Pray for America!
Your heart is free - have the courage to follow it.
Braveheart's dying father to Braveheart.
Hi, my name is Dutch Sheets, and I have a short but very
important message to share with you.
President Obama has said twice now—in his inaugural address
and on a recent trip to
What are they and others really saying about
What is the truth about our roots as a nation? The following
are a few quotes that demonstrate clearly what we were in the founding of this
nation, and what our founding fathers and early leaders really wanted us to be.
The first one is from, of all places, the United States
Supreme Court in 1892. “From the discovery of this continent to the present
hour, there is a single voice making this affirmation…that this is a Christian
nation.” I guess the Supreme Court of that point in time did not agree with our
current President. John Jay, the first chief justice of the Supreme Court,
said, “Unto Him who is the author and giver of all good, I render sincere and
humble thanks for His manifold and unmerited blessings, and especially for our
redemption and salvation by His beloved Son.” Is that a Christian statement? I
believe it is.
Fisher Ames is the author of the first Amendment. (By the
way, remember that the first Amendment is what the revisionists try to use
saying our forefathers didn’t want Christianity influencing our government or
anything in the public square.) Here is what the author of that first Amendment
said: “Should not the Bible regain the place it once held as a school book?” I
don’t think he agreed with today’s version of separation.
John Adams, one of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence and our 2nd President, said this: “The general principles of which
the fathers achieved independence were…the general principles of Christianity.” Our second president and signer of the
Declaration of Independence certainly thought we were a Christian nation,
founded upon Christian principles.
Here’s something that will really surprise many of you. This
is a statement in the Handbook of Harvard University in 1642 called “The Rules
and Precepts:” “Let every student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed
to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus
Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3)…and therefore to lay Christ in the
bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning.” Our
educators today do not agree with it, but that was in the handbook of
Here is one final quote and I want to read a portion of it
to you: “We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven. We
have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in
numbers, wealth, power, as no other nation has ever grown. But, we have
forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace,
and multiplied, enriched, and strengthened us. And we have vainly imagined in
the deceitfulness of our hearts that all these blessings were produced by some
superior wisdom and virtue of our own.
Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to
feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the
God that made us. It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended
power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.”
Who made that powerful statement--some great preacher? A
spiritual leader in our nation, perhaps? A statement made even recently?
No, that statement was made in 1863 by none other than President Abraham
Lincoln. It was made during the Civil War when he called our nation to prayer
and fasting, asking God for His help in that troubled time. What our founding
fathers and early leaders believed about God and this nation, and the
connection there, is indisputable.
Why does our history matter? Why do our roots in this nation
really matter? Why is it important to revisionists and secular humanists that
they re-write and distort our history? You know, if it really didn’t matter
what our history was, they wouldn’t bother to re-write it and distort it. I’m
here to say to you that it matters much whether or not we were a Christian
nation in our roots. Why--first of all, because God honors covenant. The Bible
says he keeps covenant and mercy to a thousand generations. You’ll find leaders
all throughout scripture, when calling upon God for his help and His mercy,
basing it on covenant – promises made in the past between God and people. And
when we call upon God, we have to call upon Him, at times (of course always
based on scripture), based on the fact that we are honoring the covenant that
we made with Him as a nation. Our history is also important because it
demonstrates that God had a purpose in the founding of this nation. God was
involved. Our forefathers knew that God was involved, and it demonstrates our
Godly heritage that our founding fathers believed in—that purpose and
destiny--and dedicated this nation to it. The liberals, humanists, and those
who want to re-write our history, they don’t want you to know that God had a
purpose in the founding of this nation and that our forefathers intended to
honor that purpose. Our history also
demonstrates that our founding fathers were influenced by God’s word and His
ways when writing the Constitution and forming our government. Those who don’t
like this and want to twist the meaning of our founding fathers and founding
documents try to negate God’s influence by rewriting our history.
Is it important to know that in our roots we are a Christian
nation and do have a God-given purpose and destiny? You better believe it is!
We know that we were a Christian nation in our early days. We know what our
founding fathers and early leaders wanted, but have the humanists, secularists,
atheists, and revisionists really won this culture war? Are we, as Newsweek
said, at the end of Christian America? No, they have not won the war! It is
true that they have made great gains and, in many areas of our culture, they do
currently rule: education, media, government, and so on. And many in
government—the President, Congress, Judges—are pulling out all the stops to
remove anything and everything that would make us a Christian and godly nation.
