Looking Through His Eyes

“Let me see this world, dear Lord,
As though I were looking through Your eyes.
A world of men who don’t want You Lord,
But a world for which You died.
Let me kneel with You in the garden,
Blur my eyes with tears of agony;
For if once I could see this world the way You see,
I just know I’d serve You more faithfully.

Let me see this world, dear Lord,
Through Your eyes when men mocked Your Holy Name.
When they beat You and spat upon You, Lord,
Let me love them as You loved them just the same.
Let me stand high above my petty problems,
And grieve for men, hell bound eternally;
For if once I could see this world the way You see,
I just know I’d serve You more faithfully.”

ELEVEN CHURCHES FROM ONE TRACT

A tract freely given – An event freely offered – Salvation freely received
By Terry Jones

Does anyone really read a Gospel tract? Do we need to continue to hand them out? Is it really worth it? YES! One can never know the impact one Gospel tract can have in lives of those who receive them. Let me give you an example.

Not too long ago my wife, Kaye, and I attended a national pastors’ conference in southeast Mexico. We were enjoying the fellowship around the table when I began a conversation with one of the pastors present. Brother Pedro, his wife, Vicki, and several members of his congregation had traveled 16 hours on a bus to attend the conference. As we enjoyed our whole fried fish (head, tail, eyeballs and all) with beans, rice and tortillas, I asked Pastor Pedro to tell me about the time he met the Lord.

“I was 23, a drunkard, an idolater and worldly.” he started. “My wife and I were sitting in the park in the town square. I was drunk. I had spent all my paycheck on liquor. It was the weekend and we had nowhere to go. We wanted to go to the Catholic festival buy we couldn’t afford the food and other activities they offered. While we were in the park, a 12 year old boy handed me a Gospel tract and an invitation to the Baptist church. I read the tract but did not understand what it meant. The invitation was to a Gospel movie and there was to be refreshments afterwards. “We can do that since it’s free, I thought. So we went.”

Pedro and Vicki went to the church and met missionaries Richard and Patty Comer. The church was having a special evangelistic outreach with a meal, a Gospel film and preaching after the film. Not knowing what to expect Pedro and Vicki sat down and listened.

As Richard preached, it seemed to Pedro and Vicki that he knew everything about them and was announcing it to the entire congregation. “How does this North American know the reality of our lives?” Vicki thought. Pedro was convicted of his sin and accepted Jesus as his Savior. Vicki was not convinced. She wanted to see proof. As God changed the life of the drunken idolater what was her husband, she saw her need for salvation. A month later, Vicki came to know the Lord as well.

What a difference the Lord can make in a life. Pedro and Vicki became active in the local church. Three years later they moved to the city of San Cristobal de las Casas in the state of Chiapas and while there Pedro saw his mother saved. After a time as members of the Alpha and Omega Baptist Church, they moved to the community of “Tres-Ceros” and started a church. (That’s one.) From there they moved to a neighboring village and started another work. (That’s two!)

In 1995 they again moved to Tenejapa and started the Bethel Baptist Church, where he was ordained as pastor in 2001. (That’s three!) During his years as pastor, this church has started seven more mission churches in the towns and villages around Chiapas. (That’s ten if you’re still counting.) But it doesn’t stop there. On February 20, 2011, the first service of the eleventh church took place. There were already twelve that had been saved and baptized in the town and they had been waiting to have a church of their own.

God continues to use Brother Pedro in the lives of others. The Bethel Baptist Church, where Pedro is pastor, averages around 300 on Sundays and is in desperate need of a larger building. There are six young men who have surrendered to the call of God on their lives to preach the Gospel.

Eleven churches and counting – all because of a young man handed Pedro a tract. Is it worth it? YES! Think of the fruit that abounds in Heaven because of one simple act of faith. What about the churches who have faithfully supported the Comers? They too have fruit that abounds to their account in Heaven. God continues to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him (2 Chronicles 16:9)

To learn more about the work in Mexico and Central America, contact Rev. Terry Jones, Central America Director, BIMI.

Balanced Obedience In Missions

There is a very real danger a church faces when is it attempting to do all it can to influence the world with the Gospel, and that is getting our obedience “out of balance.”

In our focus on foreign missions, it is easy to begin to neglect our responsibility or take the Gospel to our own, local communities.  Our obedience on one area must not facilitate disobedience in another area.

