Mockery of God!
The ceremonies of the Olympics in Paris featured a live reenactment of the Last Supper with drag queens and a ménage à trois sequence. The French Bishops' Conference released a statement on X: "This ceremony unfortunately included scenes of mockery and derision of Christianity, which we deeply regret. We would like to thank the members of other religious denominations who have expressed their solidarity with us." French President Emmanuel Macron also defended the controversial opening ceremonies via X, saying "Thanks to Thomas Jolly and his creative genius for this grandiose ceremony. Thank you to the artists for this unique and magical moment. Thank you to the police and emergency services, agents, and volunteers. Thank you to everyone who believed in it. We'll talk about it again in 100 years! WE DID IT!"
While some leaders approved of this mockery, I also am proud of other leaders who condemned such displays before billions of people worldwide.
We live in the days of mockery of all things we hold dear to our hearts by a few but with the wholehearted approval and promotion of prominent politicians and world leaders. It is not the tolerance of that which is abhorrent but the forceful display of it with the command that everyone should bow down and worship such insulting behavior.
What Does God’s Word Say About Rulers Promoting Such Empty Things?
As sad as we can be, let us know that those promoting vain things forcefully upon people are in God’s judgment. Here is what the Bible says about those who set themselves against God and God’s Anointed: “Why do the nations rage (throng tumultuously), and the people plot a vain (worthless, or empty) thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed (Commissioned One, Messiah) saying, ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us’” (Psalm 2:1-3). Here is God’s action against such rulers: “He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure: ‘Yet I have set (installed) My King on My holy hill of Zion (the hill of My Holiness)’” (Psalm 2:4-6).
Psalm 46 is powerful in that God acts in judgment against nations and rulers while at the same time preserving His people: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help (an abundantly available help) in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling…The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, and the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Come, behold the works of the Lord, who has made desolations in the earth… Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:1-3, 6-8, 10)!
I do not know how long God will wait with His judgment or allow this display of mockery to go on, but I do know how we, the believers, must respond at this crucial hour.
Let Us Consider the Following Examples!
1) When Sodom and Gomorrah were plunging into sin, Abraham stood before the Lord to plead and intercede for His mercy in His judgment against the twin cities. While God did not spare the cities, He at least bailed Lot and his family out of the burning cities.
2) When Mordecai, Esther, and their people were a target by the enemy Haman, Esther called for a prayer meeting among the Jews before she went before the King. God intervened with the collective cry of all God’s Chosen People, the Jews, and exposed Haman’s wickedness before the King. Haman was hung upon the same gallows he had built for Mordecai.
3) When God saw the wickedness of Nineveh, He sent Jonah to alert them of their wickedness. Jonah resisted but yielded at the end to deliver a short message (8 words) to Nineveh which sparked repentance from the King down to the least for 40 days. God relented and postponed His judgment for another 150 years.
4) When Israel’s leadership turned wicked under the rule of Ahab and Jezebel who were partying with 850 worshippers of the devil, a righteous Prophet Elijah stood before the Lord and stopped the heavens from the rain for 42 months with his zeal for God. When God sent him back with His promise of rain to the King, Elijah challenged the 850 false prophets of the devil to fire upon the altars. The prophets failed but God’s chosen prophet Elijah succeeded. There was fire upon the altars before the country saw the rain.
5) Jesus walked the earth at the time of Roman occupancy of Israel. The religious leaders were doing their own thing, the nation was in disarray, but with Jesus, the land saw the light. Jesus came as God’s Beloved Son and yet chose to be His Servant and was mindful only of the mission of “seeking and saving that which was lost.” Jesus is my example of separation, purity, obedience, service, and dedication to God Almighty in a world where Jesus’ true followers have become a minority.
Here is what I glean from the above examples.
We Must Obey and Trust God!
Abraham believed in God: “And (Abram) believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). Abraham obeyed God: “By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8). Abraham earned the trust of God who came to his tent to reveal what He was about to do with the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah: “And the Lord said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.’ And the Lord said, ‘Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know’” (Genesis 18:17-21). What did Abraham do? He boldly stood before the Lord and interceded with God to spare the cities from judgment. We must also walk with God as Abraham walked in belief, obedience, trust, and with the prayers of intercession, for God to spare the world around us, or at least deliver the people dear to our hearts from God’s impending judgment.
We Must Be Broken and Must Cry to God!
We have crossed the times when we sought God occasionally or were not serious with God. The fires are burning around us and the destruction of all we hold dear has started. It is time to take a stand. Esther sent out a request to all her people: “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so, I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16). Her whole community cried out to God, and so must we, with the collective cry of brokenness before God, irrespective of denominations, casts, creeds, genders, or nations. If you are serious about God, it is time to come to the altars and cry out to God!
