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<><
I’m sure many of my Christian friends are puzzled how a guy who is known to be an ardent pursuer of the Kingdom of God can suddenly get caught up in political protests. Some may have a hard time connecting the two. Others may suppose that my passion for God and things of the Spirit have been diluted by worldly concerns.
I assure you, nothing could be further from the truth.
My friend Sharon asked me some good questions about this protesting stuff. I started to answer on her Facebook wall, but being the wordy kind of guy I am, ended up in the 3rd box before I decided to move my comments here.
Among other things, Sharon asked this:
“I think you should post step by step instructional note of what we can each do to have an effective voice in this thing… In history the tea party made a statement …but we’re not really going to take up our muskets are we? Just what kind of effect do you hope this will accomplish beside just public awareness? I think it’s important that people understand why they are doing something and what the expected outcome will be…”
You ask good questions, Sharon. From my perspective (we’ll see how many agree), our nation has been hijacked by big government, “progressive” left-wing radicals that are merrily bankrupting our nation, fully thinking they have a mandate of the people to do so because of the elections.
Why would a Kingdom-minded guy like myself get so wrapped up in politics? Short answer – the principles of freedom, stewardship and personal responsibility are foundations of the Kingdom that we are to bring to this earth. These allow people to reach their destiny and live that abundant life that Jesus promised. These principles were established through much struggle and bloodshed by our forefathers. They are under attack, and will be lost if WE THE PEOPLE don’t stand up and oppose what is going on. As an ambassador of the Kingdom, I feel a very strong sense of stewardship and responsibility for the well-being of my fellow man and this nation, and I take this very seriously.
To quote a famous statesman – “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” We are truly living in critically strategic times. The ship has left the dock, and we are sailing into a storm, the likes of which we’ve never seen before. If enough peaceful protests take place, perhaps we can reverse course and the violence that will surely come can be averted. That is my hope and prayer.
America is a grand experiment based upon these Kingdom principles. But this is all changing very rapidly. We must learn the lessons of history. We can either preserve our freedom and prosperity, or we can do nothing and become enslaved by evil men. The choice is up to us.
Ask the Chinese Church if they’d rather have freedom or persecution. While they see the value and motivation of their persecution, I’m sure they see American Christians as fools who do not appreciate what we have been given.
We must pray, we must protest, and some of us will choose to fight. I do it for the children. A righteous man leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren. Obama and the Democrats are making this impossible by placing TRILLIONS of dollars of debt on the backs of future generations. This is evil. Somebody needs to speak out.
That is why I protest, write, and rant about this subject. This IS Kingdom business. This is where the rubber meets the road and the Kingdom gets real. It’s not just about singing songs and praying. This Kingdom has real life implications, and it’s getting more real every day.
I’m not advocating a theocracy in any way. The Kingdom is a choice that must be made by each individual and cannot be mandated by government. But righteousness and unrighteousness are found in every dollar that is spent and every law that is passed. If we are to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, how can we sit silently by and allow unrighteousness to go unchallenged, especially in a nation where freedom and individual liberty is celebrated as no other on the face of the earth?
What can we do? First, I believe one should take this question to God. Some will be called to run to the front lines of the battle, others will be called to care for the wounded and the families of those who fall in the battle. I believe that making our voices known on Facebook, blogs, Twitter, in our churches, neighborhoods, etc. is important. People are not informed and remain willfully ignorant of what is happening. Public protests will raise awareness, so I believe everyone should get involved. Make some new friends. I did yesterday at the protest.
Start a local communications network among those who understand. As the prophet Daniel said, “Those who have understanding will give understanding to many”. Keep the love of Jesus in the forefront in the midst of the battle and never violate the law of love. Demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in the midst of all protest, even when things get heated (which they will eventually). Tell others about the Kingdom. Even most Christians don’t understand that it is the rule and reign of a loving God who wants all to be free and live prosperous, joyful lives.
Start right now to put aside some money for travel to larger protest events that are coming. I’m confident that massive gatherings will be organized in the near future. It will take a thundering cry from the masses to turn this crazy train around. Will it take muskets to get the point across? Let’s pray not. But if this doesn’t turn around, I guarantee you, it’s only a matter of time.
Get plugged into the new social media outlets. Twitter will become a key tool this year. Learn how it works. We no longer have to depend upon the major liberally-biased media outlets for our news. We have the power to broadcast to one another instantaneously, all across the country.
The Revolution has begun, and I think the Kingdom is right in the midst of it. If not, I intend to put it there.
Ready to rumble,
R<><
“Dissent is the highest form of patriotism” – Unknown
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<><
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