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Discussion Forum : Scriptures and Doctrine : Is there a desperate cry in the land?

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 Is there a desperate cry in the land?

In North America the word of God has been proclaimed probably more than any other nation on earth. There is such a low view of who God is across the west in general. Some kindly grandfather? a benevolent santa clause? A buddy?. Of course He is none of these things, He is high and lifted up, the train of His robe fills the temple, He is majestic in holiness, He is aweful, meaning full of awe. Those around His throne can only cry out “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty.’

And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course: Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God. (2 Chron 5:11-14)

Unless the people have an encounter with such a God, they will continue to have a low view of Him and worship some weak anemic cultural god of their own making. What a thousand excellent sermons cannot teach, can be learned with one moment in the genuine presence of God. The church in the west is starving to death, they are dying of thirst and the tragedy is that for the most part, the majority that are called after His name do not even know that they are in the midst of a famine and drought. I thank God for His remnant people who do know. Who agonize over the state of the church. Who cry out to God and who want nothing less for the multitude of people to experience the majesty and the glory and and anguish and the joy of falling down before the throne, to be ruined for life and to walk with the grand obsession of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Neh 8:10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

There is coming a time, and we may be there already, when God is calling His people, His remnant people, who have experienced the presence of God, to rise up and testify to it. To testify of what they know of Him. Of how they come into the presence of a Holy and majestic God, of how it ruins them and changes them, of how they tremble before the throne of the almighty God. This is what the people are starved of, this is what they are dying of thirst from. There is a famine of the Word of God in the land, not the Word preached, but the Word preached with the power and the presence of God. The crisis of the age is a lack of God’s empowering presence in our assemblies.

The hearts of those who cried out as Ezra read the word was the hearts of those who had an encounter with the living God, the same living God who can replace a spirit of heaviness with garments of praise. The same God who can strengthen His people with joy unspeakable. Can we do anything outside of His presence? Unless the Lord builds the house then we labor in vain. Every church , every gathering throughout the land should shut down their activities until they have the presence of the Lord walking in their midst, until the people know that ” the heavens shall be shut up, and there is no rain because they have sinned against You; if they pray toward this place, and confess Your name, and turn from their sin when You afflict them, then hear from Heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and of Your people Israel, when You have taught them the good way in which they should walk. And send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people for an inheritance.”


When the people realize how far they have wandered from the Living God, when they are desperate enough to cry out because ” there is famine in the land, if there is a plague, if blasting or mildew, locusts or ravagers, if their enemies have distressed them in the gates of their land, with any plague and any sickness; whatever prayer, whatever cry shall be made by any man, or by all Your people Israel, when everyone shall know his own plague and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house; then hear from Heaven, Your dwelling-place, and forgive, and give to every man according to all his ways, whose heart You know. For You only know the hearts of the sons of men,” then God will hear the cry’s of the desperate heart.

We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. When the people who dwell in great darkness see the children of the living God set on fire, when they see that the fire of God has fallen upon the temple, when the glory of God fills the temple, then those who dwell in the darkness of this world will be drawn to the light of Christ that burns at the center of our hearts and souls. Will we serve the Lord our God with all of our hearts? Are we ready to throw off the things of this world and enter into the Holy of Holy’s? The Kingdom of God dwells within us, it was and is and is to come.

Shall we take our place before the throne? Is the Lord inviting us to the marriage feast and tragically we are too busy? Do we make excuses as to why we do not come fully before Him? He is knocking at the door of your heart, will you open up your heart and let Him reign upon its throne today? Will you give Him your all today? He will have all of us or He will have none of us. To look back at the things of the world disqualifies us from serving Him. Come brothers and sisters with our whole hearts, come to Him and cry out with a desperate cry ” Lord I die of hunger today, I desperately need your word with your power and your presence. Lord today I am dying of thirst, I have an unquenchable thirst for the Living waters of life and I desire to be fully immersed in this river and want to be taken to wherever it will take me. Lord I would rather be in the center of your will and die today, than to live 30 more years of compromise in a dry and thirsty land.”

What hinders you today brothers and sisters from entering into the fullness of God? Its not the Lord, His desire is to possess all of you and be the Lord of your whole life. So what hinders you today? Lay it down and come and walk in the fullness of Him.

 2010/8/1 23:25









 Re: Is there a desperate cry in the land?

