Monday, November 03, 2008

No, But Give Us A King...

As many of you know I have had a deep and abiding interest in politics that has been demonstrated through the years that I have maintained this blog. In fact, that interest goes much further back. I remember some of my first political interest going all the way back to the Nixon administration (when I was a VERY young child.) I suppose it was only natural to have some curiosity about politics back then. They were troubling times, much like the ones that we face today.

This entire election cycle has been attended with turmoil. It is the longest campaign season that I have ever witnessed, and it has had one of the largest slates of candidates to winnow that I can remember. In fact, it is the first time in my lifetime that I recall both parties scrambling to find a candidate at the same time. This has created its own set of problems and surprises. However, the process has somehow worked, and we are left with two very distinct choices for president.

On the one hand we have Senator John McCain who is running on a platform that at its core stands for the protection of the unborn. He also is campaigning for less government and to maintain accountability in all levels of government - even promising top to bottom audits in every department if he is elected. He wants to eliminate waste and corruption from Washington. He is a man with many years of experience in Washington and someone who is as sick of the nonsense that goes on up there as I am. He is promising to do his best to reform our government. He is promising to lower taxes. He has military command experience. He has suffered for our country in ways that most of us cannot imagine. He understands the world that we live in and understands its dangers. He believes that peace comes through strength.

On the other hand we have Senator Barack Obama whose platform promises to continue the slaughter of the unborn. Whose voting record has shown him to be in favor of the indirect murder of children who somehow survive an abortion procedure. He is in favor of redefining marriage. His words have shown that he is easily confused when trying to discern what truth is. Such things are "above his pay grade." He has mocked Christians' belief in the Bible and demonstrated great confusion on his part in accurate handling of its truth. His policies are unashamedly socialist while his charitable giving prior to the beginning of his campaign seems to paint a dramatically different picture of his true heart toward those less fortunate. His background is filled with questionable associations, and there are many unanswered questions about how someone from such humble beginnings managed to get the funds to travel and go to the schools (Columbia and Harvard) that he attended. His experience in government is almost nil - most of his tenure as a Senator has been spent campaigning. And he has promised to gut our military in the face of the incredible dangers that we face in the world today.

The choice couldn't be more clear. There is almost no overlap between these two men. They are as different as it is possible to be. It is with this fact in mind that I want to write to you, the readers of this blog.

I believe that God still speaks to His people. Down through the ages this communication has been called prophecy. And God often reveals his plans to His people through individuals called prophets. Many of you probably have real doubts about whether prophets even exist in the world today. I can assure you that they do. I have known quite a few and can testify that their words have proven true.

A group of prophets, that included one man that I know personally, accurately predicted (in 1999) the current war against radical Islam. (They also predicted that the war would involve China and that it could be averted by prayer. I am hoping that the China part was turned away.) Months ago another friend of mine predicted the stock market crash that we have been witnessing over the past weeks.

What is prophecy? Prophecy is merely accurately reporting what God says about a situation or a person. The real rub is in the "accurately" part. It is pretty serious business to claim to speak for the Almighty. However, it is clear through the Scriptures that God speaks to His people through prophets. It occurred in both the Old Testament and in the New: Jesus spoke to his disciples about the blessing of receiving prophets, Paul commented that he wished that all of the believers in Corinth would prophesy, we are even encouraged to ask for the gift of prophecy.

I do not consider myself a prophet. I have never seen myself in that light, but lately my prayer times have been more of a two-way communication than I have experienced for most of my Christian life. During these prayer times I believe that the Lord has shown me some things that are going to happen in our country as a result of tomorrow's election. I hope that as I share some of these insights that they will serve to encourage you.

As I have been praying over the past few weeks about the state of our country, I believe that God has shown me that He is in the process of taking away the externals that America has relied upon. He is going to force America to realize that it is not by our might or by any inherent goodness that we have achieved our place in the world but that it is only by His grace and His operation on our behalf.

As America has rejected the foundational pillars that He placed in our nation at its founding the Lord has been removing His blessing and protection over our land. It is really our own foolishness that has removed His covering and support. Our nation is like the foolish woman in the Proverbs who tears down her home with her own hands.

