Get off the Bench

By Charles Eric Rote

America is known for being the home of the brave and land of the free, which, in itself, is not a bad thing. This is what separates us from the majority of the rest of the world. We have freedoms that most of the world can only dream of. One of those freedoms is our religious freedom. We as Americans can choose any religion we desire, and no one can do or say anything about it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 12, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543478860

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Copyright © 2018 by Charles Rote.

ISBN:                      Hardcover                        978-1-5434-7884-6

                                Softcover                           978-1-5434-7885-3

                                eBook                                978-1-5434-7886-0

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KJV

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

NKJV

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, 21st Century King James Version® (KJ21®) Copyright ©1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.

Rev. date: 01/12/2018

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CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter 1     God Needs America

Chapter 2     Destiny Is Calling The Fathers

Chapter 3     America’s New Horizon

Chapter 4     Unlocking Your Potential

Chapter 5     Modern-Day Moses

Chapter 6     The Father’s Love Being Released Over A Nation

Chapter 7     Dream Destroyer

Chapter 8     Power Of The Comforter

Chapter 9     Hour Of Grace

Chapter 10   Millennials

Chapter 11   Foundations Of America And Israel

Chapter 12   Called Into The Game

Chapter 13   Hour Of Mercy

Chapter 14   Third Great Awakening

Chapter 15   Leap Of Faith

PREFACE

First off, glory to God for making this happen and for his very presence in and on my life. Second, I thank my precious wife, Loretta. She’s the one who cheered me on, who believed in me, and who prayed as only she does. She’s my prayer warrior, my intercessor, and my best friend. I also thank my precious little ones, who love me the same. Praise God.

God prompted me to write this book in a season where I had more to do than the hands of the clock provided. Raising a family, working a full-time job, and just starting our ministry to preach the gospel in the 10/40 window making us very busy in this season of our lives. Yet even in busy seasons, God trumps all.

In all this, God asked me to take a day off work every week to focus on this book. I said, Really, God? I was afraid I couldn’t possibly fit in, nor could I afford to take off work. I left it at that. God obviously had not. The very next week, my boss at the time said to me, Hey, Eric, work is slowing down. We will only be working four days a week for a while. Wow! Did God ever highlight that one.

God took care of the business, didn’t he? Needless to say, I did not work a full week the entire time I wrote this book. The very week I was done writing, we returned to five workdays a week. Come on! That’s the God we serve. God is a great father who takes care of all things for his children.

The inspiration of writing this book went back four months prior to writing. We were on the verge of starting a ministry. In that season, the Lord again spoke to me. Again, the Lord was very specific in his instruction. He was asking me to go to the desert and do a forty-day water fast, just as he had before beginning his own ministry. Desiring to be obedient, I went overseas with a small team. We were on the edge of the Persian Gulf and the desert. While I was there, the Lord showed me a vision of America. In the vision, he showed me that America represented a basketball game. He highlighted the ones sitting on the bench. He said to me, Do you see the ones sitting on the bench? I am specifically highlighting them. They have been told they are not good enough to start, so they have to sit on the bench. In that particular position, they now have gotten comfortable. There is absolutely no pressure on them whatsoever.

As in real life, many have been told by their pastors that they are not quite schooled enough. They don’t have what it takes. They don’t have a degree. They are only eligible to sit. Sit, you say? Sadly, yes. Imagine a hand gesture to the pew or bench. The Lord showed me that vision. He needs America to get off the bench and to get in the game. May this book give you deeper revelation. May it give you insight and understanding that you are qualified. You are good enough. You have what it takes. I pray this book touches you and challenges you in many ways to get in the game. To God be the glory as he takes you on a deeper journey in your walk with him.

As always ~

In him,

Charles Eric Rote

CHAPTER 1

GOD NEEDS AMERICA

America is known for being the home of the brave and land of the free, which in itself is not a bad thing. This is what separates us from the majority of the rest of the world. We have freedoms that most of the world can only dream of. One of those freedoms is our religious freedom. We as Americans can choose any religion we desire, and no one can do or say anything about it. Yes, this is a great privilege. Why then is there this crazy moral decay in our country? Why is abortion at such a high rate?

Seemingly, nobody even cares that there are those that take lives that God has a destiny for, terminating them like they never existed. Then we have the marriage issue. In America, we no longer have the need to be defined as man or woman. The Bible clearly states, Two shall become one. But America seemingly does not value what it was once founded on. Rather, men may marry men; women marry women. Wow! This is extremely horrific. We need to get back in and live out the Word of God. In doing so, pay special attention to the story about Sodom and Gomorrah. The details are an exact match to today’s world. In those days, God burned them to the ground.

And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:

And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt. (Gen. 19:27–29)

Yes, they were destroyed to the point of leaving no evidence and showing that nothing ever existed. Yet we still have these freedoms in America. Unfortunately, we are losing our religious freedom at an extremely alarming rate. This country was founded on the Bible and its principles. Unashamed, America keeps choosing to move away from these principles. God is calling us back to him as a nation. We need to turn back to God’s ways and to turn away from the world’s ways.

God needs America to be his hands and feet. He needs America to help transform the world—a world with billions of people and yet have never heard or known that his name is Jesus. The church in America is stagnant, stuck, and careless. We no longer worry what is going on around us. We desire only to know what is going on for us and what makes us comfortable and happy. We are concerned only for our own well-being—quick sermons that tickle our ears, comfortable seats to sit in, to say the least.

Back in the early 1900s, America would build front porches on their houses. On the weekdays or weekends, the neighbors would walk by, stop, and chat for a while. Now we build huge decks in the backyard, build privacy fences, and rarely even talk to our neighbors, let alone even know who they are. This is why we have such disunity. I’m not just talking about the world; I’m also talking about the church of America. I believe the Lord is calling us to a deeper commitment to him as the church of America. The Lord Jesus Christ is all-powerful, but he still needs us to be his hands, feet, and mouthpiece.

The Lord says in the Word that the fields are ripe for harvest. He does consider us the harvesters, folks! But the majority thinks about nothing else in America except having a great job and a nice house and keeping up with the Joneses. Possibly going to church on Sunday and maybe Wednesday nights, we are falling very short of the call that God has put on our lives—the great commission.

I believe God is calling on the church in America to get in the game. When I was in Dubai, doing a forty-day water fast, the Lord showed me how America looked like a basketball team. He really magnified the guys that are sitting on the bench. He was saying that the guys sitting on the bench desire to get in the game, but they just don’t feel like they are qualified. So in retrospect, they would rather just stay on the bench. And the majority of them have been told by pastors or other church leaders that they do not qualify or don’t have the certification of qualified schooling. They don’t