How to Respond When You've Been Cursed

J.Lee Grady

About 10 years ago, after I returned from a trip to Nigeria, I began itching all over my body. At first I assumed it was an allergic reaction to a food or detergent. But I had no rash, and my doctor was baffled. He told me there was no apparent cause for the itching.

My skin was crawling. Lotion gave me no relief. Was this a spiritual attack?

I'm not the kind of guy who sees a demon behind every bush. But during my trip, I had confronted a Nigerian occult healer, and this man did not like me. I started wondering if he had cursed me after I challenged his deception.

I called my friend Mosy Madugba, a respected Nigerian minister, and he confirmed that this witch doctor, who is popular in Nigeria, does in fact curse people he considers enemies. Mosy prayed for me and asked God to break the power of any witchcraft aimed in my direction. Within a day the itching totally stopped. It never returned.

Thankfully I don't experience this type of spiritual warfare often. But last year I had an even weirder experience—this time involving Christians who believe they have biblical grounds to curse people they don't like.

Believe it or not there are believers who routinely ask God to send tragedy, financial misfortune or sickness to people they are angry with. I even know of pastors who curse people who leave their churches. (NOTE: A true pastor cares for wayward sheep; he doesn't wish them harm.) In Nigeria, there are Christians who believe they have the right to pray for their enemies to die—and they have sponsored conferences on this topic!

Maybe you've never been the victim of a voodoo curse, but "charismatic witchcraft"—soulish prayer that is aimed to harm you—is more common than any of us wants to believe. Here are five simple ways you should respond whenever you are cursed:

1. Bless the person who cursed you. Several years ago someone posted a video online to discredit me. Some of my friends urged me to retaliate, but I knew my first response was to maintain a Christ-like attitude. I didn't even watch the video for several weeks until I had prayed blessings on the person who was denouncing me. Romans 12:19 says: "Never take your own revenge, but leave room for the wrath of God." We must live by the law of love and resist all temptation to become bitter.

Our normal reaction is to get angry when we discover someone is gossiping about us, spreading lies or praying angry prayers. But Jesus told us to chill out and let Him handle it. He said in Luke 6:27-8: "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."

2. Put up your spiritual shield. If you are a believer in Christ, you are hidden with Him. The Name of Jesus is a strong tower, and you will find safety from all spiritual danger when you call on Him. No witchcraft, no slanderous accusation, no evil curse can harm you when God is shielding you. Get in a place of prayer, and ask God to defend you. When David was running from Saul, he prayed: "The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped" (Psalm 28:7).

3. Close the door to demonic influences. The only way the devil can gain a foothold in our lives is if we leave a door open for him. Close and lock all doors! Eph. 4:27 says: "Do not give the devil an opportunity." This means renouncing all known sin and making sure you have not allowed anything in your life (such as resentment or pride) or in your house (such as pornography or occultic objects or books) that could attract demonic activity.

4. Keep praising God. Witchcraft unleashes discouragement. After Elijah challenged Jezebel, she threatened to kill him—and the mighty prophet ended up depressed and suicidal (see 1 Kings 19:1-4). Witchcraft cannot harm you, but it can bring a darkness that sucks the joy out of you. The best weapon against a spirit of heaviness is praise.

The book of Psalms provides us with a playlist of David's joyful response to the threats of his enemies. If you are under spiritual attack, it is possible to sing and shout your way out. When we praise God, the enemy is wrapped in chains, and he must shut up!

5. Brush it off. Spiritual attacks should not be ignored. But we shouldn't fret over them, either. You have the Word of God. You have the Blood of Jesus. Your confession is powerful against the enemy. Martin Luther once wrote: "The devil has no real power over believers. He hates prayer, and flees from the cross and from the Word of God as from a flaming fire."

You do not have to fear the curses of your enemies or the misguided prayers of hateful traitors. When David looked around and heard a demonic chorus of critics telling him he had no hope in God, he said: "I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me" (see Psalm 3:1-2). You can sleep in peace knowing that God is fighting your battles.

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter at leegrady. You can learn more about his ministry, The Mordecai Project, at themordecaiproject.org.

Unless otherwise specified, the opinions expressed are solely the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of Charisma Media.

Can Spirit-Filled Christians Be Oppressed by Demons?

How can Spirit-filled Christians be oppressed by demons? Watch deliverance minister Don Dickerman answer this question and offer guidance on casting out evil spirits in the videos below.

House agrees to muzzle pastors with 'hate crimes' plan

'This is first time protected status given to whatever sexual orientation one has'
Posted: April 30, 2009

The U.S. House today approved a federal "hate crimes" bill that would provide special protections to homosexuals but leave Christian ministers open to prosecution should their teachings be linked to any subsequent offense, by anyone, against a "gay."

The vote, 249-175, came despite intense opposition from Republicans who argued the measure would create a privileged class.

