GOD IS IN CONTROL OF HISTORY

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Is there a connection between biblical prophecies, current events, our personal lives, and the spiritual realm? Yes, there is and Jonathan Cahn shows us how God has been in control of events throughout history. This has immense ramifications for each of us in how we should be living our lives. How much time are you spending in God’s Word? It is the only reliable source of the truth about God and the world He created.

I will follow this up with another of Jonathan Cahn’s videos, The Mystery of God and His Will for Your Life. Watch out for it. Both of these videos will change how you view the world and how you live in it. At least, I hope they will.

AUSTRALIA JETTISONING ITS CHRISTIAN ROOTS

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Bob Katter MP addressing the media July 28th 2022

KENNEDY MP, Bob Katter, has used a media address in Canberra today to slam the continued persecution of Christianity, after learning the Senate Chief has proposed to ban morning prayers[i].

An enraged Mr Katter used the opportunity to hold up the Holy Bible and rattle off a plethora of recent examples of religious persecution in Australia. He showed solidarity and support to the seven Manly Sea Eagles players, who stood down to defend their religious beliefs, praising them for their conviction.

“This Book for 5,000 years has been the heartland of religious belief, a concept that there is something bigger than me, but in sharp contrast, the persecutors believe that there is nothing bigger than themselves and their opinions,” Mr Katter said.

“For 5,000 years the persecution of the people who believe in this Book have been on public record. I will not go through the persecutions that go back to the dawn of time.  I’ll just mention one – just one.

“During WWII, six million people were murdered in cold blood, many in gas chambers, for no other reason than what they believed.  And remember, the Torah is based on the first five Books of the Hebrew Bible.

“This continued persecution is well and truly alive today. Just have a look at what’s happened to these seven boys from Manly. They have been persecuted for no other reason than they have moral conviction and whether you agree with their convictions, or not, is irrelevant.

“The conviction shown by these seven men is heroic and every decent member of society should admire them. Whether you agree with them or you don’t, they have stood up for what they believe in at great personal sacrifice and that is truly admirable.  

“This is what the people of self-righteous arrogance have done to them:  they have had their jobs taken off them, taken their family security off them, taken their incomes from them, they have put the house they live in in great jeopardy, their futures, their aspirations – all in jeopardy. 

“According to news reports[ii] today, these players have been confined to their houses; they have been locked up.  Apparently, they are doing this to protect the players, but do you know what they said to the First Australians when they rounded them up in chains and sent them to Palm Island? They said, “we are doing this to protect you.”

“To think that this is happening in Australia today is sickening. We Christians have no illusions that we are now under persecution.  

“First, they targeted the Hollingsworth and biggest church in Australia. He was torn to pieces. Having finished with the biggest church in Australia, they then started on the leader of the second biggest church in Australia. Tore him to pieces.  

“Then they turned to the Evangelicals. They started on Israel Falou. They took his whole life away from him and destroyed his career because he made a quote from this Book. He was punished for his quotation of this Book. Yet for 5,000 years people have based the foundation of entire societies on its teachings. More than half the world believes in this Book, or in parts of it.

“Is it an unreasonable thing to quote from a book that more than half the population is committed to?  In Australia it is!

“And now, we have been told today by some that we cannot say prayers in the Parliament. We can show allegiance to some lady in England, but we cannot say prayers.

“So, to my fellow Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, and people of other religious belief, I say this to you – Please will you circulate the names of those who persecute you. We must stop this cold-hearted persecution. They got Pell, they got Hollingworth, got Folau, they have got the Manly boys, so when will they start on you?!”

God is in control of all events in His world. This nation is setting itself up to come under God’s judgement. Perhaps we are already seeing His judgement with the floods and other calamities besetting this nation.

GOD ORDAINS WHATSOEVER COMES TO PASS

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Can I suggest that before you read this post you read or re-read my post “The Key to Evangelism is God’s Power” on June 30th, 2022.

