I was carried into another realm where I found myself standing at a crossroads. Close to me, I saw the form of a person holding a dim light. As I approached, I recognized Lady Liberty, the Statue of Liberty, which was alive. She was confused and disoriented. With her feet barely moving forward, she was hesitant. Her light was dim, and her arms drooped so that she was about to drop the tablet she was holding loosely.
She was trying to choose one of the roads. She had just read the sign that warned those who came to this crossroads—that one path led to increasing weakness and ultimate destruction, and the other led to increasing strength and an even more brilliant future. However, the signs did not tell which road was which. The sign also warned that if one stood at this crossroads long, a choice would be forced upon them, and it would be the wrong road. So hesitating was not an option, but I knew the confusion and disorientation Lady Liberty was feeling would force the wrong road upon her.
I was compelled to encourage her so she would regain her decisiveness, but at the same time, I was looking for any clue that would indicate which was the right road. As I looked, I noticed very faint footsteps leading up to this crossroads. As my eyes focused on them, I could see that these were the footprints of great nations or empires in history. They had obviously once stood right where we were. All of these footprints led down the same road, which I knew was not the right one. It did not seem that any had yet passed this point on the right road—at least, I could not see any footprints on it.
As I looked at this road and then the other, I could see that the wrong road did seem much more inviting. It had warm streetlights leading to a curve that I could not see beyond. Because Lady Liberty’s light was so dim now, I knew this would be tempting as she could actually drop the heavy light to go that way.
As I looked at the other road, it looked as difficult and uninviting as the wrong road looked easy and inviting. It was very dark, rocky, narrow, and climbed steeply to a crest I could not see beyond. It would be nearly impossible to choose this road without being in a state of great encouragement and confidence, not the depressed state which Lady Liberty was now in.
As I looked at her, it was obvious that her confidence and resolve were eroding even further. She would never choose the right road if she did not regain her vision, confidence, and resolve quickly. It was a hard road, and just about the only light on it for a time would have to be the light you carried yourself, which would make the climb even more difficult. However, it was the only choice that was not certain doom. I was driven by this to try to convey to Lady Liberty that enduring hardship was essential if she was to live.
As I looked at Lady Liberty, I knew that she could drop the torch at any moment. She had to have help very fast. Without that torch, she would have no choice but to choose the wrong road where there was at least some light initially. I stepped over next to her and gently, but firmly, took her arm and started to lift it back up. As the light was lifted back up, it was like it received more oxygen and immediately became brighter. This was an obvious revelation to her, and her countenance began to change slightly.
I then asked her to grip the tablet, telling her she must not drop it. She responded as if she did not realize that she was about to drop it, and she gripped it. Even so, she did not yet have the will or strength to bring it back up to her side. However, I could tell that just taking the resolve not to drop the tablet helped to dispel more of the confusion. Even these seemingly small steps to regain her resolve and purpose had a great effect. I knew action and decisiveness were critical to her recovery.
I began to encourage her with all that she had done in the past just to get to this point, and told her that her future could be even greater. She could go further than any nation or empire had ever gone before. As I talked, her countenance began to brighten even more. I knew, as well as holding her arm up, I needed to speak to her of her future—she desperately needed vision. There was yet hope that she would take the right road, but there was not much time. I felt that at any moment the wrong choice would be forced upon her if she did not move forward to take the right road.
Interpretation
Lady Liberty was obviously the United States. She is at a critical crossroads, which will determine if she has an even brighter future than her past, or whether she will begin to weaken and fail. She will not make the right decision or choose the right road unless she is strengthened and encouraged to make decisions proactively. Vision and decisiveness are her oxygen, and without it, she will expire. To be encouraged is to have courage, and it is going to take courage to take the right road and to walk on it, but it is the only path with a future.
I felt that I represented the church in this vision. I needed to undergird her arm, which will be done with prayer and intercession, just as when Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ arms while Israel battled Amalek (see Exodus 17). I also had to prophesy to her, encouraging her with visions of her potential future. She had to choose a hard and lonely road, but she had the light, the light of liberty, which would enable her to do it. The higher she lifted up the light of liberty, the more brightly her path would be lit.
