Chapter 1
To the Church in America
Truth or Consequences
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me.” (Re 3:20 NAS)
Jesus’ messages to the seven churches of Revelation ended with this final appeal. I believe that these words are important for us today. Jesus has a message for the churches of America today if they will simply open the door. Sadly, I think many of them do not even hear His voice or His knocking on the door. They simply do not have ears to hear because they have forsaken His Word and embraced the voices of our present culture.
I do not have a new message nor do I have great insights into the mysteries of God. I simply feel like I have been asked to use my voice to rehearse the Words that are already written. I am just another voice that is sounding the alarm that the time is short and soon our Lord will return to judge the world. If Jesus should come today, I am afraid many in the church of America would be shocked to find out that they were not ready. The question is: Are you ready? If so, how do you know? Have you heard what the Spirit says to the Churches? Do you have ears to hear?
Knowing what is going to happen is not nearly as important as knowing your standing before God. The revelation of the end time events is intended for those who are ready and awaiting His return. For those who are ready, it will be a time of great rejoicing, but for those that are not prepared to meet Him, it will be a time of wrath and judgment.
The Truth
“Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.” (Mt 7:7-8 NAS)
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (Joh 8:32 NAS)
“If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” (Joh 8:36 NAS)
“Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth.” (Joh 17:17 NAS)
The truth is revealed to us in God’s Word. The problem for most people in America, who claim to be “Christians,” is that they do not know what the Word says. Many of them only know what someone told them it says. God’s Word is truth and those of us in America will have no excuse if we neglect to find truth that is so easily available. God has promised us that if we seek truth, we will find it. If we find truth it will set us free. Jesus is that truth that can set us free. But we have to put our trust in Him to be set free. Why would anyone resist the truth and hang onto a lie?
The Lies
“3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.” (2Ti 4:3-4 NAS)
The time has come when many people will not endure sound doctrine because it is not what they want to hear. Rather they will only listen to teachers that tell stories that satisfy their desires. Paul’s warning to Timothy paints a pretty good picture of the general condition of the American church today. As long as people are not exposed to sound doctrine, they can naively be unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. But if we have God’s Word and neglect to inquire into it, then it is willful ignorance and that is what I think Paul is referring to. That is what we are now experiencing in the church of America.
The modern-day false prophets are saying: Jesus loves you the way you are. Celebrate for you are going to be blessed and you will prosper. But what is Jesus saying?
“18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. 19 ‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore, and repent.” (Re 3:18-19 NAS)
The message of love from our Lord and Savior reveals our present condition and presents the solution to bring us into harmony with God’s righteousness. This is Jesus’ message to the church of America. But this is not what they are hearing. Jesus is standing knocking at the door, hoping that we will hear His voice and open the door.
Wisdom Shouts, But No One Hears
“Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square; At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city, she utters her sayings: “How long, O naive ones, will you love simplicity? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, and fools hate knowledge? “Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.” (Pr 1:20-23 NAS)
To the naïve, who are listening to the wrong voices, the scoffers that make fun of what God has to say, and to the fools that do not want to know the truth, God is beseeching you to heed His warning and listen to wisdom. If you will respond to God’s reproof you will be rewarded with His Holy presence and receive understanding of the words that bring life.
There are many reasons why people are not hearing what God is saying. But mostly it is because they do not want to hear what He is saying. Truth is not always pleasant because it exposes the good and the evil. Exposure to truth is a humbling experience. We want to believe that we are good, but a revelation of our baser nature is not pleasant. The truth that has come to us through God’s Word, by necessity, reveals our present state.
Jesus tells us that He did not come to condemn us because we were already condemned. Jesus came to save us and redeem us from our death sentence. The truth is that God cannot save us the way we are because we are sinful. But the message from heaven is that Jesus can remedy this and establish us in righteousness. It is important that we lay aside everything that would hinder us from hearing what God is saying to us, whether it be our inner conflict or the voices around us.
Consequences
“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (Joh 3:17-18 NAS)
“He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” (Mr 16:16 NAS)
If we reject, or simply ignore the truth, there are consequences. Jesus came to a world that needed a Savior because we were sinners. We were already condemned and destined to hell. By putting our trust in Jesus, we can be saved from the consequences of sin, which are death and hell. Hanging around a church or with Christians does not void the consequences. The consequence for sin is death, and without a Savior, we will all perish in hell.
The Church in America
What would Jesus say to the church in America today? Of course, the church in America is and has always been very diverse, at least as varied as the seven churches in Revelation. But if we set aside the many nuances and odd sects and look at basic Christianity in America we will see that there was a basic standard of beliefs in the majority of churches.
It was because of this foundation that was built upon the gospel of Jesus Christ and the moral values of the Ten Commandments, that the Church had a tremendous influence on the development of the American culture. It was from this culture that the foundation of the United States was formed to create the most civilized nation on earth. As the nation grew and expanded, it was the influence of the Church that provided stability. It was the influence of the Church that tamed the wild west and welcomed those who came who were oppressed.
Of course, there were times when the influence grew weak, and the forces of evil seemed to grow. But when the light would grow faint, God would raise up a man to shout out His voice and warn people of their choices. And as people awoke the voice became a chorus and then revival swept the land. As America had a great awakening and later had a second great awakening, God would stir up His people and they once again became an influence that guided our country.
What Happened?
But eventually, the blessings of peace and prosperity were too much for people to handle. Our nation became haughty and proud. This nation forgot its humble beginnings and forsook the God that had blessed it. The Church began to lose its influence as it compromised the message of the gospel. The voice of the Lord was still coming from His prophets, but the Church had turned a deaf ear. After years of steady decline, our nation is now in a death spiral that nothing short of a spiritual revival can pull us out of.
The Remnant
God still has His faithful people here in America. For that remnant I wish to send a note of encouragement: God has not forsaken America, America has forsaken God. Our faithful voice is more important now than ever. God can still save America if America repents and turns back to God. But if it does not repent then America will face judgment.
There are churches in America that have remained faithful. But we have to realize that we live in perilous times and the voice of our Lord is speaking to us today just like He did in John’s Day. There may be things that we need to mend. We need to allow Christ to speak into our churches and our personal lives. If we will hear His voice and repent when we are reprimanded, then we will overcome those things that are intended to distract us and draw us aside from the task before us. Our mission is to be a testimony of the grace of God that has come through Christ Jesus. But it is essential that we first get our house in order so that this message goes forth in truth and purity.
Much of my message in this book is for the purpose of examining ourselves to see if we are in the faith. And then we need to reexamine our doctrines with a fresh look at Scripture. The time is short and we are here for such a time as this. Judgment is coming, but the grace of God through Christ Jesus still saves. Those who are slumbering need to be awakened. Christ is knocking at the door. If you listen you will hear his voice.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Re 3:22 NAS)