----- Original Message -----
From: "Shirley" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <"Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@invalid.domain>
Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2010 3:38 PM
Subject: Very interesting!
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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