The depression she felt was dispelled when she regained her resolve not to drop the tablet. This was the mandate of God to hold to the Word of God. This mandate had dropped lower and lower, until she was just about to let go of it altogether. In the vision, I only saw her grip it enough not to drop it completely, but I knew she had to raise it up to her side again to make it up the steep incline she was facing if she chose the right road.
The Bible only addresses depression one time. God’s remedy for depression seems too simple, but it works and is the only thing that will work. His easy remedy cuts off depression at its roots. That is why it is only addressed once; there is nothing more to be said about it. This is found in Genesis 4:6-7:
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
“If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
Of course, the Lord warned Cain of this just before he slew his brother. Every person has been given a conscience that tells them right from wrong. To violate it is an open door for depression, which leads to anger and ultimately conflict with others. Nations that give themselves over to evil will become angry nations, which will lead to conflict and war. There are righteous wars, but most are unrighteous, and are motivated by either jealousy or anger, just as this first conflict between brothers. Had Cain heeded God’s warning, this would not have happened.
Depression is the result of sin, which is not doing what we know to be right. Regardless of how much we may try to kill or disregard our conscience, it cannot be violated without opening ourselves to depression. The depressed, who do not repent and turn to God, will usually turn against Him, then others, and will turn to anything that will give them at least temporary relief for the depression. In our generation, drugs have become the source of temporary relief most people seek. Drugs can work, temporarily, but only while opening the door wider for increased depression, which requires more drugs. The longer this cycle continues, the more that vision, purpose, and resolve are confused, deluded, and eroded. What will often fill the void are illusions of grandeur that are out of touch with reality, which the devil imparts to bring further humiliation and conflict.
In contrast to this, we are told in Romans 14:17, “...the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” The kingdom of Satan would have you pursue this in reverse, compelling you to seek joy with the delusion that it will lead to peace in your life, but it will only lead to more confusion and more depression. True peace and true joy can only begin with righteousness, which is doing what is right. If we will seek to do what is right, it will lead to a peace that the world cannot even understand, which will lead to a joy far above anything that this world can offer. The peace and joy of the kingdom is not quick, but it is deep, lasting, and based on reality.
The fact that this vision ended without a road being chosen means that it has not yet been determined which road she will take. The most important thing now is to help her regain her strength, vision, and resolve so that she will be able to see the paths and the choices more clearly. As she lifts the light of liberty higher, she will be able to see further and others will also come to the light.
Application
The United States is not the kingdom of God, and it is not indispensable to the purposes of God. Many believe that she has a special covenant with God, but many do not believe she does. This is based on the belief that, biblically, the Lord is only obligated to keep covenants which He initiates, and in Scripture He only has a covenant with two nations, Israel, and the holy nation, the church. Whether you believe America has a special covenant with God or not is not crucial for us to be the light and salt that we are called to be to our country, and to want to see our nation align itself with the purposes of God. At the very least, America was dedicated to God by its first colonists and the founding fathers who formed the nation, and the things dedicated to the Lord are holy and will be destroyed before being allowed to be profaned.
Because America was dedicated to the Lord, it cannot get away with what some other nations may be able to get away with. Severe discipline from the Lord will come upon America for things that may not be nearly as bad as what other nations are doing. This should be an encouragement to us that the Lord has not given up on us, as we are told in Hebrews 12:7-13:
It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?
For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness.
All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble,
and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
The Lord will discipline America with increasing severity, not to condemn, but to save. Intercession and repentance can reduce the severity of these judgments, but reducing the severity should not be our only goal, rather repentance that will lift the discipline altogether.
