IS IT OK TO be GAY & CHRISTIAN?

IS IT OK TO be GAY & CHRISTIAN?
-by J. Lee Grady.

Charismatic pastor Jim Swilley’s announcement that he is gay
opened the door wider for a subtle delusion. Don’t believe it.

Many people were shell-shocked last week when Atlanta pastor
Jim Swilley stood in front of his congregation, Church in the Now in
Conyers, Ga., and announced that he is gay. The 52-year-old
minister was abruptly removed from his position in the International
Communion of Charismatic Churches—a network in which he
served as an overseer. Some of Swilley’s members left his church,
others stayed, and countless others are now scratching their heads.

We Americans are lost in a moral fog. Two major Protestant
denominations (the Episcopal Church USA and the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America) have voted to ordain gay clergy.
Meanwhile, gayness is celebrated in our media, and anyone who
refuses to bow to this idol is painted as intolerant and homophobic.

Christians who still believe homosexuality is incompatible with
biblical faith feel painted into a corner. If we defend Christian
morality, and even if we speak with compassion to those who may
struggle with same-sex attraction, we are accused of hate speech
or branded as judgmental. So we tiptoe through the minefield of
political correctness—and keep our mouths shut.

Sorry, but timidity on this issue is not acceptable. The sins we
avoid addressing from the pulpit are the sins that will thrive
unchallenged in our culture. We must develop some backbone
and speak the truth in love. Here are four truths that should factor
into any discussion on this topic:

1. Everyone is born with issues. King David wrote: “Behold, I was
brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me”
(Psalm 51:5, NASB). David acknowledged that he had an inborn
sin nature. This is true for all of us!

Many “gay Christian” advocates insist that some people are born
homosexuals and therefore they have no hope of altering their
orientation. But this is a lame argument since we all are born with
a propensity toward certain sins. This is the human condition: “For
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Just
because you are born with an inclination toward adultery,
alcoholism, shoplifting or pride doesn’t mean you have to stay that way.

2. Christ offers forgiveness and sexual healing. The more strident
voices in the gay community hate when Christians speak about
homosexuals being healed or reformed. They insist that if you are
gay, you must stay that way. They choose to ignore the fact that
thousands of people have left homosexuality after coming to faith in Christ.

My friend Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International, came
out of the gay lifestyle many years ago and now has a great
marriage with his wife, Leslie, plus two beautiful children. The
ministry he leads has helped countless people—including many
Christian “strugglers”—find emotional freedom. Some of them
experienced same-sex feelings from childhood; others developed
these feelings because they were sexually molested or because
of dysfunction in their families.

Whatever the cause of sexual brokenness, the gospel has always
provided the solution. It was true for people in the Corinthian
church, to whom Paul wrote: “Do not be deceived; neither
fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor
homosexuals … will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some
of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you
were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit
of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9-11, emphasis added).

3. Discipleship requires self-denial. In his announcement to his
church last week, Jim Swilley said he decided to come out as gay
because he was tired of pretending. I’ve talked with others who
told me they felt they were being “dishonest” by ignoring their gay
feelings. They said they felt free when they accepted “who they
really are” and got involved in gay relationships.

For a Christian, that’s a cop out. The essence of our walk with
Christ involves denial. Jesus said: “If anyone wishes to come after
Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me”
(Matt. 16:24). Jesus was not asking us to pretend we don’t have
problems—He calls us to bring all of those problems into His light
through repentance. But the Holy Spirit gives us the power to
deny sinful desires. That quality of self-control is a fruit of the
Spirit (see Gal. 6:22-23).

4. Homosexuality is not a protected category of sin. Many “gay
Christian” advocates insist that if you are gay, then it’s fine to go
out and have all the sex you want. They ignore biblical
commandments against homosexuality (usually by saying that
Old Testament law doesn’t apply today); meanwhile they advocate
gay marriage even though most gay men are rarely monogamous.
The message is clear: If you have same-sex desires, just go
ahead and indulge because that’s how you were created.

This is what the Bible calls licentiousness—which means “lacking
legal or moral restraints, especially sexual restraints; disregarding
rules.” Actually, the Bible lumps homosexuality in with every other
form of sexual sin—and says God will punish those who engage in
it...

Regardless of how loudly the world trumpets its hedonistic agenda—
and no matter how many backslidden preachers dance to the tune—
God has the final say on this matter.

