by Dennis Petersen

Can you think of times in history when victory seemed remote and defeat was all around? What is God saying to His Ekklesia – his true family of believing members of the body of Christ – in the midst of the pervasive darkness and fear that is so obvious in today’s world? One would have to be completely unaware of history and current events to not see that the challenges facing the human race today are historic.  And, if you’re a child of God, following the Lord Jesus Christ as His disciple, you’d have to be spiritually asleep to not perceive that God is preparing His true church for unusually special times of living in the conscious awareness of His sovereign guidance, God-glorifying purpose and victorious destiny.

 I’ve observed and said for many years the prophetic biblical principle of Hebrews 12:26-27 and Haggai 2:6-7, that ‘everything that CAN be shaken will BE shaken.’ Obviously, the absolute fulfillment of those prophetic words are specifically the ultimate shaking and removing of created things. However, in the tumult of the 1,990^th year since the Holy Spirit filled the disciples in the upper room, exactly 50 days after Christ’s passion and resurrection, the relative stability of the whole world has been shaken in ways that most of us humans could not have imagined possible. Everyone is affected by the dominant emotions of fear and uncertainty. What a perfect set up for God to get the attention of everyone on earth. Think about it.

Let’s remember that a big part of God’s purpose for His people in steadily getting to know Him and His ways better, is learning from His Word –  how he has divinely orchestrated the events and people’s lives who are specifically recorded in His Scriptures. We’re reminded by the apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans that “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4). And we’re not talking about the hope that Santa has our name on his ‘nice’ list. Biblical hope is confident expectation. It is accessed by true Biblical faith, of which He has given a measure to every genuine believer (Ro 12:3).

If you read through the faith chapter of Hebrews 11 and do not have a clear picture in your mind of the events in the lives of the people listed there, that’s a good indication that you need to do your homework and carefully listen to the scriptures of the Hebrew Bible (called the Tanach).  If you have a computer or portable device able to download apps, I highly recommend you start using a dependable Bible app like YouVersion at Bible.com. I found this free app extremely helpful to develop a discipline of reading or listening to the Bible daily.

Think about crisis moments in history. In modern times it might be the 1929 day that the stock market collapsed or the ‘infamous day in history’ – December 7^th – when the American naval fleet was attacked at Pearl Harbor. For many who lived through those days of terrifying turmoil, there is no doubt that it seemed like their world was being shaken. But it wasn’t the end of the world. And neither is the present shaking, that understandably puts people in a state of confusion and perplexity. Do you think that God is getting the attention of millions, if not billions, of people all across the world?

There’s a sad reality in the nation we call America… not to mention the rest of the world.  The common-sense determination, courage and resolve of pioneers and patriots who fought to gain and protect liberty for their families has been all but displaced. What has displaced it? A mindset of ambivalent settlers with an entitlement audacity that has practically no concept of hardship, endurance and standing firmly against enemies that would destroy them. This is not just a major problem.  It’s almost a guarantee of another historic reality. What’s that? Without a God-based and morality-based reformation of society, the masters of deceit will enslave any people.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are all somewhat aware that we have a real unseen enemy that is increasingly evident by the chaos and confusion that surrounds us. But most of us don’t take that fact seriously. How do I know that? Because we don’t talk about it. 90% of the people we see in the society around us don’t talk about it. Why? Because our society has been secularized!  What does that mean? People have been propagandized by popular culture. They have been taught that the devil doesn’t exist. They’ve been ridiculed for thinking that God exists. And their churches have tended to sanitize people’s understanding of spiritual realities with a veil of so-called religion.  They have a form of godliness, but they deny God’s power.  

That’s about to change.  In fact – if our eyes are open – God is already changing that status quo.

You don’t have to convince people from traditional ancient cultures about the reality of the demonic realm. They know about it well.  Traditional ethnic people groups (the Bible calls them nations – the English word used for the biblical word “ethnos”) suffer horribly from satanic enemies of their humanity. They are deceived into thinking that they have to appease those devilish false gods. They live in constant fear for their safety, maybe even for their survival. They are conned into giving their religious sacrifices to demons just so they can have their perverted temporary fleshly lusts fulfilled. And yet they are in a constant state of unfulfilled agony. The devil even deceives humans into believing they have to sacrifice their own babies on the stone altars of grossly demonic idols. We modern people tend to think of demonically oppressed people as backward, unsophisticated and what we incorrectly label as “primitive.” 

But that’s another part of our reality that’s about to change.

As the utter wickedness and deranged deception of evil is being exposed all around us, more and more people are awakening. They are being shaken to realize that the evil that has overtaken the elitist controlling elements of our world is exceedingly more vile than most of us could have imagined. But the only solution is also becoming more evident. God is raising up humble and bold witnesses to declare the truth that Jesus Christ has been given all authority – over every demonic power – in heaven and in earth. And He has assigned His true disciples to bring that redemptive reality to all the nations – the ethnicities, the people groups, the sub-cultures – of the entire earth.  That’s an assignment.  And we are the heirs of that assignment.

