Posted on 09/09/2009 12:24:55 PM PDT by tang-soo
THE SLEEPING CHURCH IN OHIO, THE COMING PERSECUTION, AND RIFQA BARY'S TESTIMONY ON FOX NEWS
Dear church,
By now, many of you have heard about the Rifqa Bary situation throughout the news. I can honestly say that this situation to stand up on behalf of Rifqa Bary has been one of the proudest and challenging fights of my life thus far. What I am coming to grips with however, is exactly how extensive and widespread Rifqa's testimony of Jesus actually is. I am convinced that Rifqa's testimony of Jesus is actually a taste, or forerunner, of the season that the American church is getting ready to enter into. Revelation 19:10 says:
"For the Testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
What am I talking about? I'm talking about suffering and persecution for holding to the TRUE testimony of Jesus. I have had the privilege of looking and talking with followers of Jesus from different nations around the globe who have suffered tremendously because of their faith in Jesus, but I have rarely seen that here in this nation. I have often wondered what it would look like for the church to truly see persecution here in America. What would cause it? What would the accusations be? How would the church respond? Well, I never thought I'd get the answers to those questions in my lifetime, but now the answers to those questions are coming now faster than I could ever have imagined because of a little girl's (Rifqa Bary) TRUE testimony of Jesus. What I want to do in the next few minutes is talk about the difference between a TRUE testimony of Jesus and a false one, and how this TRUE testimony has the power to greatly call the TRUE church to rise up to the occasion. This true testimony also has the power to expose those within the church who hold to a FALSE testimony of Jesus as well.
A TRUE TESTIMONY OF JESUS
A long time ago, Jesus was having a one on one conversation with a woman of questionable character and reputation when He said something profound that has greatly impacted my life! Jesus said this in John 4:23:
"But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers."
What a beautiful and alarming truth. The good news is this; the hour for true worship has come! No more waiting. Worship is an amazing thing because when we see true worship, we are reminded of what it actually looks like to fulfill the calling of our entire existence. We were created for worship. Personally speaking, every time the Lord has brought me across the path of a "true worshiper", the Lord has used their life example of worship to call me to a greater life of worship and devotion to Jesus. This was certainly the case with me when my family and I first met Rifqa Bary over a year ago. I met a girl who, for the first time in one hundred and fifty generations in her family, became the first TRUE worshipper of the TRUE Jesus. She came to know the Jesus who was much more than a prophet as she was told by her family's religion. She came to know the Jesus who is God the Son who stepped into human flesh in order to purchase with His blood many who were lost. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil! In order for Rifqa to become a true worshipper, she had to know the truth of who Jesus really is.
What sets Rifqa's life apart however is not just that Rifqa worships Jesus in truth, but that she worships in SPIRIT and in truth. There are many within the evangelical church today who would give mental assent to the truth about Jesus, but it can be a rarity to see a person worship in both spirit and in truth. For much of my life as an evangelical Christian, I prided myself in knowing the right information about Jesus in my mind, but I knew nothing of what it meant to be intimate with Jesus by communion with Him in deep prayer through my spirit. The most intimate part of a person's life is the spirit of that person. It is our spirit that conveys all of our heart's longings and desires. When we worship the Lord in spirit, we worship with all of our heart, and with all of our essence and being. There is nothing held back. Not even the fear of rejection from people can hold us back. Only those who worship BOTH in spirit and in truth are the ones who hold to a TRUE testimony of Jesus.
Rifqa's life is an example of what it looks like to hunger and thirst for intimacy with Jesus more than life itself. Rifqa's life is a life marked by radical prayer and huger for the presence of God. This is what led her to seek God for hours in the middle of the night. She did not do this out of a sense of the religious duty or "conviction" that most evangelical churches try to produce in their people, but out of a heart of love that longs for deep intimacy with the Jesus she came to know the truth about. When she would seek God in the middle of the night out of fear of her parents and family finding out, she thought that no one was looking. There was, however, one person who was looking very intently. God noticed what she did in secret, and He is bringing it out into the light! The secret life of passion and love for Jesus that Rifqa Bary demonstrates is being put on display for the world to see! Consider Jesus' words from Luke 8:16-17:
"Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light."
