Posts filed under 'end times'
by Billy Humphrey
Something unusual has happened here at IHOP-Atlanta the last few weekends. It’s difficult to explain any encounter with the Lord. You never want to hype or overstate anything. But simultaneously you want to credibly do justice to what has happened. As I considered how I might faithfully relate what the Lord has been doing in our midst, I was reminded of Jesus’ words to John the Baptist’s disciples, “Go and tell … the things you have seen and heard…” (Luke 7:22). So here it goes…
Last weekend we called special renewal services because we felt impressed that the Lord was moving in an unusual way. On Tuesday the same presence of God we felt the previous weekend was released in our all-staff prayer meeting. Many were encountered by the Holy Spirit, most notably the children. The next day in our school, the classes were interrupted by the power of God. Many of the children experienced the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit in profound ways. As I went to the school building to see what was happening, I was greeted with the tangible presence of the Lord and my legs began to physically tremble. I entered a classroom that had been overtaken by the Holy Spirit to find 20 or so 4th & 5th graders in travail with tears streaming down their faces, crying out for God to come in power and revival. It was fearsome. You can’t teach a thing like that. It was a sovereign in-breaking of the Holy Spirit.
On Friday David Sliker and Brent Steeno from IHOP-KC flew in to help lead the weekend’s meetings. That evening as we gathered there was a real sense of expectation. The room was full and you could sense the spiritual hunger. In moments the presence of God filled the place and the power of the Holy Spirit was in manifestation. Jesus was doing it again. Friday through Sunday night we experienced the same outpouring of the Holy Spirit we had experienced the previous weekend. Many were touched with the power of the Holy Spirit. Many were weeping, laughing, falling, trembling and shaking under the Spirit’s power. Many testified of physical and emotional healings.
The physical healing included healing from Mononucleosis and Hypothyroidism. A fractured ankle was instantly healed as was a broken toe and hemorrhoids.
My favorite physical healing was a lady whose eyesight was healed. I got to witness her eyesight being restored firsthand. She had received prayer on Saturday at which time her eyes began to burn but she did not have an immediate change in her vision. Our staff member encouraged her to continue to believe that she received her healing. She came back to the meeting on Sunday night with her eyes still burning. She told me she purposely left her “coke-bottle” glasses at home, believing her healing would manifest. Toward the end of the meeting she realized that she could read the video screens. She came over to tell her testimony with her husband standing by her side. I asked her to read a paper with 12pt font at arms length. She began slowly and then read several sentences breaking down in tears as she read. She was completely healed! Her name is FAITH! Her husband and I high-fived and hugged as he confirmed that she could’ve never read that page without her glasses.
We also received multiple testimonies of emotional healing and deliverance, including deliverance from depression, self-hatred and the emotional scars from sexual abuse. Many, many experienced a dramatic refreshing and renewing in the love of God.
Another sweet testimony came from a young girl named Angel. She told us that she had not been to church very much. In fact the only church she had ever been to was one where, “You weren’t allowed to talk.” On Sunday night she walked into the house of prayer and almost immediately began to weep. She said the people were so joyful and she wanted to know what she needed to do to experience this same joy. The friend who brought her, shared the gospel with her and Angel immediately gave her life to Jesus! As I prayed for her she began to shake and weep as the presence of the Holy Spirit flowed over her. It was absolutely beautiful.
God has given us a prophetic word that He has opened a fountain of refreshing over IHOP-Atlanta and that He is changing the International House of Prayer to the International House of Presence. I believethis is what we are experiencing right now. A fountain has been opened and living water is pouring forth. This morning as I walked into the building I immediately felt the weighty presence of the Holy Spirit upon me. Even now as I write this blog, I sense His presence, draping me like a heavy cloak.
I don’t know how long this season of visitation will last. But I do know that we want to give the Holy Spirit as much room as possible so He can move as He pleases. Therefore, we are extending the renewal services for at least the next two weekends, the 12th – 14th and 19th – 21st. David Sliker from IHOP-KC has agreed to make trips to Atlanta to serve the Lord’s purpose in this outpouring for as long as the Lord is moving by His Spirit. All I can say is “More LORD!”
Service times are:
- Friday @ 7pm
- Saturday & Sunday @ 6pm
Please forward this blog to whomever you think is interested to know about this outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Go to www.ihop-atlanta for information and directions.
