The American Founding Fathers believed that tyranny could come from either the government or from the people. Because of this, they built a brilliant system of government that had firewalls to protect against the tyranny from either direction. They warned that if these firewalls were torn down, the Republic could not last. In the last century, we tore both firewalls down, and the system has been crumbling since.

The United States Army has a doctrine that has been called "The Three Critical Questions," which should be asked in any situation that requires action, and certainly in this present crisis. These questions are:

1) What is happening?
2) What is not happening?
3) What can we do about it?

Though some of the principles I am about to address can be applied on a wider basis, I am directing them to Christians as a spiritual perspective in relation to how the church should respond to them.

          The sure word of prophecy reveals that we are heading fast toward the ultimate battle between light and darkness. It is the highest privilege and honor just to live in these times, but we have a much higher purpose than to just endure the times—we are here to participate in the greatest victory since the cross—the ultimate victory of light over darkness.

           We see this in such places as Isaiah 60:1-3:

   Since this is the first Word for the Week of 2011, and we are studying how to know God’s voice and the prophetic gifts that He has given to His church, I want to begin by sharing what may be one of the most prolific messages God’s people have been receiving. The question I may be asked more than any other is what 11-11 means. Whether seeing it repeatedly on their clocks or in other ways, many people have been receiving this for years. New Year’s Day was 1/1/11 or 11-11.

     We discussed how difficult it is to communicate and how culture affects this, so we must have the Spirit of God and be a part of His culture, the kingdom, to really understand His communication to us. This includes both prophetic revelation and His written Word. If we have the spirit of the world and try to read God’s Word, we will not understand it the way it was intended. This is a primary reason there can be so many different interpretations of the Scriptures. We must become one with the Author to understand it as intended.

     True Christian discipleship is a life of sacrifice, not acquiring. This does not mean that we should not provide well for our families, as we are also told in I Timothy 5:8, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.” However, there is a difference between providing for our families and being materialistic, greedy, or even immoderate.

As we have been patiently laying a foundation for understanding our purpose in these times, and how our own purpose for which we were created is restored, what the Lord said in John 15:1-2 should be a most sober warning to every believer:

I had dinner with Brother Wade Taylor recently, and I was stunned by how young he looked. Without using hair color, or any other cosmetic fixes, he looked at least 20 years younger than the last time I saw him. He said that he also felt better than he had in many years. When I asked him what his secret was, he remarked simply that he takes communion every day. He believes that the Lord is a "quickening Spirit" who will "quicken our mortal bodies." I know many who believe, but I think that Brother Taylor is actually touching on something.

This week’s text has become one of the most quoted, and to some the most controversial, scriptures in recent times, Ephesians 4:11-13:

Christians have a basic mandate to set people free from bondage. The fact that slavery could exist in America, which is a nation devoted to freedom, is evidence of a great disconnect in the mind and theology of the nation at that time. However, some did see this disconnect and preached freedom for all. For nearly a century, this went on with seemingly little effect. However, these faithful messengers were preparing the ground, and their words were accomplishing their purpose.