424. Prayer Day Conference 1926

Many friends must have prayed to God in secret for this conference. We really noticed that God who dwells in the secret place and who sees in secret rewarded us openly.

We also notice that the brothers who have been faithful in the work for years in various places have become steady in their course and have obtained great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. Several of them must already be considered deacons in the biblical sense of the word. We are all human, and there are many things to be saved from and saved to. However, if we were to postpone serving until we were perfect (perfected), there would certainly not be any servants on this earth. When a brother has served faithfully according to the light he has, with a perfect attitude of mind, and wants to follow in the Master’s footsteps in life and in doctrine, this must be sufficient for us. It is a comfort and a joy to meet together with such brothers.

The preaching at the conference was comprehensive. Friends testified of renouncing “demands,” which are in stark contrast to what it means to serve. Demands are Satan’s devices. They are an evil from the deepest darkness. Where people sense that others have demands on them, the natural reaction is to want to shut them out with iron bars. Give and it shall be given to you. Christ came to serve and give—not demand. It is the evil generation that requires a sign, that demands to be shown love, demands to be looked up to, demands to be always considered. The mind of Christ does not demand that there be good where nothing good is found—it only gives. The more we give, the more will be given to us.

We heard that victory over sin begins in our thought life, and that the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts, minds, and thoughts in Christ Jesus. Our thoughts must be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. The first place Satan comes to with his temptations is our thoughts. Even the Gentiles’ thoughts will defend or accuse others. So both good and evil powers influence our thoughts. “Playing” with sin in our thoughts is the same as making provision for the flesh so that lusts are aroused, and then we do not know when we will fall in sin. The battle against sin must begin as soon as an impure thought makes its presence known—if not, full victory is out of the question. There are plenty of Christians whose thoughts are completely corrupted because their thoughts are more connected to the things that belong to the flesh than to what belongs to the kingdom of God.

Between the meetings there were conversations about everything that pertains to godliness and victory, as well as about the Antichrist and the spirit of antichrist, which is approaching fast. We paid particular attention to what is happening in Italy these days, how the government and the church are being united. The Jesuits strongly desire their church to receive worldly power and prestige. Someone has written that these Jesuits are the very stirrup that helps the harlot who rides the beast to get up into the saddle. She mounts the beast a little anxiously, having a feeling that something may go wrong, but still she mounts. Rev. 17. Worldly honor and prestige mean more to her than God’s honor. We spoke together about much more than should be mentioned here, and we agreed to keep our eyes on the horn that is now growing up in Italy. It is not a common occurrence when, in the course of eight years, a village teacher can grow forth in power to become the dictator of the entire Italian population, can command every man that meets him to bow the knee and raise his right hand, and can get bishops to preach in their churches that they believe in Mussolini’s ruling spirit. The world wants to be deceived, and it is deceived, for God gives them over to a debased mind because they do not receive the love of the truth.

We do not know everything that is going on in Italy, but in the pamphlet we were reading, there were articles of faith referring to Rome’s glorification as a goddess, stating that she was tortured to death and buried, but was resurrected and ascended to heaven. We have all reason to be alert to such things—especially when we know that there are around 300,000,000 Catholics in the world, most of whom probably believe blindly in Rome as a goddess.

What we can say and exhort everyone to is the following:

Never bow your knees before anyone except God and His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Suffer death rather than worship anyone besides our exalted Messiah at the right hand of the Father, at whose feet all His enemies will be gathered. One day He shall consume them because they did not love the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. We do not know who the Antichrist is, but we are to consider the horns, i.e., everyone who grows forth in worldly and ungodly power. Dan. 7:8: “I was considering the horns . . .” etc.

We profited greatly from the conference, and we sensed the brotherly fellowship (the fellowship of the saints) to a great degree.

As the current issue is the last one for this year, I would like to thank everyone for the past year, for conferences, letters, and all love. But firstly and finally, we owe God and our dear Lord Jesus Christ the honor and thanks for everything. How would we manage without Jesus’ Spirit? May God bless the coming year. Greetings in the love of Christ to each single one. Your brother and fellow servant.