Friday, May 31, 2024

WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE FOR THE CHURCH TO WAKE UP??

We may very well be witnessing the fall of the United States of America.


As an aside the tennis French Open is happening this week.

Imagine if you will, that it is the final match and it has come down to the #1 player and an unranked. If all goes as expected, the 'dark horse' will lose in straight sets in about 90 minutes. When the match is ready to start, to everyone's surprise the top player doesn't show up. After enough time has passed, the umpire finally calls the tournament for the underdog. He has won by forfeit.

This is exactly what is happening in our country today. We are in a spiritual battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. If the battle went the way it should, the forces for good would overwhelmingly prevail.

The enemy is winning the culture war by forfeit.
The church which bears the name of Jesus Christ is a no-show.

In Matthew 5: 13-16 Jesus said,

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Recently we witnessed one of the most egregious bastardizations of our judicial system this country has ever seen. I don't have time to go into the specifics because there were so many things that happened that shouldn't have that it would take several articles to cover even a small percentage of them. Calling this a kangaroo court is insulting to kangaroos.

This didn't just happen overnight.

The enemy has been working on this for a very long time. President Trump was convicted of 'trumped' up charges in a sham trial presided over by an immigrant judge whose father was an officer in the Colombian army before he emigrated.

Where has the church been?

Absent.

I remember years ago hearing a prominent speaker say that if everyone who calls themselves a Christian would simply vote according to biblical values it would only be a few election cycles and abortion would be illegal. And if those same people would refuse to see movies that dishonored Jesus Christ, Hollywood would have to completely change their agenda and Robert De Niro would be unemployed instead of radically desparaging the legitimate president and speaking in favor of a bastardized judicial system.

So why is abortion still legal and why does Robert De Niro still have a platform?

The church is a no-show.

We are called to be salt and light!
If light is kept under a basket it doesn't do any good.
If salt stays in the shaker it doesn't do any good.

We are supposed to be making an impact. And that includes at the ballot box and the political arena.

It is not enough that we are simply involved. It is crucial that we are informed when we go to the ballot box. Years ago on the local Christian radio station the host was interviewing a popular recording artist. The conversation went to politics and the upcoming elections. The artist admitted that they really weren't familiar with the issues. The host said, "If you don't understand the issues, Please, don't vote!" A Christian not being familiar with the issues is frankly... embarrassing!

Hosea 4:6a 

"My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge...."

Voting ignorantly is worse than not voting at all.

Recently a professing Christian, a supposed ambassador for Truth, said they had voted for a third party candidate because they were 'voting their conscience.'

Jeremiah 17:9 says: 

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

We are in a spiritual battle and we cannot simply be relying on our consciences. The conscience will deceive you.

Proverbs 14:12 

"There is a way that appears to be right,
but in the end it leads to death."

YOU MUST BE INFORMED!!

Matthew 10:16
"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."

Often professing Christians get it exactly backwards. We do a lot of harm and we are really foolish. We are in a spiritual battle. It is time the church starts to act like it!

Quite frankly the liberal/democrat platform is so corrupt that I have to question whether a professing Christian who votes democrat is actually saved or not.

Perhaps they need to do as it says in 2 Corinthians 13:5;

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?"

If I just offended someone I do not apologize.


Some practical information:

Voting for a third party presidential candidate is a vote for the opposition. There is absolutely NO WAY a third party candidate can win the presidency because there are no third party electors. It is either Democrat or Republican. If it feels like you are voting for the 'lesser of 2 evils', then vote for the lesser of 2 evils. If you throw your vote away on a third party you just voted for the worst candidate. But if we vote for the lesser of 2 evils, we might be able to turn this thing around, but it may take a few election cycles.

This is also why primaries are so important.

"But I have to vote my conscience," you may say.
That is naive. It is not just naive, it is also a passive/aggressive way to justify unwillingness to take a stand.

Turn the TV off. As someone I used to know would say, "I don't listen to the campaign ads. I look up their voting record."

BE INFORMED!!!!

Usually voter guides are available where candidates are asked questions about their stand on pressing issues. Locally, there are forums where candidates are able to be asked about issues.

LOCAL POLITICS IS IMPORTANT!!

Attend meetings if possible. If you can't, go to the host's website to find the minutes and get the information that way.

Support good candidates.

Finally, I end with a quote from Charles Finney who made this statement 2 years before he died:

"If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public press lacks moral discernment, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest in Christianity, the pulpit is responsible for it. If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it."
~ Rev. Charles Finney




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