Pulling Down Strongholds

By: John Stallings

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds .

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;-2 Cor. 10:3-5

Another version says…

We live in the world, but we do not fight in the same way the world fights. We fight with weapons that are different from those the world uses. Our weapons have power from God that can destroy the enemy’s strongholds. We destroy people’s arguments and every proud thing that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ. -- New International Version

In the verses above, Paul provides the key to victory in the area where many Christians suffer constant defeat; the battle for the mind. He reminds us that our weapons aren’t carnal but spiritual. These weapons include the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17), prayer (Ephesians 6:18) and the anointing of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).

As we read this passage there are certain words that seem important, words like weapons, strongholds, warfare. Paul is literally transporting us into the battlefield. We can hear the guns firing, cannons roaring, tanks roaming. And the reason is we are in the midst of the real battle. And this battle seeks prisoners. This battle is in the mind, and the prisoner, the devil hopes, is you.

 Satan desires to control our thought life. He knows that if he can capture our minds, he can steer our hearts.

There’s a battle going on, a fierce battle, although the battlefield is relatively small. It’s only about six inches wide, that battleground. It’s the space between your ears. Yes, your mind, a Christian’s mind, is the place where the warfare is waging, and you are not exempt. There are various forces at work, seeking to take control of your mind. The devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh are conspiring to take your mind captive. Will you let them? Are you going to surrender those six inches of space to the enemy, or, instead, will you claim them for your rightful master, our Lord Jesus Christ? Make no mistake, every Christian is called to active duty in “The Battle for the Mind.”

HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?

If Satan can control your mind, he has you. So many times Christians give up their mind to Satan’s control. When you give up your mind to Satan, you’ll live a defeated life.  

 We need to accurately identify our enemy. We aren’t fighting our mother-in-law or the folks at our church, or the church down the street. We’re fighting Satan.

 A group of archaeologist went to a tropical rain forest to search for artifacts.

In the process of searching one man found what appeared to be a doorway. Upon further investigation they discovered the remnants of an entire village that lived there centuries ago.

As they searched they found a wall-like fort, bowls, utensils, a mathematics system and a very intellectual people. The question became, why these people had vanished off the face of the earth.

Then the archaeologists discovered their weapons, which were spears, and daggers.

Then they discovered their enemies and noted they were more advanced in the area of weaponry. Their enemy’s dominate weapon was the bow and arrow.

 Because their enemy had more proficient weaponry, this highly intelligent, strong people ultimately became extinct.

Think about this; the weapons we are using are God’s and they have the power to  destroy the enemy’s strongholds.

Our enemy isn’t clothed in flesh but has ensconced himself in high places to war against us.

The battle for the mind is the most deadly of all the battles we’ll fight because it’s a war between God and Satan on the battleground of our mind.

Satan’s desire is to conquer our thought life and then make it a citadel from which to war against God.  A  Backslidden Christian is artillery in the hands of Satan aimed at the heart of God.

The devil wants to gain control of our mind to pull us away from God. Let’s face it; none of us is powerful enough within ourselves to be victorious over Satan. He laughs at our schemes and ridicules our organizations.

As we see in scripture, we’re not only responsible for our actions but also for our thoughts.

Listen to Acts 8:22

²² Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

Education and legislation won’t win the battle. If we were placed in a perfect environment our problems still wouldn’t be over.

Remember Adam and Eve? They got in trouble in the most perfect place on earth because Satan messed with their minds and they were deceived. How are we going to pull down high things like arrogance, ignorance, despair, bitterness, pride and anger? Certainly not with carnal weapons.

At Calvary Jesus dropped a nuclear bomb on the devil and won the victory for us all but we still have to fight the battle for our mind by keeping our hearts and thoughts centered on Christ.

Paul admonishes us in Romans 12:2,

Be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.

Consider the following verses;

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Phil.4:7

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Romans 8:6

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Romans 8:7

And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; Eph.4:23

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

2 Tim. 1:7

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

1 Peter 1:13

STRONGHOLDS

What does Paul mean when he speaks of Strongholds? What would a stronghold be?

According to the dictionary, a stronghold is- to harden or to make hard. This is a military term that speaks of entrenchment, a fortress, a piece of land for a base of operations.

 A stronghold is anything that Satan can use to control your life. A stronghold is where you give ground to Satan in some area of your life, and that ground given him is going be detrimental to your spiritual life.

So many Christians allow Satan to erect strongholds of fear, doubt, unbelief, greed, lust, anger, addictions and the list goes on and on. Maybe someone hurt you and you just won’t release it, and you allow Satan to build a stronghold of bitterness in your life. 

ANOTHER WAY TO VIEW STRONGHOLDS

A stronghold is an area of repeated failure in your life.

Maybe in many areas we’ve been victorious but in the area of the stronghold, time and again we’ve been defeated. Many strongholds become so powerfully entrenched in our minds that they become like military forts which are impregnable.

If you examine your life and see something that keeps cropping up, an area where in spite of your best efforts you’ve failed, it’s almost certainly a stronghold, or becoming one.

Put another way, if you’ve tried to be victorious in an area and can’t, if you seem to have lost control of a behavior or tried unsuccessfully to shake a habit, you’re dealing with a  Stronghold.

HOW DOES AN INDIVIDUAL GET A STRONGHOLD?

Great question.

Strongholds do not appear in our lives overnight, they are built stone by stone as we reinforce bad thoughts and allow them space in our minds. In the same way they have to be dismantled, one by one.

A stronghold begins like any other temptation, as a THOUGHT. Next the thought is ENTERTAINED. Then the thought is RECEIVED, and finally ACTED on. At this point, this “thing” becomes HABITUAL. It becomes a stronghold.

There’s the…

THOUGHT,

THE THOUGHT IS ENTERTAINED,

THE THOUGHT IS RECEIVED,

THE THOUGHT IS ACTED ON, AND….

A HABIT IS ESTABLISHED.

IF NOT DEALT WITH, A STRONGHOLD DEVELOPS.

You received a thought, acted on it and got a stronghold.

So we can have these strongholds, habits, thought patterns and complexes that have been built in our minds over many years. They are built one thought at a time and become very powerful as they dominate the landscape of our thinking and feelings. The world and its systems continue to build forts in our lives through a constant stream of thoughts, ideas and arguments that infiltrate our minds through the gates of our senses. We will never win the battle against these strongholds until we stop the flow of misinformation to our minds.

 “NIP IT IN THE BUD!!”

