Nahum's Burden - Part Two

The Light

A Message of warning to a nation gone adrift from God and facing certain judgment unless we repent

The Burden of Nineveh is the burden of America. Nineveh repented under Jonah's preaching only to backslide into greater sin some 100 years after the great prophet came with God's word. Nineveh's judgment was greater because it had received greater light. When a nation or individual sins against light the measure of their judgment is tied directly in proportion to the light that nation or individual receives. America's sin is great but it is even greater in the face of the LIGHT we have received as a country. Jesus had a great deal to say about nations who rejected light - He said in the day of judgment it would be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah who had no light than for those who have been given great light. We as the church of the living God are the light that shines in the darkness. But our light is not from ourselves - it's the light of our HEAD - the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

By Chris McDonald


TEXT: Nahum 1:1-8 - The burden against Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite; God is jealous, and the LORD avenges; the LORD avenges and is furious. The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies; The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. The LORD has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts. The mountains quake before Him, the hills melt, and the earth heaves at His presence, yes, the world and all who dwell in it. Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him. The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him. But with an overflowing flood he will make an utter end of its place, and darkness will pursue His enemies. (NKJ)

Nineveh, Nahum and Capernaum
 

       

         As we write part two of this two-part message on Nahum's message of destruction and warning to Nineveh, let us review once more just a bit about the circumstances surrounding this powerful and sobering oracle of judgment. When Nahum arrived in Nineveh a little over 150 years after the prophet Jonah, his message was changed from Jonah's message of "cry against it," and "preach," to a "burden", or an oracle of judgment. He was the first of three of the minor prophets who speak of the "burden" of their message (Nahum 1:1; Habakkuk 1:1; Malachi 1:1). This is "the burden of Nineveh," meaning an oracle of judgment concerning Nineveh. Oracles of judgment usually never gave any hope of mercy. It was a final decree of judgment in the mind of God given by the Holy Spirit through the mouths of Holy men of God. I want you to pause and think about that for a moment.

 

        The Creator of the Universe, RICH in mercy and grace, forgiving MILLIONS of their iniquity who place their faith in Him, CAN reach a point when He utters and declares a final decree. He did so with Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham, the man called a friend of God, could not assuage the decree of God against the most perverted cities EVER in the histories of human history. There is little doubt in this writer's mind had Lot not been there that judgment may have fallen much sooner than it did. But even in WRATH, God remembered mercy. The great prophet Habakkuk,  CRIED,  Lord "revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make KNOWN; in wrath (JUDGMENT), remember MERCY."

 

Habakkuk 3:2
O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.

         Moses called on the Lord's remembrance of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when Israel had provoked God to so much anger that He threatened to wipe the entire nation off the map! Moses cried before the Lord and stood in the midst of the people:

 

Deut. 9:27
Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; look not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin:
 

        When the Psalmist saw the condition of Israel in his days, he moaned inside for the Lord to "remember" Israel, the rod of His inheritance:

 

Psalm 74:2
Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.

        Yet as Nahum entered Nineveh, there were no pleas for God to remember the repentance of the nation 150 years before. There is no hint that the inhabitants of the city in Nahum's day had any remembrance of the days of Jonah when there was true repentance from the KING right on down to the lowest slave. Nineveh's repentance was so genuine that God relented in destroying it and gave it a repreive, even using it as a tool to chastise Israel, His wayward people. Somehow though over the course of time, the effect of Jonah's gospel message was lost over the next few generations and eventually Nineveh had apostatized into greater sin than before the days of Jonah. You see friend, it only takes one generation forgetting about God to cause a nation to be destroyed. Light had been given to Nineveh and light and had been rejected. Let me say that again. Light had been received and light had been rejected.

 

        That is what concerns me the most about our nation at this very moment. The rebellion and outright disobedience to God in this nation is not happening in some third world country. It's taking place in one of the most blessed nations on the face of the earth. America's 250 years of freedom from her inception did not just happen because the army under George Washington could shoot better than the soldiers of Great Britain. God granted this nation freedom to be a beacon of LIGHT to a world in darkness and to be a protector of Israel. The words "IN GOD WE TRUST" are not just catch phrases on a piece of coinage. They are at the heart and very fiber that has made America great. I want to say that again. America's greatness is not because America's military is stronger than any military on the face of the earth. America is not great because we have the most powerful and vibrant economy than any other nation. Neighbor, America is not great because America is "good." America is great because of GOD! America is great because it's foundation was laid with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and Him Crucified 2,000 years ago! America is great because despite demons, devils and a backslidden church there is a remnant of people STILL in this land who love Jesus Christ with ALL their hearts souls and minds and are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus, the power of God unto SALVATION! That's the true power of the nation of America! Holy Ghost filled people who know how to shake heaven and hell itself and stand against the powers of darkness with the name of Jesus and the power of intercession! MY LORD I want to shout on that. My LORD, I want to just say PRAISE THE LORD!

 

Romans 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. [17] For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

 

        But America is losing her way with God. To be frank, she has already LOST her way. We're just witnessing I'm afraid the final decline to utter destruction of a once proud nation which was not afraid to identify itself with the God of heaven. There is such a deep rooted sense to remove God from our lives that it beggars description. On 9-11-2001, we suffered a great tragedy as Islamic terrorists rammed two jets into the World Trade Center and a third into the Pentagon claiming 3,000 lives. It may sound wired to some but listen to me - God spared America on 9-11! Things could have been worse friend, believe me. It could have been 3 million.  God's mercy spared us greater judgment. According to all accounts there was much more in the works that fateful September day but was stopped before further damage could be done. There is a good chance that the plane that went down in Pennsylvania was destined for the White House. President Bush was more than likely a target as well.

