| JOEL-NEWS-INTERNATIONAL-454 * 23 SEPTEMBER 2003 * WWW.JOELNEWS.ORG IN THIS EDITION: JN454-1. TYPICALLY GOD: There is always enough! JN454-2. PRAYER FOCUS: Year of Prayer for Australia JN454-3. KINGDOM DEVELOPMENT: The outpouring continues JN454-4. RESOURCE: Charles Finney's hidden intercessors --- JN454-1. TYPICALLY GOD: There is always enough! Heidi and Rolland Baker minister in Mozambique, one of the poorest nations in the world, but also a nation that experiences an incredible move of God. In their latest newsletter they report: "I always wanted to believe and live the Sermon on the Mount, but usually got told that it did not mean all that I thought it meant, and that I needed to be practical. I would read the Scriptures longingly, trying to imagine how wonderful it would be not to worry about anything, safe and secure in the presence of Jesus all the time. Miracles would be normal. Love would be natural. We could always give and never lose. We could be lied to, cheated and stolen from, and yet always come out ahead. We would never have to take advantage of anyone, or have any motive but to bless other people. Rather than always making contingency plans in case Jesus didn't do anything, we could count on Him continually. We, our lives, and all that we preach and provide would not be for sale, but would be given freely, just as we have received freely. Our hearts would be carefree in the love of our Father in heaven, who always knows what we need, and we could get on with the glorious business of seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness. There would always be enough! "From my missionary grandfather I learned to do everything upside down in the Lord. We started not with leaders, but with the 'least of these', the orphaned, abandoned and unwanted, the destitute of the earth left by the wayside with no hope of amounting to anything. They received Jesus with joy. In our early days I watched them in their rags on the cold bare floor of our dark, unpainted 'church', tears running down their faces, singing "Thank you, Jesus!" Would Jesus feed these children in answer to simple faith? Did we have a message for the poor, who had no access to email, TV publicity and fundraising newsletters? Could they depend on Jesus without begging? "At times they prayed all night for their daily food, and food would come in the most unexpected ways. They rose at four in the morning to intercede for their nation. They were caught up frequently in visions with Jesus and the angels of heaven. They danced around the throne of God, singing their simple African songs. They were supremely grateful for their slightest blessings, like a new water well, or a used army tent. Jesus was the thrill of their lives. And in a short time we brought hundreds off the streets of Maputo into our family in God. In all our stress of the time, it was a taste of heaven. "Soon local pastors wanted in on the blessings, and the Holy Spirit. We began to visit churches in the bush. They longed to come learn with us, and so we started a Bible school, but one in which they could see us model compassion for the lowly and helpless. We had a school where they could not just study the Trinity, but get completely drunk in the Spirit and be overcome mentally, emotionally and even physically by the Presence of God. Jesus kept blessing and providing. One by one a series of people were raised from the dead. Rego and Joni, the first pastors to be used by God in this way, were in our first Bible school class, and they simply followed instructions when Heidi prophesied what they would do. We never planned on overseeing so many pastors, but by the hundreds churches sprang up. Barely literate and qualified in any way, our pastors were the best people available to lead these churches. We did everything we could to prepare them in our schools, three months at a time. "We want to learn how to live the Sermon on the Mount, and in Him we will try with everything in us until the day we die. We have a vision. We don't care about being something or somebody, or making full use of our gifts and talents. We cannot abide a contained, throttled, 'sustainable' mission lifestyle. We want to spend and be spent, burning with a passion that rivers cannot wash away. We don't know who will join us, or stay with us. We don't strive to get people to help us any more than we try to raise money. We have seen the power of God and we cannot go back. We see a white-hot core at the heart of this movement, and we are motivated to proclaim Him in every way possible, everywhere possible, whenever possible, with all the energy that He so powerfully works in us. "Yesterday was a very hard day for us - and then our Zimpeto family gathered around us. Our little children saw our distress and called us to them so they could pray for us in their incredibly sweet, pure way. Through the prayers of such as these Heidi was healed of multiple sclerosis several years ago, after having been prayed for by people all over the world. Our faithful Mozambican friends poured their love on us. And we bask in His sovereignty, and in a movement we did not start and do not have to sustain. It is His work, which he began in his chosen vessels here in this country long before we arrived. He has elected the poor of Mozambique and Africa to display His glory. He is far from finished. He will not stop an inch short of perfection. But we feel His smile and pleasure. We are making progress, pressing forward to what lies ahead, forgetting what lies behind. The river is deepest where it is lowest, and all we know