On July 5, the day after our nation celebrates its independence, Christians will acknowledge their dependence on God by taking time during their Sunday morning worship services to literally bow, pray and repent as part of the Call 2 Fall campaign.

Participants are being asked to pray for at least three to five minutes, not that the government would change America’s dire situation, but that the church would change its focal point to reliance on God.

“The focus here is not the church just pointing fingers saying we hope the government gets it right,” said Tony Perkins, the Call 2 Fall campaign organizer. “But rather that we get it right. And we take responsibility for our communities, and we take responsibility for our nations.”

Perkins who is also the president of the Family Research Council, a Washington D.C. family-values lobbying organization, said that too often the church expects the government to solve America’s economic, political and moral problems but that the “prescription” for an ailing nation lies in 1 Chronicles 7:14, which admonishes Christians to humble themselves and pray.

On the Call 2 Fall Web site, Henry Blackaby, the founder of Blackaby Ministries International, said that Christians must read 1 Chronicles 7:13 to have the proper perspective and urgency for Sunday’s call to prayer and repentance. The Scripture first says, “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people (NIV),” but then goes on to admonish the church to ask for prayer and forgiveness to “heal” their land, Blackaby said.

Perkins said that now is the time for Christians to radically seek God, unify and take responsibility for this nation’s spiritual condition.

“Americans, we’re kind of proud-and even the church, we’ve kind of expected God to come to us on our terms,” Perkins said. “I’ll just be honest: I think the problems facing our nation are not political and another election is not going to solve our problems. Our problems are spiritual.”

Perkins said the concept for the Call 2 Fall is simple. Though Christians need kneel and pray only for three to five minutes, he said, he is expecting the results to be monumental.

Perkins was inspired to launch the prayer initiative after reading that the Continental Congress called the colonies to pray and fast on July 20, 1775, a month after they had begun a war with England for their independence. Perkins is hoping that thousands of Christians will kneel to pray for our nation on Sunday as thousands did when our nation fought to become independent.

Harry R. Jackson, pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Md., who is dedicating his entire church service to prayer and repentance, said that he believes this prayer effort could be a catalyst for the nation’s transformation.

“The American culture is in tremendous nadir—low point—in terms of our spirituality and in terms of a cultural commitment to principles consistent with God’s words,” Jackson told Charisma. “I believe that we are on the verge of a great awakening that needs to be ushered in through this kind of massive prayer initiative.”

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Sarah Harper’s successful career consumes her life at the expense of her family. But a car accident changes everything. Everyone thinks she has died, but her spirit is still alive. What she learns on the other side transforms her. When she is revived, she is a new person, and her life is changed forever.

In France, a country known for its secularization and growing Islamic population, tens of thousands of Christians will take to the streets for a March for Jesus on Saturday, which is being held at the same time as the nation’s annual gay pride parade.

An estimated 30,000 Christians will parade through the streets of Bordeaux, Lille, Nantes and Paris, France, distributing 100,000 Bibles and 20,000 gospel tracts. Representing at least 70 different churches, marchers will carry signs proclaiming Jesus as Lord as they sing worship songs.

Parade participants also hope to be able to share their faith with the estimated 800,000 people who will gather for the nation’s annual gay pride parade, whose route will intersect with the March for Jesus. Christian marchers have been prepped to pray and witness to the homosexuals without fear.

“It would be such a great privilege to be praying for all of the thousands of homosexuals that will be marching on the streets,” said Christine Thabot, an event organizer and co-pastor of Temple de Paris with her husband, David. “We’re not afraid. They need love, and we are there to bring them the love of Christ.”

The march comes at a time when organizers say French opposition to Christianity has been worsening. They say it is nothing short of miraculous that they were granted permission to have a parade, much less distribute Bibles and preach the gospel publicly.

Thabot called the march “an anomaly,” noting that march organizers lobbied for the last year to get permission to hold the event.