The two paths before America are either another Great Awakening or a great destruction. The church is called to be both salt and light to our nation. We must rise up with resolve to be these. I Peter 4:17 states, “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God....” We are also told that if we judge ourselves He will not have to judge us (see I Corinthians 11:31). We do need to clean up the church, but we do not have time to wait for the church to become perfect before we can be used or we would never be used. The church in America is in very much the same state as the Lady Liberty I saw. If we will rise to our purpose and recover our resolve to stand for the Word of God and His purposes without compromise, we will find the strength to lift our light higher and to help our nation lift her light higher.
The immediate, desperate need is for us to help lift her arm with our intercession. Then we must begin to prophesy to her about her future as I did in this vision. America’s future really can be far greater than her history, and she has had a brilliant history. True prophetic purpose will always be rooted in a basic commitment to honor the fathers and mothers, or history. We need to prophesy the potential future while honoring the significant exploits and contributions of great Americans in our history. Not all of the history is good, but just as even the greatest heroes of the faith in Scripture had flaws and made mistakes, we must remember the extraordinary exploits of all who built this nation.
We also need to honor the other nations who were our fathers and mothers. For America, this basically includes every other nation on earth. We are a nation truly composed of those from all nations. Every race and culture which has helped to build America is worthy of honor and respect. If America is to rise to greater heights, it will not be by tearing down other nations, but rather helping to lift them up.
The Great Commission is to make disciples, not just converts, and it is to make disciples of all nations, not just individuals. America has been a discipled nation, and has been taught, raised, and built on the principles of the Word of God. That is the tablet which must not be dropped, but raised up again to be at her side, giving her the strength and resolve to uphold the light she has been given—the light of liberty, to proclaim freedom to the captives.
Freedom is essential for true worship. That is why the Lord put the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden. It was not to cause them to stumble, but there could be no true obedience unless there was the freedom to disobey. This is why we are told in II Corinthians 3:17, “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” America now has the freedom to choose which road she will take. The church in America also has the freedom to help her, or do nothing. If we do nothing, we will share her fate. If we help her, we will share in the fruit of what she can yet accomplish to help prepare the earth for the coming kingdom of God.
To help her we must first cast off our own confusion and disorientation, the result of letting the Word of God slip lower and lower, and loosening our own grip on it. We must return to the Scriptures, seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness—the only path to true peace and joy, which is only found in His kingdom, His domain, where He is obeyed.
Lately, I have been spending time almost daily with reporters and TV news crews. Small issues or events on the Heritage property still generate an amazing amount of interest and almost any mention of it will make it on the national or international news services. Why?
Heritage USA was once considered the third biggest attraction in the United States, drawing an estimated six million people a year. Jim Bakker told me that he believed this number was inflated because it included many who came more than once. Even if it were inflated many times over, it is still an impressive number. Heritage was once called “the second most famous address in the world,” but this was as a worldwide symbol of the failures of modern Christianity. However, its restoration will likewise be a worldwide symbol of God’s power of redemption, which is the basic message of the gospel.
Someone once said that having the media want to do a story on you is kind of like being invited to dinner by a lion—you may have a nice dinner or you may be the dinner! Certainly, we have wondered if the news media would be interested in good news or if they would bend every story to somehow generate controversy, which many think is necessary to generate interest. There are some international stories now being written about us, and we really do not know how they will turn out. However, to date, the local and national media have been fair and accurate with us.
Just as Nehemiah experienced, when you try to restore that which is being used to humiliate God’s people, you can expect serious opposition. We took the task of restoring Heritage, knowing that we would have to endure opposition and that there would be continued attempts to discourage us from finishing it. However, our leadership team and churches, which are composed of many warriors who run to the sound of battle, not away from it, resolved to go for it, and to hold the course until the job was completed regardless of the opposition. To date, there does not seem to have been any budging from this resolve.
We have also been encouraged by the number of churches, ministries, and individual Christians who have joined with us in this work. Nearly one-third of the rooms have now been sponsored through our Nehemiah Project. Through this project, a group or individual can sponsor the restoration of a hotel room for just $5,000, and the room is named in their honor. We do this because those who joined the work of restoring the temple in the Book of Ezra are all named in canon Scripture, and we feel that it is important to name those who have joined in this historic work as well. Their names will remain on these rooms on plaques that we place by the door of each room.
