Proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom

Sudan, a nation in transition

part one

by Isaiah-Phillips Akintola

Reshaping the destiny of Sudan

Two hundred and fifty-three times the plural word nations is mentioned in the bible. This word could also be referred to as ethnos or ethic groupings. The idea here is that there are nations within a nation. The destiny of a nation is seen within the core structure of its existence. Meaning, the people of Sudan, through Gods divine providence, establishes the structure of their integration and nationality. The influence of northern Sudan by Egypt is not an accident or the desire of Southern Sudan to turn from worshiping handmade gods to seeking the ways of the Lord is accidental either. Nations are designed by the Lord for specific purpose and plan even though the enemy in most cases tries to frustrate that plan through corrupt governance and leadership. Today, God is doing a new thing in the land of Sudan and it’s about to spring up for all to see. no amount of fighting will stop or hinder the Lord’s mandate for this region.

One of the key factors that shapes and defines the destiny of nations is having clear insight into the foundation of their culture and national identity. As the Lord begins to awaken the hearts of his prophets to prophecy to these neglected regions of the earth, we are going to be witnessing a major shift in global prophetic activity in a higher dimension. Sudan is known to be the largest nation in the African continent, what a potential to lead in this season of change. The nation is divided into two major parts. The Arab Egyptian, in the north and the black Sudanese in the south, who are mostly traditional or Christians. The battle to Islamize the entire Sudanese people by the northern Muslim has been an ancient battle that will definitely not succeed through the structure of the nation. While the nation of Sudan is richly blessed with the water of the white and Blue Nile for farming and irrigation the conflict of religious war and ethnic unrest has hindered the development of the region.

Ps 68:6-8

6 God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land. 7 O God, when You went out before Your people, When You marched through the wilderness, Selah 8 The earth shook; The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel. NKJV

Building a machinery for conflict resolution

This is a crucial season for this nation and only the saving hand of the Lord can help the people see what is about to take place in the realm of the spirit. This is a battle of almost two centuries and the Lord is stirring a prophetic sound that will finally put the plans of the enemy to shame. One thing is clear, for this impact to take place there must be a forgetting of the past to be able to move forward in rebuilding the ancient ruins. According to Isaiah 43:18-21; the people of Sudanese must see what the Lord is already doing in the spirit to bring forth his purpose into reality. This prophetic word must become the template of advancing into that which is about to take place.

The destiny of the people of Sudan is presently being projected in the Spirit and the Lord is giving clear prophetic directives for the new marching order. The Spirit of grace and wisdom must be allowed to guide the mouths of those who will be speaking on behalf of the rest so they don’t jeopardize the process of this deliverance. It’s no longer news that the initiatives created most times by political institutions in most cases are either lopsided or just unproductive in resolving the conflicts. Building the machinery that guarantees unprecedented success in conflict management requires hundred percent prophetic insights into the purpose of the Lord for culture and nations.

The issue of leadership dysfunctionality witnessed in African and other sleeping parts of the world is resolvable if the church will only allow the Lord to build with her the right capacity and template of interfacing with human governing systems as we see in Babylon. While we continue to see how weak and fragile the whole concept of democracy is, yet the Lord still uses it as a leveraging point to connect and fulfill his desired plan. Presently today in the earth, democracy is equably the best form of human governance.

A different view to conflict eradication

There is no doubt that the developed {western} world designed the frame work of democracy to somehow suit their definition and principle of nationhood. The agenda of democracy best work in societies that are fully engaged or truly married to the principles and culture of the western world. Meaning, the activeness of democracy in the west and Europe are firmly established on the machinery of effective judicial system. Western educational system in most cases has been the tool used to shape and frame the thought pattern of what is believed or accepted to be right or wrong. Justice is a farfetched dream in places like southern Sudan where close to sixty five percent of the populace still struggle to convert the power and impact of education in terms of political and socioeconomic stability. The process of achieving emancipation through the ballot paper in Africa still requires effective leadership process, established on the foundation equity.

How do you deal with education and democracy where the people are ever struggling to feed? Poverty has always been one of the enemy’s most powerful tools in defragmenting communities. The nation of Sudan, though very rich, today is known to be one of the poorest nations in Africa in terms of human development due to the years of arm struggle and ethnic conflicts. Today Sudan has one of the largest numbers of displaced people around its borders. Many Sudanese live in refugee camps and shelters, yet we talk about the millennium goal; this is unaccepted in the 21^st century. Leaders within the Southern Sudan region must wake up to scheme of divide and rule. The Injustice committed in the name of a god or religion cannot be addressed by what is today called democracy in Africa because poverty still keeps many weak, blind and disconnected from the reality of governance.

