As I've watched the media coverage of Trump protesters on
the streets of America I've realized something. Many professing
Christians are acting nearly the same way—getting angry with other
Christians who voted for Trump and using contentious language to cause
strife and division in the body of Christ. Stop it!
Listen to the wise and sensible words of one of my minister FB friends:
"Critical
and negative reactions to the election are everywhere, yet consider the
possibilities: a conservative Supreme Court for decades; Roe v. Wade
overturned; a reprieve from the current administration's anti-church
intrusions; a season of refreshing with the chance for kingdom
expansion. But many cannot see this as they are blinded by the idea of a
political utopia that does not include a carnal Donald Trump in the
White House, an idea which is choking their capacity for reason and
wisdom. We need to be smarter than this. Jesus said the people of this
world are more shrewd than the children of light. He knew that
narrow-minded ideology would always sacrifice possibility. Joseph ruled
alongside the Egyptians in order to save his brethren. Paul sided with
the Pharisees against the Sadducees in order to divide his adversaries.
Victorious Christianity can be done without compromise but not without
the wisdom of serpents. These are only a few examples of how to navigate
the darkness in order to increase the light. We are sitting on a powder
keg of potential right now, and any Christian with even one eye open
can see it," wrote
Shane Philpott.
Don't
you know you are an ambassador and a representative of a higher
kingdom? This invisible kingdom cannot be seized by political elections
or endless debates and heated banter. This kingdom cannot come to this
world by your allegiance to one political party or favorite candidate.
No, Donald Trump is not going to save America or even necessarily make
it great again.
What this election has accomplished is
cause a delay, of what may yet be inevitable in the near future. It has
given the church more favor and delayed us from losing some of our
freedoms. It has given us a greater possibility of pushing back the
darkness and the antichrist agenda of this present administration. It
has given us a reprieve form Satanic oppression that opposes preaching
the gospel freely in this nation. One of the reasons we are exhorted in
Scripture to pray for our leaders is so we can live a peaceable life in
all godliness and honesty (2 Tim. 2:1-2). But we must still remember
that our citizenship is in heaven first as Frank Viola affirms.
"I
believe many of us have forgotten who we are and what our citizenship
entails. The kingdom to which we belong isn't reduced to going to heaven
when we die. Nor is it trying to make the world a better place by
grabbing political power. The kingdom of God is here right now (though
not in fullness). It broke into this realm 2,000 years ago when Jesus of
Nazareth began a divine insurgence. It's a kingdom that's not of this
world, yet it's for this world."
Notice the last three
words of this quote, "for this world." Our kingdom is not of this world
and is not supposed to be conformed to this world, but the world is to
be conformed to the kingdom. The world is not to change us, but we are
to change the world by God's grace, truth, love and power.
Whose counsel are we listening to? Whose ideologies are we adhering to?
The DNC Booed God and You Voted for Them
The
problem has been that many Christians are acting like the world in the
way they voted and now in the results we got. For example, if you
consider yourself a real Christian and a serious follower of Jesus
Christ and you voted for Hillary Clinton and her platform, you are
either blind, ignorant, or hopelessly unfaithful to the values of the
kingdom of God. Please allow me to educate you.
How
could you vote for a woman whose policies are antichrist? For example,
she is for full-term abortion, which is murder and breaks one of the Ten
Commandments. She is for same-sex marriage, which is against God's
established order of a one-man-and-one-woman marriage. She is not a real
friend of Israel, which is also contradictory to God's command to bless
Israel. In the DNC convention earlier this year they even booed God.
And her administration and supporters are of the same spirit. So how
could any true Christian vote for her and that platform? It is
mind-boggling to me except to say that many professing Christians are
not educated in the policies of these candidates or they are not
schooled in the Word of God and in true kingdom values.
Now
that the election is over, we have another set of believers who are
still criticizing Donald Trump. He is a very flawed man, but he ran on
diametrically different policies than Hillary did. Most of his policies
were aligned with Scripture. Yes, I know he is a carnal man, and we can
only hope that he follows through on his promises, but let's believe
that some of the conservative Christians he's surrounded himself with
will help him in his decision-making. That is another huge difference
between him and Hillary. I do not witness a spirit of antichrist on
Donald Trump.
Do you not discern that the policies and
spirits of both parties are radically different? Hillary's chosen vice
president, Tim Kaine, had the same spirit on him. I saw it as soon as he
was introduced and gave his speech. It was antichrist. I know these
statements will upset many people, but I'm just trying to educate you.
Will All Professing Christians Recognize the Antichrist?
Do
you realize that when the real Antichrist comes, he will be received
and celebrated by the world and even by many professing Christians? In
other words, he's not coming with horns and a pitchfork. He will come
quoting Scriptures. Even in Hillary's concession speech, she quoted
Galatians 6:9, encouraging her supporters not to be weary in well-doing.
So what? The devil quoted Scripture to Jesus in His temptations (Luke
4:10-11). Nearly every politician will do that in order to get the
Christian vote.
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God" (1 John 4:1).
No,
I'm not saying that either Hillary or Tim Kaine is the Antichrist, but
they are of that spirit. And so are most of these protesters who are
shouting against Trump and for Hillary on the streets. It is the growing
spirit of antichrist in our nation. Remember that the Antichrist is
called the lawless one (2 Thess. 2:8-9). Never before in recent
generations have we seen such lawlessness in our nation over a political
election.
One of my biggest concerns for the body of
Christ in this hour is the gullibility and the lack of spiritual
discernment among so many. Many are judging and discerning as the world
judges and discerns. I'm convinced that many have not even been
thoroughly converted.
The Fear of God Must Be Restored
Why
are we so gullible and easily duped and deceived? I believe the largest
part of this lack of discernment is due to the lack of the true fear of
the Lord in Christians today.
Do you not realize the
utter evil of many of the Democratic platform's policies I just
mentioned? Do you not know that "the fear of the Lord is to hate evil"
(Prov. 8:13; also see Prov. 3:7)? I'm not speaking of the candidates,
for they were both flawed, but of the platform they ran on. How can any
true Christian and devoted follower of Jesus Christ have voted for the
Democratic platform and its policies? Where is the fear of the Lord?
We
need to understand that the true fear of the Lord is manifested in our
obedience to the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ and the precepts and
statutes of His Word. The true fear of the Lord makes Jesus Christ the
supreme authority in one's life. The true fear of the Lord lives before
His judgment seat every single day and is afraid to displease Him and
disappoint Him.
Therein lies the biggest problem in the
American church and one of the biggest reasons for the current division
in the body of Christ. Many professing Christians have lost the fear of
God.
Lack of holy fear clouds our perception and
discernment. Without the holy fear of God, it is difficult to judge
between the holy and profane, the clean and the unclean, the spiritual
from the carnal and even the divine from the demonic.
We are sorely in need of an awakening of the fear of God.
Bert M. Farias, revivalist and founder of Holy Fire Ministries,
has authored several books with an emphasis on helping to restore the
true spirit of Christianity in the Church today, including the newly
released, Passing on The Move of God to The Next Generation.
An anointing of fire marks his ministry with frequent demonstrations of
the Spirit and power of God. He ministers interdenominationally and
cross-culturally in nations, churches, conferences, on the streets and
in homes. He and his wife Carolyn also host The Holy Ghost Forum – a school of the Spirit. Follow him at Bert Farias and Holy Fire Ministries on Facebook and @Bertfarias1on Twitter.
3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know
the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice
clearly! Go deeper!
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