Bishop Harry Jackson Jr. of the High Impact Leadership Coalition also condemned the action, offering a warning about the nation's future.

He was interviewed on the issue by Greg Corombos of Radio America/WND, and the audio of his interview is embedded here:

Jackson said the action puts "sexual orientation" in a specially protected class under federal law.
"Based on history, it really isn't something that needs to be protected," he said. "There's a problem that this is going to mark the first time that a protected class status is given to … whatever sexual orientation one has."

He said the experience in other countries has led to prosecution of Christians. In Sweden, for example, a minister was sentenced to 30 days in jail for preaching from Leviticus.

Similar state laws have resulted in similar results. In Philadelphia several years ago, a 73-year-old grandmother was jailed for trying to share Christian tracts with people at a homosexual festival, Jackson said.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., said H.R. 1913 will create "thought crimes," and U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., said it will end equality in the U.S.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, charged the plan will divide America into groups of more favored versus less. He again cited USC Title 18, Section 2a, the foundation of H.R. 1913, which says anyone who through speech "induces" commission of a violent hate crime "will be tried as a principal" alongside the active offender.

But there is no epidemic of hate in the U.S., he noted.

Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., introduced a striking argument: If Miss California, Carrie Prejean, who supports traditional marriage, had slapped the homosexual judge who derided her on the stage under H.R. 1913 she could be indicted as a "violent hate criminal," facing a possible 10 years in prison. But, Forbes said, if the homosexual judge had slapped her, she would have had no special protection under H.R. 1913.

Andrea Lafferty, executive director of the Traditional Values Coalition, said, "The Anti-Christian Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives has acted today to lay the legal foundation and framework to investigate, prosecute and persecute pastors, youth pastors, Bible teachers, and anyone else whose Bible speech and thought is based upon and reflects the truths found in the Bible.

"A pastor's sermon could be considered 'hate speech' under this legislation if heard by an individual who then acts aggressively against persons based on 'sexual orientation.' The pastor could be prosecuted for 'conspiracy to commit a hate crime'" she said.

"This Democrat-controlled Congress has now elevated pedophiles and other bizarre sexual orientations, as well as drag queens, transgenders, lesbians and gay men to the level of protection of that already given to African Americans, Hispanics and other minorities in the law," she said.

House Republican leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the Democrats have placed a higher value on some lives compared to others, a decision he said is unconstitutional.

Not happy with just making Christian teachings on homosexuality illegal, supporters have approved a law that also provides grant money for so-called "sensitivity-training" to provide pro-homosexual propaganda, noted the public-interest legal group Liberty Counsel.

When a plan virtually identical to the current Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 was developed in the last Congress, Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., admitted during a hearing on the bill it could be used to prosecute pastors merely for preaching against homosexuality under the premise that they could be "inducing" violence in someone.

The bill ultimately failed then because President Bush determined it was unnecessary – the crimes banned in the legislation already are addressed by other laws – and it probably was unconstitutional.
"The federal hate crimes bill is bad news for everyone," said Brad Dacus of Pacific Justice Institute, who testified in Congress against the bill two years ago.

"Instead of treating all crime victims equally, it creates a caste system where select groups, such as gays and lesbians, are given greater priority in the criminal justice system. This is not progress; it is political correctness. In other nations and states, the adoption of hate crimes legislation has been the first step toward widespread suppression of speech and ideas critical of homosexuality," he said.
Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel has spoken out against H.R. 1913 a number of times.

"As has proved to be true in both Europe and Canada, this Orwellian piece of legislation is the direct precursor to freedom killing and speech chilling 'hate speech' laws. It represents a thinly veiled effort to ultimately silence – under penalty of law – morally, medically and biblically based opposition to the homosexual lifestyle," he said.

Barber said the 14th Amendment already provides that victims of violent crimes are afforded equal protection under the law "regardless of sexual preference or proclivity."

Barber cited FBI statistics showing there were about 1.4 million violent crimes in the U.S. in 2007, but only 1,512 were presumed to be "hate crimes." And two-thirds of those involved claims of "hateful" words, touching and shoving.

Under the specifications of the law, a Christian needn't touch a homosexual to face charges, he noted.
"If the homosexual merely claims he was subjectively placed in 'apprehension of bodily injury' by the Christian's words then, again, the Christian can be thrown in prison for a felony 'hate crime,'" he said.

WND reported previously that the plan was introduced by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., who said, "The bill only applies to bias-motivated violent crimes and does not impinge public speech or writing in any way."

Section 10 of the act states, "Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, shall be construed to prohibit any expressive conduct protected from legal prohibition by, or any activities protected by the free speech or free exercise clauses of, the First Amendment to the Constitution."
However, critics cite United States Code Title 18, Section 2, as evidence of how the legislation could be used against people who merely speak out against homosexuality. It states: Whoever commits an offense against the United States or aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces or procures its commission, is punishable as a principal.

Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern, warned Christians to speak up before the legislation passes. He said they are acting like the proverbial frog in a slowly heating kettle that boils to death.

"They need to wake up and take action to oppose this threat to religious liberty."

Read more: House agrees to 'muzzle pastors' with 'hate crimes' plan http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=96595#ixzz1YBMo7krG

 

We are at a turning point

Hi,

when I saw this picture of Obama (see below). God spoke to me and gave me the following message. It concerns us all. Please share this message with your friends, church and family.

God blss You

Pastor Joh.W.Matutis

www.nnk-Berlin.de (see the english menu)
www.preach-in.de/content/category/5/17/42


WE ARE AT THE "TURNING POINT"

When the United States of America (hereinafter called the U.S.) declares bankruptcy and “goes down the drain” one should not be wondering at such a scenario.

Attached is one of the newest photos (see attached) where Obama is being blessed by a Hindu priest in the White House. That is not going to get unpunished.

At the occasion of the July 2007 inauguration session for the ensuing series of sessions of the U.S. Senate a Hindu priest blessed and sanctified the U.S. nation and the world economics in the name of Hindu gods. Right after this occasion the world economic crisis began.

At that time a Hindu priest read from the book of the ancient Hindu Vedes and called upon the spirits of the earth, the seas and the winds. One of the Christian faithfuls attending cried: “Oh God, forgive us these abominations!” Immediately, ushers seized the caller and forcibly carried him out of the auditorium.

Calmly, the Hindu priest restarted the ceremony from the very beginning and finished the ceremony and sanctification.

What happened then?

According to a press release of July 14, 2007 giant hornets and wasps captured the U.S. Congressional building. Some 16 swarms of these insects (up to 2 inches in size) seized the building.

God said in the bible (2. Mose 23, 27-29): “ I will send my fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people …..and I will send hornets before you….and the beasts of the field will become too numerous for you to cope with them…

That was the punishment for the peoples, i.e. the Hivites, the Canaanites and the Hittites that have worshiped idols. They worshiped as their main deity the god of the earth, the god of the winds and the god of the fire. Exactly the same gods that the Hindu priest called upon during the U.S. Senate session on July 13, 2007.

Since then, the U. S. is haunted by hurricanes and tornados, its woods and forests are burning (see fires in California) and lo and behold exactly commencing on July 14, 2007 oil prices shot up from a low $65 to a magical $147 per barrel.

Referring to Isa. 30, 25-26, God says “…when the towers fall (on 9-11-01) the day of reckoning is come. A lot has happened since than that pertains to the U.S. and the whole world and what is prophesized in the bible on “the Antichrist and its totalitarian reign”. The U.S. has more and more become a totalitarian surveillance regime with limitations on immigration and travel, much like it was prevalent in the days of the Soviet Union or the ex GDR. Nowadays, you must pay a fee of $10 to travel to the U.S., leaving the question whether this is better than in the GDR times?

The prophet Ezekiel admonishes 2500 years ago on behalf of God ( see Ezekiel 7): “I am calling upon you the most merciless peoples that they may seize your most beautiful houses. I will make an end with the arrogant behavior of its inhabitants and everything they treasure most will I destroy. Panic and fear will I sent upon them. Everyone will try to save their very life but they will not find the hiding places.”

Disaster upon disaster will come upon them…one horrific message chases another. In vain will they seek comfort with the prophet of God. No priest will have an answer for them, neither do any elders nor wise men. Even the king will become horrified and will render lamentations of the dead. The country men will be paralyzed of horror. I demand reckoning from them of their evil doings. I will judge them without mercy, because they have judged others. Then they will know that I am the LORD…”

And then He continues: “The day of judgment has arrived. Without ceasing, disaster strikes. Violence and arrogance prevailed bringing forth injustice after injustice. But of them that bet on violence and injustice, no one will remain, even if they are without number playing boss. Their might and glory will end…Their given time will soon be over. Soon, the day of judgment for the U.S. is come.

It’s every man for himself.

Here at home a mass vaccination project is unfolding (see image 2 below), soon it may just look like that. Why should the military get a different type of vaccination than pregnant women (!) or everybody else? Just look at this picture and think about it once more.

Perhaps these are the wolves, God showed me in that End-Time-Vision, recently (read it at my home page under “Somethings”). (or www.preach-in.de/content/category/5/17/42 / and see "End-Time-Vision")

I know, this is not just a simple flu-vaccination, there is a lot more to it as you may think. As a servant of God, I have got the task to warn my fellow men about the impending judgments of God, in order to help them find refuge and also not to trust these deceiving promises.

I am not getting anything out of this for my own benefit whether you believe me or not. As a preacher I am only doing my job and preach what I am conceiving from the Lord, whether this fits you or not.

