This transcript was taken from a Stand in the Gap Today program originally aired on 8/12/20. To listen to the program, please click HERE.
Gary Dull: Well, hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Stand in the Gap Radio Today. I am pastor Gary Dull and with me is evangelist David Kistler. Sam Rohrer is still off, but we are delighted to be with you today. And thank you so very, very much for the pleasure of your company.
And I want to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, whether you know it or not, there are a lot of things going on in the world today and our country today. And when it comes to coming up with material to discuss here on Stand in the Gap Today, we don’t have to look for it. It’s all in front of us. All we need to do is try to decide what we want to put on, because there’s a lot of news taking place. And one of those news items happens to be that David Kistler is back with us after being away for about six or eight months, it seems. And I know it’s not been quite that long. Brother Dave, welcome back to Stand in the Gap. Welcome back to the microphone. How have you been? Where have you been? And just good to have you with us.
Dave Kistler: Well, Gary, let me say this: it is a blessing to be back, a delight to be back, but we took about two weeks, went out West. We were in a little place called Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, which is one of our favorite locations. Years ago we started going there. And so it’s become a favorite spot. It’s kind of a man’s world. We did some rafting, we did some hiking. And then from there, we went up into a Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where I got fulfilled one of my bucket list items, which was to raft a portion of the Snake River and then did some mountain climbing and several other things, hiking.
And it was just great. It was just absolutely great. Reminded me again of the greatness and the vastness and the rugged terrain of not only the United States of America, but specifically the Western part of the country. And there’s some great people, Gary in Idaho and in Wyoming. I mean, that’s America as I believe America was meant to be, patriots. And I could share a lot with you. I won’t do that now, but maybe at a later date, but wow. People out there love the country, love the president, want to see America returned to her former greatness, and I believe many of them understand that God is the key in submission to his word, his will, and his ways is that which will take us there.
Gary Dull: Well, I’m glad you enjoyed yourself, and when you were talking there, I was thinking of the song “America, the Beautiful.” It truly is. And I suppose that you and Betsy probably tried to sing it or did sing it while you were out there a time or two, or at least the thought of it came to your mind. Because when you are out in that part of the country, you can see some of the most beautiful scenes that we have here in the United States of America, but it’s a delight to have you back.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, the original intent of our program today was to talk about the persecuted church in America, and we will get to that because this is a real issue that’s before us these days, but before we get into that, we want to talk about the Joe Biden presidential campaign. I suppose that most of you know right now that Kamala Harris is the individual that he has selected to run on the ticket with him as his vice presidential candidate.
And this is quite an interesting thing. She is the first woman of color who has been put on the vice presidential ticket. We hear a lot of people talking about the fact that she is African American. Technically I don’t believe that’s true. Her background is from India and Jamaica. I think her mother was some India. Her father was from Jamaica, but she certainly is a lady of color. First woman of color on the vice presidential ticket. We know some of her recent history, that she ran in the primary. She wanted to be the president of the United States, but she didn’t do well. I think she ended like seventh or eighth in the list of those who were running. So she dropped out quite early, did not do very good at all, but now Joe Biden has selected her to be his running mate. And Dave, I want to ask you right off here. What do you think about Joe Biden’s choice of Kamala Harris? Good, bad, indifferent? What are your thoughts?
Dave Kistler: Well, Gary, let me say this. I’m praying she’s going to be the gift that keeps giving. And what I mean by that is this: she does really nothing to advance Biden’s campaign from an electoral vote perspective. She’s from California. He’s already going to win California, but she does check many of the boxes that need to be checked. She is a person of color. Some people are calling her quote, unquote “black.” She’s technically not. Her father was Jamaican. Her mother was Indian from India, but she is a person of color, as you very accurately cited. So from the standpoint of that, she’s a woman, of course. And also she is a very outspoken person for leftist, shall we say, Marxist causes.
Now there is some discussion Gary about whether or not she’s kind of up for sale. She’ll say whatever needs to be said depending on who it is that wants her to say it, does she really believe these things probably does, but she is an advocate for all those things that are on the extreme left of the new Democratic Party.
