Why America Is Losing The Battle

In a restless sleep and dream, I saw God's army it was in complete disarray. Some of God's army had gotten entangled in civilian affairs, others had gone AWOL, some were fighting alone and others were badly injured. The most dangerous soldiers are those who wore the same uniform as those in the army of the Lord but secretly worked for the enemy. Can you imagine fighting in a war just to be fired upon by those you thought were there to protect you or relying on soldiers who ran scared or decided to go back to a civilian status just to leave you alone on the battlefield? After this prophetic vision, I had more like a year ago I was inspired of the Lord to write this to the church. Why is America losing the battle? Why the turmoil? Why the marked division among us? Here is what the Lord gave me.

Number one reason America is losing the battle:

 

We are losing the battle because we have Achans in the camp.

What do I mean by that? Let’s look at Joshua 7. Israel (US) has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. ¹² Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you. ¹³ Get up, sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the Lord God of Israel: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.” Joshua 7:11-13 This is going to be a very strong prophetic statement but as long as there is compromise and sin in the camp we are going to continue to lose ground to the enemy and suffer defeat individually and nationally. The answer is and always will be to get rid of sin, compromise, and become sanctified before the Lord.

 

We don’t recognize the real enemy

As long as we believe we are each other’s enemy we will never win the battle against the real enemy of our soul. The mission of the devil will always remain the same; steal, kill, and destroy. If you see stealing, killing, and destruction, you will know that this is from the devil. Jesus made a marked distinction between his mission and the devil’s. The thief (devil) does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10 If you call yourself a Christian and are involved in the devil’s mission then you are a defector. No Christian should ever be involved in violence. Jesus said this to Peter, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” Matthew 26:52 While we all point fingers at each other the devil laughs in the corner as he watches the fight he instigated. Of course, pride won’t let us see past the hatred, resentment, and anger we have toward each other. We have allowed sin against us to create sin in us. The devil’s strategy is to let himself into our life through the above sins so then he can gain ground in our own life. We can’t fall for this trick. The devil knows that if he can enter in through anger he can co-habitat with us. “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, ²⁷ nor give place to the devil.  Ephesians 4:26-27 That word place means habitation in the Greek. If the devil can get us into our emotions instead of truth and get us to focus on how we feel instead of what is Kingdom he can deceive us. The Bible exhorts us to actively guard our hearts. “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23 What are we guarding our hearts against? Here is a short list: offense, anger, resentment, unforgiveness, anger, suspicion, accusation, and anything that would make our flesh rise up. More than ever we need to hyper-vigilant as the Bible exhorts us “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

We don't realize we are called to battle

Along with not even recognizing the real enemy of our soul perhaps the biggest problem with the church is that we forget that we are in a war in the first place. If that wasn’t the case God wouldn’t have given us spiritual armor. We will always be at war with the kingdom of darkness until the return of Christ. Just look around you and our cities have become war zones because America is being destroyed from within. Each group accuses the other of racism, intolerance, prejudice, hate while doing the same exact thing they are accusing the other group of. What is the root of all this contention, strife, and contempt?

Pride, fear, intolerance, hatred have gripped the hearts of the people even those who claim to be Christians. Sadly, our hearts are battling a disease that cannot be cured with anything else but humility, faith, and the love of God. In a vision I had in 2020 I saw a long scaly tail. Like what you would see on a crocodile. I knew that I was seeing the spirit of Leviathan it was wrapped around the White House. The spirit of pride has gripped this nation. Pride is the open door to almost every sin. He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the Lord will be prospered. Proverbs 28:25 An angry man stirs up strife, And a furious man abounds in transgression. Proverbs 29:22

Like I said before, humility and love are key in responding to a nation in turmoil worshipping Jesus in the streets have been effective in not only pulling down spiritual strongholds but being a light in these tumultuous times. Worship is a powerful weapon against the kingdom of darkness. It is a way of establishing God’s Kingdom. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabits the praises of Israel.  Psalm 22:3