We are also building a “Nehemiah’s Wall” in which everyone who contributes $1,000 or more to this work will be listed. To see the diversity of churches, ministries, and people on the plaques, or listed on our wall, is very encouraging, and we think it will be a perpetual encouragement for all who come to Heritage. This is not just about the money, but as the Lord taught, where a person’s treasure is, so will their heart be also (see Matthew 6:21). We know that those who contribute to this work are doing it from their hearts and their hearts will continue with the work.
Philippians 1:6 states, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” The Lord does not begin a work that He does not finish. Heritage may still be remembered around the world for its failures, but it will become a symbol of redemption and restoration.
We know that one person is more important than any building, but these buildings do have prophetic significance, and we are taking our stewardship with the utmost concern and seriousness. We also value the testimony of the founders like Jim Bakker, who wrote the book, I Was Wrong. There were mistakes made. One twenty-minute moral failure basically brought down a ministry that had taken many years, and a huge amount of resources and effort to build. It is never worth it.
As Jim Bakker also recently related to me, they did not consider it spiritual to be too concerned or involved with the financial affairs, so the void was filled with mismanagement, or worse. As the Lord taught in the Parable of the Talents, the one who was told, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” managed what he was entrusted with well. The one who was called “You wicked, lazy servant,” did not manage well what was entrusted to him (see Matthew 25:14-30 NIV). It has been estimated that as much as one-third of the Bible’s teachings deal with stewardship and good management. We tend to think of righteousness in strictly moral terms, which is without question important, but a huge part of the Lord’s instructions on righteousness have to do with managing rightly what we are entrusted with, which is basic integrity.
We are also warned in I Corinthians 10:12, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall,” and in Proverbs 11:2, “When pride comes, then comes dishonor, but with the humble is wisdom.” We do not consider ourselves any better than anyone else, and if we can stand the test, it is because of God’s grace which He gives to the humble. We know very well that the devil would love to use this same place as another testimony of the failure of Christianity. Therefore, we earnestly ask you to pray for us to be able to stand and to see the traps that are laid for us—there are many.
Even so, just as the restored temple was promised to have a greater glory than the former, something restored can have a greater glory than something just built. We knew when we went into this restoration it would be a battle, but we also knew that the victory would be worth it. Many great saints have even moved here to join with us in this work. Some moved just to volunteer, and even refused to take a salary for their work. Many others have joined by sending their support. I know their reward with the Lord will be great, but more than just being a testimony of redemption, what will this property be used for when it has been restored?
The Heritage of Heritage
Heritage USA, or PTL, as many knew it, was actually a birthplace of one of the most important purposes of God in our time, which will be one of the greatest contributions to the victory of the gospel in our time—the fellowship and interchange between Christians of different denominations, streams, and movements.
Jim Bakker boldly included guests on his daily TV show from across the spectrum of the body of Christ. Because of this, Presbyterians started to listen to Baptists, who started to listen to Pentecostals, who started having fellowship with Charismatics, who started to listen to Methodists, and so on. Soon Catholics were tuning in and coming to Heritage. This encouraged Christians from almost all doctrinal backgrounds to also come to Heritage USA. There they got to know each other, relationships were formed and built that continue to this day, and some of these relationships have had a major impact on the body of Christ in our time.
Almost every time I talk about Heritage to Jim Bakker, he conveys to me that its main purpose is for Christians to have a place to meet with other Christians. It was born to be a place for fellowship. The very word “fellowship” came from the phrase “two fellows in a ship,” with the meaning being that if they wanted to get somewhere they would have to learn to work together.
Fellowship is the most basic purpose of Heritage. We changed the name from Heritage USA to Heritage International Ministries (H.I.M.) to include all nations, because this will be a place, and already is, where Christians from around the world will gather and meet one another, and begin relationships that will have a great impact on our time. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians in 4:15-16:
but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ,
from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
The body is fitted and held together by joints. A joint is not a part, but where two parts come together. This will be a place where many such joints are formed, with the ultimate result being the growth of the body in love.