If we go into evangelism understanding that in some cases, God actually uses the proclamation of truth as a means to close one’s mind from repentance, we can guard our hearts by recognizing that God ordains whatsoever comes to pass. What that means with respect to evangelism is that sometimes, the preaching of the gospel actually serves as the means through which an individual’s heart is hardened against God. In other words, not every instance of proclaiming a message of repentance is designed by God to bring the people who hear it to repentance and faith. In fact, Scripture often demonstrates the opposite is true—that the proclamation serves to condemn the recipients rather than restore them. A great example of this is found in the commissioning of the prophet Isaiah:

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” He said, “Go, and tell this people: Keep on listening, but do not perceive; keep on looking, but do not understand. Render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim, otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed.” Then I said, “Lord, how long?” and He answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, houses are without people and the land is utterly desolate. the Lord has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. Yet there will be a tenth portion in it, and it will again be subject to burning, like a terebinth or an oak whose stump remains when it is felled. The holy seed is its stump.” Isaiah 6:8-13

Many tend to focus on Isaiah’s answer to the commission, but the focus of the passages itself is on the content of the commission, which is fleshed out in verses 9-12. The Hebrew denotes the continuing nature of the commands to be given to the people in v. 9, yet also the subsequent result. The Israelites will be commanded by the prophet to continually be in a state of listening, but they will never come to understanding; they are to be continually in a state of seeking out understanding, but they will never come to an understanding. They are to constantly seek after God—yet they will not find Him. In other words, they will be given an impossible task and the preaching of the prophet himself will only solidify this reality. In v. 10 the prophet is actually commanded—the imperative form of the verbs is used here—to render their hearts insensitive (lit. fat), their ears dull (lit. heavy), and their eyes dim (lit. pasted shut). As Brevard Childs puts it, “The prophet is to be the executor of death, the guarantor of complete hardening. His very proclamation is to ensure that Israel will not turn and repent.”

Notice the prophet doesn’t ask any questions concerning the fairness of God’s edict in v. 11, but rather the duration for which he is to heed this commission. The answer, of course, is devastating. The prophet’s work of preaching a message that will only harden the hearts of his people will not be completed until the Lord has rendered the capital cities desolate and carried the Israelites away to captivity.

The passage plainly suggests the purpose and result of the prophet’s commission is to be an agent God uses to harden the hearts of those who hear him. In other words, his message, though one riddled with calls to repentance and faith in Yahweh and a future restoration of the nation, will never be heeded by the people because it only serves to intensify their immediate judgment. The promise of v. 13 still carries with it the tones of judgment simply because like their fathers before them who died off in the desert, they will die off in captivity. Thus, even this promise serves as a means of hardening their hearts against the Lord.

This theme comes up time and again not only throughout the book of Isaiah, but the other prophets as well, and likewise, in the New Testament.

“The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.” And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.” Romans 11:7-10

The prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah are called to a similar path as Isaiah, where they will preach a message of judgment and salvation, yet they will not be heeded (Ez. 2:7; Jer. 7:27). Christ Himself taught in parables for the express purpose of concealing the truth of the Kingdom of God, lest those whom it was not granted to would hear and repent (Matt. 13:10-16; Mk. 4:10-12; Lk. 8:9-10). The apostle Paul even picks this idea up when he speaks of God giving mankind up to the lusts of their hearts, dishonorable passions, and a debased mind (Rom. 1:18-32). When you look through the entirety of the Old and New Testaments, what is plainly seen is that God is at work to harden the hearts of whom He desires, which is most clearly expressed in Rom. 9:6-29. In every instance where the edict is rendered a “lost-cause” against the recipients of the message, the truth of God has been made self-evident so that man is without excuse.

None of this is a matter of controversy in Scripture. Instead, election and reprobation are simply part of the cosmic reality of judgment and salvation unfolding before us as the plan of God is revealed. In the midst of this, Scripture unabashedly upholds the tension between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility without much qualification. The important thing to note in all of this is that it is not as if those under this severe indictment from the Lord are under it without cause. In every instance, the people have either forsaken the covenant or rejected their Creator willingly. The commission of Isaiah serves to show us this reality quite clearly, in that chapters 2-5 give clear evidence that the people plainly rejected the terms of their covenant with God, and as a result, He would send the prophet to seal their fate.

To put it in as blunt of terms as I can: there was no hope for their escape from judgment, as God made it an impossibility for them to hear the words of His prophet and repent. The fullness of the consequences had come upon that generation, showing the patience of the Lord had long been extinguished. The only thing one is left to conclude then from the call given to Isaiah is that his words would not serve to be a message of hope; his words tell them, “I have been given a command by Yahweh to preach in such a manner that your hearts become hardened, your ears become blocked, and your eyes become darkened.”

