This is the video of a message I presented on 4/11/09 at New Life Church. It is an examination of the capitalist system, tracing it’s roots through history and scripture.
I believe this is a very strategic message for today, and contains information that every Christian should understand. Enjoy!
As always, your comments are welcome.
For His glory,
R<><
This is a resurrected post that I started back in December. How much clearer we can see, just a few weeks hence..
Last December I was privileged to attend an inspiring one day gathering of some of the most insightful marketplace ministry leaders I’m aware of. It was an intimate gathering which allowed some close contact with the speakers, which included C. Peter Wagner, Dennis Peacocke, Lance Wallnau, Linda Rios Brooke and Chuck Pierce.
Going into this conference, I was very curious what their perspective would be on our current state of affairs, given the wonderful mixture of apostolic and prophetic anointings placed in these strategic thinkers. I’ve done a fair amount of research into the gravity of economic realities we’re now facing and honestly wondered if anybody was coming to the same conclusions I’ve drawn.
I’m sad to report that I found a great deal of confirmation and validation across the board and that indeed, things ARE as bad as I been thinking. They agreed; the ship is going down and it’s only a matter of time.
BUT THIS IS NOT BAD NEWS. You see, we’re privileged to be living in the Day of Shakings! The systems of this world are filled with corruption and death, built upon the principles of greed and lust and a disregard for the principles of the Kingdom of God. They MUST come down to make room for the new life-giving systems of the Kingdom to be built and established. They are bankrupt and the game is over. Linda Rios Brook paraphrased thusly, “if the horse is dead, it’s probably time to dismount.”
The Obama team and the Democrat-controlled congress will do their best to fix the problems, but this will serve only to delay the inevitable. I certainly don’t envy them.
Linda shared the following well-established principles of leadership:
Thus, we are living in extraordinary days. Everything that can be shaken, will be so that the artificial can no longer appear to be real. God is not mocked, even by the government and politicians. As a nation, we are reaping what we have sown. It’s time to plant a new crop and look forward to an extended season of tending that which is precious even as the fire of God burns up the noxious weeds in our lives.
I say turn up the heat, Lord, and let’s get on with it.
Until next time,
R<><
A very unusual and historic event took place yesterday. I believe February 27, 2009 will be noted in the history books as the start of another American Revolution. Thousands of Americans spontaneously took to the streets in over 50 cities all across the nation to protest the economic policies of the Obama administration and the Democrats pork-laden “Stimulus” plan.
The spark that ignited this fire was an emotional rant from the floor of the Chicago Stock Exchange by CNBC reporter Rick Santelli just eight days earlier. In a brief outburst for the cameras, he called for another Tea Party in Chicago. His words echoed across the new social media channels, striking a nerve among the masses who believe our current economic policies are not only unfair, but taking America down the road to socialism.
I was alerted to the Tea Party phenomenon by a friend through Facebook only the day before, and went looking for the closest event to me. Sure enough, high noon at the Federal Court House in Tampa was on the schedule. (Kudos to John Hendrix for jumping in and organizing the Tampa event). I shot out a quick SMS to a few of my peeps, who jumped in with me and off we went.
We arrived about 10 minutes early, and already a crowd of about 60 people were gathered. These were just ordinary Americans, young and old, who are obviously frustrated, angry and fed up with what is happening to our nation. Most of those I talked with had only discovered the event the day before, which explained the hastily made signage they were waving from the sidewalks on both sides of the street. WATCH THE VIDEO
Chants of “No More Bailouts”, “No More Nelson” (referring to Florida Democrat Senator Bill Nelson, who voted for the Stimulus package) elicited mixed reactions from passing motorists. Most looked on with curiosity, some yelled back obscenities, but many honked their horns and waved in agreement, rewarding the protesters efforts. At several points the street grew noisy as a chorus of horns erupted from the lanes of traffic stopped at a red light across the intersection.
There was strong agreement that these protests were only the beginning. Everyone there represented many others who wanted to attend but could not. Most are calling for bigger, more widespread protests that will grow exponentially as the frustration with the insanity going on in Washington provokes the silent masses to make their voices known.
