After writing the blog yesterday, we received news of what God is doing in an area of S. E. Asia that is so critical to the gospel reaching the unengaged and unreached people groups. The Hmong people have been persecuted severely over the years, but they remain steadfast in their faith and have grown in their love for Jesus.
Since going through the training of God’s Plan for His Disciples, God is raising up Timothys among them who will be equipped to carry the gospel beyond themselves to others who have never heard. This must become our mindset in every church. Peter had to learn this lesson as God was pushing the Early Church to accept going to those who were not Jews. Though the Church in Acts 2 started out as Jewish, that was not the extent of God’s plan. He had much more in mind. “All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name” (Psalm 86:9). Yes, “All the nations” will worship the Lord. I want to be one of the “witnesses” who reach these nations so we can worship together with them around His throne! Who are you reaching with your witness?
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Many of you follow us closely and receive our newsletters that give more details than what appears in this blog, and we appreciate your consistent interest in what God is doing through this ministry in many parts of the world. Here is a short list of translations that are in process for our two books. We ask that you be in prayer with us that these translations will be completed soon.
OUR TRAINING BOOKS:
CURRENT TRANSLATION WORK INTO THESE LANGUAGES:
As you can imagine, these languages together will enable us to equip the Church in areas of the world that are adjacent to unreached and unengaged people groups. With your prayerful support, God will help us finish the task He has placed on the Church and in our hands. As Jesus is predicting how difficult conditions will be in the future, we can just imagine the anxiety rising up in the disciples hearts as He spoke. It was one thing to hear what will happen to nations, earthquakes, famines, and pestilences, but He made it more personal by saying, “before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons” (Luke 21:12). This could have caused deeper fears, until they heard Him say;
“But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives” (21:18–19). What did Jesus mean? Was He just meaning the hairs on their head? Jesus gives the same assurance in John 10; “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (10:28–29). It is important to keep the troubles we face from the world in perspective. Jesus reminds us; “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do” (Luke 12:4). What is done in this life is only temporal and has no effect on our eternal life and promises we have received from God in Christ. I do not know what you may be going through at this moment, but I invite you to look beyond the present trials to what is eternal. Paul reminds us; “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17–18). KKEP THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE! One of the habits that I have formed along with many preachers, teachers and pastors, is time spent in preparation. This is good and valuable, as long as we allow the Holy Spirit and the presence of Christ to be our teacher in preparation. We may not always have this opportunity.
“Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict” (Luke 21:14–15). How does this work? You may have noticed, if you have read these blogs for very long, that we emphasize one vital ingredient in every part of the Christians life – a close walk with the Lord all the time! When we get into sudden situations of persecution and stand before authorities or prosecutors, we cannot expect sudden wisdom to flow into us if we have not made a habit of a close walk with the Lord. If our walk with Him has been consistently close, we can also expect that when there is no time for preparation, He “will give you a mouth and wisdom” and there will be no lack of words or wisdom. The Apostles experienced this over and over in the Book of Acts. One of those moments was Acts 4:1-32. Though authorities demanded they stop preaching in Jesus’ name, they pointed to the ultimate authority over them – GOD! In this confrontation, they asked in prayer for more boldness. They could do this because “they had been with Jesus” (4:13). Where do you get boldness from? Before I make a comment, please read these verses thoughtfully and carefully. They are in the setting where Jesus predicts that “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.”
“But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness” (Luke 21:10–13). How important to allow these words from Jesus to adjust our perspective on persecution and suffering for Christ. I remember being in a country (I must leave unnamed), where persecution is real. A dear lady was open, telling others about Jesus and how He has brought eternal life and forgiveness of sins if they only believe. Over and over, the police would put her in prison. This became her opportunity to preach the gospel to the prisoners around her. They would eventually throw her out of the prison because of the conversions that were taking place. To meet her was a great privilege! As we entered a room on the fifth floor of a building through a trap door, I learned about her life. It was in this room she held weekly Bible studies for women – about forty. I felt the presence of Jesus through her testimony and was deeply challenged. We do not know what this means in western nations, but I think it is coming. I have two questions:
THE TEST IS COMING! ARE YOU READY? C. T. Studd said, “The light that shines farthest shines brightest nearest home.” This clearly goes along with the blog posted yesterday. Involvement in missions starts right where you and I live. Our passion to send and be sent should always be strongly in our hearts, but how those at home see us may not be the same thing as those across the oceans.
Jesus made this point about our light; “You are the light of the world…let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). In teaching His disciples, Jesus was pointing to what they were and would become as a result of being discipled. His light would become their light to the whole world. That means, whether at home in their village or in some village at the ends of the earth, their light was to shine in brilliance for others to see. I want to challenge you to examine your lamp. Your life, marriage, family, work and/or ministry is only a conduit for the light of Christ. Every segment of life becomes either a reflector or detractor. You are not the source, and if you are not strongly connected to the source, it will show in how you radiate His light. Don’t think for a moment that you can shine better with some aboriginal tribe if you are not allowing His light to be a beacon brightly shining at home. Take some time after reading this to allow the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to cleanse you inside so Christ’s light will shine brighter outside to others. I had the privilege of speaking at a missions conference this past weekend. It is so good to see a group of believers interested in what God is doing around the world; putting time and energy into learning more so they can target more specifically those areas and people groups who are unengaged and unreached.
At the end of the conference, I challenged them with John 7:37-39. The key question was; “are you thirsty.” If we are going to find thirsty souls who will receive the gospel of God’s grace, it starts with being thirsty yourself. There are four evidences of persons who want the river flowing through them:
Are you thirsty for the water that Jesus alone provides in the Spirit? It refreshes you and at the same time attracts others who are thirsty. Paul gave us a model of suffering, not just the unbelievable physical things he endured to get the gospel preached in places and to peoples who had not heard, but he endured suffering for the sake of making sure the churches that had been planted were not seduced by a false gospel.
Notice how he refers to this type of suffering to the Colossian believers; “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, that is, the church” (Colossians 1:24). Paul did not shy away from both suffering for the maturity and unity of the Church, but he also did not hide from them what he suffered for their sake. This was a very unique feature in Paul. He did not share with them the facts of his sufferings just to get sympathy, like some do, but so they would clearly understand how important the truth of the gospel is and how they must be single-minded in that truth. This was the same principle Paul used with the Corinthian church. It was a point of suffering for Paul that he had to speak so boldly to them about the lack of dealing with sin in the church. He was rewarded for that suffering; “I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy” (2 Corinthians 7:4). The question for us is whether we will suffer so others are established, or will we draw back and see them become weak in faith and fruitless in their work? There is a challenge with each of us as to how we relate to others and serve them. Let these verses speak to your heart and examine your attitude toward others. Let the Holy Spirit make changes where needed and your life and ministry will become more effective and joyful.
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). “The one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:8). “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:6–7). “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Hebrews 13:17). “So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 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” (1 Peter 5:1–2). There are a few places in the world where poverty and hardship have not quenched the joy of the Lord. As we have traveled to many places around the world, some have their hands out thinking that we are going to support them. In other words, they are more interested in our money than their souls being fed the Word of God.
We see a very different story with the churches of Macedonia. “We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord” (2 Corinthians 8:1–3). Paul wrote this to the Corinthian church to inspire them to follow the Macedonian example. How many churches and Christians would Paul write the same thing to in our day. This generosity flowed out of a love for God. “I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine” (8:8). Is your love for God genuine? Is it so real because of your walk with Him that it spills over in joy and love for other people? If it is, those who receive your love (in whatever form it is) will know intuitively if your love is the real thing. It will also follow the supreme model; “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich” (8:9). That grace is love in action! |
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