What all of this means for the church then is that we are simply to be found faithful to the task of heralding God’s message. We are to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth, which for most people, means you are to bring the gospel into your workplaces, friendships, families, and so forth. All that is required of you is to look to where God has placed you currently and simply be found faithful to the task of proclaiming the good news to those who are dead in their sins. It requires that we not be ashamed of the good news of the gospel, which includes not being ashamed of the bad news of God’s judgment against sin. Whatever the result of that proclamation of the gospel may be, whether a hardening or a softening of the heart, God effectually uses this message for His purposes. We may not necessarily like the implications of God using our proclamation of judgment and salvation to effectively harden an individual’s heart. We may not believe the implications of this are even fair—but we ought to remember in the midst of everything that we don’t want fair because our idea of what’s fair doesn’t square with God’s.

The gospel is a scandal to the world because it sees the murderer, rapist, racist, and the like, on equal footing with the sweet old lady who doesn’t confess Christ—and offers them all the same grace of God in Christ. What that very simply means is that the gospel is not barred from anyone on the basis of their own doing or choosing, but rather, on the sovereign choice of God Himself. If those who struggle with evangelizing were to focus on the sovereignty of God in evangelism, it would free many a burdened soul up to take joy in the work that God has given them, realizing that whether the person they share the gospel with rejects or receives it, God is glorified in accomplishing His work through the preached word.

Adapted from an article by Grayson Gilbert “God ordaims whatsoever comes to pass: including your suffering” http://www.patheos.com

REVIVAL AND PERSECUTION IN THE END TIMES

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Both are possible and Jesus told us that this is what will happen before He returns, first to raise the dead in Christ and then rapture the Saints that are alive, before pouring out His wrath upon an unrepentant world.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:9-14

I met Jonathan Cahn by chance at breakfast at the Leonardo Hotel in Jerusalem. I was ordering an omelette at breakfast when a voice behind me said, I will have one of those too. I looked around and could not believe I was looking at Jonathan Cahn. Surprised, I said, Jonathan Cahn! He replied that’s right. Wanting to keep the conversation going, I asked, what are you doing here, Conference? No! he replied, I am here on vacation, I have not been well. I was handed my omelette, so I returned to my table, but I immediately asked the Holy Spirit why had I met Jonathan at this time. Was there a purpose? Immediately, the Holy Spirit told me to share with Jonathan why I was in Jerusalem and what was happening at the Gathering that I was attending in the large International Convention Centre opposite the Knesset. Jonathan was sitting at a table with his wife and children so my immediate reaction was no, I should not interrupt them, but the Holy Spirit then added why I needed to tell him. He needs to know that 1500 of the 3000 at the Gathering are Chinese. So I went to the table and first apologised for interrupting their breakfast, but I said, that I believed the Holy Spirit wanted Jonathan to know what God was doing in Israel at this time. I then asked him if he knew that 3000 Christians were here in Israel for a Gathering – no speakers just to worship and hear from God. Jonathan said no, he was not aware of the Gathering and was surprised at the number of Christians attending. I then dropped the “bombshell” 1500 of the attendees were Chinese a large portion from mainland China. No way, was Jonathan’s response. 1500 Chinese came to Jerusalem to pray and offer their support to their Jewish brothers and sisters. Jonathan knows what God is doing in America, but had no concept of the extent of how God is using Chinese Christians to impact the world, even Jerusalem.

Jonathan is God’s prophet for America at this time issuing warnings that America needs to turn back to God or receive His judgement. His book The Harbinger warns America that God had already sent nine warnings to America starting with 9/11, the attack on the World Trade Centre and as America has not heeded those warnings further judgement is inevitable.

If you have not heard Jonathan before you will be blown away by his revelation of Biblical prophecies.

PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS ESCALATES

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30 Christians Jailed in India as Persecution Escalates

06/02/2022 India (International Christian Concern) – At least 30 people were imprisoned in India during May because of their faith. According to persecution watchdog, International Christian Concern (ICC), the arrests were justified by filling charges of forced conversion. In one incident a mob of radicals broke into the home of a local pastor, who was praying with his family and beat him before handing him over to police. The police then imprisoned him under the charge of “deliberate and malicious acts against another religion”. Anti-conversion laws, adopted in 11 Indian states, are often used against Christians as it allows authorities to jail them with little regard for due process. “We have arrived at a critical juncture, where practicing faith of our choice is equated as crime and punished accordingly,” a local Christian leader told ICC.

