Today I sat across the table from a dear brother in a coffee shop and had a conversation over shared concerns. Almost two hours seemed to disappear without either of us being worried about time. As we began to close our conversation, I asked him if he had any prayer requests that I could carry with me. After a brief pause, he said, "please ask the Lord to give me more boldness in sharing the gospel with others."
This refreshed my heart. It is normal for persons to answer that question with a list of personal concerns, and there is nothing wrong with that. At the same time, spreading the gospel and finishing the task Jesus left us here for transcends every other need and concern. Remember that early in the Church's history, Peter and John were charged by the Jewish rulers "not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus" (Acts 4:18). Rather than cowering to this pressure, the Church gathered and took the situation to the Lord in prayer. They prayed, "“now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness” (Acts 4:29). How many churches today pray like this? What was the root of such desire. I believe it flowed out of their intimate relationship with the Lord through the present work of the Holy Spirit. They knew the heart of Christ for the nations because the "Keeper" of the things of Christ (John 16:14) wants to display the gospel boldly through us.
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One of my deep passions is that God would start a revival or new work in the younger generations. As my years slip by, there will come a point when I will not be able to work as I do now, and it will depend on the next generations to carry the torch of God's truth so His light will shine in this dark world and effective witnesses are raised up to reach the unreached and unengaged. Just minutes ago, I received a text from our partner in Nepal saying that they are starting a new study with young people in GPHD. They meet weekly on Tuesday evenings but want to devote one night a week to study GPHD. Let us pray for God to use this study in a special way to make them strong in faith and equipped to disciple others. Starting tomorrow, Tom travels to Ecuador and will be in four different places (Ball, Naranjal, Machala, and Guayaquil) attending several graduations of students in Quechua and Spanish churches who completed God's Plan for His Disciples (GPHD). The goal is to encourage those who have given themselves to study God's Word and learn the principles of their salvation as well as promote a desire to impact others with what they have learned.
His time in Guayaquil will be used to meet with Quechua pastors and introduce God's Plan for His Church. Please pray for an effective time with all. Just a few hours ago, I was on the phone with Randy (a member of our team) regarding the training we are doing in Southern Sudan and Northern Uganda. In the training of pastors and churches in this very poor and persecuted part of Africa, we discovered that many of the pastors and Christians do not have their own Bible. It is hard to imagine a pastor preaching or teaching without a Bible. The immediate need is for 800 Bibles in the Acholi language. A few have stepped forward to help with this urgent need, and I mention this to you in case the Lord puts it on your hearts to participate as well. I was scheduled to travel to Ecuador on Thursday (11/9/23) for five days, but I have congestion on my chest, coughing, and hardly a voice for over a week. Thankfully, Tom is going and will attend several graduations of pastors and students at Quechua and Spanish churches. God is working in amazing ways among these believers. Some of this began with a widow who somehow got one of our GPHD books, made her own copies, and started a study with others in several churches. It has grown from this into a movement. He will also introduce God's Plan for His Church to a group of Quechua pastors near Guayaquil. Please be in prayer for Tom and those in the Quechua and Spanish churches that these five days will be a powerful work of God in them. “For the Lord has commanded US, saying, ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, That you may bring salvation TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.’” Acts 13:47 "Here Paul quotes Isaiah 49:6, a Scripture about the Messiah, and personalizes it for his own mission. How can he do this? On Easter Sunday night, our Lord Jesus said to His first followers, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (John 17:18). Malaysia is exactly 12 hours ahead of us here on the east coast (at least until we go off daylight savings time), and on this round globe on which we live, this is “the ends of the earth.” Let us pray for these who live so far away! Nov. 7-9 > Fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Please pray for Randy as he meets with a Malaysian missionary who works in East Malaysia. May God open a work here to raise up leaders for Christ’s mission. Nov. 10-13 > In the Islamic country of Malaysia, half of the population is unreached with the gospel, and less than 4% have a personal relationship with Jesus. I will work with Cornerstone Immanuel, a church that was planted just over a year ago. We will focus on intimacy with Christ at their first ever church-wide camp. Please pray for them as we look at how the early church embraced Christ & His mission to the world." (Randy) God continues to produce a hunger for His Word in many hearts across Nepal. Earlier today I received a text message from our partner saying that he received an invitation from a church in Sandhuplanchok for Simon to come and introduce God's Plan for His Disciples. This is a proof that two things are happening:
You and I do not live in Nepal, but we can pray for Simon and the expansion of God's work. Occasionally we get notes from students who go through our training that reflect what they have gained from their studies and what it means to them. The following is from a father who went through GPHD and GPHC some time ago and they are now homeschooling their children which includes using Abeka resources and all of our books.
"Dear Mr. Tim, first, please pardon my poor writing skills. However, I will keep developing my writing to achieve the best result. I would like to apologize for my late response. Second, I received the photos of the Certificate of Completion that you signed for me. It is a great honor to receive this certificate. To me, it is not only a certificate but also a wonderful memory. Significantly, the accreditation is a sign of God's appointment for me on my way to serve Him, and I consider it an encouragement from you. Third, thank you for the document files that you sent me. I really appreciate them. I promise you that I will spend my time carefully reading and studying them. And finally, I want to say that my children, my family, and I always welcome you back to Shalom anytime. GOD bless you. Shalom!" God's Plan for Young Disciples was developed from God's Plan for His Disciples (adult version) and is designed to assist parents with the spiritual maturing of their children as well as Sunday School classes or those desiring to impact the younger generation. When the Holy Spirit sanctifies believers, He does a complete work in them. He puts into their minds, wills, and hearts a gracious, supernatural principle which fills them with a holy desire to live to God. The whole life and being of holiness lies in this. This is the new creation."
John Owen Randy and I were on the phone today talking about what God is doing in Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria. Despite many difficulties, persecution, even killings, the work keeps expanding. Here are a few examples that are current:
Rogers, in his mid-thirties with a deep passion and commitment to the Lord's work, is using God's Plan for His Disciples (GPHD - Acholi) to strengthen believers all across Uganda and Southern Sudan. In addition, he is translating God's Plan for His Church (GPHC) and God's Plan for Young Disciples (GPYD - Teacher's Edition and Young Disciples Workbook) into Acholi. This is a massive work he has taken on. Pray for his health and family. Hosea in Kenya has taken the challenge to train and partially fund, with the help of local churches, GPHD training throughout October and 60 more pastors in November. Pray that the Kenyian church will stand with him even more in this work. Printing alone is a significant cost in all three places. If the Lord leads you to be part of a work that is rapidly changing the witness of the African church, we welcome your partnership for God's glory and fame among these nations. Gail and Pat have been traveling the U.S. to encourage the USAYO staff (United States of America Youth Organization). We were in Memphis and Arkansas in September and in Houston and Dallas in Octobser We are headed to Albuquerque NM and Utah in November. Many of them are engaged with student athletes and are going through GPHD. They are also encouraging other ministry leaders in Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), AIA, and Youth for Christ, to utilize GPHD.
We met with the AIA staff at Yale this past Friday and they are looking at possibly using it for their small groups. We also met with AIA at Brown University in September and the InterVarsity regional director for New England. We also have another Living Hope home group who just started meeting and are going through GPHD. What amazing opportunities and reasons to be intent in prayer. |
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