DID A MESSIANIC PSALM PREDICT JESUS' RESPONSE TO THE OLYMPIC OPENING CEREMONY?

Like many of you I was very troubled and angry that in the Olympics opening ceremony in Paris, France, there was an allusion to the famous painting of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci that included drag queens and sexual debauchery. The allusion is quite obvious despite denials by some involved.

That they knew exactly what they were doing was confirmed by the respected digital news organization, "The Wrap." Their headline for a story carried on Yahoo News reads, "Paris Olympics Producers Say 'The Last Supper' Inspired the Opening Ceremony Scene: Many Have Done it Before." 

The show was an intentional mockery of Christianity and of Christ Himself. It  brought swift condemnation from Catholic leaders in France and from Mike Johnson the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Donald Trump, and many other Christian leaders including, Franklin Graham who quoted Galatians 6:7, which reads, “Be not deceived, God is not mocked.”

I was very troubled until I was reminded of Psalm 2:1-5, which gives us a clue to how God may have responded to their antics. This is a Messianic Psalm concerning the coming Messiah and how He responds to the opposition that arises against Him. It reads,

Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel against the LORD and against His Anointed [Messiah], saying, Let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us. He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the LORD shall hold them in derision.

The One who "sits" in the heavens is Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah who is destined to rule the earth. Throughout the New Testament we are told of His ascension into the heavenlies where He now "sits" at the right hand of God with all authority in heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18; Ephesians 1:20-23; Hebrews 1:3).

Those who "plot" against Him are all those who are opposed to His reign as the Chosen One of God, and this includes the creators of this opening ceremony at the Olympics. They consider Christian morality to be "bonds" and "cords" that hinder them from living the fleshly, narcissistic lifestyles they have chosen. They are determined to break those bonds in pieces.

The Psalm says that the response of the One seated in heaven is that He “laughs.” It is a laugh of derision and scorn. It is like, “These puny, little human beings. What will they try next?” He is neither intimidated nor bothered. From His exalted throne, their activities are so childish, futile and foolish that He shakes His head and LAUGHS.

So, don’t let this situation get under your skin. Remember the greatness and majesty of our Messiah-King who is seated at the right hand of God with all authority in heaven and in earth. Remember that He is destined to rule the nations, and of His kingdom there will be no end (Isaiah 9:6-7).

Because we know the tragic end of all those who blaspheme His name and oppose His reign, it may be that they are to be pitied more than anything, for the Psalmist goes on to describe what happens after He laughs.

The LORD shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure.

So, more than ever, let us continue to proclaim the Good News of Jesus our King, offering forgiveness and new life for all who will embrace Him as their Savior and Messiah. 

Dr. Eddie Hyatt is an author, revivalist, and ordained minister. This article is derived in part from his book, Discovering the Real Jesus, available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com.

THE KEY TO LIVING FREE

"You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

Jesus 

"Truth" is an indispensable weapon we mut continually utilize in the spiritual battle in which we are engaged. The enemy seeks to steal, kill and destroy with his lies, half-truths and deceptions. It is the truth that dispels those lies and frees us to walk victoriously as more than conquerors in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:37). Consider the following examples.

Set Free by the Truth

 I was leading praise and worship when I saw Tom come through the door looking very despondent and oppressed. This was very unusual because he was one of the most enthusiastic members of our fledgling congregation and normally arrived at church 30-45 minutes early.

Tonight, however, he had arrived late and now stood with his head down and his arms folded across his chest. This was so unlike him and I thought to myself, "I wonder what has happened to Tom today?"

Shortly thereafter, he interrupted the proceedings and asked, "Would you all pray for me? I am all bound up!" Normally I would have invited him to come forward and we would have prayed for him. However, I suddenly saw that if we prayed for him to be free, we would be acknowledging the lie a demon had planted in his mind that he was all bound up.

