Greg Lancaster
Roughly Ordered Transcript with Headers
Chris Reed said,
The Dream
‘On October the 8th 2023 that Saturday night I had a dream and in this dream I saw a map of the United States and I saw that through the American southern border amidst the 6 million plus illegal immigrants who have come across the southern border since President Biden took office amidst those people not all of them are bad but infiltrating um coming through those millions of people that have crossed illegally there I saw thousands of trained terrorists from the Middle East countries that have crossed illegally into the US in the dream it was the most strange and unique scenario.
So Goes Israel So Goes America
I was given a cell phone and was somehow able to read encrypted Communications explaining the coordinated plan of terrorists for America to hijack the government and to ultimately bring destruction here at home I remember somehow being able to read the words quote “so goes Israel so goes America” unquote the attack as you know in Israel uh came through the southern border at a breach of security and intelligence and in this dream the same thing happened at the US Southern border many of those who have come across our us Southern border as I said are not evil people.
[Chris Reed is saying, he was shown in a dream by the Lord, that the same southern border breech that took place in Israel and caught them by surprise, the same thing happened in at the American southern border.]
Trained Terrorist
Many people from Middle Eastern Nations have come across the southern border the last almost three years and are trained terrorists I know for a fact in one month this year they caught now these are the ones they caught more terrorists in that were on the terrorist watch list in one month and they caught the entire time of the four years of the Trump Administration.
Middle Eastern Terrorist Have Taken Advantage of America’s Open Border
Now these terrorists from Middle Eastern countries have taken advantage of the open us Southern border especially since the disastrous Afghanistan pull out uh which basically not only allowed Afghanistan to be taken over by uh terrorists, but we left weapons and highly valuable expensive armor artillery of the US military there. It looks like from pictures on the news that they are using, the terrorists are using, the weaponry that was left by the US from the disastrous Afghanistan pull out in August of 2021.
Afghanistan became since then a breeding ground for terrorists in the dream. I saw Jihad resurge as a result of the vacuum left in Afghanistan from the US pullout.
I read on this cell phone in the dream which nations the terrorist was coming from and I remembered seeing the “Stan” Nations the Nations that uh the name ended with Stan such as Afghanistan or Pakistan or Uzbekistan.
Cartel Coordinating with Terrorist at U. S. Southern Border
Now in this dream they were working in coordination with the cartels at the southern border to get these individuals into the United States. Once they got across the southern border into the US, they would relocate themselves in the United States accordingly as they were told from command. They were somehow receiving Communications through this technological device I was given a cell phone.
12 Dormant Terrorist Cells in United States
I saw at least 12 dormant terrorist cells in the US map. These terrorists that infiltrated at the southern border were mostly taking shelter initially in sanctuary cities.
Cell Phone – Technology Communication from Leader to Terrorist Cells in United States
Once they got there through this communication device, they were given contacts of likeminded terrorists in those local areas they were relocating to connect with upon their arrival they could work in those communities where they could now establish themselves establish a life.
Terrorist in United States Promised Families will be Rewarded Financially and They Themselves would be Rewarded in the Afterlife.
They were promised from command the one that was giving them instructions through technology that if they would comply their families would be rewarded financially and that they were promised rewards in the afterlife if they complied.
12 Places in United States that had Dormant Terrorist (Sleeper) Cells
There were 12 places I saw in the US there were sleeper cells, dormant terrorist cells, and I saw a few places on the map where they were:
I remember seeing: Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona, Texas, Carolinas, and the Northeast the New England, New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.
The plan was to control the actions of the US government and to dictate our foreign policy and our response to events in the world and they would control how we would function with our defense, our response to world events by blackmailing the US government.
It was this quote “if you do this in any particular situation, we will coordinate a response” ultimately the final one being a detonation of explosives if the government didn’t comply with their wishes.
Terrorist Clear Demands of United States Government
The demands were clear number one in the dream I was shown the demands upon the US government were:
- Don’t use the US military to attack or fight against Islamic terrorists number.
- Continue to send funds to Iran and other terrorist states to support them in the name of foreign aid.
- They had pictures explicit in nature of us politicians in every branch of our government that they threaten to use if the US crossed their Red Line.
- Explosions were the last step but before that they could attack the infrastructure with technological disruptions blackouts and other technological disruptions as a means of controlling the US government and our response and our ability to defend and go on the offense they could also coordinate through this technology of communication they could coordinate with mass shootings or mass knife attacks or they could take hostages in various places in the United States for ransom money I then finally saw a detonation happened across the US with smoke clouds all over the map Rubble destruction and disaster.
Rough YouTube Transcript
Concern for Israel
Boy, aren’t we praying for Israel. Jesus, when I got the call yesterday morning early, somebody called and woke me up. And when I saw it, I was just sick. Oh my goodness, I know that you’ve seen some of the pictures we’ve seen, but they killed one Jewish lady and tied her to chains on the back of a car, pulling her through the streets of Israel. Mothers killed, children killed, elderly killed. This morning, before I came to church, they said the death toll of those murdered is up to over 650 people. It’s up from yesterday, so there’s no telling how many people they’re going to find that has been killed because of the demolition of so many buildings through bombings.
Situation Analysis
But I want to talk to you for a little bit today about what I think is going on in Israel. You know, I always try to stay in contact with Israel and talk about it when things happen there. The thing that’s been on my mind for weeks is the Saudi Arabia Israeli peace deal. Last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel was close to signing a historic peace deal with Saudi Arabia. He was excited, standing there, holding a microphone, talking about how the Middle East would change with this peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel. He used the word “peace” so much in just a few sentences, I was surprised. It felt like a red flag. He seemed almost giddy about the peace deal he was about to enter with them. But then I read that Saudi Arabia required Israel to give up East Jerusalem to the Palestinians for the deal to go through. When I heard that, I said, ‘Oh my God.’ The Bible, in Thessalonians, says, ‘For when they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction shall come upon them.’ So, Israel was willing, evidently, for the talks to go as far as they did. Prime Minister Netanyahu was trying to secure this peace deal as part of his legacy for Israel. But they required that the Palestinian State have a capital in East Jerusalem.
Jerusalem’s Importance
I looked back at things I’d preached over the years and saw notes about Jerusalem. I want to remind everyone of a few things about Jerusalem. Jerusalem has a prophetic destiny. The Bible says ‘Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.’ It doesn’t say to pray for the Peace of Los Angeles, Moscow, or Washington. Jerusalem is known as the city of David, city of God, city of Judah, city of Joy, city of Peace, city of Praise, city of righteousness, city of the great king, city of the Lord, city of Truth, faithful city, gate of my people, green olive tree, holy city, holy mountain, throne of the Lord in Zion, and in Psalms 132:13-14 (King James), it says the Lord chose Zion, desired it for his habitation. God said this would be his resting place forever, where he would dwell because he desired it. Obadiah said that upon Mount Zion, there would be deliverance, holiness, and the house of Jacob would possess their possessions. Chronicles says God chose Jerusalem for his name to be there and David to be over his people Israel. Zechariah said the Lord returned to Zion and would dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Psalms 48 says that God will establish Jerusalem forever. The Bible emphasizes that God will establish it forever. God told Abraham in Genesis 17 about an everlasting covenant and gave him and his seed the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession.
The Current State of America
Right now, in the state of America, the nation is in dire straits. Just yesterday, I heard Prime Minister Netanyahu say that at a time when he genuinely needs America’s support, he feels he’s navigating these challenges alone. He expressed his concern that due to the turmoil in America, he doesn’t have the support he once expected. With the escalating events in the Middle East, there’s no speaker to rally both the Democrats and Republicans to draft a resolution supporting Israel. Without a speaker to unite the two sides, there’s no way to pledge financial aid to Israel for their war. They need parts to support and replace the Iron Dome, especially since it was overloaded with missiles, causing some to penetrate and result in the death of many Jews. Currently, the U.S. can’t even amass the necessary funds that would pass Congress because there’s no speaker to structure such vital legislation. Our nation is in a state of alarming disarray with seemingly no resolution in sight.
Israel, more than ever, needs a powerful America backing them. They require a robust U.S. president, a leader in Washington that doesn’t merely offer verbal encouragement but genuinely stands with them, especially during these trying times. America’s internal challenges, from a rising tide of sexual confusion and gender identity issues to a pressing border crisis, are making international support even more challenging. The border situation has allowed countless terrorists and criminals to infiltrate, reminiscent of Israel’s recent security lapses where over 3,000 terrorists reportedly entered their territory. The U.S., due to its open borders, has inadvertently allowed millions, including potential threats from countries like China and Russia, to flood in.
It’s deeply concerning to many, including myself, that these individuals have entered the U.S., posing a potential threat to our national security. And in light of these challenges, it’s hard not to place the blame squarely on the president of the United States.
US-Israel Relations
I remember when President Bush entered into a peace deal requiring Gaza to be given to the Palestinians. [The Day That [President George W. Bush Took Gaza.] That’s when Hamas made Gaza their headquarters. I said then that Gaza would become a place for terrorist activities. When President Bush made Israel give up the Gaza Strip, they had to remove Jews from their homes. Just days later, Hurricane Katrina hit America, specifically New Orleans’ West Bank. There’s a clear message: you don’t mess with Jerusalem.
America’s Turmoil
Right now, America is in turmoil. I heard Prime Minister Netanyahu say he doesn’t have much support from America. With all that’s happening in the Middle East, there’s no speaker to rally both sides of the aisle and pledge money to Israel. Our nation is in disarray, and Israel needs a strong America. Our country is unraveling with sexual confusion, gender identity issues, and a border crisis. We’ve had millions of terrorists enter due to an open border. We have a nation that won’t prosecute serious crimes but will prosecute former President Trump. The Bible said lawlessness would abound in the last days.
Preparing for the Antichrist
As the world prepares for the Antichrist, society and culture are getting ready. The nations of the earth are gearing up for the Antichrist, but the church is preparing for the advent of Jesus Christ. We witness unparalleled corruption in governments worldwide, with both Democrats and Republicans involved. We see a biased media I can hardly stand to watch anymore, record levels of homelessness in once-beautiful American cities, and a divided America that seems to have lost its ability to govern. The global scene also suggests external influences; Russia’s fingerprints are all over the missiles that Hamas has been launching at Israel, with both Russia and Iran forming alliances and having their hands in Middle East affairs.
The Antichrist and the Path Forward
Where are we headed? It’s evident; we’re moving towards a world where no government can establish peace. The only one who will bring it will be the Antichrist. He will befriend Israel, make them believe their Messiah has come, and they will believe it. [You will receive him] This sets the stage for the time of Jacob’s trouble – the Tribulation period. As we witness America fall deeper into chaos and divisive issues, I find myself increasingly looking to the scriptures for understanding. The rise of the Antichrist seems closer, but for those of us in the church, we prepare for the return of Jesus Christ.
- Daniel 9:24-27
- This passage mentions a period of “seventy weeks” decreed for the people of Israel, with the final “week” (often interpreted as seven years) being particularly significant in eschatological discussions. The second half of this week is the Great Tribulation.
- Matthew 24:4-31
- Jesus describes the signs of the end times in this passage. Verses 21 and 22 specifically mention the Tribulation: “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”
- Mark 13:14-23
- This is Mark’s account of Jesus’ eschatological discourse, similar to the one in Matthew. Verse 19 states: “For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.”
- 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
- Paul discusses the “man of lawlessness” (the Antichrist) who will be revealed before the Day of the Lord. This figure plays a central role in many interpretations of the Tribulation period.
- Revelation 6-19
- The book of Revelation provides the most detailed account of the end times, including the Tribulation. Chapters 6-19 describe a series of judgments and events that take place on the earth, including the breaking of the seven seals, the sounding of the seven trumpets, and the pouring out of the seven bowls of God’s wrath.
- Revelation 7:14
- John is told about those “who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
The Rapture: Jesus is Soon to Come!
I want to leave you with this: God sees you, and He sees your family. He knows who you are, and He knows that you trust Him. The Bible says we have not been appointed to wrath, and I believe we’re going to get out of here very soon. So, yes, I still believe in the Rapture of the church. And yes, I do believe that the trumpet will sound, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then, those of us who are alive and remain will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. I believe that the Rapture [the taking away] is right at the door. You may mock me for believing in that, but I’m going to hold onto that belief until you see me ascending. And when you witness that, you’re going to exclaim that the old preacher was right. But remember, Jesus is coming back really soon, and I know you believe that too.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
- “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
- “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.”
- Matthew 24:30-31
- “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
- John 14:2-3
- “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
- 2 Thessalonians 2:1
- “Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers…”
A Call to Prayer
Let’s remember to pray for Israel. They’re in the midst of a storm. Let a blanket of God’s glory overshadow Israel and keep them safe. We don’t know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future. In times of turmoil and uncertainty, let us be steadfast in our faith, praying for peace and protection for all. Can I get an amen? Let’s stand united in our prayers for Israel, understanding the importance of Jerusalem and trusting in the promises of God.
In these trying times, our collective strength and unity in prayer can make a significant difference. We may not understand every detail of what’s unfolding, but our faith assures us of God’s hand in every situation. Jerusalem, a city of immense significance, has always been in the heart of divine prophecies. Our duty is not just to stand by but to fervently pray for its peace and prosperity.
We remember the leaders, the soldiers, and the innocent families in Israel, trusting God to comfort and strengthen them. Our prayers ascend, hoping for divine intervention in these rapidly changing global scenarios. We believe in a God who hears, who sees, and who acts. Even in the darkest moments, we can trust in His plan and purpose. As believers, let’s hold onto the hope of the return of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Our world needs peace more than ever, and as we close today, let’s make a commitment to consistently pray for Israel, Jerusalem, and for peace to reign in our world.
