WHAT ABOUT THE FLU? and more...
Recently someone asked me if I had a word concerning the swine flu. I admitted that the pressures of pastoring had kept me from taking time to ask the Lord about this. I therefore set aside time for listening and got more than I bargained for.
I believe the Lord has said to dial down the fears, that it will be a bit like the recession. We feared a depression and an economic collapse, but got nothing more than a recession that went deeper than we had hoped, but not to the level of our fears. Similarly, the panic over the swine flu is fed by the demonically inspired general spirit of fear currently oppressing the nations of the world. I believe the Lord told me, “It is the fears of a world gone mad.” The danger is real, but look for it to be less than we fear, even if it becomes more than we would hope. If I have not heard the Lord on this, I promise to publicly apologize.
As I prayed and listened, however, there was more. We’re moving toward planetary breakdown physically, culturally and religiously. Earth and the nations of the world cannot bear up under the weight of the unrighteousness we have heaped upon it. The cracks are spreading. We have years yet to prepare and to build a solid foundation in faith, but the pace is accelerating and the level of urgency for the saints to be ready in righteousness and intimacy with our God has risen dramatically.
The Lord took me to Isaiah 59 and pointed out that as it was then, so it is now. Verse 8, “They do not know the way of peace, And there is no justice in their tracks; They have made their paths crooked, Whoever treads on them does not know peace.” For example, we legalize gay marriage in spite of what the Lord clearly calls abomination. Heterosexuals scoff at God’s standards of sexual morality so that I cannot remember a time when so many children were born outside of wedlock, even in the church. We treat marriage lightly, divorcing at a rate of more than 51%. Our business and political leaders cannot seem to understand the meaning of integrity, not to mention the long list of Christian leaders who have fallen hard in recent months and years.
The list of sins is long and hurtful and has a worldwide effect in the spread of injustice and immorality. Just a few examples illustrate my point. In Islamic countries young women suffer rape and are lashed for it as if they were guilty for the sins of the men who assaulted them. In our own country we prohibit Christian teaching in public schools in the name of separation of church and state, but then allow Islamic or New Age teaching in the name of broadening the perspective and understanding of the students. We’ve lost our minds, and with it, our sense of justice! In more than one nation angry crowds burn churches and riot against believers. Rogue nations go nuclear. Wars and rumors of wars abound. Is it any wonder that peace eludes us, either individually or in the wider world?
Verses 9-10, “Therefore justice is far from us, And righteousness does not overtake us; We hope for light, but behold, darkness, For brightness, but we walk in gloom. We grope along the wall like blind men, We grope like those who have no eyes; We stumble at midday as in the twilight, Among those who are vigorous we are like dead men.” When sin abounds, injustice grows with it and the hopes of the average man and woman fade like the sun behind a heavy cloud cover. Destruction can beget only destruction.
Verses 12-13, “For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And we know our iniquities: Transgressing and denying the Lord, And turning away from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving in and uttering from the heart lying words.” Need I comment? “Denying the Lord, And turning away from our God.” In so many ways this aptly describes the state of the culture in which we live.
Verses 14-15, “Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands far away; For truth has stumbled in the street, And uprightness cannot enter. Yes, truth is lacking; And he who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey. Now the Lord saw, And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice.” For example, recently the front runner in the Miss USA pageant lost the contest and became first runner-up for speaking the truth concerning God’s view of marriage, that marriage is between one man and one woman. Immediately booed by many in the audience, she has since endured a hailstorm of criticism and censure for stating her opposition to gay marriage. In another example, our nation has laws governing immigration that God calls us to honor and obey, but recently certain Christian leaders have begun accusing those who oppose illegal immigration of racism. The issue has never been race. The issue lies in the word “illegal” and our growing disregard for law. What has happened to our sense of righteousness? Those who stand for God’s law set themselves up for persecution and censure as the culture in which we live increasingly calls evil good and good evil, twisting both God’s law and the law of the land to suit our personal agendas.
As a result of mounting unrighteousness, in the days to come we will experience an increase in viral illnesses we have never before seen and cannot effectively treat. We will continue to see escalation in the frequency of natural disasters afflicting the nations of the world. Racial and ethnic tensions will grow, families will continue to disintegrate and crime rates, especially violent crime, will continue to rise as lawlessness and rejection of the moral laws of God erode love. "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). A culture based in self rather than in self-sacrifice cannot and will not long stand.
None of this is yet God’s judgment, but rather the simple law of sowing and reaping. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7-8). By the law of God’s universe sin can only reap destruction.
And yet in the midst of it, look for the remnant of God’s people to hear the call and to rise in power, authority and influence, winning souls to the True Hope out of a hopeless environment. First to go forth among the horsemen of the apocalypse in the Book of Revelation is, “a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer” (6:2). Although many interpret this as the false gospel of the antichrist going into the world, I believe the symbolism of the description requires that we see this as the gospel of the kingdom going into the world victoriously in the midst of the disintegration of the world system. I believe we have to come the threshold of the fulfillment of this prophecy, the time of the victory of the people of God reaping a harvest of souls out of darkness and into the light through demonstration of the love and the miraculous power of God. We were born for such a time as this. Rather than despair along with the world, we must rise into our destiny! This is the hour!
(Prophetic Moments is an occasional bulletin produced by Pastor R. Loren Sandford, New Song Fellowship, Denver, Colorado. )
