GOD'S JUDGMENT

 

Beloved Partners & Friends

There has been quite a frenzy by many believers concerning the subject of judgment in the matter of the hurricanes and other natural disasters. Let me make things quite clear from what I see as declared in the Word. I wonder why believers in the U.S.A. always want to jump to the conclusion that every disaster is God’s judgment. It is almost as if there is a mentality that God should beat up America and Americans and that mentality is perpetrated by believers against themselves and their own nation. America is no more wicked than any other nation. If one wishes to talk about wickedness and corruption, then the European Union cannot be compared.

Natural disasters will come from one of four sources: God’s judgments indeed, Satan’s wrath, simply natural phenomenon or man’s interference with natures balance as with the untold number of atomic explosions that have been loosed upon the earth globally over many decades or global warming caused through human irresponsibility. Do we say that the Tsunami was God’s judgment on Asia? No, it was a mammoth shifting of the earth’s plates the repercussions of which are universal and I personally believe has resulted in the most amazing natural phenomenon. Africa is currently languishing under an extreme heat wave and drought the likes of which have never been recorded. Hurricanes in America, earthquakes in Asia, floods in South America, drought in much of Europe and Australia and other natural disasters of unprecedented proportions.

Jesus clearly, in quoting of Himself from Isaiah 61:2, left out the portion “And the day of vengeance of our God,” because God’s judgment and vengeance has not yet come and will only come at the end of the Age of Grace. Peter clearly tells that “judgment must begin at the house of God,” (1Pet 4:17) and James declares that “mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” (Jam 2:13) This is the two edged sword that proceeds out of the mouth of any and all truly anointed men of God: one edge is mercy and the other is judgment. These two aspects of God’s character are always hand in hand. That is not to say that judgment does not fall in this age of grace but it is well to remember that judgment is part of the charge upon BELIEVERS at the Communion Table of the Lord and begins in the house of God.

God never judged nations or peoples without due warning and due warning through a prophet or chosen vessel. For God to judge without warning – warning being His offer of mercy – would have been totally unfair of Him. Moses brought God’s warning and then judgment on Egypt. Elijah brought God’s warning and then declared judgment upon Israel. Jonah brought God’s warning and saw Nineveh repent. Jeremiah cried and wept God’s warning upon Jerusalem and saw it judged. For a man of God or prophet to have declared the warning and judgment of God, he had to be a mighty vessel of authority and anointing and carry the Word of the Lord to declare it with holy boldness. This is the Church Age. Every believer ought to carry the Word of the Lord and declare it with Holy boldness. There is no necessity today for a single so-called prophet to declare an oracle of the Lord in national judgment though many think that they are national prophets. *This is the business of the whole Body of Christ.* The Judgment of the Body of Christ should not be so much through what is declared but by what is LIVED. When this Body is sick and torn apart through divisions and strife and is NOT the powerful living organism that she ought to be how shall she ever declare the oracle of God with anointing and authority? How can a corrupt vessel ever declare a word of judgment when he needs to be judged of himself? When the Church is not broken and yielded before God how shall she point a finger? When TV evangelists are more concerned with finances and image and power and name how shall they be a trumpet to the nation? It would be one thing for a mighty man of God to have stood up and accurately declared a year ago that Katrina was going to hit on the exact date it did and New Orleans was going to be flooded and it was the judgment of God and quite another fact to stand up *after the event *and declare it as the judgment of God. If New Orleans was the judgment of God then why was the French Quarter not destroyed?

The inability of Christians to rightly discern is quite frightening. The “Twin Towers” was very offensively declared by Christians to be the judgment of God. It was not. It was an act of terrorism against the USA and happened because of pride and shoddy security and indeed, the fact that the Church is not a praying church. HIV and AIDS were declared as God’s express judgment on homosexuals. What nonsense. If God was prepared to repent of His judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of only ten righteous as a result of the intercession of Abraham, such clearly shows what lengths the Lord Himself will go to avoid such judgment. The failure in the account was the failure of Abraham to go beyond and seek to save the cities for the sake of Lot alone. God would have done so. “If MY PEOPLE … will humble themselves and pray…” The onus is on the people of God and not the world. The Holy Spirit has come to convict – not condemn – of sin, righteousness and judgment. That is not to say that judgment will not fall. There are accurate accounts of the judgment of God falling on people during the meetings of the great revivalists when individuals and indeed, whole towns refused to turn to God. The Chicago Tribune offices were burned to the ground for going after Alexander Dowie and the editor died. During Finney revivals, men died for shaking their fist at the revivalist. I have seen God’s judging power fall in Africa but not after men had first seen His reviving power and refused to repent.

James and John wanted fire to come down from heaven in Luke 9 but Jesus “turned and rebuked them, and said, ‘Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.’” There seems a desire by many of God’s people for just such type of fire to come down upon the Godless displaying a sick type of “justification” that in no wise displays the heartbeat and passion of God. For believers to desire the judgment of God and not His mercy and grace tells that they are of the same unbroken spirit and nature as James and John before their pride was undone and John became the ‘apostle of love.’ The great revival that is going to come will be the final declaration to all the earth of God’s mercy that will lead to the warnings of the two witnesses of Revelation before the great and terrible day of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God. The natural catastrophic events that we are seeing are the birth pangs of the coming King and not God’s judgment.

