David Wilkerson's Spine-Chilling Last Message to the American Church - JENNIFER LECLAIRE CHARISMA NEWS

David Wilkerson

David Wilkerson's Spine-Chilling Last Message to the American Church

10/12/2016 JENNIFER LECLAIRE  CHARISMA NEWS

Jennifer LeClaire is now sharing her reflections and revelations through Walking in the Spirit. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

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David Wilkerson opens this end-times warning message with a heartfelt prayer to the Lord in a tone that convinces me he believes every word he said. Then he reads 2 Peter 3:9-14:

"The Lord is not slow concerning His promise, as some count slowness. But He is patient with us, because He does not want any to perish, but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat. The earth also and the works that are in it will be burned up.

"Seeing then that all these things are to be destroyed, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, while you are waiting for and desiring the coming of the day of God, in which the heavens will be destroyed by fire and the elements will be consumed by intense heat? But, according to His promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these things, be diligent that you may be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless."

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Wilkerson goes on to speak of a "noted televangelist" who gave a shocking warning to the United States. He called him a "respected" man we know and who is warning America that there's coming a catastrophe that's going to cost the lives of multitudes and change the way we live forever. He also pointed to many praying pastors who prophesied along these lines.

"Something is coming shortly; something coming soon and we had better be prepared," Wilkerson said.

Do you bear witness with these words? What should be our response? As for me, I'm believing for another Great Awakening.

Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma. She is also director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, co-founder of awakeningtv.com, on the leadership team of the New Breed Revival Network and author of several books, including The Next Great Move of God: An Appeal to Heaven for Spiritual Awakening;Mornings With the Holy Spirit, Listening Daily to the Still, Small Voice of God; The Making of a Prophet and Satan's Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and Witchcraft. You can visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer onFacebook or follow her on Twitter. Jennifer's Periscope handle is @propheticbooks.

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Why Christian Zionism Is Vanishing in the American Church - D.T. LANCASTER CHARISMA NEWS

Many of today's Evangelicals have joined world opinion against Israel. (Flickr )

Why Christian Zionism Is Vanishing in the American Church

 8/18/2016 D.T. LANCASTER  CHARISMA NEWS

Evangelical Christians in the United States have loved and supported the State of Israel because they believe the Bible, take its prophecies literally, and see the modern State of Israel as a first flowering of God's prophetic promises to the Jewish people.

They have shown their love for Israel by placing political pressure on U.S. foreign policy and by standing up for Israel in the court of world opinion. Evangelical Christians have marched under the slogan, "We stand with Israel." It's a well-known phenomenon called Christian Zionism.

The Christian Zionist movement is the matrix from which much of modern Messianic Judaism emerged, including First Fruits of Zion.

All that is changing.

As the Millennial generation takes positions of leadership in the evangelical churches of America, we may see Christian Zionism and support for Israel vanish. It is a process that is already underway.

Today's 20-year-olds and 30-year-olds think of themselves as well-informed about Israel's role in the Middle East and its struggle with the Palestinian people. They are likely to feel strong empathy with the oppressed Palestinian people, and they unanimously join the rest of the world in condemning the State of Israel.

In reality, today's Millennials are only marginally informed on the issues. They know only the side of the story fed to them by a biased media and anti-Israel activists. Most of them know nothing of the real history of the conflict, the Nazi influence over Palestinian Arabs that sparked the conflict, the repeated attempts of the Arab world to annihilate Israel and the Jewish people, or the more recent history of Israel's attempts to establish peace with an unwilling Palestinian leadership.

Today's 20- and 30-year-olds have no memory of how Yasser Arafat threw Israel's concessions from Oslo back in the face of the international community while secretly funding and supporting an ongoing campaign of terror and evil. Today's generation of youth places the blame for Middle East unrest squarely on Israel. They are seemingly unaware of or unconcerned about how the Palestinian people and the larger Arab world maintain a constant propaganda campaign of agitation to terrorism, murderous incitement and hateful anti-Jewish rhetoric, which will insure peace in the Middle East only through the annihilation of the Jewish people (God forbid).

