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There are now at least 24 states which according to the federal government are disaster areas because of a severe drought. As we hear the usual drivel of how this is pointing to the so-called fact of global warming – there is an answer that we seldom turn to in the midst of times like this. Over the past several years we’ve watched officials from Alabama and Texas turn to prayer for rain – but even then no one was willing to say what needs to be said about a drought coming to a nation. It is time that this elephant in the Christian living room be addressed – and we begin seriously considering that not only drought – but very soon even famine are likely headed our way in the United States of America. But before I get ahead of myself, let me give you a little biblical background. First let us read a passage in Jeremiah about such things.
That which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah in regard to the drought: "Judah mourns And her gates languish; They sit on the ground in mourning, And the cry of Jerusalem has ascended. "Their nobles have sent their servants for water; they have come to the cisterns and found no water. They have returned with their vessels empty; They have been put to shame and humiliated, And they cover their heads. "Because the ground is cracked, For there has been no rain on the land; The farmers have been put to shame . . . These opening verses in Jeremiah 14 speak of a drought. This was a devastating drought that hit the land of Judah – and eventually ruined their agriculture. If you want to know what caused this drought – you only need to read further in the passage. "Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for Your name's sake! Truly our apostasies have been many, we have sinned against You. "O Hope of Israel, Its Savior in time of distress, Why are You like a stranger in the land Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night? "Why are You like a man dismayed, Like a mighty man who cannot save? Yet You are in our midst, O LORD, and we are called by Your name; Do not forsake us!" Thus says the LORD to this people, "Even so they have loved to wander; they have not kept their feet in check. Therefore the LORD does not accept them; now He will remember their iniquity and call their sins to account." Jeremiah 14:1-10 The problem was the sin of Judah and Jerusalem. Note that their iniquities and apostasies were testifying against them. Also see that later we read that they “loved to wander – and did not keep their feet in check from wandering from God’s way. Since 1973 we have killed over 40 million babies, whose blood is spattered across this nation’s land. Currently, we are embracing sexual immorality through pornography, open fornication without apology, entertainment that regularly derides biblical morality, and trashing marriage as an institution of God. We are embracing easy divorce, open marriages, and now homosexual perversion as well as heterosexual. We recently watched a business openly trashed because its founder dared to stand for biblical morality in marriage and sexuality. And a major city boasted that it proudly stood for what God calls an abomination – even stating that it would not longer allow this business to expand into its region. And we wonder why there is drought in our country? Honestly – there should be wholesale famine raging in our land. It is the height of mercy that God has not withheld rain from all 50 states and devastated every crop we seek to grow. Next I want you to read this passage from Haggai on drought. Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying, "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?" Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, "Consider your ways! "You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes." Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Consider your ways! "Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified," says the LORD. "You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?" declares the LORD of hosts, "Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. "Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew and the earth has withheld its produce. "I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of your hands." Haggai 1:3-11 Haggai made it clear that Israel had brought a drought upon themselves. God Himself called for the drought on every form of food production. The reason is very interesting. It was because they were all living in bigger and bigger houses – making them more and more ornate – all the while God’s house was desolate. This refers to the temple of Jehovah in Jerusalem at the time – but the parallel is frightening for us today. We are not called to build a physical temple in a city. But the temple today in the New Testament is the believer himself or herself! We are a temple of the Holy Spirit of God according to New Testament doctrine. The church corporately is being built together into a “dwelling of God in the Spirit.” We’ve given ourselves to bigger and better when it comes to our own homes – but have left our spirit’s desolate and without the proper care. The way that God deals with this is to call for a drought according to Haggai. Could it be that the desolate state of the church in the United States of America is the cause for this drought – as well as the immorality and ungodliness that runs rampant in our land? Could it be that it is not only the murder of the innocents and their blood spilt on our ground that cries for drought – but also the morose state of affairs in God’s church – our lack of revival? The ground in over half of the farmland of our nation is baking under intense heat and from what I see on my “Weather Channel” app on my phone – it doesn’t look like any end is in sight – at least for the next 10 days. By then the crops in our area will most likely be baked to death. So – here is my question for us. 2 Chronicles 7:14 in its full context deals exactly with our current state of affairs. But the question for all of us is honestly very simple. Are we ready to get on our knees yet for some very serious importunate prayer? If not – we can wait until the beginnings of the famine which I believe is about to overtake us if we do. It is time to get very serious about praying until the Lord moves in revival in His church as well as restoration in our nation. Neither President Obama nor Governor Romney can do ANYTHING about what is happening now. It is the hand of God – and it is the payment for years of angering God with our sin and our indifference to the innocent blood and rampant immorality that pollute our land daily. Let us pray . . .
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For those watching the news lately, Syria has been at the forefront of the international headlines. This is because the recent spread of Arab uprisings against their current dictators has come to that nation. The current administration of President Assad is under attack by militants in that nation and has led to several very tense moments.
