| JOEL-NEWS-INTERNATIONAL-459 * 13 NOVEMBER 2003 * WWW.JOELNEWS.ORG IN THIS EDITION: JN459-1. TYPICALLY GOD: Five years without sleep JN459-2. PRAYER FOCUS: Prayer movement and government in Serbia JN459-3. NEWS BRIEF: Miraculous power of God in the Netherlands JN459-4. RESOURCE: The power of prophetic decrees JN459-5. RESOURCE: God and the European constitution JN459-6. RESOURCE: Mr. Jabez goes to Africa --- JN459-1. TYPICALLY GOD: Five years without sleep Heilongjiang is a province in China's cold Northeast, with 45 million inhabitants. In the past decade, revival and the constant planting of house churches have resulted in a total of 2.5 to 3 million Christians in the region, according to mission agency Asia Harvest. Normal Christians whose lives God radically changed play a key role in this movement, for example: Sister Wei. "Before I became a Christian, I worked for the Government in northern Heilongjiang. My job was to find and report families with two or more children - only one child is allowed. The families were then punished; often, the extra children were taken and killed, or the pregnant mothers forced to have an abortion. Through my work, my hands were covered by the blood of hundreds of murdered babies. In 1984, I became seriously ill and was confined to my bed. Besides cancer, the doctors diagnosed 22 other illnesses. It was terrible and painful. My condition deteriorated, and the doctors told my family to prepare themselves for my death. One night, though, I had a dream: "In my dream, I saw a cross, just like the cross my Christian aunt wore. That night on my deathbed, I heard a voice telling me clearly "You will be the salt of the earth, the light of the world. You will be a witness for the Lord." The next morning, I called my aunt. She told me that only the Cross of Jesus could rescue me. I cried for hours as I poured out my heart before God, repenting of all my terrible deeds. Through his name I was not only saved but also completely healed of all my illnesses! "A friend took me to a house church, where I learned more of God's Word. After becoming a Christian, I quit my job with the Government. I read the Bible every night, and no matter how unbelievable this sounds: my life became a cycle of factory work during the day, leading the house church meeting in the evening and reading the Bible at night. I tried to learn 15 chapters of the Bible by heart every night. For five years - the Lord is my witness - I did not sleep at all. Finally, I could go to preach. That was quite astonishing for my relatives and neighbours, because I had only attended school for two years, and could not read very well before my salvation. "I preached a lot as a full-time evangelist, sometimes in public buses. I always experienced that the Holy Spirit gave me great authority, and many passengers broke out in tears, confessing their sins and giving their lives to Jesus. Sometimes, the bus driver had to stop while I prayed with the passengers who wanted to be saved. Once, everyone wanted to be baptised on the spot - including the bus driver and conductor. "I was also able to preach in prisons, mainly because I had been able to lead the head of the Security Department to Jesus. Once, over 180 women - including some of the guards - decided to follow Christ. One day, I went to the three top people in the Religious Affairs Office and warned them to stop persecuting Christians - and with them, Jesus. Two of the three took me seriously, the third was stubborn and said that he would continue persecuting us. Shortly afterwards, his son was involved in a fatal car accident; the man took that as a warning from God and repented." Source: Asia Harvest --- JN459-2. PRAYER FOCUS: Prayer movement and government in Serbia Former Joel News editor Branko Bjelajac reports that a first-ever prayer gathering was held in Serbia, October 20-22. He reports: "It marked a spiritual breakthrough in the dark skies over Serbia. Thirty of us came from various churches and places. On the first night we prayed over Serbia, cried to God for all of our iniquities and brought them to the cross. Most of us washed them out with tears of repentance. It was a sweet taste that night. The next day was a day of teachings and prayer, fellowship and sharing. The third day was a continuation of prayer and a special time of silence, followed by sharing what the Lord was speaking and showing us. The participants were glad that something of this sort occurred in Serbia. "The Lord has been pouring out his Spirit of prayer subsequently. A number of churches and Christian organisations had special days of prayer and fasting. The most noted one was on November 3, the International Ladies Day of Prayer. This very week will be filled with prayer and intercession for our nation, which is undertaking yet another election campaign for a president. The last Serbian president is on trial for war crimes in the Hague! The 2002 presidential campaigns ended up in a deadlock, creating a political crisis. The state of Serbia is without an officially elected president and, since the assassination of Zoran Djindjic this Spring, also without elected Prime Minister! Therefore a special day of prayer and fasting is scheduled for Friday, November 14. Please join us again in prayer and help us believe for peace and stability in the region and salvation of the nation. "We are alerting our praying friends worldwide that the spiritual battle for the people of Serbia has began - help us, support us in prayer, fasting and intercession. Serbia belongs to Jesus, the Prince of Peace!" Source: Joel News --- JN459-3. NEWS BRIEF: Miraculous power of God in the Netherlands God seems to be turning the world upside down: missionaries from Africa are coming to Europe to break open the so-called 'hard soil' with an astounding easyness. Last week the Netherlands experienced an 'open heaven' when Nigerian ministers Victor Emenike, Sunday Adelajah and Prince Gideon held a five-day campaign in Utrecht to demonstrate how to heal the sick and deliver the oppressed. During the course of the campaign in Utrecht, Joel News editor Marc van der Woude blogged down some observations. He reports: "The level of faith and expectation was high, even electric. And God moved powerfully. One time more than 10 people got our of their weelchairs and were healed on the spot. A deaf and dumb girl was completely healed. The first word she said was "JESUS!" Many people with artrosis, cancer, deafness, and other illnesses were healed. The higher the level of faith and expectation, the more God seems to be doing." LINK: http://marcsmessages.blogspot.com/#jaarbeurs --- JN459-4. RESOURCE: The power of prophetic decrees In this teaching Todd Bentley lays out biblical principles for the prophetic practice of 'speaking things into existence'. It's revelation from God that, when prayed into and acted upon, activates divine destiny. At the same time the devil is resisting our destiny in God by causing delays in the spirit, even to the point of killing a movement in it's infancy. Bentley's personal testimony about how a prophetic decree 'birthed' his ministry is quite impressive. LINK: http://www.freshfire.ca/teaching.asp?ID=THEP002 --- JN459-5. RESOURCE: God and the European constitution German prayer leader Ortwin Schweitzer wrote an excellent paper about the new European constitution in which he explains why it is important that a reference to God is included in the widely discussed Preamble. Last weekend he presented his findings to a group of European prayer leaders and called to serious prayer and action. His paper is available in five languages. LINK: http://www.beter-im-aufbruch.de.vu/ --- JN459-6. RESOURCE: Mr. Jabez goes to Africa The story of how God moved bestseller author Bruce Wilkinson (of the 'Prayer of Jabez') and his wife into Africa to develop a ministry focused on the desperate needs of those affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis. LINK: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/011/1.44.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. 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