In a large part the Church in America has rejected the Bible as its foundation. We have been influenced by our culture more than we have influenced it - which is why only about 9 percent of America's Evangelical Christians could be said to have a biblical worldview.

The choice between the candidates this year is clear. It really couldn't be more so. On the one hand you have Senator McCain and Governor Palin who are standing on the traditional values that I enumerated earlier. While he is not perfect, Senator McCain is clearly much more in line with the admonition of Scripture than Senator Obama who has tickled the ears of many on the campaign trail this year.

I believe that the Lord has shown me that the majority of the people in America have rejected Him and His wisdom. This will be dramatically illustrated by a convincing Obama victory tomorrow. Just like the children of Israel rejected God as their king and demanded a king like all the other nations, so America will do tomorrow, and God is going to honor their wish. I believe God told me:

The nation has asked for its Saul, and I will give him to them. Shakings are coming. Not a shaking, but multiple shakings. Because the heart of this nation that has chosen this man is evil, there will be shaking. But don't be afraid because I am going to work through this to turn the heart of this nation back to Me. First I will turn his heart and then I will turn the heart of the nation, but it will be difficult. You will see many things that make your heart grieve. Stay anchored in Me. Let me carry Your grief. Let me give you My joy in its place. It is imperative that You remain close to me during this time. Remain close to me always and you never need fear. Do not give in to cynicism. Do not give in to bitterness and hatred. Do not allow anger to darken your mind. You will be angry, but bring it to Me. I am the Lord. I will defend the helpless. I will protect the downtrodden. You will see me glorified in this man.

...You will also see the end to abortion and infanticide. You will see marriage restored to its proper place.

...Trust Me that I am bringing another great awakening to your people. It will be a harvest like you will not believe. It will fill you with great joy. But first, like it was for my people, Israel, there will be great distress first to turn them from their idols.


I realize that there is a lot in this message that isn't exactly good news. I didn't think so either. But this isn't about what we think - it is about what God has sovereignly chosen to do.

Do not despair if these things come to pass. I truly hope that they do not. I hope that prayer has changed the outcome. I even hope that I totally missed it, but I want to share this message in the possibility that if the predicted outcome of tomorrow's vote does come true then the encouragement that is also in the prophecy will ring true.

Regardless of who wins the election tomorrow they are going to need our prayers. (With all of the troubles facing our country I can't imagine anyone wanting the job.) If the outcome that I have reported occurs, much prayer will be needed to turn Mr. Obama's heart to the Lord and much will be needed to prevent him from being able to take away our freedoms and reverse the gains made towards ending abortion. When his heart turns he will need our prayers to give him wisdom and protection in the face of the outrage that will be turned against him. We must take very seriously the commands of Romans 13 and 1 Timothy 2:1-3.

Watch your mouths and your hearts. Cry out to God not to each other. Complaining to each other will only make it harder to pray and believe. Take your grief and fear to the Lord and let Him take it away. Remember that it is God who chooses our leaders and gives them their authority. He also directs their heart. Our prayers will influence that.

And we need not fear if we are following Christ because He will protect us. Remember the glorious promises of this prophecy too. God will turn his heart. God will turn our nation. There will be incredible harvest and awakening in our land. Abortion will end. Any one of these things would be cause for great rejoicing.

The road will be difficult, but it will be worth it to see our nation healed.

PS - this revelation will not change my vote in any way. I fully intend to vote my conscience and will be voting for John McCain. I can do nothing else.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've been watching the coverage and McCain's speech and I agree - all that is left is to pray for our leadership. I keep hearing that this is such a big step for our country, and I am by no means racist, but I can only be saddened by the election results.

Jonathan said...

The one positive thing is that our country did prove that it is possible for a black man to become President. Unfortunately, I fear that was the main concern of many. I think many Christians missed the whole point and refused to see the reasons why John McCain and Sarah Palin should have been supported. It was a sad day for our country. I do have hope though in the midst of the sadness that God will reform this country and redeem our destiny as a nation.