You may remember the old Andy Griffith Show that ran decades ago. One of the characters who made the show, at least to me, was Barney Fife. Old Barn was always off on one tangent or another. You may remember, Barney was allowed to carry a gun but was only given one bullet- which he kept in his shirt pocket.

One of the funniest episodes on the show was when Barney got strung out about “nipping things in the bud.” He went all over town with this sage piece of wisdom telling people “You gotta nip it...You gotta nip it in the bud.”

When Barney got a thought in his noggin it would take a dynamite charge to change it.

However it turns out that this simple thought about nipping things in the bud, not allowing wrong thoughts to take root,

Is very good advice.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER

Imagine that you are standing on a landing strip with a couple of hundred planes circling above. In this hypothesis, the landing strip is your mind and the planes overhead, asking permission from you to land, are thoughts.

My grandmother used to say, “You can’t keep the birds from circling over your head but you can keep them from making a nest in your hair.” How true!

We are the air traffic controller of our mind and no thought can land unless we give it permission. You and I can either say yes or no to the thought.

Again, we can’t stop the thoughts from coming but we have the power, through an act of our WILL to deny them permission to land.

Keep this simple truth in mind; we can’t keep disturbing or even unholy thoughts from asking permission to land- that will only happen when we get to heaven. BUT we can deny them permission to land.

Let’s continue drilling down into this subject. We have…

FIVE GOD-GIVEN SENSES

These senses are wonderful God- given windows to the world. They are…Sight, Hearing, Smell, Taste, and Touch.

There is good news and bad news here. If we use the five senses the way God wants us to use them, they bring blessing to our lives. If on the other hand we allow Satan & his world system to Hi-Jack these senses, calamity can’t be far behind.

WHY IS TEMPTATION SO STRONG? Here’s the answer. WE ALREADY HAVE DESIRES!

 Satan’s no fool so he rides on the natural desires already in place within us, placed there by God.

If we satisfy God-given desires God’s way there will be good results -but if we satisfy them the devil’s way, the trouble begins. Satan exploits our God given appetites.

A FEW EXAMPLES.

When I was a kid, I had an all consuming desire to be a “real masculine guy.” In modern lingo we might call it a desire to be a “macho man.” I believe God placed this desire in my heart. I didn’t have the desire to be a rough-neck or a rabble-rouser or tough guy, just a real manly guy, in walk, talk, attire and attitude.

Now in those days there was a picture I kept seeing just about everywhere I went. It was a man sitting on a beautiful horse with snowcapped mountains behind him, a great hat on his head and a “cool stash.” I’d see this guy on billboards, in magazines and well just about everywhere you could put a large picture up. I saw this guy’s picture for years in practically every state in the union.

Did I mention that this dude always had a cigarette between his fingers? Oh yeah, the ever present cigarette being puffed on by this “man’s man.” I’ll bet you know who I’m referring to don’t you? Yes, it was “The Marlboro Man.”

I’ve been told that the man who modeled for this picture actually was a smoker and died of lung cancer in his mid forties. The greater point here is that Satan knew exactly what kind of man to put on that horse. His scheme was to show that picture to millions of young men like me and suggest to them what a “real man” looks like and how his look was enhanced by the cigarette between his fingers.

Thankfully the picture never influenced me to start smoking but from what I’ve read it was a highly successful campaign causing millions of men to pick up the habit of smoking.

Satan took that God-given desire in the hearts multitudes of young men to look masculine and spun it into encouragement to smoke.

At about the same time another campaign was going, riding on the desire in the hearts of young ladies to be feminine. This picture featured a beautiful young woman with an hour-glass figure holding a “Virginia Slim” between her fingers. I’ve also read that this picture which appeared world wide for years caused millions of young women to start smoking.

See why it’s so easy for Satan? He takes appetites that are already placed in us by God and rides on them. He can take the desire for sexual intimacy within the bounds of marriage which can give a couple a family of beautiful children and pervert it into a lust for pornographic images.

As we’ve already said, if we try to satisfy our desires Satan’s way it leads to chaos. But if we do it God’s way our lives are enriched.

Listen to what Paul says…

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

¹¹ Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

¹² For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

¹³ Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

¹⁵ And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

¹⁶ Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Eph. 6:10-17

CHRIST’S TEMPTATION

Before Internet pornography, rampant materialism, and on-line gambling there was temptation. Even Jesus faced it, and in studying His example, we can learn a lot about being victors. 

The temptation of the Lord Jesus is one of 
the most interesting and informative scenes in all of 
the life of the Christ. It is helpful for 
us to remember the setting of this temptation of 
Jesus. It came after His baptism. Very often after 
the Baptism there is the Battle with the devil. More 
than one young convert has learned that the baptismal 
waters do not drown the devil. Very soon after you 
come to Christ you’ll find yourself perhaps tempted 
as you have never been before by the devil. After the 
Dove comes the Devil. After the voice of the father 
from heaven comes the hiss of the serpent from hell.

It’s also helpful for us to understand the 
strategy that is involved here. Scripture
says that Jesus was "full of the spirit", and that He 
was led "by the Spirit into the wilderness." This 
lets us know that God had a particular strategy in 
mind in the temptation of the Lord.

One of the purposes of the temptation of Jesus is 
to display God's perfect man the Lord Jesus Christ. 
The Bible says that "Jesus was tempted in all points 
like as we are, yet without sin."

 Sometimes when they are building bridges or strengthening bridges, they will conduct stress tests. The purpose is not to cause the bridges to collapse, but to show that the bridges cannot be collapsed.

The purpose here is to demonstrate that Jesus 
 is the perfect Son of God and though He was hit 
with everything the devil had He didn’t yield. Jesus 
was God's perfect man. It is also intended to show 
you and me how we are to encounter the temptation of 
the devil and how we can have victory in our lives.

When you look at these temptations you will 
discover there is an appeal to the physical. He says, 
"Take these stones and turn them into bread." Jesus 
had not been eating for many days.

 The second temptation was the appeal to the spiritual. He said to Jesus, "Fall down and worship me." Think about this; Jesus was actually tempted to be a Satan worshipper. The third temptation was the appeal to the emotional. He said, "Throw yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple." 

The strategy of the devil has never changed. John 2:16, John talks about -the lust of the flesh--the physical, the lust of the eye--the emotional, and the pride of life--the spiritual.

