All my writings deal with the internal--the heart and soul of man. It seems to me that most messages and sermons today are dealing with the external--church unity, government, finances, relationships, marriage, etc. They are preaching a right heart toward God and man without taking the necessary measures to have a right heart toward God and man.
The church leaders of our day are trying to motivate people to walk in love, faith, and unity so that the impending hard times won’t hit them so hard. That sounds good--very good, but if the problem is a faulty call to salvation whereby hearts are not completely won over to God’s point of view, the called for results are not possible. For God made it all, not only possible, but doable, through the work of the cross.
When one comes to God to receive salvation, the work of the cross crucifies their old man and resurrects the recipient to new life--he or she becomes a brand new man or woman in which God has created a heart to please Him. Thus, if that work is faulty the whole work is faulty. The faith, love, and unity needed to overcome these difficult days can only come about through the work of the cross.
Since I think Daniel’s prophesies for the latter days, well describes the church, I also believe the prayer he prayed in Daniel chapter 9 is the prayer and focus of the hour.
He prayed, acknowledging that God is a God who keeps His covenants and that we--God’s chosen people--are in derision and confusion due to our own sin and he then goes on to pray that God would bring us to a place of repentance where we can have truth and understanding again.
The way to receive this new heart that the church needs is to call the solemn assembly--gather the whole church and cry out together for restoration and the latter rain as described in Joel chapter 2.
