Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war!” (Joel 3:9)
One of the two greatest crises of the soul is fast approaching our MAGA brothers and sisters in Christ. Faster than I would like to believe. Right now, the topics of Antisemitism, Zionism, the nature of Islam related to the God of Abraham, Replacement theology, etc. are steaming through a plethora of statements, debates, exposes, and teachings from Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Nick Fuentes, Joel Webbon, Glenn Beck, and thousands of evangelical leaders – unlike any time in the history of the American Church. THE controversy of the nations: “WHAT ABOUT ISRAEL?”, is about to reach a boiling point within the ranks of Christian Nationalism.
Here’s the alarm: When Donald Trump finally turns on Israel, MAGA believers will be confronted with the consequences of the decisions and talking points that they’re cultivating now. Will they act in fidelity to the God of the Bible Who is pressing His character through the affairs of this tiny nation? Or will they (once again, as they have with Canada, Mexico, Greenland, the Ukraine, Denmark, Panama, NATO etc.) come up with a defense for Trump’s storylines, and take up this man’s offense against Israel?
It’s coming. As sure as every part of the Bible is true, it’s coming, friends.
What makes this inevitable internal, “anfechtungen” most alarming is this:
1. MAGA has spent nearly every day of the last decade developing spin redactions and apologetics to defend Trump’s outrageous unrighteousness. That’s a LOT of gravity to go against. I believe the devil has purposefully accrued this inertia for the sake of ultimately bending the will of many sincere MAGA Christians re: Israel when all the chips are on the table… in spite of the fact that millions now ardently protest: “But we will never betray you, Israel.” In the day of great threat and temptation, MAGA will walk in the pattern of deception, and have cultivated no integrity of will to stand against this lawless man’s hot displeasure.
2. The second alarm deals with the realty that it is God Himself Who is going to be behind the crux of this confrontation. (See Joel 3 below) MAGA won’t be fighting against political opposition. It will be wrestling with God Himself. It is His penultimate test to the faith of the Bride. “Will you stand with your Bridegroom, and with Israel? Will you believe My promises for Zion are true? Will you even let go of your fascination with an unrighteous leader in order to remain champions of My heart, My expressed plan, and My vision for the redemption of the people of this land, and the nations?”
This is the way the question will be framed: “Will you betray MAGA? Or will you betray Israel?”
It’s coming, beloved. As crazy as it seems that a controversy over this one, small, resilient people-group could embroil the whole earth, it’s coming…
AND, it’s coming to a church near you.
JOEL 3:9-21 9 Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. 10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ ” 11 Assemble and come, all you nations, and gather together all around. Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O Lord. 12 “Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. 13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow – for their wickedness is great.” 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness. 16 The Lord also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake; but the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel. 17 “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, and no aliens shall ever pass through her again.” 18 And it will come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drip with new wine, the hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water; a fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord and water the Valley of Acacias. 19 “Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom a desolate wilderness, because of violence against the people of Judah, for they have shed innocent blood in their land. 20 But Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. 21 For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted; for the Lord dwells in Zion.”
The Holy Spirit is leading millions of believers around the world to accelerate intercession for Israel, and agree with the eternal promises that He has established with the sons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
7 Reasons to Pray for Israel
1. We believe the best thing that could happen in the Middle East is for millions of both Jews and Arabs to make covenant with the God of the Bible, through the blood atonement of His Son, Y’shua of Nazareth.
2. When the Lord touches the Jewish people with salvation through their Messiah, the whole earth will be provoked to wonder and receptivity re the unique claims of Y’shua.
3. The Lord is serious about intercession. He wants His own people (the Church) to partner with Him as He accomplishes His promises on the earth. He wants us to read about them in the Word, believe that He wants to do them, and then pray with faith, believing that He will do what He’s promised to do.
4. The more we look into the scriptures and see His heart for Israel (and the Middle East), and the more we understand Israel’s key role in the end times of this age, the more the Church will “purify” ourselves (1 John 3:3) “make ourselves ready” (Revelation 19:7) and “hasten the return” of Y’shua to the land.
5. We pray knowing the hearts of billions are gradually being drawn into intense contro-versy (Jeremiah 25:31) with the Lord re the promises that the Father has made to the Jewish people re His Son, Y’shua of Nazareth.
6. We pray out of respect and gratitude for what our “older brother” (Israel) has endured in order to display the love, the mercy, the faithfulness and the holiness of the Lord.
