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Posted: 04/16/2015 at 2:37am
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OpenHeaven.com Digest Publication
In This Issue 1. Last Call for America and the Western World 2. The Alarm is Sounding 3. United Nations to Hear of Rising Persecution of Believers 4. News Headlines
God is calling one more time for His people to arise and step into the destiny of our lives – step into becoming the spiritually mature manifested sons of Almighty God, joint heirs with Christ.
God is lovingly and powerfully touching His people. That which we may have only dreamed of and talked about is breaking through into manifested reality from the spiritual into the natural. The arms of Father God are open wide to receive us and to impart the fullness of the life of Christ Jesus into us.
This is not an invitation to be born again but specifically for the born again to become what they were born again to be.
The call is to MOVE from where we were as a child of God and into POWERFUL ANOINTED APOSTOLIC PROPHETIC LEADERS, mature sons filled with the words of extreme life in the exploding fire of God among the transforming people of God speaking the end of that which was and the advancement of that which is now coming forth. The kingdom of God is arising within and among His mighty army of unrestrained and unlimited sons and daughters, those who are the deliverers from that which is past and the destroyers of all that is not of God, those who are tearing down what God has not built and building back the pure holy reality of the manifest kingdom of God on earth.
The entire western world is receiving its last call to turn completely to God and awaken to the call of God to raise up His cause in the world. The call is for men and women to cast aside their past ways and draw near to God to be supercharged with His unquenchable FIRE of life to impart living fire into the hearts and lives of the people of God.
Beyond awakening is the arising of unreserved men and women to speak the thoughts of God into existence in the world. GREAT AUTHORITY is given to them, and there is no end to the fire of His love and power to tear down and uproot all that is not of God and replant and rebuild all that is of God.
After leaving our own human feelings and strengths and moving into the flow and authority of the river of God’s love and power, it becomes very easy to do the works of God. It is the awesome power of God in us and around us working with us as we step into the powerful smooth flow of what God is doing. We simply give voice to what He is saying and do what He is doing.
Deliverance and healing are quick and seemingly without effort as we do not instigate it and never run after it. Our old formulas, plans, and step-by-step programs simply are not even considered. His presence explodes upon the situation like a ball of fire as angels work with us and minister to everyone involved.
Why is this the last call for America and other western nations?
This is a last call for these nations because either they will now respond to this call of God and become kingdom of God nations that will never end, or they will no longer exist as a nation and the people will be scattered. Either way, another call will not be needed for these nations. If there is a lack of response now, any future call of God for a people or nation of God to arise will be a call to another nation or nations.
In the past two centuries, there has been a number of calls from God to His people that produced awesome outpourings of Spirit life and power that we called revival.
The twentieth century began with a mighty Pentecostal revival of the awesome miracles and power of the Holy Spirit that spread across the world in that century.
Beginning in the last decade of the twentieth century, the 1990s, and continuing through the first decade of the twenty first century, the 2000s, which also was the first decade of the third millennium since Christ Jesus, there was a massive spiritual outpouring that touched much of the world. The power and love of God impacted and changed many lives and finally broke out of the church walls and began to spill over into the culture. It also began to strongly influence governments of nations.
Yet there were those within the confines of church system walls that missed the entire revival and some even stood with those against it.
The Great Backlash Against the Moves of God
This powerful move of God across the world greatly disturbed evil forces that were under the control of the antichrist spirit. It became evident that the powerful move of God would sweep the entire world into the rule of God. Of course, this meant that the end of the reign of Satan and his ungodly works were at hand.
The man-made secularist governments and religious systems allowed the spirits of antichrist to overtake educational systems, mass media, and other influential systems to turn the minds of much of the population back to darkness in an all-out effort to stop the powerful move of God from establishing the kingdom of God on earth.
Now at the time of this writing, in the middle of the second decade of the twenty first century, in the year of 2015, we are seeing worldwide arising of the powers of darkness violently persecuting and murdering thousands of Christians and displacing many hundreds of thousands. Church buildings, Christian’s homes, and businesses are being burned or the people are being driven away by violence, and their homes and businesses taken over. The spirits of antichrist are running wild turning multitudes against Christ in an all-out attempt to stop the kingdom of God from arising on earth.
