A Word for 2019 Part 2 by
Clifford Hill
3. God Holds the Church Responsible
God holds his Church responsible for the state of the
nation. This is what we learn from the biblical account of God’s dealings with
his covenant people Israel and Judah. A keyword to the institutional churches
in Britain for 2019 is Ezekiel 13:4, “You
have not gone up to the breaks in the wall to repair it.”
The wall around the city was there to protect all its
citizens. The safety of everyone was in peril when there were breaks in the wall
that were left unattended. Every walled city in ancient Israel had its
engineers charged with the responsibility of constant surveillance. Hence the
illustration in Amos 7, where he saw the Lord standing beside a wall with a
plumb-line in his hand checking to see if there was a bulge, which would
indicate corruption inside the wall that could lead to a sudden collapse such
as that foreseen in Isaiah
30:12-14.
It was because Jeremiah had seen the inevitable
consequences of the corruption in the nation that gave such an urgent cutting
edge to his message: “Your own conduct and actions have brought this
upon you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the
heart! Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart!
My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of
the trumpet, I have heard the battle cry. Disaster follows disaster; the whole
land lies in ruins…” This had not yet happened but prophetically
Jeremiah could already see the disaster and because he loved his nation and he
loved the city of Jerusalem, he could not keep quiet.
This is the kind of urgent prophetic compulsion that is
needed in the faithful remnant of Bible-believing Christians in Britain today,
if there is to be any chance of saving the nation from utter disaster. It
is not too late to save the nation! But the task is urgent. The
faithful remnant in the older generation has to be mobilised and stirred into
action to ensure that the truth of the Gospel reaches the younger generation.
Grandparents are in a unique position in Britain today and they are valued by
their grandchildren.
It is not too late to save the nation! But the task is
urgent.
These young people understand social media and the
multitude of apps on their mobile phones. Their spiritual antennae enables them
to detect fake news in a way that is beyond the capacity of the older
generation. It is God’s intention to blend the old and the new in a
unique way to advance the kingdom.
The message the faithful remnant (old and young) have to
declare will not win them many friends but it will have such a ring of truth
that it will penetrate the darkness that is enveloping all generations. The
word of the Lord in Jeremiah 5:21 needs
to be declared and it will be heard through the mouths of the faithful
remnant, “Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes
but do not see, who have ears but do not hear. Should you not fear me? declares
the Lord. Should you not tremble in my presence?”
The old and the new generations of believers are both
needed in 2019 if the nation is to survive the period of intense turmoil that
lies ahead. The battle facing us in Britain is a direct clash between the
powers of darkness and those of the light. It is essential to understand the
nature of this battle and much can be discerned from the life and ministry of
Jeremiah.
In Jeremiah 5:3 he
recognised that God had sent many warning signs to the nation: “You
struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them but they refused
correction”. He saw that they were only the ordinary people, so he went to
the leaders, religious and political, “but with one accord they too had broken
off the yoke and torn off the bonds” that connected them with the Lord God of
Israel.
Jeremiah recognised that it was primarily the religious
leaders of Judah who were responsible for the godless state of the nation: “Both
prophet and priest are godless; even in my temple I find their wickedness,
declares the Lord” (Jer 23:11).
He describes this in some detail:
Among the prophets of Samaria I saw this repulsive thing:
they prophesy by Baal and lead my people Israel astray. And among the prophets
of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible: they commit adultery and live a
lie. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his
wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me, the people of Jerusalem are like
Gomorrah... (Jer 23:13-14)
In understanding the spiritual battle erupting in Britain,
much can be discerned from the life and ministry of Jeremiah.
This is what is happening in Britain among some of its
church leaders who have embraced secular humanist values and are teaching lies
to the people: devising celebrations for transgender people in the name of God
instead of teaching them the truth and calling for repentance and change. They
even pollute the minds of little children by encouraging them to cross-dress
and to question their God-given gender created in the image of the God of
Creation. God will hold to account the wickedness of these church leaders.
