AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER

* SPIRITUAL AWAKENING THE ONLY THING THAT WILL SAVE US

* ISLAMIC GROUPS SHUT DOWN CHURCH IN INDONESIA

* INDIA: DESPERATELY NEEDING DIVINE INTERVENTION

* MUSLIM WORLD POPULATION ‘AT 1.57BN’

* MURDER FOR THE SAKE OF HONOUR

* SOUTH AFRICA TAKES STEPS TO OUTLAW CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

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SPIRITUAL AWAKENING THE ONLY THING THAT WILL SAVE US

We can learn an important lesson from the East African Revival, which transformed that region 80 years ago. That Revival was one of the most significant Christian movements in modern history. It had humble beginnings in September 1929 and has been traced to a prayer meeting in Kampala, Uganda, where a missionary to Rwanda, Joe Church, prayed and read the Bible for two days with a friend. They felt God had showed them that the African church was powerless because of a lack of personal holiness.

It is impossible to explain exactly what happened after this prayer meeting but within weeks after Church returned to Rwanda, Christians gathered to pray and confess their sins openly. A spirit of conviction fell on the people. Whenever they repented for their sins and failures they would weep uncontrollably, ask others to forgive them and pledge to make restitution. Unbelievers were converted after they witnessed the sincerity of the Christians. Husbands publicly apologized for adultery and farmers repented for stealing cows from each other.

The revival changed African Christianity forever. Eventually, as the revival spread from Rwanda to other African nations, even the centuries-old tradition of polygamy was unravelled in some areas. It’s effects have been more lasting than almost any other revival in history. Today there is hardly a single Protestant leader in East Africa who has not been touched by it in some way. It breathed resurrection life into dead churches and triggered aggressive church-planting movements that affected a variety of denominations.

Whether sermons were delivered from pulpits or under trees, six important themes were emphasized in those days: 1) the blood of Jesus; 2) the name of Jesus; 3) the cross of Jesus; 4) the Word of God; 5) the testimony of the saints; and 6) the anointing of the Holy Spirit. As was true in other spiritual awakenings in history, people stood in front of each other and admitted their sins, no matter how embarrassing. The honesty cut deep into human pride and dealt a fatal blow against entrenched sin and religious hypocrisy.

I am convinced that this type of movement is the only thing that will pull western Christianity out of its current despair. We must have a spiritual awakening, or we die. Political engineering, economic policies and stimulus packages will not save us. Our only hope is that a backslidden church—a church that is as smug, blind and lukewarm as the Laodiceans-—will “be zealous and repent” (see Rev. 3:19). But we cannot manufacture revivals. Revival fire comes from heaven alone. It is a sovereign blessing from a God who loves us and desires to rescue us from ourselves.

God, not man, initiates spiritual awakenings but we play our feeble part by praying and that we must do, and we must passionately seek a fresh baptism of holiness. The Church has generated a lot of its own sound and fury in the past 30 years, but much of it is a shameful substitute for revival. We must swap our carnal Christianity for the real thing. May God mercifully send us what He gave East Africa. May repentance and public confession of sin interrupt our trendy worship services. May this holy fire spread until we see genuine Christians living the message we preach.

Source: An article written by J Lee Grady for Charisma Online

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ISLAMIC GROUPS SHUT DOWN CHURCH IN INDONESIA

Several Islamic organizations have pressed officials to forbid Jakarta Christian Baptist Church to worship in the home of their Pastor Rev Bedali Hulu. The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), have told officials in Tangerang district, near Jakarta that worship activities cannot be conducted in a residence. District Officers have ordered Hulu to use his home only as a residence, the pastor said. “But they have not put forth a solution,” Hulu said. “For a long time we have suggested that we build a place of worship, but there has been no response from the local government.”

Church members feel terrorized by the mobs, the pastor said, but the nearest house of worship is several miles away, and many congregants do not have access to transportation. “In the beginning we approached religious and community leaders and asked for permission to worship,” Hulu said. “They had no objections.” So Hulu established the church in June 2005 and held services in his home until December 2006 without objection from neighbours. He had obtained written permission from a local official to hold the services.

When the church planned to hold a Christmas celebration in December 2006, however, FPI members began an extended intimidation campaign with the express goal of ending “illegal” Christian activity in the village. A Ministerial Decree promulgated in 1969 requires a congregation of at least 90 adult members to obtain the permission of at least 60 neighbours and a permit from local authorities to establish a place of worship. Church leaders say it is virtually impossible to obtain a permit under these terms.

If the government closes a church, it is obligated to provide a solution. Hulu, who would like to negotiate a solution said he has tried repeatedly to meet with District Officers but without success. Hulu said outside Islamists had incited the local people to oppose the church. Two years ago Islamists succeeded in closing the church. That year, several FPI associates sent a letter to Hulu warning him and his family to leave the village within six days or they would chase them out. Hulu left temporarily on the advice of police, but his wife and mother-in-law were allowed to remain.

Police eventually informed Hulu that he could either return to his village and cease all religious activity, or pursue the matter through legal channels. Hulu decided to file an official complaint. An FPI leader then demanded that Hulu withdraw his complaint or else FPI members would raid the homes of church members. The issue was resolved through dialogue facilitated by a member of Parliament, and worship was permitted to resume. A number of Muslim organisations, however, have resumed the fight to close the church.