February 9th, 2010
This is a blog post from billyhumphrey.com written by my friend Billy, who is the director of the International House of Prayer - Atlanta. In it, he describes what happened to us last weekend as we were ministering together for a House of Prayer Leadership Summit. I have such faith and excitement in my heart as I eagerly wait to see what the Lord is going to do next in America. These are some of the most exciting days of my life and the thrill of watching Jesus minister with power and tenderness is worth the wait.
by Billy Humphrey
How do I explain what happened this weekend? It’s nearly impossible to communicate in a blog, but I will do my best.
Let me start by saying that I have a great distaste for hype or self-promotion. I have a great value for reality and truth, especially when it comes to testifying of the works of the Lord. I dont’ think exaggeration helps anyone. With that said, I hope what I share next stirs your hunger and faith.
This past weekend at IHOP-Atlanta we had a leadership summit with about 70 leaders from around the nation. We were gathering to receive strategy and impartation to build the houses of prayer. My good friend David Sliker, from IHOP-KC, has ministered with me and others in this event for the past five years. This year was different because He and I were the only speakers.
When I picked up Dave from airport Friday afternoon, he was deeply experiencing the Holy Spirit’s presence. He told me that when he woke up Friday morning he felt the Lord resting on him powerfully. That night at the summit it was evident to me that Dave was carrying a deposit from the IHOPU Student Awakening services in KC. The presence of the Lord was rich.
The next day the Lord began to deeply minister by His Spirit to the people. Dave said to me, “I think it’s going to blow up tonight.” I also felt like the Lord was building towards a climax on Saturday night. I felt led to speak on hunger for revival. Just before the service Dave had a vision of angels holding buckets of coals of fire and wine over the building, ready to pour out the power of God on the gathering.
When I gave the altar call the leaders responded with great hunger to see a breakthrough of the power of God in their regions. When I asked the Lord to release His fire, the fire of God fell on the gathering. Many were groaning and shaking under the power of God. Dave then came up and asked the Lord to release the refreshing wine of His Spirit. Within a few moments the room was engulfed in the sweet presence of the Holy Spirit. God coursed through the place for the next several hours. Many were weeping, laughing, falling shaking and experiencing the refreshing touch of God’s love upon their soul. We didn’t get out of there until 12:30 AM. God’s love was so real and His presence so tangible. I didn’t get to sleep that night until after 2:30.
The scenes and experiences were so familiar. I have been in many revival & renewal services in my life. I am so thankful how God moved. I couldn’t help but wonder if He was doing something that might be lasting. I figured we would know if something was really happening after Sundays services.
The next morning our normal Sunday AM crowd was joined by the leadership summit crowd. The room was full and the worship was really sweet. During worship Dave had a profound encounter with the Lord. The Lord told him that He had opened a fountain over IHOP-Atlanta and the the Lord was going to transform the International House of Prayer into the International House of Presence. Once we prayed for the Holy Spirit to come, the same power that we experienced Saturday night manifested again all across the room. The service went from 10:00am til about 1:30pm. God was moving. I was filled with expectancy as to what the evening service might hold. I could feel myself beginning to believe that maybe God was up to something more than just a good weekend of services. The risk of faith can seem so feeble. But the Lord loves it when we dare to believe in His greatness.
You have to understand, I REALLY LOVE a move of the Spirit of God. But I am also exceedingly jealous for the real deal. I don’t want to call every spark a bonfire. I seriously petitioned the Lord as to what He had in store for us. Could it be that God was opening a fountain of refreshing here in Atlanta?
Suffice to say, last night’s service was amazing. The power of God broke upon us in waves. The Holy Spirit blew through the house of prayer as many were drunk in the Spirit and refreshed in the love of God. 15-20 people were instantly healed of various sicknesses and infirmities. When I left at 12:30AM, 25 – 30 people were still here. Most were on the floor, drunk in the spirit, overwhelmed with the Presence of God.
At some point during the meeting I felt the Lord invite me to call additional meetings to make room for the fountain of the Lord to continue to flow and refresh us. Dave and our senior leadership team were unanimous that we should continue the meetings. Therefore we are going to hold more renewal services this weekend at IHOP-Atlanta. Dave has agreed to fly back to Atlanta this weekend to help serve what the Lord is doing here.
