Quote from Forum Archives on August 20, 2000, 12:02 am

Posted by: Terry_Jim <Terry_Jim@...>

> THE LAND BENEATH OUR FEET
> July 28, 2000
> Pastor Francis Frangipane
> www.inchristsimage.org
> email: RiverofLifeMailer@InChristsImage.org
>
> As a speaker in citywide and regional prayer conferences, I am often
> asked to unmask the "spiritual power" opposing the body of Christ in
> the conference region. City leaders and intercessors have even asked
> if I knew the "name" of the principle spirit that is resisting the
> church in their area.
>
> "Do you want to know the name of the most powerful spirit opposing
> most Christians?" I ask. Eager faces respond affirmatively.
>
> "It's Yahweh."
>
> My questioners, who suddenly look like a tree full of owls, are always
> bewildered by my answer. They are sure I misunderstood their
> question. Then, I explain. I remind them that, according to the
> Scriptures, God "is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the
> humble" (Jas 4:6). So, if we are divided in our hearts from other
> churches, if we instinctively look down on other Christians or if we
> are at all self-promoting in attitude, we are walking in pride. As
> such, the Spirit that stands to resist our endeavors is not demonic;
> it's God.
>
>
> PRIDE IS NOT EXCUSED
>
> The Lord will not excuse our pride just because we sing three hymns on
> Sunday and consider ourselves "saved." God resisted Lucifer's pride
> in heaven and He will oppose our pride on earth. What is most sad, is
> religious pride has been so homogenized into our Christian experience
> that we don't even perceive it as being wrong. Yet it is without
> doubt the most offensive sin manifested in the church.
>
> The Lord does not want the lost added to churches where they must
> assimilate the poison of pride at the same table as salvation.
>
>
> THE ONE WHO SEEKS AND JUDGES
>
> Jesus said of Himself, "I do not seek My glory. . ." Yet, how many
> of our actions are expended doing the exact opposite of the nature of
> Christ! Our choice of clothes and cars, homes and roles in life so
> often have self-exaltation working in the background. Jesus
> continued, "there is One who seeks and judges" (Jn 8:50). Listen
> carefully to His words, for every time we seek to exalt ourselves we
> run face to face with God. One dimension of the Father's heart is
> that He "seeks [glory] and judges" those who, through pride, exalt
> themselves. Indeed, my friends, consider with godly fear our American
> tradition of self-promotion. Though it is highly esteemed among men,
> it is actually "detestable in the sight of God" (Lk 16:15).
>
> The Old Testament is replete with examples documenting the Almighty's
> opposition to man's pride. Time after time it was not Israel's
> enemies that thwarted national prosperity, it was God. From
> generation to generation, the Lord allowed Israel's adversaries to
> humble His people, to drive them toward desperation, humility and
> finally repentance. There, in brokenness and honesty, God could deal
> with their sins and finally lead them into national revival.
>
>
>
> I WOULD QUICKLY SUBDUE THEIR ENEMIES
>
> Listen how the Lord pleaded with Israel: "Oh, that My people would
> listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would quickly
> subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries"
> (Psalms 81:13-14).
>
> So also with us. We need the might of God to be unleashed against our
> foes. For truly, terrible powers of darkness have invaded our land
> and our adversary stalks our streets seeking whom he may devour. Our
> hope, however, is not merely in confronting the enemy, but in allowing
> God to confront us. Our victory over the enemy is directly attached
> to our full surrender to God.
>
> If we truly learned of Him, we too would be "meek and lowly of heart"
> (Matt 11:29). And God, who gives grace to the humble, would rescue us
> from the spiritual enemies of our nation.
>
>
>
> HEAL OUR LAND
>
> The promise of the Lord is familiar. He says, "If My people who are
> called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and
> turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will
> forgive their sin, and will heal their land" (II Chron7:14). You say,
> "But I'm humbling myself and praying." Yes, but our humility to God is
> not complete until we learn to humble ourselves to one another.
>
> The fact is, because of pride, we have yet to accept what the Lord
> means in His words, "If My people." We still interpret His phrase "My
> people" to mean "our people"--our limited circle of friends, relatives
> and Christians whose culture or style of worship is, more or less,
> like our own.
>
>
> THE LORD'S PEOPLE
>
> However, when the Lord thinks of His people, He sees a more expansive
> group. He includes all who have been born again in a city. All of us
> who "are called by [His] name," though we are diverse in gifts and
> assignments, must find unity of spirit before Him. And this begins
> with an amazing strategy: we must humble ourselves.
>
> I know this goes against the grain of our historic church
> relationships.
>
> Satan has not only divided us from others, he has made us proud that
> we are separate. We think being separate is a virtue. But consider:
> only one group of people consistently found the Lord confronting and
> resisting them in the New Testament: the Pharisees. Literally
> translated, the word "Pharisee" meant "the separate." Of all the
> religious groups in the first century, it is the pride of the
> Pharisees that, today, the church most resembles.
>
>
> BENEATH THE FEET OF THE HUMBLE
>
> We pray, Lord, "heal our land." But the land He intends to heal first
> is that which exists beneath the feet of the humble. It is the world
> of the praying meek, who find the transforming power of God as their
> companion.
>
> The Lord's remedy for our society is hidden within the
> life-relationships of Christians. We are always so mindful of what
> others have done wrong to us, but where have we failed others? What
> can we do to heal the land that exists between us and those whom we
> have hurt?
>
>
> ASKING FORGIVENESS FROM AFRICAN AMERICANS AND NATIVE AMERICANS
>
> You see, as we become those who "humble themselves and pray" about
> what we have done wrong, healing from God begins to flow. When white
> Christians humble themselves and ask for forgiveness from African and
> Native Americans, God begins to heal the land under their feet.
>
> If God resists the proud, remember also, He gives grace to the humble.
>
> Grace is more than being covered; it is being cleansed and changed by
> the power of God. Grace is God's transforming power doing in us what
> we cannot do for ourselves.
>
> When we pray, "heal our land," it is the land beneath the feet of the
> humble that God promises to touch and restore to blessedness.
>
> =======================================
>
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>
Terry J. Havenridge
Terry_Jim@email.msn.com

"... it does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate,
tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds..."
-- Samuel Adams