Intercessors, This Is Our Time
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Intercessors, This Is Our Time
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Analysis. On IFA’s Pray with America’s Leaders, Canadian Pastor Artur Pawlowski shared an encouraging message for American believers. I pray that his words will stir your faith, despite what we see happening around us.
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Followers of IFA’s Headline Prayer know Pastor Pawlowski’s story. His arrest in April 2020 for refusing Covid mask mandates became a viral video. Again, in May 2021, he was arrested for holding worship services despite Covid mandates prohibiting church services. Pastor Pawlowski’s courage and boldness are an inspiration to us all.
“As I have talked to people, right now there is so much hopelessness over evil (corruption, tyranny),” Pastor Pawlowski said. “People are looking at it like Goliath, the giants, and the Philistines. They’ve lost so much hope.” He continued: “This is our time! For such a time as this, God has raised us up. David would have never become King if he never tackled the giants. That mountain in front of him, Goliath, was nothing but an obstacle for his destiny.”
Embrace the Fire
Pastor Pawlowski explained that the fire of God has a twofold meaning. The Bible speaks of fiery trials in 1 Peter:
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed (1 Peter 4:12–13 ESV).
Fires Test Our Character
Every believer will face trials and tests. No Christian will ever be exempt from fiery trials on this earth, because this is how we are tested and molded. We become more Christlike through our trials. God’s word tells us: Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope (Romans 5:3-4 ESV).
Fires Purify Us and the Church
The second purpose of fire is that of the Refiner’s fire, which is to purify His church.
These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world (1 Peter 1:7 NLT).
Pastor Pawlowski exhorted IFA intercessors: “Right now is the greatest opportunity we have been given during our lifetime. When we go into the fire, He purifies us and gives us a testimony to glorify God. Go into the fire, don’t run away from it. God deals with your enemies in the fire, just as He did with the three Hebrew boys in Daniel. In the fire, He shows up to set you free. You will find your testimony in the fire.”
Jesus Is Cleaning House
Covid lockdowns focused the whole world on the response of churches. Pastor Pawlowski described a vision he saw of Jesus flipping over the tables. Matthew 21:12–13 and Mark 11:15–18 tell us that Jesus was upset over what had become of the temple in Jerusalem. The temple was supposed to be a house of prayer for all the nations but was instead being used for personal gain. Jesus said, “… It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
Pastor Pawlowski believes that many churches today are not houses of prayer as the Lord intends. Instead, they are houses of entertainment, he points out, and the true Gospel message isn’t being preached.
This applies to American politics as well, he says. For a long time, there were things that remained hidden within our government. He says God is flipping things around and exposing those hidden things. Not only that, but governmental tyranny is being revealed, and those who are behind it seem to be exposing themselves.
Major Victory for Pastor Pawlowski
Pastor Pawlowski recently won his court appeal against government tyranny and the charges brought against him. Three judges found him innocent of a number of those charges, ruling that the invasion of his church and the arrests were illegal. The court ordered the state to pay all his incurred expenses, which means he will receive financial vindication. These victories are answers to prayer!
Pastor Pawlowski still faces several court trials ahead, though — for “inciting people to defy mandates” by coming to church, and for terrorist speech, among other charges. Further, God has given him his next marching orders, and he needs more prayers from this point on. Pastor Pawlowski is seeking wisdom about a run for the leadership of the local political party in Alberta. How wonderful it would be to see this pastor — who has stood so bravely and has been falsely accused, imprisoned for the Lord, and tortured — assume leadership within the very government that has persecuted him. Yes, Lord, let it be so.
Intercessors Are Lions
Pastor Pawlowski finished up his exhortation with some powerful words for us — may they resonate in our spirits and souls and become prophetic words to describe us: “We are lions. We follow the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. It’s time to start acting like lions,” he said, in a paraphrase from Proverbs: … the righteous are as bold as a lion (Proverbs 28:1).
Prayer
Father, we praise You and thank You for Pastor Pawlowski and his words of encouragement to the Church. We ask that You hedge him about on all sides. We pray for his upcoming court trials, Lord, that You would give him the words to speak. Let Your favor rest on him during those trials and also in his possible political campaign and work.
We pray also for other pastors and leaders in the Church. Father, we ask You to grant obedient hearts to those You are raising up to lead in government; let the Church be the change agent You desire us to be for such a time as this.
Help us to embrace fiery trials as the means of our growth in spiritual maturity and Christlikeness. You said that the pure in heart will see You. Purify our hearts, therefore; help us to surrender to You and Your will. Your will is perfect. Your ways and thoughts are higher than our ways and thoughts.
Refine and purify Your Church, Lord. You died so that we could be blameless, a church without spot or blemish. Even in the fire, You are with us: “… When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you (Isaiah 43:2 ESV).
