Published by It seems to run in cycles. We have a time of peace then we have events and people who come in to disrupt, then we have a time of peace. At one time I thought it was only me but over the last couple years I have seen those who lead and minister the gospel can expect to be attacked, abused and vilified, on the web, in the church, in the media, anywhere. I’ve worked with some really great people here over the years and every one has been the target at times. Please don’t think this is a whine session – it is simply me making a statement that I believe is needed. I want you to remember they mocked and reviled Jesus. But when we are falsely judged, we are not to allow judgments and curses to stand. I work with communications and I tell people in the secular that when they are harassed they prosecute. In the spirit when we are attacked we should cast down the imaginations that are set against us. In the spirit, when we are harassed, we prosecute. The mechanics are different but the effect is the same.
About a year ago I was running sound for a Woman’s conference in our church. A ministry team called Fragrant Oils was there. It is a group of women, Rita Springer, Terry Gladstone Farr, Karen and Dawn Swiegart. Johanna, a young woman from a local church participated with them. Although the thrust was toward women if the message is one of the scripture most if not all of it has application to men so I had a time of absorbing. Of the group, Johanna and Terri were the ones who got to me the most. Johanna is a worshipper and Terri is a capable teacher of the word. (Aside, in a later meeting Dawn presented a teaching that is among the best I have heard. I guess what she was presenting in this session wasn’t exactly what I needed at the time.) During one of these sessions a song “I Will Rise Up” was sung and at some point Terri mentioned the scripture it is from. Of course I perked up at that time.
The lyrics contain:
I am blessed among the people,
I am blessed among the nations,
I am blessed because I am loved by you,
I am loved and highly favored,
Saved by the grace of a mighty Savior,
I am blessed because I am loved by you,
No weapon formed against me will prosper,
No curse can ever take his promise from me,
When hope is gone and the darkness has fallen,
I will still believe, I will still believe.
I will rise up, I will rise up,
I will rise up, and call myself blessed.
Written by Rita Springer
And in the midst of this I started going over the lines time after time:
No weapon formed against me will prosper,
No curse can ever take his promise from me,
And I pulled out my bible (actually my PDA) and went to Isaiah 54:17.
Isa 54:17
17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
(KJV)
The first line, “No weapon formed against me will prosper” says it. WOW. No weapon. None. No matter who makes it. It will not prosper. I remember Haman’s Gallows. I remember Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace. I remember the lion’s den decree against Daniel. No weapon formed against these prospered because their minds and hearts were fixed on God. And I remember times when God has taken the weapon someone has broken it or formed against me and turned the point of the spear 180 degrees.
The second line is not as clear but bear with Rita and me. “No curse can ever take his promise from me,” seems passive, we just sit back and it happens. But read the scripture – when someone paraphrases the scripture in a song I always go back to the word. This is not the case. The scripture is not passive. “and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.” It is not passive. We are to actively stand up and renounce or condemn every tongue that shall rise up against us in judgment. When this happens we are not to roll over and play dead. We are to stand up and say, “This is not truth. It is not of God.” We are to let those around us know that this is not right. More important we are to let Satan know that we are aware of his devices and just as important his fifth column and will not countenance either of them. The term “fifth column” comes from the Spanish Civil War in the 1930’s when one of the generals was asked how he would take a city that was well fortified. He responded that he had four columns outside the city but the most important force was the fifth column (the spies and operatives) inside. The church and our nation need to remember this and watch it vigilantly. Satan’s fifth column lurks in many places, even in the church and worse, all too often in the leadership.
“No curse can ever take his promise from me.” True. But if we are to have this come true we must take a stand. It cannot be passive.
Let me use another song to show what is expected, one that is also scripture based. It is the song, “Keep on the firing line.” The chorus is as follows:
You must fight, be brave, against all evil,
Never run or even lag behind
If we are to be strong in Him we must stand up against evil. I intend to do that. I also do not intend to allow curses and false judgments to deter me or to stand and allow the devil to use them. I publicly renounce all the evil words that have been written and spoken against me in this matter and I will privately deal with the individuals so they and Satan are clear on what I am talking about.