Service Times are:
- Friday, Feb 5th @7pm
- Saturday, Feb 6th @ 6pm
- Sunday, Feb 7th @ 6pm.
As I am writing this the Lord’s presence is resting upon me. I am so hungry for an outbreak of the Holy Spirit in Atlanta. If you are hungry for a move of God in your life I want to invite you to join us this weekend. Who knows what God will do. I know this, my faith is stirred to see an outbreak of God’s power engulf and overwhelm our city and nation. I want to engage with whatever the Lord is doing unto this end.
We don’t know if we will continue past this weekend, we just want to show up with hunger and ask the Holy Spirit to come. Come join us.
Would you forward this blog to those you know that might be interested. I believe God wants to open up a fountain of refreshing and turn it into a river of fire that will birth revival and reformation.
February 3rd, 2010
While poking around the internets, I found this description of the International House of Prayer:
This March, at a “Passion for Jesus” conference in Kansas City sponsored by the International House of Prayer, or IHOP, a ministry for teenagers from the heavy metal, punk and goth scenes, Engle called on his audience for vengeance.
The call for “vengeance” also made me giggle a bit. Lou as the leader of a goth movement calling for vengeance - makes sense to me.
David
December 23rd, 2008
Thanks to all who gave their two cents (plus some) in breaking down the early draft of theCall’s press release related to the fiasco Newsweek published last week. It was all seriously helpful feedback! One point of clarification that you probably didn’t know - Lou had already, earlier in the week, released a short statement calling on believers to cancel their Newsweek subscription. Thus, the call to do so had to be in the longer press release. I did appreciate some of the perspective on that point, however. So what happened?
Well, much to my surprise, our p.r. firm loved the press release as is. So, in an unexpected turn of events, the early draft became the final draft instantaneously. The p.r. firm didn’t change much - they shortened the opening paragraph and added a phrase (that I asked them to remove - because it was dorky, not because it was controversial) before punching up the end a little bit. Hopefully, if you see it somewhere printed over the next week, you’ll appreciate the minor addition they made. Or not.
As things currently stand, however, they have blasted the press release out to wherever public relatations firms blast out press releases. I don’t really know how any of that works, but I do know that, supposedly, the Wall Street Journal has shown interest thus far. We shall see. Either way, it was an interesting experiment in “social press releasing” with all of you - and the glory for me is that, for now, only Lou’s name is on the document. He’s already done one radio interview related to it (yesterday, can’t remember the show).
Meanwhile, I get to stay in my cave and fast and pray. So back to the cave I go.
David
December 16th, 2008
Submitted for your approval, here is an early draft of a press release that TheCall will be releasing through our P.R. firm that Lou Engle and I wrote early yesterday:
This past week, the editors and publishers of Newsweek magazine made an unfortunate decision to brazenly relegate the vast majority of American citizens who believe in the traditional, biblical view of marriage to, quoting its Editor-in-Chief Jon Meacham, “intellectual bankruptcy”. Newsweek’s attempt to simultaneously tear down the veracity and relevance of the holy scriptures while appealing to those same scriptures to build its case for homosexual marriage is not in and of itself a shocking act. The intellectual dishonesty of these writers and editors is clearly on display in their work and the statements they have made surrounding their work. Thus, we are neither afraid of nor troubled by their submission to the national conversation on this issue.
No – what we are troubled by is the confidence that a failing institution had in publishing such a seemingly bold statement. Newsweek’s economic struggles and loss of subscribers have been well-documented as of late; in taking this stand, Jon Meacham in particular seemed overconfident that he and his constituency are on the winning side of history. In the long view of history, the very scriptures that Newsweek magazine looked to trivialize in their article prove who is ultimately on the “winning side” of this argument. As our friend Jim Garlow has said repeatedly, the Bible ends with a wedding. The manner in which the Bible comes to a glorious conclusion demonstrates the sanctity by which our Creator holds this most sacred of unions. The Apostle Paul spoke of this institution and the manner in which a healthy, vibrant marriage between one man and one woman has continually served as a metaphor for God’s relationship with His people in Ephesians 5:25-33, a passage that Lisa Miller, the author of the Newsweek cover essay conspicuously overlooked in her research.
