Prophetic Ministries Today

Many of us forget that demons were Angels of the Lord before they followed Satan. God does use evil men at times to bring about His will. He used Pharaoh of Egypt to drive the children of Israel out of that evil land and into the wilderness. God has mercy and compassion on whom He chooses. At times He empowers evil people to chasten His own children. My response to those who teach demonology is that they have lost sight of what the Lord commanded us to preach. We are commissioned to preach Jesus, His crucifixion and the gospel message, but not the works of the devil. We are commanded to simply cast out demons, not to preach about them. Too much credit is being given in the church to Satan's works, rather than being given to God. If you teach about the devil long enough, he will start helping you to glorify his works rather than the works of Christ. Searching for the works of the Devil will produce evil and will lead to a critical spirit. For me, I would rather be looking for the Angels of the Lord and seeing their miraculous works on behalf of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

If you are doing what God has called you to do, the devil cannot stop you. The devil is created for three purposes; 1) to tempt, test and punish us 2) to steal the promises of God by getting us to believe his word rather than God's 3) to kill and destroy those who come against the will of God. You may find these next few verses to be eye openers. These verses can help those who are seeking to know more about God's ways.

For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion." So then it is not of him who will, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "Even for this same purpose I have raised you up, that I might show. My power in you, and that My name might be declared in all the earth." Romans 9:15-17

There is a man I met over seven years ago. He was from Nicaragua and had gone through a great persecution under the evil hand of his nation's government. In the early 80's he received Christ as his Lord and Savior and was baptized in water and Spirit. His name is Louis Pena and many pastors in his home land know about his testimony that I am about to share with you. Louis was radically saved and wanted everyone he met to receive Christ. He preached in open air meetings, churches, even while standing in line for provisions. Wherever he went, he preached Jesus. Not long after his conversion, his country experienced a change in government and preaching Jesus became a crime punishable by death. This new law did not stop Louis; he kept on preaching. He was warned many times not to continue, but he did not stop. During a closed and secret revival meeting ,the State Police raided the services and arrested all of the pastors and Louis. They were taken away, imprisoned, tied to chairs and beaten.

Louis and all of the pastors from the raid where placed in one room and ordered by the police to denounce Christ and never mention His name again. Louis was the first in line. They placed a pistol to his head and told him if he did not do as he was ordered they would shoot him. He refused to denounce Christ, but rather asked God to forgive the policemen, for they did not know what they were doing. After the captain realized that Louis was not going to obey his orders, he commanded the police officer holding the gun to Louis' head to shoot him. In the presence of all of the pastors and the police, the gun went off, but Louis was still sitting in the chair praying in the Spirit. With the gun placed within inches of Louis' head, the captain ordered the gun to be fired again. Louis still was not harmed. The police captain ordered his officer to hand him the gun. He checked the remaining bullets, returned it to the officer, and ordered him to empty the gun into Louis' head. Obeying the captain, the officer rapidly fired the pistol point blank until it was empty. Louis was still unharmed. The police became very frightened as Louis kept praying to the Lord. White as sheep, the Nicaraguan police untied Louis and the pastors releasing them to do whatever they pleased. Now, I might have a problem believing this testimony, if I had just heard the story. However, I have read the letter signed by all of the witnessing pastors which attests to the truth of this event. I have also met Louis Pena and know that he is a Man of God and believe that his story is true.

It does not matter what the devil tries. He cannot be successful, if we are in the will of God, for His angels will be with us to protect us in supernatural ways. There is much more to being in the will of God than just finding an event in the Holy Bible that we decide to mimic and then expect God to give us protection. When tempted by Satan in the wilderness Jesus said, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God." Satan was trying to get Jesus to prove His identity by having Him jump off the pinnacle of the Temple. Satan told Jesus, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: He shall give His angels charge concerning you, and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone." (ref. Matthew 4:5-7) Jesus knew that even He could not just pick from the scriptures a verse and command the Father to live up to what had been written, NO! Jesus knew He could only do that which the Father told HIM to DO and could only speak with authority only if He heard the Father give him the word to do so. Too many Christians today are quoting scriptures and commanding God to do something for them, because they have found His promises in the Bible. This is Satan's way of doing things, not the Lord's. Do not tempt the Lord by commanding Him to do what is written in the scriptures.

The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Psalm 34:7,8