And while I'm on the subject of our President let me just interject this. I know President Bush is not a prefect man but he has tried his best to maintain as high an ethical standard as possible. Those who lambaste him on a daily basis do it not because of just politics, but because of the President's belief in God!

 

        His belief in God was behind a deep growing resentment toward God and Christians that had surfaced in the summer following the elections of 2000 and just increased up to 9-11-2001. It ceased for a season but erupted again in the fall of 2004 and has just simmered even more since the elections of November. Most feel it was the Christian vote that re-elected President Bush and believe me, those who hate God, know it very well. This is the same pattern of rejected light that Nineveh followed so long ago. This message is about LIGHT and what happens to a nation when it rejects LIGHT.

 

The Village Of Nahum; The Judgment Of Jesus On Capernaum

 

         By a strange irony, the city in Galilee most closely associated with the ministry of Jesus was Capernaum. The name Capernaum in the Hebrew language means "the village of Nahum." The words of Jesus concerning Capernaum hold powerful keys to us today! Capernaum's judgment was decreed because Jesus did some of His most powerful works in that city yet they rejected Him, along with Chorazin and Bethsaida
 

        Hear me neighbor. From the very beginning of Creation, God has always made a distinction between the light and the darkness. The very first words of God recorded in scripture are, "LET THERE BE LIGHT."

 

Genesis 1:1-7  - In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. [2] And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.  [3] And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. [4] And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. [5] And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
 

        After He separated the light from the darkness He placed "lights" in the firmament to divide the day from the night. These lights were for "signs," "seasons," "days" and "years." These were to give light upon the earth. He made the Sun to rule the day, the Moon to rule the night and individual stars also. That is a beautiful picture of His Son, Jesus Christ, and His church here on earth. The moon reflects the light of the Sun and the stars reflect the light of the Sun and the Moon. The CHURCH is to reflect the light of the Lord Jesus and we as individual members of the CHURCH are to reflect the light of the SUN and MOON as well. These acts of creation were done on the first and fourth day respectively AND GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.

 

Genesis 1:14 -  And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: [15] And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. [16] And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. [17] And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, [18] And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. [19] And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
 

         Paul said in 1 Timothy that God dwells in a light that natural man cannot comprehend. That light is HIS LOVE and it shines to a world fallen and plunged into a fallen state by sin. Even the course of creation speaks of this process. In the beginning GOD created the heavens and the earth. THEN sin, which many feel was brought on by Lucifer's original rebellion against God, brought on DARKNESS. Then the SPIRIT OF GOD moved on the darkness and God said, "LET THERE BE LIGHT." Glory to God.

      

1 Tim 6:13-16 - In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you; to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time-- God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords; who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. (NIV)

 

Col 1:12-14 - Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
(NIV)

 

         So separating light from darkness has been an eternal, creative principle from the very beginning. This separation also speaks to us of two kingdoms in the universe that have existed from the very beginning.  Darkness is the domain of Satan. It speaks of sin, hiding, fear, judgment, disobedience, malice, unforgiveness, rebellion, and calamity. The kingdom of God is a kingdom of LIGHT. Light speaks of goodness, peace, tranquility, harmony, righteousness, holiness, purity and all that is HEAVENLY. In God, there is NO DARKNESS, only LIGHT. Light can be defined as a place where nothing is hidden because in HIS LIGHT we have no need to hide. Whatever His light reveals in our lives, His grace is more than able to forgive and cleanse. Darkness hides from God because it knows once sin is made known sin must be accounted for and dealt with. God will never condone sin. The wages of sin is DEATH. There is ALWAYS a penalty for disobedience.

 

            It matters not whether I'm talking to a Christian or a non-Christian the principle remains the same. To be quite frank a true Christian will always want to come to the light to have his deeds reproved, but the enemy's deception can keep even Christians in darkness and unwilling to repent. The world at large sits in this state as I speak right now - darkness. This nations sits in darkness. Since 1973 we have slaughtered nearly 30 million babies. Since the rebellion of the 1960s, America has seen a rampant rise in Satanism, blasphemy against God, homosexuality, dishonesty, greed, avarice, murder, hate, racism. These things should be long to a nation in the dark not a nation like America whose founding fathers came to this land that we live on today with one thing in mind and that was to make a homeland that would be free to spread the LIGHT of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the four corners of the world. We were founded for this purpose - and to be a future beacon of protection for Israel - and these two purposes alone!

 

             So it's not that we sin, it's that we sin against LIGHT. Nineveh received LIGHT from the preaching of Jonah and repented, then went back on that preaching and apostatized 100 years later. When Nahum walked through the streets his message was no longer of mercy and hope, the message was "prepare for the wrath to come." I can't help but ponder right now how long do we have as a nation before God removes His mercy from us. I cannot say God will ever remove ALL His mercy from us because the tender mercies of our Heavenly Father run too deep for mortal man to comprehend those. But on September 11, 2001 we turned a page in this nation's history I'm afraid we may never come back from. God's removed the hedge around this nation to get our attention that we are sinning against light. I'm afraid we've never gotten the message.

 

                I want to make something abundantly clear. When judgment hits a nation it's not because of the heathen - it's because THE LORD'S PEOPLE have drifted so far from Him that the covering of their covenant with God has been removed and the enemy is then allowed to STEAL, to KILL and to DESTROY. America's tragedy didn't happen because we have slipped into homosexuality like never before (even though the sins of homosexuality and sodomy are the most degrading, immoral acts in human nature). America's tragedy did not happen because of the abortionists (even though abortion is one of the most despicable, cowardly acts a human being can perpetrate - the death of an innocent unborn child). I'm sure it would make the self-righteous feel better to thump their chest and blame the abortionists, the homosexuals and the drunkards. Neighbor, the finger that needs to be pointed should start with US - the CHURCH of the LIVING GOD!