But even in the midst of judgment, the faithful remnant
must proclaim a message of hope. Psalm 81 is a key to understanding this
blend of judgment and hope. It begins with singing joyfully to God and moves
into its message of warning and hope with the keywords “If only!”
Hear, O my people, and I will warn you – if you would but
listen to me O Israel! You shall have no
foreign God among you; you shall not bow down to an alien God. I am the Lord
your God who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill
it…If My People would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my
ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their
foes!…You would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I
would satisfy you… (Ps 81:8-16)
This is the message that needs to be proclaimed by the
faithful remnant – the message of warning and of hope – if my
people. It is the same message that Solomon received at the
dedication of the First Temple (2 Chron
7:14). If those who are faithful in declaring the word of the
Lord put their trust in him and are prepared to embody the message in their
lifestyles as well as to fearlessly declare it through every media at their
disposal, it will make an impact in the nation in the turbulent post-Brexit
days ahead. We may yet see the promises of blessings given through the prophets
coming into our nation.
Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your
heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your
garments. Return to the Lord your God for he is gracious and compassionate, slow
to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who
knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing… (Joel 2:2-14)
Let’s pray for our Nation
O LORD our God, we have sinned against You, provoking most
justly Your wrath and indignation against us, our country and our
denominations. We have sinned in thought and word and deed, in what we have
done and in what we have left undone, and there is no health in us, But You, O
Lord, have mercy upon us. In judgement remember mercy.
Restore us again that we may praise Your Name and live as we ought.
Restore us, heal our land, not for us but so that the nations will see Your mighty works and give glory to Your holy Name, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Amen [Submitted by Geoffrey Hilton-Turvey]
Restore us again that we may praise Your Name and live as we ought.
Restore us, heal our land, not for us but so that the nations will see Your mighty works and give glory to Your holy Name, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Amen [Submitted by Geoffrey Hilton-Turvey]
Restore, O
Lord,
The honour of Your name,
In works of sovereign power
Come shake the earth again;
That all may see
And come with reverent fear
To the living God,
Whose kingdom shall outlast the years.
The honour of Your name,
In works of sovereign power
Come shake the earth again;
That all may see
And come with reverent fear
To the living God,
Whose kingdom shall outlast the years.
Restore, O
Lord,
In all the earth Your fame,
And in our time revive
The church that bears Your name.
And in Your anger,
Lord, remember mercy,
O living God,
Whose mercy shall outlast the years.
In all the earth Your fame,
And in our time revive
The church that bears Your name.
And in Your anger,
Lord, remember mercy,
O living God,
Whose mercy shall outlast the years.
Bend us, O
Lord,
Where we are hard and cold,
In Your refiner's fire
Come purify the gold.
Though suffering comes
And evil crouches near,
Still our living God
Is reigning, He is reigning here.
Where we are hard and cold,
In Your refiner's fire
Come purify the gold.
Though suffering comes
And evil crouches near,
Still our living God
Is reigning, He is reigning here.
Restore, O
Lord,
The honour of Your name,
In works of sovereign power
Come shake the earth again;
That all may see
And come with reverent fear
To the living God,
Whose kingdom shall outlast the years.
The honour of Your name,
In works of sovereign power
Come shake the earth again;
That all may see
And come with reverent fear
To the living God,
Whose kingdom shall outlast the years.
Graham Kendrick
& Chris Rolinson
Copyright © 1981 Thankyou Music
Copyright © 1981 Thankyou Music
Scriptures:
Psalm 23, Psalm 80:3, Psalm 80:14, Psalm 80:19, Psalm 85:4, Psalm 102:27, Psalm 136:1, Habakkuk 3:2, 3:6, Haggai 2:6, 2:7
Psalm 23, Psalm 80:3, Psalm 80:14, Psalm 80:19, Psalm 85:4, Psalm 102:27, Psalm 136:1, Habakkuk 3:2, 3:6, Haggai 2:6, 2:7
[Submitted by Geoffrey Hilton-Turvey]
Please pray and share with your
intercessors, Bible Study Groups, Prayer Groups, Church Prayers, Men &
Women’s Groups. Thank you.
Las & Arlene Ratnayake
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