...And I Sat Down and Wept!

"...The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”  When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven!"

Nehemiah 1:3b-4 NLT.

It was a late Autumn day in Susa.  Nehemiah had received some visitors who had just returned from Judah.  He asked them how the returning exiles were doing and how things were going in Jerusalem.  The answer he received was not what he wanted to hear.  They told him that things were not well; they are living in trouble and disgrace; and the wall of Jerusalem had been torn down and the gates had been burned with fire!  Nehemiah's response was appropriate for him as he though of his beloved city, the city of God, and what had become of it................"I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven!"  That seems like the correct response!  

I cannot help but think that there is a parallel to this story today.  Anyone who is sensitive to the "moving's" of the Holy Spirit can tell you that one of the things they are "sensing" from Him, is that things are NOT well with the Church in America!  In a purely metaphorical sense,.................."The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire!"  Now, I want you to understand, I am NOT being negative here.  I simply know what I sense by the leading of the Holy Spirit, and what the facts of the Church in America tells us.  Consider these statistics from "Into Thy Word Ministries":

• Every year more than 4000 churches close their doors compared to just over 1000 new church starts!
• Every year, 2.7 million church members fall into inactivity. This translates into the realization that people are leaving the church.
• From 1990 to 2000, the combined membership of all Protestant denominations in the USA declined by almost 5 million members (9.5 percent), while the US population increased by 24 million (11 percent).
• At the turn of the last century (1900), there was a ratio of 27 churches per 10,000 people, as compared to the close of this century (2000) where we have 11 churches per 10,000 people in America!
• Given the declining numbers and closures of Churches as compared to new church starts, there should have been over 38,000 new churches commissioned to keep up with the population growth.
• Half of all churches in the US did not add any new members to their ranks in the last two years.

........And consider this excerpt from a recent book we went through on our Wednesday Night Study at our Church..........

David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group (a research organization focusing on religious trends and information), asserts that the primary issue that today’s culture has with Christianity is that it no longer resembles its Founder.[1]

In his book Unchristian, Kinnaman studied the Mosaic (born between 1984 and 2002) and Busters (born between 1965 and 1983) generations of the United States, which currently comprise approximately 77% of America’s population. With respect to Christianity, Kinnaman notes a growing tide of hostility and resentment, a statistic which is trending downward from a positive study that was done by his Barna group only one decade before.

He discovered that of the non-believers surveyed that were aware of the term “evangelical” (as it relates to Christianity), nearly half had a bad impression, 47% had a neutral impression, and only 3% had a good impression

These are just some of the statistics that are out there and available for any believer to study and analyse.  My response may seem dramatic, but I feel a bit like Nehemiah..........."...The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”  When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven!"

I am personally CHALLENGING EVERY Follower of Jesus who reads this blog to begin to pray on a regular basis for the following:

• More of the Glory of Jesus to be seen!
• Deeper intimacy with Christ!
• Spiritual sensitivity!
• Genuine Revival!
• An outpouring of the power and gifting's of the Holy Spirit! (Charismata)
• An increase in the miraculous:  Signs, Wonders, and Healing's to endorse the veracity of the preaching of the Gospel and bring glory to the Father through the work of the Son!
• The advancement of the Kingdom of God!

On Tuesday evenings at 7 pm, we are having a time of prayer at 5-different "stations" in the church.  This time of "Stationed Prayer" is for the singularity of purposeful prayer for the Followers of Christ, who are at this prayer time.  In other words, ........ WE'RE ALL PRAYING FOR THE SAME THING!

Please become a part of this MOVE OF GOD to mobilize the Body of Christ in America to UNITED prayer!

Thank you and God bless you!

Pastor Steve