For years, before he passed away last year, David Wilkerson repeatedly warned us that disaster was coming on America as a result of the many ways we have turned away from God. I agree with him. America's sins are many and are deep and we are deserving of God's judgement. However, rather than listing our nation's wrongs here, I want to emphasize that these judgements Pastor Wilkerson spoke of will not be signs that God has rejected us -- they will instead be redemptive in nature. They will be signs that God cares about us enough to try and save us. God has been deeply involved in America, directing her development from the moment the first settlers landed. He has been actively involved through the many conflicts and wars she fought right up to the present. America is unique in this world because God has had His hand on her from the beginning. The judgements He sends on us will not be to destroy, but to root out and heal our nation. God is seeking to redeem America. Keep that in mind as you read the rest of this post.
God told the prophet Amos, "Have I ever done anything without telling the prophets about it first?" (That's my own paraphrase. :>) God shares His intentions with His people before He acts. That's why I try to keep my ears open for what the prophetic voices of the church are saying. Yes, some people get carried away and off base (and sometimes downright weird), but that doesn't mean we shouldn't listen to the voices of the true prophets. Bob Jones is someone I usually listen to and he has said that the massive earthquake we have always known could someday strike Southern California is now imminent. Rodney Lensch -- an apostolic and prophetic leader during the Charismatic Renewal -- said that God told him He was going to bring revival to America "on a rack of ruin". (He went on to say that he believes this will happen when the last of the World War II veterans dies.) On the positive side, Rick Joyner recently wrote that 2012 is to be the start of a massive revival of tsunami-like proportions. Will that revival follow on the heels of some disaster sent by God because of our sins? I would not be surprised.
Before I go on, I want to say something about Pat Robertson (founder of the CBN network). I have been really put out at him at times because of his lack of tact. He seems to have a knack for making pronouncements that make the rest of us Christians look like heartless fools and idiots. For instance, after the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, Robertson very clearly stated that this was a judgement on America. More recently, when Port-Au-Prince, Haiti was flattened by an earthquake, Robertson immediately broadcast that this was a judgement of God on that nation because from the very beginning they had embraced occultic religion. At the time I was mad at him. After all, those poor people were suffering terribly, how could he be so hardhearted? Yet the Spirit spoke to me about this, asking the question, "Would he have been heard at any other time?" The fact is, he wouldn't have been heard, and even though the media predictably responded by ridiculing everything Christian, he still spoke the truth. The September 11 attack and the Haiti earthquake were both judgments. What is disappointing to me is that echoing voices from other leaders of God's people were silent. When God sends a wake-up call to His people, we should be shouting it from the housetops! How are His people to repent if they do not know that He is unhappy with them?
Yet the prophetic voices of the church are not all speaking judgement. I am also hearing mercy. I am hearing that in the midst of judgement on America, God has prepared/is preparing cities of refuge. There will be cities in America that will be untouched by any disaster or calamity and will be places of safety. That brings me to the major point of this post: I believe God has shown me that Butte is one of those cities of refuge. And...I am amazed at his choice! After all, even with the strongman gone, Butte is still a very dark place. Yet God is into redemption and redeeming a city like Butte is an easy thing for Him. Here are some signs I have noticed that indicate to me that God is moving even now in that direction:
Housing -- America has been in a recession. In a recession business slows down, people are out of work, and the construction of new houses slows to a trickle. Yet in Butte this hasn't happened. I read an article in today's (2/5/12) paper discussing how the slowdown in Butte really wasn't significant. Not only that, but we have been watching new house after new house pop up like mushrooms. In uptown Butte, where all the historic, multistory buildings are, developers are buying these rundown structures and refurbishing them into modern apartments and high-end condos. In a city that is supposed to be losing population, new housing is being built. Isn't that just like God to work so contrary to conventional wisdom? Why is new housing being built? Because God is preparing this city to be a refuge and He is making room for all the people He is bringing here.
Government -- I have been and am reluctant to detail the dark strongholds that remain in Butte, but one that you really don't need much spiritual discernment to see is corruption in our city/county government. This dark power needs to come down and the light needs to shine in the county courthouse. Recently two judges were removed from office for illegal activities, one right after the other. I believe God is beginning to root out corruption in Butte and I expect it will continue until the light shines bright in our government and every office is run with integrity.
The Churches -- Historically the churches of Butte have pretty much kept to themselves, each one doing its ministry without much interaction between them. Sometimes they have even competed. We've all been pretty narcissistic in our approach to ministry. Oh, there's a ministerial association where there has been some interaction, but it's pretty toothless, mostly just doing religious things that really have no effect on the darkness around us. Yet I see signs that the church is beginning to wake to its task. Last summer I saw the pastor of one of the traditional, mainline churches in town walking by our house. He told me he and a team from his church were prayer-walking every neighborhood in the city, seeking for God to transform them. Another church that had dwindled away to nothing, showing few signs of spiritual life, is now showing signs of impending revival! The churches of Butte are beginning to wake up!
