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| Musk Ox Pin Available click here |
| To view brief video clip of Muskoxen forming a defensive circle Click here |
by Donna Partow copyright@2004 The Mighty Musk Ox Warrior Princess Brigade began as a simple idea planted in my heart at a breakfast meeting with Joy Morse, the women's ministry director for a local Baptist church. It was there, at T. G. Eggington's in Tempe, Arizona, where I first heard the following story, which I have now re-told around the world: As the American Civil War (or War Between the States) was drawing to a close, the Confederate army moved from town to town, warning people to make way for the advancing Union army. One day they happened upon a small Virginia farmhouse and told the family they had to leave. But the woman explained, "I am a widow with three small children still at home. I have nowhere else to go." The soldiers tried to convince her to leave. "There is an army coming against you. Don't you understand?" "This is my home," she said. "I believe God has promised to protect us. This is where we'll stay." Well, that night The Union army did sweep through Virginia. And they burned and pillaged everything in their path. The next morning, in the midst of the rubble and the ashes, only one house stood. It was the house of that widow. Curious, the Confederate soldiers returned to ask, "Who were all those men guarding your house last night?" Well, we know who they were! God himself sent an army of angels. First, God asked her to stand firm. Then he enabled her to stand firm. Think about it: God ASKED her to stand firm and the minute she took a step of faith, he sent down help from heaven to enable her to stand firm. Astonishing. Yet I believe God wants to do the very same thing for every woman who fill demonstrate the same faith and determination to stand firm in her own home today. The true story of that widow's incredible faith has been passed down as a spiritual inheritance, now to the seventh generation of her descendants. Those descendants include Joy Morse, the woman I had breakfast with on that God-appointed day. In reflecting upon the blessings of God toward her family, Joy recently told me that she does not have a single blood relative who doesn’t know the Lord in a personal way. This family has managed to pass down, generation after generation, a valuable spiritual inheritance. That’s not easy to do. So often the power of faith, the vibrancy, is lost with each passing generation. The “older brother syndrome” starts creeping in. But that doesn’t appear to have happened to them. And I think that’s just remarkable. I often tease Joy, “Your family doesn’t have to pray the prayer of Jabez, they ARE the prayer of Jabez. They are blessed when they come in and blessed when they go out. Not that her whole family is perfect, not that they haven’t faced their share of hard times and heartache. They certainly have. But they know whom they have believed and they are absolutely persuaded that he is able to commit that which they’ve commited to him against that day. I know one thing many women struggle with in the midst of all the "small stuff" that constitutes our daily lives is feeling insignificant. Feeling like we don’t have some “great assignment” from God. Let me ask you this: Would you feel significant if you knew you had the potential to impact the eternal destiny of 19,683 people? Do you know that almost any woman in this room has the potential to do it? Here's how it works: First, you have three kids and raise them to love the Lord. Then each of those children has three children, and so on. In just nine generations, you'll have impacted the eternal destiny of 19,683 people May I share some of MY story with you? I, too, know what it is to wage a mighty battle for my children. I remember one day, when I was weary from the fight, I sat down at my kitchen table and just started weeping. My children came over, put their arms around me, and prayed for God to “help Mommy.” Mommy clearly needed all the help she could get. When they had finished praying, Leah, then just ten years old, looked at me and said: “Mommy, I think I know why all this is happening to you.” “Really, Leah," I replied. "Tell me about it.” And she said, “Mom, I think it’s because you are a First Generation Christian.” I was blown away. I asked: “What do you mean by that, Leah?” She said, “Think about it, Mom. No one in your family has ever been a Christian before. You’re the only one. Satan knows if he can beat you, it will be easy to steal us kids, then what chance will our family ever have? You have to stand firm mom. Don't let him beat you." Astonishing ! My ten year old had grabbed hold of a truth that eludes most adult Christians: Scripture plainly tells us, "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Lions always target the most vulnerable animal in the pack and that's usually the youngest. If you are a First Generation Christian, don't be surprised that fighting to protect your spiritual inheritance is a much tougher assignment for you than for the person next to you, whose mother and grandmother and great-grandmother were Christians. YOU are a primary target for attack, not them. It's not your