We have run in the face of battle

Not only have we been in denial about the spiritual war around us; we have run in the heat of the battle. I believe that the church will need to answer to God for closing the churches down in a time when people needed Him the most. While people were being isolated and faced the uncertainty of these end times; the church was hiding in fear. I couldn’t believe how many churches were ready to comply by closing their doors when so many people were hurt, confused, and depressed. They had nowhere to go to deal with the chaos that was falling on the world. There is no condemnation here because the early disciples hid, forsook their faith, and abandoned Jesus too. Then something changed them that also changed world history. What happened? They spent time in unified prayer, seeking God for His power, and were transformed by the Holy Spirit. They became his witnesses. They were bold, full of faith and courage.

 Jesus said, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

“And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” Acts 4:31 Now more than ever we need disciples who are going walk in powerful demonstration of God’s Spirit.

 

We have not counted the cost 

Why have run from the battle? Simple, we never counted the cost in the first place. “Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:31-33

Many people come to the altar after hearing how God can change their lives and how everything gets better. Rarely do sermons involve the message of repentance, laying your life down for Christ, denying yourself, picking up your cross to follow Jesus. The truth is many come to Jesus for self-centered reasons and they remain in a state of selfishness because of it. The mindset is what can God do for me? I once attended a church in which the Pastor’s favorite saying was, “What’s in it for me.” Along with that he spent time getting people from his church to invest in his business ideas and plans. That church closed shortly after I had a vision of yellow toxic waste barrels lying about in the church.

In Jesus’ day, the disciples had a whole different way of looking at things than the American church. They were prepared to die from the get-go. When Jesus told them they had to pick up their cross they knew that it meant death. Why? They witnessed the open execution of people on crosses. It was common in their time. They counted the cost of following Christ. Those who got offended or did not want to let go of things or made excuses simply weren’t followers of Christ. Now or days these same people can pretend to be followers of Christ in American church culture. There is nobody to challenge them. However, I prophesy to you that we are coming to the end of that and as persecution comes to America we will see a marked difference between the sheep and the goats. How can you tell between a sheep and the goats? The sheep will be grazing in God’s Word. The goats will be grazing in the world. The sheep will leave all to follow Jesus. The goats will want to hang onto their old life instead of dying in Christ. The good news is a goat can become a sheep. They only need to die as a goat so they can be a sheep. To be honest though unless you are willing to count the cost you will never pay the price.

We have misplaced our loyalty

Another troubling trend is placing our loyalty in all the wrong places. Must I say that before we pledge our allegiance to our flag, race, gender, political party, denomination, nation, creed and etc we are first followers of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom! That’s why there is so much strife and division even in the church. We are followers of Jesus Christ; period. Jesus did not get involved in the politics of this world. He came to establish His own Kingdom and that should be our pursuit as well. Don’t get me wrong we should take seats in places of government, be a voice, an influence in our nation but our loyalty must be to Jesus first.

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” John 18:36 Until we start being followers of Jesus and make our objective establishing His Kingdom we will continue to have division and strife among us.

We have abandoned our positions

Many of us have abandoned our positions within God's army to go back to being plain old civilians! Jesus said, “Watch and pray!” This word watch is a military term to stay at our post in prayer so that we don’t get ambushed by the enemy. This is what he told his disciples as a warning before Judas came to sell them out. They weren’t ready for this demonic ambush because they were sleeping instead of praying. Our most important position is to be gatekeepers or watchmen on the wall so to speak. Gatekeepers decide what is permitted here on earth. Watchmen oversee cities, regions, and nations. They watch for spiritual ambushes and attacks. They also watch for changes in spiritual climates. They warn and are ready to attack whatever will try to get through the walls or boundaries of God’s Kingdom. We need to be like the laborers in Nehemiah’s time when they were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. They had weapons in one hand and building tools in the other hand. Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon. Nehemiah 4:17 We are not only mandated to set at liberty the captive but also we are called to the local, regional, and national restoration of communities. It starts with us, and our families first.
And they shall rebuild the old ruins,
They shall raise up the former desolations,
And they shall repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations. Isaiah 61:4

Many of us have gotten caught up in civilian affairs

Some of us have become entangled with the things of this world. 