Is this truly the start of another Revolution? Only time will tell. I believe we are reaching a tipping point in America, and if the liberals in Washington don’t stop the march to socialism, its only a matter of time before things get ugly.
Get involved. Join the protest. Get informed and stop letting others do the talking for you. Make your voice heard. Here are some helpful links to get you started.
New American Tea Party Website
Downsize DC
Twitter #teaparty
See you in the streets,
R<><
Al Gore (bless his pointy little head) won great acclaim for his “stellar” work reporting on the dreaded GLOBAL WARMING CRISIS. Well, never fear, dear readers. We shall not have time to worry about human carbon emissions much longer, for his party (the mindless robotic zombiods) are creating a far greater, undisputable and imminent crisis – the crisis of debt. Your dollar is shrinking faster than a snowman in Florida. Insanity has officially become the order of the day on the Hill.
The government has no money for these bailouts. They have to borrow it from the Federal Reserve (a private banking entity) at interest, and fire up the presses to produce all this money. Everytime they print a new dollar, every dollar you have in your wallet, bank account or shoebox is worth less. How much less? In this video, Glenn Beck explains. Please SHARE THIS VIDEO WITH YOUR FRIENDS. We must stop the insanity, or pretty soon, you’ll be carrying your money around in a wheelbarrow (study a bit of world history if you don’t believe me).
Click to Watch Video
God help us. Please.
R<><
(sent to comments@whitehouse.gov)
Mr. President,
I am greatly disappointed in your decision to help abort unborn children.
I beg you, sir, please do not open the floodgates of abortion in this country, especially using tax dollars. This is HIGHLY offensive to me, and a large number of my fellow Christians, many of whom supported you in this election. You say you want God’s blessing upon our nation? What if God views abortion as murder? Apparently you do not believe that, but what if you are wrong? If so, do you believe He will bless you during your term of office, or our nation if we continue to kill off the next generation out of convenience? What if your mother had aborted you? In the future, please keep in mind that the unborn child is precious in the sight of God and that it is wrong to take an innocent life. It seems to me that you are gambling on a very high level here, and you’ve only been President for a week.
Have you done any research on the financial consequences to our nation since we legalized abortion in this country? Do you know how many tax dollars would be flowing into the Social Security system today from these workers who would now be paying into the system? Do you know how many millions and millions of dollars that would be flowing through the economy had they been allowed to grow old enough to enter the workforce and become productive members of society? Do you REALLY care about the future of America, or are you like every other politician who only cares about your term of office?
I believe you are an intelligent man. I believe you have incredible potential to bring about the change you promised during your campaign. We are facing many serious issues in this hour, and yet you have chosen to step boldly into what you know to be one of the most controversial and divisive issues that exists as one of your first official actions.
Shame on you, Mr. President. I cannot tell you how disappointed I am in you right now. Think of how many people I represent who do not take the time to write you and make their voices heard. There are millions of us out here… and we are all very, very sad today.
Bottom line – you can choose to listen to the people, or you can choose to listen to God. When you lay your head upon your pillow at night, which is most important to you?
May God have mercy on you, and upon our nation.
Rich Carey
In my last post, I raised the ire of some of my Christian brethren when I asserted that God did not put Obama in office. Since some misinterpreted my position so a follow-up is in order, with a few additional thoughts.
Let me be the first to say that it is possible that God was behind Obama’s victory. However, our culture is prone to being very myopic, so let’s zoom back a bit and get some perspective. The field of candidates was far broader than who ended up on the ticket. You’d never know it now, but the common sentiment in the streets going into the election were anything but enthusiastic for any candidate until the final runners were chosen. In my opinion, there were many people who were far more qualified for the position than the two party ticket we ended up with.
Nonetheless, Obama was clearly the overwhelming choice of the people, regardless of how he ascended to that position. Was God working behind the scenes to bring him into power? I doubt very much that we’ll reach a consensus on that one any time soon. If he leads righteously during his administration and our nation is in better condition when he leaves than when he came in, that will be an easier pill to swallow. If not, his staunch supporters will blame Bush for his failures anyway. That’s the problem with the narrow-minded partisan political spirit. It causes a blindness to the faults of our party, and we get taken along for the ride.
