www.joelnews.nl

JOEL-NEWS-INTERNATIONAL-404 * 4 JULY 2002 * WWW.JOELNEWS.ORG

IN THIS EDITION:

JN404-1. TYPICALLY GOD: Jesus answers Hindu's prayer for dead daughter
JN404-2. PRAYER FOCUS: United prayer in Turkmenistan
JN404-3. NEWS BRIEF: Baptist churches experience Pentecostal renewal
JN404-4. KINGDOM DEVELOPMENT: Intercessory worship
JN404-5. RESOURCE: Who is Allah?
JN404-6. RESOURCE: Map of the postmodern mindset

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QUOTE - "Don't focus on growing a church with programs, focus on growing people with a process." (Rick Warren)
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JN404-1. TYPICALLY GOD: Jesus answers Hindu's prayer for dead daughter

Subash and Vishnu have two sons - 9-year-old Sunil and 6-year-old Manjit - and a daughter, 4-year-old Kavita. Pastors Jens Kaldewey and Jörg Schori from Switzerland met Subash, Vishnu and Kavita in April 2002 at a marriage conference in Jammu, Northern India. "The parents told us the following amazing story, confirmed through friends and the change in their own lives," says Schori.

"In October 1998, when Kavita was 3 months old, Subash and Vishnu went to work in the fields. Following a strange impression, the mother hurried home, and found both boys lying on top of their sister. Kavita became colder and colder, and did not breathe for three hours. Her parents had only 100 Rupees (about US$3), so could not afford to take their daughter to hospital. They were not yet Christians, but knew about a preacher who told of miracles, from whom they had heard a number of things about Jesus. In desperation, Subash and Vishnu started to pray to Jesus, even though they were Hindus. They prayed for about an hour, starting at 7pm, until God made Kavita breathe again. The neighbours had already gathered to mourn, and were astonished by the news that the girl had returned to life. As a result, many people believed in Jesus and were themselves healed. The parents' faith was greatly strengthened through the experience, and they started to serve Jesus.

They are now full-time evangelists, and bring many people to Jesus. The church which they attend has grown from 25 to 250 members. In the meantime, two brothers and their wives have become Christians, and their parents, who were initially very displeased by the change in their children, are slowly becoming more open."

Source: Jörg Schori (joerg.schori@bluewin.ch) through Friday Fax

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JN404-2. PRAYER FOCUS: United prayer in Turkmenistan

On Friday June 14 three churches in Turkmenistan agreed to pray and fast a whole day and night for their nation. These churches also intend to develop a national prayer and fasting strategy. This is a small but very important beginning. Christians in Turkmenistan are being persecuted and need our faithful prayer support.

1. Pray for unity among the churches and new believers in Turkmenistan (some churches still don't support or even forbid fellowship of their members with Christians from other churches).
2. Pray that God will remove any objection to unity based on doctrines, denominational differences and personal ambitions of church leaders.
3. Pray that President Niyazov and the Government will respect the constitution of Turkmenistan and will stop the persecution of Evangelical Christians and the spread of Islam in all levels of society.
4. Pray for God to provide true advisers to President Niyazov and the Government, as their current advisor is supporting the oppression of Christians.
5. Pray for an outpouring of the (gifts of) the Holy Spirit in all churches in Turkmenistan and for a move of united prayer for this nation.

To receive regular prayer updates on Turkmenistan, send a blank e-mail to prayer4turkmenistan@email.com.

Source: Joel News

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JN404-3. NEWS BRIEF: Baptist churches experience Pentecostal renewal

More and more Baptist churches in the United States and other nations are experiencing Pentecostal renewal. As a result of this, denominational identity is slowly fading away, says Baptist pastor A. His Valley Life Church (VLC) based in Aloha, Oregon, is affiliated with a growing network of congregations that (some say) represents a postmodern, post-denominational body of Christ.

"Charismatic renewal has been blowing through the Baptist movement since the late '60s," A. noted. "I don't think we're going to see the whole Baptist movement become charismatic. However, the theory of cessationism is dying as Baptist folks become open to gifts of the Spirit. And while they don't embrace spiritual gifts in their worship services, many don't dismiss charismatic gifts in their members."

To share their thirst for God's presence, members of VLC held a conference last year that drew participants nationwide. The gathering emphasized several themes: prophecy, renewal and healing. A. has been in contact with a growing number of churches nationwide that have been, he said, "hit by the Spirit."

Source: Charisma News Service

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JN404-4. KINGDOM DEVELOPMENT: Intercessory worship

"Whenever the church has come out of her lethargy, rising from her sleep and into the tides of revival and spiritual renewal, always the worshipers were back of it." These words of A.W. Tozer bring us to a vital worship reality: worships enlists God! Revival, true revival, is always the heart's cry of any committed believer. And central to every revival is worship. In fact, it was Tozer who specifically defined revival in terms of worship. He emphasized: "In my study and observations, a revival generally results in a sudden bestowment of a spirit of worship. This is not the result of engineering or manipulation. It is something God bestows on people hungering and thirsting for Him. With this spiritual renewing will come a blessed spirit of loving worship."

Worship, then, not only helps bring revival and sustains it, but also opens the heavens for more of God so that worship, and the revival itself, can expand further. This results in the release of an even greater increase of our awareness of God, which is the essence of revival. Additionally, intercessory worship releases something of God's glory into circumstances that otherwise would seem hopeless. When this involves worship-saturated intercession, it means we are intervening in the needs of others (intercession) by enlisting the fullness of God to assist us (worship), thus engaging in intercessory worship. Worship provides our primary means to mobilize and release the resources of God into the needs of peoples and nations.

Many Christians and churches are re-discovering worship-saturated intercession. In his new book 'Heights of Delight' Dick Eastman, president of Every Home for Christ, explains the 'Harp and Bowl' approach to intercessory worship and how it can release evangelism.

LINK: http://www.ehc.org

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JN404-5. RESOURCE: Who is Allah?

Should Christians be politically and/or spiritually correct towards Islam? In this article C. Peter Wagner addresses a difficult issue. "Our Christian principles of freedom and political correctness in the visible world do not carry over to the invisible world," says Wagner. "In the invisible world the ideal is not liberty and justice for all, but rather the salvation of souls."

LINK: http://www.globalharvestministries.org/home.qry?ID=2190

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JN404-6. RESOURCE: Map of the postmodern mindset

Postmoderns live in a world that recognizes no borders. The old maps of a world with boundaries, national identities and well-defined people groups, no longer accurately represent the world postmoderns live in. But postmoderns thrive on the chaos of complexity and uncertainty this borderless world brings. They look at the world as a big playground on which the serious business of living, developing beliefs and renewal of societies, cultures and religions can be done. In this article Cassidy Dale offers a good perspective on the postmodern mindset.

LINK: http://www.newwway.org/map_of_the_postmodern_mindset.htm

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COLOPHON

Joel News International is a leading special interest bulletin on prayer, church growth and revival. We offer a keen selection of the most encouraging news reports, the most challenging developments and the best resources from over 100 reliable sources in six continents. Joel News International is a great help and time-saver for thousands of Christian leaders and intercessors in over 120 nations.

Editors: Branko Bjelajac, Adriaan van der Hoeven and Marc van der Woude. You can contact the editorial office at joel-news@xs4all.nl.

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