September 2013

Lets Face The Truth

 

I have titled some of these writings lets face the truth because we must if we have any hope of turning things around.  Our county faces corruption and wickedness on a scale we have never seen before.  Our jails are full, our homes are falling apart, our marriages are failing and our efforts to halt the downward trend seem all in vain.  Ultimately, the cause comes back to a nation that has rejected God.  And a large part of the blame must be leveled at the church, the people who are called by God’s name they are the ones who know the way. 

 

They are the ones who are followers of God and whose lives are governed by his word.  But that word no longer has first place in their lives.  Sin has entered in.  Prayer has been neglected.  Things of this world have drawn them away from their God.  And the dilemma that faced Samson of old is exactly the same that the church faces today.  His strength had left him and he did not know that the Lord had left him.  Judges 16. 19-20.  In Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus taught that the influence the church was to have on society could be likened to the effects of salt and light.  Salt symbolized the purifying, healing and preserving qualities.  Light is meant to be seen and to show the way in darkness, It can be a guide of a warning of danger and obstacles that we encounter.  Light also refers to the way we are illumine the minds of men and women by the gospel.  Such features were to be the characteristics of the church of Jesus Christ.  But the Lord also taught that salt can lose its saltiness and light can go out.  This was to represent a church that loses its influence on society.  It no longer brings light to a world in darkness.  It has lost the ability to act as a purifying or cleansing agent.  And the question that must inevitably arise from such teaching can be simply stated.  Is this what has happened to the church in America.  I think there would be little doubt in people’s minds that the influence of the church in America is rapidly declining.  It no longer speaks with a voice that acts as the conscience of the nation.  It has lost the power that once characterized the people of God.  Doesn’t’ this tell us something?  Doesn’t this tell us that the church of which we are a part needs reviving?  This tells this little preacher that God’s people have lost God’s power.  It tells me that the standards and attitudes of this world are now part of the church.  It tells me that preachers are not speaking out against sin and corruption, as they should.  It tells me that prayer has virtually ceased.  It tells me that we are not obeying the word of God.  And like the effect of Achan’s sin on Israel, we find ourselves in a battle without the presence and power of God.  What a disaster.  But if we seem oblivious of all this it appears we really don’t care.  Doesn’t the situation disturb you?  Doesn’t it cause you great concern?  Doesn’t it drive you to prayer?  Oh my brothers and sisters this little preacher sees.  Will you pray with me and for me?  Let’s earnestly pray for each other and for our communities, for our churches and for our nation.  The only hope we have is to turn back to God in repentance and faith and seek his forgiveness.  But it will never happen until we the people of God get serious again and put God first and foremost in our lives. 

 

For history tells me that when the church returns to a right relationship with God, the transformation can effect the whole country.  Violence and crime are reduced dramatically.  Jail cells empty out sexual immorality is reduced.  The divorce rate is cut back significantly, debts are paid and the quality and output of work increases.  In brief a revival affects the whole nation.  And these are not airy-fairy words.  They are facts of history.  But sadly it seems this truth has not gripped our hearts.  We have the very answer that will eliminate the greed, corruption and violence in people, but our voice is scarcely heard.  And yet the history of revivals stands as the greatest rebuke to the church of today. 

 

For God has revived his people many times in years gone by.  There can be no doubt that these very same promises have been fulfilled on many occasions when God’s people met the conditions in humility and repentance.  It all began and this is the key when the people of God put their own lives in order first.  Once that had happened, the effects flowed on to the rest of the population.  When we fulfill the conditions, then and not before, will God meet his promise.  If there is any sin, God will not hear.  The promises are there waiting to be fulfilled, if we will meet God’s requirements.

 

The final question we need to ask ourselves is simply this.  Am I willing to pay the price?  Revival is costly, it requires a total commitment It could mean that major changes will have to be made to your life.  But it is the only way.  You see revival begins, in our heart.  Will you let God begin it now?  Will you let God have control over every area of your life?  Will you be willing to die to all selfish desires and things of this world?

 

May God forgive us for our sin and half-hearted commitment, and may he change us to be his instruments through which that dynamic power may once again become a reality in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Elder Terry L. Harmon