"Yea, the time cometh, that
whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. "And these things
will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me." (John
16:2-3) "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" (Isaiah 54:17).
These two promises go hand
in hand in the Word. On the one hand Jesus has promised that there would be persecution
even to the extent of killing the Christian, this being done by those who, have
not known God. And on the other hand is the promise that in all these things we
can claim the victory!
The strange thing about it is that so many times
it is those who claim to be Christians, who feel it their duty to persecute others
who do not believe as they do. Since it is against the law to kill physically,
they go about to kill your ministry, your influence, your testimony, and to destroy
you as a Christian. Stranger yet, some even go so far as to use the power of prayer
to try to bring a curse upon you.
This vicious practice has its roots in
satanic heathenism. In the voodoo worship of Africa and Haiti, as well as among
the witch doctors of the American Indians, it is common practice to call upon
the satanic powers of darkness to destroy their enemies, using fetishes, sticking
pins in dolls, etc. Believe it or not, there is a deadly power connected with
this practice, and many have been destroyed or seriously affected by these means.
A lady was brought to one of our conventions in very serious condition,
brought on by what she claimed was a curse put on her by Indians and a white missionary
at the Indian Reservation where she worked. Evidently even the white missionary
had started using these heathen practices because of the power it gave over other
people. Fortunately there was deliverance in Christ for the victim
A Spirit-filled
child of God does not have to accept such a, curse. We have the power, in Christ,
to turn away the powers of darkness that would come against us. It is only when
we doubt God, and begin to believe that Satan can have power over us, that fear
opens the door and allows evil spirits to flood in upon us.
However, voodoo
fetishes and such like not the only means for trying to destroy a child of God.
Many are the cases in the Bible where men of God were attacked by the enemies
of God. And in looking at these, we discover a principle of protection that we
will do well to understand and use.
The title of this message is "BOOMERANG."
A boomerang. is a weapon that is thrown by hand, and if it misses its target,
it returns to the one who threw it, coming back in a wide sweeping circle. It
is widely used in Australia. Such is the story of the weapons used against the
saints in the Bible. When they, by faith, overcame the effort made against them,
the weapons formed against them fell back on the ones who started the force in
motion. This is a principle with God.
Let us take Daniel for Instance...
See how that his enemies spy on him and discover his prayer life. Then by their
conniving schemes they bring into existence a den of hungry lions. Their purpose
is clear. They have created a force with which they hope to destroy Daniel. And
it looks for a while like it may succeed. Daniel actually is cast into the lions'
den. But his faith in God, prevails!
The lions cannot eat him. The force
his enemies created is rendered powerless. So it boomerangs! And the same force
they created to destroy Daniel now destroys them. The lions are now fed. Those
wicked men, as well as their wives and even their children, are smitten by their
own weapon, and are brought to the very same fate they had planned for Daniel.
Then there are the three Hebrew children mentioned in the book of Daniel.
See how men build a great furnace for the purpose of destroying them. See how
it is heated seven times hotter. Then the wicked men bind God's children hand
and foot, take them up and cast them into the furnace. But notice the fire cannot
hurt God's elect. Only their bonds were burned off. They enjoyed His Presence
and fellowship in the fire. Not so their enemies. Daniel 3:22 says that the flames
of fire from the furnace slew those men who had cast them in. A great force had
been created for the purpose of destroying God's children, but When their faith
prevailed, this weapon that, had been formed against them "boomeranged" and fell
upon their enemies.
It took a long time for the boomerang to get back to
Joseph's brethren. About fifteen years. But it came home. They had thought to
get rid of him, to debase him, to keep him from his dream of greatness. They sold
him into slavery and made him a servant of the Egyptians. But God! Hallelujah!
You cannot keep one of God's Elect from His purposes for them. Joseph stayed true
to God, remained pure in heart, walked in the Spirit even in prison. And the day
came when his dream came true. He sat upon the throne of Egypt. And the boomerang
brought his brothers to Egypt, where they bowed before him, their lives now in
his hands. And the rest of their lives were spent in Egypt, under the, rulership
and authority of Joseph. The weapon they had formed had fallen upon them.
