“Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as destruction from the Almighty. (Joel 1:14-15)
Dear Reader, from the towards the end of this year, many individuals, families and churches across the world are now fasting and praying to Almighty God, the true and only God and seeking His face. Never in my entire years, as a Christian, have I known a time of such intense spiritual, marital, financial, economical and political crises as the days we live in now. And these crises are not limited to certain nations…it is a global occurrences. God is shaking everything that can be shaken, including our lives, our relationships, our homes, our pursuits, our priorities, our churches, our ministries, our governments, and even our economy.
Economists and politicians are baffled at what is going on today. They have tried massive bailouts, reduced everything that need to be reduced and made frantic legislation, yet the Stock Markets all over the world are still unsettled! Though, they pick up at interval but we still have long way to go. As a result, the world is crying and they don’t have the solution! Many life savings have been wiped off. Many have lost their jobs. Many houses have been repossessed and many marriage relationships have collapsed.
You may ask, “Michael, why all these?” Listen! Nobody can ignore God without consequences. The world has ignored Him and disobeyed Him for so long that He has no option now than to judge the people! When God pours out His judgments on nations, He begins by crippling their economy. You’ll agree with me that most people today, including Christians and Christian Leaders, are serving Mammon instead of God.
The hatred towards God, the corruption, greed, injustice, desperate pursuit of materialism, flaunting of sins, the militant homosexuality, the unashamed crime, the level of drug dealings and addictions, the gross immorality, idolatry, wickedness, pride and prejudice that are going on in our nations today are more abominable than those practiced in Sodom and Gomorrah.
My friend, I believe that God is exposing ungodly practices and He has taken out His holy whip to conduct His own detailed inspection of every life, home, church, government, ministry and economy in the nations of the world. God wants to unleash a nationwide revival through His people, but He must bring His correction first. And the Bible says, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begins at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”(1 Peter 4:17)
We are living in desperate times that require desperate measures. That is why you and I should join with many Christians across the world to a call for a solemn fast, repentance services and corporate prayers that runs through the beginning of January to end of December this year. We need God now! And here’s a list of the things that I believe we should be praying for during the days ahead through to end of December 2016. My friend, will you join in this call?
- The fear and fire of God. Holiness was so tangible among early Christians that the false prophets were blinded and greedy liars fell over and died as soon as they entered the temple. As a result of God’s judgment on Ananias and Sapphira for lying, great fear came over the whole church (Acts 5:11). My friend, where is this sense of shock and awe today?How can we be so flippant about sins? How can our television preachers sleep at night after robbing God’s people with manipulative fundraising appeals? We celebrate God’s mercy but ignore His severity. We need a thunderclap from heaven and a display of Elijah’s fire to remind a wayward, deceptive, manipulative, hypocrite and lying people so that God will not be mocked. We need to be filled with Holy Spirit that brings the fire of God.
- Integrity and purity in the church. There are many unspeakable depravities that were permitted to thrive for so long at many churches today and unfortunately their elders refused to challenge the members or leaders involved as soon as such atrocities come to their knowledge. Today, many religious scandals have so tarnished our credibility that the church has become a curious freak show and a den of thieves.
Many unbelievers now associate people in the pew and those behind the pulpits with wife-swapping, illicit sex, no-fault divorce, manipulation to collect funds, corruption, greed, drug addiction, commercializing the gospel, merchandising the people, spiritual gambling, gay and lesbian relationships or affairs. We need a Holy Ghost housecleaning and purity in our churches. It has started but it is going to be intensified in 2017 and beyond. Let Your Kingdom come and Your will be done should be our cry to God at this season. Sin binds, grinds and blinds people. We need deliverance of God in our churches.
- A return to evangelism. In the 1970s we were less sophisticated but so much more zealous for Jesus. We handed out tracts and witnessed to everyone in public places and from house-to-house. Sharing our faith was the priority. Yet, most people in churches today have never led anyone to Christ. We are no longer contagious. Spirit-filled believers spend more time chasing financial breakthroughs thanlost and dying souls. We are more interested in financial enterprises than souls! We have rejected sacrifice and compassion and embraced a counterfeit gospel that produces selfish and self-centered spectators. We have forgotten the commission which Jesus gave us. My friend, it is time to retrace our steps back to God during this fasting and praying season.
- Godly leadership. As many nations have called for election time this year and new leaders are being elected, it is still obvious that most of our nations are facing leadership crises. But credible leadership vacuum is not just in the political arena. Many of our spiritual fathers have disappointed us, either by their own moral failures or by their refusal to confront sin or by their greed for money and fame. Greed has actually been morphed into a virtue in some charismatic circles, where Church leaders take hour long offerings and guest speakers require limousines and five-figure honorariums to maintain their celebrity lifestyles.
It’s especially bad on some Christian TV channels, where spiritual extortionists sell medieval-style indulgences and use other ridiculous ploys to rob ignorant, immature or gullible Christians. The current financial crisis was triggered, in part, by people who lied when they applied for home loans. Today, the church is full of liars, dishonest, corrupt and greedy leaders. My friend, may God give us spiritual shepherds who fear God, who are Spirit filled, loving, truthful, compassionate, credible, bold, and honest and care more for the flock than for the crowds’ applause, their pocket and their status and fame.
- A national spiritual awakening. My friend, there were seasons in our nations in the past when sinners became so convicted of their sins that they collapsed under the weight of their guilt and give their lives to Jesus Christ, our Saviour. During the days of revivalists like George Whitefield, Charles Finney, Idahosa, just to mention a few, huge waves of conversions led to a widespread transformation of society. Drunks became sober, prison inmates sang hymns, stingy business owners stopped oppressing their workers, atheists surrendered their unbelief, and prostitutes gave up their job and rebellious children returned to faith. Can such a movement happen again? My friend, it must happen again or our nation will descend into its darkest hour. God wants to use you for your nation! Let’s pray into that!
My friend, I urge you to join me, join your spouse, join your family, join your church, join your work-mates, join other believers around the world in this solemn fast. Pray with desperation for the five topics outlined. Listen! We can’t settle for anything less than a heavenly visitation. The world is waiting for the God of Elijah to show up! When purity mix with prayer, power will come and miracle will happen which will lead to perfect praise (read Matt. 21:12-17). Remain blessed!
Jesus is Lord!