Spiritual minded people understand the messages of God, though they may sound foolish and comical to the ungodly. Just think about Noah, Lot and others (see also Mathew 27,37-39 / Luke 17,26-34, etc.)

True Children of God are in his hand – they do not have to be afraid of pestilence and other calamities (see Ps. 91).

I am pointing out “TRUE children of God”. Are you already a TRUE child of God? Are you certain about that? Do you have this certainty from the Holy Ghost? (see Rom. 8,14-16).

Is the Holy Spirit guiding you?

I continue to pray for you.
Be blessed.

Pastor Joh. W. Matutis
www.nnk-berlin.de

Whenever God is Moving Among a People, This Will Happen

by Frank Viola

When the Lord is having His way in a body of believers, God’s enemy will be sure to attack. Nothing so threatens the enemy’s kingdom than the church of Jesus Christ being expressed and standing for God’s timeless purpose and Christ’s fullness and headship.

Four things to keep in mind when such attacks occur (notice that I said “when”):

1. The enemy virtually always uses uncrucified flesh as the ground for his attack against a body of believers.

2. Those who are giving ground to the enemy aren’t aware that this is what they are doing: giving ground to him via selfishness and self-gratification.

3. The only way to close the gap is to die to self. God’s enemy has no ground by which to work then. Remember Jesus’ words: “Satan has come, but He has nothing in me.” There was no ground in Him for the enemy to use.

4. The enemy uses lies and deception to hold ground. He’s a master at it. The Scriptures wielded by crucified hands and in the Spirit are a force to break that deception.

Here are priceless words from T. Austin-Sparks on this score:

But this thing is very deeply rooted in us; the subtlety, the imperceptible desire of the flesh for gratification. If we were asked straight out whether we wanted to please ourselves, whether we were after our own personal gratification, whether it was our pleasure and satisfaction that was motivating our lives and directing us, we would at once most vehemently repudiate the suggestion, and probably be very offended with whoever made the suggestion; and yet, beloved, deeper than our deepest honesty, deeper than our truest sincerity, there is that subtle constituent of fallen nature which so often unperceived by the believer himself or herself does just love to be gratified, personally satisfied, and which does not like to be emptied out and have nothing.

Gratification and glory is the very essence of the flesh even when we are engaged in the Lord’s work. To set up something FOR THE LORD, yes, but men point at it and say: “That is his work and her work,” and how we like that! Something that will be a good testimony to faith, a great monument – yes, but subtly the monument to OUR faith. Such is this horrible thing that is always reaching out from beneath, under cover, and, quietly and imperceptibly, taking the glory of the Lord to itself.

The remedy for that is the Body of Christ practically applied in principle. Yes, it is! That is why it is so difficult to live a corporate life with other believers, because you have to be so thoroughly crucified. There is nothing that demands crucifixion more than to live with other Christians all your days. You say: “That is a terrible thing to say,” but you know what I am talking about. You have to defer, refer, consult, submit, let go. In a thousand and one ways you have to put your own likes and dislikes aside if the Lord is to get His end. Oh yes, it is the Body of Christ that is the saving thing.

It is corporate life that is the remedy, but O beloved, that is the way of triumph, the way of victory. It is! It is a mighty remedy for the flesh, a mighty remedy for the work of the Devil, but it does represent the mighty power of God working in us. You see, you can never come into the Body of Christ until you have been crucified. It is because uncrucified flesh has impinged upon the corporate life of believers that there is such contradiction and denial, because the Body represents the exclusion of man, in himself – flesh.

(The Centrality and Supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ, p. 32)

UNCTION: Heaven's Knighthood by E M Bounds

Unction comes to the preacher, not in the study, but in the closet. It is heaven's distillation in answer to prayer. It is the sweetest exhalation of the Holy Spirit. It impregnates softens, cuts and soothes. It carries the Word like dynamite, like salt, like sugar; makes the hearer a culprit or a saint, makes him weep like a child and live like a giant; opens his heart and his purse as gently, yet as strongly as the spring opens the leaves.

This unction is not the gift of genius. It is not found in the halls of learning. No eloquence can woo it. No industry can win it. No clergies hands can impart it. It is the gift of God -the signet set to His own messengers. It is Heaven's knighthood given to the chosen true and brave ones who have sought this anointed honor through many an hour of tearful, wrestling prayer.

Earnestness is good and impressive. Genius is gifted and great. Thought kindles and inspires, but it takes a diviner endowment, a more powerful energy then earnestness or genius or thought - to BREAK the chains of sin, to WIN estranged and depraved hearts to God to repair the breaches, and restore the Church to her old ways of purity and POWER! Nothing but this holy unction can do this. Unction is the anointing of the Holy Ghost, separating unto God's work and qualifying for it. Without this unction there are no true spiritual results accomplished.

