The Church

Healing of The Nations

Tauren Wells – When We Pray

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one LORD, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:3-6

Years ago, when my children were young, I was leading children's church. During that time, however, my husband and I were struggling greatly in our marriage. I had some tremendous fears, wounds and concerns and needed counsel. So I went to a pastor and his wife on staff at my church. I tore down my husband's character to them, criticized and accused him of wrong doing. Not long after and to my shock, my name was criticized and torn down to other people.

Confidentiality was broken and my character discussed with individuals in and outside the church. A short time later, I was removed from leadership (which is understandable…one should not be in church leadership if having marital troubles) and was not allowed to hold another position.

I reaped what I had sowed!

Guess what people? Pastors struggle with sin too! What makes us think that in order to be a shepherd they must be sinless. We better be praying for them and owning our own crap before we throw daggers at them. I had seething anger towards them (not for the removal), but because a trust was broken. What I shared with them, they shared with others and therefore broke confidentiality. A close friend advised, “You should leave this church, how can they treat you this way?” In my heart, I could not leave this church and go to another when my husband and children were still attending. I did not want to separate our little family. So I stayed…humiliated.

Out of compassion, my sister gave me a book called A Tale of Three Kings, by Gene Edwards. A small book about King David and the righteousness of his character during the times when two other kings were trying to kill him. King Saul trying to prevent David from getting the throne and the other, a self-proclaimed king - David’s first born son, Absalom. David's priority was first to God and the Kingdom of Israel, second. He did not want to divide the Kingdom of Israel, nor come against God’s anointed king or his son, no matter the evil committed against him. David’s heart and his actions remained holy before the LORD; He did not criticize, gossip, retaliate or demonstrate violence toward either king.

After reading this, God spoke to me clearly and firmly like a father. “YOU WILL STAY IN THAT CHURCH, SIT IN THOSE PEWS AND PRAY FOR THAT PASTOR, NO MATTER HOW ANGRY AND HURT YOU ARE. AND YOU WILL KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT, OTHERWISE YOU WILL DIVIDE THE BODY OF CHRIST WITH YOUR WORDS.”

The fear of the LORD had come upon me. "Yes LORD, I understand.”

Have you ever prayed for someone with gritted teeth?

Later, I was able to see that if I had left and gone to another church “that was better,” it would not have been “better”, because I would have brought ME and the crap in my heart along too!

I would have been infecting another church with all my baggage, thinking that another place of worship was going to make my wounds FEEL better like a band-aid or a mama’s kiss.

Some say, “But we prayed and nothing changed, so we left.” Well, let me tell you the rest of my amazing story. You will see just how powerful your prayers are! Prayers prayed from a pure heart before Christ. God’s not kidding when the Word says in Hebrews that “the prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective.”

With seething anger, I sat in those pews and prayed for the pastor and his wife, not realizing all the while that it was softening my hard, bitter heart towards them and my husband. Jesus healed my wounded heart with His grace. Little did I know that two years later, this pastor would be in the middle of a nasty church division which involved our close friends. Both sides needed prayer and I believe that God led me to pray for that pastor long before the division. He knew he needed prayer, as well as our dear friends. Grateful to say that years later, both sides eventually reconciled, but sadly, friendships were broken and some did leave that church. Today it is still a God fearing and flourishing body of Christ.

Praying in the midst of my resentment and anger, God revealed the need for my heart to be cleansed of the sin and for me to take responsibility for the degradation of the relationships. What was my part? Well, my part was anger, hatred, criticalness (in my heart), bitterness, un-forgiveness (big one) and self righteousness. Even though my tongue was silent like David’s, my heart was nothing like his. It was full of muck and mire! I had to repent of it all. Jesus forgave me and my heart towards them was transformed. After those two years, I went to this pastor and his wife, with my husband present (our marriage had been healed by then) and asked both of them to forgive me of my anger, resentment, criticalness, un-forgiveness and how I tore my husband's character down. What amazing healing!

How beautiful when the relationships between Christian brothers and sisters are restored.

Oh saints, with the help of Jesus, take responsibility for your own part, repent, forgive and restore those broken relationships.

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe.

