Volume 13 Issue 7 July 1998

INDEPENDENCE DAY

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." (Galatians 5:1)

As we celebrate our two hundred twenty-second anniversary as Americans this 4th of July, I’m reminded of the profound connection between the dwindling liberty we still enjoy in our land and the truths of God’s Word. American history is replete with references concerning this divine correlation. John Quincy Adams, our 6th President declared, "The highest glory of the American Revolution was this; it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity." He went on to state on July 4th, 1837, in a speech celebrating the 61st Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration, "Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the World, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day? Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity and gave to the world the first irrevocable pledge of the fulfillment of the prophecies announced directly from Heaven at the birth of the Saviour and predicted by the greatest of the Hebrew prophets 600 years before."

According to our 6th President and many other Founding Fathers, it should be self-evident that the unprecedented freedoms that America enjoys are directly connected to the fountain of liberty that is called Christianity. John Quincy Adams had a powerful revelation that needs to be rediscovered in our day. He viewed this blessed, bountiful land, this prime real estate in the earth as reserved for the fulfillment of God’s promise to mankind. I’m sure many have questioned why there has not been any great civilizations like Egypt, Greece, or Rome on this continent? Why did all the centuries go by and this land be virtually untouched by mankind, except, of course, for the American Indians? Why didn’t this land become settled until Christians yearned for a place of true liberty, where they and their families could be free to worship God in Spirit and truth? According to John Quincy Adams, it took all those centuries, all mankind’s progress, and all the chain of human events since the birth of Christ for mankind to finally recognize the divine link between Christian principles and civil liberty.

Unfortunately for us, America’s history has either been deleted or rewritten by those who would seek to remove every vestige of Christianity from the public life of our nation. As a result, many in our culture, government, media, and academia view Christianity as a threat to liberty, instead of being its very source and sustainer. Indeed, if one would believe Hollywood and Washington DC, one would think Christianity was completely anathema to liberty. I believe those who promote that view have made themselves willingly ignorant to the truth of the Scriptures and the historical record (2 Peter 3:5). The truth is, the liberty that God offers mankind is brilliant because it is based upon the sure foundation of God’s Holy Word. It is there that mankind finds what true liberty is and what the dangers that destroy it are. First of all, God does not define liberty and freedom as man does. Man thinks to be empowered politically to do what he wants to do, when he wants to do it, is liberty. That premise always leads to anarchy. The freedom and liberty that God gives to man is the power to do what is right in His sight. It is a freedom tempered by responsibility. It is wise choices based upon truth and not based upon the whims of selfish man. It is liberty protected by the Law of God, and not the pursuit of licentiousness that is currently being passed off as American liberty today.

In fact, our unrestrained lawlessness is responsible for the loss of liberty we are now experiencing. Many blame our government for the problem. Government is the fruit of the problem, not the root. The truth is, God has warned us not to use our liberty as an excuse to sin (Galatians 5:13). In Proverbs 28:2, the Lord clearly states, "For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof." Simply put, the more lawless and morally irresponsible we become, the more rulers and bureaucrats we accumulate. By our refusal to have the eternal vigilance that’s necessary to maintain true liberty, we automatically increase the scope of civil government which intrudes into our lives and eventually crushes our freedoms. The reason for this is self-evident, we have lost the moral fortitude to handle the responsibility to sustain liberty. The bottom line is, if America is to remain free, we must reclaim our history, we must return to the faith of our fathers and must cry out to the God of all liberty who proclaims, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

THE GOD OF TOLERANCE

"Ye that love the Lord, hate evil..." ( Psalms 97:10a)

One of the major keys to destroying the yoke of bondage upon the souls of men is what the Bible calls the Anointing. It is this precious Anointing that flows from God to individuals to melt the coldness of heart and the obstacles of sin that separates men from the love of Christ. It is truly wonderful to witness this Anointing perform the physical, heart, and soul surgery that mankind so desperately needs. It is thrilling, indeed, to observe the Anointing proceed to equip Christians to become good soldiers in Christ’s Kingdom. Without question, the Anointing is a much sought out and valued commodity from Heaven. The only question that remains is, "How does one acquire this awesome gift that destroys the yoke of bondage, liberates the souls of men, heals the sick, plunders the powers of darkness and advances Christ’s Kingdom in the earth?" Obviously, one needs to be filled with God’s Spirit, for He is that precious Anointing that flows from God’s throne. But beyond the obvious, the book of Hebrews gives us some additional insight as it uses Jesus as our blessed example. The Scriptures declare in Hebrews that Jesus was anointed above all others because He loved righteousness and hated iniquity.

