Standing on my watch-tower I am commanded, if I see aught of evil coming, to give warning.
- Edward Dorr Griffin
Neither First World society or modern Christianity are keen on the subject of God's discipline. Yet scores of Bible verses testify that a time of great reckoning draws near. For better or worse. Both in time and eternity.
Individually and collectively, Scripture warns we shall all stand before God. Believers and unbelievers alike will give a full account. Appearing before the Great White Throne and Judgment Seat of Christ, all we've done and failed to do will be revealed. Every idle word and deed, thought and desire will be exposed. Particularly in regards to what degree we've embraced living faith's mandate to spend ourselves on behalf of those in the greatest need. For example, in a world having aborted over two billion babies, ten times the entire global population in Christ's day, the Bible declares we are "storing up wrath against the day of wrath."
Sadly, the Creator has issues with creation. And vice versa. Even though modern life affords our generation unprecedented blessings, thankfulness is at an all time low and the original sin of entitlement on the rise. On the other hand, even great societies face specters of loneliness and depression, bitterness and loss, not to mention financial distress and suffering, illness and death. Little wonder many today are disappointed and even angry with God.
In fact, the biggest question in mankind's mind isn't really whether God exists, but rather is He good? An accusation reverberating throughout creation as Satan's chief refrain since the angelic rebellion and Eden's fall. For millennia his cohorts have taught humanity to sing along. A chorus amplified globally by the sin above (the Devil and his angels), the sin about (unprecedented temptation and deception) and the sin within (fallen human nature).
Issues with God loom so large, Scripture addresses the topic in a variety of ways. Scores of passages in the prophets and psalms deal with the question directly. The Book of Job, considered by many the Bible's first, serves as not only a whodunit play were the antagonist and protagonist are revealed in the first chapter, but as a codex and cypher for Scripture's rich content. For the diligent and honest reader, the context of conflict clearly permeates throughout both Old and New Testaments.
In the case of Job, the cause of his sufferings have been endlessly debated. Yet the origin is clear. Job's misfortune arose from a wager. A bet, begun and governed by God. God who know's the end from the beginning:
- "Think about this. Wrap your minds around it. This is serious business, rebels. Take it to heart. Remember your history, your long and rich history. I am God, the only God you’ve had or ever will have—incomparable, irreplaceable—From the very beginning telling you what the ending will be, All along letting you in on what is going to happen, Assuring you, 'I’m in this for the long haul, I’ll do exactly what I set out to do,'" Isaiah 46:8-10 MSG
The first is as simple as it it marginalized. Creation is a war. Lucifer's heavenly insurrection having marred the very history of eternity, overflows onto Earth forever reshaping our own.
In a very real sense, heaven and earth are under siege. Biblical faith is a call to arms. It can’t be overstated that according to the context of Scripture, the battlefield is not a mythical analogy, but rather eternity’s reality. This partially explains the Bible’s harsh or even horrible accounts of earthly conflict. An explanation pampered modern Christians refuse to accept. Yet, as with countless godly men and women before us, the great question for prophetic Christians remains. Why does Omnity seem so silent and distant, particularly in the face of such global suffering?
The second premise of the Book of Job is that God is faithful. The Lord of Hosts (God of Angel Armies) is both Creator and Savior. "Our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Not to mention an exceedingly great reward:
- "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!" Psalms 84:11-12 NKJV
- "God decreed destruction for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. A mound of ashes was all that was left—grim warning to anyone bent on an ungodly life. But that good man Lot, driven nearly out of his mind by the sexual filth and perversity, was rescued. Surrounded by moral rot day after day after day, that righteous man was in constant torment. So God knows how to rescue the godly from evil trials. And he knows how to hold the feet of the wicked to the fire until Judgment Day." 2 Peter 2:6-9 MSG
When Habakkuk received the message God was about to judge His people by allowing the wicked Babylonians to kill a third, take a third hostage and scatter the remainder to the wind he lodged an understandably legitimate and passionate complaint. How could God possibly permit, much less mastermind, the use of those far more depraved and violent to chastise and judge those more righteous than they? The people and church of Habakkuk's day had clearly fallen into appalling apathy and serious sin, but the Babylonians were evil and devilish barbarians. What of Divine equity and justice? How could a good and holy God orchestrate such suffering and death?
