`WEEKLY CHURCH NEWS NOTES
Pastor Dale Morgan
*
May 16, 2009
The Weekly Church News Notes is designed for use in churches
A NEW AMERICAN REVOLUTION?
Some are calling for a new American revolution, but I would observe that
there is a great difference between the last half of the eighteenth
century and the first half of the twenty-first. In the 18th century,
there existed enough moral character among American citizens to bring
about a great, far-reaching revolution based (among other things) on
biblical principles, and in hindsight it is obvious that the American
revolution was God’s will for that time. No such moral fiber exists
today. In the eighteenth century children learned how to read from the
King James Bible and from moralistic texts which urged such qualities as
honesty, thrift, and industry. The citizens, whether truly Christian or
not and whether godly or not, generally believed in an Almighty God, in
divine creation, in moral absolutes, in heaven and hell. On the other
hand, twenty-first century children learn to read in a context of
atheistic evolution and moral relativity, in a public school system in
which the Bible has been renounced. God’s people need to understand the
times. America today is not “one nation under God” in any sense of the
term and it cannot be brought back to God through politics or
demonstrations or alternative media or tax revolts or stockpiling
weapons. The only hope for America is genuine spiritual revival in the
churches, and that is what God’s people need to focus on. The end of the
age is fast approaching. We need to look up. We need to be found
faithful in fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20)
rather than having become sidetracked to some extra-biblical objective.
We need to imitate the early Christians who “turned to God from idols to
serve the living and true God; and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom
he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath
to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10). There is a saying, “When the outlook
is bleak, try the uplook!”
U.S. MILITARY DESTROYS BIBLES
The following is excerpted from OneNewsNow.com, May 5, 2009: “The U.S.
military is confirming that it has destroyed some Bibles belonging to an
American soldier serving in Afghanistan. Reuters News says the Bibles
were confiscated and destroyed after Qatar-based Al Jazeer television
showed soldiers at a Bible class on a base with a stack of Bibles
translated into the local Pashto and Dari languages. The U.S. military
forbids its members on active duty--including those based in places like
Afghanistan--from trying to convert people to another religion. Reuters
quotes Maj. Jennifer Willis at the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, who
said, ‘I can now confirm that the Bibles shown on Al Jazeera’s clip
were, in fact, collected by the chaplains and later destroyed. They were
never distributed.’ According to the military officials, the Bibles were
sent through private mail to an evangelical Christian soldier by his
church back home. Reuters says the soldier brought them to the Bible
study class where they were filmed. The Chairman of the U.S. Joint
Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, told a Pentagon briefing Monday
that the military’s position is that it will never ‘push any specific
religion.’” CONCLUDING NOTE: No one expects the military to push
religion. We also don’t expect them to destroy religious books, and most
especially the very Book upon which our presidents take their solemn
vows. How many Korans have you destroyed, Admiral Mullen? The military
brass should remember this foolish act the next time they need divine
intervention. There is no doubt that the U.S. military has won many
battles through the power of prayer. I have read extensively into the
history of America’s military battles, and many victories can be
explained only by blind chance or divine intervention. And no doubt many
losses can be explained by a lack of the same. In fact, World War II
itself could easily have been concluded differently. I am not saying the
U.S. military has ever been godly; I am saying, simply, that many godly
people have prayed and their prayers were answered. My mother’s Baptist
congregation in Lakeland, Florida, had someone praying daily for their
men serving overseas during the last world war, and every one of them
came home safely. If you think that is a result of the breathtaking
wisdom of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, you need your head examined!
“Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it:
except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain” (Psalms
127:1).
MAINE BECOMES FIFTH STATE TO APPROVE “GAY MARRIAGE”
The following is excerpted from The Christian Post, May 6, 2009: “Maine
has become the fifth state to allow gay marriage after Gov. John
Baldacci signed a bill legalizing the practice. His signature went on to
the bill within an hour after the Senate passed it Wednesday. ‘In the
past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions,’
said Baldacci. ‘I have come to believe that this is a question of
fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union
is not equal to civil marriage.’ A similar gay marriage bill could reach
the New Hampshire governor on Wednesday as the state House is set to
vote on the legislation in the afternoon. Massachusetts, Connecticut,
Iowa and Vermont currently allow same-sex marriage. ... The legislation
repealed a provision under the state’s 1997 Defense of Marriage Act that
limited marriage between one man and one woman and replaced it with one
that allows marriage between any two persons that meet the requirement
of Maine law. The bill also affirmed the right of religious institutions
and ministers to refuse solemnizing gay marriage without facing any
penalties or fines.”
CHRISTIANS IMPRISONED IN CHINA
The following is excerpted from “18 Christians Arrested,” Christian
Newswire, May 4, 2009: “On April 30, 2009, a group of house church
Christians and leaders from the house church group China Gospel
Fellowship (CGF) were gathered for a communion service at a house church
in Xinye city, Henan province, when they were raided by a dozen PSB
officers. Eighteen Christians were taken to the Public Security Bureau
(PSB) office of Xinye city. They were each forced to pay a 1000 yuan
(about $150) fine. At the time of this press release, 16 Christians are
still being held by the PSB, including 10 preachers from Hubei province.”
PEOPLE DIE AFTER BEING “HEALED” IN THE LAKELAND OUTPOURING
An investigation by World magazine has discovered that at least two of
the people “healed” during Todd Bentley’s healing crusade in Lakeland,
Florida, have died of their diseases. Following is an excerpt:
“Christopher Fogle, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, loved to fish. It was a break
from his fast-paced, 25-year career with the Perkins Restaurant chain.
