“The Great Sin of the Church in America.“

This is a pretty bold claim, but that is what I felt God is saying to me about the times in which we are living. To put it into context, we are still going through a COVID-19 pandemic crisis, President Trump is trying to reopen the economy, and the country is writhing in pain over the recent and tragic death of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis. So what is the great sin of the church, given that backdrop. Is it racism, sexism, bigotry over gender identity or callousness toward the poor? These would have been my guesses, but the message came to me recently while prayer journaling. I felt like God was telling me that we have elevated our puny insignificant wishes for the world above His vision of the Kingdom of God.

I came to this realization in a rather strange way, IMHO. I was reading Isaiah 45 where God is talking about raising up a pagan leader, Cyrus, to rescue his people and restore Israel. They had pursued false gods, fallen into sin and become captives of a foreign power. God wanted to bring them back to Jerusalem and the land of promise. In Isaiah 45:5-6, it reads:

⁵ I am the Lord, and there is no other;
    apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
    though you have not acknowledged me,
⁶ so that from the rising of the sun
    to the place of its setting
people may know there is none besides me.
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.

So why was I reading Isaiah 45 specifically and what does it have to do with the Kingdom of God today? I believe the teachings of Lance Wallnau that Donald Trump was actually called by God to rule America for such a time as this. Well before Donald Trump seemed to have a chance to win the Republican nomination for president, Wallnau felt the Lord told him that the 45th president of the country would be an Isaiah 45 president. When he read in verse 4, “For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me.“, Lance realized that it must be talking about Donald Trump. All the other candidates, Rubio, Cruz and Carson, were believers who acknowledged Jesus as their Lord. Only Donald Trump did not.

By the time I read Wallnau’s book, God’s Chaos Candidate, Donald Trump had already won the election. As challenging as this idea was to my Christian sensibilities, I did realize that Cyrus was one in a series of godless rulers whom Daniel served, and Cyrus really was raised up to restore Jerusalem and allow the people of Israel to go back to the promised land. This echoes what Donald Trump had been saying, that he was a strong supporter of Israel and that he wanted to “Make America Great Again”. Since then, I have been using Isaiah 45 as a prayer guide for the President, supporting the Cyrus anointing on him to rule for the benefit of the United States and Israel.

Recently, I was struck by the statement in Isaiah 45:6 that all people (from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting”) would know that God has his hand on Cyrus (Trump) and that only God could do this. My immediate thought was this has not happened yet and what hope would the world have of recognizing God’s hand in this when the Church in America is so divided on Donald Trump. Many friends of mine who are mature, sincere Christians detest Donald Trump. Many have never heard of an Isaiah 45 presidency and many still would not accept it even if the facts seems to fit the Biblical text. But as I pondered this, I asked God if the prophecy was still in play for President Trump, that people would see his strength as a sign of God’s sovereign will and work. I felt like He said it applied to the President and that Christians should turn to support him but that many would not.

I then pressed the Lord to ask why and he said that Trump was his “chosen vessel” but that “many will not turn to support him”. (Quoting the words from my prayer journal.) The reason I sensed was this:

“Because I have darkened their reasoning about Trump
because of the sin in their lives… it is their arrogance
in thinking about the world apart from Me.”

I told the Lord that I did not want to have to bear that message. I would not want to think about my brothers and sisters who do not support our President that it is because of sin in their lives. I new that this could become divisive and unpopular. But I felt that it was true and that the Lord wanted me to share it openly. When I asked Him what he wanted me to do, I felt like He wanted me to blog it and begin speaking it out. When I asked Him how to prepare, the words that came to me were simply:

“Surrender all to Me.”

So my friends, here is my surrender. You are witnessing the first instance of my radical obedience to Christ in this matter. I don’t want to stir up hatred or anger. I know that speaking about sin in the camp is rarely if ever a popular message. Speaking about Donald Trump is unfortunately often inflammatory and divisive. I did not ask to carry this message although I believe that the factors in play are of huge significance. Many people close to me will be challenged and may reject this as false doctrine. God does not ask me to manage the outcome but to obey. Please pray for me. Pray about this message and see what aligns with scripture and what the Spirit speaks to you about this. Ask Him in what ways has your arrogance allowed you to think about the world around us in an ungodly, worldly way. See if you are demanding that God act in a certain way and limiting His ability to use even a man as flawed as Donald Trump to be his chosen vessel.