Nation Building A Biblical Perspective

NATION BUILDING

A Biblical Perspective

Olusegun Olanipekun

Copyright Olusegun Olanipekun©2016

Nation Building - A Biblical Perspective

Olanipekun, Olusegun

Non-fiction

Religion, Political Sciences, Social Sciences

Smashwords Edition

ISBN 9780992203092

Published by:

Truth House Publishing.

Johannesburg, South Africa.

Scripture references taken from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise specifically indicated.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter 1 The Call to Nation Building

Chapter 2 A Great Nation – A Biblical Philosophy

Chapter 3 Elements of a Great Nation

Chapter 4 Unique Roles of the Church in Nation Building

Chapter 5 The Role of the Holy Spirit in Nation Building

Chapter 6 Importance of Prayer in Nation Building

Chapter 7 The Abrahamic Covenant and Nation Building

Chapter 8 The Abrahamic Mantle

Chapter 9 The Abrahamic Blessing

Chapter 10 Challenges in Nation Building

Chapter 11 Spirit Systems That Destroy Nations

Chapter 12 Spiritual Systems for Nation Building

Chapter 13 The Spiritual Climate of Nations

Chapter 14 Redeeming Nations

About the author

Other books by this author

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, and the people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

Psalm 33:12

If you lack the courage to confront evil, do not call it humility.

"There is a great need to cure the political illiteracy, apathy, and naivety of the Church of

Jesus Christ."

Wherever people are economical with the truth, lies sell.

Olusegun Olanipekun

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Acknowledgments

This book is, in a measure, a fruit of all the relationships that God has blessed me with in life. It started with my late father Samuel Ajibade Olanipekun, the man who bought my first Bible for me and took me to church every Sunday for the first five years of my life on earth. He instilled in me the culture of honoring God and keeping to time. In addition, my late mother, Mrs. Sarah Adejinmi Olanipekun who passed on to glory during the time that I was still penning this book made a covenant with God that if God were to give her a child, she would dedicate that child to the service of God. I was born the same year she made that covenant and I have continued as the fruit of the covenant that she made with God.

I have been blessed by the fellowship of many church groups namely: St Peters, African Church, Oyan, Scripture Union, Osogbo, The Last Days Evangelical Mission, Ilesa, and House meetings at the residence of Engineer Steve Olumuyiwa where I learnt a lot. I must acknowledge Pastor S.G. Elton whom I met at the conferences organized by Engineer Steve Olumuyiwa. My gratitude goes to Intercessors for Nigeria and several churches and church groups that I have related with in ministry in over 25 different nations of the world.

Special thanks to Hanlie van Graan, Trudy Joynt and Dennis Cruywagen for proof reading and editing.

I am blessed by Pastor Reuven Berger and the aroma of Christ in him. I thank him for accepting the task of writing the foreword.

My beautiful wife of 21 years, Rachael Yinyinade, Adebola Olusegun, many daughters have done well but you excel them all. Your love for God and His truth is a blessing that cannot be quantified. Thanks for proof reading the book at its initial stage and the privilege to share all my thoughts with you.

May the Lord reward you all as we journey with God in the revelation of His person and glory and the pursuit of great nations on the earth.

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Foreword

It is a privilege for me to write a foreword for Nation Building – a Biblical Perspective, a book which I find to be deeply challenging and one that opens up many new horizons in understanding the ways of the Lord as concerns His redemptive purposes for the nations. This book is an eye opener. It is multi-faceted in the way it explains the biblical foundations that apply to building nations in the kingdom way. The author speaks of a radical yet basic paradigm shift which the church must undergo in order for her to embrace her true God-given responsibility as it relates to the destiny of the nations of the world.

For many readers from the Western world who see their nations being willingly and quickly turned over to and swallowed up by the Babylonian new world order through the active involvement of their political leaders and in many cases, their church leaders, it would be difficult for them to relate to the destiny of their nations in the light of the hope and faith that this book presents.

Pastor Olusegun Olanipekun does distinguish between sheep nations and goat nations. Goat nations are those nations which have adapted the ungodly patterns of the systems of this world. Sheep nations, on the contrary, are those nations which have the potential to become great nations because they have truly joined themselves to the Abrahamic covenant and have adapted the pattern of redemption that God has revealed in Scripture through the life of Abraham and through His covenant people of Israel. The point is strongly emphasized that as servants of God are educated and trained to function as sons who take ownership of their responsibilities in all spheres of national life and embrace godly standards according to biblical kingdom principles, nations can be discipled in obedience to the commandment of Jesus: Go and make disciples of all the nations. Such nations will be prepared to become true heirs of the Abrahamic blessings in all aspects of their national life.