 

          Think about it. Israel spent 400 years in Egyptian bondage watching the Egyptians worship idol after idol and never seeing God's hand of judgment move until the time came for their deliverance. Israel goes out into the wilderness, builds and worships one golden calf and 250,000 people die! Get the picture? God's dealings with HIS people are always on a higher plane than those without LIGHT! America as a WHOLE has LIGHT! We have no excuse There is a church on every corner, a BIBLE in every house, a Christian television program on every channel (even though there is very little of true gospel preaching on television, we really can't claim that any longer). The bottom line is God has blessed us with LIGHT like no other nation has been given. And when that light is removed and breached, neighbor judgment comes and comes HARD.

 

                America's HEDGE on 9-11 was removed because GOD'S PEOPLE have sinned against LIGHT.  Nahum's burden for Nineveh has become the BURDEN OF AMERICA! And until we as the people of God repent and come back to Him with our whole hearts and stop dibblingand dabbling in beat with this condemned world system, we face certain judgment. Any nation that dies, dies because those who know God lets the LIGHT of HIS gospel and Grace die and go out! When Israel lost the ark, it was because the LIGHT OF THE LORD had went out in the TEMPLE OF GOD! America, our LIGHT is going out! Preachers of the gospel hear me. Stop preaching your rosy book reports and psychological MUMBO JUMBO on Sunday mornings - and PREACH THE CROSS. Preach Jesus and Him Crucified. Preach JESUS SAVES, JESUS HEALS, JESUS BAPTIZES WITH THE HOLY GHOST AND FIRE and JESUS IS COMING AGAIN. I want to say it again. Preach CHRIST and Him Crucified! That's the only LIGHT this nation has. That's the only LIGHT that will repel the powers of darkness. That's the only LIGHT that keeps us from succumbing into an abyss of hell. PREACH THE CROSS. PREACH THE CROSS! When you preach the cross, you are bringing the LIGHT back! When we preach JESUS and Him Crucified, we are turning on the light!

 

Judgment Is Always Meted Out In Measure To The Amount Of Spiritual Light One Receives

 

Luke 12:46-49
           46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. [47] And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. [48] But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
 

        These things we just discussed regard the natural processes of creation. But the natural "lights" or creation are types which speak to us of the SPIRITUAL light God gives all of humanity. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All need to be saved. There are no exceptions to that. All are in darkness without God. When one is born again we have been changed by the SPIRIT OF GOD. Just as the SPIRIT OF GOD hovered over and changed the waters and darkness in Genesis and brought forth a glorious LIGHT, so are we when we are saved - we are placed in the kingdom of light instead of darkness. This ties us to an eternal principle regarding the spiritual light we receive here on Earth. Some are given more light than others. Yes, we are all alike and all stand accountable to God. But many of us, especially WE HERE IN AMERICA, are blessed more than others. In our case just the fact we live here in the United States grants us more opportunity than those who might live in a third-world country like Iran or Afghanistan, India or Pakistan.

 

        Remember this statement again. I will repeat it often in the course of this journal - JUDGMENT IS ALWAYS METED OUT STRICTLY ON THE BASIS OF WHAT LIGHT ONE RECEIVES. This can be true of a nation, an individual or even a world empire like America. Israel is a testimony to what happens when we reject light. Israel had the light of the world in Her midst and yet she rejected that light and crucified the Son of God. Heaven gives us light from three different sources:

        Jesus Is The Light Of The World

 

John 1:4-9 - In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.  There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
(NIV)

 

Isa 9:2-3 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.
(NIV)

 

John 9:5 - While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." (NIV)

John 8:12 - When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (NIV)

John 11:9-10 - Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light. 10 It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light." (NIV)

John 12:35-46 - Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. 36 Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them. Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. (NIV)

 

        The Word Of God (The Gospel) Is Light

 

Ps 19:8 - The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. (NIV)

 

Prov 6:23 - For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life, (NIV)

 

2 Cor 4:4-6 - The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
(NIV)
 

        Believers Are Also Called "Lights;" We Are To Reflect THE Light - Jesus Christ

 

Prov 13:9-10 - The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out. Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. (NIV)

 

2 Cor 6:14-18 - Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." (NIV)

Eph 5:8-14 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." (NIV)

1Thes 5:5 - You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

1 Pet 2:9 - But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (NIV)

 

2 Pet 1:19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it,  Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (NIV)

 

Psalm 119:105 -  Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. [106] I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.

        All three of these things we have mentioned are sources of LIGHT.  Not to sound redundant but it needs to be said again. Never has any country on Earth been given so much opportunity to spread the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to other parts of the world like America has. Never has any country been so free to truly worship GOD in a way that we have. None of us who get up to go to church on Sunday go in fear wondering if governmental leaders will be waiting to shoot us as we enter the building. None of us are locked in our homes on Sunday or any other day for that matter to go to church or read our Bible or pray. Christian television programs abound here in America with messages of warning, hope, encouragement and grace to warn us of our need for God and HIS LIGHT. Every time you turn on the television and a preacher is preaching the true gospel - LIGHT is being given to us as individuals but also to a nation as well. We as individuals have been given great freedom and light. Even though there are some in America who battle poverty and the such - for the most part most are mightily blessed in this nation. We continue to be the most affluent, blessed, well-off people than any nation on the planet.