7. Praying for Israel prepares our hearts to learn how to yield, and trust, and celebrate the reign of a real Jewish Man Whose Kingdom is meant to be established in real human hearts, in preparation for His ultimate expected earthly reign in the Millennium.
NOTE: When we pray for Israel, we’re praying for the Jewish and Arabic-speaking people living in the Promised Land as well the Jewish people living in the nations (the Diaspora).
Scripture Prayers for Israel Listed below are numerous prayers we can confidently pray for Israel that come directly from the Word of God.
1. Father of glory, APPOINT WATCHMEN, who will stand on the walls of Jerusalem, WHO WILL PRAY ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT. Give them grace to never keep silent.(Isaiah 62:6)2. Father of glory, how shall they hear without a preacher?RAISE UP REACHERS AND SEND THEM FORTH. As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring the glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:14-15)
3. Father of glory, POUR ON THE HOUSE OF DAVIDand on the inhabitants of Jerusalem THE SPIRIT OF GRACE AND SUPPLICATION; let them they behold Your Son today whom they pierced. Cause them to mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10)
4. “THE LORD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU [Israel]; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:23-26)
5. Father of glory, speak the Name of Your Son, Y’shua to Israel. “SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, ‘SURELY YOUR SALVATION IS COMING… and His work before Him.’”(Isaiah 62:11) 6. Father of glory, ARISE AND HAVE MERCY ON ZION.. SO THE NATIONS SHALL FEAR THE NAME OF THE LORD… build up Zion; appear in Your glory… that a people may praise the LORD. Look down from the height of Your sanctuary… and hear the groaning of the prisoner, release those appointed to death, and declare the name of the LORD Your Son, Y’shua… and His praise throughout Jerusalem… (Psalm 102:13-21)
7. Father of glory, POUR OUT YOUR SPIRIT ON ALL FLESH; cause sons and daughters to prophesy. Cause old men to dream dreams, and young men to see visions… Show them wonders in the heavens and in the earth… Turn the sun into darkness, and the moon into blood. Let all of Israel know that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. Assure them that on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance… among the remnant whom You call.” (Joel 2:15-32)
8. Father of glory, cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary… Incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name… because of Your great mercies. O, LORD HEAR! O, LORD FORGIVE! O, LORD LISTEN AND ACT! Do not delay – for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.” (Daniel 9:4-19)
9. Father of glory, LET ALL OF ISRAEL SEE THE GLORY OF THE LORD, THE EXCELLENCY OF THEIR GOD.Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God… will come and save you.”Open the eyes of the blind, and unstop the ears of the deaf. Cause the lame to leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb to sing… (Isaiah 35:1-9)
10. Father of glory, for Zion’s sake DO NOT HOLD YOUR PEACE, and for Jerusalem’s sake do not rest, UNITL HER RIGHTEOUSNESS GOES FORTH LIKE BRIGHTNESS… (Isaiah 62:1-2)
11. Father of glory, RAISE UP THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID, which has fallen down… Raise up its ruins, and rebuild it… that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the Gentiles who are called by Your name… (Amos 9:11-12)
12. Father of glory, cause Your backsliding children to return… Remind them that You are married to them… Bring them to Zion.GIVE TO THEM SHEPHERDS AFTER YOUR HEART, who will feed them with knowledge and understanding… (Jeremiah 3:14-17)
13. Father of glory, RELEASE SINGERS THROUGHOUT ISRAEL WHO SHALL SING; FOR THE MAJESTY OF THE LORDand shall cry aloud… glorifying the LORD in the dawning light… Let the ends of the earth hear their songs: “Glory to the righteous!” (Isaiah 24:14-16)
14. Father of glory, LEAVE IN THEIR MIDST A MEEK AND HUMBLE PEOPLE… a remnant of Israel that does no unrighteousness… Cause all of Zion to Sing…rejoice… as You cast out their enemy. O King of Israel… be in their midst… (Zephaniah 3:12-15)
15. Father of glory, SHEPHERD YOUR PEOPLE… the flock of Your heritage. As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, show them wonders. Cause the nations to be ashamed of their might… and to be afraid of the LORD… (Micah 7:14-17)
16. Father of glory, SAVE ALL OF ISRAEL. Cause them to look to You, and be saved… Tell them that You have sworn by Yourself; the Word has gone out of Your mouth in righteousness… Assure them that to You every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. Let them know that surely in You they have righteousness and strength. (Isaiah 45:17-24)
17. Father of glory, let wisdom and knowledge be the stability of Israel’s times, and the strength of their salvation. Show them that the fear of the LORD is their Messiah’s treasure… Arise, O LORD… CAUSE THEIR EYES TO SEE THEIR KING IN HIS BEAUTY. (Isaiah 33:17)
The Babylon of the end of the age is Sodom with all the wealth, and commerce of the nations. It’s the consummate picture of the unfettered, dominant, excess-driven human heart. Babylon will be God’s way of showing all of human history: “See? This is who humanity will continually tend to become, apart from yielding to the reign of My Son.”
