Jim Hodges is a spiritual father to many, including Ceci and me. His wisdom and knowledge are extremely valuable; his teachings have shaped my spiritual life. I’m borrowing a “meaty” teaching from him for today’s post. His perspective is helpful during this challenging time. (There are portions included in the written version of today’s post that I will not read due to time restraints.) Jim’s title:
Present Perspectives and Prayer Points for 2024
We live in a time of global chaos, economic disasters, oppression from totalitarian tyrannies, civil government failures through dysfunctional democracies, and large numbers of sleepy church members. We must focus on King Jesus and receive a fresh outpouring and empowering of Holy Spirit in order to advance the will of God in the earth, and the agenda of the Kingdom of God in history! The Ekklesia must refocus, reengage, and redeploy as the army of God. The following four perspectives will help us in this.
1. We must see the cultural war and political war as rooted in spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6 and 2 Corinthians 10:3-6).
Church father, Augustine, taught that the church was to be spiritually militant. Yes, we are the family of Father God but we’re also the army of God. Ephesians 1 speaks of us as the body of Christ; Ephesians 2 refers to us as the temple of the Spirit; Ephesians 5 calls us the bride of Christ; all of these prepare and lead us into functioning as the army of God in chapter 6.
The New Testament word for “war” is strateuomai,(1) from stratia(2) (see 2 Corinthians 10:3-4). From it comes our English word “strategy.” You don’t win a war without strategy and tactics! With all that is going on in the cultural and political wars, the people of God are, at times, out-maneuvered by the enemies of the gospel. Jesus said: “The sons of this age are wiser than the sons of light in dealing with their own” (Luke 16:8).
2. The followers of King Jesus have two citizenships: heavenly and earthly.
Philippians 3:20 tells us: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Too many Christians believe they have only one citizenship; too few steward two citizenships. The word for citizenship is politeuma,(3) from the root word polis,(4) which gives us our words “city,” “colony,” and yes, “politics.” It is also related to the words “commonwealth” and “metropolis.” In the Passion Bible, this verse reads: “We are a colony of heaven on earth.”
Paul was writing this epistle from a prison cell in Rome. He was writing TO a colony WITHIN a colony. (This Greek city of Philippi was named after Phillip of Macedon, who was the father of Alexander the Great. But the city was now a colony of the Roman Empire.)
In their book Jesus And The Powers, N.T. Wright and Michael Bird share the following:
“We are to pray that it will be on earth as it is in heaven, to colonize earth with the life of heaven, to bear witness by declaring the gospel truth to all who listen, and speak truth to political powers even when they refuse to listen!”(5)
Church history informs us that there were times when the church submited to civil rulers, and there were times when they resisted them. Civil disobedience occurred when the civil ruler was governing unjustly. Romans 13 tells us those in authority are to administer justice and avenge evil. There are many varieties of tyranny, or unjust government, that need to be resisted!
Christian faith is an allegiance to King Jesus, and that allegiance sometimes requires the church to engage in active defiance of tyranny, cruelty, corruption, and despotism! (This was illustrated in Hitler and nazism in the 1930s. Eric Metaxes’ book Letter to the American Church is a must-read. He compares the 1930s in Germany with America now. Only a remnant of the church in Germany resisted Hitler and Nazism. That was the Confessing Church led by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Niemöller.)
Paul stewarded both of his citizenships! He appealed to his Roman citizenship in order to stand before Caesar in Rome where he preached to him and his palace guards in the capital of the empire. And it bore fruit! In Philippians 4:22 Paul said, “All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.” Some scholars say this included the emperor’s personal security force, the Praetorian Guard, and that they were saved through Paul’s preaching.
Bottom line: When necessary, we resist tyranny by praying and voting! Currently, in our nation, only half of the Christians are registered to vote. Only half of those actually vote! This is a recipe for the advancement of darkness and evil.
3. The people of God in history lived and functioned in the shadow of empires.
God approves of nations, not empires. Empires were birthed at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). A contemporary synonym for Babel is Globalism! As you know, Globalism opposes nationhood. Why? Because Psalm 2 and Matthew 28 declare that the Lord Jesus Christ inherits the nations (see Psalm 2:8-9). Genesis 10 records the birth of nations or nationhood - 70 in number. “Nations” is the Hebrew word goyim,(6) which is also the word for “Gentiles.” The Greek word for nation/s is ethnos(7) which basically means “race” or “ethnicity.” Jesus sent out the 70 beyond the borders of Israel where there were Gentiles, i.e., nations!