Please comment on this topic at the website below-

http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/

SOURCE- http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/fire-in-my-bones

GOD TOLD ME SOMETHING I Was NOT EXPECTING to HEAR!

GOD TOLD ME SOMETHING I Was NOT EXPECTING to HEAR!
-David Wilkerson - Oct 20, 2010.

One night during a prayer meeting, God told me something about
our church I was not expecting to hear.

The Lord whispered to me, “This church needs shock treatment!
Too many have grown satisfied and complacent. You feel safe and
secure from all the winds and waves of false doctrines sweeping
over the land—but you are not prepared for what is coming!”

Beloved, the message of having the Spirit’s witness functioning in
you is not a request—it is a matter of life and death! If you don’t
have the witness of the Holy Ghost in these last days, you’re not
going to make it! You’ll give in to the coming spirit of the Antichrist!

You need the Holy Spirit witness every day—on your job, at work,
at school. You need to rightly judge politicians and leaders so
you’ll not suddenly be sucked into the antichrist system.

This is what Jesus was trying to tell us about the foolish virgins
who ran out of oil for their lamps. They had a supply of the Holy
Ghost—but they didn’t have his witness at the final moment.

Don’t end up a foolish virgin! If you are running out of oil—trusting
your church or your pastor to keep your soul—then repent! Humble
yourself and search your heart! Cry out to God to rid your soul of
all anger and bitterness. Confess your sins and forsake them.
And depend on God once again for everything!

Get the peace of God in your heart, so you can have a Holy Ghost
witness. And ask the Father for a greater enduement of the Spirit.
Invite him to be your witness and guide in everything!

We face a cost of going all the way with Jesus, but we also will
receive a reward: It is simply the blessing of having Christ stand
with us. There are many other rewards as well (see Matthew 19:29),
but I mention this one because it is all we will ever need.

When Paul was imprisoned in Jerusalem, the whole religious
system wanted to kill him. They accused him of polluting the holy
place and preaching false doctrines. His life was in danger; even
the soldiers were “fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in
pieces” (Acts 23:10). So they took him by force and locked him
away in a castle. The next night the Lord himself spoke to Paul,
and what a word he brought: “Cheer up! There’s even more trouble
to come!”

The cost of following Christ was clear in the lives of these men of
God—and if we are going to be like our Master, then we must
embrace this cost as well. Enduring it becomes a joy because
Jesus promises to stand with us in every situation. And we can
face anything or anyone when we know the Lord stands with us.

So count the cost and know that your reward, in all things, is the
precious presence of Jesus Christ.

SOURCE - http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/node/10279

MESSAGE of THE THREE ANGELS

MESSAGE of THE THREE ANGELS
-Randy Ailie & Maurice Smith.

We have spoken a bit in the past about "false" angels - 'Emma'
the glittering female angel and the like. But are there true angels
bringing messages from the Lord for His people today like in the
Bible? If so, what kind of messages would they be? One thing we
see in Scripture is that when true angels came, they were "holy"
messengers from the very presence of God. People often fell on
their face because of this holy presence of the Lord. And of course
the content of the messages was biblical and holy also.

Last week someone posted an account of a real "angelic visitation"
on our website. At least it had the ring of authenticity about it.
I believe the message it contains is important enough to risk
sending it out - despite a possible "backlash". Below are two
accounts of this exact same event. I would be interested in your
responses, my friends.

(1) THREE ANGELS With THREE MESSAGES
-by Randy Ailie.

There is a huge crisis coming that is going to purge the system.
We as leaders need to recognize and address this. He is promising
to visit his church in a way we have never seen before.

A few years back I was in a meeting with other well known leaders
to pray about what the Lord wanted us to hear. 3 angels visited us.
This was witnessed by everyone there! They spoke to us concerning
this coming visitation and what we had to do to prepare for this... it
left an indelible mark on almost everyone there for years now. Most
of us walked around in stunned silence with bouts of crying for months.

They told us to shun or stay away from the big things that were
being promoted by the church. They talked to us directly about
spending quiet intimate time with Him, alone!... This intimacy is
the foundation of everything, and the hardest! The second Angel
talked to us about the Lord bringing his Holiness back to the church.
And the third talked to us about the Lord himself bringing the very
Terror of God back to the church. This has left an indelible mark
on me. The entire church as we know it in every form and manner
has departed from these thoughts...

