As news of what God is doing through this ministry arrives home, I cannot help sharing a few pieces with you. With all the bad news we see every day through media, it is good to allow our hearts to be refreshed with God’s abounding grace among the nations. 1) The Bengali translation and printing of God’s Plan for His church is the finest job I have seen done anywhere. The quality is excellent and I believe the translation will be good also since the translator and printer are indigenous to India. This will have a direct impact on Northeast India. 2) I heard testimony from a lady who decided after our teaching in Yangon, Myanmar in 2014. She decided to plant a church among the lepers in Chin State. She went into the leper colony and preached the gospel and God responded with not only physical healing but spiritual healing (salvation). The church has grown and the adjacent town has torn down a dividing wall that separated them from the lepers! God is mightily at work! 3) We heard one student in Myanmar share his complete vision of using God's Plan for His Church and another share his ten year strategy, well, actually his 25-year vision for this country; comparing it to the gospel going from Jerusalem to Rome through Paul. URGENT PRAYER NEEDED! As many of you may have seen in the news, there is renewed unrest in South Sudan where we introduce GPHC to pastors earlier this year. We have planned to return in September for the follow-up training. Please pray for peace and protection for this country and the pastors. Also pray that God will hold this door open so the gospel will spread in this land. Thank you for standing with us through prayer, support and interest in what God is doing. “Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah” (Psalm 67:3–4).
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“Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”” (Matthew 9:37–38). After the disciples watched Jesus as He expressed inward emotions of compassion for the plight of humanity, He had four thing to say to them that give us very important instructions regarding missions and what we should be doing to address their condition. (1) “The harvest is plentiful” – As we look at the mission field and evaluate our experiences in seeking to evangelize the unsaved, we tend to see difficulties and obstacles, rather than a harvest that is plentiful. Recounting years of plowing, sowing, and seeing few results makes us doubtful. Why? We have not asked the “Lord of the harvest” to give us eyes to see as He sees. (2) With an estimated 4.96 billion people unsaved in 2016 and 6,671 unreached people groups or 3.12 billion souls still unreached, the number of workers is very short. It is possible that there are over 51,000 long-term missionaries around the world. That is one missionary for every 61,000 unreached people (a). I would agree with the Lord that the laborers are few. (3) The desperate need of the moment is prayer, asking the “Lord of the harvest” to prepare and equip those He will call and send. Often we approach this need backwards by making emotional pleas. There is a danger of manipulating hearts without asking the Lord to produce faithful, effective laborers who He will call by the Holy Spirit. (4) Those persons the Lord has prepared will be ready for sending out by the Holy Spirit who prepared them and called them. With His sending, we can be confident of His power also being evident in their ministry so that they are effective in the harvest. Lord of the harvest, open the eyes of our hearts to see as You see. Knowing that the harvest is not all gathered in, give us consistent prayerful hearts. First prepare my heart, and all those You will send into Your harvest fields. Call and send us with your power into Your harvest. Amen! https://joshuaproject.net/ “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).
Many of us go into crowded places; large stores, major downtown areas, airports, and other places where we see masses of humanity. We see them in news reports, TV programs and publications. Yet, how often do our thoughts turn to considering their real condition? Are we more concerned about getting our business done so we can get out of the crowd? Jesus gives us a wonderful example of how He looked at people with compassion because of their condition. The effect of sin on humanity has brought a terrible distortion of God’s purpose for mankind. Sin has brought evil pursuits into the heart of man so that they “harass” their fellow man or woman to the point of feeling helpless. It would be unfair for me to mention some of the examples that have come to my attention lately, because as soon as I mention one, there are a thousand others just as bad; some worse than we can imagine. Anger and frustration at perpetrators of evil will not bring relief. Electing certain people into the offices of government will not instantly launch a worldwide solution. Developing a better relief program only goes so far and is not the answer. There is an answer and Jesus points to the solution in the last phrase of this verse: “because they were…like sheep without a shepherd.” We must carry this principle forward before we look at the next two verses. Compassion is part of being a shepherd. A true shepherd looks deeper than the surface problems to the root issues and leads the sheep to that answer. A shepherd will make huge sacrifices and suffer discomfort for himself so he can bring the sheep to a place of safety, comfort, rest, and satisfying food. Are you carrying the gospel to the “harassed and helpless” because you have a shepherds heart? Tomorrow we will look at the next two verses where Jesus expands on the solution. In two previous blogs, I mentioned Demas who deserted Paul for the world and Alexander who did him much harm (2Timothy 4:11, 14). We must not leave this subject of those who were key people in Paul’s life without mentioning the comforters and faithful men who stood by him. One of these special people was Titus.
