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TRUST IN GOD OR "IRAQ-NO!-PHOBIA!" & Which Political Party Does a Prophet Speak For?
Chuck Pierce & Steve Shultz
Oct 1, 2002
I was speaking to an assistant
today about the very diverse emails we receive from ELIJAH LIST readers
about the potential war with Iraq. As we talked about the fear being
expressed by different members of the Body, I heard come out of my mouth . .
.
". . . It just seems like the Church has Iraq-no-phobia!"
Only after saying did I realize the statement was, in itself, "prophetically
insightful" even though it was accidental on my part.
Part of the Church is crying out in fear, "No! we can't wait, we must attack
Iraq or there will be serious consequences if we don't. The other groups
says "No! We must not hit Iraq. If we do there will be serious
consequences." The area of agreement is "No!" The very common emotion
(though not all feel it) is fear!
Fear if we don't do one thing. And fear if we don't do the opposite! You
should read all the emails!
As a result, Christian are praying against one another, at cross purposes
with each other.
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THE LORD IS LOOKING FOR THE BIPOLAR OPPOSITE OF FEAR
Regardless of which way you are afraid. Lack of faith
is lack of faith.
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The Church is covered in fear, though it should be the one thing that is
rare among believers. We serve a God who is control of the events of this
world? So what's the fuss about? If God is in control, why are many of the
prophets calling for fervent, even emergency prayer regarding Iraq.
The answer is simple, really.
In the Word of God, there are many examples -- at times of crisis, impending
war or destruction-- of God inspiring fasting and prayer among the people.
He then sends a prophet to visit the King to give him the mind of the Lord.
Sometimes the instruction was to fight. Sometimes it was to wait. Or if not
a prophet, then a divine appointment was set in place for the king -- as we
see when Esther goes before the King to save her people.
The reason the ELIJAH LIST exists is to publish among the Body of Christ
what many Prophets or prophetic voices are saying. Often, today's prophets
give the mind of the Lord to us, The Body of Christ. We who are Believers
are both a KINGDOM and PRIESTS of our God. Armed with the mind of the Lord
in a corporate sense, because the prophets have told us what they are seeing
--- we then know how to pray in agreement with one another -- and not at
cross purposes.
--------------------------
REESE HOWELLS, INTERCESSOR
--------------------------
Have you ever read the book, "Reese Howells, Intercessor?" The book details
how God prepared this one man (and perhaps many like him) to pray throughout
a World War. His prayers often changed the course of critical battles at
critical moments. It's all in his book. The point is that there WAS a time
for War, but God was still involved, responding to the very prayers he
planted in men's heart in order to turn various battles the way He wanted
to.
It is interesting that in the case of Reese Howells, we do not see the Lord
stopping a World War, but only His directing Howells on how to pray for
specific battles and countries that were fighting in that war.
The Church must be like that today. We must ask the question of the Lord,
not based on our party affiliation, but based on our God affiliation, "Lord,
is this a battle that must be fought?" and "Lord is this the right time for
this war," or "Lord, how do we pray for the correct timing of this battle?"
and "Lord, if this war is ill-timed or ill-advised and it's going to happen
anyway, HOW THEN SHOULD I PRAY?"
In the Scriptures, we see that, like Reese Howells, sometimes it takes only
one man or one woman to make all the difference:
"I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall
and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I
would not have to destroy it, but I found none." (Ezek 22:30)
---------------
IRAQ-NO-PHOBIA
---------------
There is a time for War. And according to one prophetic voice, Chuck Pierce,
we're in a seven-year period of war. But how do Believers pray? What is our
instruction? Do we pray for no war? Less war? Do we pray against an
ill-timed War? A War with few deaths? Or do we pray for a War so serious
that many will turn to the Lord?
Some of those questions are being considered as Chuck Pierce prepares an
article regarding Iraq and our position as Believers. (We'll post his
article tomorrow or the next day)
--------------------------------------------------
As Christians, our PARTY AFFILIATION is different
-------------------------------------------------
In the meantime, remember this statement that I borrowed from one of my
favorite teachers. He said, "I'm neither a Republican nor a Democrat. . .
I'm a Monarchist. I serve a reigning KING."
As we seek the Lord's will for how to pray in this IRAQ crisis, we must make
the following commitments and declarations. . .
1) We don't come before the Lord as Republicans or Democrats but as children
of our Heavenly Father. (You may belong to one of several political parties
but before God, we come to Him as Children only).
2) We don't fight our battles with fear. Fear is the bi-polar opposite of
faith.
3) God often gives strategies in prayer. All good strategies comes from God.
Have YOU been given no strategy in how to pray for Iraq? Then pray a
powerful prayer -- the way the Lord taught us to pray, "Thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth, the way it's done in Heaven." Every prayer with
those words COUNTS toward the battle. We often "don't know how to pray as we
ought, but the Spirit makes intercession for us."
4) We support our President and respect him-- but our hope is not in
President Bush, rather, our hope is in the
Presiding Judge in the Burning Bush.
5) And finally, for those willing to listen to what the prophets are saying,
we cannot and must not judge what a
prophets sees or what a prophets hears, by the current positions our
political party holds. If in prayer, we decide to hold "the party line,"
then the idea of a prophet hearing from God would be a waste of our time,
wouldn't it? While a prophet may have a party affiliation, he better NOT
prophesy using his party affiliation but only what he hears from the Lord.
And if it disagrees with his own political views, so be it. Show me a
prophet who only prophesies according to his political views and I will show
you a man or woman who is not hearing from the Lord very well at all. Put
another way . . . If every time a certain prophet speaks, it invariably
agrees with only your political party's views--- I would be very suspect of
that prophet.
With this framework, within the next day (or two at the most), I'll post
Chuck Pierce's article regarding War with
Iraq and how then we should pray in concert with one another.
Blessings,
Steve Shultz
THE ELIJAH LIST
Chuck Pierce's book, THE FUTURE WAR OF THE CHURCH (and his other books and
tapes) can be found while supplies last
at:
http://theelijahlist.safeshopper.com/310/cat310.htm?990
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