Showing posts with label generals. Show all posts

Saturday, November 7, 2015

For Three Decades, Cindy Jacobs Has Been Raising a Prophetic Army Through Generals International - STEVE STRANG CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Cindy Jacobs is celebrating 30 years of ministry. (Facebook)

For Three Decades, Cindy Jacobs Has Been Raising a Prophetic Army Through Generals International

Strang Report, by Steven Strang, Founder of Charisma magazine

If you've seen the November issue of Charisma, you know it features Cindy Jacobs on the cover. It's an article about the prophetic, not so much a personality profile about Cindy.

We chose her to represent a bigger movement. That's because over the last 30 years, Cindy has come to exemplify the prophetic movement as it has grown in acceptance. We believe so much in Cindy's ministry that we included her as one of the 40 people who radically changed the world for our 40th anniversary issue of Charisma in August.

Now Cindy is celebrating her own anniversary—30 years—at a big banquet in Dallas tonight.

My wife, Joy, and I have known Cindy and her husband, Mike, for a long time. We've enjoyed many shared experiences, and we have become friends. We were invited to the banquet but were unable to attend, so this is my way to publicly say how much we love and appreciate Cindy and admire what God has done in her life.

I have also featured a telephone interview with her on my podcast today. In it Cindy talks about her recent trip to China and what she taught the house church leaders about the prophetic. She is also starting an initiative for a prayer walk across the United States in preparation for the elections in 2016.

In case you missed the short article on Cindy, I am reprinting it below because Diana Scimone, the author, captured only in a few words the essence of this godly woman's life and ministry.

Cindy Jacobs: Prophetic Intercessor

By Diana Scimone

Generals of earthly armies rarely think about raising up other generals. For Cindy Jacobs, however, the call is clear: Mobilize a supernatural army and raise up and train generals to lead it.

In 1985, she and her husband, Mike, founded an organization now known as Generals International, which works to transform nations through intercessory prayer and the prophetic. That means if it's in the news, Cindy Jacobs usually has something to say about it—not an opinion or commentary, but a prophetic word or a call to militant prayer. Thousands of believers all over the world see her "Shields up!" emails in their inbox and hit their knees in intercession.

"[Generals International] is one of the key ministries in these times, helping to set the stage and get people in their place prepared for the times," says Rick Joyner, executive director of MorningStar Ministries.

This unique call on Jacobs' life dates back to a Bible camp when she was nine years old. God told her He had something special He wanted her to do for Him—which she assumed would be a missionary or pastor's wife. Years later, when she realized He was calling her to be a prophetic intercessor and voice to the nation mobilizing a global army of prayer warriors, her response was clear. "I asked God to use my husband instead of me!" she says. "You know the prayer: 'Here I am, Lord. Send someone else.'" Not surprisingly, the one who relented was not God but Jacobs. No one will ever know how many national disasters have been averted because Jacobs said "yes" to God then and continues raising up generals and calling them to militant intercession well into the 21st century.

If you are interested in more about Cindy, here is a link to a long article about her ministry on her website.

If Cindy has blessed your life or you know of others who are interested in the prophetic, forward this and add your comments. And, join me in congratulating her and Mike on their 30th anniversary of ministry.

Steve Strang is the founder of Charisma and CEO of Charisma Media. Follow him onTwitter or Facebook.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW - Life in the Spirit is your Spirit-filled teaching guide. Encounter the Holy Spirit, hear God speak to you, and enjoy timeless teachings on love, mercy and forgiveness.LEARN MORE!

Did you enjoy this blog? Click here to receive it by email.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

The Church in Vietnam is Arising. Morris Ruddick

Morris Ruddick in Vietnam

The Church in Vietnam is Arising.

This is a new day. It is a new year in Vietnam. God likewise is doing a new thing. There is a turning underway, a turning in generations; a turning in the Vietnamese economy; and a turning in Vietnam's political and spiritual climates.

Last year two famous North Vietnamese Generals died. One was 83 and one was 102. There is a new generation arising. Yet, in marking the dichotomy now operating at senior levels in Vietnam, one of these old-generation Generals became a committed believer over a decade ago. This man, who at one time was my enemy, became a truly good friend. It began when he revealed himself to us on our first mission to Vietnam in early 2008.

Having achieved his past reputation through extreme violence, his latter-year faith made him singularly the most transformed Christian I think I've ever known personally. His faith was the real deal. We broke bread and prayed together with him and his wife on many of the trips that followed. The influence of his faith sent out ripples in high places.

It is that same influence that coincides with our efforts in this land of new beginnings with the change not unlike that of the early Church; which was described in Act 17 as turning the world upside down.

The Ripples from Our Thrust

This is our seventeenth mission into Vietnam since March of 2008. We've been working

with a cross section of the church from the far north to the far south. With our focus being to the most persecuted and poor, we have simultaneously strengthened leaders in broad segments within both the church and the business world.

During our last mission and then again on this one we've seen various factions of the church come together. In regions where persecution has been most severe, we've been a part of seeing them unite to seek God and to reach for that higher standard in their community's role as ambassadors of Jesus.

Late last year just such a cross section of leaders from diverse segments of believers from this persecuted locale witnessed a dramatic healing of a deaf ear opened, as Carol and I prayed afterward for those who partook of our economic community development initiative.

