December 2, 2024

God is Government

For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; He will save us.

(Isaiah 33:22)

Today, I want to give an overview of God’s plan regarding government, one of the most important topics in the Bible.

The Origin of Government

The concept of government is first introduced to us in Genesis 1:26-28, when Yahweh assigned the responsibility of managing, ruling, or governing (Hebrew: radah(1) and mashal(2)) the earth and all it contains to Adam and his offspring. However, the concept of government did not originate when God created the earth; He didn’t imagine or dream up the notion just for this new endeavor. God is, and always has been, Lord or Ruler over all. The concept of government flows from who God is, not just from what He does - HE IS GOVERNMENT. Obviously then, this makes Him earth’s “Judge, Lawgiver, and King” (Isaiah 33:22), and all government on earth was intended to flow from Him.

The fact that God is government and rules from who He is, is why “righteousness and justice are the foundations of [His] throne” (Psalm 89:14). God is also truth and love (John 14:6; 1 John 4:16). His laws, precepts, guidelines, and actions are based on love and truth, righteousness and justice, and flow from His nature. Again, God governs from who He is!

God Releases His Government Through Family 

The Bible is the story of God and His family. Our heavenly Father wanted a family, so He created their home, then created them. He then delegated governmental rule of this small portion of His Kingdom, earth, to this family (Genesis 1:26-28). This dominion or authority was to be exercised over all the earth and in all elements of society – personal, home and family, cities, and nations – and was intended to release God’s nature and function according to that nature. His intent was that ALL earthly government be a conduit of Him; He would release His will, ways, truth, righteousness, and love on earth through governmental authority - at every level - and do so through humans, His new family.

That God would delegate this governing authority to Adam and his offspring shouldn’t be surprising; they were His family! Every aspect of Adam’s nature and all of his actions were to reflect God’s image and likeness: procreating more eternal beings bearing Yahweh’s image; mining earth’s treasure and potential through dreaming and imagining; loving; and leading and managing this portion of God’s great universe and Kingdom. 

We know this plan was temporarily interrupted at the Fall. Satan deceived and stole God’s family, and along with it the dominion/government of their home. The story of Scripture then became how God would redeem and restore these two things: His family and their dominion. The war on earth is over family and government: Who will own the people? Who will rule the earth?

Jesus, of course, by becoming one of us, was God’s solution. He made it possible for all people to become part of God’s family again; and He recovered Adam’s lost authority.

The Scriptures Are All About Government

With family and government being the two primary issues on earth, it seems logical that government would be one of Scripture’s dominant themes, and it is. Government is mentioned extensively throughout the Bible. Earthly “kingdoms” are spoken of 36 times, earthly “kings” are spoken of 108 times, and the words “rule” or “ruler” are mentioned 155 times. God is mentioned by the governmental term “Lord” thousands of times, and His “Kingdom” is referenced more than 80 times. We could give the totals for other governmental terms, such as dominion, authority, govern, leader, and so forth, which are used dozens of times. Suffice it to say, the issue of government, along with family, is absolutely paramount in Scripture.

AND YET…through satanic deception, many in the church think government should be ignored. “Win people to Christ” they say, “but the subject of government doesn’t belong in the church. Well, we should pray for it [which most don’t]; but don’t talk about it, make a stand regarding it, or try to influence it.” Persuading a church to take time in a service for more than a perfunctory prayer for or mention of government, elections, laws, etc., is like trying to raise the dead. Getting pastors to make a public stand on BIBLICAL issues being ruled on by the government, such as the termination of life, marriage, gender issues, and more, is even harder. 

Most in the church don’t acknowledge the overwhelming amount of Scripture involving government, preferring to ignore it instead. They conveniently hide behind man-made laws designed to silence us. Rather than honoring God, many leaders are ruled by the fear of man. Fear of dividing or offending also silences many pastors. The result of this decision is that most believers are ignorant of God’s Word on the subject. 

As a result of the church's withdrawal, America hangs in the balance of life or death. 

Hope

I’ve said before that regardless of the church’s abdication, God will save America through the prayers of a remnant. I still believe this. But I also believe our salvation and turnaround could have occurred much more quickly - and without the present shaking - had a larger percentage of the church been speaking out, praying, and taking action. The pain we are experiencing isn’t over and could have been avoided. Those of you who are praying - thank you, and please persevere. Your prayers WILL save America.