imagination. Your life IS much more difficult. I used to look around my church at women who had been raised in Christian homes, whose families have been Christians for generations and think: “Her life doesn’t look like mine! Why doesn’t my life look like hers? She makes it look so easy and I’m having a nervous breakdown. What is the problem?” Listen, Satan has limited resources. He has to be strategic in how he deploys his forces. He is not going to waste ammunition on a woman with an unshakable foundation. That’s not to say women raised in Christian homes never endure any trials. Of course they do. But the devil knows if he launches an attack against them, he’s probably wasting his efforts. What’s she going to do? Count it all joy? I mean where’s the fun in that? She’s going to call on her extended family and they’ll gather around to support her. Even in the midst of the most painful tragedy, she’ll stand firm. And the worst part—from the devil’s perspective—she’ll end up doing more damage to his cause because people around her will marvel at her faith. I mean, at some point, he just sees, he ain’t gonna beat her. So why bother? She’s gonna resist the devil and he’s gonna flee. And guess where he’s gonna flee to? Right on over to your house, if you ARE, in fact, a First Generation Christian. He knows you have no foundation to build on. No support structure. No established supply lines. I mean, before your feet hit the floor in the morning, he’s on your case. It’s not your imagination. You are not having a nervous breakdown. It is for real. He wants to TAKE YOU DOWN. And do you know why? Because the devil is a mathematician. He understands about exponential growth. He understands the multiplied impact, generation after generation, of one woman who fights to pass on a spiritual inheritance to her children. I pray that God will give you a vision, right now, of a mighty army, 20, 000 strong, coming behind you into the kingdom of God. I pray that you will grab hold of all that’s at stake here. Some of you reading this right now are First Generation Christians. Some of you need to BECOME a first generation Christian. You need to embrace this free gift that God wants to give you. Free to you…but Jesus paid with his life that you might inherit a blessing. It's not complicated. You can pray right now: Dear Jesus, I acknowledge that I am lost without you. I am spiritually poverty-stricken. I need the inheritance you died to give me. I believe you died for MY sins, so I can receive forgiveness. I confess, here and now, that you are my Savior and I ask you to be Lord of my life. Amen. If you just prayed that prayer for the first time, PLEASE tell someone. Find a local church and join our on-line support group for First Generation Christians. If you are a First Generation Christian--I’m not talking about attending church. I mean if you are the first person in your family to take seriously the importance of following God, of having a personal relationship with the living God--this message is for you. I believe a light bulb has just gone on over your head. Maybe now, for the first time in your life, you finally understand why your journey has been so difficult. But I hope you also know, as you’ve never known before, that it’s Worth the price. That what you’re doing in your life, right now, will make a difference for all eternity. You are fighting the good fight so that your children, and grandchildren and great-grandchildren might inherit a spiritual blessing. Now I want to turn my attention to the rest of you. Those of you raised in Christian homes. Sometimes people will come up to me and apologize for not having a testimony. I tell them "testimony" is just a polite way of saying “Boy, you've made a mess of your life.” Don’t you think it’s interesting that if that widow's story had not been passed down, no doubt her descendants would be standing around apologizing for their lack of a testimony. The simple fact is, no family moves from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his blessed light without someone, somewhere saying, “THIS is the most valuable possession I have. I’m going to make sure it gets passed down to my children in a way that protects its value.” Maybe your mother, your grandmother, your great- grandmother paid that price for you and you just don't know about it. Don’t ever apologize for receiving the greatest gift any parent can give her children: the gift of a spiritual inheritance. But don't squander it either. Don't you be like Esau, who saw no value for what his father wanted to pass onto him. Don’t be an "older brother" -- one who lives in the Father's house but is far from expressing the Father's heart of compassion for the lost. There’s NO GUARANTEE that your children will have a passion for God just because you do. Esau walked away, while his brother Jacob followed God wholeheartedly. You just never know. In fact, I’d go so far as to say, it almost seems like there’s an Esau in every family. All you can do is give them the opportunity—it’s up to them what to do with it. But There is no greater gift you can give your children than a Godly inheritance. We spoke a few moments ago about roaring lions and how they prey upon the young. I want to shift