Volume 11 Issue 4 - April 1996

THE WINDY CITY

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8)

Praise God, I just returned from another excursion of storming the "Gates of Hell" in Chicago. As usual, the Lord showed Himself strong on the behalf of His people who by their obedience made straight in the desert a highway for our God to visit that troubled city (Isaiah 40:3). There was such a strong prophetic anointing as we lifted up the high praises of God in the gang infested streets. Men and women of God came from the four corners of our nation armed solely with the two-edged sword of the Spirit to execute vengeance upon the altars of Molech that has provoked the Lord our God to jealousy (Psalms 149:6-8). Powerful street preaching, prophetic declarations, high praises, intimate worship, and heart wrenching prayers went forth announcing to Chicago there is another King, one Jesus.

We all witnessed the powers of darkness being push backed as the truth of the Lord was not only being proclaimed, but lived out for all to see. The church in Chicago simply took the weapons of her warfare which have been lying in moth balls confined within the church building and actually engaged the enemy with them. These armaments are without doubt mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds (2 Corinthians 10:4). And strong holds, my beloved, did come crashing down. There were approximately 40 salvations throughout the week, over half of them came to faith in Christ by simply hearing the great things the Lord had done during the "Holy Week" event. Our host church, headed by Pastor Kenneth Bonner, a precious man of God, reaped these 22 souls the Sunday after we left. Some came to the Lord out on the streets. They would walk up to us under heavy conviction for their sins asking us to help them find the Lord. It was truly glorious! Approximately 15 mothers and babies were spared the horrors of abortion and are currently receiving help. We praise God for the awesome victories He has wrought.

Highlights of the event included two Jericho Marches around two abortion mills that closed. The enemy’s defense had clearly departed as God’s people clapped their hands and shouted unto God with a voice of triumph. Quite naturally, we are expecting the walls of these death camps to completely fall before the mighty cross of Christ. We then sponsored a chastity rally located at the Planned Parenthood killing center in downtown Chicago. Young people from all over our nation rose up and boldly testified of their great love for God and their commitment to virginity until the Lord blesses them with a godly mate. This opened the door to present a Biblical worldview of God’s great love and gifts He has given to mankind. We shared God’s plan for family, love, and sexuality and compared that to our national pursuit of immorality and perversion that has spawned the disease, death, and destruction that is currently savaging this generation. It was amazing to watch the spirit of truth illuminate all those who took the time to weigh these observations in their hearts. I believe many were impacted and had a sincere change of heart as they witnessed the word of God being lived out on the streets in front of Planned Parenthood.

There were many who risked arrest seeking to intervene and save the lives of the little ones. The good news is, the Chicago police didn’t desire to arrest us. In fact, some of us were allowed to remain on the abortion mill’s property, so we could continue to reach out to the moms with the love of Christ. Brethren, something is beginning to change. Before long, who knows, the police may be allowed to actually arrest the right people who are involved in the wholesale slaughter of the innocent. The point is, God took the obedience of His people who were willing to lay down their lives for the least of these and performed a mighty act of deliverance. Unbeknownst to us, about the time we crossed the line and put ourselves in jeopardy to possibly being charged with a federal penalty, thanks to the tyrannical F.A.C.E. bill, a Federal Judge in North Carolina just happened by "coincidence" to rule the F.A.C.E. bill unconstitutional the very same day. He not only made that decree, but he also enjoined the federal government and Janet Reno and forbade them to apply the F.A.C.E. bill against peaceful pro-life Christians. You want to talk about a bunch of praise happy Christians rejoicing in the streets of Chicago, it was a time of extreme thanksgiving to our great God and King for baring His Holy arm to deliver His people from this grave injustice.

One of the most endearing moments for me came on the Saturday before the event began. I was given fifteen minutes to present a brief message concerning the significance of Operation Rescue National’s visit to Chicago at a Christian Karate Tournament. The essence of the message God gave me to share was found in Proverbs 8:36, "But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death." I shared on the correlation between our nation turning its back on God and the subsequent obsession our culture is having with death. The more we remove God from the public arena, the more our society is choosing death to solve our economic and moral problems. The abominable practice of abortion, the rise of suicide, the pursuit to establish euthanasia, and the spread of gang violence all verify the sobering truth contained within Proverbs 8:36. The good news that I left them with though, was the fact that death is not the last statement involved in this struggle for the soul of our nation. Through the resurrection of Jesus, God will have the last laugh and it’s called life. Electricity was in the air as these truths penetrated and permeated the hearts of a mixed crowd filled with believers and non-believers. Judging by their response, it was clear, that Heaven and Hell got stirred up and was manifesting among the people. Some people were visibly upset and ran out the auditorium, while others were grateful that I came to address the tournament.