It all happened so quickly that I was surprised at how I responded. The words of Jesus in John 8:38 flashed into my mind and I emphatically replied, "No! We are not going to pray for you.” I then said, “Jesus said that whom the Son sets free is free indeed. You take your liberty!"

Tom thrust his hands into the air and began praising God and a spiritual explosion occurred. Suddenly the entire congregation exploded with clapping and shouts of praise to God. This went on for at least the next 10 minutes. It was awesome! Tom shouted praises along with the others. His very countenance changed. He was free!

What set Tom free? A prayer? A certain healing technique? No, it was the truth of God’s Word. When Tom heard the declaration of freedom and responded to it, we all experienced a level of freedom we had not known.

The Truth Set Roger Free from a Tormenting Past.

We must remember that Satan and demons have no real authority against the Church and individual believers. Satan can control people only to the extent that he can deceive them with lies and deceptions. This is why Jesus said in John 8:31-32, If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.

During this same pastorate, I dropped by the home of Roger, knowing that he was in a state of despair. Roger had grown up in an atmosphere filled with drugs, violence and immorality. He never knew the identity of his father. As an adult, he had had a very powerful encounter with the Lord and committed his life to Jesus. His past, however, continued to haunt him, bringing doubts about his standing with God and his own ability to walk in freedom and liberty.

The problem seemed to be exasperated by teaching he heard concerning generational curses, i.e., that family curses are passed down from one generation to the next. People attempted to help him by ministering deliverance, the healing of memories and by breaking generational curses. Nothing, however, produced lasting results, and he seemed to sink further into despair and defeat.

As we sat down in his living room, I felt impressed to read a passage from the book of Ezekiel. We both opened our Bibles and I read aloud Ezekiel 18:1-20 which is all about the fact that children will not bear the guilt of the sins of their fathers. We came to vs. 20 which says, The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

I had never seen Roger express any emotion in church, but at this point he leaped from his chair and began dancing a "jig" around the room, shouting and praising God. From that moment he was free. I saw him 20 years later and he was still free. What set him free? The truth of God’s word! You shall know the truth, Jesus said, And the truth shall make you free (Jn. 8:32).

Maintaining Our Freedom.

It is one thing to obtain our freedom; quite another to maintain it. Jesus told of an unclean spirt going out of a person and later returning and finding the house in which he once dwelt to be “empty,” or as the NIV says, “unoccupied.”

The point is that if a person receives deliverance through someone else’s prayer, they will have to maintain that freedom by being filled with Holy Spirit and renewing their mind in God’s word. According to Jesus, the demon will return seeking to regain entrance and bring seven more spirits with him. (Matthew 12:43-45).

This passage was in my mind when a woman came to me asking that I cast the demons out of her. This was my first time to meet her, but I knew of her reputation as one who had been to numerous churches and pastors with the same request. Many had tried to help her, but to no avail.

I decided not to go down that same path and encouraged her to sit in our meetings and have her faith built by God’s word before I prayed for her. "We can get the devil off of you and out of you," I said. "No problem!" I then explained that if she did not know how to walk in her authority in Christ, she would be back in the same condition and running here and there looking for someone to set her free.

She rejected my advice and walked away saying, "You don't understand! You don't understand." Many people, like her, are looking for some apostle, prophet or evangelist to pray a prayer that will solve all their problems. The real key is to know the truth and walk in it.

We Need a "Back to the Bible" Revival

In His great high priestly prayer recorded in John 17, Jesus prayed for His followers that God would, Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth (John 17:17). God's word is the great fountain and source of truth. No wonder that the great church historian, Philip Schaff, said, “Every new progress in church history is conditioned by a new and deeper study of the Scriptures.” 

Martin Luther learned the power of the truth of God’s word in his work of reforming the church. Many wondered how he, a lowly monk and professor of theology, could have such an impact on the church and the world, causing popes and emperors to tremble. In a sermon, preached in 1522, Luther explained, saying,

I simply taught, preached, wrote Gods Word; otherwise, I did nothing. The Word so weakened the papacy that never a prince or emperor did such damage to it. I did nothing. The Word did it all.

