July 4th, we Americans celebrate the Declaration Of Independence and the birth of our nation. More important than picnics and fireworks we need to reconnect with the heart-cry of our Founding Fathers and the holy destiny they foresaw for the nation. In fervent, agonizing prayer the people of America need to ask God to restore to us our ancestor’s vision of a “Nation under God.” I refer to such examples as in 1776 when Samuel Adams, the last delegate to put his signature to the Declaration of Independence, exclaimed: "We have this day restored the Sovereign. He reigns in Heaven, and from the rising to the setting of the sun, may His kingdom come!" It was Adams’ expectation, with many others, that this nation’s liberties would become a visible expression of the Kingdom of God.

Patrick Henry, who made his famous nighttime ride to warn the Colonists of the approaching British troops, said, "America was not founded by religionists, nor on any religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ." His claim reflected the position of the Founding Fathers favorite political philosopher, John Locke, who said, "As men, we have God for our King, and are under the Law of Reason; as Christians, we have Jesus the Messiah for our King, and are under the law revealed by Him in the Gospel."

Later, President John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the United States, 1825-1829, affirmed the spiritual concept of the Declaration Of Independence when he said it “laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity." He went on to explain, "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.” Of the Nation’s next great document, Adams declared, "Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other." Of the 55 framers of the Constitution at least 50 were practicing Christians. James Madison, a chief contributor to the Constitution, said, "We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government but upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."

A century-and-a-half before Madison, in 1620, when the Pilgrims stepped ashore at Plymouth Rock they presented the Mayflower Compact, a manifesto which joined into one governing document the political and spiritual foundations of the new Nation. It declared: “In the Name of God. Amen. We, whose names are underwritten ... having undertaken for the Glory of God and the advancement of the Christian Faith ... do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick ...” With those words American Democracy was born as a Biblical expression. Today, nearly 400 years later, the spiritual revelation which the Colonists transcribed to paper has given birth to freedom all around the world.

It was that same revelation reappearing in the Declaration of Independence that announced to English Royalty and the rest of humanity, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." The Declaration went on to say: "We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, Free and Independent States; that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political Connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved."

The document concluded with these words: "And for the support of this declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, and Fortunes and our sacred Honor." John Hancock, the son of a minister, graduate of Harvard, who was the first to sign the Declaration, wrote his name in the middle of the paper in letters so large that the King would not have to use his glasses to read it. My wife, the former Laurie Hancock, is descended from that noble family.

Thirty-five years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the preaching of Jonathan Edwards sparked a national spiritual-rebirth and ushered in Colonial America’s “Great Awakening.” During that Christian revival the nation’s religious fervor united with its political energy and prepared the young nation to defy British tyranny. God can send such a revival again and America desperately needs another spiritual awakening. As recently as 1892, the United States Supreme Court declared, "Our laws and institutions must necessarily be based upon the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind." Please read that again!

“Our laws and institutions must necessarily be based upon the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind.”

Presently, the Nation’s spiritual fervor and legislative integrity remain widely separated. Statesmen have been replaced by politicians. Thankfully, President George Bush and others are trying to restore that lost spiritual atmosphere but hellish opposition fights them on every front. Less than 5% of the American population is atheistic but they are making major decisions for the rest of the nation.

During the tragedy of the Civil War President Abraham Lincoln visited Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to dedicate the cemetery for the thousands of men killed there. The title I used for this article, This Nation “So Conceived And So Dedicated” is from the brief speech he made that day. It is the Gettysburg Address and I quote its entirety:

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met here on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far beyond our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note or remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.

“It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

During the War of 1812 with England, Francis Scott Key, an American attorney and writer who was aboard a British ship watched the nighttime attack of Baltimore Harbor. From his experience that terrifying night came the inspiration for our National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. When Francis Key saw the stars and stripes still flying “at dawn’s early light” he wrote those immortal words. I quote some of the less-familiar lines:

Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just;
And this be our motto, `In God is our trust!'
And the star spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

This is not just a song. It is our National Prayer. This Fourth of July, pray that “the Star Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave, O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!” Pray for the restoration of our Forefathers’ Vision. Pray for another “Great Awakening!” Pray with the words of the old hymn writer who said, “Return! O Holy Dove, return! Sweet messenger of rest, We hate the sins that made Thee mourn and drove Thee from our breast!” God Almighty! Let it be so! Let it be so!

