News Item #1
- PRAYER INITIATIVE
October 25, 2004
 Dear
Friends,
Just a word to the wise that, historically, there seems to be an increase of strife
and division around this time of the year. For those in the American church, this
added demonic activity may be the result of satanic Halloween rituals. It may also
come from a number of other sources as well. Whatever the source, you will want
to guard against conflict with others. Cover your families and churches with prayer
and genuinely practice being "unoffendable."
I know we are all praying about many things, but I want to remind our American friends:
during the election time there is a lot of slander and misinformation, which can
cause us to react in the flesh. Remember, beloved, we are not fighting flesh and
blood, but principalities and powers. Let's not allow the passion of our love to
dim nor our peace crumble during this season. Instead, let us each take faith knowing
God's promise, that the enemy who comes against us one way shall flee before us
seven ways (see Deut 28:7).
Thank you,
Francis Frangipane, www.frangipane.org
|
News Item #2
- Chief Justice Rehnquist Has Thyroid Cancer
October 25, 2004
 WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - U.S. Chief Justice William Rehnquist (news
-
web sites), 80, the leader of the Supreme Court's conservative majority, was
recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer and is in the hospital after undergoing throat
surgery, a court spokeswoman said on Monday.
Rehnquist, who has carved out a record as one of the most powerful and conservative
jurists in U.S. history, was admitted to Bethesda Naval Hospital on Friday and underwent
a tracheotomy on Saturday, spokeswoman Kathleen Arberg said... (More)
"Let's be sure to lift up Chief Justice Rehnquist
in prayer." -- Steve Shultz
|
About
William Ford III:
Will Ford is a prayer intercessor in the
Dallas/Fort Worth area. A graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta GA and Emmaus
Road Ministry School in Euless, TX, he is co-founder of Hilkiah Ministries. Will
is the owner of a kettle pot used by slaves in his family for prayer. Forbidden
to pray by their slave master, Will's ancestors would pray underneath the kettle
late at night to muffle their voices. Turns out that they were not praying for their
freedom after all, but the freedom of the next generation.
Will uses this "prayer bowl" as a catalyst for gathering groups together for prayer
and teaches on intercession, unity, and revival. He believes that it was the prayers
of a godly remnant of African American, Native American, and White Christian abolitionists
that brought revival to America and brought the demise of slavery. Will teaches
that since his ancestors were Christians, not only is this part of his heritage,
but every Christian, because of our unity in Christ.
Will has traveled throughout the U. S., speaking in churches, conferences, and conducting
prayer journeys. Many churches have been blessed by Will's teaching from prayer
seminars to church sermons. He is a conference speaker and a privileged participant
in prayer and speaking at The Call, a multigenerational prayer gathering that has
gathered more than 1,000,000 people to fast and pray in 12-hour solemn assemblies
for revival, led by Lou Engle and Che Ahn. Will has been interviewed by CBS, featured
on The 700 Club, and also in Christian magazines. He is co-author, along with Dutch
Sheets of the book, "History Makers: Your Prayers Have Power
To Heal The Past and Shape The Future," released by Regal/Gospel Light Publishing
Company. He is married to Michelle Ford, and they have two beautiful children: Amanda
and Joshua.
 Please
read this first!! --- Steve Shultz:
Recently, I was at an intercession meeting in Michigan in which an African American
pastor came forward to repent on behalf of the Black Community.
He wanted to repent because there was such a deep wound concerning black men and
women going back to the days of slavery. During those awful days, slaves were not
given any control whatsoever over their own bodies -- especially the women!
To this very day, the Black community by and large votes for that issue (choice
regarding a woman's body), no matter what the other issues are -- the wound is so
hurtful.
I had no idea.
It left me realizing, for the first time -- that the the rationale for the African
American Woman was quite probably "different" most of the time, than the rationale
for the white American woman in choosing to have an abortion.
I began to seek out the possibility of an African American man or woman who would
write and educate others on this subject.
I got even more than I bargained for through this article by Will Ford, who co-wrote
a book with Dutch Sheets called,
History Makers: Your Prayers Have Power To Heal The Past and
Shape The Future (which you can
order below). Will Ford brings to the prophetic table a learned and dramatic history
about how God worked among the slaves of the day, to pray for the very revival that
you and I are experiencing today.
There is much that we can learn from the dark history of the past, as it relates
to the issue of LIFE versus the choice to end life.
I hope you'll receive much edification and education by reading this word from both
a historic and prophetic perspective as I have.