“We are not allowed in France to just go about and talk about Jesus or evangelize openly unless you have permission,” she told Charisma. “We can’t sing or play our music or give away Bibles or tracks. You’ve got to have permission. This is the only day in which we are allowed to give out leaflets.”

Jim Daly, pastor of Jesus Christ Fellowship in Middleton, Calif., and a U.S. partner of the French March for Jesus, said Christians need to pray for the parade and for revival to break out as a result of it.

“[In France] it’s always going up hill,” Daly said. “It’s always going against the grain. Not like it’s much better anywhere else, but France just is an acutely hard country.

“When you land and get off the airport there in Charles de Gaulle in Paris, you can feel spiritually the oppression. And there are these beautiful cathedrals and museums and stuff, but there is something in the spiritual that is very strong, and it is like a stronghold.”

Many French Christians have struggled to practice their faith, especially in the last decade as secularism has risen. It is difficult for many to obtain mortgages or permits for church buildings, Daly said, and numerous congregations meet in barns and parking garages.

“It’s its own form of, really frankly, a humanistic, anti-Christian sentiment,” Daly said. “Some people have estimated that there is really as many as 20 percent of French people that are atheist. And so many of the rest are nominal Christians.”

Daly has partnered with other Southern California churches to hold a prayer service in the U.S. at the same time the parade will be taking place in France.

“For those that can’t be there and can’t march, at least we can pray for a blessing and a breakthrough,” Daly said. “Frankly, just a breakthrough that revival would breakout in France.”

Both Daly and Thabot are asking Christians worldwide to join them in praying for a radical change in the country and that the parade would cause the European nation to realize the hope they have in Christ.

“Paris needs hope,” Thabot said. “And through this day we want to confess that there is hope in Christ.”

QUOTE: “Community service and social activism are ultimately useless unless they yield salvation. You can provide a man with sustenance daily for his entire life, but if you never share the gospel with him he will still be cast into damnation in hell. Many churches are beginning to adopt this social gospel, which basically equates the church to any other nonprofit association. The church is meant to be far more than a Red Cross or a YMCA. The church are those who have been ‘called out’ of culture, mediocrity and sin. Therefore the church’s activism must be inspired by the gospel while simultaneously proclaiming the gospel to the world. Much of what is being deemed as ‘servant evangelism’ that is divorced from true gospel proclamation is a result of fear rather than of love. We cannot truly love someone without giving sacrificially of ourselves by providing for their greatest need: liberation from sin. If we allow the fear of rejection to take hold of us and deter us from sharing the message we are demonstrating that we do not trust in the sovereignty of God, even as it is present in the work of salvation. … If baseball is played with underhand pitches and a larger ball then it changes the game from ‘baseball’ to ‘softball.’ Similarly if ministry is done without the inclusion of the gospel message then it changes the work of ‘ministry’ into ‘social activism,’ and this will not suffice to bring salvation unto sinners. Ministry is the role or position of one serving God in a special way for the advancement of the gospel. The marriage between the work of ministry and the message of the gospel is one that God meant to endure until the Final Consummation when all things will be joined unto Christ. Therefore we cannot advance a message that is not upon our lips, and salvation cannot be accomplished when the gospel is divorced from the actions of the church.” —Washington, pastor Gilberto Gonzalez, voicing concern in a column called “Is ‘Ministry’ Getting a Divorce From the ‘Gospel’?” over what he sees as a growing imbalance among churches concentrating more on physical needs than spiritual ones [, 6/9/09]

With surveys showing that more American Christians are becoming biblically illiterate, many proponents of the Sunday school model have argued for a churchwide return to weekly Bible classes—especially for children and youth. Yet a new study by Ken Ham, founder of apologetics ministry Answers in Genesis, indicates that Sunday school may actually lead teens to abandon church reports .

After surveying more than 1,000 twentysomethings on multiple occasions, Ham and American Research Group founder Britt Beemer found that those who had regularly attended Sunday school classes while growing up were more likely to question the authority of Scripture. These 20- to 29-year-olds were also more likely to leave the church, defend the legality of same-sex marriage and abortion, and defend premarital sex.

