It was no accident that this was one of the most extraordinary and enigmatic elections in our history. Never have so many people come to understand how much their vote can count, and never have so many people felt that their vote may not have even been counted. In the end, the election was not even decided by the votes, but by the courts. However, there are important messages in this election.
Years ago I watched a pro football playoff game that was decided by a bad call from an official. The replays clearly showed how wrong the call had been. When the owner of the defeated team was being interviewed, everyone was expecting him to be in a rage, but surprisingly he wasn’t. His reply was simple, but filled with wisdom. He said: “The world is not fair so we should not expect to always be treated fairly.” He went on to say that their job was to go back and be so good the next year that they would not leave themselves in a position where the officials could take the game away from them.
The worst nightmare of any sport is to have an important game decided by a referee or official. The sport exists so that the performance of the players will decide the outcome. It is the purpose of a democracy that the will of the people, as decided by the votes, determines who will be given authority. There was probably no one in either party that wanted to have this election decided by the courts. However, we should be thankful that we have a court system that can intervene when necessary and decide such issues with the grace and power that it did.
There was no way for this to be done in a way that would make everyone happy, but at least we did not have tanks in the streets. We will not have perfect justice on earth until the perfect Judge returns, but we can be very thankful for the degree of justice that we do enjoy in this country. Even so, both our democracy and system of justice can be better, and will have to be to prevail through what is coming. This shaking was not by accident, and we, as a nation, must learn from it.
Are We a House Divided?
No, we are not a house divided. As a nation we are divided over many issues—some of which are very important. But let there be any kind of crisis, and the resiliency of the American people, in spite of such differences and diversity in cultures and races, will bring an astonishing unity. Even though we are so diverse racially and culturally, we get along amazingly well. In almost every major election over 40 percent of the people had their choice lose, and yet, with but a couple of exceptions, they gave remarkable grace and support to the one elected. The American democracy, and the American people are very strong.
This is not to say that we do not have serious problems and weaknesses. Some of these are growing dramatically, such as the meltdown of morality and integrity, the breaking up of families, and the increasing disregard for the precious value of every human life. It is our responsibility to be good citizens, and voting is part of that responsibility. If the church had been serious about this responsibility, this election would not have even been close. However, complacency about voting is not as bad as the complacency concerning the spiritual and moral meltdown that has been occurring in our country.
One area where progress has been made is in tolerance between races, but we still have a long way to go. Some visible leaders of minorities have so overplayed the race card that it is not only becoming seriously counterproductive, but is close to igniting tragic racial conflicts that could set race relations back a very long way. We must pray for a new generation of leaders to come forth who will walk in the highest standards of moral, spiritual, and racial integrity.
We are also in danger of serious and violent backlashes against the homosexual community. As Christians we must not fall into this trap of trying to use violence, which only multiplies the power of the evil one. II Corinthians 10:4 states: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal” (KJV). We are commanded to love everyone, and not hurt anyone. The Lord loves homosexuals and desires for every one of them to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. As James 1:20 makes clear, “for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”
As Christians we must also express our zeal for righteousness. A key scripture for this is Hebrews 12:14, “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.” We must grow in sanctification if we are going to see the Lord, but we must do this in a way that pursues “peace with all men.” We need to go to our most vehement enemies and pursue peace with them, while at the same time pursuing sanctification.
Jesus was the most righteous man that has ever or will ever walk the earth, yet the sinners flocked to Him, and even invited Him to their parties. True righteousness is willing to go to those who need a physician. We cannot do this in a way that flaunts our righteousness, but rather in a way that seeks peace. We can also expect those who are in bondage to perversion to flaunt their perversions until they know that we are real, and that we really do love them. I think we will be amazed at the bridges of trust and respect that can be built. As we are told in Colossians 1:28-29:
And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ.
And for this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.
Our goal must be to see every person made complete in Christ, so we must admonish and teach “with all wisdom.” In Deuteronomy 10:19 Israel was commanded to love the foreigner who was in their midst. It was twentyone chapters later when they were commanded to teach the foreigner the ways of the Lord (Deuteronomy 31:12). This indicates that we must love those who are different before we can teach them.