Is He the air that you breathe? Are you desperate for Jesus?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjkBVn_eUec&feature=related

 2010/8/2 11:29
sojourner7
Member



Joined: 2007/6/27
Posts: 1573
Omaha, NE

 Re:

These are indeed desperate, difficult times;
but the Church is not desperate on its knees
seeking the presence, power, and purpose of
GOD!!

OSWALD J. SMITH


_________________
Martin G. Smith

 2010/8/2 12:16Profile









 Re: Is there a desperate cry in the land?

My Dear Frank,

you know What is so wonderful about the God the Holy Spirit?

i saw the headline, "is there a desperate cry in this land?" and i just KNEW in my heart you, with the Leading of the Holy Spirit, was this thread's author.

i dont write this to tickle your ears, but to encourage you in my way, and that might be God is using my keyboard to encourage you.

you pointedly asked at the end:

"What hinders you today brothers and sisters from entering into the fullness of God? Its not the Lord, His desire is to possess all of you and be the Lord of your whole life. So what hinders you today?"

oh dear brother, the answer to that, from me, is a very long phone call...yes maybe a PM, but my fingers get so tired.

Frank, getting or being "sifted" is never "fun", doesnt "feel good", but its an absolute requirement of those in need of restoration. Speaking for myself, only, its now just between Jesus and me.

That's why i havent been calling in on Tuesdays, i will NOT play games with God, or His saints, i will not try to "steady the Ark" with "unclean hands"......one must go BACK to their "first love", and the Foundation that is built on is Jesus, VIA private secret prayer in TOTAL SUBMISSION to Jesus.

no excuses, except to say your writings and exhortations encourage me, stiff necked as i am.

in Jesus' love, neil

 2010/8/2 13:16









 Re:

Neil writes.......

"its now just between Jesus and me."

Amen to that work brother, but dont let it stop you calling in. Our prayer warriors are made up of imperfect people starting with me at the top of the list. Yet we serve a perfect Jesus. He is able to complete that which He has begin in us for His own good pleasure. When we cease from our works and enter into His rest, then He truly begins to work through us and He gets all the glory. The Lord can do great things with a humble and willing heart. If your fingers are tired, I'll gladly take or make the call..........your brother in Christ.......Frank

 2010/8/2 19:38
philologos
Member



Joined: 2003/7/18
Posts: 6566
Reading, UK

 Re: Is there a desperate cry in the land?

In the 60's and 70's I was the beneficiary of a powerful movement that swept through the UK. Part of the benefit was a republishing of 120 unshortened Wesley Hymns. We sing them still to great blessing. A preface to this "Hymns of Eternal Truth" came to mind when I saw the tile of this thread.


"HERE is a selection of the incomparable poems of the Wesley brothers, the poetry of which is as sublime as it is heavenly, and breathes from the eternal Spirit who inspired their hearts. In this realm they have no betters and few, if any, equals.

This book is a collection of long-loved and new- found truth, "treasures new and old', offered to lovers of Jesus our Lord.

Throughout the land hearts cry out for the realities herein set forth, and these hymns give expression to the unspeakable yearnings within in a manner which beautiful poetry and utmost piety unaided cannot accomplish, for many have produced such hymns but have failed of that "something' that so permeates the writings of the Wesleys as to place them in a class above all others.
The difference surely lies in the fact that these hymns were born in revival, and come from the Spirit of Life then breathing through the land.

Our Lord gave them to His Church, and wherever souls long for language of the Spirit these hymns will be sung by all so blessed as to know them.
Could heart-cries be formed and framed in better words than these, or man declare his faith more gloriously."

These words in particular came to mind...
"Throughout the land hearts cry out for the realities herein set forth, and these hymns give expression to the unspeakable yearnings within..."


My testimony is that is was true in that time... and today...?
I am not sure that I hear the heart-cry of earlier years... but we pray...


_________________
Ron Bailey

 2010/8/5 9:45Profile
mkal
Member



Joined: 2007/10/8
Posts: 49
Minnesota

 Re: Is there a desperate cry in the land?

