Sound the Alarm in My Holy Mountain

          Multiculturalism is but one of many weapons being used against the spiritual life of the individual and the life of America as a nation.  It is not a new weapon of destruction, but it is being combined with other demonic tools to infect us with a terminal illness.  We are being destroyed from within just as surely as stage four cancers destroy and kill the body of a person.  Because of our present actions to tolerate everything except the One True God and His ways, both individuals and our nation as a whole, are bent on ridding ourselves of His hedge of protection.  In the times of Solomon, the king was admonished by The Lord not to multiply his wives. Solomon was given wisdom, but very often did not use godly wisdom.  For instance, he took many foreign wives unto himself and along with them came the worship of their false gods and building of idols in the land of Israel which caused the Jews to turn to other gods, while at the same time they professed faith in the one true living God. Thus, they became the same as an adulterer who proclaims love for his wife, but cheats on her by exercising unfaithfulness and disloyalty. No longer being faithful to the true God, they bring other gods and their ways into their hearts and lives, corrupting and destroying the very foundations of the Lord that had served to protect them and make them great: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance.” (Psalm 33:12)  One of the Ten Commandments, not suggestions, clearly states that we are to have “no other gods” before Him.  What part of “no other gods” do we not understand?  The godly purpose of refraining from having other gods was to protect and guard the people from the corruption and harm that doing so will always bring with it.  Look at the biblical history of the nation of Israel.  Every time their leaders were evil and not God fearing, the people, in general, followed after them in the same rebelliousness against God.  The consequences resulted in devastation, decadence, and destruction every time.  If we will not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it again and again. Einstein is generally given credit for the following definition of insanity: “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”  It happens every time that man exchanges the established and eternal wisdom of God for the far more inferior “wisdom?” of mankind.    

           This is exactly the picture of what has happened within the hearts of the people of America and elsewhere, including even the Christian church.  From the beginning of our nation, not all were Christians; however, the majority of the peoples of our nation were guided by the Judeo/Christian principles of the Bible. Unfortunately, God and His ways are now being pushed aside, and in some cases, pushed out of the church and our nation.   Thus, the ways of the world and other gods are being accepted, incorporated and embedded within, leading to the development of an apostate church and an increasingly godless and lawless nation. The Christ and cross centered church is being replaced by the lukewarm church.  More and more frequently, the church is taking on a form that is more akin to a community center where the power of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ is so compromised, distorted, and perverted that it is no longer the salt or light of the Lord, as it was meant to be.  Instead, the church has been conforming to the ways of the world; thereby having little influence upon the values and morals of the people for the good of our nation.  “For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures, more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away.” (II Tim, 3: 2- 5)  The church today is getting more comfortable with the idea of including all gods and many paths, and more willing to exclude the God of the Bible who has provided the ONLY plan of salvation.  “Jesus answered unto him,  I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me,” (John 14: 6) 

          For many in today’s society, there is little or no reverence for God or His word.  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” (Prov. 9: 10) Man based knowledge may or may not lead to the truth; whereas, godly wisdom and knowledge ALWAYS leads to the truth, and nothing but the truth.  Unfortunately, the general world view which has crept into the church is that the Bible is no longer relevant, and is seen as a repressive book of rules, do's and don’ts, to be used by a god that they view as a tyrant, just waiting to hit you over the head the minute you step out from under his tyrannical control.  It, and God, is deemed to be oppressive and an instrument used to keep the people from being free to do as they wish. Nothing could be farther from the truth. God's law is given as a gift to protect and guard the believer against the reign and rule of sin in and over our lives.  This law is not meant to be held over us to rule over us from without. Instead, it is meant to be written on the tablets of our hearts, changing us from within that we may willingly live out our lives in obedience unto The Lord, not because we have to, but because we want to.  In so doing, we receive God's blessings, for it is His pleasure to work out that which is best for us.  Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, liberty from the law of sin and death. (II Cor. 3: 17)                                           