Even though we are not yet a house divided, we do have divisions, and we are a nation that is now “hesitating between two opinions.” When Israel was in the same condition their hesitation allowed the vacuum of leadership to be filled by false prophets. Likewise today, America is dominated by false prophets who promote all manner of diabolical philosophies, agendas, and perversions.
Where is the God of Elijah?
There must be a confrontation with the modern Jezebel spirit that has been used to promulgate the diabolical philosophies and perversions in the land. This spirit has married our government (king) and turned it in some ways, into a groveling, pitiful, shell of the authority that it has been called to be, in standing against evil and perversion. We can hardly expect the government to do anything about the rising tide of evil regardless of who is President. We are now in desperate need of a prophetic ministry that will arise with the constitution and resolution of Elijah to demonstrate with power who the true God is.
Recently, I was asked by a reporter if I thought the prophetic movement was mature and had become established. I certainly do not think that it has. I am encouraged by the way so many are now demonstrating powerful prophetic gifts. I am also encouraged that there is a growing maturity and integrity in the prophetic movements of which I am aware, but the primary purpose of prophetic ministry is to call God’s people back to righteousness. If there is a mature prophetic ministry now, then there has been a tragic failure. The most disastrous moral slide in history has taken place on our watch.
However, the prophetic ministry has not yet been given its place in the church, much less arisen with the power, and credibility for the world to pay attention to it. That day will come. There will also be a time when, in every major crisis, news teams will seek out the prophets to see what the Lord is saying about such matters. There are some world leaders who already do this, but overall the prophetic ministry in the church has not matured enough to earn it. This is not about recognition, or having a seat at the table—it is about saving souls that the Lord gave His life to save.
Even more important than having CNN ask our opinions because of a significant gift, where are the preachers of righteousness? Where are the righteous? If they exist, are they still hiding in caves as they did when Elijah wondered the same thing? How is it that the perverted are coming out of their closets in droves while the righteous are still hiding in their closets? I deeply appreciate the great prayer movements of our time, and we certainly need more prayer, not less, but there is a time to not just pray but to step out of the closet and start doing. This is that time. As we are warned in Psalm 32:6:
Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found; surely in a flood of great waters they shall not reach him.
In the MorningStar Fellowships at Charlotte and Wilkesboro, we now have hundreds of people who are growing in proven prophetic gifts. I do not know of another church anywhere that has anything like what we have been blessed with. We have experienced very few of the problems that others claim to have with prophetic people. Even so, I was told by the Lord twice that if we, MorningStar, did not come to know His voice much better than we do now, we will not make it through what is coming.
Accurate knowledge of the future might be the most valuable commodity there is. The church has been entrusted with gifts of the Spirit that are more valuable than all of the treasure on this earth combined, yet how many of these talents are being buried? The pastors and leaders who have “buried” these gifts, (or the people with them), because they feared the mistakes or problems, will soon realize that they should not have feared having these gifts more than any problems maturing prophetic people can cause. Through the prophetic gifts in our congregations we have been able to move forward with confidence and boldness into the most fruitful aspects of our ministry now. Prophetic ministry has enabled us to avoid some major traps and problems. I believe in a few cases it may well have saved our entire ministry.
Any church without prophetic gifts is like a person without sight. They can learn to get around some, but are severely restricted. Though a blind person’s hearing may get better, as well as their other senses, I don’t think you can find a single one who would not rather have eyes that see. Churches are going to understand more and more just how blind they are. They may still be getting around, but they could be doing much better. Even with all of the people in our congregations who are beginning to see, we are still getting blind-sided continually with problems and attacks from the enemy that should have been foreseen. Our eyes are really just beginning to open. We too must keep growing.
