PLUS

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

There are plenty in the media who would have the onlooker to believe that faithfulness is at odds with prosperity.  One is led to believe that there is a natural price to pay for those who stand for Christ and Christian principles, that even the most casual affiliation with conservative beliefs is detrimental to success.  The forced resignation of Brendan Eich is the most recent and public example of this line of thinking.  Yet, it is not always the case that the faithful will pay a worldly price for their stand on the side of Christ.  Consider the following article that outlines the story of Chick-Fil-A:

http://media.focusonthefamily.com/fotf/pdf/channels/social-issues/pp23-25-june-july-cz-cfa-1yrlater.pdf

Not only does this fast food chain have the audacity to close on Sundays, the most profitable day of the week in the industry, but it also has a CEO that clings to a Biblical view of the family.  The results speak for themselves.  This company does not just thrive in spite of its alignment with Christian principles, but thrives because of its alignment with Christian principles.

Don’t be swayed by the world’s arguments that you must compromise to succeed.  You don’t, and Chick-Fil-A is but one example that proves this important point.  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD NOT FEEL COMPELLED TO COMPROMISE.  We shouldn’t just seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness; we must seek it first.  The results are left up to God.

Acts 6:7 “And the word of God increased; and the number of disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.”

Acts 12:24 “But the word of God grew and multiplied.”

It is fascinating to watch the explosive growth of the early church as the book of Acts progresses.  It grew steadily in early Acts, and then grew rapidly in latter Acts.  The phrase that was most often used to describe church growth was originally ‘added to’ (Acts 2:41, 47; 5:14; 11:24) and then it shifted to ‘multiplied’ (Acts 6:1, 7; 7:17; 9:31; 12:24). Growth went from additive to multiplicative.  It went from steady acceleration to full throttle acceleration.  It went from a slow Sunday drive to the Daytona 500.

Undoubtedly, the disciple’s prayer and supplication with one accord (see the previous post) played a substantial role in the growth shifting from low gear to high gear.  They were able to make an increasing impact because they pointed their prayers in the same direction.  They were able to have an enhanced influence because their supplication was unified in its purpose.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD HAVE A MULTIPLIED IMPACT ON OUR NATION’S CULTURE.  With a chance to have a multiplicative impact through prayer and supplication with one accord, why would we settle on an additive impact instead?

Acts 1:14 “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”

The power of Christ’s message in the early church was magnified by the unity of prayerfulness; the early disciples became a powerful force because they prayed with one accord.

Other groups in America have acted with one accord, and have seen the results.  They have seized the initiative in this country because they have mobilized with one accord.  They have become the ‘voice of the public’ because they have spoken with one accord.  They have shaped our culture because they have stood with one accord.  They have shifted our nation away from its Christian foundation because they have demanded such a shift with one accord.

What have American Christians done with one accord?  Have we prayed with one accord?  Have we supplicated with one accord?  Have we humbly and earnestly asked the Lord for nationwide revival with one accord?  The evidence and the outcome would certainly suggest not.  Instead, the most that can be said about us is that we have simply complained about our national direction within the safety of the church house with one accord.  There is no providentially promised power in doing that.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD PRAY AND SUPPLICATE FOR NATIONWIDE REVIVAL WITH ONE ACCORD.  By their prayer and supplication with one accord, the early disciples amazingly boosted the message of Christ; it went from being on the verge of extinction to being inextinguishable.  We must follow their lead!

I Corinthians 3:12-13 “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.”

The crew responsible for moving the hangars at Edwards Air Force Base in 1955 (see the previous three posts) was fortunate to avoid any major crises during the five-week moving process.  Even the strong winds of the Mojave Desert did not exceed their predictably high pace during the transition.  If the moving crews had faced anything stronger than the usual, they may have been a part of a stupefying failure instead of a spectacular success.

The true demonstration of the strength of a foundation is not during nominal periods.  Instead, a stable foundation is truly revealed when faced with challenging conditions.  A good foundation will withstand the rain as it descends, the floods as they come, and the winds as they blow.  During the fiery tests of refinement, the firm foundations of gold, silver, and precious stones will remain while the feeble foundations of wood, hay, and stubble will be consumed.  Indeed, it is dangerous to assume the foundation is stable just because it is reliable in the good times.  It must be reliable in the bad times as well.  When the bad times come though, it is too late to build upon the right foundation.  You must already be there.  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICANS WOULD URGENTLY REAFFIX OUR NATION UPON THE FIRM FOUNDATION OF CHRIST.  If not, the next crisis may make manifest our weakness to the point that we will be consumed because of it.

Matthew 7:26-27 “And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”

Luke 6:49 “But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.”

The five-week move of the hangars at Edwards Air Force Base in 1955 (see the previous two posts) would have been exciting to watch and dull at the same time.  While every moment was ripe with the potential for a great disaster, the process was mind-numbing for the casual observer because the move was made at a snail’s pace … almost literally.  The logging winches that towed these hangars two miles across the desert drove at one-twelfth mile per hour.  Indeed, the only way to make the transition between foundations required a slow pace so that the move was almost imperceptible to the hangar structures.

Anti-Christian forces in this nation have shifted our foundation away from Christ.  The only way they have been able to do so is to make the transition as imperceptible as possible to Christian Americans.  The slow pace of compromise has seemed like reasonable accommodation at every step, but the accumulation of those slow steps has towed us far away from our original foundation to something far less stable.  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICANS WOULD ONCE AGAIN RECOGNIZE THE FOLLY OF BUILDING A FOUNDATION UPON ANYTHING OTHER THAN CHRIST.  A great fall that causes great ruin is in store for our nation if we do not recognize this before it is too late.