As a result, today's young evangelical Christians are far more likely to march under the slogan, "End the Occupation," than the slogan, "We stand with Israel." They are following in the footsteps of mainstream denominations such as the Presbyterian Church in the USA, which sponsors boycotts on Israeli products and has published statements condemning the State of Israel for their occupation of Palestine.

The drift away from Christian Zionism finds inspiration from voices like Wheaton College Professor Gary Burge, author of Whose Land? Whose Promise? What Christians Are Not Being Told about Israel and the Palestinians. Burge's teachings attempt to undermine the basis for evangelical political support of Israel. He challenges the theology of an ongoing covenantal status of the Jewish people.

According to his perspective, Israel forfeited that status, and with that forfeiture, they forfeit claim to the land of Israel. In the view of anti-Zionists, Israel is unworthy of Christian support because it is home to Jews who have rejected Jesus as their Messiah. Anti-Zionist evangelicals contend that support for Israel thwarts efforts to share the Christian faith with Muslims in the Middle East. (In other words, Christianity would be more attractive to Islam if we could present it to them as anti-Jewish and anti-Israel.)

Evangelicals who sympathize with the Palestinian cause emphasize the Christian obligation to show concern for human rights violations, but they fail to call upon Christians to stand up against the human rights violations that characterize the policies of governing bodies within Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel's enemies in the Arab world. Instead, from the point of view of the anti-Christian Zionists, it would appear that Israel is the world's chief offender in crimes against humanity.

An article in The Times of Israel titled "Evangelical Anti-Zionism Gaining Traction" calls attention to the concerted effort of anti-Israel activists to turn American evangelicals against Israel. The anti-Israel message finds warm welcome with today's Millennial Christians who have already bought into the notion that blanket condemnation of the State of Israel is a moral obligation incumbent upon every thinking, ethical human being.

The new evangelical struggle with Israel is not a new struggle. It is the same old struggle. For most of two thousand years, the Christian church has been on the wrong side of the fight against anti-Semitism and the wrong side of God's relationship with the Jewish people. Perhaps Christian Zionism was just a brief anomaly sustained by a generation old enough to remember World War II, to have witnessed the miracle of the birth of the State of Israel, and to have seen the revealed miracles of God's intervention that sustained the young state. 

Daniel Thomas Lancaster is a writer, teacher, and the Director of Education for the Messianic ministry First Fruits of Zion (), an international organization with offices in Israel, Canada, and the USA, bringing Messianic Jewish teaching to Christians and Jews. He is the author of several books about the Jewish roots of Christianity, the Jewishness of the New Testament, and he is the author of the Torah Club Bible study program. He also serves as the teaching pastor at Beth Immanuel, a Messianic Jewish synagogue in Hudson, Wisconsin.

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Debunking The 'Separation of Church and State' Myth - MATT BARBER CHARISMA NEWS

Remain undaunted by the threat of government intervention or punitive action by the state. (Reuters)

Debunking The 'Separation of Church and State' Myth

 2/2/2016 MATT BARBER  charisma news

The American church has a problem. It's one part fear, one part confusion and one part apathy. Pastors, priests and rabbis have long swallowed the false notion that all things religious and all things political are somehow mutually exclusive—that never the twain shall meet.

Leading up to Ronald Reagan's landslide presidential victory in 1980, Rev. Jerry Falwell, the founder of Liberty University, captured the crux of the church's apathy problem. "I'm being accused of being controversial and political," he said. "I'm not political. But moral issues that become political, I still fight. It isn't my fault that they've made these moral issues political. But because they have doesn't stop the preachers of the gospel from addressing them. ..."

"What then is wrong?" he continued. "I say the problem, first of all, is in the pulpits of America. We preachers must take the blame. For too long we have fearfully stood back and failed to address the issues that are corrupting the republic. I repeat Proverbs 14:34: 'Righteousness exalteth a nation.' Not military might, though that's important. Not financial resources, though that has been the enjoyment of this nation above all nations in the last 200 years. But spiritual power is the backbone, the strength, of a nation."

Indeed, it is not just within the church's purview, but it is the church's duty to insert itself into state matters relating to morality, public policy and culture at large.

