Posted on 06/14/2005 10:37:23 PM PDT by STARWISE
Ministry
Let me share with you the burden of my heart:
I believe that America is in the worst crisis of our entire history-massive corruption in business and political life; an immoral sexuality responsible for the pornography plague, AIDS, and abortion; disintegrating family structures; teenage suicides; the drug wars--the list goes on and on. We may have very few years left before the disintegration of our society reaches the point of no return--where it has become too sick to heal.
Obviously, the Church is not impacting our society as it should. We have lost America's moral and spiritual foundations. The Bible says: "If the foundations be destroyed, what shall the righteous do?" Good question! What indeed are we going to do?
I have two answers to that question, and I believe these are the only things that are going to work:
First, we must recover the original American vision, because the basic problem is that we have lost our identity as a nation--we no longer know who we are or why we're here. Modern Americans are appallingly ignorant of the fact that the spiritual foundations of this nation were laid by people who had a deep commitment to Christ and to one another, and a vision of a new society based on God's Word. We are the only society in world history deliberately founded on the Biblical principles of self-government, in order to be an example to the rest of the world.
Why does it matter that we recover this vision? The Bible's answer is: "Without a vision the people perish."
It is thus vitally important that we learn the truth about our Christian heritage, and the Christian faith and vision of our forefathers. Simply put, if we don't know who we are supposed to be, we don't know how to fix things!
Second, the other essential step for our survival is that American Christians must put 2 Chronicles 7:14 into practice, because the only hope for national restoration is nation-wide revival. That verse says:
"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 I will hear from heaven, and forgive their sin, and heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14).
This scripture clearly teaches that the burden of the country's restoration is placed on the shoulders of the Christians. This verse is telling us that the only hope for national restoration is the Third Great Awakening--a spiritual revival of nation-changing proportions. And equally clearly, He is telling us that this can only happen through the Church--"my people"!
It has happened twice before in our history. How can it happen again? In my view when God's people begin to seriously live out His call to repentance in 2 Chronicles 7:14, we will discover three main areas of "wicked ways" that we must repent of, and there is a natural progression from #1 to #3 that makes up God's plan for revival and restoration (see Acts, Chapter 2).
Initially, we Christians need to repent for our shallow superficial "churchianity"-- our "feel good" resistance to facing our own sinfulness and relying daily on the cleansing power of Jesus to change our hearts.
Next, we Christians must repent for our lack of honest, confessional, and caring relationships with each other in our fellowships and churches. The New Testament calls for us to confess our sins to each other (James 5:16) and "wash each other's feet" (John 13:14-15), the way the Early Church apparently did. But most bodies of believers are not living with each other in these ways, for if we were, the Church would be impacting our society with the restoration of Biblical values as the Early Church impacted theirs. Sadly, the Church is not often being the Church!
Finally, we Christians must repent for our lack of involvement in the society around us. Because we have lost the Biblical vision of the Church reforming society, most of us Christians are still in a defensive posture toward the world around us, whereas Jesus calls us to take the offensive. He tells us to go into all the world with the Good News of the Gospel. We have to recover the zeal of our evangelical forefathers who in the 19th century began new ministries to every social problem in the nation! As we Christians begin to build together the new life of the Kingdom of God, we will experience an explosion of outreach and ministry and mission from our midst. The New Testament teaches that ministry comes out of a shared life in Christ!
Is there hope for America? Yes! Turning things around doesn't require every citizen's response. God promised Abraham long ago that He would spare Sodom on behalf of ten righteous people, a tiny remnant. But our national healing will not automatically happen just because we pray for it. If we American Christians truly respond to God's call, we may yet see the nation-wide revival that will restore America. But the hour is late, and we must respond quickly.
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He is the son of late senior Rev. Peter Marshall:
"In the 22 years between the time penniless Scottish immigrant Peter Marshall set foot on American soil at Ellis Island, New York in 1927 at the age of 24, and his untimely death in 1949, he became one of America's greatest preachers. Pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., and Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, my father was the subject of the book written by my mother, Catherine Marshall, and the subsequent movie, "A Man Called Peter."
"A general dissolution of the principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy... While the people are virtuous, they cannot be subdued; but once they lose their virtue, they will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader... If virtue and knowledge are diffused among the people, they will never be enslaved. This will be their great security."
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Our Founders suffered, bled and died for their inspired creation, so that we could live in the most glorious place on earth, on the assumption of the participation of honorable and God-fearing men (and women). How many tears they must be shedding, looking down on the perversion of their altruistic and hope-filled ideals for their new country's future .. the DC debacles that have become the norm. I'm very grateful for this President, who possesses the Founder's conviction, decency and abiding love for his country and his people. God Bless America with honorable and morally righteous leaders, and grace us with Your desperately needed mercy.
Pinging!
An interesting quote from http://www.religioustolerance.org/end_wrld.htm
"The Earth is degenerating today. Bribery and corruption abound. Children no longer obey their parents, every man wants to write a book, and it is evident that the end of the world is fast approaching." Allegedly this came from an Assyrian tablet, c. 2800 BCE. However I seem to recall that an almost identical message was said to have appeared as graffiti in Pompeii.
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