Great Missions Moments

Earlier this year a historic missiological moment occurred in the nation of Kenya. For the past 3 years there have been strategic outreaches to one of the people groups listed as unreached. A people group is considered unreached when less than 5% of the population have not had a credible born again experience. The Bible school that my parents helped to plant and where I grew up in Nairobi decided to adopt this people group as their primary focus of prayer and outreach.

They sent out teams over the school break to share the Gospel and minister to this unreached people group. During this year's outreach a great breakthrough occurred in which hundreds of people received Christ and joined the local churches. By the end of the outreach the stats indicated something phenomenal had just transpired. Over the past 3 years so many people had responded to the message of Christ that this people group now has more than 5% of their indigenous population as solid believers.

They are no longer listed as totally unreached!

Such a historic event requires involvement from many different sides, however, the primary person working amongst them is an elderly widow. God called her to plant one of the first churches among this people group. People laughed at her. Others told her she was crazy. She didn't speak the language. She was too old. She didn't have the finances. She lacked ministerial training and experience. The list goes on and on. Ignoring all the obstacles in her way she obeyed the voice of the Lord. Thanks to her diligence and faithful prayers many churches have been established and this people group is no longer considered "unreached."

One elderly widow named Maria is making a huge difference for the unreached of our world. What about you? What is God calling you to do to reach the unreached of our world? Will you obey?

Great missions quotes

"God had an only Son and He made Him a missionary" David Livingstone

"If God wills the evangelization of the world, and you refuse to support missions, then you are opposed to the will of God." Oswald J. Smith

"Not, how much of my money will I give to God, but how much of God's money will I keep for myself?" John Wesley

A listening ear at 20,000 feet

We had been in the air about an hour. Our location was somewhere over the Middle East between Dubai and Muscat on a Kenya Airways aircraft. Sitting next to me was a very eccentric Indian businessman just returning from a month in the Comoros Islands. He began to regale me with tales of strange Comorian people, places, and practices. After some 25 hours of travel I was ready to be off the plane. However, I decided to engage--listening as best as I could. As we approached Muscat- his final destination and my last layover before Nairobi, he elbowed me in the side.

With a hushed voice he said: "You know I thought it was all over today." My weary eyes just looked at him hoping that he would elaborate without having to expend the energy necessary to ask him what he meant. He pointed to the other passengers around us- most of whom were dressed in full Islamic garb. "They all got up out of their seats at the same time and started filling the aisle." I had boarded this particular aircraft in Dubai just an hour earlier. The businessman, however, had been on this same aircraft for five straight hours.

"What do you mean?" I asked with heightened interest. "The other passengers all got out of their seats and started chanting in Arabic." I started to chuckle anticipating what he was about to say. "I thought it was a terrorist attack, but then I realized that they were kneeling down in the aisle to pray." From what he said the other passengers had piled up on top of each other as they turned towards Mecca in the middle of the flight to pray. Finally, the flight steward had to ask them to move to the back of the plane so that in-flight services could resume. He started laughing now that he had voiced his concern.

We started to talk about religion. He had been raised in a Catholic school in India as a boy, but was an ardent Hindu currently living in the capital of Oman. He shared his fears and struggles living there. His family all lived in India while he exported scrap-metal from the Comoros to the Middle East. Apparently, he had struck it rich in the recycling business. Finally, he confessed that he was weary from his travels and ready to be home-- even though it really wasn't home. We landed: he bounded off to his own bed as I continued on the flight to Nairobi an additional 4 hours.

As we parted company, two Omanis sat down next to me. Both spoke fluent Zanzibari Swahili. For the next 3 hours we began to talk about life, fears, challenges, current world events, etc.. He and his brother, a government official, were traveling to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania for some much needed R&R. They would then go visit distant relatives in Rwanda. Their stories were fascinating. Their experiences touching. We exchanged contact information and I promised to pray for him.

I'm reminded that despite linguistic, cultural, religious, and geographical boundaries we are all human. We all face the same challenges, the same uncertainties, the same fears, the same struggles, and the same need for a listening ear.

I'm amazed at the depth these 3 men shared with me on that flight as I listened. People sometimes ask me: what's the key to ministry? My current favorite answer is simple: listening.

I think Jesus was a listener. Sure he was a great teacher, a great communicator, and anointed orator, but I think what made him so remarkable was His capacity to listen-- both to the Father and to the people around Him. He heard heaven. He heard human hearts. The real beauty of Christ's life and legacy is His capacity of putting the two together. Heaven colliding with humanity. That's where the Kingdom exploded in people's lives.

Real listening is difficult though. Primarily because it makes others the center of attention. We struggle with that especially living in a me centered world. However, it is my observation that ministry follows listening. May our ears be open to hear.

