The State Of This Nation

Dear Revival-Fire Church Family,

Yesterday as I was praying over a prophetic word, the Holy Spirit illuminated something to me that is profound & powerful. While the Lord didn’t give me this posting written in a literal prophetic word “format”, the content is very prophetic. The truth & reality in this message is staggering as it relates to this nation, to the world & to us…God’s people. This illumination came as God’s words exploded in my heart & spirit…2 Chron. 7:14:

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”.

There is much talk about judgment coming to this nation…I hear many say that God is going to judge this nation because this nation is turned from God & will not repent. Yes, judgment will someday come, if there is no repentance, but if we will “hear” what God actually said in 2 Chron. 7:14 we can see that WE have a part in God’s judgment coming to the land or for the land to be healed. The thing is, the Church must take responsibility, where responsibility is due.

To those of us who live in the USA, we need to see that this IS our land. God did not speak this “if” of 2 Chron 7:14 to all of the inhabitants of the land (in our case, in the USA). No, He was speaking to HIS PEOPLE. This passage was originally spoken to the children of Israel, but it also pertains to us, because through Christ we have become an en-grafted branch of Israel (Rom. 11). God said, IF MY PEOPLE…! Are we His people? So, if we will truly receive what He has said here, we must take responsibility where it is due…for whether we receive it or not this responsibility falls entirely on the church. For many years now, the Lord has been having me tell His people that we are “the light of the world” & that the condition of the world is dependent on the light that we shine to it. Somehow this truth has not sunken down & become part of God’s people, as we continue to see things getting worse. There is no real repentance in the body of Christ, as a whole.

The USA was founded as a Christian nation…one nation, under God. The Lord already said in the last posting in His prophetic word to His people on Oct. 14th, that around the mid 1900s, the church began to become seriously complacent & began removing itself from truly being the light of the world. Since then, this nation has gone downhill, becoming more & more reprobate. In the last several years, we have seen this nation fall even deeper into immorality & perversion. We hear cries of “judgment” from various prophetic voices, saying God said He is going to destroy this nation for not repenting. The problem is, God already told us that judgment begins at the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17).

If God’s prophetic voices must speak judgment, it should be directed to the house of God…not bombarding this nation with condemnation! Somehow these people forget that God is a God of mercy…their mindsets seemed to be fixed on “judgment”. Have they forgotten that we are living in the dispensation of “grace”? God is more willing to show mercy, then to judge…for His mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13). Many prophetic voices today seem to have missed this, as they fail to “prophesy” the very mercy that they themselves have received. Somehow they forget that God “is long suffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). They forget that it is the “goodness of God that leads to repentance” (Rom. 2:4). His judgment comes as a last resort.

Prophetic voices today should be majoring on calling for repentance in the body of Christ…not to the nation & world…for God says that the church is where judgment will begin. What good does it do to speak damning words of judgment to a nation that does not know God? It appears to me that these speaking judgment are only speaking out of hate. Do you think that the unsaved people in this nation will ever respond to harsh words of judgment with their repentance? God says, it is His goodness that leads us to repentance. It is the body of Christ that needs to repent…the body of Christ must walk as the light of this world, showing the goodness of God & then repentance will come to this nation & world. How can I say this? Because this is the way that God works! So many prophetic voices have minds that are fixed on damnation, when God has given us a better way…it is called GRACE.

God wants to heal this land we live in…but He said it was up to us, for this to happen. He said WE are to humble ourselves & pray, seek His face & turn from OUR wicked ways…then He will hear from Heaven, forgive OUR sin & heal OUR land. YES…heal THIS nation! The problem is, the church “winks” at sin…the church is full of sin. Remember, Jesus said we ARE the light of the world (Matt. 5:14). God said that light dispels darkness (John 1:5), so if we look at the world, we will only see what the church has been shining! This sinful, evil nation & world are only mirroring the church! So, why would God destroy this nation, when it is the church that is responsible for the sin & evil that exists today? God’s people do not want to take responsibility for this reality…it is more convenient to just condemn the world for being “evil”, when God said “for all have sinned & come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

