A NATION THAT HAS LOST ITS WAY

By Evangelist Paul Mershon

August 5, 2010

"Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD" (Joel 1:14).

Very few patriotic Christians here in California (“The People’s Republic of California”) are surprised with yesterday’s ruling passed down by a federal judge setting aside the express will of the people in overturning Proposition 8 as unconstitutional. I doubt very seriously that this immoral man has any idea what the Constitution of the United States of American really says. Certainly the framers and founding fathers of this great nation never intended that the constitution should provide protection to the sick, twisted, perverted, immoral, unnatural, animalistic behavior of sodomites. But that the will of the people of the State of California was ignored by this liberal homosexual judge comes as no particular surprise. The bias of his ruling should be grounds for judicial misconduct, and that ruling should be easily overturned on appeal, but I doubt that this will be the case. I am convinced that Judge Walker’s ruling will stand through the appeal process, including when it finally comes before the United States Supreme Court. At the very least, the Supremes may just turn the issue back to the State of California, in which case the ruling to nullify Proposition 8 will stand and same-sex marriage will be rampant. God’s judgment cannot be far behind!

The sodomite community here in San Diego celebrated Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling with gay (no pun intended) abandon yesterday. San Diego is home to one of the largest homosexual communities in the country. The annual Gay Pride parade is one of the largest held anywhere in America. It is a filthy bacchanal supported by the city and county government. San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders appeared last evening at a large homosexual victory rally in the Hillcrest section of the city. He has been one of the strongest advocates for same-sex marriage in California, lobbying in the state capital for open gay marriages. He is the former chief of police of our city. His daughter is a lesbian and outspoken advocate for same-sex marriage. The San Diego County district attorney is a practicing lesbian. Many of the homosexual activists in San Diego are wealthy business people who have a lot of influence on local and state politics. They have had their way, and their influence has far outweighed that of the religious community in the region. Indeed, the liberal churches throughout San Diego and throughout the state and nation are openly sympathetic to sodomy and the sodomites, and have worked hard to assists the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) organizations in America to gain as much ground as possible. They have aided and abetted perversion to the greatest degree while Bible-believing Christians have little or no influence on governmental or court decisions. Let us not forget Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who is openly in support of same-sex marriage, and Attorney General Jerry Brown who is also a friend to the homosexual community. He was instrumental in the overturn of Proposition 8 in the filing of an Amicus brief in opposition to the will of the people that marriage should be defined as between a man and a woman, etc. It is quite likely that he will be our next governor when the “Governator” leaves office in a few months. Here we go again! And, by the way, Elena Kagan, President Obama’s nominee to succeed Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court, has long been known to be a lesbian. She was confirmed today by the senate. It is of note that throughout the last four presidential administrations (Bush – Clinton – Bush – Obama) an unprecedented number of homosexuals have been quietly appointed to more governmental positions than at any time in American history. (See my article entitled, “Can America Now Survive? The Heart-breaking Ruling of the Supreme Court,” found in the 2003 archives on our website – www.revivalthoughts.org).

Now, beloved, do not say that this situation is typical of the “left coast” alone when six states have already approved same-sex marriage, including Iowa, once considered typical of middle American family values. How much longer do you think it will be before same-sex marriage is federalized in the United States? How long do you think it will be before those states who have constitutional amendments defining marriages as only between a man and a women will be sued and their amendments overturned? With the ongoing erosion of state’s rights and the further centralizing of powers at the federal level, how long do you think it will be before states have no real rights or autonomy at all?

Now, I am going to say some things that I am sure will bring some measure of disagreement. Please understand that I do not wish to come across as overly negative or pessimistic, but I fear that we have had our heads in the sand too long, have seen things through rose-colored glasses to our own hurt, and have lost a right perspective when it comes to the spiritual decline of this country that we love.