Some have asked why we care so much about this issue, and why we are taking such a bold stand to oppose homosexual marriage in America. It is because we hold the institution of marriage in such high regard related to its sacredness to our God; yet we also recognize that this very sacredness has left the institution of marriage open to assault from its very beginnings, going back to a garden thousands of years ago. The culmination of this assault on marriage, according to the prophetic scriptures that describe the days ahead, is to try to eliminate this institution altogether (1 Timothy 4:3). The current zeal to redefine marriage is the latest stage of this assault. The strategy of those who are looking to redefine marriage is two-fold: to first frame homosexuality as a racial issue rather than a moral issue and then to establish rights for homosexuals as the true moral issue of our day. Thus there is more than the biblical definition of marriage at stake – but the very definition of what is sin versus what is righteous before our Creator.
Therefore what is troubling is clear: not that Newsweek magazine is taking the “lead” in defining both morality and marriage in America; again, an organization struggling for its financial survival rarely has the stomach for such risks – no, it is troubling that they feel confident that the majority of America agrees with their stance and their definitions of marriage and morality. If this is true then our nation has taken a dramatic and unfortunate turn that has devastating consequences for American culture in the days to come. For if sexual orientation and desire can be classified under the framework of “race” – if we define desires in a manner beyond what our Creator intended without any scientific evidence that such proclivities are genetic – then we open up a proverbial “Pandora’s Box” for such an argument to be applied to all manner of desires under the false mask of “genetics” or the “Creator’s design”. We pray that the vast majority of Americans that have continued to hold the line on what is marriage, what is moral, and what is so clearly part of the created order and the Creator’s design will stand fast against this blatant assault on truth.
As such, we are asking all who desire to stand for truth and righteousness to say, “No!” to Newsweek magazine’s attempt to reframe and reshape scripture for their own self-seeking purposes and to immediately cancel their subscriptions. The American people have a historic opportunity to show Newsweek magazine that its arrogant overconfidence in gauging the opinions of the people is greatly misplaced.
It’s about 33-50 words too long, and a few of the phrases need too much explanation / clarification to hold up - but it gives you a better grasp of what is on our minds related to this week’s Newsweek cover essay.
What do you think?
David
December 13th, 2008
Honestly, it came from me self-reflecting a little bit after spending the last three days sick and thinking about the latest Newsweek cover story. You would be surprised how much time I’ve spent thinking about it. Not in the “wow, that was well-written, it made me think about the issues,” kind of thinking. No, it’s been more like, “How can I most effectively and efficiently deconstruct the most irresponsible piece of ‘journalism’ I have ever seen in all my limited years of studying and reading old media.” Many of my posts work like that - where I will stew and think for days before writing (or not writing) my thoughts on something.
On this matter, however, I want to do more than “write down a thought or two” - I want to declare war on a magazine that has so blatantly declared war on me. I have never, in my life, seen a more obvious attempt by a mainstream news magazine to delineate between “us” (the right thinking, clear minded media type) and “them” (the neanderthal bitterly clinging to religion and guns) as I saw this week in Newsweek magazine. From the first line, “Let’s try for a minute to take religious conservatives at their word…” (emphasis mine; meaning, I’m not a member of whatever club spawned this article) to the Editor’s note: “Let the letters and emails come.”
As a religious conservative, I’ve now seen a mainstream magazine feel safe enough with its constituency economically to “take me on.” This does not make its ideas or presentations bold, noble, or heroic - mainstream media are hardly capable of such financial risks - no, this means that it (the editors and publisher) believes that the ideas presented are safe for publication; controversial yes, but economically safe - and that its views are the new social norm for the day. I think, sadly, that they are right.
And this answers the comment that I haven’t responded to yet - the one that asked me why, when it comes to issues like gay marriage, do I care? I care because of precisely what I just articulated - the redefinition of social norms under the banner of civil rights, which is a dishonest and intellectually inferior position masquerading as a just and noble cause. Once that redefinition takes place, and the lines that were once clear are at once redrawn, the future for my children suddenly takes a darker turn; for the precedent set in these arguments is one we will be hearing again, I can assure you. I have to end here - but this isn’t the last of what’s on my mind related to what I consider one of the most ominous signs of our time that I’ve seen in quite a while.
David
December 11th, 2008
Signs of the Times handout? Done. 150 chapters on the end-times? Check. Most commonly asked questions on the end-times 2.0? Helped with a few of those. Book of Revelation outline? Pretty much there. After today’s eight hour final burst, the weight of these documents is behind me…for now. So I plan on enjoying that “for now” for all it’s worth!