The Copper Bandits

The price of copper on the world market has soared over the past couple of years. This presents great challenges for Kenya's telecommunication industry. Almost the entirety of their telephone lines are copper. Over the past six months, thieves have cashed in on the value of the telephone line. It started with a couple of phones here and there.

A customer would wake up in the morning with their line out of order. Upon investigation it was discovered that the line had disappeared- hundreds of meters at a time. Soon the case of the disappearing telephone lines spread to entire neighborhoods.

On my most recent visit to Kenya, the problem had become endemic. Entire regions of the city comprising tens of thousands of telephone lines have vanished.

The standard solution? Kenya's telecommunication system has decided not to replace the missing lines because of the exorbitant costs involved. So consumers are forced to rely on their cell phones. Landlines are are becoming a rare commodity.

The guilty culprits? Disgruntled employees who have been sacked in recent months. They understand the value of these lines and how to quickly excavate them in the middle of the night. The moral of the story? Keep your cell phone readily available in order to report any copper thieves pilfering your land line.

Internal sabotage has to be the worst. It's one thing to loose everything to a rival or adversary. While tragic such tactics are expected. It's an entirely different thing, however, to loose everything from self-inflicted stupidity.

Over the past year I've been considering the power of the purpose of God. Isaiah 14:27 says it well "For the Lord Almighty has purposed and who can thwart Him?" Hell can't stop God's purpose. Finances can't thwart it. Other people can't stop it. God's purpose will prevail. God's purpose will triumph. Phil 2:13 "It is God who works in you both to will and to act according to His GOOD purpose."

However, I'm also very aware that God's purpose depends on our cooperation. One verse previous in Phil 2:12 Paul reminds the people of God that they have a responsibility "to work out their salvation." What a fascinating picture: God works His purpose in us so that we can cooperate with Him in working His purpose out of us. Don't self-sabotage the communication line in your life. God's purpose requires our full participation.

Here's hoping your home phone line doesn't go missing!

Great Moments in Prayer by G. Campbell Morgan

"During the Welsh Revival, it is said, that a certain minister was marvelously successful in his preaching. He had but one sermon, but under it hundreds of men were saved. Far away from where he lived in a lonely valley, news of this wonderful success reached a brother preacher. Forthwith he became anxious to find out the secret of this man's success. At length, reaching the humble cottage where the good man lived, he said: "Brother where did you get that sermon?"

He was taken into a poorly furnished room and pointed to a spot where the carpet was worn shabby and bare, near a window that looked out toward the mountains. The minister said, "Brother, that's where I got that sermon. My heart was heavy for men. One evening I knelt there and cried for power to preach as I had never preached before.

The hours passed until the midnight struck and the stars looked down on the sleeping valley and silent hills; but the answer came not. So I prayed until at length I saw a faint gray shoot up in the east. Presently it became silver, and I watched and prayed until the silver became purple and gold, and on all the mountain crests blazed the fires of the new day; and then the sermon came and the power came.

I lay down and slept and arose and preached and scores fell down before the fire of God. That is where I got that sermon."

Prayer for the Authorities

My dear friend Chris Ndikumana from Burundi recently sent me a fantastic teaching on the importance of prayer for a nation and for those in authority within a nation. I just finished translating it from French into English. His section on those in authority is excellent so I decided to post it below:

Prayer for the authorities.

Before I speak on prayer for the authorities, we must first see what the Bible has to say about the authorities in a nation. Paul wrote to the Romans to inform them that they must respect the governmental authorities because there is no authority except that which God has established (Romans 13:1).

The paradox here is that during this period Roman was governed by Nero considered to be the worst persecutor of the church in that time period. If I were to try to place myself in these Roman Christians situation I would find it nearly impossible to be able to pray for someone who not only mistreated people in general but also persecuted the church. Worse still, Paul say in verse 4 that the ruler in authority is God’s servant for our good.

Why would Paul speak of God’s servant when he knew full well of the atrocities committed by Nero? The answer is found in 1 Timothy 2:1-3. Writing to Timothy Paul exhorts him to pray for all people and especially those in authority such as kings (presidents) so that we may lead peaceful and quiet lives in godliness and holiness. If we don’t’ pray for our presidents, governors, senators, etc.. the devil will know how to best use them to accomplish his will in the earth since Jesus described him as the prince of this world (John 14:30). We must pray then that God would use them to accomplish his will here on this earth. We don’t pray for them because they are righteous but rather because they hold a very important place in the sight of God.

The Word of God says that it is God who changes the times and seasons, he depose kings (presidents) and raises up others (Daniel 2:21). This means that we need to accept those who govern over us praying for them despite their evil actions for this is good and pleases God our Savior (I timothy 2:3).