Contrary to popular opinion, the words "separation of church and state" are found nowhere in the U.S. Constitution. Yet many are misled into believing they are.

So why the confusion?

It's been intentionally fomented. It's the byproduct of a decades-long religious cleansing campaign. The First Amendment's "Establishment Clause," a mere 10 words, is the primary tool secular separatists misuse and abuse to "fundamentally transform" America to reflect their own anti-Christian self-image.

Yet these words remain abundantly clear in both scope and meaning. The Establishment Clause states merely: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. ..."

That's it.

And the founders meant exactly what they said: "Congress," as in the United States Congress, "shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."

In a letter to Benjamin Rush, a fellow-signer of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, often touted by the left as the great church-state separationist, spelled out exactly what this meant then, and what it means today. The First Amendment's Establishment Clause was simply intended to restrict Congress from affirmatively "establishing," through federal legislation, a national Christian denomination (similar to the Anglican Church of England).

As Jefferson put it: "[T]he clause of the Constitution" covering "freedom of religion" was intended to necessarily preclude "an establishment of a particular form of Christianity through the United States."

The individual states, however, faced no such restriction. In fact, until as late as 1877, and after religious free exercise became absolute with passage of the 14th Amendment, most states did have an official state form of Christianity. Massachusetts, for example, sanctioned the Congregational Church until 1833.

Even so, today's anti-Christian ruling class insists on revising history. The ACLU's own promotional materials, for example, overtly advocate unconstitutional religious discrimination: "The message of the Establishment Clause [to the U.S. Constitution] is that religious activities must be treated differently from other activities to ensure against governmental support for religion," they claim.

This is abject nonsense. It's unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination—a twisted misrepresentation of the First Amendment. Secular "progressivism" depends upon deception as much as it relies upon revisionism. Yes, "separation" applies, but only insofar as it requires the state to remain separate from the church. That is to say, that government may not interfere with the free exercise of either speech or religion.

For decades, hard-left anti-theist groups like the ACLU, People for the American Way (PFAW) and Barry Lynn's Americans United (AU) have employed a cynical disinformation scheme intended to intimidate clergy into silence on issues of morality, culture and Christian civic involvement—issues that, as Falwell noted, are not political so much as they have been politicized; issues that are inherently "religious."

AU, for instance, annually sends tens-of-thousands of misleading letters to churches across the nation warning pastors, priests and rabbis that, "If the IRS determines that your house of worship has engaged in unlawful intervention, it can revoke the institution's tax-exempt status."

That's a lie.

In reality, there is no legal mechanism whatsoever for the Internal Revenue Service to take away a church's tax exemption. Churches are inherently tax-exempt, or, better still, "tax immune," simply by virtue of being a church. Churches do not need permission from the IRS, nor can the IRS revoke a church's tax immunity.

Since 1934, when the lobbying restriction was added to the Internal Revenue Code, not a single church has ever lost its tax-exempt status. Since 1954, when the political endorsement/opposition prohibition was added, only one church has ever lost its IRS letter ruling, but even that church did not lose its tax-exempt status.

The case involved the Church at Pierce Creek in New York, which placed full-page ads in USA Today and the Washington Times opposing then-Gov. Bill Clinton for president. The ads were sponsored by the church, and donations were solicited. The IRS revoked the church's letter ruling, but not its tax-exempt status. The church sued, and the court noted that churches are tax-exempt without an IRS letter ruling. It ruled that "because of the unique treatment churches receive under the Internal Revenue Code, the impact of the revocation is likely to be more symbolic than substantial." Not even this church lost its tax-exempt status, and not one donor was affected by this incident.

As Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel has observed, "Pastors can preach on biblical, moral and social issues, such as natural marriage and abortion, can urge the congregation to register and vote, can overview the positions of the candidates, and may personally endorse candidates. Churches may distribute nonpartisan voter guides, register voters, provide transportation to the polls, hold candidate forums, and introduce visiting candidates."