Babylon is the spirit that refuses restraint; the natural spirit that lies within every one of us. Babylon is a mirror to our own uncrucified soul when we have all the wealth, all the power, all the freedom, and all the unifying potential to do, create, say, conspire, and believe anything we want. Babylon is the unsurrendered rich, young ruler on demonic steroids.
There’s never been a generation on the earth that’s fit this category more than us.
If this IS the hour of Jesus’ return, Bible believers need to spend much less time wondering “Who is the antiChrist?” – and MUCH MORE TIME inquiring of the Lord: “How are we (how am I) operating in the spirit of Babylon?”
Instead, the Church (who claims to be experiencing great revival) is found blindly, and with seared consciences, trumpeting the dominion of Babylon.
The difference between the court prophets in Jeremiah’s day, and the court prophets in our own day is that in Jeremiah’s day, the court prophets saw Babylon as the looming threat to Judah, and the covenant people of God. The court prophets in our day make no distinction between Babylon and the Kingdom of our God and King – and patently refuse to stand up to a Babylon who even claims to have the power to “save God” Himself – while they heartily defend and take part in her excesses.
Friends. This is about SO MUCH MORE than politics. It’s an MRI into what’s at work within our souls. Where are the people of God who will come to the Lord in an hour of propaganda, and lavish abundance and ask, “Holy Spirit, show us our ‘whoredom’!”??
The Drama of This Ancient Psalm/Prophecy Is Being Played Out Before Our Eyes. Are We Aligning Our Lives to Its 5 – Fold Exhortations?
Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure: “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.”
“I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”
Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
INTRODUCTION: Psalm 2 is a 4-part prophetic drama about the Father establishing Jesus’ leadership over the earth. God intends for this narrative to help us cultivate an appropriate, prayerful response today so that we have the grace to stand with Him in the hour when these events are being fulfilled.
Most Christians live largely unsettled and a little apathetic about the major features surrounding God’s end-times’ storyline.
Without a clear understanding of these realities we live unsure of the purpose of our lives, foggy about our calling, uncertain of our priorities, unconvinced of God’s loving presence, prone to distraction, with little appreciation for what’s “at-risk”, and little perspective on just how prayer contributes to our vitality.
Gaining “living understanding” about these “plot-points” is like erecting a strong framework within which we can cultivate passion, exhilaration, wisdom, power, and strength to persevere in our daily relationship with Jesus.
Psalm 2 provides us with a 50,000 foot overview of the essential elements contained in God’s end-times’ narrative.
(Act I) The Rage of the Nations (Psalm 2:1-3)
Psalm 2:1-3 prophesies that the nations will rage in anger against Jesus’ leadership. His standards of morality, righteousness, and His right to hold every heart accountable to His order of love and justice will be deeply opposed by a world steeped in the curse of sin. It will also be a stumbling block to many within the Church.
People from every political stripe, on every level of society will plot strategies, and use their influence to mobilize the masses to rebel against God’s righteousness, and resist God’s loving leadership.
The rulers speak of the leaders of the “culture”: socio/political, economic, spiritual, educational, military, entertainment, media, arts, athletics, etc. They will use social unrest, hardship, conspiracy and injustice to exert pressure on each other to make lawlessness the cultural norm.
The kings of the nations will set their hearts to fully influence the faithless ways of the people under them. The term kings includes the heads of state, e.g., presidents, prime ministers, and legislators. The term also refers to believers; those who have been called to be kings and priests to God (Revelation 5:10), but who have fallen under the sway of false teaching, and strong delusions.
The kings, rulers, and people will conspire together against the values and plans of the Lord which will be portrayed as foolish, “unenlightened”, and even “dangerous” to the well-being of society, and in some cases, the Church within a society.
They will also lodge hostile arguments against the Father and His anointed One (Jesus); protesting, and compromising with the idea that Jesus is uniquely the Jewish Son of the Father, and the only One worthy to rule every nation.