 

        BUT ALL OF THESE BLESSINGS will turn into GREATER JUDGMENT if we don't allow these blessings to come back to God and become a nation of righteousness, peace, justice and love once again. To whom much is given, MUCH will be required.  Like Nineveh AND Israel, America has been sent prophet after prophet to beg Her to return to God. When we ignore light, the only alternative is darkness and when we receive darkness as a result of God taking His hands off of us - friend, HOW GREAT WILL THAT DARKNESS BE. There is no darkness in God, but when He no longer is our SOURCE OF LIGHT - we choose darkness.
 

 Nineveh And Israel Both Rejected Light - As Has America

 

        Get this thought squarely in your head: when you reject light, you bring upon yourself greater judgment. To the extent God grants you light it is to that degree that He will hold you accountable in the day He judges us by His Word. Ninevehturned to God at Jonah's preaching but apostatized into greater idolatry than before. As a result of this backsliding, God brought such a severe judgment upon Nineveh at the hands of the Babylonians that it took some archeologists till 1851 to even find a trace of its existence. The Medes, with the help of the Babylonians, sacked Ashur and Calah in 614 B. C. Two years later Nineveh fell to these combined forces. Nineveh was left in ruins <Nah. 2:10,13> and grazed by sheep <Zeph. 2:13-15>, just as the Hebrew prophets of the Old Testament had predicted.

 

Nahum 2:10-13 - She (Nineveh) is pillaged, plundered, stripped! Hearts melt, knees give way, bodies tremble, every face grows pale. Where now is the lions' den, the place where they fed their young, where the lion and lioness went, and the cubs, with nothing to fear? The lion killed enough for his cubs and strangled the prey for his mate, filling his lairs with the kill and his dens with the prey. "I am against you," declares the LORD Almighty. "I will burn up your chariots in smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will leave you no prey on the earth. The voices of your messengers will no longer be heard."

 

Zeph. 2:13-15  - And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness. [14] And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work. [15] This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passes by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.

 

        I believe Nahum's message holds a solemn message to our nation as well. I know the "burden" of Nineveh was to a city, but this city was the "capital" of a greater empire that had not been threatened by a foreign enemy. She has said in her heart according to Zephaniah "there is NONE beside me." This sounds very similar to the pride and arrogance America boasted of before the attacks on our nation on September 11, 2001. New York City, one of the most affluent and "mighty" cities in America was brought to its knees in a matter of just 15 minutes. New York was the Nineveh of America, the greatest and largest empire on the Earth of our day. The similarities are striking, yet solemn. The warnings are the same. If we continue to reject light, we are going to share in the "burden," or judgment upon Nineveh.

 

        Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrian Empire was one of eight great empires - (six are past, three are yet future) that either have oppressed Israel in the past or will oppress her in the future. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome are empires of the past. Very soon a "revision" of the old Roman Empire will emerge in parts of Europe which will be the source from where the coming Antichrist  (whom we believe will come from "Assyria;" He is called the "Assyrian," in Isaiah)  will emerge and eventually deceive Israel into a seven-year peace treaty with him. In the middle of this treaty, he will break this treaty and bring utter carnage and death to the Jewish people unlike they have seen in their history. His kingdom, what many Bible scholars refer to as "revised Greece," will be known as the "seat of the Beast." Once again, when you reject light, darkness comes. Jesus told the Jewish leaders of His day that He had come in His Father's name and they had rejected HIM, but one would come in the future in HIS OWN NAME in whom they would receive. The one coming in HIS OWN NAME will be promising light but will be full of darkness, death and demons.

 

       It's very interesting to see just how much Nineveh's and our fate are intertwined. Nineveh rejected the light of Jonah's preaching. Israel, our example, rejected the light of "one greater than Jonah" - The Lord Jesus Christ and 40 years after the crucifixion and ascension - Jerusalem was destroyed by Rome. Since the turn of the century, America has really only experienced one true period of revival other than the Great Awakening of the 1700s.  It's very interesting to note that the last "great awakening" this country experienced was at the turn of the 20th Century with the advent of the Holy Spirit outpouring on Azusa Street in 1903. Evangelists like Charles Spurgeon, Billy Sunder, Dwight L. Moody, Charles and John Wesley, Charles Finney and others roamed the nation with powerful messages of God's grace, holiness and love. Many souls were saved. Many received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. It was truly more powerful than even the "Great Awakening" of Jonathan Edwards time right after America's inception.

 

        Some of these men were born right here in America while others came from England and other parts of world - anointed by God, full of the Holy Ghost. America was listening and America was responding. We had just come out of a horrific Civil War that had seen hundreds of thousands of people die in our country's darkest conflict. The Civil War was not a war fought against a foreign enemy, it was a war fought among ourselves. We were humble then. We had no choice but to turn to God for our recovery and reconstruction. But now, over 100 years later through two World wars, three other foreign conflicts (Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf), America is no longer humble. And a great deal of that has to do with the church and its message during these times. Jesus said, "if the LIGHT that is in you be DARKNESS, then HOW GREAT IS THAT DARKNESS?

 

             Instead of the church becoming a greater light to this country, we sank into the ditch with the idolatrous system of America and stopped preaching against sin and Godly living. We started offering people prosperity without humility. People started believing that it was God's DUTY to bless us instead of His choice. We injected our society with the belief that America's strength was great because America overall was a good nation. It was not important for us to depend on God as we did in the early 1900s. Modern trinkets and toys made our lives more easier and money became more easily available. Other than a few seasons here or there America has been one of the most prosperous nations on the face of the Earth - EVER. But the more prosperous we grew, the less we trusted God. The less we honored God. The less we made God the forefront of our country's institutions. Then women like Madeline O'Hara began campaigning for God to be taken out of society all together. Our Supreme Courts then began to pass national laws that opened the door for genocide and the killing of millions of innocent babies in the name of pro-choice. Life is not a choice friend - It's A LIFE.  I'm not saying we should be bombing abortion clinics or acting like the devil we are trying to stop - but America needs to take a HARD LOOK at herself right now.

