What Every Church Should Be Preaching Right Now

Joel 2: 12-17 says, “That is why the Lord says, ‘Turn to me now, while there is time.  Give me your hearts.  Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.  Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.’  Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.  He is eager to relent and not punish.  Who knows?  Perhaps he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this curse.  Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine to the Lord your God as before.  Blow the ram’s horn in Jerusalem!  Announce a time of fasting; call the people together for a solemn meeting.  Gather all the people-the elders, the children, and even the babies.  Call the bridegroom from his quarters and the bride from her private room.  Let the priests, who minister in the Lord’s presence, stand and weep between the entry room to the Temple and the altar.  Let them pray, ‘Spare your people, Lord!  Don’t let your special possession become an object of mockery.  Don’t let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners who say, ‘Has the God of Israel left them?’”

In the light of all that is going on around us, it is important to ask, “What is God trying to show us right now?”  I believe God is in the center of this pandemic.  I believe the Coronavirus is a plague sent by God as a judgment and a wakeup call.  It is a judgment upon the whole earth, as well as a wake-up call to every believer, at least to every believer who will listen to the warning.  On one hand, this is the anger of God towards the sins of the world; on the other hand, it is the love of God calling to His people to rend their hearts, repent, and to pray for mercy.  Not only is God’s anger turning towards a world that has rejected Him, but it is turned towards believers who have allowed the world to infiltrate their lives and contaminate them.  It is amazing how merciful God is!  In His justice, he must destroy sin, but in His mercy, he gives warning after warning before the destruction.  God does not want to destroy anyone or condemn anyone to a devil’s hell.  He wants everyone to repent and turn to him. 

Joel 2:12 says, “Turn to me while there is still time.”  The good news about receiving the warning is that if you are receiving the warning that means there is still time to change.  It is interesting to note that Joel says, “Return to the Lord YOUR God.”  He is speaking to people who knew him, but either turned away from him or have become indifferent to him.  I think this describes many people in the church.  In the last 6 months, God has gone to great lengths to get our attention.  Just look at the idols he has torn down.  Hollywood has been shut down, all sports, professional and amateur, have been shut down, Wall-street, stocks, IRA’s, and money have been shaken.  Everything that has become an idol in our lives has been shutdown or shaken.  He is taking drastic steps to wake us up because He loves us.  That is why this message is so important right now.  God is giving his people time to repent and turn back to him.  “Turn to me while there is still time……who knows, perhaps He will give you a reprieve.”  What a loving God.  He gives us chance after chance to get it right!  The problem I see is that preachers are not preaching this.  How can we look around us at what is going on in the world, and not be yelling to the church, “REPENT”.  We need to turn back to God, lay down our idols, and declare a fast.  I do not believe this call to repentance, fasting, and prayer is a suggestion.  I believe this is a command directly from God himself.  It is serious.  Every pastor, teacher, and leader should be shutting down every extra-curricular activity and calling the body of believers to an extended time of prayer and fasting. 

I believe this is the last call of God to His church in love.  The next call will be a call of judgment.  As in the Old Testament, judgment will begin in the Church that has prostituted itself with the ways of the world.  Unfortunately, today’s church is just as guilty.  For years a cancer has been growing inside the church.  God is now trying to eradicate this cancer from His people. 

In the book of Ezra, a cancer was growing among the people of God.  Chapter 9 of Ezra tells of Ezra’s concern for the intermarrying of God’s people with pagans.  “This sounds familiar, paganism in the church.”  In chapters 9 and 10, Ezra’s heart was heavy and broken over the sins of the people.  His rent heart attracted the attention of the people, and they realized their sin.  They told Ezra to lead them and to tell them what to do.  In chapter 10, the guilty ones were listed by name.  This may seem harsh, but I would rather be called out here on the earth while there is still time to repent, then to be called out when there is no chance of salvation. 

I believe this is where we are now.  We need leaders who will rend their hearts and lead the people in prayer, fasting, and repentance.  We need leaders who will call out the guilty, not to shame them, but to save them while there is still time.  Be warned, our time is very short.  God is reaching out in love to warn us.  However, soon he will be reaching out in judgment.