You wrote:
Unless the people have an encounter with such a God, they will continue to have a low view of Him and worship some weak anemic cultural god of their own making. What a thousand excellent sermons cannot teach, can be learned with one moment in the genuine presence of God. The church in the west is starving to death, they are dying of thirst and the tragedy is that for the most part, the majority that are called after His name do not even know that they are in the midst of a famine and drought. I thank God for His remnant people who do know. Who agonize over the state of the church. Who cry out to God and who want nothing less for the multitude of people to experience the majesty and the glory and and anguish and the joy of falling down before the throne, to be ruined for life and to walk with the grand obsession of the Lord Jesus Christ.
____________________________________________________

My reply: When I have tried to speak this message that you are speaking, to other Christians, I am either accused of legalism or they say "that is just your gift brother," and "some just have a prophetic bent," and so on and so forth....type of comments. Some also cling to the old sayings, such as "Well, brother, we are all in different places....God deals differently with each of us," etc. I guess it does not matter where we are at in our growth, ministry or experience, if we are altogether in famine and drought, which should bring us together in prayer and repentance.

 2010/8/19 21:54Profile









 Re:

"I guess it does not matter where we are at in our growth, ministry or experience, if we are altogether in famine and drought, which should bring us together in prayer and repentance."

Amen brother. The bigger picture is often not seen. Its not about one person doing okay, or some churches are fine, its about the fact that Christendom lies in the midst of a devastating famine and drought.

I just noticed Ron's reply about the hymns........

"Our Lord gave them to His Church, and wherever souls long for language of the Spirit these hymns will be sung by all so blessed as to know them.
Could heart-cries be formed and framed in better words than these, or man declare his faith more gloriously."


Heart cries. Is there heart cries? Do we weep at the state of the church? Are we desperate? Nothing will be released until we make a desperate cry that demolishes pride and assaults the throne of God. In my childhood we were very poor. We lived in a one bedromed apartment in a tenement, five of us. My father was a drunk. We often had to stay silent as debtors knocked on the door. Yet no one knew outside of our house the true nature of our circumstances. Yet, the time came when we were faced with a "Warrant sale." This was a procedure by the local authorities to collect debts, typically unpaid rent or property tax (rates) The sale would be conducted by officers of the court. It would be advertized in the local paper and people would come to your house and anything in the house was sold to repay the debts. It was one of the most humbling things that could happen to someone. They would be publicly shamed and they would lose the little that they had. They often ended up deeper in debt because the little that they had was worth next to nothing and the court officers charged a hefty fee for their " services."

In an act of desperation, my mother kncked on the door of a virtual stranger and told her that she was " desperate." You can read the whole story here ......

http://scottishwarriors.wordpress.com/2008/11/10/begging-for-a-strangerjesus-is-calling-tenderly-calling/

Desperation drove my mother to the door of a virtual stranger to beg for a loan of money. Outside of the dire consequences she would never have humbled herself in such a manner, but she was " desperate." Much of todays church is Spiritually bankrupt. Will they humble themselves, acknowledge their state, and cry out to the only one that can help them? The kind of humility required is the deepest kind, the kind that dashes pride upon the rocks of neccesity. Will men, will leaders especially, humble themsleves and acknowledge their state and their need? God alone knows..........brother Frank

 2010/8/19 23:37
ADisciple
Member



Joined: 2007/2/3
Posts: 835
Alberta, Canada

 Re:

Frank said, "The bigger picture is often not seen. Its not about one person doing okay, or some churches are fine, its about the fact that Christendom lies in the midst of a devastating famine and drought."

This is certainly the case where I live, Frank (southern Alberta).

The only prayer partner I have, most of the time, is the Lord.

You mentioned earlier the passage in Amos about the famine of hearing the word of the Lord (Amos 8.11). It doesn't mean there isn't lots of "the word" around. But where is the hearing that springs from a Living Word going forth? This is sadly lacking.

...I often think of this other passage in Amos as well, which your quote (above) reminded me of.

"And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

"And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereon it rained not withered.

"So two or three cities wandered unto one city to drink water; but they were not satisifed: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD" (Amos 4.6-8).

...Here it is, raining upon one city... and I suppose the people in that city are rejoicing for the revival "rain" that's falling... and yet God calls it famine conditions! Raining here, and drought there, a little rain here, and dry as a bone over there, and people wandering from city to city, trying to get a little of the rain. Famine and drought conditions.

And what is God calling for when things are thus? "Return unto Me..."

...Then comes Malachi. He called the people to return, and they said, "Wherein shall we return?" That's hard thing. They felt they were already on the in with God. So, what do you mean, Return to Me?



_________________
Allan Halton

 2010/8/20 0:16Profile
Lysa
Member



Joined: 2008/10/25
Posts: 3699
East TN for now!

 Re: Is there a desperate cry in the land?


Is there a desperate cry in the land?
------------------
No.

Perhaps among a few but still no.


_________________
Lisa

 2010/8/20 6:29Profile





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