Crises in the Land and an Unrepentant Church

When a nation turns its back on God and refuses to heed divine correction through the remedial judgments of God, then that nation must face both the withdrawn favor of God and the withdrawn presence of God. God will just leave that nation alone in its sins while it serves its idols. This occurred in the life of the people of Israel.

Israel was enjoying a period of peace and material prosperity, but instead of giving God the glory through thankful and humble lives in submission to his commandments, they rebelled against the Most High and lived both selfishly and sinfully. The favored people of God eventually moved so far away from the heart of God that their lives mirrored the pagan nations surrounding them, but their sin was far worse than the pagan nations, for they had sinned against favor and light. Therefore, their punishment would be far more grievous for their aggravated sins and willful transgressions against the God who had delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians.

But because of his great love for his people, God in his mercy sent them remedial judgments to chastise them and draw them back to him. But his wayward and rebellious people refused to repent and turned back to the living God of the Bible, and because the backslidden people of God failed to interpret these divine chastisements that came forth from the hand of a loving Father with the purpose to correct the rebellious ways, divine favor was removed from them. No longer would God defeat their enemies, but rather God would allow the enemies of Israel to become the instruments of further divine chastisement.

Because the nation of Israel would not turn back to God through repentance and humility, they would suffer the withdrawn presence from among them with the declaration, Ephraim is joined to his idols, let him alone. Listen friends, America is a nation once favored by God, but now is under severe judgments from the Almighty. America is joined to her idols, leave her alone.

When a nation and church fail to heed the remedial judgments of God, then those judgments become more severe until there is only the alarming divine declaration, prepare to meet thy God. There is a crisis in the land, for a nation is in a downward spiral of self-destruction and the church is fast asleep on pillows of conformity and all of this adds up to a perfect storm of judgment for this nation. My message this evening is entitled, Crisis in the Land and an Unrepentant Church.

The church in America today has sinned and she refuses to repent and turn back to God. Her pride will be her biggest downfall. I want to read you friends a passage from the book of Isaiah this evening and I'd like for you to listen very carefully as I read it to you because there were vast similarities between Israel of old and America of today.

You'll see the parallels both in the nation and in the church as I read you this striking passage. You may turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 1 now for this is our study tonight. There is a crisis in the land friends because the church of America right now is completely derelict in her duty to repent toward God and her responsibility to be a light to the pagan nation by being jealous for God and crying out against sin.

But the church remains silent in the face of a morally bankrupt nation. Listen friends, if the church will not defend his holy name then the Almighty must. God will either pour out his blessings in revival to defend his holy name or he will pour out his wrath upon mankind to avenge his holy name.

It will either be a defending or avenging to show forth his glory and remind mankind he alone is the sovereign ruler of all. I like what Vance Havner had to say about the church of America in regard to her lost influence upon society. He said churches like Samson have gone to sleep in the lap of Delilah and though they go forth Sunday after Sunday to shake themselves the spirit of the Lord has departed.

Samson may have looked better after he had his hair cut but he lost his power. And it's true friends, the church has expanded her campus with bigger buildings but she has no power to influence a godless society for good. She's like a race car without an engine under her hood.

She may look impressive on the outside but powerless inside and when that happens apostasy soon sets in like a cancer and spreads its false doctrines throughout the whole body until there's just deadness everywhere. Churches make a lot of noise on Sunday with their loud music and shouting but that's all it is, noise in the ears of God. God is a million miles away from the average church in America today.

Let me read you our passage from Isaiah chapter 1. Do me a favor friend, clean out your minds so you can concentrate on the striking parallels of God's people in the Old Testament and the church in America today. The God portrayed in this passage is a different side of God you will typically hear from our pulpits today because our pulpits today just proclaim God loves you, God is a God of love. But our passage this evening speaks of a provoked God in his hot displeasure towards his people.

Here now is the word of God and may the spirit of God attend the reading of his holy word. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken. I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib, but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corruptors, they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more.