The third angel was (I am fighting tears here) standing as a flame
of fire. Just fresh out of the very presence of God. I do not know
how to explain or even try to use words here describing this, it
seems outside of my scope of words. He was overwhelming in his
appearance. He was the one telling us about the coming of the
terror of the Lord in his visitation on His church. I guess the Lord
wanted to make a point. I try not to spend much time thinking of
this, it kind of freaks me out. It is an unspeakable flashlight into
my existence and leaves me in a true state of awe in every sense
of the word. My perception of who God is has now and forever
been unalterably changed. Especially by this one.

(2) "THE MEETING" - Published May 2nd, 2007
-by Maurice Smith.

The following took place at a recent house church gathering... I will
only say that I know and trust the people involved, people not given
to "pushing the envelope" or "flights of fancy". The meeting lasted
approximately four hours. What I am about to relate began roughly
an hour into the gathering. According to half of the people who were
present and actually witnessed this, three angels appeared, each
bearing a specific message.

The First Angel.
According to those present who witnessed this, the first angel was
clothed in crimson and purple and had a regal nature about him.
His message, as recorded by one person present, was as follows:

"This is what the spirit has to say to the 1st Church: Listen! The
1st angel of the church first established in the Lord says this.
Repent, for my heart is broken, for I have broken the staff of
correction over the backs of my sheep who long for different
pastures and whose heart is fat on that which is not holy, for I will
now let them pursue their own lusts and (I will now) stand out of
the way!"

The Second Angel.
According to those who witnessed this, the second angel was
clothed humbly and "non-descriptly" with simple robes. His
message was as follows:

"The 2nd angel has to say in a still small voice, be quiet, for only
those who seek to drink from the still small brook and who are not
afraid of persecution, who love the Lord more than life and thirst
not for the glory and the big things that profit only the flesh, who
hunger for intimacy, shall enter in! For in such is true power found -
in the quiet clearings where the River of God’s brook quietly
murmurs shall peace and purpose be found. Clothe yourselves
in humility, for I shall be found there in peace and tranquility!"

The Third Angel.

"When the 3rd angel approached me I trembled in fear (!) for he is
an all consuming fire. His eyes are ablaze with God’s glory and
his robes are a burning furnace - for he is fresh from the Lord’s
Presence, shrouded with His glory and holiness! And his presence
is a terrible thing, for he has to say:
‘Go tell my people to Repent, for they have lost their fear of the
Lord, they no longer desire to hear what He truly has to say (It will
cost you everything!). Holiness - Holiness - Holiness. Be Holy, for
I am holy! Tremble in fear for I am coming!’"

The Meaning

The people involved in this meeting/visitation were deeply affected
both then and for several days afterwards... One of them called me
on the verge of tears, "I’ve been pondering this all day. Maurice,
what does this mean?" Good question. I believe it means several
things, and I want to try and summarize what I think is happening...

God is still calling His people to repentance (two of the three angelic
messages contained exhortations to repent)... but they have
resisted the "staff of correction" and so He is preparing to send
them one of the worst forms of judgment; He is going to stand
aside and let them have their own way: "I will now let them pursue
their own lusts and (I will now) stand out of the way!" It is a terrible
day when God gives us over to the lusts and desires of our own heart...

We are entering a season of divine visitation and God is driving a
stake in the ground (one of those "Remember this day!" moments).
He is calling His Church back to repentance, to intimacy and to
holiness. These three messages are not new. We’ve heard them
before... repentance, intimacy and holiness.

-Please comment on this article at the website below-

http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/

PICTURES of THE QUAKE

PICTURES of THE QUAKE
-Andrew Strom.

In my first few nights here in Christchurch there were several big
aftershocks of Richter 4.5 or more. Anything less and we tend
not to notice - but those ones can wake you out of a sound sleep.
Remarkably though, you would never know that Christchurch had
been through a worse quake than Haiti. There is damage (as you
will see in the photos) - particularly to many older church buildings
and so-on. But much of the city is recovering with only minor
disruption. Many people are quite traumatized, however. They
will not get over this in a hurry.