But when Fogle got severe cancer, his relaxing fishing trips, which he
sometimes took with his children, ended. It was a devastating blow for
the active 45-year-old. But for Todd Bentley, television preacher and
self-proclaimed healer, the cancer represented an opportunity to
‘proclaim the glory of God.’ ... At the height of what many called a
revival, WORLD asked Bentley to talk about the healings, like Fogle’s,
and asked for a list of people who had been healed at the services. His
associates told me Bentley was out of the country and a list could not
be produced. But six weeks and more than a dozen requests later, the
ministry eventually sent a list of 13 names. Fogle was No. 12 on the
list, along with this note: ‘Healed through the Outpouring and is back
to fishing.’ That was on Aug. 8, 2008. There was just one problem. Two
weeks earlier, on July 22, Christopher A. Fogle--according to his
obituary in the Keokuk (Iowa) Daily Gate City, ‘left this life . . .
after a courageous battle with cancer.’ A review of the list nearly one
year later reveals that Fogle is not the only person ‘healed’ who is now
dead. When I called Phyllis Mills, of Trinity, N.C., on April 22, to
hear the testimony of her healing, a polite family member said, ‘Phyllis
passed away a few days ago. In fact, we’re on our way to her funeral
now.’ Mills, 66 at the time of her death, had lung cancer and was
undergoing aggressive treatments when she was, according to the list,
‘healed at the revival.’ Mills ‘was taking radiation, but was sent
home,’ according to notes on Bentley’s list, with ‘no trace of cancer in
her body’” (“Heal or Heel,” World, May 23, 2009). The Bentley crusade
ended in scandal in August 2008 after Bentley announced that he was
separating from his wife. In November 2008, Bentley’s Fresh Fire
ministry said that he was guilty of adultery with a “former employee,”
and on March 9, 2009, Rick Joyner announced that Bentley had married the
same employee. My friends, God has given us clear instructions in
Scripture about healing, and James 5 does not describe a raucous
“healing crusade.” We believe in divine healing for today through
prayer, but we don’t believe in Pentecostal showmen who pretend to
apostolic healing gifts that they clearly do not possess.
PERSECUTION AGAINST CHRISTIANS INCREASES IN GREAT BRITAIN
The following is excerpted from “Enforced ‘Diversity Will Make Britain
First Modern Soft Totalitarian State,” LifeSiteNews.com, May 6, 2009: “A
deliberate campaign to enforce ‘diversity’ and political correctness by
‘unelected or quasi-governmental bodies’ is turning Britain into the
‘the first modern soft totalitarian state’, an Australian political
science expert and author says. Hal Gibson Pateshall Colebatch, an
Australian historian, author, poet, lecturer, journalist, editor, and
lawyer, has warned in an editorial in The Australian that while there
may as yet be no concentration camps or gulags in Britain, ‘there are
thought police with unprecedented powers to dictate ways of thinking and
sniff out heresy, and there can be harsh punishments for dissent.’ He
points to the dozens of cases over the last ten years in which
Christians and others who hold traditional moral views, have been
targeted by police and other governmental agencies for their beliefs.
Colebatch warned of legislation that is currently being pushed through
Parliament that will outlaw the telling of racist, ‘homophobic’ or
politically incorrect jokes, with a potential sentence upon conviction
of seven years in prison. An attempt in the House of Lords to insert a
freedom of speech clause was shot down by Labour Justice Minister Jack
Straw. Colebatch cited ‘innumerable cases’ over the last decade in which
public employees such as nurses, policemen, teachers, marriage
commissioners and others have been threatened with the sack or
suspension or disciplinary measures for sharing, or even privately
revealing, their religious beliefs. Colebatch also mentioned arrests of
school children for allegedly uttering racist remarks, and police
warnings to a bishop who had failed sufficiently to ‘celebrate
diversity’ in his ministry. In many cases, the threats, firings,
suspensions and arrests have targeted Christians who hold traditional
social and moral beliefs about sexuality. ... In an editorial last week
in The Church of England Newspaper, Martin Beckford (religious affairs
correspondent for the Daily Telegraph) wrote that the public sector in
Britain is engaging in an all-out campaign against Christianity.”
TEACHER IN ENGLAND SUSPENDED AFTER BUCKING HOMOSEXUAL BRAINWASHING SESSIONS
The following is excerpted from “Teacher Bucks Homosexual Training,”
OneNewsNow, May 6, 2009: “A Christian teacher in England has been
suspended after complaining about the use of classroom time to promote
homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle. Kwabena Peat was one of
several teachers who walked out of the school's compulsory
indoctrination and training day, and he did so based on his Christian
beliefs. LifeSiteNews.com reports Peat wrote a letter to three staff
members who organized the session at Park View Academy, disagreeing with
featured speaker and co-founder of Schools Out pro-homosexual program
Sue Sanders, who said in her "aggressive" presentation that people who
believe homosexuality is abnormal need to sort out their ‘issues.’
Following the letter, Peat was suspended with pay until the school
decides his fate as an employee. Matt Barber, director of cultural
affairs at Liberty Counsel, says the incident is representative of the
homosexual activist movement. ‘They are not interested in just being
left alone, as one of their most influential leaders in the homosexual
community recently said,’ he points out. ‘What they’re really after is
silencing any opposition to the homosexual lifestyle--even if it's
rooted in seriously held religious belief--and they are willing to do
anything to do that.’”
WHEN SWORDS SHALL BE BEATEN INTO PLOWSHARES
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the
LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall
be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many
people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of
the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his
ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the
law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among
the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their
swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall
not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more”
(Isaiah 2:2-4).
CONCLUSION: The Weekly Church News Notes is designed for use in
churches. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this
obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will
not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch.
12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as
doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need
to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again?
Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is
high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than
when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us
therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour
of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and
drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and
envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for
the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14).