So, how should Christians view President Obama? Is he the chosen one, sent by God to lead our nation out of the mire we now find ourselves in? Or is he the product of a slick marketing campaign, the weariness of the war in Iraq and a passionate desire for racial equality? Perspective is everything, and this is especially true at this critical juncture of our nation’s history.
If we as Christians blindly accept that God placed Obama in office, how honestly are we going to evaluate what he does? I think we could answer that question by simply looking back at the past 8 years. It took me about 6 years to decide that Bush was taking us into a very bad direction; which would have been much sooner if I had been paying more attention to what was going on (put your rocks away, all ye hypocrites!). I am not bashing President Bush. He stood strongly for what he believed in, and that is what leadership is about. I was never of the opinion that God put him into office, but my nature is to trust people until they violate that trust. Therefore, I have had a track record of giving politicians the benefit of the doubt if they say all the right things, with the idea that we’ll just fix it all with the next guy if they go wrong. Not any more. Bad idea… really bad idea right now.
President Obama has not earned our trust yet, especially those of us who hold to a biblical worldview. He must be judged not by his color, nor by his good speeches, nor by his glowing promises. Our trust for him must come from his stewardship of the high office he occupies, and the track record of his accomplishments, period. And his track record to date is far from stellar, a fact that seems to escape most of his adoring fans.
To those who insist that we give him the benefit of the doubt, I say to you that we do not have that luxury right now. We are sailing into a storm of catastrophic proportions. The democrat-controlled congress, who’s leaders I hold in high disdain (I’ll not disgrace my blog by naming their names) have shown utter stupidity and downright dishonesty in the recent past. The hypocrisy we’ve seen is maddening and some of them should be in jail, and would be if the Washington political machine were not so corrupt. If President Obama does not have the insight, skill and courage to sway his own party away from their social collectivist liberal agenda and into conservative social and fiscally sound economic policies, we are most certainly going to be worse off in 4 years than we are today.
So, dear Christian, please do not listen to the hype and emotion of the popular media machine and your uninformed friends. Take a stand for truth. Pray for our President, his family and his cabinet like never before. Get educated on what’s happening in government. Don’t let congress sneak things past you any more. Support those decisions that line up with God’s ways and become very vocal in opposition to those that do not. Stop letting the party spirit and the popular liberal media formulate your opinions of right and wrong and return to the truth of God’s Word. Demonstrate love and grace to all, even to those we disagree with, for in so doing, we may just win some over to the truth.
As always, your comments are welcome. Be nice. We’re in this boat together. Honest dialogue is healthy in this hour, even if we disagree. At least it means we’re thinking.
Yesterday Barack Obama made history by becoming the first black President of these United States. The enthusiasm and pride of the million plus people who endured hours of bitter cold to witness his inauguration was truly inspiring. We can all be very proud that this new chapter in American history has begun. It is my earnest prayer that the ugly scourge of racism and disenfranchisement of African-Americans; indeed all people, no matter what color, can be put behind us forever.
President Obama’s speech was typical of those he delivered during his campaign, filled with the phrases of hope that became the platform on which he ran – “we are one”, “yes we can”, “nothing is impossible”, “this is not about me, but about you”, etc. These words have instilled a great sense of hope in the masses and expectations upon our new President are very high. Truly he will need our prayers in the days to come as we face some of the greatest crises in the history of this nation.
Personally, I’m not as full of hope as most, it seems. I’m not a pessimist by nature, but life has taught me that talk is cheap, people are mostly fickle, selfish and lazy by nature, and common sense is in short supply today, especially in Washington D.C. Simply electing a new President, no matter how charismatic or brilliant he (or she) may be will not make a whit of difference if we don’t get a rapid and comprehensive infusion of guts and brains into our Democrat-controlled congress as well.
True to form, I’d like to be controversial (what? Rich? controversial?) and address one idea that keeps popping up in the commentaries made by Christians since the election. “God is in control of everything” seems to be a popular theme these days, which is clearly meant to say that God put Obama into office. I have very strong objections to this concept, and I’d like to share another perspective.
