EXCERPTS FROM EACH CHAPTER
Mission of Kingdom Leadership Institute
Based upon these startling statistics, it is obvious that we live in an age that demands answers to perplexing dilemmas, which seek to devour the youth of the church. There are massive dangers threatening our children's lives, faith, and future. Without a biblical worldview, our young people are void of a proper grid to discern reality. Without being skilled in the practice of apologetics, our offspring cannot effectually contend for the faith in the market place of ideas. This invariably renders them defenseless against the prevailing anti-Christ philosophies, which seek to seduce them to deny Christ and depart from the faith.
Without the veracity of the Word of God, the next generation will fail to become the agents of change necessary to influence their world for Christ. In fact, as the above statistics prove, they will mostly likely defect and become emissaries of the Evil One. Without a sense of history, God's redemptive story, our posterity is inclined to forfeit their destiny in God's Kingdom. As it stands, the American culture is influencing our children; they are not influencing the culture. Their bodies may be sitting in our church pews, but their minds and lifestyle belong to another.
The Battle
Dr. Augustus Neander, in Memorials of a Christian Life, wrote:
As the whole life of the Christian, from the beginning to the end, is a conflict with the world and the powers of darkness, a conflict within and without, the kingdom of God in this world must appear as militant, and must make its way by conflict; so that often, in Holy Writ, the calling of the Christian is compared to that of the military life, and the Christian is represented as the soldier of his Lord.
This image was very clear and familiar to the first Christians. Though Christians, in later ages, may have been led to forget the nature of their calling as one of conflict, amidst external tranquility and prosperity, yet in primitive times their entire outward condition served to remind them of the spiritual warfare; for the church found itself on all sides in conflict with the heathen world, and the public profession made by Christians compelled them to take a share in this conflict.
Christians rejoiced to consider themselves as the soldiers of God and Christ (milites Dei et Christi), against the hostile powers of darkness, against everything which appeared to them as belonging to the kingdom of Satan, against the service of sin and of false gods.
The martyrs, reformers, Pilgrims, founding fathers, and every righteous person who ever sacrificed for the faith have sowed the blood, sweat, and tears to pass on to us a legacy of freedom. We are living off the fumes of their godly heritage. The capital of liberty they invested is almost gone. The demand for another investment is now upon us. The problem is that we do not possess the same degree of commitment that sustained our kingdom predecessors in the cause of Christ. A. W. Tozer commenting on this dilemma stated, "We love the old saints, missionaries, martyrs, and reformers. Our Luthers, Bunyans, Wesleys, and Asburys, etc. We will write their biographies, reverence their memories, frame their epitaphs, and build their monuments. We will do anything except imitate them. We cherish the last drop of their blood, but watch carefully the first drop of our own."
If I Perish, I Perish
In our postmodern, secular nation, Christians experience censorship, especially if perceived to threaten the political correctness of the day. Because of this sad state of affairs, Christians who serve our nation are in a precarious position. Many find themselves having to choose between their faith and their livelihood, careers, and future. Our government and culture increasingly demands Christians privatize their faith. We dare not mention the name of Jesus or the truth of his Word in the public square. If some still muster the courage to speak in his name, they face the loss of employment, denials of promotion, or public humiliation (Acts 5:28, 29).
Courage, as a Christian virtue in its rawest form, is a willingness to die if necessary for the cause of Christ. In other words, if forced to choose between one's life and one's faith, true courage would inspire the choice of faith. God has not called most of us to wear a martyr's crown. Nevertheless, all of us are called to remain faithful to the Lord in this poor fallen world. This makes the virtue of courage indispensable.
For instance, it takes courage to love Christ more than family, especially if our families reject Christ. It takes courage to remain faithful to Christ in the workplace, especially when the world demands we deny his name and censor his word to remain employed or be promoted. Most of corporate America, our government, and our media will not allow the moral standards of Christ to see the light of day, lest we offend immoral sensibilities.
It takes courage for men to reclaim the responsibilities of patriarchy and reject their natural passivity and irresponsibility. It takes courage for women to reject feminism and return to the ministry of the home, lest the Word of God suffer blasphemy. It takes courage for parents to homeschool their children when it is easier for strangers to raise them in their stead.
What is our source of liberty? In the first book of the Bible, we find its root. God said to Adam, "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat" (Genesis 2:16). Clearly, as our founding fathers articulated, our freedoms originate from God, not government. Government was instituted to protect God-given rights. Yet God also said, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17). In other words, God said, "Adam, you are free. Eat anything you want, but with one restriction."
Instead of Adam and Eve focusing on and rejoicing in all the freedom God granted them, they were increasingly drawn to that which was forbidden. America is committing the same error as Adam. We flagrantly disregard God's sovereignty and his holy laws. We foolishly exchange a biblical worldview for humanism. Arrogantly, we are justifying our wickedness by wrapping it up in the American flag. In the process, we are losing our appreciation for the freedom and blessings God has provided. Like Adam, we are forfeiting true liberty for licentiousness. It cost Adam and Eve paradise. It is costing us our country.