Like a military lookout, Habukkuk climbed his tower, listening and looking for God's response. Prophets of the same period, such as Ezekiel and Isaiah, Jeremiah and Amos, had long warned that gross levels of apathy and worldliness, immorality and idolatry, violence and murder had reached pandemic proportions. Spiritual Israel had been intended to be a nation of holy and devout believers, broken and repentive citizens, living and exemplifying God's love and kindness, faithfulness and mercy. Instead, with a long history of rebelling against repeated and various warnings, they insisted on adopting the dark ways of the very nations for whom they were meant to serve as beacons of light.
In regards to dealing with the Babylonians, God assured "Doomsday will descend" on Israel's attackers. As Daniel foretold, five Babylonian area kingdoms would rise and fall. Each iteration, including the last, would eventually be crushed and finished off by Christ's Kingdom.
- "But throughout the history of these kingdoms, the God of heaven will be building a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will this kingdom ever fall under the domination of another. In the end it will crush the other kingdoms and finish them off and come through it all standing strong and eternal. It will be like the stone cut from the mountain by the invisible hand that crushed the iron, the bronze, the ceramic, the silver, and the gold. The great God has let the king know what will happen in the years to come. This is an accurate telling of the dream, and the interpretation is also accurate." Daniel 2:44-45 MSG
For most fortunate enough to live in the modern world, our circumstances are substantially different, Even so, our peril and place in history is remarkable similar. Many estimate the time of the Jews, from Abraham to Jesus, to have been approximately two millennia. The time from Christ to today the same. The shock and awe of Moses' Exodus was off the charts, yet the horrific carnage and death of the Jewish Exile was equally astonishing. So too, the glory and power of Pentecost's heavenly fire was unprecedented, yet the global tribulation and destruction accompanying the end of the Time of the Gentiles will be unparalleled.
Even for modern Christians living the seemingly good life, as referenced, sin above, about and within are formidable foes:
- "And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels." Ephesians 6:10-12 MSG
A variety of religions and numerous Christian sects, various Christs and versions of the Gospel add to temporal and eternal danger. As do more nefarious social and spiritual scenarios looming on the horizon. Up to and including the introduction of a final New World Order. Possibly even the ushering in of the long foretold Antichrist, as well as the Mark of the Beast. The appearance of both, as Scripture plainly warns, predating Christ's prophesied Rapture of the Church.
We who may face a similar or even greater judgment and/or tribulation as did those living just before, during and immediately after the Jewish exile, do well to study this and other prophetic laments. Prayer, waiting on and wrestling with God are art forms too few have mastered. With "Hell to loose and Heaven to gain" perhaps its time we learn to be still, seek and serve our Creator and Savior. Before, like Habakkuk and Jeremiah, we find it's too late.
Habakkuk (The Message)
Habakkuk 1
Justice Is a Joke
The problem as God gave Habakkuk to see it: God, how long do I have to cry out for help before you listen? How many times do I have to yell, "Help! Murder! Police!" before you come to the rescue? Why do you force me to look at evil, stare trouble in the face day after day? Anarchy and violence break out, quarrels and fights all over the place. Law and order fall to pieces. Justice is a joke. The wicked have the righteous hamstrung and stand justice on its head.
God Says, "Look!"
"Look around at the godless nations. Look long and hard. Brace yourself for a shock. Something's about to take place and you're going to find it hard to believe. I'm about to raise up Babylonians to punish you, Babylonians, fierce and ferocious—World-conquering Babylon, grabbing up nations right and left, A dreadful and terrible people, making up its own rules as it goes. Their horses run like the wind, attack like bloodthirsty wolves. A stampede of galloping horses thunders out of nowhere. They descend like vultures circling in on carrion. They're out to kill. Death is on their minds. They collect victims like squirrels gathering nuts. They mock kings, poke fun at generals, Spit on forts, and leave them in the dust. They'll all be blown away by the wind. Brazen in sin, they call strength their god."