If you’re a follower of Jesus Christ, filled with His Holy Spirit… not just a so-called Christian that basically has no transforming influence on the dark world around us… then you can’t help being righteously angry at the demonic destruction of lives that has been going on all around us.  Yes, you can be sad.  Yes, you can be discouraged.  You can be tempted to fear. But you can’t willingly allow the deceiving devil to have any more of God’s earth.  It doesn’t belong to him.  It belongs to God.  And He has assigned you and me, as His child-like, faith-filled ambassadors, to do our parts in agreeing with God.  Remember that after His resurrection, just before His ascension, He told His disciples that ALL authority has been given to Him in heaven and in earth.  That’s why we pray in Jesus’ name.  That’s why we can recognize and cast out demons in Jesus’ name.  Most Christians don’t get it.  That’s because they’ve been secularized. They’ve not been set free.  The truth has been crowded out of their minds by deception. And they keep listening to it, instead of abiding in His Word.

And by the way, if you’re still listening to CNN, MSNBC and all the other secular news sources, stop it. There are plenty of other good sources for news now. Just search for them. You’ll find, for example, the new Victory Channel News has excellent news coverage on a regular daily basis. There are others like OAN and Right Side Broadcasting Network, and others you can find on the Internet, but you’re going to have to pay for it. That which is “free” is not free. It comes at a cost. And the cost has been the loss of our sanity, and our culture, and our sense of morality.

Remember, Jesus never said simply that “the truth will set you free.”  Go back and read it in John 8:31-32. He said “IF YOU ABIDE in my word… THEN you are truly my disciples.”  And then you will know the truth.  And then the truth will set you free.  Jesus didn’t call you to be His disciple and then throw you out of his boat to let you tread water on your own.  You have to abide in Him. Stay in his boat.  That means staying in his Word.  Abiding in his word.  Like a nursing baby have an unending desire for the true ‘milk of your mother’s word.’  And as you’re nourished by that milk – that word – THEN you will grow by it and be strengthened to resist every deceptive attack of the enemy.  You’ll overcome the temptation to do the things that you know don’t please your heavenly Father. Why? Because you’re abiding in His word.  You’re reading it. you’re listening to it. You’re meditating on it day and night.  It becomes your first love.  You forget about the tempting traps to lure you away from God into deception. You’re seeking His face… His intimate fellowship… not just His hand and what He can give you. And the more you do that, the less you’ll be even tempted to fall into your old carnal traps that keep you in shame and powerless regret.

Lately, we’ve been often reminded of the Biblical events that God orchestrated in the lives of mere human beings to bring about His saving deliverance when they were at a fearful precipice that seemed like the end. It’s like when Moses’ mother put her baby in the little basket to save his life. It’s like when Mordecai’s cousin, Hadassah – renamed Esther – challenged her that perhaps she had been brought to her place in the King’s harem “for such a time as this.”  Every one of those classic real-life events happened for our encouragement and our hope. They are examples of true Biblical faith to take God’s Word seriously and walk out on the water when He calls us to do what we know we can’t do in our own strength. That’s the victory that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4). It’s the confident expectation for God’s deliverance, without which we cannot please Him (Hebrews 11:6). And that’s why we need to nourish our faith daily, because “faith comes by hearing the spoken (Rhema) word of God (Romans 10:17).”

When God miraculously raised up and placed a man called Donald J. Trump into the influential position of the most powerful human seat of God-ordained government on the planet, only some of God’s chosen people awakened to their golden opportunity to engage with their world for the glory of God. In four short years, God miraculously enabled that one unique man to accomplish more for the liberty of our nation than anyone thought possible. No one denies it. His courageous leadership reflected sound Godly wisdom and truth like few others in the last century. Think about it.

In just 48 months…

• He publicly recognized and took actions to support the sacredness of human life more than any president, ever.
• He upheld law and order for the protection of citizens by actions and not just words.
• He appointed more constitutionally minded judges to federal courts than anyone thought possible.
• He finally fulfilled the promises that many administrations before failed to do by recognizing and enabling the nation of Israel to establish its capitol in Jerusalem. And he facilitated international peace treaties with Israel in the mid-East that surprised everyone.
• He started no wars and sharply reduced our involvement in unnecessary conflicts on foreign soil.
• He greatly improved economic concerns for Americans strengthening American jobs like never before.
• He brought sanity to border protection from criminal invasions of the American people by sworn enemies.
• More than anything, he inspired true patriots of America’s best virtues to assertively stand up to the truth even when it draws ridicule from the many cowards who constantly scorn truth tellers.  It’s no different than the challenges of Nehemiah’s distracting intimidators Sanballat and Tobiah when God’s appointed man was rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem that had been broken down and neglected for years.

