What Is Going On?
We are living in a time like no other in history. We are seeing terrible things taking place before our eyes on a daily basis. But what makes this time so different is the lack of true concern and general numbness that most people today have in relation to these horrific daily events. At best they show a casual concern for what is happening all around them. What is even more disturbing is that the Churches concern for what is happening in the world today is much the same as the unchurched.
If any of you have read Pastor Mark Jurisic’s last blog called Outrageous Love, Mark describes a video he saw called ‘Furious Love’ which showed footage of revivals of Jesus Christ taking place in various countries around the world. Mark tells us that “the viewer is taken into some of the most evil and darkest regions of the world where satan and his hordes steal, kill and destroy. But in the midst of this deep darkness the light of Jesus shines brightest. In this footage we meet some radical Christians that are not content with comfortable or predictable Christianity.”
I think the key word for Christians today is radical. In the midst of these trying times that we are living in, the Light of the Gospel can shine forth, but only through a people who are radical in their approach for Christ. We need a radically new approach to Christianity here in Australia. The Church has sat back passively and watched a spiritual apathy and deception sweep over humanity. Because of this, we have grown more and more disengaged with the world around us and have just about shut out of our minds the belief that we can do anything to help this people who we live amongst. What is really disturbing is the fact that many generations have been brought up with this mindset, handed down to them by our church forefathers. “Whatever you do, don’t be controversial, we must be sensitive and not offend anyone.” Oh my Lord, we keep our friends here on earth, but lose them to hell for eternity, all because we are too scared to offend them by telling them about Jesus. God help us.
Didn’t God give us the “Great Commission” to preach the Gospel and make disciples of all nations? I must remind many Christians today that it has never been called the “Great Option” or the “Great Maybe” or the “Great, I’ll Do It One Day if I have the Time.” The command to make disciples of nations is not an option, it’s not a maybe, it’s a must, it’s a command. We better think seriously about this: One day we are going to stand before the God of the Universe and Jesus Christ our Lord, and we are going to have to give an account, and you know what one of His first questions will be? What did you do about the Commission I gave you to make disciples of nations? At that moment, when the earth is gone from below you, along with all the earthly treasure of which you accumulated there, and heaven is out of sight, you are going to have to answer Him. What are you going to say? Do you think He is going to be satisfied with your answer? “Umm, well, I, errrr, I tried, but um, you know, God, I had to work you know, and I, um, had no time, you know I did tell a few people about You though, but I suppose we fell into arguments, and I didn’t want to have anymore arguments, so I suppose I stopped telling them.”
Then the revelation of how you failed Jesus will hit you, and you will cry, “Lord, I’m so sorry but I even stopped praying for them. I’m so sorry Lord, I stuffed up, the deceitfulness of riches sucked me in and I found it too hard to devote myself to you Lord. Besides, I felt like I did not have enough faith to serve you and trust in you to provide, so I never stepped out and tried. Lord, I can see now that everything that the world offered me and that I worked so hard for is gone and means nothing now, only You Lord, only You Lord are eternal, and fulfilling Your commission is the only reason that I lived and I missed it, I stuffed up. Lord forgive me for being a coward, forgive me for being a hypocrite, forgive me for wasting my life chasing after worldly pleasures and riches. Lord, pleaaaaaassseeeeee Forgive ME.”
Leonard Ravenhill said that he stamped eternity on his eyeballs so that his life in Christ would be kept in check and so he would not waste a single moment in serving the Lord. I think getting a thorough revelation of the coming judgement is the most crucial and critical insight that we could ask God for. We must live as if every moment is our last and as if Christ will judge us in the next moment. I must ask you, “Are you ready to face Jesus?” “Are you ready to come before a Holy Righteous and Exact God who sees all?” “Have you lived as you should?” “Have you prepared what you are going to say when God reveals to the universe all your hidden sins?” “Have you got right with God while there is still time?” “Have you kept a short account of your sins, and repented even up to the present moment?” “ARE YOU READY TO BE JUDGED BY A HOLY GOD???”
In this day and age, men and women have so many weird and wonderful beliefs to choose from, and because of this they find it nearly impossible to tell which is from God and which is not. On the other extreme we have the so called scientifically minded who only believe ‘Cold Hard Facts.’ You can’t blame these people for believing this way, but in claiming to be scientifically minded they have slipped into another conundrum, they only accept supposed facts from ‘Professors.’ Therefore they blindly believe men and women who carry these titles, and accept their opinions without any evidence whatsoever, because they think “These professors are smarter than me, so they must be right.” So they accept theories like ‘Evolution’ and ‘The Big Bang’ even though these theories have never been proven and cannot be proven.
The only way the Church can be relevant and reach this hardened and deceived humanity today is for the Church to WAKE UP!! We have got to wake up, and repent of our wickedness, we have got to start ‘praying as if there were no tomorrow,’ actually let’s change that saying to, “Pray as if we are judged tomorrow.” We have got to live holy lives of purity and get truly baptised and empowered by the Holy Spirit and shake this nation to the core. Jesus needs us to Wake Up and get mad at satan, and mad at ourselves for letting satan have his way for so long on this earth. We must take back the ground that the enemy has stolen. But probably the most important thing we must do is spend the hours in the presence of God and allow Him to wash us clean, so that when we leave His presence His aroma will be all over us and we will smell of Christ.
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. (2Corinthians 2:14-16 ESV)
God Bless
Rob Cartledge