“This is a brutal wake-up call for the church, showing how our programs and our approaches to Christian education are failing dismally,” Ham writes in his latest book, Already Gone: Why Your Kids Will Quit Church and What You Can Do to Stop It. Though his book includes both reasons for and remedies to what Ham describes as the “Sunday school syndrome,” he says one of the biggest factors is a disconnect that church leaders and parents have helped create in children’s understanding of the creation account.

According to the apologist, the church began planting seeds of doubt in the last century among younger generations by turning the Genesis creation account into a figurative story that rendered scientific facts a non-issue—while the gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection were held up as verifiable proof of the Bible’s inerrancy. This inconsistency, says Ham, created a deep questioning that was furthered by an increasingly secular school system that held everything up to the plumb line of science.

“What you see in the Bible is that when there is compromise in one generation, and it’s not dealt with, you usually notice it to a greater extent in the next generation,” Ham told . “Because of the way in which they’ve been educated, [today’s teens now believe] that what they are taught in school is reality, but the church teaches stories and morality and relationship. Bible teaching is not real in the sense of real history.”

You and I are living in a day when we need to be certain that God is directing our lives. We get His answers for the situations in our lives when the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, speaks into our spirits and transmits the “overcoming” victory of Jesus.

If you want to clearly hear the voice of the Lord, you must create an atmosphere for the Holy Spirit to talk to you. You must also develop your listening abilities so that you are able to distinguish among all the competing voices in the earth. This is essential for you to live a godly life—a life of victory.

God wants you to know His will. But for Him to reveal it to you, there has to be an open line of communication. Take these steps to make sure there’s no interference:

1. Recognize the hindrances to hearing God’s voice. To walk in the Spirit, you must focus on God and shut out distractions. Your emotions are one thing that can divert your attention and keep you from hearing the Holy Spirit.

You can’t receive a “phone call” from Him if you’re busy taking a “call” from your emotions. When fear, worry, anxiety or depression dominates your thinking, it blocks out the still, small voice of the Spirit.

Fear. One of the emotions that shouts the loudest is fear. Recognize that the voices that come to torment you do not come from the Father, who deeply loves and accepts you and is in control of your every circumstance (see 2 Tim. 1:7).

You can hang up on fear. The Word says you are to “[cast] all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7, NKJV).

Selfish ambition. Maybe you’re a doer, an overachiever. There is nothing wrong with desiring to succeed in life, but if that drive dominates your thoughts, you will not be able to hear clearly the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Pursuit of pleasure. Some people are consumed with the desire for material “things”—things they believe will bring them comfort and enjoyment. Others are so wrapped up in themselves or their families, they hardly give a thought to God. As a result, they are simply not attuned to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Still others become professional “escape artists” who keep their minds occupied with entertainment—movies, books or television—in order to avoid their fears or problems.

In any case, the Holy Spirit will not shout to be heard above the din that fills your mind. To tune Him in, you will have to tune out the rubbish and clean out the clutter of your inmost thoughts. One of the best ways to do this is by taking time to encounter God through worship.

2. Become a worshiper. Worship increases your sensitivity to the voice of the Holy Spirit. It is a wonderful tool to help you focus your attention on God, rather than your problems and desires.

Worship is something you do, not something that happens to you. It is an act of your will, to magnify or enlarge your vision of God. When you worship, the things you face appear smaller, less important and less daunting in comparison to His greatness.

Two worshipers in the Bible are good examples for us. The first is Moses. In Exodus 15, after God parted the waters of the Red Sea and led the children of Israel to safety, Moses and Miriam led the Israelites as they praised and worshiped the Lord for their deliverance.

When they began to sing, dance and play their instruments in praise to God, the Holy Spirit prophesied through them about the victories God would give them as they took possession of the Promised Land.

The second is David. Perhaps, of all the people in the Old Testament, David understood, cherished and delighted in the Holy Spirit the most. After being caught in adultery and murder, David pleaded with God, “don’t take your Holy Spirit from me” (see Ps. 51:11).