Since 2008, the Christian legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom has spearheaded a First Amendment exercise called "Pulpit Freedom Sunday." Since then, thousands of pastors across America have boldly exercised their guaranteed constitutional rights by addressing "political" issues from the pulpit. This has included directly endorsing candidates. These pastors have dared the IRS to come after them, and, not surprisingly, the IRS has balked.

Pastors, this election season follow the lead of Christ. Speak moral/political truths, in love, fearlessly. Remain undaunted by the threat of government intervention or punitive action by the state. And encourage your congregation to vote for candidates who sincerely reflect, in both word and deed, a biblical worldview and biblical principles.

Be "salt and light."

Because Christ didn't give us an option to do otherwise.

Matt Barber is founder and editor-in chief of barbwire.com. He is an author, columnist, cultural analyst and an attorney concentrating in constitutional law. Having retired as an undefeated heavyweight professional boxer, Matt has taken his fight from the ring to the culture war. (Follow Matt on Twitter: @jmattbarber).

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8 Trends in American Churches in 2016 - THOM S. RAINER CHARISMA NEWS

Here are eight American church trends you might expect to see in 2016. (Facebook )

8 Trends in American Churches in 2016

 1/11/2016 THOM S. RAINER      charisma news

I have been writing on trends in churches for two decades. I certainly don't have a perfect record with my predictions, but my overall record is pretty good.

My methodology is simple: I observe emerging issues in some churches and extrapolate them into major trends.

This year I take this approach with a higher level of confidence than previous years. I have seen most of the following issues grow month by month in 2015, so I don't have to be the brightest person in the world to project them as major trends in 2016.

Here are the first eight trends. Later, I will write about eight more:

1. Church security as the fastest growing ministry. Shootings in churches and sex abuse of children mandate this unfortunate trend. No church can afford to be without serious security measures, policies and equipment. It will evolve into a major church ministry.

2. Decrease in worship center size and capacity. The large worship gathering is not as popular as it has been. Through multiple services and multiple sites, churches will follow this preference with smaller capacity worship centers.

3. Increase in successfully revitalized churches. More church leaders sense a call to lead revitalized churches. Because of this desire and intentionality, we will see more success stories of churches that have experienced significant revitalization.

4. Rapid growth of coaching ministries for pastors and church staff. The current trend is anecdotal, but it will soon be verified and obvious. Pastors and staff who have the humility to be led, and the willingness to invest resources in coaching are becoming the most effective church leaders.

5. Increase in the numbers of churches in gentrified communities. Thousands of older urban communities are becoming revitalized. Churches are following the increased numbers of residents to these communities.

6. Increased emphasis on practical ministry training. Church leaders in America have seen a much needed two-decade renewal of training in classical disciplines and doctrine. That need remains, but more leaders are crying for training in leadership, relational skills, and other practical ministries.

7. Increasing emphasis on groups in churches. Church leaders are getting it. When church members are a part of some type of group, such as a small group or Sunday school class, they attend more faithfully, evangelize more frequently, and give more abundantly.

8. Fewer segregated churches. For most of American history, 11:00 a.m. on Sunday was the most segregated hour of the week. That is changing. A church that is not racially and ethnically diverse will soon become the exception instead of the norm.

Stay tuned for eight more trends for 2016. 

Thom S. Rainer is the president of LifeWay Christian Resources. For the original article, visit thomrainer.com.

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"Flash! 5-min. Video from Bishop Hamon: Urgent Word to American Churches"

Bishop Bill Hamon

August 26, 2015

"Flash! 5-min. Video from Bishop Hamon: Urgent Word to American Churches"

From the Desk of Steve Shultz:

I just received this Urgent word to the American Church from Bishop Bill Hamon. Let me assure you that this man is a man of God.

Bill Hamon founded CI (Christian International) in Florida (christianinternational.com) many years ago from which they've trained thousands and thousands of prophets. Bill is a true father in the spirit to these many thousands of prophets and prophetic voices all over the world now.

I took my advanced prophetic training directly from Bishop Hamon and his team exactly 21 year ago, just three years before THE ELIJAH LIST was launched.