36 Christians Kidnapped in Nigeria’s Kaduna State

07/28/2022 Nigeria (International Christian Concern) – On Monday, July 25, an estimated 36 Christians were kidnapped from a village in Nigeria’s Kaduna state. The kidnappers are estimated to be Islamic extremists who performed door-to-door kidnappings in the village.  

An area resident described the kidnappings to Morning Star News. They said, “The Muslim terrorists attacked the community at about 9 p.m., shooting at the people, and broke into their houses and forcefully took away the victims to an unknown place.” 

Hmong Christians Suffering Daily Persecution in Vietnam

07/31/2022 Vietnam (International Christian Concern) – Hmong Christians in the Nghe An province of Vietnam are suffering from severe persecution.  

According to Morning Star News, officials in the province are trying to create “Christian-free zones” where they are able to operate “with no conscience or humanity,” as if the religious freedom violations were occurring a country other than Vietnam, where such acts are not legal.  

Other forms of persecution come from within their own communities. Most Vietnamese follow traditional animist teachings, and many who convert to Christianity from the traditional faith face rejection and even persecution from their family members and communities.  

Additionally, Vietnamese authorities pressure animist relatives of Christian converts to drive Christians from their homes and exile them. The only hope these Christians have of rejoining their communities is if they renounce their new faith.

Christians Prevented from Worshipping in Burkina Faso

7/30/2022 Burkina Faso (International Christian Concern) – According to Aid to the Church in Need International, Catholic churches in Burkina Faso are suffering interference by Islamic groups in the country. In many cases, militants are entering the churches during the service and forcing men and women to sit separately. In other instances, the sermons are being replaced with Islamic sermons. With this being the case, many people in the villages are not receiving proper pastoral care, and the pastoral care that is occurring is only because it is permitted by Islamists.

This recent interference comes on the heels of an attack that killed 20 people on July 3.

Lebanese Christians Concerned Over Political Future

07/30/2022 Lebanon (International Christian Concern) – As Lebanese President Michel Aoun’s six-year term approaches its October 31 close, Christians in Lebanon are concerned for their nation’s future. Lebanon’s historically Christian presidency, an important vestige of the religious community’s declining influence in the country, could worryingly fall to one of four individuals, none of whom are particularly popular with the nation’s Christian community. 

Overall, Christians in Lebanon face an unfortunate political reality. The Christian presidential candidates Aoun, Bassil, and Frangieh are all sympathetic to Hezbollah, and the other likely option to fill the role besides them is the Muslim Prime Minister Mikati. Unfortunately, this conundrum well reflects declining Christian political influence in the state of Lebanon

Cemeteries of Religious Minorities Targeted in Turkey

07/31/2022 Turkey (International Christian Concern) – Radicals have targeted another minority cemetery this month in Turkey. On July 15, a Jewish community discovered that their local cemetery in the Haskoy neighborhood of Istanbul had sustained serious damage. Vandals had desecrated 81 gravestones, excavated graves, and left the site in disarray.

 This month’s attack comes specifically on the heels of a similar incident against a Christian community in Turkey. On June 29, local Christians found the perpetrators had desecrated their cemetery, which was dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, just prior to an annual celebration dedicated to the two saints. 

Source: Premier Christian News

BIBLE REPLETE WITH END TIMES WARNINGS

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Just as Genesis is the book of beginnings, Revelation is the book of consummation. In it, the divine program of redemption is brought to fruition.

What I have just realised is that the books leading up to Revelation, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1,2 & 3 John and Jude, all provide an amazing progression of teachings that warns us and prepares us for what will unfold in the days ahead, in the “end times”. We can’t say that God did not warn us.

JAMES:

First of all, James warns us that faith without works is no faith. Faith without works is dead and dead faith is worse than no faith at all. Faith must work, it must produce; it must be visible. Without faith, we will not be able to endure the trials to come. Strong faith will face trials head-on and develop endurance. Faith understands temptations. Faith obeys the Word of God. It will not merely hear and not do. Faith produces doers. This is the faith we will need to face the prophesied intensifying persecution.

1 & 2 PETER:

In 1 Peter: Peter warns us that the persecution we will endure in the end times will cause growth or bitterness. Christians will only conduct themselves courageously when they know Jesus Christ and His calling on their lives.