Pray with me:

Father, in Christ’s name, on behalf of the church in America, we ask You to forgive us for not representing You and Your ways as we should. We have been deceived, complacent, willfully ignorant, and fearful of speaking out against the promotion of sin and evil. Awaken the church to the fact that we are Your voice, the speakers of Your Word and truth on the earth. Revive this truth in us.

Send Your fire to the pulpits of America again. Send repentance to preachers in America for watering down Your truth, for ignoring portions of Your Word, and for operating under the fear of man. 

You said in Your Word that we could close doors to demonic forces, not with human strength, but with the authority of our words. So, in the name of Jesus, we call America back to You. We release Your Kingdom authority and bind demonic, evil plans, releasing the power of Holy Spirit to oppose them. We release Your revival and awakening. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Our decree:

We decree that deception and lethargy in the church are being removed and replaced with revival fire!

Click on the link below to watch the full video:

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1. “Strong's Hebrew: 7287. רָדָה (radah) -- reign, have dominion, rule.” Bible Hub, https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7287.htm. Accessed 15 July 2024.

2. “Strong's Hebrew: 4910. מָשַׁל (mashal) -- to rule, have dominion, reign.” Bible Hub, https://biblehub.com/hebrew/4910.htm. Accessed 15 July 2024.

November 29, 2024

My Prayer Mentor, Ike

In November 2023, I had the great honor of participating in Intercessors for America’s 50th Anniversary Celebration. No ministry has done more to generate prayer for America than this great ministry. As I pondered IFA’s role in my life, one of my fondest memories was learning to pray at Christ For the Nations Institute (CFNI) in 1977.

Each student was required to participate in an outreach or serving ministry on a weekly basis. My initial choice was Intercessory Prayer, not because I was an intercessor or knew much about the subject. Truth be known, I could barely pronounce it. But I wanted to learn more about prayer, so I enrolled. Our prayer guide each week was a bulletin provided by a ministry I had never heard of. Yep, Intercessors for America(IFA). One sheet of paper, front and back, with timely issues and government leaders listed for prayer. Thus began my journey of learning to pray.

I want to honor another link in the chain of my introduction to prayer at CFNI (Christ For the Nations Institute). I’ve always felt one of the best ways to learn something new was by watching and emulating someone better at it than me. Of the 1,200 students at CFNI, I chose Immanuel Ike, a student from Africa, complete with tribal markings - three scars on each cheek. I believe Ike, as we called him, was Nigerian. When Ike prayed, the room shook. I think he was fire incarnate.

During the last six weeks of the school year, students were encouraged to gather an hour before chapel to pray in the main auditorium. This wasn’t united, corporate prayer; it was a time for students to seek God individually in an atmosphere fueled by several hundred hungry, passionate people also pursuing Him. We were encouraged to gather on the large platform, and/or scatter throughout the auditorium - on our feet, knees, faces, or walking - it didn’t matter the position. I chose the platform, kneeling at one of the chairs right behind the piano…because that’s where Ike was.

I prayed for an hour each morning, with one eye closed, one open, watching and listening to Ike. When he bound, I bound; when Ike loosed, I loosed. Soon after beginning, he would grab the side of his chair and begin rocking back and forth. I, too, held on and rocked. Ike would start in English, shift into his African dialect, then “machine gun” his prayers in tongues - I think. Maybe it was his African dialect on steroids. All I know is that Ike had now lost all connection to earth and its earthlings; we no longer existed. Tears. Groans. Pleadings. Decrees. Worship. Ike was in heaven’s throne room, then traveling the planet with Holy Spirit, tearing down strongholds and birthing Kingdom realities.

And I was riding his coattails!

What is it they say? “Better caught than taught.” My prayers were mostly, “Lord, give me at least some of what this man carries.” I think I received a small degree of Ike’s mantle. “Wherever you are today, Ike, thank you.”

My heart and world also expanded through the influence of other guest ministries that came through CFNI every week. Literally. That was the plan: every week, a different person from a different ministry taught all students in a united session at 11a.m., Monday through Friday. They, Ike, and prayer ministries like IFA taught me to move beyond my own needs, not praying only to generate money for school bills, rent, clothes, etc. They challenged me to transcend caring only for my own future ministry and success. For the first time in my life, I found myself praying for nations and travailing for souls. I called out the names of senators, representatives, judges, laws, bills, and court cases. I began to realize I was called to more than personal success, something bigger than a congregation or a traveling ministry of my own. I was invited into the realm of an eternal Kingdom with a worldwide cause.

