grant,
AMen
vinny
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Grant E. Metcalf" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2010 5:27 PM
Subject: Re: Very interesting!


> What is sad about the leaders of China and Russia wanting the success of 
> the United States is that they wish for the governing principles which 
> lead to material prosperity without knowing God himself. Religion is one 
> of Satan's greatest tools, especially those forms of Christianity which 
> embrace many of the "rules" but not a personal relationship with Jesus 
> Christ himself. Without God in the life of the individual, the government 
> is destined to fail. How do I know?
>
> Listened to any news broadcasts lately about what is going on in 
> Washington DC? How about your local state and city governments? Oh, we 
> have a Tea-Party movement, and it may change some of the elected 
> government leaders, but unless the people themselves turn to Christ for 
> salvation and a revolution in their own individual lives, America's plunge 
> into infamy will only excellerate. What can we do?
>
> Remember that Jesus Christ is the Holy, separated  One and Truth 
> personified. His Word is truth and will set us free, change us for the 
> better as the Holy Spirit is allowed to work in us to produce His fruit. 
> Know His Word! Make it a part of your life! In that way others will see 
> Jesus in you and you will be able to boldly share the GoodNews that Jesus 
> died for sins, was buried and rose again the third day and was seen, 
> proving His sacrifice was sufficient to save all who put their trust in 
> Him and Him alone. We may be a small Philadelphian church, but Christ has 
> opened the door for us and so let us not be ashamed to bear His name while 
> the door is open. It may be about to close.
>
> -----Original Article-----
> Prepared for the Times
> Rick Joyner
>
>     Compared to the kingdom of God, all of the issues of this present 
> world
> are boring. We must be engaged in the issues of this present world, at 
> least
> to the degree that is necessary in order for us to be the salt and light
> we're called to be. However, to be this salt and light, we must see and 
> live
> in the kingdom to demonstrate its alternative ways and wisdom.
>
>     Sometimes this wisdom is spoken from the mouth of the most unlikely
> sources, like King Nebuchadnezzar which we see in Scripture, and in recent
> times, by Jiang Zemin, the former leader of Communist China. Former Time
> correspondent, David Aikman interviewed the retiring head of state in
> Communist China in 2002 and asked what Zemin wished for in regard to 
> China's
> future. Zemin's response shocked Aikman, and much of the world, when he
> replied:
>
>
>      "I would like for my country to become a Christian nation." (Aikman,
> David. "A Report on Christianity in China: A Conversation With David
> Aikman." Speech at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington,
> September 26, 2002.)
>
>>
>     When asked "Why?" Zemin's response was an amazing revelation. He
> explained how a panel of Chinese scholars had spent twenty years studying
> why China continually lagged behind the West in science, industry, and
> culture. After considering every possible explanation, they concluded that
> it was the religious heritage of the West that had allowed it to reach 
> such
> heights. The statement of these Chinese scholars was:
>
>      "One of the things we were asked to do was look into what accounted
> for the success, in fact, the pre-eminence of the West all over the world.
> We studied everything we could from the historical, political, economic, 
> and
> cultural perspective. At first, we thought it was because of a more 
> powerful
> military. Then we thought it was because you had the best political 
> system.
> Next we focused on your economic systems. But in the past 20 years we have
> realized that the heart of your culture is your religion: Christianity. 
> This
> is why the West is powerful. The Christian moral foundation of the social
> and cultural life was what made possible the emergence of capitalism and
> then the successful transition to democratic politics. We don't have any
> doubt about this." (Quoted from Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity is
> Changing the Global Balance of Power, by David Aikman.)
>
>     When Boris Yeltsin sought to bring democracy and freedom to Russia, 
> one
> of the first things he realized was that the anti-God atheism of communism
> had robbed the people of a basic moral compass, so when people were free,
> crime skyrocketed. So Yeltsin arranged to have Christian teachers come to
> Russian schools and universities to teach basic moral principles. Now 
> there
> is more freedom of religion in schools in Russia than in America.
>
>     All over the world there has been a turning to Christianity, to a 
> large
> degree, because of the example of the United States. The positive results
> where this is happening are obvious and striking. Yet at the same time, 
> when
> much of the world is waking up to the power of the kingdom methodology
> promoted by America, America itself has been going in the opposite
> direction-turning from God and our Judeo/Christian heritage, which is the
> foundation of our greatness. The results of this turning away from our
> foundations are also obvious. It is amazing that we have continued down 
> that
> devastating path for so long, but there is a great awakening happening and 
> a
> massive turning back to our foundations. This turning back is demonstrated
> in public opinion polls and the many books topping the bestselling charts
> about our Founding Fathers, the Revolutionary War period, and the
> Constitution.
>
>     When man tries to be his own god, or his own ultimate authority, there
> will be perpetual discord and there must be totalitarian control to keep 
> the
> rebellion of man in check. Totalitarian control robs us of our basic
> humanity because we were created to be free. That is why the Tree of
> Knowledge was put in the Garden, not to cause mankind to sin, but there
> could be no true obedience without the freedom to disobey. Likewise, there
> will be no true worship if there is no freedom to worship. We were created
> to be free so we could know and worship God from our hearts.
>
>     Only when we acknowledge God as the ultimate authority are we free to
> be who we were created to be. This is why we are told in II Corinthians
> 3:17, "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
> there is liberty." Take away freedom, and we will become subhuman machines
> or automatons.
>
>     Take away the holy fear of God from the free, and corruption and the
> debauchery of lawlessness will take us over. The unprecedented freedom
> enjoyed by Americans was only possible because of the basic religious
> devotion by Americans. As we lost our devotion to God as a nation, we 
> began
> to also lose our freedom. Because prosperity is bound to the vision and
> initiative of freedom, when we lose our freedom, we will lose our 
> initiative
> and then our prosperity. The panel in China was right. The root of the
> strength and prosperity of the West is our Judeo/Christian moral values.
> When they are lost, decline is inevitable, but we have a good reason to 
> hope
> that they will not be lost.
>
>
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