When you and I are tempted we are always tempted 
in one of these three avenues. The devil has these three big
 moves on his chessboard and you and I need to be aware of that. The Bible tells us that we need to not be ignorant of his devices.

  

Sin begins with the lure and enticement.  It starts from within, it starts in the mind.  The mind is powerful and can cause us to rise up against all odds and go into battle.  It can cause to dream of things that others thought were impossible and make them come true.  But it is also in the mind’s eye that sin begins.

So you and I must take every thought captive.  Demolish the strongholds.    But you have to take the fight deep within you, back to the root, the very desire that began this temptation and fight it there.  A person does not just sin, they think about it first.

Paul understood the struggle.  In Romans 7, he cries out that the struggle is within and so often he fails.  He asks, “O wretched man that I am, who can save me from this body of sin and death?”  His answer, “Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  He calls upon the Christians in Rome to “be transformed by the renewing of the mind.”  He tells them to “keep in step with the Spirit.”  The battle for the mind is the battle for the soul.  For the one who falls to sin, falls to death.

Do you know your triggers that happen before you sin?  Do you know what it is that pushes you over the edge?  Is it your anger?  Is a something visual?  Is it a place that you ought not to be?  Then don’t go there even in your mind.  Stop it before it happens and surrender yourself to God.

David didn’t walk away from the temptation after seeing Bathsheba taking a bath.  It started in his mind and he could have stopped it, but he didn’t and the cost was huge.  Do you really want to pay that cost?  Is the sin you’re thinking about worth it?

FIGHT SATAN AS JESUS DID, WITH THE WORD!

The Bible contains the antidote to the lies of the world, the flesh and the Devil. That is the only way we will win this part of the battle of the mind – by knowing the Scriptures and being able to wield the Sword of the Spirit. Without spending time in the Bible and under the teaching of a good church, you will never win the battle of the mind. And you will never win the battle of wits against the Devil unless you know the Word and know it well.

If you are diligent in searching the scriptures and you fill your mind with the Word instead of what the Devil has to say, the Holy Spirit will teach you and bring to your remembrance exactly what you need in order to win. But the Spirit can only bring to your remembrance what you have learned. (John 14:26)

Jesus said: “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

In other words, if we abide in His word that will prove that we are His followers then we shall know the Truth which will set us free. This promise does not belong or work for those who are not followers of Christ.

 The Truth is not going to be found in the platform of a political party or a history book or in our own emotions or thoughts. It’s only in the Word. Neither is it found in a superficial reading of the Word, but as we abide in the Word, we will discover the Truth which will make us free. This means spending time in the Word, meditating on it and being obedient to it.

Listening to a 30 minute sermon once a week is not going to set you free. Abiding means to 

remain constantly in and submerged in the Word! As we abide, remain, dwell, live and move in the Word, we will begin to really know the Truth and that will set us free.

So, in order to begin breaking down the strongholds, we need to immerse ourselves in the Word and be obedient to it. As the Word begins to contradict the arguments of the world, the flesh and the Devil and we believe and act on the Word, the strongholds will come tumbling down.

But remember, if we allow the world to rebuild and reinforce the strongholds faster than the Word can break them down we can’t be victors.

It would be wise to limit the access of the world into your mind and soak in the Word of God and you will begin to find victory in areas you never thought possible.

 I have seen folk in deep depression and watched how quoting the scriptures and the promises of God, sometimes for hours on end, have brought them out of the depths of despair.

 It works!

Blessings,

John

A Horrible Illness Is Going Around

By John Stallings

There’s an illness going around.

 You’ve definitely heard of it, even if not by the name used here. It’s not the bird flu. It’s not the regular flu for which many have already gotten flu shots.

It’s not one of the more notable illnesses, like AIDS, or HPV. But I’m sure you’ve heard of it. In fact, everyone has seen its devastating effects. Some have seen it up close and personally. Some have experienced it themselves, or seen a loved one devastated by it.

Some are plagued with this illness, perhaps a mild case only affecting a part of our life, but infected nonetheless.

 The scary thing is how contagious it is, and how susceptible all of us are to this illness. Any of us can get the illness, and all of us have to take ongoing precautions against getting it. If we let our guard down

and don’t take illness prevention steps; it’s likely we’ll be infected.

 Though we’ve heard many warnings about how this illness can affect us, we tend to think, - no, not me. I won’t get this illness. I won’t be affected.

 Let’s look at a passage of scripture which gives a warning about this illness, and then I’ll share with you a modern-day name for it.

Luke 12:15 (NIV) Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Here’s our warning against this illness. Watch out, be on your guard, said Jesus, against all kinds of greed.

POSSESSION OBSESSION

This illness is called Affluenza and our culture is sick with it. Americans are infected with an all-consuming virus that threatens our well being. Affluenza  is a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of shopping fever, anxiety, waste, bankruptcies, family upheaval, bulging closets, cupboards, shelves and drawers particularly if they are stuffed with unworn clothes, unheard CDs, unread books, rarely used toys, equipment, electronics and other gadgets. Attics, basements and garages packed with same. Bloated credit card bills... the feeling that you’re forever catching up but never getting ahead. Not being able to remember the last meaningful conversation you had with close friends or loved ones. The sense you are stuck in a repetitive cycle of working harder, spending more, while enjoying and resting less.

If any of these are sounding too close to home, you’ve probably caught the affluenza bug. If so, you aren’t alone; most Americans have it.

The symptoms are everywhere, the causes not so mysterious and the treatment is available. But sadly there is little evidence that many Americans recognize they suffer from affluenza and even less evidence that those who are aware will actually take significant steps towards recovering from the disease.

Affluenza is a nifty little word that a clever sociologist created by mixing two different words together. The word affluence means having a great deal of money. Influenza is a highly contagious and potentially fatal disease. When you put these two together, you get affluenza, which is a useful word for describing the problems generated by a rich consumer culture that has an endless hunger for more stuff. Affluenza is the disease of greed. The metaphor of disease is used to describe the damage being done to our physical, spiritual and mental health, by the obsessive, often unquestioned quest for material gain.

It's the materialistic mindset that says getting more money and possessions is the ultimate aim of life. Affluenza is the spirit of our age and this dogged quest for more has infected all of us.

Let’s drill down further into the disease and its diagnosis.

Af-flu-enza:

 1. A dysfunctional relationship with wealth or money that can strike anyone, regardless of economic level;

2. The bloated and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses.

3. An epidemic of overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by an unrelenting pursuit of the American Dream.

I wonder if anyone has ever seen a warning label on money, like we have on so many other things?.