Pastor Olusegun writes about God’s heavenly pattern for each nation which He willingly reveals to those who will seek Him together in a unity of heart and purpose which must transcend all denominational and ethnic boundaries and all self-interests. Those who will sincerely seek God’s Face for the fulfilment of His purposes for their cities and nations and who will make prayer and obedience to the Holy Spirit their first and supreme priority and motivation will indeed be given the grace to understand the divine pattern for their nations. Those who fear God, who walk with Him in purity and faith, in obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the precepts and ordinances found in His Word, will be clothed from above with the Abrahamic mantle. They will be equipped with the full authority, anointing and covering of heaven which will enable them to be true nation builders who minister and deliver the Abrahamic blessing.

While Nation Building places great weight on the significance of prayer, the governance of the Holy Spirit, corporate unity, the central place of the Word of God, righteousness, holiness and the fear of God, these critical themes are not discussed as ends in themselves. They are the very foundations which bring us into the place with the Lord where He can then give us specific revelation and directives to understand how to implement His will in the life of our communities. As God’s plan for a nation becomes incarnate in the different aspects of its community life, a nation no matter how small can become a great nation in God. Nation Building is holistic in its approach as it connects spiritual realities with the full spectrum of issues that relate to the life of a nation. This incorporates subjects such as the integrity of the individual leader’s life, the importance of a godly family life, the nature of true church life, the essence of an educational system which focuses on the heart and not only on the mind, on morality and not only on principles, on life and not only on theory.

There is a wealth of revelation and practical instruction in this book which present us with many keys of wisdom and understanding that challenge the very nature of our lives as believers and which call us to expand our perspectives far beyond the narrow horizons of our present understandings and activities. The author urges us to see the great necessity for a much deeper appreciation and commitment to that which is truly priestly, prophetic and apostolic if we are to see the fulfillment of God’s purposes for our nations in these times. Many of us still hope and pray to see national repentance in our nations, to experience a true breakthrough of His Kingdom and to see His Glory cover our lands. Pastor Olusegun encourages this hope in us as he presents us with a clear and detailed picture of God’s holy purposes for the nations. God desires to manifest His will and glory in the nations even as He did in the history of the nation of Israel. Israel is God’s witness people and His example and model for all nations which aspire to become great nations in God. The author calls us to continue on the path with God from the place of personal salvation, basic evangelization and normal church life to a further place in the kingdom where we can be instrumental in effecting a radical change in the spiritual climate of our communities. We are called to establish godly foundations and systems which have the potential to deliver our nations from ancient and present ruling demonic strongholds caused by blood guilt, tribalism, lies, godless governments or modern secularism and see our nations transformed to manifest the greater reality of His kingdom.

Nation Building is a book rich in godly wisdom. Even if readers from western nations find many of the principles delineated in this book difficult to apply because of ungodly secular systems which appear to be fixed and unchangeable in their nations, there are many kingdom principles discussed in the book that will be beneficial to those who prayerfully study this book and who are called to fulfill a priestly and kingly role in their cities, cultures and nations no matter how Babylonian their nations have become. Believers and unbelievers alike can glean great riches of counsel and wisdom from the deep insights and practical instructions offered in this book. Nation Building confronts a great variety of issues relevant to the lives of all believers and of all nations.

Pastor Olusegun is clearly an apostolic shepherd of the African nations. He is a discipler of the nations and is a man clothed with a priestly and prophetic mantle tailored particularly for the African nations though his message is certainly not limited to Africa alone. If the Lord tarries some more years, this book will surely serve as a true inspiration and prophetic guide for many who yearn to see their nations come out of the grip of the evil one and come into the blessings promised to those nations which join themselves to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through the Abrahamic covenant made accessible to them through the salvation of Jesus. Those nations which will also bless Israel, God’s first born son nation in her present phase of restoration and stand with her in the final battle for her survival will be granted a true measure of grace to manifest the reality of Jesus’ Kingdom glory even before His return to Jerusalem when He will appear in the fullness of His glory. At that time, He will establish His Kingdom over all the earth through His throne in Jerusalem and all nations will come into the fullness of their redemptive call according to the heavenly blueprint for them. May the Lord be glorified through His faithful bride, His sons, even before that day! Maranatha!

