The Cry of a Nazirite

It is God's heart to raise up in this generation men and women aflame with holy devotion to Him and His purposes. Tragically, the Church is bloated with sell-outs who are profiteers of the Gospel. She is drunk from the intoxication of a self-empowering, you-can-have-it-all, "Jesus wants you blessed" kind of Christianity. Compare that with the early Church Apostles who were martyred for their convictions rather than bend to popular culture.

Instead, the eyes of the Lord today roam "throughout the face of the earth seeking those whose hearts are completely His" (2 Chron 16:9). We have relied on church growth seminars, pollster prophets, business management training, success principles of franchise marketing, and mission statements with corporate branding to attempt to build 21st century churches. God is not mocked. He wants His people in our day to abandon our trust in chariots and horses and to radically and unashamedly put our trust in Him. We would be wise to seek out the ancient pathways.

Where are those who would pray and fast with a desparate longing for the living God to breathe upon His people again? When will we learn that it is not by might nor by power, but by His Spirit that the work of God will ever be accomplished? When will we die to the tinsel this world tantalizes us with and ache to instead see the hand of God touch the leprosy of our land?

In stark contrast to the marketing madness gripping our churches is the following poem--the heart of a young woman who yearns to see God call forth His Nazirites once again:

For Such a Time

I was fashioned for this day

I was born just for this hour

A day of revolution

An invasion of Your power

We're John the Baptist signals

Posted high up on a hill

Lifting trumpet voices

And doing all Your will

My heart was made for burning

My destiny extreme

Called to be a Nazirite

A faith and fire machine

I'm fasting in the desert

And making straight the path

Proclaiming by Your Spirit

"Mercy triumphs over wrath!"

I'm laying down my future

In worship at Your feet

I'm calling for revival

To fill our nation's streets

I'm lifing up my voice

To God who answers prayer

"make me the hinge of hist'ry!"

And He answers

"Become it if you dare!"

To see the Lamb exalted

And His reward secured

I'll live a life of sacrifice

And let His voice be heard

For such a time as this

And for this very hour

God's called a generation

To be channels of His power

John the Baptist company

With Elijah in their blood

Burning in the desert

So that God will send a flood

--by Sylvia M. Barnhart--

Do you still share her passion? Or is there no oil left in your lamp?