The Bible is filled with examples of God raising up leaders, both good and evil, to rule over His people. Many Christians in this hour are quick to quote Paul’s admonition in Romans 13:1-3 in defense of their position that God is in control of our elections:
” Everyone must submit himself 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, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”
Thus the reasoning goes that it must be God who put Barack Obama in office, and whatever happens must therefore be the will of God.
But let’s think about this for a moment. If we make this verse a doctrine and apply it literally and broadly across the fabric of history, I think we’ll see a problem emerge. When Martin Luther nailed his theses to the door at Whitenburg was he in rebellion against God? He was surely rebelling against authority; and spiritual authority at that. How about the Fathers of our nation who fought against the forces of the British Crown to establish a new, independent government in defiance of their authority? What about those German Christians who refused to support Hitler’s campaign to exterminate the Jewish people from the face of the earth? How about those millions of Christians around the world today who must worship in secret because the practice of Christianity is forbidden by their government. Do we have a problem with this doctrine yet?
Let’s make it more real with some possibilites we could very well face in the not too distant future. What will you do if the government decides to limit you to only having 1 child because of new population control laws? What will you do when your income tax rates are 50%, 60%, even 70% of what you make in order to pay the interest on the national debt they have amassed in bailing out the banks, auto industry, etc.? What will you do when the public school your 5 year old attends starts teaching that homosexual unions are normal and then informs you that you have no say in the matter because homosexual marriage is now the law? Will you submit when the government wants to tell you what kind of car you can drive, what food you can eat, what temperature your home must be, and what clothes you will wear in the name of environmental responsibility and world equality? In the face of these things, will you sit passively by and cling to your doctrine that God is in control of everything and all leaders come into power in accordance with His will?
I think all Christians can agree that the death of Christ on the cross was the pivotal point of history. Most Christians view the sacrifice of Christ through the lens of personal salvation. While this is the central truth of the cross, there is another equally significant truth involved; the establishment of God’s Kingdom upon the earth and the beginning of a new covenant and a brand new Age of righteousness.
Since that day, the Kingdom has been growing, expanding, filling this world, day by day, heart by heart. This Kingdom is God’s rule and reign upon the earth. It’s goal and purpose is the complete and total transformation of every nation, people and tribe, bringing the life-giving will and purposes of God into full realization upon the earth.
This Kingdom comes challenging the authority of the enemy – the god of this age, who possesses great power and influence in every nation and foments rebellion against the perfect will of God and His Kingdom. Thus we are in a war for the hearts of men and for the soul of every nation, especially that in which we live.
The clear commandment of Christ is to dwell in God’s love, to love our fellow man, and seek the righteousness of God. He also commanded us to make disciples (followers) of this Kingdom and teach them how to live and walk in righteousness. I believe we could sum this up with Jesus words – “I have come that they might have life in abundance“. There is no country on earth where that is more possible than America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.
What is my point? I believe that the birth of America was the culminating fruit of centuries of Kingdom expansion upon the earth. This land was birthed by those who sought freedom – to be free to live in peace, pursue their dreams, and worship God in whatever manner they desired. In only 100 years, America because the greatest nation that has ever existed upon the earth, not because we were the richest or most powerful, but because we were a free people, and our founding documents, if followed, virtually guaranteed our success. We also became the beachhead and top exporter of the Gospel of the Kingdom to the nations of the earth.
However, the last 100 years have seen a terrible reversal of these vital principles. Slowly but surely our government has gotten bigger and ever more powerful. Taxes are increasing while freedom is decreasing. Righteousness living is no longer common as our nation’s moral fabric has disintegrated. Truth is increasingly in short supply as the media spews lies and excrement to an adrenaline-addicted, intellectually slothful generation. International financial interests wield far more power in political realms than the masses they govern. Things are not as they should be.
Did God put Barack Obama in power? No, He did not. We did. We the people. Do not blame God for anything that happens on your watch, Christian. We hold the destiny of this nation in our hands. God has not left us alone, but He has left us in charge.
You see, it was God-fearing men and women who took the principles of the Kingdom of God seriously and fought and bled and died to create this great nation where freedom reigned and government was intentionally restrained by law:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.“
Selah.
Does this mean that I believe God is opposed to Barack Obama? No more than He is opposed to you or I. God is for us all. But we are deceived if we believe that God picks sides, for He does not.