Our western nations are now outlawing the use of the name of Jesus, removing public prayer and any mention of Christ Jesus in public schools or governmental institutions including the military. Laws are being passed that make it a crime to live godly and teach according to the biblical standards that once formed the core of our nations.
What the devil has meant for destruction, God will use for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. The great persecution arising in the nations of the world are a catalyst that will awaken the sleeping unresponsive people of God that have either missed or misused all the recent Holy Spirit outpourings of the call of God. His call is for us to come to Him with our whole hearts to receive and walk in the awesome flow of His love and power bringing forth the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.
The past calls of God and the responsive revivals or outpourings have each had different progressive parts forming a people of God to bring forth Christ Jesus and His kingdom on earth. The moves have looked different and had progressively different emphasis as each brought a further part of that which was needed to become true kingdom building sons of God.
The last call has begun.
As we sat in our Living Room this past Saturday evening, April 11, 2015 with a small gathering of God’s people and began to worship, the last two people walked into the room, and it was as if a huge ball of fire of God exploded into the room. People were physically touched by angels as the call of God was evidenced in power and love among us. It was as if heaven came down and kissed earth.
There were reports of victorious breakthroughs from the past week including deliverance and miraculous provisions and more. Some of these things were major things from over many years that were simply washed away bringing greater kingdom freedom. Though I lack the words to explain it, these simple gatherings are deeper and more real beyond the phenomenon of many of the charismatic conferences and meetings of the past move.
I believe these phenomenal experiences are coming forth in many groups across the land. Part of what is so different from the past move is that no one is in charge, but all are yielded and responsive to the leadership of Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Another thing that is different is that there is no set program or ingrained routine of events, no “order of service” so to speak and actually no “service” as such, but rather a coming together and responding to the Spirit of God in His presence. Prayer and prophecy are spontaneous and extremely effective with often immediate results. This is not a new model to be reproduced as a new program; it is simply what is happening. No two gatherings are ever the same and often not very similar but very effective.
Please understand that the church in this next call is not just reaching out beyond its walls. It is leaving the religious system with its walls and coming forth in homes, business offices, citywide apostolic worship gatherings, and wherever people of God come together. Truly the real kingdom of God is spreading like yeast in dough and moving about as the unseen wind. It is coming up like grass in a field covering the whole field and always spreading beyond all boundaries.
God’s Kingdom Will Never End
Whether the existing western nations survive to become the kingdom of our God or whether new nations and peoples arise to become the kingdom of God on earth, those who are coming to maturity in the kingdom now will have been foundational forerunners of the fullness of God’s kingdom ruling earth with the power of His love and wisdom.
Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isa 43:18-19.
Do not fear, littleflock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32
In a world of information highways, worldwide webs, multiple search engines, GPS’s and social media explosions, there is not much room to say, I didn’t know. The information can be overwhelming, knowing what is truth and what is inflated information is a challenge, but still there is no way to say, I did not know. With a Bible in our own language, multiple Bibles in people’s homes, churches on every corner, we have no excuse when it comes to what is going on. From CNN, BBC and Fox to Prophets, Pastors and Teachers, the message is clear, we are on the verge of something major taking place. But what exactly is going on, how do I prepare and what is God saying in the midst of all the noise?
Joel 2 could be an article in the newspaper today and people would find it explaining what is happening right now on the earth and in the heavens. It starts out by saying in verse 1 “Blow the Trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm on my Holy hill. Let all the inhabitants tremble for the day of the Lord is coming, it is close at hand.” It goes on in verse 31 to say, “The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” These verses can also be found in Acts 2:17-21, for a New Testament correlation. So, with blood moons, solar eclipses, advancing enemies, silent leaders, beheading of Christians, Israel being surrounded by enemies, sons and daughters arising, restoration being preached, and the kingdom of God becoming more visible on earth, what are we to do, who are we to be?
