I want to share a heart-warming message from one of our partners in S. E. Asia. He continually seeks opportunities to disciple and train young believers in the gospel with the expectation that they will share what they learn with others. This is in an environment that is very anti-Christian. “In the midst of difficulty, God is opening doors to train His disciples with God’s Plan for His Disciples (GPHD). This coming week, April 10-16, is the Water Festival. During those days, churches plan to train their members with GPHD so they will be equipped to share the gospel. I sent some GPHD books to churches so they can train the believers in preparation for witnessing to others. Please pray for them.” This is not the only partner or place where God is moving like this. Each culture has its own way of accomplishing God’s work despite challenges and even strong opposition. There are many lessons we can learn from those who know God’s will for them and find a way of getting it done. “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:9–10).
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I bring you the next section of Randy’s training in Africa. We spoke briefly today about his time in Benin. What is so encouraging is the way students and pastors grasp the biblical principles and immediately want to pass them on to others. This is the Spirit at work! Keep Randy in prayer. TOGO (April 10-12) Please pray for smooth movement across the border from Benin to Togo. We are traveling by car, and I could not obtain a visa in advance for land entry. When we arrive, we will meet around 45 leaders under the oversight of Amand. Please pray for leadership decisions that must be made for the work to move ahead. And please pray for both Amand and Pete, an American missionary serving in Togo for around 25 years. Both face emotional burnout and physical health issues. May God restore peace and unity to the believers in this country. MALI (April 13-15) Please pray for Pastor Solomon who has suffered many family trials during his years of faithful ministry in leading leaders. His daughter, Juliana, has suffered from emotional trauma when her elder sister died in her arms two years ago. Even through many trials, Solomon has taken the training to northern Mali. Leaders there were repenting with tears because they initially resisted Solomon’s ministry. Unity has been restored. Northern Mali has many security challenges so let’s keep Solomon and his developing leaders there in our prayers. TRAVEL HOME (April 15-16) Both Joshua and I will fly to our homes. Joshua immediately has a major conference with EMS missionaries in Jos, Nigeria. Please pray for our return travels. “I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to Go on my behalf.” Romans 15:30 There is a paradox in the life of Jesus that we will never understand. He fully understood His purpose in “taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men…being found in human form” (Philippians 2:7). This involved unspeakable suffering and at the same time having joy the world will never understand.
In Jesus’ closing comments to the disciples just before His arrest, crucifixion, and suffering, He tells them “you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy” (John 16:20). On top of the three days of suffering and separation, Jesus reminds them that He is leaving them (14:2). How could they have joy in this moment after three and a half years of daily walking with Him? As Jesus ends those few hours with the disciples in prayer, they hear these words as He speaks to the Father, “But now I am coming to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves” (John 17:13). Jesus was asking the Father to make His joy “complete, or fully supplied” in them. How would this be possible? That joy is not complete because of what we do but is fulfilled in the relationship through the Holy Spirit. The first taste of this was only hours after the resurrection. “On the evening of that day… Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord” (20:19–20). Then Jesus “breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (22). The joy of Jesus is fulfilled in us by the Holy Spirit. There is no other way. How can anyone reconcile these two extreme emotions and thoughts?
“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death” (Mark 14:34). “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2). Because sorrow and joy were felt with infinite perfection in one Person at the same time, we are incapable of understanding how they merged together. The sorrow Jesus felt was because He knew fully the holy requirement of His Father in judging sin. He was about to receive the full weight of God’s wrath to the point of completely satisfying the requirement. At the same time, only Jesus could look into the future after His resurrection and fully understand the eternal glory, joy, and praise the Father will receive as a result of His Son’s willing sacrifice. For us, this infinite knowledge in one Person leaves us with nothing less than abandoned worship. As Randy leaves for another trip to specific countries in Africa, I ask that you keep him in prayer. He outlines his trip with a reminder from Paul’s visit with the Ephesian elders. “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house.” Acts 20:18-20 There is movement of God in the three countries of Benin, Togo and Mali that often looks like Paul’s ministry in Ephesus. These leaders are setting an example with much humility as they face trials of many kinds. Yet, in all these difficulties, we thank God for the faithfulness of indigenous leaders who are taking God’s Word to unreached peoples! Like Paul, they are bringing “the whole counsel” of God’s Word to reproducing leaders, using large and small group meetings to accomplish leadership development. This trip will focus on EMS graduations of God’s Plan for His Disciples. Pray that they will see a fruitful movement of the Great Commission in West Africa and beyond. TRAVEL TO AFRICA (April 6-7) Just before midnight on Thursday, I will fly to Paris, then on to Cotonou, Benin. Thanks for praying for rest so I can hit the ground running. Also, please pray for Joshua, EMS Cross Borders Coordinator who will travel from Nigeria to meet me in Benin. He will travel by land. Pray for safety! BENIN (April 7-9) Pastor Sodji & Comfort lead a group of around 40 key leaders. Sodji is a great church planter, and please pray for his coordination of the movement God is orchestrating. It takes a lot of administration to keep up with this work so please pray we can develop Timothy’s to help him with the load of leading leaders. In reading the Old Testament, I see principles at work in individuals that are not necessarily the Law given through Moses, but they are characteristics implanted by God in the hearts of those who want a relationship with the living God. In the roles filled by Hezekiah, the priests, the Levites, and those who were over various functions and responsibilities in Judah, they did their work with faithfulness and reflected that relationship.