We Must Repent as a Church, Community, and Nation!
Jonah preached a sermon of 8 words: “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.’ So, Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown’” (Jonah 3:1-4). Here is what followed: “So, the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, ‘Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?’ Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it” (Jonah 3:5-10).
Here is a call to all the believers – quit fighting God with your legalism and judgmental attitudes; quit walking in the sins of the world; draw yourselves out and away from the world; shout from the mountaintops and the valleys the message of the impending judgment upon your neighborhood and your nation. God expects His message from His servants at this hour to go forth to the multitudes as the final warning.
The Elijah Generation Must Rise!
It is time for God’s true fire at the altars (revival) and God’s rain (awakening) on the earth. Elijah challenged the prophets of the devil to bring the fire down from God on the altars. All the wicked demonstrations that we see in the world are just that – demonic demonstrations! They cannot move the hand of God. But true fire descends when the people of God rebuild the altars that have been broken down and call upon God. Here is something of interest with Elijah’s prayer before the fire fell: “And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, ‘Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.’ Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, ‘The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God’” (I Kings 18:36-39).
Elijah’s prayer was simple but powerful and included four elements that brought the fire down from heaven:
1) Elijah’s Source: “You are God in Israel!”
2) Elijah’s Position: “I am Your servant!”
3) Elijah’s Disposition: “I have done all these things at Your word!”
4) Elijah’s Petition: Reconciliation – “This people may know that You are the Lord God and You have turned their hearts back to You again!”
It is time for God’s servants to stand in the proper place of their calling and cry out to God from their position of faithful obedience to following God in all He has commanded us to do and plead for God’s attention for reconciliation. Then the fire of God will fill the altars of our homes, churches, communities, and nation. There will be revival fires followed by awakenings in our cities.
Never Forget That We Belong to Jesus – Let Us Follow Jesus!
Jesus was different. He loved the sinners but hated sin. He reached out to the poor and needy. He healed the sick, drove out the demons, and raised the dead. He preached His message with authority and no compromise. Here is Apostle Peter’s message of Jesus to Cornelius’ household: “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38).
Jesus was unfazed by the poor and humble surroundings He was brought up in!
Jesus was not discouraged by the rejection of the religious sect of His day!
Jesus was not irked by the Roman occupancy of Judea!
Jesus came to represent God’s Kingdom! Jesus came to speak the truth!
Jesus was the “Way, Truth, and the Life!”
Jesus lived a life of obedience to His Heavenly Father and yielded His life!
So must we if we belong to Jesus and only Jesus!
Finally, VOTE for the Righteous and God-Fearing Leaders!
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach (shame, disgrace) to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).
Wherever you are living in the world, irrespective of your nation, if you are truly disgusted with the mockery of God and Christianity, take your stand for righteousness, and vote for the righteous leaders in your nation regardless of party affiliation. Don’t ask me to define a candidate for even a child will know whether a candidate is righteous and God-fearing or not.
Do not be one among millions of believers here in the US who did not even bother to vote in the last election. A “No” vote is a “Yes” vote to ungodliness and wickedness!
Do not wait until the last minute to send in your vote or cast your vote. Vote early with your prayerful decision to make a difference.
Pray that God will awaken His majority to show up in the election booths to vote for the righteous.
Do not side with the leaders who approve and promote ungodliness and celebrate wickedness. There is no grey area in the selection. Either you are for the righteous or the wicked.
Do not look at the stature of the worldly tycoons to influence and control you but let God’s Word direct you.
Set aside days of prayer in your homes, churches, and communities, to seek the face of God and cry out to Him for the elections of righteous leaders.
Prayer
“Heavenly Father, I love You and adore You and bow down before You. Please forgive us our sins, O Lord, for we have failed You. Cleanse us, O Lord, for we have walked in our ways and not followed You. Please let Your righteousness sweep our homes and our communities. Let Your righteousness exalt our nation. Let sin become a shameful reproach to all of us in our nation to take our stand for God and His ways. We are doomed without Your intervention, O God. Please save us by Your grace, O Lord, and show us Your mercy. Please, let Your conviction draw Your people to rebuild Your altars. Let Your revival fires burn in the altars of our homes, churches, communities, and nation. Fill our communities with Your Holy Spirit bringing spontaneous conviction and repentance by Your grace. In The Precious and Wonderful Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen! Amen!!”
__________________________________________________________________________________________
John Jeyaseelan
Global Prayer Center | prayer | 701 Bill France Boulevard, Daytona Beach, FL, USA
Comentarios