Interestingly enough, Affluenza is a widely used word. Even outside the church, people recognize how getting caught up in materialism can be a real sickness…it can ruin lives… it can destroy families; it can debilitate and cripple us.

Some might say, "I can't have affluenza, because I’m not one of the affluent." But affluenza isn’t a disease of the upper class. It can affect anyone. In fact, sometimes it’s greatest in those who have not achieved the financial status in life to which they have dreamed.

Let me give you a short true or false quiz…

1) I'm willing to pay way more for a T-shirt if it has a designer's name or logo on it.
2) I feel the need to own a 4-wheel drive Sport Utility Vehicle even though I never drive off the paved road.
3) I believe that if I buy a party dress, the party invitation will come.
4) I have a shoe collection Imelda Marcos would envy.
5) I'm willing to work 40 years at a job I hate so I can buy lots of stuff.
6) When I'm feeling sad, I love to go shopping and treat myself

Scriptures are replete with warnings concerning affluenza. Listen to…

1 Tim. 6:9-10 NIV

 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Here are some more facts about affluenza:

 Affluenza is characterized by:

- an inability to delay gratification and tolerate frustration
- a false sense of entitlement
- loss of future motivation
- preoccupation with externals
- self-absorption
- workaholism
- rampant materialism and consumerism

I think an example of affluenza is our society’s infatuation with the lottery. Again affluenza is not just a rich people’s illness. Most of the people who play the lottery don’t have the money to waste. But they’re infected with this illness, which apparently also makes you stupid, because, against all logic, against incredible odds, those with affluenza seem to think that it could happen to them…that they could be that big winner, and never have to work again a day in their lives.

Unfortunately, for many, there’s a huge cost to this illness… this get-rich-quick mentality. Instead of lifting them out of poverty, it only worsens their financial situation.

Of course, the lottery is only one example of affluenza. Even the world recognizes that something’s wrong with this picture. Even the world knows, almost instinctively, that money and things cannot buy happiness, though so many seem bent on trying to buy it anyway.

People of all economic levels buy into the overriding value within our culture that money solves all problems, thus denial of money-related difficulties is supported by society. Many sufferers of affluenza hesitate to seek help. As a nation, we have developed the false sense of entitlement which is characteristic of affluenza. Far from guaranteeing happiness, wealth or the single-minded pursuit of it can destroy happiness, or -- at the least -- increase existing problems.   

Before the fall of the Iron curtain, a leader in the Romanian church, which suffered persecution under communism, said this:

"In my experience, 95% of the believers, who face the test of persecution, pass it. 95% of the believers who face the test of prosperity, fail it.”

Prosperity, having a lot, is a test of our faith. It’s a test of where we put our treasure. The parable that Jesus told immediately after the warning we read talks about this.

Luke 12:16-21 (NIV)

 And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ’What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ "Then he said, ’This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ’ "But God said to him, ’You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ "

This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.

 Jesus tells us at the beginning of this parable that the good life has nothing to do with things, or with being wealthy. Because that’s true, we have to be on guard. We have to take precautions in our lives and in our spirits, against -greed…which would be a bible word for affluenza.

A big part of our problem in dealing with this illness is that being on guard against greed, is the exact opposite of what we hear in our society. How about this advertising phrase?

You can have it now!

Or,

 You can have it all!

Or,

You deserve the best!

 Advertisers spend millions of dollars enticing us to let our guard down against affluenza.

If we take the illness analogy, and there was an outbreak of the flu, it would be as if advertisers said: Don’t wash your hands. Don’t worry about being around someone sneezing. Drink from the glass of someone with the flu, and be sure to share their food, too.

Advertisers tell us that if we buy more and more of their products, we’ll be happier, more fulfilled, more comfortable, maybe more popular, and definitely much cooler. There’s no hint of the warning of excess, and no hint that having the things they’re selling will not make us happy.

 34% of Americans polled in 2000 rank shopping as their favorite activity?

Seventy percent of Americans visit malls each week, more than attend churches or synagogues. On average, Americans shop six hours a week, and spend only 40 minutes playing with their children.

By the age of 20, the average American has seen some one million commercial messages .How much do you think these million messages are balanced out by messages from the Word of God? If you figure that the average hour-long TV show has about 20 minutes of commercials in it, then all you have to do is watch two hours of TV, and you’re told during those hours to indulge yourself in exposure to affluenza for a period of time just as long as this article will take to remind us of the scriptural warning to be on guard against it.

And that’s only counting TV commercials, and not the hundreds of other ways that encourage us to indulge ourselves, because we’re worth it…at least according to those trying to get us to spend our money on their products. The sheer weight of these messages on our spirits is overwhelming.

Advertising accounts for 2/3 of the space in newspapers, and 40 percent of our mail. The average American spends one year of their lives watching TV commercials.

We all acknowledge that when you have children, they’re usually the first to bring an illness into the house. Then everyone else in the house gets that cold or whatever. Well, children are the fastest growing segment of the consumer market. In 1995 alone, companies spent $1 billion marketing their products to young people. In the messages we get from our culture, if we hear something often enough, we start to believe it.

How about these ideas from this commercial onslaught:

If you use this product you will...

1. Join a wonderful group of people.
2. Feel appreciated.
3. Be rewarded.
4. Be held in high esteem by others.
5.  Have more love gratification in your life.
6. Enjoy the adventure or escape that you want.
7. Be more like famous or wealthy people.
8. Be associated with success, humor, or tradition
9. Find deep satisfaction.

And, if you do not use this product you will ...

10. Face social isolation or career failure.
11. Face failing health or death.

In other words, if you don’t use this product, you’re a real loser. All of these things conspire to spread affluenza. But the Bible says:

Luke 12:34 (NIV) For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

That verse is just a few verses beyond the parable we just read. It’s how Jesus concludes his remarks on trusting Him for our needs…reminding us that the Father knows what we need and is more than able to provide.

 It’s interesting that an overwhelming majority of everything the gospels record Jesus said relates to this topic …money and possessions. There’s more about money in scripture than Christ’s teachings on heaven and hell combined. So: why did Jesus put such an emphasis on money and possessions? Why is there so much in scripture about wealth?

 It’s clear…there’s a fundamental connection between our spiritual lives and how we think about and handle money. We may try to separate our faith and our finances, but God sees these things as absolutely inseparable.

