May 25, 2008
"I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:32)
| INTRODUCTION TO WEEK TWENTY | |
INTRODUCTION TO WEEK TWENTY
This week, we continue to press in during WEEK TWENTY of our 40 Weeks of Prayer and Fasting, to offer prayers of repentance for the sin in the church, the sin in the nation, and the blessing of Israel.
We now address these areas:
1. SIN IN THE CHURCH: THE CONTROLLING SPIRIT
2. SIN IN THE NATION: NATIVE AMERICAN ISSUES (III)
3. THE BLESSING OF ISRAEL: TWO POINTS
| SIN IN THE CHURCH: CONTROLLING SPIRIT | |
REPENTANCE FOR SIN IN THE CHURCH:
THE CONTROLLING SPIRIT
The primary diversion that the enemy will use in order to sidetrack every new move of God will be the controlling spirit. As lawlessness increases, many church leaders will be prone to overreact to it in trying to bring order. These overreactions that use human strength, control and methods will ultimately result in even more disorder and confusion. The control spirit seeks to get Christian leaders to overstep their authority and try to do the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of others.
It is dangerous for those who are possessed with this jezebel spirit, to speak against the righteous and those who hear from the Lord. This spirit can come across very bold, abrasive or brash, but can also come across very sweet and friendly.. Beware, watch their body language and fruit and always be cautious. Keep watch and pray for discernment at all times.
They speak against or chase out watchmen and prophets whom the Lord sends to their church to reveal and warn of things occurring that are not of God or things to come. They stifle and choke out the word from the Lord and are not teachable. They also don't allow the Holy Spirit to move in their services.
"Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous." (Psalm 31:18)
(Source: Riding with the King in Unity, by Giles F.. Mack, P.O. Box 1761, Branson, MO 65615, pp. 90,92.)
"Father God, we repent that we have allowed Jezebel to take root among us, and have bowed the knee to the controlling spirit in man. Forgive us for fearing man above You; and help us to walk in Your ways. In Jesus' Name. Amen."
| SINS OF THE NATION: NATIVE AMERICAN ISSUES (III) | |
REPENTANCE FOR THE SINS OF THE NATION:
NATIVE AMERICAN ISSUES (III)
Indian Removal Act (1830) & Legalized Lawlessness
Refusing to accept to the ruling of Supreme Court Justice John Marshall that such action was illegal, President Andrew Jackson pushed through the Indian Removal Act (IRA). The IRA resulted in the forced removal of over 17,000 Cherokee Nation members alone. Jackson involved the church by recruiting Reverend John F. Schermerhorn, a retired Dutch minister, as treaty commissioner to the Indian tribes. Schermerhorn defrauded the Cherokee of their lands by having illegitimate Native leaders sign a removal treaty while official tribal representatives were in Washington D.C.
The primary root issue was greed for the gold discovered in the heart of Cherokee territory in 1828. Over 4,000 Cherokee died on the trek to Oklahoma. When the highest office in the land refused to obey the highest court in the land, this released legalized lawlessness into the governing of this nation and paved the way for the outlawing of righteousness.
Scriptural Understanding
¨ Isaiah 5:20 -- Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
¨ II Thess. 2:7 -- For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
Current consequences of Jackson's policy
Abortion has been legalized, the ten commandments are outlawed, and the nation's legislators are moving toward legalizing homosexual marriages and are also considering allowing homosexuals to adopt children, etc.
Current Consequences for the Church
Because they participated in the releasing of legalized lawlessness the church in America today holds little authority in the realm of influencing federal and state legislation and the appointing of supreme court judges. Most of the time the church's voice is not heard and usually it cannot obtain justice in legal or legislative matters.
[For an indepth examination of this topic, please visit the website for the First Nations Counseling Ministries. Look for the section marked "Spiritual Precedents" -- this material is from Precedent One.]
Prayer of Repentance:
"Father God, our Merciful Father, we come before you today as United States citizens and as Your children, and we ask you to forgive us for our sins against the Native American peoples. We ask You to forgive us for forcing them to endure such hardships, and to cleanse our sin through Your precious Shed Blood. We thank You that, when our government fails, Your government reigns supreme. Help us now to be "salt and light" to the Native Americans who live among us, and help us to love them as You do. In Jesus' Name, amen."
"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)
| THE BLESSING OF ISRAEL: TWO POINTS | |
THE BLESSING OF ISRAEL:
Israel's Negotiations with Syria
Evangelical Christian support for Israel
(Source: Intercessors for Israel)
Part One: Israeli government's "peace" negotiations with Syria.
Israel and Syria are scheduled to begin indirect negotiations for a peace agreement in Istanbul through Turkish mediators in a few weeks. Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Moallen says, "Syria cannot progress one step forward in negotiations before it receives assurances that Israel will fully withdraw from the Golan Heights." (65% to 70% of Israelis are against ceding the Golan Heights to Syria.)
Amos 9:14-15: "'I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them,' says the Lord your God."
Jeremiah 6:14 -- "They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, saying, 'Peace, peace!' When there is no peace."
We prayed, O Lord God Almighty:
· May the negotiations for the Golan Heights come to nothing.
· May the Golan Heights never return to Syria.
· Expose and stop all false peace negotiations.
· May the fear of God come upon the Olmert government to focus on and act upon Your prophetic agenda for the land of Israel.
Part Two: Evangelical Christian support for Israel
John 14:6 -- "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me..'"
Romans 1:16 -- "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek."
We thanked God for the many Christians, ministries and Evangelical Christian political caucuses in several nations who support Israel.
We prayed, O Lord God Almighty:
· May all Christians have a revelation and understanding of your plan of salvation for Israel through Yeshua.
· May all remnants of replacement theology be rooted out of the Church.
· May all individual Christians, ministries and Christian political caucuses be bold to proclaim that salvation is for the Jew and the Gentile only in the name of Yeshua and by His sacrificial death on the cross.
| | Song of the Week | |||
BLESSED ASSURANCE
"Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith."
(Hebrews 10:21-22)
Words: Fanny Crosby, 1873:
Music: Phoebe P. Knapp
"During the recent war in the Transvaal," said a gentleman at my meeting in Exeter Hall, London, in 1900, "when the soldiers going to the front were passing another body of soldiers whom they recognized, their greetings used to be, 'Four-nine-four, boys; four-nine-four;' and the salute would invariably be answered with 'Six further on, boys; six further on.'
The significance of this was that, in Sacred Songs and Solos, a number of copies of the small edition of which had been sent to the front, number 494 was 'God be with you until we meet again;' and six further on than 494, or number 500, was 'Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine.'"
(Sankey, Ira David, My Life and the Story of the Gospel Hymns,. Harper & Brothers, 1906.)
BLESSED ASSURANCE
Blessèd assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
Refrain
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
Refrain
Perfect submission, all is at rest
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
Refrain
| A Closing Thought . . . | |
Those Nations Only Are Blessed Whose God is the Lord
"It is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord."
Abraham Lincoln