Blessings,
Steve Shultz
THE ELIJAH LIST www.elijahlist.com
PROPHETIC.TV www.prophetic.TV
============================
Excerpt from this article: "...Together, we'll explore history in order to gain
greater understanding of what I and others believe we are facing today. You'll see
historic prophetic comparisons that are alarming. I'll also share a personal encounter
which broke my heart and has profoundly impacted me regarding this issue." -- Will
Ford III.
============================
 
Dutch Sheets co-wrote the book
History Makers: Your Prayers Have Power To Heal The Past
and Shape The Future with William Ford - Find out more, below!
An Amazing Prophetic and
African American Perspective on Life, Justice, Intercession, and Today's Revival
by William Ford III
www.willfordministries.org
The
purpose of this article is to give a perspective on abortion through my Christian
worldview as an African American. Together, we'll explore history in order to gain
greater understanding of what I and others believe we are facing today. You'll see
historic prophetic comparisons that are alarming. I'll also share a personal encounter
which broke my heart and has profoundly impacted me regarding this issue. My attempt
is not to solve all societal ills or address them in this article, and I'm sure
others could do better. I'm only a voice. First, let's start by introducing some
of the history of God's faithfulness, and the sacrifice of those who've gone before
us.
Prayer Bowls
Over America
Many have heard the testimony of the great spiritual inheritance representing the
prayers of the saints in my family. It is a 200-year-old black kettle pot, which
was used by my Christian slave forbearers in Lake Providence, LA. This kettle was
used for cooking and washing clothes, but secretly it was used for prayer. My ancestors
were forbidden to pray by their slave master, and were beaten unmercifully if found
doing so. However, in spite of their master's cruelty, and because of their love
for Jesus, they prayed anyway. At night, sneaking into a barn, they carried this
cast iron cooking pot into their secret prayer meeting. As others looked out, those
inside prayed. Turning this pot upside down on the barn floor, they propped it up
with rocks on the edge, which suspended the pot a few inches above the ground. Laying
prostrate or kneeling on the ground, they prayed in a whisper underneath the kettle
to muffle their voices. The story passed down with the kettle is that they were
risking their lives to pray for ensuing generations. While researching for my book
"History Makers" (co-authored with Dutch Sheets), I found
this story repeated in slave narratives around the country. As slaves were sold
across the country they continued these secret prayer gatherings at their new plantations,
and the practice of these prayer meetings spread wherever they went.
Whispered
Prayers on Earth, Shouts and Loud Cries In Heaven
It is important that we understand the dynamics of what happened in the spirit realm.
Revelation 5:8 speaks of "bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the
saints" before the throne of God. Zechariah 14:20b says, "And the cooking
pots in the house of the Lord, shall be as the bowls before the altar." These
containers caught muffled prayers on earth, just as bowls in heaven caught their
prayers as incense. Symbolically, without their knowing it, these vessels became
their bowls of intercession. Another interesting dynamic is that, in Revelation
8, when these bowls are released, one of the manifestations upon earth is voices.
Voices
For The Voiceless
White Christian abolitionists became voices for the voiceless. Their sermons in
public became answers to whispered, private prayers. Along with black Christian
abolitionists, like Frederick Douglas and Sojourner Truth, they awakened the conscience
of America to the value of human life, equality, and justice. They knew intercession
was more than prayer, but also a call to respond to comfort God's heart in obedience,
thru whatever assignment or action given by Him. In Hebrews it says that Jesus'
prayers were heard because of His obedience, and these intercessors were heard for
the same reason. Revelation 8 also says that at some future point, God adds His
incense and fire to these prayers, which manifest His judgment or justice on earth.
And that is just what He did.
The Supreme
Court of Heaven Rules Courts on Earth
In 1857, the Supreme Court passed a law which many felt sealed the fate of enslaved
African Americans. The case was Dred v. Scott. The Supreme Court basically said,
in a 7 to 2 decision, that slaves were the property of their masters and had no
human rights. However, because of prayer and acts of obedience, hearts changed and
eventually this demonic decree was broken over America. Like the memorial stones
of Joshua's day, our kettle (and others like it), is a shared inheritance and a
memorial stone to this generation that reminds us of God's faithfulness to our forefathers
-- He Who delivered this nation out of slavery. Had it not been for these remnant
intercessors, white and black, this institution would not have ended in America.
Justice came, setting slaves free in America, and God's heart was comforted thru
prayer and action. Now, our generation is being called into prayer and action today
to be voices for the voiceless, releasing justice in our day.
