Laws for the Law Abiding, Not Criminals

In the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, explore the spiritual wickedness in our nation and the hope of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the only way to turn evil around. Spiritual wickedness in our nation.There has been a breach in the spirit. A spirit of murder is sweeping over our nation from the north to the south and from the east to the west. When evil attacks innocence, it reveals the absolute wickedness of demonic powers and expresses the need for the nation to turn to God.

On Friday, December 15th, 2012, Adam Lanza, an emotionally disturbed 20-year-old, murdered 26 souls including 6 adults and 20 children at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. He also killed his mother and himself bringing the death toll to 28. I don’t know about you, but I am both sad and angry right now. I’m broken for the families of those innocent children and angry with the devil. “Evil has visited this community,” said Dan Malloy, Governor of Connecticut. Yes, evil did visit, and the nation is grieving and asking many questions such as, “Why are evil things like this happening?” And, “Where was God during this attack?”

The answer for many of our questions is found in personal and national sin. Sin is separation from God. Sin has consequences. Scripture says the wages of sin is death. When a nation, any nation, turns away from the God of the Bible that nation opens itself up to all sorts of evil. The reality is that wickedness is in the fallen nature of mankind. That wickedness is the fruit of sinful man. Man needs a Savior and cannot save himself. It’s amazing that so many want to know where God was during a horrendous crime yet do everything they can to keep him out of public life including our public schools.

THE FALL OF CHRISTIAN CULTURE

There was a time in America when Christian culture dominated the land, but not anymore. As a matter of fact, the God-haters in our nation detests even the very mention of Christ. Take Christmas for example, it’s not politically correct for a school teacher or public employee to greet anyone with a hearty “Merry Christmas” because someone might get offended and cry out for separation of Church and State. So now it’s “Happy Holidays.” In taxpayer-funded public schools Christmas celebrations are now called “Winter Celebrations” and songs like “Silent Night”, “Away in A Manger”, and “Joy to the World” have been replaced with songs about Kwanza, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa.

The prophet Isaiah spoke to a backslidden nation that once knew God. He spoke of national iniquity, sin, violence, wickedness, the shedding of innocent blood, thoughts of evil, and a lack of justice in the land. This Scripture could be spoken over any nation of people that don’t want to be governed by His Word.

“Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity and speak lies; they conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity. They hatch cockatrice (serpent) eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace. Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men. We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompense. So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and forever.” (Isaiah 59:1-21)

The truth is our nation is in a backslidden condition, and we have looked to other gods for leadership, wisdom, protection and provision (Exodus 20:3). Even the righteous have become lukewarm, apathetic, backslidden, and void of prayer being more eager to escape this earth in a rapture than “occupy till He comes.”

As already said, when a nation turns away from a holy God it opens the door for all sorts of wickedness. This Scripture seems hard at first read, but who can deny its truth? But to those that are convicted to repentance after reading it He offers hope, “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.”

AMERICA'S CULTURAL SHIFT TO THE DARK SIDE

Life and culture have changed in America. Here are a few things that have changed the fabric of our nation and are different than they were 30 years ago.

• Videos games home school our children in violence.
• MTV models the way for a culture of immorality, rebellion, and “alternative lifestyles”.
• Reality television programs broadcast the lives of immoral Jezebel drama queens and dysfunctional families.
• Hollywood celebrates a culture of violence, Goth, vampires, death, the occult, and witchcraft.
• Music promotes a gangster lifestyle and sexual debauchery.
• The rise of illegitimate births confirms the rise of a bastard nation without fathers.(All: 40.7%, Whites: 29.1%, Blacks: 72.3%, Native Americans: 66.2%, Asian/Pacific Islanders: 17.2%, Hispanics: 53.3%)[1]
• Church entertainment replaced Holy Ghost revelation.
• Looking to the State and politicians for protection and provision best known as entitlements.
• Millions of aborted children paid for with taxpayer funds.[2]
• Yoga, Hindu spiritualism, replaced Christian prayer in school.[3]
• Preachers stopped preaching about the blood of Christ, sin, immorality, and reprobate homosexuality.
• Wizards, warlocks, mutters, New Age mystics, “Christlam”, false prophets, and doctrines of demons embraced.
• Christian television stopped being Christian.
• Worldly culture ushered into “seeker friendly churches” replaced the Gospel of the Kingdom to invade, occupy and take dominion.
• Same sex marriage replaces mom and dad.
• Ordaining homosexuals into the priesthood.
• Drugging America’s children with dangerous psychotropic drugs. Have you listened to the side effects of the drug advertisements? “Stop using if you have thoughts of suicide….” How much difference is there between suicide and homicide?
• The rise of pretty boy preachers with watered down “grace only” sermonettes.
• Coming to church for personal blessing instead of spiritual equipping.
• Liberal and politically correct, say nothing, weak leadership.