 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 2 Timothy 2:3-4

Once again in warfare, we can’t get so caught up in the things of this world that we forget our mission. Our mission is to first to become like him but after that, we are to pull those out of the crossfires of Satan who unknowingly are headed for destruction. It is easy to get caught up in the ordinary affairs of life. We can get caught up in the family, work, and even “ministry” but none of it has anything to do with our mission. What is our mission description?
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,  Isaiah 61:1

This was the first statement Jesus made regarding his mission in the New Testament. It is important to Jesus to heal the brokenhearted and set at liberty the captives as I stated above. We were all birthed in God’s Kingdom for a purpose. That purpose never has changed.
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. ¹⁶ He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷ And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mark 16:15-18

We have stopped listening to the direction of Jesus who is the Lord of Hosts

There isn’t anything more confusing to those who are in a battle than to have that one soldier who is operating under their own direction. There is only one General and his name is Jesus the Lord of Hosts! In our lives releasing control over to God is the scariest proposition especially if you have been under somebody else’s witchcraft or control. However, allowing Jesus to be Lord of Hosts is essential to winning this war. Let’s look at some successful generals in the Bible; David and Moses.

David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this band [of raiders]? Will I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them, and you will certainly rescue [the captives].” 1 Samuel 30:8

 

Here’s David a man of war who consistently inquired of the Lord before he engaged the enemy. He knew that his victory in the battle was primarily because of God being with him.

 

Moses said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” Exodus 33:15

Even though Moses was a prophet who heard from God he still never assumed that God would bless his projects or leadings outside of God’s presence. It is easy to get caught up in “ministry” and forget that we need to abide in Him to bear fruit.

Some of us have become defectors
What is a defector? It is someone who abandons their allegiance to a person, cause or doctrine. If there is anything more troubling in the church today is the abandoning of the teachings of Jesus. The great falling away of the Bible is indeed here. We see many people who say they are Christians that have walked away from sound Biblical truths to have their ears itched by false doctrines and teachers. This was prophesied about in the book of 2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; ⁴ and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

 

Many Americans profess to be Christians but openly live lifestyles contrary to what they profess they believe. They believe they can live in the world and still carry a Christian label. The truth is they are in apostasy and have become defectors in the Kingdom of God.

Some of us have gone MIA or missing in action

To go MIA means to be sent to war and not come back. One of the greatest lies a Christian can believe is that they can never become a statistic. They believe that they can go into a war without armor, unskilled at battle, let their guard down, and pretend they are soldiers of Christ when in reality they are defectors. The enemy right away recognizes those who are vulnerable and are still his captives. While some people may come back by God’s grace like the prodigal son, some never come back, and are destroyed by the enemy. They never fulfill the call or purpose in their life because they give up in the midst of battle or are deceived into defecting to the other side. Their light shone brightly for a season but they burned out and were never heard of again. They were never grounded in God’s Word.

 

“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: ²⁷ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:26)

It’s time for the church to rise to the battle and become pillars of hope in a generation that is desperate to see authentic, loving, and battle ready Christians who are in it to win it. If this message has challenged you please pray with me the following:

 

Father, please forgive us for allowing others to incite anger, resentment, unforgiveness, rebellion, and sedition. We realize that this is a trap of the devil to get us into sin so that the doors will get opened in our own lives. We repent for taking sides, blame-shifting, accusation, fear-mongering, and idolatry. You alone are our savior. Our hope rests in you. We repent for getting caught up in civilian affairs, running in the face of battle, being defectors instead of being sold out to God’s Kingdom. We repent for not watching and praying. Father, we choose to be loyal to you and follow your son Jesus. Give us now the grace and strength to rise up to the battle, fully armored and fully surrendered to you in Jesus name!

 

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