Now, when that bright spot, seems to be extinguished, we are facing what many have called a ‘Red Sea moment.’  With a clearly inept, corrupt and illegitimate “Ahab” sitting in what looks like the position of power with his “Jezebel,” nervously poised to undermine western civilization with the venom of their ridiculously insane agenda of national destruction, many of God’s people are interceding for divine deliverance that will confuse the hordes of avowed enemies of righteousness, virtue and liberty.

Like the prophet Daniel’s three young friends about to be thrown into Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace for resisting the king’s orders, God’s people today are being challenged.  Will we stand confident in God’s Words to deliver them and speak like they spoke?

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

(Dan 3:16-18)

Whether it was Moses, leading two million Israelites to the edge of the Red Sea with Pharaoh’s army closing in on them, or shepherd boy David courageously standing up to the mocking Goliath that caused all his fellow Israelites to cower in fear, we should get the picture.  Like never before in our modern time, the eyes of the world are watching to see what God’s people in America will do. 

Some trust in chariots and others trust in horses, but those who know their God intimately will be strong and trust in the Lord to deliver them. The question is: will we prayerfully, actively and outspokenly acknowledge that God is our only Savior?  If God is pleased by a miracle of His grace and righteous justice to fully expose the deep deception of darkness to the people who are caught in the matrix of the destruction that threatens to engulf them, then only He will receive the credit – the glory – for His deliverance.  Look at what king Nebuchadnezzar spoke after God’s miraculous intervention for those three young Hebrew boys.

“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!  Therefore, I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.”

(Dan 3:28-29)

As more and more people are awakening to the reality that a wickedly manipulated and grossly exaggerated “epidemic” has been wildly used by elitist globalists to subdue a world filled with secular, deceived sheople, God’s own inheritance – his assembled people, his Ekklesia – are being brought to their Kairos moment. In New Testament Greek, that’s “the appointed time in the purpose of God.” In other words, it is the time when God acts.

As David Lane wrote in the January 5, 2021 issue of the American Renewal Project:

“If the goal is to support and maintain sustainable freedom, virtue must be reestablished in the nation’s culture, given the reality of politics being downstream from culture. To accomplish this, the Founders’ theological scope needs to be linked to Jesus’ Ekklesia Kingdom assignment from Matthew 16:18. Otherwise, America will end up in history’s waste bin.”

What we don’t need are corrupt dictators, government busybodies, or power-hungry bureaucrats trying to look like statesmen, who delight in meddling in and controlling every part of free people’s lives.

Since Americans want to be free, let’s once again remind ourselves that “If restaurants scare you – stay home. If airline travel scares you – stay home. If bars scare you – don’t go there. If working in an office scares you – quit and work from home. If you want to wear a mask – by all means wear one. But for the rest of us, please leave us alone.”

The basic principle of our Constitutional Representative Republic, established by America’s Founders, demands that elected officials and government bureaucrats work for the owners of America: We-The-People.

When the nation’s owners cannot fully rely on government bureaucrats, Media elites, and unprincipled elitist business empire-builders and politicians to produce openness and truthfulness, true freedom cannot be maintained or defended.  America totters on the verge of an upcoming pandemic of secular subterfuge and subversion, spreading throughout the nation’s very substance.

We see that the territories of the spiritual, intellectual, educational, economical and vocational mountains of influence have been invaded by what God-fearing pioneers fought to give us. Will we reclaim their legacy?  Unprincipled secularists have plunged America into unspeakable depths of iniquity and depravity. If we recognize that culture is the public manifestation of religion and that righteousness does indeed exalt a nation, we have a huge challenge ahead of us. The present prospects of our children and their children for sustainable freedom couldn’t be much worse.

America’s rightful owners are beginning to recognize that ungodly secularism has controlled our public square, in all out aggression against Almighty Jehovah God.  How will evolutionism, Marxism and self-indulgent hedonism fade?  Only when the children of light occupy the domains being held by the servants of darkness. More importantly, the theological heresy and anti-biblical subculture, fashioned by contemporary stylish Christianity over the last 100 years, will be exposed for its emptiness.

The apostle Paul described putting on a show by observing outward forms of religion, while at the same time having no impact on the culture whatsoever. It closely matches American Christendom’s pursuits over the last century or so.

“Having an appearance indeed of godliness but denying the power thereof; turn away from such,” Paul advises in 2 Timothy 3:5.

When we think of the challenges before us today, we, as believing followers of Jesus Christ have got to get serious about recognizing the absolute imperative of His word in our everyday lives. As we do that, God is faithful. And whether He delivers us one by one, or as a nation, that serves Him wholeheartedly, we can know that we can trust God Completely.  Pray as never before through His Word according to His will, and we’ll see His deliverance come in the mighty name of Jesus.

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