As a psalmist, David was a singer of praise and one who reveled in worshiping God. He did not want to lose his sweet communion with the Holy Spirit.

3. Perceive in your spirit. As you worship God, you will begin to develop spiritual perception. The more you worship and commune with Him, the greater depth your relationship will have; and the more familiar His voice will become.

You may not always hear Him with your ears, but you can perceive what He’s saying as He whispers truth to your spirit (see 1 Cor. 2:9-10).

4. Pray in tongues. First Corinthians 14:2, 4 says, “For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself” (NKJV). To “edify” means to “build up.” It is another way to heighten your communication with the Holy Spirit.

Praying in tongues not only builds you up, it also strengthens, rebuilds and recharges your spirit so you can hear the Holy Spirit more clearly. He has all the answers you seek.

Nearly every successful thing I’ve ever done came to me as a revelation after praying in tongues. When you face a dilemma or a decision, don’t reason in your heart; instead pray in the Spirit, and you will receive the answers you need.

Being able to hear the Spirit’s voice isn’t an option. It is essential to live as God wants us to live. He doesn’t hide His will from His children. But doing God’s will is dependent on our clearly hearing His voice and perceiving His direction.

God speaks constantly through His Word, through His creation and by His Spirit in our hearts. These voices never contradict one another.

The responsibility to have “ears to hear” what He says falls to you. Your job is to eliminate undesirable noise and tune in to the Holy Spirit by offering up worship to the Lord, developing your spiritual perception, and building up your human spirit by praying in tongues.

Saturate yourself in God’s Word, and re-order your priorities. Make whatever lifestyle changes you need to make. Nothing in life is more important than hearing from God.

Marilyn Hickey is the founder and president of Marilyn Hickey Ministries. She has ministered to millions around the world through crusades, conferences, missions trips, the media and Ministry Training Schools.

For many Christians in the rapidly growing church in Iran, Friday’s presidential election could be life-altering.

The underground Iranian church has experienced unprecedented growth in the last 10 years despite tremendous persecution under hard-line Muslim President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Believers are praying that new leadership would grant them religious freedom.

“The church is growing faster than ever in Iran,” said Paul Estabrooks, minister-at-large for Open Doors International, which advocates for the persecuted church. “The down side, of course, is that they’re under growing pressure. We aren’t saying that one candidate is necessarily better, but obviously from a human analysis and perspective, a more moderate regime would obviously be beneficial to the church.”

Estabrooks said many Christians disillusioned by the current government may support former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, who is being called the more moderate candidate. Mousavi has based his platform on being open-minded toward the West and promised to help revive the country’s economy, which has declined under Ahmadinejad. Christians are hoping that Mousavi would also usher in a season of religious liberty.

“Last year has been one of the toughest years on the growing house-church movement in Iran,” Estabrooks said. “More than 50 house-church leaders were arrested. There has been a strong crack down against the growing house church, and the reason of course is that the church is growing so fast.”

In 2008 an apostasy law that would make conversion from Islam punishable by death in certain circumstances passed in Iran’s Parliament. The law is currently awaiting review by a Parliamentary council, but it could be enacted during the first few months of the next presidency.

If it is enacted, men who convert from Islam would receive the death penalty and women would receive life in prison. “If that happens you can only imagine what it will become for Christians-much worse,” said Open Doors representative Lindsey Vessey.

Many Christians believe Friday’s election comes at a crucial time for the underground church. Though persecution is great, the church is growing at an unprecedented rate. Estabrooks said the “official” number of Christians is more than 300,000, but the actual figure is several times higher.

Many of the believers say they converted from Islam after having dreams of Christ. Most of the new Christians are young adults who are evangelizing their peers at impressive rates and are hopeful about their future.

“The large growth of the church is predominantly among young people in Iran, and they have great hopes for a better future in their land-for believers and for the church,” Estabrooks said

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