The plan against God will be focused on casting away the authority of His Word (v. 3) (either through rejection of the Word itself, or through perversion of the application of the Word) throughout all aspects of society. These people will see a literal understanding of God’s Word as if it were “bonds” that enslave them and “cords” that bind them from being “authentically human”, or “unrealistic to the human situation”.
(Act II) The Father’s Response to the Rebellious Nations (Psalm 2:4-6)
God laughs because He is confident in His ability to fully accomplish His plan in spite of humanity’s resistance. We are small creatures who live for a mere eighty years. God’s whole Person fills 300 billion galaxies, and He has no beginning and no end. His laughter denotes just how small our power is to overthrow the intent of His heart.
One of the chief ways that the Lord will express His intent is through end-time, friends of the Bridegroom, who will primarily speak of the earth’s need to be prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom in His anointed glory.
The Lord will also use these ones to express His “deep displeasure” over the nations’ fierce opposition to the preeminent plan to have Jesus, and His unique manner of leadership reign over humanity.
Beloved, it’s vital that we let the Holy Spirit develop a theology of the fear of the Lord in us today, so that we possess a holy respect for His judgments, His wisdom, His redemptive love, and His sovereign ability to rule the heart, in the hours in which the Lord is, in fact, expressing His displeasure in our world.
(Act III) (Scene 1) Jesus Recalling the Inheritance He’s Received from the Father (Psalm 2:7-8)
In these 3 verses we hear Jesus recalling the divine decree that the Father has declared over Him. Jesus’ inheritance from the Father is a redeemed Bride and a throne in Jerusalem, from which He will rule the whole earth.
As He recalls the eternal dialogue that He and His Father have had, He is also giving us revelation of the desire that burns in His own heart. Understanding the Father’s decree, and the Son’s desire are vital if we want to faithfully partner with Jesus in praying for God’s purposes on the earth.
The apostles drew on these realities when they prayed about the hostile leaders in Jerusalem. They asked the Father to manifest His power on the basis that the world was opposing the reign of His Son, the One He had anointed to rule the earth. “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together…Lord, look on their threats and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done…” (Acts 4:27-29)
If we are to grow up in our prayer-lives, (indeed, if we are to grow up in our relationship with God) we must move from a “Jesus fix our lives” mindset, to a “Jesus, reign in my world” mindset.
One example of this mature intercession is found in (Acts 15:13-17) where God answers Cornelius’ prayer, and releases salvation to the Gentiles. This was God fulfilling one key dimension of His plan to have His Son rule the nations. In order to accomplish this, He actually looked for a human heart that was aligned with what He (the Father) had purposed to do on earth.
In (Acts 10:3-5) we hear about the Father responding to Cornelius’ prayers: “About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!” And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?” So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter.”
When Peter arrives at Cornelius’ house, he is also in prayer and receives revelation of God’s intent to bring “the nations” (the Gentiles) under the covenant reign of His Son.
The point is:“Who is Cornelius? Who is Peter? On earth they were simple men uttering weak prayers based what they saw in the heart of God. In heaven God saw them as a vital allies, through whom He would fulfill one major component of the promise that He had made to His Son.
The story of Peter and Cornelius’ prayers are profound encouragements to our own prayers.
(ACT III) (Scene 2) Jesus Judges the Rebellious Nations(Psalm 2:9)
In verse 5 David tells us that the Lord will judge the nations with “WRATH” and “HIS DEEP DISPLEASURE“. What does “deep displeasure” look like in a trillion galaxy God???
Verse 9 tells us: “You (the Son) shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.“
MOST of us western, Bible-believing Christians don’t have a theology of God’s WRATH that’s stable enough to keep our hearts secure in love through the “time of trouble” that’s erupting around us… What I mean by this is, when the judgments of God fully come upon the earth, they will stir up so much emotional hostility and accusation against others, and ultimately against God Himself. The essence of this hostility and accusation will sound like this in the human heart, “God isn’t fully just. His Word is too radical. His way needs to be more reasonable. All by itself, His plan is not good. It needs the help of human wisdom. His judgments are out-of-line with true love. etc.”
There will be SO MUCH HUMAN-CULTURAL PRESSURE to agree with these accusations against God’s character. If we don’t prepare our minds and hearts today for the social pressures we will face tomorrow, our “love” and “faith” in God will be severely crushed.
How do we prepare ourselves to face these social pressures? David gives us four ways to prepare ourselves in Act IV of Psalm 2, but in a nut-shell, we need to pray-read the Word of God today with a spirit of humility and wonder.