God stepped into Rifqa's life and lit her lamp so to speak. The Spirit of God burns and shines very brightly through her and now God is taking this girl who cultivated this relationship with Jesus in secret and He is putting her life on the lampstand for the whole world to see! As this light goes forth, it is exposing the church that remains asleep at the wheel, as well as exposing the remnant of the church that He is awakening to life!
The Persecution of the righteous
Rifqa's decision to not deny Jesus in the face of her family's threats have caused a chain of events to occur that highlight the reality of the new day that we are entering into in our nation. When Rifqa escaped her home in Ohio out of fear for her life, she fled to Florida and sought refuge at the home of Blake and Beverly Lorenz, the church leaders who took her in. By taking Rifqa in, they did a noble thing that you would think would earn them the support of the church and of society. I was stunned to watch and listen to the false reports that depicted Blake and Beverly as people who lead a cult, and the accusation that they are using Rifqa's situation for personal gain and for grandstanding. Their character has been mutilated in the press, and instead of being commended for saving Rifqa's life, they have been treated as criminals by the press, and even by other believers. I have personally met this couple, and I can tell you that they are precious people who love the Lord. All of this slander and attack could have been avoided if they turned Rifqa away, sending her to possible death. Because they did the courageous thing and saved her life, they are being attacked mercilessly. They have a lot of courage for doing this, and I commend them for this.
A couple of days ago, I noticed an article that has been posted all over the internet, as well as on an Al-Qaida news site, that contained lies, slander, and misinformation about me and my actions. This attack on my character and life was done by a person whom I have never met for one simple reason…because I am standing by a precious girl who is beautifully holding to a TRUE testimony of Jesus. In addition to her family situation, Rifqa herself has received death threats from multiple sources. Those of us who have defended her have been accused of being from radical hate groups. If Rifqa denied Jesus, none of this would be happening. I am very thankful for the courage that the Lord is giving Rifqa! I am convinced this we are only seeing the beginning of what the TRUE body of Christ will be facing in this nation in the months and years to come. The specific circumstances that may bring this persecution may change, but the result will be the same. Believers from all over the world have been living in suffering and persecution for centuries, but for those of us in America, it may be our turn now.
Are you ready?
Illuminating and revealing the real church
Jesus said that the world would know who His true disciples are by the love they have for one another. I have seen this truth unfold before my eyes in breathtaking ways these last couple of weeks. There have been people from all over the nation and even the globe, who have been stirred by Rifqa's story. Entire congregations have prayed and fasted for her, letters, emails, and messages of support and love have come in from fellow followers of Jesus Christ from every perspective, stream, and denomination of the body of Christ. A group of believers from Kentucky who had never met Rifqa showed up at the courthouse in Florida because they were moved out of love and support to stand with her. They didn't wait to find out what Rifqa's statement of faith was, they didn't ask what denomination she was from, they didn't read her writings looking for things they didn't agree with, they simply recognized a fellow sister in the body of Christ and they were filled with supernatural love and support for her. There was nothing in it for them. Isn't that beautiful?
The sleeping Ohio church
We have been hearing a lot from Ohio these last few weeks. Most of it has not been accurate or good however. The threat that Rifqa was facing has been depicted by authorities in Ohio as simply a family feud. The faith community that Rifqa's parents are associated with have blatantly lied about their involvement in her life and they have denied the very real fear that she faced simply because she was a Christian. Their response is not surprising at all. What is surprising, however, has been the loud silence from the church in central Ohio.
