GOD CALLS FOR DEEP REPENTANCE THROUGH 40 DAYS OF SEEKING HIS FACE

Thank you to all who took part in the 40 Days of seeking the face of God and especially to those who contributed what they believed God revealed to them during that time. Due to the large number who responded we believe we can say with confidence that the Lord has spoken to us through his word given to his people.

It has become abundantly clear through the words and scriptures received that God is very serious about the state of His Body and the resultant negative impact it is having on our Nation. Unless their is a spiritual turning back to Him by those who are called by his name then the physical conditions currently being experienced across our Nation will only continue to deteriorate.

In compiling this report we sought firstly to ascertain if there were any common scriptures through which God spoke to our members as reported by them. There were of course dozens of different scriptures submitted, mostly from the books of the law and the prophetic books of the Old Testament. That is not surprising given that most of the references to drought, its cause and impact, are in the Old Testament. We do however need to interpret the word of the Lord through the cross and the New Testament revelation that God has given us through His Son. That in no way changes the fact that the overwhelming response called for by virtually every submission was repentance and a turning back to God by individuals, Church and Nation.

The seven most quoted scriptures received over the 40 days were the following:
2 Chronicles 7: 13-15
Psalm 68: 6-10
Isaiah 58 (full chapter)
Jeremiah 3:2-5
Micah 6:8
Haggai 1: 2-14
Malachi 4: 1-6

Whilst the Chronicles passage dominated as expected, the Haggai passage was the "wildcard". This passage was actually mentioned in submissions some 4 times more often than the other passages and clearly contains the word of the Lord to us at this time. It is interesting that between all passages there is not only the message of repentance but also of redemption and what we must do to find our way back to God. The Isaiah passage is a clear example of that in that it contains both clear instructions as to how God see's us His people at this time, and then goes on to outline the nature of the response He seeks from us.

It does not mean either that other scriptures people received were not relevant or correct. It is however important in an exercise of this nature to highlight the most frequently quoted scriptures as focusing the word of the Lord to us corporately at this time.

Secondly we sought to understand the major sins that were grieving the heart of God. Whilst there were a large number of different terms used to describe specific sins we believe we could list the vast majority under the following headings:

Lack of Intimacy with God (includes but not limited to unbelief, disunity, lukewarmness, compromise, self centeredness etc)

Idolatry (includes but not limited to pride, arrogance, self reliance, witchcraft, worship of other God's, materialism and greed etc)

Sexual Immorality (includes but not limited to homosexuality, adultery, fornication, pornography, sexual abuse etc)

Shedding of innocent blood (includes but not limited to abortion, cloning, massacre of first nation people, euthanasia, suicide etc)

Broken Covenants (includes but not limited to divorce, unfaithfulness, disobedience to God etc)

Injustice (includes but not limited to lack of care and concern for the poor, widows, fatherless, oppressed etc)

There are many more sub points that could be added under each heading, and again that is up to each person to seek God as to those He specifically wants each of us to address in our own lives and the life of the Church and Nation.

There was an overwhelming expression that God was not interested in our words of repentance unless our hearts were also changed, evidenced by a measurable turning back to a more intimate and obedient walk with God. There was also a strong expression that we should not just pray for rain, but to expect that rain will come as a result of our lives being reconciled with God's purposes for us as His people and nation.