This report is from a dear brother in Zambia: “The team of five of us left Mpika, our home in Zambia, on Monday last week for the ministry. After driving thirty hours and through heavy rains, we decided to stop and sleep in a small town called Nchelenge, 300 km from the place we were going. From this town, the road was impassable. Instead of reaching the place in two hours, it took five hours. The car was alright and we reached the place safely. We started ministry the following day when brothers from Congo came. We shared GPHC (God’s Plan for His Church) on leadership and Paul's strategy on church planting. Time was short for there were a lot of questions. It was these questions that made us talk about dependency (on money) which created some sparks. We took our time to show how the churches in the book of Acts survived as they depended on God. Some leaders from Congo found it difficult to understand. We told them that we may go there by the first week of November, God willing. I could not believe that there was another group of people in Zambia, living in the mountains of Puta who are not reached with the gospel; short people. They do not want to stay with tall people in Zambia. Pray that we reach these people. As soon as our translation is printed we will take the manuals with us. We have to go back to Puta and finish what we started. It is so amazing to see the Holy Spirit using us just as he used us in other places. Broken marriages were restored, the sick were healed and those with demons were set free. The Lord was showing me those who were in need of help. It was as in the book of Acts, and I was able to discern and convince them. Please pray for our Congo pastors (15) and their churches, and pray for the unreached tribe over the mountains. I would like the Kenyan brothers Daniel and Nathan to come and help us as they could speak to these Congo churches directly without an interpreter.” “And from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled” (Acts 14:26).
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I am very humbled that my experience is not much different from Peter’s. I need to be reminded by the Lord over and over on the same issues. This speaks to me of His limitless love and patience, even when I let my attention get diverted from Him to other people. Peter had just gone through a severe test about his love for the Lord. At the end of the conversation, Jesus says, “Follow Me” (John 21:19). “Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you? When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?”” (John 21:20-21). The Lord knows we are always in danger when other people become our focus and not Himself. So Jesus patiently reminds Peter again, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me” (21:22)! At the moment the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, Peter became riveted on Christ. This marked his ministry and it will mark ours if we allow the Spirit to always direct our attention to Christ our Lord and Head (John 14:26). Our greatest success in life and ministry is when we see no one but Jesus, and follow Him. This is exactly what happened` on the mountain during the Transfiguration. “And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only” (Mark 9:8). In John 21:15-19, Jesus passes Peter through three questions to see where Peter was in his personal love for the Lord as a test of whether he would be a good shepherd of the flock of God. We know from Acts the Peter did well in most cases. But where he shines is in writing in his first letter to believers who were scattered through persecution; “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:2–3). How did Peter learn these qualities? As Jesus closed out his cross-examination of Peter in John 21, He makes one short statement, “Follow Me” (21:19). None of us can learn the qualities of shepherding without being in close relationship and intimacy with the “Chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4). Following Jesus cannot be done at a distance and at the same time be learning from Him how each sheep is to be protected, fed, cared for and brought to full growth. How close are you following Jesus? That is the true test of love! What was the point of Jesus testing Peter yet another time with such a large catch of fish that “they were not able to haul it in” (John 21:6). Was it really necessary for Jesus to embarrass Peter in front of the other? Why had Jesus come to the shore of the lake so early in the morning and built a “charcoal fire in place, with fish laid on it, and bread” (21:9)? Why did Jesus wait patiently while the disciples struggled to “haul the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them” (21:11) when there were fish already on the fire? Graciously Jesus tell them to bring some of their catch and add them to the feast. “Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish” (John 21:12–13). Jesus wanted all of them with HIM! They had become distracted and this was the Lord’s way of inviting them back into the intimacy of HIS PRESENCE! HE IS INVITING YOU TO COME AND HAVE BREAKFAST! Taste the sweetness of being with HIM. There is not one word of condemnation from the lips of Jesus because they had turned to business for fulfillment. He just wanted them, and He wants you to be at HIS table in the morning so you can eat HIS food that HE has prepared to strengthen, refresh and prepare you for effective ministry, every day. WILL YOU COME? Jesus has a unique way of making us remember events that happened earlier in our lives that perhaps we have forgotten. He has a calculated purpose in this. Jesus knows that if we do not grow in intimacy with Him, our heart will grow cold, distant, and ineffective in the work He has given us to do.