 Affluenza is an illness of the heart. It may be a little harder to hide from others than worldliness; but still, God is the only doctor capable of diagnosing, and healing, the human heart. That’s true if the ailment is worldliness, and that’s true if the ailment is affluenza.

 Materialism is not primarily what you have, it’s an attitude.

ONLY GOD CAN DIAGNOSE AFFLUENZA

You can have a lot and not be afflicted with affluenza. You can have very little and have a very bad case of affluenza. As an attitude, only God can truly know what’s going on with us. Only God sees the heart.

This article wasn’t written to encourage us to look around us and wonder who might be a carrier, or who might suffer from this illness. The only thing we need to do in response to this subject is ask, -- am I susceptible to affluenza?

And the answer to that is yes – we’re all susceptible. We must ask ourselves, are we afflicted with affluenza, in any part of our lives? We must look at our own heart, not the hearts of others.

BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS

Have you ever read a copy of the magazine Better Homes and Gardens? The magazine is not called Homes and Gardens. It’s called Better Homes and Gardens. Better than whose?

So, we have these warnings. They’re seen throughout the Word of God. But they’re for us,- not for us to diagnose the other person.

Friend, can you see the problem? Can you see the difficulty with affluenza? Maybe we can even admit that we’re at least susceptible to it, if not outright afflicted.

LYING AND DYING

Acts chapter 5 contains one of the darkest moments of the life of the early church. A husband and wife team, Ananias and Sapphira are sitting down, trying to figure out what they are

going to do as part of this community called the church. They decided to sell some property. But they also connived and they decided to lie about how much they were paid for it.

Here’s what they decided; “Whenever anyone asks us how much we sold it for, tell them it is this much and we’ll keep the rest. Just lie about it.” And so they did. And one by one they both come to Peter and Peter asked them “Is this how much you made?” They both lied and say yes… and the result is, -they died.

Scripture says that great fear seized everyone who heard about it. Well no kidding! Of course, it did. The question we ask as we look at that passage is WHY? Why did they die? Was it because they didn’t give it all? No. It goes a lot deeper than that.

The Message translation puts it.

The whole congregation of believers was united as one – one heart, one mind! They didn’t even claim ownership of their own possessions. No one said, “That’s mine; you can’t have it.” They shared everything. The apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Master Jesus and grace was on all of them.

And so it turned out that not a person among them was needy. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the price of the sale to the apostles and made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed it according to each person’s need.

Joseph, called by the apostles “Barnabas” (which means

“Son of Comfort”), a Levite born in Cyprus, sold a field that he owned, brought the money, and made an offering of it to the apostles.

But a man named Ananias – his wife, Sapphira, conniving in this with him – sold a piece of land, secretly kept part of the price for himself, and then brought the rest to the apostles and made an offering of it.

Peter said, “Ananias, how did Satan get you to lie to the

Holy Spirit and secretly keep back part of the price of the field? Before you sold it, it was all yours, and after you sold it, the money was yours to do with as you wished. So what got into you to pull a trick like this? You didn’t lie to men but to God.”

Ananias, when he heard those words, fell down dead. That put the fear of God into everyone who heard of it.  The younger men went right to work and wrapped him up, then carried him out and buried him.

Not more than three hours later, his wife, knowing nothing

of what had happened, came in. Peter said, “Tell me, were you given this price for your field?”

“Yes,” she said, “that price.”

Peter responded, “What’s going on here that you connived

to conspire against the Spirit of the Master? The men who

buried your husband are at the door, and you’re next.” No

sooner were the words out of his mouth than she also fell down, dead. When the young men returned they found her body. They carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

By this time the whole church and, in fact, everyone who

heard of these things had a healthy respect for God. They knew God was not to be trifled with.

It’s clear to see that affluenza can kill.

THE RICH YOUNG RULER

He was a wealthy man. His eyes were set on religious things, - on teachers, eternal life, and good deeds. He was a seeker: he seemed willing to listen and eager to learn. He seemed to be a disciple-in-the-making. It was he that inspired Jesus’ famous words "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom." But his story has a sad end.

Often it's  only one thing that keeps a person from accepting Christ. This was true in life of the Rich Young Ruler. Jesus said…"One thou lackest..." He lacked the willingness to put Christ first above all in his life. That's  what God requires of all of us. One little thing but it was too big to surrender. Many people have only one thing --- lust, money, popularity, fame, possessions....one thing!

Mark 8:36 - What is a man profited if he gain the
whole world and lose his own soul..."

Look at what he was offered.

He was offered a Savior - that would save his soul.
He was offered a Cross - that would lead to a crown.
He was offered a home in heaven.

Look at what he refused. He refused it all.

Watch Jesus as He begins to lead this young man step by step into what he must do. The young man passes all the requirements so far. If he will but take one more step he'll be saved. Everything else is done. If he will but surrender his all...the angels will sing and the Kingdom of God will be richer for all time. If he will just step over that line and surrender...what joy for time and eternity would be his.

 He came but he went away. It’s shocking to see how a person can climb to the very door of heaven and yet fall into hell. See how much we can know and yet be foolish. See how much we can do and yet do nothing.

It’s possible to talk to Jesus face to face and yet go away. We can live with Jesus and not know Him. Judas did it.

 WHERE DID HE GO?

 Did he go to his friends? He had not found in his friends what satisfied or he would not have sought out Jesus.

WHERE DID HE GO?

 Back to his pleasures? I doubt if he found satisfaction there.

 WHERE DID HE GO? DID HE GO TO HEAVEN? HE LEFT HEAVEN WHEN HE LEFT JESUS!

If you could climb the steps of gold, enter the gates of pearl, walk the golden streets, and search for him, your search would be in vain. If you could cross the landscapes of eternal bliss in the city four-square you would not find him.
 
If you looked in the procession of the saints you would not find him. If you looked through the many mansions or among the multitude that no man can number you would not find him.

HE IS NOT THERE! 

 Jesus put his finger on the spot ---- the man loved his gold. How sad that in the fires of eternal judgement dwells one who once ran to Jesus, fell at his feet and asked,

 " Master, what must I do that I might have eternal life?"

Blessings,

John

Please...Just Lock The Door!

By John Stallings


I have a friend who has a beautiful house that sets on a nice piece of property.