They are attacking biblical values and life. President Obama, who voted for the
right to finish taking the life of a baby born alive after a botched abortion
and many in Congress, are trying to reverse every restriction ever placed on
abortion through the Freedom of Choice Act. They are trying to pass legislation
making it illegal, even for churches, to refuse to hire an individual who
violates their moral beliefs. They are trying to make doctors violate their
consciences by forcing them to perform abortions. They want to remove tax
deductions for you if you donate money to your church. They want to make it
illegal for ministers to preach and quote scriptures calling various behaviors
a sin. They are requiring you and me to fund abortions. Whether you know it or
not, or like it or not, they are requiring you and me to fund abortions, even
in other nations. The current administration and Congress have the most radical
anti-
Christian, anti-Bible agenda in the
history of our nation. They are
serious and they have pulled out all the stops. In essence they are saying, “We
have won the culture war—now we are going to shove it down your throats.” But
they have not won the culture war! The war is not over! I believe, as do many
Americans, that God is about to send a great revival to our nation and that as
we work and plan, He is going to give us strategy to produce a great
reformation that shifts our culture back again to what God intended it to be
from the start.
This brings me to the very simple plan that I want to share
with you right now. The anniversary of that powerful proclamation by Abraham
Lincoln in 1863, of which I shared a portion of it just a few moments ago, is
coming up on April 30th. It is a powerful proclamation. I only shared a small
portion of it to you. It talks about reformation. It talks about a nation being
blessed whose God is the Lord. I tell you, we could not improve on this
statement. Go to our website, www.dutchsheets.org, and download the entire proclamation sending it to
everyone you know: family members, friends, educators, government officials,
congressmen and women, judges. Send it to everyone you know and ask them to do
the same. Let’s make a statement on that day and leading up to that day that we
agree with Abraham Lincoln who certainly believed we were a Christian nation.
Then, on that day, April 30th, let’s begin to pray it. Let’s pray that prayer
as individuals. Literally, let’s read it out loud and say, “Lord, I want to
come to you and say that I agree with President Abraham Lincoln, that we are a
Christian nation and that we are dependent on you. We need your help; we repent
for our sins; we cry out to you just as they did in the Civil War…” If during
the Civil War, at that desperate time, they called on God and He saved a
nation, we can do that now. Let’s take this and pray it individually. Some of
you may want to have prayer meetings Thursday night, April 30th, and together
read and pray portions of this prayer. Let’s do it every day for a week—7 days
leading up to the National Day of Prayer—even on May 3rd, the Sunday between
April 30th and May 7th, the National Day of Prayer. Let’s do it as congregations.
Pastors, read this to your congregations and pray it. Put it on your Power
Point, somewhere where you can read it together. Pass it out when congregants
come in. Let’s have this read and said millions and millions of times
from April 30th to May 7th. Then on that day, May 7th, the National Day of
Prayer, let’s do it again! Let’s do it individually, in prayer meetings; let’s
do it on State Capitol steps; let’s do it in Washington DC; let’s come into
agreement with what President Lincoln said and let’s make a statement to this
nation, to the spiritual powers that are trying to steal from us our Christian
heritage, and let’s say, “The war isn’t over! We are not going to give this
nation away and the culture war isn’t over!” God is going to help us reform
this nation. We are going to get it done.
Let’s do this millions of times between April 30th and May
7th. I believe it will make a huge difference!
God bless you, and God bless
~Dutch Sheets
By
the President of the
Whereas,
the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and
just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has,
by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for
National prayer and humiliation.
And
whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence
upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in
humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy
and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy
Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose
God is the Lord.
And,
insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are
subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly
fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be
but a punishment, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins, to the needful
end of our national reformation as a whole People? We have been the recipients
of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years,
in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no
other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the
gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and
strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our
hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and
virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too
self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too
proud to pray to the God that made us!
It
behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our
national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.
Now,
therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of
the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday,
the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national
humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to
abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at
their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping
the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious
duties proper to that solemn occasion.
All
this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope
authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be
heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our
national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to
its former happy condition of unity and peace.
In
witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the
Done
at the City of
By the
President: Abraham Lincoln
Greetings,
We
just held our annual national conference for the United States Alliance for
Reformation (formerly United States Apostolic Alliance). It was one of
the most significant times I have been a part of. Everyone in attendance that I
spoke with said the same. One of the speakers told me afterward,
"this is the kind of meeting that 20 years from now we may be saying, 'it began at the USAR conference on '09.'" I agree.
The
following is a great summary of the gathering by Eric Reeder, a young leader
who shared a powerful word at the conference on "Synergy vs.
Succession." You will enjoy his insightful report.
Blessings, Dutch Sheets
As this
letter is written, we find our nation at the threshold of change. The question
is quickly becoming, "What kind of change is this, and who will set the
course for it?" We find that a majority of the Church is asleep, awaiting
a day of escape, and relegating her responsibilities to some time in the
future, while evil presses to advance its agenda.