The real question is this – is Barack Obama on God’s side? How can we tell? “You shall know them by their fruits“. When President Obama seeks to bring peace and prosperity, promoting freedom and liberty for all the people, he is surely on God’s side. At the same time, when President Obama appoints activist judges who erode liberty and freedom, who open up the floodgates of unrestrained murder of unborn babies, he is surely not a friend of God nor His Kingdom.
I believe “God is in control” is a Christian cop-out. True, God is all powerful, but in this Age He chooses to limit His power, seeking to exercise it almost solely through the ambassadors of His Kingdom. The gift of freedom is a fearful thing, for it bears great responsibility. Adam was free to partake of the forbidden fruit. Man is free to love God or hate him. And we, as Americans have been graced with the freedom to choose what kind of nation we shall have. Every election is another opportunity to either advance or restrain the rule and reign of God in our nation by choosing righteous or unrighteous leaders to govern us. Let us stop blaming God for our own failures to act responsibility with the great power and freedom He has given to us.
Yesterday Barack Obama swore an oath on the Lincoln Bible to uphold the Constitution of the United States. I’m going to hold him to that, and I pray you will as well. If we do not, we shall have no one to blame but ourselves for our great loss.
Let us earnestly pray that President Obama will be firmly on God’s side… that he will turn from the ungodly positions he has held in his former days, and govern righteously and wisely. May God have mercy upon us.
Until next time,
R<><
“When the righteous rule, the people rejoice”
You’re afraid, and for good reason. As you look around, fear is rising in the hearts of thinking people everywhere. You or someone you know is in danger of losing their job. Your retirement account has been decimated as the stock market plummets to new lows. You no longer have a safety net, and you are afraid.
Violence is on the increase, and the value of life is decreasing. There are people in your city who would kill you for the money in your wallet, or maybe just for the sheer pleasure of it. Gone are the days when you could leave your doors unlocked or your valuables laying around and trust that they would still be there when you returned.
You know you shouldn’t be afraid, but you are. Go ahead and admit it. Acknowledge your fear and stop beating yourself up about it. Ignoring it won’t make it go away. Ignorant bliss is definitely not the answer. We’re in a crisis, and you have every reason to be afraid.
But don’t embrace your fear, because fear can cause us to make very bad decisions.
In the face of the economic crisis, our governmental representatives wring their hands and wonder what to do. They too, are afraid, and that only adds to our own fears. In desperation, they draft bailout bills to save financial interests who’ve raped and pillaged the economy. Now the automotive industry is lining up to get their share of the rescue package. These bailout plans serve only to delay the inevitable crash while mortgaging our future and miring our children with massive amounts of debt. Fear is the driving force today on Wall Street, Main Street, and Pennsylvania Avenue.
The promises of change permeated the presidential election, and the candidate who made change his one word campaign slogan won. The people put their hope in the one who they believe will offer solutions to our problems and make us all safe again.
But it’s time to face the cold, stark realities of where we are. As much as we all want to believe that the government can fix our economy, our health care system, etc., etc,. the truth is, they cannot. The numbers don’t lie. We’re in the biggest mess we’ve ever been in, and things are going to get worse before they get better. How much worse, we do not know, but we’re sailing into some very troubled waters.
In the Church, the prophets are divided. Some are declaring divine judgment, others are declaring blessing and supernatural intervention. I think both are correct, and yet both are giving incomplete, and therefore erroneous information because neither position identifies the real solution. Allow me to explain.
God’s judgment is upon this nation. He made if very clear in His Word. As a nation, we are free to choose blessings or curses. Ignoring God’s ways can only result in judgment. Not because He is angry with us; indeed He is hurting right along with us because He loves us. The natural result of leaping from a cliff is a fall to the ground. Likewise, the natural result of unrepentant selfishness in a culture is broken families, scarred children, abortion, substance abuse and systemic poverty. God’s ways work, man’s ways don’t. Humanists will try to tell you otherwise, but history testifies against them. Saying something is or isn’t true doesn’t make it so. Truth is not relative to what we believe. The whole of creation operates under physical and spiritual laws and we are subject to them, regardless of whether we accept them as truth or not. We ignore them to our own peril.
