Archive for March, 2009
Mission Conference
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” – Acts 1:8
The words spoken by our resurrected Lord in Acts 1:8 have been the basis for many sermons on the responsibility of followers of Jesus Christ to take the gospel to their city (“Jerusalem”), their surrounding communities (“Judaea”), wherever they may pass through in travel (“Samaria”), and world missions (“uttermost part of the earth”). As ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20) this four-fold witness is the responsibility of every Christian. When we arrive in Rome it will no longer be the “uttermost part of the earth” for us; it will become our “Jerusalem.” We will still have the duty of reaching the “uttermost part of the earth” through our financial support and prayers for other missionaries around the world; just as others here in America will be reaching Italy (their “uttermost”) through their financial support of our family and other missionaries called to minister in Italy.
There is a difference between a calling and a burden. The Lord has called me to preach the gospel in Italy but I should have a burden for lost souls the world-over. Christ’s command was to “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel 
to every creature.” We can “Go” into “all” the world by having a part in another’s ministry. One reason I love attending mission conferences is to hear and see the fields other missionaries have been called to and to be challenged by the need for the gospel in that particular field. In the month of March alone I have attended mission conferences with missionaries to Poland, Puerto Rico, Peru, Haiti, Spain, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Philippines, gypsies of Romania, Hawaii, India, Mexico, Costa Rica, Scotland, China, and Moldova. Each field, including America, is the same in several respects: “the harvest truly is plenteous” and “the labourers are few.”
“Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” – Matthew 9:38
As a post script to this journal, I would like to include quotations from missionaries of the past that I find moving…
“If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?” – David Livingstone, missionary to Africa
“If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” – C.T. Studd, missionary to China, India, and Africa
“God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on him.” – Hudson Taylor, missionary to China
“People who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives… and when the bubble has burst, they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted.” – Nate Saint, missionary to Auca Indians of Ecuador
“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose” – Jim Elliot, missionary to Auca Indians of Ecuador
“’Not called!’ did you say? ‘Not heard the call,” I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father’s house and bid their brothers and sisters and servants and masters not to come there. Then look Christ in the face – whose mercy you have professed to obey – and tell Him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish His mercy to the world.” – William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army
“I cared not where or how I lived, or what hardships I went through, so that I could but gain souls to Christ.” – David Brainerd, missionary to American Indians
“I have seen, at different times, the smoke of a thousand villages – villages whose people are without Christ, without God, and without hope in this world.” – Robert Moffat, missionary to Africa
“Would that God would make hell so real to us that we cannot rest; heaven so real that we must have men there; Christ so real that our supreme motive and aim shall be to make the Man of Sorrows the Man of Joy by the conversion to Him of many.” – Hudson Taylor, missionary to China
March Madness
On Saturday I was driving to the first of three church meetings I was to have over the weekend in Michigan when my cell phone rang just before I reached Toledo. It was my mechanic. He said, “I have bad news. You have a blown head gasket. I’ll have to get back with you on an exact estimate but you’re looking at well over $1200.” I had dropped off our Olds earlier in the week because it was bleeding antifreeze; I figured I’d be out around $400 but at least we would have a reliable vehicle. My heart sank when I received the news from the mechanic. The trade-in value for the car is not even worth the price to fix it. March was turning out to be a crazy month.
At the beginning of March Sandy and Isaiah had caught a nasty virus. Sandy coughed violently for a week; which was of great concern considering her pregnancy. Then late one Saturday, just before I was to leave for a church meeting in northern Ohio, Isaiah fell ill with a fever. Sandy was not feeling well enough to care for him at the time so I needed to cancel the meeting. March was also witness to our home being put up for sale, increased doctor visits for Sandy, an intense schedule of mission meetings as well as continuing (for the time being for health insurance) with my hefty job responsibilities as an engineer. Also, due to being so near the end of her pregnancy, Sandy stayed home rather than go with me on the trip to Michigan – it was more difficult than I could have imagined being away from her this late in the pregnancy. So the news about the car seemed especially discouraging. Adding insult to injury, later that evening as I arose from my knees in private prayer before the service I heard a rip. Yes, it was the seat of my pants – the only suit I brought for the trip.
All of these circumstances fought for attention in my mind as I cried out to the Lord. I felt alone and despondent and then the Spirit brought a passage of scripture to mind from a recent sermon I heard by Walter Stevens, missionary to the gypsies of Eastern Europe. The scripture was Hebrews 12:3-4, “For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” As I meditated on those verses peace filled my soul.
God had only one Son and He was a missionary. Just because I am a missionary does not mean I will not have car trouble or we will never face sickness. I will never experience the suffering and shame that my Saviour bore on my behalf and I have not yet resisted unto blood. The Lord doesn’t owe me anything but He deserves my praise and adoration for every good thing in my life. He knows my end and everything that comes my way has a passport stamped by Him. I might not enjoy the chastening but at least I know where His hand is. I might not understand the trials but at least I know He does right all the time. How can I be wearied and faint in my mind when I consider Him?
With safety pins holding me together I preached after the international dinner on Saturday. Praise the Lord two women received Christ as their Saviour. Later that evening the wife of the pastor I was staying with fixed the rip in the seat of my pants. In the morning, the church I shared our ministry with voted to take us on for support. That afternoon I received another call from the mechanic. It wasn’t the head gasket after all and would actually be around $400 to fix the problem. Both the church I met with on Saturday evening as well as the one on Sunday evening expressed interest in our ministry. I felt so blessed. So much of life is about having the proper perspective… our problems seem so small when we just consider Him.
“I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” – Psalm 34:1
Shower of Blessing
Recently Karla and Amber, two ladies from the Sunday School class I once taught, held a baby shower for Sandy and Pearl. It was a blessing. Around thirty ladies from the church attended as well as some members of our family. We greatly appreciated the gift cards, baby items, and clothes. Sandy was touched that so many women would take time out of their busy Saturday afternoon to spend on her and our baby girl. She was moved by everyone’s kindness and generosity as well as the thoughtfulness of Karla and Amber. It is such a blessing when someone takes the time to show they care, even more so when it involves your children.
This idea of showing others you care was echoed by Dr. Geno Milioni as we ate together after the Sunday evening service at Monclova Road Baptist Church. (Dr. Milioni retired as pastor of a church in Findlay after 50 years of service and is now on staff at Monclova Road.) He invited me to Bob Evans after the first night of the mission conference to talk more about Italy and his Italian heritage. Dr. Milioni said the key to ministering in Italy will be to win the hearts of the Italian people as well as win their trust – take them to lunch, send them a card, invite them over for fellowship, etc. In other words, the first and foremost aspect of successful ministry is love. Or to borrow from a little saying, the Italian people will not care how much we know, until they know how much we care.
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophesy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” – 1 Corinthians 13:1-3