Thus Says The LORD

Once an Ethiopian named Zerah attacked Judah with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots. They advanced to the town of Mareshah, so Asa deployed his armies for battle in the valley north of Mareshah. Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God, “O LORD, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in you alone. It is in your name that we have come against this vast horde. O LORD, you are our God; do not let mere men prevail against you!” So the LORD defeated the Ethiopians in the presence of Asa and the army of Judah, and the enemy fled. [2 Chronicles 14.9-12]

The key ingredient to Asa's victory was that his victory was not his victory, but the LORD's. As simple and unencumbered with detail as this story is, the point was well-made: trust God alone.

It may kill me and break me, but I want to trust God with the singleness of heart Asa displayed.

There is no distinction today between Christianity and the world when it comes to whom we trust for our well-being. Oh, we say we trust God, but when problems arise, we utilize all the world's options (benefits) at our disposal just like non-Christians do. The only difference is, we start a prayer chain...

I am NOT making light of starting a prayer chain. However, I am very much pointing out the polytheistic (and therefore idolatrous) practice of seeking God's help along with the help of the world. Asa didn't do that. The Word of God says Asa and the people of Judah trusted God alone. They did not call anyone else for help.

While the Church is more advanced than ever in matters of knowledge of God's Word, it is also infused with the knowledge of the world. Consequently, the Church trusts God and the Church trusts all the systems of the world. The Church is polytheistic.

As the "heat" of end times rises in these last days, the Church is becoming a place of great transformation (revival) likened to "fire purifying gold." There will be an enormous amount of "slag" that should be removed from the Church but will instead, as major "stockholder" in the Church, retain the institution itself and the "pure gold" (few) believers will be "drained off the bottom as waste."

Why? Because the Church does not trust in God alone. Her "mouth" says she does, but her "actions" reveal her contrary dependence upon the world.

It IS possible for great revival to sweep the Church in a monotheistic return to God ALONE, but, while Jesus did not dispute the quality of this transformation, He did indicate the quantity:

But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. [Matthew 7.14]

I will be so bold here then to declare, "Thus says the LORD..."

Father, in these days when options are many, may the few true followers of Christ be revealed as "pure gold" as they are rejected and discarded by established religion. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. So be it.