"The cost for this crusade could easily be as much as five crusades put together. LA is expensive.
It will be harder to get a crowd here than anywhere else I have preached. LA oozes with distractions and endless things to do. Plus, the most sophisticated marketing in the world goes on here. How can we compete with that? How can we get their attention? Then there is the persecution. The gloves are off here. Government and media have the Christian faith in their crosshairs. We will be censored, misquoted, and threatened. But the biggest obstacle is the vast number of believers across America who consider LA to be a lost cause. Many believe God should destroy LA." - Mario Murillo
I assume the whining about cost is a plea to fleece the flock. I saw one commenter promise him $1000 that day! Won't God provide a way if you are doing His will? Ah, but if you are not! L.A. oozes with distractions and endless things to do? So what? Are we only supposed to evangelize small towns without a lot of entertainment? Why do you think you have to compete with anyone? I remember after I gave a sermon one night many years ago, there was literally no one coming up to say anything to me after until one man I did not know slowly approached and told me that he walked in on his last leg of faith and the sermon, not me, restored it. My answer was that God must have intended it for him then and that was awesome. How sad is it that Murillo already has concluded that any involvement from the government must be construed as "persecution." Christians in the Middle East are martyred every day for refusing to renounce Christ. Christians in China have to hide in an underground church. But if a local or state government asks questions about a huge public gathering you are planning the reflexive cry is whaaa persecution! Nonsense. But, but, they misquoted me! Get over yourself!
Just a final thought here. If you honestly think that a vast number of believers assume Los Angeles and its four million residents are a lost cause that God should destroy - don't you think THAT is a ridiculously huge problem? Why is it that people who follow Mario Murillo would think such a heinous, evil thing? Are there no saved individuals in Los Angeles? Are all of the four million people beyond the redeeming power of Christ? This is what happens when you view people politically instead of eternally. The Christian lens and the carnal lens are polar opposites! The Sons of Thunder once asked if Jesus wanted them to call down fire from heaven to destroy a Samaritan village and Jesus rebuked them harshly! That was just a tiny village, not a city with four million people. This is vile and disgusting but it is the logical end Satan has designed for the apostate dominionist church. Instead of seeing the lost as sheep without a shepherd, they see them as not being worth the very salvation they think they have. And why? Why do they view these four million people as unredeemable and think God should kill them all? Because they do not vote the way they do. Because they were convinced that believing their lying political party is righteous and all the problems in the world are chargeable to the other party. Absolutely disgusting.
"There you have it. A crusade that is the most expensive"the most difficult"done in the least amount of time. In the natural, I felt I was living out this hilarious quote: "We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing." What is not funny is the way my soul suffered. The crushing weight on my spirit had to be removed. I had to be convinced"totally convinced this was God. Only God's voice could bring the relief I needed.
The story of how I got my answer is amazing. It began when I clearly heard this phrase: "Where is the God of Elijah?" I could tell you we are going because of the great need. No one needs to tell you how destroyed and desperate millions are in Los Angeles. But that is not the biggest reason. The real reason seemed like a complete contradiction: The reason this mission is impossible is: Los Angeles. The reason we are going? Also: Los Angeles. This crusade is not about Mario Murillo. This crusade is not about the impossibility. It is about God and Los Angeles It is about this moment in history. We are at the very same place that Israel was when Elijah was taken from them in a fiery chariot." - Mario Murillo
This is not about Mario Murillo? You sure coulda fooled me because all you have been talking about is Mario Murillo! After all it is your poor soul who has suffered. It is your spirit that a crushing weight has been burdened with. And why not, after all those dirty Los Angeles Democrats are bound to be so ungrateful and we all know that's persecution. You are not at the same place as Israel in the days of Elijah Mario. You are a false teacher, preaching a false gospel, that will save no one. This is obviously just a set up because we all know your shtick. You will claim great miracles, movements and salvations after this event and brag about the job you did. Sure, you will pay lip service to Jesus, but this set up makes it obvious that this is ENTIRELY about Mario Murillo.
"He [Elisha] took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over" (2 Kings 2:13-14, NKJV). The renowned prophet Elijah is suddenly gone. Israel is left with a massive moral vacuum. Would the evil now go unanswered? No! Never! God has placed a double portion upon the successor"Elisha!
But instead of Elisha declaring himself the new prophet, he did something remarkable. He declared the God of Elijah. And more importantly he threw down this burning question: "Where is the God of Elijah?!" At that moment, Elisha understood what Israel needed was not a man. Israel needed a national miracle. They needed to know what God was going to do now that Elijah was gone. This self-effacing act released power. Elisha struck the river Jordan with the mantle, and the waters parted, just as they had done for Elijah. The vessel was not the important feature. The God who was doing something new"that was what mattered." - Mario Murillo
