Where is the Horror
E.A. Johnston challenges the church to regain a holy horror toward sin and societal evil, urging repentance and revival through a heartfelt plea for God's mercy.
In this topical sermon, E.A. Johnston confronts the church's complacency toward the rampant sin and moral decay in society. Drawing from Psalm 119 and the book of Joel, he calls believers to a renewed sense of holy horror that leads to genuine repentance and spiritual revival. Johnston passionately urges the church to awaken from spiritual slumber, reclaim its prophetic voice, and seek God's mercy for the land.
Full Transcript
In Psalm 119.53, the psalmist unburdens his heart over a morally corrupt society around him, as he laments, Horror hath taken hold upon me because the wicked that forsake thy law. But there is not much horror today in the people of God, as we are conditioned to the godlessness around us, and have ceased to feel the horror. My insides are turned inside out.
Every time I see the news of another senseless murder in our country, today's headline features a horrific story about a Tennessee man who deliberately plowed his vehicle into a pregnant woman and her two-year-old son, killing them both instantly. He said he intentionally wanted to murder someone, and he randomly picked a couple and mowed them down. Here is a mother out walking with her little two-year-old boy, and she's looking forward to giving birth to the baby in her womb, and a devil-infested madman intentionally kills them both.
Where is the horror over such demonic activity in this God-forsaken land of ours? Where is the outrage among the people of God over the prevailing evil in the land? Why are we so sound asleep? Where is the horror in the daily bombardment of the homosexual movement in our nation that's in your face every day and everywhere you turn? Why is the church so silent as our communities grow more wicked and more violent every day? How can we keep on playing church on Sunday and pretend that nothing is wrong in our society? Why do we turn a blind eye to it? Why are we silent about it? Have we ourselves become so desensitized to sin by indulging in it that it no longer shocks us or shames us? Has watching Hollywood programming so tainted and corrupted us that sin is accepted, perversion is commonplace, and immorality is the standard in the land? Why has the church lost her voice of authority? Is it because somewhere in our personal lives we have forfeited our right to the Spirit's anointing? Where is the horror among us at the withdrawn presence of God from us? When will we get desperate enough to fall on our faces before Almighty God and repent of our lack of horror? When will we turn our sanctuaries into Bethels and follow the mandate of brokenness and repentance seen in the book of Joel and cry out to God over our sins and the sins of our land? In Joel we read, Gird yourselves and lament ye priests, How ye ministers of the altar come, Lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God, For the meat offering and the drink offering is withholding from the house of your God. Sanctify ye a fast, call ye a solemn assembly, Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land Into the house of the Lord your God, And cry unto the Lord, Great God Almighty, have mercy on this land. We need a heaven-sent revival.
Please turn us, Lord. Give us the grace to repent us, Waken us out of our sleep, And give us a sense of horror once again. In Jesus Christ's name I pray.
Amen.
Sermon Outline
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I
- The psalmist's horror over wickedness in Psalm 119:53
- The modern church's desensitization to evil
- The moral decay evident in society today
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II
- Examples of horrific sin in current events
- The church's silence and complicity
- The loss of the Spirit's anointing and authority
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III
- The call to lament and repentance from the book of Joel
- The need for solemn assemblies and fasting
- A plea for God’s mercy and revival
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IV
- The urgency of waking from spiritual sleep
- Restoring a sense of horror toward sin
- Turning sanctuaries into places of brokenness and prayer
Key Quotes
“Where is the horror over such demonic activity in this God-forsaken land of ours?” — E.A. Johnston
“Have we ourselves become so desensitized to sin by indulging in it that it no longer shocks us or shames us?” — E.A. Johnston
“When will we get desperate enough to fall on our faces before Almighty God and repent of our lack of horror?” — E.A. Johnston
Application Points
- Cultivate a personal sensitivity to sin that prompts genuine sorrow and repentance.
- Engage regularly in prayer, fasting, and corporate lament to seek God’s mercy for your community.
- Encourage your church to become a place of brokenness and revival, actively confronting societal evil.