Reuven Berger

Ein Kerem, Jerusalem

June 2016

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Introduction

A book on nation building from a biblical perspective is not common – traditional church theology does not accommodate any future for corporate entities and nations. The church generally focuses on the nation only when she is in big trouble or when the political leaders are engaged with an anti-Christian belief system. Only then we remember to pray and engage in the spirit of 1Timothy 2:1-5 and 2 Chronicles 7:14.

I feel the urge in my spirit that this is the next focus of the Holy Spirit and all Christians need to apply our minds to the issue. We can proceed from the reactionary phase of our engagement with our society to a proactive phase; from the prayer phase to the work phase – the work of building a great nation. As it is with every work, we have to be prepared to get dirty in the process. We also have to realize that we will make mistakes as all humans do. This book is only a beginning for me in many ways. After more than thirty years of prayer engagement for the nations of Africa and the world, I realize that many believers have become increasingly irrelevant when it comes to the development of their society. It appears that we have become so heavenly conscious that we are earthly unusable.

We definitely cannot afford to lose our heavenly focus¹ but the heavenly focus must now bear a direct impact on the earth. The heavenly focus must progress from an individual view, personal benefits, my own personal eternal security etc. to a Kingdom view² where we focus on the manifestation of God’s Kingdom on the earth and in our day to day assignments. We need to progress from reactionary prayers to constructive engagements; from criticizing leaders to raising strong Christian political leaders who are spiritually and professionally skilful to guide society.³ We need to progress from mourning over Saul to anointing the David’s in every city and in every sector of society.⁴ We need to progress from corrupt, deluded fathers of modern democracies to real fathers who are clothed in Abrahamic mantles, able to lay a solid foundation for society and also able to reflect our heavenly father to society. This is the journey that God is inviting the church to undertake by the leading of the Holy Spirit and illumination of scripture in this season.

This book then provides anyone who either has started or is about to start the journey to engage with God on this nation building assignment, with an impetus that will steer them up in the right direction. It is an attempt to lay the burden for the future of a nation squarely on the shoulders of the Christians who walk with God in that nation.

There is a biblical basis for the concept of a great nation.⁵ We need to understand why nations are weak and some nations are perpetually feeble.⁶ This book discusses among others the spirit systems that weaken nations, as well as the spiritual systems that heaven recommends in order for nations to transit from a weak to a great nation. It also discusses some practical measures in the redemption and healing of nations.⁷

During the wedding feast at Cana of Galilee,⁸ Jesus turned water into wine at the request of Mary.⁹ Whilst He did the miracle for the community, His disciples were also impacted by the miracle.¹⁰ In this prophetic miracle, Jesus reveals Himself as the solution to social problems, as well as the new wine¹¹ to make the nations glad. The Lord may have allowed the nations to try all possible means to progress, only to discover that the only and real way of development is God’s Kingdom way.¹²

There is an invitation to every believer to position himself or herself in the leadership of the different sectors of society in the spirit of meekness to represent Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.

All Christians, who seek to work with God to establish their nation as a great one, need to revisit the impact that Christianity and the Reformation had on Western Societies of the world between the 16th and early 20th centuries.

I pray that the spirit of grace flow from Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace and the King of Nations¹³ as you engage with the content of this book.

Indeed, the kingdoms of this world have become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ and He shall reign forever and ever.¹⁴

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Chapter 1

The Call to Nation Building

What is the Holy Spirit saying?

He, who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7)

Jesus Christ in His address to the churches of Asia repeats the above instruction to every one of the churches.¹⁵ Individuals¹⁶ in each group, as well as the corporate group, are invited to overcome. The challenges faced in each group are not merely personal though they reflect in individual lives; they are territorial and corporate challenges. Jesus also reveals in these passages the secret of overcoming. One of the key secrets is to have a hearing ear¹⁷ and to use it to hear (hearken diligently and obey) what the Holy Spirit is saying in the present continuous tense to the church.