Old Testament followers of God lived in the shadow of pagan empires. The descendants of Abraham in Moses’ day lived under the shadow of the Egyptian Empire. After that, according to Daniel 2, the following empires cast their shadows over the people of God: Babylon, Medo-Persia (modern-day Iran), Greece, and the Roman Empire. They were presented as a four metal statue with these symbols: gold, silver, bronze, clay and iron together. (Read Daniel 2:32-35 and 44-45). A Fifth Kingdom was also set up on the earth, the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom doesn’t wait until the Second Coming of Christ. It happened in history under the shadow of the Roman Empire. (I have a thought that it was these four empires the devil offered Jesus in the temptation in the wilderness) [see Matthew 4:8-10].
The New Testament people of God lived and ministered in the shadow of the Roman Empire. The Romans were polytheists worshipping many gods, including some planets like Mars, Neptune, and Jupiter. However, their main worship was directed to the ruling Caesar, i.e., emperor worship. In Ephesus there was a statue of Caesar Augustus. On it were these words: “There is no other name whereby anyone can be saved.” Caesar was their savior! This “empire spirit” partnered with the “religious spirit” and crucified Christ. Then it persecuted the church.
In our day, it boils down to the same conflict: the battle for the earth between the sons of light and the sons of darkness, the Ekklesia and the Empire, Globalism and Nationhood. The World Economic Forum is a gathering of these globalists, with their open borders policies, led by the likes of Klaus Schwab, George Soros, Bill Gates, and others.
This battle hangs in the balance while nations make up their minds! But they don’t have to decide for Globalism or an arrogantly proud Nationalism! They can choose Genesis 12, which is the covenant of Abraham by which all the nations are promised blessing by Abraham’s seed, King Jesus! (See Revelation 7:9-11)
4. The economy of the sons and daughters of light will prosper beyond the economies of the sons and daughters of darkness.
Scriptural history is replete with examples of economic wealth being transferred from the wicked to the righteous!
Examples:
Transfer of the wealth of the Egyptians to the Israelites at the Exodus! (Exodus 12:35-36)
Psalm 37 refers to the righteous inheriting the land while the wicked are disinherited.
Pagan kings came to Zion and gave Kings David and Soloman riches, treasures, etc. (1 Kings 4-7)
Jesus said the meek inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). According to Psalm 2, Jesus inherits the nations, and we, the church, are co-heirs with Him (Romans 8:17).
Conclusion
Our Founding Fathers covenanted with the Lord God, and the contemporary Ekklesia army is warring for the restoration of our nation through intercession, decrees, and stewardship of our citizenships in heaven and earth. Because of this, we shall be a sheep nation when Jesus returns!
Pray with me:
Father, thank You for fathers and mothers like Jim and Jean Hodges. They have set the bar high and given us strong and tall shoulders on which to stand. We pray for blessings on them and the other pioneer leaders who have shown us the way forward.
Thank You for reminding us that the cultural and political wars of today are rooted in a spiritual war. Please give us the strategies and tactics needed to win this war. Remind us in the church, that we have two citizenships, that of our earthly nation and of heaven, and that we possess responsibilities in both. Awaken members of the church to our roles and responsibilities.
And help us to war with greater wisdom against the globalist agendas of our day. Give us leaders that understand this, and are determined to oppose it. We know that You love all the nations of the earth, and oppose the empire spirit of control. Help us to defeat the globalists of our day.
In Christ’s authority, we ask these things. Amen.
Our decree:
We decree that as citizens of God’s Kingdom, we will fulfill our responsibilities and represent our King.
Today’s post was contributed by my spiritual dad, Jim Hodges. You can find out more about Jim at JimHodgesMinistries.com.
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
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James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 4754.
Ibid., ref. no. 4756.
Ibid., ref. no. 4175.
Ibid., ref. no. 4172.
N.T. Wright and Michael Bird, Jesus and the Powers (Nashville, TN: Zondervan Publishing), ch 8.
Strongs Concordance, ref. no. 1471.
Ibid., ref. no. 1484.
Kingdom, come now!