PRINCIPLES OF PRESERVATION IN DIFFICULT TIMES
No. 2, Earnestly Look to God
Isaiah 45:21-22
“There is no God else beside me; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”
Psalm 123:1-2
“Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us.”
Acts 4:12
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
What a waste of time it is to look for help from anywhere else but God! Let’s beware of looking to fake “get rich quick” schemes that promise much but bring in little. The government would like us to look to them for salvation, but they are only men and certainly not God. We have to get our eyes off ourselves, for we also are fickle and can make many mistakes. Instead of buying lottery tickets, let’s use the money to help someone in need. The families who look to the Lord who made heaven and earth will, without doubt, be saved in the time of trouble.
Take Every Opportunity
Take every opportunity to teach your family what it means to look to God. When you give thanks for your food, take a moment or two to look up to God for help and thank Him in faith for His help. After the main meal of the day, while you are still sitting together, lift up your eyes again to the only One who can save us. Remember to pray for those who have lost their jobs and are hurting.
Some may think I am over-reacting to our present economic problems. They believe that our present problems are nothing but a hick-up or two. Everything will soon be back to normal and there is nothing to be alarmed about. These folk will carry on with life as per usual with little, if any attention, to personal repentance or for the major sins of our nation. We must pray for these folk that the eyes of their understanding will be opened before it’s too late.
While I believe it’s wise not to jump to conclusions too quickly, I believe there is more than enough evidence that our country is heading for much stress, to say the least.
Major changes can take place very quickly. Only 23 years ago, on June 12 1987, President Ronald Reagan challenged General Secretary Gorbachev of the then Soviet Union to tear down the Berlin Wall. We all gasped in amazement as country after country of the old Soviet empire of Eastern Europe collapsed away from the world’s only other super power. Overnight communism became a laughing stock to the whole world. It seemed the threat of communism was over!
The Progressive Movement
Who would believe that within a little over two decades that the world’s only other super power, the USA, would be under a more serious attack of communism than during the cold war! This time, it is not coming from outside our borders, but from within our borders-- from the White House itself.
Abraham Lincoln stated in one of his famous speeches that he believed that the United States of America would not be overcome from enemies without, but if it were to ever be overcome, it would be from enemies within! For decades now, our state schools and colleges have been hot beds for the spread of communistic ideology which is now called by its new name, “The Progressive Movement.” It’s the same big bad wolf with the same evil godless nature but with a new name in order to deceive the people. Their appetite for power, lies and deception knows no bounds.
The Enemy’s Biggest Threat
The biggest threat to their godless agenda is praying, repenting, conservative Christians who are just beginning to wake up. The heavens are shouting, “Wake up!” We must wake up right now.
During the last election the Lord led me to pray that the wheels of our present Pharaoh’s chariots would fall off. (Exodus 14:21-31) It didn’t happen during the elections but God’s timings are always perfect in order to affect the greatest damage on the enemies of righteousness. Keep praying. There are some good signs that God is dismantling the wheels of Pharaoh’s chariots.
Some of our large populated states are on the verge of bankruptcy, despite being some of the biggest taxation states. Is it possible that we could once again see massive lines of people waiting for food at soup kitchens? Will our streets be lined with beggars? I pray that this will not be the case. However, the signs do not give a lot of hope for some years to come, unless God intervenes. God only intervenes when His people repent and earnestly pray.
It Comes Back to God’s People
This brings me to a point mentioned in my first message in this series that we must be quick to repent. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 God responds to King Solomon’s prayer saying, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
I am sure the term “my people”, as opposed to those who are not God’s people, refers to Bible believing Christians. It is believers who must repent and pray in order for the land to be healed. We need to ask our merciful God to show us what we need to repent of, nor must we drag our feet about this repentance. The longer we delay, resist or use the “wait and see” response, the longer it will take for the land to be healed.
Right now there are many people, including Christians, who are really hurting as they face giving up their homes to banks, etc. The question is: How long will we take to repent? Do we care enough to earnestly humble ourselves and pray?
Individual Revival Before National
The story of Achan illustrates how one man’s sin can neutralize approximately 3,000 soldiers and bring a nation to a standstill! (Joshua chapter 7) Every single Bible believing Christian has a solemn responsibility to ask the Lord to put His fine tooth comb through his life to see if there is some offensive “golden wedge” that needs to be repented of. Your sin, and mine, can have national consequence and can turn God against us. Revival has to be individual before it can be national. If we hold on to our sin, it simply reveals that we do not fear God sufficiently and we do not care if our nation suffers. Sin neutralizes and paralyses the whole nation. Repentance is a small price to pay for the saving of our nation and the restored spiritual power of the church.
For what should we repent?
1. A spirit of prayerlessness.
2. All personal thoughts, words and actions that are offensive to God.
3. All forms of pride and self-reliance.
4. Whatever the Holy Spirit personally reveals to you.
5. The sins of the nation, e.g. abortions, pornography, pedophilia, homosexuality, all immoralities, the serious divorce rate, murders and being more concerned for our billfolds than for morality.
Let’s turn our eyes away from all that has no eternal consequence. Let’s lift up our eyes to the only One who is able to deliver and save us.
Psalm 121
1. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
3. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.”
COLIN CAMPBELL
In the next few months, Colin will continue to give you biblical principles for preservation in difficult times. To receive these messages, send a blank email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Colin is the husband of Nancy Campbell, Editor of Above Rubies, www.aboverubies.org
Colin can be contacted at 615 948 5958 for speaking engagements.
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