Psalm 133:1-2

Why are we shocked when people in the church wound us? It is a given...we are going to fail and hurt each other in the body of Christ….just like a family. But it’s what we DO with those wounds that matters. If we can stop blaming and dividing with our tongues, and look at our own hearts, then healing will come like a flood. When we accuse others of their wrongdoing in the church, we are just as guilty of sin as they are. Calling them a hypocrite…well guess what? We are too!

WE PICK CHURCHES LIKE WE PICK RESTAURANTS

With religious freedom, comes the freedom to choose whatever church we desire. They are free and nearly on every corner. Don’t like that one, just go to the other one. BUT in other countries where Christian churches are illegal, there are saints risking everything just to go to church. They are starving and thankful, but we have a banquet and complain.

GUARD YOUR LIPS AND YOUR HEART

Aaron and Miriam, when they complained about Moses, were cursed with leprosy until their sins were forgiven. Every time we speak a negative word against someone in the Church or against the LORD’s anointed, no matter how wrong or sinful they are, we have sowed division.

So, do not come or speak against God’s anointed leaders! Do not come against your brothers and sisters critically, with bitterness, gossip or anger.

Otherwise, anything less than holy and pure will be an attempt to divide the body of Christ and shut His ears to our prayers. We are living in evil times and the body of Christ cannot afford to be divided. As the Word says, "The days are evil so keep your mouth shut." Proverbs states that there are 7 things God hates and one of those is the sowing of division.

And a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

Proverbs 6:19b.

Every time we leave a church hurt or angry, it is one more wounded Saint that Satan has removed and one less Saint that can WAR for that church.

The body of Christ is strengthened with unity and can conquer more effectively the evil one when we are not divided. A unified army is powerful when it wages war. In order to fight this dragon, we must first be purified in our heart, words and actions towards our leaders, churches and each other. Remember, a house divided cannot stand. So pray, ask God for wisdom, repent, and hold the tongue!

Our prayers bring healing when our own heart has been cleansed from criticalness, bitterness, anger, hate, or un-forgiveness and our mouth silent of complaining or gossip. A pure heart before Him. THEN God will go on our behalf through the power of His Holy Spirit and move mountains, change hearts, and change churches. Don't forget this!!

If we have been hurt through the church, or unhappy with a pastor, the music, the youth program, or a direction it is heading, we must keep our heart, mouth and actions pure and holy before Christ. With Jesus’ righteousness, we must repent, take responsibly for our part (SIN) and have self control.

BEWARE OF THE DRAGON

Read The Dragon in section: Healing of the Nations.

THE PRAYERS OF THE RIGHTEOUS

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective, because the heart is clean and pure.

Our robes are washed white as snow through the righteous blood of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. So I believe strongly that our prayers for our pastors, leaders, congregations and our churches are powerful and effective as the righteousness of Jesus pours into our hearts and changes criticalness to mercy, bitterness to love, anger to patience and un-forgiveness to forgiveness. Let us repent and see miracles of healing and restoration!

Years later, Jesus called our little family to attend another local church as my husband and I were asked to work with their youth group. Because of Jesus’ healing and restoration, we left "the church where the wounds had been inflicted," when He said it was time. He knew there was work to be done to support another church. Praise Jesus, we left not because of wounds, but because we had been restored and were called to share that healing to another body of Christ. I am so grateful to the LORD that we were able to give life and not infection to our old and new church. That is only the power and healing of Jesus Christ!

May we not leave churches wounded. Let Jesus heal our wounds BEFORE He sends us somewhere else, that way we can pray for the Church with a clean heart. We will be healed, they will be healed and the body of Christ will rise up! The healing begins with us!

CORRECTION

If a brother or sister in the Church must be corrected, then it must be done with great wisdom, prayer, self-check and gentleness according to the Word of God. Otherwise we will stand before them as a self-righteous hypocrite pointing out their sin.

Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.

Galatians 6:1

Matthew 18:15-18

CONTEND OR CONDEMN

God said to me once and has had to repeat it many times since, “This gift of righteousness from Jesus Christ, gives you the ability to discern good from evil. It does not give you the right to be critical or judgmental of the evil you see, but to contend, forgive and show mercy.” Otherwise you will be like a “Pharisee.” As soon as I have become condemning of another's “sin,” then I have immediately become self-righteous. I am an accuser.