Let Your Church rise up with holy boldness and full confidence in You. Help us to take our eyes off the storms and to fix them on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Are you encouraged by Pastor Pawlowski’s victory? If so, share this article with your friends and family to encourage them!
Author Gloria Robles is a passionate intercessor with a prophetic voice for today. For more from Gloria, go to Spotify or Anchor to listen to her podcast Something To Share. Photo Credit: Intercessors for America.
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I am so glad he already won because of Jesus.
Love that “we are lions” and we should be! So happy to see a Pastor rising up for truth despite the trials. Prayers!
Praise the Lord!!! What an encouraging article, Gloria!!!
Praying for Pastor Pawlowski as they follow You in your pathways for your Kingdom’s glory!
Father God,
We praise and thank you for the court victories You have already given Pastor Pawlowski!!!
We pray that this pattern will continue for him and for others who have been unjustly charged. May Your truth and righteousness and justice prevail over every scheme, plot, strategy, attack and trick of the enemy. May Your holy angels watch over, protect, defend, and guide Pastor Pawloski and his family. We give You all praise and honor in the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.
Dear God,
Help us to stay AWAKE to all Your prompting and write every word down You give us in our private time with You. This is so important because He speaks to all of us at some time or another. It is usually when we are distracted or (not purposely) not paying attention that we forget what He has told us in private either for someone else or for just us.
Help us to remember to hold up all our brethren Father and I pray for each person You have called into YOUR church (they are all Yours if they believe in the name of Jesus- but please show them if they have gotten off track in some way over entertainment, wrong attitudes, judgmental behaviors, wrong understandings of what You have actually said in Your word).
We ask You Father to keep us from evil and harm and also we ask that we would not be found asleep at the switch, or deceived. We ask You to hold up our families and brethren and allow us to come to You to honor You- the only God. Please hide us from the secret council of the ungodly and the wicked as King David has said.
We ask You to remove the BLINDING BEING DONE BY THE ENEMY and we ask You to block it.
In Jesus name, amen
What is interesting is there are people who claim to be Christ followers that believe what this pastor is doing is rebellion. They fail to see that God has commanded us to gather. He is the One we are to obey. If what God has said is different than what the government has said we obey God. I don’t get why they don’t understand that. They must not have read Daniel. Well done Pastor! You are a shining light to the world. And an example to the rest of the Christ followers. Lord help us to know your Word and obey it. That is not what saves us…Faith in your finished work on the Cross saves us. But obedience makes us more like You and points others to You! Help us rise to occasion!
My pastor here in the U.S. continued to have church services, and we watched from home via FB. No big deal. But my pastor isn’t the type to have a desire to do something that he knows with provoke police to come to our church so that he can then film the police and then proceed to call them vile names in spite of the fact that the police were extremely polite and professional.
Yeah but the police were acting like the Gestapo in a sense where they were acting only by obeying what their superiors were telling them to do without following what they truly believed in their hearts. Maybe some of them truly believed the Covid song and dance but I’m sure some of them felt very uncomfortable doing what they did to this pastor who was speaking nothing but the truth. So in my eyes I believe he had every right to call them what he did. Thanks and sorry if I offended anyone but just my opinion.
You didn’t offend me at all. I understand why he did what he did, but his yelling and name calling were not behavior of a pastor whatsoever.
I would say he was spiritually rebuking the devils that were causing this problem in the first place. We don’t see them but Jesus knew, and acknowledged that they were there. They incite others (without them even knowing what has stirred them up) against the church and against anyone who will stand up to them (not talking about the police). Also these spirits love to cause division among brethren and the church as a whole. They want to anger people so they are vulnerable to demonic attack.
Thanks for encouragement that this pastor has given us Lord be with him and I was that you would expose all the evil in his government and father God that you would place him in this place so for such a time as this that he become a voice for you in Jesus name
I have been truly blessed by this Pastor’s staunch righteous courage., in the face of all he has endured. I am keeping him in prayer, always. The scripture and his words ring so true!!
Amen and Amen! What an encouraging article. Yes, it’s time indeed that we the ecclesia be bold in the Spirit of the Living God to demonstrate His glory to this very needy world. Jesus come and help us be your ambassadors.
Stand up for what is right. I am speaking to myself as well!
Amen, let us fully follow the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, without reservation.
HEAVENLY FATHER, Thank YOU for protecting Pastor Pawlowski. He is YOUR humble servant. Surround him and his family and pets, his home and transportation and his church and ministry with YOUR DIVINE PROTECTION as he walks humbly before YOU, seeking to honor YOU and do the work that YOU have called him to do. In the precious and holy name of JESUS CHRIST. Amen
This is really good, it is the word of the moment, “Surrender To Jesus,” This is what’s it’s all about. Many of us have felt we have under achieved in God. I know I have, for me right now is to surrender. When surrender happens, We will fulfill our mission in life.