2 Timothy 4 does not give us any details about Titus except that he had gone to Dalmatia (4:10). To understand the character of this man we must piece together numerous passages to give us a clue in what kind of person he was. After a three year period of personal training with the Lord in Arabia, Paul went to Jerusalem to visit Peter and then spent fourteen years in “the regions of Syria and Cilicia” (Galatians 1:17-24). Paul then went back “again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with” him (2:1). We must assume that Paul met Titus early in his ministry since he is mentioned in Paul’s first letter. The next chronological mention of Titus is when Paul went to Troas expecting to find Titus there and doesn’t. Paul’s account of this event gives us a good insight into their relationship; “my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there” (2 Corinthians 2:13). Paul continues to express deep feelings for Titus in the following verses: “But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus” (7:6). “Therefore we are comforted. And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all” (7:13). “Thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you” (8:16). “As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit” (8:23). These references speak for themselves. WHAT A DISCIPLE AND COWORKER IN THE GOSPEL!! I close this blog with Paul’s address in the personal letter to Titus: “To Titus, my true child in a common faith” (Titus 1:4). No wonder that Paul was confident in this spiritual son so that he could leave Titus “in Crete, so that [he] might put what remained into order and appoint elders in every town” (1:5). Is this the kind of character that is seen in you? Can you be trusted with the spiritual well-being of the saints somewhere? Do you have “the same earnest care” that Paul had for the believers? What an amazing work is going on in both Myanmar and Cambodia, and to have a small part in God's Plan is more fulfilling than I can express. I get the utmost privilege and honor of meeting and helping some of the most incredible servants of God.
In Myanmar, I joined Tim in training a group of people, mostly in their twenties, who are trusting God to impact their entire nation. These have given themselves to three weeks of intensive Scripture study, and I joined them for their last week. Each of these students of Acts & Paul's letters, charted out what they believe is God's Plan for their lives, planting multiple churches into the far reaches of this country. Remember, Myanmar (formerly called Burma) was completely closed to the gospel around 2 or 3 years ago. We are seeing what may be a modern movement of God's word like we see in the book of Acts. In India (Tim), the total picture of God’s Plan for His Church was presented to a key leader and church planters. They are really catching the “BIG PICTURE” of what the church should be and their roles in spreading the gospel to the unreached and establishing strong sending churches. In Cambodia, I was pleasantly surprised and blessed. In the past couple of trips here, I struggled to make connections and see the training moving people forward. There are times we are faithful even when we don't see things working out, but this time was completely different. In the past, people came and went during the three days of training, making it difficult to establish a foundation of learning and growing. This time, however, twenty-two people gave themselves completely to digging into God's Word. May I share with you how amazing this is? Many of the older people who came to the training have had limited education. In the mid to late 1970's, Cambodia was a bloody battleground of genocide and war. Millions of people were killed or displaced into very harsh conditions. All of this means that they and some of their children, received precious little formal education. Leading them in an intensive study of Scripture is a task that many of them are not used to. But praise God they gave themselves fully to the task, and they (and I) believe that God is going to transform Cambodia with new church planting movements. I hope this report gives you a taste of what your prayers are doing. Please keep calling on God. I am so glad you are with me on this journey for Christ's glory in Asia, yet humbled and amazed by God's work! Randy “Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message.” (2 Timothy 4:14–15).
These two verses give us a window into Paul’s heart as he penned his feelings to Timothy. He is careful not to give any details about what the “great harm” involved, except to indicate that he “strongly opposed” Paul’s message of the gospel. Considering how Paul had given his life to present and defend the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, what Alexander did cut painfully deep. There are two important principles we observe in Paul’s remarks. As hurtful as this was, Paul never takes the attitude of revenge (see Romans 12:19), but relied on the fact “the Lord, the righteous judge…will repay him according to his deeds” (4:8, 14). This is often difficult for us because we want to see the other person penalized for what they have done, at least within our life-time. Giving that person and their deeds to the Lord means that I completely take my hands off and do not worry about their consequences or when they occur. The second principle is that we should not shrink from warning others of the dangers from associating with such persons. We must be very careful, however, in the way we do this so that our hearts are not secretly getting revenge. Warning others is for the protection of the flock, as Paul did “to the churches of Galatia…because of false brothers secretly brought in – who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 1:2; 2:4). Such persons are not ignorant of what they are doing and must be exposed. If others have done hurtful things to you in ministry, be sure to follow these principles, otherwise you will become distracted from your calling, the purpose God has for you, and you will adopt an attitude that is less than Christ-like. Perhaps one of the most painful experiences in ministry is when you have invested time, perhaps years, love and resources into someone and they leave everything you tried to teach them for a worthless future. This was Paul’s experience. Right at the very end of his life, Paul reviews for Timothy so many who had been part of his ministry and gives a glimpse into his heart for them.
“Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica” (2 Timothy 4:10). What brought about this change with Demas? Knowing Paul’s influence on others and his love for them, we could hardly imagine that he treated Demas any differently. Was there a cultural pull at Thessalonica that this young man could not resist? All we know about the city is that it was a major seaport and the Via Egnatia travel route went through it. Whatever the allurement, Demas did not have the spiritual constitution to withstand the worldly attraction and fell in love with it. One thing we do know is that his desertion of Paul was a great sorrow and loss. From personal experience, this happens to anyone who invests in the next generation. At some point in our ministry of developing leaders, someone will drop out. Paul is not recounting this to make us give up on others because desertion will happen. He is preparing our hearts so that when it happens we will realize that our reward still comes from the Lord (4:8) who measures every investment perfectly. So I say to you and me, never stop investing in the spiritual maturity of others! As we head into a busy schedule for July, we ask that you keep Tim and Randy in your prayers. PRAYER REQUESTS:
Tim is meeting four brothers from Arizona for a 5 country mission trip (July 5th to 26th). The goal is to document firsthand how God is using God’s Plan for His Church (GPHC) in training and equipping indigenous leaders to start new churches and renew existing churches that grow and multiply themselves. With the completion of the new edition of GPHC in various new languages, this is an opportune time to visit these areas to encourage and strengthen new churches and leaders. Cambodia Randy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia for follow up training of key pastors & leaders. Our strategy with Cambodia is to cover less material per training session so we can drill down deep into God’s Word and find clear application into their ministry context. Many of these leaders have been through an introduction and overview of God’s Plan for His Church, and now will be concentrating on Developing Faithful Leaders in the Church and Developing Strong Churches by examining Paul’s letters. Pray for safe travels for these leaders; for freedom from distractions while we study God’s Word; for action plans that can be implemented into their churches; for understanding, insight and tools for building strong, enduring churches. Also please pray that God would raise up leaders who can train others. Vietnam Randy in Ben Hoa, Da Nang, and highland regions of Vietnam. Pray for Brother B. and his leadership, for those who will graduate from our training, that they may develop and implement God’s direction for their ministries. Pray that they have courageous hearts and insight into the regions that God is leading them to impact. Pray for the new training we will do out in the highlands. These will be introduced to God’s Plan for the first time. Your prayer for this ministry are a sweet aroma to the Father. He is hearing and answering! On a personal, state, national and international level, we could make a long list of dangers that affect our lives, marriages, families and churches. In addition to economic, environmental, political as well as religious persecution which could lead to physical death, there are dangers we face daily for living in this world. My concern in this blog is not with any of these, but dangers that are far greater than all of these put together. To prompt your thinking on this subject, I will quote a few Scriptures that capture my point. In Paul’s first letter, he warns about “having begun” our Christian walk “by the Spirit”, but now seeking to be “perfected by the flesh” (Galatians 3:3). This is the opposite of the gospel of grace. This principle is so critical that Paul continues in chapter 5:1, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit to a yoke of slavery.” Legalism is very deceptive because it makes us think that we are more acceptable to God by following a set of made-man rules that appear to be righteousness, but miss the grace of God in Christ. False teachers are famous for alluring their audiences into following a certain “form or appearance of godliness, but deny its power.” Paul exhorts to “avoid such people” (2 Timothy 3:5) Notice how jealous Paul was of the pure work of grace in believers: “For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:2–3). Any purpose other than “pure devotion to Christ” will lead you into bondage and steal your freedom in Christ. BE CAREFUL of this danger! In America, we are celebrating Independence Day on July 4th. The beginning of this freedom and the maintenance of it has come to us at enormous cost of lives and many other tangible and intangible assets. Unfortunately, we have come to a point in our nation when the values that were fought for are being discarded as being of no value. This should be a reminder of another freedom that has come to us at infinite cost – that which we as humans cannot measure. Yes, I am referring to the price Jesus paid on the cross, in His death, to free us from the judgment of God on our sin. In a world where even segments of the church are becoming ‘soft’ on using the word “sin” as offensive, we need to revisit God’s attitude toward sin and what it cost to purchase our freedom form it. I point you to several key Scriptures: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) reveals the seriousness of sin. “Do you suppose, O man—that you will escape the judgment of God?” (2:3). “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23). There could be only one possible solution to man’s sinful condition. It required a “sinless” substitute (2 Corinthians 5:21) to pay the penalty God required for sin and purchase our freedom by total and complete forgiveness. God had the solution and “did not spare His own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). The second half of chapter 6:23 is, “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Our freedom from sin has come at a cost we cannot calculate. Tomorrow we will look at the dangers we face that attempt to undermine our freedom. For now, let your heart be filled with praise to God stepping into our plight and paying the ultimate price for our freedom. |
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