The great Methodist Revival that transformed Great Britain and early America, began with John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield and others at Oxford University studying the Greek New Testament each evening from 6 – 9 pm. John Wesley expressed his passion for God’s word when he wrote,

Oh, give me that book! At any price give me the book of God. I have it; here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be, “A man of one book.”

The Azusa Street Revival is known for the gifts of the Holy Spirit that were manifested such as tongues, healings, and miracles. We must not, however, overlook the fact that it was also a "Back to the Bible" revival, and this was a key to the revival's power and success.  For example, in the September 1907 issue of the Apostolic Faith, the leaders at Azusa wrote,

We are measuring everything by the Word, every experience must measure up with the Bible. Some say that is going too far, but if we have lived too close to the Word, we will settle that with the Lord when we meet Him in the air.

If we would be a free people, we must  be a people of the Book. We must keep before us the words of Jesus in John 8:31-32, If you continue in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.

Dr. Eddie Hyatt is the author of numerous books including 1726: The Year that Defined America, which documents how America was birthed out of a Great Spiritual Awakening, and Angels of Light, which shows how to recognize and discern the workings of demons whom Paul says transform themselves into angels of light. These and other books he has authored are available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com.

SAVE AMERICA AND THE STORY BEHIND THE BOOKS

   

In December of 2023 I asked the Lord, "Is there anything new for 2024?" I immediately heard in my heart, "Save America." I took it very personal but also as a general call going out to every one who loves America that it is time to take a stand. I also knew it was a continuation of the call I received in 2010 to write God back into America's history. 

The 2010 call, which I delineate in this article, led to the writing and publication of the above five books on the topic. Since this recent call to "Save America," I have sensed a renewed incentive to get these books into the hands of as many people as possible, especially Christian and political leaders.

If America's future is to be saved, her lost Christian heritage must be recovered, for as George Orwell said in his classic, 1984, "Whoever controls the past, controls the future." I am not the only one addressing this topic, but I think my approach may be unique in that I have emphasized the role of the Great Awakening in both the founding of America and the ending of slavery.

I Thought God Was Through with America

Ever since my commitment to Christ over 50 years ago, I have been a student and proponent of Revival. I wrote the book, 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity, which documents Holy Spirit revival throughout church history, and it is used in colleges and seminaries around the world. In doing this research I had studied the Great Awakenings in America and held out hope of seeing it happen again.

By 2010, however, I had given up hope of America ever seeing another great, national spiritual awakening. The revivals of the 1990s, it seemed, had become self-serving and powerless to stem the cultural and moral decline of the nation. Although I believed there could still be individual and local revivals, I had reluctantly succumbed to the popular eschatological idea that there would not be another great revival. I thought that America’s time in the sun was over and done.

Surprised by the Holy Spirit

That all changed, however, in the fall of 2010 when I experienced a seven-hour visitation of God that completely upended my thinking in this regard. It began on a sunny September day  when I began a two-hour drive from Tulsa, OK to Kingfisher, OK where I would be preaching the following day in a Sunday morning service.

Without any anticipation of such a thing happening, I suddenly felt enveloped in God’s presence. At the same time, the Holy Spirit began flooding mind and heart with thoughts of hope and faith that America “could” see another great, national spiritual awakening that would impact the culture, stem the tide of secularism, and alter the course of the nation.

As I drove along the highway, I was hardly aware of my surroundings. By the time I arrived at my hotel, my heart was so full I could hardly contain myself. I could hardly wait to open my notebook PC and began writing down the thoughts that continued to flood my mind. That experience lasted far into the night as I sat on the hotel bed and prayed, praised God and wrote.

