NO MORE REST FOR AMERICAN CHURCHES

By Ryan Hicks

Act 9:31
31  Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

I want us to look at how the first churches behaved that led to the rest they had. They were edified, they were walking in the fear of the Lord, and they were walking in the comfort of the Holy Ghost. The American churches have been blessed of the Lord for many years now with rest throughout all America. They have faced minor persecution, if any. They have lived off the past blessing of men and women of God that walked as the first churches did, but I can tell you now, as a prophet of God, that America's rest is ending.

American churches have rebelled from the fear of the Lord (which is the beginning of wisdom, Psalms 111:10; Proverbs 9:10). Look at the verse below and ponder if this sounds like what is going on in the churches today?

Proverbs 8:13
13  The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Do the American churches hate pride, arrogancy, the evil way, and the froward mouth? No, the the contrary they love these things. Some of the American churches with the largest memberships are ran by the most arrogant and prideful people that could be found. They are ran by people who have froward mouths and have new revelations and novelty interpretations on the truth of the word of God, so that they can sell their new sermon series and have it be something no one has heard before. Instead of being taught to deny self like our Lord commanded, people are taught all over America to praise self through higher self esteem and giving into the lusts of the flesh.

Oh how I grieve for the American churches, since never has a country existed that allowed for such publishing of the gospel worldwide, and now it is fallen. We used to send out missionaries to other countries, but now we need missionaries sent to America to help resurrect her from the dead.

I have seen pastors get exalted and filled with pride that I have warned almost a decade ago that are still getting the same warning today from men of God. I know a pastor in South Carolina that I have warned in fear and brotherly love and he only persisted in pride and rebellion. He has no concern for the heart of God or for how he is grieving the Spirit of Grace. It is truly sad to see the rebellion from God that is going on and the love for evil that is promoted in the average American church. It has gotten so bad that churches are hosting movie parties (with filthy movies that most sinners would not watch), teaching people how to make their own alcohol, playing worldly music, and even having book clubs where they read romance novels and other worldly books! And those things are just the beginning. Some churches will never go that far in what they practice from the pulpit, but they allow all that nonsense and more in their people. They excuse sin and tell their people time and time again that they can sin with impunity.

Those of us that are true to the Lord and love Him above all need to continue on and follow the leading of the Spirit. Perhaps, if we move and minister the life of the gospel to the American churches that are fallen into the ditch of liberalism or into the ditch of easy believism. We can awaken holiness in the backslidden people that profess Christ. We can cast the devils out of those wicked professors of faith in Christ that commit sin and are truly children of the devil (1 John 3:8-10)! I do not know if God will restore rest unto the American churches, in some ways I think it will be good, because it will scare the mere professors of faith away, but they will just go into the worldly churches that receive no persecution because they are of the world. Let us just pray and seek God, as David did, and said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to us (2 Samuel 12:22)?

God is ever merciful, but I am also seeing in American churches a real hard-heartedness and rebellion from God. In many cases it is not a mere backsliding, but an outright apostacy and a full on hatred for God. They do love the Jesus they have created who judges no one and loves them in their sins and rebellion, but they hate the God of the Bible which "now commandeth all men every where to repent" (Acts 17:30).

Oh Holy Father, have mercy on America! Have patience with us and allow your dear saints room to minister to those that have rebelled and fallen from your most holy faith. I pray you give the country a space to repent and return to your holy gospel. Father, I pray we can honor you and walk before you in the beauty of holiness. I pray we have the same spirit of the first churches and walk in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of your Holy Spirit! Let us do everything in the name of and for the glory of your Son, Jesus. Amen.