Such a Time As This…

Every now and then, in the big scheme of things, I think you come to a moment in history that is pivotal, and I think we have come to just such a time as a nation. Perhaps as a world. And I’m speaking of something larger than our politics here in the United States.

“This crisis is the first truly universal one in the history of humanity,” former IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus said at an ADB forum in Manila. He was talking of the economic crisis of course, and he added, “No country escapes from it. It has not yet bottomed out.”

Some believe our “crisis” is bigger than just economics. David Wilkerson, a guy I call a “big dog” in the faith, recently wrote: “What we are experiencing now is not a recession, not even a depression. We are under God’s wrath.”

But whether we are facing nothing more than a severe, worldwide recession or the beginnings of the Tribulation itself -spoken of in the book of Revelation, I believe we are still facing an important moment in history. An important moment in our nation, and in our communities.

Even in our lives, we face tests of faith. Many times in Scripture when the test of faith came to someone, it wasn’t because they lacked faith themselves. On the contrary, they often proved they were certainly faithful enough to overcome a crisis or a test. No it happened, if we can simplify it to a sentence, because for whatever reason, God willed it, allowed it, and planned to work some great work through it.

Here’s what I’m talking about: God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his own son Isaac. Abraham just about did it, and God stopped it at the last second… but why?

Well we know, we understand now, that Isaac was a model of what Christ would do later. The whole situation of sacrificing a son, was fulfilled in Jesus. The really crazy thing is, the whole situation with Abraham and Isaac actually happened in the same area that Jesus would later sacrifice Himself for the sins of the entire world. We can see that now.

Sometimes, after a crisis has passed, after a test of faith has run its course, we can see the “why.” Sometimes we can make sense of it. Of course, sometimes we can’t, or at least it might take years to see it, but it’s obvious that God has often done things for a very good reason. We’ve all seen that from time to time.

We know, we understand now, that God allowed Shadrach, Meshach and Abendego to be thrown into a firey furnace, allowed Daniel to be thrown into the Lions Den, and allowed Paul and Silas to be beaten and thrown into a dungeon, so God could rescue them from it.

But in every one of these moments and countless others we read about in the Bible -the people in the story had a very real role to play. They were put on the spot. They faced danger. They didn’t always understand, they often had nothing they could do but trust God.

It sounds easy when you read it, but I don’t think it really was. They weren’t any better than us. They were still just as human as us. They even admitted occasionally that they weren’t sure what would happen. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego come to mind. Yet, these three guys still told the king that even if God did not save them… they weren’t going to bow to an idol. And subsequently, they all got thrown in the furnace. I don’t think that was easy for them to do.

Daniel refused to quit praying, and got thrown in the Lions Den.

Abraham, according to Hebrews 11:19, when told to sacrifice his one and only son, was able to go ahead with it because he figured God could raise Isaac from the dead. (Again, mirroring what God would go through with His one and only Son) But I bet no one was more relieved than Abraham when God told him to stop.

Well… maybe Isaac.

So now that we’ve admitted it’s not easy for anyone… notice this verse:

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. -Ephesians 2:10

Now this is the same book, where several paragraphs before, it says

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—
-Ephesians 1:4-5

So when it says, God prepared in advance some good works that we were supposed to do… evidently He did this a long time ago. He looked into the future, He saw you, He knew you, -everything about you. And so when we say God has a “plan” for your life, we meant that literally. He made you for a reason. He made you the way you are for a reason.

But it’s more than that, because it says we are His workmanship IN CHRIST. Before you came to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, before you put on Jesus in baptism, you were living in the world, and you were part of the world. That’s what you belonged to. But in Christ, as a member of the body of Christ because you’ve believed, you’ve turned to Him, you’ve been baptized in His name…Now that you are equipped with the Holy Spirit… Now that you have the power of God behind you…

God has some works for you to do. And He prepared them, and set all this up before the creation of the world. Basically it comes down to something you might hear in a Mission Impossible movie: You and I have a mission if we choose to accept it.

When the Israelites eventually disobeyed God enough, they went into captivity and were hauled off to Babylon. The southern kingdom is who I’m talking about, even though I use the word “Israelites.” The northern kingdom called Israel had been hauled off and scattered by the Assyrians, and the southern kingdom, called Judah was overthrown and hauled to Babylon by king Nebuchadnezzar. With me so far? So I’m referring to the southern kingdom.