Unlike Katrina there is seemingly not much left for teams of
volunteers to do. Much of the "grunt" work is already done. Instead
we feel led to reach out in more SPIRITUAL ways this time - to
a deeply affected population - with open-air worship events and
so-on. Please pray with us for a true "Street Revival", my friends.

The fact that so many old - and even newer - church buildings and
cathedrals have been so damaged and forcibly abandoned, has
really been speaking to me. I believe God is showing that the time
has come where we really must begin to call the true church OUT
of her enclosing walls and into the Open where a lost and dying
world awaits. We were never supposed to allow the Bride of Christ
to be "imprisoned" away from the very world she is called to reach.
This whole thing has emboldened me to preach again things I have
long laid aside - that Christ is calling His true church out of her
"cathedrals" - out where she is meant to be. It is high time we
abandoned our gilded cages - and all the "junk" that goes with
them - and got back to the ways of the early church.

"Street Revival" and the leaving behind of our man-made 'traditions'
are becoming an emphasis for me once again. We need to let the
"SHAKING of CHRISTCHURCH" speak loudly to us all. What is
God trying to say?

You can see some pictures of the quake aftermath taken by Noah
and Kate Cremisino at our website below. Please take the time
to comment if you can. Here is the link-

http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/

"THE BRIDE Will LEAVE CHRISTENDOM"

"THE BRIDE Will LEAVE CHRISTENDOM"
-Vision by Wayne Thomas.

The following vision is probably one of the most well-known that has
ever come out of my home nation of New Zealand. It is a key vision
that has been acknowledged and read around the world. This vision
was given to Wayne Thomas late in 1993. He told me that it was
probably the most powerful he had ever seen.

VISION of THE BRIDE LEAVING CHRISTENDOM
-Wayne Thomas.

Basically, it was a traditional wedding scene. The radiantly beautiful
Bride had just stepped out of the Cathedral and was standing on the
top step, just outside. Wayne was told that the Bride was LEAVING
'CHRISTENDOM' (AND ALL THAT GOES WITH IT) FOREVER, leaving
the 'church' system behind. The Groom (who was Jesus) took her arm,
so that He could lead her down and proudly display His beautiful Bride
to all the world.

Still inside the Cathedral were all the relatives (-the various
'streams' and denominations of the church as we know it?)
Suddenly, while the Bride was still on the top step, an invisible
hand gave her a beautiful lily (which had been plucked out by the
roots). This was her bridal 'bouquet' (an "end-time" enduement?)
and for some reason it seemed to be given to her rather late. She
threw this bouquet backwards, and some of her relatives in the church,
who had been watching her with great jealousy and awe, made a grab
for the bouquet. Two of them seemed to snatch it up, but there was
a lot of squabbling and pushing amongst them - fighting to be somehow
near the Bride or to grab the bouquet. The Groom then led His Bride
down the steps and through the huge crowd of cheering people below,
who had been unable to get into the Cathedral.

In a later vision, Wayne was shown that after they had made their
way through this huge throng, the happy couple were then taken away
on their honeymoon, which was to last for a thousand years.

Wayne later made the following comments about this vision:
"The Lord emphasized these things to me:- That the Bride is so
in love with the Groom - and the fact that she is pure and holy, and
the problems of life are far behind her in this time frame. The crowds
outside see this intimate love between the two, and that no burden in
life stops her from expressing this love. She leaves the guests behind
to squabble over the bouquet, and her desire to share this love with
the crowd outside is very evident.

"The fighting wedding guests are those within the church who in their
hearts are ambitious for titles to impress the body and are caught
up seeking the gifts (bouquet anointings) and not the giver. They are
involved in grand schemes and politics within the church - and they
love 'comfort'. They are those who get close to the Truth but do not
want to live the truth.

"The Bride - leaving the guests behind - is made up of Christians
seeking truth in Jesus alone, no matter the cost, leaving compromise
behind and seeking Jesus first before the praises of men."

ANDREW AGAIN: There are some quite shocking implications
to this vision, but it lines up with so much that God has spoken
along similar lines in recent years - ie. GREAT REFORMATION -
not just Revival. What are we to make of this - that the BRIDE Will
LEAVE the "CHURCH SYSTEM" FOREVER??

Does it line up with Scripture? Does it make sense? Is it possible?