Charles Carrin,

100 GREAT SERMONS FOR ALL TIME

From a library of 25,000 tapes and CDs, Paul Carmody, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, selected 100 sermons which he regards as superior messages they are available on two MP3 CDS entitled Throne Room Messages. In alphabetical order, some of the speakers are Ern Baxter, Mike Mickle, Duncan Campbell, Charles Carrin, Graham Cooke, Joy Dawson, Joseph Garlington, Billy Graham, Vance Havner, R.T. Kendall, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Aimee Semple McPherson, Bob Mumford, J.I. Packer, Frank Perretti, Derek Prince, Leonard Ravenhill, Chuck Swindoll, Jack Taylor, A. W. Tozer, and others. Many of these sermons are historic and difficult-to-find. To be played on Computer, DVD, or other MP3 compatible CD players. $25.00 + $3.00 postage.

THE WESTMINSTER CHAPEL SERIES - London

Charles Carrin

6 Sermons On CDs

The Temple Of The Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit’s Ministry Through Us, The Holy Spirit: Wonderful Friend, The Holy Spirit In Our Day, Tradition’s Trap. $30.00 + $3.00 postage. Order directly from Charles Carrin Ministries mailing address.

A MILESTONE! In Beaumont, Texas, recently, R.T. Kendall, Jack Taylor, and I, conducted our 30th Word, Spirit, Power, Conference. We thank the Lord for His blessings that have taken us from London to Alaska, New England to Florida, and all points west. Churches have been awakened, believers revived, and the Word upheld. We celebrate God’s grace that bonded the three of us and our families together in an unparalleled, devoted fellowship.

OPERATING IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT AN OPTION

In my early ministry in Atlanta, about 1955, an attractive young woman united with the church and became active in the single-adult fellowship. Her father was a well-known pastor in our denomination and her presence was appreciated by everyone. She was quiet, sweet, in a short time married a young man with a professional career and they were blessed with four beautiful children. To all outward appearances she had every reason to be happy.

About a year after I left the church I was shocked one morning to read in the newspaper that she had killed her husband, all of her children, and had committed suicide. At night, while the rest of the family was asleep, she loaded her gun, then methodically shot each member. Afterward, she took her own life. It was a bizarre murder that numbed the city of Atlanta and, to my knowledge, still holds the record for being the worst murder-suicide in Atlanta's history.

That was over fortyfive years ago and even today I find myself thinking about that young woman and the terror that moved into her life. I mention her story for this reason: Occasionally someone says to me, "Pastor, you are over-emphasizing the importance of the `ministry of deliverance'." They are referring, of course, to the practice of casting out unclean spirits. If I am "over-emphasizing" it is because I have been on both sides of this theological fence and have seen the consequences which each side has to offer. I am not preaching "theory"--rather, I am practicing Scriptural truth from a background of terrifying human experience. This young woman's tragedy is not the only incident from which I draw my feelings. The good side is that I have also seen wonderful success in ministering to other crisis situations.

At the time I was this woman's pastor I knew nothing about the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit or the concept of spiritual-warfare. Both were totally foreign to me. Like most other denominations, mine did not teach about the gifts of the Spirit or the imparting of His authority. Even so, I cannot blame my failure on them; I should have discovered these truths in my own study of the Bible. Thankfully, that finally happened --- even though it came too late to help this young woman and her family. My purpose in telling this story is to point-out the fact that the demon rampaging in that young woman could have been cast out. Had I, her father, her other pastors, or any other believer, been operating in the fullness of New Testament authority that woman's family could be alive and well today. Please hear that statement carefully. Gifts of the Holy Spirit are vital! We desperately need them!