Beloved, I ask you check your own heart and motives before the Lord and see if you are not of the same spirit as James and John before they were transformed. We are here to win the lost and not condemn them. Do I believe in preaching the judgment of God and hell fire? Indeed, yes, but only when there is great love and compassion for those who ARE lost and on their way to hell. There must be no arrogant triumphant “see, I told you” attitude, “you dirty sinners deserve to be torched,” mentality that is so prevalent amongst so many believers. Such an attitude smacks of self righteousness. Let us weep for the lost and dying. God takes no delight in the death of the wicked. (Ezek 33:11) Why should we?

 CHRISTMAS GIFTS

 ‘Tis already the season to be jolly and most of our department stores are already carrying Christmas decorations and Christmas gifts.   Some are out already seeking gifts for their children/grandchildren.  I recently received the following information and in these days we need to watch what we purchase for our loved ones and in our purchases who it is that we are supporting financially.  Christians should keep themselves informed.  We are perhaps more like the proverbial ostrich which keeps its head buried in the sand than the world.

“American Girl teams with pro-abortion, pro-lesbian group.

Possibly some of you have daughters who play with the American Girl dolls or read their books.

You may even be thinking about buying a doll or books for Christmas. Well, it turns out American Girl (owned by Mattel) is partnering with a group called Girls Inc. to sell a bracelet, the "I Can" band, which financially supports Girls Inc. Seventy cents of every purchase goes to Girls Inc. The band is sold on the American Girl webpage with a large ad and a link to the Girls Inc. webpage. In addition, the webpage says American Girl is giving $50,000 to Girls, Inc.

The problem here is that Girls Inc. has on their webpage a statement saying they particularly support abortion and a girl's right to abort an unwanted baby. They were quite clear about their support for Roe, so there is no mistake or room for confusion on that count. Additionally, Girls Inc. supports contraceptives for girls.

They also support and offer resources encouraging lesbian and bi-sexual lifestyles, actually offering resources for girls. One of their publications states, "The emergence of a lesbian identity is an ongoing process, rather than an event."

Of course, American Girl itself is a separate company, unrelated to Girls, Inc. except now by webpage and the seventy cents on every bracelet. I checked out the Girls, Inc. website, and it is exactly as I have told you. Below are some direct links, so that you can see them for yourself.

American Girl website offering "I Can" band to benefit Girls Inc.

http://store.americangirl.com/shop/ican.php

HOW IS THIS FOR PROMOTING A FUTURE PRESIDENT

Bill, Hil join hands at Graham crusade

By MONIQUE EL-FAIZY and TRACY CONNOR DAILY NEWS WRITERS

On the second night of his New York crusade, evangelist Billy Graham got a little help from two friends - Bill and Hillary Clinton. The ex-President and New York's junior senator joined the crowd of 80,000 at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, and were greeted like soul mates.

The audience screamed as Bill Clinton took Graham's hand and spoke about previous revivals. "Hillary and I are honored to be here tonight ... 46-plus years after I attended my first Billy Graham crusade," Clinton said.

"I took Hillary in 1971, and in 1979, when he came back to Arkansas, I was the governor. So I've been doing this a long time."

He said Graham won his heart decades ago when he refused to speak to a segregated audience.

"I was just a little boy, and I never forgot it and I've loved him ever since," Clinton said. "He's about the only person I know who I've never seen fail to live his faith."

Graham returned the favor, lavishing the Democratic power duo with praise.

"They're a great couple," he said. "I told an audience that I felt when he left the presidency he should be an evangelist because he has all the gifts and he'd leave his wife to run the country." Mayor Bloomberg and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) also attended last night's rally, which had a more youthful feel than the first night.

A concert by the Christian pop group Jars of Clay helped pack the park with teens, and the 86-year-old Graham tailored his sermon to the younger generation.

He threw in references to Madonna, the Rolling Stones and the new "Star Wars" movie and mentioned the time U2 frontman Bono visited his home.

The kids gave the white-haired Southern gentleman the rock-star treatment.

"I came for Billy Graham - then found out the bands were here," said Reid Ouse, 16, from Minnesota.

Earlier in the day, the sandbox set was treated to a performance by Gotham's newest superhero, a Spandex-clad, sword-wielding do-gooder named Bibleman.

He mesmerized an estimated 10,000 tots by spouting Scripture and kicking butt. Graham ends his crusade, which he says will be his last in the U.S., with a rally this afternoon.

With Richard Schapiro

Originally published on June 26, 2005

(Ed Note)  Bill Clinton may “have loved him” since he was a little boy but it left little impact on his spiritual or moral values.  In praising Bill and Hillary he has actually promoted them from the pulpit and if and when Hillary runs for Presidency this promotion will go a long way with American Evangelicals and Baptists.  At present she is denying that she will run BUT just recently on an interview she let slip that it was a possibility and then checked herself.  She is already preparing the way by pretending that she has become more moderate than she was when she was the wife of a president.  As we say in Africa :  Beware of the leopard for it does not change it’s spots.

The Clintons both carry a spirit of seduction and that was definitely proven in his re-election for a second term when many Christians voted for him.