As some of you may already know, I’ve been on a journey with God over the last several years, that intensified around 2020. In 2021, while processing things with the Lord, I wrote down much of what I was feeling at the time. I didn’t know that it would be a bit of a rough road ahead. I had a lot to learn about speaking for the Lord and honestly I still do. However, much of this article is what I was initially was feeling from the Lord, that I feel I should share now.
HOW IT STARTED
The apostle Paul said: No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the One who enlisted him. (2 Timothy 2:4). Sadly, this scripture is sometimes misunderstood. Granted we are not to get involved in drama. However, we are supposed to care about moral issues. At the initial mention of the virus in 2020, the Lord pressed upon my heart some things that would be coming to pass as I was reading the book of Daniel. While reading, I saw the inside workings of an old clock in which the old gears began to turn. I understood in that moment that we were in the end times and what was coming to pass had to do with deception and that vaccines would be used in the deceit.
At that time, I was worried about my children. I shared the vision I saw with a few people I was close to, but did not receive the support I had hoped. Sadly, instead of being brave and continuing to press into what God was telling me, I freaked out. I stopped talking about the rebellion that I feared was approaching. However, in the meantime, I dug into the Word of God stronger than ever before, seeking comfort from the Lord.
Later that year in 2021, the Holy Spirit woke me up in the middle of the night. As I was in and out of sleep, I saw a vision where I was speaking for the Lord to a crowd. It was a little after midnight when I got up and wrote down my experience. For the months that followed, I toiled, cried, struggled and laid before the Lord, seeking His will for my life. These last few years God has put a burning desire on my heart to do His will. As the prophet Jeremiah said:
If I say, I will not mention him, or speak any more in His name, there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. Jeremiah 20:9
SHOULD WE SPEAK?
I have continued to fumble through speaking for the Lord but I think the most challenging thing I have experienced over the last couple of years is the push back to remain silent. I wrestled with extreme doubt and insecurity and felt criticized by fellow Christians. Thankfully God is good and He helped me understand that many people are just afraid or feeling inadequate, and the criticism I received was not a personal attack, it was just the enemy trying to silence me. Can you relate? Have you experienced this too?
Thankfully, I now have more support and know others who also want to speak out in truth and love as well. I’m doing this video to encourage others who are afraid to speak out. Maybe the enemy is trying to hold you back because God favors you. You are not alone, there are other Christians experiencing the same thing.
ROMANS 13 – LET’S TALK ABOUT IT
One frustrating thing I experienced over the last couple years, was hearing Romans 13 used in an unhealthy way in order to deter speaking out against corruption. I want to review that key scripture.
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. Romans 13:1-5
The context of Romans 13 was that governing authorities had the people’s best interests in mind. When the government rightly ministers to the people, they are like God’s servant. We as Christ-followers, are to submit to governing authorities in this manner. Kings and leaders are to issue righteous judgments and hate wickedness. When a government is unrighteous, it is our responsibility, as Christians, to insert ourselves in a way to defend innocent victims and to stand up in obedience to God (Exodus 1:16-20, Esther 4, Daniel 3, Acts 4:18-20 and 5).
DANIEL & FRIENDS
That being said, we are expected to bring the truth in love. We don’t have to do it in a way that is dishonoring. As we see in the book of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were respectful to the king when they refused to bow down to an idol. They were refusing to obey a corrupt order. Granted, in our society, we are not facing a giant statue that we are being forced to bow down to, but we are facing ideologies and spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12). We should not bow down to that.
Daniel also was respectful of the king, just as his friends were, when he, himself faced death. In fact, Daniel’s bold stance against a corrupt order had such a dramatic effect on king Darius that he issued this statement:
Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: “Peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for He is the living God, enduring forever; His kingdom shall never be destroyed, and His dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues; He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, He who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.” Daniel 6:25-27
A TIME TO SPEAK
If you are still doubting whether or not to stand up for righteousness, let me remind you about the Old and New Testament stories that reflect the boldness of those following God. In Egypt, the midwives refused to commit genocide on the Hebrew baby males, Rahab rebelled against her culture because she feared the one true God, Jael killed a wicked ruler with a tent peg, Obediah defied authority by hiding 100 prophets, Mordecai refused to bow, Esther chose to speak out and risked her life. Have you heard the story of the Maccabees? Did you know when the walls of Jericho fell, there were no quiet Israelites – they shouted TOGETHER (Joshua 6).
What about when Peter and John preached in Jerusalem? They were questioned by authorities and then warned to no longer spread ‘misinformation’ but they refused to stop speaking about Jesus.
So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:18-20
Jesus defied customs and tradition when He touched lepers and the dead. He called out hypocrisy when He saw it, calling the Pharisees whitewashed tombs, full of lawlessness (Matthew 23:27-28). There were many brave Christians that came after the New Testament as well, such as Corrie Ten Boom, Bonhoeffer, the saints and so on. We should be unified in speaking out about corruption. Jesus did not remain silent either when He saw injustice and corruption.
THE GATES OF HELL
Let’s not forget what we have been through as the body of Christ over the last couple of years. When states are threatening to shut church doors, forbidding them to minister because of a virus, it should be a red flag that we have a problem. When there is a push for forced vaccines and masks (especially on our children), we have a problem. When people are being silenced for asking questions or speaking out about crooked school curriculums being implemented, we know the enemy is at work. We were not given a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7) and therefore we must stand as the church. Speaking out against injustice is one of our duties as Christians. We need to be ready for whatever may come next.
It does not mean that we need to be belligerent and offensive. It means we say ‘no’. We are to protect our identity in Christ. We judge no one for their choice, because God is the Judge. However, we can say when something is immoral or does not line up with scripture. We should speak out about injustice and corruption.
Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his fury will fail. Proverbs 22:8
OUR KING
Will you bow to Jesus or the world? We must remember: Doctors are not God and neither is the Government. Scientists and Experts are not God either. God is God. Every single thing we do, He sees. We may not see the consequences for our actions immediately, but they will come. I would rather be one who stands firm in the fire saying what is right, than one who is afraid of being labeled and mocked. When Jesus returns, EVERY knee will bow. So stand for what is right, cling to what is good, true and lovely.
Therefore, stand firm. It’s time to speak.
For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. Romans 14:11-12
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