We keep looking outside for help to come, but no help is coming. The sooner we accept this reality, the sooner we can get on with the program. The answers we desperately need are already present within the hearts and minds of the sons and daughters of the King.
God wants to intervene in our world, but we need to understand that divine intervention has already happened. The Kingdom has come. The power of God has been released and the plan of God has been set into motion, entrusted to those who have ears to hear, eyes to see, and a heart willing to obey.
Somewhere along the way in development of Christian culture, we accepted the notion that God is separate and distinct from the Church. We pay lip service to “Christ in you, the hope of glory”, but we do not live our lives as though it were really true TODAY. We wear the label of the “Body of Christ” but our actions betray us. We do not really believe these things, for true belief results in action, and meaningful action by Christians is in short supply these days, because we have been brainwashed by well-meaning pulpiteers and religious hacks.
Thus our fears are based in our lack of faith – true faith that is fixed not upon our government, nor upon a far-away God who is seated upon His Throne, but upon the Anointed One who lives within the heart of every true believer and is anxiously waiting for the opportunity to display His power and creativity through any yielded vessel who will truly put the Kingdom of God FIRST in their over-crowded, ever-busier life.
Here’s the truth. Our fears need to turn to anger. Not an unrighteous, carnal anger that hurts people, but a righteous, turn-over-the-money-changer’s-tables kind of anger that refuses to sit back and accept the crap of our broken culture as “normal” any longer.
I am not afraid. I am angry, and I’m not going to take it lying down any longer.
I’m angry at politicians who take an oath to serve the public and then go on to make a lucrative career out of serving special interests and protecting their positions of power.
I’m angry at preachers who offer up only pat answers for complex problems and lull the people of God to sleep with cheery platitudes and feel-good messages that just get us through another week.
I’m angry at self-centered, self-worshipping, soulless celebrities who think their fame and fortune somehow qualifies them to lead, represent, or speak out on behalf of the people of this nation.
But mostly, I’m angry at the devil who is behind all the destruction and death that is so prevalent in our world today. He has successfully gained a significant foothold in our national culture over the past few decades, and we are being destroyed from within. I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore.
I was born to be free, and I want my children and my grandchildren to be free – free to pursue life, liberty and happiness. Free to love and to live in peace and harmony. Free to see the fulfillment of their wildest dreams. That is the will of God for every inhabitant of this earth, and I refuse the let the devil rob us of these things any longer. I am pledging my very life to this cause.
No more will I remain silent or tone down my message in the name of political correctness, false religious humility, or fear of reputation. My language will become intently more colorful, for I have a message that must rise above the din of meaningless prattle that fills the airwaves of popular Christian culture. I believe it is truth, and thus will strike a chord in the hearts of many, and my full intent is to raise up an army of modern barbarians who are no longer afraid and who will pledge their lives to the cause of the Kingdom.
So, dear readers, this is a call to arms. A call to lay down your fears and pick up the sword of the Spirit. It is time to become a warrior tribe, to take our message of true change to the streets, to stop being intimidated by the moronic voices of pop culture, political correctness and powerless religion.
It is time to boldly speak the truth in love, everywhere, every time, to everyone, whether they will agree with us, love us, hate us, or stone us.
Let’s stop the foolishness, stop waiting for a rescue from the outside. This is our planet, our country, our city. The King of Glory lives in our hearts, and He desperately wants out. This is YOUR time. Together, we can change our world.
Is anybody listening? Is anybody with me? If you are, take a stand and post a comment on this blog. Join my new Facebook group “Tribe of Kingdom Barbarians”. Become part of the new Kingdom Barbarian Tribe!
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” – Rom. 8:18-21 NASB
Addendum: 14 Dec 08
Last night Apostle (Papa) Wayne C. Anderson preached a great message on the rescue of God. It is a very timely word – that we must not lose hope in the midst of the battles ahead and we need to be looking for His rescue. This is the balancing message to my rantings above, and it got me thinking that I should clarify my position on this critical issue of God’s rescue.