(Act IV) David Prophetically Warns the Leaders of the Nations (Psalm 2:10-12)
In the final scene, King David issues a solemn, five-fold exhortation to the leaders, and all people of the earth. It’s wise for us to heed these divine admonitions as we prepare ourselves for the Day of the Lord. No one can say that they have not been warned, or don’t know how to respond to His purposes.
1. Be wise O Kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth This is an exhortation to those believers, and unbelievers who think they already have enough information and “soul-resolve” to make sound judgments about God during the end-time pressures. We are wise to learn from our brother Peter, who believed he had enough inner fortitude to withstand the temptations to deny Jesus. We are wise to heed the Spirit’s warning now and cultivate humility, teachability; and seek the Lord (Psalm 27:5) for wisdom (James 1:5), divine might in the inner man (Ephesians 3:16) and grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
2. Serve the Lord with fear This is a call to obedience. But it is based on the revelation that God is the eternal God and we are HIs creation made of dust (Psalm 103:14). It’s wise to cultivate the fear of the Lord regarding One Who is so holy, and greater than us, so that we can serve Him in the way that He has determined. “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29) (For a more complete picture of the fear of the Lord read Hebrews 12:18-29)
3. Rejoice with trembling This is an command to mix our fear and awe with the joy and exhilaration that comes from beholding Him in His beauty (Psalm 27:4) and being made joyful as He engages us in His house of prayer. (Isaiah 56:7)
4. Kiss the Son, let He be angry and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled (in His judgment against evil) but a little. a. One prominent greek word for worship is “pros-ku-ne-ow”. It literally means “to kiss toward”. To “kiss the Son” is an exhortation to live a life of adoration, worship and first commandment love.
Jesus is worthy (Revelation 5:12) to be loved, adored and worshipped. But He’s also gloriously beautiful. Our hearts were fashioned to (kiss) “adore” the wonders of Who He is. (Psalm 27:4; Psalm 45:2; Psalm 50:1-2; Isaiah 28:5; Zechariah 9:17)
5. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. It is supremely prudent to do the hard work of cultivating great trust in God today, rather than to allow the subtle, mounting deception of the world to gain increasing sway over our minds and hearts. “And because wickedness will abound, the love of most will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:12) “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart.” (Psalm 119:1-2)
The Lord is gloriously orchestrating a prophetic voice in His Church that will amplify and give understanding to these 5 exhortations of verses 10-12. However, these voices will only be cultivated and strengthened through lifestyles that are plumb-lined to the priority of corporate prayer.
May God’s grace be upon us as we seek Him in the place of prayer, beloved.
Instead of Protesting “NO KINGS” This Past Saturday, Our Little House of Prayer Came Before Our King In Prayer and Exaltation. Here’s 10 Things Our King Accomplished During These 3 Hours…
1. Our King amplified His glory and power in the hearts of 100,000 neighbors that we prayed for w/in our 100 mile radius. (One of my favorite times from yesterday was declaring 100 distinct, beautiful qualities about Jesus from the Bible into the atmosphere over our region.)
2. Our King humbled us under a contrite spirit of repentance, and the fear of the Lord, re: His judgments that are upon the earth – and upon all of us.
3. Our Lord filled us with increased zeal to bring ALL of our ways into obedience to His reign. AND He gave us increased power to do so.
4. Our King struck a blow against the rampant principality of rebellion and lawlessness in our hearts, in our relationships, and in our land.
5. Our King filled our hearts with increased tender loyalty to Him and His transcendent ways.
6. Our King manifest His tender mercies toward 100,000 individuals in our region: white, native, brown, young, old, believers, unbelievers, antifa, MAGA, and non-political
7. Our King gave many of us an increased vision of the eternal Kingdom power of prayer that He longs to extend through His Bride, in this age, and the next.
8. Our King fell upon us with a glorious love that fostered deep, humble, first-commandment love, unity.
9. We heard our King tell us that He likes us.
10. Our King prepared our hearts with a grace to bear our cross, and remain fiercely loyal to His heart through the intensity that’s mounting in our nation.
BONUS 11. Our King fortified a crystal clear resolve to take every thought captive against a tyrannical, antiChrist spirit that seeks to prostitute American evangelicalism.
WHY OUR HOUSE of PRAYER IS CHOOSING TO BOW LOW BEFORE OUR ONE KING TODAY
Several friends have asked if I will be attending/endorsing the #NOKING rally today (Saturday, October 18). Observers estimate that the civil protest will be the largest series of protests in the history of our nation (built on protest).
