USA Call 714
The USA stands at a crossroads at this juncture in its history. The following is a vision for the USA to enter into its greatest time of growth and influence upon nations. However, to fulfill that destiny requires a response to the present hand of God upon the nation in its present time of trial. The present trials provide the opportunity for Kingdom revival within nations instead of national decline. The answer rests with the people of this great nation. It will require a turning wholeheartedly and unreservedly to God and a changed mindset of individual and corporate values. Peter & Ann 
MERCY: Turning Judgment into Revival
A Foundation: The House, and hence nation, that has been exalted can become a by-word of devastation (2Chron. 7:20-22). This was God’s admonition to Solomon regarding the future success and survival of his Kingdom. It stands as a reminder to us all. This appearance of God to Solomon is recorded in 1Kings 9:2-9 and 2Chron. 7:12-22. However, the Chronicler (or author of Chronicles) notes what the writer of Kings left out. In searching the records to write an account of the Kings of Israel after the captivity the Chronicler found that the writer of Kings had not included a section of what the Lord said to Solomon. The Kings account in verse 3 contains the first part of verse 12 in the Chronicles account and the essence of verse 16 in the Chronicles account. The part left out of the Kings account is very important and its significance was not lost on the Chronicler, who wrote after the decline of the nation and its captivity.
This portion noted by the Chronicler shows that the nation could have been recovered if Solomon had taken note of all that the Lord said. However, the lack of reference in the Kings account implies that Solomon ignored what the author of Chronicles noted and included as significant. The Chronicler had the benefit of hindsight and understanding of what took place in the nation following the reign of Solomon. The nation that achieved incredible wealth, power and influence that impacted the known world under Solomon was fractured and became slaves among the nations that had previously revered them. It was a decline of mammoth proportions and viewed in the hindsight of many generations the Chronicler took note of what the writer of Kings had not included. The following is the text that should appear in the middle of verse 3 of the Kings account; “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.” 2Chron. 7:13-15.
Solomon was exhorted by God to walk in the footsteps of his father David who lived and walked in the ways of God. David was highlighted to him as an example of a person who walked with integrity before God. Solomon was warned that if he allowed the nation to descend into a lifestyle that dishonored God then success would be a distant memory. The account of the reign of Solomon recorded in the Book of Kings takes note of what it was that led to Solomon allowing such a decline to take place. In 1Kings 11:1-4 the writer notes that Solomon’s failure to discipline and control his carnal desires led to his own heart losing focus of divine destiny. He then led his nation into the same state and the result of a pleasure-focused life was decay and decline. The generation that followed David (i.e. Solomon’s generation) became materially successful, prosperous, influential and powerful. The generation that followed Solomon was fractured, self-centered, a joke among nations and entered a time of national decay. Therefore, the success and prosperity of Solomon was built on the back of David’s character. It is a mistake to assume it is built on the back of Solomon’s charisma and gifting. The gifts and charisma of Solomon create the opportunity for the conversion of potential but did not create the potential in the first place.
The entire text of Deuteronomy 8 is devoted to exhorting both leaders and the people in making sure to remember this distinction in the midst of any prosperity. In essence the chapter states that God led the people so as to form good character in their lives that would become the basis of material success, which in turn He would enable them to enjoy. However, at the zenith of success and prosperity comes this caveat (taken from Deut. 8:10-20); “When you have eaten and are full…beware that you do not forget the Lord your God…when your heart is lifted up…then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth’…you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth…” The power of this caveat is that to ignore it is to begin down the path of destruction and decline. This is the path the Solomon generation took, which became the heritage of their children.
Not Perfection but How You Handle Imperfection
It is important to note that the David generation was far from perfect. In fact David as the father of Solomon had the same problem with disciplining his desires. He made mistakes, got things wrong and committed deliberate acts of disobedience as well as abuse of power as a leader. Yet he is held up to the son, Solomon, as an example of how to establish a kingdom that can outlive him and outgrow his achievements. The text noted by the Chronicler is the key; it is how you handle these things when you become aware of them or they are brought into the open. It is a reminder to leaders that highlights where the success is coming from so that they can effectively lead the people.
It is vital to remember where the success has come from as “…riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle toward heaven.” Prov. 23:5. Those who make their point of security their wealth have already lost their footing; “He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage.” Prov. 11:28. The key to recovery of standing is simply; “… if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2Chronicles 7:14. It is this exhortation and admonition that Solomon forgot but that the Chronicler took note of, having discovered it in the records from the time of Solomon.
The text of 2Chronicles 7:14 shows that the response is in two directions. There should be a turning to God and a turning from the behavior that has formed the core of the problem. The first step in turning from undesirable behavior is repentance, which is a change of mind and this results in a change of behavior. As a result national recovery comes from individuals adopting a Spirit empowered and biblically based renewed mindset and then employing integrity to implement that mindset. This will lead to a recovery of individual character that forms the core of resurgence of the nation and sustainable success.