Why Is God Silent Now?
God, you're from eternity, aren't you? Holy God, we aren't going to die, are we? God, you chose Babylonians for your judgment work? Rock-Solid God, you gave them the job of discipline? But you can't be serious! You can't condone evil! So why don't you do something about this? Why are you silent now? This outrage! Evil men swallow up the righteous and you stand around and watch! You're treating men and women as so many fish in the ocean, Swimming without direction, swimming but not getting anywhere. Then this evil Babylonian arrives and goes fishing. He pulls in a good catch. He catches his limit and fills his creel—a good day of fishing! He's happy! He praises his rod and reel, piles his fishing gear on an altar and worships it! It's made his day, and he's going to eat well tonight! Are you going to let this go on and on? Will you let this Babylonian fisherman Fish like a weekend angler, killing people as if they're nothing but fish?
Habakkuk 2
What's God going to say to my questions? I'm braced for the worst. I'll climb to the lookout tower and scan the horizon. I'll wait to see what God says, how he'll answer my complaint.
Full of Self, but Soul-Empty
And then God answered: "Write this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. This vision-message is a witness pointing to what's coming. It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait! And it doesn't lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait. It's on its way. It will come right on time. "Look at that man, bloated by self-importance—full of himself but soul-empty. But the person in right standing before God through loyal and steady believing is fully alive, really alive. "Note well: Money deceives. The arrogant rich don't last. They are more hungry for wealth than the grave is for cadavers. Like death, they always want more, but the 'more' they get is dead bodies. They are cemeteries filled with dead nations, graveyards filled with corpses. Don't give people like this a second thought.
Soon the whole world will be taunting them: "'Who do you think you are— getting rich by stealing and extortion? How long do you think you can get away with this?' Indeed, how long before your victims wake up, stand up and make you the victim? You've plundered nation after nation. Now you'll get a taste of your own medicine. All the survivors are out to plunder you, a payback for all your murders and massacres.
"Who do you think you are—recklessly grabbing and looting, Living it up, acting like king of the mountain, acting above it all, above trials and troubles? You've engineered the ruin of your own house. In ruining others you've ruined yourself. You've undermined your foundations, rotted out your own soul. The bricks of your house will speak up and accuse you. The woodwork will step forward with evidence.
"Who do you think you are—building a town by murder, a city with crime? Don't you know that God-of-the-Angel-Armies makes sure nothing comes of that but ashes, Makes sure the harder you work at that kind of thing, the less you are? Meanwhile the earth fills up with awareness of God's glory as the waters cover the sea.
"Who do you think you are—inviting your neighbors to your drunken parties, Giving them too much to drink, roping them into your sexual orgies? You thought you were having the time of your life. Wrong! It's a time of disgrace. All the time you were drinking, you were drinking from the cup of God's wrath. You'll wake up holding your throbbing head, hung over— hung over from Lebanon violence, Hung over from animal massacres, hung over from murder and mayhem, From multiple violations of place and people.
"What's the use of a carved god so skillfully carved by its sculptor? What good is a fancy cast god when all it tells is lies? What sense does it make to be a pious god-maker who makes gods that can't even talk? Who do you think you are— saying to a stick of wood, 'Wake up,' Or to a dumb stone, 'Get up'? Can they teach you anything about anything? There's nothing to them but surface. There's nothing on the inside. "But oh! God is in his holy Temple! Quiet everyone—a holy silence. Listen!"
Habakkuk 3
God Racing on the Crest of the Waves
A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk, with orchestra: God, I've heard what our ancestors say about you, and I'm stopped in my tracks, down on my knees. Do among us what you did among them. Work among us as you worked among them. And as you bring judgment, as you surely must, remember mercy. God's on his way again, retracing the old salvation route, Coming up from the south through Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Skies are blazing with his splendor, his praises sounding through the earth, His cloud-brightness like dawn, exploding, spreading, forked-lightning shooting from his hand—what power hidden in that fist! Plague marches before him, pestilence at his heels! He stops. He shakes Earth. He looks around. Nations tremble. The age-old mountains fall to pieces; ancient hills collapse like a spent balloon.
