THE VERY POWER OF GOD!

Good Morning, Meet Pastor Dan Readers…last night I attended an intercessory prayer service at Grace Church St. Louis for the first time.  I have known they had such services at our church for a long time, but with our church-wide study, “Growing in Prayer” and the positive feed-back I received from others who have been attending these services, I was prompted to join them last night.  What an over-whelming experience!  Anyone within a block of Grace Church must have also felt the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.  Wow!!  Did He show up!!!

If you are unfamiliar with what intercessory prayer is, Mike Bickle, author of “Growing in Prayer”, provides this definition: “Intercession is prayer for others – the lost, the oppressed, missions, families, friends, the church, leaders in government and in every sphere of society.  Intercession is prayer that is in agreement with what God promises to do.”  The fact that Jesus intercedes on our behalf reveals how important intercession is.  Hebrews 7:25 tells us, “He (Jesus) always (forever) makes intercession for us.”  The purpose of his interceding is to release God’s power to/through us.

Our church is not only concerned about the moral and spiritual decline of our society, but offers programs and activities to counteract this decline.  Most recently the focus of the intercessory prayer services has also been to break down strongholds that harbor and perpetuate this moral and spiritual decay, and to pray for revival in the mind and hearts of our leaders.  (For clarity sake, a definition of “stronghold” is in order here. Again I turn to Mike Bickle:  “A stronghold is a collection of ideas that are in agreement with Satan’s lies and accusations against the truth of God.  They are lies about God; who he is; what He says He will do, and when we receive these lies, they bind our hearts in darkness.”)  Not only can we have personal strongholds to deal with, but whole geographic regions can be affected by the same lies and assaulted by the same demonic darkness that affects us personally.

I realize that the subject I am writing about will be totally foreign to any non-believer who might be reading this. To those who exist only in the natural realm, a discussion about the spiritual realm is gobbledygook or nonsense to them. Apostle Paul addressed this in 1 Corinthians 1:18:2:24 “I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction.  But we who are being saved recognize this message as the very power of God.  But people who aren’t Christians can’t understand these truths from God’s Spirit.  It all sounds foolish to them because only those who have the Spirit can understand what the Spirit means. 

Unfortunately, our society is a secular society that keeps sinking deeper and deeper into a black quagmire of disobedience because it elevates the truth of man over the truth of God.  Throughout the Bible there are accounts of people and societies that were in line with God’s will, and they were blessed.  But there are also accounts of people and societies that turned away from God – much like our country today – and the consequences of such action was disastrous. (Remember Sodom and Gomorrah?) But the only way to gain insight from that history is to open the Good Book and become acquainted with its content. Unfortunately again…that is a practice that has certainly fallen out of favor with todays culture.  In fact, that Book is mocked and ridiculed – even prohibited in some cases – by our government.

Our country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles.  In fact, those very principles were in the minds and hearts of our Founders as they wrote a timeless Constitution on which our Republic was to be built.  In a book by James D. Best entitled “A Republic…If You Can Keep It”, he recounts the following scenario.  “At the close of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, Franklin was queried as he left Independence Hall on the final day of deliberation. A lady asked Dr. Franklin, “Well Doctor what have we got, a republic or a monarchy.”  Franklin replied, “A republic . . . if you can keep it.”  Our Constitution created a limited representative republic.  A republic is different from a democracy.  In a democracy, the majority can directly make laws, while in a republic, elected representatives make laws.  Basically, in a pure democracy, the majority has unlimited power, whereas in a republic, a written constitution limits the majority and provides safeguards for the individual and minorities.”

But as in all cultures throughout history, agendas rise and fall in and out of favor.  When traditional values  come under attack by a new way of thinking, it is usually with the promise, “things will be better this way.”  In our current culture, that new agenda is what I referred to in a previous blog (12-7-15) as “The Unmentioned Enemy”. It is culturally referred to as The Liberal Progressive Agenda (LPA).  Below is how I see this new agenda.

The LPA is an agenda wrapped in wealth, power and control. “It” seems to be under the umbrella of a huge, bureaucratic government that believes the more “it” can make the populace dependent on government, the more “it” can control the populace.  “It” believes in the distribution of wealth, ie. those who have earned wealth and status should be mandated to share it with those who have not; “it” believes in high taxation to keep the “gravy train” coming; “it” believes in chip, chip, chipping away at traditional values on which this country was founded, ie. the Constitution, traditional family values, religious freedom; “it” professes freedom of speech, yet vilifies anyone who expresses a different opinion, hence…political correctness; “it” professes a disdain for “Wallstreet”, yet allows those who further the LPA to become billionaires at taxpayer expense, ie. the “green energy industry”, the “abortion industry”; “it” keeps people divided rather than unified, ie. today’s racial tension, fanned by such radical groups as “Black Lives Matter: and last, but not least on my list…”it” never lets a crisis go by without making political gain.  (This list is by no means complete, but it serves my purpose for this article.)

This agenda is propagated by an intelligentsia that believes the more gray area it can create around traditional values (traditional family unit, religious freedom, tolerance, etc.) the more it has wiggle-room to redefine and advance its agenda. If this effort is supported by collaborating forces such as government, the press, and wealthy backers, they can keep this “new way of thinking” in the spotlight, and the effect is a numbed-down and dumbed-down society. What used to be valued and thought of as “right” slowly slips away and a new norm takes its place.  That is exactly what is happening right in front of us, and it is driven by human nature (or “sin-nature”, as the Bible calls it) on steroids.

What I just talked about is an example of a “cultural stronghold” as referenced above: “a collection of ideas that are in agreement with Satan’s lies and accusations against the truth of God.  What we see here is motivated by greed and a desire for more wealth, power and control.  The more the LPA can edge God out, the easier it is to accomplish its purpose.

So can the direction of our culture be reversed?  I think not by a political solution. Is it too late?  Well, since the crux of this problem is a spiritual problem, I believe the answer can only be found in a spiritual solution…and the God we serve is bigger than our circumstances!  The good news is…our hope lies in 2 Chronicles, 7:14: “… if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land.”  

This is why intercessory prayer is so vitally important.  NOW is the time for action!  Individual prayer, and especially corporate prayer – like last night at Grace Chruch – is the very power of God at work!  We are doing what Jesus is doing on our behalf…calling on God to release his power through us.  We are asking God to provide revelation in the hearts and minds of our leaders, and to heal our city, our state and our nation. We need all the workers we can get.  The challenge is great, but the harvest will be even greater!

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May God Bless Ya…

Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)