USA Call 714: The Turning Point of History
The Lord tied my own journey to this point in history from the beginning of my life as a Christian. In 1973 one week after a life changing encounter with Jesus Christ and becoming a Christian the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart as I stood in a church service. I remember the occasion and what He said so clearly as it was the first time He spoke to me about His plans for my life. The pastor of our church was talking about up coming ministry planned for a series of meetings that involved a preacher from America. As I stood listening the Holy Spirit suddenly said to my heart; “Shouldn’t I do something for that great nation wherein dwell so many people.” I felt an immediate sense of mission for the USA, however, over the next few weeks I discovered that such a mission seemed unnecessary, much like sending ice to the Antarctic. I felt I had somehow misheard or misunderstood what God had said as in my naïveté, and lack of church background, I had not realized that America was almost considered the centre of Christianity in the modern protestant world. This was in the beginnings of the Charismatic movement that would sweep the world, which in those days largely emanated from North America. It seemed highly unlikely that God would send a person who at that time had very limited knowledge and experience.
It was some time later that I was listening to a sermon on the prophet Jonah when the Lord expanded on what He had said to me. The speaker was highlighting that the reason God had sent Jonah was His concern for the people of that city of Nineveh. As the preacher read Jonah 4:11, where the Lord gives Johan His reasoning for sending Jonah, when he read these words from the King James Version “…should I not spare Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than sixscore thousand persons…” I suddenly knew in that instant that this was the basis of what the Spirit had said to me about America. However, it was the rest of the verse that grabbed my attention at that moment; “…who cannot discern between their right hand and their left…” As time went by I essentially forgot about the incident as it just didn’t seem relevant and abandoned all thought of mission to the US.
Although I could not shake the encounter with the Spirit and what I believed He said to me I never gave serious consideration to a call in relationship to the USA. It was 30 years later in 2003 when the Lord suddenly awoke this sense of mission again in my heart. In the aftermath of the Iraq war with many others I had been listening to numerous speeches by leaders from America, Britain and Australia about what was occurring. One day as I sat listening to a speech I noted that what was being emphasized was that the main object in the present conflicts was to bring ‘democracy to the world’ and establish a rule of law. As this was said the Spirit again spoke directly to me and said “you who make your boast in the law do you dishonor God by breaking the law.” I immediately knew that this was essentially a bible text and went and looked it up, finding that it was almost word for word the English text of Romans 2:23. I also knew that this was the why the verse from Jonah had grabbed my attention even though I didn’t understand the significance at the time. The Lord was referring to the fact that how things appeared on the surface and how He saw things beneath the surface had become completely different. Success and prosperity can create a ‘fog’ that hides any developing duplicity between belief and behavior.
I believe that the Lord used the Iraq war to draw the USA into a place of judgment on the very thing that it, as a nation, was making its boast. The first chapter of the Book of James raises and examines the issue of the double-minded person, Jam. 1:6-8. The crux of the problem is found in James 1:21-27 that highlights that a person should be a doer of the word not just a hearer. The person who is ‘a hearer only’ becomes double-minded and can’t even see their own true state due to a cloak of religion. This lack of clear vision leads to a situation highlighted in James chapter 2 where such people, when they move in judgment of others, bring themselves unwittingly into judgment. However, this should also sound a note of caution to those who would then stand in judgment of the USA for in so doing they will bring themselves into judgment. The Lord is bringing the western world and society into judgment, however, rather than a decline this judgment can be the basis of a revival throughout all nations.
Mercy: Turning Judgment into Revival
I began to pray for the USA and about this judgment, as I believed with all my heart that the survival and continuing influence of the USA was important to western Christianity. I also felt burdened that the USA had done so much for Christian mission and from the heart of Christ had done much to alleviate human suffering in nations. One morning in my time of prayer as I was burdened before the Lord about the unfolding judgment that was coming (and since that time has been steadily unfolding) when again the Spirit spoke clearly to my heart. The Spirit suddenly broke into my prayer declaring these words “mercy triumphs over judgment.” Again knowing that this was essentially a text I used a concordance and found it is indeed the English text of James 2:13. Furthermore, the verb ‘to triumph’ or ‘to rejoice’ is present tense, which means that in an ongoing way mercy will be able to triumph over judgment and hence mercy can turn judgment into revival.
This is the message of the Lord. At this time the USA has entered a vital phase in its relationship with God and stands at a critical point in its history. As with the case of Solomon everything is on the line, if answers are found the ‘kingdom’ can continue and grow to new heights, expand and become even more powerful and influential than before; if there is a return to the Lord and His ways. If not it will go the way of all empires and the way of Solomon. The Solomon generation has its fate within its own hands and 2Chronicles 7:14 presents a fulcrum point so that mercy can turn judgment into revival. It is time for the USA to Call 714(2Chron. 7:14)