My heart grew and expanded. I take no credit. It was the influence of others, great teaching, exposure to different ministries and organizations every week, and an atmosphere of passionate worship, prayer, and faith - every day. And Ike, of course. I’ve never looked back.

The cheetah survives on the African plains by running down its prey. The big cat can sprint seventy miles per hour. But the cheetah cannot sustain that pace for long. Within its long, sleek body is a disproportionately small heart, which causes the cheetah to tire quickly. Unless the cheetah catches its prey in the first flurry, it must abandon the chase.

Far too often, Christians seem to have the cheetah’s approach to prayer. We start fast and with great energy. We are robust and excited. But lacking the heart for a sustained effort, we falter before we finish the job. Most intercessors don’t need more speed or emotion; they need more staying power, which only comes from a bigger prayer heart.

Rees Howells was an intercessor with a large prayer heart. In 1924, Howells launched the Bible College of Wales, which always had a huge emphasis on prayer. During World War II, however, Holy Spirit burdened Rees’s heart to intercede at even greater levels for the Allies, and for the deliverance of the world from Hitler’s Third Reich. Every day, anywhere from five to ten hours, sometimes more, Rees and the students labored in prayer over the war. He challenged the students to not allow the soldiers at the front to labor more than them. Rees Howells and his 100 students no doubt played a huge role in saving the world from Hitler’s demonic assault.

I know many of you who follow Give Him 15 also have hearts that will never quit praying. Thank you! Lock arms with others at this time and determine that we will not quit, we will not falter, and we will not fail. We will see the earth in full-fledged revival. Having put our hands to the plow, we will not look back. Victory is ours through Christ, and we will see it come to pass.

Pray with me:

Father, it is appropriate that we honor ministries like Intercessors for America, and people like Rees Howells and my friend Ike. All of our successes are in part built on the work of others. We ask for Your abundant blessings on them. For those still here with us, multiply their effectiveness, anointing, and provision. For others - like Rees Howells - well, tell them we said thanks.

Today, we ask You for bigger prayer hearts. We want hearts so expansive that they embrace Your worldwide Kingdom efforts, and run prayer’s race without growing weary. We pledge to persevere in prayer for a worldwide harvest. We will continue to lay hold by faith of a restored America. We will never stop representing You as Your Ekklesia, enforcing Your victory on earth.

This is the hour of deliverance for millions. This is the season of their entrance into the King’s family, their day of salvation. We declare over them that the veil is lifting; the spirit of revelation is invading the territory. We loose them from darkness, deception, oppression, and bondage. Manifest signs and wonders, raise up powerful evangelists anointed with the level of power Stephen, Phillip, Paul, Peter, and others demonstrated in the book of Acts. We decree revival now. And we do all this in the name that guarantees victory, Jesus. Amen.

Our decree:

We decree that Christ’s large prayer heart is being imparted to His Ekklesia. We will not falter.

Click on the link below to watch the full video:

November 28, 2024

A Day of Thanksgiving

The pilgrims first celebrated the holiday Americans call Thanksgiving after their first harvest in 1621. History says it was attended by 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims. The gathering lasted three days. In 1789, our first President, George Washington, issued a national proclamation of “Public Thanksgiving and Prayer, acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God.”(1) Abraham Lincoln issued another proclamation in 1863 and made it a national holiday, referring to it as “A day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”(2) In their proclamations, they refer to God as the: Almighty God (three times); that great and glorious Being; beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; the great Lord and Ruler of the Nations; Most High God; and beneficient Father. So much for the myth of separating God from America’s government.

Washington’s and Lincoln’s proclamations are reverential and God-honoring. I won’t read them, as the verbiage and style of the day are a bit different than ours, but I have included them as an attachment at the end of today’s post for those who do wish to read them. The following is a proclamation and prayer for us to offer today; please agree with me as I read it:

Heavenly Father, we in the U.S. pause today to acknowledge Your gracious and omnipotent hand. America was Your idea. You had in Your heart to form a nation of nations - Native Americans, Asians, Europeans, Africans, Latinos, Middle Easterners, and more. Though our journey included the inevitable challenges associated with human frailties, including evil actions, Your sovereign power overcame our flaws and formed the United States of America. We are very aware that this miracle was not just for our blessing and benefit; we were called to a covenantal partnership with You to release Your redemption from sin’s horrible curse. We acknowledge and agree with the words of Robert Hunt at Cape Henry in 1607: “The gospel of the kingdom will go forth from these shores, not only to this land, but to all the nations of the earth.” We agree with the words from Holy Scripture inscribed on the Liberty Bell: “Proclaim liberty throughout the land to all the inhabitants thereof,” (Leviticus 25:10). This is our destiny and great honor. 

