Ezekiel 22:30 “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”
Revelation 3:16-17 “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked”
Look at the world. Take a step back today, and meditate on its current condition. Put all your thoughts and plans for the day to the side. Take time to truly let the evil of today’s world sink in. It’s horrible, depraved and never been more wicked.
Witchcraft is one of the fastest growing religions in America. Sex trafficking plagues the world more and more every year. The murdering of innocent babies daily in the name of abortion. Wars and rumors of war all around the world. The perversion of God’s natural order of man and woman. The slaughtering of Christians in many countries. Wolves in sheep’s clothing fleecing God’s people for personal gain. The list goes on. It’s important to take our heads out of the sand and truly see the beast rising in the hearts of men. We need to see how bad this world is in the light of God’s word. When we examine the world through the lens of God’s word, its undeniable that mankind has never been more depraved and in need of a Savior. So it begs the question, where is the church in all this?
The bible says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and always. If that’s true, which it is, what has happened to the church since the first century? The first century church flipped the world upside down. They were naturally poor, but spiritually rich. It’s been said that by 300 AD nearly half the Roman empire was born again, Spirit-filled believers. When the outpouring of the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in the upper room the world RADICALLY changed. They didn’t just speak in tongues in the upper room and have a nice time of fellowship. The Holy Spirit truly touched their hearts, and the overflow of God’s fiery presence brought THOUSANDS to the Lord in almost a day. Many reading this know everything else the Lord did through His people in the book of acts, but have you ever thought that the disciples were actually in the same covenant as the modern church today? However its clear the modern church is NOT operating in the same power as the first century church. Many reading this may even say well we have baptism of Holy Spirit and presence of God in our midst. That may be very true, but are we willing to accept that we aren’t actually operating on the same level of the first century church? Are thousands coming to the Lord because of our church services, outreaches, and programs? NO. We are spiritual bankrupt church. The devil laughs at us. We can come to church, clap our hands, sing in tongues and do all our religious activities, but until the fire of Living Christ begins to manifest through God’s people the devil isn’t concerned one bit. Until we accept our spiritual poverty we will make no impact. Surely part of the problem is that much of the evangelical church doesn’t even believe in the baptism of Holy Spirit, but part of the problem is those that do believe in baptism of Holy Spirit aren’t willing to keep pressing into the fullness of Christ.
Its like the old testament story of the spies who brought the sample of grapes back to the camp. Many of God’s people have become satisfied with the sample, when God has an entire land of milk and honey for His people. Houses we don’t have to build, vineyards already planted, and an overflow of all God’s blessings. Yet we stay in the wilderness with a few grapes. We like the disobedient spies say the land is surely good as God promised, but the giants are too big for us. In other words, well all that stuff talked about in book of acts is too far out there for us now. It worked backed then, but its not actually for us. WAKE UP church. What happened in the book of acts is for us and God wants to do even more. The church went into spiritual Babylonian captivity just as the Jews of old went into natural captivity. How can the church continue to sing the songs of Zion in this foreign land? We AREN’T where we are supposed to be. Until we accept this, true revival will never happen. In the day of apostasy during Eli’s time, God found a barren woman named Hannah who travailed for a man child. The woman in revelation 12 travailed to bring forth a man child. Many times in the bible, when God wanted to do something radical, He found a barren woman. He found someone who had no fruitfulness in themselves. Why does He do that? Because they will find the strength of their God. They have no other option than to cry out to God day and night.
Revival has never, and will never, happen through our many church programs. It will come when even just a few people get desperate for God. It will come when a true travail takes place. Until our souls travail, the fullness of Christ will not be birthed within us. It’s time we throw everything we have done out the window as a church and fall flat on our face seeking God daily. Not seeking to build a church, program, ministry or anything else other than seeking His face. True revival will start in the upper room waiting upon God to move. There is no other way.
So how will we all respond? Will we continue to carry on as usual rich in spirit, or find the riches in Christ by becoming spiritually poor?
God will fulfill His plans with or without us, may it be with us. May we seek His face and live.
Amos 5
A Lament for Israel
5 Hear this word which I take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel:
2 The virgin of Israel has fallen;
She will rise no more.
She lies forsaken on her land;
There is no one to raise her up.
3 For thus says the Lord God:
“The city that goes out by a thousand
Shall have a hundred left,
And that which goes out by a hundred
Shall have ten left to the house of Israel.”
A Call to Repentance
4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:
“Seek Me and live;
5 But do not seek Bethel,
Nor enter Gilgal,
Nor pass over to Beersheba;
For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity,
And Bethel shall come to nothing.
6 Seek the Lord and live,
Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
And devour it,
With no one to quench it in Bethel—
7 You who turn justice to wormwood,
And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”
8 He made the Pleiades and Orion;
He turns the shadow of death into morning
And makes the day dark as night;
He calls for the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the face of the earth;
The Lord is His name.
9 He [a]rains ruin upon the strong,
So that fury comes upon the fortress.
10 They hate the one who rebukes in the gate,
And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly.
11 Therefore, because you [b]tread down the poor
And take grain [c]taxes from him,
Though you have built houses of hewn stone,
Yet you shall not dwell in them;
You have planted [d]pleasant vineyards,
But you shall not drink wine from them.
12 For I know your manifold transgressions
And your mighty sins:
Afflicting the just and taking bribes;
Diverting the poor from justice at the gate.
13 Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time,
For it is an evil time.
14 Seek good and not evil,
That you may live;
So the Lord God of hosts will be with you,
As you have spoken.
15 Hate evil, love good;
Establish justice in the gate.
It may be that the Lord God of hosts
Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
The Day of the Lord
16 Therefore the Lord God of hosts, the Lord, says this:
“There shall be wailing in all streets,
And they shall say in all the highways,
‘Alas! Alas!’
They shall call the farmer to mourning,
And skillful lamenters to wailing.
17 In all vineyards there shall be wailing,
For I will pass through you,”
Says the Lord.
18 Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!
For what good is the day of the Lord to you?
It will be darkness, and not light.
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion,
And a bear met him!
Or as though he went into the house,
Leaned his hand on the wall,
And a serpent bit him!
20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light?
Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?
21 “I hate, I despise your feast days,
And I do not savor your sacred assemblies.
22 Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not accept them,
Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.
23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs,
For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.
24 But let justice run down like water,
And righteousness like a mighty stream.
25 “Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings
In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
26 You also carried [e]Sikkuth[f] your king
And Chiun, your idols,
The star of your gods,
Which you made for yourselves.
27 Therefore I will send you into captivity beyond Damascus,”
Says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.
Death to Self Devotional 