Our Role in the Days of Sodom

 

Jesus spoke of a spiritual unawareness and indifference to the judgment of God, especially as His coming draws near:

"Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus it shall be in the day when the Son of man is revealed."   Lk. 17:28-30

Life went on as normal in Sodom, not acknowledging that utter destruction was about to fall.

The days we live in are very similar to the time of the destruction of Sodom-not only because we have followed after their sexual sins, but because our spiritual condition now is very much like theirs then:

"Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom (meaning "burning, conflagration"), pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good."   Ezek. 16:49-50

Since we can see how our current condition mirrors Sodom's, what is the role of the Church in these days?

First of all, not everyone is unaware of the real and present danger of impending judgment. The people of God are being warned by the prophetic voices and messengers that the LORD has placed in our midst, according to His specific promise and His foundational precepts:

"Surely the LORD God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets. The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the LORD God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?"  Amos 3:7-8

We see this exact principle in the example of Sodom. As the time grew near for Sodom's destruction, the LORD made it a point to appear to Abraham in the form of three men, as Abraham sat in the door of his tent in Mamre (meaning "strength, vigor, the effort needed to hasten one's self or lift one's self up) at the hottest time of the day. As was the custom of that time, Abraham offered these strangers his complete hospitality, and bowed himself to the ground as a servant before them. Abraham then hastened and ran to provide the men with every comfort (Gen. 18:1-8).
At the close of this prophetic visit, the strangers began their journey to Sodom, as Abraham led them on the way. The LORD then asks this question, "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" (v. 17). The LORD told Abraham that He had heard the cry from Sodom and Gomorrah, and the grievous sin, and He had come to see for Himself the truth of their sinful condition. Abraham delayed the LORD, and began to intercede with Him, asking Him if He would destroy the righteous with the wicked. As Abraham continued to intercede, he obtained the LORD's agreement down to the presence of just ten righteous in the city. The whole wicked city would be spared if there were ten righteous within it (Gen. 18:23-32).
On the other end of the story, Abraham's nephew Lot ("covering, veil"), living in importance in Sodom, also received the visit of the strangers with the same hospitality that Abraham had shown them. When the strangers had told Lot that he and his whole household must leave Sodom immediately, Lot went to tell his sons-in-law. They treated the urgent news as a joke, and refused to leave with Lot (Gen. 19:14). Even Lot sought to delay leaving the city. When morning came, the angels tried to hasten Lot, lest he be consumed in the iniquity of the city. Lot and his immediate family lingered still, and had to be dragged out by the angels of the LORD (Gen. 19:15-16). He then argued with the angels about how far he should retreat from the doomed city!
Our prophetic voices, and our warning messengers are telling us in the Church, that the day is drawing near when we will see calamity come upon another, modern-day Sodom that is present around us. Our role, like Abraham, is the role of intercessor. The LORD stops at our tent doors to give us just this same opportunity to delay Him, and entreat Him. Others may mock, and continue going about their daily lives as usual, but we should heed the warning, and hasten to enter into intercession with the LORD. Some, like Lot, sit in comfort in the midst of Sodom, not stirring themselves to intercede. They also receive the warnings, and the benefits of the intercession of others, but they do not act upon them with the necessary urgency and obedience.
The LORD knew He could depend upon Abraham, and the promised descendants that Abraham would teach in the ways of the LORD (Gen. 18:19). Is the LORD, with this same confidence, also able to depend upon us with His urgent business? This is our role in these days of Sodom.

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Prayer of Intercession:
Heavenly Father, we reach out to touch Your arm, in order to intercede with You to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Wash us in Your Word, and in Your Spirit. Purify and sanctify us by the blood of the Lamb. You have called us to be the righteous whose presence preserves the city. You have promised us that if we, Your people, who are called by Your name, humble ourselves, pray, seek Your face, and turn from our wicked ways, You will hear from heaven, forgive us, and heal our land.
As the day draws near for the revealing of the Son of man, we, Your people, desire to stir ourselves up, and fulfill the role that You have for us in this generation. In Jesus' name, we bring this intercession to You. Amen.