We are thankful, Father, for the covenants our Christian Forefathers and Founders entered into with You. They sacrificed much in order to fulfill Your will, knowing they were drawn here – not just to enjoy liberty – but to accomplish Your divine purposes. We are grateful for their sacrifices made so long ago, and the incredible prosperity we have enjoyed due to their covenantal partnership with You. May they be forever honored and always see righteous fruit from their labors.

Thank You for preserving us in times of war, disease, sin, and rebellion. In the war of our birth, we were saved through appealing to heaven; in the horrific Civil War, we fought one another and lost half a million sons, husbands, fathers, and brothers, yet You kept the dream alive; in two world wars, You preserved us from evil despots intent on ruling the world. Through all the difficulties and trials of four centuries, YOU have been faithful to preserve us. “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it; except the Lord keep the city, the watchmen waketh but in vain” (Psalm 127:1). You have blessed this nation - of You, through You, and to You are all things. Thank You, gracious and beneficent God!

Jesus, Son of God, Son of Man, on this day, we as a nation thank You for Your great sacrifice in becoming one of us - a member of the human race. Thank You for experiencing the gnawing pangs of hunger, for feeling the heartbreaking pain of a loved one’s death. Thank You for walking dusty roads to heal diseased bodies, taking detours to redeem thirsty hearts, and spending sleepless nights in prayer. Thank You for exposing the wiles and hatred of the serpent, the destructive power of pride, and modeling true love. Thank You for revealing the Father to us once again, and creating the way for us to reconnect with Him as our Abba, our Papa. Thank You for paying such an incredibly high price: the incarnation, the beatings and lashing, Gethsemane, the mocking, the crown of thorns, the wrath of Hell, the hideous Cross, the stain of sin, and sting of death. Thank You.

Gracious Father, wonderful Savior, and blessed Holy Spirit, though we as a nation have dishonored, rejected, and even mocked You, Your love endures. We have worshiped idols, embraced false religions, shed innocent blood, defiled Your marriage covenant, and expelled You from our schools - yet Your mercies endure. Our government has risen up against You in pride and rebellion, rewritten Your laws, legislated murderous and immoral rights, and declared that You are no longer welcome in their functions and procedures - yet You have demonstrated amazing grace and patience. And while the church should have been Your instrument of preservation from these ills, she became lukewarm, complacent, and ineffective. 

In spite of these and many more evils, You have promised to save America, healing our brokenness, returning our hearts to You, and preserving our destiny. Thank You, gracious Father. Thank You for the restoration occurring in the church; thank You for the army of intercessors You have raised up here and around the world - we owe them so much. Thank You for the awakening that has begun in America, regarding both our spiritual condition and the horrible fruit this has produced. Thank You for the overthrowing of evil in our government that has begun. Thank You, in advance, for the greatest worldwide outpouring of Holy Spirit in all of history. Because of Your mercy, America will once again be a strong voice for the gospel of the Kingdom throughout the earth. For all of this and more, we give You thanks.

And I thank YOU for being part of Give Him 15. Together, we are making a difference!

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President George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation:

“Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor-- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public Thanksgiving and Prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

“Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be - that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks - for His kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation - for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of His Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war - for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed - for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted - for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which He hath been pleased to confer upon us.

“And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions - to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually - to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed - to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord - To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us - and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

“Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.” (George Washington)(3)

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President Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation:

“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. The population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and union.

“In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

“Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth. By the President: Abraham Lincoln.”(4)

Click on the link below to watch the full video:

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1. https://www.loc.gov/resource/mgw8a.124/?q=1789+Thanksgiving&sp=132&st=text 

2. http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/thanks.htm 

3. https://www.mountvernon.org/education/primary-sources-2/article/thanksgiving-proclamation-of-1789/

4. http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/thanks.htm