URGENT WARNING!

The Lord has disturbed my usual routine and my spirit is at somewhere between DEFCON ONE and DEFCON TWO. For several weeks now, He has been regularly drawing me aside at a moment’s notice, telling me to drop everything else, go into my prayer closet (which for me is simply my bedroom) and PRAY!!! For several mornings now, the Lord has awakened me about two hours early, and this morning is one of those. As this is being typed, it is cold and dark outside. The urgency of the hour and what is fast approaching the United States of America requires our full and immediate attention.

For me, this season of urgency and prayer probably started about October 24, 2006. I seldom read USA Today, but had occasion to buy that day’s issue at the convenience store a couple of blocks from where the borrowed car I was driving stalled. I had borrowed my wife’s mother’s 1985 Buick because all of the cars in my household were in the shop being repaired simultaneously. Since then, the Lord has moved miraculously (this is no exaggeration!) and suddenly provided funding to replace my wife’s vehicle and my son’s vehicle (he is away at college). But the borrowed, stalled 1985 Buick (apparently the carburetor simply flooded temporarily—a little while later it started with no difficulty) was used by the Lord to steer me in the direction of getting a copy of the October 24th USA Today, which contained a one-page advertisement by James Robison, in essence telling the nation that we can humble ourselves, or alternatively, God Almighty can bring us to our knees. Our choice is voluntary humility, or imposed humiliation. You may wish to log on to www.WeHaveaChoice.org. Pastor Robison is close to the heart of the Lord, and I would strongly suggest taking what he has to say seriously.

The situation progressed from there. In the past several weeks, the Lord has on several occasions suddenly pulled me aside in the evening to go into my room, close the door and earnestly seek Him in prayer. What I get out of this is Him calling me to get closer to Him and become more dependent upon Him. He is strengthening and deepening my relationship with Him. It was in such a time of prayer earlier this week that the Lord conveyed the following to me:

1) He plainly said, “I will strike at the heart of America.” He did not say where, when or how, but my sense was that this will happen soon. Remember that “soon” is seldom definitely or expressly defined by the Lord, but I am assuming that “soon” is anywhere from almost immediately to some time within the next few months.

2) The Lord also plainly told me, “Wash your garments in the blood of Jesus.” and “Chasten and humble yourself.” No longer can we afford to think that the call to repentance is for someone else and not for us. I know for a fact that the Lord is dealing with me about attitudes of the heart that go way back in my life and even to childhood. I cannot rest on the fact that I do not do heroin, rob banks or cheat on my wife and point to this as righteousness and right standing with God. I do not know about you, but I still have evil and unkind thoughts about other people, and this is not pleasing to Him. I still think myself better than others, and this sort of evil residing in me has to go!

3) I was led to Hebrews 12:18-29, and especially verses 25 and 26, which state, “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven. Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.” A companion scripture to this is Haggai 2:6, which states, “For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth and the sea, and the dry land;”

4) I was also led to Joel 2:2: “A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains…”

The point of all of this is not that I heard from God and am proclaiming some unique message that no one else heard. I am only one of many to whom the Lord is speaking about impending judgment. Remember what the Lord said to James Robison. Know also that the Lord is speaking to David Wilkerson about such things. You will want to carefully consider the messages that Pastor Wilkerson shares with us, and I strongly suggest review of www.davidwilkerson.org/sermons. His current message on the need to receive the peace of Jesus Christ elaborates on our need to draw much closer to Him, or we will not make it through what is to come.

Consider also the following, please. I know a pastor from Jacksonville, Florida, Bob Martin. He comes to the LaQuinta Inn on Williams Boulevard in Kenner, Louisiana (suburb of New Orleans) typically every Tuesday and holds a prayer and Bible teaching meeting at 7:00 p.m. If you live in the New Orleans area or within reasonable driving distance, I highly recommend that you go to the meeting sometime and meet Pastor Bob. He has a real heart for the Lord and the Lord’s people. Pastor Bob has been warning the New Orleans area for years of God’s coming judgment and our need to repent, fast and pray with all of our hearts. Yesterday evening I came out of the barber shop in Slidell about 5:00 p.m. after getting a haircut. I got in the truck, turned on the radio, felt led to tune in to Pastor Martin’s daily 5:00 p.m. radio broadcast on WVOG 600 a.m., and this is what I heard. The Lord is impressing on Pastor Martin that some event is coming to America soon that is part of the Lord’s judgment. He knows of several other Christians who recently have been given the same message by the Lord, including a lady in Hawaii who indicates that the Lord has impressed on her that such an event is coming to the mainland soon. You may want to take a look at www.challengeministries.com. Sound teaching and instruction in the word of God can be found there.

Consider the Biblical principle that the Lord confirms His word, and that Amos 3:7 reminds us, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” The fact that judgment is soon coming to America is not hidden, but is in fact revealed and confirmed repeatedly. The Lord speaks to nobodies like me and you. The challenge and the question then becomes this: who will listen to the word of the Lord and obey? We know that He places his heavenly treasure in earthly vessels (people), …that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” II Corinthians 4:7. Will you let Him use you? Will you let Him flow through you? Will you let Him speak to you, then speak through you? Will you stand up in this hour and be counted among those who fear, love and trust in the Lord with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength? Will you let Him be the consuming fire in your life that He wants to be—consuming everything that is not like Him or His Son Jesus?

There are a number of excellent ministries that are both close to the heart of God and speaking prophetically. It is strongly recommended that you find some like Agape Harvest Ministries, whose website is www.propheticwatchman.com and receive what the Lord speaks to you through them. Their main pastor and overseer is Pastor Daniel Bohler. On the website there are specific prophecies for specific cities. You will notice that some of what was prophecied by Pastor Bohler on November 12, 1997 has already come to pass, like the killer hurricane (Katrina) and its flooding. I was at the November 12, 1997 meeting when Pastor Bohler gave the prophecies concerning New Orleans and remember the meeting clearly.

This is what we need to do:

1) Read and pray over Isaiah 58

2) Do the same with Amos 3:1-8

3) Read Psalm 51 as a prayer of confession and repentance to the Lord. Doing so while on your knees is highly recommended

4) Rededicate our lives to the Lord and His service

5) Seek the Lord diligently through prayer, fasting (as we are led by the Holy Spirit) and seeking His face (relationship), not just His hand (provision of earthly needs)

Great times in the Lord are ahead for each of His children IF we will hearken to His voice and obey his commands and instructions to us. The coming judgment will invariably produce revival and spiritual awakening. Before true revival can come, something has to die, whether it is our flesh, our pride or even “Uzziahs” (see Isaiah 6:1-8; Uzziah symbolizes anything that stands between us and seeing the Lord as He really is; Uzziah symbolizes pride, because he was “marvelously helped” until he got lifted up in pride, according to II Chronicles 26:15-21). Consider that in Acts 5, the death of Ananias and Saphira resulted in this: “And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.”

I will be praying for you, your family and friends, that you may climb all the way up the spiritual mountain that the Lord has for you and that in the days to come, He will be able to use you in mighty ways, to do exploits for Him.

Yours in Jesus Christ, the mighty King of Kings and Lord of Lords,

Pastor Ben