No Red Wave. New threats and setbacks in our battle for America. What happened? We had a shout without the clout. The bragging you heard in so many Christian gatherings about power and authority is baffling. If we are who we say we are—how on earth did evil enlarge its death grip on America?
If we can do what we say we can do—how did we lose so much high-value real estate to the enemy?
And not only that but…now that the illegal lockdown is over, the church is reverting to old bad habits—and not a little hypocrisy.
If they were afraid to have church during the lockdown, it seems very odd for them to boast about having great power, now.
Almost as an act of compensation for our lack of power, we are turning up the noise. We have the shout without the clout.
What is wrong with us? And more importantly, how do we get the firepower we need to turn America around?
The answers are in plain sight. They are showcased in the following verses:
“When the troops had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord smitten us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, that He may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.”
So, the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, Who dwells above the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of the covenant of God. And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded.
And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. The Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For such a thing has not happened before. Woe to us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that smote the Egyptians with every kind of plague in the wilderness.
Be strong, and acquit yourselves like men, O you Philistines, that you may not become servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you; behave yourselves like men, and fight!”
And the Philistines fought; Israel was smitten and they fled every man to his own home. There was a very great slaughter, for 30,000 foot-soldiers of Israel fell. And the ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain” (1 Samuel 4:3-11).
Here is what they did wrong:
First of all, they asked the right question, but came up with the wrong answer. “Why has the Lord smitten us today before the Philistines?” (verse 3). They assumed that all they needed to do to win was to go and get the Ark.
Hauling the Ark into battle was a kneejerk reaction—not a revelation.
They imitated the outward features of past victories, without paying the price for true authority. Then they released the shout without clout. They assumed that the combination of the Ark and noise would win the day (verse 5). At first it worked. The Philistines were terrified by the optics and the shout. And no wonder. The Philistines had bitter memories of being totally defeated whenever Israel had the clout in their shout.
The problem was that one of the Philistine leaders thought, ‘Wait a minute. There is something off here. There is something missing in their shout.
They do not have the anointing for war. They are posing as the army of God, but God is not here to fight for them.’
That is exactly what is wrong with so many of our Spirit-filled churches. We are making a lot of harmless noise. We are playacting.
Many are saying, “Thus sayeth the Lord”—but not because they have a true word of prophecy, but because they are hoping it will act as a booster rocket to get their message across.
The real measure of our anointing is what it actually does to Satan. Real authority from God drives back cultural evil.
We should not be reveling in our theatrical services―we should be grieving over our powerless witness.
All of the usual suspects are returning from the pre-pandemic church life. The gimmicks are reappearing. The false comfort is being reheated. The greasy-grace is being rubbed on the thin skin of the American church.
Worst of all we are back to seeking carnal methods and more marketing. E. M. Bounds looked way into the future and described us, when he said, “What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use―men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men―men of prayer.”
The lesson is simple: unless clout is restored to our shout, our nation is lost.
But there is a great hope! There is a remnant who cannot stomach synthetic services. They are starving for true anointing—for true miracles―and for real victories in the culture.
The promise of God is sure. He has promised that He can restore the shout. And He will do it, for those who ask with an undivided heart.
James 1:5-6, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.”
Woah, Mario!!! How true, and thank you for having the courage to say it!!!
Blessings and ALoha….well, my wife and I saw and have seen for quite some time the release of genuine presence, gripping people in their seats, displays of His power as recently in Hispanic ministries in Houston…onedayhouston is one of Gods plans in the USA and we expect only more of Him and the One who hears the cries, knows the sorrows, feels the pain of humanity will descend wherever He finds those who will allow the Holy Spirit free rein and I mean total control over lives, meetings, services….great time to be alive…
FINALLY, again, you speak with authority against the hype and mania of the NAR and subsidiaries who strut around in narcissism, false prophecies, false kundalini spirit, false translation, false teachings with Kenosis heresies, Sozo spirit-guides, fire tunnels, ME-culture with self-love mantras, and the adolescent fawning over cultic teachers. YOU would do well to continue to openly challenge and oppose them, as you did when Discernment Left he Building, so draw a line in the sand will you? They are worshipping the golden calf of hyped emotions and miracle-mania but there has been NO CROSS, NO REPENTANCE!
yes this is a message I’ve heard you preach on many years ago, but certainly relevant today
Mario, I pray and pray that God will restore HIs fire to this nation, starting with towns then moving to counties and then to states. I stand upon the true foundation of Jesus Christ. I know Holy Spirit is our teacher and guide. He will show us all we need to know through the word, and how to use what we know. I ask God to restore HIs prayer warriors, His solder’s. We take the first step in truity, show God we trust HIm and He will fulfill all that He has promised.
