Ministry at Calvary Chapel Madison

Yesterday we got a call from a local church here in town, Calvary Chapel Madison. They wanted Kathleen and Joe to lead the worship for the service, and it was a great evening. We truly enjoyed and were challenged by the message as well, which was from Jeremiah 19 & 20. We were so blessed by the word and how the Lord has given the pastor the heart of a watchman.

Its so interesting the correlation between the judgement of God on Israel and the judgements we are seeing the Lord allow on this land. Not that America is the new Israel or anything like that, no we are not. But for a country to claim it belongs to the Lord and the church here to proclaim that this is a “Christian nation” and think that God will just sit idly by while we profane His Holy Name and export filth to the nations… it seems we have another thing coming. God is allowing His refining fire to burn in this land, and I praise Him for testing us and revealing our true hearts, especially in the area of money – which happens to be the Baal of the American Church.

One thing I read in Jeremiah that really struck me last night before I went to bed was from Jeremiah 8. Starting at vs.4, the Lord begins to speak through the prophet about false teaching in the land, the backsliding, and the misleading of its people by its leaders. One particular verse shot out at me:

“Even the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times; and the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow observe the time of their coming. But my people do not know the judgment of the Lord.” Jeremiah 8:7

Do we think that God wouldn’t judge us? Can we even recognize it if He did?

As a whole, the Christians of America have loved to abuse the doctrine of grace, loving our sins more than holiness. We say things like “well, we’re all sinners” when the work of sanctification of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to root out sin, setting us free from the power of sin in our lives. In doing so we declare the scriptures a lie when it says:

“Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:6-8

I am not saying we will not sin ever… but we ought not practice it! When God declares, “if My people, who are called by My name, will 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” and we can’t even shed a tear over our sin or the sins of this land, what can be done?

I pray that God will raise up an army of John the Baptists to go forth in this land and preach repentance, that there may be revival in the land, or if God wills it, a warning before the judgment. Heaven forbid that The Christ may find His bride in the shape she is in today when He returns – spotted by the world and unrepentant, unwilling to weep or pray! I believe He is raising up people - I have seen it! In every city we have been so far there are messengers who have allowed God to use the foolishness of preaching to bring the good news. Praise You, God, that You are still working, and that there is a remnant!

I pray the Lord will wake us up to what He is doing, and that we would truly crucify our bodies and our lives, that He might live in us! God, please rid us of our flesh and our desire to please man, our fear, and self-preserving spirit!