Acts of Grace 42
9 THE NUMBER OF MAXIMUM.- Part 2
By Pastor Henry

The year 2009, being the 9th year of the millennium, is a very important year that will bring significant changes and turning points, both positive and negative to nations and communities throughout the world. We have learned that 9 is the number of maximum. It is like a double-edged sword, wielding maximum blessings and maximum curses. In the 9th day of the 9th month (September) of the 9th year (2009), spirit activity will reach its peak or maximum, with long-ranging effects impacting the rest of the year, the next year and even the years to come.

This season of time is very, very important for Malaysia because I believe Malaysia has a prophetic destiny. God has a destiny for the church in this nation and at this time of decision-making, we need to be alert and intercede, because what happens in our nation will directly affect us all. At this juncture in Malaysian history, from the months of August and September onwards, great activity is taking place in the spirit realm, and all of it is so important because of 9.9.9. We may not realize how significant it is - it seems the enemy knows but the church does not know.

Satan knows how to exploit and harness significant times and seasons while the church, like Jonah, is fast asleep. When God told Jonah to go to the east and prophesy and preach the gospel to the people of Nineveh who were about to perish in their sins, what did Jonah do? He didn’t go east. He went west instead. God told him to go up, he went down and he went to sleep. And while he was sleeping, the storm came, and the ship began to sink and all the unbelievers in the ship cried out to their gods – and Jonah was still fast asleep. He is like today’s church. He is like today’s Christian.

This year, 2009, the world community is commemorating two men who changed the course of history – one, a bible-believing man who is known as the “father of modern science” and the other, an atheist who taught the world to believe that man evolved from monkeys. 2009 commemorates the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei and his invention of the world’s first telescope in 1609. Watch the 9’s. In 1609, this man used the telescope and that really broke the space barrier and opened up the arena of space research. Now Galileo was a Jew and he claimed to be a bible student and a bible teacher. But 2009 is also the year that the global community has put aside to commemorate Charles Darwin and the publication of his book, The Origin of Species. Darwin was born in 1809 and he published The Origins of Species in 1859. Again, see the 9’s there.

Here we see two lives that show us the reality of life and death - a two-edged sword. One is a man who believed in God and the bible and brought great breakthroughs to the human race. The other, also a Jew, who chose to remove God from his equation and formula, proclaiming that man was descended from monkeys and apes. According to Karl Marx, the founder of communism, the greatest tool the communists used in the propagation of communism, was the theory of evolution espoused by Charles Darwin. Think about it. One, a heavenly, gifted man who blessed humanity. The other, so demonic and destructive, who brought great harm and suffering to the God-given dignity of man.

You see the maximum. God gives us the maximum of benefits, gifts and character. There are 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 13:8-10) - word of knowledge, word of wisdom, gift of faith, gift of healings, gift of miracles, prophecy, gift of discernment of spirits, gift of tongues and the interpretation of tongues, so you have all these 9 gifts. Then there are the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. But then, the bible also speaks about maximum judgment - there were 9 people mentioned that were stoned to death, 9 people afflicted with blindness as the result of sin and 9 others afflicted with leprosy in the Old Testament alone. All these also show us that maximum 9 can mean maximum blessing or maximum judgment. The two-edged sword.

Now I say all of these to bring you to the point of prayer and godly purpose and action. Even right now, on 31 October, Halloween is being celebrated with tricks and treats and without knowing, people are putting curses on one another. This is followed a day later by All Saints Day on 1 November and All Soul’s Day on 2 November, but weeks before these dates, there was increased spirit activity as graves were being visited and the dead were being worshipped in many parts of the world. Even as the lost world celebrates the demonic and the dead, we, the church are called to prayer and fasting. As the spirit realm experiences maximum activity, so should Christians be involved in maximum prayer. Where there is maximum darkness, let there be maximum light!