The Fruit of That Experience

Two significant changes came out of that experience. Firstly, my hope for America was renewed and I knew that God was not finished with her. Secondly, I saw for the first time that the First Great Awakening had a direct bearing on the founding of this nation. I saw that America had had an overt Christian birth.

I knew this had to be put in writing but I also knew there was much research to be done. More than once I was  amazed at how I was providentially led to resources to confirm the vision I had seen, and to fill out the historical narrative documenting America’s spiritual birth. After two years of research and writing, I published America’s Revival Heritage in 2012 and it was very well received. 

When America’s Revival Heritage sold out, and I began an edit for republication, there was so much new material that it soon became obvious that a new book was emerging. As a result, I published Pilgrims and Patriots, which expanded the historical narrative of America’s spiritual birth and showed, in even more detail, the role of prayer and the Great Awakening in her founding. Then came a small 38-page volume entitled 5 Pillars of the American Republic.

In 2019 I began sensing a stirring in my spirit to take the research I had done and add a chapter on slavery, showing how the Great Awakening also had a direct bearing on the ending of slavery on this continent. I was again amazed at the historical resources that I discovered to complete this task and it soon  became clear that an entirely new book was in the making.

As I was writing, I read about the New York Times' 1619 Project supposedly to honor the 400 year anniversary of the first African slaves being brought to this land in 1619. The producers of this project claimed that America's true founding was 1619, not 1776, and that she was forever defined by slavery and racism. 

When I read this I said aloud, "No! No! America was not defined by 1619; America was defined by 1726." That was the year the Great Awakening began, which ignited a powerful anti-slavery movement at a time slavery was accepted and practiced in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and much of the world. I decided to entitle the book, 1726, with the subtitle, The Year that Defined America. Out of this research I then wrote and published a smaller book entitled America's Abolitionist Founding Fathers.

Why this is Important

Secularist and Marxist historians have re-written America's history leaving out the prominence of faith and prayer, and painting the founders as evil men who formed America to protect their wealth and maintain slavery. School children are being taught to despise and hate America. This is part of the bigger Marxist strategy for the takeover of a nation without firing a shot, for as Karl Marx said, "People without a heritage are easily persuaded." 

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who spent eight years in a Soviet labor camp and observed how the communists sought to remove the Russian people from their Christian past, wrote, "To destroy a people you much first sever their roots." And the Pulitzer Prize winning historian, Carl Sandburg, said, "When a nation goes down, or a society perishes, one condition may always be found; they forgot where they came from."

These books are a stark reminder of where we came from as a nation.  These books will help us reclaim our Christian heritage and dispel the lies that are being propagated about America's origins. They will also stir our hearts to pray and believe for another Great Awakening to sweep across the land.

These books, and more, are available from Amazon and our website at www.eddiehyatt.com. I have also created an exciting PowerPoint presentation about America's birth out of a Great Spiritual Awakening. If you would like to schedule me to present this at your church, school or event, send an email to dreddiehyatt@gmail.com.

THE ROLE OF RELIGION AND MORALITY IN A FREE REPUBLIC

On Thursday evening, Donald Trump Trump closed a Republican National Convention, filled with prayers and expressions of faith in Jesus Christ, with a speech in which he said, "I am here by the grace of Almighty God." It was too much "God" for many Democrats and one liberal journalist derisively wrote, "Though the RNC meant to pitch a big tent, it ended up being a tent revival."  

This, of course, has reignited arguments about the role of religion, particularly Christianity, in American politics. Also, the attempted assassination of Trump has renewed arguments about the need to curtail rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution, such as freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. 

Those who want to limit these rights argue that unregulated hate speech can stir violent reactions, often with guns, and laws must be put in place to limit and regulate both. Opponents argue that this would be a violation of rights guaranteed in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. 

America's Founders Had the Answer

America’s founders had an answer to this problem, but from a completely different perspective. The restraints they advocated were religious and moral. They believed that only a religious and moral people would be capable of enjoying the freedoms they had enshrined in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. An irreligious and amoral people, they believed, would turn freedom into lawlessness and anarchy.

