September 27, 2024

No Turning Back

Yesterday, Ceci and I received an incredible report from My Faith Votes, a very effective vision to motivate conservative Christians who have not voted in past presidential elections, to do so in the upcoming election. We shared a post on this incredible undertaking a couple of weeks back. If you did not see it, please take a look (August 23, 2024). Here is the letter we received:

“Dutch and Ceci,

“Give Him 15 surpassed 100,000 letters being adopted by your people [Give Him 15 family] as of today! I am praising God for the impact your ministry is making on this year’s election through our initiative. I know you’re making a massive impact in so many ways, but we are so grateful for what you have done for the “Write Now” campaign. 

“We have blazed past our 300,000 letter goal and are over half a million as of last night! We are averaging over 8,000 letters a day. Look at God! I’ve done this for four years and have never seen anything like it!  

“I hope our Jesus blesses you two from the top of your heads to the tips of your toes for all you do for Him. Isn’t it so amazing how much He loves us?  

“I join with you in praying that He saves our nation!

“Lord bless you,

Laurel Brooks

National Director of Grassroots Action

My Faith Votes”

Thank you, friends of Give Him 15, for getting behind this divine plan from Holy Spirit. What an amazing difference you are making, both in your prayers and actions. And if you would like to participate more, or were not able to do so previously and would like to do so now, the end date for sending these letters is October 25th. Visit their website for more information.

Strike In Prayer

In yesterday’s post, I talked about finishing well. The results of allowing complacency to enter our lives can be disastrous. This destructive mindset can be caused by weariness, discouragement, hope deferred, apathy, ignorance, busyness, deception, over-confidence, and other factors. Regardless of the cause, complacency produces defeat. 

The church in America grew complacent in the last half of the 20th century, and the most powerful nation in the history of the world became a laughing stock. The leading exporter of the gospel became the leading exporter of filth. 

Yesterday, we saw the list of Israel’s tribes that didn’t finish the job of driving out their enemies in the promised land. The results? A little Baal worship leavened the entire “lump” of Israel (see 1 Corinthians 5:6), and in just a few years, God’s covenant people were sacrificing their children to this demon. Complacency produces defeat - always. 

Today I want to remind us of the familiar passage in 2 Kings 13:14-19. The great prophet, Elisha, was old and dying. King Joash paid him a visit to get some final prophetic insight and say his goodbyes. While the two visited, Elisha did a symbolic “prophetic act” of having the king shoot an arrow toward the land of his enemies; he called it an “arrow of victory” (verse 17). The King James translation calls it an arrow of “deliverance.” The word can also mean “rescue.”(1) He then told the king God would give him victory over his enemies, the Arameans. 

[A “prophetic act” is a phrase used by many to describe a physical act, initiated by God, that pictures - and sometimes releases - a future action. Power is not inherent in the prophetic act itself; the power flows from God through our obedience and faith. Sometimes, the prophetic act pictures a truth or insight regarding what He is about to do. In other words, prophetic acts are often prophetic pictures. Moses striking the rock to bring forth water would be an example (Exodus 17). Obviously, hitting a rock doesn’t normally produce a gushing stream. But in this case, the prophetic act, in obedience to the word of the Lord, released God’s provision. However, the act also pictured Christ, our Rock, being smitten and releasing to us living water (1 Corinthians 10:4). There are many such biblical examples of prophetic acts.]

After the king shot the arrow in 2 Kings 13, Elisha decided one more prophetic act was needed. He told the king to take arrows and strike (nakah)(2) the ground. Nakah is most often used as a battlefield term, meaning to attack, smite, or inflict injury on an enemy. The prophet was saying, “Attack the ground, king; show me what you are going to do to this enemy.” Joash responded by striking the ground three times. 

Elisha was furious and said, “You should have “attacked” the ground five or six times. Now you will win three battles, but won’t fully destroy Aram” (verse 19). 

Notice, and this is important, Elisha was not prophetically given a specific number of times the king should have struck the ground. “You should have struck five or six times,” he said. It was an attitude, not a number, the prophet was looking for. Heart!!! “You are not a finisher, Joash. You do not have the heart of a warrior. You’re a ‘just enough to get by’ type of leader.”

God is measuring us as well at this time. Let’s be finishers! We are not from the complacent tribes of the “did not’s”? We are those who put our hand to the plow and don’t look back (Luke 9:62). 

He was thinking of Himself in the context of Isaiah 50’s prophecy. When Jesus challenged us with those words. The passage foretells Christ’s determination to accomplish what He was sent here to do. Verses 5-7 state:

“The Lord God has opened my ear; and I was not disobedient, nor did I turn back. I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pull out My beard; I did not hide My face from insults and spitting. For the Lord God helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have made My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.” (NASB)

We have put our hand to the plow of intercession for America’s restoration, a Third Great Awakening, and worldwide harvest. We are spiritual warriors of the Lamb and Lion, and we will not turn back. We will press on until we, too, can say, “It is finished!”

Pray with me:

Father, I thank You for patriots who are doers of Your Word, not hearers only. Because of this, You said their house will stand! (Matthew 7:24-25). Thank You for motivating them not only to pray, but also to write letters and vote. And now, we ask You for finishing hearts, hearts that attack in prayer until Your enemies are completely defeated. 

Through us, release Your arrows of deliverance, of rescue, of victory. 

Through us, defeat Marxism. 

Through us, defeat secularism.

Through us, defeat hatred, death, and violence. 

Through us, defeat spiritual death and blindness. 

Through us, defeat immoral strongholds. 

Through us, defeat unrighteous laws. 

Through us, save spirits and heal bodies. 

Through us, restore broken hearts and lives.  

Through us, unite. 

Through us, restore America and send the gospel to every nation. 

And Lord, we ask for Your help to those suffering from Hurricane Helene. Please protect people from the winds, floods, and tornadoes. Comfort those who have lost homes and possessions, and bring recovery and restoration. 

In Christ’s name, we pray, Amen.

Our decree:

We decree that we have put our hand to the plow and will NOT turn back. 

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

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1. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 8668

2. Ibid., ref. no. 5221.