In closing, it’s vital to remember that even in the face of adversity, uncertainty, and the looming shadows of prophecy, our faith remains the beacon that lights our way. Israel, as the epicenter of so many of these prophecies, is not just a distant nation in the news; it’s the heartbeat of God’s unfolding plan. As we navigate through these tumultuous times, let us anchor ourselves in prayer, unity, and the unwavering belief in God’s promises. Our role is to stand firm, be vigilant in our prayers, and always be prepared for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us not be swayed by the world’s chaos, but rather find solace in the eternal truth of God’s word.
May God’s grace and mercy be with us all. Amen.
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Read raw transcript taken from YouTube Transcripts
Raw Transcript – Evil in the Holy Land Pastor John Kilpatrick
From: https://youtu.be/iGn9K8GpsW0?si=6wcMy1uvN8YeYFmH
boy aren’t we praying for Israel Jesus when I got the call yesterday
morning early somebody called and woke me up and when I saw it I was just
sick oh my goodness I I know that you’ve saw some of the pictures we’ve saw but they
killed one Jewish lady and they tied her to chains on the back of a car and was pulling her through the streets of
goel and um mothers killed and their children
killed elderly killed they said this morning right before I came to church that the death toll now of those
murdered is up to over 650 people it’s up from
yesterday so there’s no telling how many people they’re going to find that has
been killed because they had the demolition of so many buildings through
bombings but I want to talk to you for a little bit today about what I think is going on in
Israel you know I always tried to stay in contact with Israel and talk about it
when things happen there but the thing that’s on my mind and has been on my mind now for some weeks is the Saudi
Arabia Israeli peace deal last month prime minister Benjamin
nanahu announced that Israel was on the cusp of signing a historic PE peace deal
with Saudi Arabia and he was excited about it he even was standing there talking holding
a microphone talking about how the Middle East is going to be changed with this peace deal between Saudi Arabia and
Israel and he used the word peace so much in just a few sentences in just a
few paragraphs I was really surprised to hear that he used peace so much and it
just was sort of like a red flag went up in my mind and he was almost giddy at the
seeming peace deal that he was about to enter into with them but then I
read that Saudi Arabia was requiring that Israel give up
East Jerusalem to the Palestinians in order for the deal to go through when I heard that I said oh my
God the the Bible says in Thessalonians it says for when they say peace and
safety then sudden sudden destruction shall come upon
them and so Israel was willing evidently
for the talks to go as far as they did and prime minister Netanyahu was
willing to go and try to secure this peace deal as part of his legacy for
Israel but they did require that the Palestinian State have a capital in East
Jerusalem and I begin to look back and see some things that I had preached Through The Years in my
notes and I was looking at Jerusalem and I just want to tell you a few things about Jerusalem that I want to remind
everybody and I want to speak it into your hearing Jerusalem has a prophetic
Destiny and the Bible says pray for the Peace of Jerusalem it never said pray for the Peace of Los
Angeles it never said pray for the Peace of Moscow or the Peace of Washington said
pray for the Peace of Jerusalem Jerusalem is known as the city of David the city of God city of Judah
city of Joy the city of Peace the City of Praise
the city of righteousness the city of the great king the city of the Lord the
city of Truth the faithful City the Gate of my people the Green Olive Tree the
holy city the Holy Mountain the Throne of the Lord in
Zion and in Psalms 132 and: 13 through 14 King James it says the Lord has
chosen Zion he has desired it for his habitation for God’s
habitation and he said this will be my rest forever here I will dwell for I have
desired it Obadiah said but upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance and there
shall be Holiness and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions in
Chronicles it says I have chosen Jerusalem that my name might be there
and I have chosen David to be over My People Israel Zachariah said thus sayith the
Lord I am returned Des Zion and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem and Jerusalem shall be called
a city of truth and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the Holy Mountain Psalms
48 says as we have heard so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts in the
city of our God God will establish it forever I want to
emphasize the Bible says that God will establish it forever Sila
God said to Abraham in Genesis 17 I will establish my Covenant between me and thee and thy
seed after thee and their generations for an Everlasting Covenant to be a god unto thee and to
thy seed after thee and I will give unto thee and unto thy seed after thee the
land wherein you are a stranger all the land of Canaan for an everlasting
possession and I will be their God
I remember when President Bush required in order to get a peace
deal he entered into a was entering into a peace deal and he got the brilliant
idea that he was going to require Gaza which was part of Israel he required
that that was going to be given over to the Palestinians and whenever he required
that he surrendered Gaza
to the Palestinians and that’s where Hamas came in and made Gaza their devilish
headquarters and I said back then publicly like I’m doing right now I said
that Gaza will become a place where they’ll lob Rockets
into Israel consistently it will be a place that will be a nest for
terrorists and then when President Bush made Israel give up the coastal strip
the Gaza Strip Israel was removing Jews because they didn’t want to leave their homes they didn’t want to leave their
synagogues that was their home that was their Jewish Home and the Word was sent out that the
troops was going to be coming in and removing people from their Dwelling Places and Israel was removing Jews and
it showed it on camera from their homes and their synagogues forcing them to leave against their will
and just a matter of days later a hurricane hit America and it’s called
Katrina and it hit New Orleans and a place where it hit caused all the damage was a place called the West
Bank and it was the city it was the center of the city that flooded the
filth Ward and Carnage in the West Bank of New Orleans was
unbelievable and they were removing people from their homes in New Orleans
just like they were doing a few days earlier in Gaza because the president required
it and they were removing people from their businesses in New Orleans by
helicopter just as they were in Gaza a few days before the one thing I want to make
clear and I have tried to emphasize this through the years you do not fool with
Jerusalem you do not I don’t
um I don’t really care that you don’t like me saying that it doesn’t bother me
whatsoever in the least I love you but if you’re worried and bothered with that
that don’t bother me at all because I know I’m on the side of scripture and I
know I’m on God’s side but after president Bush required that and the
Prime Minister required that they leave their homes and their synagogues and then after the hurricane
hit in New Orleans and did all the damage I think I have always believed it
you might not believe it but I believe it I believe that it was a direct result of what happened in New Orleans of what
they required the Jews to leave and to give up land for
peace and President Bush never recovered from that anytime he made a speech after
that he stemed and stammered and stumbled and stammered he couldn’t even
hardly make a speech and I loved him and I prayed for him and I still love him to this day I
have a soft spot in my heart for him but he was dead wrong and if I’d ever had an opportunity
to meet him and to talk to him I’d at that time I’d have said President Bush don’t touch it you’re going to make a
mistake if you do and so he became a pathetic leader in the remaining days he
hobbled through the rest of his administration and he looked humiliated
and he was humiliated he didn’t even attend the Republican Convention as they
were getting ready to elect another president he had to go out of office after eight years and they elected a
Democrat Obama took over the presidency
—
right now in the state of
America, America is in dire Straits I
heard um prime minister Netanyahu who say yesterday he said at a time when I really need
America he said I’m having to go this alone because he said America is in such
turmoil I can’t I don’t have much support and that means with all this
going on in the Middle East there’s no speaker to Rally the Democrats and Republicans to come up with a resolution
supporting Israel there’s no speaker to rally the troops both sides of the
aisle and pledge money to Israel for their
War to give parts to the Iron Dome to replace the Iron Dome because the Iron Dome was overloaded with all the
missiles that came in so quickly they need more iron domes besides that one it
was overloaded and many missiles got through and killed a lot of Jews so we we’re not even able to get
the funds together that would pass Congress because we don’t have a speaker
to organize that kind of legislation so our nation is in
disgusting disarray and there’s no end in
sight and let me say that Israel right now needs a strong
America like they have never needed a strong America and they need and they’re not not going to get it
right now but they need a strong president like they’ve never needed a strong United States
President they need leadership in Washington that will not just give verbal
support but will stand stalwart with them shoulder to shoulder at a time when they need us
America is absolutely coming unraveled we have a sea of sexual
confusion and gender identity going on in this country a border crisis that’s allowing
terrorists and criminals to enter with no restrictions what happened in Israel
they said that there was a security failure and people were coming in on motorcycles by air gliders and by the
water they said it was a major failure of security and they said over 3,000
terrorists has entered Israel and many of them are still there well I’ve gotten used for you in America we’ve got
millions of terrorists that’s entered us because of the open border and it is so
unbelievable to many people in this nation especially me that we have had
millions of people come in with an open border and there’s been Chinese there’s
been Russians there’s been all kinds of people come in that are terrorists they
are criminals they are evil and they have flooded this country
and you can’t tell me that they’re not going to plan something for the United States also and we have nobody to blame
but the president of the United States nobody to
blame
—
we got a nation right now that will not prosecute serious crimes
but they will prosecute the former president over absolutely nothing that he’s done they won’t prosecute serious
crimes the Bible said in the last days that lawlessness would abound and right now as the world
prepares for the Advent of the Antichrist society and culture is
exactly getting prepared perfectly for the Advent of the Antichrist when the
curtain comes up he’ll come out on the stage and he will come out before Nations that are absolutely Godless and
Lawless and I’m trying to help you to understand the nations of the Earth are getting ready for the Antichrist but the
church is getting ready for the Advent of Jesus Christ can somebody shout
amen hallelujah can you say Amen I’m getting ready to leave this
world I’m getting ready for the gates of pearl like the song says serious crimes are not being
prosecuted in America it shows kids going into expensive stores and just
taking whatever and breaking the glass security guards standing over watching it and they’re stealing thousands and
thousands of inventory of just jewels and diamonds and all kinds of things and
running out with it not being stopped getting in their cars they left their car parked in the middle of the Highway
and they take off I have never seen such a thing in my
life and just this last week I was praying about President Trump and it
Grieves me to see him being done so
disrespectful and dishonorable and uh the the crimes that
he’s being tried for in New York it’s a civil case and that district attorney
there has made up her mind long ago that she was going to prosecute him and put him
in jail if she could and to see him sitting in that court and having to undergo that kangaroo court and possibly
have to pay $250 million in fines you see that he’s there’s an effort to
destroy him but the other night I was asleep and I was praying for president
Trump and the Holy Spirit spoke to me and he said I’ve got this
I got this and the Lord the Lord spoke to me
and he said I said in my word and Abraham I told him that whoever blesses
Israel I Will Bless whoever curses Israel I’ll curse I didn’t say they had
to be perfect to bless Israel I just said whosoever blesses Israel and
president Trump when he was the president did what what no other president did he moved the capital from
Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and he blessed
Israel and the Lord said I haven’t forgotten him my eye is upon him and I’ve got this I’m going to take care of
everything amen now that does not mean that I’m telling
you to vote for president Trump for president and it doesn’t mean that I agree with everything about him because
the Lord needs get some soapy water and clean his mouth out but still I believe because he’s
made some of the decisions that he’s made about the church and about Israel this is a demonic Onslaught against him
and I believe that God’s going to take care of him because he blessed Israel you’ll see it you’ll watch it and you’ll
see it I believe it’ll be a divine intervention now here again I’m not
saying I’m not saying that this is a republican thing or a Democrat thing I’m
saying it’s a principal thing and then also I want to help you to understand
that right now the justice department in America is absolutely being
weaponized by head people key leaders against the citizens of this country and
the leaders of this country I saw just yesterday where the justice department now is asking the FBI
to investigate anybody that is Maga in this country
they’re asking the FBI to investigate anybody that believes in the make
America great again because they feel like they’re a threat because of January the 6th it is an unusual time that we see
Lady Justice that’s supposed to be blindfolded I’ve got news for you somebody tore that blindfold off and
Lady Justice now is being weaponized against its leaders and its citizens
unparallel corruption in government with both Democrats and
Republicans a media that is so biased I’m nauseated to watch it anymore I mean
any of it all of it I can’t stand to watch any of it no network news can I
stand it anymore I don’t watch it I watch the hunting
channel a biased media with fake news that’s constantly spewing balac lies and
they know they’re spew do them record levels of homelessness in America in
cities that once were beautiful and admired but now has been mismanaged so
badly that now there’s thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people many
of them mental and has been turned out of mental institutions on the streets and they now are homeless on the streets
of our once beautiful cities and America a divided America has
lost the ability to to govern itself any longer a Congress that can barely
function a Congress that can barely function to even keep the government open and funded long enough to
function now every few years we Face Democrats and Republicans that are so
hard-headed so insolent so evil and so
unforgiving that they can’t even get together to come up with a continuing resolution to keep the government funded
to pay the military and to pay people that’s necessary to pay like the veterans and
Etc and to keep all the government agencies funded they can’t even get
together to get the money to pay to keep the government funded we are in a total
breakdown situation when we jumped
in and we began to fund Ukraine
in the war with Russia and we begin to send major weapons there missiles
tanks many other things that they had to have to fight a successful battle against
Russia is it any Wonder now that Russia’s fingerprints is all
over the missiles that Hamas has been shooting at Israel not only Russia but
Iran Iran and Russia have entered into an alliance just like Russia and China have entered
into an alliance Russia is all over the Middle East right now Iran is supplying weapons Iran is
supplying money that America has given them
billions of dollars and I promise you some of that money has been used to try
to destroy Israel and I’ll say this they chant in
the streets death to Israel and death to America if I was the president they’d never get another
dime they would never get another dime I’m not running for president but if I was President they’d never get another
dime because you don’t shout death to America and then us turn around and give
them billions of dollars they’re using that for terrorism and they’re using that to try to destroy Israel and
America so Iran and Russia are in an alliance Hamas now claims attacks on
Israel they boldly say it that they were supplied financially and backed by their
Ally Iran and so this is the things that you’re seeing happening and it’s
happening quickly these things have happened quickly turned fast last thing I want to talk about
real quickly is the Antichrist even though Israel desires
peace and they cry for peace and safety right now the stage is being
set for peace to elude them at this particular time because no one is going
to be able to bring peace except one and he’s coming on the scene soon and he will be known as the
Antichrist and he will befriend Israel and they will look to him he will sign a
peace Accord with them and they will believe that their Messiah has come
and they will swallow at hookline and sinker and when they sign that peace Accord with him that begins the time of