My simple response is “No”.
I get the temptation. We’re Americans. Civil, (and uncivil) discourse is in our social-psych DNA. We have constitutional “rights” to bring our arguments to college campuses, arenas, and our city’s streets in order to protest policies, presidents, and ideologies that we disagree with.
And yes, it’s good and right for followers of Jesus to lift our voices to speak truth to socio-political power, whether the power wants to authorize abortion and gender confusion under the banner of humanism, or it seeks to unceasingly curse its enemies and hide its sexual perversion, under the banner of Christianity.
Truth-be-told, in our life-times, we have never seen a more prolific, and hostile attempt for two political factions to seize the moral, and religious high-ground in our nation. Through assassinations, racist rhetoric, violent raids, and riotous defiance, America is ablaze with uncivil fires.
So why then would we refuse to participate in what is planned to be a civil, and even peace-filled demonstration of opposition to the Trump administration?
Here are 7 reasons why our little House of Prayer in the Mountains of Arizona is pro-actively choosing to forego this massive protest, and instead give ourselves to praising ONE KING today:
1. THE PRIORITY and POWER of PRAYER In an hour of enflamed zeal, we (especially followers of Christ) have no business bringing our voices to the civil arena if we haven’t first brought our voices into the chambers of the Lord. Most American ChristiansOVERESTIMATE the power of protest, and vastly vastly UNDERESTIMATE the power of prayer. The fact of the matter is, what we will gain through 3 hours of prayer will be monumentally greater than what we gain through any number of hours of protest. Our principled, activated stance in prayer on a day when many of our neighbors will protest, is a testimony to the truthfulness of this much needed spiritual reality in our world. What change (in ourselves, our communities, and our nation) do we hope for that doesn’t come through the Lord of glory Himself?
2. THIS IS AN HOUR of JUDGMENT This is an hour of predominant judgment. The Lord is at work in the Church, and in our nation, to bring His truth to bear on our values, practices, beliefs and lifestyles. The pressure we feel in our national forum is a God-orchestrated pressure designed to force conversation with the Father Who wants to reward us, as much as He wants to rebuke us. He’s preparing a Bride for His Son, Who is returning to be joined with a people who will reflect His heart, His power, and His wisdom. In an hour of judgment, who has the right to “rise up” and protest? As followers of Christ, our primary response to the judgments on the earth is to adjust our hearts before God, not protest the inconvenience of the pressures themselves. Isaiah 26 tells us, “When the judgments of the Lord are on the earth, the inhabitants of the earth learn righteousness.”As we experience the injustices and fire-storms of our culture, we do well to go into the courts of the Lord and receive His gracious, and patient instruction for our hearts, minds and ways. Above everything else, we Christians want to come through the tumult and trouble looking more and more like our King.
3. THE OPPORTUNITY to GIVE WITNESS of a PURE RESPONSE of FAITH to the LORD In an hour of judgment, the Church is given both an opportunity to respond faithfully to the Father and simultaneously give a witness to the world about how to respond faithfully to the God they do not know. As we experience the contentious pressures in our culture, as the unbelieving world watches the people of God bow low before His sovereign pressures, we show them the way into humility, repentance, and contrition in the fear of the Lord. In the heat of our current context, as followers of Jesus make prayer our primary, and zealous response, we are declaring that there is indeed a God to Whom we are accountable, a King Who demands our loyalty, and a Father Who sees and responds to our cries for justice. This witness is vital to the well-being of the commission the Lord has entrusted to us. And, if I can be a bit provocative; it is a witness that we American Christians have enormously failed to issue through the great pressures that have come upon us as a culture. Our primary response to the conflict in this hour has greatly emphasized protest and politics, while nearly entirely neglecting humility and repentance.
