| Newsletter for May 2010
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Dear Friends, In my opinion, one of the most astounding passages of scripture is 1 Timothy 2:1-4, I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. At the time this was written Rome ruled the known world…and ruled it with an iron fist. The harsh, brutal cruelty of the Roman Empire is clearly recorded in the annals of history. Yes, there were various Caesars who were more benevolent to the people, but untold thousands upon thousands encountered barbaric atrocities and death at the hands of Roman soldiers. Thus, when Paul explained that God expected Christians to intercede for those in authority, many of those hearing this, especially Jews, were no doubt torn between their desire to obey God and their feelings of animosity toward Rome: How on earth could God want His children to pray for those who oppressed them, took away their freedoms, hindered their religious liberties and even killed them? The answer to that question is found in John 3:16, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Paul confirmed this when He wrote, For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. It is God’s desire that everyone, no matter who they are or what they have done, come to know Jesus as Savior. The above passage from 1 Timothy contains a rather startling revelation from God: He is saying that our intercession for leaders is directly connected to our leading a peaceable life…and our leaders’ salvation! God wants them saved, and He wants us to pray for their salvation so He can become more involved in their lives. This is very similar to what Jesus said in Matthew 9:37-38, Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. If God wanted Christians to intercede for the salvation of leaders 2,000 years ago, He wants Christians today to do the same. All of this leads me to an extremely disturbing trend: Far too many Christians today are speaking horribly about our leaders, and this is completely opposed to what God has commanded us to do. To be sure you understand my position, in no way do I agree with any governmental policy which undermines the standards of God’s word; but I absolutely refuse to join in with those Believers whose actions are total rebellion to God. Yes, I know those are strong words. But we are complete hypocrites if we say we forgive as God has forgiven us (Ephesians 4:32) and love as God loves us (John 13:35, 1 John 4:7-11), all the while demeaning and degrading our leaders through callous words, jokes and insensitive emails. Whether we agree or disagree with the policies of our governmental officials, the bottom line is that Jesus bore their sins on the cross, shed His blood as their sacrifice and died for their salvation. Further, He expects that we will follow His example (“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”) and bear the burden of interceding for their salvation. This applies to Christians of all nations. Walking in love and forgiveness in not a concession to sin; it is demonstrating the nature and character of God to those who need to know Him. I wonder if those Believers who are so scornful toward leaders realize that they are compounding the problem exponentially through their critical confessions. The choice is ours: we can walk in love and pray for their salvation; or we can lay up judgment for ourselves through words and behavior that is counter to the very essence of who God is. At our church, we have developed a set of confessions to help us pray for our leaders; I have printed those confessions for your own benefit and use. (The foundation scriptures for the confessions are in bold.) Your servant in Christ, Jim (Ezekiel 22:30; 1 Timothy 2:1-4) Father, I present myself to you as one who is willing to make up the hedge and stand in the gap before you on behalf of our nation. I lift up our President, Vice President, those in both the Senate and House of Representatives, the Supreme Court and all who are in leadership at all levels of government from the national level to the local level. Please forgive our leaders for their sin and ungodly actions, laws, and positions that are opposed to your word. Touch their lives with your presence. I pray for Divine safety and protection over them and their families. May they all know Jesus in a personal way as Savior and Lord. By faith, I call them born again and filled with the Holy Spirit. May we lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. Lord, I present to you my prayers, my confessions, and my praise and worship. Use it all in the way you want to bring about your will. Release your glory and anointing through me to bring about the changes you desire. (1 John 4:11) Father, I know that you love our President and leaders and that Jesus died for their sins, just like He died for my sins. No matter what our President and leaders have said or done that is opposed to your word, I declare that I love them with the love of God. It is my desire that they truly know you as their God and that their names be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. (Proverbs 29:2; Isaiah 54:17; Isaiah 9:6; 1 Samuel 16:13; Ephesians 1:19-23, 2:6; Ephesians 6:10-18; Mark 16:17)Jesus, the government of your Kingdom rests upon you. Likewise, I say that the government of this nation rests on you. May our President, Vice President, the Supreme Court, those in both the Senate and House of Representatives and all other leaders be filled with the wisdom of God and Kingdom knowledge concerning every decision they make, including those decisions pertaining to all judicial and cabinet appointments, and laws and bills that will govern our country. I come against all spirits of confusion, perversion, abortion, and unholiness that would want to cause them to approve of laws that are opposed to the holy standards of God’s word. According to the power and authority given to me by God, in Jesus’ name, I speak to all you spirits and I command that you silence your tongue. You will not have an impact on this nation, our leaders and our laws. Holy Spirit, please release a continual flow of anointing upon our leaders that will help and guide them. May the Spirit of the Lord rest upon them. I come against every principality, power, ruler of darkness, and spiritual wickedness that would present a stronghold against our President and all other leaders. I speak to you and command you to be cast out NOW, in Jesus’ name. No weapon formed against them or their families shall prosper; and I call ‘condemned’ every tongue that would rise up against them in false judgment. (Matthew 16:19) Jesus has given to me the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever I bind on earth is bound in Heaven, and whatever I loose on earth is loosed in Heaven. Satan, you and all your devils are bound concerning this nation, our President, congress and all other leaders. None of your plans for implementing or sustaining unholy laws will succeed. I call the Father’s will to be accomplished in our nation. (Luke 10:18-21) Satan, just as Jesus saw you fall as lightning from Heaven, I call you and all your devils fallen from all levels of authority, influence and interference in our government. All of you spirits