http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/watchman-on-the-wall/60736-dutch-sheets-shares-prophetic-insight-for-church-dilemma-over-elections
Jennifer LeClaire is now sharing her reflections and revelations through Walking in the Spirit. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.
Dutch Sheets, internationally-known best-selling author, speaker
and founder of the Appeal to Heaven Movement, has an important message
for the church as voters prepare to head to the polls. I've presented it
below and wholeheartedly agree.
As you can tell from my
greeting, I am writing primarily to you, the American church. I am doing
so personally, not representing Dutch Sheets Ministries. Though this is
longer than the blogs I normally send, please read it as an urgent,
heartfelt appeal. The sense of urgency I feel is hard to put in words. I
have prayed and wept much over the condition of our nation, and
continue to be deeply burdened. We are so close to the precipice of a
complete self-destruction—a devastation of such magnitude that it would
take decades to recover. Some believe a complete recovery would never be
possible. The America we have known and loved is being systematically
dismantled and reshaped.
Voting is a precious right and a serious
responsibility; I realize it is also a very personal and private one. We
do it by secret ballot in America for a reason. I don't want to be
another voice of manipulation—there are so many in presidential election
campaigns—therefore, it is with the utmost caution and conviction that I
do this.
I also want to state up front that I am neither a
registered Republican nor Democrat. Years ago, I concluded that if my
"calls to prayer" were to be trusted by believers across the board, I
would have to issue them as an independent voter. With this in mind, I
relinquished my party affiliation, along with the rights to vote in
primaries, help shape party platforms, possibly become a delegate and so
forth and became an Independent. Since then, like many of you I have
become fed-up with both parties—disillusioned with the Republicans,
offended and appalled by the Democrats. I say this to assure you that I
am not making this appeal in order to stump for "my party's candidate."
Finally,
I want to also preface my appeal by saying I have not been a huge Trump
fan. Had I been allowed to vote in the primaries, he would not have
been my first choice. His seeming arrogance, insults, history of
philandering, personal ambition and so on were very disconcerting to me.
I kept an open mind, however, knowing God uses imperfect people and
that He is very merciful—I don't condone sin, but neither do I cast the
first stone—and knowing that people do, indeed, change. I was also
challenged to remain open-minded about Trump by the fact that several
spiritual leaders I trusted were convinced God wanted to use him to
overthrow an ineffective and corrupt system. Over time, I came to agree
with them. However, for me, this election is not nearly as much about
who I am for, as it is who and what I am against; and frankly, even with
my initial concerns, the decision has never been easier.
One of the most devastating occurrences in America in our lifetimes, ranking up with The Supreme Court's decisions of Roe v. Wade and Engel v. Vitale
(the removal of prayer from schools), was the election of Barack Obama.
I gave a strong warning about what would happen to our nation if he was
elected. Sadly, it has all come to pass: a continued liberalization and
empowerment of the judicial system in America; a weakened economy (our
national debt has doubled in seven years to $19 trillion!); further
moral deterioration, along with a rebellion to and mockery of God (does
anyone remember the White House lit up in the colors of the LGBT
movement after marriage was redefined by the Supreme Court?
If
that wasn't an "in your face" to God and those of us who "cling to their
God, guns and religion" by the man who mockingly said it, I don't know
what could ever be!); increased violence; a weakened position in the
world, along with a weakened military; the advance of radical Islamist
terrorism; a setback in race relations; and more. I rejoice that our
nation has been able to elect our first black president. I am deeply
saddened, however, that it was Barack Obama.
The damage has been
so great that America is now one president away from a complete
transformation to secularism, a loss of our Judeo-Christian foundation,
the loss of our position as the stabilizing force for good in the earth,
and the leading voice of the gospel to all the world.
If elected,
Hillary Clinton will be the president who finishes the job. She stands
almost entirely against everything we, the church, are for, and for
everything we are against. Hillary is pro-abortion, including
partial-birth abortion, the most insidious evil of the last century;
will raise taxes while continuing out-of-control spending; will further
weaken our military; is for completely open borders; is pro-gay
marriage; supports Obamacare; has no respect for our Judeo-Christian
heritage; sells influence; and is a proven liar. Do not be fooled—she
will completely finish what Obama started.
