For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. For the LORD shall rise up as [in] mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
Isaiah 28:20-22
"We have done it! We will be safe and secure!," at least that is what the leaders of Judah thought as they prepared for a great party. They drank and ate and generally a great time was had by all. Their alliance with Egypt around the time of the assassination of Sargon II in 705-704 BC and the reign of a new king, Sennacherib, would mean that their rebellion against Assyria would succeed and keep them from paying the heavy taxes put on all the vassal states of Assyria (or at least they thought so). Around 735 BC the wicked King Ahaz had been frightened by the alliance of Syria and Ephraim. Rather than seek God, he sought the king of Assyria to protect him from this Syria/Ephraim alliance and surrendered his sovereignty to a foreign power. Nearly thirty years later the Jews were sick of paying the tribute. It was Isaiah that told Ahaz he was wrong then and it was Isaiah again who was sent to tell King Hezekiah and his advisers that their covenant with Egypt was a covenant with hell and death. According to Isaiah 28:18, God, Himself, would annul the covenant. God wanted Judah to rely upon his strength for rest and peace. He did not wish for them to ally with the world and compromise for safety. Does this seem familiar?
Isaiah walks into the party celebrating this covenant signing one morning after it had been going on for sometime. Imagine the prophet as he beholds the leaders of Judah, the priests, and the prophets all red eyed and hungover. What a terrible sight! "For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness (human excrement), so that there is no place clean" (Isaiah 28:8). It is at this point that the mockers begin to rail on God's prophet. "Are you here to teach us? Do you think we are little babies, prophet? We know what you will say! Serve God, "precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little." When serving the Lord becomes a monotonous burden of rules and ritual, you are already living in a compromised relationship. You are walking not in the Spirit, but in the flesh. Compromise leads to fleshly living, a mocking of holiness, and empty religion.
Isaiah then unloads under the anointing of the Holy Ghost. He says that since they will not learn their lesson in Hebrew they will have to learn it in Assyrian. Assyria would eventually put Jerusalem under siege and nearly destroy them. Egypt, the nation they looked to for strength, was like a reed that they leaned upon that pierced their hand--their help was like an open wound. Only God brings victory, rest, and refreshment to the believer. Isaiah tells them that the party is over and that there would be no rest. They had made their bed in a bed too short and have covered themselves with a cover too narrow. There would be no comfort! There would be judgment!
What else will it take for God to wake His church? The world is on the fast track to Tribulation. Yet, most in the church thinks that it is party time. Let's run and shout and dance and play, surely God is pleased. Let's hide the name of Jesus Christ and tell the world that we can have as much fun as they are. Worse yet, let's look to the world and bring them in to join the party while allowing the filthiness of the flesh to cover the pews like the vileness Isaiah witnessed. With a nation that is killing infants by the millions, allowing homosexuality to invade the government, the community, the military, and even the church, while we hide in the four walls of our compromised sanctuaries (places of rest and refreshment) and try to sing the problems away with our economy on the verge of collapse and our nation espousing false religions and demonic doctrines, when are we going to wake up to the reality that judgment is falling?
It is time to share the saving grace in Christ and not to treat God's grace as a license for sin. Can we not see the disasters, the droughts, and the rampant rebellion to authority across the land. I am afraid that the axe has already been laid to the base of the tree. We need more than a few feel good prayers and a shout--we need to turn to God wearing sackcloth and ashes and repent for the sin of the land. Hopefully, it is not to late for America! Yet, I feel it may already be. We are seeing the days of Lot and Noah all around us. Turn to Jesus. The next sound you may hear could be a trumpet calling the ambassadors home. God, in Christ, is about to show all who the only power is.
It is time to share the saving grace in Christ and not to treat God's grace as a license for sin. Can we not see the disasters, the droughts, and the rampant rebellion to authority across the land. I am afraid that the axe has already been laid to the base of the tree. We need more than a few feel good prayers and a shout--we need to turn to God wearing sackcloth and ashes and repent for the sin of the land. Hopefully, it is not to late for America! Yet, I feel it may already be. We are seeing the days of Lot and Noah all around us. Turn to Jesus. The next sound you may hear could be a trumpet calling the ambassadors home. God, in Christ, is about to show all who the only power is.
Signs of Impending Judgement!
Preach it John! And God bless you for your stand.
ReplyDeleteI think we are all going to be SO surprised by who God is going to use in these last days. Mild mannered men that WE would never have chosen, God is going to take and flood them to overflowing with a powerful anointing, the likes of which we haven't seen up till now.A powerful latter day anointing which is needed in this day and hour which we are living in.
All thats necessary is a clean, faithful, loyal heart, that will not compromise on even the smallest matters.
The Lord is definitely using Jack Van Impee today, to sound a bold warning to the church.He is the only TV preacher I know of,who is standing up and challenging this false doctrine of "nice" that has replaced the gospel of truth in many of our churches. And he has also made it clear that he is willing to suffer the consequences for taking that stand as any true man of God would.
His conflict with TBN caused him to pick up many, many more stations then he would have otherwise been able to afford.They are secular stations and that is no accident. He is going to dedicate his whole Sept 10th show to preaching the TRUE GOSPEL according to the word of God, that many people have never heard, even though they go to church three times a week and watch stations like TBN all day long. This Sept 10th timing is no accident and his show may just be the spark that lights the flame of revival back in America.
All things are possible with God, and I don't believe that rivals best days are gone in America. It may just be that the best is yet to be, even though financially we may be falling apart and sin is rampant,and the darkness feels so thick and so black, we know that those are the times that the true Gospel has shined in the past and WILL shine even now, in all of its glory! And shine it will, for its not the will of my Father in Heaven that any should perish but that all should come to repentance and believe the True Gospel as revealed by the Lord Jesus Christ and His holy apostles.
Thanks John, for telling it like it is, you are an encouragement to me and to many. God bless,
Gerie