Since we have moved, we are in a new church. One recent Sunday, a man who goes to that church approached us in the parking lot, and he brought up an interesting observation about Christians who “know what time it is”. Is that you? Do you know what time it is?
What our new friend meant by that was people who are observing the signs of the times and seeing unmistakeable signs of God’s judgment on our nation. It is not just coming. . .
We are already here.
Think with me for a moment, what civilization kills its unborn, and even celebrates it? The blood of 60,000,000 children cries to God for vengeance from polluted land. How can this end well for us?
In the past, ask yourself what government would be so lacking in the fear of God that it would celebrate homosexual marriage with ghastly rainbow lights on the White House? What government doesn’t know what a woman is, pays for the castration of confused children, subsidizes homeless drug addicts to live on the streets in their own filth ? What kind of future are they envisioning, and what result should such a civilization expect?
This is where we already are: unrighteous laws, unrighteous leaders, lawless and corrupt judges. The very people who should be rewarding good and punishing evil seem bent on doing the very opposite.
But whose fault is this? We can complain bitterly about the government and the culture, but what does Jesus say?
It is arguable that the blame lies at the feet of the Church Christ died for.
Jesus warned,
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. Matthew 5:13
What came before the politics went south was that the salt of the earth lost its savor. The solution within our churches is a widespread recognition of our corporate sin, and wholesale repentance. And then prayer. Then we can truly cry out to God to help us do what He calls us to do in this time in our history. It won’t look the same for everyone. But God is there to help us. Here are some things every believer can do.
First, we must read our Bibles and be clear on what God says about our own sins and the sins of our nation.
The culture we live in assaults us every day. Do you believe that sin is sin or have you bought the false teaching of our day. Don’t be lulled into thinking that truth has changed with the times. Truth never changes. Do you know what time it is? Check your watch. The Bible is your watch. In it, look at cultures and civilizations that exhibit symptoms that our nation is exhibiting. You will easily see what time it is!
Then, we must repent for our own sins.
This process is stirred by our reading the Bible. It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. Cry out to God for this gift! We must turn from our own hidden and besetting sins. Hate them with a pure and holy hatred and wage war against them. We must see the urgency of this; life is short and could end for you today. Do you know what time it is?
Then, we must repent for our national sins.
A nation is not a living being that can repent, but believers of that nation can and must first repent as individuals and church members, urged on by church leadership by their words and their examples. Our nation has legalized things that are abominations to God. We must not be afraid to speak the truth about this, and we must cry out to God for multitudes to recognize sin for what it is. Pray that they will know what time it is!
We must love those who hate us and disagree with us.
We must see the dire situation this world is in and not be ok with multitudes going to hell every hour. Ask ourself; do I love the world like God so loved the world that He sent His Son to save it? Are we thinking, praying about and studying about how to effectively share the gospel?
Ask the Lord to give you creative ideas as to how to do this.
We who know and understand the gospel must pray for courage, wisdom, and perseverance. Sad to say, it is a rare church who is encouraging their membership this way. They tell us to share the gospel, but few provide any suggestions to a mostly tongue-tied congregation.
Some churches are intentional in this way, doing neighborhood outreaches, clothes giveaways, invitations to special events. If you have experience in these, share it. Again, many community outreaches are lite on the gospel or skip it altogether. How can you incorporate it well?
The truth is, our churches are largely complacent or cowed; in either case, reluctant to speak the truth. To the objection that the church must not be political, this is the answer:
The truth that needs to be spoken is not a political truth, it is Biblical truth.
A large part of the problem is fear on the part of Christians and their churches: fear of the government, or fear of offending sinners.
Truly, most of us in church do not know what time it is.
Many of us are in denial, or worse; we choose having “good” relationships with those we love who are living in gross sin above a good relationship with a holy God.
In the interest of preserving our relationships we have compromised our opinions regarding those sins. We choose tolerance over truth and call it love. But we who love Jesus must not love our children or families more than we love Him. If we truly love them we must speak the truth of God’s word to them, not hold open the door to hell for them.
So what do we do if we cannot find a church whose leadership is courageous?
Or, what if you’re like me, a natural coward?
In our spheres of influence: family, classmates, co-workers and to both church members and leadership, we must pray to be brave and loyal to our Savior. We must share the gospel at every opportunity. If we ask God to show us openings in our every day conversation, He will!
Even if our church is not leading this way, we can lead by example. We must choose now to suffer embarrassment or the dislike of others. We must choose this now, so that when the time comes to choose even greater suffering for Christ, we have already purposed to choose Him over everything else. Including life itself.
If you’re like me and lacking in such courage, pray to the Lord that He will give you strength to stand for Him. If you are a Christian, remember that He suffered and died for you. No matter what we have to sacrifice, it is nothing compared to His sacrifice on the cross for us.
Does your church have a weekly prayer meeting?
Pray that this idea will be occur to your church leaders. If you are one, start one! If not, pray informally with like minded Christians that God will enable this to begin in your church. Be aware of what time it is when you think about prayer priorities. Make it a priority to pray that God will do for His church that no one else can do. Glorify Your name O Lord! Help us spread the good news of the gospel! May Your goodness lead us to repent. Revive Your church O Lord!
Above all, pray, pray, pray!!!
This month’s song is called Phantoms On Our Lawns. It is a call to wake up and see where we are and the necessity to repent. As I said, let it be so with me most of all so that these words are not empty ones.
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