Man looks to man for answers. Disciples of Christ know better, they look to the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Ghost. Remnant, there is great danger when a nation turns its back on God. He says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children” (Hosea 4:6). The only thing that can turn evil around is the power of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In other words, the answers to evil are NOT found in more laws, the answers are found in repentance from sin and returning to Christ. When a coward like Adam Lanza can kill his mother, steal her legally acquired guns and kill six year old children, that’s evil and again, no laws will stop such wickedness. The LA Times reported that Lanza used a Glock pistol, a Sigarms pistol, and a Bushmaster .223 caliber rifle. [4]{module Spiritual Warfare Discerning How Witchcraft Spirits Attack Value Kit|none}

A BREACH IN THE SPIRIT

It’s evident we are experiencing the rise of an anti-Christ and murdering spirit. There is a breach in the spirit over our nation. The Apostle Paul made it clear that we are in a spiritual war with demonic powers. He wrote, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). We overcome these powers of darkness through intercessory prayer and walking in the supernatural authority that Christ has delegated to us. Scripture declares that you have power to bind and loose, tread on serpents and scorpions (metaphors for demonic powers), and power to pull them down:

“Jesus said, And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:18-19)

“And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:17-20)

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.” (2 Corinthians 10:4)

DOES BANNING FIREARMS WORK?

Christians should stop looking to Washington D.C. leadership or political parties for solutions. Some of them offered an immediate response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School killings by disarming law abiding citizens like you. It doesn’t make good sense to me that another law would keep criminals from acquiring a firearm. Ask the residents of Chicago where guns have been banned for years. In November 2012 shootings were up 42 percent.[5] Who carried the banned guns in Chicago then? The answer is, “The criminals did.” Again, laws are for the law abiding, not criminals, thugs, gangbangers, and emotionally disturbed crazies.

A study out of Harvard (one of the most liberal schools in America) titled, “Will Firearms Reduce Murder and Suicide?” confirms that banning guns will NOT decrease gun crimes:

“On the one hand, despite constant and substantially increasing gun ownership, the United States saw progressive and dramatic reductions in criminal violence in the 1990s. On the other hand, the same time period in the United Kingdom saw a constant and dramatic increase in violent crime to which England’s response was ever-more drastic gun control including, eventually, banning and confiscating all handguns and many types of long guns. Nevertheless, criminal violence rampantly increased so that by 2000 England surpassed the United States to become one of the developed world’s most violence-ridden nations.”[6]

The Daily Mail reported in England, where guns are banned, that gun crime rose by 80 percent from 1999 to 2011.[7] Wow! Why would we expect any difference in the United States? Firearms are dangerous and need to be respected, but they are also important for your personal safety. They are also part of your U. S. Constitutional right to bear arms. The Second Amendment reads, “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

Regardless of your opinion on personal gun ownership and exercising your Second Amendment right you should answer the question, “What if someone at that school, like the principal or a teacher, had been armed and trained in the safe use of a firearm, would things have been different?” St. Louis County Police Chief, Tim Fitch thinks so saying that it’s time to talk about arming school personnel. Chief Fitch said, “Pilots have been armed now for many years, we’ve not had another hijacking and the issue is, for the bad guy, he doesn’t know which airplane he’s getting on, if the pilot is armed or not.”[8]

UNDER NO LEGAL OBLIGATION TO PROTECT YOU

I am thankful for our police officers that do their best to deal with dangerous thugs but there is an old saying, “When seconds count, the cops are only minutes away.” Expecting our police departments to “protect” us from crazies is asking them to do something they simply cannot do. In fact, according to Warren v. District of Columbia, “police do not have a duty to provide police services to individuals, even if a dispatcher promises help to be on the way.”[9] That means the police are not legally obligated to protect you even in life threatening situations.[10] The Warren case further stated, “By a 4-3 decision the court decided that Warren was not entitled to remedy at the bar despite the demonstrable abuse and ineptitude on the part of the police because no special relationship existed. (An incarcerated prisoner is an example of a special relationship.) The court stated that official police personnel and the government employing them owe no duty to victims of criminal acts and thus are not liable for a failure to provide adequate police protection unless a special relationship exists.”