This past week I saw a DVD produced by a Christian organization that made it appear that we are seeing a spiritual renaissance in America that is bringing into being a new and fresh spiritual vitality that is greatly affecting the course of the nation. Beloved, I am sorry, but I just do not see this as wholly factual. Are there pockets of great things going on for the Lord that have had a wonderful affect? Most certainly. But to make it appear that we are seeing something akin to what took place in America during the great spiritual awakenings in the 18^th and 19^th century just does not hold any water for me. It is my personal observation that modern Christianity is having very little effect on the spiritual condition of the nation or her people. America is in serious trouble, and the downward spiral continues almost unabated and of a truth we are having little real influence in seeing that spiral come to a halt. Consider the influence the Second Great Awakening had on the government of the United States in a proclamation issued in 1863 by the House of Representatives.

Whereas, the Senate of the United States devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for national prayer and humiliation; and

Whereas, it is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history: that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord; And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisement in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people?

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown.

But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious Hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.

Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Now, therefore, in compliance with the request and fully concurring in the view of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer.

Dear friends, you will see nothing coming from our government today that will come even close to this statement influenced by the Word of God, the power of God, the Spirit of God, and the people of God. In a day when we have fundamentalist preachers, and others in church leadership, being convicted of child molestation, embezzlement, and other crimes, and others falling into the sin of adultery, why would we not expect that modern Christianity would not hold a great measure of respect within our society? When one of the most respected independent Baptist pastors in North America commits suicide under some very suspicious circumstances, what are people to think of us? Yes, I know, the world will use all of this against us to disenfranchise truth by association because of their darkened hearts, but why give them any ammunition? I have known of three independent Baptist pastors who have committed suicide in the past year, one I personally knew. How do these things help the cause of Christ and our image in the eyes of a lost and fallen world? What of a well known and highly respected Baptist pastor who, when confronted, confessed to “French-kissing” little girls and molesting the same in one way, shape, form or another? This sordid behavior was showcased by the liberal media in the national news. How does this help the cause of Christ? How does this influence the nation for God? Then there is the secret sin that has found deep roots in many a local church – sin left undiscovered and/or undisciplined. Oh, God have mercy! We have not kept our house in order, and the world and the devil know it and have used this truth to their advantage. If judgment does not first come to the household of faith, it is not likely that we will see a real revival in our nation ever again. “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17).

Now, please consider the following quotes that I trust will provoke you to thought and fervent prayer.

As soon as it becomes evident that immorality is on the increase and spirituality is on the decline, the biblically sound and spiritually lively church will not foolishly blame the world but will immediately recognize its own complicity.  The church must first repent . . . Therefore in times of spiritual declension and moral decadence, the great duty of every Christian is both to discover those sins which have caused the judgment and to put them away by that method which God himself has chosen.  The method God has chosen is the Solemn Assembly.  Corporate sin must be dealt with by corporate repentance according to divinely ordained methods.  (Richard Owen Roberts)

A Solemn Assembly is a season or earnest prayer.  Churches in general allot altogether too little time for prayer . . . .  (Richard Owen Roberts)

. . . I am convinced a serious return to holiness is actually the very heart of all powerful prayer and every nationwide spiritual awakening.  Unfortunately, in today's highly programmed church, deep spiritual cleansing is either ignored entirely or quickly glossed over in a surface manner.  As a result, God's people are largely unaware of the subtle, un-confessed sins that daily quench Christ's full power in their lives.

Even in most ministry initiatives, it is merely 'assumed' that participants have embraced deep cleansing and prayer.  In view of present society, that is an incredibly dangerous and false assumption.  Indeed, many believers readily confess they're not sure how to become thoroughly cleansed and filled with God's Spirit. 

Friends, if we fail to emphasize thorough cleansing, it is all too easy to end up feverishly working programs, yet without the full power of the Holy Spirit.  When we thus attempt God's work in human strength, our words tend to reach men's heads but fail to penetrate their hearts.  This could well be a huge reason over half of today's church members cannot be found and a disturbing number of 'converts' evidence no lasting repentance.  An un-cleansed heart is certainly why many believers battle spiritual weariness and lack God's mountain-moving power.