The Book of Acts Revival, the Wesley and Whitefield Revivals, the
Cane Ridge Revival, the Early Salvation Army Revivals, and of course
Jesus' own ministry in the first place - these were all massive
"outdoor" moves of God. Could it be that they are pointing the way
to what we are about to witness in our own generation?

-Please comment on this at the following website-

http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/

The FATAL COMPROMISE

The FATAL COMPROMISE
-Rick Furmanek.

Is Following Hard Really Worth All the Opposition?

If you follow Jesus for any length of time... and you pursue that
relationship seriously... the Lord will eventually confront you will
a choice... a choice of obedience... a choice of loyalty. This is
part and parcel of what the Bible describes as counting the cost
of following him. Yes, there is a cost involved... on both sides of
the fence. Don't let anyone try to convince you otherwise... and
sometimes the cost is quite heavy.

Being confronted with a choice to unswervingly obey, or ignore the
opportunity for obedience and simply compromise, is not an easy
place to find yourself in... for, if we choose to compromise...
eventually we must make our way back to the Lord's throne and
openly confess our wrongdoing. It is no simple matter to approach
him with hat in hand knowing you must tell him why you did what
you did in your moment of disobedience (not to mention carrying
the Spirit of Christ that resides in you right into your disobedience)...
realizing you have no plausible defense nor excuse for your
actions/decisions as you stand before His perfection. God is
merciful to the nth degree... but He will not be toyed with nor His
grace taken advantage of nor presumed upon.

Mind you, it's quite easy to compromise at first . . . and can even
be seen as a little fun . . . as long as the price tag for the
compromise can be removed for the moment.

Remember what the writer of Hebrews says . . .

"By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the
son of Pharaoh's daughter, */choosing rather to be mistreated with
the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin/*. He
considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the
treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward."

Compromise is serious business. It happens all the time... but it
shouldn't. Whether we disobey with the cost hidden or the price
tag in full view, the consequences will be very real... and very
experienced.

But note here also, as clearly described in the story of Moses,
there is another side to this cost thing... not only is there a cost
for compromise... that you must eventually do right by your God...
but there is also a price tag for obedience. Moses chose to be
abused, misunderstood, and ill thought of, opting to identify with
the suffering people of God, rather than go the easy road of
self-serving pleasure. He left riches, education and a long family
heritage in order to follow God... for he had an understanding of
the big picture and what mattered most.

From this example of Moses, we see that there is a cost involved
in following.

Jesus' own words affirm this again and again. In fact, he
challenged, and even expected us to count the cost before we
bend a knee to him. If the hearer didn't think the cost is worth it...
Jesus was willing to let them go their own way. And while he is
always willing to receive them back... he doesn't expect a person
to do it blindly or without understanding what is involved and what
is required in following him.

Remember the Disciples who left behind family, friends, jobs and
homes for the sake of the Kingdom? I'm sure that was not easy to
do... but they counted the cost and did it anyway... and most
likely made the hard choice in the face of some pretty serious opposition.

I'm going to step out and make an assumption here... I'm going to
assume that you have understood to some degree what I've tried
to communicate up to this point... and I'm going to assume you
understand at least the concept that there is a price tag attached
to following Christ.

That said, what might the cost of following hard after Jesus in
today's world look like? First off, if we take our responsibility
seriously and approach life with a desire to live a life for Christ
without compromise... we can rest assured that, as the Bible
promises, we will encounter opposition. To encounter no
opposition and at the same time call ourselves a Christian should
be cause for concern, for something is not right.

Note that opposition will come in many shapes and forms... some
we won't expect... catching us completely off guard, thus testing
our obedience... and other opposition we will plainly see gathering
on the horizon, thus testing our loyalty. No matter where it comes
from, we mustn't forget this truth, following Jesus Christ
wholeheartedly will produce opposition from those around us... at
times even from those we love the most.

In recollecting this afternoon from some recent experiences, I've
come up with... what I think are key areas from which you can
pretty much expect opposition for carrying the name of Jesus with
you in an uncompromising way.

Here they are:

-* Your mere presence may make others uncomfortable. *

Therefore, because of this, some are likely to try to avoid you. The
Truth shown forth in the Light is something that this world would
prefer not to experience. Light reveals those secrets we have
spent tireless years trying to keep tucked away in a dark corner.
Expect that your desire to walk in the Light... to be open and
transparent... to lead a no-compromise sort of life... will make
others uncomfortable... not intentionally, but as a natural
by-product of your taking the name of Christ with you into places
where He's not necessarily welcome... at least not the Lordship
side of Him.