Now that I’m a free man, I plan on exercising that freedom to write some things and answer some comments. There’s a lot on the ol’ mind besides researching genocide statistics over the past 100 years, I can assure you. You’ll have to get the handout to connect with the last sentence, but other than that, happy snow, Kansas City friends!
David
December 9th, 2008
A little side note from my update: I’m genuinely excited about helping to serve TheCall and Lou Engle. I’ll have to tell the story of how that strange, unexpected, took-me-completely-by-surprise right turn came about last fall sometime - but I am stirred by the Lord regarding this assignment. I have a zeal to build a multi-generational prayer coalition as an answer to the political coalition that has emerged to elect our President-Elect. I want to go region by region, finding friends, comrades, and brothers (and sisters) that are like-minded and longing to see a shift in the current climate of the church of America towards a radical, obsessed, wholehearted, burning with passion and zeal for the heart of God, hunger and thirst for righteousness; with a bold, unashamed pursuit of speedy justice. Yeah, I can give my time to that.
But I have to confess, the upcoming thing I am most excited about (theology dork that I be) is the new course I am teaching at IHOPU - The Kingdom of God. My plan is to systematically break down the Kingdom of God in the law, the prophets, the gospels, the epistles, and beyond to get the clearest picture I can regarding the kingdom that God desires to establish fully (and forcefully, at His return) on the earth. What will it look like when “the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ”? Oh, the joy of finding out in a way that sets my heart, my mind, and my strength on serving His purposes related to that one goal.
I say this to hint that I am sure that some of my Kingdom of God stuff will leak out onto this space. Just warning you now.
David
November 21st, 2008
Here’s the set-up for what’s on my mind today, from “Bench Memos” on the New Republic Online:
“The California Supreme Court Wednesday decided to hear arguments concerning the legality of Proposition 8, which amended the state Constitution to restore marriage to what it was before the California Supreme Court engaged in legal adventurism by creating a right to gay marriage.
The arguments made are pretty thin gruel, and turn on a technical question of whether the change should be an amendment, which can be passed (as Prop. 8 was) by a majority vote of the people after collecting enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, or whether it is such a drastic change that it needed to go through the more arduous process of constitutional revision. Deep down, some of the lawyers making these arguments had to find it ironic to argue that the state Constitution could not be modified to change the right to marriage through the formal amendment process, including the approval of a majority of voters, but that it could be done by four judges who changed the law by their own fiat. The case law is pretty strongly against those challenging Prop. 8, enough so that I think even the California Supreme Court will have trouble legislating . . . oops, I mean carefully legally reasoning their way to the conclusion that Prop. 8 is unlawful.
Enter Geoff Stone. Before the Court opted to hear the case, he suggested that there was really a much bigger constitutional issue at play here: the separation of church and state. He finds that Proposition 8 “enact[s] into law a particular religious belief.” For Stone, religion is the only explanation for the law: “Indeed, despite invocations of tradition, morality and family values, it seems clear that the only honest explanation for Proposition 8 is religion.” His proof: polling data which shows that evangelicals and weekly church attenders favored Prop. 8 by large margins, while non-Christians and non-church attenders opposed it. While he concedes that courts are loathe to intervene in these cases, it is clear that he thinks they should. Indeed, to allow these kind of laws is “un-American”, as he explains with perfect tone-deaf deftness: “Indeed, regardless of whether courts can intervene in this context, it is as un-American to violate the separation of church and state by using the power of the state to impose our religious beliefs on others as it is to use the power of the state to impose our discriminatory views of race, religion or gender on others.”
Where to begin? Should we talk about the fact that a traditional head of the police powers of the state are morals, which often were derived from the religious sentiments of the people? Should we discuss the role of religious law like the Decalogue in shaping much of American law? Should we dispute the correlation between religious voters and religious enactments, noting that weekly church attenders also vote overwhelmingly for other things that Geoff Stone no doubt despises, like Republican party presidential candidates? Should we dispute the premise that “only” religion explains the outcome in the election, and that people of very different religious faiths and no faith at all reached the same conclusion in voting for Prop. 8? No, to do so gives Stone too much credit. His arguments don’t even qualify as reasonable fringe in establishment clause jurisprudence.
