Last week, we introduced the topic of church versus state. In Christ’s words:
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
Matthew 6:24
The same way only one can rule in our hearts individually, only one can rule our land. Either God will rule our hearts and land based on the covenant made at our country’s founding, or man will try to rule God and His people using government as it’s tool. We need to become spiritually focused, realizing the challenge our nation faces today is bigger than just an election. Yes, we need to discern leaders with a heart for God, honestly assess their fruits and support them with our votes. But the rise of Christ’s Ekklesia that is pouring out from heaven is greater.
The Israelites desired to go back to Egypt. Similar to our nation today, many would like to go back to what they considered easier times in the US. Unfortunately, we have been spiritually lazy too. We’ve sat in churches on Sundays, but have been unwilling to speak out the rest of the week for what God’s desire for this nation is. God led the Israelites through the wilderness.
“And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”
Deuteronomy 8:2
God has been allowing us to live in the wilderness to assess our heart’s true desire and our dedication to His ways! We need to open our hearts, spirits and prayers to not only seek revival, but for reformation, to bring God’s Kingdom to earth! This is the Great Commission every child of God is called to!
Worship of false gods has become more and more prevalent in our country. We need to seek God’s will and plan for ways to tear down these abominations. When God gave Israel new lands, the first command was to remove alters and any structures of worship to false gods. The only way the heart of our nation will be focused on serving the one true God Almighty is by removing these tributes.
Bonhoeffer believed, “One can’t be a Christian and a nationalist at the same time.” (p. 111) Only one ruler can exist. Will it be God or man? Throughout history, specifically in Germany during the time of Hitler and today, the government claims to be in support of God and His ways, but their actions are complete lies. Hitler rewrote the German Constitution to establish himself as a dictator. Today, some call for the rewrite or our United States Constitution. Be encouraged to read it for yourself. The opening intent of the document is for: Justice, Tranquility, common defense, general Welfare, Blessings of Liberty and Prosperity. “Blessings of Liberty” can only come from God and freedom to worship the God our national covenant was made with. We need to choose God individually and corporately for our nation.
George Orwell’s “1984” presented a time when the people of the land were lied to in a way that essentially eliminated discernment. It played on the fear of the people, if any rose up to tell the truth, they were destroyed. This parallels real life in Nazi Germany and real life today in our modern society. People who speak out against the culture today are canceled from mainstream media platforms and sued in our courts of law, resulting in financial ruin and loss of businesses and reputations. All just for expressing a different point of view!
“Animal Farm” depicted an uprising of farm animals against the humans. Within the animals, a group pointed fingers at the humans as enemies and any animal that did not go along with their beliefs or plans. In the end the group making accusations of others transformed themselves to being the ones in power and ultimately doing exactly what they professed to fight against. Those seeking to remove power from others only wanted to attain for themselves in the end. Look at some of the leaders in our country today. They point their fingers at others to misdirect conversations, while implementing policies that take away freedom. Hitler changed law to fit his needs, establishing a separate court to rule the way he desired. Today, illegal FISA warrants and unlawful raids of homes and businesses are happening to those the current leadership in this country disagrees with. How much further does the current situation need to go for Christians and the church to stand up?
We need to be discerning to God’s Will and His Plan for our nation. That plan is not just for revival, but for reformational transformation of the way we live our lives. This is what God seeks and what He will bring to this nation, if we come together and follow His commands.
We need to continue each day seeking God’s plan for returning this nation to our covenant with Him. We need to act individually as directed by Holy Spirit and pray corporately for reformation to come.
“And if it sems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15
May peace be with you this week and to God be all the glory!
Amen.