This is why George Washington, in his 1796 Farewell Address, urged the new nation to maintain "religion" and "morality," which he called "indispensable" supports for national prosperity. Interestingly, Washington did not see religion as something to be "tolerated," but as something "indispensable" for the life of the nation.

In this same Address, Washington called religion and morality “those great pillars of human happiness” and he warned against indulging the supposition that morality could be had apart from religion. “Both reason and experience,” he said, “forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle” (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 165).

By "religion" Washington meant Christianity, and like the other Founders, he believed that only Christianity provided the intellectual and moral underpinnings for a stable and prosperous society. John Adams made this clear in a 1798 speech in which he said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other.”

Thomas Jefferson completely agreed with Washington's Farewell Address and he made it required reading at the University of Virginia, which he had founded. Jefferson also said, "The philosophy of Jesus is the most sublime and benevolent code of morals ever offered to man. A more beautiful or precious morsel of ethics I have never seen."

Indeed, the Founders believed that the teachings of Jesus and the entire Bible would awaken the best in the human heart and be a constraining force on the baser elements of human nature. This is why Dr. Benjamin Rush, member of the Continental Congress and signer of the Declaration of Independence, declared,

The only foundation for a republic is to be laid in Religion. Without this there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 163).

Understanding the First Amendment

The opening clause of the First Amendment says, “Congress shall make no law concerning the establishment of religion nor hindering the free exercise thereof.” This was not a rejection of religion, for the day after ratifying the First Amendment, those same Founders proclaimed a national day of prayer and thanksgiving.

The First Amendment merely blocked Congress from ever establishing a European-style, official state church. The First Amendment created in America a free and open marketplace for the exchange and propagation of religious ideas and teachings without government interference. 

The Founders believed such religious liberty, influencing every part of society, to be necessary for a stable and prosperous nation. And this was still the American way in 1831 when the French sociologist, Alexis de Tocqueville, visited America to study her institutions.

After spending six months travelling throughout the land, he concluded that Americans had so merged Christianity with civil liberty in their thinking that it was impossible to make them conceive of one without the other. He wrote, "From the beginning, politics and religion contracted an alliance which has never been dissolved." These facts led the late Dr. Michael Novak to declare, 

Far from having a hostility toward religion, the Founders counted on religion [Christianity] for the underlying philosophy of the republic, its supporting ethic, and its reliable source of rejuvenation (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 171).

The Choice for America is Clear

Fast forward to 2024 and for the past 70 years America has been in the process of eradicating the very things -- Religion and Morality -- her Founders said would preserve her. Crosses, Christian symbols, and Ten Commandments displays  have been systematically removed from public properties. Prayer and Bible reading have been banned from public schools. 

The consequences have been devastating with failing test scores, moral confusion, and horrendous school shootings. This is why it is so refreshing to read of Louisiana  requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in the public classroom. Other states, including Texas, are promising to follow suit. 

This could signal a turn in the direction that will save America from the deadly, un-American idea that the answer for every problem is more government regulation. As James Madison is reported to have said,

We have staked the whole future of the American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future . . . upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots (Second Edition), 172).

After watching the RNC this week, I would say that the choice for America is quite clear. We will either choose leaders who believe we should be a free people, governed from within by Christian principles of morality and ethics, or we will choose leaders who want to control us from without with burdensome laws and tyrannical authority. As William Penn put it, "Those who will not be governed by God, must be ruled by tyrants."

Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt is the author of 1726: The Year that Defined America from which the above article has been derived. He is on a quest to "Save America"  by reconnecting this current generation with the nation's severed roots in Faith and Freedom. His books are available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com. 

