America Needs To Know The Truth

America needs to know the truth. This was the word the Holy Spirit spoke to my spirit while I was asleep. It was just hours before our team was preaching the cross on the streets of Atlanta during the 1996 Summer Olympics. We were mid-way into our mission, tired and worn out. My voice was hoarse from singing and preaching. Our bodies were crying for the amenities of home. We were in the middle of a war zone – it was one big, global party. Yet, lying there in my sleeping bag all I could see was a sea of people, wandering, searching…lost. And, the voice of the Good Shepherd saying, “America needs to know…the truth.”
The next morning was Thursday, the beginning of the last days of the Olympics. The forecast was that it would get really crazy in the streets. We were already feeling intimidated by the formidable masses. We were overwhelmed, as if we were five drops in the middle of an ocean of lawlessness. But, God showed up. Hallelujah!
Just days before our small team of five was raring to go…we thought we were prepared! After all, a few of us were veteran street preachers. But, all-the-while the Lord was preparing us for what we were about to encounter. We would soon learn to depend on one another as troops do in combat.
The phone awoke me in the wee hours of the morning that we were to leave. A bomb had gone off in Centennial Park – people were injured and dead. I remember the sick feeling in my gut as I rested my head on the kitchen bar. Fear struck me. After I got a hold of myself, I knew we had to go. The general consensus was that it was a perfect opportunity to open the hearts of people to the gospel. Tammie, my wife, encouraged me that it was time for the church to rise up and move to the front lines.
The spirit of Olympia had already gripped the soul of America. Even a bombing couldn’t tear it loose. The gods of money, sports, and pleasure overrode the citizenry. America was reassured with more security and police – the remedy of the expert elitists comforted the world – and the games went on.

Atlanta became the capital of the world – the center of all nations.

The entire globe was tuned in to that small American real estate. And, five Houston missionaries were headed that way, loaded down with tracts, Bibles, and bullhorns. We were not even out of the city when the spirit of intercession fell inside our van. God sovereignly stirred our hearts to pray and didn’t let up until we were out of the danger zone of our mission.
When we arrived we found out that the church organization we were to team up with had pulled out because of the bombing. The team was cut from over one hundred to five…only us! We were the only group who showed up at the host church along with the host Pastor.
The pending question was: now what do we do? The spirit of prayer was still upon us so we went to our knees. The Lord did great things during our times of intercession. We needed a word from God. We needed wisdom. We needed direction. We cried, “Lord what would you have us to do? What is it that you are saying?” It was awesome how God revealed to us prophetic words and scriptures that would be our theme for the duration of the outreach. There was no “super saint” mentality. No one “lorded” over another. There was no leadership headbutting. Jesus Christ mastered our hearts and we all submitted one to another. Each one’s gifts became each one’s confidence. We became a team led by the Chief Shepherd. Jesus Christ was lifted up and glorified. We all knew our utter dependence would be upon Him…and it was!
Our first day out was a time of “spying out the land.” The Holy Spirit supernaturally led us to meet with other teams of warriors. We met Youth With A Mission (YWAM) teams from Japan, Brazil, Egypt and the states. God had His army positioned.
We waded through a sea of people. Vendors lined the streets selling their wares as New Age Native American Indian music pumped through the air.
Our first serious outreach occurred at a small park where the “Flag of the Nations” was mounted. People flocked there just to take a picture of the flag. What they didn’t expect to see were various YWAM groups staged and poised with drama and ministry. There was more Christian activity there than in most churches.
Seeing the receptivity of the gospel, we ventured out to do our own thing. We connected a jam box up to the bullhorn and the team positioned me under a gazebo for a makeshift concert. After our first “garbled” song, a local band who had their equipment set up offered to let us use their sound system. Is God good or what? I sang a few songs and ministered between them. People were weeping and raising their hands to accept Christ. We were taken back. I could hardly believe it. We weren’t used to the gospel being received like this in America. God moved and we rejoiced.
Thank God we did not walk in presumption. The remaining days were not so friendly! We found out that the preaching of the gospel of Christ was a definite irritant in the eye of the spirit of the age. The Lord used a Baptist group to lead us to another park…the place where we would eventually see the white of the eyes of the enemy.
We took an idea from YWAM and made a sign saying, “FREE PRAYER.” Although wonderful things became of it, the mockers and scoffers showed their fangs. You would think that most of the crowd would welcome prayer especially after the bombing. But, we quickly found out prayer was not welcomed at this party. We continued to pray, worship, pass out tracts, and street preach and once again the Lord showed up…right in the middle of the street!
Our last night was the heaviest – the night the devils came out to play. Again, borne out of prayer, the Lord gave us a strategy, our own drama. We were excited. The drama was entitled, “Jesus…Christ or criminal?” We rehearsed and choreographed. We scurried for props. Each team member had a part to portray. The lines we used were the very arguments we were met with on the streets. Talking about relevant! Glory!