This is why we did not want to name this property after our own ministry, MorningStar. We are just one little part of the body. We are the present stewards of this property, and know that its purpose is far more than just building MorningStar, but for building up the body of Christ. We are thankful to be a part, but we are just the stewards. MorningStar, and all of our ministries which are based here, actually pay rent to H.I.M. This helps fund the restoration and operation of the facilities, and we feel that this will be our permanent home base, but it will also be the base of many other ministries, some of which are already here.
The Ultimate Purpose
It is our goal to restore the Heritage facilities to a condition even better than they were originally. Even so, they will be different in some ways. We want them to be comfortable and conducive to fellowship, drawing people to them, and therefore together. More than having a feeling of entertainment, we believe H.I.M. should convey a sense of serious business. Times have changed, and they will be increasingly serious. We do not want to convey fantasy, but reality. Some of the most serious business on the planet will be conducted at H.I.M.
We do want these to be some of the finest facilities available for gatherings of Christians for conferences, youth gatherings, gatherings for elders, church retreats, or personal retreats. We have been praying for years now that all who come for these things will leave bonded together on an unprecedented level. However, we are also praying that the manifest presence of the Lord will be so great here that they will encounter Him, and be bonded together with Him on an even greater level. This is coming to pass.
There is an extraordinary presence of the Lord at H.I.M. We know well, and agree, that the Lord no longer inhabits buildings made with hands, but people. But there is some way that His presence is manifested here now that at times becomes electric. Workers and delivery people who do not even know the Lord have remarked about the feeling of peace they sense at H.I.M.
This is a radical change. Two and a half years ago everyone was talking about the depression they felt when they came on the property. The Lord is going to use the meetings that take place at H.I.M. to start lifting the depression and fear off of His people.
We are praying that every ministry who comes here to host a conference, or gathering of any type, will not only experience the greatest anointing on their worship, their preaching, prayer and ministry times, and their fellowship with each other, but that they will have personal encounters with the Lord so that they do not leave talking about any of these things as much as they leave captivated by the Lord Himself.
Join With H.I.M.
You can be a part of this historic and prophetic purpose of restoration in our time. You can come visit. Plan a personal or family retreat here, or with your church or ministry. Whether you are coming alone, or with thousands, Heritage can now host you. To take a virtual tour on our website, go to www.MorningStarMinistries.org and click Heritage.
You can also be a part by joining MST, the MorningStar Strategic Team, our ministry partners’ fellowship of regular, monthly supporters. Any amount is welcome. We do not care how much you give as much as we care about your faithfulness. For your convenience, you can donate by credit or debit card (and get those frequent flyer miles which we hope you will use to come see us). You can do this as easily as making a phone call to our toll free number 1-800-542-0278, or logging on to our website at www.MorningStarMinistries.org or simply faxing or mailing the form in this Bulletin.
You may also want to sponsor the restoration of a room. You can do this as an individual, a family, with your prayer group, church, or ministry. Some are doing it as a memorial to a mentor or loved one who has passed away so that their name does not. It only costs $5,000 to sponsor a room, $8,500 for a suite, or $20,000 for an apartment. Shops on Main Street, the Grand Ballroom, or other breakout or meeting rooms are also available for sponsorship. This is all done through our Nehemiah Project, to which you can also make a donation of any size. Donations of $1,000 will be engraved on our Nehemiah’s Wall, and all donations of any size will be listed in our Nehemiah Project permanent register. View all of these online at www.heritageconferencecenter.org/. A form and further contact information for the The Nehemiah Project is included in this Bulletin, or you can call our toll free number at 1-800-542- 0278 to donate by credit or debit card.
Please consider joining us through either MST or The Nehemiah Project. Again, the amount is not as important as your faithfulness. We know that where your treasure, is there will your heart be also. If you invest in the kingdom by investing with us in these projects, your heart will also be with us. Thank you!