He has a nice family, a lovely wife and three kids. He keeps the house up very well but laughs about some of the things that still need fixing, says they give the house character. I think he’s right, and there’s not enough wrong to detract from how nice his house is. My friend’s neighborhood has changed for the worse over the last few years. It’s gotten much rougher. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not nearly as bad as some places, but suffice to say it’s just not the same place he knew a few years back. One of his neighbors down the street was mugged recently as she walked from her driveway to her porch. Another neighbor just a few blocks over from him was attacked in the middle of the night when he surprised a burglar in his house.

But what really got my friends attention was one night recently he came in late from work and went in to check on one of kids and found a man going through his little daughters dresser. Scary, right? Well the intruder escaped, the cops never caught him and my friend’s daughter sleeps with the light on now.

My friend’s home isn’t the same anymore.

He now has cameras all over the house, outside and in, and has six or eight monitors all over the place and everyone’s instructed to call him if they see anything the least bit suspicious.

My friend now has a 90-pound Rottweiler named Evil that roams around the place. Evil knows who’s supposed to be there and who’s not and Lord help anyone who’s not supposed to be there if Evil catches them.

My friend has also bought shotguns and they are positioned all over the house as well as a 357 magnum which he keeps at his bedside. My friend is well gunned and prepared for the next person who would dare to approach that house and threaten his loved ones.

BUT MY FRIEND HAS A CRAZY HABIT!

I know it sounds odd but this friend of mine just will not lock his doors, -ever. I’ve told him several times and everybody tells him that he must keep his doors locked but nothing doing, he’s old fashioned, he won’t do it.  I tell my friend;

The easiest, most common sense thing he could do that wouldn’t cost him a cent would be to lock his doors.

Then I point out the obvious, -that locking a door isn’t a permanent type thing, you can always only open the door for the people you want to come into the house. I tell him that he’d be better off to have saved the money spent on guns etc. and just close and lock his doors. But nooooooo my friend won’t listen; he wants those doors unlocked.

He has his arsenal.

He has his cameras.

He has his dog.

They will surely keep the bad guys away from his house; the doors will stay open.

Even as I write this I am so frustrated with my friend that I can’t see straight.

Anyone should be able to figure out that his duty would be to use the first line of defense to protect his family and that is;


JUST LOCK THE DOOR --AND LET IN ONLY THOSE WHOM YOU TRUST.

I apologize!! By now you know that I don’t really have a friend this stupid.

But do you know what? We have a Nation that is armed to the teeth and that’s good. We have enough nuclear explosives to destroy the world several times over. We have smart weapons that just to hear them described takes your breath away. I appreciate all that! But what sense does it make for us to have all this if our “Achilles heel” is going to be a mule train ambling over Canada’s or Mexico’s porous borders laden with poisonous WMD or suitcase bombs? By now we all have heard that the 19 Islamic terrorist’s who hit us on 9/11 had between them 67 different driver’s licenses. Can it be true what one man said, that a nuclear attack will be mandatory before we ever “lock the door”? Has America’s safety really become a “tombstone industry”?

We’ve got the dog, the guns and the cameras, but for some reason that escapes me -they refuse to lock our doors.Some are saying that a fence on our southern border wouldn't do any good.The following isn't original with me but the fence around the White House seems to be doing it's job well.

YOU MAY ASK IF I WOULD LIKE AMERICA TO ISOLATE ITSELF AND NOT LET ANYONE ELSE IN.

A THOUSAND TIMES NO!!

We can always open the doors to let whomever we want to come in.  Historically this practice is what made our nation great.

But instead, we leave our borders open risking our safety simply because we won't do the first, most simple thing we could do to protect our security. Obviously I’m no expert. I really didn’t need to tell you that did I ?

Some say politics is why we keep the doors open, maybe so. That’s too deep for me. Some say we need the cheap labor of the people who come in illegally because not enough of our citizenry will do mundane work. Maybe so. Some say we should build a wall. I don’t know about that either. But if we are smart enough to send men to the moon along with a car to drive around up there, aren’t we smart enough to come up with a plan to keep people bent on doing us harm from waltzing through our doors?

NOTE TO OUR LEADERS.

 PLEASE... JUST LOCK THE DOOR!


Blessings,

John

Live Like You Were Dying!

By John Stallings


……For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time & then vanisheth away. James 4:14

I like a good country love song now & again. A while back Tim McGraw had a hit with a song called “Live like you were dying.” The words are;


In my early forties, with a lot of life before me
A moment came that stopped me on a dime.
I spent most of the next days, looking at the x-rays
Talking about the options taking my sweet time.

I asked him when it sank in, if this might be the real end,
How’s it hit-ya to get that kind of news,
Man what’d you do he said,

I went sky diving, I went mountain climbing,
I went two-point seven seconds on a bull named FuManChu,
And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
And I gave forgiveness I’d been denying,
Someday I hope you get the chance,
To live like you were dying.

He said I was finally the husband that most the time I wasn’t,
I became a friend- a friend would like to have,
And all a sudden going fishing wasn’t such an imposition,
And I went three times the year I lost my dad.

I finally read the good book, & I took a long hard look.
At what I’d do if I could do it all again.
 
To me this is a sermon-in-song because knowingly or unknowingly the writer is expressing the Biblical principle that James writes about in James 4:13-17. He tells us that our lives are but a vapor & that our time on earth is very short.

David also told us we should number our days (Psalm 90:10, 12.) The song makes the statement, “Some day I hope you get the chance to live like you were dying.” How would our lives be different if we lived with a sense of our own mortality? Let’s look at the song & consider a few of its valuable insights;

LOVE DEEPER & SPEAK SWEETER.

Sometimes words can be so cruel that they can put someone in the “Spiritual burn unit.” Oh the hurt that can come from an unbridled tongue.

Some time back Juda & I had dinner in the home of my eldest daughter whose husband was blinded several years ago in a car accident caused by a drunk driver. This young man has taken lemons & made lemonade & today is one of America’s leading motivational speakers, speaking yearly to multitudes in high schools & other venues across the country.

Everyone was contributing to the fat-chewing & as the evening was winding down, & faithful to my raconteur reputation, I told a “funny” story about a blind man & his dog. Everyone laughed & seemed to like the story. Knowing this young man from his published writings as well as spending time with him, I knew he’d be O.K with the story. On the way home I got to thinking about the story I told & started feeling bad about it. I didn’t rest very well that night & the first thing the next morning I sent my daughter an email apologizing for the story. My daughter assured me her husband wasn’t sensitive about things like that & of course I felt better, but still I wasn’t off the hook in my spirit.

