Discerning the Times: Days of Light and Intense Evil

“In the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power.” (II Timothy 3:1-5)

“There will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words.” (II Pet. 2:1-3)

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” (I Peter 1:14-16)

Today's church is very much like the religious leaders in the days of Jesus.  They could certainly tell the difference between superficial things like when the weather would be nice and when it would not be so nice, but they could not discern between that which is truth and that which is false or error (Matthew 16:1-3).

Many churches across the landscape of America have abandoned biblical ethics and standards, pure doctrine and divine truth, a deep reverence and worship of God, repentance from sin, humility toward God, and a profound understanding of God's nature, character and perfect will. A departure from these profound principles has produced a low-level commitment to holy living and kingdom influence.

I am convinced that as goes the church so goes the communities and the nation.  The people of God are called to speak the truth and influence society and culture toward righteousness.  Because we have been deceived into believing the lie of the enemy that we are to stay disconnected from cultural, political, and socio-economic matters, we have been rendered ineffectual.

History proves that committed Christians, dedicated disciples, and anointed preaching can result in spiritual revival and societal transformation like that seen in the First and Second Great Awakenings. But are we living and preaching with that same power today?

The First Great Awakening 

Looking back to the mid 1700's, a dark cloud could be seen rising over the American horizon. Conditions were explosive. The British were tightening their control on the colonies. But internal problems were also mounting. Trouble brewed in the cities. Slaves were transported in droves. Prostitution proliferated. Drinking, gambling, and brawling were common pastimes. America was on the road toward an ever-increasing worldly society. Church membership was in decline, and Christianity's impact on society was decreasing radically.

Onto the scene stepped Jonathan Edwards as a visiting preacher into the pulpit at Enfield, Connecticut on July 8th, 1741. The colonies would never again be the same! Reading his scripted sermon, the thirty-six year old preacher told the parishioners,

“The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed up for the present. They increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given, and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and mighty its course, when once it is let loose.”

One eyewitness observed, “Before the sermon was done - there was a great groaning and crying out through the whole house.” Edwards warned, “let everyone that is out of Christ now awake and fly from the wrath to come.” Awake they did! That sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God,” became the most noted sermon in American history, causing a tidal wave throughout the colonies known as the First Great Awakening. Tens of thousands fell on their faces in repentance. Christians were revived. Pagans were converted. The hearts of the people were being prepared for the conflict just ahead that would determine destiny … the Revolutionary War.

The Second Great Awakening 

The Revolutionary War victory led to a religious vacuum. In 1795, Washington warned the people from his Presidential pulpit of their proclivity to wander in pride under the blessings of prosperity. He called upon the “kind author of these blessings to graciously prolong them to us; to preserve us from the arrogance of prosperity, and from … delusive pursuits ….”

In 1820, the bicentennial of the Pilgrims landing was being celebrated when the great orator, Daniel Webster, warned, “If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering, but if we and our posterity neglect its instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity.”

As with ancient Israel, the nation refused to heed early warnings. The Industrial Revolution shifted into full gear. America was moving to heights undreamed of by previous generations. But the people forgot the God “who hath made and preserved us a nation.”

There was a wilderness to conquer; money to be made; empires to be built. The nation was losing her men to mammon. How would God get America’s attention?

Charles Finney was up to the task. It was said that: “When he opened his mouth he was aiming a gun. When he spoke, bombardment began.” The effects of his speaking were almost unparalleled in modern history. Half a million people were converted through his ministry. He spearheaded a revival that literally altered the course of history.

How does such a thing happen? How could city after city be turned right side up, radically changing both powerful business moguls and busy housewives? And all that seemingly by mere words from the pulpit of a converted lawyer who forsook his practice to plea the cause of a lifetime!

Lyman Beecher of Boston, who inherited the evangelical mantle of the awakening, concluded that the Rochester revival was the greatest work of God, and the greatest revival of religion that the world has ever seen in such a short time. “One hundred thousand,” he said, “were connected with churches as a result of that great revival…unparalleled in the history of the church …”

When the French philosopher, Alexis de Tocqueville, came to America to study what had made America great, he wrote the following:

I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there; in her fertile fields and boundless prairies, and it was not there; in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power.

In contemporary times, we have drifted away from the real definition of revival.  We have seen large gatherings of people in recent years in Canada, Florida, Texas and other places calling it revival.  Yet, real revival cannot be defined by strange phenomena that thrills and entertains Christianized onlookers.  Real revival is about the regenerative power of the Holy Spirit converting hearts to the truth of Christ’s message and the transformation of whole communities and cultures by the hand of God. It results in Christ becoming Lord of all, the Word of God becoming the restored guide to all of life and the culture being seasoned by the fullness of the Spirit of God.

Revival requires examination, judgment and action. We are to examine our hearts, judge what we find and act out repentance in response to the work of the Spirit in our lives. The same process is to be exercised by the church in the society in which it thrives.  In other words, spiritual discernment must be exercised in order for spiritual transformation to become a living reality in the earth.

The need for spiritual discernment among God's people is greater today than it ever has been! Sad to say, in most churches today, discernment is long in demand, and short in supply. The Word of God commands us as believers to cultivate spiritual discernment. What about you? Do you see the world around you clearly? Do you know God well enough to recognize His work and engage His power in society? We must be open to God's direction, obey His voice and commit ourselves to the Word of God!

To change the world, we will have to raise our standard of life according to the Word of God; raise our level of discernment to the things going on around us and in the world; and speak truth in every situation.