Matthew 7:24-27 speaks of two houses, one whose foundation was on the sand and one whose foundation was on the rock. The foundation could not be seen until the storm came. On the outside both houses looked strong, stable, and safe, but the storm revealed the foundation. I believe a storm is coming (you can see my article titled, A Storm is Coming, if you want to hear more), not to destroy us, but to reveal our foundation to us, so God can restore us. Deception is thinking something is the truth, when actually it is a lie. Many are deceived, they believe they are safe, that there is no storm coming, and that nothing is going to change. But the truth is, we are on the verge of a great and dreadful day. It is going to be great for some and dreadful for others.
The alarm is sounding, now is the time to get out of debt not go deeper into debt; now is the time to make time to pray and read your Bible, not rely on someone else’s interpretation of what God is saying; now is the time to get your house in order, do a foundation check, and slow down so you can hear the voice of the one who calls you out of darkness and into light. The alarm has been sounding for a while now and whenever an alarm goes off, you know a storm is near. Joel 2:13 says, “Rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity.” The alarm is sounding, so you and I can return to the Lord!
It is not uncommon for Christian churches like this one to be burned by Islamic radicals. (Reuters file photo)
This Friday, the United Nations in New York City will host an event regarding the worsening persecution of Christians in the Middle East.
The event is called, "Not Peace but a Sword: The Persecution of Christians in the Middle East as a Threat to International Peace and Security." I've been asked to speak on a panel at an event on how the media has often not covered this story. I will report on this important meeting.
The event, featuring the voices of ambassadors, Christian and Jewish leaders, businessmen and high-ranking military officials, is being held to raise awareness of the persecution of Christians throughout the globe.
Each year, 100 million Christians suffer persecution, imprisonment and even death for their sacred religious beliefs. According to The Voice of the Martyrs, a ministry dedicated to assisting the persecuted church worldwide, "more people have died for their faith in Christ in the last 100 years" than in the previous 19 centuries combined.
A century ago, Middle Eastern Christians represented about 20 percent of the population. Now they represent about 4 percent. In Iraq in 1990, before the Gulf War, there were about 1.4 million Christians. Now there are about 200,000 and the head of the Catholic Chaldean Church in Kurdistan says Iraqi Christians have "little time left." We are literally watching the genocide of Jesus' followers in the Middle East.
Recently at an invitation-only international meeting of Christian leaders, I interviewed leaders from three different Muslim nations. They told shocking stories of atrocities they knew personally had happened. Those of us who attended were shocked and heartbroken. Later, I approached them and asked to interview them so I could report here what they said.
For their security I'm giving no names and not listing nations. But these leaders are well-known to me. I believe these reports are true.
Later I plan to report more specifics from these interviews. They explain that moderate Muslims are also targets of radical Muslims. They also say many moderate Muslims are friends to Christians. However, the persecution is increasing on many fronts, including things such as churches having more difficulty finding places to rent in big cities for services or not being allowed to find land to build churches. In spite of this the church is growing in many places.
Here are a few bullet points on actual persecution these leaders told me is happening. I recorded the interviews so these are slightly edited versions of the transcripts in their own words:
It is dangerous. Christians have been treated as second-class citizens in the Middle East for years. But with the rise of Islamization and fanatic Islam, they face a terrible time being displaced from homes, kidnapped—their homes being destroyed, their churches, their hospitals and their schools.
In one week in (my country) we had 85 churches burned—also hospitals, schools and orphanages.
Many Christians were kicked out of their villages if they were a minority and had to immigrate to another city or bigger village where there's a majority of Christians. We have seen people being killed, slain, shocked—everything.
The Christians were being smashed—especially when they are located under the region of ISIS. All the Christians immediately had to flee and escape. So, in general, the Christians are paying a very high price.
The radical Muslims are systematically trying to wipe out the Christian community. The terrorists keep attacking. One day, the radical Muslims attacked a village that was mostly Christian. They attacked the Christians, burned their houses, killed them and came with 500 soldiers with all the weapons.
Some Christians were cornered into a church building—hundreds of them inside. The Muslims outside surrounded them. They threw grenades and they shot people when they would come out. They killed 211 of them in one day and injured another 140 people.
To find safety, some Christians ran away (from the attack above) in a boat with hundreds of Christians on board. The radicals chased the boat and I think they sank it, so the Christians died—all of them.
As you can see, the persecution is serious. These reports are not from journalists. They are from Christian leaders who know what is happening and agreed to tell me if I would guard their identities.