Jacob’s trouble which is the Tribulation period so where’s all this headed it’s all headed
to nothing working no government being able to put
their hands on it and Strongarm a peace deal governments can’t do it including
our own we’re all impotent to bring about about peace there’s no government
that you can look to on the face of the Earth right now that’s not impotent
they’re all impotent they cannot bring a peace deal that will satisfy whatever
has to be satisfied for the Middle East to return to normal it’s not going to
return to normal I’m just telling you that it’s too complex now it’s too far
gone it’s waiting for the Antichrist to come up with the answers and the solutions
there’s someone that’s coming soon on the scene that will bring his peace plan and
the world will hail it that he is the man of peace and it
will be the Antichrist I have wondered and wondered in the last number of months as I’ve seen
America fall victim to this transgendered
lifee and how the television now and the internet is increasingly full of sexual
perversion it’s no longer being hidden anymore it’s right there for you you can look at it you can see it it’s
filth and I wondered with the filth the flood of Filth that’s taking over this nation and the nations of the
world and I’ve wondered when you look at the economies of the world and you look
at the major democratic nations it’s always been strong democratic bastions for the
nation to look to such as Great Britain such as America Germany and many other places
that’s been bastions of democracy including Israel they’re all
in disarray barely able to function barely able to get a consensus to vote in the
most normal legislation it takes everything they got just to vote in
something that’s very normal and benign they’re not able to function so as you
take a look around and I’m trying to help you to see what I’m talking about if you look at every aspect of Nations
right now including our own we are in a situation to where these
things should not surprise us I want to leave you with this good
news I want to leave you with this that God sees you he sees your family he
knows who you are he knows that you trust him and the Bible says we have not been appointed to wrath and I believe
we’re going to get out of here very very soon so yes I still believe in the Rapture of the church and yes I do
believe that the trumpet will sound and the dead in Christ will rise first and then we which are alive and remain will
be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord I believe that the Rapture is right at the
door you may make fun of me for believ in that but I’m going to believe it till
you see me going up and when you see me going up you’re going to say by crack is that old preacher was
right but Jesus is coming back really soon and I know you believe that let’s
stand and pray for Israel right now amen hallelujah we’re going to pray for
Jerusalem and we’re going to pray for Israel I need a microphone we’re going to pray for
Israel today and we’re going to pray for Jerusalem and Pam just text me Friday and she was supposed
to leave out this week she wanted me to pray for her today she was supposed to leave out this week and leading the
delegation to Israel and so when all this happened she they’re not flying into Israel right now
so they’re with us today but pal is major major voice and a major person in
the life of Israel and we’re very blessed to have her and her husband Dr Haynes in our church and I’m going to
ask her to lead us in prayer for Jerusalem and every week as you well
know when we receive the tithe and offerings every week we wave our flags and we pray for the Peace of
Jerusalem every single week we have since we’ve been a church that’s one of the reasons that God is blessing this
church that’s one of the reasons why I want you to come in here today and take this 20 minutes or oh my goodness 30
minutes and talk about uh Israel and what’s going on
but you know if I was Israel I would be comforted to know that church of his presence in Alabama was praying for me
and I believe that God hears our prayers and he’s the saints of God praying all over this nation you got to remember God
still has a people it’s called The Remnant but God still has the people and I want you to lift your voice up we’re
all going to pray first together and I want you to pray like you really mean it listen to me carefully this is an
emergency this this is a crisis I want you to pray like you’re praying into a
crisis I want you to lift your voice I don’t want you to be timid and pal is going to close in prayer for Jerusalem
and then I’ll close in prayer for for Israel so let’s pray right now together come on lift your voice up let’s
pray oh Jesus
Jesus
come on church I want you to see those Visions in your mind of what they’ve done to
Israel prayer can turn it prayer can turn it
in Jesus mighty name Lord send Revival to
Israel send Revival to Israel
[Music]
Lord father We Stand Together as the body of Christ and in the moment we want to
stand with what you have said I will Endo you with power from on high from
the city of our great king in Jerusalem you spoke that word that is still
echoing out through time and still echoing into this house and into our
hearts UE us with power now as we pray father we thank you for Jerusalem
that is the city of our great king we thank you that you have chosen Jerusalem
as a city where you will dwell and we lift up your word where you
said A House Divided can not stand and so we are praying today as a
United body that that house of Jerusalem not be divided in the name of Jesus
right and I pray that you loose that prayer to continue on in our hearts and
God we think of how you said oh Jerusalem
Jerusalem would that I could gather you under my wing like a mother hen gathers
her chicks yes and so today we gather with you the city of
Jerusalem and as your body on Earth we speak speak peace to Jerusalem and its
leaders in the name of Jesus amen amen
well father we pray today for our prime minister Netanyahu I know that he is in a major
storm father I know that there’s so many things that’s going through his mind and I know that the level of
satanic attack against that man has got to be almost unbearable and Lord the level of satanic
attack against Israel and the people of Israel wondering what’s coming next but
God we ask in jesus’ name that you would abort and stop any further attacks Lord
whatever the devil may have plan we bring it to confusion and we speak that
the holy spirit will take the fuse out of the bomb in the mighty name of Jesus
we ask it and Lord we pray for the knesset that the knesset would stand together
with the Prime Minister that they would put aside their differences that they would repent to
each other and stand in the gap for their Nation like they never have God
made the church in America get rid of this replacement theology business and
begin to pray for Israel and the move of God to come to Israel father in the name
of Jesus we pray for for every leader in Israel Lord we pray over the next few
days that you would keep Israel and protect them Lord the Iron Dome is one
thing but the strong arm of the Lord is another thing and I’m speaking in the
name of Jesus that the strong right arm of the Lord will prevail against the
attackers father let a suddenly happen let a Godly suddenly happened we’ve seen
an ungodly suddenly but now Lord we ask for a a Divine Godly suddenly suddenly
to come and and just turn this thing Lord we have got to have a
turning and you are the one that can do it Lord we pray for Jerusalem we pray
for Israel Lord we pray for the families that have suffered such
horror and such shock at such a sudden attack and
they’re worried about their wives and their children and their mothers and their dads and their
husbands and so many soldiers have been killed Lord so many families are
grieving in Zion and we pray for them Lord let a
blanket of your glory and your presence just overshadow them Lord and keep them we pray father you
tell us in your word to pray for them and that’s exactly what we’re doing
today as a church Lord we don’t know what the next few days May hold we don’t know what the plans of the
enemy are we don’t know where the next attack may come from maybe Hezbollah in
Lebanon maybe there’s going to be attacks in Iran it may be that Israel may try to
attack Iran it may be that Iran has many things up their sleeve and this thing could get
out of hand but Lord we know that we don’t understand what
tomorrow may hold but we know who holds tomorrow and we also know
Lord that your hand is at the throttle of world events and we know that everything is
Father filtered there’s there’s nothing that gets by you everything is
Father filtered but Lord we look to you now in Jesus name let your name somehow
receive Glory through all this Lord we’re concerned not so much about Israel and Jerusalem but we’re
concerned about your Holy Name Lord let your name receive Glory let your word
Stand Fast let it stand sure and let Jerusalem stand sure and Lord we
thank you today that although tomorrow may look unstable and tomorrow may look like it’s
going to be Bleak and dark but we know that everything is Father filtered and
it’s going to work out somehow for the glory of God in Jesus name and everybody
said amen hallelujah
The Essence of Proverbs 13:12 The book of Proverbs, a wellspring of wisdom, presents us with a poignant truth: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” This proverbial saying resonates deeply, reflecting the human experience of disappointment and the profound impact of delayed gratification or unfulfilled desires. But what does it truly mean, and how can we navigate life when hope seems distant?
The Weight of Waiting At the heart of this proverb is the raw reality of anticipation. Whether it’s awaiting the fulfillment of a promise, a dream, or an answer to prayer, the act of waiting often comes with emotional and spiritual baggage. As time goes on, the weight can become heavier, leading to feelings of discouragement, disillusionment, and even despair.
Hope in the Biblical Context in the Bible, hope isn’t just a fleeting feeling or wishful thinking. It’s an anchored trust in God’s promises, rooted in His unchanging character and faithfulness. While the world around us might be shaky and uncertain, hope in God remains steadfast, providing a foundation upon which we can stand.
Navigating the Seasons of Deferred Hope
- Stay Rooted in God’s Promises: Even when circumstances seem bleak, God’s promises are a beacon of light. Dive into the scriptures, reminding yourself of His faithfulness and the testimonies of those who held onto hope before you. Remember, God is not a man that He would lie, or the son of man that He would change His mind. All of His promise are yes and amen in Christ Jesus. “Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossian 2:6
- Seek Community: Sharing our struggles, fears, and disappointments with trusted friends or community members can bring solace. They can offer prayer, support, and perspective in trying times. If you’ve found yourself falling away from attending church maybe it’s time to return to the family of God, your family, if you are a believer, where “every joint supplies as each part does it work in love.” God has designed us to thrive in Christ-center community and to wither if we stop living in Christ-center community. Ephesians 6:11-16
- Practice Patience: Patience, though challenging, is a fruit of the Spirit. Cultivating patience means acknowledging God’s sovereignty and trusting in His perfect timing. Remember, Abraham, the father of faith, was promised something from God that took twenty-five years to manifest in his life. There were many ups and downs, yet he remained steadfast in his hope in God that He would do what He said He would do, no matter what he had to face on his journey there. Against all hope, in hope he believed, and some became what God promised him. ‘Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that in his own strength he could not bring to pass the promises of God himself…yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.’ Romans 4:18-21
The Renewal of Hope But the proverb doesn’t end in despair. The second half of Proverbs 13:12 says, “but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” It’s a beautiful image of restoration and revival. When the season of waiting ends, and hope is realized, it becomes a source of rejuvenation, like a tree that brings forth life and sustenance. This is what happened with Abraham and to all of God’s people whose hope is in the Lord.
Related:
- HOPE
- Against All Hope, In Hope Believe, and So Become What God Said You Would
- Hope in God is hope that never dies
- From Country Star to Spiritual Guide Discovering Hope in the Midst of Desolation and Grief
- Disheartened?
- Mourning? The Five Stages of Grief – It is healthy to mourn, but unhealthy to more too long. Romans 12:15
Hope Does Not Put to Shame: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:1-5 It is the sufferings that we go through as we wait that makes what we hope for so much sweeter when it is made manifest in our life by our Sovereign, Loving, Faithful God.
A Promise from the Lord for Those Whose Hope is Place in Him: “Do you not know or have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not grow tired or weary, and no one can fathom His understanding. He provides strength to the weary and boosts the power of the weak. Even the young become tired and weary, and young men can stumble and fall. However, those who place their hope in the Lord will find their strength renewed. They will rise and soar like eagles, run without becoming weary, and walk without feeling faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31
In Closing: The Journey of Hope Every individual will face moments where hope feels distant, where the heart feels the pangs of sickness due to deferred dreams or aspirations. Yet, grounded in Biblical truth, we are reminded that our hope is not in the shifting sands of circumstances but in the rock-solid promises of God. And in His time, that hope will blossom into a tree of life, bringing healing, joy, and fulfillment.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower Farewell Speech
President Dwight D. Eisenhower Farewell Speech
In this article, we delve into President Eisenhower’s Farewell Speech, intertwined with his poignant quotes reflecting his deep faith in God, “Faith Quotes.” He believed such faith to be foundational for America’s very existence. Enjoy your read.
To My Fellow Americans
Gratitude for Opportunities:
Good evening, my fellow Americans. First, I should like to express my gratitude to the radio and television networks for the opportunities they have given me, over the years, to bring reports and messages to our nation. My special thanks go to them for the opportunity of addressing you this evening.
Faith Quote: “In other words, our form of government has no sense unless it is founded in a deeply felt religious faith, and I don’t care what it is.”
Address at the Freedoms Foundation, Waldorf-Astoria, New York City, New York, 12/22/52
Transition of Office:
Three days from now, after half a century in the service of our country, I shall lay down the responsibilities of office as, in traditional and solemn ceremony, the authority of the Presidency is vested in my successor.
Faith Quote: “Today I think that prayer is just simply a necessity, because by prayer I believe we mean an effort to get in touch with the Infinite. We know that even our prayers are imperfect. Even our supplications are imperfect. Of course they are. We are imperfect human beings. But if we can back off from those problems and make the effort, then there is something that ties us all together. We have begun in our grasp of that basis of understanding, which is that all free government is firmly founded in a deeply-felt religious faith.”
Remarks at the Dedicatory Prayer Breakfast of the International Christian Leadership, 2/5/53
Reflecting on the Partnership:
This evening I come to you with a message of leave-taking and farewell, and to share a few final thoughts with you, my countrymen. Like every other citizen, I wish the new President, and all who will labor with him, Godspeed. I pray that the coming years will be blessed with peace and prosperity for all.
Faith Quote: “The churches of America are citadels of our faith in individual freedom and human dignity. This faith is the living source of all our spiritual strength. And this strength is our matchless armor in our world-wide struggle against the forces of godless tyranny and oppression.”
Message to the National Co-Chairmen, Commission of Religious Organizations, National Conference on Christians and Jews, 7/9/53
On Collaboration and Mutual Progress:
Our people expect their President and the Congress to find essential agreement on issues of great moment, the wise resolution of which will better shape the future of the Nation. My own relations with the Congress, which began on a remote and tenuous basis when, long ago, a member of the Senate appointed me to West Point, have since ranged to the intimate during the war and immediate post-war period, and, finally, to the mutually interdependent during these past eight years. In this final relationship, the Congress and the Administration have, on most vital issues, cooperated well, to serve the Nation good rather than mere partisanship, and so have assured that the business of the Nation should go forward. So, my official relationship with the Congress ends in a feeling, on my part, of gratitude that we have been able to do so much together.
Related:
- President Dwight Eisenhower’s Actual Notes and Speech
- Watch President Dwight Eisenhower’s Speech
- Listen to President Dwight Eisenhower’s Speech
- President Dwight Eisenhower
- Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
War, Progress, and America’s Standing:
We now stand ten years past the midpoint of a century that has witnessed four major wars among great nations. Three of these involved our own country. Despite these holocausts America is today the strongest, the most influential and most productive nation in the world. Understandably proud of this pre-eminence, we yet realize that America’s leadership and prestige depend, not merely upon our unmatched material progress, riches and military strength, but on how we use our power in the interests of world peace and human betterment.