Divide and rule, the strategy of the enemy

The enemy still thrives on his strategy of divide and rule. He divides through ignorance and poverty while he rules through those with economic and political power. Leaders of southern Sudan must not allow the enemy to use them against their brother anymore. Until this becomes crystal clear to all the divided tribes, nothing major will be achieved even when the south becomes an autonomous state. The enemy has seen the weakness amongst the leadership of the south and he will use it again and again to the heads from going above the waters. Whenever we allow the enemy to use false ideologies to divide and what unites us as human, we have just given him the power and authority to rule over us.

It could be on an individual level, or in our marriage, family; in a business, or community, city or nation. Whatever the level the enemy has the power to divide, he certainly will rule. As the community or nations watch with interest on the outcome of this referendum, believers all over the world should pray and prophecy for God’s divine intervention in the region. Intercessors observing with devoted interest should also be weary of the enemy’s tactics of thinking that dividing the nation into two parts will bring the long desired freedom. While the Lord may use the division to bring about stability for the region, our focus as prophetic gatekeepers should be the accurate establishment of visionary leadership for the people. We need to keep ourselves abreast with heaven’s interests for the entire region and not be distracted with the division.

Beyond a divided state

The purpose of God is for the whole earth to be filled with the knowledge of his glory that includes both the north and southern Sudanese. What has been happening in Sudan for the past fifty years is not unique to that region; it is part of Satan’s plan and strategy to use religious politics to destabilizing the society {ethnos} from developing and fulfilling their ordained destiny. The battle for the soul of the people of Sudan, especially the Southern part is one that requires intense prophetic/apostolic governmental intercession. What do I mean by this? Most times when we find ourselves in the place of conflicts, we tend to be reactive instead of being discerning and decisive in our judgment. We must learn to be wise and careful in responding to the attack of the enemy. Strong apostolic leadership is required in this process of referendum. The people of Sudan must see this as an opportunity to show themselves and the rest of the world that they have what it takes to chart their part to transformation and restoration. It’s not going to be easy but the process to freedom is achievable if leaders of all the various ethnic groups are ready to work for one cause freedom and independence.

Learning from the past will certainly keep the people from making the same mistake again. Too many lives have been lost because of impatience and lack of maturity in handling crisis. Leaders of Southern Sudan must realize this process is not about them but for the upcoming generation. Like King David who did all the fighting in his days so that his son who will be his next succession can build the nation in peace and stability. When leaders have a clear sense of timing and season, the issue of conflict of selfish interest will be deal with.

Leaders with unrefined and unbridled emotion should not interfere with what God is busy within the structure of this new society. The rule of engagement in this epic battle is high level discipline; wisdom and sobriety must be the template of those who will be representing the destiny of the nation. we know the enemy and his agents will be waiting patiently for the slightest mistake to wreck havoc again, but the Lord will be there to protect, guide and lead his people out of socioeconomic slavery and religious bondage. Following the injunction of the Spirit in this battle will surely help and protect the brethren in navigating the mines on the fields. Please remember that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal {humans} but they are mighty through God’s wisdom for the pulling down of strongholds. The strongholds of poverty, oppression, fear, discouragement must be pulled down as we deluged the strongman at the gates of the nation of Sudan.

The Lord is retuning with mercy

The Lord is returning to this region with his mercy and his house shall be built in justice and equity. The enemy might have tried to hinder the advancement of the Lords prophetic agenda for this beautiful and strategic nation in the sub-Saharan region. Wisdom teaches that the plan of the Lord cannot be stop, the degree of the Lord has gone forth and it’s about to bring forth as it has been proclaimed. The nation of Sudan has been ravaged by civil war for almost five decades. Her story is like that of the woman in Luke 8:43 who have suffered the loss of blood for twelve year without hope until the Lord intervened. The intercessory prayers of the nation and other Christians have reached up to God and he has come down to judge this region in his mercy and justice.

The reshaping and redesigning of this nation from yesterday’s shame and famine into a glorious land about to be the envy of the region is already taking place through the machinery of a highly intercessory order. The cry of the watchmen is “Lord, bring forth you righteousness so the people may know that your presence still watches over the land day and night”. As the trumpet of gathering start to sound all across the globe for willing hearts to converge at the building sight of Sudan, let the favor of the Lord be granted to Nehemiah as he is being released by his captors for the gathering of woods for the rebuilding of the burnt gates and walls of the nation. The referendum may not be the silver bullet needed but it will surely rekindle the fire of hope and stability in the region.

This should be seen as signs of the shifts taking place in the spirit for the destiny of a nation entangled in religious and political war. One of the greatest challenges of human life is finding the balance between religion and civil laws. While Muslim believers are vigorously trying to convert individuals and regions forcefully to follow the shariah laws, some Christians on the other hand also try to fight for a Christian state. As logical as this may sound, yet it does not represent what the scripture teaches us as the concept of establishing the kingdom of God here on earth.

