By PASTOR MARK MOLINA
Living Waters Church
Pastor Mark Molina
Special to the NEWS
The times in which we live are becoming more and more perilous. The culture of the days in which we live are beginning to overwhelm the church, Christianity and distort the name of Christ. Is it possible for Christians to remain separate, faithful and consecrated to the God of the bible in this midst of an ever increasing corruption? Or, should we just accept it all and allow this current world system to incapacitate us? Does our faithfulness even matter to God?
“The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” (Genesis 6:5-7 NIV)
In this time of the history of mankind and the world things had degraded to an indescribable “wickedness.” We see, “…that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all of the time.” That is quite the description of the condition of mankind at that time. Was there anyone who had managed to keep themselves from the evil of the day?
“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” (Genesis 6:8 NIV) In all of the earth there was one man. There was one individual who made the decision that despite the ever increasing wickedness of the world around him he would maintain his relationship with God. Noah’s genuine relationship won him the personal favor of God himself. We must remember that God’s opinion of our relationship with him is the most important one. I believe too many times we can, as Christians, believe our relationship with God is more viable than it really is. We can talk about God all of the time and many do. How does God see us in the midst of the time where we are now?
“This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.” (Genesis 6:9 NIV). Look how the Spirit of God immediately identifies Noah. He is known to God personally as “…a righteous man, blameless…he walked faithfully with God.” Wow. If the Spirit of God identified us specifically to this age and time in which we live what would He say? What would be the identifying characteristics of our relationship with Him?
Today in the history of the church and the world there is an ever increasing gulf between the two. There is an ever magnifying anti-Christ spirit especially here in America. Europe itself is now identified as 20% Christian. With this new identifying characteristic of the post modern church, introduced by church leaders themselves, the gospel of Jesus Christ has become significantly watered down. We are approaching Christianity with a more intellectual approach. Preaching the gospel by Pastor’s who carried the anointing of the Holy Spirit has now been replaced by individuals who want to be called Life Coaches.
This is an important distinction in the change and shift due to the world’s cultural practices. We know that the world in which we live is growing, ever increasingly, in darkness, wickedness and violence. You might be thinking, “It will never return to the state is was in when Noah was alive right?”
“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37-39 NIV)
Will God identify us as he identified Noah in these darkening days as righteous, blameless and faithful?
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