“The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:7

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange is happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed.” 1 Peter 4:12

In 2 Peter: Peter warns the church of trials to come from inside and outside. He warns of false teachers peddling damaging non-Biblical doctrine. They scoff at the thought of Noah’s flood (judgment) and Jesus’ return and judgment.

“You should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this, first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.” 2 Peter 3:2-6

1 JOHN:

John warns that in the “end times”, two major stumbling blocks will be falling in love with the world and falling for the alluring lies of false teachers. We see both happening in our day. John stresses that God is light, love, and life and that if we are to walk in the light we must regularly confess our sins allowing the blood of Christ to continually cleanse us.

2 JOHN:

John warns Christians about the coming falling away, the apostasy that Jesus warns us of in the “last days”.

“For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God.” 2 John 1:7-9

3 JOHN:

John supplements his warnings in 2 John by comparing a false teacher, Diotrephes, and a true loving teacher, Gaius. To avoid the dual dangers of false teaching and division within the church, believers must practice the dual virtues of love and discernment. Both are necessary.

“I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church. Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.” 3 John 1:9-11

JUDE:

Jude shows us what will be necessary when apostasy arises. Fight, contend do battle when the apostasy arises when false teachers emerge and when the truth of God is attacked.

“But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.” Jude 1: 17-21

Jude also reveals an amazing “end times” prophecy given by Enoch:

“It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain the advantage.” Jude 1:14-16

After giving the apostles incredible detail in the Olivet Discourse of events that will precede His second coming Jesus told them, see I have told you beforehand be on your guard.

“But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.” Luke 13:23

What more warnings do you need to prepare for Jesus’ Second Coming?

Jesus coming to earth with the Saints who were raptured prior to the wrath of God being poured out with the Trumpet and Bowl judgements.

INCREASING OBSESSION WITH OCCULTISM

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Mike Signorelli, senior pastor of V1 Church in New York City is correctly sounding the alarm on the troubling ways people are increasingly being conditioned to improperly partake in the occult. More and more TV programs and films are increasingly involving Psychics, Witches, Horoscopes, and the Supernatural. Mike is also warning that “carnal, natural-minded Christians” are the biggest barrier he sees to spiritual revival.

“We’re stepping into this area right now. New Age practices are becoming a normal phenomenon,” Signorelli told “The Playing With Fire Podcast.” “Even secular companies are provoking people to step into the spiritual realm or to believe in the supernatural in a way that, it’s like we’re moving past atheism and we’re moving into ‘spiritual but not religious as a people.”

The preacher offered a message to Christians who might be hesitant to talk about biblical evil with friends and family, warning that many of their loved ones are already engaging in the supernatural — but in deeply inappropriate and dangerous ways.

Exorcism typically gets a lot of attention in pop culture, mainly due to its vivid depictions in movies, but the expulsion of evil from a person’s life doesn’t always look like what’s observed on the big screen. Mike Signorelli, the senior pastor of V1 Church in New York City, recently appeared on “The Playing With Fire Podcast,” where he explored exorcism and his views on biblical evil. The preacher explained “deliverance,” a term with which people might have less familiarity than the word “exorcism,” though many use the words interchangeably, among other topics.

As Faithwire has reported, McDonald’s is just one of the companies that brought the occult — specifically Tarot card reading — into its marketing this year. Other companies have done the same, with Hollywood shows routinely bringing psychics, mediums, and others into the mainstream.

Watch Signorelli break these issues down around the 34-minute mark:

“Sometimes you’ll be like, ‘Well, I don’t want to freak my family out, or I don’t want to freak my coworkers out,’” he said. “Not knowing that your coworkers are burning sage in their home in hopes that unclear spirits are leaving … they’re reading their horoscopes.”

Signorelli said the refusal to engage is actually hampering faith, particularly when it is paired with the denial of the supernatural elements of the spiritual realm.

“Carnal, natural-minded Christians are the biggest barrier to revival right now,” he said. “Because your friends and family are all operating in the supernatural realm right now, but they’re illegally entering it.”

Anyone mistakenly thinking of engaging in such tactics should remember the biblical commands to trust God with our futures, not man.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Read more about Signorelli’s comments on evil, deliverance, and more.