So when we arrived in the same city on this trip, we found that word had spread and we were faced with not only our entrepreneurial community development assignment, but with a little boy with a fatal blood disease whose parents brought him to be prayed for. So even before imparting our leadership strategies, we were again praying for the sick.

It's a part of the turning; a part of the new season we've entered.

Key Questions

The question is WHY Vietnam?

Part of the answer involves the vibrancy and potential that has resulted from a persecuted, purified, praying church. Another part of the answer lies with the parallel that Vietnam holds culturally with Israel and the biblical foundations of Judaism.

In short, the spiritual climate of the people in this small nation is turning. It is explosive with revival and the type of opportunity that will mark the "sheep nations" spoken of by Jesus in Matt 25:32. The Lord's big-picture strategy has always mobilized the least likely to release the most unexpected.

So it is with the change of seasons and the shift in the spiritual climate that alliances are being created in support of God's purposes and His covenant people Israel.

The question also arises: WHY Morris & Carol?

That answer begins with a word the Lord spoke to me, to give to the Vietnamese in early 2008: that God had made the Vietnamese church to be the head and not the tail. Before the foundations of the earth, God envisioned a destiny for these people.

That destiny is now playing out. That destiny taps promises the Lord imparted to Carol and I; and has spoken to Vietnamese church leaders years and years ago -- promises involving the times and seasons that have been merging our destinies.

The answer also is hidden in the reality that we don't foster a western program, but rather an enduring biblical one. Because of that, we have become trusted as a father and mother to the Vietnamese we've worked with. On our last trip, this trust was reflected by an invitation to become an adjunct professor at a Vietnamese university.

The Flashpoints and Opportunity

Key points in the life of Daniel give an apt picture of the path traversed by the Vietnamese church over the last two plus decades. During that time, many faced and then embraced the fire -- a fire of persecution most in the West can only grasp a glimmer of.

One of the leaders facilitating this mission's first workshop has been facilitating revival taking place among the sons and daughters -- disillusioned young adults -- of those who are currently leading this nation. We became a part of this revival about three years ago and through this man we expect to become more engaged with it.

One of the leaders in our second workshop left our gathering to minister to a village chieftain he had befriended. That village leader came to faith and with him roughly 30 others. News of these activities got out and our friend was arrested and confined in jail -- but through the prayers of many, including our own, he has been released.

Another development has been my being introduced to Vietnam's Ambassador to Israel. Since I have recently prepared an article for a Vietnamese magazine on economic dynamics that endure -- comparing the similarities of Vietnamese and Israeli cultures; this man has expressed keen interest in my article. It represents the same common ground of an initiative in China that I was involved in over a decade ago: with "success principles" from the West, which are based on the Word of God.

So, from these foundations among the faithful is now being released a mantle and an opportunity for the turning that is underway. Our role up to this point has begun fulfilling the prophecy that makes the Vietnamese Church to be the head and not the tail. Through small business startups and economic community development we've seen dramatic evidence of the fulfillment of this word. With it the spiritual climate has been changing.

Now the Lord is doing a new thing. For when the spiritual climate changes, so does everything else. It's a turning that carries the authority that in its own way parallels the change that came after the handwriting on the wall -- the catalyst to releasing something new -- that took place in the latter years of Daniel's life when God brought His purposes through Daniel full-circle.

Over 20 percent of Vietnam's GDP is from what has become termed the "sidewalk economy." Biblical entrepreneurship has been an essential ingredient in our efforts. Many have come to the cities to find work and opportunity. We encourage those in our program not to despise the small beginnings, but to make God their Senior Partner with entrepreneurial agendas that build community builders.

The majority of businesses we nurture begin small. It minimizes the risks and allows the entrepreneurs to learn the ropes. Yet, on our last trip, we have personally helped one of our most trusted leaders to start a potentially larger initiative. Without detracting from his primary ministry efforts, we believe this entrepreneurial family-effort is going to undergird the expansion and support of his future ministry goals. So I covet your prayers for the steps needed to make his new operation a success.

The cost of those at the forefront of this turning -- this new thing -- bear the brand-marks of the Lord Jesus that Paul referred to in his letter to the Galatians (Gal 6:17). It dovetails with the pathway of fire that has so marked the pioneering mantle with which Carol and I have been entrusted.

Some have prophesied that dreams are coming to people in high places in Vietnam -- dreams like God gave Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar. We've witnessed precursors to this in our friend, the General. With the dreams will come the need for modern day Josephs and Daniels to interpret them. But then will come rains of fire over this nation -- manifestations of new dimensions released by the Holy Spirit for Vietnam.

Revival fires have already been smoldering in Vietnam but with the rains of fire and blessing, the smoldering will burst into flames; flames that penetrate every area and sector of this nation in the fulfillment of God's destiny for them as a people.

Indeed God is doing a new thing. There is an arising underway that is connected with the parallel activities of others in this part of the world.

It is a departure from the old that changes everything. Thank you for your support and prayers!! God is moving mightily in Vietnam. The momentum is increasing. We thank the Lord for your role in enabling us to be a spark to the revival and blessing coming to these most amazing people.

In His love and ours,