Faith Quote: “From this day forward, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural school house, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty. To anyone who truly loves America, nothing could be more inspiring than to contemplate this rededication of our youth, on each school morning, to our country’s true meaning.
Especially is this meaningful as we regard today’s world. Over the globe, mankind has been cruelly torn by violence and brutality and, by the millions, deadened in mind and soul by a materialistic philosophy of life. Man everywhere is appalled by the prospect of atomic war. In this somber setting, this law and its effects today have profound meaning. In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource, in peace or in war.”
Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill to Include the Words “Under God” in the Pledge to the Flag, 6/14/54
Our National Purpose and Challenges Ahead:
Throughout America’s adventure in free government, our basic purposes have been to keep the peace; to foster progress in human achievement, and to enhance liberty, dignity and integrity among peoples and among nations. To strive for less would be unworthy of a free and religious people. Any failure traceable to arrogance, or our lack of comprehension or readiness to sacrifice would inflict upon us grievous hurt both at home and abroad.
Faith Quote: “Faith is the mightiest force that man has at his command. It impels human beings to greatness in thought and word and deed.”
Address at the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Evanston, Illinois, 8/19/54 [AUDIO]
Confronting Global Conflict:
Progress toward these noble goals is persistently threatened by the conflict now engulfing the world. It commands our whole attention, absorbs our very beings. We face a hostile ideology—global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose, and insidious in method. Unhappily the danger it poses promises to be of indefinite duration. To meet it successfully, there is called for, not so much the emotional and transitory sacrifices of crisis, but rather those which enable us to carry forward steadily, surely, and without complaint the burdens of a prolonged and complex struggle—with liberty the stake. Only thus shall we remain, despite every provocation, on our charted course toward permanent peace and human betterment.
Faith Quote: “We are essentially a religious people. We are not merely religious, we are inclined, more today than ever, to see the value of religion as a practical force in our affairs.”
Address at the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Evanston, Illinois, 8/19/54 [AUDIO]
Meeting Crises and Seeking Balance:
Crises there will continue to be. In meeting them, whether foreign or domestic, great or small, there is a recurring temptation to feel that some spectacular and costly action could become the miraculous solution to all current difficulties. A huge increase in newer elements of our defenses; development of unrealistic programs to cure every ill in agriculture; a dramatic expansion in basic and applied research—these and many other possibilities, each possibly promising in itself, may be suggested as the only way to the road we wish to travel. But each proposal must be weighed in the light of a broader consideration: The need to maintain balance in and among national programs—balance between the private and the public economy, balance between the cost and hoped for advantages—balance between the clearly necessary and the comfortably desirable; balance between our essential requirements as a nation and the duties imposed by the nation upon the individual; balance between actions of the moment and the national welfare of the future. Good judgment seeks balance and progress; lack of it eventually finds imbalance and frustration.
Faith Quote: “Without God, there could be no American form of Government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first — the most basic — expression of Americanism. Thus the Founding Fathers saw it, and thus, with God’s help, it will continue to be.”
Remarks Recorded for the “Back-to-God” Program of the American Legion, 2/20/55
Maintaining Balance Amidst Threats:
The record of many decades stands as proof that our people and their government have, in the main, understood these truths and have responded to them well, in the face of threat and stress. But threats, new in kind or degree, constantly arise. Of these, I mention two only.
Faith Quote: “Since the day of creation, the fondest hopes of men and women have been to pass on to their children something better than they themselves enjoyed. That hope represents a spark of the Divine which is implanted in every human breast.”
Address at the Signing of the Declaration of Principles at the Meeting of the Presidents in Panama City, 7/22/56
The Military Establishment & Its Implications:
A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction. Our military organization today bears little relation to that known of any of my predecessors in peacetime, or indeed by the fighting men of World War II or Korea. Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security alone more than the net income of all United States corporations.
Faith Quote: “The purpose is Divine; the implementation is human. Our country and its government have made mistakes — human mistakes. They have been of the head — not of the heart. And it is still true that the great concept of the dignity of all men, alike created in the image of the Almighty, has been the compass by which we have tried and are trying to steer our course.”
Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union, 1/10/57
Guarding Against Misplaced Influence:
Now, this conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence—economic, political, even spiritual—is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources, and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.
Faith Quote: “Basic to our democratic civilization are the principles and convictions that have bound us together as a nation. Among these are personal liberty, human rights, and the dignity of man. All these have their roots in a deeply held religious faith — in a belief in God.”
Address at U.S. Naval Academy Commencement, 6/4/58
The Technological Revolution & Its Impact:
Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades. In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government. Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard, there are now hundreds of new electronic computers. The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present—and is gravely to be regarded. Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.
Faith Quote: “The freedom of a citizen and the freedom of a religious believer are more than intimately related; they are mutually dependent. These two liberties give life to the heart of our Nation.”
Remarks at the Cornerstone-Laying Ceremony for the Interchurch Center, New York City, New York, 10/12/58 [AUDIO]
The Task of Statesmanship:
It is the task of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system—ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society. Another factor in maintaining balance involves the element time. As we peer into society’s future, we—you and I, and our government—must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.
Hopes for Global Unity & Peace:
Down the long lane of the history yet to be written, America knows that this world of ours, ever growing smaller, must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect. Such a confederation must be one of equals. The weakest must come to the conference table with the same confidence as do we, protected as we are by our moral, economic, and military strength. That table, though scarred by many past frustrations, cannot be abandoned for the certain agony of the battlefield. Disarmament, with mutual honor and confidence, is a continuing imperative. Together we must learn how to compose differences, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose.
The Pursuit of Disarmament and Peace:
Because this need is so sharp and apparent, I confess that I lay down my official responsibilities in this field with a definite sense of disappointment. As one who has witnessed the horror and the lingering sadness of war—as one who knows that another war could utterly destroy this civilization which has been so slowly and painfully built over thousands of years—I wish I could say tonight that a lasting peace is in sight. Happily, I can say that war has been avoided. Steady progress toward our ultimate goal has been made. But, so much remains to be done. As a private citizen, I shall never cease to do what little I can to help the world advance along that road.
Gratitude and Looking to the Future:
So—in this my last good night to you as your President—I thank you for the many opportunities you have given me for public service in war and peace. I trust that in that service you find some things worthy; as for the rest of it, I know you will find ways to improve performance in the future.
Closing Words of Inspiration:
You and I—my fellow citizens—need to be strong in our faith that all nations, under God, will reach the goal of peace with justice. May we be ever unswerving in devotion to principle, confident but humble with power, diligent in pursuit of the Nation’s great goals.
A Global Aspiration:
To all the peoples of the world, I once more give expression to America’s prayerful and continuing aspiration: We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations, may have their great human needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for freedom may experience its spiritual blessings; those who have freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibility; that all who are insensitive to the needs of others will learn charity; that the scourges of poverty, disease, and ignorance will be made to disappear from the earth, and that, in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love.
Transition to Private Citizenship:
Now, on Friday noon I am to become a private citizen. I am proud to do so. I look forward to it. Thank you, and good night.
“Workers of the world, unite!” is a famous rallying cry from the “Communist Manifesto,” which was written in 1848 by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
The slogan encapsulates the main ideas of Marxism and its call for the working class, known as the proletariat, to overcome national boundaries, recognize their shared conditions of exploitation, and collectively rise up against the bourgeoisie (the capitalist class that owns the means of production) to establish a classless, communist society.
In the context of the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution had led to significant socio-economic changes. The rise of factories and mass production meant that many people had moved from rural areas to urban centers, working under often exploitative conditions. Marx and Engels saw this new working class as the key force for revolutionary change. By uniting, they believed that workers could overthrow the capitalist system, end their own exploitation, and establish a new society where the means of production would be communally owned, thus ending class divisions and ensuring a more equitable distribution of resources and power.
The phrase is thus not just a call for unity among workers but also an exhortation to revolution and transformative social change.
Related:
- The Nuremberg Code
- COMMUNISM’S POLITICAL PARADISE? – Tips from Lucifer to organize America and the world?
- Communist Manifesto: War Against God
A Biblical Perspective on the Marxist Call for Global Worker Unity
From a biblical perspective, while the call “Workers of the world, unite!” might resonate as a plea for unity and the betterment of society, it seems to overlook a foundational scriptural principle: God’s sovereign orchestration over nations and borders. The Bible states in Acts 17:26, “From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.” The establishment of nations and their borders is a part of God’s divine plan. Furthermore, Romans 13:1-2 posits, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted.” This underscores the biblical teaching that resisting established authorities is tantamount to opposing God’s will. While the injustices of exploitation should indeed be addressed, it’s essential to approach societal change with a perspective that honors God’s design for nations and the authorities He places in charge.
The winds of change have begun to sweep through the deserts of the Middle East. As Israel and Saudi Arabia inch closer to normalization, one cannot help but remember the weighty historical events that have paved the way. The establishment of Israel in 1948, the poignant reclaiming of Jerusalem in 1967, and the turbulent Yom Kippur War of 1973 were not just political shifts but heralded spiritual awakenings around the world. Could we be on the cusp of an event even more profound?
Israel’s Historical Footprint
Every landmark event in Israel’s timeline has resonated globally. The voice of healing post-1948, the charismatic renewal after 1967, and the genesis of global Christian television post-1973 are testaments to Israel’s spiritual ripple effect.
The Abraham Accord: A Beacon of Hope
The Abraham Accord, which envisions a harmonious Middle East, is a monumental endeavor. The prospective inclusion of Saudi Arabia could conclude the long-standing Israeli-Arab conflict, paving the way for an era of peace and collaboration. When Prime Minister Netanyahu hinted at a corridor linking India, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Europe at the UN, he wasn’t just talking logistics, but the mingling of cultures, economies, and spirits.
The Anticipated Spiritual Harvest
Benny Hinn foresees a revival, a blend of past spiritual awakenings, approaching swiftly. With Christian TV having laid the groundwork, the harvest of souls is imminent. The digital age, powered by the ubiquity of social media, has positioned evangelism to soar.
Witnesses to Miracles: Past and Future
Catherine Kuhlman’s prophecy, a world where every member of Christ’s body experiences healing, seems closer than ever. Benny Hinn’s personal interaction with Oral Roberts, who recounted miraculous healings in Jacksonville, 1952, invigorates the belief that such wonders are destined to occur again. Not just limited to renowned evangelists, these miracles will be the hallmark of ordinary believers worldwide.
Israel: The Spiritual Epicenter
The scriptures have always positioned Israel at the heart of spiritual reckonings. Benny Hinn, leaning into Deuteronomy, elucidates how events in Israel resonate spiritually worldwide. A time akin to the Israelites’ exodus and the days of apostles is anticipated, marked by salvation, healing, and prosperity.
Geopolitics and Divine Intervention
The prospective peace between Saudi Arabia and Israel isn’t just a political milestone. It aligns with prophecies in Ezekiel 38, foretelling peace in Israel followed by an invasion. However, with Saudi Arabia’s considerable influence in the Arab world, this peace initiative could even herald the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Revival Beyond Borders
Accounts of spiritual renewals in Egypt and anticipated awakenings in Lebanon and other parts of the Arab world signify a broader regional revival. This spiritual resurgence is seen as the world’s preparatory phase for Christ’s return, reminiscent of the ‘times of restitution’ detailed in the Book of Acts.
Conclusion: Embracing the Imminent Revival
Witnessing the Middle East’s transformations, especially in areas so deeply rooted in biblical history, is a privilege. As events unfold, believers are urged to ready themselves, for they might be the vessels God chooses to use in this grand spiritual revival.
The Lausanne Covenant
The Lausanne Covenant
Introduction
We, members of the Church of Jesus Christ, from more than 150 nations, participants in the International Congress on World Evangelization at Lausanne, praise God for his great salvation and rejoice in the fellowship he has given us with himself and with each other. We are deeply stirred by what God is doing in our day, moved to penitence by our failures and challenged by the unfinished task of evangelization. We believe the gospel is God’s good news for the whole world, and we are determined by his grace to obey Christ’s commission to proclaim it to all humankind and to make disciples of every nation. We desire, therefore, to affirm our faith and our resolve, and to make public our covenant.