Prayer of Salvation for all who desire to receive Jesus as their Savior:
Jesus, I want to know You as my Lord, and as my Savior, who covers my sins, and cleanses my heart. Come into my heart, and also fill me with the Holy Spirit, who will lead me into all truth, and will teach me how to follow You. I believe that You are the Son of God, the Messiah, that You were crucified for me, and rose from the dead to give me everlasting life. I believe that You are coming again. Lord Jesus, in Your name I believe, pray, and receive all of these things. Amen.



Pentecost: Unity With A Purpose

 

On the day of Pentecost, in Acts 2:16-21, the disciples were in one place, in one accord, when the Holy Spirit was poured out in tongues of fire upon each one. As those who were in Jerusalem at the tomb of David, including foreign visitors, witnessed this remarkable sight, they were unsure of what they were seeing. Peter began to tell them that this was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel. A portion of this prophetic passage reads:

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,

that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh...

before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD."

Peter goes on to urge the crowd of onlookers to "repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, ... and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."  (Acts 2:38)

This remarkable outpouring of the Holy Spirit is directly connected with the "last days", and the terrible day of the LORD, according to the verse above. If we look at the Book of Joel, we will find additional prophetic insight into these events, and our purpose regarding them:
"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."     Joel 1:14

"Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain!

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the LORD is coming, for it is at hand;"         

"Now therefore," says the LORD, "Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm."       Joel 2:1-2, 12-13
This is Joel's prophetic warning and instruction to God's own people, Jew and Gentile, from every station, circumstance, age, and walk of life (Joel 2:15-16).



 

 

"Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar; let them say, "Spare Your people, O LORD,....Why should they say among the peoples, "Where is their God?"

"Then the LORD will be zealous for His land, and pity His people."  

"...For in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the remnant whom the LORD calls."      Joel 2:17-18, 32b

 

It is in this same chapter that we see the awesome prophecy of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. There is a purpose to this outpouring, as there is a purpose to the Book of Joel. It is the call to a united intercession and repentance of God's people as the last days, and the day of the LORD, approaches.

The prophet talks about a harvest that is ripe, and wickedness that is great. (Joel 3:13).

The outpouring of Pentecost is not to be consumed on our own flesh, or for our own purposes. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is a last days event for last days people who will see and understand that the day of the LORD is approaching. This outpouring is associated with the harvest of souls and lives, as Pentecost is associated with the harvest of grain. This outpouring is for the united purpose of God's people, from all walks of life, to begin to cry out to Him, purely and effectively, for His great move of salvation and deliverance, and for His pity upon His people.
"Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision."       Joel 3:14

The word "multitudes" used here does not just mean many people in the Hebrew. It refers more to a tumult of sound and confusion, cries of mourning and rage, clamorous and troubled, to be in an uproar. The "valley" is a place of profound depth, to be unsearchable because of the depth. "Decision" is a disturbing word that means sharp, pointed, to cut, to maim, to wound, a threshing sled (used for crushing and separating grain) having sharp teeth.
This will be the terrible place and situation for many on the awesome day of the LORD.
We, who have received the Holy Spirit, and are praying for an even greater outpouring of the Spirit, must use this precious gift for the purpose of interceding with the LORD, as we see the day approach. Will the terrible shouts and cries of the multitudes in the valley on that day ring in our ears, because we did not bother to weep between the porch and the altar?
The Prophet Joel is not just celebrating a miraculous anointing of the Holy Spirit. He is calling ALL of God's people to come into the house of the LORD in the united, divine, prophetic purpose of intercession and repentance, because the last days are here, the harvest is ripe, and the awesome day of the LORD is at hand.

"Shofar Alarm Blast"
 

"Alpha and Omega-We Give You All The Glory"