The notion peddled by
some "Never Trump" Republicans that they can keep Hillary from
accomplishing what she wants for four years, then replace her with
someone they prefer, is laughable. The fact that they should know this,
and don't, is truly scary. Even more frightening is perhaps they do. The
Republican Congress has done nothing to stop Obama; why should we
believe they will do so with Hillary?
When they threaten to curb
Obama with "the power of the purse," he simply calls their bluff and
either bullies them into giving him what he wants, or simply does as he
pleases through unconstitutional executive orders. A
Republican-controlled Congress has done nothing to defund Obamacare,
slow down the trillions of dollars of debt he has accrued, prevent his
treasonous acts with Iran, defund Planned Parenthood and their selling
of babies' body parts (can you even believe such a thing even exists,
and that the Obamas and Hillary condone it?), or stop any number of
other inappropriate actions and wasteful expenditures. Much of
Washington, D.C., is an out-of-control cancer that must be cut out.
To
be sure, there are Republican leaders who desperately want to change
things but the entrenched, lobbyist-owned, career politicians—many of
them liberals in conservative clothing—have neither the will, backbone
and perhaps not the intellect needed to change it. Radical surgery is
necessary. Again, it is laughable to think that the leadership of this
weak and diluted Republican Congress would be able or willing to stop
the agenda of the libs once they enjoy an even greater momentum from
another White House win. Someone please tell me why we should believe
that. If the Republican Party has not sold us out, why did they spend
$18.2 million on Bush's election in 2004, $53.5 million for McCain in
2008, $42.4 million for Romney in 2012 and $0 on ads to elect Trump?
They have sold us out.
It is also ridiculous, and perhaps
insincere, for the "Never Trump" Republican leaders to suggest "we would
only need to reverse four to eight years of damage if Hillary is
elected, which in the long run isn't much." Again, these leaders are
either lying or horribly deceived. The damage presently occurring to our
nation is—in the sense of time—exponential. Every year of damage means
closer to 10 years in its longevity.
How long will it take America to reverse another $4-8 trillion of increased debt? Decades!
How long will it take us to recover from the decimating of our military? Decades!
How
long will it take to defeat a now entrenched Obama/Clinton-enabled
ISIS? Decades! (And honest military and intelligence leaders admit that
we now have many radical Islamist terrorists here in the U.S., not just
abroad.)
How long will it take to undo the loss of appropriate
fear, which our enemies and the enemies of freedom around the world once
had toward us? Decades! (Our enemies now laugh at us, while attacking
us with our own weapons, or weapons purchased with millions in ransom
money we paid them. While Putin rebuilds the Soviet empire and China
makes plans to rule the world, we are disarming. We can't even identify
our enemies. Obama and those around him are foolish and spineless, and
our military leaders know it. We are the laughingstock of our enemies.
Hillary helped to set this debacle of foreign policy, and she will
continue it.)
How long will it take to recover from two to five
Clinton lifetime appointees to the Supreme Court? Decades! If she
appoints five, which is feasible, she will have single-handedly
appointed over half the Supreme Court and will have given the liberal
non-constitutionalists a 30- to 40-year, 7–2 majority advantage! (There
is one vacancy now, and of the other eight justices, the three oldest
are 77, 79 and 83; two more are in their late 60s.) Then there are the
several hundred lifetime federal judges she would appoint. Obama has
already appointed nearly half of our federal judges—all liberals—and
Hillary would appoint the other half. This entire scenario is
unthinkable! If all this occurs, these over-reaching, legislating
ideologues will finish the job of decimating everything you and I stand
for. America as we have known it may then be gone forever. We have less
than three weeks to stop this.
Do not listen to the "only four years" crowd!
I
also want to make an appeal to those who say their conscience won't
allow them to vote for either Trump or Clinton, so they simply won't
vote at all. I sincerely respect your convictions, but in this election,
that argument fails the logic test (as does voting for someone who
cannot possibly win). Trump's potential negative developments do not
come close to the magnitude of those Hillary would produce.
