me in prayer. Join me in fasting. Join me in repentance. Our God is a merciful God. If we return to him, He will return to us. If we draw near to him, he will draw near to us. If we seek HIM with all our hearts, he WILL be found of us. Let us lay aside all our idols, our love of this world and cry out to him that he would renew our hearts and grant us a TRUE revival.
Oct
11
True Revival
Filed Under Revival
When men in the streets are afraid to open their mouths and utter godless words lest the judgments of God should fall; when sinners, overawed by the Presence of God tremble in the streets and cry for mercy; when, without special meetings and sensational advertising, the Holy Ghost sweeps across cities and towns in Supernatural Power and holds men in the grip of terrifying Conviction; when “every shop becomes a pulpit; every heart an altar; every home a sanctuary” and people walk softly before God, this is Revival!
Today the word Revival has largely lost its real meaning. Our present generation, never having witnessed the mighty movings of God in nation-wide spiritual awakening such as has taken place in past generations, has little conception of the magnitude of such a “visitation.”
Heaven-sent revival is not religious entertainment, where crowds gather to hear outstanding preachers and musical programs; neither is it the result of sensational advertising - in a God-sent revival you don’t spend money on advertising; people come because Revival is there! Revival is an “awareness of God” that grips the whole community, and the roadside, the tavern, as well as the church, become the places where men find Christ. Here is the vast difference between our modern evangelistic campaigns and true revival. In the former, hundreds may be brought to a knowledge of Christ and churches experience seasons of blessings, but as far as the community is concerned little impact is made; the taverns, dance halls, and movies are still crowded, and the godlessness marches on. In revival, the Spirit of God, like a cleansing flame, sweeps through the community. Divine conviction grips people everywhere; the strongholds of the devil tremble, and many close their doors, while multitudes turn to Christ!
…excerpts from “When God Stepped Down from Heaven” by Owen Murphy
Oct
11
“Unto them that mourn…”
Filed Under The Church
Some who visit this site may question why I chose a name so negative. Why the emphasis on weeping, mourning and lamentation? Why not something more upbeat, more positive, more cheerful?
In answer, I would like to direct your attention to the following scripture …
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;…” Isaiah 61:1-3
Whose hearts does Jesus bind up? - “the brokenhearted.”
Whom does he comfort ? - “all that mourn”.
To whom does he appoint beauty and promise “the oil of joy”? - “them that mourn”
To whom does he promise to give the garment of praise? - those who have a “spirit of heaviness”.
What did Jesus promise to those that laugh now?
“Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.” Luke 6:25
Am I saying that we ought to walk about sullen and morose? No, not at all. Scripture does command us to “rejoice in the Lord always”. At first this may seem contradictory but it is not. Jesus was anointed with the “oil of gladness” above his fellows. (Psalm 45:7), yet he was known as “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief”.
Why then my emphasis on sorrow and lament? Simply, because I believe that when Jesus looks upon his bride, the one for whom he shed his own precious blood and sees her so in love with this world; his heart is broken. He weeps and so should we.
When we look upon the church here in North America, if we are honest, we do not see a glorious church without spot or wrinkle. We do not see the bride of Christ clothed with beautiful garments. No we see a bride who has become unfaithful, who has left her first love, who has, for the most part, turned away, from her husband to whom she was espoused and gone after other lovers. If we really see things the way they are, surely our hearts will be broken. We too will say with the prophet Jeremiah “For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water…”.
At the same time I believe that there is hope. I believe that there are those who “mourn in Zion” and who are crying out that God would restore his church and make her glorious once again. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the mourning”
So, I do not apologize for the emphasis I have placed on weeping and brokenness. After all “The sacrifices of God are a broken and a contrite heart”. Instead, I invite you to weep as well. Ask God that your heart would be broken with the the things that break his heart. Ask him to show you the true state of his church in this country in this hour. Be broken. It is to those who are brokenhearted that He will come with consolation and say …
“Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her:” Isaiah 66:10