Unction may be simulated. There are many things that look like it, there are many results that resemble its effects; but they are foreign to its results and to its nature. The fervor or softness excited by a pathetic or emotional sermon may look like the movements of the divine unction, but they have no pungent, penetrating, heartbreaking force. No heart-healing balm is there in these surface, sympathetic, emotional movements. They are not radical, neither sin-searching nor sin-curing.

This divine unction is the one distinguishing feature that separates true gospel preaching from all other methods of presenting truth. It backs and interpenetrates the revealed truth with all the force of God. It illumines the Word, and broadens and enriches the intellect, and empowers it to grasp and apprehend the Word. It qualifies the preacher's heart, and brings it to that condition of tenderness, of purity, of force and light that are necessary to secure the highest results. This unction gives to the preacher liberty and enlargement of thought and soul - freedom, fullness, and directness of utterance that can be secured by no other process.

Without unction on the preacher the gospel has no more power to propagate itself than any other system of truth. This is the seal of its divinity. Unction in the preacher puts God in the gospel. Without the unction, God is absent, and the gospel is left to the low forces that the ingenuity, interest, or talents of men can devise to enforce and project its doctrines.

It is in this element the pulpit often fails than in any other element. Unction is the consecration force, and its presence the continuous test of consecration. It is this divine anointing on the preacher that secures his consecration. It is this divine anointing on the preacher that secures his consecration to God and his work. Other forces and motives may call him to the work, but this only is consecration. A separation to God's work by the power of the Holy Spirit is the only consecration recognized by God as legitimate.

The divine unction, this heavenly anointing is what the pulpit needs and must have. This divine and heavenly oil put on it by the imposition of God's hand must soften and lubricate the whole man - heart, head, spirit - until it separates him with a mighty separation from all earthly, secular, worldly, selfish motives and aims, separating him to everything that is pure and Godlike. It is the presence of this unction on the preacher that creates the stir and friction in many a congregation. The same truths have been told in the strictness of the letter, but no ruffle has been seen, no pain or pulsation felt. All is quiet as a graveyard.

Another preacher comes, and this mysterious influence is on him; the letter of the Word has been fired by the Spirit, the throes of a mighty movement are felt. It is this unction that pervades and stirs the conscience and breaks the heart. Unctionless preaching makes everything hard, dry, and, dead. This unction is not a memory or an era of the past only; it is a present, realized, conscious fact. It belongs to the experience of the man as well as to his preaching. It is that which transforms him into the image of his divine Master, as well as that by which he declares the truth of Christ with power. It is so much the power in the ministry as to make all else seem feeble and vain without it, - and by its presence to atone for the absence of all other feebler forces.

This unction is not an inalienable gift. It is a conditional gift, and its presence is perpetuated and increased by the same process by which it was at first secured; by unceasing prayer to God, by impassioned desires after God, by estimating it, by seeking it with tireless ardor, by deeming all else loss and failure without it.

EXCERPTED FROM, POWER THROUGH PRAYER BY E M BOUNDS

Discerning The Jezebel Spirit (4 Part)

More info/source: http://sweety.com/Jezebel.pdf

HUMANISM: Forerunner for Anti-CHRIST

Derek Prince

For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies - the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world. (Eph. 6:12, TLB)

As followers of Jesus Christ, we find ourselves caught up in a conflict that spans both heaven and earth. The forces that confront us are “persons without bodies”—evil spiritual powers in the unseen realm that oppose all true righteousness and seek to establish Satan’s dominion over the whole world.

Our responsibility in this conflict is unique, because Christ has committed to us alone the spiritual insight and weapons that can give us victory. The governments and the armies of this world, operating solely on the natural plane, have no understanding of the conflict and no power to deal with the satanic forces in the heavenlies. On the contrary, without realizing it, they themselves are manipulated and controlled by those forces.

One essential requirement for victory is to identify the nature of the forces that are at work in any given situation. In recent months as I have been meditating on developments in the world and especially in the U.S.A. and Israel. I believe that God has shown me the identity of the evil, deceptive power that Satan plans to use to consummate his purposes for the end of this age. It is HUMANISM.

I had always thought of humanism as a comparatively harmless error. When I consulted a dictionary, I was taken aback by its definition:

“the denial of any power or moral value superior to that of humanity; the rejectionof religion in favor of a belief in the advancement of humanity by its own efforts.”

I realized that humanism is not spiritually neutral. On the contrary, it is a deliberate denial and rejection of God’s power and authority. It is an anti-religious religion. For this reason, it can be—and often is—taught in educational systems, such as that of the U.S.A., which prohibit the teaching of religion in its usual sense.