DEMONS AND SPIRITUAL WARFARE ARE REAL

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Witches, Satanists, and Warlocks: Meet the Pastors Who Boldly Shared the Gospel For a Decade in Salem, Massachusetts

Guy and Tana Miller who led a unique and fascinating ministry in Salem, Massachusetts — a hotbed of witchcraft and spiritual activity — believe Christians need to turn to “unconditional love” when trying to reach people in difficult or uncomfortable situations. They planted Remix Church in Salem in 2011 and ministered there for 10 years. They recently joined “The Playing With Fire Podcast” to discuss how they interacted with witches, Satanists, and others in the community — and what some Christians get wrong when trying to reach these groups.

Their ministry, called Remix Church, came about after the couple felt prompted by God to provide pastoral care in Salem.

“I was shocked to find out … there was only a couple, very small but faithful outreaches going on,” Guy said. “There wasn’t a lot of evangelical … witness in Salem, and I was blown away.”

Tana added, “God clearly spoke to us to go into Salem.”

Listen to Guy and Tana discuss their fascinating ministry in Salem:

https://player.edifi.app/episodes/Witches-Satanists-and-More:-Meet-the-Pastors-Who-Lovingly-Ministered-For-Years-in-Salem-Massachusetts/5138519

BRINGING GLORY TO GOD

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So what is glory?

“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” Hebrews 1: 3,

God’s glory (divine light) radiates through Jesus, who is the ‘exact representation of his being. To put it simply – when God is seen for who he is, he is glorified. Jesus showed us God – fully, precisely, completely – allowing divine light to shine unimpeded. As for you and I, the more people see God in us, understanding his loving nature, the more God is glorified (seen for who he is).

God is glorified when we remove the blocks that shut divine light out of our lives. As hindrances are removed, people see God for who he is; they see his light in us. They see his work and nature. We glorify God when He is free to act in our lives. When we allow the Holy Spirit to direct our steps, therefore our lives.

The Bible provides wonderful scriptures that demonstrate how God is glorified in us.

God is glorified when: We ask and receive.

Why does asking and receiving glorify God? Because it demonstrates his love. He is seen for the wonderful Father he is.

‘And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.’ John 14:13

Read that Scripture again “I will do whatever you ask in My name so that the Father may be glorified in the Son”. Do you stand on that Scripture?

When we minister in the power of the Spirit

‘”If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever.” 1 Peter 4:11

When we give and receive generously

‘And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work…You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us, your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.’ 2 Corinthians 9:8-13

Here, Paul writes of the financial blessing of God, and us taking our part in its flow. God is glorified when we rise about the mundane limits of the world’s financial reality and move in the generosity of the Lord’s provision and blessing – not for ourselves, but to meet the needs of many. The liberal movement of money to meet the needs of humanity shows the generosity and abundance of God. People can see that he provides, and is generous.

When we take discipleship seriously

‘With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power He may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.’ 2 Thessalonians 1:1,12

God is glorified when people see the outworking of the goodness of God in our lives, transforming us and inspiring us to faith-filled deeds and sincere good works, flowing from love. Such people are beautified by the glory of God, who is seen for who he is – compassionate, involved, teaching and leading us.

When we walk in righteousness by the power of the Spirit

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:9-11

As our love abounds in knowledge and insight, as our discernment grows, and as we respond evermore to the call of love, God is seen for who he is – the source of all nurturing and love.

When we bear fruit

“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:8

God doesn’t want us to lead fruitless lives, with no real impact on the world around us. He wants us to abound, to multiply, to make disciples – not for the sake of it or as a matter of performance, but because he is always reaching out to those yet to know his love. When we yield to this aspect of his nature, lending ourselves to him freely, he is seen for who he is – the good shepherd who goes after the lost sheep.

In miracles

‘So the multitude marvelled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.’ Matthew 15:31

In miracles, God is seen for who he is – a living, powerful, supernatural, loving, compassionate being. I firmly believe we have lost our grasp on this important aspect of following Christ, casting it aside as somehow irrelevant when it was the heart and soul of Jesus’ ministry. Some churches react against extremes and fakery by shutting down the real deal, but this does not honour or glorify God. The Christian Church should be a place of regular outpourings of power, and if it is not, we must fall to our knees in repentance for trivialising this crucial expression of his compassion, and commit to seeking a breakthrough, however long it takes.

When we are unified

‘May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Romans 15:5-6

When we speak with ‘one voice’ – a voice of genuine, hard-won, ego-busting unity, God is seen as the one who binds us together despite our differences, rather than divides us. In a world riven by political and religious strife, we glorify God when we build community, togetherness, and friendship on the foundation of his love. Are you one who tears down or builds up?