So anyway, she checks all the boxes. I was a little bit surprised in one sense, but not surprised in another sense. She’s a safe pick and that’s what is not surprising to me, but what she brings to the campaign is a little bit surprising because she does really nothing electorally to help him and Gary, if I’m not mistaken, she was the first Democratic Primary candidate to exit the stage because she got no traction whatsoever. So what’s going to cause her to help the campaign gain traction now when she could gain no traction during the primary season, I’m not sure, but this is the pick. And I think it’s better than someone like a Susan Rice, cause she’s a much lighter weight individual than Susan Rice or somebody like that would have been.
Gary Dull: You say that you think that she’s a safe pick. You know, there are those out there, Brother Dave, who are saying that they questioned her loyalty to Joe Biden. They see her as one who just really wants to become the president of the United States and that she’s not necessarily loyal to him or what he wants to do. She wants to get in that position that may in time elevate her to the presidency. What are your thoughts on that?
Dave Kistler: Well, Gary, I think that’s an accurate assessment. You’ll remember that early on. She questioned Joe Biden and she said, “I’m not calling you a racist,” but the story she told leading up to that statement where she said, “I don’t believe you’re a racist” was basically an accusation of racism. And then Gary, if you will remember, she aggressively went after Brett Kavanaugh during the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, and then she came out and said that she believed that those women that have accused Joe Biden of sexual assault need to be believed. So what’s stunning to me is having done that, now she is willing to run with the man that she says she believes his accusers ought to be believed, so this is really in many ways a difficult choice to understand, but again, it may reveal that she’s up for sale. And what I mean by that is she’s willing to do whatever needs to be done, to get to the next place of power on the political totem pole.
Gary Dull: And one of the things that amazes me is that she’s only been a United States Senator for three years. And in that three year period of time, she’s already run for the presidency. And as you said, she dropped out, but now she’s on the ticket for the Democrats as the vice president candidate. And so that’s amazing how she has come along and at least has found some sort of credibility in the hearts and the minds of the Democratic leaders. And I think that’s quite an interesting thing to observe how she’s coming along quite rapidly.
Well, folks, we do want to encourage you to pray for our upcoming election, but before we get there, and today we’re going to be talking about the persecuted church in America. There’s a lot to talk about today. You’ll not want to miss it. So stay tuned. We will be back right after these messages.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Well, folks, we are living in a time that I would never expect that we would see in the United States of America. And I mean that. I mean, I know we often talk about persecution in the world and in the country and in the way things are going, but truly there are certain things taking place in America today that I would never have expected to see in my lifetime.
And that is the fact that the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, is being persecuted for the faith. And it seems to be growing more and more as time goes on. And I know we’ve talked about the persecuted church around the world, many times on this program, and we’ve even dealt with the fact that one of these days persecution might come to America. Well, I want to submit to you today, ladies and gentlemen, that we are in the midst of persecution, even as I speak. You may not realize that. You may not see that, but we are there. And so throughout the rest of the program, Brother Dave and I are going to be talking about the persecuted church in America. Now you might ask the question, where is the church being persecuted in America today?
Well, Matt Staver of the Liberty Council who we’ve had on this program in the past has recently written an article entitled “Where In The World Is This Happening?” That’s the title of the article, “Where In The World Is This Happening?” And keep in mind that Mat Staver is the founder of Liberty Council. And I want to read it in-length, and then Brother Dave and I will discuss it.
So listen carefully. And by the way, I got this particular article out of the Sword of the Lord Newspaper. And this is what Mat says:
“Churchgoers lose jobs because they attend a certain church. Pastors are arrested. Churches are threatened with being bulldozed, singing in churches, prohibited and home churches are banned. Can you guess in which country this is happening? If I described for you the conditions of churches in our country where only government authorized churches are allowed to open, in-home bible studies and fellowships are banned, pastors are arrested for preaching, churchgoers lose their jobs for attending a church service, police block the entrances to church buildings, churches approved to meet must display a badge on their building, and churches are threatened with being bulldozed for having more than 10 people in attendance.”
“You would probably think that I was discussing some communist militant, Islamic or anti-God country. Well,” Mat Staver says, “all these things can and do happen every day to persecuted Christians and religious minorities around the world. And the things I described above are happening right now in one or more of our legal cases right here in America.” Matt Staver goes on to say, “Liberty Counsel currently has five federal lawsuits filed on behalf of churches in Maine, Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, and California.”