There
have been those who have sent out the force of their words in vicious accusations
("Death and life are in the power of the tongue" Proverbs 18-21). And when the
weapon failed to hit its, target, many times the accuser would find himself tempted
and fall into sin from the same thing he had accused his brother of. Be careful
of forming weapons with words. They may come back to you.
"'Whoso causeth
the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own
pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession" (Proverbs 28:10).
"Whoso
diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return
upon him" (Proverbs 26, 27).
"He that diggeth a pit shall fail into it."
(Ecclesiastes 10:8).
This is a principle with God. We do not have to fall
into the pit or be struck by the stones of the wicked. We have faith as a shield.
Be sure and use it. If you do not use faith, but let fear come into your heart,
then do not be surprised at what the enemy will do to you.
Elisha is a
wonderful example. See how the Syrian army comes to Dothan to take Elisha captive.
His young servant saw the enemy, and was afraid. Not Elisha. Fear had no place
in his life. He had no room for fear, because faith ruled his heart. And the King's
plan boomeranged on him. Instead of taking Elisha captive, his own army is taken
captive by Israel. Only because of the gentle mercy of the man of God were their
lives spared. He chose not to have them slain.
We have the right to release
our enemies from the full force of the boomerang that falls back upon them. Jesus
prayed for those that crucified Him, while hanging on the cross. And in Acts chapter
2 we find that many of them were saved and filled with the Spirit after His resurrection
and victory over death, instead of falling prey to their own weapon of death.
The revelation of this principle came to me at a time when enemies were
trying to destroy my ministry. Their eyes being blinded by Satan, they thought
of me as a false prophet, and a heretic. So they prayed against me. They asked
God to stop my ministry, to take away my finances so that I could not continue
mailing the message out. They had prayer meetings, and they prayed this prayer.
Now you can say that God would not hear such a prayer, and I agree, but I want
you to know that they put a force in motion. A weapon was formed and came against
me. Our finances got very low. We could not buy paper, or pay our bills.. At this
time I did not know about the prayers mentioned. Only later did I learn of them.
But during this financial crisis, God spoke to me to take my last $10 and. go
out to the edge of the city and rent a cheap motel room for three days to seclude
myself in with God in fasting and prayer. No one but my wife knew where I was.
During these three days I wrote a couple of messages and sought God. On
either the second or third day my wife came to see me, and to tell me that some
good offerings had come in the mail in time to meet some real needs. No one knew
of our needs. No one knew about the three days of prayer. But God had begun to
move and the financial bondage was broken. From that time on, the offerings increased
until we were able to get much needed equipment, and even build a new print shop.
So the weapon that had come against us, when its power was broken, turned
out to be a blessing. Like the Hebrew children who were elevated in the kingdom
after their experience in the furnace, we ascended into greater liberty regarding
finances after we obtained victory over this evil prayer. And this same principle
operates in every phase of our life where we meet the enemy on the battlefield
and overcome him.. What about those Christians who were used of Satan to create
this force with the intention of destroying my ministry? They were good people,
Pentecostal believers. They thought they were doing God a service in praying an
end to my life of service to God. And when I had learned of their prayers and
realized how God had led me to get alone with Him and break the power of this
weapon, then He gave me the revelation of this "boomerang" principle. And I saw
that this weapon would fall back upon them unless something was done.
So
I prayed and asked God to release them from the Judgment of their own weapon.
Thus I learned that I have the right to do this. As far as I know, none of these
folks have suffered any serious financial set-back. I could find no pleasure in
seeing them fall into their own pit. So I prayed against it, and God heard.
We
are overcomers in Christ! We are victors thru Him! We need have no fear of the
enemy, no matter who he works through. We have no need to destroy our enemies
and we have the right release them from the power of their own folly. Sometimes
we do not know of those who have tried to hurt us until too late, until we learn
of the judgment of the "boomerang" that has come upon them. Walk with God. Walk
In humility and holiness. Walk in simplicity of obedience to the Spirit of God.
Walk in Christ. And remember what the Apostle said, who had many enemies trying
to destroy him, "Recompense to no man evil for evil. Dearly beloved, avenge not
yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. If thine enemy hunger, feed him;
if he thirst, give him drink. BE NOT OVERCOME OF EVIL, BUT OVERCOME EVIL WITH
GOOD."
Bill
Britton Boomerang 