If this statement is true, and we know that it is, what about the American Church? Do we really love what God loves and hate what He hates? Can we really claim to love righteousness and hate iniquity? Do we really honor what is sacred, holy, and righteous in the sight of God and detest that which is profane? I believe if we were brutally honest, we would have to confess that we don’t as we should. I mean, many of us give lip service to these concepts, but our hearts are far from them. I dare say many of us even give great theological discourses to excuse our lack of loving righteousness and hating iniquity. After all, we must appear loving and non-judgmental in an age where the god of tolerance demands our obedience if the Church is to grow in America. Christians, especially, must make compromises and concessions according to the god of tolerance, so that we all might get along in this crazy world. The only problem with the compromises the god of tolerance demands is that you end up accepting what you do not believe, because you’ve lost the will to fight for what you do believe.

This truth, I believe, aptly depicts the predicament and current condition of the American Church. That is why we can stay in our churches, sing songs to Jesus, pray, pay our tithes, and not lift a finger nor speak out against the dominant evils that are polluting the land and begging for God’s judgment.

Brethren, we live in a day where the god of tolerance begs us to compromise from some pulpits, pleads with us to tolerate what God deems intolerable in the media, and teaches us in school that tolerance plus compromise=love. Brethren, nothing could be farther from the truth. That premise is a lie and those who bow the knee and kiss that image will be responsible for "loving" people straight to Hell! For the stark truth is, the opposite of tolerance is not intolerance or hatred. The opposite of tolerance is Biblical love. The Bible never mandated us to tolerate. It has, however, mandated us to love. The god of tolerance demands that we do nothing when we see people sin to their own destruction. But God’s love demands otherwise. It demands that we act. This is what Jesus did for us and we can do no less for others. If the American Church does not recapture this fundamental truth, not only will we forfeit the Anointing that destroys the yoke, but we will be defenseless and have no excuse if God decides to write "Ichabod" over the Church House Door.

OUR GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE

As I write this article, Florida is still on fire. Ten minutes after I gave the closing benediction to end "Operation Push Back" in Orlando, Central Florida erupted in flames. This phenomenon is one of the most powerful, immediate, and frightening sanctions that I have ever personally witnessed come from God upon America. To me, this is irrefutable proof that God’s patience with America is running thin. It is apparent that the days of God winking at America while she kills her babies, revels in her homosexuality, and uses her children as sexual toys is coming to an end. As a result, I felt compelled to write to the Powers that Be to help connect the dots between Operation Push Back’s warning and the subsequent fires. My prayer was to enhance the picture that God was drawing and to remind them that we specifically warned them that God destroyed Sodom and Gommorah by fire. One final note, Operation Push Back had a theme song. We sang this song every day and at nearly every location. It went something like this, "We serve a God who answers by fire," and indeed, He mostly certainly has.

Dear Honorable Mayor Glenda Hood, My name is Rusty Lee Thomas and I'm one of the national leaders of Operation Rescue National. I'm sure you are aware of our recent event in your city. It was called "Operation Push Back." The vision was to confront three gross evils that are defiling America and are currently begging for God's judgment. Those evils include child-killing, the shedding of innocent blood (you have four death camps in your area), child pornography, as promoted by Barnes and Nobles under the guise of art, and sodomy as welcomed by your city and Disney. Our prayers and hopes were that your city would hearken to the truth, repent, and receive the tender mercies of God. Unfortunately for you, Orlando, and the state of Florida, our message was despised, marginalized and punished.

We came to your city to exhort, warn, and plead with you to understand that there is a God in heaven who rules and reigns in the affairs of men. That He alone is the Sovereign Lord who has spoken through His righteous Laws concerning these despicable acts that America is flaunting in the face of a Holy God. We cried out in your streets that only God can define good and evil based upon His Law. We warned of the severe consequences that would befall America, Florida, and Orlando, if we continue to harden our hearts, stiffen our necks and sear our collective conscience to the claims of Christ and His Holy Word. For the truth is, whether we believe it or not, there is a blessing, wholeness, and soundness that accompany those who honor the God of the Bible and His Laws and conversely, there are dire calamities that await all those who spurn, reject, and break God's Law. The bottom line is, we can't make straight what God has called crooked, we can't tolerate what God deems intolerable, and it is extremely dangerous and foolish to continue to turn moral wrongs into civil rights.

Needless to say, our warnings went unheeded. Your city then proceeded to jail Christians, ban the cross of Christ, and went to great lengths to hinder our message through a godless, unconstitutional injunction. Meanwhile, your city went on to protect the child-killers, to protect the child-pornographers, and to endorse, promote, and support the sodomite agenda by hoisting their perverted flag over your city. Within ten minutes of Operation Rescue concluding our event with a benediction that I personally prayed, Central Florida went up in flames and is still burning today while you still have those flags waving in your city. Do you think that is just a coincidence? I think not! Especially, when you consider that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah by fire to serve as an example to all those who would follow in their pernicious ways (2 Peter 2:6).