“In Maine, churches must apply to the state government for permission to operate. Only churches granted a state issued badge of approval are allowed to operate and the badge must be displayed on the outside of the building. In Virginia, a pastor was arrested for having just six people more than allowed by the governor’s illogical 10 person order at a Palm Sunday church service. Police officers remained stationed in the church parking lot to warn prospective attendees away. In Kentucky, 14 people were put on mandatory 14 day quarantine, the equivalent of house arrest, for simply attending a drive in, stay in your own car Easter Sunday service. As a result, many of those church goers lost their essential service jobs and have been unable to find new work.
“In Illinois, the state and local governments targeted Romanian immigrant churches, towing cars of neighborhoods around the church to gin up the gate and resentment against the church using police vehicles to block the church parking lot and even threatening to seize and demolish the church buildings should the church meet with more than 10 people inside. In California, all religious singing and chanting is banned. And in 32 countries representing 80% of the California population, people cannot worship in church, including a ban on Bible studies or fellowship in their homes.
Mat Staver goes on to say, “You would think I was talking about repressive countries where such things happen every day. And believers had been driven underground in the secret meetings. Yet these are just a sampling of the unbelievable restrictions and government abuse happening in America. And this does not include the outrageous stories we’ve heard from approximately 2000 pastors in 44 States, whom we are counseling on navigating their own state and local officials unconstitutional edicts.”
And that of course is an article written by Matt Staver of the Liberty council. Some of those things we know about, we’ve heard about we’ve talked about, but putting them together right here enables us to see how serious the situation is.
As a matter of fact, before we went on the air here, we were talking about out in Portland, Oregon. We know that a lot is going on out there these days, but at one particular point, Bibles were used to ignite an American flag. And you talk about tearing at the root of this nation. This nation was built on biblical truth and the flag represents the freedom that we have in this nation. When you burn Bibles and when you burn the flag together in one fire, that has a lot to say about the way our country has gone. And so, Dave, you’ve heard me read that article. What are your thoughts on what I’ve just read to our people here today?
Dave Kistler: Well Brother Gary, if you talk about religious persecution in the United States of America, especially on social media, you’ll get a pretty visceral reaction from a certain segment, even of the Christian Church. That will say something like this. “Well, there’s no way that what’s going on in our country could be described as religious persecution.” And then they’ll cite examples of persecution in other countries. But Gary, the fact of the matter is this: though, it’s not as intense right now in the United States of America, as it would be say in a Muslim country where Christians are being persecuted for their faith, yet this is the beginning stages of it.
All you have to do is understand what’s going on in California right now with Dr. John MacArthur, Grace Community Church. And then I think the passenger name is Don McCoy, who is the pastor of another very large church there in Southern California. Both of those men have been threatened with a thousand dollar a day fines for merely preaching, holding public services. And of course, if you cited and Mat cited in his article, Governor Gavin Newsome has said there’s to be no singing. There’s to be none of these kinds of things taking place.
When in the United States of America, have we ever seen anything like what we’re watching right now, especially understanding that we have a first amendment that puts no restriction whatsoever? In fact, the words are: there can be no abridging, no limiting in any way of our freedom of speech, our freedom to peaceably assemble, and yet through this COVID-19 situation, primarily, primarily not exclusively, but primarily it’s been Democratic governors and mayors that have instituted these egregious out of bounds, unconstitutional mandates. And so, Gary, it is the beginning of a very, what could be apart from God intervening, a very intense time of persecution in the United States.
Gary Dull: Well, it is the beginning and here in the United States, we would have never thought that churches would be persecuted or even go through what they’re going through right now. And we know that this has been on the increase over the past several months since we’ve been going through this COVID-19 situation. And we know that these situations are real, they’re taking place all across the country. My question to you, Dave, is where did this whole attitude begin on our home turf, where churches should be restricted from just operating, from just functioning? I mean, what is the beginning and the growth and the development of that here in the country, where did it come from do you think?