No person, no matter how understanding they are, wants to hear jokes about their disability & no person with any sensitivity should tell a story no matter how funny it might “seem to be” if it makes another person the butt of the joke. I usually have a good filter  that stops me from saying things that aren’t wise but I just happened to override it & told the story anyway. Though everything’s o.k  with my son-in-law, & I’ve forgiven myself, I will still feel bad about the incident until it fades a little more & I think that’s as it should be. Even at my age (I prefer not to say especially at my age) we keep learning to “check ourselves before we wreck ourselves.”

The mind works like a computer & stores things according to subjects. That’s why when dog stories are being told, your mind will race up & down it’s files & ransack them until something you’ve got stored about dogs pops up. That’s why so many dog stories get told at one get-together. The same is true about subjects like cancer, heart attacks, arthritis, diabetes, overweight people etc. If you go to visit someone in the hospital who has cancer you need to be on guard because if you’ve ever known someone who died of cancer that stories coming out unless you’re every careful. If you let it out you’ll kick yourself indefinitely.

In Romans 12:8 the Bible speaks of “mercy with cheerfulness.” When we seek to show mercy we must be certain it’s tempered with cheerfulness.

Tim’s song also says;

I'D GIVE FORGIVENESS I'D BEEN DENYING.

I wonder how our lives would change if we really knew how little time we have? Could we hold a grudge against someone if we knew we had only a few weeks to live?

Then Tim’s song talks about being the kind of friend a friend would want. It takes a lot of maintenance to have a friend. That’s why most of us will only have a handful of true friends in this life; friendship just takes so much time & effort. It also takes willingness to forgive & overlook people’s faults. Some people will tell you up-front they don’t have friends they have acquaintances because friends take too much time & trouble. This attitude is the essence of narcissism, the chief spiritual sickness of our times. It’s “me-ism.” This kind of self-worship looks in the mirror & sings “How great I am.” Solomon tells us it’s an awful thing for an individual to be alone in this world.

Also the song speaks of finally reading the “good book.” That would be a good thing for a dying person to do. However it would be a pity to only read the Bible at the end of our lives when it contains so much wisdom for daily living. One thing I strongly believe is, “if we live with a closed Bible, we’ll live with a closed heaven.”

One of my favorite verses is Jeremiah 23:29—Is not my word like as a fire? Saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces.

Tim’s song adds, -- “I’d take a good long look at what I’d do if I could do it all again.”

As pastor James says, life is brief. Its here one day & gone the next & sometimes it ends unexpectedly. We live & die & are soon forgotten. Someone will make a fuss over us for a short time & then our existence on this planet is forgotten. After a short time no one will stay up night after night & grieve our passing. At most our life will be but a fleeting thought.

Does this sound negative to you? It shouldn’t. If we properly comprehend the brevity of life as James teaches us, it has a positive impact on us. We will live each day as if it were our last. And we’ll confront forgiveness issues & say the things we should say to the people in our lives.

Do you comprehend the brevity of life? We should all live as though we’re dying because we are. If we had that perspective, think of how our lives would be drastically changed for the better.

Blessings,

John

The 5,000 Year Leap

By John Stallings

I’ve never recommended a book, other than the Bible but I want to tell you about a book I’ve just finished reading called “The 5,000 year leap. A miracle that changed the world.”

I’m indebted to talk show host Glen Beck for making me aware of this book. I’m not a follower of talk radio in the sense that I let it shape my opinions, but I’d be less than honest if I didn’t admit to occasionally listening to conservative talk radio over the years as maybe many of you do, especially while in my car.

I enjoy Rush Limbaugh now & then but I can’t take too much of him at one sitting. I get especially nervous when Rush says, “Talent on loan from God.” But I am grateful for these independent voices in this hour of American history. My attitude toward all radio talkers can best be summed up in the words my mother used to use with a twinkle in her eye when she wanted to stress that a good man isn’t always right; she’d say, “His mouth isn’t exactly a prayer book.”


The 5,000 year leap was written by a man named W.Cleon Skousen in 1981 & has never been out of print. It is currently high on Amazon’s overall sales list & is a book I wish every American would read. I have not only read the book I’ve “drained” it, meaning it’s become a part of me. From the introductory page until the last, I was “hooked.” I’m SO glad I read this book as it’s truly one of the best I’ve ever read!

Interestingly enough, President Ronald Reagan held this book in such high regard, he wanted it to be  taught in our public schools.

The concept of the book is,- the men God used over 230 years ago to establish this great country were able by His grace & 28 tremendous God-given principles, to give mankind the ingredients with which to leap, in a relatively short length of time, 5,000 years ahead of all the progress civilized man had made up to that time.

Mr. Skousen uses extraordinary & unique thought processes to break down into simple conceptual blocks each of these 28 principles step by step from thought to action.

I believe many people will agree with me that America is going through a great season of unrest & stands at this moment on a slippery-slope that could change our destiny & wipe out the progress that good men & women have bled & died for. All of us, especially today’s politicians need a refresher course on what made the USA great & this book will certainly accomplish that for the reader.

 The head of Our Homeland Security recently took the word “Terrorist” out of her department’s lexicon no longer allowing anyone in her department to use the word, while at the same time sending a memo warning about the  “Taxpayer-Tea parties,” using the word terrorist twice & saying outright that any soldier whose fought for this country returning home should be viewed as a potential terrorist.

The deep integrity with which the 5,000 Year Leap is written fuels our rightful pride in our country by re- introducing us to the men who shaped us & what lay in their background & breeding that enabled them to give us the Constitution that catapulted us 5,000 years forward.

I’d like to list these 28 principles but first here are some thoughts from the first part of the book that will set the stage. I will be mostly quoting from the book doing only a little paraphrasing.

“The most surprising thing about Jamestown, the first town established in our fledgling new country was the similarity to the ancients who built settlements 5,000 years earlier & the shocking little progress man had made during all of the last fifty centuries.

Jamestown, established in 1606 was the capitol of the colony from 1616-1698. The settlers of Jamestown had come in a boat no fancier than the boats of the ancient sea kings. Their tools were axe, hoe, & a stick plow which weren’t much better than the ones used in China, Persia & Greece. They wore clothes spun on a wheel, their medicines were concoctions based on superstitions rather than science & their transportation was cart & oxen.

But Jamestown was potentially different because there communal economics were tried by these European immigrants & a system of free enterprise principles began.

It was here where a sufficiently large population finally congregated to permit the setting up of the first legislative assembly in the western hemisphere.