One might wish to dismiss his blog post simply as a poorly thought out whim made on a Sunday afternoon, after church bells in Hyde Park’s somehow triggered dementia. But alas, Stone has a track record of these absurdly anti-religious rants to allow such a kind explanation. As Bench Memos readers will recall, he previously asserted that the court’s decision upholding the federal partial-birth abortion statute was a result of a new Catholic majority on the Court. My old friend Ed Whelan made easy work of his argument here, here, here, here, here, and here.
What then becomes obvious is that it is Stone who is acting with religious fervor by attempting to impose his religious, or if you prefer, irreligious beliefs or morality on the public square. The First Amendment was not intended to prohibit religious participation in political life, and it certainly does not mandate that only the morals of the non-church-attenders are constitutionally permissible bases of legislation. But it is not suitable to claim that arguments like Stone’s are “un-American,” to borrow his line. They are simply foolish.”
- by Robert Alt
November 21st, 2008
by Lou Engle
To The Black Church in America:
Since 1776 this great country has been a beacon of light to the rest of humanity in demonstrating the divinely allocated value of each and every human individual. Though America has struggled to ensure freedom for every people, her enduring attitude “liberty for all” has prevailed at least in measure to every race, gender, and creed. Our country was securely built on foundational truths that, though at times have been wanting in application, have remained our countries basic societal and moral cornerstones. Thomas Jefferson articulated these basic values in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is this credo that has driven this nation to the heights of glory and power it currently resides in. The Constitution that governs this nation was founded on the belief that no man’s freedom can come at the cost of another and all men deserve to live free of repressive edicts, fear of death, and tyrannical oppression.
With this freedom in mind, forty-five years ago on August 28 a great prophet Martin Luther King trumpeted the sound of “I HAVE A DREAM” in front of thousands gathered at the mall in Washington D.C. It was from King’s resounding voice that hope was re-kindled in the hearts of a people who for years had been bound by oppressive chains of racial segregation and bigotry. They stood on that day in the shadow of the great memorial of President Lincoln in which is engraved the words of the Gettysburg Address: “Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said “the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.” This dream spoke of by King was a dream carved out of the bloody backs and sweaty brow of slave ancestors; it was a dream re-birthed out of the thousands of dead soldiers bodies that littered the killing fields of Antietam, Gettysburg, Manassas; and it was a dream forged from the sweltering heat of poverty, segregation, and racism.
Abraham Lincoln, a man well versed in the scriptures, most certainly drew his inspiration from Numbers 35:33, “So you shall not pollute the land where you are, for blood defiles the land and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it except by the blood of him who shed it” as well as Genesis 9:5-6 “ Surely for your life blood I will demand a reckoning… Whoever sheds mans blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God he made man.” Lincoln came to understand that the Civil War was God’s divine discipline upon a people and a nation who refused to live according to God’s laws. Lincoln was aware that the Civil War was a day of reckoning for the horrific injustice of slavery and the shedding of innocent blood done in the name of economic gain and racial oppression. If what Lincoln came to conclude was true and if 600,000 men died on the battlefields of the Civil War for the blood of slavery, what will it mean if God brings a day of reckoning for the shed blood of conservatively 48 million aborted babies since Roe v. Wade 1973?
The dark shadow of abortion stretches itself across the moral fabric of our nation. Since the landmark case Roe v. Wade in 1973, yearly the blood of up to 1.3 million babies has been spilled upon American soil. Undermining the basic foundational moral and societal cornerstones laid in both scripture and by our founding fathers, abortion strikes against the very life of our nation. A living, moving, feeling, and breathing child being abducted from the womb is not a “side-line” socio-political issue. We are talking about the murder of a child- a child who is just as “human” as the African American slave one hundred and fifty years ago working the cotton fields.
John Noonan, Professor of Law at the University of California says it this way, “Once or twice in a century an issue arises…So far reaching in its consequences and so deep in its foundations that it calls every person to take a stand.” In past times the forced removal of Native American Tribes from their homes was such an issue but very few took their stand. Slavery was such an issue, and the civil rights movement carried this kind of moral gravity. Undoubtedly there were many issues during the days prior to the Civil War that pressed upon the nation but God was bringing one issue to a divine apex. Based on whatever side you took in that day history now stands in judgment of you. And so it will be another forty years from now. History will stand in judgment of a nation that appallingly aborted its own children and assigned millions of her women to live lives plagued with shame, regret and devastated relationships.