Perverted religions fight for the possession of geographical regions and territories while the kingdom of God seeks to establish the reign and government of our Lord Jesus Christ within human hearts. Our battle for regions should be focused on the spiritual territory where key decisions are made concerning the destiny of the political and socioeconomic landscape. If the ground of a region {nation} is not first taken in the spirit realm one might resolve to carnal strategies and methods that obviously will backfire.

The battle of taking territories demands that we fully position ourselves in the spirit to hear and know the directive of the Lord concerning the region we are standing on behalf for. We are not permitted as sons of God to use human force in taking nations or regions for the Lord. The Lord’s strategy and methods of the Spirit of truth must be prioritized above our emotional feelings of injustice. One of the plans of the enemy is to frustrate us by pulling us down to the valley where he chooses to fight us. Coming down from the hill of the Lord lures us to want to use the same oppressive weapons of the enemy in dealing with issues. We can never beat the enemy at his own game.

God’s method of taking over regions

Through the influence of the power of lifestyle we’ve seen God establish his kingdom and dominion in places like Egypt and Babylon where he would not have been known. Therefore we need to gain sight into the pattern of how the Lord desires to show forth his glory in regions of the earth. Leaders in the Southern Sudan must be careful to follow the instruction and leading of the Spirit so they don’t fall into the trap of the enemy. There is a fine line between compromising one’s faith and allowing the spirit of dialogue to intervene on the issues of governance. There is a fine line between allowing the oppressive ruler to continue oppressing God because the time appointed for deliverance has not come and merely allowing the enemy to have his way due to ignorance. There is a time to be quiet while there is a time you are demanded to speak forcefully. A very good example of this is found in the book of Daniel chapter 9. Daniel came to understand by the books that the seventy years assigned for the captivity for the children of Israel in Babylon is over. This knowledge certainly changed the attitude, posture and utterance of Prophet Daniel in the place of prayer. When a season changes over a nation, prayer request should also change.

Rom 13:1-5

13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4 For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. NIV

Reading through the thought provoking admonishing letter to the brethren in Rome without precise insight into what apostle Paul was trying to convey, could lead one to assuming he is completely disconnected or just unrealistic about the wickedness perpetuated by the Roman Empire. Yet this word of our Lord transmitted through the mouth of his apostle gives a profound insight into how the Lord expects his Body to live and conquer ungodly human systems designed to cripple you from advancing.

Trying to understand or apply the laws of the Lord through carnal human ideology {reasoning} will certainly pervert and misrepresent the principle of accurate interpretation within your mind. The core principles and processes of the Lord’s justice system is one you only get to understand as you get to grow in the way of the Spirit. The unspiritual may not be able to comprehend how the Lord uses a tyrannical administration to bring forth his purposes and desires for such regions. The scripture says for this purpose Pharaoh was created to show forth the glory of God. Before the process of the maturation of the divine timing and season of the Lord for a nation or region comes to bear, people may be oppressed and suffer great injustice to the point of almost losing hope. In some cases others may pay the ultimate price of death, yet the foundation of the Lord still stands sure.

Gods people working under human system

There are no wasted time or season in the things of the Spirit if you have been following the Lord wholeheartedly. If we have learnt to hear the voice of the Lord by following his path, the truth will always guide us into the perfect day irrespective of the outcome in the natural. Breaking the fire of the oppressor requires us to walk in obedience to the laws set in place. The interpretation of those laws sometimes requires the knowledge of those given insight into its technicalities so we don’t falter. Submitting to authority goes beyond submitting to a man, because we live in a civil society where the laws are made by the constitution we certainly need to be informed on the issue of how those laws don’t work against our religious rights and freedom. Wherever we find ourselves as believers, our main goal should be on how we can accurately represent and manifest the knowledge of the glory of God.

While there are seasons due to God’s purpose and process of deliverance, his people might find themselves in bondage. We should always remind ourselves that the Lord is very much in control of the various stages of the unfolding of his council. Obedience and passiveness are two different values that need clarity. The Lord did not call us to be passive and become rebellious in our attitude, rather we are enjoyed to walk in obedience for conscience sake so we can have higher ground in challenging and dispelling the forces of hell out of our communities and nation. Where oppression of any form should not be condoned we also must be mindful of what the Lord is about to achieve so we don’t give up due to the pain we are feeling.

Romans chapter 13 leads the church directly to the core of how the Lord desires to take back the nations. As we see the destiny coming forth in this new day of the Spirit our response and duty as believers is to intercede for the written counsel of the Lord to come forth.