Flee the Wrath

So often I hear a testimony of how God answers a prayer, of how God met a need, of how He faithfully provided. So often in our culture the answered prayer is in terms of material or financial blessing.

Like one testimony I recall. “God knew I needed a new car, so I prayed and went out to the car lot and found one and there was this great car and the price was discounted especially for me, Praise God, isn’t He good. He answers my prayers.”

And so we assume that God is with us because He faithfully provided for our desire for a new car, better job, pay increase, more customers, more business. So often in our culture material blessing is the measure, the testimony of a faithful God.

But this thought leaves me troubled. I wonder what the testimony of the persecuted Christian sounds like. “God knew we needed to be protected, to protect my family, protect my home, protect my church. He knew what I needed and then the persecutors came, burned my house, destroyed my church, killed my pastor and now we are homeless”. Like that testimony would go down like a sack of you know what in one of our churches.

How on earth does the persecuted one know that God is with Him? this is my question. When the measuring stick we use to judge our faith is material blessing, what will we do when persecution or trouble comes? Will we think perhaps that God has abandoned us. For all of the things we came to trust God for are now gone. The things that we supposed that God gave us are now gone, and there is no rest for our souls.

Based on the above I would say that we have to be very careful to discern a real faith in our culture. If we use the measuring stick of the western gospel we may be found wanting. Our gospel goes a bit like this :

Blessed are you when god provides for your every need and want in life, from all manner of personal desires to material needs, from new cars to higher paid jobs, to church growth…..blessed are you. And when you are surrounded by the abundance of your material blessing you will be assured that God truly loves you and has the best plan for your life.

Think about it, and compare to the gospel of Christ.

The true gospel goes like this : “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Mat 5:11

Blessed are the poor, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek.

Selah!

Ezekiel 13 speaks of walls built without mortar, of walls coated with whitewash, because the people were unprepared, the prophets had prophesied peace and safety and the people had believed all was well, they had built this wall on a false hope and it would shortly fall and the foundation would be revealed. I would liken this message to much of the western church today. I don’t hear any of the popular preachers warning anyone about anything being wrong with the faith of the church, sure the world is about to go through some trouble but it’s like, you’ll be ok cause God loves you. Wrong, wrong, wrong, we are lukewarm, backslidden, worshipping the idols of Babylon, all is not well and it’s all about to be shaken.

What is the true foundation of your faith, when you are uncovered shall you be found naked or clothed with garments of righteousness.

I suspect things will get pretty bad in the days ahead. Especially in the good ol’ USA, and perhaps amongst many other of the Western nations that make up the kingdom of Mystery Babylon. In the day of trouble, in the day of hunger, God will not have abandoned you, but He will be inviting you to find comfort, strength and hope in Him. When the earthly treasure has gone, when those things you hoped in have failed, Hope in God.

In the days ahead many of us may also need to recalibrate our measuring stick of faith. If we use the present standard we will be like the untempered walls without mortar, easily blown over by the stormy wind. Perhaps our faith ought to be to be compared to something more like this statement “when all around me is counted as lost, when I have nothing, when the comforts of this world depart me, when my oppressors overtake me, when injustice prevails against me, when my eyes are darkened with tears of sorrow, yet I will hope in God , for He will avenge me, He will account for injustice, He will destroy the wicked with the breath of His mouth, and I will see His salvation”