1. The Purpose of God
We affirm our belief in the one eternal God, Creator and Lord of the world, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who governs all things according to the purpose of his will. He has been calling out from the world a people for himself, and sending his people back into the world to be his servants and his witnesses, for the extension of his kingdom, the building up of Christ’s body, and the glory of his name. We confess with shame that we have often denied our calling and failed in our mission, by becoming conformed to the world or by withdrawing from it. Yet we rejoice that even when borne by earthen vessels the gospel is still a precious treasure. To the task of making that treasure known in the power of the Holy Spirit we desire to dedicate ourselves anew. (Isa. 40:28; Matt. 28:19; Eph. 1:11; Acts 15:14; John 17:6,18; Eph. 4:12; 1 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 4:7)
2. The Authority and Power of the Bible
We affirm the divine inspiration, truthfulness and authority of both the Old and New Testament Scriptures in their entirety as the only written word of God, without error in all that it affirms, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice. We also affirm the power of God’s word to accomplish his purpose of salvation. The message of the Bible is addressed to all humankind. For God’s revelation in Christ and in Scripture is unchangeable. Through it the Holy Spirit still speaks today. He illumines the minds of God’s people in every culture to perceive its truth freshly through their own eyes and thus discloses to the whole church ever more of the many-colored wisdom of God. (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21; John 10:35; Isa. 55:11; 1 Cor. 1:21; Rom. 1:16; Matt. 5:17,18; Jude 3; Eph. 1:17, 18; 3:10, 18)
3. The Uniqueness and Universality of Christ
We affirm that there is only one Savior and only one gospel, although there is a wide diversity of evangelistic approaches. We recognize that all people have some knowledge of God through his general revelation in nature. But we deny that this can save, for people suppress the truth through their unrighteousness. We also reject as derogatory to Christ and the gospel every kind of syncretism and dialogue which implies that Christ speaks equally through all religions and ideologies. Jesus Christ, being himself the only God-man, who gave himself as the only ransom for sinners, is the only mediator between God and humanity. There is no other name by which we must be saved. All people are perishing because of sin, but God loves all people, not wishing that any should perish but that all should repent. Yet those who reject Christ repudiate the joy of salvation and condemn themselves to eternal separation from God. To proclaim Jesus as “the Savior of the world” is not to affirm that all people are either automatically or ultimately saved, still less to affirm that all religions offer salvation in Christ. Rather it is to proclaim God’s love for a world of sinners and to invite all people to respond to him as Savior and Lord in the wholehearted personal commitment of repentance and faith. Jesus Christ has been exalted above every other name; we long for the day when every knee shall bow to him and every tongue shall confess him Lord. (Gal. 1:6-9; Rom. 1:18-32; 1 Tim. 2:5,6; Acts 4:12; John 3:16-19; 2 Pet. 3:9; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; John 4:42; Matt. 11:28; Eph 1:20,21; Phil. 2:9-11)
4. The Nature of Evangelism
To evangelize is to spread the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised from the dead according to the Scriptures, and that as the reigning Lord he now offers the forgiveness of sins and the liberating gift of the Spirit to all who repent and believe. Our Christian presence in the world is indispensable to evangelism, and so is that kind of dialogue whose purpose is to listen sensitively in order to understand. But evangelism itself is the proclamation of the historical, biblical Christ as Savior and Lord, with a view to persuading people to come to him personally and so be reconciled to God. In issuing the gospel invitation we have no liberty to conceal the cost of discipleship. Jesus still calls all who would follow him to deny themselves, take up their cross, and identify themselves with his new community. The results of evangelism include obedience to Christ, incorporation into his church and responsible service in the world. (1 Cor. 15:3,4; Acts 2:32-39; John 20:21; 1 Cor. 1:23; 2 Cor. 4:5; 5:11,20; Luke 14:25-33; Mark 8:34; Acts 2:40,47; Mark 10:43-45)
5. Christian Social Responsibility
We affirm that God is both the Creator and the Judge of all people. We therefore should share his concern for justice and reconciliation throughout human society and for the liberation of people from every kind of oppression. Because humankind is made in the image of God, every person, regardless of race, religion, color, class, sex or age, has an intrinsic dignity because of which each person should be respected and served, not exploited. Here too we express penitence both for our neglect and for having sometimes regarded evangelism and social concern as mutually exclusive. Although reconciliation with humanity is not reconciliation with God, nor is social action evangelism, nor is political liberation salvation, nevertheless we affirm that evangelism and socio-political involvement are both part of our Christian duty. For both are necessary expressions of our doctrines of God and humanity, our love for our neighbor and our obedience to Jesus Christ. The message of salvation implies also a message of judgment upon every form of alienation, oppression and discrimination, and we should not be afraid to denounce evil and injustice wherever they exist. When people receive Christ they are born again into his kingdom and must seek not only to exhibit but also to spread its righteousness in the midst of an unrighteous world. The salvation we claim should be transforming us in the totality of our personal and social responsibilities. Faith without works is dead. (Acts 17:26,31; Gen. 18:25; Isa. 1:17; Psa. 45:7; Gen. 1:26,27; Jas. 3:9; Lev. 19:18; Luke 6:27,35; Jas. 2:14-26; John 3:3,5; Matt. 5:20; 6:33; 2 Cor. 3:18; Jas. 2:20)
6. The Church and Evangelism
We affirm that Christ sends his redeemed people into the world as the Father sent him, and that this calls for a similar deep and costly penetration of the world. We need to break out of our ecclesiastical ghettos and permeate non-Christian society. In the church’s mission of sacrificial service evangelism is primary. World evangelization requires the whole church to take the whole gospel to the whole world. The church is at the very center of God’s cosmic purpose and is his appointed means of spreading the gospel. But a church which preaches the cross must itself be marked by the cross. It becomes a stumbling block to evangelism when it betrays the gospel or lacks a living faith in God, a genuine love for people, or scrupulous honesty in all things including promotion and finance. The church is the community of God’s people rather than an institution, and must not be identified with any particular culture, social or political system, or human ideology. (John 17:18; 20:21; Matt. 28:19,20; Acts 1:8; 20:27; Eph. 1:9,10; 3:9-11; Gal. 6:14,17; 2 Cor. 6:3,4; 2 Tim. 2:19-21; Phil. 1:27)
7. Cooperation in Evangelism
We affirm that the church’s visible unity in truth is God’s purpose. Evangelism also summons us to unity, because our oneness strengthens our witness, just as our disunity undermines our gospel of reconciliation. We recognize, however, that organizational unity may take many forms and does not necessarily forward evangelism. Yet we who share the same biblical faith should be closely united in fellowship, work and witness. We confess that our testimony has sometimes been marred by sinful individualism and needless duplication. We pledge ourselves to seek a deeper unity in truth, worship, holiness and mission. We urge the development of regional and functional cooperation for the furtherance of the church’s mission, for strategic planning, for mutual encouragement, and for the sharing of resources and experience. (John 17:21,23; Eph. 4:3,4; John 13:35; Phil. 1:27; John 17:11-23)
8. Churches in Evangelistic Partnership
We rejoice that a new missionary era has dawned. The dominant role of western missions is fast disappearing. God is raising up from the younger churches a great new resource for world evangelization, and is thus demonstrating that the responsibility to evangelize belongs to the whole body of Christ. All churches should therefore be asking God and themselves what they should be doing both to reach their own area and to send missionaries to other parts of the world. A re-evaluation of our missionary responsibility and role should be continuous. Thus a growing partnership of churches will develop and the universal character of Christ’s church will be more clearly exhibited. We also thank God for agencies which labor in Bible translation, theological education, the mass media, Christian literature, evangelism, missions, church renewal and other specialist fields. They too should engage in constant self-examination to evaluate their effectiveness as part of the church’s mission. (Rom. 1:8; Phil. 1:5; 4:15; Acts 13:1-3; 1 Thess. 1:6-8)
9. The Urgency of the Evangelistic Task
More than 2,700 million people, which is more than two-thirds of humanity, have yet to be evangelized. We are ashamed that so many have been neglected; it is a standing rebuke to us and to the whole church. There is now, however, in many parts of the world an unprecedented receptivity to the Lord Jesus Christ. We are convinced that this is the time for churches and para-church agencies to pray earnestly for the salvation of the unreached and to launch new efforts to achieve world evangelization. A reduction of foreign missionaries and money in an evangelized country may sometimes be necessary to facilitate the national church’s growth in self-reliance and to release resources for unevangelized areas. Missionaries should flow ever more freely from and to all six continents in a spirit of humble service. The goal should be, by all available means and at the earliest possible time, that every person will have the opportunity to hear, understand, and receive the good news. We cannot hope to attain this goal without sacrifice. All of us are shocked by the poverty of millions and disturbed by the injustices which cause it. Those of us who live in affluent circumstances accept our duty to develop a simple life-style in order to contribute more generously to both relief and evangelism. (John 9:4; Matt. 9:35-38; Rom. 9:1-3; 1 Cor. 9:19-23; Mark 16:15; Isa. 58:6,7; Jas. 1:27; 2:1-9; Matt. 25:31-46; Acts 2:44,45; 4:34,35)
10. Evangelism and Culture
The development of strategies for world evangelization calls for imaginative pioneering methods. Under God, the result will be the rise of churches deeply rooted in Christ and closely related to their culture. Culture must always be tested and judged by Scripture. Because humanity is God’s creature, some of our culture is rich in beauty and goodness. Because we are fallen, all human culture is tainted with sin and some of it is demonic. The gospel does not presuppose the superiority of any culture to another, but evaluates all cultures according to its own criteria of truth and righteousness, and insists on moral absolutes in every culture. Missions have all too frequently exported with the gospel an alien culture, and churches have sometimes been in bondage to culture rather than to the Scripture. Christ’s evangelists must humbly seek to empty themselves of all but their personal authenticity in order to become the servants of others, and churches must seek to transform and enrich culture, all for the glory of God. (Mark 7:8,9,13; Gen. 4:21,22; 1 Cor. 9:19-23; Phil. 2:5-7; 2 Cor. 4:5)
11. Education and Leadership
We confess that we have sometimes pursued church growth at the expense of church depth, and divorced evangelism from Christian nurture. We also acknowledge that some of our missions have been too slow to equip and encourage national leaders to assume their rightful responsibilities. Yet we are committed to indigenous principles, and long that every church will have national leaders who manifest a Christian style of leadership in terms not of domination but of service. We recognize that there is a great need to improve theological education, especially for church leaders. In every nation and culture there should be an effective training program for pastors and laypeople in doctrine, discipleship, evangelism, nurture and service. Such training programs should not rely on any stereotyped methodology but should be developed by creative local initiatives according to biblical standards. (Col. 1:27,28; Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5,9; Mark 10:42-45; Eph. 4:11,12)
12. Spiritual Conflict
We believe that we are engaged in constant spiritual warfare with the principalities and powers of evil, who are seeking to overthrow the church and frustrate its task of world evangelization. We know our need to equip ourselves with God’s armor and to fight this battle with the spiritual weapons of truth and prayer. For we detect the activity of our enemy, not only in false ideologies outside the church, but also inside it in false gospels which twist Scripture and put humanity in the place of God. We need both watchfulness and discernment to safeguard the biblical gospel. We acknowledge that we ourselves are not immune to worldliness of thought and action, that is, to a surrender to secularism. For example, although careful studies of church growth, both numerical and spiritual, are right and valuable, we have sometimes neglected them. At other times, desirous to ensure a response to the gospel, we have compromised our message, manipulated our hearers through pressure techniques, and become unduly preoccupied with statistics or even dishonest in our use of them. All this is worldly. The church must be in the world; the world must not be in the church. (Eph. 6:12; 2 Cor. 4:3,4; Eph. 6:11,13-18; 2 Cor. 10:3-5; 1 John 2:18-26; 4:1-3; Gal. 1:6-9; 2 Cor. 2:17; 4:2; John 17:15)
13. Freedom and Persecution
It is the God-appointed duty of every government to secure conditions of peace, justice and liberty in which the church may obey God, serve the Lord Christ, and preach the gospel without interference. We therefore pray for the leaders of the nations and call upon them to guarantee freedom of thought and conscience, and freedom to practice and propagate religion in accordance with the will of God and as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We also express our deep concern for all who have been unjustly imprisoned, and especially for our brothers and sisters who are suffering for their testimony to the Lord Jesus. We promise to pray and work for their freedom. At the same time we refuse to be intimidated by their fate. God helping us, we too will seek to stand against injustice and to remain faithful to the gospel, whatever the cost. We do not forget the warnings of Jesus that persecution is inevitable. (1 Tim. 1:1-4; Acts 4:19; 5:29; Col. 3:24; Heb. 13:1-3; Luke 4:18; Gal. 5:11; 6:12; Matt. 5:10-12; John 15:18-21)
14. The Power of the Holy Spirit
We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Father sent his Spirit to bear witness to his Son; without his witness ours is futile. Conviction of sin, faith in Christ, new birth and Christian growth are all his work. Further, the Holy Spirit is a missionary spirit; thus evangelism should arise spontaneously from a Spirit-filled church. A church that is not a missionary church is contradicting itself and quenching the Spirit. Worldwide evangelization will become a realistic possibility only when the Spirit renews the church in truth and wisdom, faith, holiness, love and power. We therefore call upon all Christians to pray for such a visitation of the sovereign Spirit of God that all his fruit may appear in all his people and that all his gifts may enrich the body of Christ. Only then will the whole church become a fit instrument in his hands, that the whole earth may hear his voice. (1 Cor. 2:4; John 15:26,27; 16:8-11; 1 Cor. 12:3; John 3:6-8; 2 Cor. 3:18; John 7:37-39; 1 Thess. 5:19; Acts 1:8; Psa. 85:4-7; 67:1-3; Gal. 5:22,23; 1 Cor. 12:4-31; Rom 12:3-8)
15. The Return of Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly, in power and glory, to consummate his salvation and his judgment. This promise of his coming is a further spur to our evangelism, for we remember his words that the gospel must first be preached to all nations. We believe that the interim period between Christ’s ascension and return is to be filled with the mission of the people of God, who have no liberty to stop before the End. We also remember his warning that false Christs and false prophets will arise as precursors of the final Antichrist. We therefore reject as a proud, self-confident dream the notion that humanity can ever build a utopia on earth. Our Christian conscience is that God will perfect his kingdom, and we look forward with eager anticipation to that day, and to the new heaven and earth in which righteousness will dwell and God will reign for ever. Meanwhile, we rededicate ourselves to the service of Christ and of humanity in joyful submission to his authority over the whole of our lives. (Mark 14:62; Heb. 9:28; Mark 13:10; Acts 1:8-11; Matt. 28:20; Mark 13:21-23; John 2:18; 4:1-3; Luke 12:32; Rev. 21:1-5; 2 Pet. 3:13; Matt. 28:18)
Conclusion
Therefore, in the light of this our faith and our resolve, we enter into a solemn covenant with God and with each other, to pray, to plan and to work together for the evangelization of the whole world. We call upon others to join us. May God help us by his grace and for his glory to be faithful to this our covenant! Amen, Alleluia!
Billy Graham, “God is tired of people like me getting credit for His work.”