Peter fell into the “forgetting” trap. Jesus called Peter the first time after an all-night fishing failure and told him to “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4). The result was a convicting catch that filled two boats (5:7). This was the introduction to Peter’s call and over three years of walking with Jesus. Now that Jesus had died and risen again, Peter needed a reminder that the first call was not rescinded and it was not in Jesus’ plans for him to go back to ‘business as usual’. Pentecost was just ahead. Everything was going to change! “Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish” (John 21:5–6). We will talk about the breakfast barbeque tomorrow, but between now and then, think about the events God has brought into your life with the intent to draw you closer to Himself. Be assured, He has not changed His plans! The most significant events had just taken place. In fact, the past three days had been the most pivotal moments of all human history. Personal failure to the closest friend could not be reversed. Yes, the tension was unlike anything anyone ever experienced, but was it really the time to go fishing? I am referring to Peter just after Jesus’ resurrection and His personal appearance to Mary and the remaining disciples. He proved to them beyond any doubt that He was risen from the dead, plus gave them the assurance of His peace and prepared their hearts for receiving the Holy Spirit.
Why then would Peter tell the other disciples, “I am going fishing” (John 21:3)? Was this really the right thing for that moment? We will get the answer to this question in a day or two. What is important at this moment is for you to ask yourself; are the pressures of recent events distracting you from intimacy with the Lord? Instead of dealing with the distractions, you cave in to your own ideas of how to resolve issues? Intimacy with the Lord is the answer. I will meet you here tomorrow. We are so thankful for the Antioch church planting movement that our Lord started a couple of years ago in Vietnam using the training manual, God’s Plan for His Church. It is now spreading and expanding into Cambodia. A fresh movement of God dependent upon the power of the Holy Spirit and the sufficiency of Scriptures is lifting up Jesus Christ our Lord and Head of the church! There is a critical need in the church everywhere to RETURN TO THE SCRIPTURES as the only source of truth and principles that will establish the church and evangelize the lost. Programs, by nature, cause us to focus on a human process of doing ministry rather than the power God has vested in His Word and in the gift of the Holy Spirit. In each of the following verses, there was no ‘organized church program’ that made the expansion take place (Acts 6:7; 12:24; 13:49; 19:20). Antioch was a launching platform for an extraordinary movement of God because they allowed the Word of God to teach them and the Holy Spirit to guide them. The apostles and ordinary people in the church were “filled with the Spirit” (2:4) and spoke under His power (4:8; 13:9, 52). What most of us don’t realize is that we “quench the Spirit” by inserting human ideas into our ministry (1Thessalonians 5:19), and often “grieve the Holy Spirit” by our manner of life that is contrary to ‘Christ in you’. (Ephesians 4:30). Let us return to God’s way that He has clearly revealed to us and see the same movement of God as we are witnessing in Vietnam and Cambodia. As we receive reports from the mission field, we want to pass them on to you for encouragement. The work in Zambia continues to grow as the church expands throughout this country for our Father's glory! You might remember several years ago while training GPHC the Holy Spirit came upon us to repent and follow the way of Christ and the early Apostles. Here is a recent update from the brothers in Zambia: “It gives me much pleasure to share with you about the above subject. The team of five of us left Mpika on Monday last week for the ministry. After driving for thirty hours, and because of the heavy rains, we decided to stop and sleep in a small town called Nchelenge 300 km from the place we were going. Just before reaching Nchelenge, l hit a dog and a chicken. Thank God l was not asked to pay any money. From this town the road was impassable and really terrible to drive on. Instead of reaching the place in two hours, it took five hours. The car was alright and we safely reached the place. We started our ministry the following day when our brothers from Congo came. We shared GPHC (God’s Plan for His Church) on leadership and Paul's strategy on church planting. Time was short for there were a lot of questions. It was these questions that made us talk about dependency (on money) which created some sparks. We took our time to show how the churches in the book of Acts survived as they depended on God. Some