In the Sandy Hook case I will never forget the photo of police officers huddled together outside the Newtown elementary school sobbing and weeping over the horror they saw inside. These men would have given their lives to save those children regardless of what the law says. Nevertheless, according to the courts, you cannot depend on the police to protect you from a violent assault.

DEMON SPIRITS, LAWS, BANS AND BULLETS

There is no doubt that we are seeing a murdering spirit sweep across our nation. Banning firearms will not stop a murdering spirit. I was speaking to over one hundred generals of the armed forces of Honduras that are doing their best dealing with drug dealing criminals and murders. Honduras has the highest murder rate per capita in the world at 86 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.[11] They understand the battle is both natural and spiritual. During the meeting, the Holy Ghost confirmed to them that you can’t kill a spirit with a bullet. No bullets, jails, laws, bans, or drones will stop a murdering spirit. Evil will find a way to manifest. I was impressed with the senior military leadership in Honduras that knew the Church of Christ was needed to help stop the violence. We can only pray that America’s leadership discover the same and cry out to Christ for help.

CRIMINALS IGNORE THE LAW

Laws are for the law abiding, not criminals. Criminals don’t care about your nation’s laws and will find a way to carry out their crimes.

• Just blocks from our church, Spirit of Life Ministries in Hallandale Beach, Florida, 14 and 17 year old cousins murdered a homeless man with a ball point pen.[12] Shall we ban ball point pens?
• In China, Min Yingjun slashed 22 kids with a butcher knife at the Chenpeng Village Wanquan Elementary School.[13] Shall we ban butcher knives?
• A man killed his wife with his car.[14] Shall we ban cars?
• Andrew Kehoe killed 45 people mostly school children in Michigan with three bombs. “The Bath School disaster is the name given to three bombings by Andrew Kehoe on May 18, 1927 in Bath Township, Michigan, which killed 45 people (including Kehoe) and injured at least 58. Most of the victims were children in the second to sixth grades (7–12 years of age) attending the Bath Consolidated School. Their deaths constitute the deadliest act of mass murder in a school in U.S. history.”[15] Are we to ban fertilizer that is used in bomb making?

We could go on and on with examples. The bottom line is this: the only way to stop evil is to turn the hearts of men back to Christ. This responsibility belongs to the Church, not politicians. People must become new creatures in Christ Jesus, with a new nature as Scripture declares, “Old things passed away, all things are become new” (1 Corinthians 5: 17).

Preachers, preach the truth. You are called to preach Christ and Him crucified for the sin of fallen man (the Cross) and the Gospel of the Kingdom, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom means preaching the cultural values of the Christian faith. Will the truth offend somebody? Yes. Will it cost you something? Yes. Will it buffet the wickedness attacking our nation? Yes. Will Christ be pleased? Yes. I’m convinced there is still power in the blood of Jesus. You can make a difference.

I don’t have much faith in the Christian masses doing much of anything after the pain of this event is long forgotten, but I do have faith in Remnant believers and faithful men and women of God such as you. Let’s agree to be salt, light and a city set on a hill. It’s time to repent and get back to God.

Like you, I’m still grieving for these families that have been touched by this wickedness. I can’t imagine what these people are going through right now but my prayer is for the Comforter to come, the Holy Spirit, and minister the love of Christ to them. God didn’t take these children, the devil did.

Scripture gives us hope and makes it plain, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Let’s get in the gap, stand on the wall, make up the hedge and pray for our leaders, the nation, and the Church. We can turn this nation back to God. It all starts with us. Let us go up at once and possess it for we are well able.

Your partner,

(c) Apostle Jonas Clark
www.jonasclark.com

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