THE MARXIST PLAN TO TAKE OVER AMERICA

And How We Can Stop It

A vital part of the Marxist strategy to take over a nation is to rewrite its history and thereby destroy its heritage. Karl Marx himself said, “People without a heritage are easily persuaded.” Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who spent eight years in a Soviet labor camp, observed how the Marxist Bolshevik’s separated the Russian people from their Christian past, and wrote, “To destroy a people you must first sever their roots.”

If America is to survive, we must reclaim our Christian heritage, which secularist and Marxist historians have destroyed by rewriting our history. Modern textbooks leave out the significant roles of faith and prayer in the founding of this nation. In their place, they emphasize the influence of the secularist Enlightenment out of Europe, and of slavery, and they demonize the founders as wicked and evil men.

As a result, a generation has arisen that knows little or nothing of America’s true founding out of the Great Awakening, which spiritually and morally transformed Colonial America and had a direct bearing on both founding of this country and the ending of slavery on this continent. We are now at the place Carl Sandburg, a Pulitzer Prize winning historian, spoke about when he said,

When a nation goes down or a society perishes, one condition may always be found; they forgot where they came from. They lost sight of what had brought them along.

Yes, the political fight is very important and every Christian should vote on November 5. However, another election will not save America. If America is to be saved, we must reclaim our Christian Heritage. And we must do it now, for as Ronald Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”

In 2010 God supernaturally called me to play an important part in reclaiming America’s Christian Heritage. Since that time have written five books documenting how the Great Awakening, birthed in faith and prayer, had a direct bearing on both the founding of this nation and the ending of slavery on this continent. I have also just completed a 5-Lesson PowerPoint course based on these writings.

The challenge now is to get them into the hands of as many people possible between now and November 5. If you are not already partnering with us through Hyatt Int’l Ministries, I ask you to prayerfully consider partnering with us in prayer and a monthly financial gift until the end of this year.

This will enable us to get these materials into the hands of as many people as possible, including political and Christian leaders, between now and November 5. The America of Washington, Jefferson, Douglass, and King can be saved!

Eddie Hyatt

To give by Paypal, go to our website and click the Donate button in the top right corner. http://eddiehyatt.com/

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Send checks to Save America - P.O. Box 3877 - Grapevine, TX 76099

AMERICA'S CHRISTIAN BIRTH: THE UNTOLD STORY

Below are five outstanding PowerPoint videos that document how America was birthed out of a Great Spiritual Awakening, which also unleashed anti-slavery outrage that turned America's Founders against slavery and brought about the end of slavery on the American Continent.

The Original American Vision - Lesson 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIu0EigwDMQ
We have been taught that the first immigrants to this land, such as the Pilgrims, were fleeing religious persecution. That is true, but that is only part of the story. There was also a proactive vision that was drawing them to America.

The Great Awakening - Lesson 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVF2c4xyauY
Beginning in 1726, a great, spiritual awakening engulfed the American colonies with entire towns repenting and turning to God. Benjamin Franklin wrote, "It seemed as if the whole world was growing religious so that one could not walk through the town in an evening without hearing Psalms being sung by families on every street."

Slavery and the Great Awakening - Lesson 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLfyTt-kbXw
The Great Awakening ignited a powerful anti-slavery movement that resulted in America's Founding Fathers turning against slavery at a time that it was accepted and practiced in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and most of the world.

A Nation is Born from the Awakening - Lesson 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0nX0QsU3po
The impact of the Great Awakening is obvious in America's founding because of the prominence of Bible reading and prayer in all the proceedings.

America's Founding Fathers - Lesson 5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt0WXKXjXyc
This lesson is an overview of the Founding Fathers, their character and faith, and what it was that set them apart from the rest of society.

The textbooks for this course are available from Amazon and Eddie's website at http://eddiehyatt.com. If you would like to invite Dr. Hyatt to present one or all of these teachings in your church or venue, contact him at DrEddieHyatt@gmail.com. 