          Titus 2:11 – 14: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” (NKJV)  This is the teaching of grace which teaches you and me to abstain from ungodliness, and to live holy lives. We don't live under God's grace to live unholy lives with no regard to what is pleasing unto God. We are to live under God's grace that He may teach us how to live to become all that He has meant us to be, through faithfulness and obedience unto Him.  When we fall flat on our face, falling short of the mark, we are not to give up in striving to be perfected in Christ. Far be it!  We are encouraged to be quick to confess our sin, and sorrow unto repentance.  “And this is the message which we have heard from Him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanseth us from all sin.  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins.  If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (I John 1: 5 - 10)    Don't give up on yourself; He hasn't.  Remember, the journey is a life-long process.  “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philip 1:6)  “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.” (Psalm 138: 8)

          As the church becomes weaker and refuses to take a stand for God, His Word, and principles, so its influence is diminished upon the nation as a whole.  As individuals, and as a nation, as we stray from God, we reject His ways and open the door for false gods and every evil way to enter and corrupt the minds and hearts of the peoples of that nation.   America is slowly dying of an illness that is far worse than any stage four cancers, and it doesn’t even realize the seriousness of its condition.  It has become like a patient who walks in denial while the cancer slowly eats away and destroys him from within.  Multiculturalism is a cancer that fosters the growth of secular humanism which welcomes in any and every religion, as if all gods are equal and the same, while it denies the power of the God of the Bible.  There is no fear of many gods, for there is no power in many gods.  When the church is lukewarm, it has all but lost any commitment to its first love, the God of the Bible.  When the church does not resist the devil, Satan is eager to walk in the front door to deceive many, and welcome in many gods in order to marginalize and remove any semblance of the One True God.

          Has America reached the point of no return?  Tragically, Christians in general seem to be in a deep sleep.  Sometimes I feel as though I should be walking around in clothes that would signify a state of perpetual mourning.  My heart grieves for the loss of the America that I once knew.  In the latter days, the Bible says it shall be as in the days of Noah.  The people are going about their daily lives, “eating, drinking, and making merry” as if there is nothing wrong.  Meanwhile, the ringing of the alarm of imminently impending doom is being loudly rung, but no one seems to hear.  Or worse, perhaps they hear, but they no longer care.  The inertia caused by doubt and unbelief is taking its toll upon the individual, the church, and the nation.  “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” (Hosea 4: 6)  Again I urge you to remember that this is godly knowledge of which we speak.  That which is proclaimed to be wisdom and knowledge by mankind is often deceiving, and may have no connection or resemblance to the true and established wisdom and knowledge of God which is unchanging and true to ALL generations.   

          In our zeal to make sure that everyone feels good about them selves, we rush to condone, and even celebrate evil, declaring sin to be good.  Our nation makes laws to establish evil as good, while it is busily criminalizing good as evil.  For God’s love to have its full effect in our lives, we must also acknowledge that He has the right of judgment against that which is sin in our lives.  We are all in to extolling the virtues of His love for us.  Let someone point out that which is sin in the eyes of God, call for us to repent, ask forgiveness, or take responsibility to change and make corrections to rid our lives of sin, and the first thing you will hear are the words: “Judgementalism, judgementalism!  Judge not lest ye be judged!”  This sentiment is expected from the people of the world, but now it is being widely expressed from within the body of Christ which is supposed to desire and respond willingly when reproof and correction are needed.  Fear of being offended or offending others is taking the place of the fear of the Lord which is meant to keep us from harm.  We are quickly erasing any idea that man has a responsibility to acknowledge the right of God to have authority over and in our lives.  We are quick to extol the idea of loving our brothers, while at the same time ignoring our first responsibility to love the Lord our God and seek His Kingdom.  IF we were seeking His Kingdom to come into our personal lives, we would then seek to walk in the understanding of the importance of being obedient to His will, instead of trying to replace His will with that which is pleasing and agreeable to our own selfish, and more often, degenerate will. 

          I must acknowledge my own struggle against sin in my life.  I know I must be diligent to draw near to God and stay tuned in and connected to His source of power that I may be able to resist the devil and give no place to him.  If I don’t recognize His right to judge my life, then I fail to submit my will to His will to have control in my life.  The church has a duty and responsibility to direct the believer’s attention to the necessity for repentance for sin and seeking God’s forgiveness that we may not continue to practice willfully sinning against God.  However, words like “rebuke, reprove, correction, etc., and even sin itself” seem to be lacking in the vocabulary of the church these days.  Due to the denial of the existence of sin in our lives generally speaking, we are made to feel that it’s okay to live by the mantra, “if it feels good, do it!” No wonder the church looks less and less like Jesus, but more and more like the rest of the world.  It’s too uncomfortable to look different and run the risk of not being accepted in and by the world.  How far we have strayed from the Lord, and forgotten the need of help from the Holy Spirit to “become holy as He is holy?” 

