We badly need the fear of the Lord because, as renowned pastor and theologian Dr. R. T. Kendall believes, “America is under judgment.”
Kendall’s recent book, We’ve Never Been This Way Before, details this judgment and why it’s happening through the biblical lens of Joshua leading the people of Israel into the promised land. “God is fed up, and He is angry,” Kendall said. He sees four reasons for the judgment on America: “racism, legalized abortions, same-sex marriage, and theological liberalism in the pulpits.”
But Kendall also sees hope. “God is at the bottom of it, but it’s gracious judgment,” he said. “It means that He’s trying to get our attention. It’s not retributive judgment, where God just gets even and punishes. No, He’s been gracious to us to get our attention, to drive us to our knees, and it will end up with America crying out like they’ve never done before.
“God will answer,” Kendall said. “And it’s my view the only thing that will save us will be this awakening, not unlike what we saw in the eighteenth century under the preaching of people like Jonathan Edwards or the Cane Ridge Revival in the early nineteenth century. We’re talking about something huge, not ordinary revival—something that gets the attention of the world.”
The Need of This Hour
Kendall shared a brief story from Joshua 5 to point out a critical need in our nation. “As Joshua entered into the Promised Land, he saw this awesome figure. Joshua said, ‘Are you for us, or for our adversaries?’ And the figure, which happened to be an angel, [said], ‘Neither.’
“Well, that was not the answer Joshua wanted,” Kendall said. “What we need to learn about God—and what has been forgotten—is that He is a God of glory, and He does things for His own glory. Jonathan Edwards, who is the main figure in the Great Awakening of the eighteenth century, used to say the one thing that the devil cannot duplicate … in us is a love for the glory of God. The flesh cannot produce it; only God can do it.
“Joshua was learning that we do not have any entitlement,” Kendall said. “The curse of our generation, in my opinion, is a feeling of entitlement. The idea is that we can snap our fingers and expect God to jump. There is no fear of God in the world today; there’s no fear of God in the nation. There is little, if any, fear of God in the church, and that will be restored. And that is what the angel was saying to Joshua. And I think what we need to learn and what is going to bring about this great awakening is a restoration of the fear of God. That’s my conviction. That is the need of the hour.”
If cancel culture and pressure from all sides have served to awaken the church in America, then we can truly see that God uses all things for the good of those who love Him. If there is a correspondence between difficulty and triumph, then we may be in for something truly historic in the near future. Call it awakening; call it a hurricane of revival.
Just be sure to pray for it to come. {eoa}
Excerpted from Chapter 10 of Stephen Strang’s new book, God and Cancel Culture (Charisma House 2021). For more information about God and Cancel Culture check out stevestrangbooks.com.
Stephen E. Strang is the bestselling author of God and Donald Trump. The founder and CEO of Charisma Media, Strang was voted by Time magazine as one of the 25 most influential evangelicals in America. He has interviewed four U.S. presidents and has been featured on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, CBN, Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk, thedDailyCaller.com and in many Christian outlets.
God and Cancel Culture is published by FrontLine, an imprint of Charisma House, which has published books that challenge, encourage, teach and equip Christians, including 15 New York Times bestsellers.
The book will be available in hardcover, paperback and e-book formats. God and Cancel Culture is set to publish on Sept. 7, and you can pre-order it on stevestrangbooks.com. When you do, you’ll get $120 worth of free gifts, including four e-books and a subscription to Charisma magazine.
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