(When I refer to the church, I am NOT referring to a particular location or building, denomination, or specific organization these are extra-biblical man made things that have served to keep the church divided from each other. When I say "church", I am referring primarily to the people who belong to Jesus. As you may know, there is really only one church in central Ohio, but that is another article for another day.)
You don't have to know Rifqa to be moved by her situation, you simply have to be awake to the kingdom of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. Because of this situation, God has been mobilizing the part of the church in our nation that is awake. This was an effortless endeavor as people acted themselves without much prompting. They were simply moved by God to take the actions that they felt God leading them to do. Some people have felt led to fast and pray, some have been prompted to write the governor of Florida and other elected officials, some people have urged their contacts to pray and support Rifqa through facebook, as well as other means of getting the word out. While it has been encouraging to see the body of Christ come together, much of this support has come from places other than Ohio. Yes, there have been people in Ohio who have gotten involved, (you know who you are), but by and large the larger body of Christ in central Ohio, the very place where Rifqa came to know the Lord, has been silent! We have heard more from the people in Ohio who are slandering her true testimony of Jesus than we have from the church of Jesus.
I fear that much of the church in Ohio is still asleep at the wheel. The sad reality is that much of the church in central Ohio is so busy maintaining and building their own kingdoms that they have been blind to what the Lord is actually doing in His kingdom beginning in their own city! I feel that the church in Ohio has been more alarmed at the buckeye football team's near loss to the Naval Academy than there is for Rifqa's fight for her life. I know that this might sound like a harsh rebuke. It is meant to be! I am not leveling this criticism at any particular institution or group, but at the body of Christ at large in Ohio.
WHERE ARE YOU CHURCH?
Now is the time to awaken from your slumber and realize that His kingdom is unfolding all around you. As John Piper says best, it is a tragedy to have a peace time mindset when we are in the middle of a war! (no, the war is not against people, but the forces of evil that the apostle Paul describes in Ephesians 6.) Yes, there have been some within the local church in central Ohio that have awakened, but this has been the exception to the rule, and not the rule. The church's silence in Ohio has been louder than their outcry. This is a very revealing indicator about the spiritual temperature of the church in Ohio.
So, what are we supposed to do? That's a great question. I have no idea what the Lord may have you do specifically, and where all of this will end up, but I do know where it all begins. It begins in deep and radical prayer. It is in this place of prayer and intimacy that the Lord will show all of us what we are to do in the season ahead. So what should we pray for? That is also a great question. Recently, I asked Rifqa that same question. What she has asked me to pray for her about has now become the prayer request for my life as well. Maybe Rifqa's prayer request for her life can also become the prayer request for your life too? Rifqa's prayer request was the same prayer request that Elisha asked for in 2 Kings chapter 2. Like Elisha, Rifqa is asking for a double portion of the Spirit of God. May this also be true of us as well.
"Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." (Ephesians 5:14)
For His glory in the church,
Jamal Jivanjee
http://www.illuminate-us.com
P.S. if you would like to see my 2'nd interview about Rifqa's testimony on Fox News, please click this link to watch it on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7lxhkiIEbk
If you would like to view previous articles, you can access them by going to http://www.illuminate-us.com and clicking on the "writings" link.
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Thank you for this powerful post!
The fact that her protectors are being attacked and maligned in the press is a testimony to their faithfulness.
“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.”
—Matthew 24:9
Yes. This is Truth which makes all the various side squabbles irrelevant. Government, at best, is just a way “to keep the bears from eating us while each man finds his own governance under God”.
bump
bttt
“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. “
- II Timothy 3:12
Good article. I especially took notice of what the author said about having “the testimony of Jesus which is the spirit of prophecy,” Rev. 19:10.
As one who believes the church is going to go through the great tribulation, I associate the post-tribulation rapture belief with this verse.
This verse has a tribulational context, in several places in the tribulation chapters of Revelation, they speak of those with “the testimony of Jesus,” put through the trial of the endtime while maintaining their testimony of Jesus during it.
bttt
BTTT
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