Occasionally, I hear some radio teacher scorning the gifts of the Spirit. I weep for these men! More than that, I weep for their flocks and the needless depravation they will experience. Operating in the power of the Holy Spirit is not a luxury the church can accept or reject. People's lives are at stake! The gifts of the Spirit are not like ornaments decorating the hood of a car. They are vital. In this young woman's case, the gift of "discerning of spirits", I Corinthians 12:10, would have identified the problem hiding in her. Kingdom authority, Mark 16:17, would have cast it out. It was failure of the church and ministry which allowed the devil to destroy this family. Hear me carefully! We pastors do not have the right to choose our doctrines like selecting deserts at a buffet table!

Let me also share the good side with you. A Baptist pastor from the mid-west who was battling severe depression came to us for ministry. Though we did not know it, he also brought his gun. Another brother and I counseled him from the word of God, ministered deliverance to him, and cast out the spirit of depression. Afterward, the visiting pastor told us about the gun and said, "I had made up my mind that if this ministry failed, I was not going home alive." Thankfully, because of the power of the Holy Spirit, he is alive today and has a successful ministry. On another occasion, I received an early morning telephone call from a woman whose only child had just committed suicide. As we talked, the mother held a gun in her lap and was desperately trying not to take her own life. The power urging her to pull the trigger was almost overwhelming as she explained that she had nothing left to live for. As I brought the authority of Jesus against the spirit of suicide however, it suddenly left and the woman was filled with the joy of the Lord. She is a vibrant, happy Christian today. There have been many more of which I could tell. Suicidals, homosexuals, drug addicts, child beaters, pornography victims, amnesiacs, people with multiple personalities, compulsive liars, and a long list of others, have been set free. One man who had already killed his wife came to my office just before going to prison and experienced deliverance. Though he went to prison, he still found freedom in Christ. His wife could have been alive today had he accepted help sooner. His pattern of ignoring the need and postponing deliverance for himself unfortunately, is typical of many. Even ministers who know the truth will continue to reject the power gifts of the Holy Spirit until it becomes their wife, son, daughter, friend, or loved-one, who has been destroyed. Let me plead with you, do not make that stupid mistake! Whenever I begin to get careless or forgetful, the Lord reminds me of a cemetery in Atlanta which contains a long row of family graves.

Operating in the power of the Holy Spirit is not an option. In our day when millions of young people are being recruited into occultism with the ultimate destination of Satanism, we need all the power of Heaven on our side. Believe it. Ask for it. Receive it. Use it!  CC

DWIGHT L. MOODY'S ENCOUNTER WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

A century ago, the ministry of Dwight L. Moody shook the nation in a way that continues to vibrate mankind to this day. What changed an ordinary man into one of the great voices in Christian history? Moody himself gives the explanation:

"I began to cry as never before for a greater blessing from God. The hunger increased; I really felt that I did not want to live any longer. I kept on crying all the time that God would fill me with His Spirit. Well, one day in the city of New York --- oh!, what a day, I cannot describe it, I seldom refer to it. It is almost too sacred an experience to name. Paul had an experience of which he never spoke for fourteen years. I can only say, God revealed Himself to me and I had such an experience of His love that I had to ask Him to stay His hand."

Moody's baptism with the Spirit was so overwhelming, so filling with the glory of heaven, that he felt he would be physically crushed there on the streets of New York. Moody's cry, "God --- stay Your hand!," is not unusual for those upon whom the power of the Spirit has fallen. Many Old Testament saints as well as Saul of Tarsus in the New Testament literally fell to the ground when the power of God came upon them. Strange as it seems to some, that manifestation of the Spirit still occurs today. On that historic day, Dwight L. Moody left the spot as a new man ---a new minister --- and a true New Testament evangelist. What God did for him, He will do for us also who, " ... cry as never before ... hunger ... do not want to live" without being "filled with the Spirit". Jesus said, "Ask and you shall receive."

Drop your religious objection and receive everything God has! Believe me, you will like the change.

Attention “Son’s In Ministry” Event Reminder: The Son’s meeting is coming up in September 22,23,24, 2005. Meetings will be held at Grace Chapel in Jacksonville, Florida. Wives are welcome, contact us to attend.