9/11 Was Just One of God's Alarms; Broadcast Aimed at Waking Up God's People
Anne Graham Lotz and Joel Rosenberg Urge Christians to Repent
Evangelical leaders reached out to millions on the eve of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 with gripping narratives and heart-touching teaching during the nationwide broadcast “A Wake-Up Call for God’s People.”
The daughter of American evangelist Dr. Billy Graham, Anne Graham Lotz, and New York Times bestselling author Joel Rosenberg, spoke with passion as they urged Christians to repent and start a fresh revival in the church.
“What has lulled you to sleep in your personal lives and in the church?” Lotz asked the audience.
“Some of you might be serving in the church and attending services every week, but we are sleeping through all of God's alarms. We must start living for Jesus because he is the greatest authority in the universe. Pray like eternity is just a breath away.”
Lotz said so many times the church and God’s people look at the tragedies happening around us and trust ourselves alone to examine why things are falling apart.
“Instead, we need to remember that these things are actually falling into place for Jesus,” Lotz said.
She reminded the audience that since 9/11 the world is more focused and aware of religion.
“There is a lot of finger pointing going on. Our churches are so worried about being politically correct today. We are not paying attention to Jesus.”
She said the church needs a fresh vision. “We are all responsible for our own faith in Jesus. So many times we play the victim by blaming the culture, temptations around us, and the family we come from to excuse our behavior,” Lotz said.
She said as Christians we must see ourselves as God sees us – not as others do.
“God does not measure us against each other but according to the perfection of Jesus,” Lotz said.
The main theme of the evening was delivered with passages drawn mainly from Matthew, Isaiah, and Revelation.
Both Lotz and Rosenberg talked about the nation’s economy and society being in severe trouble along with horrific natural disasters happening all over the world as rising threats to Israel, and growing persecution of believers, and environmental tragedies are all alarms going off to mark the signs of the times when Jesus will come again.
Rosenberg says, “This is what the Lord Almighty tell us in Haggai 2:6-7, 21-22; ‘In a little while, I will once more shake the heavens and the earth. I will shake all the nations….I will shake the heavens and the earth. I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms.”
Washington is nearly paralyzed with partisan gridlock, even as Iran is building nuclear weapons, Syria and Libya are slaughtering thousands, Egypt imploded, and Israel is increasingly threatened.
“To put it simply, the storm clouds are gathering,” Rosenberg said.“The winds are picking up. The tectonic plates beneath us are shifting.”
Rosenberg said America, Israel, and the Middle East are being shaken. The Church is being shaken too and Christians have to wake up and begin a fresh revival because as God's people - we have all grown stale and unmoved.
"It is time to shake things up, but in a fresh and repenting way. Sin is eating up the church and God's people," both Rosenberg and Lotz said.
Rosenberg said God’s people need to recommit themselves to deep prayer, reading the Bible, and getting our hearts right with the Lord.
“For Bible prophecy tells us that far greater storms are coming as we steadily approach the day of our Lord.”
The simulcast will be followed by a 9-week DVD-based Bible study, Expecting to See Jesus, which reinforces the wake-up call message.
Curriculum descriptions, available materials and other resources can be accessed on-line at www.annegrahamlotz.com.