But there's another side to this story that is not being reported in secular or Christian media: The persecution is resulting in many Muslims coming to Christ in these countries partly because the Christians are responding with love and forgiveness.
That is the subject of another Strang Report. So stayed tuned.
Steve Strang is the founding editor and publisher of Charisma. Follow him on Twitter @sstrang or Facebook (stephenestrang).
Can This Be True? 2 Million Indonesian Muslims Find Jesus Per Year - 4/15/2015 This video is causing quite a stir among the Muslim population in Indonesia. Amid all the news about Islam's gains around the world, here is some startling news. In Indonesia—the most populous Muslim nation—2 million Muslims are converting to Christianity per year. That's one new convert every 15 seconds. At this rate, Indonesia will be mostly Christian by 2035.
Cyber-Churches" Growing in the Middle East Giving Rise to Espionage, Unique Dangers - 4/15/2015 The challenges of discipling converts from Islam in the Middle East are daunting. One proplem is discerning whether born-again believers are actually government spies. Cyber-churches are especially helpful to one ministry's efforts to disciple converts in remote areas of Middle Eastern countries, where villagers gathering for study or worship in homes would be conspicuous.
Ex-Hostage Heads to ISIS Frontlines to Bring Relief - 4/15/2015 Remember Heather Mercer? She was one of several Christian aid workers held hostage by the Taliban in 2001. She and others were rescued after the invasion of Afghanistan. Today, Mercer is back in the Middle East serving among the Kurdish people in Northern, Iraq. But Mercer is fighting back with a new campaign called Hope-4-Iraq. Watch Video> Interview with Heather Mercer.
Russia Lifts Iran Missile Ban; Critics Say 'Bad Idea' - 4/15/2015 Israel and the United States are concerned about Russia's announcement to sell its S-300 missile defense system to Iran. The S-300 is one of Russia's most sought-after weapons. It can simultaneously track and strike down multiple targets, intercept cruise missiles and bring down jet fighters. Russia's decision shows that lifting sanctions will free up money for armaments.
Pastors Encouraged to Hold Prayer Service During Supreme Court Gay Marriage Case - 4/15/2015 American Renewal Project, headed up by influential Christian political operative David Lane, sent an email today to more than 100,000 evangelical pastors encouraging them to hold prayer services during the two-hours on April 28 when the Supreme Court hears the crucial same-sex marriage case. Pastors to preach on the topic of biblical marriage on the Sunday before.
Egyptian Host to Israel: 'Put Trust in God and Bomb Iran' - 4/15/2015 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued to raise the red flag over the Iranian nuclear deal this weekend, while getting some unexpected support from a neighbor. Egyptian TV personality Tawfik Okasha called Netanyahu "our dear friend" and suggested Israel take out the Bushehr Nuclear Reactor. "Put your trust in God and bomb it," Okasha said.
One year: Boko Haram and the Chibok abduction - 4/15/2015 A year ago, Boko Haram militants stormed a school compound and kidnapped close to 300 girls. The Muslim group went on a rampage, claimed whole villages, and since January 2014, Boko Haram has actually taken closer to 2,000 women and girls.“There’s a lot of hope that Muhammadu Buhari, when he takes office May 29th, will turn the tide against Boko Haram.
Jihad Against the ’Sunday People’ - 4/15/2015 On this week's edition of The Watchman, we examine ISIS's attempts to eliminate Christians from the Middle East. Plus, we go on the ground in France to analyze the brewing culture clash with French Muslims in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Watch Now - Russia Lifts Iran Missile Ban; Critics Say 'Bad Idea' - Dream Deal for Iran; Nightmare for the World.
The Iran Deal: What We’ve Given Up - 4/10/2015 (“Negotiations … to prevent an Iranian capability to develop a nuclear arsenal are ending with an agreement that concedes this very capability.” Henry Kissinger and George Shultz.) - It was but a year and a half ago that Obama said that Iran’s heavily fortified Fordow nuclear facility, was unnecessary for a civilian nuclear program..... these would have to go.
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Topic: OpenHeaven.com Digest April 16, 2015
In This Issue