4. THE TRAP of PROTEST Again. We’re Americans. We’ve been built on the spirit of protest and revolution. Revolution is largely the spirit behind the thrust to Make America Great Again. Many picture our President as a type of “George Washington” who is bringing manifest destiny to the USA once again. Still others see his ways as despotic and authoritarian. Both perspectives clutch to the constitution of the United States to go to war against the other. Pastor Brian Drinkwine, in an excellent article entitled, “No Kings. No Idols. No Exceptions” writes: “We love the sound of rebellion, but rebellion without redemption just builds a new empire with different slogans. “No Kings” tears down the throne, but unless the crucified King takes His seat, someone else always will. History proves it. Every revolution that toppled tyrants eventually crowned new ones. The human heart cannot live without a ruler. The only question is whether ours wears thorns or gold.” Simply put, we will not overcome a spirit of protest with a bigger spirit of protest. That’s not how the Kingdom of God works. The Lord visits the meek, the poor in spirit, and those who fast themselves from the world’s ways of gaining power. We are a people who are prone to the idol of “demos”. Democracy is our “go to” idol when issues in our society are shaking. We reach for the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, decide what is true based on our own internal evaluation, and then try to convince others that it’s true, until we have a critical mass of confirming assent. Pick ANY story from the Bible, and this power will be exposed for the (destructive) deception that it is. The Lord is looking for “faith”, not “correct perception”. He wants us leaning on Him, not on our own understanding. If I may be so bold, and pentecostal – protest may also fuel a ruling principality of “revolution and protest” that can keep the heart and soul bound to an inordinate (even idolatrous) faith in the powers of democracy, rather than in pure, obedient submission to the Kingly authority of Christianity, and the claim Jesus has on the way we live our lives before God and others.
5. THE POTENTIAL for CONFUSION and COMPROMISE Undoubtably, there are many who are keen to throw off the over-bearing ways of this administration. Many who will be protesting “No Kings” have no will or desire to be surrendered to any king, much less our King, Jesus. This is the atmosphere of Psalm 2, when the people “rage” against the Kingly order the Father has appointed over the whole earth. We’re not of that spirit. Neither do we want to give an indistinct witness to that kind of lawless spirit. The primary spirit of our witness is love, and allegiance, to King Jesus, not rebellion and rage against a carnal king. (Incidentally, this is the very issue that TPUSA fails to account for in its adulterous partnership with conservative Mormonism) Anything (plus much more) we hope to accomplish via standing with a sign in our arms before our neighbors, we accomplish bowing low before the Lord of glory, WITHOUT distortion, misinterpretation, or compromise. In the place of prayer, I greatly eliminate the potential of feeding a greater and greater spirit of rebellion. Rebellion is an enemy in the spiritual war that’s being waged, AND certainly in the Bride that’s being purified.
6. THE OPPORTUNITY to LOVE OUR ENEMIES In the midst of great contention, the Lord is looking for a people that He can use to redeem souls, narratives, and lifestyles. His love and His grace rides on humility, tenderness, meekness and faith. He wants to clothe us with a supernatural, transformative winsomeness that bids even our enemies to find refuge in His wings of redemption. He’s not looking for the crusaders. He’s looking for the crucified through which He can release His resurrection power to conservative, MAGA, liberal, humanist, curse-laden humanity. Our protest greatly exacerbates the divide. It doesn’t greatly bring His transcendent mercy into it.
7. THE DECLARATION of ZEAL to ONLY “DO THIS” WITH GOD As noted, we Americans are in a very unprecedented season of socio-political tribulation. We are in a battle to decide what kind of nation we will have. In Joshua chapter 5, in the hours before God’s chosen people were to attack the city of Jericho and begin their conquest of the land that had been promised to them, the Commander of the Lord’s Army comes to Joshua, and tests his heart with the revelation that He, Himself was neither on Joshua’s side, nor Jericho’s side. The question that confronted Joshua was: “Will you be on the Lord’s side?” And this is no less the question for us today. Joshua’s response is a good one for us to emulate. As he removed the sandals from his feet, he bowed low before the pre-incarnate King, Jesus essentially declaring, “I surrender myself to You. This is Your battle. No matter what else happens. I want to be found on Your side. I don’t want to do this without being with You where You are.”
CONCLUSION Beloved. There’s something MUCH BIGGER than our democracy at stake here. If we don’t see the Lord’s hand in the pressure that’s being stirred within the church, and the nation, it’s all the more impetus for us to give ourselves to seeking out the Face of the Lord.
And yes, the call to prayer is wholly counterintuitive. It is only going to be heard and understood by faith in the place of our spirit. The call to prayer isn’t primarily to “change” government, or popular opinion. It’s to align our will, emotions, mind and spirit with the heart of our King as He’s bringing His pressure to bear on our society. He’s really God! And He’s really preparing the earth for His Son’s return. If we’re more angry, or defensive, or righteous about what’s happening in our nation than we are humbled, and prayerful about Who’s coming, we’re in urgent need of adjustment – adjustment that will only happen at the deep, thorough level that comes from having given ourselves to being in the audience of the King of the Universe.
Find the place of prayer. Be a woman, or man of authenticated faith in the transcendent power of God. Lift up your eyes to the Lord of a trillion galaxies. Lift your voice there – in His holy, and magnificent Presence – if you can.