The paths God takes are older than the oldest mountains and hills. I saw everyone worried, in a panic: Old wilderness adversaries, Cushan and Midian, were terrified, hoping he wouldn't notice them. God, is it River you're mad at? Angry at old River? Were you raging at Sea when you rode horse and chariot through to salvation? You unfurled your bow and let loose a volley of arrows. You split Earth with rivers.
Mountains saw what was coming. They twisted in pain. Flood Waters poured in. Ocean roared and reared huge waves. Sun and Moon stopped in their tracks. Your flashing arrows stopped them, your lightning-strike spears impaled them. Angry, you stomped through Earth. Furious, you crushed the godless nations. You were out to save your people, to save your specially chosen people. You beat the stuffing out of King Wicked, Stripped him naked from head to toe, Set his severed head on his own spear and blew away his army. Scattered they were to the four winds—and ended up food for the sharks!
You galloped through the Sea on your horses, racing on the crest of the waves. When I heard it, my stomach did flips. I stammered and stuttered. My bones turned to water. I staggered and stumbled. I sit back and wait for Doomsday to descend on our attackers.
Though the cherry trees don't blossom and the strawberries don't ripen, Though the apples are worm-eaten and the wheat fields stunted, Though the sheep pens are sheepless and the cattle barns empty, I'm singing joyful praise to God. I'm turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God. Counting on God's Rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength. I run like a deer. I feel like I'm king of the mountain!
What the Spirit is Saying…
The Bible explains that given we are all telling ourselves a story, understanding Scripture takes spiritual sensitivity. All the more so when modern life is filled with instant and pleasant distractions. Not to mention unprecedented levels of temptation and deception, immorality and sin.
For understandable reasons, a shrinking minority are genuinely interested in an honest handling of Habakkuk’s major themes. Particularly in regards to God judging, and even destroying, His own people. This holds true for Old Testament prophetic advice in general, up to and including such notables as Jeremiah’s lamentations. If such texts are visited at all by modern Christianity, it’s to cherry pick a favorite verse or two, used as light seasoning for seeker sensitive sermons and songs. Shoplifting promising prose ignores issues of context. Habitually diluting objectionable commands and fearful warnings has long been the new normal. Thus stripping much of Scripture's meaning and relevance to modern societies literally 1,000 times more culpable than that of ancient Israel (10 times more wicked, 10 times more blessed and 10 times more knowledgable). All the while Christ cautions, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."
Even the late great David Wilkerson (emphasis mine) who’s sermons such as “A Call To Anguish” rank as some of the best ever preached, does a far less adequate job referencing Habakkuk. In what is billed as “An Amazing End Time Prophecy” his posthumous devotional begins well enough:
- “A violent, wicked army was descending on the land, sent by God himself. When the Lord revealed this terrifying word to Habakkuk, the prophet exclaimed: “What I heard made me tremble. My lips quivered, and I felt terror in my bones. Now I had to wait patiently for the days of distress to come” (3:16, my paraphrase). It was a horror so unthinkable that Habakkuk’s entire body quaked when he heard it.”
Wilkerson's devotional also seems to esteeming modern Christianity far too highly, by placating in letter box type, “Today God’s People Are Voicing The Very Same Complaints.”
Really? The same complaints as the world-renowned Prophet Habukkuk? I don’t think so. Neither did the Mr. Wilkerson millions know and love. In the vast majority of Wilkerson’s messages, David makes the completely opposite (and tragically correct) point.