Early on this seemed to be just another uprising that would be crushed by an Arab dictator. But soon things began to spin out of control for President Assad. His government and the military used brutal tactics early in this conflict and raised the ire of many in the international community. Several massacres took place and soon nations which hoped this would go away had to begin speaking out on the matter. As the pressure mounted - so did the brutality and force of the Assad regime. This only led to further problems internationally. The United Nations did its usual song and dance routine - speaking out against the brutality - but utterly failing to do anything substantial about it. Security Council motions were blocked by both the Chinese and the Russian governments as they used their veto power on the Council to hold off on any real action. Things got worse this past week when rebels struck in Damascus and killed the Security force Chief for the Assad military. This was only the beginning of bad news as later in the week various outpost areas were overrun by rebel forces. This was looking more and more like a full scale civil war. The most troubling news came just days ago when the Assad regime said that they would not use their chemical and biological weapons - unless threatened by an outside power. Many believe this was more than a veiled threat against any nation that would interfere in this internal civil war. The saber-rattling has continued with even the Obama administration in the United States issuing strong warnings to Assad and his military against any use of chemical weapons. But how does this current mess in the middle east affect the next prophetic fulfillment? That is because of a passage of Scripture in the book of Isaiah. There we read this prophecy in chapter 17 of Isaiah's prophecy. "The oracle concerning Damascus. "Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city And will become a fallen ruin." (Isaiah 17:1 , NASB) It may be news to you (as ancient Syrian history is to most of us) that there has never been a time when Damascus was removed from being a city and was instead a fallen ruin. As a result of this we know that there has yet to be a fulfillment of this prophecy. We come now to the current situation in Syria. Many believe that this event in Damascus will happen before the seven year tribulation period. This would make a path for the armies of the north (of which we read in Ezekiel 37-38 - The Gog/Magog Invasion) to march into Israel without the problem of a nation's sovereignty being affected. Some also are concerned that Israel will be the nation to strike and destroy this city. If this happens, it will be huge because Syria is an active ally of Russia and China - and their anger would be raised if a strike of some kind from Israel destroyed this city. We might want to keep an eye on this situation in the news. It may be a precursor or even like a starter's pistol for the events of the last days to heat up in this region. Things could move very quickly if Syrian weapons of mass destruction are used in this conflict. May we continue to be alert and awake - praying for God to move in the hearts of His people - and also praying that He would use us in these last days to make peace the one way that cannot be thwarted. That is that we make peace through the gospel of Jesus Christ. This past Wednesday everyone held their breath awaiting the Supreme Court decision on the Health Care bill that has been dubbed, "Obamacare." There was a thought among conservatives that the court would strike down part or all of this law. The part most egregious to many was the so-called "mandate" for all Americans to buy health insurance. When the ruling came out there was a sigh of relief for some - and a sense of wide-eyed horror for others. I was among those horrified by the outcome because it forever fundamentally changes the relationship between the government and the citizens of the United States. It was only later, after I had turned to the Lord and sought Him in the midst of my anger and disgust that God showed me something in myself that I found even more disgusting.
Early in the week I was asked by some of the precious people I pastor what my reaction was to this ruling. Again, as stated above, my early reaction was anger and disgust. I was angry and disgusted that the Supreme Court basically allowed the existing administration to lie to the American people to get something passed - and then let the truth of the law come out only when interpreted by the courts. We were told repeatedly during the debate, however limited it was, that this was NOT A TAX! Over and over again this was asserted because, this bill would have gone down in flaming defeat if it was offered as the massive, regressive tax that it was later upheld as being. So we were told this was a "commerce" issue. As a commerce issue this was declared unconstitutional - but as a tax, it was upheld. Therefore one of the things that happened last Wednesday was that one branch of government could pass a law based on their version of the truth - while another could uphold it denying the first truth - and then making up another. Now, the fact that our government lies to us is not shocking. The fact that they have lied on this scale for the creation of a first time right to tax us for all we are worth - a little more shocking. One can only imagine the founders spinning in their graves at the way in which we are being taxed once again without representation - or at least truthful representation. After I worked my way through my initial anger and disgust, I was leveled one day while praying with a couple of brothers for revival in our churches and awakening in our land. What floored me was a verse that I believe the Holy Spirit brought to my mind. Here is the verse: "You are the salt of the earth ; but if the salt has become tasteless , how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything , except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men . (Matthew 5:13 , NASB) As I meditated on this verse, God reminded me that throughout the entire health-care debate we continued to kill 4,000 babies a day through abortion. Nothing was mentioned, even by Christian conservatives, about this issue. Nothing was mentioned about heterosexual immorality in our nation which is rampant. No one made an issue of the flood of pornography that continues unabated on our airwaves and through the internet. (Actually