Billy Graham was once asked a question about the next generation of great leaders. The question was, “Where are the people that are going to step up? Where’s the next George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, where’s the next Billy Graham?” In response, Billy Graham smiled and said, “God is tired of people like me getting credit for His work.” He went on to explain that this time, the way God would work would be different. He said that ordinary people would feel compelled to do small, perhaps even insignificant acts that they might not fully understand. These people might argue in their own minds, questioning the rationale behind their actions and doubting their impact. However, Graham emphasized that if everyone simply did what they felt they were supposed to do—nothing more, nothing less—and remained faithful to that calling, then a greater picture would emerge. He described it as a mosaic of God’s work, so astounding that everyone on Earth would recognize it as something only the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob could have accomplished.
Image: Library of Congress
Desperation: Crying Out for Help
Crying Out
I have observed over the years of my life, which includes almost ten years of law enforcement work and now thirty-two years in ministry how no matter who you are seasons and times in our lives come where we cry out for help. What I have observed about who we cry out to has been astonishing.
Crying Out: What do You Want From Me Anyway?
I’ll never forget after working running my own company and ministering part time in a local church how it all started with joy but ended in a desperate cry for help. I loved helping God’s people in the local church and working my businesses. God had always given me great business success in no matter what business adventure I was in at the time, but not this time. There came a time in the season of my life where it was like the Lord stopped blowing His wind against the success sails of my business adventures. They didn’t bring me any joy and I didn’t know what to do. Here I was ministering with the Lord and working at my company, but things had stalled. The moment I’ll never forget was when I was in my office, frustrated, and desperate for an answer from God as I cried out to Him asking Him, “What do you want from me anyway!!!???” Shocking that I would even ask that in that way, but in desperate times we cry out with all we have. He answered me immediately. He said, “I want you.”
What? Here I was thinking He had me, and I was saved and serving Him, but He didn’t have all of me. He wanted me to leave everything and only minister for Him with Him. He wanted me to be like the man who found a hidden treasure in a field and goes and sells everything he has to buy the field. He wanted me to be all in, not just part time, ministering for Him, and with Him. He had in his plans for me church plants, Next Step Outback’s, Television, Radio, and establishing a wonderful family of believers around me. He had in mind so much more than I could have thought or imagined, but it was all contingent upon me saying “Yes, I’m all Yours!” Which followed selling my last business and stepping into ministry at one hundred percent 24/7.
Prior to this encounter with the Lord, I had cried out to the next business adventure, the next this and that, but none of it satisfied. It wasn’t until I cried out to God for His plans for my life, which I thought I was in, did things turn in my life that would begin a 25+ year adventure that is still going to this day currently known as Greg Lancaster Ministries. He showed me when He called me out, steps painting on the floor, like a dance studio would have, and they walked all the way across my office, and up the wall of my office. He said to me, ‘I can stand on His Word’ on this journey, and no matter what I thought, felt or was going on, I’d be make it as long as I was standing on His Word, for He is faithful to fulfill His Word for He is not a man that He would lie or the son of man that He would change His mind. He doesn’t speak and not act or promise and not fulfill. Now I can say, over my thirty-two years in ministry and twenty-five plus years of stepping into His hands with my “Yes” it’s been the greatest adventure of my life and one that has been a part of not only this life, but one done in site of eternity. I am forever grateful.
Crying Out: Dad Mom Look at Me, I Need Help
There seems to be a prevailing spirit of perpetual adolescence sweeping across America, where grown adults attribute their poor choices and subsequent negative outcomes to their parents. Despite the biblical commandment to “Honor your father and mother,” these adults dishonor their parent(s) by criticizing, blaming, and accusing their parents as though their life choices were not their own responsibility.
You’ll often see such individuals publicly shaming their parents and resorting to emotional manipulation time and time again. Siblings compete to see who can elicit the most sympathy, trying to manipulate their parents into fixing the consequences of their poor choices. There’s no sense of shame in employing this sort of emotional manipulation. They always share their problems, failures, and misfortunes with you as their parent, but never any successes. They resort to public shaming through social media posts and more, which all of this is akin to a form of “witchcraft”—a work of the flesh used to manipulate others to achieve a desired outcome.
For parents and other family members, this kind of behavior can have powerful emotional and spiritual repercussions. It’s not just a matter of feeling sorrowful that your children are suffering, and by extension, your grandchildren. This manipulation is a spiritual attack that can lead you, the parent, to feel overwhelmed, incapable of completing simple tasks, heavy with hopelessness, ineffective, isolated, and diminished in self-worth.
For your own well-being and that of your adult children, you should encourage them to seek guidance and help from God, who loves them more than you ever could and is capable of doing far more than you can imagine.
The conversation often goes something like this: “I know, Dad/Mom, I’ve made many bad business decisions in the past, but this one is different. I just need ______ to do it. Can you please help me out?“—all with no intention of ever repaying their parents for the help provided again.
Their parents are the first one’s they always go to, not God, their god, i.e., their parents they’ve made their god.
This spiritual attack on God’s design for family—parents and children—has grown so extensively that even the government joined in during President Obama’s administration. To win over these adult children as voters, the administration allowed them to remain on their parents’ insurance until the age of twenty-six. This is highly dysfunctional, and those who devised such a scheme are the very one’s bent on destroying God’s design for family today.
For the parent who sees this and uses it to control their children, you are also engaged in a work of the flesh: witchcraft. You are not only destroying your children but also leading them away from God and toward yourself as their ‘god.’ One would think that this will not bode well in the throne room of God, especially if you’ve taught your children that you are God, their provider.
Doctor Dobson Speaks About This
Doctor Dobson speaks about this in his book Fatherless, where a son was taking his mother, she first thought to a nursing home, but ended up being a place where they perform euthanasia [kill you]. As they were sitting in the offices of this euthanasia facility, she was in and out of her memory, not understanding what was really going on. It’s hard for a parent to believe their children see your home, your things, your life insurance, your wealth as “their answer to their life’s problems.” Instead of working hard in their life, serving the Lord as they do and honoring the Lord with His tithes and offerings, then trusting Him. Because of this feeling of, is this really happening, you convince yourself you must be misunderstanding what they are saying. That is what was happening to this mother in Dr. Dobson’s “Fatherless” as she sat in this office, with her son right beside her, holding a pen trying to hand it to her to sign the document, which no one was telling her that it was signing to take her life that day, her son says ‘Mom, you always want me to be a professor at a university, now I will be able to do it.’ To be clear what he was saying, he was saying mom, help me kill you so I can have your stuff and things and insurance policy so I can have a better life.
Simple Solution: Repentance
The best thing you can do if you are one of these adult children who have cried out again and again to your parents through phone calls, pouting visits, pushing your parents buttons, or posting on social media that you know your parents will see your “public outcry” is repent before God for dishonoring your parents, repent to your parents for lusting after their stuff and things, for saying you owe me, and for manipulating them, i.e., using witchcraft on them harming them emotionally. Then tell them, help hold me accountable to be “the man” or “the woman” you raised me to be. Share with me your wisdom and ideas, not your stuff, things and wealth. Let me see the hand of God move in my life. Help me to cry out to God teaching me He hears and answers. Help me to respond to His expectations with a resounding “Yes” and to build not just for this life, but to build in site of eternity. You’ll be surprised how proud your parents will be of you as well as the respect you will gain in their eyes. For it is that day, the day you repent and take ownership for your life and your life’s decisions they’ll begin to see you as he adult you so often claimed to be to them.
There is nothing more beautiful than parents being able to voluntarily bless their children. Conversely, there is nothing more painful for a parent than to realize their own children, whom they love and for whom they have sacrificed, now see them merely as a financial resource to be manipulated. Like the mother in Dr. Dobson’s book “Fatherless,” if or when this happens to you as a parent, there’s little you can say. What words could capture the sadness of such a moment in your life?
Life is challenging for everyone. During those difficult seasons, we have a choice: to become bitter or to deepen our dependency on God.
“Well, look, everybody is in the position in their life to feel alienated from existence itself from time to time. Life is pretty difficult, and things don’t always often turn out the way we want them to. And we can all doubt the meaning of our own lives and the purpose. And we are all subject to a certain amount of torture, with the temptation to get bitter and resentful and to look for enemies, to tear down the tradition [God’s design for man], partly to nearly shake your fist at destiny itself and to express their dismay. It is a constant temptation for everyone. In some ways to be tempted, to be enticed down that pathway, but it is a very dreadful state.” Dr. Peter Jordan
It’s Time to Play the Man
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” 1 Corinthians 13:11
Polycarp, an early Christian bishop of Smyrna and disciple of the Apostle John, who was one of Jesus first twelve disciples, embodied the essence of courage and unwavering faith when he faced persecution at the hands of the Roman Empire. Arrested for his beliefs and brought before Roman authorities, Polycarp was given the chance to renounce his faith and make sacrifices to Roman gods in exchange for his life. Undeterred, he resolutely declared his lifelong commitment to Christ, stating that he could not betray the one he had served for so many years. When he was subsequently sentenced to be burned at the stake, it was said that an angel told him, “Polycarp, it’s time to play the man.” Heeding the call, he stepped out to be burned at the stake, but the flames miraculously failed to consume him. Ultimately, he was stabbed to death, cementing his legacy as a martyr.
To all the adult children out there, I say to you in the spirit of Polycarp, “It’s time to play the man,” “It’s time to play the woman.” It’s time to be the adult you are, turn to the Lord, and start honoring your parents, which is the fourth commandment of God and an expectation from Him. God promises a long and better life when you honor your parents and warns of a short and troubled life if you dishonor them. You will find your self-worth will increase greatly when you take this adult step.
Crying Out to The Government: From Samuel to Socialism: A Biblical Perspective On Modern Governance
Did you know that Israel cried out wanting a government to meet their needs instead of God?
Israel said to Samuel, God’s prophet, “now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.
The Lord told Samuel: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”
Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” 1 Samuel 8:5-18
The people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight ‘OUR BATTLES.’” They didn’t want to do the hard work or experience the personal sacrifice required to fight their own battles while trusting God for the victories. No, much like the child in perpetual adolescence who demands that their parents dip into hard-earned savings, who want their parents to fight their battles for them. You see, this is nothing new, but it is something from which we can learn.
For those who do not learn history, are doomed to repeat it.
If you turned to anything, including government as your god, God will give it to you, but you will deeply regret it, yet will still have to live with the fact you asked for such oppression.
You will get what you asked for, but you will not like what you get.
Americans’ crying out for the government to act as their god have been an ever-increasing reality. According to a 2019 YouGov poll, 70 percent of millennials say they would vote for a socialist—a sentiment to which current governments in America and around the world are gladly responding to as they expand their government control over more and more of the people with a goal to enslave those who cry out to them. These individuals, like Israel was, are so blinded by the direction of their pleas that they fail to realize “the borrower will be a slave to the lender.”
They cry out through social media, political support, and community organizing, attempting to get the world, their nation, and their community to bow down and pay them the tribute they believe they are owed, simply because they have a need. Their fear that it won’t happen, or that there won’t be enough help, leads them to punish their neighbors, their community, and their nation with constant insults, shaming, and union controls in government. These are all forms of witchcraft—a work of the flesh—forcing the government to tax their neighbors and nation more, all in an attempt to provide for themselves, even if it means embracing socialism or communism crying out to government, while knowing these forms of government are known for being godless. Why? Because the government sets itself up “as god” to the people who cried out for them to be ‘their god.’ Yes, they are willing to give up God for their provision, i.e., they believe baal is god, and their provider, not God, Who is truly there provider.
All you have to do is turn to God, accept God’s provision of salvation, His amazing gift of forgiveness, repent for all this fear and sin, and trust God as Jehovah Jireh your provider. It is also important to repent to your nation, your community, and your neighbors at the same volume you had when shaming and controlling them. Doing so will help bring healing to your family, community, and nation.
Crying Out: To God
If you have not figured it out yet, may you do so before your life comes to its end and the light of your life fades, at which point you will go to see God at His Judgment Seat. Here is what you will find out: God is the Creator of all things—the earth, the sky, the seas, and all that is in and on them. He created mankind, which includes you, and has given us air to breathe and a life to live. He is the Creator of the Universe, and He holds all things together, including you. He chose the exact times, places, and seasons in which you would live, all for one reason: to see if you would reach out to Him and cry out to Him, even though He is never far from you. That’s right; God has designed everything for you and Him to have a relationship with you, and He doesn’t want to share you with anything or anyone else. This is made clear in His first commandment, among the Ten Commandments He has given us to follow: “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” Exodus 34:14
We’re Watching You!
Your parents, your neighbors, your community, your nation and yes, God is watching you as you scramble for this, then that for help. Crying out for anything and anyone for help, other than God. When God is right there all the time wanting and waiting for you to cry out to Him.
‘Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ Jeremiah 33:3
Your very act of crying out to others for help demonstrates how your Creator, God, designed you. He designed you to cry out for help, but that cry should be directed toward Him as your God and provider, not toward other gods. Many people have made gods of government, parents, friends, human systems, material possessions, and money. These are not gods at all, yet people worship them and expect them to act. God says this is akin to a man who carves an image out of wood, falls down to worship it, and actually expects it to speak. His jealousy over this has huge consequences.
Jesus Cried Out!
Jesus, the Son of God, walked as we walk and was tempted as we are, yet without sinning. He set an example for how we should live our lives and relate to God as our Father, while recognizing ourselves as His children. The writer of Hebrews articulates this as clearly as anyone could.
“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission. Son though He was, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him…” Hebrews 5:7-9
That’s right, Jesus Himself cried out, but not to anyone or anything on this earth. He cried out to His Father, the only One who could provide for Him and save Him. In doing so, Jesus showed us that crying out is not wrong; it’s how we are designed by our Creator. However, who or what we cry out to can be misguided. We should imitate Jesus and cry out to God, the only One who could save Him from death. We need to realize that our trials and difficulties are training grounds for reigning; it’s through them that we learn obedience. Once we do that, we too can become a source for others, leading them to God.