“Hezekiah…did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. And every work he undertook…he did with all his heart and prospered” (2 Chronicles 31:11-21). When we fail to apply ourselves to the Lord’s work by listening to him speak to us and applying His truth, we become more interested in our agendas that have self as the center. That attitude will show in the quality of our work and whether it glorifies God or self. Paul affirms this principle when he says, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). Let’s face the challenge of being faithful to our calling so that God is honored and glorified. We might say that there was a ‘holy infectious movement’ that was started by king Hezekiah and then caught on by the priests and Levites (2 Chronicles 30:13-27). In the process of this movement, they did not skip making sure that everyone, including “sojourners” were consecrated (set apart) to the Lord. Finally, celebrating the feast of unleavened bread and the Passover were extended another week so proper preparation could be completed. Hezekiah took the lead in donating bulls and sheep to be sacrificed to the Lord. The depth of worship had not reached this level since the time of Solomon and perhaps would never be there again until the Lord comes again and restores the nation.
There are a few key points that must be considered in this event that have direct implications today:
We cannot reach the stage of “great joy” without first repenting. Any detours from God’s way will sabotage our experience of joy. Consider Peter’s advice to the Jews in the early days of the Church: “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus” (Acts 3:19–20). How refreshing it is when we experience “restoration” in a way that produces worship, not just on a personal level, but when it spills over and “all the people rejoice because” the place of the Lord’s worship is central to all of life. This takes place in Judah because king Hezekiah takes on the role of proper leadership. This is why God established leadership in the beginning. What if Adam had fulfilled his role as head and leader and not allowed Eve to influence his actions? As in the example of Hezekiah, the failure of others is no excuse for me (see 2 Chronicles 29:20-36). Repentance and doing what is right should begin with acknowledging the place that belongs only to God. In worship we gain confidence and needed power to pursue what honors the Lord.
It is amazing how far-reaching king Hezekiah’s thoughts were as he planned for Israel to celebrate the Passover (2 Chronicles 30:1-12). Though the nation had been split for over 200 years, Hezekiah held onto God’s purpose for all Israel. In doing this, he did not compromise God’s requirements for the priests who served in the Passover. It delayed the timing of this event, but it was more important to follow God’s standard of holiness than to regard a certain date. I wonder how many times we are more concerned about the outward appearance, the form, and traditions we hold dear and not concerned about the inner character of the persons who do them. This principle is often repeated in the NT. Acts 20:28 is an example: “Pay careful attention to yourselves”comes before “and to all the flock.” Jesus gives us another example: ““But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb (form and tradition), and neglect justice and the love of God (inner character and the relationship). These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others” (Luke 11:42). Repentance had led the way for all that Hezekiah did in his reign. The preparation of the heart was critical to his success, and so it must be for us. How often do we sit before the Lord and ask Him to search our hearts? (See Psalm 138:23-24). It is very moving to the heart to read of God’s people repenting of their ways and returning to the Lord and what honors Him. At the age of twenty-five, Hezekiah had already seen more than his eyes should have seen through the life of his father Ahaz. Yet, God had given him a degree of maturity that caused Hezekiah to realize how far Judah had departed from the Lord and what was due Him (2 Chronicles 29:1-19). Before bringing the priests and Levites into the situation, Hezekiah goes to the house of the Lord, opens, and repairs its doors. An act like this reveals to us where his heart was set.
This is followed with specific instructions to the priests and Levites:
What is it that makes us stay focused on a difficult task like this? Someone who sees the damage that has been done to our relationship with God and how it has marred His glory, and then leads the people on a road to restoration. They must be determined to remove everything that hinders others from seeing that glory. For “revival” to be effective, there must be a process in the hearts of leaders first and then they start doing what all the people must do! It always encourages my heart when I receive updates from around the world, especially from places where persecution and poverty are more intense. For those of you who follow the news of Christians who are suffering in many unfavorable countries, you know that India has pockets where darkness has added to their suffering. Having been in some of these places myself, I am very aware of the tension, and often fear, that goes along with these conditions. While this is very true and real, there is something else taking place. Great comfort is being found in returning over and over to the Scriptures to strengthen their faith and foundation of truth in their souls. This renews confidence and determination to press on despite conditions. I can just see Paul sitting in prison under very adverse conditions and dictating to Epaphroditus his letter to the Philippians. “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel” (Philippians 1:12). Whether it is prison or poverty, God is at work in India. We ask you to pray for them, especially in places like Odisha State. There are many disciples who are being renewed through the study of God’s Plan for His Disciples (Hindi). |
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