Absolutely fed up with the lack of knowledge of the times we live in with a denial of reality in the pulpit. Fed up with a form of godliness without any power. But as God said to Elijah “ I have 7000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal “ Quoting Samuel Adams “ It does not take a majority to prevail but rather an irate tireless minority keen on setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men “
Excellent
I had a vision to stand in the congregation and shout a declarative word, “Holy”. I have pondered this and Mario’s article help me understand more of the plans of the Lord. Thanks, Coy Phillips
Isaiah 54 belongs to me. God gave it to me. And I have been so very jealous over His pulpits, and His altars. He knows.
Thank you for this very Word. Thank you for defending the pulpits and the altars of The Lord my God, The Lord of Host’s, my Maker and Redeemer, my True Love. Thank you.
FINALLY! At last, the truth!
I thank God for your ministry. May it grow a thousand fold.
I agree with your diagnosis. This country is divided among the Philistines and the People of God with the Philistines occupying our cities. We need a Samuel, a Jonathan, a Gideon or a David. We are like sheep without a shepherd. Are you that leader? We need the Lord Jesus but we also need godly leadership.
I am tired of losing and unanswered prayer. I am confessing sin, repenting, fasting and praying. It is hard to pray without doubts so I have to ask the Lord to help my lack of faith. I really need the Lord.
God bless you and your ministry.
I stand 100 % with you in this Blog!!
After the red wave became a red ripple I, like many, was discouraged. But the ever-faithful God pointed out that He did not need a certain politician in an office to accomplish His work. He wanted His church and their bold prayers. Fast forward to this week and yet another potential disappointment, but God’s message remains the same….”I want my church, their hearts, and their bold prayers.” I stand with you Mario, and have read both Fire and Glory and Do Not Leave Quietly. The church must stand boldly so that when we speak, it is God’s voice. I will paraphrase a C.S. Lewis quote: There are two types of men, those who say your will be done Lord, and those to whom God says, “ok, have it your way.” The current, empirical western church appears to be the latter. We all need to speak up, teach boldly and pray boldly. Thanks for your leadership and all you do!
Thank you you for speaking the truth
God bless u bro Mario for the boldness to speak with anointing in demonstration Hallelujah!
We all know that there’s a lot of cheating going on in voting.
A lot of believers have been praying for a long time – in faith. They are overall small in numbers (as u know).
There’s a danger of speaking out in the flesh like you said,
That’s why discernment is so crucial!
I know that when your in a body of faith believers, and the Holy Ghost checks your spirit and everyone else is agreeing, it’s not easy to say I disagree (of course not without timing). I know because I was in a group for two years, and there was a lot good words given too. There were miracles every week too.
That why a Man of God like you is such a great gift from God. Mr. Mario, you say what the Holy Ghost says to us, when He checks our spirit Hallelujah!
I can’t say enough how thankful I am for you and your ministry in demonstrations.
Good sermons without demonstrations is just empty words. Good they may be. But just empty words without power in the Holy Ghost!
Amen! I agree! Where are the true believers? All these seeking a prophecy but they never come to pass? HE said beware of wolfs in sheeps’ clothing. So many speaking swelling words with no power. And so called pastors that do not know the word of GOD? May God have mercy on them and forgive their sins. Bless you for speaking the truth and not leaving quietly!
It feels like the time of Jeremiah even here in the UK. Prophets are crying out that there will be no invasion and yet the Babylonians attacked the land. King Johoakim burnt the scroll and Jeremiah had to rewrite it because the word of God still stood. King Zedekiah was told that even if a handful of Babylonians were left they would burn down Jerusalem and again they did not listen because the Babylonians left when Egypt’s army appeared on the Southern border so they had the false sense of security. The message to the people was as always to repent and turn back to Him. Jeremiah was instructed to write all the messages down to help them remember from the days of Josiah to the current time. I wonder what would happen if people queued up to the house of God like they do to the Trump rallies. I love to see the dedication but is it misplaced? I think its even worse here in the UK. There are still churches zooming in their services as people sit in the comfort of their own home even though they have buildings! Instead of going to the house of God collectively to cry out to Him they are in bed or sat on their couches zooming in. There is no urgency. Bro Murillo so sorry I can’t attend any of your tent meetings but may the Lord God continue to bless and keep you your wife and the team.
I believe it will get worse before it gets better but that’s on a condition. In Oxford UK the Climate Change is taking off. A council official said whether they like it or not the people will only be able to drive through the city centre two times per week and would need to apply for a permit to do so. People will only be able to drive around a 15 minute radius in their neighbourhood https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/23073992.traffic-filters-will-divide-city-15-minute-neighbourhoods/ They are talking of a new lock down but it will be climate change. I hope the people wake up from their cosy beds and living room church and get to the house of God and repent. Stop listening to these false prophets that everything is going to be hunky dory.