Immediately, I left the podium to whet my whistle with a cool drink of water when a man in his forties came walking towards me somewhat menacingly. I wasn’t sure at this point whether he wanted to hug me or punch me out for preaching the message. He suddenly extended his hand towards me and when I touched him, he began to weep uncontrollably. Through stammering lips he cried out, "please lead me to Jesus." Somewhat stunned, I said, "no problem, just step into my office." I took the man in the back of the auditorium and led this hurting man to the Lord. In the midst of ministering to him, I discerned this man was under demonic oppression, so I cast the devil out of him. Immediately he cried out, "it’s gone, it’s gone, I’m happy, I’m happy, do you know the last time I felt happiness?" It was absolutely glorious as I beheld the Lord completely transform this man before my eyes. His entire countenance was changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye. The most dramatic part of this man’s testimony came after his conversion to Christ. He told me that he was sure God had sent me with that message, because he had loaded a 38 pistol that morning and was going to commit suicide that night. Thank God, the Lord had a different plan for this precious new brother in the Lord.

SARAH

"And by it he being dead yet speaketh." (Hebrews 11:4)

The following is a memorial message delivered on the behalf of an 18 week old aborted baby called Sarah. The funeral service was a moving experience as over 500 Christians gathered together at an abortion mill with broken and contrite hearts to mourn, weep, and to say publicly,

"We the church are so very sorry Sarah for your untimely and senseless death. We beg you to forgive us."

We are here in the city of Chicago today to give this nameless child a Christian burial and to afford countless mothers the opportunity to grieve their aborted babies. We pray that this memorial service may serve as a perpetual remembrance of all the innocent victims of abortion.

The death of a child is difficult under any circumstances, but this child’s death is particularly grievous because it was avoidable. She suffered from no illness, she was not a casualty in some tragic accident, rather she was the innocent victim of an immoral law which gave her mother the right to have her put to death. She never saw the light of day. She never knew the tender touch of her mother’s hand. She never heard her mother’s voice lifted softly in either lullaby or prayer. She never felt the warmth of the sun on her face or knew the joyous freedom of the first barefoot day of spring. For her death came before birth.

Nor does she have a family to mourn her tragic and violent death. These empty chairs make a statement more eloquent than any words. Where is her mother? Where is her father? Where are her brothers and sisters

Where are her grandparents? Is there no one to mourn her untimely death?

Just us. We are her only family!

If the immoral system had its way, she would not be here, nor would we, for it does not afford these little ones even the dignity of a decent burial. Instead they are placed in garbage bags and thrown into dumpsters to be buried in landfills. Or worse yet, they are experimented upon or their body tissue is sold for a profit to be used in the production of cosmetics.

We cannot undo what has been done, we cannot bring her back, but we can see that her tragic death is not forgotten. And we can make sure that her death is not unmourned. Therefore we are gathered here today to remember her and the thirty-six million others who have suffered similar deaths. We join together with God in His grief for these little ones.

By God’s grace, we vow that her death will not be in vain. By this memorial service, we hope to challenge the conscience of the American people. When we realize that abortion brutally terminates the life of an innocent child, I believe they will rise up in moral outrage and put an end to this ultimate act of child abuse.

Finally, may this memorial service challenge us, the advocates of life, to a renewed determination. As Abraham Lincoln said in his Gettysburg address, "It is for us the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work...to the great task remaining before us...that we resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, Under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth."

WASHINGTON FOR JESUS, April 29,30 1996

"Let the redeem of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy." (Psalms 107:2)

In the 1980’s the theme was unity, in 1988 it was forgiveness, now in 1996 the theme of Washington for Jesus is the future of our children. A trumpet blast from Heaven is calling Christians throughout the land to come to Washington DC to decree that, " Bill Clinton is not the problem, therefore Bob Dole is certainly not the solution. Jesus is the Standard and he alone is the answer to what is ailing the United States of America." Christians will be gathering by the hundreds of thousands at the steps of the nation’s capitol to lift up the name of Jesus and to publicly testify of His delivering power. To declare to a wayward nation, "In the midst of AIDS, drugs, abortion, racism, homosexuality, the occult, and the other giants in the land that are seeking to destroy our young, God alone has the power to hear from Heaven , forgive our sins, and heal our broken land."

Please pray for Flip Benham, Norma McCorvey, and I as we travel to this powerful event to bear witness to these truths espoused above. The national leaders of WFJ have invited Operation Rescue National to briefly share the great things the Lord has done for one called Norma McCorvey. This is a wonderful opportunity to declare amongst the people the marvelous deeds of our Lord. I believe just as the enemy exploited Norma to bring this curse upon the land, Jesus will use Norma to repair the breach, release forgiveness to God’s people, and bring upon Norma a great outpouring of love from God’s people.

Please continue to remember us in your prayers and your giving. The battle is raging and the spiritual warfare is fierce. We very much need your support at this time. Thank you!

IN KING JESUS’ SERVICE,

Rusty Lee Thomas