I decided to trace humanism back through history, starting with Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of an image with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, and legs of iron. Daniel interpreted this as foreshowing four Gentile empires which would arise in succession. The head was Babylon; the chest and arms were Media-Persia; the belly and thighs were Greece; the legs were Rome (Dan. 2:31–40).

One key factor was impressed upon me: the reproductive organs were in the area identified with Greece. With my background in Greek philosophy, this became particularly vivid to me. I realized that it was Greece—more than any of the other empires—which, through its philosophy, reproduced itself in subsequent cultures. Two of the early Greek philosophers of whom we have a record are Heraclitus and Protagoras. Three of their surviving sayings state: “all things flow” . . . “you can never step twice into the same river” . . . “man is the measure of all things.” It is amazing how these three sayings sum up the essence of humanism. They assert that everything is relative; there are no moral or legal absolutes; and man is the highest authority in the universe.

It is outside the scope of this study to analyze how this thinking has molded, first, the concepts of Europe, and then, through Europe, the concepts of contemporary “civilization.”

The Greeks idolized the human mind. Aristotle’s concept of God was a perfect mind contemplating itself—because nothing less was worthy of its contemplation. Out of this the whole philosophy of rationalism has developed. In addition to philosophy, another main element of Greek culture was its emphasis on athletic contests. Their Olympic Games represented what was, in fact, an idolatry of athletic prowess, which has come back to life in the present century. The most widely viewed TV programs today are the great international sporting contests.

The Greeks also tended to downgrade the marriage relationship between a man and a woman, and to view a homosexual relationship between two men as being more “intellectually fulfilling.” In their statuary, the idealized male form was usually presented naked, whereas the female was draped with some form of robe.

The so-called “gods” of Greece exhibited all the moral failings of humanity: lust, immorality, jealousy, vindictiveness and deception—a complete absence, in fact, of any binding moral code. This left man free to be his own god, and to establish his own moral code. After all, no people can be expected to live above the level of its own gods.

All these effects of Greek humanism have been increasingly evident in our Western culture throughout the present century. In 1992, however, the spirit of humanism launched a major new offensive against both the U.S.A. and Israel. Almost simultaneously, a cloud of dense spiritual darkness descended upon both nations. In their national elections that year the spiritual force that brought to power both the Clinton administration in the U.S.A. and the Labor Coalition in Israel was blatant, undiluted humanism. Both administrations represent an open and deliberate rejection of God’s righteous laws and of the covenants He made with man, first through Moses and then through Jesus Christ. They have demonstrated that, carried to its ultimate, humanism will believe anything but the truth and will tolerate anything but righteousness.

This exaltation of man is the force which will finally give rise to the Antichrist, whose name is the number of man (Rev. 13:18), the man of lawlessness, who opposes and exalts himself above everything that is called God or is worshiped, and even sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God (2 Thess. 2:3–4).

Scripture reveals that he will bring under his dominion all who have refused the love of the truth. For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie—the original lie, that is, with which Satan deceived our first parents: “You will be like God . . .” or “like gods.” This exaltation of man in the place of God will usher in “the great tribulation”—a period of worldwide agony so terrible that it will exceed even the holocaust of 1939–1945 (Matt. 24:21–22).

Before this final period of tribulation, however, God still has tremendous purposes to work out for both Israel and the Church. A harvest of mercy will precede the harvest of judgment. God’s preparation for this is revealed in Zechariah 9:13: “I will raise up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece. . . .” The “sons of Greece” are those who embrace the deception of humanism. The “sons of Zion” are those who take their stand upon the infallible Word of God, embracing both its promises and its covenants. They will be drawn both from natural Israel and from the professing Church. Of them it will be said, “They overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” They will be people with one overriding priority; to do the will of God will be more important to them than to hold on to life itself.

Faced with this challenge, we each need to ask ourselves: Am I ready to take my stand as one of the sons of Zion?

Numerically, we are vastly outnumbered by the forces of humanism. Nevertheless, we can take courage from the example of Asa, king of Judah. Facing an invasion by an overwhelmingly superior army, his prayer of desperation turned sure defeat into total victory. For us today, his prayer provides a wonderful pattern with which to counter the self-exalting forces of humanism.

“LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O LORD, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you.” (2 Chron. 14:11, NIV)

Let us stand together in prayer!

Yours in the Master’s service,
Derek Prince

The Battle is Real

The Church, The World, The Battle is real.

People all over the world are suffering and being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. Just because we don't see it on the news - it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist!

However, something extraordinary is happening! Prayer groups are forming, disciples are being trained, and God's word is changing lives! Freedom is being pursued, and it begins with you!

What you do makes a difference! Bible distribution, prayer, training, encouragement, and love! What you do matters!