I want to remind each of you, evil is not only from the world. Many would like to have you believe that but it unfortunately isn’t so. It is also IN THE CHURCH. It lurks in false piety. It hides behind a façade of self righteousness. It wears masks of religiosity. Some of it is in false Judaism. Some of it is Christian buzzwords. In Jesus’ day it took the form of the most self righteous of his day, the Pharisees. They kept the law to the letter or at least they let everyone think they did. They spent years debating insignificant matters to be sure they were giving the proper interpretation. Paul said that the letter of the law kills but the spirit gives life. The spirit of the law needs no such carnal assistance. The Pharisees revered the Sabbath to the extent that healing a man on the Sabbath was a violation. We have no record of the debating which day of the week was the Sabbath but I am sure they did that at some juncture. They worshiped the ritual and the law more than the law giver. They lost the love for God and the love for his people and substituted it with rules and regulations. They made disciples and turned them into more the work of hell then themselves. Their evil grew from one generation to the next. That evil persists to this day, not only in the Judaism but also in the church. Brethern, this should not be. All of what I have expounded here is all supported by scripture.
Let me be specific.
There are those who believe they must have a carnal understanding of everything so much that when they don’t have it they insert their own ideas to the extent that they deny the reality of God. They cannot understand how a God head can be three parts and yet one so they make up their own god that is not the god of the universe. These teach that if you are baptized in the name of the father, son and holy spirit (or ghost as you will) you are going to hell because you believe in the trinity. Let me say that I don’t totally understand but I know this, God is one God, but somehow there are three parts. I trust God understands it and some day I will. Till then the understanding I have is by faith. The oneness doctrine, another piece of garbage has bad fruit, in its extreme it is really a religion that calls us polytheists, calls Jesus a minor prophet, has as its theme, “There is one God, Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet.” Yet some so-called Christians hold to a large portion of this error.
There are those who feel so inferior that they must keep women subjugated so they can feel like men. They take snippets of scripture out of context to prove the little woman should be in her place and that is two steps behind her husband (except in a mine field.) They ignore the roles of women like Priscilla and Phoebe and the first sermon preached to the church on the day of Pentecost. “Your sons and daughters will prophesy.” If women were to prophecy in the last day, aren’t we at the time they should be starting?
There are those who will take views on tongues that range from they are of the devil to you must speak in tongues to be saved to those who say tongues are not for today because they went out when the cannon of the scripture was established. Neither extreme has any real scripture foundation.
There are those who would take us back to Judaism. Let me be frank. That is where we came from. Allow me to be blunt. Jesus said the hog would return to his wallow. Jesus died on the cross for us to come from the old covenant to the new. Will we shun the work he did for us and return to what was before? These Judiazers are subtle. But Paul said subtle means would be used to subvert. If they were to try to take us back to the sacrifice in one step we would revolt but they do it with craftiness and slyness, making it sound religious by using Hebrew words and phrases like, “showing the Hebrewness of the scripture.” Let me be frank. Most of the New Testament was originally written in Greek, not Hebrew. Maybe we should return to the “Greekness” of the scripture. And BTW, much of the New Testament was written to Gentiles. If Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit (and I have no doubt he was) and was writing to Gentiles, wouldn’t the Holy Spirit have helped him target the audience? Why would we need Jewish interpretation?
There are those who ascribe to the clergy a royalty through the misappropriation of Ephesians 4:11. These are places of service, not royalty to be served. Any who teach such a doctrine are not of Him.
Jesus called these people of his day a “Nation of vipers.” Paul called those who preached another gospel “Accursed.” John said those who believed themselves righteous “deceive themselves.” One of the reasons I stand against some of the evil teaching that is done is simply this. I do not want others to be deceived by this craftiness, cunning and subtlety. (Check these words out in your concordance to see what the scripture says.)
I would that all come to a knowledge of the truth.
And when I do that I stick up my head as one in a foxhole during a battle and in that I become a target. I find that there are those who will target me, malign me and harass me. Let me say this.
No weapon formed against me will prosper,
No curse can ever take his promise from me,
Isa 54:17
17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
(KJV)
No weapon formed against me will prosper. I will rise up and condemn those who falsely accuse me. This is my heritage in the Lord.
God bless.
Other Articles by Ralph Brandt
Obama and Kennedy: BHO and JFK Aug 30, 2008
Churches That Get Government Money
Financial Help in These Trying Times
Anonymous and Irresponsible: the Radical Left
The Comparison of the Assassinations of Kennedy and Lincoln
Relationship of Church and State
I’m Going on
Compromise in the Church
Come Away My Beloved
Communion
Contradictions – Science and Religion
Christian Perspective On Hatred Feb 20, 2007