Lest anyone think that in my “no help is coming” premise, I’m somehow limiting God’s power or desire to intervene in our lives supernaturally, I’m not. Scripture is filled with instances where God intervenes in human history on behalf of His people when they are in trouble. How could a loving God do anything less? And we certainly require His intervention to fix the mess that we’re currently in.
Yet, we must also remember that most, if not every time God intervened in human history, He required some kind of faith-based action on the part of His people. We must also realize that since the arrival of the Kingdom on earth, the government of God has shifted to His ecclesia (Church). Prior to that, the people had no options but to cry out to God for rescue. Today, God is incarnate and actively working through those who engage the Kingdom and make it a priority in their everyday lives.
Sadly, we’ve not done well at this as His governing Body on earth, and I believe this is the season for that to change. God WILL intervene on our behalf, but he will not reward the irresponsibility and poor stewardship that got us into the mess we’re in. I think we’ve spent all together too much time waiting for God to do something for us, while He is waiting for us to do what He commanded us to do the last time He was here.
Our only hope lies in the Kingdom of God coming to this earth in it’s fullness. We can’t do it without God, and He won’t do it without us. At least that is my understanding of the nature of the Kingdom.
America has spoken. In the midst of our pain and fear, we have elected Barack Hussein Obama as our 44th President. Not only that, we have given the Democrats a comfortable majority in both the Senate and the House. For the first time since Reagan, this President has been empowered by the people to set a new course for our nation, yet with a significant difference. The liberal press has a love affair with this man and now the relationship shall be consummated. I doubt that we will see much honest evaluation from the mainstream press until the honeymoon is well past. It appears that nothing can stand in his way for the foreseeable future.
As the announcement came last night, my first reaction was no doubt common to many of you – a deep sadness; a grieving over what I believed was a real chance of victory in spite of the insurmountable odds facing the McCain/Palin ticket. They waged a valiant effort, but there were just too many obstacles they had to overcome. John McCain and Sarah Palin both earned my respect not only in their campaign, but in their concession of victory to Obama. They finished well. And I’m confident that we’ve not heard the last from Gov. Palin.
As I’ve sought God for answers while the stark realities of “change” settle into my soul, I can honestly say that I have a peace that is passing my understanding. I also have a renewed sense of resolve rising up inside of me. Call it madness, willful ignorance or revelation by the Spirit, but I believe our best days are yet before us. They will not be easy; indeed they may very well be the most difficult years of our lives. Thus, “best” begs for a definition. See if you can find one in my ramblings as I continue.
Our government has become an out-of-control monster that our nation’s Founders could not have imagined. They fought, bled and died for a country where people could be free to live their lives in peace, in safety, and to pursue their dreams. They gave us the framework of limited and balanced government that would serve it’s citizens and preserve these “self evident” truths. The basis of this radical new concept of government was and is self-government and personal responsibility. They understood that true freedom depends upon it. They also understood that self-government is only truly found in the soul that is in right relationship with it’s Creator.
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“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
John Adams, Address to the Military, October 11, 1798
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Think of it – a nation where people are free to pursue their dreams! Where greed, avarice and selfishness give way to sacrifice for the common good. Where people live in peace with their neighbors and join together to fight against those who would threaten this dream. This was the dream of our Founders. It is also the dream that Barack Hussein Obama presented to us in his acceptance speech last night.
The problem many of us have is that we have not a shred of evidence that this man actually believes the promises he is making (a fact which seems to have escaped those who voted for him) . The many questions raised by his detractors remain unanswered. Is Barack Hussein Obama a great leader who can unite us and bring peace and prosperity to our nation, or is he just the latest (and greatest) fraud perpetrated upon a frustrated, gullible populace. Only time will tell.
Another problem is this – those who seek to build a peaceful and prosperous society without God’s assistance ignore not only the Word of God, but the lessons of history. America is at a crossroads. We will either return to the divine wisdom found in preserving the Constitution in all of it’s original intent, or we shall go the way of the many empires who have fallen before us. No matter what kinds of promises our government leaders make, the answer lies not in our government, but in the hearts of the people. The power of government to harm is far greater than it’s ability to do good in this, hence the need for the people to limit it’s power and reach into our personal lives.
