In Ephesians 6:17-18, Paul makes the connection between the life of war and the work of prayer. “Take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, will all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.” Until we feel the force of this, we will not pray as we should. We will not even know what prayer is.
As in war, prayer is the communication with headquarters by which the weapons of warfare are deployed according to the will of God. That is the connection between the weapons and prayer in Ephesians 6. Prayer is for war. Let the Nations be Glad – The Supremacy of God in Missions, John Piper, Baker Academic, 2007, page 48. HOW ARE YOU USING THE WORD? Since it is given us by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21), should we not make it our top priority to earnestly seek Him in prayer so we properly use it?
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IN MATTERS OF FINANCE THERE SHOULD BE INFORMATION, PRAYER AND FAITH
“Information results in inspiration. To withhold information regarding either the work or the needs, is to deny God’s people the spiritual blessing that would otherwise be theirs. Moreover, untold thousands will never hear of the existence of many splendid efforts, unless we make known the work. We need the inspiration and blessing missionaries give through their work and needs. We are not all called to be a George Muller. But then, besides telling the people, we must tell God. Prayer and missions go hand in hand. The greatest of all help in missionary work is that of intercession. We must advance on our knees. God had promised to answer prayer. If we are going to trust God, we must really trust Him. He is able to move in hearts of His people in answer to the prayer of faith and cause them to act on the information given, and contribute to the work.” Oswald J. Smith, The Challenge of Missions, page 134-135 WE MUST CONCENTRATE ON THE UNOCCUPIED AREA
“If we want to bring back the King, if we want to hasten His coming, we must take the Gospel to the last tribe, the last people, the last nation. We must go to “the regions beyond,” to the places where “Christ…has not been named” (Romans 15:20). That was always Paul’s method. He did not enjoy building on another man’s foundation. The place of greatest need is always God’s place of greatest opportunity. Jesus never forgot the “other towns” (Mark 1:38) and the “other sheep” (John 10:16). Oswald J. Smith, The Challenge of Missions, page 134 Jan. 14-16, 2015. Specifics of the conference will be recalled only in general terms due to the sensitive nature of the event. Getting the gospel into Buddhist people groups (the general subject) is often approached through a very academic lens with a primary emphasis on getting to know the Buddhist culture which is antithetical to a Pauline model of evangelism. We had to remind ourselves what Paul says, “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,” (Philippians 1:18).
What stirred our hearts was that there were individuals who had the same biblical mind-set as us in many disciplines of missions. This became evident after our two workshops, one on Wednesday and one on Thursday. One brother who has a training center in Chiang Mai took thirty manuals with him and wants the students to work through the course. He is very interested in translating GPHC into Mandarin since he has students from China. During the conference when short presentations were made by ministries in different countries, one of the presenters mentioned their emphasis on ‘tent-making missionary’ training which clearly follows a Pauline model. Another person working in Cambodia is interested in translating GPHC into the Khmer language. Though there are no unreached people groups in Cambodia, the idea of equipping the church there so it can effectively carry the gospel to unengaged and unreached in Laos, Vietnam and Thailand is truly inspiring. Other contacts during the conference had varying degrees of interest and promising comments. Only the Lord knows what He will do with our presence at this occasion. Please be praying for God to take His seed which we sought to sow and cause it to germinate, grow and bring much fruit and glory to our Father. Though we know our labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58), we desire to be as effective for the Lord as possible (1 Cor. 16:9). We are not getting any younger, so our years and the urgency of the Lord’s work demand this! We left the conference mid-morning as it was finishing and headed to the YMCA where Tim and I will stay; Tim for three nights before flying to Vietnam for GPHC training and introductory meetings. I will stay here for two weeks; one week of follow-up training with the Karen Baptist College students and one week introducing the manual to Karen Leaders. Continuing to proclaim Christ! Jan. 13-16, 2015. By 5 a.m. we were in a taxi on the way to the airport and praying that our faithful God would give us favor regarding the weight issue and safety during the flight. As we arrived at BKK and made our way to the check-in desk, we kept wondering what would happen. Our concern was not for ourselves but for those who God would impact with GPHC and the ultimate impact on unengaged and unreached people groups. At the counter we optimistically placed our two suitcases and the box on the scale. To our thrill and amazement, the weight was 59.6 kilograms--- just under the 60 kilogram limit! We were filled with praise and thanksgiving for such a perfect answer to our prayers.