Obedience
Notice, Jesus, the Son of God, wasn’t heard by His Father, because He was crying out. He was heard by His Father, God, because of His obedience. God sees our obedience as love. Jesus plainly tells us, ‘If you love Me, you will obey Me.” You see, Jesus loved, and loves the Father, and He set the example for us to love Him too through our obedience to Him. We told, in view of God’s mercy, to offer our bodies in obedience to God. If we want our cries to be heard, it’s important to love Him. The greatest commandments Jesus tells us is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength,” I would say that is a cry that God will hear every time. What is saw awesome about our loving Father is that He offers us mercy and doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve or hold our failures against us if we repent of them and ask Him to forgive us. He forgets them as if they never happened as if we have a clean slate. So, He sees us leaning in, working to surrender our heart, mind, soul and strength over to an abandoned love for Him and promises that when we head His way, He comes towards us. It’s a mutual relationship of love. We can never out love Love Himself!
God is good! If there’s anything you can take away from this, it’s that He is good; there is none above Him. He is God and God alone. He is the only one who can provide for you. All other forms of provision come with enslavement, which initiates and leads to deeper and darker sin and bondage.
Crying Out: For Freedom
Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind. I am to set the oppressed free and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19
God sent Jesus, His Son, as a gift to You, to provide you with the greatest Gift of Provision known ever in the universe, freedom from our sin. It is the gift of salvation. That is not only for your forgiveness of sin, which is HUGE, but also to put in in right relationship with God Himself through Jesus. Making you a son or daughter of God. This throne is called the Throne of Grace, which we’re told we can approach with boldness to ask for help, to cry out for help in our times of need. Jesus set us up for success, for provision, for relationship, all we have to do is reach out and touch the Father’s heart with accepting His gift, Jesus, as our way to this amazing life.
Crying Out: For Someone To Reason With
“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18
God has also designed up where, if we are wise, we’ll see a multitude of counsel before stepping into something that is major. God is not afraid of you talking things over with Him. Having a conversation with Him that is real, not religious, where you reason with Him and your life, your concern, and listening to Him and His wisdom. Mainly through His written word and in prayer.
Many people only see God, they see Jesus through a religious lens. That has always frustrated me when I see someone choose a certain image to represent an article, or a message, or something we need an image for that represents an attribute of God and they choose the same manmade religious images: a book, a cross, a historical figures, a building, a person praying…that’s not God, that is man’s idea of God. The Bible tells us about God, but it’s not God and it is perfect in its original text. The cross is a place where Jesus paid the ultimate price for us, but it is not God. Historical figure are men and women just like us, they are not God, though they may be the evidence of God. A building certainly is not God, even if it has a cross on top of it. Someone praying is not God, but it is someone praying to God. Jesus is the image of God, the invisible God. When you see Jesus, you’ve seen God the Father.
Why does it bother me when they show these images as being a representation of God? Because that is how they see God. This creates a great hinderance in your life when you look at God with a religious lens. Realize, He is God, He is Good and He is in love with you. You are His treasure. He designed you how you are in your innermost being and He has good plans for you, plans to bless you, restore the years the locust have devoured and to give you hope and a future.
Decide today, that you will reason with the Lord any time you need to talk about a matter, talk things out, talk things through.
Sounding Board
We all have great friends, and possibly relatives or business partners, who serve as excellent sounding boards. Speaking to them about our thoughts helps us iron out any wrinkles in the direction we are considering taking. At the risk of sounding irreverent—which is the last thing I would ever want to do or cause you to think I am doing—think of God as your Sounding Board. According to Merriam-Webster, a “sounding board” is “a person or group on whom one tries out an idea or opinion as a means of evaluating it.” Whether it’s a relationship, a business idea or decision, a ministry choice, a national decision, or a simple matter you want to reason with the Lord about, consult with God. Run it by Him and wait for His answer. Read scripture, asking Him to speak to you about the matter at hand. Pray, asking God to communicate with you not only through His word but also through dreams.
Dreams
Our God speaks, and He communicates in many ways, one of which is through dreams. Not every dream you have is from God, but some might be. When you have such a dream, take it to God and reason with Him about it to ensure it’s from Him and to understand what He is saying.
Hearing His Voice Clearly
“Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” Jonah 2:8
Know right up front that God is not going to agree with the idols in your heart, which are desires for other gods. This can differ among individuals because people’s sin nature leads them to make gods out of things, rather than worshiping God Himself. Also, know that if you insist on keeping an idol in your heart while reasoning with God, He will turn you over to that idol to show you its bitter end and will even cause prophets to agree with your evil hearts desire for the purpose of turning you over to it. It’s best to live a repented life and not try and twist God’s arm, as if you could, to get Him to give in to the idols you may have refused to repent of. He turns you over to that which you refuse to repent of in hopes the pain the trajectory which will be inflicted on you by that evil choice may bring you to repentance where you return to Him as the true God, the One and Only God, Who loves you and provides for you.
Cry Out: To be a Bold Witness for Jesus
Now you’re getting down to the brass tacks. This is your calling: to bear witness to the world of God’s goodness. Your mission is to reach out to your family, neighbors, community, city, nation, and even other nations, sharing with them the Good News of Jesus Christ. God loves them so much that He sent His Son to pay the price for their sins. This allows them to enter into a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And just like you, they too can cry out to God and experience His goodness made manifest in their lives.
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The Nature of True Apostleship
The Nature of True Apostleship
A Burden to Bear, not a Position to be Sought
It is Jesus Christ Himself, who calls certain people to be apostles. It’s His calling for His purposes. Ephesians 4:11-13 It is apostles who carry a weighty sense of purpose and responsibility. A comprehensive understanding of what it means to be an apostle can be drawn from 1 Corinthians 4, where the Apostle Paul outlines the core attributes and responsibilities of an apostle. This text serves as a foundational guide to understanding the nature of true apostleship.
Servants of Christ and Trustees of Mysteries
According to Paul, the first thing to understand about apostles is that they should be regarded as servants of Christ. They are not leaders in the conventional sense, where power and status are the primary indicators of leadership. Instead, their authority comes from their servitude to Jesus Christ. Moreover, they are entrusted with the revealed “mysteries of God.” This indicates that they are also keepers of sacred knowledge and wisdom, disseminating it responsibly.
Accountability and Judgment
An essential aspect of apostleship is accountability. As people entrusted with sacred mysteries, apostles must prove themselves faithful. However, this accountability is not as much to the human populace as it is to God. Paul states that he cares little for human judgment, adding that he doesn’t even judge himself. The implication here is that ultimate judgment belongs to the Lord. Therefore, Paul suggests that one should refrain from judgment until the Lord comes and exposes the motives of the heart. This again underscores the heavenly orientation of an apostle’s duties and accountability.
Spiritual Fatherhood in Apostleship
“Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore, I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.” 1 Corinthians 4:15-17
One of the most poignant elements of apostleship, as highlighted by Paul, is the role of the apostle as a spiritual father. In 1 Corinthians 4:15, Paul says, “Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.” This speaks volumes about the depth of relationship and responsibility that an apostle carries. Unlike a guardian, who may provide temporary guidance or protection, a spiritual father imparts enduring wisdom, moral guidance, and emotional support. This is evident in Paul’s relationship with Timothy and others to whom he provided spiritual guidance. He didn’t just disseminate knowledge or offer surface-level guidance; he nurtured, mentored, and invested in their spiritual growth. This dimension of spiritual fatherhood elevates the apostolic role to one of profound relational depth, underscoring the long-lasting impact that true apostles have on those they guide and mentor.
God’s Household: Built on the Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, with Christ Himself as the Chief Cornerstone
Builders: Apostles Build
Apostleship has additional depth of responsibility as stated in Ephesians 2:19-21, which articulates that the faithful are “no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” This beautifully illustrates how apostles serve as foundational elements in the spiritual architecture of God’s household. They are not merely servants and spiritual fathers, but also builders in collaboration with prophets, solidifying the structural integrity of the church.
The Danger of Factionalism
Paul warns against the divisive behavior that arises when people start to favor one apostle over another, saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” He cautions against being “puffed up” with pride for being a follower of a particular apostle. He argues that no one is fundamentally different from another in this context and that whatever gifts or wisdom one has are received from God. In doing so, he underlines the collective and united nature of the Christian community.
Apostles’ Authority: Your Own Field, Not Another’s Field
The role of an apostle is profound and encompassing in the body of Christ. The scriptures provide clarity on the scope of an apostle’s influence and jurisdiction. In Romans 15:20, Paul writes, “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.” This speaks to an apostle’s innate desire to evangelize and establish churches, ministries, and operate as an apostle but notably in areas where the foundation of Christ is yet to be laid.
The passage from 2 Corinthians 10:13-16 further underlines the apostle’s jurisdiction. Paul notes, “But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us.” It’s evident that an apostle’s authority is designated by God to specific areas or groups. These groups can be thought of as their spiritual “tribe” or family – those born again through their ministry, discipled in their spiritual lineage, and those the Lord has led to relate to them apostolically, i.e., as a spiritual father in Christ Jesus.
An apostle’s tribe, then, serves as both their responsibility and testimony. As Paul puts it, “for you are my letter to others.” It is through the fruit of their ministry – the transformed lives and the growing faith of those related to them – that their apostolic authority is validated. But it is essential to note, echoing Paul’s sentiment, that this authority is not a blanket coverage over all believers. Apostles are stewards of specific fields. They are not called to exert authority or correction over another apostle’s designated territory unless explicitly invited, and even then, their role remains defined by the parameters of that invitation.
In their service, apostles might face rejection, even from those within their own sphere. Yet, this is not a testament against their calling. After all, even Jesus, the cornerstone of our faith, faced rejection, and apostles, in their service, walk in His footsteps. As servants of God, their primary duty is to remain submitted to Him, to nurture and guide their assigned tribe, and to avoid overstepping into another’s domain. For in the divine design, every apostle has a field, a tribe, which they are called to shepherd. Their responsibilities, some of which are outlined in this article, are firmly anchored within the boundaries of that field.
Fatherly Warnings: Apostle and Prophets
Ephesians 4:11-16 further refines our understanding of the apostle’s role in Christ’s architectural design of His Church of which He is the head. Christ gave us apostles to equip the saints for works of service and to build up the body of Christ. The objective is to grow believers from spiritual infancy to unified, mature adults who are impervious to deceit and division.
Blow in, Blow up, Blow out: Blown Here and There by Every Wind
“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.” Ephesians 4:14
Jesus clearly said, we’ll know a person by their fruit, especially focusing on those who “claim” to be His followers and doing “His will,” whose fruit doesn’t align with their profession of their claim.
Apostles act as spiritual architects who ward off the destructive impact of transient, divisive forces that can “blow in” and “blow up” communities with schisms and falsehoods. They help to identify those fly-by-night, shooting-star “ministers” who “blow in” to town with a big bang, “blow up” the family of God, bring division, and then “blow out” of town, leaving the household of God fragmented, divided, un-unified, split, with broken unity within the community, people filled with jealousy and envy among God’s household, who stoked His people to favor one minister over another leaving a trail of scattered sheep (people who Jesus died for) as their fruit. Apostles help the church to understand these “ministers” are held captive by satan to do his will of devouring, destroying, and dividing Jesus’ church, as Paul wrote to Timothy about in 2 Timothy 2:26 and 1 Timothy 6:6-10.
They help remind God’s household of how things were before those who caused division came among them. They recall how the Lord had blessed the community, and how members loved their brothers and sisters in Christ. They were united, thinking well of each other, rather than being led astray by divisive influences. They remind the church not to favor or be mesmerized by anyone’s gifts, especially if those gifts are being used to draw people away from God and from the teachings clearly stated in scripture. They encourage the church to pursue Jesus, assuring them that spiritual gifts and signs will follow all who believe, rather than having the believers chase after signs. This is in line with Mark 16:16-18 and Matthew 7:21-23, which emphasize the importance of genuine faith and obedience to God’s will.
“Remember where you were before you fell, turn from this sin, and do what you used to do before.” Revelation 2:5 (CJB)
They help to rebuild the broken parts of God’s household and restore relationships in the aftermath of the actions of such “ministers.” They remind the household of God that we all belong to the Lord and are called to walk in Christ-centered unity. This unity discourages favoring one member over another; instead, we collectively favor Christ and unify in our love for God and each other. By doing so, we affirm that our love and unity serves as our greatest witness to the world, demonstrating that God loves them as much as He loves His Son, Jesus. This aligns with John 17:23, which emphasizes the importance of divine love and unity as a testament to God’s love for humanity.
This doesn’t only apply to those who call themselves “ministers” of God, when in fact, they are “ministers of satan” disguised as “angels of light” and this is known to be true by the fruit they bear. “For Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 It also applies to those who rise up among us who do the very same thing as these “ministers of darkness.”
Wolves Warnings
“I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” Acts 20:29-31
Misleading God’s Household: Identifying False Teachers
Apostles help to identify false teachers who are drawing God’s household to themselves, and away from God. “I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols… I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.” Revelation 2:20, 22-23
Fruitless Wonders: True and False Prophets
Jesus tells us to “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
True and False Disciples
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Matthew 7:15-23
Identifying and Warning: Deceitful Schemes
The apostle nurtures and strengthens the community to reach “unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God,” so that they are not left as fragmented, vulnerable targets for the “deceitful schemes” mentioned in 2 Timothy 2:26. In this holistic view, the apostle’s role is not merely foundational but also continually active in the growth and unity of the Church, helping to safeguard it as a “holy temple in the Lord.”