According to Psalm 66:18 and Isaiah 59:1-2, lack of genuine holiness is the predominant reason God withholds His mighty presence and power.  Though we have witnessed a forty-year explosion of programs and promotion, modern statistics utterly pale beside even the smallest of past Great Awakenings.  Indeed, if methods and promotion alone could bring an awakening, our generation would have surely seen the biggest revival in the history of the world!  Instead, we have experienced the worst moral collapse . . . in the life of the nation.  (From "Returning to Holiness - A Personal and Church-wide Journey to Revival," by Dr. Gregory R. Frizzell)

. . . what is the key element of revival and spiritual awakening?  According to Scripture, it is nothing less than a massive return to deep repentance, fervent prayer and thorough cleansing before a Holy God (2 Chronicles 7:14).  Without profound spiritual cleansing, even the most brilliant strategies are powerless to bring massive awakening to our sin-hardened nation.  Even elaborate prayer strategies will have very limited power without an accompanying move of profound repentance.  According to Scripture, only cleansed hearts have mighty power with God (Hosea 10:12; Psalms 66:18; James 5:16).  (From "Returning to Holiness - A Personal and Church-wide Journey to Revival," by Dr. Gregory R. Frizell)

. . . . Modern churches often struggle with serious levels of apathy, disunity, immorality and worldliness.  Dear believers, until we thoroughly deal with “sin in the camp,” our best efforts will often seem like trying to cure cancer with a band-aid.  Until we effectively address the underlying sin, God's Spirit will remain seriously quenched in our churches.  Only the direct comprehensive Word of God can bring the intense conviction and repentance that releases the cleansing flood of the Holy Spirit.  (From "Returning to Holiness - A Personal and Church-wide Journey to Revival," by Dr. Gregory R. Frizzell)

. . . . Let us now respond to God's urgent call and promise in Hosea 10:12, “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.”  No words can express the urgent nature of our present need for massive revival and spiritual awakening.  America is indeed poised on the very brink of catastrophic judgment.  While there is reason for great hope of a coming revival, it is by no means “guaranteed.”  In fact, without a profound return to humility and holiness, no amount of strategy or promotion can save our land.  May God now grant us a passion for holiness - not just to 'get blessed,' but because we love Him.  (From "Returning to Holiness - A Personal and Churchwide Journey to Revival," by Dr. Gregory R. Frizell)

. . . . God definitely wants to move in your life and your church!  However, there is a key requirement for experiencing God's power in your life and church.  It is found in Isaiah 59:1-2, "BEHOLD, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”  My friend, do you see the crucial point?  Though God is willing to touch His people, un-confessed sin has blocked His mighty answers to prayer.  In order to move in power, God requires deep cleansing and repentance among His people.  Psalm 66:18 makes this crystal clear:  “If I regards iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”  If our nation is to avert much-deserved judgment, believers must immediately return to the knowledge that God is infinitely holy.  He simply will not move if un-confessed sin remains in the lives of His children!  For this reason, God seems distant to many believers.  Because of un-confessed sin, crucial prayers go unanswered and countless believers live in defeat and pain.  If you hope to experience God's mighty power and blessing, thorough daily confession is not an option, it is absolutely essential!"  (From "Returning to Holiness - A Personal and Church-wide Journey to Revival," by Dr. Gregory R. Frizzell)

. . . we can assemble large numbers and pray until we're blue in the face, but without deep repentance, we will not see sweeping revival.  Prayer is only powerful if it proceeds from people with deeply cleansed hearts (Psalm 66:18; Isaiah 59:1-2; James 5:16).  We continue to develop aggressive evangelistic techniques, but without cleansed Spirit-filled witnesses and intercessors, we will not see the sweeping evangelistic explosion of past centuries . . . .

In the Old Testament, solemn assemblies ranged anywhere from one day to fourteen days in length.  Furthermore, solemn assemblies are times for believers to acknowledge God's righteous judgment upon His people (or the nation).  It is a time to acknowledge our desperate need to return to God for His forgiveness, mercy or special direction. Solemn Assemblies are not some casual program of fad. They are times to face up to the fact we have offended God and lost His full blessing and protection.