The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot, even unto the head, there is no soundness in it. But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores, they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire, your land strangers devoured in your presence, and it is desolate as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom, give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah, to what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me, saith the Lord? I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts, and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts, bring no more vain oblations, incenses, and abomination unto me, the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with, it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting, your new moons, and your appointed feasts, my soul hateth, they are a trouble unto me, I am weary to hear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you.

Yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear, your hands are full of blood, wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes, cease to do evil, learn to do well, seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow, come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land, but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. How is the faithful city? Become a harlot, it is full of judgment, righteousness lodged in it, but now murderers, thy silvers become dross, thy wine mixed with water.

I will stop there, friends. Notice several aspects of the degeneracy of both church and nation. Number one, they have forsaken the Lord.

Number two, their country is desolate. Number three, there is a call to repentance. Let's look at this first aspect of the spiritual departure of the people of God from God.

They have forsaken the Lord. There was corruption both in the land and in the church. They're compared to putrefying sores all over the body, where the corruption goes from the sole of the foot up to the head.

Great wickedness was practiced among them. The people as a land had revolted from God and refused to obey Him. Is this not what has occurred in America, friends? Has not America forsaken the God of the Bible? Has not America legislated God out of the White House, out of the courthouse, and out of the schoolhouse? Evil spreads over this land like a putrefying sore that contaminates and rots, and the church is powerless to do anything about it because the church has sinned and refuses to repent before God.

So we have a crisis in the land and an unrepentant church. We are a nation ripe for destruction. Notice the second aspect from our passage this evening.

Their country is desolate. There were judgments in the land upon the Jews. Their kingdom was almost ruined.

America was once greatly favored with seasons of revival and national awakenings, like the Great Awakening of 1740 and the Second Great Awakening of the 19th century. There was a time in this land, friends, when the people feared God and there was a God-consciousness in the land. Wickedness was in check, holiness was sought as a way of life, and many homes had family altars.

There was a reverence for the Bible, even if you were not a Christian. But now the entire nation, it seems, has been given over to evil. Evil is called good and good evil.

And where is the church in all of this? Sound asleep. Listen, friends. In 1740, when God moved through New England, it was called the Great Awakening.

Revival has often been referred to as an awakening. At Gethsemane, Jesus faced the crisis point of his earthly ministry and his disciples slept right through it. Today, the church is in a crisis point and we are sleeping right through it.

This nation is experiencing the withdrawn presence of God and our country is desolate. It used to be when you went to church years ago, you could experience a God-consciousness there. But now all you experience is loud music so loud it hurts your ears or there's just dead formality like a tomb.

The greatest judgment the unrepentant church in America is experiencing today is the withdrawn presence of the Almighty. Now, lastly, observe this third aspect from our passage today, and that is a call to repentance. God tells the Jews to cease to do evil.

In essence, he tells them that if they would have their sacrifices accepted and their prayers answered, they need to put away the evil of your doings. God even reasons with them in beckoning tones. Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord.

Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. God is calling his people to return to him.

But their spiritual and moral degeneracies so bad, they are like silver that's just dross and wine mixed with water. This speaks of their diluted religious services, mixed with their idols and customs of their pagan neighbors. Oh, friends, has not the church in America done this very thing? Has not the church in the last 50 years diluted the gospel message to make it more palatable to sinful man? Has not the church introduced strange fire into its worship services by bringing the world into the church? What a sad picture this is of backslidden Israel, back away from God and unwilling to recognize her condition and repent.

And what a tragic picture this is of America and the American church, both unwilling to turn from their wicked ways and seek the God of the Bible through brokenness and repentance. But the God of the Bible declares, return to me and I will return to you. Like I said, there is a crisis in the land and an unrepentant church.

I fear it may be too late for a wicked nation for she has filled up the cup of her iniquity before a holy God. I fear the church is too fast asleep on pillows of conformity to be roused to her duty of repentance. All that remains is swift destruction.

For the last decade, I've been calling the church in America to repentance before the Lord, but I fear my voice is too small to be heard. Still, it is necessary to cry in the wilderness, repent when the land lies in wickedness and the church lies fast asleep. If a sovereign God doesn't intervene and send us revival, we will surely self-destruct.

Heaven help us.