Nick's Notes
December 16, 2016
King Cyrus.
Zerubbabel.
Temple treasuries.
What do these things from the book of Ezra have in common with modern day America?
Consider these thoughts. One of the reliable prophetic voices, Lance Wallnau, earlier this year declared that Trump is a modern day Cyrus. (Isa. 45) Let’s go with that. Donald Trump is a man who does not know God intimately, but has been called by God to fulfill a specific assignment that has to do with America.
Cyrus was a Persian king, of the people who defeated the mighty Babylonians. When King Cyrus ascended to his throne, God spoke to him with one thing in mind - Rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.
If we allow that God can and does appoint secular leaders to fulfill his desires for his people, then it’s not a big leap to consider Trump a modern day Cyrus. The prophetic parallels are within reach. A secular leader has been chosen by God to do something for America that neither priests, pastors nor prophets can do.
Cyrus was given the assignment to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. In following through with that assignment he proceeded with two specific directives. 1) Release the people to return to their land to rebuild the temple and retake the land. 2) Return all the temple treasuries that had been stolen by Nebuchadnezzar. In order to complete this task, Cyrus nominated Zerubabbel as Governor to lead the first wave of refugees that numbered 50,000.
History shows that despite all the political deal making and legal disinformation that arose to stop them, Governor Zerubbabel, the priest Ezra and the first travelers were successful and completed their task in about 10 years.
I would suggest that our current political climate lends itself to this application.
- Cyrus is now personified in Donald Trump. He has been chosen to see that the temple (the constitutional form of Government) is rebuilt and reenergized.
- Mike Pence, as vice-president elect, symbolizes the leader - Zerubabbel. Former Governor of Indiana and fully engaged, committed Christian. Leader of the transition team.
For America at this time, the spiritual temple treasuries are the freedoms included in the Bill of Rights, including freedom of speech, religion, and right to keep and bear arms, states rights, etc. The treasuries would also include the financial resources ( $ trillions) of the people, (including our children and grandchildren) that have been squandered and stolen. You can add your own list of freedoms and “rights” that the greater population has given up - like the rights given by God to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
I believe the success of this grand plan by God is dependent, to a large extent, upon the prayers of his people. Not the prayers for a meal blessing, nor the casual reference to God bless America in sports arenas. The fullness of this economic and spiritual revival will be in direct proportion to our willingness and commitment to “pray without ceasing.” (1Thess 5:17)
This cannot be overemphasized. God has chosen to partner with his people in order to bring the Kingdom of Heaven from heaven to the earth. Today our choice is - will we believe God really wants to revive America and persevere with day and night prayer, or will we return to our electronic gadgets and trust in the government’s medical plans to see us through the maze of obstacles that are just ahead.
As for me and my house, we believe America is worth saving and so does Jesus. So we choose mercy. We choose to pray. To persevere. To engage heaven and trust his wisdom.
But he will not do what we are called, enabled and commissioned to do.
We cannot do his part and he won’t do our part.
Please join with me in unceasing prayer.
“Lord God, creator of heaven and earth. We choose this day to engage you in prayer. And, by your Holy Spirit, we will do this every day until Jesus returns. We choose not to let your mercies go unheeded and your power untouched. Visit our government with the government of your Son. We trust you. Let your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus Name.
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June 26, 2015
The Pastor, the Marriage and the Government
Matthew 10:16
16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
With the recent ruling by the Supreme Court to redefine marriage, we pastors must decide to respond to the court with divine wisdom. There is now no question about where the government stands on this issue. It was promoted by the Obama administration and is now philosophically subsidized by the Supreme Court of the United States. They have laid down the gauntlet before the church of the living God and declared we must change what we believe. In their minds, they know what is best. The arrogance is staggering.
We should never compromise about the historical/biblical definition of marriage. God ordained it to be between one man and one woman forever. Any discussions that attempt to justify a shift in scriptural interpretation or minimize this divine order are irrelevant and fruitless.
But while the government, the media talking heads, and the militant lgbt-s salivate over the coming lawsuits, we need to step back a minute to pray. I believe we can stop much of the coming legal attacks before they ever get to our church pews. There is no reason to pick fights with the government, the homosexual communities or the local police if we don’t have to. Jail time may be necessary, but not always. This is the time to be seeking true wisdom from above
Here are 4 strategies that might serve us well.
1) Decide to stop doing marriages. Let the civil authorities handle these matters with their clerks and judges. We can’t be sued for discrimination for something that we do not do for anyone.
2) In lieu of doing civil marriages, do a religious ceremony, i.e. a marriage blessing. It’s not a marriage, it’s a blessing. Not everyone qualifies for a marriage blessing any more than a business, school, or home. Blessings are our job anyway. We get to decide who gets blessed.
3) Change our bylaws and/or church policies. Stop opening our private facilities to the general public. If we still want to do marriages, do them only for people in our fellowship. Make a list of blessings and/or optional services for members of your fellowship only. Change our Statement of Faith to explain clearly our conservative and biblical stance toward same sex marriages. If our church policies and statement of faith excludes people from membership who are unrepentant witches, compulsive liars, and/or hetero-sexual individuals who are living together outside of marriage, then we can exclude homosexuals from membership as well. No membership = no access to the marriage ceremony or access to use of the building.
4) If we still want to offer our facilities to the general public, we will need to establish a policy that deals with public events. (marriages, birthday parties, family reunions, etc.) The first thing will be to become involved with a pastoral fellowship that shares common spiritual doctrines with us. As we come into agreement with other pastors in our community who are in agreement, we can now state it is our church’s policy to only consider hosting public events from the general public when a representative or leader provides personal references from 2, 3 or 4 other pastors who are in our pastoral fellowship. Public marriages and other Christian events have become a safety issue.
With the rise of ISIS and Islamic terrorism, we have the right to protect our property and to know intimately who is using it. Then when someone comes asking to use the facilities for whatever reason, we will have an automatic excuse for saying no. If references cannot be provided, no access is given, no ceremony takes place. It is a matter of public safety.
If we can determine to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves, we can continue, at least for the moment, serving and blessing our churches and communities in their marriages and families.