God's Heart
over Injustice
Is justice really that important to God? Could He really need comfort? Isaiah 59:15-16
gives us the answer:
"Yes, truth is lacking; and he who turns aside from
evil makes himself a prey. Now the Lord saw, and it was displeasing in His sight
that there was no justice. And He saw that there was no man, and was astonished
that there was no one to intercede; then His own arm brought salvation to Him."
Take note of two very important words in these verses: "displeasing" and "astonished."
In Hebrew, these words reveal God's heart over injustice. "Displeasing" is the word
"raa," which means "to spoil something by breaking or shattering it into pieces."
The Hebrew word for astonished is "shamem," which means "to devastate, to amaze,
to stun, or to grow numb." Think of it: When the Creator of the universe sees injustice,
His heart is broken. He then seeks someone on Earth to share this burden with Him
in intercession and bring relief to His heart. When He can't find anyone who is
concerned about injustice, He is astonished, stunned, and devastated!
Broken
Intercession
The word "justice" in this verse is "mishpat," which means "a verdict announced
judicially," especially a sentence or formal decree. Whether the lack of justice
is legalized racist decrees, such as the Dred Scott decision during slavery, or
other court injustices, it is God's desire to have intercessors be moved by His
heart and, through prayer, release His kingdom justice on Earth. I have experienced
what this feels like in intercession.
During one prayer journey (called the Kettle Tour), I had an experience and a depth
of travail I'll never forget. I agonizingly wept for more than two hours. While
praying and seeking to find out what was happening to me, I heard the Lord say He
was sharing with me His heart for America. With intensity I'd never known before,
I wept over the pain and division in America. I then heard the Lord speak to me:
"If I heard the whispered prayers of slaves underneath cooking pots, how
much more do I hear the silent screams of babies being aborted in America."
My heart, like His, was shattered to pieces. In the act of abortion, we kill that
for which we once would have died, and spurn what others gave their lives to protect
-- the sanctity of human life.
A
New Mantle to Break Roe v. Wade
Another unjust decree is upon the nation -- the 1973 Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade.
In similar form, the Court said that unborn babies are the property of their mothers,
and have no human rights. Just as Dred Scott, this decision was passed 7 to 2. The
similarities are eerie. In 1857, when people were outraged about the decision, Chief
Justice Taney basically said that if people didn't like slavery, they didn't have
to participate in it, and that they had no right to force morality on anyone else.
In 1973, when people were outraged over Roe v. Wade, Justice Blackmun basically
said Americans didn't have to participate in abortion, and that we have no right
to impose morality on someone else. Slavery and abortion are both inhumane. So are
fleshly attempts to kill abortion doctors, an action similar to some rogue abolitionists,
who tried to kill slave-owners.
We haven't learned our lessons from history. Consequently, we're breaking God's
heart again.
The Affects
of Abortion on African American Community
The statistics regarding the affects of abortion in our communities are staggering.
As a race, the affects of abortion on the African American community have been devastating.
Racially, our population is on the decline in America. As a whole, millions of African
American babies die every year at an alarming rate. Close to 1,500 are aborted every
day. Though we only account for 11 percent of the population, more than 30% of all
abortions in America are African American babies. Why are these statistics so disproportionately
high, especially since blacks as a whole don't support the philosophies of this
institution of death?
Is the fact that 70% of all abortion clinics are in minority communities contributing
to this holocaust? Maybe it is because the same spirits of death and racism from
slavery are attacking us today.
The hurts of fatherlessness, which began during the peculiar institution, has carried
over to today. Part of the reason for our pain, of course, is the affects of slavery.
This, of course, does not excuse immoral conduct, but does shed some light on the
fruit we see manifesting today. Satan's remedy to this has been programs and facilities
set up as a means to help and educate; but instead they have imposed alternatives
that promote sin and death, showing no hope or future for our children. New technology
has uncovered the lies made to us all: It isn't tissue, it's a person.
Humanistic
Ideologies of Racism and Death
The person Satan used was Margaret Sanger, whose philosophy of population control
began many organizations, including Planned Parenthood. She was a Eugenicist, who
believed that blacks and other "lesser strains" of society should be eliminated.
She felt the poor of all races were a drain on mankind and these weaker, "dysgenic"
people should be eliminated.
Sanger once even said, "Colored people are like weeds, and must be exterminated."
Keeping her motives hidden, she used black clergy during the early to mid 1900s
to carry and disguise her message, unbeknownst to them.
