A cry of revival is going forth throughout America. It is the sound of God’s people crying out for the Almighty to save us from the state of depravity that is drowning our nation. All around we see corruption, perversion, immorality, and even demonic activity. Some Christians long to be raptured out, but God has a high calling for our lives for such a time as this!
A Sick Heart & Mind
From a human perspective, it’s easy to focus on “this wicked generation” and blame them for the evil of our day. However, when we view things through the lens of Scripture, we see that revival begins in the hearts of God’s people.
“The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds.” Jeremiah 17:9-10
“[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
In Jesus’ short time of ministry on earth, He spent just as much time seeking the lost as He did rebuking the religious hypocrites who appeared to follow all of the Law but on the inside needed heart transformations. In Mark 7, we read, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me.'”
One of Jesus’ priorities during Passion Week (in the final days leading up to the cross) was cleaning out the Temple from corrupt “church attendees” who had turned God’s House into a robber’s den (Mark 11:15-17). We get a glimpse at how depraved the religious leaders had become in verse 18. This ultimate “come-to-Jesus meeting” caused them to seek how to destroy the Son of God!
How did these ungodly people get so out of control? They compromised on the Word of God, first in small ways under the surface, which grew and grew into an evil and corrupt generation that completely rejected God’s ways. And it all started with the people who filled the pulpits and the pews.
The Holy & the Profane
A pastor once stated, “If the pulpit is weak, the church will be weak. If the church is weak, righteousness will fail, and so will the nation. As goes the church, so goes the country.” That’s exactly the pattern we see in the Old Testament, where priests were commissioned by God to lead the people in His holy ways and obey God in all areas of life. It didn’t take long before the religious leaders failed at their tasks.
“Moreover, they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.” Ezekiel 44:23
“Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.” Ezekiel 22:26
In the New Testament, God’s children are called a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people for God’s own possession. Similarly to the Temple priests, we have been called to proclaim the excellencies of the Almighty.
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God…” 1 Peter 2:9-10a
“Therefore I [Paul], the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called…” Ephesians 4:1
Pastor and author Jonathan Cahn says, “To fulfill your calling you have to be separate from that which is not your calling.” There is no room in a Christian’s life for the things of darkness and disobedience to God. We must walk in a manner worthy of our calling.
Holy Vessels in a Wicked Generation
Ultimately, if we allow sin into our lives, we are profaning the name of the Lord. We damage our testimony when we don’t hold to the high standard that God has set for His children. God tells us in Leviticus 11:44, “For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.” He goes on to say that part of being consecrated is keeping His commandments.
“You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. You shall keep My statutes and practice them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.” Leviticus 20:7-8
Just as the Temple priests and religious leaders needed a heart change, we need to turn from anything ungodly that we have allowed into our lives. A heart that truly delights in God is one that follows God’s will. God is looking for Christ-followers who show their devotion through obedience, in a world that is running in rebellion away from the ways of God.
A key to obedience is spending time with God. When we take in God’s Word each day, we learn about God’s holy character. When we spend time in prayer each day, our hearts are drawn to repent and turn from anything that would defile us. Pastor and author Charles Stanley has said, “It is both a great privilege and an enormous responsibility to belong to the Lord. We cannot have an intimate relationship with God without reflecting His holiness, and intimacy with Him is our highest calling.”
Now is the time to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and commit to a life of obedience. We have been set apart as a distinct people, who must remain faithful to His call, His commands, and His character.
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” Jude 1:24-25
