On December 26, 2004 a 9.1 earthquake occurred off northern Sumatra. The waters around the beaches of the Indian Ocean were sucked out toward the ocean. This was an invitation for thousands of curious beach-goers to venture out onto previously water covered sands. Little did they know that tsunami waves of 50-100 feet would kill them minutes later. Over 430,000 people died that day around the Indian Ocean.
We are living in a nation where a spiritual earthquake has occurred, but much of the Church is playing on the beach looking for new and interesting shells, unaware that a tsunami of God’s wrath is coming on our nation. We seem as oblivious as the beach-goers on Boxing Day, 2004.
What spiritual earthquake has occurred in our nation?
We have murdered over 60 million babies since 1973, with some surveys reporting that one in five women who had abortions self-identify as born-again, evangelical, charismatic, or fundamentalist. Sex trafficking runs rampant in our culture while pornography and sexual abuse is ruining the Church. Homosexuality and the LBGTQ+ agenda is now widely viewed as normal, with sexual perversion and homosexual marriage accepted by 47% of evangelical Millennials. We live in a post-Christian nation, where the evangelical church looks like the world, yet believes it will escape the wrath of God. That wrath is coming (Heb 12:29).
What must we do as individuals and churches? We must go back to SQUARE ONE. What is SQUARE ONE?
Our Lord Jesus began His ministry saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel.” (Mark 1:15 ) His last word to His disciples was, “…that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:47) His last words to five of seven churches in Revelation 2-3 are “repent and believe.”
Colossians 2:6 says, “As you received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk in Him.” How did you receive Christ Jesus as Lord? Repent and believe. (Square One) How are you to walk in Him? The same way you received Him: repent and believe. There is nowhere else to run in order to experience resurrection power (Rom 1:16). There is no graduation to a deeper spiritual level. Just square one.
So to what does our “compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness” (Ex 34:6), but “will by no means leave the guilty unpunished” (Ex 34:7) LORD call you? SQUARE ONE. But what does that look like in the daily grind?
Cry out to Him daily to “search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” (Ps 139:23-24) Use the two Great Commandments: Have you loved Him with all your heart, soul, and mind and have you loved others as you love yourself? (Mt 22:37-39) Ask the Spirit to deeply search your life and your relationships. Have you loved others as Jesus has loved you? (John 15:12,17) Ask Him to show you the deep idols of your heart and the deeply-entrenched strongholds in your life that grieve or quench the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to lead you to deep repentance.
Then run to Jesus and lay all these sins on the Cross. The Cross is the “everlasting way” to cleansing. Believe that the Cross of our Lord Jesus cleanses you. You are washed. You are clean before Him. Believe that in the Cross “as far as the east is from the west; so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Ps 103:12)
Join others in prayer. Gather with other believers in your church or home and cry out to Him in repentance and faith. That is SQUARE ONE faith.
Perhaps our LORD God will stay His hand of wrath upon this country as we cry out to Him, believing Isaiah 30:15 for ourselves and our nation: “In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength.”
The Greater Columbia Call to Prayer meets the second Saturday of each month (9:30am – 11:30am; 819 Main Street, Columbia). We would love to have you join us as we repent and believe!