Bishop Hamon hears from God! He has a Word SPECIFICALLY for THE AMERICAN CHURCH. I will simply tell you that it is BOTH "ENCOURAGING" and yet it is "SOBERING!"

Please, please forward or share this with all your friends and relatives. I encourage everyone to subscribe (no cost) to THE ELIJAH LIST. Join the 175,000 people who receive important prophetic words DAILY IN THEIR EMAIL INBOX. We want to be able to alert you the moment we get important PROPHETIC ALERTS plus other great prophetic articles.

To subscribe by email go to: http://elijahlist.com/subscribe.

Under His Wings,

Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher
The Elijah List & Breaking Christian News
http://www.elijahlist.com

*************************************

"A Word to the American Church"

by Bishop Bill Hamon, Santa Rosa Beach, FL

To view this 5-minute video clip, "A Word for the American Church" click on the video image below or click here or go to https://vimeo.com/137329620.

Dr. Bill Hamon, Founder
Christian International Ministries Network

Website: christianinternational.com
Email: click here

Dr. Bill Hamon is the founder of Christian International Ministries, a premier prophetic ministry for over 45 years. A prophet for 60 years, he has prophesied to more than 50,000 people and provided training for over 250,000 in prophetic ministry. He has authored nine major books, specializing in the restoration of the Church and what to expect next on God's agenda. Dr. Bill Hamon is respected by church leaders around the world as a senior leader of the prophetic/apostolic company God is raising up in these last days. 

He serves as bishop to over 3,000 ministers and churches and CI's headquarters on five continents. Bill resides in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, along with his three children, eleven grandchildren, and fourteen great-grandchildren. "Mom" Hamon's legacy lives on through their family and the work that continues at Christian International Ministries.

To subscribe to The Elijah List go to:http://elijahlist.com/subscribe

Church Is Facing a Dietrich Bonhoeffer Moment - Larry Tomczak

Church Is Facing a Dietrich Bonhoeffer Moment

 3/30/2015 LARRY TOMCZAK  charisma news

Dietrich Bonhoeffer believed he must stand up to evil in whatever ways necessary. (YouTube)

To those trying to convince us that these are America's greatest days and revival is breaking out, I humbly challenge this perspective. Granted, there are "pockets" of some encouraging spiritual activity, but by and large the church is successful numerically but unsuccessful influentially.

How we need to take seriously the 2 Chronicles 7:14 promise:

            "(If) My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from heir wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

In the meantime, opposition to Christianity is becoming more aggressive and hostile. Nowhere is this more evident than in the areas of natural marriage and sexual purity.

Who could have fathomed just a decade ago the ABC family network would feature a primetime show, "The Fosters," with two lesbian "parents," a transgender teen and two 13-year-old boys kissing?

How about rampant perversion and pornography a "click" away on kids' and youths' smartphones?  Should it surprise me when our state newspaper, The Tennessean, features a front-page article that our college rape reports are up 77 percent?

How about laws being passed allowing men to share public restrooms and showers with our 10-year-old daughters because they identify themselves as a "transgender"?

One more ...

After 5,000 years of Western civilization defining marriage as the union of a man and woman, we are on the precipice (barring miraculous intervention) of the Supreme Court imposing homosexual "marriage" on all 50 states. Marriage referendums passed by the overwhelming majority of citizens in state after state are probably going to be obliterated in this watershed moment and the floodgates opened for homosexual "marriage," polygamy, polyamory and whatever.

Recently the largest Protestant denomination, the Presbyterian Church USA, changed the wording of its constitution to fully embrace sodomy-based "marriage." Influential and heretical author Rob Bell stated on Oprah Winfrey's TV program that the Christian church in America is "moments away from embracing gay marriage."

I'm praying and fasting this not becomes reality but I'm also aware of how far the nation and church have fallen away from God. Judgment comes in diverse ways.

All of this means we must be prepared for greater risk-taking and courageous action in these "perilous" times foretold in 2 Timothy 3:1-9. Are you ready?

 Taking Risks—A New Non-Negotiable

Ron Wayne was one of Apple's three co-founders. He was present at the birth of Apple along with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. He designed the company's original logo, wrote the manual for the Apple One computer and put together the new partnership agreement that gave him a 10 percent stake in Apple.