This is not the end: the ready access to abortion now is fueling the worldwide proliferation of human sex trafficking in which women are kidnapped and forced to have sex with men 10-20 times a night. When these women become pregnant, they are then compelled to abort their children in order to remain economically useful. How is this for fruit of the feminist cause célèbre? We have ended up enslaving our own daughters! We are unleashing a sexual insanity into the earth in epic proportions and abortion is the atomic bomb that has cleared the way for the gradual destruction of our nation’s moral values. This is not just a social issue; this is the shedding of innocent blood. Blood affects the spiritual realm and fuels the demonization of a whole culture.
In the scriptures the shedding on innocent blood is the ultimate crime, a crime that God would not pardon. 2 Kings 24:4 records that God removed Judah out of his sight because of the sin of Manasseh, “because of the innocent blood that he had shed, for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the Lord would not pardon.” Brothers and sisters, a great turn has been taking place in America on the ideology of Abortion. Movies are shouting adoption is a better answer than abortion. The movie Horton Hears A Who prophesies to millions that, “a person’s a person no matter how small.” Judges have been appointed in the US Supreme Court and the lower courts that are now ruling against partial birth abortion and agreeing that a child in the womb is a unique human life. Today we live in the shadow of possibly the most defining election in American history, and lamentably as I write this, millions of believers of Jesus are being courted by a mans charisma rather than his voting record. Senator Obama stated publicly, “35 years after the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade its never been more important to protect a women’s right to choose…Through my career, I have been a consistent and strong supporter of reproductive justice and have consistently had 100% pro-choice rating with Planned Parenthood and NARAL pro-choice America.” We have come to an Elijah v. Jezebel showdown in which America will choose LIFE or DEATH. And the church, called to be the prophetic conscience of a nation, melts away like snow in the summer heat awash in moral relativism.
As in the days of slavery and in the days of segregation, it was the moral blindness and silence of the church, even her involvement in the national sin, that caused generations after to wonder, how could a nation built on such godly foundations drift so far? The moral confusion within the church today over the issue of abortion is strangely reminiscent of a mindset that existed within the church in the midst of segregation and slavery. I believe as the church we have come to a defining moment in American history. In our repentance we may prayerfully see an end to the decrees of death legalized in Roe v. Wade and a new movement of adoption and compassion spring forth from the church of America. Likewise, if we fail to respond to the crisis of bloodshed within our nation and continue to waiver between two opinions, we may very well go through the fires of an ordeal that will shake this nation to its knees.
I believe that this election will literally be the churches’ choice between life and death and that it all comes down to this one singular issue. We can no longer “reason the issue away” as if it was just progressive maternal healthcare. 2008 is not entirely unlike 1858, the year that the Supreme Court of America ruled in Dred Scott v. Sanford that the slave was not a person but was property. Three years later, in 1861, the Civil War was unleashed and men went into battle singing, “Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory Of The Coming Of The Lord, He is Trampling Out The Vintage Where The Grapes of Wrath are Stored, He Has Loosed The Fateful Lightning Of His Terrible Swift Sword, His Truth Is Marching On.” Though they may not have known it, they were prophesying the judgments of the Lord against the bloodshed of slavery. God is not mocked, what you sow you will reap America. For 150 years after Dred Scott, Roe v. Wade now flies its bloody banner over America and it has yet to see what the reckoning looks like.
A group of young people who have been standing for four years in front of the Supreme Court pleading the cause of the unborn with LIFE tape over there mouths were given a dream. In the dream, they were going from court room to court room to court room which then lead to a long hallway and entered into a large court room and there God was preparing to bring His own court case against Roe v. Wade and in the dream the name of that court was Appomattox Court House. Appomattox is where God finished His court case against Dred Scott. Because Americas courts did not deal with slavery in its own halls of justice God took it to the Appomattox Court House where General Lee of the South surrendered to General Grant of the North. This was after 600,000 men’s blood was poured out on the battlefield of the Civil War as the full payment for the blood shed of slavery. Brothers and sisters, what will Appomattox Court House look like if America doesn’t deal with Roe v. Wade in her own courts.
Part 2 below.
October 24th, 2008
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