Thank you for being involved!
More info:  www.OpenDoorsUSA.org

ADDING VALUE TO THE LAND by Rev Susan Tang

When I came home to Lahad Datu after an itinerant ministry in November 2002, I contracted typhoid. It turned out to be more than just a physical illness and plunged me into spiritual warfare. After that experience, I developed a greater spiritual capacity to hear from the Lord. There was greater clarity and accuracy. No wonder the psalmist David exclaimed, "You enlarged me when I was in distress."

After my recovery, I knew I wasn't to travel. I had to stay back in this lowly and dusty town to continue to pray for directions for my own ministry and for the nation. The Lord directed me to write a series of books, one of which connected me to Art Katz, the 77-year-old Jewish prophet who was here with us. To have this aged Jewish prophet impact our nation and come (of all places) to Lahad Datu was a sign to the nation. What sign? I echo what Ps. Jean Lim said, "How awesome. Malaysia is so small yet God has send us this Jewish prophet.” Yes, God did so because there is hope for or land. (Read GOD’S STRATEGIES BOOK 5 )

The recent events of sudden floods, howling winds and uprooted trees in Shah Alarm and Subang Jaya are neither accidents nor the wrath of nature. God was speaking to our nation. We have been warned that Malaysia will not be spared from tsunamis and earthquakes. Are we hearing? Who can escape when God is shaking the foundations of the earth?

I am in Lahad Datu (East Malaysia), a place that is far removed from the epicenter of earthquakes. Yet in 6 months, we have had 4 earthquakes less than a thousand kilometers from us. The last one was so bad, many in town felt the tremors. As I consistently pray for Malaysia to be spared of God's judgment, I keep hearing this inner voice, " Why should God spare Malaysia? Is Malaysia worth it? Are there people here in this nation who will add value to the land?"

In the days of Israel's impending judgment, God asked this same question. Are there people who will add value to the land ? The land that has been so devalued, defiled and desecrated by sin that it has affected even nature's order (Jeremiah 2:7, Isaiah 24:5,20)? In Israel's dark days, God was desperately looking for people whose prayers and living would form a barricade against His judgment so that the land could be spared, but unfortunately He found none. He was looking for devoted watchmen whose lives would be the antithesis of all that was going on in the world, but He found none. There were many (including prophets and priests) that devalued the land, but none that would add value to it. Finally and sadly, God's judgment came, unabated and unhindered, upon the nation.

None? How could it be that there were no people to add value to the land? Just like it is today, Israel had plenty of religious leaders and 'prophetic voices,' but none of these were praying men or men whose living was the antithesis of how the world was living. Instead of adding value to the land, these spiritually blind and covetous leaders were leading others into devaluing the land by their greed, their sensual yearnings, blasphemous assumptions and vain prophecies. In fact, the religious leaders were the perpetrators.

Israel's prophets were men's (and 'money') prophets, not God's prophets. Many of them, like today, had given themselves over to both the mercenary and the merchandising (trading and selling) spirit. They were moved by soul power, a powerful gift of clairvoyance and dark wisdom. Most of them finally confessed, under God's ultimate judgment and ultimate light, that they did not have any prophetic gifts and were 'schooled in lusts in the days of their boyhood' (NEB in Zechariah 13:5). As a result they had no fresh word from the throne room and all they could prophesy was 'peace and prosperity,' something copied from the mouths of other flesh prophets. They could not see the impending judgment around the corner.

God challenged those prophets. If they were truly prophets then let them intercede for the land so that the remaining vessels in the land would not go into captivity (Jeremiah 27:18) Unfortunately the vessels did go into Babylonian captivity - a sad testimony and indictment that these men were not God's prophets and that they had no interceding or prevailing power before God.

Why did God issue such a challenge to the 'prophets' of Israel? Because the quintessence of a prophet is intercession. True prophets take intercession seriously because they can see what God sees, hear what God hears and feel what God feels. God gives His prophets this ability to see, hear and feel like He does so that they will be able to pray and 'make up the hedge' and 'stand in the gap' for the land. A prophet's job is to bring God to men and bring men to God - he is not to be entangled in the affairs of this world. This is why true prophets, like Samuel, Moses and David, have the ability to avert God's judgment, check ungodly invasions of the land and keep hostile forces away so that "the vessels of the Lord be not taken away into captivity."

Money prophets cannot pray. 'Flesh' prophets cannot hear from within the veil. God had declared that He will not let these flesh prophets get close to Him – a terrible indictment against them.

To be able to prophesy, write books and make a lot of money, have our calendars full of preaching dates, or ‘jet-set’ around the world to tell grandiose stories and have an audience ‘eating out of our hands,’ etc. but unable to get close to God and prevail in His presence is indeed a terrible form of judgment. ( Ezekiel 44:13)

This is why so many prophets have to live on 'borrowed visions' and 'copied prophecies'. It is sad that Israel, at the time of her greatest need, had no true or praying prophet who could add value to their land and to prevail against those dark invading forces.