Source: Intercessors Network

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INDIA: DESPERATELY NEEDING DIVINE INTERVENTION

India, which is around 80 percent Hindu and 12 percent Muslim, has a population of more than one billion of whom only 2.4 percent are Christian. The Indian Church has a dynamic indigenous missionary movement which makes India now second only to USA as a missionary-sending nation. The northern tribal belt is still pioneer mission field territory where there are numerous unreached people groups. Many of those states are in the grip of Hindutva. ‘Hindutva’ is a Hindu nationalist and militant ideology being advanced by Hindu nationalist politicians for political gain.

In the 1998 federal elections, the Hindu nationalist Barantya Janata Party (BJP) emerged with the largest numbers of votes. They headed a coalition government that saw persecution of Christians immediately and dramatically escalate. But the BJP then suffered a shock election loss in May 2004. After months of infighting and reflection, the BJP emerged in 2005 with a strategy to regain federal power. The BJP strategy is to convince tribal animists that they are really Hindus who should come into the ‘Hindu mainstream’ for the defence of India.

Emissaries of Hindutva charge Christian missionaries with dividing Indian families and causing social unrest, thus threatening Indian national security! Most attacks today are by Hindu neighbours, incited to violence by the BJP’s scaremongering. Most Indians see these shameful acts of intolerance as heroic acts of patriotism. There have been 190 cases of violence against Christians so far this year. These are crimes are of Christians being assaulted, raped or murdered solely because of their Christian faith. The BJP re-election campaign is advancing unchallenged.

PLEASE PRAY

* and ask God to bring the Indian Church through these days of trial, refined, sanctified, united and triumphant. ‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’ (Ephesians 6:12 NIV)

* and ask God to fill India’s federal politicians with indignation over the religious intolerance and anoint leaders to confront Hindutva and expose its lies and religious intolerance; may He awaken Indians to the dangers of Hindutva and the destructive lies and hateful incitement of its advocates.

Source: Intercessors Network

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MUSLIM WORLD POPULATION ‘AT 1.57BN’

Nearly one in four people worldwide practises Islam, according to a new report billed as the most comprehensive of its kind. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reports that the global Muslim population currently stands at 1.57 billion, a precise number for a population whose size has long has been subject to guesswork, with estimates ranging anywhere from one billion to 1.8 billion. The project, three years in the making, also presents a portrait of the Muslim world that might surprise some.

For instance, Germany has more Muslims than Lebanon, China has more Muslims than Syria, Russia has more Muslims than Jordan and Libya combined, and Ethiopia has nearly as many Muslims as Afghanistan. Pew officials call the report the most thorough on the size and distribution of adherents of Islam, the world’s second largest religion behind Christianity, which has an estimated 2.1 billion to 2.2 billion followers. The report provides further evidence that while the heart of Islam might beat in the Middle East, more than 60% of the world’s Muslims live in Asia.

About 20% live in the Middle East and North Africa, 15% in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2.4% are in Europe and 0.3% are in the Americas. While the Middle East and North Africa have fewer Muslims than Asia, the region claims the most Muslim-majority countries. About 317 million Muslims – one-fifth of the world’s Muslim population – live in countries where Islam is not the majority religion. Three-quarters of Muslims living as minorities are concentrated in five countries: India (161 million), Ethiopia (28 million), China (22 million), Russia (16 million) and Tanzania (13 million).

Source: Daily Express UK

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MURDER FOR THE SAKE OF HONOUR

Every year thousands of women are murdered in ‘honour killings’ by members of their own family, because they believe their actions have shamed their family. Honour can only be restored when the woman is dead. A family holds her responsible for their reputation and so the minute she does something wrong they see no solution but to kill her. For them blood cleanses honour. Reasons for honour killings range from a women having been raped, becoming pregnant out of wedlock, or for choosing their own partner to marry against the wishes of family.

The typical honour killer is usually carried out by a brother or other close male relative. The United Nations estimates that worldwide at least 13 people are killed a day, (ie – at least 5,000 a year) in honour killings. And while the majority of these crimes occur in Arab and Muslim countries, a growing number take place in immigrant communities in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere. But the problem is generally more prevalent in Islamic cultures where women are often viewed as property with no rights.

In Jordan, if a woman is afraid that her family wants to kill her, she can check herself into the local prison. The only problem is that the only person who can check her out is a male relative. And most of the time if the family decides they want to release their female, 99 percent of the time it’s to kill them. Dozens of women are languishing under this so-called ‘protective’ custody in Jordanian prisons. Honour killings are technically illegal in Jordan, but tradition and social pressure make it difficult to amend laws that allow killers to get off with little or no punishment.

Source: CBNNews.com

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SOUTH AFRICA TAKES STEPS TO OUTLAW CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

The South African Department of Home Affairs has announced its intention to develop a protocol on preventing child pornography. “We need to be proactive in protecting children against the heinous crime of child pornography,” said Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba. Estimates are that as many as 4.2 million, or 12 percent, of internet sites are based on pornography. The US-based Internet Filter Review believes that, as of December 2005, child pornography was a $3 billion annual industry.

Malusi Gigaba said: “The lack of statistics about child pornography should not lead us to be complacent in protecting children.” He suggested that the country should “explore an outright ban on pornography in the public media” and said he would be asking the Law Reform Commission for advice to this end. The South African government, in a bid to reduce the use of child pornography, has launched a website intended to alert internet service providers of criminal activities relating to child pornography or images of sexual abuse hosted on their servers through their infrastructure.

Source: LifeSiteNews.com

http://www.ausprayernet.org.au/

October 19, 2009

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