In showing mercy

‘For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.’ Romans 15:8-9

God’s mercy is fundamental to his nature in a way anger is not. As the psalmist wrote: ‘The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy.’ The Lord has chosen to show his greatness not through wrath, not through judgement, but through his mercy. When we show mercy, we are aligned with the nature of God.

When we give thanks

‘I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.’ Psalms 69:30

When God helps us in our suffering

‘Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.’ Romans 5:3-5

God is not the author of suffering. If in the midst of suffering we lift our eyes to the Lord, and if we learn and grow in the face of the challenges we face, and as we overcome those challenges and find our way to freedom, God is glorified. He is seen and understood as our rescuer from pain.

When we rely on the promises of God

‘Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations…he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he had promised.’ Romans 4:18-21

When we are ‘fully persuaded that God can and will do what he promises, and when God fulfils those promises, he is seen for who he is – faithful and true to his word.

HOW TO COPE WITH PERSECUTION IN THE DAYS AHEAD

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Josef Tson: What His Suffering for Christ in Communist Romania Taught Him, and Can Teach Us

This article by Randy Alcorn www. patheos.com July 21, 2022 is very applicable to the “end times ” persecution that is unfolding in our time.

I opened the Scriptures with Josef in 1988, with a group of theologians discussing eternal rewards. Twenty years later, writing my book If God Is Good, I remembered his stories and insights and called him again, in order to share his insights with others. Josef explained to me how the belief that God doesn’t want His people to suffer once corrupted the Romanian church. In the interests of self-preservation, he said, they failed to speak out against injustice, tyranny, and the idolatry of turning men into gods. He recalls joining the crowd on the streets and crying, “Glory to Stalin.”

God convicted Josef. As a pastor, he refused to glorify communist leaders and started to speak out boldly for Christ. Interrogators threatened him with death every day for six months. Finally he told them, “Your supreme weapon is killing. My supreme weapon is dying. My preaching will speak ten times louder after you kill me.”

Josef said, “During the time I was expecting to be crushed by the Romanian secret police interrogators, God became more real to me than ever before or after in my life. It is difficult to put into words the experience I had with God at that time. It was like a rapture into sweet and total communion with the Beloved. God’s test for me then became the pathway to a special knowledge of the reality of God.”

21 Coptic Christians beheaded by Isis in Tripoli, Libya

Finally, in 1981, the Romanian government exiled him. After facing much evil and nearly being martyred in Ceauşescu’s Romania, Josef told me, “This world, with all its evil, is God’s deliberately chosen environment for people to grow in their characters. The character and trustworthiness we form here, we take with us there, to Heaven. Romans and 1 Peter 3:19 make clear that suffering is a grace from God. It is a grace given us now to prepare us for living forever.”

He also told me he believed that 95 percent of Christians pass the test of adver­sity, while 95 percent fail the test of prosperity.

In the West, with our conspicuous prosperity and ease, Christianity’s popularity continues to shrink. In Africa, Asia, and South America, with much greater adversity and suffering, it continues to grow.

Josef Tson believes, “The gospel will never be spread without someone suffering.” He said our first question in suffering should not be, “Why?” but, “God, what do you want to do in the world through my suffering?”

Josef continues, “God achieves great things in the world through the one who accepts His way of suffering and self-sacrifice. In the end, however, it turns out that the greatest things are achieved in the sufferer himself. The one who sacrificially expects to be a blessing for others discovers that, in the final analysis, he is the one who has harvested the greatest blessings.”

Suffering can help us know God and prepare us to trade a shallow life not worth keeping for a deeper life we’ll never lose.

When interrogators worked Josef into exhaustion for ten hours a day, one of his persecutors made a strange statement: “Pastor Tson, when I interrogate people I am used to feeling their hatred for me. But you do not hate me. It has become a delight for me to be with you.”

Jesus saw our suffering as an opportunity to share the gospel, do you?

“Jesus said to them, nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you, they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance, you will gain your lives.” Luke 21: 10-19

Josef viewed his suffering as God’s means to accomplish God’s purpose. He told of guards coming to Christ while beating Christian prisoners, then confessing their faith and being imprisoned and tortured themselves. As a result, the gospel his persecutors tried to dismiss touched them instead.