In his autobiography "iWOZ," Wozniak recalls meeting Wayne and thinking, wow this guy is amazing, he seems to know all the things we did not. He played a major role in those days. However Wayne was risk averse due to a business failure five years earlier. Twelve days after he signed the agreement for 10 percent of Apple stock, he decided that the wild spending of young Steve Jobs wasn't worth the risk. He sold his shares back to Apple for $800. Today those shares would be worth $22 billion dollars!

To be successful we must be risk-takers. And with what's happening in America, we must get ready to take risks in standing for truth, especially as it relates to marriage.

 We are facing a "Dietrich Bonhoeffer Moment." You recall that he chose civil disobedience and disobeyed Nazi law that stated that protecting Jewish people was against the law. He was hung for his stand. He also said prior to his death, "Silence in the face of evil is evil itself. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act."

Biblical Christianity shows us times when man-made laws contrary to divine laws are disobeyed. Moses was hidden for three months; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego didn't bow to the idol; Daniel continued praying when it was illegal; Esther was willing to risk her life to approach the king; Peter and John would not refrain from preaching the gospel.

The Bible tells us, "The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber" (Rom. 13:11). A jolt in the night is right around the corner! Brace yourself and prepare to face new challenges requiring risk-taking as the new normal in an increasingly secular society.

Larry Tomczak is a best-selling author and cultural commentator with more than 41 years of trusted ministry experience. His passion is to bring perspective, analysis and insight from a biblical worldview (see "Is Gay OK? 10 Things Everyone Needs to Know" now on YouTube). He loves awakening people to today's cultural realities and responses needed for a restored, influential church. Please visit larrytomczak.com.

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"The Call To Kingly Intercession" - Dutch Sheets

"The Call To Kingly Intercession"

Dutch Sheets, Dallas, TX

The Elijah List

Several weeks ago, upon seeing pictures of an Appeal to Heaven flag being waved over the plains of Nineveh—the location of the first known transforming revival—I was extremely excited. I quickly sent the picture to one of my friends whose immediate response was, "Our prayers have tapped into the root of awakening in the earth." For the past year, connecting my personal testimony with the profound history pertaining to our nation's founding, I have been rallying the Church to make "an Appeal to Heaven."

In the midst of dismal circumstances, countless Believers have responded to this call. Based on what the Holy Spirit spoke to my friend, I believe the appeals to Heaven have been heard and we are now moving into the next phase of this new era—a Third Great Awakening that will impact the world!

We must be mindful, however, that successfully stepping into a new season calls for inquiring of the Lord concerning what we must do differently. Change will be necessary in order to come into proper alignment with the season, preparing us for what He wants to release to us and through us in this kairos time. 

One of the things I hear the Lord saying is that in this new season, we must pray differently.

Keys For Kingly Intercession

Isaiah 22:22 and Matthew 16:18-19 are essential passages of Scriptures for shifting into this new aspect of prayer. Both mention "keys" as a way to illustrate the Believer's authority in the spirit realm. These keys are indispensable tools God is highlighting for igniting a prayer movement that will bring about a righteous turnaround in this nation.

"Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder,
When he opens no one will shut, When he shuts no one will open." Isaiah 22:22

"I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. "I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in Heaven." Matthew 16:18-19

Using our authority to open and close spiritual doors is an aspect of prayer I sometimes refer to as "kingly intercession." 

My understanding of this facet of prayer, which I will also call "governmental intercession," began with an unusual comment made to me by a prophet in the late 1980s and culminated with a statement the Lord made to me in 2002.

"God is going to bring the Church into the fresh age of the Melchizedek order, and you will be a part of initiating it," declared the prophet. I had no idea what this meant. Fast-forward approximately fifteen years to October 2002. I was praying for America, primarily concerning the judicial system, when I heard the Holy Spirit say, "You will fully shift the government of America when the prayer movement fully shifts from priestly intercession only, to kingly intercession as well."