Arriving at Chiang Mai Airport, we retrieved our bags and that special box of manuals. Through our registration and communications over attending the conference, we expected to be picked up at the airport. We waited for an hour, and then decided to take a taxi to the hotel. After checking in at the front desk and getting the bags to our rooms, our next task was to purchase large envelopes that would hold the manual, a CD, letters of introduction and instruction and our brochure. We then would pick up the four cases of manuals that “A” shipped to our “Timothy” at the TKBC. In addition to the things listed above, the CD contained: · God’s Plan for His Church (the interactive version that allows persons to complete the manual on their computer. · The Seminary Course, God’s plan for His Church, Foreword by David Hesselgrave · Letter of Introduction · Letter of Instructions for completing the manual · Four Books o Church Planting Movements by David Garrison o Missionary Methods, St. Paul’s or Ours by Roland Allen o The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church by Roland Allen o The Challenge of Missions by Oswald J. Smith · Several articles by Ralph Winter: Finishing the Task · A current list of the Unengaged and Unreached People Groups by Joshua Project · Brochure of New Foundation International and our calling cards Let me emphasize that all of this is provided FREE to every attendee because of the generous support of so many. For any of you who have been part of this, WE SAY THANK YOU!! Tim and I first went down to Central Plaza where we knew there was a stationery section in a department store that would have large envelopes. We also went to a printer who copied the two letters and printed the entire Seminary Course in order to display this at the conference for anyone interested in using it in a Bible College or Seminary. While we waited for the printing to be done, we headed to the stationery store and got a bite of lunch (Pizza Hut no less!). After getting in a taxi with the address for Brother "W", we hoped the driver would know the area where he lived. The problem with having a visual memory of streets and landmarks is that we cannot give directions by street name. We showed the driver a map and pointed to the hospital that was near the address, but that was only a partial help. At one point, the driver stopped and we called our brother who was able to give our taxi driver clearer directions. I felt it was important not to rush our visit with Brother “W” by just picking up the boxes and then leaving. He has given so much of his life to carrying the Gospel to the Karen in northern Thailand, and now in his late seventies and limited in what he can do, we wanted to spend a little time encouraging this messenger of the gospel. We sensed his disappointment in not being able to go as he had before and his mind giving way to ‘lesser things’. But his love and joy in our fellowship was very sweet. He wanted to take us back to the hotel with the four cases of manuals, but he could not find his driver’s license and had the wisdom not to take a risk. His pickup truck would have been perfect for the task. “W” decided to at least take us to a main road nearby where we would be more likely to find a taxi. Within a minute or two he had hailed one. The next challenge was negotiating a price because of the heavy cases we were bringing with us. We have learned after many times and many trips that negotiating too hard can cause the taxi driver to just drive off for more revenue with someone else. Thanks to Tim’s quick thinking, we avoided losing this taxi truck that could do the job and paid what he asked for. When we arrived at the hotel, the driver seemed quite satisfied and even helped unload our cargo. Our next challenge was getting our loaded cart to the other tower of the hotel and the third floor. Pushing the heavy cart up a steep ramp on the first floor, we found an elevator that took us right to the third floor and very near the conference room. We stowed the cart against a wall so we could get settled into our rooms and then come back to assemble the packets. With a short night before, I took a nap and then headed back to the conference area and began creating a system for stuffing the envelopes. Tim joined me shortly after I started and between the two of us we had completed over 120 packets before heading to our rooms for the night. Praise the Lord for all the small “59.6” events that made things like this possible. Stay tuned for the next entry. God continues to show Himself faithful for HIS GLORY! Jan. 9-12, 2015. The flights to Bangkok this time were perhaps the best I have ever experienced. Though I did not have an empty seat next to me on the legs from Dallas to Tokyo and from Tokyo to Bangkok, the Lord gave me several hours of sleep which I believe was a great help in acclimating to the new time zone. I arrived late Saturday night and Tim came Sunday morning. It is always a climactic moment when we are together in other countries doing the Lord’s work.