Many pastors were outraged and resisted these efforts. However some were blinded
by Sanger's charisma, money, and power, and were manipulated by Sanger, thus her
plan infiltrated the black community. Though her motives were not exposed in the
past, they since have been revealed through her memoirs. Greg Keath, African American
leader in the fight to end abortion in America, thoroughly researched her documents
in the 80's at Smith College, and what he found was appalling. For example, in a
letter dated December 10, 1939 to a board member, Margaret Sanger wrote the following
regarding her project, code named The Negro Project: "We do not want word
to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population and the minister is the
man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious
members." As George Grant writes in "The Grand Illusion," "…since
minority communities are the primary targets for contraceptive services, Blacks
and Hispanics inevitably must bear the brunt of the abortion holocaust." In
most communities, abortions among African Americans outstrip births 3 to 1. Our
people are truly perishing for lack of knowledge. We've been lied to by the enemy.
A United
Church: The Answer
Will ending abortion in America fix the ills in the black community (crime, murder,
drug addiction, economic disparity, etc)? Of course not. But can we truly solve
any problem in our community while abortion still exists as it is? The answers,
of course, lie in the church of Jesus Christ.
The church was the answer during slavery and the civil rights movement. And a new
remnant of Christians of all races, working together on this issue, must pray and
be voices for the voiceless in our day: the unborn. In Exodus 10:10-12, Pharaoh
agrees to let Moses and the older generations go into the Promised Land, but as
a concession, he says that the children must stay in Egypt.
Moses could have taken the easy way out. After all, carrying infants and young children
on the journey into the Promised Land could have been viewed as burdensome. Moses,
however, rejected Pharaoh's compromise, knowing that the future of Israel was in
its offspring. The same is true for us today. Our children are not our burden, they
are our hope, and we must fight for their future. If not, we forfeit our own voice
and existence. Dr. King has been quoted as saying that in the end of our lives,
it will not be the memory of hurtful words from our enemies that wound us most,
but rather the silence of our friends. As God's friends, we must be voices for the
voiceless on this issue, interceding with prayer and action.
A Call to Prayer and Action Today
The angels of Revelation 8 are standing at attention, waiting for us to add our
prayers as incense to the cloud of witnesses that have gone before us. No one thought
slavery would end in America, but they forget about the praying remnant of cooking
pot intercessors and white abolitionists, who reminded God of how He delivered Israel
from Egypt. The prayers of this godly remnant broke the power of Dred Scott, and
slavery ended in America.
The same God who broke the power of that unjust decree, can break the power of Roe
v. Wade. Truly, the commitment of our fathers has become the calling of our time,
and this generation has been called for such a time as this to shift the courts
in America. The key of justice purchased by the sacrifice of our black forefathers,
which shut the door to Dred Scott and Jim Crow segregation laws, must be used today
to close the door to Roe v. Wade. We can turn the courts of this nation again. We
must pray for changed hearts and righteous judges, who do justice and love mercy
to the unborn. Also, we must reach out and pray for healing for those who have had
abortions. They don't need pointing fingers, but rather open arms of mercy, compassion,
and hope.
Voting is one of your greatest acts of intercession. Many believers sacrificed their
lives for this generation's right to vote in this nation. However, millions of Christians
of all races in the last presidential election didn't turn out. As ambassadors for
Christ, we must show up at the polls! And when we vote, we must vote for candidates
who value the sanctity of marriage and are against killing the unborn. There are
those who say that you cannot legislate morality. Sadly, these same people don't
understand how this same mindset is what kept slavery intact. The purpose of law
should be to protect humanity, not destroy it. Legislation should be used as a moral
means, and not as part of supporting an immoral end. Vote to protect life.
Let's agree with the prayer of Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 during slavery,
who cried,
"O, holy church universal, throughout all countries and nations! O ye great
cloud of witnesses, of all people and languages and tongues! Differing in many doctrines,
but united in crying, 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, for he hath redeemed us
from all iniquity!' -- awake! -- arise up! -- be not silent! Testify against this
heresy of the latter day, which, if it were possible, is deceiving the very elect.
Your God, your glory, is slandered. Answer with the voice of many waters and mighty
thunderings! Answer with the innumerable multitude in heaven, who cry, day and night,
'Holy, holy, holy! Just and true are thy ways, O king of saints!'"
by William Ford III
www.willfordministries.org
|
"History
Makers: Your Prayers Have Power To Heal The Past and Shape
The Future"
"Praying
for America"
"Dutch
Sheets and Will Ford form a powerful writing team. Their model of white and black
is by itself a reconciliation statement. It is for all you whose heart desires to
heal your nations and bring them back to God. History Makers will grip your heart
and catapult you into making history rather than talking about it."
- Cindy Jacobs, Author, The Voice of God, Generals of Intercession
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