God forbid, that we should look at our lives…at what we have done on both sides of the Cross! Oh, ok…I see…”wink, wink”…yes, we are covered by the Blood of Jesus, so everything is “OK” with us…we can live just as we please & keep shining a complacent & compromised light to this world, for we are saved by grace! That is such hypocrisy!!! How dare we ignore our own weaknesses, justifying what we have done (& in many cases still do)…but not willing to show the same compassion & mercy on the unsaved world around us! I can’t help but remember something that Jesus said:

Mat 7:1  Judge not, that you be not judged.
Mat 7:2  For with what judgment you judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Mat 7:3  And why behold you the mote that is in your brother’s eye, but consider not the beam that is in your own eye?
Mat 7:4  Or how wilt you say to your brother, Let me pull out the mote out of your eye; and, behold, a beam is in your own eye?
Mat 7:5  You hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of your own eye; and then shalt you see clearly to cast out the mote out of your brother’s eye.

Recently I read on a blog: “can anyone show me in the Bible where a prophet cried out for mercy on a nation that turned from the Lord?” I must say…I was really shocked to read this…it is truly sad that some people seem to have a fixed mindset of judgment. Have they forgotten that we are living in the New Testament age? The answer to that question is a resounding “YES”…this happened in the Bible…even back during Old Testament times! In fact, the prophet who “did this” very thing is the one who God used to write the entire Torah…it was none other than Moses! Yep, in Ex. 32, when the Israelites built a golden calf idol, offered sacrifice & worshiped it…God wanted to destroy them, but Moses cried out for God & stood up to spare Israel:

Exodus 32:10-14:

Exo 32:10  Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
Exo 32:11  And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why does your wrath wax hot against your people, which you have brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
Exo 32:12  Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from your fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against your people.
Exo 32:13  Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
Exo 32:14  And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

As we look at this scenario, we see how God felt that the children of Israel DESERVED to be destroyed…after all…how could they turn away from Him like this…especially right after He delivered them out of Egypt from Pharaoh through many signs & wonders! Surely if many of today’s prophetic voices were living back then, they would of shouted in agreement with God & let God destroy them. BUT!!!! But, Moses, a TRUE prophet of God…had a different heart…he showed us all the model which prophetic voices should be emulating…Moses showed MERCY…he cried out to God to spare them! But, wait, God TOLD Moses He was going to destroy them…so, Moses, as a “prophet of God” was suppose to “obey the Lord” & speak judgment to the nation of Israel! But, he didn’t…he had a different heart than what we see a lot of today!

I know that in the Old Testament there was a lot of judgment spoken by the prophets during that time, but we no longer living in the Old testament age…they were under the law. We ARE living in the New Testament age…God’s prophetic voices should be modeling after the New Testament says. John 1:17 says: “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ”. So, what does the New Testament say about prophets & prophecy? There are several passages in the NT which give us a clear picture:

Luk 9:51  And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
Luk 9:52  And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
Luk 9:53  And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
Luk 9:54  And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
Luk 9:55  But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, You know not what manner of spirit you are of.
Luk 9:56  For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

Here we clearly SEE Jesus rebuking His disciples for having an old testament mindset of speaking judgment…they even used Elijah as their example to follow. What…wait a minute…that’s what Elijah did! But, what did Jesus say in response to them? Now let’s read this again & HEAR Jesus’ own words…He said: “You know not what manner of spirit you are of, for the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them”. Jesus literally told them they had a WRONG spirit. So, who else in the Gospels had a similar mindset, ie, wrong spirit…always wanting to condemn & judge? The Pharisees & Sadducees. They had a severe “heart problem” which they never could let go of & repent, even though Jesus spoke the truth to them. They claimed to be speaking for God, but Jesus condemned THEM time & time again for their judgmental & hypocritical heart! Surely, many prophetic voices today need to take heed & look within their own hearts. Yes, God will someday judge this nation & world…but until He does, our “job” is to walk in grace & love, interceding for the lost…not speaking in damning voices, claiming they are hearing from God. Our job is not “to destroy men’s lives, but to save them”.

Well, someone might say…even Jesus prophesied judgment in Matt. 24:

Mat 24:1  And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
Mat 24:2  And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down (this was also spoken in Luke 21).

Yes, Jesus prophesied this to his disciples…it was going to happen sometime in the future…He spoke this knowing that “God’s chosen people” would later reject Him & crucify Him & bring judgment on themselves. But, this didn’t happen right away…this warning was fulfilled approx. 40 years later in 70AD when the Romans destroyed the Temple & the Jews were scattered abroad. These Gospel passages show us a transition beginning to take place, even before the church age began…ie, after the Cross.

