The
first President of the USA (232 years ago) and every President
until the 46th President in
2021, gave an inaugural speech to a live gathering of people. On January 20, 2021 instead of citizens,
there were thousands of soldiers guarding the government from the
people. What is wrong with this picture?
The government has slipped away from “by the people, of the people, and for the
people” (at the federal level at least).
Our
first President, George Washington stated in his inaugural address, “ Since we ought to be no less persuaded that
the propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that
disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has
ordained: And since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the
destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the
hands of the American people.”
Basically,
what this is saying is that God’s order of creation must be honored and
respected by all who call themselves citizens of the great experiment called
the United States of America. God’s
sovereign rule is the authority above all nations, forms of government, and
policies that dictate the rule of law. Anything short of acknowledging this Truth,
will revoke God’s blessing and lead to the downfall of the USA.
The
reality is we, as a nation, have turned away from God, and are guilty of the
faults our Founders (Washington included) warned us against. As we disregard the God who made us great, we
dismantle our greatness. Turning back to God is our only hope for greatness.
Turning back to God is our only hope to solve the problems we face. Turning back to God is our only hope for unity
(by the people, for the people, of the people) to return to being blessed by
God. Not that our Founders were perfect in all the ways they themselves acted,
but their pursuit of God was leading their way.
Our
problems are not chiefly political, although politics is certainly involved. Our
problems are a struggle between good and evil. Tyranny is evil. Our Founders
fought a battle against tyranny, and won. In recent decades, forces of tyranny
have been gaining ground from within our major institutions (especially
government, media, and education). Examples are the authoritarian style state Governors
using the Covid pandemic for excessive control, the so-called “news” media being
hijacked to promote a narrative of fear and mob hysteria, and Big Tech
companies using their digital savvy to systematically squash peoples’ opinions they
don’t like. Killing unborn children, blurring clear boundaries of male and female
biology, and trying to mainstream sodomy by redefining marriage, are abominable
ad destructive to civilization. Tyrants are attempting to “cancel” our history
and redefine the virtues that made America the greatest nation on earth. We must fight and resist this tyranny.
Please
note, by “fight” I do NOT mean causing physical harm or individuals’ character
assassination. The very reason I have to make this qualification is because of
tyrants calling evil good, and good evil. The American ideal of civil debate
(as a means of fair “fight”) seems to be gone. We must speak up.
The
greatest threat to evil tyrants is our good God. Therefore, squeezing God out
of our nation’s heritage, culture, institutions, and lifestyles is the tyrants’
greatest aim. Unfortunately, if we are honest with ourselves, those of us who
are God-followers must admit we have allowed evil to also invade our own ranks
much too deeply. Immorality among God’s
people is rampant, and the Bible as the absolute authority of God is spurned by
many who call themselves Christians.
As
citizens of the US, at what point do we say, “The tyranny must stop” and engage
the evil with resistance? The Germany of the 1930’s waited much too long to
resist and paid a high price. Can we learn from history? Now is the time to fight back the tyranny
before it’s too late.The more power a government is given, the more controlling
it will become of its people. American ideals hold tolerance in high value.
Tyranny is a hypocritical use of tolerance. We must become intolerant of tyranny within,
similar to the way our Founders had to fight tyranny from distant forces.
I
believe in America’s right to exist and defend her liberties (“America-first”),
as a good political strategy in the global view of things. However, my primary citizenship is in the
Kingdom of God. As Christ-followers we cannot confuse our loyalties. The Church
is called to a “Jesus first” strategy. Father God sent his only Son Jesus into
the world to save the world from its brokenness (John 3:16-17).
For those of us who are citizens of God’s Kingdom
we must first fight tyranny at our own personal heart level. With Christ as
Lord our heart is being liberated from the tyranny of the devil’s imprisonment
(see Isaiah 61:1). The Bible warns us that the “devil prowls around like a
roaring lion seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The book of James says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to
the humble.” Submit
therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:6-7).
And resist we must. Distractions and
deceptions are more common than ever to cause watering down and numbing of our
full devotion to Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:3).
Hebrews says, “Take care, brothers and sisters, that there
will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away
from the living God (Hebrews 3:12). The Church in America desperately
needs revival. A revived Church is the best hope for healing a nation.
Seeing revival
in our land begins with being revival in our hearts. Our
personal transformation journeys together can change the course of our nation’s
demise. See some of my other articles for what inner transformation looks
like.
My prayer is that we can make the
following often-quoted Bible verses a part of our everyday lives. God says,
“If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the
locust to devour the land, or if I send a plague among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and
pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from
heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2
Chronicles 7:13-14).
God’s healing
is conditional on our response to him. Seeking his face in prayer Is a huge
part of it. God also requires repentance. Everything in our lives that leaves
even the slightest hint of an open door for evil to slip through, must go. Resistance
starts with giving no assistance, to ungodly thoughts which lead to ungodly
actions. Why not get “all in” today? What is there to lose, when Christ is our
gain?
And after our
hearts are right with God, speak up to make him known in our land. Ask God to
heal our land, and proclaim his authority especially to those who deny it.
Speak up Church! Speak up?
Note: I realize some may perceive some statements
above as “too strong.” I do not think fighting tyranny and showing the world
the compassion of Christ are antithetical. I believe this is not an “either/
or”, but a “both/ and” course of action needed. Sometimes the “loving” thing to
do is to take a stand against evil. Jesus himself did just that. We need to
distinguish between the promoters of evil and the average person who gets caught
up in it. We must also recognize the difference between the “spiritual warfare”
behind tyranny; not seeing people as the problem, but their actions stirred up
by the common enemy of our souls. I
recommend a book, “Bold and Broken: Becoming a Bridge Between Heaven and Earth”
by David & Jason Benham
