“And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5)
    To those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, it appears we are entering a new season concerning our service to God. This election cycle has revealed much about the state of our country, the church, and the citizens of America. It is not a pretty sight to behold. On the one hand, it is sickening, despicable, and disheartening to observe. On the other hand, it is good to see all the corruption, lawlessness, and injustice finally surface. Sadly, it has also revealed the Christian cannibalism running rampant as brethren tear each other apart based on whether Christians should vote for Donald Trump or not. My advice, let your conscience be your guide and whatever you cannot do in faith, to you it is sin. Besides that, it would be wise to refrain from condemning brethren to hell over their vote.
    Now more then ever, it is time that we seek God to increase our faith, service, and determination to serve Him and His Holy purposes in the midst of this perverse and crooked generation. Now more than ever, we need to prepare for greater service to advance God’s glory, Kingdom, and great salvation amongst men and nations. 
    For those of us who have endured the persecution, rejection, abandonment, and shunning of this generation, I believe a new day is dawning. Doors that were once closed, now appear to be opening. The church who once viewed us an embarrassment, radicals, or second class citizens in the Kingdom of God seem to be reevaluating our warnings and are more willing to hear our message. Some, are actually joining us in the battle for the souls of men, the lives of children, and the future of our broken, wounded land defiled by the innocent blood of babies and the perversion of the homosexual agenda. Is it too little too late, I do not know, but I thank God for this increase.

    In this, we may see a glimpse of a promise that God made to Jeremiah being fulfilled in our day. Jeremiah went through a great struggle in serving the Lord. It was hard to be faithful to Him in the midst of national rejection. It was so bad that Jeremiah had threatened to cease speaking in the name of the Lord. The increase of persecution was pressuring him to remain silent and inactive in the midst of an apostate church that was committing national idolatry (Sound familiar). 
    It was at this critical time, God’s Word revealed Jeremiah’s reluctance, “Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay” (Jeremiah 20:9) In other words, if you shut up Jeremiah, My Word will explode in your soul as an inferno to convince you otherwise. 
    May we take heed to this admonishment as well. This is not a time to retreat, be silent, or inactive. It is time for increased devotion to the Gospel of the Kingdom to defeat the culture of death savaging our nation.
    Many of us may have felt the same way as Jeremiah. Like him, we need to trust God to restore our fervor in holy fear. Our God indeed is a consuming fire!  All the struggles, such as, “No one is listening, no one cares, and why even bother, need to give way to a an increased devotion. Yes, in times past, both friend and foe rejected us us for telling them the truth. The demand to shut up, fit in, and no longer speak in the name of the Lord was a real temptation. 
    Regardless, God’s promises stand sure. To those who stay faithful to a persecuted truth and perform godly actions in the midst of an ungodly nation, a time of increase will come. God promised Jeremiah, “The  Lord  said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction” (Jeremiah 15:11).
    God promised to watch over his Word to perform it (Jeremiah 1:12) When He does, those who were once rejected, shunned, or condemned for living a persecuted truth, they will be “entreated well” at the appointed time. No longer will the church think that they are “Madmen in the house of our God” in the day of God’s visitation (Hosea 9:7). No, when the proverbial stuff hits the fan, it will be those who remained faithful to understand the times and knew what to do, it will be that remnant that will be in a position of increased influence. Thus, it is imperative that we prepare now for an increase of open effectual doors, knowing full well that there will also be an increase of adversarial opposition (1 Corinthians 16:19).
    This election will determine to what degree we will have to prepare for an increase of opposition. If Trump wins, though a donkey of a man, we may receive a reprieve from overt persecution. In another words, he will not use the federal beast like Hillary to crush us. As a result, we will need to prepare for an increase of effort in spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom during this window of opportunity. Storming the gates of hell, establishing the Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrate, and calling ourselves, the church, and our nation to repentance will be a must.
    If, however, the Clinton’s demonic, political machine prevails, it will be a time to prepare for an increase of overt persecution. For some of us, the last time the Clinton’s were in power, we faced many years in federal prison. This happened when they were touting abortion as safe, legal, and rare. Today, they demand abortion and will force American citizens to pay for it. The stakes for obeying Christ to intervene and interpose on the behalf of the preborn will go up my friends.
    Remember this, right before the famous rescue Scripture in Proverbs 24:11, 12, God’s Word states, ” If you faint in the day of adversity,  your strength is small” (Proverbs 24:10). Jeremiah concurs, “i f you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, Then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, In which you trusted, they wearied you, Then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan” (Jeremiah 12:5)?
    Brethren, I believe we are entering a time of increase. Our faith will need to increase, our service will need to increase, our influence may increase, and our willingness to suffer may increase. Regardless, it is time to prepare for increase!  
 
IN KING JESUS’ SERVICE,
Rev. Rusty Lee Thomas