Let’s look at the 1st book of the New Testament:

Act 11:25  Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
Act 11:26  And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Act 11:27  And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
Act 11:28  And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.

Act 21:8  And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.
Act 21:9  And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.
Act 21:10  And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.
Act 21:11  And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owns this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.
Act 21:12  And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.
Act 21:13  Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
Act 21:14  And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.

Act 27:21  But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.
Act 27:22  And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship.
Act 27:23  For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,
Act 27:24  Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.
Act 27:25  Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.
Act 27:26  Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island.

Now, you will notice that in Acts, there was no mention of any prophet crying out judgment & damnation to the nations…in the 1st passage prophets are only mentioned regarding prophesying “within the church” & the last example, Paul only prophesied “exhortation & good cheer” to those on the ship. Next we can look at the instructions that Paul gave to the church regarding prophets & prophecy in 1 Cor. 14:

1Cor 14:3  But he that prophesies speaks unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
1Cor 14:24  But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believes not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:
1Cor 14:25  And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.
1Cor 14:30  If any thing be revealed to another that sits by, let the first hold his peace.
1Cor 14:31  For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
1Cor 14:32  And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
1Cor 14:33  For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
1Cor 14:37  If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

Paul’s instruction regarding the prophetic office & prophecy shows the “gift” at work…including “edification, and exhortation, and comfort” & also bringing unbelievers unto salvation. Paul ends the instruction by saying that if someone thinks he is a prophet will acknowledge that the things he wrote are the commandments of the Lord. Something is very wrong with all of this talk of “judgment” we keep hearing! It is no wonder there is so much confusion in the body of Christ today! God says “the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets”. Jesus said “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34 & Luk 6:45). God said that the prophetic voices in this age are to prophesy “edification, and exhortation, and comfort” to the church & minister to the unbeliever…just like Jesus did with the woman at the well in John 4. He didn’t condemn or judge her, though she was living in sin. NO…He ministered to her by word of knowledge & showed grace & mercy to her. Somehow this is missed by many prophetic voices today & instead of seeing that a nation is nothing but individuals who need salvation, they are being harmed by words of damnation & judgment, which will only push people away. This New Testament prophet is further clarified in Eph. 4:

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:
Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

The prophetic voices in the New Testament church are GIVEN (along with the apostles, evangelists, pastors & teachers) to perfect the saints, so the saints can do the work of the ministry, so the entire body may grown up in the image of Christ. I don’t see anything there where God said prophets are to speak judgment to the world…NO! No, God said judgment begins at the house of God! God’s intent is for the church to shine the light of Jesus Christ to this lost & dying world…this will in turn cause the world to change…repentance will only come to this nation & world, as the body of Christ repents & begins to truly shine the light that God intended! History has proved this time & time again…when the church truly “shines”, entire cities, regions & nations are changed!

In these days we live in, we need to be vessels of God’s love, not vessels of condemnation & judgment. If we will walk with a true heart of humility, we will see that all of the people represented in this nation are no better than us…we just have received the grace & mercy of God. It is time for the church to stop spouting all of this condemnation & judgment & start to make a REAL difference in the world, while there is still time.

Lastly, as part of “shining” the light of Christ…it is imperative that God’s people in the USA vote. Dr. James Dobson of “Focus On The Family” rebuked Christians, “I think it is a disgrace that half the Christians in America aren’t even registered to vote, and of those who are, only half go to the polls… When we withhold our influence and participation, we yield by default to those who promote immoral and destructive policies.” Voting is important!

Estimates show that at least 50 million Christians did NOT vote in 2008 &  2012. They either felt that their vote didn’t change anything, or they were just too complacent to care to make a difference. I was shocked to hear that over 6 million Christians voted for the current president! What has happened here in the USA the past 8 years is ultimately the responsibility of the body of Christ. I hear arguments of “nonsense”, people justifying their not voting for “spiritual reasons”…hogwash! Voting is one way we can express our voice!

Please vote in this election…for God’s people, there is only one choice…voting for one will take the USA further down the slippery slope of progressive liberalism & socialism…voting for the other will make America great again.

In His great love & mercy,

Pastors Mark & Julie Moore
Revival-Fire Church