Dave Kistler: Well, Gary, I think that this kind of attitude that is now surfacing has been suppressed and under the surface, so to speak for a long time, but with the election of Donald Trump as president. He has been the most faith-friendly, religious liberty supporting, Israel-supporting president that we have had perhaps in the history of the United States, at least in modern history, let me put it that way. And it puts him even, in many ways, the great Ronald Wilson Reagan. So I think with the election of this president, not only where the forces of evil and the enemies of America and the enemies of God’s church, the enemies of truth, not only were they inspired and unified in their attempt to try to stop him. But I think what they saw him supporting is something that they are diametrically opposed to. And that is the expression of our faith and the living out of our faith.
And so I think really Gary what’s gotten all of this started is the fact that Donald Trump was elected president and they’re pulling out every stop. There are no holds barred as to what they’re going to do to try to stop him and stop the policies and the principles upon which he stands, and those things that he’s trying to advance. And I think at the forefront of all of that is religious liberty.
The president chose as vice president, Mike Pence, a man of deep Christian faith. And around these two men as advisors to them are a plethora of incredibly committed Christians, maybe more so, again than any administration, certainly in modern history, if not the entirety of the United States of America. So many Christians, part of this administration, they’re not perfect people, but they do understand religious liberty and they’re supporting it. So, Gary, I think that’s where all of this has come from. And I think that’s why there’s so much venom being directed at president and the church right now.
Gary Dull: Well, Brother Dave, I would agree with you 100% and folks we’ve just started. We’ve got a long way to go with today’s program. When we come back, we’re going to talk about preparing the church for persecution. You’ll not want to miss these upcoming segments. So stay tuned. You’re listening to Stand In The Gap Today.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Well, thank you ladies and gentlemen, for being there, we do appreciate you folks tremendously. We’ve often said on this program that if you were not there, we wouldn’t have much to say. Well, we can say it I suppose, but nobody would hear it. And we’re saying it so that you could hear it so that you can be better equipped to stand for truth in these days of error and falsehood and compromise and so forth. If you are a returning listener, we do thank you so very much for the pleasure of your company. If you’re first time listener, we’re glad that you were there. We welcome you aboard and we’d encourage you to come back at this same time, five days a week on this same radio station for Stand In The Gap Today.
There are many things going on here at the American Pastors Network that may be of interest to you. So I’m going to take some time off here and invite our executive producer, Mr. Tim Schneider, to share a few things with us. Tim, welcome back. I shouldn’t say that you’re with us all the time, but welcome back to the microphone.
Tim Schneider: Thank you, Gary. It’s good to be here. It’s obviously good to be behind the scenes with everything going on, but obviously you hear the regular guys every day. You don’t always get an opportunity to hear me unless you listen to the breaks and you hear some of the spots. You can hear my voice in there, but often I’m behind the scenes. I’m running the controls. I’m kind of the man behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz. If you remember that movie, the Oz guy that was behind the curtain and the dog finally came and found him and just saw that there was more behind the scene. So that’s me, I’m the guy behind the scenes, but want to let you know about some stuff that’s happening around here at APN. There’s always a lot behind the scenes going on and if you’re not taking advantage of the stuff that we have behind the scenes and just listening to the daily radio program, you’re missing so much.
So I want to let you know about a couple of things that we do have. We have two great websites. We have the AmericanPastors.net. That’s AmericanPastors.net. You can go there always and find articles. You can find a lot of information that’s happening behind the scenes here at the American Pastors Network. We always have a lot of stuff going on and always being posted over there. We also have StandInTheGapMedia.org. Over there, you can find of the radio program, our weekend program, our minute program, TV program archives, a lot of radio related things, Podcast Q and A’s, a lot of great stuff over there. And those are two great websites. So if you haven’t been over to visit them, please go over.
And in the AmericanPastors.net website, please consider signing up for our E-newsletter. We send you a couple of letters a week. One of them is a really cool email that we send that recaps everything that’s happened the previous week on the program. So it will actually somewhat highlight what’s happening on the weekend program, whatever our weekend program is for that upcoming week. It’ll give you some clips of some segments from previous shows, but also it’ll recap all the guests and the host and links to them. You can even read the transcript from some of the programs. Really neat email that we send out if you’re on our E-newsletter list. So please consider going over to our AmericanPastors.net site and signing up for our email E-newsletter. We won’t bombard your mailbox with spam and we won’t give your information away to anybody. We just want to be able to have a way to communicate with you.