Suddenly, I remembered what the prophet had said to me years ago. And, finally, I understood "the fresh age of the Melchizedek order." Grasping this revelation will expand our understanding of governmental or kingly intercession.

Understanding The Melchizedek Order

Melchizedek was first mentioned in Genesis 14, again in Psalm 110, and then once more in the book of Hebrews. He was a "type" or picture of Jesus in several ways, one of which was that he was both a king and a priest. At the time, this was unheard of. Zechariah 6:13, a messianic verse describing Christ, refers to Him in His King-Priest role, "...Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices."

The function of a king was to rule, representing God's authority to people; the role of priests was to serve, representing the people to God. 

As our High Priest, Jesus represents our needs and desires to God. As the King, Christ represents and releases the rule, authority and will of God from Heaven to earth. His Kingly role is God-centered, while His Priestly responsibility is human-centered; one releases power and authority (king), the other love, mercy and grace (priest). 

The priestly role is petition or intercession-oriented; the kingly role is declarative, decreeing God's word and will.

As co-laborers, partners with and representatives of Jesus Christ, we have become extensions of His King-Priest role. Most Christians, though they may or may not think of it as priestly activity, realize that we are to offer up worship and prayer (petitions) from earth to Heaven. Almost none, however, have understanding or involvement in God's plan concerning our kingly representation of Christ (decrees). We are not only priests, we are a "royal (kingly) priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9), who have been given the keys of Kingdom authority in which to bind and loose, forbid and allow, close and open.

As Holy Spirit reemphasizes these prophetic words and Scriptures to me, I sense that He is calling His ekklesia to step fully into our responsibility for kingly intercession. The Lord is calling us to shift from merely petitioning the Father, to also making decrees (official orders, edicts or decisions), declarations (announcements or formal statements) and proclamations (the process of binding and loosing) as we are prophetically inspired by Holy Spirit to do so.

The power of God's decreed Word is extraordinary! It releases His creativity, His salvation, and yes, His judgments! He rules through His Words, and so must we. Consider these verses of Scripture:

"How forcible are right words!" Job 6:25

"You will also decree a thing and it will be established for you; and light will shine on your ways." Job 22:28

"Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." Jeremiah 1:9-10

"So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army." Ezekiel 37:10

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Proverbs 18:21

The Time Is At Hand

Even as I have heard God's clarion call to wield the Isaiah 22:22 key in the governmental arena once again (which you may read about here), I sense that He is calling His ekklesia in America to pray with greater fervency and diligence concerning our national government, especially for the election in 2016.

With several Supreme Court Justices reaching expected retirement ages over the next decade, new nominations to the bench will be forthcoming. The next President, especially if re-elected for a second term, could have a crucial influence on the future of the Supreme Court (the President appoints the Supreme Court nominees). This will, in many ways, determine the future of our nation.

We must fill the bowls of intercession in advance for these choices (Revelation 8:3-5). The Lord is inviting us to take the keys He has made available to us and fully shift our national government. 

The American church must go beyond asking and petitioning the Lord only, to also decreeing and declaring His will and purposes into the earth. 

We must move from merely presenting our case before God as priests, to decreeing the rule of Christ into every situation and circumstance. 

It's time to wield the keys of Kingdom authority and shift into kingly intercession.

Our appeals to Heaven truly are being answered. But let's do even more. It's time to agree with and boldly voice Heaven's decrees in order to establish Heaven's government on earth. I am persuaded that we can turn the tide in America through effective governmental intercession. The Lord's will can be accomplished in our land, and righteousness can be restored to the White House, Congress, and the judicial system.

America, the time is now. God is bringing forth the fresh age of the Melchizedek order. Be a part of it!

Dutch Sheets
Dutch Sheets Ministries

Email: click here
Website: dutchsheets.org

Dutch Sheets is an internationally recognized author, teacher, and conference speaker. He travels extensively, empowering Believers for passionate prayer and societal transformation. Dutch has pastored, taught in several colleges and seminaries, and served on the board of directors of numerous organizations. Dutch's greatest passion is to see America experience a sweeping revival and return to its Godly heritage. 

