Conference Call Prayer Meeting Tonight - June 1st

On the prayer call...

"Of all the abortions in South Korea, half of these are churched women."

I've been in prayer meetings before, but never have I experienced such a move of the Spirit of God during that conference call. May God burn in us a zeal that crushes all the enemy's work on the Church. I pray that the Lord will break me and discipline me over my sins and my lack of fearing the LORD. Although Christ has endured for me the trials and persecution for the past few weeks, I still need more fear of the LORD and obedience towards Him, and pay the greater cost for revival to come. The hardest prayer that the Lord laid on my heart during the call was to pray that persecution may come to the churches in North America. I realized that the more affliction we have in the Body of Christ and the more death is worked in us, the more of the life of Christ is made manifest in our bodies. (2 Cor. 4:7-12) Without persecution and trials, my spiritual life begins to starve to death. "The Body of Christ was lashed, whipped, broken, scarred and crucified for us. If we claim to be a Christian/Part of the Body of Christ, and we are not being scarred and broken, I give you three words: SOMETHING IS WRONG!" Only in brokenness and inability shall we begin to turn back to the Lord Jesus, as He is our fountain of living waters. Secondly, without persecution, we will not be able to see who in the Church are the tares and goats, for I know that tares and goats (false converts) will not survive during times of persecution and therefore will fall away. In fact, they'd probably turn against those who are born-again Christians and persecute them. I guess you can say the LORD will use this method in His Sovereignty to purge the Church of all deceitfulness and make it known that the Church is His people (the regenerate ones). I pray that this will come. It's the only way we will know God and draw near to Him. The great thing is that when we Draw near to God, He will draw near to us. (James 4:8) May God help us all in this time of trial.

In Christ Jesus our Lord,

- Michael Liao

Will there be an audio available of the prayer meeting and made available (like Apollos did when he had his prayer meetings)? I would love to listen to it!!

God bless,
Lisa

Greetings,

As I was listening and praying last night during the prayer conference, I must admit that I could not join in to pray in agreement with my brother. As was stated, the church is in an awful way. Much has been giving by our blessed Lord, and much we will need to be answered for. As we have seen, there is much persecution in this generation. Many lives have been slaughtered and ruined for the cross of Christ. To assume that persecution is the only way that God can ‘get the glory’ in His church is not correct. In the book of Acts, they did not need to pray for persecution, it came so naturally to evil men. Satan uses his pawns to attack the servants of the Lord. He uses governments, other religious groups, wolves in sheep’s clothing and other devices that he has learned to master in his assault on the church. To read Foxes Book of Martyrs and other accounts of persecution, I cannot pray for that. Why the very act of requesting persecution runs contrary to thousands that are praying to be delivered. To those very souls that are praying for persecution to lessen or end who are at this very moment watching and enduring the hardship of beatings, prison, death and afflictions.
The very work of Sermonindex, and many of these other prayer partners is to see God glorified. Yes, God is glorified in the midst of the persecution prayed for. But there is another way in which God purifies, cleanses, empowers and glorifies His Name --REVIVAL. Oh, how precious is the thought of the glory of God coming down among His people. As Duncan Campbell described it, ‘And God came down. . .’ The very prayer and pursuit of our hearts is for revival - for God. And when He comes in like fashion of these revivals of days gone by, persecution does come, but also His power to save the lost, to set the captives free, to reclaim the slothful servants and raise the esteem of His bride to its glorified state.
I believe that we all seek this. I believe we are in essence praying for God‘s glory. How we pray for it, must not be from our own conclusions but to trust that God’s way is right. WE are at a crossroads for our future, will God send revival? Will He send judgment? Will He send persecution? We see signs of all these things. We are left without a clear knowledge of the Lord in this but to trust that whatever He sends, it is right. ‘Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?’
I cannot pray in agreement for this of persecution upon the body of Christ. Christ endured the stripes, the beatings, the death for us. He suffered and warned us that we would have to follow His path. No man can take up the cross of Christ without knowing that its death. And all these things must be, but let us count it joy to enter in and rejoice that He is able to show forth His glory without or with persecution. Let us simply trust His ways and seek His Divine will for our lives, our families, our churches, our nation and the nations of the world.

Until,
dan

Dear Brother Dan,

I understand your concern and yes we all ought to pray for revival, that the LORD will ultimately step down and meet with His people. But because we see North America in such a turmoil where the people are just spoiled, especially in my own country and my own church, it is when persecution strikes that we will constantly turn to the LORD. When we are constantly broken, the LORD will manifest His life into us more.

"'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly therefore, I will rather boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ might tabernacle over me." (2 Cor 12:9)

You have to remember, Joshua himself said that our opposition is as food to us. Without it, for me personally, I would starve to death; I'm not saying this in a sense that I ask for persecution on myself, they just come to me. Furthermore, I cannot imagine the Body of Christ that was broken, lashed, whipped, and crucified for us, that we in the Body of Christ will not expect the same thing.

Now I do not deny that a revival or an outpouring of the Holy Spirit comes first and then persecution occurs, not the other way around. But because it seems as though there is no cost in living the Christian life in North America soil, most Christians are spiritually dead. The reason I tell you this is because even my own church persecutes me; people who claim to know God and yet when I bring out the Scriptures to them, they get angry; they think I'm being too extreme.

The reason why China is experiencing such a revival is because the churches there are being persecuted by the communists. The most persecuted church in China is actually the strongest as reported by John MacArthur. You walk into those churches and immediately the Presence of the Living God rushes in.

Honestly brother, I would not have prayed that prayer in my own flesh, but it was the Spirit of God who laid it on my heart; as I said, it was the hardest prayer for me to pray. I know one thing for sure, if Christians in Vietnam, China, Iran, North Korea etc. saw how us Christians live in North America, they'll be wondering why we are not suffering. In the end however, it all goes back to God, as He is Sovereign over everything. I say this from personal experience, that when people revile me, I get to know God more. The more broken we are, the more the Spirit of God is released out of us, like the Alabaster box being broken so it's fragrance is let loose. As I am afflicted in the flesh just as Christ suffered in the flesh, I begin to cease from sin. I can honestly tell you, if persecution does come to the Church in America, we will begin to cease from sin/turn to the LORD, as more of the resurrected Christ will be in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Christ's resurrection conquers the sin in us, as we are made alive. And I would like to see sin be destroyed in our churches, as I was grieved over what Brother Dai Sup said, "That people claiming to be born-again Christians have a divorce rate that is higher than the secular world." We cannot allow the enemy to constantly revile the name of God, as Romans 2 talks about the Gentiles blaspheming the name of God because of us. Brother Dan, I do not say this out of any hatred, as my motive is love, but I cannot bear to watch "spoiled Christians" continuously living in a state of carnality and are deceived. I do pray for you though that God will bless you mightily brother and that more of His love will flow in and through you, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Maybe God will have it happen the way you said it brother, that God steps down and meets with His people, without the persecution coming first. Till that time comes, may the Holy Spirit guide us all into all truth.

In Christ Jesus our Lord,

- Michael Liao