to do is go lower still. What joy!" LINK: http://www.irismin.org --- JN454-2. PRAYER FOCUS: Year of Prayer for Australia Christians all over Australia set apart 2003 as a Year of Prayer for the church and the nation. Coordinator Brian Pickering reports that the movement is now entering it's fourth and final season of 40 days. "During the season of Travail (Season 3), we learned to partner with the Lord and pray significant change into the nation in the spiritual realm. Now we are moving into even greater intimacy with Christ, becoming so one with Him that we see through His eyes and rejoice with the Joy of his heart at what He has done in us, through us and in this nation, as we continue to pray blessing upon blessing into the Great South Land of the Holy Spirit." Let's join the church in Australia in prayer for a mighty outpouring of God's Spirit, that will empower Christians to effectively impact their nation and the nations of the world. A guideline for prayer is available on the website. LINK: http://www.ausprayernet.org.au --- JN454-3. KINGDOM DEVELOPMENT: The outpouring continues God continues to poor out His Spirit in intimate love and power in church gatherings of every sort. Like in Tulare, California, where evangelist Joe Cicchino has been conducting revival meetings at the Jubilee Christian Fellowship since the outpouring started in this church on April 6 this year. "I've never seen anything like this," Cicchino said. "A lot of people who have studied it say it's very similar to Azusa Street. (The revival in California early in the 20th century that launched the modern Pentecostal movement.) "There are more miracles than anyone could think of seeing. People are being healed of cancer, blindness, deafness, Lupus and other diseases, and many more are receiving 'inner healing' and deliverance." Ken Bowman, pastor of the church, said he "received a prophetic word in September that God would visit the church, and that it would be like nothing anyone had ever seen. He didn't say when or how it would happen, but he said to get ready." During a watchnight service Jan. 1, Bowman said, "God told me to fast for 40 days." Cicchino spoke at the church during that fast and then came back to begin a series of meetings on Sunday morning, April 6. "It was just a very powerful morning," Bowman said. "There was an extreme presence of God. It's hard to explain. I experienced total peace, an awesome peace. There are no words to explain it. There were healings, salvations, people being touched by God's Spirit." Bowman said more than half of the 65 to 75 members of the church have left since the visitation began. "A lot of people seem to want more tradition. I don't think a lot of people understand it. They're used to God being presented in a certain manner." But for everyone who has left, others have decided to come and stay, he said. Bowman attributed the visitation to the sovereignty of God. "It's not something you can start or stop; it just happens." Cicchino has another opinion: "I think it's happening because God is getting his way. No one is in his way. This is the first pastor I've ever seen who got out of the way and let God move." "There's no introduction, no worship team, no praise and worship, no offering, no healing line. Four hundred and fifty people have been born again, without an altar call. In a typical service, when the people walk in, we tell them, 'This is between you and God. It's got nothing to do with man. You can go anywhere in the church. If you've come to enter in, and not to observe, God will touch you.' People can take communion at any time, and if they want prayer, we'll pray with them. I'll just hold their hands, and God'll reveal things in their lives." Cicchino said he does not prepare a message, and rarely speaks more than five or ten minutes at a time. "I'm never on the platform. I walk around, or read Scripture. Everything we're doing, God's giving us the Scripture to verify it. There's no flakiness. There's a lot of weeping and crying as people are being set free." Cicchino said the church is open all day, and people come in to pray. "People are lying on the floor, letting God touch them. They just start weeping. A lot of them just lie there for hours. What it is, basically, is people are being cleansed so they can draw closer to God." Source: www.openheaven.com --- JN454-4. RESOURCE: Charles Finney's hidden intercessors Charles Finney was a man of intense prayer, purity and passion. Without question he was a prophetic voice to 19th century America. His ministry consistently produced revivals, even in areas considered hardened and unreceptive to the gospel. Finney's autobiography is filled with accounts of powerful manifestations of the Spirit. Less known is that Finney was supported by the hidden, yet powerful intercession of 'Father Nash' and Abel Clary. Often before daybreak people could hear Father Nash for half a mile or more in the woods, or in a church praying, and the sense of God's presence was overwhelming. LINK: http://www.watchword.org/smithers/ww33a.html --- 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: Alex ten Cate and Marc van der Woude. You can contact the editorial office at joel-news@xs4all.nl. Joel News International is distributed weekly by e-mail on the basis of an annual donation. For more information see http://www.joelnews.org/donation-jni.htm#options. Has this bulletin been forwarded to you? Then subscribe directly by sending an empty e-mail to: subscribe-joel-news-international@xc.org. |
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