It is with
this backdrop that God is stirring the "Sleeping Giant" of His
Church, connecting the dry bones that are scattered, disjointed and separated,
causing them to stand as a mighty force in this moment of history. An hour of
awakening-revival-is upon us! The demand is to carry this eminent revival through
to reformation -- a move of God that endures until a nation is set back on its
foundations and heading toward its God-given destiny.
Two Gates
In
scripture, we see two accounts, Acts 3 and Esther 4, that can be used to
picture the Church at a hinge place, a threshold, a
gate. From one we can see the picture of a broken nation at the gate of
the Church, and from the other we can see a praying Church at the gate of the
government. These two pictures reveal our current situation and the need to
accurately respond to the issue of this hour.
In Acts 3
we see a lame man at the gate of an anemic religious system. Like this lame
man, our nation is lying broken, disabled and lame at the gate of the Church,
taking insufficient handouts from the religious order while they continue on
their way of ritual and rhetoric. And just as they did in Acts, the "
In Esther
we see Mordecai, picturing the praying/interceding Church, positioned at the
gate of government, crying out for the solution to the misguided governing of
that day. His efforts brought forth what was needed to release a strategy
shifting the direction of government. From sackcloth and ashes, humbling and
repentance, came a joining of spiritual and civil government in a partnership
that ultimately overturned the death decree set to destroy a nation.
These two
hinge moments in scripture provide perspective for our nation today. Our nation
is crippled and begging for solutions while most of the Church, like the
religious leaders in
The
Launching of a Movement
The USAR (formally USAA) National Conference contained the
necessary revelation and communication required for anyone desiring to be a
solution in this hour of history. God has converged streams and
generations to produce a reforming force. This convergence is creating leadership
from covenant-keeping lovers of Christ which will shift culture and take
This USAR
gathering March 30-April 2 was not just a conference, but a launching of a
movement! God has set a course for awakening now and reformation in our
lifetime. Unprecedented strategy and revelation came and commissioned a
movement to reclaim a nation.
From across
the nation, those attending saw a new wineskin for awakening reformation the
opening night, as Dutch Sheets presented direction through four prophetic words
that were released in
We
moved from escaping the future to embracing and owning it.
We
moved from ignoring the culture to engaging it.
We
moved from generations separated to generations synergized.
We
moved from wishing we could do something about the state of our regions and
nation to hearing the voice of God with clear strategy on how to move forward.
This was
not just a gathering or a conference -- it quickly became the launching place
for awakening and reformation on a national scale. We birthed and launched what
was conceived in the Spirit last September at the "Hosting His
Presence" gathering in
God sounded
a call to shift our attention and efforts toward reclaiming a nation through
awakening and reformation, both in the Church and the world. With powerful
sounds of worship and music, a fire has been set for reformers of today to
carry an awakened passion; to turn efforts from simply building churches and
ministries to building a nation that glorifies and pleases God. A major
adjustment is upon all of us to give ourselves to this awakening and reformation.
The
Through
Lance Wallnau, the direction of God came strongly
concerning the requirement for those of God's Kingdom to pursue high places of
influence and leadership within the "
Strategy
was presented through Dr. Tim Sheets to have this understanding imparted into
all ages. His "ID Culture" material has been developed to enable
local churches to awaken a generation to their God-given calling in one of
these mountains. This is a heartbeat of God. His people are to build and
rebuild nations. There must be those in His Kingdom that seek this revelation,
apprehend the necessary strategy and implement that which causes culture to
reflect His desires.
From
Mark
Pfeifer brilliantly taught that looking beyond our four walls and projects in
order to see that God has given us stewardship of a region/territory is
critical. We can no longer be satisfied building our own personal success
stories, but must work with those in our region to see the success of that
region. God has placed each of us in our territory-not just in a
congregation-to develop and bring forth His Kingdom expression. The current
paradigm of creating a "one stop shop" ministry megaplex
has to move to an understanding that we are set in a region to impact and
improve every aspect of that area. No one ministry can accomplish this. Taking
on this identity of leading a territory far supercedes
the leading of a group meeting in one location every Sunday. This understanding
is what senior leaders, pastors, business people, educators and government
administrations must come to. As we do, we'll work as one in God's Kingdom to
cause a region/territory to continually reflect more of heaven.
This is
also being accomplished as greater strategy for citywide and statewide prayer
is being developed. Moving from a 24/7 model that is a worship canopy only,
into a strategic, tactical prayer company is the direction needed. Tim Taylor
shared that developing communication hubs and coordinators in a city/state wide
operation center is a potential strategy to move toward. Targeted, ongoing
prayer and intercession over the seven mountains in an area is the first step
to shifting it toward a Kingdom culture. We must move beyond self-focused,
self-seeking intercession to recognizing our strategic part in shifting the
authority structures over regions.