They were there for 70 years, and during that time Babylon changed hands. First it was the Babylonians, but they were defeated by the Persians. The Jews were part of that society over there, just like Jews are a part of our society here, like they’ve been a part of European society, and so forth. They’ve never lost their national identity, something which actually fulfills Bible prophecy.

But while they were in Persia, one of the kings got mad at his wife and decided to pick a new queen. He chose a Jew, only… he didn’t realize she was a Jew at first. Probably just though she was beautiful and that was all he needed. Who knows? Maybe he liked the way she cooked.

After she becomes queen, a conspiracy to get rid of the Jews is hatched by an evil guy named Haman, and he gets the king to sign an edict that gives permission to kill the Jews on a certain day. This man has one particular Jew in mind that he’d like to kill -a guy by the name of Mordecai. Unfortunately for Haman, he picked the wrong guy to try and kill. Mordecai, you see, raised Esther as his own daughter after her parents died. Perhaps Haman should have done better homework?

Because naturally, Mordecai appeals to his “daughter” Esther -the new queen- and asks her to talk to the king and fix things. You know, take care of Haman’s scheme because she is in a great position now. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know right?

The new queen, Esther, is scared to approach the king however, because to do so risks death. You couldn’t just show up unannounced with the Persian king, even if you were his wife. So she was frightened… and she told Mordecai she was frightened…

But you see, it was one of those moments. One of those pivotal moments in Esther’s life, where she was put in a place for a reason. Mordecai sent her a message and here’s how the Bible describes it:

“he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish.

And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

-Esther 4:13-14

See, he understood, and after Esther read this, she got it too. And I believe this story and all the others teach that God doesn’t accidentally put us in certain positions, in certain places and at certain times. He does it on purpose.

We are created in Christ Jesus to do good works, that He prepared in advance… even though sometimes, those works are scary, risky, and tough.

So what I’m about to tell you isn’t some earth shattering revelation I received from the Lord via a dream or a vision, or an angel who sent me a golden email.

I’m saying this because it’s just something I believe.

This is our moment.

It’s not anyone else’s, it’s ours. See just look around. Like Esther, like those guys in the fiery furnace, like Abraham, we are finding ourselves increasingly at a moment in history, a moment in time, when we will be tested, when we can be used by God at a pivotal moment.

Will we step up to the plate? Will we have courage, and keep our faith, even though it is tested by fire? Will we “live up to what we have already attained.” -Philippians 3:16 as Paul wrote?

What’s that mean anyway? Well to me, it’s just another way of saying will I practice what I preach? I have attained salvation in Christ, I have attained a fellowship with Him, I have attained a lot great blessings by putting my faith in Christ… now… am I living like it?

There is nothing in this world, quite so powerful, as a person who has sold out to Jesus. Sure there’s a big crowd that says being sold out to Jesus is dangerous, but the only thing they know of Jesus is what Hollywood teaches them about the Catholic Church in the Dark Ages or what some brilliant religulous mind says about how terrorists who bomb buildings and Christians who feed the poor are somehow the same. Right. Whatever. Uh huh. Puh-leeze.

If you’ve read the Scripture and know Jesus Christ, you know what I’m talking about. A life sold out to do what Jesus would do, to be what He wants you to be, that steps up to the plate and lives everything we claim to believe… that sort of life is more powerful than any force on this earth. A tsunami makes history, but a sold out believer changes history.

And our community, our nation needs just that sort of person right now. We need people like that today. And quickly.

Want to draw a parallel from history? Try this one:

The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. -Isaiah 1:1

That’s how the book of Isaiah beings, and those were some of the last kings of Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel. Uzziah reigned 52 years, Jotham 16, Ahaz 16, and Hezekiah 29. Ninety-three years altogether, and during some portion of the reigns of all four, Isaiah served as a prophet.

Go to college these days, or listen to the media talk about the Bible, and you’ll soon discover that liberal critics believe Isaiah was written by at least 2 different guys, probably 3, maybe more.

It’s a symptom of why we are really, really in trouble. Let me explain… You might find this to be shocking, but those claims are fairly easy to dismiss upon further study and closer looks. At least in my opinion. Maybe that’s just me. Everything from the background of the book, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the consensus from history disproves it.

But I digress just a bit…

The part I want to point out is that quite often (if not always) the basis for claiming Isaiah must have been written by more than one person, is that predicting the future is impossible. It’s a denial of the supernatural. Isaiah, not only predicted things that came true, but he even named a king who hadn’t even been born. Cyrus of the Persians.