are subject unto me in Jesus’ name. You are defeated. (Philippians 2:9-11) Jesus is highly exalted, and in Him I am highly exalted. The name of Jesus is above every name. I have inherited the right to use the power and authority in Jesus’ name. I bow my life to the Lordship of Jesus. I declare that Jesus is the Lord of every part of our government. Satan, you and all your devils must bow in submission to the Name that is above you, the name of Jesus. You cannot rise above the authority of Jesus and you cannot rise above my authority in Jesus. In Jesus, I have dominion over you. I declare that our government is under the Name and Lordship of Jesus; I call your works in our government over. (Colossians 2:15; 1 Corinthians 15:57) Satan, Jesus has completely and totally defeated you and all of your principalities, powers and devils. He made an open show of you and triumphed over you for all eternity. I thank and praise God that in the Lord Jesus Christ, He has given to me that same victory. I call you and everything about you and your devils completely, totally, and thoroughly defeated in the government of our nation. Satan, you have lost. The victory of Christ is known in the United States. Father, move upon your Church and lay intercession on all those who make themselves available to you for that kind of prayer. Move upon the pastors of your churches that they would call for times of prayer over our president and congress. I say, in Jesus’ name, that the righteous are in authority and that our nation rejoices. Jesus, you are Lord over this nation and all levels of government. May the glory of the Lord fill this country and may revival fires burn with unprecedented intensity. (Matthew 12:25; Mark 3:23-26; Mark 16:17; Luke 10:19; Ephesians 1:19-23) I speak to you principalities assigned to our nation’s capital, President, congress and the Supreme Court. In the name of Jesus, you are cast down. Your rule is broken. Your mind is filled with confusion. You cannot think straight to carry out your plans. You speak against other devils and your house is divided; it cannot stand; it has come to an end. You are thoroughly and utterly defeated. You cannot rise back up to your seat. You walk in blindness. Division has filled your camp. Our nation’s capital and government are totally and completely loosed from your hands. The seat of authority in this nation is occupied by righteousness. (2 Chronicles 20:1-30; Psalm 33:8-12; Proverbs 18:21; Ecclesiastes 10:12; Isaiah 51:16; Jeremiah 5:14)O Lord God, you rule over all kingdoms in the world. In your hand there is power and might and no one can withstand you. You are our God and we dwell in you. You hear our cry and our prayers. We say that this nation is your land. We say it is a part of your Kingdom. May this nation fear you and all its inhabitants stand in awe of you. We stand here covered in the shadow of your hand. Your words fill our mouth and we speak them forth to establish your will in our nation. Use your words that we speak to plant foundations of righteousness in our nation so that you would desire to call the people of this nation your people. Judge those who hold any office as to how they stand concerning your word and holiness. We do not fear them or their threats and promises to steal this nation from your Kingdom and use it to further their plans for abortion, sexual perversions and abominations, suppression of the gospel, and all other unholy plans which conflict with your word. Father, this battle is not ours, it is yours. You are with us. O God, we praise you and we worship you, for your mercy endureth forever. We praise you for the beauty of your holiness. We praise you for our salvation. We exalt you and glorify you for righteousness reigning victoriously in our nation. Lord, make your words in our mouth fire and may the plans of the enemy be as wood, consumed and devoured by that fire. Set ambushments against all those in government whose hearts are totally hardened and conscience seared against you who are opposed to your word and holy standards. They are enemies of the cross. May the fear of God fill their hearts and minds. May confusion fill their camps as it did in the camps of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir. May they turn against each other. May their words return to them as their own judgment. May their words be as weapons against themselves. May they devastate each other. May their unholy plans and agendas collapse at their feet. May the foolishness in their hearts come forth from their mouths in a way that will cause even the media to turn against them. May their words against truth and holiness turn into the death of their political careers and influence. May they eat the fruit of their words. May they be swallowed up by the foolishness that proceeds from their lips. May they be shamed in the eyes of your church and the lost. May the abundant riches of the spoils of their defeat be transferred into the Kingdom of God. We call this nation a “Valley of Berachah”, blessed of the Lord. We rejoice with great joy at the victory of the Lord. (Psalm 2:10-11; 72:1-2, 11; 138:4; Proverbs 8:1, 15; 16:12-13; 21:1-3; 11:14; 24:6) I say that our President is wise and instructed of the Lord, serving Him with fear and trembling. Father, give him your judgments and the knowledge of your righteousness. I say he governs this nation out of righteousness and that he falls down before you and serves you. He is instrumental in overturning every law that is favorable toward all forms of sin. I say he hears your words and praises you. He hears the voice of wisdom cry out and he governs and decrees justice by the wisdom of God. He does not commit or approve of laws that are abominations and wickedness. His seat of authority is governed by righteousness. He speaks those things that are right and are of righteousness. I say that our President places his heart in the hand of the Lord and allows the Lord to turn it however He desires. He does not do what is right in his own eyes; instead, he seeks the Lord and allows God to ponder his heart. The justice, judgment, and laws he considers are acceptable before the Lord. Father, may he be surrounded by a multitude of counselors who will speak your words and will into his life. May the Oval Office be continually filled with your presence and your glory. (Hebrews 1:13-14) Father, as heirs of salvation we ask that angels be dispatched to assist these things to be done. Angels, go to your assignments as the Father directs; enforce the victories we have spoken this day and drive back the forces of evil. SATAN, YOU ARE DEFEATED IN THE UNITED STATES, IN OUR PRESIDENT’S LIFE AND IN ALL LEVELS OF OUR GOVERNMENT! JESUS IS THE LORD OVER THE UNITED STATES AND OUR GOVERNMENT! JUST AS THE FATHER’S WILL IS ALWAYS DONE IN HEAVEN, THE FATHER’S WILL IS BEING DONE IN THE UNITED STATES AND IN OUR GOVERNMENT! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Prayer and Power Conference last month was absolutely incredible! God’s glory was present in every service and many people were healed, delivered, and filled with the Holy Spirit. To receive an MP3 CD of the conference, use the order form below. |
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