Proverbs 28:5 states, "Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the Lord understand all things." At first glance, this statement seems fantastic. What does it mean, those who "seek the Lord understand all things?" I can assure you it does not mean every righteous soul set free from the power of sin understands each and every mystery in life. It does not mean every Christian fully comprehends quantum physics or Einstein's theory of relativity. However, it does mean those who seek the Lord understand the basic framework and infrastructure by which life functions. The righteous understand that obedience to God's commands secures blessings, while violations generate curses. In other words, what a man sows that shall he also reap (Galatians 6:7-9).
The Brilliance of God's Law
A person who is antinomian is someone who rejects the validity of moral laws, someone who opposes or dismisses God's law. There is a distinction between strict and implicit antinomians. Strict antinomians are the unconverted, unsaved souls who show contempt by brazenly disregarding God's law. The Apostle Paul affirms this truth, "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:7). Implicit antinomians are professing Christians who hold that God's law is not relevant in the present era. They typically substitute subjective, arbitrary standards for God's clear commands. Both views are wrong biblically.
According to these passages from Deuteronomy, the greatest commandment is to love God and the greatest application of that commandment is home education. Moses declared this was not a vain thing; it was to be our life. How many Christians in America agree with Moses' assessment on the meaning of life? How many truly believe the meaning of the Christian life is to get married, have as many children God allows, and then home educate them for the glory of God and the advancement of his kingdom? (Psalm 127; Malachi 2:15).
Most Christians in America do not comprehend there is a major difference between the biblical model of education, which is relational, versus the Greek model of education, which we see in America's school systems today. The biblical model of education is discipleship and mentoring, while the Greek model is expediency, which merely views children as wards of the state. The biblical model emphasizes God at its center. The Greek model emphasizes the state. The biblical model bonds the family. The Greek model bonds children to principals, teachers, and peers. The biblical model nurtures honor for father and mother. Based upon evolution, the Greek model nurtures rebellion against father and mother. The biblical model emphasizes principle, what is right, while the Greek model emphasizes pragmatism, what works, regardless if it is right or wrong. In the Greek model, the ends can justify the means.
Patriarchy
The combination of passive males and dominating females has caused a dearth of authentic biblical manhood in America. Today, far too many think the highest virtues of manhood are sensitivity and niceness. It is as if the American culture demanded men line up at a national clinic to be neutered. Thus, many men have been emasculated and traditional masculine qualities have been weighed in the balance and found wanting in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Unfortunately, many men have willingly submitted to this feminization-feminization fueled by a Jezebel spirit. This man-hating spirit despises strong, prophetic men. It seeks to weaken, undermine, or destroy them (1 Kings 18 and 19).
A feminized man is a man who responds to situations and problems as a woman instead of a man. Tragically, this is our cultural script today. Society demands that men be more like women. What is the big payoff? Our children are filled with rage; susceptible to gangs; or suffer from sexual confusion, making them a prey for the homosexual agenda. This ungodly fruit is the result of irresponsible men and dominating females becoming the norm for society.
Authentic Biblical Femininity
As women abandon the nurturing aspect inherent in their nature and become aggressive as men, life becomes intolerable. Let us be honest, due to the fall of mankind, life is tough. In the midst of life's harshness, God designed women with specific spiritual, moral, and intellectual capabilities necessary to produce healthy, sound, and godly homes. This accounts for God highly treasuring women who exercise a meek and mild spirit (1 Peter 3:4).
A woman who radiates the beauty of her Lord has the strength and dignity to absorb the blows of life and in return provide comfort, relief, and softness in the midst of life's toil. When women do not pursue this high calling, men and children succumb to the hardness of life-a life where dog-eats-dog and only the strong survive. When women choose not to pursue God's precious vision of womanhood, there is no relief or barrier in this fleeting life.
Possessing the Gates of our Enemies
The last point I want to make in this section is how gates are captured. Lamentations 4:13 pinpoints the root cause, "For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her." The truth is legalized evil cannot rise to power unless it first passes through the sins of God's people. It was the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests that paved the way for God's foes to capture the gates of his people. In other words, a corrupt church and a tyrannical state walk hand-in-hand. You cannot have one without the other. Whenever bad theology is prevalent in the church, be assured bad behavior will soon follow. Eventually, perverted theology will negatively shape the government and culture. The Bible and history attest to this tragic reality.
Obviously, there were times in church history when she was sound, healthy, and faithful to her Lord and suffered persecution. Unfortunately, there have also been times when the church was complicit and complacent with dominant evils. During those times when the church refused to resist and overcome evil, she unwittingly became the propaganda machine for tyrants and dictators. Oppressors of mankind shrewdly utilized the church to sanitize their evil. They sought to place a religious face upon their monstrosities.
There are other materials presented in the book as well. These paragraphs are a mere sampling of the topics, principles, worldview, and history recorded. We pray they whet your appetite for more. We are sending the order form to begin the process of promoting the book. The goal is to secure the sale of 5000 copies. We will need your help to accomplish this important task. If successful, it will place us in a more stable negotiating position for our future books and increase our platform to address our nation with God's word. Whatever you can do to promote the book in your sphere of influence would be a blessing. As stated previously, encouraging churches, men's groups, homeschool venues, and youth training programs would not only help disciple those who read this manual on leadership, but will help advance our service to the Lord in a greater degree.
God blessed us with great men to endorse the book. Rev. Flip Benham wrote the foreword. William Federer, Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, Doug Phillips, and Coach Dave Daubenmire all wrote gracious endorsements. Please stand with us in prayer and thanks for all your love, prayers, and support!
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