In John 8:31-32 Jesus said to those Jews who believed in Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." Today many believe they are disciples of Jesus, but they are still in bondage to fear, unbelief, anger, greed, lust, pornography. They lack forgiveness, have no respect for authority, for parents and for pastors who are called to oversee them and warn them of the dangers of sin and its consequences. God is love and He is holy. He is to be honoured and feared.
Apostle John on the Island of Patmos fell down like a dead man when God spoke to him in Rev. 1:17, so God will cause us terror. Where is the holy terror of God in our lives? We can say, “Well God is not finished with me yet!” That is true, but where is the conviction of sin today in the lives of Jesus’ believers? Where is the cry of God's Spirit? Where is the godly burden for the youth, the children, the communities and our nation? Where is the remorse for the rampant violence, murder of innocent lives, abused children and women, babies aborted, addictions, and those dying with sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS? What about the pedophiles and euthanasia? Does it not bother us that many of God's believers are becoming married to the world and leaving Christ? Compromise is creeping in and we are becoming blind and cannot see what is really going on.
Isaiah 60:2 says that darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness all people and that applies to every one of us today! I hear many Christians saying that they are tired and want to throw in the towel because their children are not serving Christ or because their marriage is falling apart. People are losing the love of God and have lost the fight to labour in prayer before God. We must be like Daniel and Nehemiah who went before God and confessed their sin and the sin of the people. We have all sinned and yes we are saved by grace, but we must humble ourselves before God and confess our sin daily such as gossip and being critical by judging according to the flesh. We must realize that there still is darkness in our soul that needs to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.
Isaiah tells us in chapters 25-27 that he saw God’s judgment coming on the earth in the last days. Many commentaries say this is Isaiah's apocalypse prophecy of God's judgment on the entire world for its sin. Isaiah 24:5-6 says, “The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statues, broke the everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live in it are held guilty. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and a few men are left.” It was first directed to Judah, then to Israel, then to the surrounding nations and finally the whole world. These three chapters describe the last days like those we are living in now. People are suffering from their sins and even the land is suffering from the affects of evil and lawlessness. Do we need to ask God why this is happening when we know God is shaking the earth because of our sin? I once heard this statement, “God's judgment sometimes teaches us more than God’s gifts.”
Today it seems like a spirit of madness, a rage like rabies, has come upon people causing them to react abnormally and to turn on each other. I know I might sound angry but the truth is I believe I am feeling the pain of God’s heart concerning the current situations: the weather, the earthquakes, and floods, etc. God is chastising the earth because people have not obeyed His voice. He has given some over to a depraved mind and the lusts of their hearts (Rom. 1:21-32). Jesus is warning us today so that we will not walk around in darkness. He is shaking us and turning everything upside down. Everything is happening so fast and Jesus warned us of all this, yet we still go around complaining as if we can do nothing about it. Christians, are we not called to fast and pray, to be the salt and light, and fulfill the apostolic mission on the earth? We are to cry out to God begging Him to forgive us and deliver us. We, the redeemed, have hope in Christ Jesus and as Isaiah 24:14-16 says, we can raise our voices, shout for joy, glorify the Lord, and sing from the ends of the earth the songs: “Glory to the Righteous One.”
- Pastor Carol McLean