That’s just impossible for many people to believe, despite the fact that Isaiah is quoted more in the NT than any book besides Psalms, and besides the fact that until the 1700’s, no one ever questioned it, and despite the fact that the Jewish historian Josephus records that Cyrus discovered that his name was in the book and was greatly influenced by it, and despite the fact that’s it’s fairly easy to show the book was written from Israel by one writer…

Ok I’m digressing again.

Much of our world with its liberal theologians, skeptics, and atheists, simply does not believe in the supernatural. The simple fact Cyrus’ name was in there, is enough to disprove it in many people’s opinions.

We don’t believe in a God that has a hand in human endeavors, who changes lives, who orchestrates things, and who has a purpose for every one of us. We don’t believe it.

Which makes us a lot like the people Isaiah is speaking to. So it’s not just a parallel for us, it’s an flat-out example for us too.

Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: “I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.”
-Isaiah 1:2-3

We’re in the same situation. America has long thought of itself as a Christian nation, but today we try to get away from that idea. We argue about whether that was ever true. A more important factor that I would point out is that God has given us great success in wars and blessed us with our independence and freedom. And without a doubt, God has made us the most powerful, and the richest nation in the history of planet earth.

And yet, we are like Israel when Isaiah wrote this prophecy. The ox knows his master… the ox knows who is in charge…but we don’t know. We think we are. We are repulsed by the idea that God is in charge. In our nation, if you say God caused something bad to happen, or God is judging us for our sin, you will be ridiculed and scorned.

An ox might know who is master is, but we think we are the masters of our own destiny. We believe it’s our political party, our ideology, our ideas, our creativity, our values which can save our nation, and turn things around. We have HOPE in every new president, this one perhaps most of all.

We are fundamentally wrong.

A donkey knows his owner’s manger… that’s where they put the feed…. but we do not understand. We believe that our food, our prosperity, comes from our economic system, or our skills at fixing the economic system. We are faced with a crisis as bad as the one from the 1930’s and we rush around seeking our answers in our political parties, and our business acumen when the truth is, we have enjoyed prosperity because the Lord gave it to us.

When it comes to the economy, we can turn the dials this way or that way, we can adjust the meters, open the valves here or there, we can tinker with the engine, or step back and kick it…

But the Lord can give prosperity, and He can take it away. We really don’t know who’s in charge, and we don’t understand how this really works.

Therefore Isaiah isn’t just an example either. It’s a warning.

As this prophecy comes to the Israelites, they are in a tough situation. First, sin was weighing heavy on them.

Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the LORD; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.
-Isaiah 1:4

And second, they were in dire straights

Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers. The Daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field of melons, like a city under siege. Unless the LORD Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.
-Isaiah 1:7-9

The daughter of Zion, (Isaiah himself used it in II Chronicles and II Kings…) refers to Jerusalem, so when he says “like a city under siege” -it is not necessarily just symbolic, they probably were under siege.

During the reigns of Uzziah and Jotham, things had gone pretty well, and both of those kings, according to the Bible, did what was good in the sight of the Lord. They weren’t perfect, but pretty good.

Uzziah got prideful in his old age, and Jotham never got rid of all the idol worship, but the Israelites (the southern kingdom) under their reigns were blessed.

Ahaz changed all of that. He followed other gods, he placed himself as a vassal to Assyria. He adopted the Assyrian’s gods and even closed up the temple Jerusalem and worship of the Lord there ceased for awhile. Ahaz was so bad that when he died, they didn’t even bury him with the other kings.

His son however, Hezekiah, was one of the best kings ever. He reopened the Temple, got the worship going again, had the priests consecrate themselves and got the ministry of the priests and the Levites going again.

Which is good, but practicing religion, and following God can be two different things. And Isaiah lived through all four of these guys, but this prophecy in chapter one seems to point to Hezekiah’s days in my view. Despite being religious again, not all was well. Like us actually.

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. -II Kings 18:13

Now most of the time we talk about how God delivered Hezekiah and the Israelites…but notice… Jerusalem was still standing but “all the fortified cities of Judah” had been captured.

Here’s the thing… it wasn’t their religious practices that would save them… and God told Isaiah He was upset with several things. One was “meaningless” offerings.

“The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?” says the LORD. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. …. Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
-Isaiah 1:11 and 13a

What about us? Obviously we don’t make animal sacrifices in Christianity. Instead we bring other types of “sacrifices” according to the Bible. We bring sacrifices of praise and worship the Lord in song. We bring offerings of money and worship the Lord in giving. Is there ever a time when God might consider them meaningless?

