REVIVAL OF SPIRIT Part 2

7 31 12 Revival of Spirit  Part 2

Scripture:  Galatians 5:1 (NIV) It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. [Slavery to sin The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Note: The essential point I was trying to make in yesterday’s devotional is Christians in America have lost their first love…their love for Jesus Christ. So what happens when you lose your first love for Christ? A good question to start the second part of a devotional I started yesterday and it involves the second article that I mentioned

This article was written by Dr. Richard Land and used by Billy Hallowell in an article he wrote for The Blaze, a conservative news and opinion website owned by American media personality Glenn Beck.

RICHARD LAND ON THE NATION’S SPIRITUAL CRISIS: ‘IF AMERICA DIES, SHE’LL DIE FROM SELF-INFLICTED WOUNDS’ [Posted on July 27, 2012 at 9:19pm by Billy Hallowell on the Blaze.]

Richard Land, president of The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, told the audience at “Under God: Indivisible” that America is “at a fork in the road.”

Rather than facing a choice between going left or right, Land said that America is weighing a decision that will lead her to take an upward or a downward trajectory.
“If America dies, she’ll die from self-inflicted wounds,” he opened the speech, with the audience reluctantly agreeing. “We face a far greater peril from our own immorality and our own adultery than we ever faced from the British army or the German air force of the Japanese navy or the Soviet missile command.”

Land told the audience that the future of America depends upon “what the saved people do.” It is Christians, he said, who hold the responsibility to set the dangerous course the nation is taking back on track.

“[We face] a titanic struggle between those who want to remake America and those who want to restore America,” Land continued. “There are some forks — once they’re taken, you can’t go back.”

The audience cheered his message on, as Land reiterated the need for Christians to step up to the plate.

So what happens when you lose your first love for Christ? The results are the same whether you are a nation or an individual you start a downward trajectory. You lose your freedom and become enslaved physically and spiritually. Any nation or a person on a downward trajectory becomes sexually immoral, impure, filled with every type of evil, every type of debauchery, corruption and dishonesty. You turn from the living faith to the false faith of idolatry and witchcraft. Self becomes your God and your theological positions arise out of your flawed thinking which is influenced by God’s enemy, Satan. Satan is the father of lies, hatred, discord, fits of rage, envy and drunkenness. A person on a downward trajectory is becoming more and more like their true god, Satan. Like him you become a depraved individual without any hope of inheriting the kingdom of God.

I said there is no hope and there is none as long as you persist in your rebellion against God. God continues to speak, continues to reveal the truth in hope that when you hear the message of his love for you, you will repent and once again return to him. It is to the overcomers that Jesus has given the right to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.

I, like Dr. Richard Land, see our nation on a downward trajectory. Everything that I mentioned in the above paragraph is clearly visible in the lives of the majority of those who live in America today. As believers we need to cry out to God for mercy and a fresh outpouring of his grace. We need to pray that the Holy Spirit will once again pay a visit to our nation and through a mighty outpouring of the Spirit’s power change the hearts of millions of Americans. Then and only then under the reign of Christ will our enemies be defeated.

Word from the Lord: “Beloved, I have answered the cry of my people on numerous occasions but it must first start with my people recognizing their sin and the wickedness of the way in which they live. This is a humbling experience and yet it is so very important. Your ways or not my ways and as long as you continue to walk in your way you are moving further and further away from me. When you confess your sin and repent of your sins, seeking a new relationship with me, I will hear that prayer and I will forgive your sin and bring healing to our relationship. It is then, that you will be empowered to walk in my Way.”

Did the Lord speak to you today?  Why not write it down and claim it for His Glory. 


 Prayer:  What do you need to pray to the Lord today? Listen to your heart. He loves you!