Ron Gadberry America the beautiful. A land where men could dream and with hard work and a little ingenuity make those dreams a reality. A simpler land, a kinder land whose underbelly was talked about in hushed whispers and required embellishment to provide the romantic fantasy required to sell Hollywood's imaginings. A hungry land where steeples rearing above every community and pointing God-ward, echoed with the deep and agonized weeping of desperate saints, whose prayers kept at bay, the foul spirits poised to descend on the unsuspecting populous. America, where God was trusted and His children held dear the opportunity to minister in His name.
We were the New World, sought out by those fleeing spiritual despotism, who prayerfully carved out a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Who free from oppression, were willing to wade through the blood of multiple wars to maintain the fragile freedoms so hungrily sought. Focused heavenward, years passed in which innocence was treasured, honesty and virtue were extolled and godliness prevailed. In such an atmosphere many in the church sighed, took a deep breath and turning away from the altars began competing for the things their hard work and ingenuity had produced.
America was and is an inclusive society, welcoming with open arms and hearts every seeking soul, who wandering among our steeples and listening intently to the impassioned prayers, wept with the saints until the prayers became platitudes and were carried away on the growing winds of prosperity. Much of the passion has dispersed. Ministry, in many circles has became a social obligation. The task of caring has been relegated to the state as too many have entered the strange and unfamiliar territory of competition and entertainment. Passionless congregations have began to dissolve, melting into more lively environments where responsibilities could be assigned to the more energetic and the individual could rest as a simple statistic. Inclusiveness in the church has invited competing thought, and doctrines borrowed from foreign gods have been allowed to dilute the truth, until much of the church has found itself drowning beneath the waves of an increasingly corrupt culture. The beast, which is America, has turned over, the belly exposed. The dregs have risen to the top!
In all fairness, I must say, among the growing churches, there are pastors whose voices may be heard calling out to the lost and downtrodden, whose hearts are bent on ministry and who weep for the damning sins plaguing our nation. Men and women, who without doubt are heartbroken over the general state of the church and who sacrifice time and treasure and would not hesitate to join the persecuted in their plight. We are not without our heroes of faith and the hungry still pursue revival with passion and determination, a passion so urgently needed in the face of current world events.
Today, a violent and unbridled scourge has resurrected and with it persecutions rivaling the most horrific period of human history. Stories of incredible inhumanity have become daily fare. With the prayer covering eroding, and the church helpless because of it, Hollywood is hard pressed to come up with a scenario tragic enough to compete with the atrocities filling our news boards and haunting our imaginings. In other lands and other churches, men, women and children are being forced to their knees to endure beheading, crucifixions, rapes and other notorious and unbelievable tortures. How long before the very thought of such things force us to our knees to repair the last fluttering vestiges of the torn and tattered canopy of protection through which the enemy could not proceed? Are we destined to stumble blindly down the road of personal ambition until we are overrun and suffering the same fate? Or, are we moved enough by the approaching NEW WORLD ORDER, to actually participate in the pursuit of revival.
We trusted God! What was not to trust? If we needed healing, He healed us. Troubled, He sustained us; lonely, He was our comfort. We did not fear death for He was our life. Miracles and spiritual manifestations were normal in our community and prophetic instruction enhanced our journey. When we prayed He walked among us and demons could not. We learned to walk with Him and not the darkest devil could have deterred us in our pursuit of God's will and approval.
Sadly, though when 9/11 occurred, our nation and world dropped to its knees and called frantically on God for deliverance, this week, as Paris was attacked, prayer was hardly noted, but only heartbreak and empathy for those terrible losses was suggested.
However, ISIS and Islam is not the only entity knocking on our door. The King is also knocking. The Holy Spirit awaits the moment we, in our self-sufficiency, surrender once again to His Divine control. A simple act of true repentance on the part of the American churches (back to the simplicity of The Word) in which we learn again to TRUST the Lord would be the invitation on which revival waits.
Is America without a remnant? No! There are many faithful American saints whose trust in God remains complete and whose prayers are without dissimulation. It is my hope, that as many fall away, a numberless host will arise in the church, to join the faithful in their trust. Perhaps we may yet avert the disasters looming pariah like on our horizon. The church worldwide, whose blood, even at this moment, pools beneath the altar, calls us to prayer and their faithfulness in the face of certain martyrdom demands we meet them on bended knees.
Never before in our history has the call of the prophet been more relevant than now, to: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. Don't be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones" (Proverbs 3:5-8).
We trusted once. We must trust again. Long live Revival!
[Editor's Comment: God has given to us a prophetic voice in Ronald Gadberry. He is an ordained minister of the IPHC, and serves as an evangelist. and a member of the New Horizons Ministries Conference. He is offering his services as an evangelist and singer to pastors of churches who are now preparing their 2016 revival and preaching mission services.