Also, we have some great social media sites. We are on Twitter. We’re on Facebook. We’re on Instagram now. Go on over there, please like us on Twitter, follow us, and just find out all the great content that we’re posting. We post articles from the program that we discuss. We also post subjects of videos and other things that are happening throughout the program. And just other things of interest that maybe because we are a less than one hour program that we don’t always get to. But this way, if you go on over to our social media sites, you can find out what’s going on.
Even last week, we wished Dave Kistler happy birthday on some of our social media websites over there. So you never know what’s going to be over there, but certainly stuff that’s applicable to you, and that you’ll find valuable and you’ll want to send on to friends and others about this great medium called Stand In The Gap Today. And the Stand In The Gap Media Radio Ministry. So like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter by searching for American Pastors Network and Stand In The Gap Radio. So I’m going to go back behind my curtain, Gary, and I’m going to send it back to you.
Gary Dull: Okay, Tim, we’ll call you out when we need you. Thank you very, very much. We appreciate it.
Well, we’re talking about the church being persecuted in America today on the program. And this is something we really do need to talk about because I think that so many people deny it. And even what we are looking at today is maybe just the beginning of persecuting the church in America, but it is taking place. And we do need to expect that it’s going to grow. The word of God teaches us in 2 Timothy 3:12, that “All that live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” And that will either be to a greater extent or to a lesser extent, but the fact of the matter is it is going to be the case.
And, Dave, as we’re talking about churches being persecuted. I’m sure that there are some pastors under the sound of our voices today, who are no doubt saying, “My church will never be persecuted. That’s unrealistic. It will never come to my town. It’ll never come to my church.” But as I see it these days, that’s not a definite fact. I would believe it this way, Brother Dave, that if a person’s church stands upon biblical truth, it may, and no doubt will, face persecution of some sort at some point in time. So my question to you, Dave, is maybe multifaceted here. Number one, do you believe that most pastors are ready for their church being persecuted? And in addition to that, what must a pastor do to prepare his church for that persecution?
Dave Kistler: Well, Gary, let me answer your second question first. What can a pastor and must a pastor do to prepare his people for persecution? I think we need to go to the early chapters of the book of Acts. Gary, specifically, Acts chapter number 4 and verse number 18, Acts chapter 5 and verse number 29, where something very akin to what’s happening today took place where the apostles were committed not to preach and teach in the name of Jesus. And I know no one up to this point has said, “You cannot preach Jesus Christ” and prevent preachers from doing that, but the restrictions on singing and public worship and all those things are getting dangerously close to that place in some of these States specifically, and especially the state of California.
But anyway, I believe pastors need to address the topic directly, honestly, powerfully pertinently from the scriptures and help people understand it happened in the past of the early church. Here is the response, not only of the leadership of the early church, but the church as a whole. And I think there needs to be some biblical education with respect to what persecution looks like, the form it takes, where it’s going to come from, and then also the biblical response to it.
To answer your first question, do I believe pastors and churches are ready? Gary I don’t think so, and I think the thing that reveals that is a statement you will hear, and you’ve already recited it. You stated it. “That will never happen in America,” and Gary, the false belief, the mistaken belief, the tragic belief is “because we’ve always had liberty and freedom in America, we’re always going to have it.” Well, Gary, that’s really not true on two fronts. We didn’t always have liberty and freedom. We had to fight to achieve it. We have to fight to maintain it. But because so many are ignorant of our history tragically, they think, “Well we’ve always had this in America. We’re always going to have it.” And that is not necessarily the case. So no, I don’t believe most churches and most pastors are ready at all.
Gary Dull: So just a brief question here. Is there any way that a good solid Bible-believing evangelical church can prevent itself from being persecuted?
Dave Kistler: Gary? I don’t think so. I think in the culture, in which we live, we call it a cancel culture, we call a politically correct culture. When the culture, as a whole embraces the things that God condemns, and I’m talking about things like homosexuality, I’m talking about the endorsement of and the embracing of social justice Marxism, the condemnation of capitalism, which is a biblical concept. When the culture, in which we live embraces the things that God takes a definitive stand against. If we, as God’s people, if a church, if a pastor stands where God stands, Gary, there is no way that ultimately you’re going to be able to avoid some degree or maybe a significant degree of persecution. Jesus said it best. He said, if the world hated me, do not be surprised. The world is going to hate you as well.