 

        We have allowed the homosexual and lesbian communities to parade their lifestyles in front of our children for nearly 30 years now while labeling those who called that lifestyle sin out as those who as unloving or judgmental. We have sat by over the past 100 years and watched God ooze so slowly out of our lives that we have become desensitized to things that made us blush and ashamed. We have became more blatantly open and rebellious about our sin. Pornography and sexually perverted images made themselves more prevalent in our movies and on television. Within the past five years profanity of the worst kind not gets a PG-13 rating from Hollywood. We have exchanged light for darkness. We have sinned worse than Nineveh. We have sinned worse than Sodom. And the burden of Nineveh is going to be the burden of America.

 

        The Church In America Has Rejected Light As Well

 

            There have been moves of God during this century such as the Healing Movement in the 1940s and 1950s with Oral Roberts and William Branham. We saw the Word of Faith movement in the 1970s as God began to enlighten us as a country about faith and His promises. It seemed another wave of the Holy Spirit began to touch America and many mainline denominations began seeing the mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Thousands were baptized in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with other tongues.  In the 1980s we began to see the message of faith taken to another level as professed men of God began preaching prosperity and blessing without calling for us as a nation and individually to examine our lives in light of that prosperity. Greater prosperity and blessing only brings greater judgment on a nation or individual if that blessing doesn't cause us to live in righteousness and repent. In the 1990s we saw an even greater move of God's Spirit as many others began to teach us how to worship God. But our worship of God began to promote "people" and "groups" and "movements" and instead of leading us to deeper intimacy with Jesus we promoted "stars" among the Christian entertainment industry. We want to compete with Hollywood and Nashville so we act like Hollywood and Nashville. We offer "dove" awards and "artist of the year" awards which are no different than the world's version of the Oscars. We just put Christian labels on ours. 

 

           Christian television has become the same medium as regular television. Instead of preaching the gospel, we offer people "time management" seminars and "weight-loss programs." And as we offer the world a cross-less gospel, America sinks deeper and deeper into darkness. These moves of God were not revival, they were "movements." And the nation has not changed as a result of "movements," it has gotten worse. Why? Because the light we seem to be offering the world is not light that comes from JESUS CHRIST, it's a light that is coming from ourselves. The church is promoting the church instead of promoting and preaching about the HEAD - THE LORD JESUS. There is NO LIGHT in the CHURCH outside CHRIST. Without HIM leading the cause, without HIM being the HEAD and the KING over our churches, without HIM being allowed total access into our programs and buildings - the light we offer the world will only result in greater darkness. Jesus made this clear when He spoke of the principle of light and darkness to His disciples:

 

Matt 6:22-24 - "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. (NIV)

Luke 11:36 - Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you." (NIV)

 

        When we offer a world in darkness anything less than the TRUE GOSPEL of Jesus Christ - friend, we are just exchanging their darkness for another type darkness. Jesus said, "if your eyes are bad," then your whole body will be full of darkness. The church in America has lost her vision for souls and thus we no longer do things with the KINGDOM of GOD in mind. We promote concerts, church programs, seminars and conferences in the name of God - but we project a light that is distorted because of a zeal laced with greed for mammon - or money - instead of seeking only the GLORY OF GOD and that alone. Ministry and mammon just don't mix. Jesus said we can't serve both. We can't have true gospel ministry and be bound by greed and desire for monetary gain.  Darkness cannot co-mingle with light and light cannot co-mingle with darkness. We must choose what we want as both a nation and as the corporate body of Christ here in America.

 

        During America's downward spiral there were TRUE Godly prophets, preachers, teachers, authors, apostles, evangelists and others warning of judgment if we don't turn around. I think of David Wilkerson and Paul Cain among others who have warned us over and over again of our sin. Rick Joyner whom I also believe to hear from God under a prophetic mantle saw these terrorist attacks coming to America over a year ago. He boldly wrote in a recent message that if there was any doubt that God was passing judgment directly on us through these attacks it was erased by the fact that these planes didn't hit churches. JUDGMENT MUST BEGIN IN THE HOUSE OF GOD and we as the "church" in America have been guilty of the same sins that have sent our nation spiraling into oblivion over the past several decades.

 

       In spite of all the light, in spite of all the sermons, in spite of all the Christian television, in spite of all the churches, in spite of all the warnings, in spite of all the Bibles, in spite of all the blessings and financial prosperity and peace we've experienced, in spite of what Abraham Lincoln called, "the choicest bounties of heaven" - AMERICA HAS SINNED WORSE THAN NINEVEH. And once light is rejected, the ONLY REMEDY for that is JUDGMENT and darkness. America must open the door to Jesus once again and ask Him to come back before further judgment falls as a result of Him leaving in the first place.