the legal system did make a move in this area. It removed the fines imposed for the intentional wardrobe malfunction that happened during a Superbowl broadcast. Oh, and by the way, our highest court also made it easier to use foul language during prime time television - as if God recognizes times when it is OK to use perverse language - only prohibiting it from 6-9 weeknights!) Nothing was being said about gay marriage - which we were promised would NEVER happen only years ago by our elected liars - oh, sorry - that's supposed to be elected officials (same difference in most cases). We once again bought the lie that it is, "the economy stupid" that is the issue. Let me say in the strongest way I can, "It is not the economy - it is our lack of morals" that is the problem. Let me say even stronger, "It is a tasteless, unsalty church that is the worst of our problems in America." The church has been losing its saltiness since the 1950's - when it became vogue to have an affair outside of marriage - the church did not respond by falling on her knees and crying for revival and repentance. In the 1960's we were introduced to "free love" - which is nothing more than fornication dressed up in groovy clothes - the church did not respond by falling on her knees and begging for restoration and revival. The 1970's and 80's were the me-generations - with live being lived for self and self alone. The immorality increased - and pornography began to explode with the advent of videotape - the church mulled over church growth strategies and spoke of dealing with the un-churched, rather than the ungodly. The 90's gave rise to a growing homosexual movement that became more and more radical. This was inevitable to anyone who has read Romans chapter 1. The rejection of God through heterosexual immorality inevitably leads to rampant homosexuality. Because the church was not cleaning her own house, rocked by one sexual scandal after another, she had little voice in society. One might call that a serious loss of saltiness. In the 2000's and now in the 2010's all these problems are converging as atheists are rising, God is openly mocked, and more and more oppressive laws are being passed limiting the freedom of the church. I don't know if you see it yet - but the Supreme Court ruling should not have been such a shock to us. Neither should further rulings that allow us to be trodden under foot by men. The church has not been what she should be for generations now. The result of this is that freedom has been - and will continue to go away in our land. God is not pleased over the rampant innocent blood that is being shed - the rampant sexual immorality that is being advanced - and the rampant blasphemy and mocking of His name. He is also not pleased that the church is just kind of "treading water" in the midst of this. The church is more concerned with their creature comforts and comfortable living being taken away than they are with any moral decline that is happening in our land. How do I know this? I know it because we have yet to hit our knees in pray that inconveniences us on a daily basis. My prediction is that November 5th, 2012 will make little if any difference in the moral trajectory of our nation. In all that is being argued leading up to this election - almost none of it even concerns the moral failings of our nation evidenced by heterosexual immorality, homosexuality, and abortion. They will barely even be blips on the political radar. The only difference that will happen in the Fall is that we will determine how fast we go down the toilet as a nation. Since none of the real causes are being addressed - I have little hope that they will be after the heat of the election is over. What should we do in light of the Supreme Court decision on Obamacare? Honestly . . . if we do not come to the point where we fall to our knees in repentance and brokenness over sin - nothing we do politically will really matter in the end. The church should repent - over this decision - as well as any other that comes after it. Our problems do not ultimately rest on the greatly undermined Republic in which we live. They rest on the character and godliness of the people voting those who represent it into office. Our hope lies in the mercy of God moving in our hearts to drop us to our knees. Saints of God - we have only one chance - and that is that we see a coast to coast movement of broken-hearted, sin-confessing, God-honoring prayer. Our one chance is that the church will turn from sin and turn to God - then turn to intercessory prayer. Our one hope is that there will be a heaven-sent, world-shaking revival that will so stop sin in its tracks that we will once again see the church making inroads to sin - not the other way around. Oh to see hundreds of thousands - even millions coming to Christ, throwing off their sin and embracing Jesus with all their hearts. Oh to see churches overflowing their parking lots for prayer meetings - and for meetings where seekers hear the gospel of Jesus Christ preached without apology. This is our hope - this and this alone. Bottom line - this ruling by the Supreme Court only shows me that the church continues in her faltering slouch toward saltlessness. It comes as no surprise that God is removing all protection so that the oppression of an ever-expanding government will continue to tread her underfoot. I am not shocked that a president who is acting more and more like a dictator is rising. It would not shock me if we even saw a takeover and martial law declared so that the November elections don't even happen. We are being stepped on, saints of God, and it is actually a biblical thing we are experiencing. The only way to stop the trampling is to repent, return, and fall to our knees in prayer. We have never needed the admonition of 2 Chronicles 7:14 more than we do in the shadows of this most recent decision. "If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways , then I will hear from heaven , will forgive their sin and will heal their land ." (2 Chronicles 7:14 ) |
 What is the Prophecy/News Update?At Calvary Chapel of Jonesboro, we believe that history is moving toward fulfilling God's plans and purposes. In an effort to help us be prepared for His appearing - and also to chronicle news items you just won't see in the national media - this page is devoted to sharing those items and their possible significance to 
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