THE PROUD AND ARROGANT ARE COMING DOWN

While preaching and elaborating on the dramatic encounter of Saul of Tarsus with Jesus on the Damascus Road, something unusual happened. As I began commenting on Acts 9:6, something stirred deep in my heart. I suddenly stopped in the middle of my message and found myself praying, “O God, bring down the proud and arrogant leaders in our nation, both political and religious.”

Acts 9:6, where this experience occurred, reads, So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do you want me to do” Saul, who was on his way to Damascus to arrest followers of Jesus, had been struck down by a bright light from heaven. Lying in the dust, he heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? Astonished and trembling, he inquired as to the identity of the voice and heard, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting (Acts 9:5).

As I elaborated on these passages, I was so taken at how shattered Paul must have been lying in the dust of the Damascus Road, having encountered the risen Lord. His world had suddenly been turned upside down. It was at that moment that I spontaneously prayed to God that He would bring down the proud and arrogant leaders in our nation, both political and religious.

God Hates Pride

God hates pride and both James 4:6 and I Peter 5:5 quote Proverbs 3:34 that warns, God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Paul warned against putting a novice (one new to the faith) into a place of leadership, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil (I Timothy 3:6).

Pride is deadly because it asserts the “self” or ego against God. The middle letter of pride is “I.” Pride is the root of all sin, for the end of all sin is self-gratification. It was pride that brought down the beautiful archangel, Lucifer. It was pride that caused our first parents to declare their independence from God and think they could be gods and make it on their own.

Their prideful action plunged the world into what is theologically known as the fall, which opened the door to sin, evil and death. No wonder that Proverbs 16:18 warns, Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Pride Destroys Revival

Charles Finney, who has been called the Prince of Revivalists, commented on how in the midst of a revival Christians often “sin against their own mercies,” because they get lifted up with their success, take the credit to themselves, and do not give glory to God.” He further elaborated, saying,

Perhaps it has been published in the papers what a great revival there has been in that church, so that they begin to think how high they will stand in the estimation of other churches all over the land, because they have had such a great revival. And they get puffed up and vain and they can no longer enjoy the presence of God. The Spirit of God withdraws from them, and the revival ceases.

Some years ago I was sitting in a “Revival Now” conference when I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to bow down before the Lord. I considered how to respond for it was during a time when people were being invited to come forward and stand to receive prayer. The urge to bow before the Lord intensified and I finally turned and bowed at my seat. As soon as my knees touched the floor, I heard the voice of the Lord saying,

I am going to be doing some incredible things in the days ahead; and when you see My power and My glory, this is to always be your posture. You are to bow down and acknowledge that I am the Sovereign Lord of this universe.”

I believe God is dealing with pride in America and in the American church. The proud and arrogant are coming down. Isaiah 33:11 says, The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled and human pride brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

The Power of Humility & Prayer

I have done extensive research into America’s origins, and one thing that has deeply impressed me was their emphasis on both “prayer and humiliation.” For several generations, the first immigrants to America, and later America’s founders, would set aside days for what they called “prayer and humiliation.”

It was not a time of groveling or self-flagellation, but a time of confessing the sin of pride and the sin of trusting in themselves and their own strength instead of totally relying on the Lord. Out of their days of “prayer and humiliation” emerged the most powerful nation on earth.

We should not be surprised for God promises that those who will humble themselves, He will exalt. I Peter 5:6 says, Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time. Isaiah 66:3 says, These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word (NIV).

It is time that we as American Christians humbled ourselves before God, confessed that in our pride we have relied on our own strength and talents, and confess how much we need Him. This is necessary if we are to see another Great Awakening across the land. On the other hand, if we do not humble ourselves, we can expect to be humbled. The proud and arrogant are coming down.

 Dr. Eddie Hyatt is an author, revivalist and Bible teacher. His books, 1726: The Year that Defined America and America's Revival Heritage (Second Edition) document the power of prayer and humility in the founding of America. They are available from Amazon and his website at http://eddiehyatt.com.