 

When We Reject Light, The Darkness We Receive In Return Is Always Worse In Scope And Greater In Intensity

 

Matthew 12:43-45 - When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. [44] Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. [45] Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

        There is a spiritual law etched in heaven. When a person receives light, repents, then turns and goes back into sin, the latter state of that person is worse than if that person never received light. Jesus said demonic activity increases SEVEN TIMES ('seven other spirits more WICKED than himself') and the chances for repentance the SECOND time are dim. Paul mentioned this often in his writings to the Hebrews:

 

Hebrews 6:4-6  - For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, [5] And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, [6] If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

        The impossibility is not with God - it's with tinkering with a heart that sin hardens! Neighbor, it's not that God can never deal with you, it's that you can reach a point you don't WANT God dealing with you. You become reprobate, or a state where evil is called good and good called evil. You will not even recognize the depths of depravity you sink to. Sin will take you so deep that it would be likened to taking the mark of the Beast without any hope of mercy. The mark itself is just that - a mark. It's what the mark represents that causes one to lose their soul forever. It's allegiance to the nature of the Beast - self-worship and SIN.

 

        Sin hardens our hearts. It desensitizes us to God's convicting power through the Holy Ghost. Many, along with this writer, believe our nation is precariously close to this point. We have had moves of God over the past 100 years here and there. There was a true move of revival in the early 1900s. We have not had a move quite like the days of Azusa Street in 1903. We have since, through the watering down of the gospel by false shepherds and false prophets, become inoculated from true gospel preaching and repentance. Everything is right now a days. Nothing anyone does any more is considered sin. Preachers with MILLIONS of people under their influence either through television or their large churches refuse to use the term "SIN." Joel Osteen said recently on Larry King Live that he doesn't use sin because, as he puts it, "he deals with such a diverse congregation, he's afraid to offend anyone and cause them to leave." No offense Joel, but better to offend them and preach under a Holy Ghost anointing that convicts of sin NOW, instead of winding up in hell forever later! I know that sounds harsh friend but my God what does it take to shake preachers into the realties of eternity without God!

 

        By most preacher's accounts today, Homosexuality is an alternate lifestyle. Alcoholism is a disease, no longer a demonic bondage. Pornography is considered "free expression of art," instead of perversion. Movies portray sexual intercourse between people outside marriage as normal while those who seek to honor the sexual act by only having sex when married are portrayed as prudes and old fashioned. Friend, sin has a price and when we reject the light of the God's word and the conviction of the Holy Ghost, we are exchanging light for darkness. And the darkness we get in exchange for rejecting light is ALWAYS WORSE! It has to be asked how close we are as a nation to finding that out in such a way as to pass a point of no return!


Isa 5:20 - Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

Isa 5:30 - In that day they will roar over it like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks at the land, he will see darkness and distress; even the light will be darkened by the clouds.

Isa 8:20-22 - To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.

        Isaiah declared "WOE" unto those who exchange light for darkness. He went on to say in the eighth chapter that when there is no light - distress, hunger, rage, darkness and a fearful gloom will rest about the inhabitants of a nation who have rejected light. They will "curse" their king and their God. This is what we get when we reject light. We have had a lot of light and gospel preaching to give us ample opportunity to repent but we have said "NO." And since we have said "NO" to true gospel preaching, I believe God has already begin to send strong delusion among us on a wave of false preaching and a church growth movement built on humanism and NOT Holy Ghost Revival! I want to make that last point a little clearer so there is no confusion on where I stand. The modern church growth movement is birthed from seeds of HUMANISM and demon spirits of control, manipulation and self instead of God-birthed Holy Ghost sent revival that ushers souls into the Kingdom of God through repentance and then baptizes them in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives the utterance. The pattern in Acts was pretty simple - get them saved and get them filled with the Holy Ghost!

 

        Neighbor, because light is going out in America, we are soon to see only distress, darkness and fearful gloom! Men are about to be thrust into utter darkness and curse their God. We are already cursing our king in America today. President Bush is under a relentless attack from the liberal left of this nation that wants to remove God from every vestige of society they can. And I don't care if what they are saying sounds religious, if its not "according to THIS WORD," they have no LIGHT! There is no light in the teachings of Mohammed. There is no light in the foundations of communism. There is no light in the New Age. There is no light in the PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE! There is no light in Word of Faith formulas. God doesn't move because of formulas. God doesn't heal because of us saying the right thing. Our confession IS important but if our faith is in our confession and not in Christ, we have a problem! There is no LIGHT in our confession even! There is no LIGHT in a message void of the power of the Cross.

 

        There is only one source of LIGHT and that is in the FACE of the LORD JESUS CHRIST and HIM CRUCIFIED! JESUS, JESUS, JESUS, JESUS, JESUS!

 

        Isaiah said those who reject light will wind up distressed and hungry, and will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Neighbor we are dangerously close to this in America. Nahum's burden has become America's burden.

Men Love Darkness Thus They Refuse To Repent

 

John 3:19-21 - This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

 

        When a nation loves darkness more than light it always elects to stay in bondage to Satan! Evil hates the light. President Bush described the people who perpetrated 9-11 as cowards who "hide in shadows." Evil and sin always do. Many of the terrorists booked flights on which they knew would have just women and children so they would not be threatened in anyway. That's the nature of sin. It hides and runs when exposed. But God's light always exposes sin and motives and one day we will all stand before Him without a place to hide:

 

1 Cor 4:5 - Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

 

        But before we beat our chest in self-righteous indignation against the terrorists (who are in darkness, don't misunderstand this) we need to know that we as a nation have "hid" in the shadows of sin as well. We have murdered babies in the "shadows," of abortion clinics. We have practiced homosexuality and lesbianism in the "shadows." We have dishonored God and caused His name to be removed from our schools, jobs and sadly yes, in a growing number of churches, television ministries and denominations. One denominational church recently removed "There is Power in the Blood," from its hymnbook because as its leader said, " that was too offensive for some of our members to sing about blood." Neighbor, it's the power of the BLOOD that keeps us free from sin and darkness and in the LIGHT!