Last fall I taught two classes up at Montana Tech University. With Big Butte (Butte's namesake) at its back, Montana Tech sits on a hill overlooking the west side of town. The view from up there is awesome! The two buildings where my classes were located sit on the rim of that hill and every day after class I would walk to the edge of the hill and contemplate what God was doing in this city. If you look south you see a lot of open country before the mountains start. What I saw every day as I took in that view -- what I saw in the spirit -- was not open country, but land filled with houses. I tell you this, Butte is going to be one of God's cities of refuge, the valley she occupies will be filled with people and she will shine with the light of God! We are only now seeing it begin to happen.
God told the prophet Amos, "Have I ever done anything without telling the prophets about it first?" (That's my own paraphrase. :>) God shares His intentions with His people before He acts. That's why I try to keep my ears open for what the prophetic voices of the church are saying. Yes, some people get carried away and off base (and sometimes downright weird), but that doesn't mean we shouldn't listen to the voices of the true prophets. Bob Jones is someone I usually listen to and he has said that the massive earthquake we have always known could someday strike Southern California is now imminent. Rodney Lensch -- an apostolic and prophetic leader during the Charismatic Renewal -- said that God told him He was going to bring revival to America "on a rack of ruin". (He went on to say that he believes this will happen when the last of the World War II veterans dies.) On the positive side, Rick Joyner recently wrote that 2012 is to be the start of a massive revival of tsunami-like proportions. Will that revival follow on the heels of some disaster sent by God because of our sins? I would not be surprised.
Before I go on, I want to say something about Pat Robertson (founder of the CBN network). I have been really put out at him at times because of his lack of tact. He seems to have a knack for making pronouncements that make the rest of us Christians look like heartless fools and idiots. For instance, after the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, Robertson very clearly stated that this was a judgement on America. More recently, when Port-Au-Prince, Haiti was flattened by an earthquake, Robertson immediately broadcast that this was a judgement of God on that nation because from the very beginning they had embraced occultic religion. At the time I was mad at him. After all, those poor people were suffering terribly, how could he be so hardhearted? Yet the Spirit spoke to me about this, asking the question, "Would he have been heard at any other time?" The fact is, he wouldn't have been heard, and even though the media predictably responded by ridiculing everything Christian, he still spoke the truth. The September 11 attack and the Haiti earthquake were both judgments. What is disappointing to me is that echoing voices from other leaders of God's people were silent. When God sends a wake-up call to His people, we should be shouting it from the housetops! How are His people to repent if they do not know that He is unhappy with them?
Yet the prophetic voices of the church are not all speaking judgement. I am also hearing mercy. I am hearing that in the midst of judgement on America, God has prepared/is preparing cities of refuge. There will be cities in America that will be untouched by any disaster or calamity and will be places of safety. That brings me to the major point of this post: I believe God has shown me that Butte is one of those cities of refuge. And...I am amazed at his choice! After all, even with the strongman gone, Butte is still a very dark place. Yet God is into redemption and redeeming a city like Butte is an easy thing for Him. Here are some signs I have noticed that indicate to me that God is moving even now in that direction:
Housing -- America has been in a recession. In a recession business slows down, people are out of work, and the construction of new houses slows to a trickle. Yet in Butte this hasn't happened. I read an article in today's (2/5/12) paper discussing how the slowdown in Butte really wasn't significant. Not only that, but we have been watching new house after new house pop up like mushrooms. In uptown Butte, where all the historic, multistory buildings are, developers are buying these rundown structures and refurbishing them into modern apartments and high-end condos. In a city that is supposed to be losing population, new housing is being built. Isn't that just like God to work so contrary to conventional wisdom? Why is new housing being built? Because God is preparing this city to be a refuge and He is making room for all the people He is bringing here.
Government -- I have been and am reluctant to detail the dark strongholds that remain in Butte, but one that you really don't need much spiritual discernment to see is corruption in our city/county government. This dark power needs to come down and the light needs to shine in the county courthouse. Recently two judges were removed from office for illegal activities, one right after the other. I believe God is beginning to root out corruption in Butte and I expect it will continue until the light shines bright in our government and every office is run with integrity.
The Churches -- Historically the churches of Butte have pretty much kept to themselves, each one doing its ministry without much interaction between them. Sometimes they have even competed. We've all been pretty narcissistic in our approach to ministry. Oh, there's a ministerial association where there has been some interaction, but it's pretty toothless, mostly just doing religious things that really have no effect on the darkness around us. Yet I see signs that the church is beginning to wake to its task. Last summer I saw the pastor of one of the traditional, mainline churches in town walking by our house. He told me he and a team from his church were prayer-walking every neighborhood in the city, seeking for God to transform them. Another church that had dwindled away to nothing, showing few signs of spiritual life, is now showing signs of impending revival! The churches of Butte are beginning to wake up!
Last fall I taught two classes up at Montana Tech University. With Big Butte (Butte's namesake) at its back, Montana Tech sits on a hill overlooking the west side of town. The view from up there is awesome! The two buildings where my classes were located sit on the rim of that hill and every day after class I would walk to the edge of the hill and contemplate what God was doing in this city. If you look south you see a lot of open country before the mountains start. What I saw every day as I took in that view -- what I saw in the spirit -- was not open country, but land filled with houses. I tell you this, Butte is going to be one of God's cities of refuge, the valley she occupies will be filled with people and she will shine with the light of God! We are only now seeing it begin to happen.
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