I was among those who spoke very negatively about the leaders of this country (Burundi) but I repented as soon as the Lord gave me this revelation. When we speak negatively of our leaders we are actually cursing them since our speech either curses or blesses people (James 3:9). The problem is that when we curse them we are inadvertently cursing those who are under their authority.

One day Paul insulted the high priest without realizing his position. His friends were astonished and asked him how he could dare to do something like that to the high priest. His answer astonished me: Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.” (Acts 23:5).

We need to pray for our leaders so that God can guide them in their decision making process for if we don’t pray they will be guided by other forces (demonic) and laws allowing homosexuality and abortion will be established in some places. In other nations, they will be influenced by corruption and criminal activity. Some laws passed in the name of democracy become the devil’s favorite weapon for defying the Word of God.

The Lord is Near

I've been thinking about the nearness of the Lord.

Here is a quick word study on the subject.

Philippians 4:5 "The Lord is NEAR".

Psalm 119:151 David says that in the face of the wicked and their schemes, he won't loose hope because: "Yet you are NEAR Oh Lord"

Psalm 145:18 David say that prayer attracts the Lord: "The Lord is NEAR to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth".

Psalm 34:10 A broken heart brings God's Presence near. "The Lord is CLOSE to the brokenhearted"

Isaiah 50:8 "He who vindicates me is NEAR. Who then will bring charges?"

James 5:8 "You too be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is NEAR"

Romans 13:11 "And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber because our salvation is NEARER now than when we first believed.

My thought is this: as we grow in our understanding of His nearness in our daily lives we are better prepared for His nearing return. Practicing in His presence as Brother Lawrence called it is the art of acknowledging His nearness in our lives. The more we realize His nearness the more we experience His nearness. The more we experience His nearness the more we want to be like Him. The more our hearts to desire to be like Him the more we are aligned with His purposes in this hour and His ultimate purpose of returning to take His people to heaven.

Shane & Shane have a great song out called "Be Near oh God". In any and every situation of life the Lord is near to His people. I've been sick some five months with a myriad of strange infections, bacterias, and viruses. Often I've wanted to ask the question: "just where are you in that whole mess in my life Lord?" I'm convinced His answer is the same as it's always been- "I'm near to you". I think that's why His name is Emmanuel: "God is with us".

I'm grateful for my God who is near.

Spectacular Turn-Around

On Father's Day I preached a message at Cathedral of Praise in Sand Springs, Oklahoma on "Spectacular Turn-Arounds". Normally, I don't post my messages. However, I really feel that this is a strong word in season for my generation here in the United States.

The message is based on the story of Gehazi, Elisha's servant. God did an amazing thing in this man's life that can only be described as a Spectacular Turn-Around. The message is 36 minutes long.

The link is as follows:

http://www.cpraise.org/499914.ihtml (June 19th, 2011 Spectacular Turn-Around).

The Peril of a Plastic Bag

In an African country not so far away:

The Ocean waters were so inviting as the sun beat down upon us. I could hardly wait! Our little canopy covered canoe with an outboard motor moved laboriously through the deep. We were about to take the plunge into the Ocean depths below to observe the aquatic world underneath us. Snorkeling off the coast of Zanzibar is exquisite.

My fellow passenger and dearest of friends since his radical conversion several years ago was none other than Sach. As we reached the intended spot over the coral gardens far beneath us, I could see the excitement on his face.

This was his first experience snorkeling. After explanation and instruction, I asked the question: "are you ready?"

"OHHH YEA" came his usual jubilant response.

SPLASH. I hit the water first and took off full speed ahead mesmerized by the tropical colors and schools of fish all around me.

SPLASH. The sound of Sach hitting the water several meters behind me was unmistakable. I just knew this was going to be the experience of a life-time for him.

After several minutes of diving and chasing small exotic fish I suddenly realized that I hadn't seen Sach since the 2nd splash. Poking my head up above water, I noticed that he was back on the boat already.

"What in the world?" I thought to myself.

As I neared the boat, all I could hear was his deep booming voice yelling like a mad-man: "Waaahhhhaaaaa!"

"What happened?" I asked in disbelief.

"THE PLASTIC BAG BIT ME" he thundered in response.

Plastic bag???? What plastic bag????

As I pulled myself back up onto the boat- I looked at his stomach in horror. He was swelling up as huge blisters appeared all over his torso. "Sach!! What happened???"

"As soon as I jumped in the water a huge plastic bag with legs came floating by and ripped into me!"

The reality settled in: JELLY-FISH.

I tried to hold back a laugh as I thought about the imagery of a floating plastic bag attacking an innocent snorkeler. For a person who has never seen a jelly-fish before this would be logical conclusion. Yet, what appeared to be one thing really was not. Something that seemed to be harmless caused tremendous damage. What Sach gravely needed in that moment was the insight and alertness to stay away from the "plastic bag" with tentacles.