-*You as a person may be seen as unkind. *

No doubt about it... we are to love... we are commanded to love...
we are told that without love our message is meaningless and
worthless... we are told that our love is the telltale sign of our
following Jesus... but how love is defined and fleshed out today is
so different from the biblical description of love. We mustn't let
that important point... the change in the connotation of the word,
love, trip us up in our Christian expression of love.

What you will find today is that those who watch you, listen to
you and interact with you as you follow Christ... are likely to
conclude that you are quite intolerant and inconsiderate of others.
People today... even a lot of religious folk... really do have a
problem with Jesus being the only way and the necessity of dying
to self and forsaking all in order to have real life.

Fellow-follower, I don't care how you package it, you can drape
love all over it... but try rebuking, correcting, admonishing... again
in love... and the likely reaction you'll get from the 21st century
man... and lots of religious folk... is that you are just not a very
nice person. Again, with the concept of love being so
misunderstood today and often defined as absolute toleration of
everyone and every belief surrounding you... we must be patient
and make a concerted effort to attach a proper definition to the
word love for our listeners and observers to grasp and hold on to,
and then demonstrate it before them as a witness for our Lord.

That in itself might be the greatest act of kindness we can show
them. And that act of kindness is not random... no, it's very intentional.

This week has been tough. I've experienced a few of these very
things in my own life. Is it rewarding being misunderstood?
Definitely not. Am I glad I was rejected? Not on your life. Would I
prefer not to travel this route? You bet. But it really does come
down to this simple statement that as a follower of Jesus I must
confess again and again...

/... yet not my will, but Yours be done. /

Stay strong in Him... take courage... our redemption is drawing near.

... "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to
abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such
good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of
doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on
the day he visits us."

HOW to STAND UP and FIGHT!

HOW to STAND UP and FIGHT!
-David Wilkerson.

With all the talk going on in the church about spiritual warfare,
Christians still have not learned how to stand up to the enemy.
We are pushovers for the devil!

I don’t believe every misfortune that befalls a Christian comes from
the devil. We wrongly blame him for a lot of our own carelessness,
disobedience and laziness.

It’s easy to blame the devil for our foolishness. That way, we don’t
have to deal with it. But there is a real devil present in the world
today—and he is busy at work!

Let me tell you something of Satan’s strategy. If he cannot pull the
Almighty out of his throne, he will try to tear God’s image out of
you! He wants to turn worshippers into murmurers and blasphemers.

Satan cannot attack you at will. God has put a wall of fire around
each of his children, and Satan cannot go beyond that wall without
God’s permission.

Satan cannot read a Christian’s mind. Some people are afraid to pray
because they think the devil eavesdrops on them! Others think the
devil can read their every thought. Not so! Only God is omnipresent
and omniscient.

Scripture commands us to stand up, be strong and do battle against
the flesh and the devil: “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you
like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13). “Brethren, be strong in
the Lord, and in the power of his might” (Ephesians 6:10).

You have to become fed up with being held down by the devil—
living low, depressed, joyless, empty, harassed!

The book of Judges tells us, “And the children of Israel did evil in
the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of
Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against
Israel” (Judges 6:1–2).

The Israelites were at their lowest point ever. They were driven to
living in dark caves and damp dens, starving, scared and helpless.
Then something happened. It started with Gideon, and it spread
throughout the whole camp: Israel got sick and tired of hiding in
those dark caves!

Gideon said to himself, “How long should we put up with this?
They go through our land with no opposition. Nobody stands up
and does anything about it! We’re told we have a God who moved
for our fathers. But look at us now—we are stripped, helpless.
We live in constant fear!”

Something rose up within Gideon. And he said just what God was
waiting to hear: “This has gone far enough! We serve a mighty,
victorious God. Why do we go on, day after day, taking this abuse?”

God will not do anything until you are thoroughly disgusted—until
you are sick and tired of being sick and tired.

You have to do as Gideon did—cry out to the Lord! We serve the
same God that Israel did. If he heard Israel’s cry in their idolatry,
he will hear you—in your sincerity.

SOURCE - http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/node/10000