We acted out our own street drama: one Pastor portrayed a mocker vehemently accusing Jesus – who stands bound and bleeding – while another narrated. The play mirrored the taunting crowd that surrounded us! The hatred for Christ was unbelievable. “They hated Me without a cause.” John 15:25

The persecution arose when we began to preach the drama instead of “play acting” it. It shifted from being observable to being penetrable. Although many got right with God and were prayed for, it didn’t come without a fight.
Scoffers and mockers spit out their venom. A small group made a concerted attempt to overpower us. Others physically tried to rip the microphone out of the bullhorn. Attempts were made to turn our power off and scare us to stop. These were not gang-bangers, but “high risers”: lawyers, intellectuals and your middle-class neighbors. They were God-haters vehemently bellowing their disdain and contempt. We proclaimed the prophetic word. We prophesied. We preached Christ, the cross, and the blood. We called America to repentance. We were obedient to the Word of the Lord. America has drifted away from Christ and now cleaves to the gods of self, pleasure, and entertainment. And, we let America know…the truth.
Again, God showed up! One man, awestruck over the blatant mockery of Christ, turned his life over to the Lord. He later told us he was shocked over the condition of back slidden America which he viewed first hand. Also, a demonized man, and one of the chief scoffers, ended up broken and weeping under the power of God. A Baptist minister, a chaplain for the Olympics, heard us preaching and came to help rescue us from the mockers. It turned out the most fierce battle but the most glorious for the kingdom of God.
There’s many more testimonies I could share to glorify the Lord. Unfortunately, there’s also many tragedies of the true condition of America. The two most common arguments unleashed upon us were: “I’m offended!” And, “Where’s your permit?”

I’m offended!

The preaching of the cross is offensive. It was at the cross where principalities and powers were disarmed. Satan hates the cross because that’s where Jesus triumphed over him. The preaching of the cross is the declaration of the Lordship of Jesus Christ defeating the power of sin, death and the devil. People were offended – many claiming to be Christians – because we preached Jesus Christ is God and the only way to heaven. In the global mentality of the Olympics, Christianity has been positioned as one of many ways to accommodate tolerance, diversity and multi-culturalism. The 1996 summer Olympics was a world stage for the proliferation of the New World order.

Where’s your permit?

There is an underlying statement behind “Where’s your permit?” It is the thought that has saturated the American psyche – God is not allowed in public affairs and if He is, He shouldn’t be! It’s an unspoken law being driven into the American conscienceness – God is outlawed in public. It’s a Marxist ideology sucking the life out of the American republic.
It only takes one time in a Communist controlled country to see where our country is headed. You see, the Communist party is offended at Jesus Christ being proclaimed as King instead of the government. And, an individual has to have a permit for whatever he or she does. In a totalitarian regime one practically has to have a permit to think. The state thinks for them. If you think I’m far off, think again. America, as we observed at the Olympics, is looking more and more like a police state. It’s the result of the “paganization” of the nation. We’ve rejected God’s word as the national standard for law and order. The less individuals police their own hearts the more law will be exacted to control them. Since we cannot control ourselves we will have to acquire permits for any personal freedoms designed for our own good. Right now it may feel secure to see camouflaged police and the military protecting our streets. But the inevitable will come. Nice will turn ugly. Friendly will turn to fear when sinful men abuse that power. Then it will become too late to reverse it when we’ve given our power into the hands of a tyrant who promised to protect us. Americans are already being conditioned to give up their personal freedoms in the name of winning the fight against terrorism. We’re insidiously becoming owned. We’re being lured into the lap of a global savior, the anti-christ himself.

Although the traditional flame is still lit today for the Olympic games, there is a special flame lit in the heart of America for the god of pleasure.

The 1996 summer Olympics was more than athletic contests and winning gold medals. It was about worshipping and exalting the creation, man, and his achievements above his Creator. It culminated into a pagan celebration honoring the gods of self, pleasure and entertainment. American culture places an inordinate emphasis on fitness and fun. As in ancient Greek culture over 2000 years ago, sports consumed much of the people’s time. The early Greeks encouraged people to keep fit because exercise makes people healthy. Young men in all city-states competed in athletic contests. The most famous of these contests was held every four years at Olympia. The games were held in honor of Zeus, the king of the gods, whose special flame burned in the sacred olive grove at Olympia. This was a sacred event and every one brought a gift for Zeus or for one of the other gods. To Americans, sports, fitness and fun are sacred events. Although the traditional flame is still lit today for the Olympic games, there is a special flame lit in the heart of America for the god of pleasure. The early Olympics honored Zeus the chief of the gods, so today the chief of the gods was also honored – the god of money.

Where are the Christians who will train for Christ as do the Olympians train for gold?

The light of truth was shone in the middle of Atlanta, but the darkness hated the light. The church in America must shine the light of the true gospel of Christ. A woman interviewed during the Olympics said that she was not going to let someone with a bomb scare her away from coming. Where are the radicals for Christ? Where is the Church? Where are the Christians who will train for Christ as do the Olympians train for gold?
I use to say quite often, “It’s one thing to watch the news, it’s another thing to be on the scene of the accident.” One of the theme scriptures God gave us during prayer was Romans 1:24-32. We saw it materialized on the streets of Atlanta. After the Olympics, I’m convinced we will not be overcome by a foreign power but by our own from within. I fear the next generation…they have the hate to kill us! And, only Jesus has the love to save us. America needs to know…the truth.

Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. A-men…And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful…” Rom. 1:25, 28-31

Re-edition, original word “America Needs To Know…The Truth – A Report On The 1996 Summer Olympics” 1996