Mayor Hood, I write not these things in arrogance. I'm not boasting in an "I told you so" manner. I'm genuinely concerned about America and the direction we are heading in. No nation has killed its own children and allowed homosexuality to run rampant and survived to brag about it. I fear for the future of our children and our once great nation. I plead with you to recognize that these fires, tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, gang violence, AIDS, and other assorted plagues and disasters are not a string of bad luck, nor a coincidence. These are remedial judgments sent by a Holy God upon a wicked, spoiled, and whorish nation that has abandoned Him and His Laws that once made us great. I plead with you to move swiftly to take down those flags, to call a public meeting to repent and renounce your endorsement of these abominations, to humbly ask God to forgive your city, and then to beseech the Lord to send the much needed rain upon your state.

You, along with other officials endorsed all the activities that has caused the blaze in Florida. President Clinton who added his endorsement and blessing concerning these same activities was forced to acknowledge within the week that Florida had become a "disaster area." One person said, "It looks like a living hell." Thus God's warning rings true, "The wicked shall be turned into Hell and all nations that forget God (Psalms 9:17)." For the sake of our children, for the sake of our nation, and for the sake of Orlando please do what is right before it is too late. America will go the way of other nations that were turned into rubble that defied His authority, broke His Laws, and despised His salvation. That's why it is imperative for us to turn back to find God's amazing grace, His pardon, and His healing touch to come upon our land that so desperately needs it. I am praying for you and the state of Florida that you will do what is right and that God will send the rain and refreshing you need. IN KING JESUS’ SERVICE, Rusty Lee Thomas

Brethren, we do serve a God who answers by fire. As I contemplate that truth and what has happened through "Operation Push Back," there are times I literally tremble in the Holy Fear of God. It is a sobering message, mandate, and responsibility that we carry as we go forth throughout the land. It is one that I pray we never take lightly. This past experience in Florida reminds me of God’s faithful pattern that is found in the Scriptures. In His faithfulness, compassion, and mercy, God would always send a prophetic witness to call His people back to Himself before it was too late. Unfortunately, most of the time His people would respond according to 2 Chronicles 36:16, "But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words. and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy."

You may question, just as I do, if we have indeed reached the point of no return in America. Of course, I pray that we haven’t, though I do believe it would be the height of presumption not to recognize that we are dangerously close. One thing I do know, America is currently going the way of Sodom and Gommorah. In Ezekiel, we can glean some insight as he describes the spiritual condition of Sodom that caused homosexuality and other abominations to flourish. In studying these Scriptures, we would have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to perceive this same tragic condition in America today. Pay close attention to Ezekiel’s diagnosis of the cultural backdrop that provoked the Lord’s judgment upon the land, "Behold this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good." (Ezekiel 16:49,50)

Brethren, according to God’s word, homosexuality, child-killing, and child pornography are not the root of the problem, but the fruit of the problem. The real problem is that America is arrogant, overfed and completely unconcerned with the plight of the poor, needy, and the oppressed. It is this very attitude that is fueling the abortion industry and the homosexual agenda that are vexing our souls and invoking God’s wrath upon our heads. Therefore, it behooves us, particularly American Christians, to repent of our apathy, indifference, and lethargy and once again be God’s instrument to rescue our nation before it is too late. There is good reason why God commands us to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves and to rescue those unjustly sentenced to death. Our very nation hangs in the balance. What will we do, Church? Will we give God a reason to show mercy, in the midst of these judgments? Or will we continue to live in a state of denial and watch our nation perish along with our children’s future? I believe God, our beleaguered nation, and the future of our children awaits our answer.

UPDATE ON LYNCHBURG

"And I will give you pastors according to my heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." (Jeremiah 3:15)

As you may or may not remember, we came back from Lynchburg slightly disheartened by the response or lack of response by that city and the Church to the injustice of Flip Benham’s incarceration. Like the Pharisees of old, who wondered if anything good could come out of Nazareth, so I wondered if anything good could come out of that debacle in Lynchburg. Well, lo and behold, God in His infinite mercy confirmed once and again that our labor in the Lord is not vain. The following is a summary of our time in Lynchburg and what it produced in the wake of our visit. This is written by a good friend and pastor, Richard Knodel. This precious pastor was my peg in the temple in that city. I will be forever grateful for his friendship. insight, honesty, and the courageous stand that he made for the Lord and His prisoner, Flip Benham.

"What’s the aftermath of Operation Rescue’s rally in Lynchburg during the unrighteous incarceration of OR’s National Director, Flip Benham? Here in Lynchburg, some declared that the pro-life movement was set back twenty years on account of Operation Rescue! All I can say is ‘Not from the perspective of this pastor!’