You may contact Ronald Gadberry at the following address and/or telephone numbers:
The Rev. Mr. Ronald Gadberry
509 Cottage Park Lane
Shawnee, Oklahoma 74804
1-405-834-0479 / 1-405-808-2937
He will do your church good.]
We were the New World, sought out by those fleeing spiritual despotism, who prayerfully carved out a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Who free from oppression, were willing to wade through the blood of multiple wars to maintain the fragile freedoms so hungrily sought. Focused heavenward, years passed in which innocence was treasured, honesty and virtue were extolled and godliness prevailed. In such an atmosphere many in the church sighed, took a deep breath and turning away from the altars began competing for the things their hard work and ingenuity had produced.
America was and is an inclusive society, welcoming with open arms and hearts every seeking soul, who wandering among our steeples and listening intently to the impassioned prayers, wept with the saints until the prayers became platitudes and were carried away on the growing winds of prosperity. Much of the passion has dispersed. Ministry, in many circles has became a social obligation. The task of caring has been relegated to the state as too many have entered the strange and unfamiliar territory of competition and entertainment. Passionless congregations have began to dissolve, melting into more lively environments where responsibilities could be assigned to the more energetic and the individual could rest as a simple statistic. Inclusiveness in the church has invited competing thought, and doctrines borrowed from foreign gods have been allowed to dilute the truth, until much of the church has found itself drowning beneath the waves of an increasingly corrupt culture. The beast, which is America, has turned over, the belly exposed. The dregs have risen to the top!
In all fairness, I must say, among the growing churches, there are pastors whose voices may be heard calling out to the lost and downtrodden, whose hearts are bent on ministry and who weep for the damning sins plaguing our nation. Men and women, who without doubt are heartbroken over the general state of the church and who sacrifice time and treasure and would not hesitate to join the persecuted in their plight. We are not without our heroes of faith and the hungry still pursue revival with passion and determination, a passion so urgently needed in the face of current world events.
Today, a violent and unbridled scourge has resurrected and with it persecutions rivaling the most horrific period of human history. Stories of incredible inhumanity have become daily fare. With the prayer covering eroding, and the church helpless because of it, Hollywood is hard pressed to come up with a scenario tragic enough to compete with the atrocities filling our news boards and haunting our imaginings. In other lands and other churches, men, women and children are being forced to their knees to endure beheading, crucifixions, rapes and other notorious and unbelievable tortures. How long before the very thought of such things force us to our knees to repair the last fluttering vestiges of the torn and tattered canopy of protection through which the enemy could not proceed? Are we destined to stumble blindly down the road of personal ambition until we are overrun and suffering the same fate? Or, are we moved enough by the approaching NEW WORLD ORDER, to actually participate in the pursuit of revival.
We trusted God! What was not to trust? If we needed healing, He healed us. Troubled, He sustained us; lonely, He was our comfort. We did not fear death for He was our life. Miracles and spiritual manifestations were normal in our community and prophetic instruction enhanced our journey. When we prayed He walked among us and demons could not. We learned to walk with Him and not the darkest devil could have deterred us in our pursuit of God's will and approval.
Sadly, though when 9/11 occurred, our nation and world dropped to its knees and called frantically on God for deliverance, this week, as Paris was attacked, prayer was hardly noted, but only heartbreak and empathy for those terrible losses was suggested.
However, ISIS and Islam is not the only entity knocking on our door. The King is also knocking. The Holy Spirit awaits the moment we, in our self-sufficiency, surrender once again to His Divine control. A simple act of true repentance on the part of the American churches (back to the simplicity of The Word) in which we learn again to TRUST the Lord would be the invitation on which revival waits.
Is America without a remnant? No! There are many faithful American saints whose trust in God remains complete and whose prayers are without dissimulation. It is my hope, that as many fall away, a numberless host will arise in the church, to join the faithful in their trust. Perhaps we may yet avert the disasters looming pariah like on our horizon. The church worldwide, whose blood, even at this moment, pools beneath the altar, calls us to prayer and their faithfulness in the face of certain martyrdom demands we meet them on bended knees.
Never before in our history has the call of the prophet been more relevant than now, to: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. Don't be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones" (Proverbs 3:5-8).
We trusted once. We must trust again. Long live Revival!
[Editor's Comment: God has given to us a prophetic voice in Ronald Gadberry. He is an ordained minister of the IPHC, and serves as an evangelist. and a member of the New Horizons Ministries Conference. He is offering his services as an evangelist and singer to pastors of churches who are now preparing their 2016 revival and preaching mission services.
You may contact Ronald Gadberry at the following address and/or telephone numbers:
The Rev. Mr. Ronald Gadberry
509 Cottage Park Lane
Shawnee, Oklahoma 74804
1-405-834-0479 / 1-405-808-2937
He will do your church good.]