Tim arranged that we have lunch at 2:30 p.m. with “A” who along with her mother, kindly agreed to store 11 cases of manuals that were shipped from the printer in New Delhi, India. She also shipped four cases to Chiang Mai for us so they would available for the conference there, where Tim had been asked to give a presentation of GPHC during two of the workshops on Wednesday and Thursday. We wanted to thank them for serving us with such willing hearts. It was wonderful to meet them for the first time. Tim told me the story of how “A” came to Christ when she was in NC years ago and how this has affected her family. What a bright, fervent spirit! We took the train from Siloam station to Siam and found the restaurant she said we should meet at. It was a delightful time together and it strengthened our relationship with them. Just to confirm their servant’s heart, they would not allow us to pay for the lunch. Such is the spirit of so many people God has put in our lives. We do not ask for this, but God in His overflowing grace has freely given to us through those whose hearts have been regenerated by Christ. Monday was a day spent in getting our brochures and cards printed and planning how we would put packets together for the conference, where they expected 200 to attend. On my previous trip, I came across a printer very near the Bangkok Christian Guest House, who would print for us at a reasonable price. Because the ‘letter’ paper size in S. E. Asia is 9 x 11.5, it is challenging to take an 8.5 x 11 brochure and make it fit into a tri-fold paper that is a little larger. They had the graphic skills to create a near perfect fit so the folds would be in the right place. As you will see throughout this journal, there are many small situations where God has provided what we need at the right time and in the right way. We do not consider these for our comfort, but that He is glorified through all we do and that we strive to make Him known to the world through every detail in life. After talking through the needs of the conference and our promise to provide manuals to the Chinese students at the training center in Chiang Mai, we decided to take another box of manuals with us on our flight the next morning. The question was---would this extra weight tip the scale over our combined allowed limit of 60 kilograms? Stay tuned for the next journal entry tomorrow. WE SHOULD MAKE IT A RULE TO AIM FOR THE LARGEST CENTER OF POPULATION
“This was Paul’s method. He seldom went to the village; he went to the city. He never sought the back street; he sought the well-known, centrally located synagogue. He struck for the market place where everybody congregated. Within a few days or hours at the most, he had everyone taking. He planted the gospel first of all in Ephesus, Corinth, Philippe, and Rome, all great world centers. And from these large cities the gospel was sounded out to all regions round about.” Oswald J. Smith, The Challenge of Missions, page 134 Jesus outlined to Ananias the scope of Paul’s ministry at his conversion: “to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). Kings are not usually found in villages. Paul was determined to return to Jerusalem in spite of persecution that he would face and the pleading of many who urged him not to go (Acts 21:10-14). While this is not a fixed “rule”, it is worth serious consideration if we desire to have the greatest impact possible. NATIVE PASTORS AND CHURCHES SHOULD NOT BE SUPPORTED BY FOREIGN FUNDS
“The work should be self-supporting, self-governing and self-propagating from the start. No one can be healthy and strong while leaning on another, and the habit once started, is hard to break. Churches have become weak and indolent rather than aggressive and powerful as a result of foreign support. The vision of evangelism and its responsibility has been lost, and the outcome, in many cases, has been most disastrous.” Oswald J. Smith, The Challenge of Missions, page 133 These words seem very radical, but if they are compared to the model of Paul in Acts 20:34 and 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9, we see that they have a biblical foundation. There is no indication in the Early Church, as recorded by Luke in Acts, that new church plants were supported financially by Antioch (the sending church) or Jerusalem (where the church started) except in a time of famine. It is good to ask ourselves; ‘what will increase the spontaneous expansion of the gospel and church planting?’ I suggest that a return to Scripture and a Pauline model led by the Holy Spirit is critically essential. THE CHIEF WORK OF THE MISSIONARY MUST BE THE TRAINING OF INDIGENOUS CHRISTIANS
We can never send out a sufficient number of foreign workers to occupy every village, town and city throughout the world. But we can, with a few missionaries, train enough indigenous workers to evangelize every nation (ethnos or people group). That was the policy of Jesus. He trained the twelve, then the seventy, and sent them forth. Let us follow His example. Let every one of our missionaries choose and train his twelve and his seventy. The Challenge of Missions, Oswald J. Smith, page 133 OUR MISSIONARIES SHOULD NOT BE PASTORS OF NATIVE CHURCHES
We must not “localize” our work, but keep the vision of the “whole field”. The “whole world” must ever be kept in view. As soon as converts have been won and a church formed, elders should be appointed to act as overseers of the flock, and the missionary pass on, following the example of Paul, to unevangelized fields. The Challenge of Missions, Oswald J. Smith, page 132 |
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