Praying for Rain

It's been a very hot and dry month with temps reaching to ninety degree mark, even topping One Hundred degrees once or twice. There has been a high risk of fire, and local fire departments have been extra busy putting them out. The Fourth of July was of special concern seeing people were lighting off fireworks, and some were not as careful as others were.

The farmers are getting concerned as the corn which was coming up so nice, is now starting to curl up for because of the lack of rain, and the weatherman is giving us very little chance over the next two weeks for any substantial rain. The storms that developed to our South West disappeared over the big lake as they moved this way, a big disappointment indeed.

There is nothing we can do to make it rain, except pray and ask God to send some our way. I wonder how many people actually consider asking God for things like rain? It makes sense that the one who created rain, would be able to create some for us if we ask in faith, believing that he will do what we ask him too. Isn't that what we are told in the Scripture anyway? Too ask in faith believing, and not to doubt?

The Lord knows we are in a drought, and it is dangerous to our economy, in that the damage to crops could cause food prices to climb. So what would he allow such things as to happen knowing that it causes hardship for us? Well how many of us have even thought of at least speaking with the Lord about the situation? Truthfully many don't!

Seems that most people today turn and curse God when things get rough instead of turning too Him, and humbly asking God for help when they need it. That is the problem with our American society, we have turned our backs on God, and even go as far as openly defying him. Then why on earth should God help us when we are experiencing trouble? Why shouldn't God turn a blind eye why our crops rot in the fields, and our land is consumed by fire?

Let's be honest with one another. We have a much larger drought in this land, a spiritual drought that has causes the faith of many to wither up, and die. Others are just rebellious towards God altogether, and see no need for a Savior to set them free. We are living in a post Christian culture, in a nation that was originally founded on the Gospel of Christ Jesus, but now rejects it.

The greater problem in this nation is that people no longer fear God. They no longer have reverence for things that are sacred, or Holy in nature. God is viewed as being a great slave driver in the sky that wants to enslave them, when in fact he is a God of mercy that holds out his arms beckoning them to repent, and be saved.

We need to pray for rain, both physical, and spiritual!

Revival must start in the church, it must start with God's people, but it can only happen after God's people repent! Christian do you not realize that judgment begins in the House of God? So why then would repentance and revival not start there also.

If we desire this nation to turn back to God, the church must do it first! Some who call themselves Christians, are not true followers of Jesus, and many churches and denominations have fallen into apostasy, and the Spirit of God has departed from them. There remains a true remnant, the bride of Christ who has remained faithful to the end. These are not any one church or denomination, but all those who have come to true repentance, and received the free gift of Salvation God offers to every person who asks in faith.

Let us then humble ourselves before God in repentance, confessing our personal and national sins. Turning our back on them, and yielding ourselves to God. As the Church goes my friends, so goes the nation.

Let us then pray for rain, that God might have mercy on us one more time.

PFR- Pray for Rain

The Desert Song - Hillsong

So you said a little prayer?

Was there a time in your life where you said the 'sinners' prayer? Did you mean it? Were you sincere when you prayed to ask Jesus into your heart? Did you approach God with the right motivation? Did you make serious, heart felt repentance before God?

These are some very important questions that need to be asked, because right now there are countless thousands of people who also prayed the 'sinners' prayer, or made a public profession of faith before their local church body, that are in Hell!

Are you shocked by that statement? What I am saying here may offend you, but don't stop reading, your eternity may depend on it. Hold on before you brand me a heretic, or something, and consider what I am telling you. The truth is that churches in North America are chocked full of false converts. People who believe in Jesus, and have prayed the 'sinners' prayer, but for the wrong reasons, let me explain.

These day's many preachers are using 'modernized evangelism'. This produces false converts by the scores because it causes people to respond to the Gospel for the wrong reasons. The Preacher will say something like “There is a God shaped hole inside of you that only God can fill. Come up to the front and pray this simple prayer”. What is wrong with this picture? There is NO mention of the need for repentance, and without repentance there is NO Salvation.

Some promise the individual that when they accept Christ, their life will improve, and get much better, when the truth is that life gets harder than it was before. The Devil could care less about those who are lost in their sins, he has them right where he wants them, their his trophies. When someone truly receives the Lord, that is when the Devil goes to work to screw up their lives so that they will not have the victory that Christ wants them to have.

When sharing my faith with someone, I walk them through the Law of God, known to most as the Ten Commandments. The Apostle Paul told us that the Law is what shows us that we have sinned, and it also shuts the mouths of people trying to justify their sin. Without exposure to the Law, people cannot understand the Gospel of Grace.

Repentance is agreeing with God that you have broken his laws, or commandments, and because of that you are guilty before him, and deserve God's wrath in Hell. Without Repentance, no one is saved from the wrath of God. The Bible tells us to repent and be baptized in order to have our sins forgiven. It's not the baptism that saves, but repentance that saves a person.

No where in Scripture will you find anything that says pray this prayer to receive Jesus as your Savior. What you will find is located in Roman's 10: 9-10, that instructs us that we must confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. Somewhere along the line somebody decided to compartmentalize this into a simple prayer. While the prayer itself is nothing bad, in fact it's very good, but is widely misused by many, and even misunderstood by others.

How is the prayer misused by so many? They call people to pray the prayer without fully explaining the seriousness of it, or they invite people to pray it leaving out the need for true heartfelt repentance. Even the Heidelberg Catechism mentions the need for there to be heartfelt repentance, but most churches that teach this way do not call people to true repentance before God, and many people making a public profession of faith do so out of shear religious duty.

Every individual must cry out of God in repentance in from the depths of their own hearts, it must be done in their own words. Too many times someone has said “here repeat after me”they did, some were saved, many were not. It must come from the sinners own heart, the desire to humbly come before God in true repentance, confessing Jesus in Lord, that he came in the flesh and gave his life on the cross for them. They must ask to receive he pardon God has on hold for them, this is the free gift of eternal life.

It's not my aim to judge the intentions of anyone else's profession of faith, but rather to make people think, and consider whether they are truly in the faith, or not. How do we know if someone is truly saved or not? We look at the fruit they bear? There is rotten fruit, and good fruit.

Rotten fruit is the works of the flesh that is described in Galatians 5:19-21. They are as follows: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,
http://www.wordsoftruth.net/worksoftheflesh122292002.htm



The Fruit of the Spirit is described to us in Galatians 5:22. They are as follows: Love, Joy, Peace, Longuffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control
http://www.bible-knowledge.com/fruits-of-the-holy-spirit/



2 Corinthians 13:5 says, "Examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith."
http://www.poweredbychrist.com/files/treasures/Examine_Yourself.htm



Here is a sermon by Paul Washer that has angered many, many people. It's called “Examine Yourself”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky8dTyPpiAo&feature=colike



So you said a little prayer to receive Jesus as your Savior, but it wasn't as simple as you thought was, was it? My prayer is that many will examine themselves before God according to His Holy Word, and that many will come to true repentance and be saved.

Related articles

• What's Wrong With The Gospel? By Keith Green - 16 - Premature Birth 16 of 21*

  ---

• The Sinner's Prayer: Baptists Debate the Evangelical Initiation Rite

  ---

• That Shocking Youth Message by Paul Washer (Transcript)

  ---

• The Dangers of the Sinners Prayer

  ---