My thoughts move towards the days in which we live and the need for spiritual discernment in our lives. Surely, this is an hour to be alert and ready- not apathetic and unconcerned. A moment in history when we must be focused on the Lord and His purposes. Words that keep coming to mind are "focus" and "precision".

Could it be that too many saints have a casual "oh it's just a plastic bag" mentality? After all, it's not a big deal right? This spirit of indifference stifles people exposing them to grave danger. Rather, let us be focused on the things of the Lord- His love, His grace, His kindness, His calling, His promises, and His hope never taking them for granted.

Jesus, in identifying one of the signs of the last days, says in Matthew 24 that "the love of most will grow cold". That verse has always bothered me. Why did He say "most"? I could handle the words "some", "few", or "small number"- but "most" is almost too much. And the reason? "because of the increase of wickedness". Increasing perversion, shamelessness, indecency, immorality, rebellion, godless music, idolatry, selfishness etc....

My mind wonders back again to that day in the waters of Zanzibar. The Ocean was full of "plastic bags", however, I continued swimming because I knew to avoid them. My dear friend, however, jumped out of the water almost immediately in sheer agony. The sting of the jellyfish literally killed all desire in him to continue. And so it would seem that the sting of wickedness in this hour will kill love in our hearts.

In closing, stay near His love. Let your heart be saturated, captured, and captivated afresh by the power of His glorious love! In so doing His love will protect the love inside of us- love towards the Lord, love towards our families, love towards His people, and love towards the world around us.

And the next time you are swimming stay away from plastic bags.

The Return of the Car

This past weekend I traveled to Oklahoma City to spend the night at a friend's house. After parking the car in the drive-way around 11.15 PM I entered the house. After talking for about an hour we decided to get some rest. The next morning my alarm rang at 7:30 and I quickly proceeded to get ready to head to a Speed the Light Rally about 20 minutes away. Stepping out of the front door my heart froze as there was no vehicle in the driveway.

I quickly reentered the house to wake my friend. "My car is gone- it must have been stolen" I blurted out. "Come on! That's not possible" he retorted. Sure enough no Honda Accord to be found anywhere.

The police arrived about 8:15 AM for my statement. The officer was quite cordial and totally un-phased by the situation. "Currently, over 200 vehicles a month are being stolen in Oklahoma City" he remarked in a very matter of fact manner.

Another missionary, Blake Edgmon, graciously agreed to pick me up for the rally. Doug Everhard the DYD for Oklahoma loaned me his vehicle so I could return to Tulsa for services the next day.

On the way back to Tulsa, the gravity of the situation started to take hold of me. I suddenly felt very distressed, violated, and angry. My thoughts were attacking my faith and my confidence in God. "How could this have happened?" "Why would this happen?" "Where was God in all of this?" As the thoughts escalated, my spirits sank- until finally I could scarcely think at all. Then a glimmer of hope flashed in my heart as I realized that this was a satanic attack meant to completely discourage me.

Immediately, I began to pray. The anger and pent up frustration was suddenly channeled in a different direction: instead of heavy introspection it exploded in holy indignation. I began to pray at the top of my lungs angrily berating the devil for his lies and unwelcome assault. Then suddenly it just came out of my mouth: "and the car will come back! That's the car God gave me and you have no right taking it!" As I prayed, an idea formed in my mind- have everyone you know who knows how to really pray ask the Lord to restore this vehicle.

Upon reaching Tulsa, I started firing off emails, text messages, and phone calls. Within hours I started hearing back from many dear friends and trusted people of prayer that they were standing in agreement for the return of the vehicle.

Monday evening- roughly 60 some hours after the incident my cell phone rang. It was the OKC police. The vehicle had just been recovered and an arrest was made. An observant police officer had seen the car emerge from a neighborhood some 5 miles from the scene of the original crime. The driver immediately sped off with the police car giving chase. In the ensuing chase the front end of the car was smashed before the driver finally surrendered and was hauled off to jail. Despite the damage to the front the vehicle was still operable.

My friend went to the scene of the arrest to collect the vehicle on my behalf. Much to his amazement the interior of the car was totally untouched. The only objects missing from the interior were the garage door opener, OK PikePass, several CDs, and missionary prayer cards. Everything else was still there- including all of my Africa display items.

My heart leapt at this report. Surely, God answers prayer! My friend Sach said it so well: "that thief stole the wrong car! It belonged to someone who knows the power of prayer". The car is in a local body shop undergoing a front-end rebuild. It should be back to normal again by next week.

Now please would you pray for the man who stole the vehicle. I'm asking the Lord to convict him so that he would turn his heart to Christ! And that he would be a key to seeing many in OKC come into the Kingdom!