“A Time To Wake Up” begins with “Today you will rarely find a message on repentance.” “A Call To Anguish” (abridged version) begins with "Folks… I’m tired of hearing about revival. I’m tired of hearing about awakenings… Of last day outpourings of the Holy Spirit… I've heard that rhetoric for 50 years… Just Rhetoric. No meaning whatsoever. I’m tired of hearing about people in the church who say that they want their unsaved loved ones saved… I’m tired of hearing people say I’m concerned about my troubled marriage when it’s just talk… Rhetoric. And I look at the whole religious scene today and all I see are the inventions and ministries of man and flesh. It’s mostly powerless. It has no impact on the world. And I see more of the world coming in and impacting the church rather than the church impacting the world. I see music taking over the house of God. I see entertainment taking over the house of God. An obsession with entertainment in God’s house, A hatred of correction and a hatred of reproof. Nobody wants to hear it any more… Whatever happened to anguish in the house of God? Whatever happened to anguish in the ministry? It’s a word you don’t hear in this pampered age. You don’t hear it. Anguish means extreme pain and distress. The emotion so stirred that it becomes painful. Acute deeply felt inner pain because of the conditions about you, in you, or around you… Anguish. Deep Pain. And Sorrow. Agony of God’s heart…"
And sprinkled throughout this fearfully honest sermon David further cries:
- All true passion is born out of anguish. All true passion for Christ comes out of a baptism of anguish.
- Hear’s what God said, “I’ve heard the words of this people. They have well said all that they have spoken. O that there were such a heart in them. That they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always that it might be well with them, and their children forever!”
- “When I (Nehemiah) heard these words (regarding the ruin of Jerusalem) I set down and wept. And morned certain days and fasted. And prayed before the God of heaven.”
- We face a similar situation except ours is many times worse.
- Does it matter to you at all that God’s spiritual Jerusalem, the church, is now married to the world?
- Does it matter about the Jerusalem that’s in our own hearts? The sign of ruin that is slowly draining spiritual power and passion? Blind to lukewarmness. Blind to the mixture that’s creeping in.
- You won’t fight. You won’t labor in prayer anymore. You won’t weep before God anymore. You can sit and watch television and your family go to hell!
- Does it really matter to you that your unsaved loved ones are dying and we’re getting closer and closer to the end?
- Where’s the anguish. Where’s the tears. Where’s the mourning? Where’s the fasting?
- It’s going to take more than preaching. More than a new revelation.
- Please don’t tell me you’re concerned. Don’t tell me you want your unsaved loved ones saved while you’re spending hours before the internet or television. Come on…
- There’s going to be no renewal, no revival, no awakening until we’re willing to let Him once again break us. Folk’s it’s getting late and it’s getting serious.
This is classic Wilkerson. Anguishing over the fall of God’s people. Throughout David’s 50 year ministry he witnessed a downward spiral of spiritual disciplines such as prayer and Bible study, sanctification and service. During the very same period in which we were given unprecedented wealth and prosperity. As in Christ’s warnings in the Rich Man and Lazarus and Good Samaritan, we’ve refused to humble ourselves over the spiritual loss both around and within. Like Laodicea we’ve been deceived into believing we’re on a cruise rather than battle ship.
It’s one thing to fight and fail and quite another to fail to fight.
The premise of this article will not resonate well with the more pleasant narratives told to, and by, hundreds of millions of modern Christians. Given a choice, who wouldn't prefer accentuating the Bible's exceedingly great and precious promises:
- "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises…" 2 Peter 1:2-4a NKJV
- "…by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 2 Peter 1:2-4 NKJV
- "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins." 2 Peter 1:5-9 NIV
Churchianity is quick to object, understandably finding such exacting plot points objectionable. Nevertheless they remain ensconced in Scripture. Always and everywhere. Up too and including Jesus' instance of the need for godly fear and His apostle's reiterating fear's virtue. As wells as Christ's harsher sayings and Jesus judging His church.
But again, why such rigorous and exacting standards? As another reminder of Scriptural spiritual warfare. Conflict theology (see eBook series) is a finite means to an infinite end. Either horrifying and everlasting loss, or glorious and eternal gain. Emphasized here as Peter finishes his thought:
- "Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:10-11 NIV
1. Ineffective and Unproductive: Few understand Scripture's warning that unfruitfulness can be a Kingdom deal breaker for rebellious Christians ending in a hellish eternity as in Christ's parable of The Vine and Branches.
2. Nearsighted and Blind: Given escalating levels of immorality and deception (which Peter points out as deal breakers) along with the approach judgment and the Great Tribulation, spiritual blindness is paramount to disaster.