We get fired up about foreign missions and then neglect our personal soul winning, or we put all our focus on our local & personal soul winning and neglect foreign missions.

We must not allow this to become an “either/or” situation.  Lets get re-committed to our personal, door-to-door soul winning, and lets keep supporting world missions with our prayers and finances.  We must maintain “balanced obedience!”

10 Ways To Pray For Missionaries

The starting point and the sustaining point in World Missions is prayer.  The following is a list of ten ways we can pray for our missionaries on deputation & around the world.

1. Pray that they will have boldness.  This was the prayer of the N.T. church (Acts 4:29-31).  The world is increasingly more hostile to Biblical Christianity and boldness is a must in all of our ministries.
2. Pray for their marriages & families.  Satan attacks the missionary’s home and marriage.  If the marriage fails, the ministry fails.  Many missionaries have had to come off the field because of the breakdown of their marriage.  Pray that they stay close to each other in their financial and ministry struggles.
3. Pray for their health.  On the foreign field there are many health hazards.  On deputation, the strain of travel, long days, and exposure the differing parts of the country can breakdown their health.
4. Pray for their safety.  Again, the highways here in the USA & around the world can be dangerous places.  Some mission fields have their own unique dangers, such as excessively high crime, wars, poor law enforcement, etc.
5. Pray for open doors of ministry. Christian service is a spiritual warfare, and no where is this evident more than on the mission field.  All the money, organization, and boldness in the world cannot breakdown spiritual strongholds in the nations of the world. We need God to open the doors to closed countries and new ministries.
6. Pray for co-laborers for our missionaries.  Our Lord stated very clearly, “the harvest is great, but the laborers are few.”  He immediate solution to the need of labors was, “pray ye the Lord of the harvest that He will send forth laborers into the harvest.” Our missionaries need helpers. Helpers from here in the States to join them and national helpers to be raised up and trained on the field. Along these lines, pray for a kindred spirit to be developed within the team on the field, that they can work together with united hearts and minds.
7. Pray for the spiritual well being of our missionaries. Pray they maintain intimate daily devotions with the Lord, that their prayer life remains vibrant, that the world will lose it attraction to their flesh, that they stay strongly in love with their Lord.  Note:  this is vital for ourselves also!
8. Pray for the financial needs of our missionaries.  While on deputation, this is obvious, but what is not so obvious is once they are on the field.  Fluctuating exchange rates and churches changing leadership or philosophy & dropping missionaries can have devastating effects upon their finances.  Not to mention additional children being born into the family, & the continual cost of living increases.
9. Pray for souls to be saved, self-sustaining churches to be established, Scriptures to be translated into native tongues, and nationals to be trained.  To see these results requires earnest, diligent prayer of righteous men, here at home and on the field.
10. Pray for the missionaries faithfulness.  The ministry can be very difficult, especially on certain mission fields. The temptation to quit can be very real.  Sometimes, with few other Christians near and a lack of accountability, it may be tempting to just “coast” in the work. But it is required of stewards that they be faithful. Though often their reasons are legitimate, there are too many missionaries that surrender, then quit before they ever get to the field, or get to the field and then return home shortly thereafter.  They need our earnest and sincere prayers.

As stated above, the Christian ministry is a very real spiritual warfare, and earnest prayer on the part of all Christians is an absolute necessity for the Gospel to go forth in power.

The Urgency Of Missions

Mark 13:10, “And the gospel must first be published among all nations.”

In 1987, a young child, who became known as “Baby Jessica,” fell 22 feet down into an abandoned well.  Man power and resources from around the world were rushed to Midland, TX to rescue this little toddler.  For two and a half days, thousands focused their efforts and prayer on here well-being.  No expenses were spared, not resources were withheld & because of theses urgent and diligent efforts of so many, her life was spared and today, we are told, she is a happily married mother of her own two small children.

Here is the question that comes to my mind, what if the same effort had been put toward rescuing “Baby Jessica” as the average church puts toward world missions?  Would she be alive today?  Would anyone even know of her plight?

Another question comes to mind, what if the Bible preaching churches would put for the effort, sacrifice and urgency toward world missions that the folks put toward the rescue of this dear child?  Would we still have entire nations unreached with the Gospel?