          More and more, as we refuse to acknowledge the Lord in ALL our ways, in thought, word, and deed, the easier it becomes for us to sin all the more, until we have destroyed whatever human conscience we may have once had.  Even more tragic, we have practically severed ourselves entirely from the voice of the Holy Spirit who is continually calling us to turn our hearts to our heavenly Father.  He is jealous over us, and longs to protect and care for us.  But at some point, He knows when we have become so comfortable with the practice of sin that we have hardened our heart towards Him and passed the point of return, no longer able to hear His voice.  It is then that, as individuals and as a nation, we are given over to a reprobate mind.  We become tolerant of every evil work, and become intolerant of God and that which is good and right in His eyes.  We no longer even feel a need for God or salvation, for we have become so wise in our own eyes that we have created ourselves as our own god.

          As we welcome false gods and their ways into the church, we push the one true God away, becoming more and more disobedient, and unfaithful to Him.  We have, as the word says, a “form of godliness," but we have perverted our own religion into something far removed from Him, making ourselves strangers, no longer even recognizable by the One we claim to believe in as Lord.  We can not choose to practice sin and expect that we should still be considered to be a child of God. “Ye have wearied The Lord with your words.  Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied Him (The Lord)? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of The Lord, and He delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?"(Malachi 2: 17)  Did you catch that people?  Yes, He is a loving God, but He is a God of judgment also, or else He would be a liar, for God can not love and condone sin at the same time.  Judging sin is just as much a part of His nature as is love.  His judgment is meant for our good, not for our harm.  Would a loving earthly father let his son go on doing that which he knew would be harmful?  God’s judgment is meant to be for our good, to call us back to him self, and draw us away from that which is evil, harmful, and destructive.  People may, or may not openly say they reject God, yet they live as if He doesn't exist, thinking they can do anything without suffering the consequences.

          Continual and willful sin against The Lord and His word will not go unpunished.  We deceive ourselves if we think that those who casually profess a counterfeit faith while acting sinfully shall not go unpunished.  Many today, even professing Christians, arrogantly think they have the right to disagree with what God has declared to be sin. We have arrogantly said we have not disobeyed God, even as we assume that we have the right to disagree with Him, and decide for ourselves what is or is not sinful.  We seal our own destiny of eternal separation from God as we continually walk in willful disobedience, and harden our hearts against God and His ways. By so doing, it is not He who has condemned us, but we who have condemned ourselves.  “He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because He hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3: 18)

          In this corrupted and perverted attitude that is extolling the virtues of tolerance and even inclusion of all gods, while requiring the denial of the deity of Christ and the only source of salvation, we are removing the very power of God.  Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection, is the very foundation of our only path to redemption and restoration of a right relationship unto God the Father.  Without faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and the acknowledgment that He is the Son of God, there is no forgiveness of sin.  Without faith in Christ and His work on the Cross, we are dead in our sins, and have condemned ourselves to eternal damnation and separation from God.

          This is not the first time I have written on this subject, but for some reason the Lord has had me revisit it once again.  Repetition is a technique is used often in the word of God, so it must be a worthwhile tool to remind us to draw near to the Lord that we may not be deceived by the world, the flesh, and the fiery darts of the powers and principalities of the darkness of this world.  After all, this is spiritual warfare and we must not grow slack in praying for each other, our nation, and the world at large.  I look around at the carnage in the world as Satan does his best to corrupt all that God has created.  My heart feels so heavy for those who have not received Jesus as Savior and Lord.  I saw a movie once about a boy who could see the spirits of the dead.  When I think of that, there is something which is far more real and even more devastating.  I don’t look down on the unsaved, for I know, except for the mercy, grace, and unending love of the Lord, there go I.  Perhaps, because I know that about myself, an even greater measure of compassion for others arises from within.  My heart wants to cry out to all, “Don’t you realize that you are walking as one among the living dead?  You are alive in the body, but you are dead in the spirit.  If you don’t receive Jesus as your Savior, you have condemned yourself to eternal damnation.  Don’t you want to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus, reborn, set free from the law of sin and death, be made anew, and restored to a right relationship with God the Father?  Oh please, please, wake up before it’s too late!  Draw near to the Lord, and He will draw near to you. 

