Author: John Page 126 of 166

Zephaniah 2:2-3 “Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’s anger come upon you. Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.”

The book of Zephaniah is largely about impending judgment. With God’s judgment looming on the horizon, the prophet stressed the need for God’s people to be faithful before it was too late. There were things that God’s people could do to avoid judgment, and to protect themselves and their land.   Yet, those things could only be done before the judgment began. If they waited, they risked facing the prevailing wrath that was coming soon.

Specifically, those things that the prophet directed them to do to avoid judgment were in line with the truths of II Chronicles 7:14. God’s people were directed to be humble and prayerful, expectant and repentant. They were to seek God, thus seeking righteousness and meekness. In doing so they could stay judgment; in doing so they could hide from God’s anger. Yet, they must do so before God’s judgment was upon them.

We do not know when it will be too late for our nation to avoid judgment and wrath. All we know is that we have a mandate now to be faithful. PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD PRAYERFULLY AND FAITHFULLY FOLLOW GOD NOW, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. In a nation potentially in its eleventh-hour, our prayerful faithfulness may be overdue if we wait until tomorrow.

Jonah 3:1-3 “And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days journey.”

Upon God’s second call to him, Jonah answered and complied. The difference between the first and the second call was a little bit of time and a lot of turmoil … for Jonah himself. In the interval between God’s first and second calls, Jonah experienced a tempestuous storm, he put those around him in peril, he lost a lottery, he faced condemnation from his shipmates, he was cast into the sea, he was swallowed by a great fish, and he was vomited onto dry ground. In the end, God’s will was done in spite of Jonah’s initial disobedience.

God doesn’t need us to fulfill His will for our land. Yet like Jonah, if we refuse to answer God’s call then we will be the ones who suffer the most. Indeed, our refusal to arise to answer God’s call in our land will cause us personal turmoil. As Mordecai reminded Esther, without her “then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed” (Esther 4:14).

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD IMMEDIATELY ARISE AND ANSWER GOD’S CALL TO US IN THIS LAND. We should never force the Lord to ask twice.

Jonah 1:2-3 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.”

Jonah made a great mistake upon receiving God’s call. Because he was prideful, prejudiced, presumptuous, and pietistic he did not believe that the Ninevites were worth saving. He had been called by God for such a time as that, and erred because he fled from God’s call.

We may think that our nation had drifted beyond the point where God’s mercy is likely. We may not think that revival is possible. We may not think that our nation is worth saving. We may not acknowledge God’s call, ignoring the truth that we have been placed here for such a time as this.

When we resist nationwide revival, it may be because our spirit is prideful, prejudiced, presumptuous, or pietistic. Regardless of the reason, we must not flee from our clear responsibilities as Christian citizens, the most basic of which is prayer for our nation and its leaders. We may not be as overt about fleeing from this call as was Jonah, but when we ignore it we are fleeing from God nonetheless. Our lack of immediate obedience should be considered nothing else than disobedience.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO ANSWER AND NOT FLEE FROM GOD’S CALL TO CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP. Arise American Christians, throughout this great land.

Hosea 10:13 “Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.”

Part of the urgency associated with our Christian citizenship responsibility is related to those things and those people we have chosen to follow. This scripture, when compared with verse 12 (see the previous post), contrasts the results of following the Lord with the results of following anything else. Following the Lord allows us to sow righteousness and reap mercy (v12), while following the world causes us to plow wickedness and reap iniquity (v13).

In a large part, we become what we follow. We are transformed into the things we seek. Righteousness and mercy are the results of following the Lord. Wickedness and iniquity come from digesting the lies that are propagated by trusting in ourselves and those who the world considers mighty. If Christians are to make the impact that the Lord intends from us, then we must immediately take stock of what we seek and who we follow. Otherwise, we will continue to be led astray.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO IMMEDIATELY AND URGENTLY SEEK THE LORD. Otherwise, we will be plagued by lives characterized by fallow ground; lives that are indistinguishable from the world that are neither impactful to our nation nor influential for the cause of Christ.

Hosea 10:12 “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.”

When I reflect upon the PLUS ministry, I regularly return to the importance of Christian responsibility that was the ministry’s genesis. I reflect upon the urgency of our role in guiding this nation back to its Christian foundation. I reflect upon II Chronicles 7:14 and Esther 4:14, as I will in the next several posts. I reflect upon these previous thoughts:
https://prayatlunch.us/the-responsibility-of-the-christian-citizen-ii-chronicles-714/
https://prayatlunch.us/this-time/
https://prayatlunch.us/who-knoweth/

Hosea reminds of the truths contained at the core of PLUS. For IT IS TIME to seek the Lord. We must tackle our Christian citizenship responsibility with a sense of urgency. We must tackle our Christian citizenship responsibility with a sense of fleeting opportunity. We must tackle our Christian citizenship responsibility with a sense of timely desperation. We must tackle our Christian citizenship responsibility with a sense of diminishing options. We must tackle the fullness of our Christian citizenship responsibility now, before it is too late!

PLEASE PRAY FOR A CHRISTIAN SENSE OF URGENCY REGARDING OUR CITIZENSHIP RESPONSIBILITY. It is not too late … yet. Now is the time for Christians to seek the Lord!