leaders from Congo found it difficult to understand. We finally told them that we may go there by the first week of November God willing. I could not believe that there was another group of people in Zambia living in the mountains of Puta who are not reached. They are also short people. They do not want to stay with tall people in Zambia. Pray that we reach this people group. As soon as our Bema GPHC translation is printed we will take the books with us. But we have to go back to Puta and finish what we started. It is so amazing to see the Holy Spirit using us just as He used us in other places. Broken marriages were restored, the sick were healed and those with demons were set free! This continues in our church today. The Lord was showing me those who are in need of help. It’s just like the book of Acts. I was able to discern and convince them. Please pray for our Congo pastors (15) and their churches. Pray for the unreached tribe over the mountains. I would like the Kenyan brothers to come and help us as they could speak to these Congo churches directly without an interpreter. Thank you so much for the prayers and support. Thank you for interceding! Our God answered your prayers!” OCTOBER 11 – NOVEMBER 6, 2016 As Randy and Tim travel for their next trip into the Lord’s harvest field, we ask that you stand with them in prayer. This is the greatest preparation we could do. OCTOBER 11-13 (Randy & Tim) LGA to Bangkok: Pray for health, rest, prep time on the 26 hours of travel – Randy - for quality time with the young missionary as we study living Christ’s way in the home and mission-field. OCTOBER 14-16 (Randy) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Acts Generation Presbyterian Church. Pray for ministry at Friday’s Prayer Meeting, Saturday’s Leadership Development Meeting on how to lead an Antioch church, and preaching at Sunday church service on Empowered by the Holy Spirit for Mission. OCTOBER 17-18 (Randy) Kathmandu, Nepal: Introduction of “God’s Plan for His Church”. Pray for the 25-30 pastors and leaders who will attend this introduction. This is a new development being the first training using our newest translation of the manual into Nepali language. Lord-willing a follow-up training will be scheduled for January/February 2017. OCTOBER 19-23 (Randy & Tim) Chin State, Myanmar: Introduction of “God’s Plan for His Church”. Pray for God’s work in Chin, the most western state in Myanmar (Burma), bordering Bangladesh & India. Doors are open for training 50-100 leaders in Kalemyo (also called Kalay), one of the fastest developing towns in Burma. Many of these leaders will also have opportunities to take the gospel to northern India. OCTOBER 24 – NOVEMBER 4 (Randy & Tim) Yangon, Myanmar: GTP Bible School: Pray for a dear Brother and his ministry of training church planters. They will continue the training of 20-25 students who are preparing for ministries throughout Myanmar. Please pray that God’s Spirit would use His Word to set in their minds and hearts a vision like that of the Apostle Paul and give then understanding in biblical principles and ignite a passion to reach the unreached people groups (51) in Myanmar and beyond.. October 25 – Tim Bangkok to RDU - Pray for rest and smooth transition back to USA. NOVEMBER 5 Bangkok, Thailand: Work with Construction of Hope Ministries that reaches out to the poor, migrant workers from Cambodia. Pray for Pastor Vino to coordinates gospel outreach, discipleship & church development among these people; for God to work among these forgotten people; for new church development; for new opportunities for training. NOVEMBER 6 Bangkok to LGA - Pray for rest and smooth transition back to USA. FOLLOW-UP – Continue praying for the fruit of the Holy Spirit to be produced in every person who has been exposed to God’s Word through this training. Ask the Lord of the harvest to expand His work rapidly into people groups that need to be reached with the gospel. Ask Christ, the Head of His church, to reestablish churches on His truth so they become more effective in their work. Although there are numerous GPHC trainings taking place all over Vietnam, I want to share a recent training in Hoi An (Located close to Da Nang). This represents the third generation of training in just two years. What amazes us is this training is taking place without us being there or providing financial support. It is truly indigenous and a self-sustaining movement of the Holy Spirit! When God is at work, it is like surfing; almost anyone can do it. But when God is not at work, when there are no waves, it is very difficult or impossible to surf. Are you looking for God’s “waves” and joining what He has started? Thank You Lord for the awesome privilege to join You at work around the world in these last days. To God be the Glory! |
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