Let’s answer that later. Right now, lets mention the other two things God was tired of. Number two, God was tired of their assemblies.

Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.
-Isaiah 1:13-14

Now that’s a bit worrisome because Christians are all about assembling together. It’s one of the main things we do. Could God ever grow tired of those as well?

Finally, God said something, the like of which would draw protests from all sorts of people:

When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; -Isaiah 1:15

The idea that God wouldn’t listen to our prayers is not even allowed in many circles, yet there it is. He said it. Could that ever happen to us?

It happened to them didn’t it? Why? They weren’t living up to what they had attained. They weren’t practicing what they preached.

wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.
-Isaiah 1:16-17

and again

See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her— but now murderers! Your silver has become dross, your choice wine is diluted with water. Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them.
-Isaiah 1:21-23

See the test wasn’t how religious they were. They were very religious. The test was how they were actually living. And in the United States of America, we may be a very religious nation, but we fail the same test. In the same ways in fact.

We used to be a nation where kids grew up in the neighborhood and the neighbors would look out for them. Today, we watch neighborhood kids kidnapped and murdered. Sometimes the murderers are the parents. The part in Isaiah about Israel’s hands being covered with blood and how murderers dwell in her… fits us today.

We have too often compromised the Word of God to suit ourselves. We act religious, but if the Bible says something we disagree with, we ignore it. We are like silver that has not been purified. Our religion is just an outward appearance, it’s not pure, it’s diluted. We compromise with the world and not just with politics or national issues. Christians compromise at work, at home, and we let sin into our lives while still claiming we follow God.

But let’s not leave politics completely out. What Isaiah said about our rulers fits us to a “T” doesn’t it? Our rulers are far too often companions with thieves, people who love bribes and chase after gifts. Sometimes our rulers are the theives.

And instead of loving justice and looking out for the poor, we have taken the poor for a ride with high interest rates, business environments that remove competition so the rich can get richer off the backs of those who have no choice, and through it all we entice people into more and more debt that is nothing more than slavery.

From gambling, to credit, to gasoline, to insurance, to health care and more… surely you’ve noticed the rich get much richer while the poor are paying 29% interest on loans? They are. Sometimes more. Those types of things were outlawed for the Jews in Scripture because they took advantage of the poor.

And we don’t think God doesn’t notice? When this and worse things such as the world-wide slave sex trade, and political corruption, has been going on so long it’s almost normal… Did we think God wouldn’t step in and do something?

Our nation has no idea who the master really is, or where the prosperity comes from, and unless we repent… we will find out the hard way.

So this is our moment now, as the hand of God strikes us in economic judgment. Perhaps it will merely be a recession, perhaps more, but whatever happens, this is our moment. This is our time. God put you here, in this situation, for a reason.

He even held His hand out to Israel during their time of crisis.

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
-Isaiah 1:18-20

Hezekiah and Jerusalem were surrounded by Assyria who had laid seige to the city. They turned to the Lord to save them and He did. Overnight, an angel of the Lord killed 185,000 soldiers, leaders and officers in the Assyrian camp. And the Assyrians withdrew out of the nation. Jerusalem was saved.

And if we turn to the Lord, even though disaster may strike all across the world, the Lord knows how to protect and save the people who belong to Him.

As frightening as it may be in our society, and as politically incorrect as it is, I do believe God is calling us to repent. To seek for our ultimate deliverance from our crisis by doing the very thing God called Israel to do. Stop doing wrong, start doing right. Help those who are poor, stop defrauding them and enslaving them. Quit seeking riches more than we seek righteousness. Become a nation, a people, that isn’t merely religious on Sunday morning occasionally, but practices what we preach the rest of the week too. Quit sinning and excusing it. Obey the Lord! Quit justifying what seems right to us, and start trying to understand what is right in God’s eyes. Humble ourselves before God, and do so even when no one else is looking.

I do not believe we will stop this crisis, but I do believe God can deliver you through it. In every depression, there are always pockets and areas that are not as hard hit. So understand, God can bring you through it. You can be protected if you will turn to the Lord. If you listen to Him and allow Him to bring every area of your life into obedience to Him.

Because He is coming soon, and even if He tarries, His hand is already upon the world to exercise judgment for a time.

Are we willing to be the people He called us to be?
To stand for the Lord in this moment in History?
To live up to what we have already attained?
Do we recognized that God has put us here, in this place, for such a time as this?