Gary Dull: The question that’s tied into that. And again, folks, we are just trying to make this as clear as we possibly can, because I really do believe that there are many past years of many people in the pews who say, “Well, that’s not going to affect my church. That’s not going to come to my town. It’s out there in California. It’s up there in Maine, whatever the case, but not here, not now.” And I think that people who believe that are walking around, being blinded, really David, to what’s going on in the world around us today. But where should the pastor and the local church expect persecution to come from? I mean, we’re talking about it today. We’ve talked about churches going through it. But if you were to say to a pastor in a church “here is what to watch for in your community, in your town that could possibly bring prosecution of some sort to your church,” where would they begin to look Brother Dave?
Dave Kistler: Well, Gary, I think right now, you’d have to say, you’d have to look to your local and state governments as being the chief place or the location from which persecution may come. I’ve never seen the comments that you read by Mat Staver are beyond powerful. The fact that they are defending the number of people and getting the number of phone calls that are coming in from pastors across the country and defending the number of churches and pastors and religious organizations that they’re having to defend, the fact that they’re doing that and that most of the time they’re defending them or having to defend them from governmental entities. So I would say right now, most of the persecution is going to come from governmental officials that have a total ignorance of, or an egregious misunderstanding of their role and what the constitution has to say. And certainly they are grossly ignorant, maybe willingly so, of what the Bible has to say. So I would say government is the primary source from which churches and pastors and Christians can expect persecution to come in these days.
Gary Dull: Well, I would agree. And in case the folks didn’t hear that statement that I read, Mat Staver said that they recently have heard from 2000 pastors in 44 States who believe that they are under some sort of state and local officials putting unconstitutional pressures on them. So it is from the government and that’s where to watch. Folks, when we come back, we’re going to pray for the persecuted church. So stay tuned.
And again, folks, we are delighted to have you there. Thank you for listening and invite others to listen to us as well, because we do all that we can to bring you the vital news of the hour as it relates to where we are all living. And I think that in the day and age in which we live, what we were attempting to do here on Stand In The Gap Radio is very practical and very pertinent to you, where you’re living.
I think it was the second segment of the program. I read an article by Mat Staver, who is the founder of Liberty Council entitled, “Where In The World Is This Happening?” And Mat goes on to list some of the things that they are dealing with there at the Liberty Council, as it relates to persecuting the church, and just before we left the previous segment, I mentioned, and I’ll just reiterate it because I think this shows the degree that we are dealing with this thing that in recent days, Liberty Council has heard from approximately 2000 pastors in 44 States who they are counseling on navigating their own state and local officials unconstitutional acts. Think about that: state and local officials, the town council, the township supervisor, whatever the case may be. So this thing you talk about a pandemic. This thing of persecuting the church in one way, shape or form is practically becoming a spiritual pandemic around us today.
I would encourage you to read that article. It’s up on our Twitter site and Facebook page. It’s entitled “Where In The World Is This Happening?” Tim has put it up there. I would encourage you to go there and read it. I think that it will be just a very good piece of information for you that you can use to pray about. You can use to inform yourself just a little bit more about what’s going on in the world around us.
Dave, we’re going to pray here in a minute, but the apostle Paul, in speaking to the church in 1 Timothy chapter 3, he was actually talking to the leaders there and telling them the qualifications of pastors and deacons. But he also said that the church is the church of the living God, and it is the pillar and the ground of the truth. And I would believe that the reason why the church is being persecuted today is because the true church is standing for truth. And yet the world around us that is devilish, that is diabolic, that is controlled by Satan is completely the opposite of truth. And so just if you don’t mind for just a moment, because we do want to go to pray, share with our pastors today, what they can do to see to it, that their church is strong in holding up the truth of the word of God in the world around them.