These Virginia settlers were the ones who produced the intellects who would later structure the framework for the new civilization known as the United States. From among them came Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence; James Madison, “father” of the Constitution; George Washington, hero general of the war for Independence; George Mason, author of the first American Bill of Rights in Virginia. Virginia was the largest of the thirteen colonies with half a million inhabitants & she furnished four of the first five Presidents of the United States.”

Mr. Skousen, author of the 5,000 Year Leap has basically one purpose & that is to present the 28 principles used by these founders as simply as possible mostly in their own words because they’re the ones who made the fantastic 5,000 Year leap. If you read the book, I believe you’ll be shocked & amazed at how far our country has strayed from the way our forefathers set it up. Consequently we’ve lost & are in the process of losing many of our freedoms.

The following is a brief overview of the 28 principles found in the 5,000 Year leap. These beliefs have made possible more progress in 200 years than was made previously in over 5,000 years & must be understood & perpetuated by every people who desire peace, prosperity & freedom.

1. The only reliable basis for sound government & just human relations is natural law.

Natural law is God’s law. There are certain laws which govern the entire universe & as Jefferson said in the Declaration of Independence, there are laws which govern in the affairs of men which are “The laws of nature & of nature’s God.”


2. A free people cannot survive under a republican constitution unless they remain morally strong.

“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt & vicious, they have more need of masters.”-Benjamin Franklin.

3. The most promising method of securing a virtuous people is to elect virtuous leaders.

“Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty & happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt.-Samuel Adams

4. Without religion the government of a free people cannot be maintained.

“….And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained with religion.”-George Washington

5. All things were created by God, therefore upon Him mankind are all equally dependant & to Him are equally responsible.

“The American Founding Fathers felt a person who boasted he or she was an atheist had just simply failed to apply divine capacity for reason & observation.” The Author

6. All mankind were created equal.

“The Founders knew that in three ways all mankind are treated theoretically equal; equal before God, equal before the law, & equal in their rights.” The Author

7. The proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not provide equal rights.

“People can’t delegate to their government any power except that which they have the lawful right to exercise themselves.”

8. Mankind are endowed by God with certain unalienable rights.

“No human legislation has the power to abridge or destroy each person’s rights unless the owner shall himself commit some act that amounts to a forfeiture.”-William Blackstone

9. To protect human rights, God has revealed a code of divine law.

“The doctrines thus delivered we call the revealed or divine law, & they are to be found only in the Holy Scriptures.” William Blackstone.

10. The God-given right to govern is vested in the sovereign authority of the whole people.

“The fabric of the American empire ought to rest on the solid basis of the consent of the people.”-Alexander Hamilton

11. The majority of the people may alter or abolish a government which has become tyrannical.

“When a long train of abuses designed to place the people under despotism, it is the people’s right & duty to throw off such a government.” Thomas Jefferson- in the Declaration of Independence.

12. The United States shall be a republic.

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America & to the republic for which it stands….”

13. A Constitution should protect the people from the frailties of their leaders.

“If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary”….James Madison

14. Life & liberty are secure only so long as the rights of property are secure.

John Locke reasoned that God gave the earth & everything in it to the whole human family as a gift.

15. The highest level of prosperity occurs when there is a free-market economy & a minimum of government regulations.

1. Freedom to try.
2. Freedom to buy.
3. Freedom to sell.
4. Freedom to fail.

16. The government should be separated into three branches.

17. A system of checks & balances should be adopted to prevent the abuse of power by the different branches of government.

“It will not be denied that power is of an encroaching nature & that it ought to be effectively restrained from passing the limits assigned to it.” James Madison

18. The unalienable rights of the people are most likely to be preserved if the principles of government are set forth in a written Constitution.

“The structure of the American system is set forth in the Constitution of the United States.”-The Author

19. Only limited & carefully defined powers should be delegated to government, all others being retained by the people.

20. Efficiency & dispatch require that the government operate according to the will of the majority, but the constitutional provisions must be made to protect the rights of the minority.

“Every man by consenting with others to make one body politic under one government puts himself under an obligation to every one of that society to submit to the determination of the majority & to be bound by it.”-John Locke

21. Strong local self-government is the keystone to preserving freedom.

“The way to have good & safe government is not to trust it all to one, but to divide it among the many….” Thomas Jefferson

22. A free people should be governed by law & not by the whims of men.

“The end of the law is not to abolish or restrain but to preserve & enlarge freedom.” –John Locke

23. A free society cannot survive as a republic without a broad program of education.

“They made an early provision by law that every town consisting of so many families should be always furnished with a grammar school…..A native American who can’t read & write is as rare…as a comet or an earthquake.”-John Adams

24. A free people will not survive unless they stay strong.

“To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.”-George Washington

25. “Peace, commerce & honest friendship with all nations—entangling alliances with none.”—Thomas Jefferson-in his inaugural address.

26. The core unit which determines the strength of any society is the family; therefore the government should foster & protect its integrity.“There is no country in the world where the ties of marriage are more respected than in America.”—Alexis De Tocqueville

27. The burden of debt is as destructive to human freedom as subjugation by conquest.—Thomas Jefferson

28. The United States has a manifest destiny to eventually become a glorious example of God’s law under a restored Constitution that will inspire the entire human race.

The Founders sensed from the very beginning that they were on a divine mission. Their great disappointment was that it didn’t all come to pass in their day, but they knew that someday it would.

John Adams wrote:

“I always consider the settlement of America with reverence & wonder, as the opening of a grand scene & design in Providence for the illumination of the ignorant, & the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth.”

Friends, I’ve given you an outline of the great book the 5,000 Year Leap but I’d encourage you to get your hands on the book if at all possible & read it through. I believe if you do, you will recognize in a new way the bottomless pit into which America is sinking.

The Tea parties are but a cry emanating from the heart of Americans who love their country & instinctively understand the trouble she’s in. They want to see their beloved country survive.

Someone said they had a vision in which they were allowed to walk into the throne room of heaven. They were permitted to walk up to the throne of God & ask God the question, “What if your redemptive plan for man doesn’t work?” God looked at His Son sitting at His right hand & said to the visitor, “Then there is no other plan.” We who’ve read the Bible understand that truth.

Likewise, among the nations of the world, if America stumbles & falls & the damage is serious enough, the last best hope for men & women yearning to breathe free will disappear from the earth.

Let us pray for our country that God will guide us & let us humble ourselves & request of heaven, God Save The Republic!

Blessings,

John