The Holy Spirit holds the key to victorious Christian living.¹⁸ He holds the key to the progress of the Church in every city, every nation and in every generation. The Holy Spirit is the executive of the Church.¹⁹ He gives direction to the body of Jesus Christ.²⁰ He who hears the Holy Spirit is able to be ahead of the enemy; able to overcome the works of the flesh and to overcome demonic opposition. Believers in Christ Jesus have been sealed (covered and protected) by the Holy Spirit.²¹ He who hears the Holy Spirit receives fresh inspiration from the word of God. The Holy Spirit is able to open up God’s word in ways we have never known.²² If we remain at the same level of understanding of the word as we had years ago, the chances of overcoming are minimal. If a church group in a city or a nation remains at the same level of revelation as she had one or two decades ago, the chances of overcoming are reduced. The Holy Spirit does not overwrite the written word of God but the Holy Spirit illuminates the same scriptures and reveals more truth out of its pages.²³ The Holy Spirit does not only give fresh insight and understanding but new applications as well. When the Church listens to the Holy Spirit, we are steps ahead of the enemy and are better equipped to deal with issues than when we rely on intuition, human wisdom, clever ideas or our own church boards. The Holy Spirit can and does use all of these to speak and address issues but we must rely on the Holy Spirit and not on any of these. If it is not of the Holy Spirit, we must endeavour to reject it and seek that which is pure and of Him alone. The Holy Spirit is the Governor of the Church. When He rules in our hearts and in our midst, then we (the Church) can reign on the earth.²⁴

It is vital for the Church to realize the significance of the agenda set by the Holy Spirit as different from human ideas. There is an eternal difference between a good idea and a God idea.²⁵ The Church is called to represent heaven on earth. Heaven sets the agenda for the Church on earth.²⁶ The degree to which the church aligns with heaven’s agenda is the degree to which the Kingdom of God will be revealed among men on the earth.²⁷ It is therefore of utmost importance for the Church to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to the churches at any given time.

Now Separate unto Me Nation Builders

Now in the church that was at Antioch, there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said: Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then, having fasted and prayed and laid hands on them, they sent them away. (Acts 13:1-3)

Here we see the Holy Spirit in action as He superintends the church at Antioch and chooses workers for the next phase of the work. He did not leave this to the whim of the prophets and the teachers who were present. He instructs them and gives direction for the next phase of the work. There are times when the Holy Spirit leaves the decision to appoint certain level of workers in the hands of the set man for the work.²⁸ However, this trend of the Holy Spirit speaking directly into the work is repeated several times in the Bible, especially in the book of Acts.²⁹

In Acts 13:1-3, we see the kind of atmosphere that is needed for the Holy Spirit to function. Sometimes, the Holy Spirit requires an atmosphere of fasting and an atmosphere saturated with prayer. We also need an atmosphere in which the saints minister to the Lord Jesus Christ and not just to one another. There is a need for an atmosphere of the unity of purpose and spirit. The number of ministers listed in one church at Antioch would form many denominations today but they were together in fellowship and focusing on the Lord. The Holy Spirit came in this atmosphere to choose among them vessels that would take the work further.

In my spirit, I hear the Holy Spirit saying: Separate unto Me nation builders. In every city and every nation where the Church exists, there is a call from heaven to separate unto God Christian political leaders, activists, legislators, members of parliament, councillors; men and women who will build great nations for God.

Just as the Holy Spirit made mention of Paul and Barnabas, I believe that there are men and women within the church who are being called to nation building by the Holy Spirit in this season among the nations.³⁰ In the atmosphere of worship, fasting and prayer, the Holy Spirit will reveal these men, their roles and responsibilities in nation building and implore His church to identify, to acknowledge and separate them to that assignment.

To separate means to consecrate. What the Holy Spirit demanded from the Church at Antioch was that Paul and Barnabas be separated from the crowd, consecrated and dedicated to the assignment of planting churches among the gentile nations. What the Holy Spirit is demanding from the Church in this season is to separate members of the church who will focus on nation building as a ministry.³¹

It is one thing to identify a good worker, a person called of God for a particular assignment, it is another matter entirely for the person being called to have the knowledge of the call and to have sought the Lord diligently on the matter. It is important that the person being identified publicly has had a time of separation, meditation, prayer and focus on the matter for which he or she is being called. This may happen before or after the public identification or announcement has been made. A called person should not stumble presumptuously³² into the assignment.

It becomes necessary for a church, having recognized the calling of God upon a person or a group of individuals to again fast and pray and lay hands on the person or people for the purpose for which they have been called by God. This is a weighty matter and we need to see it clearly.

There are times in the past when believers in Christ Jesus have felt called into political leadership or a public office of different forms but it has not ended well. On many occasions, it has not been the beautiful experience which it was meant to be, both for the person who feels called to politics and the church circles where they were called out from. There are a few issues to be considered in this regard. Relevant questions that need to be asked include:

*Have these people been called by the Holy Spirit?

*Are there others in the leadership of the local church who bear testimony to the call?

*Have they separated themselves unto the Lord over the matter?

*Have they been separated by the