        America may still refuse to repent even after these events. I believe we really love our sin too much to change. Yes, what has happened has shocked us. Yes, what has happened has caused many to hurt because of losing lost loved ones. But as a whole our nation is back to normal from its greatest tragedy ever on our own soil just a little less than 48 months later. Why? Because deep down where it counts - in our hearts and souls - we have not really changed. We loved what we were doing before this tragedy and we still love what we do now. But friend, SIN WILL BE DEALT with one way or the other. We can deal with it ourselves by examining our own lives and judging ourselves, or we can have God do it. That needs to give us pause to think about the road we are on in this time in history as both a nation AND individuals. it's the midnight hour friend, and getting later.

 

Judgement Upon Capernaum - The Village of Nahum: "It Will Be More Tolerable Than Sodom..."

Matthew 11:20-24 -  Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: [21] Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. [23] And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. [24] But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

        We see Jesus upbraiding three affluent cities during His day that paralleled the state of Nineveh before judgment came there. Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. Three cities where Jesus did some of His mightiest works - yet in spite of the LIGHT that stood in their midst - they still refused to believe. The interesting footnote about Capernaum is that most Bible scholars believe Nahum, whom very very little is said about in the Bible, came from there.

 

        The same judgment Nahum decreed upon Nineveh, Jesus decreed upon Capernaum. Jesus declared that because of their unbelief in spite of His works,  "it shall be more tolerable for Sodom in the day of Judgment that for you." Sodom didn't have a bible. Capnaum had THE BIBLE standing in its midst. Today, America has millions. Sodom didn't' have preachers warning it of coming doom if it didn't repent of the perversion it was practicing. Capernaum had THE PROPHET preaching in its midst and it rejected Him. Today, America has thousands. Sodom was not give any warning. Jesus warned Capernaum over and over and HE HAS WARNED AMERICA over the centuries through the preaching of Holy Ghost prophets and preachers. Sadly, because of our rejection of light, I'm afraid He has taken them from us slowly to the point that all we have today is a group of modern day pansy-panty waste preachers who care nothing for the sheep under their care, but for themselves.

           

            These three cities were cities really underscored Israel's greatest issue as a nation. Israel's finest and most well respected citizens lived in Capernaum, yet all of their riches and blessings did not cause them to accept the Lord Jesus as their Messiah - it actually caused them to reject Him. That needs to SINK IN neighbor! Hear that word of faith folks. Blessings in themselves NEVER automatically shows a person or nation is right with God.

 

        America has the most affluent and well-off people in all the world. But all of our affluence has not taken us closer to God - it has alienated us from Him. Jesus told the church of Laodicea which had similar "riches" and trusted in themselves they were wretched, poor, miserable and blind.

 

Rev. 3:17-21
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: [18] I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. [19] As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. [20] Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. [21] To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

 

Nineveh Will Rise Up In Judgment With This Generation


Matthew 12:39-41 -  But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: [40] For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. [41] The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. [42] The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
 

       This verse in Matthew points us to the source of true revival - THE CROSS. Jonah was a type of Christ, who like Jonah, went into the heart of the Earth (JESUS WENT TO PARADISE) and rose again the third day. Jesus' death on the cross was the judgment upon sin and ALL those who would just put their faith in what He did at the Cross would find light and not walk in darkness. Nineveh never found that place despite the light of Jonah, Israel never found that place in spite of the light of Jesus, and America is not finding her place despite the LIGHT the Lord has given this nation through the ministry of the CHURCH, the BODY OF CHRIST!!!!!!

 

        Jesus said Nineveh will rise up in judgment against this generation. When He spoke this to Israel, He was speaking to their unbelief in HIM that caused that generation to reject light, fail to repent and apostatize. There was "one greater than Jonah" in their midst and Israel said NO! 

 

        Nineveh said "NO" at the preaching of Jonah, Israel said no at the preaching of Jesus and America is on a slippery path down the same road. Despite blessing, our nation is so backslidden we don't know we've lost our way.

 

        There were many in Jesus' day demanding a sign. Sounds like the modern church world of America, especially in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles. The Purpose Driven Life crowd also seeks signs through "works" and good deeds to assure them of God's favor. Neighbor none of that saves.

 

        I'm not opposed to signs and wonders and miracles. Those things are very much a part of New Testament Christianity and have not went out of fashion with the apostles. But if the signs and wonders we see today don't bring us back to the CROSS, we will miss something far more eternal and important in value. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL RESTS SOLELY ON THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST. Christ DIED according to the scriptures and ROSE AGAIN the third day. As a result of this, we have the HOLY GHOST living in us and working THROUGH us as a New Testament church. Praise God. To add anything to that is to reject LIGHT and ask for darkness.

 

        The church is divided into two camps right now - one which wants to preach the cross without the Holy Spirit and other camp which wants to preach and teach the Holy Spirit without the CROSS. The Cross and the Holy Spirit work together, not apart. We must have BOTH to fulfill the Great commission and see the fulfillment of the last day's harvest.

 

        Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale. Jesus was three nights and three days in the heart of the earth (Paradise) preaching to the spirits in prison before leading captivity captive into heaven. (NO HE DID NOT DIE SPIRITUALLY IN HELL) Friend, because of what He did at the Cross and His resurrection, we are assured that we will all be held accountable on the day of judgment at some point in the future. There will be NO exceptions. We can repent now and live or we can refuse to repent and perish. That goes for individuals as well as nations!