In Mark 13, our Lord is explaining to His disciples what the world conditions will be prior to His second advent.  He states that there will be worldwide deception, false religions will be rampant, there will be wars, famine, and turmoil throughout the world.

Then in verse 10 He states that, in light of the world’s circumstances, the Gospel must FIRST be preached in all nations.  As we approach the end of the age and as world conditions deteriorate, the worldwide preaching of the Gospel must take greater priority.  More important than our buildings, budgets, and “belly busting” fellowships, is our obedience to the great commission of world evangelization.

We must be urgent about world missions because…

1. WE MUST BE URGENT ABOUT WORLD MISSIONS BECAUSE OF THE COMMAND OF GOD…

   Along with Mark 13:10, Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:14-15; & Acts 1:8 all have an “urgency” about this final command of our Lord.

   This Command Is A Proclamation.  In other words, it is a command given with omnipotent authority.  This is not a suggestion, but a requirement.  Fellowships, Bible studies, social works, and music programs all have their place, but God has commanded us and requires that we preach the Gospel in all nations.

   This Command Is A Priority. The world “first” here has a two-fold meaning, first in chronology and first in value.  The first thing believers must focus upon when dealing with the unsaved, is preaching the Gospel to them, and the most important thing when dealing with the unsaved is preaching the Gospel to them.

   This Command Is Plain.  There is nothing complicated about our responsibility in this matter.  It is simply to declare the simple Gospel message to every man, woman, and child throughout the entire world.  Wisdom may be needed in the implementation of this endeavor, but the concept is simple.  Every believer can declare to the unsaved how to be saved. Children, uneducated, highly educated, backwoods believers and uptown Christians can tell others the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

   This Command Is Compassionate.  It is a message of the Love of God, a love so great that God gave His only begotten Son to die a violent death, to suffer the eternal judgment of all mankind’s sin, then to rise again and offer the gift of eternal salvation to whosoever will receive it by faith.  God loves mankind!

2. WE MUST BE URGENT ABOUT WORLD MISSIONS BECAUSE OF THE CONDITION OF MAN…

   With Out The Gospel, Man Lives Life Without God!  Some of the saddest words in all of Scripture are found in our Lord’s prayer recorded in John 17:25, “Oh righteous Father, the world hath not known thee.”  The word “know” means to “have a relationship with.”  Much of mankind knows “OF” God, sings “ABOUT” God, talks about God, and even prays TO God, but without the Gospel, man cannot KNOW God!  (Ephesians 2:12, “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:”)

   With Out The Gospel, Man Spends Eternity Without God!  Luke 16:19-31 gives us a frightening look at what happens to a person when they die “in their sins,” with having trusted Jesus Christ as personal Savior.

   What if the same effort had been put toward rescuing “Baby Jessica” as the average church puts toward world missions? Would she be alive today? Let’s give ourselves fully to taking the Gospel to every unsaved person in our immediate communities, our country and to every nation on this planet!

5 Fatal Assumptions Concerning World Missions & Personal Soul Winning…

1. “I don’t have the gift of evangelism.”  Taking the Gospel to the unsaved is not a  spiritual gift, but a clear command.  Every Christian has a direct command to take the Gospel to the unsaved.
2. “God hasn’t called me to the mission field.”  Fact is, every one of us live in the “mission field,” that is, the world.  Whether we live in Central Asia, or Western Maryland, we are in the mission field.  Rather than assuming God has not called us, let’s assume He HAS called us until He makes it clear otherwise.
3. “There’s nothing I can do to make any significant difference.”  This is simply not true!  A classic illustration is the little boy with a small lunch of fish and bread and how God fed over seven thousand people.  When I give myself and all that I have to the Lord to do with as He sees fit, great and mighty things will happen.  Little certainly is much… when God is in it.
4. “The world has already been reached.”  This is so obviously untrue, it needs no rebuttal.  Statics tell us there are literally billions of people and entire nations that have no Gospel witness.
5. “We are living in the last days and people will not receive the Gospel.”  No where does the Bible even remotely suggest that the Gospel will lose any power to save.  There may be different areas in our world where people are more resistant to the Word of God, but we have every reason to believe and be confident that if we’ll faithfully go with the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit, we can and will see many saved.  The problem throughout the church age has not been the condition of the world, but the unconcern of the church.  The harvest continues to be great, and the laborers continue to be few!