3. Confirm your Calling and Election: Here is one of many quantum verses on the doctrine of election as it relates to myth of eternal security. If the premise is "once saved always saved" then what need is there to make one's "calling and election sure"?
4. Never Stumble: While fallen Christians may regain their footing through genuine repentance, there is a form of stumbling from which recovery is impossible. Besides this passage see also Enduring until the end, Denying Christ, Crucifying Christ twice and Blot out your name from the Book of Life.
5. Rich Welcome into the Eternal Kingdom!
Few realize that through the costly atonement of Christ and infilling of the Holy Spirit, the New Testament offers a remarkable gift. A transformation into a new kind of entity, neither “Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female.” A metamorphoses from “mere humans” into an entirely “New Creation.” This is the very purpose of the Gospel!
James 4: Scripture's Most Relevant Chapter
Our lack of fervency and righteousness is exactly the kind of apathy and worldliness James, the half brother of Christ, warned Christians of millennia ago. He begins by identifying two underlining causes of unanswered prayer:
- “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” James 4:1-3 NIV
- “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?” James 4:4-5 NIV
- “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:6-10 NIV
Diagnosis
It's been noted that the difference between medicine and poison is the dosage. While an aspirin or two can calm a headache, taking a hundred at once can kill. Equally crucial in treating illness is the correct diagnosis. Should the muscles of one's left shoulder and arm ache from too much exercise, applying a topical analgesic like "deep heat" would be wise. However, if the cause of the pain were a heart attack, misdiagnosis of the symptoms could prove fatal.
Having laid a foundation, let’s examine James’ radical treatment regiment against worldliness among early believers who faced only a fraction of today's ubiquitous and growing levels of temptation and deception. Before doing so, it's telling to note there are very few line upon line explanations and instructions in all of Scripture. The fact that James lists 14 points of adjustments in our attitude and action greatly reinforces their unique importance. The Holy Spirit uses James to identify both the two primary causes of unanswered prayer and the fact that powerlessness is a leading symptom of worldliness within the Church:
1. Don’t ask, don’t have:
- “You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.” James 4:2 NIV
2. Ask but don’t receive, ask amiss:
- “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” James 4:3 NIV
James continues by castigating the dualism of believers as “adulterous people” who attempt to befriend both God and the world:
3. World vs. God:
- “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? James 4:4 NIV
- “Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?” James 4:4-5 NIV
5. Gives more grace:
- “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” James 4:6 NIV
Prescription
Finally James, and ultimately the Holy Spirit whom we have been so greatly offending, get to the heart of matter:
6: Submit to God:
- “Submit yourselves, then, to God.” James 4:7 NIV
7. Resist the devil:
- “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 NIV
8. Come near:
- “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” James 4:8 NIV
9. Wash your hands:
- “Wash your hands, you sinners,” James 4:8 NIV
10. Purify your hearts:
- “and purify your hearts, you double-minded,” James 4:8 NIV
11. Grieve, mourn and wail:
- “Grieve, mourn and wail,” James 4:9 NIV
12. Laughter to mourning:
- “Change your laughter to mourning,” James 4:9 NIV
13. Joy to gloom:
- “and your joy to gloom.” James 4:9 NIV
14. Humble yourselves:
- “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:6-10 NIV
Many of the crucial questions raised by Habukkuk and other Old Testament prophets are not fully answered with the hindsight of the New Testament’s emphasis on Conflict Theology (the title of my third of six ebooks.) While once widely known, it’s been a but forgotten today and neither podcasters, pastors or even seminaries understand or teach it. For a clear explanation of Conflict theology (see eBook series).
For additional information on related topics please see GB articles, Prayer Of Anguish, COVID-19, Prophetic Advice, Prophetic Christians, Pre-Revival Repentance, A New Pentecost, Renewal, Revival or Reformation? As well as Eternity…The Wager, Justice and Judgment, Great Tribulation, War In Heaven, As In The Days Of Noah, Mark Of The Beast and Prophetic Witnessing.
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