Repairing The Breach

An ever enlarging breach exists in America today between God and His people. We are guilty in America of abandoning our first love, Jesus Christ. God is speaking directly to His children in America in Revelation 2:4-5: "But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you, and will remove your lamp stand out of its place unless you repent." Notice the only place to go when you leave your first love is down (’...from where you have fallen...") and the only way up is repentance leading to the deeds you did at first. John the Apostle mentions repentance twice in these verses because without repentance God "will remove your lamp stand out of its place."

The current state of society today is a sign to God’s people that God has removed His lamp stand. God is crying out to His people for them to repent because they are lukewarm. Listen to God’s admonition to America:. "So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing;" and you do not know that you are blind and naked." (Rev. 3:16-17) God is crying because His children are blinded by affluence and religion and don’t feel they need Him anymore. Repentance is seen as an act at salvation but rarely a necessity in the life of a believer. We have forgotten or never been taught what the exchanged life is all about. Thus, with a tearful heart, the Lord is tenderly pleading with His children in America: "You don’t love me anymore, you don’t commune with me anymore and you don’t depend on me to live My Life through you. You have been born again but you haven’t truly been evangelized. You are lukewarm and lacking victory."

Without repentance in the heart, the God of all grace, cannot consent to help us and be our strength in weakness even though this is His desire. God will not violate our free will. Thus, God remains grieved over the current state of His people in America. And we as a nation have ignored His admonition: "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." (Eph. 4:30) God’s solution for setting us free and repairing the breach is clear. It is contained in 2 Chronicles 7:14. Listen with your heart to God’s precious promise and words of hope for His people and this nation:

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

God is saying the hope for America rests with the Christian not the lost sinner....."If my people, which are called by my name...” If the breach is going to be repaired, the Christian must acknowledge and accept responsibility for making it happen. Only the Christian in America holds the key that can turn God’s heart to restore this great nation. Only the Christian has "Christ in you, the hope of glory!" But Christian’s today are not living the victorious life. Most Christians today are broken down, burned out or beaten up. The breach has caused the bridge to the victorious life to collapse and the Christian is living in His own power.

Therefore, the first step is realizing we are the cause of the breach and taking responsibility to repair it. We must not blame one another but confront our own sins. We must learn how to take by faith the baton of the victorious life and go with it. We must give the old clothes to Goodwill and put on the new garments of living for God’s will. We have the solution in the resurrection: Christ alive and in us, the hope of glory!!

God is faithful and patiently looking everyday for the prodigal’s return. You remember, the prodigal in rebellion and ignorance was living his life but not the Father’s life. God has done His part at Calvary where through His Son, Jesus Christ, He reconciled the world to Himself. He did away with the law and ushered in grace. He crowned the Cross with the glorious resurrection of Jesus from the dead and in so doing made the exchanged life possible for His children. Christ bore our sins in His body on the cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness--that is the exchanged or victorious life, which the Father through Christ makes possible--but a breach currently exists which must be repaired.