C. Peter Wagner: In allprobability, what happened
in Adrogue' in 1987 would
not have happened in 1977,
ten years earlier.
Of all the nations in Latin
America, Argentina, along with a few others such as Uruguay and Venezuela, had not seen the rapid growth of Protestant or evangelical churches so characteristic of the content as a whole.
Argentines had been widely known as indifferent or resistant to the gospel. With the exception of the extraordinary impact of the Tommy Hicks evangelistic crusade in the early 1950s, the evangelical movement in Argentina had been relatively stagnant.
A dramatic change came with the Falkland Islands war against Great Britain in 1982 when Argentines tried unsuccessfully to occupy the Malvinas Islands, as Argentines call them.
The British victory caused a radical change in Argentine social psychology. Argentines had gained the unenviable international reputation of being the proudest people in Latin America, but their national pride was shattered.
Many became bitter. The church had failed them, the military had failed them, Peronism had failed them. They were ready to try something new!
The basis for Argentine pride had been seriously eroding well before 1982. Once the world's tenth strongest economic power and boasting a standard of living higher than that of southern Europe, Argentina was justly considered by many as the jewel of South America.
Juan Domingo Peron was flying high as their political leader
through much of the 1950s and 1960s. But as his influence began
to wane in the early 1970s, Peron linked up with a powerful occult practitioner, Jose Lopez Rega, known popularly as el brujo (the warlock).
Lopez Rega served under Peron as social welfare minister, and after Peron's death in 1974 he became the chief advisor to his third wife, Isabel Peron, during her two years as president.
He succeeded in erecting a public monument to witchcraft (since dismantled), and is said by many to have openly cursed the nation when he lost power with the military coup of 1976.
The wicked principalities and powers over Argentina were, quite obviously, having a field day. Their mission is to steal, kill and destroy, and they were doing all that and more to one of the finest countries of the world.
Little wonder the nation is now ripe for the gospel message. True enough, in such a spiritual vacuum and surrounded by such social miser, almost any change is seen by many as a change for the better.
The power of witchcraft continues to escalate. Occult artifacts are displayed in store windows on every other block. Carlos Menem, Argentina's president at this writing, consults regularly with a "personal witch" named Ilda Evelia, whom he has retained for 28 years.
Somos also quotes a high governmental official,
"The truth of the matter is that the majority of us consult
witches. And we do it very frequently."
(Emphasis and Google image added)
(On Thursday's post, be sure to read how the light of the gospel of Christ is bursting forth in Argentina as never before...)
Warfare Prayer
#9 Argentina's Decline
By C. Peter Wagner
(pgs. 22 - 24) Regal Books
Prayer for your Pastor: Family - Almighty God, shelter _________
and his/her family. Cover their home, and preserve their time together. In Your faithfulness, meet their financial needs in Christ Jesus, and cancel the assignments of the enemy against them (Ps. 91:1; Phil. 4:19).
Let’s pray:
Father, although Argentines had
been widely known as indifferent
or resistant to the gospel, I trust that
there is warfare to change all that.
As I learn more about warfare prayer, may I be willing to get involved, and to see You manifest Your Holy Spirit's amazing ability to change people's hearts.
I ask this in Jesus' name, Amen.
Father, although Argentines had
been widely known as indifferent
or resistant to the gospel, I trust that
there is warfare to change all that.
As I learn more about warfare prayer, may I be willing to get involved, and to see You manifest Your Holy Spirit's amazing ability to change people's hearts.
I ask this in Jesus' name, Amen.
Today’s Bible verse: Is. 30:1 "Woe to the rebellious children, says the LORD."
Today’s quote: Ron Susek - "Whenever Mark Rubeck writes, Satan has serious problems as saints are enabled to advance. The Satanic Revival replaces ignorance with information, fear with boldness and immaturity with a workable plan of action."
Some thoughts today: Struggle brings change. It's the key to the process of changing us. God leaves some specific problems for us to overcome.
- The fact that we have enemies (Judges 3:1-2) is so that God can teach us how to fight and get what He wants us to have.
Some thoughts today: Struggle brings change. It's the key to the process of changing us. God leaves some specific problems for us to overcome.
- The fact that we have enemies (Judges 3:1-2) is so that God can teach us how to fight and get what He wants us to have.
- Life is warfare. It's something worthwhile to fight for!
23rd- Thursday’s post: #10 Spiritual Vitality
C. Peter Wagner
25th- Saturday's post: How Do Others Experience Me?
Christine Wyrtzen
26th- Sunday evening's post: He Touched Me (Behind the Song)
Diana Leagh Matthews
28th- Tuesday's post: #11 Evangelist Carlos Annacondia
C. Peter Wagner
A popular post: Prophets Who Persevered for the Power
Dutch Sheets tells us in his book, Intercessory Prayer, “When the prophet Elijah came to the widow’s son who had died, he spread himself out on the corpse face-to-face and prayed three times" (see 1 Kings 17:21).
"Why did it take three times?"
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