          You know the saddest thing on earth is when a loved one breathes his last breath, never receiving Jesus into his heart as Savior and Lord.  You realize that you will never see them again, for they rejected God and their only path to salvation and eternal life in Heaven.  “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by Him doth this man stand here before you whole.”  “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4: 10, 12)  There are only two destinations after life on earth, Heaven or Hell.  If a loved one passes on to be present with the Lord, we may grieve for a period of time because we miss them, yet our mourning is turned into joy, for we know that he is present with the Lord.  We know without a doubt that we will one day be united to live eternally with those who have died believing on Christ our Lord.  However, if they have passed from this life, without faith in Christ, having been given chance after chance, as the Holy Spirit extended the call and invitation to come to Him, which is when there is a grieving that has no end.  They are lost forever, and there is no hope of being able to see or love them ever again. 

          Yes, it is for them that we truly grieve.  But until the last breath, theirs and ours, we are to love them all we can and pray without ceasing for them.  I thank God for answered prayer, for I know that I was, and continue to be, a recipient of the benefit of the prayers that others have prayed for me.  I know that the only righteousness I have is not my own, but that which is imparted to me by Christ.  Yes, Satan is not without power, but if we are born again, “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” (I John 4: 4)

          Yes, we Christians may feel discouraged, but we are not destroyed.  “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” (II Cor. 4: 8-10)  Remembering always that we walk not by feelings, or sight, but by faith, we are not to weary of praying and doing good, but to overcome doubt, unbelief, fear, and discouragement through faith and hope in Jesus Christ, knowing that nothing and no one is a lost cause as long as there is breath and life.

          The causes of the symptoms of America’s terminal illness are many.  They are different from battling the symptoms of cancer in that cancer can kill the body, but this is spiritual warfare that can kill the soul of an individual or destroy a nation.  Let us remember that the battle is the Lord’s and nothing is impossible for God.  “…Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” (II Cor. 20: 15)  “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” (Luke I: 17)    The cure resides in the Lord Jesus.  For Christians, discouragement is not a reason to quit.  It should be used as an instrument to wake us up to the presence of imminent danger, and cause us to stir up the power of the Holy Spirit within us to awake from our apathy, put on the full armor of God, enter into the War Room of intercessory prayer, and stand strong against the fiery darts of the enemy.  “Neither give place to the devil.” (Eph. 4: 27)

          “Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4: 7)  We are in a struggle against the powers and principalities of the darkness of this world.  As Christians, we two choices: choose to sit quietly by while our unsaved loved ones, and our nation as a whole, is swallowed up by the lies of the religion of secular humanism, or we can awaken to the voice of the Lord, and take part in the battle against the enemy as He goes before and with us.  Remember what David said as he went out to do battle against Goliath the giant: “Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defiled.” (I Sam. 17: 45)  You know what the outcome of that was; David, with a sling shot and three stones killed Goliath and took off his head.  The Lord had given him the victory over a foe that had appeared to be invincible!

          When we are joined together in the name of Jesus Christ, the devil and his demons tremble, for they know the power of the Lord God Almighty.  Let us do battle against the devil and his followers in the might of the Living God.  “…This is the word of the Lord …saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.”  (Zechariah 4: 6)  Stand upon the word of God, for in it is the power of the Lord God. “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereunto I sent it.” (Isaiah 55: 11)  If we remain strong in the Lord, He will teach us how to endure and not give up.  “Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:” (Psalm 144: 1)  “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (II Chron. 7: 14)  Often, we may pray but then, sadly, ignore the part that states “turn from their wicked ways.”  Lord, help us!    

          Awake, Awake, all ye Christians to the ringing of the alarm!  Fear not, for the Lord thy God is with thee.  Go forth in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Speak forth the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Be bold in the Spirit.  Do not be conformed by the world, but be transformed, and renew your mind by the washing of the word of God.  Trust in God and no other; God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.” (Rev. 2: 29)

“Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound the alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand.”

JOEL 2:1

“Let God arise and His enemies be scattered!” Let God, LET GOD ARISE!”

PSALM 68: 1