A Warning for the Church in America
“Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. "The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:26-27)
While in one of the side rooms speaking in tongues at IHOP I received a mental image of a beautiful white church building with a tall steeple on the beach at sunset. Underneath however it was held up by long thin posts, really almost thin enough to be called sticks rather than posts. The posts went into the sand, and I knew that this foundation would not remain long, even against the relatively small waves that were coming in. Furthering the problem, inside the church was filled with stacks and stacks of gold coins, that I knew was not earned righteously and was being worshiped by the people inside. As the tide began to come in the house was being shaken, and people inside the church were screaming as things were falling apart. Piles of gold were falling on people and crushing them. I knew that the only way to save the church was for the people to “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.” (Matthew 5:42) The only church that will stand the tide of tribulation and deception that is coming will be the church founded on the rock, obedient to the sermon on the mount. The westernized (in culture not location) church is founded on a gospel that requires only intellectual accent to a Jesus who is far from the actual person of Christ. The gospel of cheap grace without repentance will be shown for what it is, a flimsy structure utterly incapable of supporting the church. Currently the mood in most of the church is primarily one of complacency. With every shaking that comes there are a multitude of prophets on the TV screen who cry, “Peace and safety! Tomorrow will be like today or even better!” (Jeremiah 23:17, Isaiah 56:12) We are mostly unaware of how precarious our position is. Our currency (and hence economy) is currently kept afloat only by the massive amounts of US debt in the hands of private and foreign investors. A sell off could overnight drop the value of the dollar dramatically. If OPEC nations re-priced oil in Euros (see the excellent article at http://zmagsite.zmag.org/Feb2004/sharma0204.html) it could have a similar effect. Most insurance companies are still reeling from the impact of last years hurricane season. Several will go bankrupt if another major natural disaster occurs within the next few years. Our economy is based largely off speculation and the exploitation of the poor. Any security based on anything other than God will be shown to be false security in the next few years.
While in one of the side rooms speaking in tongues at IHOP I received a mental image of a beautiful white church building with a tall steeple on the beach at sunset. Underneath however it was held up by long thin posts, really almost thin enough to be called sticks rather than posts. The posts went into the sand, and I knew that this foundation would not remain long, even against the relatively small waves that were coming in. Furthering the problem, inside the church was filled with stacks and stacks of gold coins, that I knew was not earned righteously and was being worshiped by the people inside. As the tide began to come in the house was being shaken, and people inside the church were screaming as things were falling apart. Piles of gold were falling on people and crushing them. I knew that the only way to save the church was for the people to “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.” (Matthew 5:42) The only church that will stand the tide of tribulation and deception that is coming will be the church founded on the rock, obedient to the sermon on the mount. The westernized (in culture not location) church is founded on a gospel that requires only intellectual accent to a Jesus who is far from the actual person of Christ. The gospel of cheap grace without repentance will be shown for what it is, a flimsy structure utterly incapable of supporting the church. Currently the mood in most of the church is primarily one of complacency. With every shaking that comes there are a multitude of prophets on the TV screen who cry, “Peace and safety! Tomorrow will be like today or even better!” (Jeremiah 23:17, Isaiah 56:12) We are mostly unaware of how precarious our position is. Our currency (and hence economy) is currently kept afloat only by the massive amounts of US debt in the hands of private and foreign investors. A sell off could overnight drop the value of the dollar dramatically. If OPEC nations re-priced oil in Euros (see the excellent article at http://zmagsite.zmag.org/Feb2004/sharma0204.html) it could have a similar effect. Most insurance companies are still reeling from the impact of last years hurricane season. Several will go bankrupt if another major natural disaster occurs within the next few years. Our economy is based largely off speculation and the exploitation of the poor. Any security based on anything other than God will be shown to be false security in the next few years.