gears from roaring lions to howling wolves. Up in the Arctic Circle there lives a mighty animal known as the musk ox. When the wolves, who prey upon the young musk oxen, begin to howl, the adult musk oxen form a circle around their young. And they stand there, and by the sheer force of their countenance they say to those wolves—if you want to destroy one of these babies, you’ll have to GET PAST ME. This is extremely rare in the animal kingdom. In fact, there is only one other creature on the planet--the African counterpart of the muskox--that forms a defensive circle. All other species turn and run in the face of danger. When I look at the church in America today, I have no choice but to conclude that the wolves are DEVOURING AT WILL. When I hear that the divorce rate In the church is actually higher than the divorce rate outside the church, I know the wolves are DEVOURING AT WILL. When I hear that the teen pregnancy rate is HIGHER among teens raised in Evangelical Christian homes. When I travel this country listening to tales that just rip my heart out…..I know, the wolves are DEVOURING IN the church. And when I look at this situation, one burning question comes to my mind: WHERE ARE THE MUSK OXEN? Where are the guardians of the church? Where are the women who have been blessed with a rich spiritual inheritance—the women who should be MIGHTY in the land? WHERE ARE THE MUSK OXEN? Where are those who will stand in prayer, forming a circle of spiritual protection around the weak? Where are those who will stand in the face of the devil and say, “If you want to destroy one more family in this church, you’re gonna have to GET PAST ME!” Where are the Musk Oxen? I think one of the greatest tragedies in the church today occurs when those who should be Mighty Musk Ox Warrior Princesses see those who are floundering—and rather than protecting them, they reach in and THROW THEM to the wolves. They judge and condemn. That’s not your job. That’s not your job. Let me ask you something: Are there certain women in your church-- week after week they have the same prayer requests? They never seem to make any serious progress in their spiritual growth. They are embroiled in one mess after another. They seem to be living in a sea of turmoil and chaos. And you smile politely, but inside your ROLLING YOUR EYES thinking, “Why can’t she JUST _______________? “ (You can fill in the blank with whatever it is you think she should be able to do.) You wonder: "What can’t she just get it together? WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT WOMAN” You can take it to the bank: 9 times out of 10, you'll discover that those women are wobbly-legged First Generation Christians. You know why she can’t get it together? Because she didn’t have what you had. She didn’t have a praying mother. She didn’t have a grandmother, sitting in a rocking chair, hour after hour, praying for her. Do you believe in the power of a praying grandmother? Then why are you astonished that her life doesn’t look like yours. You should be astonished if it did! Here's what I'm proposing: I want you to invest a portion of your inheritance into the lives of First Generation Christians. A vital part of your spiritual inheritance is the right to approach the throne of grace. To intercede for others. I’m raising up a mighty army of prayer warriors who will surround those familles who are struggling to create what you have been so freely given. When I do this at private church retreats, right about now the Musk Oxen start crying…… because they realize the women who stood just moments ago—identifying themselves as First Generation Christians—are the very women they’ve been rolling their eyes at. Women reading this weebpage come from many different churches, but I would urge you to give heed to this. The next time you ask yourself, “What is wrong with that woman? What is her problem?” Go ask her, “Are you, by any chance, a 1st generation Christian? Are you the first person in your family to be a Christian?” You have been given a great gift, my sisters, don’t you DARE apologize for that. But it comes with a high responsibility. And I want to challenge you, with all that is within me, to rise to the occasion. On behalf of 1st generation Christians everywhere. On behalf of our precious children, I’m begging you: rise to the occasion. We need you. The devil has hoodwinked the church with all this nonsense about “testimonies.” You don’t have to be a former drug addict to have a vital ministry. You have a far more powerful purpose in the church: You are a Mighty Musk Ox Warrior Princess. Won't you join our global prayer circle today? Listen to the audio of this message |
Will you join the ranks of women, raised in Christian homes all over the world, who are rising up in this critical hour of church history? Will you be one who stands in faith for the generations to come? Will you be one who stands in prayer as a guardian of your local church...and the church around the world? Will you be one who stands in the gap on behalf of First Generation Christians--those courageous women who are just beginning to build a spiritual legacy for their families? If so, then you can proudly proclaim: |
Mighty Musk Ox Warrior Princess Brigade |
