Recently, the Daily Wire reported that a religious podcast overtook the number one podcast in America with the most listens. Joe Rogan has been king of the podcast world for some time now, but recently ‘the Rosary in a Year’ podcast climbed to the top spot for listeners. The Daily Wire used this shift in saying that Americans now, more than ever, are beginning to want more spiritual input into their lives. Angel Studios has produced some of the best family-friendly movies in the past few years, and has taken Hollywood by surprise. Even the fires in California have people asking more questions about God.
So, is all this attention on the spiritual a quick trend or are we on the verge of a new revival in America? It’s hard to say, but I can tell you that the character of God wants no one to perish. His desire is for all people everywhere to accept His offer of forgiveness and eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ. That is His nature, and even the Psalmist said:
Psalm 25 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and faithfulness.
God’s attitude toward us is first and foremost, mercy … even to the worst human alive today, He offers mercy toward that person. The demoniac in the Gospels was seen as hopeless and damned until Jesus arrived to set him free. I believe that what we are seeing in our culture today is the mercy before the storm. The Bible is clear … there will be a day where no one will be able to buy or sell without the mark of the world system. Jesus said that the last days will be a dark time, like none other in the history of mankind. So, don’t misunderstand. There is a dark time coming, but for the moment, God is reaching out to humans everywhere with the mercy of His love.
I realize that much of the preaching today has a softened tone to its delivery, and I understand why. We spend a great deal of time as preachers and teachers of the Word of God trying to find the right crack in the armor of people’s lives so we can penetrate through to the heart the message of the Gospel. I don’t want to be disparaging to any preacher whose methods may be different than mine, but there is a time to warn about the pending danger surrounding our globe:
Ezekiel 33:7 Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for Me.
The watchman was appointed to watch and warn for the threat of an attack by an enemy. The watchman today is the Church, and that extends to the pastors who teach and preach God’s Word. My concern over the past few years has been the lack of warning by the ‘watchmen’ in our day. Some do maintain the consistency of warning people of what is to come. However, some of these people, because of the nature of how they warn, are held suspect by many Christians. They are seen as hucksters selling scare tactics to make a name and to sell their ideas. As true as that may be, there are legitimate watchmen who have nothing to gain but to be faithful to the Lord and warn people to get right with God before the dark days come upon the earth. These dark days will prevent people from believing and will make it hard for people to follow Christ. Scripture tells us of a day that will eventually stop the forward progress of the Gospel:
John 9:4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work.
So, as I said earlier, we are in that period of mercy before the storm and our message today must be based upon the mercy of God, coupled with the warning of what is to come upon the entire world. Always remember, God is in control, and nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Romans 8:38-39 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Challenging the Culture with Truth … Larry Kutzler