After OR National left Lynchburg, our shock led us to maintain a vigil outside the city jail for the three months of Rev. Benham’s incarceration. We also led a rally in front of the Lynchburg City Hall, when its Council met. And I, with others, began to join David and Jeanette Lytle, old-time OR supporters and pro-life workers, in their monthly witnessing in front of our area abortion hospital and Planned Parenthood clinic. There are between 25 and 40 people now whom the Lord has encouraged to become much more involved in saving children and proclaiming Christ in Lynchburg. We’ve held meetings to organize a Crisis Pregnancy Center here, and I am making preparations for witnessing at the high schools this Fall through the "God is Going Back to School" campaign.

The pro-life movement in Lynchburg has not been set back twenty years because of Flip Benham. Any number have been awakened out of their complacency, and have been energized to knock down the gates of Satan’s kingdom. All of this shows the truth of God’s Word where he declares that when we are weak, He is strong (11 Cor. 12:9). Flip allowed himself to be crucified by our pharisaical city leaders. But Christ rose up in the midst of Satan’s celebration and sowed the martyrs’ seed in many others. For this we give praise to God, and invite your continued prayers!" -Rev. Dick Knodel

My prayer is that throughout America, pastors would come to the forefront and lead this nation out of the rubble of the failed pagan utopia that is destroying our nation. God grant them a revelation that they are not just under-shepherds in their local churches, but they are to be elders in the gates and watchmen upon the walls in their cities. I would encourage all pastors to recognize that though all the world looked to Rome as the epi-center of power in the world, there in the obscure little town of Bethlehem was born the One who was sent to change the world. This same scenario is true today. Our nation looks to Washington DC for some kind of answer to lead this nation into the 21st century. Little does this nation realize that the answers she needs is not coming from the top- down, but from the bottom- up. The keys to America’s future are not in the hands of the bureaucrats in Washington, but in the hands of men of God who need to summon the courage to utilize those keys effectively. It is high time men of God step out of the caves and the Christian ghettos that we have erected to insulate us from fulfilling our destiny. We are called to be salt and light in our culture. The Church has a great destiny and a great commission to fulfill. Therefore, oh, men of God, arise and take your place to lead the Church to be the agent of change that will guide America into the new millennium!

A CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM

"At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." (Matthew 11:25)

Just the other day, my second oldest daughter, Cassia, handed me a letter that she felt compelled to write and send to President Clinton. As a father, I’m constantly praying and instructing my children to arise and fulfill their God-given destiny to possess the gates of their enemies (Psalms 127:3-5). The Lord in His infinite grace constantly gives us signs that He is watching over our children and is answering our prayers for their lives. The following letter to the president is another indication that my children truly desire is to be used of God to make a difference in their generation. Nothing can encourage a father’s and mother’s heart more than knowing the joy of their children walking in the truth and pursuing their destiny in Christ. Keep in mind that she was not coached by us to write this letter, this was from her very own heart and in her own words to reach out to a man that desperately needs the wisdom that is coming forth from the mouth of babes (Psalms 8:2).

Dear Mr. President,

I’m nine years old. I have three brothers and three sisters. We are truly Christians and if I have to, I will die for my Lord. Why don’t you give your life to Jesus, it will be much better. I know you don’t want to listen to what I’m saying, but you need to turn and change your ways and listen. Don’t make other people listen for you. I know your secrets and God knows your secrets. Please listen to me, this is going to be very important to you sooner or later. My Dad is a minister and his name is Rusty Lee Thomas. Well, I’ve got to go, please change and give your life to God.

P.S. Jesus loves you!

ELIJAH MINISTRIES’ NEW WEB SITE

"The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it." (Psalms 68:11)

Elijah Ministries has embarked on a new adventure. We are invading the Internet with a, "Thus saith the Lord." We are very excited about this wonderful opportunity to break new ground to advance the cause of Christ and His Kingdom throughout the world. It is still under construction, but it is up and running. We are already receiving reports from folks who have been touched by the Lord through this new venue of ministry. Our Web site address is: http://integracom.net/mttu/elijahmin.

Please visit and spread the word and address far and near. If you know of any good pro-life, pro-family, Christian, prophetic links be sure to see if we can link with them.

This Web site was made possible by a brother in Florida that God brought back into my life after many years at the "Operation Push Back" event. I used to pastor this man and the amazing thing is, he is still in the battle. Praise God for fruit that remains. His name is Steve Wetzel and my sincere thanks goes out to him for making this all possible. May he receive a hundred-fold return for promoting the Lord’s work through this ministry. The Lord richly bless you, Steve.

IN KING JESUS’ SERVICE,

Rusty Lee Thomas