Paul
N. F. (10 Oct 2011)
"REPENT"
R E P E N T
By Ron Graham . . . (Rapture Ready)
“Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath
spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they
have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the
ass his master's crib…: Ah sinful nation, a people laden with
iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters:
they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One
of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. From the
sole of the foot even unto the head [there is] no soundness in
it; [but] wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have
not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with
ointment,” Isaiah 1:2 – 4, 6.
The Lord has spoken even to us living in the United States
of America and He expects us to pay attention to His warnings.
But do we? Not so you’d notice. What a privilege to have been
born in America and brought up in a nation of freedom and
liberty. Now as America stands at the precipice of time all we
can see is corruption, deceit, hatred, putrefying sores,
unsoundness of mind. We are in a state of total rebellion
against out Creator.
“And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes
from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear:
your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put
away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to
do evil;” Isaiah 1:15, 16. God is pleading with His
people to turn away from all evil. Here in America and around
the world His people’s hands are soiled. Even so He’s beseeching
us to return to Him and become clean once again.
What a wonderful place to live, this
country of ours, and yet we have become the corruptor of
nations. We are so greedy that other nations have become just
like us, mirroring our greed. There does seem to be an
approaching end to our silver and gold which have certainly been
our idols for years now. “Their land also is full of silver
and gold, neither [is there any] end of their treasures;…
Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of
their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:” Isaiah 2:7, 8. Billions spent to
bailout greedy banking institutions bears witness to the
systematic elimination of our silver and gold.
“The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness
of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be
exalted in that day,” Isaiah 2:11. There’s a day coming,
not too far into the future, which will bring men to their
knees. Our God – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – will,
very soon I’m afraid, put a stop to the pervasive evil that has
permeated the earth. How can man stand against God? What man has
ever prevailed against God? Rebellion in our very young children
at times is cute and at other times quite annoying and brings
about the possibility of some sort of punishment.
Rebellion against God is never cute, and there’s no question God
will bring His punishment to bear.
Isaiah was a prophet enlisted by God Himself to herald God’s
displeasure and remedies to the nation of Israel. We here in
America can certainly take stock in the fact that if God’s
displeasure with Israel brought devastating consequences to His
chosen people, we Americans can rest assured God’s wrath will
come down on this rebellious gentile nation as well.
The financial situation in our land is only a part of the
overall problem confronting each individual in America today.
Once again God is desperately attempting to get our attention.
His word (the Holy Bible) gives all indication that He is
serious when He chastises His people. Our Banks are failing in
droves and huge conglomerates are taking unheard of massive
financial hits, the stock market reflecting a sense of
insecurity in our nation today is only a fraction of what we can
expect if we continue in our rebellion to our God.
We must look at the whole picture before our eyes. We are all
aware of the crises confronting us as Americans, and we can all
understand why this has happened if we just give it a little
thought. As a nation, we are steeped in immorality, deception,
greed, hatred, and in false religions that don’t glorify the one
true God, the God who created Heaven and Earth, the God who gave
us His word to live by.
Rebellion is spreading. When did this rebellion start? It
started in The Garden of Eden with two young adults who were
given everything, even the title deed to the earth. What else
could they have wanted? They already owned it all. It’s the same
today, there are incredibly wealthy people who are unsatisfied
with what God has blessed them with, and they want more. When
they achieve more they still aren’t content and strive for even
more.
According to history, people won’t be satisfied even after they
obtain it all. Solomon who was the wealthiest man who ever lived
penned the following statement. “Vanity of vanities, saith
the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all [is] vanity.” Ecclesiastes
1:2. After it was all said and done Solomon wrote this
admonition, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole
[duty] of man, Ecclesiastes 12:13.
Satisfaction is only guaranteed when God’s people seek Him. “[Seek
him] that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the
shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with
night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth
them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD [is] his name:”
Amos 5:8. As God’s people we should seek Him in our
daily lives. No matter what else happens in life, we must
resolve to seek God’s presence and his will, and this resolve
should never be compromised.
There is a sense of urgency among commentators today, we can
read scores of articles on the subject of financial ruin and end
times scenarios, and no one can find the United States of
America in the end time prophecies. Just take a look around at
all the confusion in this country; certainly we must come to the
conclusion that we aren’t mentioned because we are no longer a
viable entity. There really is no simple answer to where the US
will be during the end times and the 70th week of
Daniel. After so many years at the top of the heap will America
become subordinated to a lesser position, perhaps a position of
say a third world nation? It didn’t seem possible a few years
ago but it sure makes for interesting conversation now.
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble
themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their
wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive
their sin, and will heal their land.” But if ye turn away, and
forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set
before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship
them; And this house, …which is high, shall be an astonishment
to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why
hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house?
And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God
of their fathers… therefore hath he brought all this evil upon
them,” 2 Chronicles 7:14, 19, 21, 22. Jesus Christ is our
God, and Christians who are called by His name must humble
themselves and pray and seek His face and turn from their wicked
ways.
Personally, my thoughts are that since God established this
nation a moral nation with Christian values, He has every right
to disestablish it. I believe we are currently living through
God’s disestablishment of America. If we would turn from our
evil ways He would heal our land. How can we, the body of
Christ, convince over three hundred million people that they
need to turn from their wicked ways?
I’ve heard figures of approximately one third to one half of the
US are Christian. If that be the case, and if we each took on
the responsibility of speaking to two or three non-believers, we
should have this problem fixed in short order. On the other
hand, when we confront those who say they are Christian but then
follow up with the statement “ But I’m not a practicing
Christian”, then I see the figure of one third to one half of
all Americans proclaiming to be Christian, dramatically reduced.
By the way, what is someone who says “I’m not a practicing
Christian”? If we are truly born again, are we not practicing
Christians?
I know full well as do many who will
be reading this commentary, that this nation isn’t going to get
down on their knees and begin to ask God for forgiveness any
time soon. Interestingly it won’t take the whole nation. If
we His people, that means those of us who are truly born
again, born from above, will repent and turn from our
wicked ways He will heal our land. God isn’t calling on the
whole of the U.S., he’s singling out His people, those who bear
His Name. This is a corporate prayer He’s asking for. All
believers should examine themselves and willingly seek God’s
face and repent of the
rebellion that has taken over this land.
The current Wall Street crisis is a call to arms. God is calling
on all believers to put on His armor as in Ephesians 6, and to
intercede and pray for this nation, to get down on their knees
and repent before Him. If we will do this as a body, the
body of Christ, He will be faithful to forgive us and to heal
our land. If we stubbornly refuse to do this simple task, well
then, God knows what the future will hold for America and its
stiff necked people.
God bless you all,
Ron Graham
Yours in Christ,
Paul N. F.