Dutch is a messenger of hope for America, encouraging Believers to contend for awakening in our day and reformation in our lifetime. Dutch has written over 20 books, many of which have been translated into over 30 languages. Dutch and his wife Ceci have been married for 35 years and now reside in the Dallas area. They treasure time spent with their two grown daughters, son-in-law and grandchildren.

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The Great Deception in the American Church - BERT M. FARIAS- CHARISMA MAGAZINE

    What's at the root of the deception in the American church?

The Great Deception in the American Church

 5/19/2014 BERT M. FARIAS  CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Consider these statistics of Christianity in America: Eighty-four percent of the inhabitants of this nation say they believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, according to Barna Group, and 45 percent claim to be born-again Christians. Other studies show it is closer to 33 percent.

Either way, these numbers are high. Seventy-seven percent believe their chances of going to heaven are excellent. Thirty-three percent believe one day everyone will go to heaven. Yet America has the highest percentage of single-parent families in the industrialized world, the highest abortion rate, the highest rate of sexually transmitted diseases, the highest rate of teenage birth by far, the highest rate of teenage drug use and the largest prison population per capita than any country in the world.

Consider also the great moral decline of the last generation (50 to 60 years) and these telling statistics in America. The divorce rate has doubled, teen suicide has tripled, reported violent crime has quadrupled, the prison population has quintupled, the percentage of babies born out of wedlock has risen sixfold, couples living together out of wedlock have increased sevenfold, and gay marriage is now a legalized reality in a number of states, with many believing the end is not in sight.

In this past generation, we have experienced an overwhelming increase in lawlessness, permissiveness and selfishness, even among Christians. Moral actions that were unthinkable a few decades ago are now commonplace—Christian leaders indulging in sexual sin and grossly immoral scandals, addicted to pornography and accompanied by an exploding divorce rate have greatly factored in the rapid decrease of morals in the American church. And as the church goes, so goes the world. In fact, the results of a survey among young American adults showed that the percentage who follow biblically based values for living has now dropped from 65 percent to a mere 4 percent since World War II.

There has never been a society in the history of mankind whose moral values have deteriorated so dramatically, in such a short period of time, as those of Americans in the last 50 years. And so far it shows no sign of stopping. These statistics are eye-opening, and they serve to warn us that something is terribly wrong with our brand of Christianity. They reveal how poorly the church has communicated the true gospel to mainstream America, and thus the reason for so much deception in our culture.

When the rich man died and went to Hades (Luke 16:19-31), he was surprised to find himself there. In the Jewish culture, they equated wealth with godliness, so this man thought God favored him. The common thought, especially among the Jews, was if you were blessed financially, then you were a good person and therefore favored by God and on your way to heaven. This also explains the disciples' astonishment when Jesus told them how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 19:23-25).

Similarly, there was a church in Laodicea (Rev 3:14-22) who, due to their wealth, thought they too had attained God's favor. Jesus expressed great disapproval over their spiritual condition as well, which they were totally unaware of. They were deceived.

Are you in touch with your true spiritual condition? Or are you allowing the pop culture around you to dictate your standards? Are you conforming to the world's standards or to the Bible? Are you deceived? How can a nation of people among whom a large percentage claims to be born-again Christians experience the kind of degradation the above statistics reveal? Such deception is the state of America today, and the above statistics reveal the fruit of it.

The problem has been that the real gospel has not been preached nor lived. Both the profession and the practice of many so-called Christians in this nation have not matched up. Our substandard message has produced substandard believers. Our departure from the preaching of the cross, repentance, holiness, and the real empowering grace of God has increased the level of deception in the church. How else can we explain the disparity of the above statistics in the church and the nation?

But what is really at the root of this deception? This is what we need to carefully discern. In one word, it is humanism—the glorification of self. Humanism has crept into much of the modern-day church and is diluting the power of the real gospel. 

Bert M. Farias, founder of Holy Fire Ministries, is the author of The Real Gospel and co-host of the New England Holy Ghost Forum. He is a missionary evangelist carrying a spirit of revival to the church and the nations. Follow him at Bert Farias on Facebook or @Bertfarias1 on Twitter.