We are Jonah and Lot
I once had a prophetic experience in which I was talking to Jonah and Lot. Jonah was a prophet who fled from the will of God, moving fast in the wrong direction. When the storm came, he was asleep and the heathen had to wake him up to get him to call on his God. This is the state of the church in America today, which is called to be God’s prophet to the nation. We’re running from God and we’re asleep. The heathen are having to wake us up to get us to call on God. We are soon going to awaken to the fact that the storm that has come upon us is not because of the heathen, but because of us! Judgment begins with the household of God and it is beginning.
In the prophetic experience with Lot, he was lamenting over the fact that he thought he could be a witness to Sodom. After its destruction he realized how foolish it had been for him to try to be a witness to those who were in such darkness. The blind cannot see, and they will never see our witness. As Paul explained,
How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14).
We think that Jonah is a humorous case, but we are in desperate need of the spiritual authority that he had. His preaching was so anointed that, even though he did not do a single miracle, the whole city repented, from the king right down to the cattle. If the Lord sends great demonstrations of His power like He did through Elijah, that would be wonderful. If He doesn’t, we must still preach. His word can save multitudes from the terrible destruction that is coming.
Every Christian has been entrusted with something much more valuable than all of the treasure on this earth—we have in our possession the knowledge of salvation. How will we stand before the Lord if our neighbors perish and we did not share this with them? How will we face our neighbors on judgment day?
George W. Bush is going to be “a burning bush.” He will probably surprise even his closest associates by the way he stands for truth, righteousness, and justice. However, we must not for a single minute allow this to lull us into complacency. The Bush presidency is grace from God. It represents more time. We must not waste it. We must arise with resolution to obey the truth that we have been given, and preach it.
Where Is Justice?
Another one of Bob Jones’ well known prophecies was given to us before baseball season began that the Atlanta Braves were going to win the World Series that year, and that this would be a message for the nation. (The Braves were then called “America’s Team.” We are called the land of brave.) None of us knew what the message was, including Bob, until the night they won.
The Braves had been a good team for a long time, but it was a young black man named David Justice who hit the winning home run that made them world champions. There is a new black leadership that is about to arise in America. Like King David, they will be both great worshipers and great warriors. They will fight for justice.
We were told that the Braves would not win the World Series again the next year, and that there would also be a lesson in that. I went to the last World Series game in Atlanta that year, and I was shocked by the attitude I felt in the crowd. The famous “tomahawk chop” sounded more like a moan from indigestion. Mike Dean had told me that the year before there had been thousands of people standing in the streets around the stadium during the game. Even though they knew they could not get in, they wanted to show their support by just standing with them in the parking lot, a remarkable devotion even for a sports team. That year there was no one outside interceding. Those inside seemed worse than bored, and they tended to criticize their own team ruthlessly.
When it was over, I thought that it was obvious why the Braves were not able to win a single World Series game at home that year (they won two in New York). As I listened to a commentator the next day I heard the word of the Lord through him and understood why they lost the Series. He said simply, “If Justice had not been injured they would have won.” Of course, he was referring to David Justice. America will not be able to accomplish the main thing that we are now called to do in the world until true justice is established.
I have been to many nations, almost all of the Western, developed nations, and I believe that we have the greatest system of justice on earth. However, even the best system of justice on earth is still flawed because it is run by fallen men. There are still tragic injustices in the United States justice system. We have laws that declare there will be equal justice for all, but there is not equal justice for all no more than there was freedom for all before the Civil War, even though we claimed that “all men were created equal.” Minorities in this country are still too often guilty until proven innocent. They are still targets of racial oppression and exploitation. They are still too often harassed at polling stations.
There is massive discrimination, and massive reverse discrimination. Religious discrimination and persecution is rising dramatically in America, and religious liberty will always be the linchpin of freedom. Economic prosperity can cover up other serious social problems, but they are about to be uncovered. They are being exposed so that we can remove them before they prove fatal. America’s finest days can yet be ahead of us. It is no accident that the presidential election was decided by the Supreme Court on the 12th day of the 12th month of 2000. Twelve is the number of government, and the government of God will not be fully established until justice speaks. It is also significant that the decision of the Supreme Court was announced at 10:00p.m. This signifies that we are not yet at the 11th hour, but we are getting close.