Since solemn assemblies and other cleansing emphases are the clear pattern of Scripture and all great awakenings, why did we think we could abandon them?  Yet, indeed we have done just that!  Did we actually believe our organizations, programs and strategies could somehow replace God's timeless patterns of deep repentance and cleansings?  Whatever we are thinking, the church (and the whole nation) has paid a devastating spiritual and social price.  Our nation now stands on the very brink of God's catastrophic judgment.  Yet, many hearts are awakening to a new passion for holiness before God.  (From "Returning to Holiness - A Personal and Churchwide Journey to Revival," by Dr. Gregory R. Frizzell)

For far too long we have forgotten that God is indescribably holy.  Yet even now, He is calling us back to Himself and to deep repentance.  Can we really afford to go on with church business as usual?  Where will America be in just a few years if we see no massive Great Awakening?  Surely we are at last beginning to realize our primary answer is not just better strategy.  If new strategies could have brought a sweeping awakening, our generation would have long since seen the biggest revival in the history of the world.  Yet, in spite of a fifty year explosion of new programs and strategies, we have seen by far the biggest moral collapse . . . in American history.  (From "Returning to Holiness - A Personal and Church-wide Journey to Revival," by Dr. Gregory R. Frizzell)

As I travel around America in the revival ministry, I must tell you that I do not see a major emphasis on prayer in our Bible-believing, independent, fundamental Baptist churches.  Sadly, the contrary is true.  The prayer meeting has given way to Bible study in the mid-week service.  There is far more time given to taking prayer requests than in actual praying.  And when we do take prayer requests, it is more like a testimony time.  It is rare that I hear anyone make a sincere and tearful prayer request for revival in the local church and around the nation.  It is certainly fine and acceptable for us to ask for prayer for personal needs, but that seems to be the main focus.  We need to exhort one another to pray about the sins of our people, the sins of our nation, and the need for God's people to have a sense of the exceeding sinfulness of our sin.  We need to call for prayer of a powerful changing nature in our assemblies.  Leadership must teach the people the importance of prayer - both intercessory prayer and prevailing prayer.  But even more important than that is the need for solemn assemblies in our Baptist churches today.  God will have to soon judge America in ever-increasing increments if we, as His children, do not repent, and America, like Nineveh before her, does not repent in sackcloth and ashes, and return to the Godly principles upon which this great nation was founded. 

Richard Owen Roberts made this observation:

Historically, unheeded judgments have turned into final judgments.  America, as a nation, is ripe for destruction.  The Evangelical movement in this country is characterized by an arrogance that is almost beyond belief.  The neglect of prayer, the involvement in Philistine methodology, the moral evils, and the doctrinal corruptions that characterize the movement are sufficient to cause Sodomites to wonder at God's justice in destroying their city while sparing the United States.  If the youth of the nation are to live their lives in a land of freedom and opportunity, they will do so because their parents had grace sufficient to humble themselves, pray, repent of their sins, and seek God's face in Solemn Assemblies. 

I recently heard of an evangelical church that has added "Christian" karaoke and a coffee house ministry to its social programs.  Like so many churches of this sort, it is experiencing numerical growth, and appears to the world to be "successful."  Like so many other churches given over to the "church growth" movement, these dear folks see no need of repentance and revival.  Because these ministries do not emphasize holiness and godliness in living, but take the low road of compromise in the area of separation from the world, they are not likely candidates for any sort of Holy Ghost conviction of sin, and a crying out to God for revival.  They think they are right on track, and no one else is.  Having cast off what they call "legalism" and "rigidity," they are happy in their world of artificial spirituality that smacks of self-righteousness.  There will be no solemn assemblies for them. This is the arrogance of which Owens speaks in his aforementioned quote.  And this arrogance certainly extends beyond the evangelical and "seeker-sensitive" groups, and we all must guard our hearts against it.  There is an arrogance and pride of "knowledge" and religious superiority that is just as repugnant and sinful. 

The solemn assembly and all that it entails is foreign to us in this age of modern fundamentalism.  Might we seek the old paths while there is yet time, and might we pray that God would be pleased to open the windows of heaven to us in revival one more time before Jesus comes.