The Reality of Apostolic Suffering
There’s no glamour in being an apostle. Paul describes apostles as those who have been made “a spectacle to the whole universe.” They are “fools for Christ,” often dishonored, hungry, thirsty, and brutally treated. This humbling description serves as a reality check against any illusions of grandeur that might be associated with apostleship. Paul insists that the nature of true apostleship involves hardship, self-sacrifice, and a daily cross to bear. This understanding is vital for the household of God; they need to be open to an apostle’s leadership in their lives and within their church. They should not “misjudge” the apostle, thinking they can’t be from God because of all they suffer. The truth is, apostles have a target on their backs. Satan comes against them in every way he can, “hard-pressing, perplexing, persecuting, and abandoning” them in attempts to disrupt the foundation of the church and wreak havoc. [2 Corinthians 4:7-9] The church—the household of God—must be able to see the anointing on an apostle’s life and accept them as such to receive the apostolic reward, which is the specific purpose for which God appointed them as apostles. Their very struggles and the public attacks they often endure could, paradoxically, serve as identifiers that they are who they claim to be. Sad to say, those who are held captive by satan to do his will of leading God’s people astray often use the attacks on the apostle as their wedge narrative to pry God’s people out of His household. This makes sense when you understand it is satan who is causing such suffering and they are satan’s captive to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:26
A Fatherly Appeal and Warning
Finally, Paul speaks from a place of paternal concern, urging his followers to imitate him. He doesn’t do this to shame them, but to guide them as his spiritual children. He warns them against arrogance and reminds them that the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. He even poses a stark question about how he should come to them—either with a rod of discipline or in love and with a gentle spirit.
Conclusion
The Apostle Paul’s discourse in 1 Corinthians 4 provides a compelling framework for understanding true apostleship. It’s a role steeped in divine responsibility, heavenly accountability, and earthly hardships. It calls for humility, wisdom, and a spirit of unity within the Christian community. At its core, apostleship is not a call to elevated status but to servant leadership, continual faithfulness, and enduring hardship for the sake of Christ.
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America: How We Got Here & How We Stay Here!- (Part 2 Of 2)
The Power of the Written Word It can be said that the thirst for religious freedom and the power of the written word drove the formation and development of America. Having the Bible accessible to every individual led to personal convictions, unique interpretations, and a pursuit of freedom from religious oppression. When men and women began reading the Scriptures for themselves, it fueled a desire for personal, spiritual, and national liberation.
Religion as a Catalyst Religious persecution and the struggle for religious freedom are not novel concepts in history. However, in America’s context, it played a pivotal role in shaping the nation’s destiny. The Puritans, oppressed for their beliefs, sought refuge in a new land, paving the way for others who faced similar adversities. Their determination to seek freedom and establish a place where they could worship freely was paramount in America’s early history.
Related:
The Birth of a Nation The Founding Fathers were well aware of the implications of intertwining religion with governance. They witnessed firsthand the dangers and oppressive nature of such a union. As such, they were determined to set a precedent where the state wouldn’t dictate religious beliefs or practices. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were not merely political documents; they were statements of intent to create a nation built on the principles of freedom, including religious freedom.
The Ongoing Struggle Though the nation’s foundations were laid with noble intentions, America has continuously grappled with the challenges of maintaining this delicate balance. The mask of Guy Fawkes serves as a symbol of an ongoing rebellion against perceived authority. It reminds us that the quest for freedom, both religious and otherwise, is ongoing and that vigilance is required to safeguard these liberties.
The Legacy of The Word The availability of the Bible to the masses led to a seismic shift in religious and political thought. As individuals began to understand and interpret the Scriptures personally, it led to a desire for spiritual freedom, which in turn sparked the drive for political freedom. The Scriptures provided guidance and direction and were instrumental in shaping the moral and ethical fabric of the nascent nation.
Conclusion: The Path Forward While the journey of America began with the quest for religious freedom, the nation now stands as a beacon of hope for various liberties. It’s a testament to the enduring spirit of those early pioneers who sought freedom from religious persecution and the vision of the Founding Fathers who recognized the importance of separating religion from the state. America’s story, shaped by the hand of God and driven by the pursuit of freedom, serves as a reminder that freedom, once attained, must be protected and cherished. The responsibility now lies with the current generation to uphold these values and ensure that the sacrifices of those before them were not in vain.
Ten Things We Learn:
- Religious Roots: The foundation of America was heavily influenced by the desire for religious freedom.
- Personal Interpretation: Accessibility of the Bible allowed individuals to have unique interpretations, fueling a personal connection to their beliefs.
- Religion as a Motivator: The journey of the Puritans, who fled persecution, demonstrates how religion catalyzed America’s early developments.
- Founding Fathers’ Intent: The nation’s creators intentionally separated church and state to prevent the dangers they had witnessed of combining them.
- Significance of Foundational Documents: The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were not just about governance but were also deeply rooted in ensuring religious freedom.
- Symbols of Rebellion: The Guy Fawkes mask symbolizes a continuous rebellion against perceived authority, emphasizing the ongoing nature of the fight for freedom.
- Scriptural Influence: The Bible’s availability led to a significant shift in both religious and political perspectives in the nation’s formative years.
- Moral and Ethical Framework: Scriptures played a crucial role in molding the ethical and moral fabric of America.
- The Continuous Quest: While the foundation was set, the journey to maintain the balance of freedom remains an ongoing challenge.
- Ongoing Responsibility: The importance of current and future generations upholding the values of freedom to honor the sacrifices of the past.
In addition to above article:
Greg, John, and Pat have a discussion about America: how we got here and how do we stay here? We need to get educated. One nation under God, because the Bible of God and the God of the Bible was made known to men. America just didn’t happen it has a history. All throughout history there have been kings and kingdoms. God is the one who establishes all authority even kings. Americans have been guilty of having one foot in one kingdom and the other foot in another. Conservatives have been happy to make America their kingdom. It’s God and country and not country and God. We are headed to a caliphate, tyranny and ultimately bondage. The question is how did we get here? How did we get to the King James Bible which represents the Word of God in the hands of every man? What it represents is more important than what some people have made of this version itself. There were some key events and key
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King JamesVI of Scot & of England and Ireland |
people in history that went down a direction that caused certain events to unfold that have had profound affects to the church and America even to this day. A
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Queen Mary I of Scot |
good starting place is with Queen Mary of Scots who was King James the VI of Scots and King James I of England and Ireland mother. Kings James would eventually be the one to sponsor the 1611 King James Bible. Prior to his rule his mother Queen Mary of Scots ruled Scots. Queen Mary I of Scots was eventually lured by the church of the day and eventually arrested and imprisoned as they tried to shame her for adultery and the choices she made regarding her husbands. She was imprisoned in Loch Haven Castle, never to see her son King James VI again. During her imprisonment she was forced to abdicate her throne as Mary, Queen of the Scots to her infant son. King James assumed and was named King of the Scots July 24, 1567 at 13 months. His care was entrusted to the Earl and Countess of Mar in Stirling Castle. King James’ upbringing was paramount to what would happen later in his life. They raised him and brought him up as a Protestant not a Catholic. There was a religious war between Catholics and Protestants and whether the Pope should be over the King and the church verses the King being over the church. The Protestants were defined as denying the universal authority of the Pope and affirming the reformation principles of justification by faith alone, the priesthood of all believers, and the primacy of the Bible as the only source of revealed truth” and more broadly, to mean
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Elizabeth I Queen of England |
Christianity outside “of an Orthodox or Catholic church.” Several tutors were sought out to train and develop King James into a God fearing, Protestant King who accepted the limitations of monarchy.
We learn that James, King of Scots mother, Mary, escaped from her captivity only to be captured and imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth I of England. Elizabeth I, Queen of England researched and felt that James would be the rightful blood line successor to the throne of England. She began secret correspondence with him working out all details for him to pursue her as successor to her throne after her passing. On March 24, 1603, Queen Elizabeth died in the early morning hours and King James was proclaimed King in London, he became King of England and Ireland on the same day. In his first year he survived two assignation attempts. It was during his mother’s and his rule that the battle between Catholics and Protestants continued and there was conflict with him because of his Catholic mother. King James was distrusted by other nations for his repression of Catholics. They continued to discuss how today we are seeing people wear a
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Guy Fawk |
mask as a protest. The mask is a mask of the catholic man Guy Fawkes. On November 4-5 in 1605 on the eve of opening the second session of James parliament the Catholic man Guy Fawkes was discovered in the cellar of the parliament building guarding a pile of wood not far from 36 barrels of gun powder with which Fawkes intended to blow up the parliament House the following day and cause destruction. King James would later say that Fawkes was trying to destroy “Not only…of my person, or my life and posterity also, but of the whole body of the State in general.” This is the mask that you are seeing around the nation and the world today. The mask of Guy Fawkes. Realize what that statement represents, knowingly or unknowingly it represents destruction of present
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Guy Fawk Mask |
authority and blowing it up, destroying it all. After that attempt King James went through a period of time of ruler ship without consulting parliament. In America, according to our nation’s design, described in detail in the U.S. Constitution, the people are rulers, “kings” if you would”, under God. In his and Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, the British colonization of the Americas began which we now know were the first seeds of the United States of America. King James even signed “The Treaty of Burwick in which the killing of his own mother was approved. It was this treaty that secured his rise to power as King, but it was at the cost of his mother, Queen Mary I who was executed by Queen Elizabeth of England. The executioners knelt before her and asked forgiveness. She replied, “I forgive you with all my heart, for now, I hope, you shall make an end of all my troubles.” Her servants, Jane Kennedy and Elizabeth Curle, and the executioners helped Mary to remove her outer garments, revealing a velvet petticoat and a pair of sleeves in crimson-brown, the liturgical color of martyrdom in the Catholic Church…” As she disrobed she smiled and said that she “never had such grooms before … nor ever put off her clothes before such a company”. She was blindfolded by Kennedy (her servant) with a white veil embroidered in gold, and knelt down on the cushion in front of the block, on which she positioned her head, and stretched out her arms. Her last words were, “Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit”.
After the Catholic Guy Fawk’s attempt to destroy him and England’s leadership; King James, stepped up his control over the church in a greater way. King James sanctioned harsh measures for controlling non-conforming English Catholics and 1606; Parliament passed the Popish Recusants Act which could require ANY CITIZEN to take an Oath of Allegiance denying the Pope’s authority over the King. The Act forbade Roman Catholics from practicing the professions of law and medicine and from acting as a guardian or trustee; and it allowed magistrates to search their houses. Today we have the second and fourth amendment in the U.S. Constitution to forbid this from happening. The Act also provided a new oath of allegiance, which denied the power of the Pope to depose monarchs. The person who refused to take this oath was to be fined £60 or to forfeit two-thirds of his land if he did not receive the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper at least once a year in his Church of England parish church. This act also made it HIGH TREASON to obey the authority of Rome rather than the King. Upon King James VI’s death in 1625, realize it would only be 151 YEARS later- when the founding fathers of America would pen The Declaration of Independence in 1776 to begin a new
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Declaration of Independence |
fledgling nation! WHY? They wrote about their 27 reasons why in The Declaration of Independence which started by them writing it to the KING OF ENGLAND who merged the Church with his kingdom and had placed himself over the Church and the Anglican Church and he told all his subjects that if they were to leave the Church which he is the head of they were committing high treason against England. England ended up doing the same thing the Catholics did.
OATH – A Pledge of Allegiance to be an American Citizen.
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John Wycliffe |
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William Tyndale |
This was the first “AUTHORIZED VERSION” issued by the Church of England during the reign of King Henry VIII. When Mary I succeeded to the throne in 1553, SHE RETURNED THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND TO THE COMMUNION OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC FAITH and many English religious reformers fled the country, some establishing an ENGLISH-SPEAKING COLONY AT GENEVA. Under the leadership of John Calvin, GENEVA BECAME THE CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF REFORMED PROTESTANTISM AND LATIN BIBLICAL SCHOLARSHIP.
They undertook a translation that became known as the Geneva Bible. This translation dated 1560 just six years before King James was born. As time progressed and Queen Elizabeth took the throne in 1558 they sought after a new translation which resulted in the Bishop’s Bible, which was a revision of the Great Bible and an attempt to replace the Geneva Bible. However it failed to displace the Geneva translation as the most popular English Bible of the age, in part because the full Bible was only printed in lectern editions of an extraordinary size [BIG ONE!] and at a cost of several pounds. Accordingly, to English lay people it was overwhelming to read the Geneva version was made available in small printed versions at a relative low cost. The Bishops’ Bible printed over 50 editions, whereas the Geneva Bible was reprinted more than 150 times.
The newly crowned King James convened the Hampton Court Conference in 1604 in it were representatives of the Church of England, including leading English Puritans. That gathering proposed a new English version of the Bible in response to the perceived problems of earlier translations as detected by the Puritan faction of the Church of England which eventually would become the “Authorized King James Version 1611 Bible” You can say what you want to and how God does it and who He uses, the Word says, Proverbs 19:21 – Many are the plans in men’s heart, but it’s the Lord’s plans that prevail. Proverbs 21:30 – There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD. The word of God was now available in the hands of every man that they may know God for themselves and learn of his ways and expectations. Man was free to seek God individually. As a result of many having the word of God much persecution followed which pushed the puritans out of England and eventually to land on Plymouth Rock. It also pushed our Founding Fathers as they continued to experience persecution from King George ultimately leading them to signing the Declaration of Independence
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Founding Fathers |
and declaring our independence from the King of England resulting in the American Revolution only 151 short years later after the death of King James. Today we have a constitution that includes a bill of “civil” rights. The very first amendment would insure the government will no longer be over religion. America, how did we get here? It got where it is today by the hand of God. What caused it to come to pass? Oppression and tyranny. What was the one thing that set men to walk out the freest, most powerful, most influential, most wealthiest nation in the world? It was the Bible getting into the hands of men! It was the word of God being understood by men! It was the beginning to follow God not men! It was men understanding that God is real, God is present and God is involved in the day to day affairs of men! It was realizing that now we know God, His Word and that all rights come from Him, we can believe Him for a nation which He is over, He blesses and speaks to the men of that nation. This way it can be a government of and by the people because they can hear from God. We must never forget the price those who have gone before us have paid so we can have the precious Word of God in our hands. William Tyndale was arrested and jailed outside of Brussels for over a year. He was later convicted of heresy and executed by strangulation and after which his body was burnt at the stake. John Wycliffe was declared a heretic and his writings were banned. The Council of Constance decreed Wycliffe’s works should be burned and his remains exhumed and burned and the ashes cast in the River Swift. May we never forget the price that was paid and may it spur us to seek the God of the Bible and allow Him to speak to us through His amazing and enduring Word. iAbide.org