Today. Saturday, October 18 – our House of Prayer will be engaging in 3 hours of dedicated space to simply adore the King the Father has ordained to reign over us. And we confidently anticipate that as we do, He will extend His majesty, power, wisdom and kindness over our lives, and our communities. The Lord does inhabit the praises of His people. (Psalm 22:3)
This “trouble” in our nation isn’t going away anytime soon. If your church ministry doesn’t have a dedicated time, space, people who give themselves to seeking, humbling, worshipping prayer – start one. I promise you, the Lord will visit you there.
FINDING THE TRANSCENDENT WAY OF JESUS Beloved family. Stay true to the gospel of the Kingdom! Stay true to our King! Stay true to the cross!
Right now, heaven is searching for transcendent and unadulterated voices that will speak the truth of God to both the lost in the world, and the deluded in the Church.
It’s instructive to recognize that the voice of Christ – and the way of God – is almost never a singular, polarized antithesis to the way of godlessness. It is nearly always also a bur under the saddle of carnal, religious idolatry. History is packed with relevant examples:
A. In Exodus, there was the way of the Egyptians, the way of the Children of Israel, and then the way of God through Moses and Joshua. YHWH opposed the religious/idolatrous way of the Children of Israel (Exodus 32) as resoundingly as He did the paganism of the people of Egypt.
B. In Joshua 5, the Captain of the Lord’s armies declared He was not for the descendants of the Children of Israel, nor for the people of Jericho. He was looking for those who would “be on the Lord’s side”. It was a transcendent moment that moved Joshua (the man who would not leave the tent of meeting in Exodus 33) so profoundly that he fell at the feet of the Captain in holy worship.
C. In Daniel 3, there was the way of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, there was the way of the faithless children of Judah, and then there was the transcendent way of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego, who would not bow to the kingdom image that all the rest of the Babylonians, including captive Judah were bowing to.
D. In Jesus’ day, there was the way of the pagan Romans, and then the way of the Pharisees, and the crippled people of Judea. Jesus walked in a transcendent way above the rampant false gods of the Hellenistic world, and the false, religious zealotry of the Jews – calling all to repentance.
“Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15)
E. Across the ages, kingdoms have risen in opposition to oppressive religion (ie. the Russian revolution, the populist movement in South Africa etc.), and kingdoms have risen up against virulent godlessness (the crusades, and many of the South American regime changes in the 60’s, and 70’s). In the VAST MAJORITY OF THE CASES the kingdoms that have risen against the ruling political power were NOT the way of Christ. (The Marxists weren’t the way of Christ replacing the religious elite in Russia. Pinochet wasn’t bringing the Kingdom of heaven to Chile. And Mandela wasn’t bringing the way of Christ to the people of South Africa.) There remained a transcendent way above, wedged and salted into the kingdoms that were in polar apposition to each other.
F. In the 1930’s, the Nazi’s rose to power promising to inoculate Germany from the godless ideology of communism that was sweeping the nations in eastern Europe. No one today believes Naziism was the way of Jesus. Nor would any Bible believer assert that the way of Stalin and Lenin were the government of heaven on earth. Faithful disciples of Jesus, the “ELECT” if you will, were borne and forged within the midst of the “trouble” (thlipsis – “tribulation”) of the intense cultural pressures that existed between these polarized ideologies. And so you had the Corey and Betsy TenBooms living for Jesus in spite of the Nazi opposition, and you had the Ivan (Vanya) Moiseyevs, living faithfully for Jesus under the thumb of communist Russia. BOTH LIVED FAITHFULLY FOR JESUS even though their secular cultural ideologies fought wars against the other…
It’s not so difficult to see the parallel today in America. There’s been a decades-long thrust of godless humanism that’s become virulent and oppressive throughout our culture, and now a strident, authoritarian nationalism that has taken aim at the evils of “the left”, and “the woke”. We dare (and it is a risk) to learn the long lesson of history – especially our own “people of God” history and realize that the Lord is most always NOT on one side or the other of these warring, political factions. His way is transcendent. His way is pure. His way is nailed to a cross to the glory of the One Who will one day rule ALL the nations.
Friends. Moses, Joshua, Jeremiah, Daniel, the John the Baptist, the disciples, Augustine, Luther, Wesley, and Bonhoeffer, all found the transcendent way of the “ELECT” of God. And it behooves the American Church to find it in our tumultuous hour as well.
SPIRIT WORD & CROSS 