In Isaiah, God states that He wants His servants to be deaf, mute and blind to another’s sin, but NOT deaf, mute and blind to our own sin. We then are in a position of authority to contend for others and God acts on our behalf.

This is exactly what Jesus was desiring for the Jewish people during His earthly ministry.

So let us proclaim Jesus’ righteousness in our lives and with the power of His Holy Spirit, and His Bride will be transformed.

CHANGE BEGINS FIRST WITH HIS BRIDE

The body of Christ is suffering from un-repented sin. We are beginning to look like the world and failing to be set apart. I thought I could be a Christian and still look and act like the world. I did not KNOW Jesus. The Bride is more concerned with the rapture or social justice than about the sin in her own heart. She must be deaf, mute and blind to the sin in others, but not deaf, mute and blind to her own sin. She waits for her Groom, but falls asleep in her own sin.

What makes the Bride think she can enter the Kingdom of Heaven without repentance and washed robes?

WAKE UP!!

Remember, in the very first part of the book of Revelation in the Bible, the FIRST ones Jesus judges is His Bride, THEN the world. The harvest cannot come unless the Bride is purified – her robes washed clean. Just like when He came to earth the first time, Jesus judged the Pharisees and Sadducees, because they were the “keepers of the truth” so they were without excuse. They were supposed to represent God’s holiness, but refused to repent of their sin…pointing the finger at each other and the world. Interesting to note, that these teachers of the law also had a disdain for the innocent – John the Baptist, Jesus and eventually the Apostles. We are seeing the exact same thing in the church today – an aversion and sometimes a disdain towards those desiring to be pure in Christ. The reason – unrepented sin.

Change begins first with our own hearts.

The Bride of Christ…her robes are stained. It is why her children are leaving the faith and losing influence in a hurting world.

REBUKE

I include myself in this rebuke, for my own heart needs to hear these very words from the heart of Jesus.

In the United States, we have more food, more religious freedom, more churches, and more luxury to preach the Word than any place on the planet, yet we have become like spoiled rich children. Picking apart churches, leaders, pastors, music, and the Word of God like it is our right; failing to remember that these are precious gifts that people died for; gifts that have been given to us at a great cost. Like a banquet table full of choice meats and lush foods, the rich critically pick and choose, while the poor and hungry are just grateful for the bounty. I have fallen prey to this spirt of ungratefulness and criticalness more times then I can count. Jesus you are our righteousness!

There are Christians in the other parts of the world who have had a knife put to their throat for the Word of God, while we sit around coffee shops, Sunday school and college classes debating whether the Word is inerrant. The Bride is without excuse, because as of today, she has been given more gifts from Jesus than any generation in the history of mankind, but she fears Him less than any generation before her. The Bride has been given the printed and digital translated Word of God, freedom of religion (most countries), a voice to the world with one push of a button, the presence of the Holy Spirit, the power of Jesus’ name, forgiveness of sins, unmerited favor, authority over all principalities of darkness, Jesus’ blood for righteousness and His body for healing.

Sadly, we have been given more, but want Him less.

The Bride of Christ, where is your hunger and thirst for your Groom? Where is your holiness?Jesus is calling and pleading with his precious Bride to repent.

For sadly, she desires favors from her lovers, and has bonded with them. She does what they tell her to do and she willingly gives up her voice for gain and approval.

The Bride has become a prostitute with all of her sexual immorality defiling the temple and the land. Tolerance of her own sexual sin has caused her to accept the world’s.

Like the church in Germany, she has tolerated the genocide of 60 million babies in the US alone.

She believes in her idols for health and healing, but does not believe the Healer who bore her physical wounds on His flesh.

She is clothed with a spirit of grumbling and complaining against God.

She has ignored and tolerated doctrines of demons taught to her children in the educational system; doctrines that defy the Word of God.

Books, games, jokes and movies of witchcraft, violence and sexual immorality are welcomed as harmless entertainment. And those who refrain from such activity are considered naïve.