Dave Kistler: Well, Gary, that’s a great question. Of course, my life in ministry for 36 years has been coming alongside pastors all across the United States of America and literally around the globe. And it’s a delight to work with incredibly stalwart, strong biblically committed men, but Gary, what’s needed like never before I believe, and I know this may sound incredibly simplistic, but I don’t believe this is really complicated. I think that pastors must preach the whole counsel of God. And that includes those portions of the scripture, and again, I want to cite Acts chapter 4, Acts chapter number 5, the early parts of the book of Acts, where the early church experienced intense persecution, because they would not back down from the mandates that God had given them. And we are reaching a place in the United States of America with a culture that is devoid of the knowledge of God, turned its back on God in so many ways, and in so many places, then we need to be prepared and pastors need to prepare their people for the possibility of persecution.
Gary, I do want to say this, not only the preaching of the word of God, but I think there needs to be preaching on the topic of revival. And I don’t mean just preaching about revival. Certainly we need to study both biblically and historically some of the great revivals and people need to be educated with respect to that, but preaching for revival. Preaching about revival preaching for revival, I think are two different things and there needs to be a clarion call to God’s church to come back to him, to confess our individual sin, our collective sin and Gary that which will prevent or at least delay the onset of persecution in the United States of America is that which we need so desperately. And that is a revival. A heaven sent eternity, altering earth-shaking, church-igniting revival. And if we have that, Gary, a lot of what we’re watching right now can certainly as was in the case of the book of Jonah and the impending judgment declared on Nineveh, it can be delayed postponed for a significant amount of time.
Gary Dull: I’ve been using four words here of late to talk about bringing revival. And this relates, I think to the individual, as well as the church. Number one, recognize your sin. Number two, repent of your sin, then God will restore, and then God will revive. Think about that as an individual or as a church that maybe a church is living in sin, maybe because it’s not preaching the whole counsel of God or whatever the case. Maybe the individual is living in sin. So recognize where you’ve gone away from the Lord, repent of that, and then allow God to restore and revive. And he will. Brother Dave, if you would please lead us in prayer for the persecuted church of the world and even America today.
Dave Kistler: Heavenly Father. I want to thank you so much for your incredible goodness to us, Lord, not only in salvation in the person of the Lord, Jesus Christ, but Lord allowing the United States of America to be both birthed and blessed. And Lord, you are the author of the United States of America. I firmly believe that. And Lord having just come from a more rugged portion of the United States of American and seeing, Lord, a significant number of people that do still understand that America was blessed by you and we are what we are, and we’ve enjoyed what we’ve enjoyed, and we are able to participate in what we participate in today, because of your blessing on the United States of America.
Lord, I thank you for that, but Lord, I pray that you would help Lord those that have stood for you and are standing for you now, Lord, in an unequivocal way, both in the United States and Lord, certainly outside of the United States and will not back down from declaring and living biblical truth. Lord, would you undergird them? Would you strengthen them? Would you give them the grace? They need to face not only that, which is before them currently, but what is yet to come?
Do that lord, I pray outside and inside the United States of America and Lord, if you would be most pleased, God, I pray that you would rend the heavens and come down, shake the mountains with your mighty presence, as the scripture says. Grant us a little space that we might see a revival in our day and Lord, I thank you that even though we’ve not had a chance to talk about it to any degree, Lord, there are mercy drops of revival all across the United States and Washington, DC, and in very recent days. Lord, we’ve seen more of those mercy drops. I pray, Oh God, that it would not just be drops or revival, but Lord, this would transform into a driving rain of revival blessing in the United States of America from coast to coast.
And then Lord, I pray for our upcoming elections. Lord, I pray that you would superintend over those. I prayed that, that which we’ve enjoyed for four years and that is an incredibly faith friendly administration, I pray would have that for four more years and father, I pray you would protect and defend those protect those precious liberties that you have granted us and help us to be willing to step up and as citizens of this great land, take our responsibility seriously to defend and perpetuate the liberties that you’ve granted us to the next generation and Father, we’ll thank you and praise you for it. In Jesus’ name I do pray.
Gary Dull: Well, thank you Brother Dave, and folks, I’ll tell you what, it’s important that we do pray for one another and I’m not talking about just uttering word of prayer here and there, but really taking time to pray for our nation. Pray for each other, pray for our president, and pray for this upcoming election as it’s very significant.
Recent Comments