We
simply cannot—regardless of our concerns regarding Trump—allow all the
above-mentioned consequences to happen. I respectfully appeal to you to
turn your "conscience" and "principles" toward the unborn, your
children, grandchildren and the destiny of this nation. Please! We have
already been down this "not voting" path once before when millions of
evangelicals refused to vote for Romney because he was a Mormon. As
disgusted as I am with Romney's current choice of Hillary over Trump,
how much better off would we have been with him, rather than four more
years of Obama?
To see how Trump would actually lead, I would
challenge you to look at those with whom he has surrounded himself:
Pence; Carson; Huckabee; Giuliani; Christie; Gingrich; Palin; trusted
generals; law enforcement officials; border patrol officials;
evangelical leaders of all races; and otherwise, ethical, conservative
leaders. What does this tell us? It is probably the greatest indicator
of who Trump now is, clearly making the case that he has changed his
moral ways over the past 10 years, as he claims.
I personally
believe he has changed. I also believe God has gripped his heart for the
nation, and is in the process of further transforming Mr. Trump. God
has certainly allowed him to be humbled. Of course, the statements made
by Trump on the video released from 2005 were despicable. However, if we
reject him because of the sins of his past, we would also have to
reject Abraham, King David, Rahab, "the woman at the well," Mary
Magdeline—all adulterers in their unrighteous past. And don't forget
murderers like the apostle Paul. A lot of formerly despicable people
will be in heaven! And a lot of them, by the way, became great leaders
and champions for God. Some changed the world.
These associations
also tell us that Trump's stated conservative bent is genuine, and they
state that he is wise enough to know what he doesn't know! I believe
Trump is showing us that he will function, if elected president, as any
wise businessperson does: find qualified people who know how to get the
job done, as in the above examples, and empower them to do it. I like
those whom he is signaling to us would be those leaders. They are
proven, trustworthy and honorable. If you cannot vote for Trump, vote
for them.
Hillary, on the other hand, would give us four to eight
more years of polytheists, liberal progressives, media elites,
police-haters, global statists, financially irresponsible leaders and a
weak military.
Perhaps a better way for the disenchanted to
approach this election is to vote against someone. I would suggest to
you that voting against a candidate is a good reason to vote!
"Neutrality" is not a valid option at this critical crossroads in
history. The times demand that we make a stand! If not for, make your
stand against the following:
Vote against the foolish, selfish, shortsighted, establishment Republicans fighting to maintain their power.
Vote
against an immoral, ungodly Democratic Party. To those who take issue
with this characterization, don't forget that they booed God at their
convention in 2012.
Vote against an unelected, unaccountable,
over-reaching, out-of-control judiciary that believes it has the right
to reshape America.
Vote against the unethical, biased, lying and
untrustworthy media. We will never reclaim America until we reject their
influence. They may be the single greatest obstacle to America's
recovery.
Vote against a weakened military.
Vote against a loss of national sovereignty and a one-world government.
Vote against open borders.
Vote against policies that enable radical Islamist terrorism.
Vote against the removing of our 2nd Amendment rights.
Vote against higher taxes.
Vote against Obamacare.
Vote against the redefining of marriage. It is not too late to reverse this.
Vote against abortion-on-demand, partial-birth abortion and Planned Parenthood with its selling of babies' body parts.
Vote against liberalism and progressivism.
Vote against the silencing of the church. Only the totally naïve do not see this coming quickly.
Vote against revising our history and the loss of our Judeo-Christian heritage.
Vote against the politicization and exploitation of racism and the polarizing of America.
Vote against the slandering and weakening of law enforcement.
Vote
against the politicization of the Justice Department, the FBI and other
important departments of government. Both departments are now
undeniably and shamelessly used for political purposes and to oppose
Christians and conservatives.
Pastors, if you've ever made a
stand, make one now—it may be your last chance. Tell your people the
truth clearly. Pray and fast! Turn your services into prayer meetings.
To
all believers, if you agree with what I have written, forward it to all
of your friends and family members. Most of them hear only from a
hypocritical, lying media, which is now the propaganda arm of the
liberal agenda. Speak up. Appeal to them to read this and think about
it.
And vote!
Vote for a future, one that includes what you love and believe in. Trump has flaws, but Hillary will be fatal.
Sincerely,
Dutch Sheets