Synergy vs.
Succession
As we take
steps toward implementation of strategy for awakening and reformation, rising
to the top of culture so we can lead a nation toward a Godly identity, we will
have an accelerated rate of progress as the generations run as one. God is
speaking clearly concerning generational synergy. Generations can no longer be
separated and self-focused, but must become one, bringing that which each
carries to the table of reformation.
The current
paradigm of "succession" will not afford us the rate of advancement
needed to shift this nation, but rather generations working synergistically
like Mordecai and Esther; Saul and David; Samson and the child; Jesus and the
boy with the lunch; and Peter and Timothy. Synergy leads to continuity, while
succession leads to replacement. Generational synergy will bring forth great
succession, but aiming for succession misses synergy. Synergy says, "we will go together now," while succession says,
"you will take my place one day." We need everyone at the table of
reformation now to secure the future. Every Kingdom work on a local, regional,
state and national level must operate in generational synergy to accomplish
that which God needs us to do. No longer can a generation gap separate and
segregate. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob working as one will bring forth the Josephs
that will reach the top of the seven mountains and bring Kingdom solutions to
national issues. The generations must now work as one.
Covenant
Root States
Through
Chuck Pierce, God prophetically revealed that some states have a "covenant
root" with God while others do not. Each group was identified, revealing
which states currently possess a covenant root that can be tapped into and
built upon, and which need a covenant root set in place. This gave insight to
the priorities for each state -- work to build upon this root or work to set
one into the state.
God and
Government
Our nation is at an unparalleled time when a majority of leaders in
our government are strongly attempting to erase the Godly heritage and
foundation of our history. Len Munsil taught that God
desires to have those in government that will acknowledge Him and seek to do
His will. The Body of Christ is to embrace our role of holding government
accountable to God and His principles. It was emphasized that this is a time
demanding a strong priority of focusing on and addressing the state of our
government. This is not a political issue; it is a government issue. Nor is
this a time to back up in intercession, engagement, involvement, activism, or
be lax in keeping leaders accountable to righteous principles. Possibly more
than ever
What
will God's people do for the righteous governing of this nation? What
must we do to win the culture war? Dutch Sheets challenges us to remember
our history which makes evident that God had a purpose in the founding of this
nation. The writings of our founding fathers and early leaders clearly
demonstrate the Godly heritage that they believed
in. Understanding our nation's spiritual legacy and our covenant
with God is essential as we combat the revisionists and secular humanists that
say our nation was never a Christian nation, or that we've always been a mix of
many faiths, or that we were at one point Christian, but are no
longer.
As
an example of Godly government, Dutch read a proclamation issued by President
Abraham Lincoln in 1863 calling on Americans to humble themselves in
prayer. President Lincoln's proclamation is powerful. It speaks
of reformation and about a nation being blessed whose God is the
Lord. We were all encouraged to honor the anniversary of this
proclamation on April 30th by making it a day of prayer for our nation.
Since
the conference, Dutch has shared a plan to carry this out. Everyone is
encouraged to pray and come into agreement with President Lincoln's
proclamation both individually and corporately in prayer meetings and
congregations beginning on Thursday, April 30th - then to continue to pray each
day leading up to the National Day of Prayer on May 7th. Let's join Dutch and
make a statement to this nation, to the spiritual powers that are trying to
steal from our Christian heritage, and let's say, "The war isn't
over! We are not going to give this nation away and the culture war isn't
over!"
A Course is Set
Things in
our nation are not at a desirable place in many regards, but God has a people
that will not surrender or give up. The enemies in Judges 6 invaded so strongly
that God's covenant people retreated into caves and clefts of mountains. It was
from that situation that insignificant Gideon was brought forth to call for an army
to awaken, align and advance. Just as Gideon viewed himself as insignificant
and the least among others, the least likely are becoming the army of the
Almighty today. This is an awakening! This is a reformation! A course is
set.
There is a
response each of us must make for days like these. There are those all over the
nation rising as they hear the sound of heaven awakening within them a cause
that demands facing all odds in the name of the Lord. Getting the conference
CDs or DVDs are a must for all - present or not. You must to be on the leading
edge of this movement. All generations are needed. Children, young adults,
middle aged and seniors are all needed to come together. Gather in your city,
your state and your region. Connect with a movement reclaiming a nation to
please God's heart - awakening in our day, reformation in our lifetime!!
Running together,
Eric
Reeder