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“How prone all human institutions have been to decay; how subject the best-formed and most wisely organized governments have been to lose their check and totally dissolve; how difficult it has been for mankind, in all ages and countries, to preserve their dearest rights and best privileges, impelled as it were by an irresistible fate of despotism.”
James Monroe, speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 10, 1788
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“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.”
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There are those who will always attribute Obama’s victory to a well waged campaign by a charismatic leader. While this idea has merit, it is certainly not the real reason for his success. His victory; indeed the final choices we were presented with in this election, stand as a testimony to the abject and wholesale failure of the Church to faithfully present the Gospel of the Kingdom to our countrymen. We have the privilege to live in a nation which can choose it’s leaders. Obama’s victory sprung from the soil of a culture where entitlement, class-envy, personal gratification, god-be-damned lifestyle is celebrated and continually fueled by a liberal press where true morality is absent and truth always takes a backseat to profits. Thus, we deserve the government we have been given, and we have nobody to blame but ourselves.
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“If Virtue & Knowledge are diffused among the People, they will never be enslav’d. This will be their great Security.”
Samuel Adams, letter to James Warren, February 12, 1779
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The sooner we accept this reality and repent of our folly, the sooner we can begin to work for change – the genuine, enduring, life-giving kind. We can sit around and wait for a rescue from Heaven, but no rescue is coming. God will help us, but He will not do it for us. Stewardship is one of the most visible elements in the creation of man, yet is a virtue which is increasingly absent in our culture and as whole, and western Christianity in particular. God has given us everything we need for life and righteous living. He has vested us with Kingdom authority, with which we can overcome spiritual darkness and deception in our nation. However, this will not happen because we shout at the heavens and shake our fist at principalities and powers. Transformational change will only come about when the people of God accept personal responsibility for advancing His Kingdom in our homes, our schools and our workplaces. We must become better stewards of the great freedom and liberty given to us by our forefathers, and of the great blessings of the Kingdom – righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Without God’s intervention, Barack Hussein Obama will fail miserably in his attempts to bring about the change he has promised. He will need our help, and I for one, will stand with him wherever he stands for righteousness. However, he will have to earn my trust, for today, he does not have it. I will be unyielding in my pursuit of bringing the Kingdom of God to this once-great nation and will bitterly oppose any action by this new government that compromises the ideals of the Kingdom and hinders life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness among our people.
Now is not a time to be mournful over what was lost. Now is a time to root up, to tear down and destroy the worldviews which distort reality. It is a time to show the way of the King by demonstration of the fruit of a life wholly dedicated to Him. Now is a time to get very angry with evil and unrighteousness in every form. Now is time to put away our plastic, artificial Christianity and become the sons and daughters and warriors of the King of Kings. The first century Church faced greater obstacles than we, yet in just a few decades turned the whole known world inside out.
The message of change is in the air. Let it be the saints of God who bring the change which the people are yearning for. God has set before us an opportunity to show the world what we are truly made of. It can be the Kingdom’s finest hour, if we are brave enough to take a stand.
On a personal note, in the midst of alI my other noble endeavors, I hope to spend the next 4 years working with others of like mind to reform the broken political system that forces us to choose between the lesser of two evils. I envision a new platform that is based upon righteousness and the principles of the Kingdom (though certainly not a theocracy) incorporating the ideals that will make our nation great once again. If enough God-fearing people can put aside their self-centeredness and work together, I believe we can put an end to all the partisan bull crap that serves the professional politicians well, but divides our people. I believe we can and will bring REAL change. Anybody with me?
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“If men of wisdom and knowledge, of moderation and temperance, of patience, fortitude and perseverance, of sobriety and true republican simplicity of manners, of zeal for the honour of the Supreme Being and the welfare of the commonwealth; if men possessed of these other excellent qualities are chosen to fill the seats of government, we may expect that our affairs will rest on a solid and permanent foundation.”
Samuel Adams, letter to Elbridge Gerry, November 27, 1780
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“I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm’s way.”
John Paul Jones, letter to M. Le Ray de Chaumont, November 16, 1778
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“I have not yet begun to fight!”
John Paul Jones, response to enemy demand to surrender, September 23, 1779
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(All quotes excerpted from Founding Fathers Quotes website. Highly recommended reading.)
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