Meeting God's Conditions

Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:

Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.

Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God (Joel 2:15-17)?

As we ponder the precarious condition of God's people in America today, perhaps it would be prudent to lay a strong foundation for our concerns.  First, our Lord is the Sovereign God.  He is the Creator of heaven and earth, who superintends His creation.  He rules and reigns in the affairs of man (Daniel 4:32).  Biblically, God sets up kingdoms and knocks them down according to the council of His own good will (1 Samuel 2:1-10; Luke 1:46-55).  He possesses and dispossesses nations based upon their obedience or disobedience to His revealed moral laws (Deuteronomy 28).

For Christians who dismiss the threats of our increasingly tyrannical government and are not concerned with the licentiousness running rampant amongst the citizenry, their common response based upon the truths articulated above is "God is in control."  I would agree!  Or ascribe our plight to the "End Times."  In either case, has these mentalities crippled our ability to respond to God correctly in this time that "tries the souls of men."  Are these responses meant to give us a false sense of security as our nation is falling apart under our watch?

In Jesus' time, Israel failed in their response to God's visitation and it cost them greatly (Luke 19:41-44).  Matthew 11:16-19 states:
But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.  For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.  The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

After assessing Israel refusal to respond correctly to the ministry of John the Baptist and the Christ of God, Jesus proceeded to upbraid and pronounce woe upon the different cities that were privileged to witness the power, glory, and truth of God's word made manifest in their day.  In fact, He went as far to declare, "...It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee (Matthew 11:24)." 

If indeed "God is in control," how should we interpret God's attitude towards America today?  Should we find comfort in this assessment or should we return to the fear of the Lord and depart from evil?  I believe the prudent course is to pursue the latter, if we are to secure a future and a hope for our posterity.

With this in mind, let us turn to Numbers 23:7, 8 and prayerfully discover the root that plagues God's people in our nation that is drowning in a sea of blood and perversion.  God's word declares, "And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.  How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?" 

As Israel was making her trek through the wilderness to the Promise Land, one king was perturbed enough to hire a "hit man" prophet to stop them from passing through his territory.  The king was Balak and Baalam was his hired gun to stop Israel.  Ironically, though Baalam was a false man, he spoke the true words of God.  He could not curse God's people, if God had blessed them.  In Baalam case, it is easier to discern a false prophet who speaks contrary to God's word, than a false man who speaks truth. 

Later, however, to receive the bribe by Israel's enemy, Balaam gave Balak the secret to curse Israel.  Seduce them to sin and God will judge His people.The book of Judges chronicles this tragic pattern that plagued much of Israel's history.  In fact, Israel's disobedience provoked God to the point that He became their enemy.  Isaiah 63:9, 10 declares, "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.  But they rebelled, and vexed his Holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them." 

Can the same be true for America?  Whether our nation acknowledges it or not, our welfare as a nation is directly connected to this revelation found in Psalm 127:1.  God's word exhorts, "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."  Clearly, if the Lord does not watch over our cities and nation all the Homeland Security in the world cannot keep us safe.

Apparently, Israel forgot these truths and the consequence was enemies from within and without began to devour her.  In the midst of being plundered by her adversaries Psalm 81:13-15 states, "Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!  I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.  The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured forever."

This same lesson is repeated in the New Testament.  Jesus warned, "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."  Moreover, the Apostle Paul promised that God stands ready to judge all disobedience when our obedience is fulfilled (2 Corinthians 10:4, 5).

Throughout American history, our nation has seen troubled times, much like our own.  During our founding, skepticism imported from the French Revolution attempted to capture our universities.  Infidel clubs were organized and Thomas Paine's Age of Reason spread throughout the land like wildfire.  America was tempted to exalt the reason of men over the revelation of God.  Thankfully, our nation born of Christian conviction, faith, and principles swung somewhat safely back to her heritage.

During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, in the famous Gettysburg Address, wondered if our nation would survive during his time of woe.  He stated, "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure." 

America was tested to its core.  God judged our nation over the sin and crime of slavery.  600,000 men died to finally end this violation of liberty.  In some ways, though, our nation has never fully recovered.  The Union victory during Reconstruction paved the way for the federal tyranny that now exists today.

We live in a similar time and perhaps we should ask the same question.  Can our nation long endure, at least, as it was founded?  Here is the reality we are facing.  We are suffering from moral rot from within and terroristic threats from without.  Our government is becoming more tyrannical, while our citizens become more lawless and perverse with each passing day.  Our sins have reached heaven and there is no doubt that the classical judgments of the Lord are upon us.  He is touching our ecology and natural disasters are increasing.  He is touching our economy and draining our wealth.  We have foes from within purposely undermining our morale and we are at war with a tenacious enemy, Islam, who may very well be God's chosen instrument to chastise our nation for going a whoring after other gods and the vain philosophies of men.

We would have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to see that we are in deep trouble and our future appears bleak.  I have two words to encourage you in the midst of our desperate times, but God!  In Psalm 106 Israel sinned greatly in the sight of God.  Child-killing, idolatry and sodomy flourished in the land.  This invoked the anger of God against His own people.    His abhorrence manifested in this way, those who hated God's people, ruled over them.  In such a wretched state, God's people cried out to God and He mercifully heard.  Their cries reached heaven and the Lord remembered the covenant and restored them back in the land. 

This is our only hope and it is the only hope we need.  God's word assures us that His anger is for a moment, but His mercy endures forever.  If the church would muster the humility to repent of our disobedience, cry out to God to deliver us from tyranny, and bring forth fruit meet for repentance, perhaps the word of the Lord from Joel would come to pass as well.  Joel 2:12-14 states:

Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.  Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?

These are just some of the conditions that God requires, if deliverance would be our lot.  It is called genuine repentance and godly sorrow.  Keep in mind, however, these conditions include:

Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.  For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

Other translations include establishing justice as a sign of true repentance.  This we have not done and injustice rules the day.  In conclusion, the year 2010 will most likely be one of the most tumultuous years in American history.  The church cannot afford to sit on the sidelines while our nation goes to hell.  Let us as individuals, families and churches seek to meet the conditions of God.  Perhaps we will be able to say along with the Apostle Paul, "But God, who is rich in mercy" will rescue His people once again, relent of His judgments, and leave a blessing behind Him.

  
  

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