Pastor's Pen June 26, 2010
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Oil Spills, Economic Downturns and God’s Voice
As we prepare to celebrate our nation’s independence we cannot help but see the many problems we face in the form of a severe economic downturn, the pollution of an oil spill, severe weather patterns, earthquakes and the continuing threat of terrorism Add to this list the rapidity of our moral and spiritual decline and you see a picture of a nation in trouble. Does God have anything to do with these things?
Throughout history God has communicated His displeasure with His people by sending what theologians call remedial (corrective) judgments. God spoke about this in 2 Chron. 7:13-14.
"When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
God would send droughts, locusts and various diseases among His people as a wake-up call meant to move them to earnest prayer and repentance. It was His way of saying, “You’re not where you should be.” It is no different today. God is still using catastrophes and calamities to send a message to His people to wake up and return to Him. Are we listening?
One of the greatest forms of God’s remedial judgment is the withdrawal of His presence and His glory. Just as Ezekiel saw the glory of God depart from the temple, from the city and from the nation so we have witnessed over several generations the departure of God from His church leaving it powerless. Without God’s presence and power the church fails to be “salt and light” and the culture spirals downward.
When Israel did not listen to God’s remedial judgments which came over a 200 year period of time God then brought His severe judgment in the form of the 70 year captivity. If it is true that we are now receiving His remedial judgments then we know that His severe judgment will follow. What will come upon us if we do not heed His voice?
We have been without the presence and power of God for so long we have become dependent on other things. This dependence on programs, campaigns, slick marketing and human personality and giftedness has allowed us to “exist” with a soul getting saved here or there. If God were to return to His church in revival things would change radically. The Lord would do more in a moment of time than we have been able to do in years. That is why the great question before the modern church is not, “How can we get people back into the church,” but rather, “How can we get God back into the church?” The answer to the latter question is bound up in 2 Chronicles 7:14. God promises that “if we” will humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways “then He” will forgive us and heal our land.
The future of our nation depends upon God’s people and how we respond to God’s promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14. The good news is that millions of believers across the globe are crying out to God in the spirit of 2 Chronicles 7:14. I pray you will recognize His voice in the catastrophes and calamities and hear Him calling you to join with others in prayer and repentance.
God is speaking to us as His people. Are we listening?
Pastor Dan
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