She has judged the Word which was given to JUDGE her. She has searched IT for error, when the Word was to search HER for error.

Asleep, she has rolled over in her bed and allowed the dragon to OVERCOME.

WAKE UP and REPENT!!

How can we point the finger at the world and criticize and judge them for their sin, when we as believers in the Church are full of sin ourselves.

May we purify our hearts before Christ first, then we will see clearly how to save the world.

Jesus you are our righteousness and our holiness!!

TOLERANCE OF SIN

We tolerate sin and corrupt the Church. We have failed to ask God to judge our own hearts of sin and as a result we end up judging the world’s. As a result the Bride becomes powerless to overcome the dragon.

What business is it of ours to judge the world? God will take care of their sin, but it is our responsibility to take care of our own sin.

Paul states it clearly 1 Corinthians 5:12. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? Expel the wicked man from among you.

THE STATE CHURCH

Jesus is the Head of the church. That headship must not be given over to mortal men, governments, insurance companies, health departments or the rich - dictating what can and cannot be done. If it does then it is powerless against the dragon.

Many churches and ministries are a federal 501(c)(3) status and also incorporated by the state mainly for financial exemption. In Europe, the churches have bonded with the government and have lost their power and their voice. They are considered churches of the state. In the United States, back in the 60’s, the Johnson Act was passed by Congress so that churches could not endorse politicians or influence legislation from the pulpit if they were approved for the 501c3 status. The Bride took the bait and traded their voices for monetary gain. Sadly, they took a bribe and removed Jesus' headship. And for decades now, the Church has shook hands and made an agreement with the very government that has legalized abortion. The mouth of the Church has been financially silenced to speak against the genocide of the blood of the innocent. That's why there is silence and powerlessness from the churches. Unknowingly, the Bride of Christ has made an agreement with death.

When the church is incorporated by the state, it receives a tax break and other benefits from the government so they are considered a state-run church and are restricted by contract to preach on that which "benefits" the society as a whole. There are risks involved when the state churches preach on controversial moral issues of the day which run contrary with society.

The headship of Jesus is provision, healing, deliverance, unity and power.

God is calling His Church to repent and come out of this Babylonian system.

THE CHURCH REPENT

Eight times in Revelations Chapters 2 and 3, Jesus is calling the churches to repent of their sins.

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; REPENT and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you REPENT.

Revelation 2:4-5

Therefore REPENT. If not, I will come to you soon and war with you with the sword of my mouth.

Revelation 2:16

But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants

to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to REPENT, but she refuses to REPENT of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they REPENT of her works.

Revelation 2:20-22

Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and REPENT.

Revelation 3:2-3

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and REPENT.

Revelation 3:19

Jesus is rebuking the churches, but His DESIRE is that each one of us overcome the dragon by His wisdom and power. Each one of us must wash our own robes white in the Blood of the Lamb.

The one who overcomes will be clothed in white garments.

Revelation 3:5a

TO SHAKE SO AS NOT TO BE SHAKEN

Jesus judged my heart and woke me up so I would repent and wash my robes white in His blood.

My robes too, were stained with this filth. I was a “prostitute” in the eyes of GOD, immoral, entertaining witchcraft, full of rebellion, blaming God, and judging others.

Justifiability, He judged me, with the Word of His mouth.

He shook me so that what remained would not be shaken.

He shook me so hard I thought my flesh and spirit would fail from grief.

I deserved every bit of what I got.

I chose to walk away from under the umbrella of the Almighty GOD and live in the enemy camp.

He did not want to live eternally without me, so He had to became the Lion in my life.

And with His love, The Teacher continues everyday to judge, discipline, rebuke, and correct my heart.

I am so grateful for all He has done. That is grace!

So if the Bride does not repent….she will be shaken.

At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship GOD acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “GOD is a consuming fire.”

Hebrews 12:26-29

CRY OUT

May the Bride of Christ cry out for more of Jesus, more of His wisdom and more of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, our families, workplace, schools and churches. He will come with fire and healing rain to wash the robes of His beautiful Bride, white in the Blood of the Lamb.

THE DRAGON

HEALING OF THE FAMILY

HEALING OF THE HEART