Before digging deeper into what is happening, and why it is leading to the Second American Revolutionary/Civil War, I will interject a few things that we must do immediately to be prepared for what is unfolding.
The most important thing we can do to be positioned and prepared for what is unfolding is to find our place in The Lord’s body, the church, and function in it. I have been preaching this for decades, but the longer we wait to do it, the more difficult it will be to do, and the consequences for not doing it will soon be greater. Knowing what is about to happen will not help us if we are not in the right place, doing what we were called and created to do.
The church is still far from what it is called to be. Great change is needed, and great change is coming. However, those who are waiting for the change to come before they try to be a part of it will be in danger of being in the company of the foolish virgins who waited too long. Those who will play an important role in His body need to be part of the process by which the body becomes what it is called to be.
To counter the spirit of this world that is bringing the darkness, we must move in an opposite spirit. We must resist the growing hatred by growing in love. We must resist the anxiety and fear by abiding in the peace of God and growing in faith. One of the primary ways we counter the spirit of division growing in the country is to grow in unity with The Lord and His people. It is not possible to be properly joined to The Lord and not also be properly joined to His body.
A basic requirement to grow in a spirit of unity is learning to resolve disputes in the right spirit. Church is one of the primary places we are called to learn this. Those who leave the church because they got offended are usually the same ones who end up leaving their marriages, jobs, and just about any other commitment when things don’t go as they want. This is the symptom of the “spirit of divorce,” or “spirit of division” that we are warned about in Scripture. We must resolve that we will not let that evil spirit rule our life and thereby ruin our life. We must also resolve that we will not let it rule our country and ruin it.
Divisions will come, as the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians and the Apostle John wrote in I John 2. Sometimes divisions happen even between the best people, such as when Paul and Barnabas had a sharp division and parted ways. However, it is when there is a pattern of division that we must be concerned. This is an indication that one is operating in a “spirit of division.” These are those that Jude addressed: “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts. These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit” (Jude 18-19).
I personally moved in this spirit of division the first few years I was a Christian. I caused many divisions and was guilty of slandering leaders and other Christians. I was often right about my evaluation of the problems, but moved in a spirit that brought division rather than fixed problems. This was mostly because I was moving in a great amount of pride. My repentance started when I was shown that as I did unto the least of The Lord’s little ones, I was doing it to Him. I was then shown that what I was guilty of was far worse than anything those I criticized were guilty of.
There is a saying that “any jackass can kick a barn down, but it takes a skillful carpenter to build one.” Have you ever known of a critic that started a revival? Have critics ever built anything of significance? Do you know of any who are celebrated in history? Many that The Scriptures call “fault finders” will have accurate discernment and are right about the wrongs that they see, but they move in a foul spirit that only does harm to the work of God and His people. Jude reminds us that “the deep darkness” has been reserved for them. It would be much better to be wrong about a lot of things than to be a “fault finder.”
When Jesus saw what was wrong with the world He did not criticize or condemn us—He laid down His life for us. That will be the nature of the true leaders that He sends. As we are told in Ecclesiastes 3, there is a time for everything. There is a time to build and a time to tear down. The Apostle Paul said that he had the authority to build up or to tear down the Corinthian church. He had the authority to tear down there because he was the one used to plant and build them.
The point is that it is the builders who have the authority to tear down. It is the builders who have the heart for something, so they have the right heart to know what needs to be torn down. In the transformation that is coming, a lot will be torn down. There is a lot that needs to be torn down. However, we should not try to tear anything down without having a clear vision and a good plan for building in its place.
The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 1:9, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment.” “Real knowledge” and “all discernment” will only be found with the one whose love is abounding. For this reason, we will not have the knowledge or discernment that can help the church if we do not love it. Neither will we have the knowledge or discernment that helps our country if we do not love it.
