Jerri Phillips

Election 2008 Realities
By Jerri Phillips

In the last three days I have received numerous emails from friends concerning the results of the presidential election. Some of stated their feeling of grief, disgust, discouragement, and a range of other emotions. A few friends have stated they have been blessed with peace. All have questions.

In answer to these questions, emails from well-known speakers, leaders, and prophets are zipping through the internet and finding their way to thousands, if not millions, of email boxes across America and maybe even the world. Unfortunately, I think most of these letters only address one aspect of the election. They look back and ask what happened. We need to know. It is imperative to learn from past mistakes lest we repeat them. However, the other half of the issue is rarely considered. That being, what do we do now? If we do not have that answer, we will fail just as miserably the next time. And it is my opinion that spiritual maturity and understanding of God’s strategy and character to reveal His truth and wholeness makes it impossible to separate the necessity of the two questions.

What Happened?

1. The first question I asked the Lord was, “Were we to do more? Did we miss something? Was there a strategy that was ignored or not released?” I believe the Lord said the Remnant was strong. We were not perfect, but we were strong, and He honors that. Unfortunately, the Remnant cannot prevent the choices of the nation as a whole. Repeatedly in the Old Testament the Lord allowed the nation of Israel to go into exile and experience judgment despite the Remnant. The Remnant was blessed, and in fact, in some cases given extreme favor so that they could do the Lord’s bidding. Nehemiah and Jeremiah were two examples of favor during times of judgment.

2. The fact is the church, as a whole, handed this election away. That is not judgment. It is merely fact. There are enough Christians that had we all voted righteously, this election would have turned toward God. However, the church has fallen down at its post. Either fear of losing money or being persecuted has caused the church to grow apathetic on strong teaching. A doctrine of righteousness has been set aside for a palatable teaching of humanism. When the church refuses to address the sins of homosexuality and abortion as absolutes, conviction of “lesser sins” falls to the wayside as well.

The simple fact is, the church is not teaching righteousness as a lifestyle, and the nation is paying for it.

3. Demographics say the population that turned the tide were the people in and right around their 20s. This tells me we have an entire generation with no clear moral or spiritual compass. When clear truth is not taught, lies are given room to flourish. We will now reap the fruit of flourishing lies.

4. The church is too short-sighted. We cannot think that we can fast for a month every four years and turn this nation toward God. That is even more naïve than thinking Christianity is a Sunday lifestyle. Both are roads to hell. And yet, the short-sightedness is not being addressed in the church.

We are in danger now, not just because we lost a war for president but because we have not been fighting the ward for the House or the Senate. We have not been fighting the war for our state and local governments. Had we not lost the House and Senate in the last elections, would Barack Obama have as much power as he does now? Perhaps, but at least there would be road blocks in the way to slow him down or prevent some of the devastation he has planned for our country. We have got to stop being naïve and believing we can rush to the battle lines when the enemy is at the gate. We have to stop thinking defensively and start thinking offensively. We have to see that the governors or senators who have no fear of God today could be our president in 8 or 12 years. The church cannot afford to sit naively by hoping for disaster to pass. The Passover was an event of action, not passivity, but the church seems to think if we all smile and think happy thoughts we will be protected. We are wrong.

We must have a larger vision and a long-term strategy.

What now?

1. We must refuse the apathy that comes with the clichés the church likes to toss around. “God is still on His throne.” Yes. “God is not shocked.” No. However, God was on His throne when He told Israel to take the Promised Land with strategies of war, some were physical, some not. God was on His throne when David fought viciously against the enemies of God. Being a Christian is not a passivity that waits for God to toss good things in our laps. Being a Christian is an active lifestyle that understands warriors do not stand around wearing an armor of God (Ephesians 6) but rather uses that armor to advance the Kingdom of God.

Apathy is what got us here in the first place. Let us not be fooled into thinking it will get us out.

2. We lost a battle, but we need to learn from what happened.

There is an entire generation of people who have no moral or spiritual compass.
There are people in the church who do not understand the precepts of blesses and curses. They do not understand that God is the one who blesses, not a politician.
We cannot afford to wait and whine another four years and do nothing.

Yes, we lost this battle huge. However, we can learn the strategies of the enemy and turn them back on him. We have to think war-oriented thoughts, not battle thoughts.

3. We need to seek the Lord on the strategy now. No one will convince me the outcome of this election was God’s will, and no one will convince me it is hopeless either. We have a hard battle ahead. Don’t be fooled into thinking otherwise. However, we also have a battle tested King, who has a strategy for the Kingdom. We need to ask Him what our part is and do it. It is not enough to know the strategy. We must be obedient, and it cannot be only during the election. It must be everyday of our lives. The war for this election wasn’t only lost in 2007 and 2008. It was lost on many battlefields. It was lost:
--when the church did not stand against a young man who would be known as the most liberal senator in the nation.
--when a liberal president forced banks to make loans that were errant.
--when leaders in the financial area of America were allowed to act at will rather than being laid on the Lord’s altar in prayer.
--when the Senate and Congress were given over to liberal leaders rather than righteous ones

Make no mistake. This is not about a political party. This is about righteous that has fallen under foot of humanistic thinking that promises promotion and prosperity without responsibility. How do we stand against that?

How do we turn the hearts or our governing bodies to God?
How do we turn the hearts of our church goers to God?
How do we reach the lost generations?

What is the Lord’s strategy for dealing with these issues and others that we may not realize?

I have said in many of my emails that I am not shaken. I’m not. My faith in God is not shaken. My faith in His character I not shaken. All this has done is make me more determined. It has given me greater focus and clearer vision. It has revealed the vessels of the enemy, and allowed me to see him more clearly. I believe my God will use this for his downfall, not his glory. As a warrior for the army of God, I have not stood down, and I will not. I encourage you to be of the same mind.

We lost this battle. However, it is not time to slink away and hide in shame. It is time to go before the King and ask, “What now?” and do it.

Stand strong, warriors.

Blessings,

Jerri Phillips
www.jerriphillips.net


Copyright Jerri Phillips 2008