God's deep hurt and disappointment were revealed in Ezekiel 22:20 when He said that He could not find someone who was willing, by their prayers and living, to 'make up the hedge' and 'stand in the gap' for that land. In other words, He was saying He could not find someone who was willing to add value to the land so that, in spite of its defilement, He would not have to destroy it.

I have chosen to quote all scriptures from the NEW ENGLISH BIBLE because its translation is precise and updated. The words strike right into our hearts. May you feel the hurt in God's heart and discern the disappointment in His voice when He says:

"I looked for a man among them who could build up a barricade, who could stand before me in the breach to defend the land from ruin; but I found no such man. (therefore) I poured out my judgment upon them and utterly destroyed them in the fire of my wrath." (Eze.22:30-3NEB)

"If they are prophets, and if they have the word of the Lord, let them intercede with the Lord of Hosts, to grant that the vessels still left in the Lord's house, in the royal place, and in Jerusalem, may not be carried off to Babylon." (Jeremiah 27:18NEB)

God knew that sin will not only desecrate and defile a land, it will also devalue it. It will cause Him to turn away from it and it will ultimately open the door for demonic invasion. Look at what God says in these verses:

"Earth itself is desecrated by the feet of those who live in it because (i) they have broken the laws,(ii) disobeyed the statutes and (iii) violated the eternal covenant." (Isaiah 24:5NEB)

"The earth reels to and fro like a drunken man and sways like a watchmen's shelter; (because) the sins of men weigh heavy upon it." (Isaiah 24:20 NEB)

"I brought you into a fruitful land to enjoy its fruit and the goodness of it; but when you entered upon it, you defiled it (with your sins) and made the home I gave you loathsome." (Jeremiah2:7)

"Your wrong doing has upset nature's order and your sins have kept from you nature's kindly gifts." (Jeremiah 5:25 NEB)

Men's sins upsetting nature's order! Now you know why all of a sudden, nature is convulsing and spewing up tsunamis everywhere. Why? Because men, by their sins, have upset nature. Luke 21:32 reads like this in the NEW ENGLISH BIBLE:

"On earth nations will stand helpless, not knowing which way to turn from the roar and surge of the sea (tsunamis,) men will faint with terror at the thought of all that is coming upon the world."

The prophet Samuel lived to add value to his land. He gave himself totally to serious intercession and focused prayers. The value of his life and intercession could be found in these recorded verses:

"The hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel."(I Sam.7:13)

Isn't this powerful living? Samuel's uncompromising and righteous life was the 'governing power' for his nation. He was able to restrain wicked spirits from attacking Israel by his perpetual prayers and sacrifices, thus saving thousands from destruction. As long as he was alive (and praying) the Philistines (demonic forces) could not invade Israel. They might have been menacing, threatening, intimidating and they outnumbered Israel, BUT THEY COULD NOT BREAK THROUGH into the land because the prayers of Samuel held them back.

Samuel added value to a land that was made valueless by the sins of the people. What a powerful life - what a way to live! It was a life hidden from the sight of man but exposed to the principalities and powers - they knew him and feared his prayers. It was a quiet life on earth but a 'loud' life in the heavens. It was a life of obscurity but it was a life with deep spiritual worth and eternal validity.

Samuel's prayers were powerful because of the life he lived. He lived so powerfully that at the end of his service, he called on men and God to judge his moral behavior. He called on men to witness against his outward actions and God to investigate his inward motives. (I Sam.12:3-4). His life was greedless and blameless - how many of us can say this of ourselves? God took this prophet the moment he was weaned from his mother's breast so that He could 'school' Samuel Himself before he landed into the hands of men who would most probably have had him 'schooled in lusts in the days of his boyhood.'

This man's life had prevailing power because it was an antithesis to all that was around him. Prayers are not powerful because of what we say but because of the way we live. It is important that watchmen and intercessors know that it is not their words nor the time sent in prayers that is valuable. The life lived by the one who pray matters the most. The devil fled when Jesus quoted scriptures at him because the devil knew that Jesus did not just quote those scriptures, He lived them. The Pharisees and scribes merely taught them. They could not defeat the powers of darkness or expose any false values because these inflated religious leaders lived in these very things.

Does Malaysia, at this hour of universal darkness and global chaos, have people to add value to the land? Are there spiritual leaders here whose lives will be the antithesis of all that is in the world and find glory in the foolishness of the cross which is actually the wisdom of God?

"God, we need Your ultimate light and your ultimate strength in order to live the life that will be the antithesis of all that is false and carnal, of all that is in the world and the church today, so that we can add value to our land."

Source: http://www.station-of-life.org

Related articles:

http://goeagles2u.blogspot.com/2010/07/anointed-priest-who-sins-by-rev-susan.html

http://goeagles2u.blogspot.com/2010/07/living-antithesis.html