 

The Call To Repent Today Is As It Was In Nineveh  - An Individual One - "Put On The Armor Of Light"


Rev. 3:20-22 -  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. [21] To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. [22] He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Rom 13:12-14 - The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

 

I Jn 1:5-10 - This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
 

          Two things here of extreme importance as we close this message. Jesus is seen in the last days knocking at the door of individual hearts wanting to get in. In this scene in Revelation, Jesus is seen knocking on a church who has put Him outside. His call is not a call to corporate repentance. To be frank, by all indications, He knew that Laodicea as a whole would never repent. His call and message to this last church turned into an individual one.

 

        In the 1970s and 1980s when some of the rampant sins we see today were on the rise, God sent preachers to cry out against those sins. Sometime in the mid-1980s into the early 1990s it became evident that America was not listening corporately. It became evident the CHURCH was not listening CORPORATELY! It was during the 1980s we saw some of the worst scandals in the history of the Body of Christ send all Christians reeling with confusion, hurt and despair. The preaching of the gospel and winning souls were exchanged in most larger organizations and churches with psychology and self-help seminars. Holy-Spirit anointed music was replaced with contemporary Christian and rock music that sounded like the world, had the same smoke coming out the stages like the world and the same drum beat of the world's music. But because a few lyrics were changed and Jesus' name was "mentioned," everyone thought it was ok. That trend has just escalated into the 21rst Century and the modern church in 2005. We don't even know how far into darkness we have strayed. We need a revival of Holy Ghost proportions that will cause us to see again and allow the LIGHT OF THE WORLD to heal us of our blindness!

 

       America experienced tremendous prosperity during the 1990s. Yet while we basked in prosperity, our enemies were gaining strength, secretly, silently and in one fateful blow on 9-11 took down the World Trade Center and the Pentagon with unimaginable fury up to that time. One would think those events would have woke us up to the fact we as a nation need GOD, but it has not.

 

       Many have questioned why the attacks happened under President Bush's watch instead of President Clinton's since Mr. Clinton seemed to have a dearth of ethical standards that led to his impeachment. It was not just the impeachment that impeded Mr. Clinton's judgment. His thirst for power caused tragedy after tragedy to befall America in "warning judgments" up to the end of his presidency.

 

        This is the question we ALL must ask ourselves in light of this message I believe the Holy Ghost has helped me write.  Could it be that it will not matter any longer very soon whether we elect a Christian president or our government as a whole repents? Could it be that the decreed judgment on America is coming no matter what we as a "nation" do any longer. Is the Holy Spirit's call for repentance no longer being "heard" in the nation, as much as it is to individuals who will listen and hear the voice of Jesus? Neighbor, there is so little true gospel preaching today it sickens me to even turn on Christian television anymore. I can't watch it. There is no longer a "CALL" to return to God and repent of our sins. It's a call to 'sow seeds,' 'find our purpose,' 'raise our self-esteem,' and heal our 'inner self.' Psychology has replaced the altar call. Alcoholics are not longer called to repent and be delivered from bondage through Christ as they are to find a counselor for their problems. Neighbor, there is only ONE counselor and that is the HOLY GHOST and the LORD JESUS CHRIST! HE alone can set the captives free. It's a message of LIGHT that is quickly going out in the temple of the Lord!

 

1 Samuel 3:3-5
And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; [4] That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. [5] And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.

 

         The light may be dwindling in the nation, but it's not too late to make sure WE as individuals are ready to enter into eternity no matter what happens to the nation. America is in trouble and we need to continue to pray for our leadership. This message is not one of doom and total hopelessness. But friend, the reality of the situation is that America is in trouble and we are dangerously close to receiving an oracle of judgment as Nineveh received from Nahum, and Capernaum, the 'village of Nahum,' received from Christ. How long we have is in the Lord's hands, not mine or anyone reading this message. Neighbor, it don't take a bible scholar to see that the length of time we do have is SHORT and that something very troubling is on the horizon. We must be ready to meet God at ANY moment no matter what! TODAY is the day of Salvation! It's a GLORIOUS salvation given to a GLORIOUS church, without spot or wrinkle!

 

Romans 13:11
And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

2 Cor. 6:2
(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

2 Cor. 7:10
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

Ephes. 1:13
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Philip. 2:12
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

 

In Closing

 

        America needs godly sorrow that will work true repentance unto salvation before we experience a sorrow that, like much of the emotion following 9-11, brought patriotism, but not true change. That type of sorrow will bring DEATH friend. Tears in themselves don't save a soul. People cry all the time when the results of sin are reaped. I know that feeling well over the course of my life. It's not a pleasant feeling. But if that feeling of despair don't bring you and I to Christ, those tears are for naught and worthless. We need to allow the sorrows of our heart to point us to Christ, who alone can show us the TRUE condition of ourselves.

 

       TRUE LIGHT is always tied into confession of sin. If we are walking in LIGHT, we are confessing our sins to God every day. Once we confess those sins, the blood of JESUS cleanses us from sin so we can have fellowship with GOD - IN WHOM THERE IS NO DARKNESS. Glory to God. If we claim to have fellowship and yet still walk and practice sin - without confession and repentance - we LIE and know not the truth. As Jesus cried to Laodicea, "if any MAN, hear My voice, I will come in and sup with him and him with Me." That is the call of this hour friend. He's reaching out to YOU. He's reaching out to ME. He's reaching out to individual hearts seeking those who will open the door and allow Him to make them a vehicle of grace.

 

        I pray you have taken the words of this journal to heart today. It's burning inside as to the late hour we're in. This is not spiritual tiddly winks or monopoly with play money. These are eternal matters with eternal consequences for ALL, me included. Neighbor it's getting late. It's harvest time and the Holy Spirit is calling us to change before it's too late.

 

 

 

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