Last week we began addressing some of the lessons we received from the recent U.S. elections. I would like to carry the truth of Psalm 115:16 just a bit further, “The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth He has given to the sons of men.”
As stated, this is why the Lord will not do things on the earth until we pray—He has delegated authority over the earth to men. This is also why the Lord would allow us to vote for a President that may not have been His choice and why He had Samuel appoint Saul as the king of Israel when this was not His will. Not everything that happens on the earth is His will. In fact, we could probably conclude that very little which happens here now is His will.
Here is another important point from this: The Lord will not even bring His judgments on the earth until an intercessor prays for them like Elijah did for those that came upon Israel. Would you begin to pray for God’s judgments to come upon your own country? We would if we are in unity with Him and this is His will. Who has the mind and heart of God to the degree to pray for what is on His heart? How many were praying for rain to come to Israel the whole time Elijah was praying that it would not?
When Jesus gave Peter one of the harshest rebukes in the Scriptures, he tells Peter why He rebuked him so harshly:
“Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man’s” (see Matthew 16:23).
Peter received this ultimate rebuke because he was looking at things from man’s perspective instead of God’s. This is a primary way that we can move far away from God’s will, and as it happened to Peter, it can happen very fast. This rebuke in Matthew 16 came immediately after Peter had received one of the greatest commendations in Scripture.
“Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it.
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:17-19).
We see here that Peter heard straight from the Father and then straight from the devil, all in what appears to have been just a few minutes! The way he opened himself up to hear from the devil was by setting his mind on man’s interests instead of God’s. To what degree are our sympathies more in harmony with man’s interests than God’s?
I put a lot of hope in seeing the country turn away from what the Bible calls wickedness and turn back to what it defines as righteousness so that we could continue to enjoy the blessings of the Lord. Even so, this will probably never happen because of an election. Many times I have remarked about the four things required in II Chronicles 7:14 for the Lord to heal our land. We have done maybe three but have hardly addressed the fourth, which is turning from our wicked ways. The outcome of the issues on the ballot in a number of states made it clear that at least some parts of the nation are not turning from their wicked ways but falling more deeply into them.
Even so, it is very encouraging how many Americans all over the country rose up to stand with Chick-Fil-A in that recent controversy, while Romney would not take sides, saying that this was not his battle. This battle was around one of the most fundamental social issues of the times, not to mention freedom of speech. No doubt this caused many evangelicals, as well as many non-evangelicals, to cool toward Romney. He may have been a better leader than Obama, but he did not seem to be a leader with the kind of courage and conviction that we really need at this time.
Before the elections, the main question I was asked was who I thought would win. Now the main question is whether judgment is coming upon America. This is a growing and important question that we need to examine in a bit more depth and will next week. However, we must always keep in mind that if God’s judgment is coming upon America, it is a good thing, and His correction is evidence of His continued love for us, not His rejection. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing, and the main thing is that His kingdom is coming, and His will is going to be done on earth just as it is in heaven.
A PERSONAL WORD FROM RICK
Word is out about the fresh anointing on MorningStar. Our conferences are selling out very fast, and there is an amazing presence of the Lord here now. One of the most important conferences we host is our New Year’s Conference. We seek a word of direction for the coming year for the body of Christ and for every individual who comes. We still have some room, but if you’re planning to come, please register ASAP. You can do this by calling 1-800-542-0278 or signing up on our website at www.MorningStarMinistries.org