Where are you in missions? “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” Isaiah 6:8 Many people focus on when Jesus said, “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” Mt 9:38 “Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.” Lk 10:2 And, although it is true, we do need to pray for the Lord of the Harvest to send forth laborers, as Christ said to do, we forget a very key verse about missions. “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” Isaiah 6:8 I really like this song, "Keep On Calling, Lord" words and music written by Deborah Wells, missionary to Papua New Guinea.
(Used by permittion.) http://biblefm.com/Brad_Wells_Family.php
Q. How can He send forth laborers, if no one volunteers to go? A. He can’t. He will never force us to go anywhere, or do anything. My Dad has preached a message called, “Where Am I In Missions?” He created an acronym for each of the letter in missions. M- Multitude Matt 14:14 - And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. Matt 9:36-38 - But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. John 4:35 - Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. 1) Fields are white unto harvest, but the labourers are few, - White Wheat - Letter from Kansas State University - states the wheat that is white is past the harvesting time, damaged buy too much sun and rain, but edible, if harvested quickly. 2) Pray that God calls the workers, he's not asking that our emotions run before his call. I – Intercessor Ezek 22:30 - And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Isa 59:16 - And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. We read in Genesis about Abraham, the intercessory man before God, who talked God from 50 righteous to only 10. Gen 18:23-33. Man to Man intercessor - Gen 37:21,26, Phm 10 Moses for Israel - Ex 32.32; Numb 14:17, Deut 9:26 Samuel 1 Sa 7:5 David for Israel 1 Chron 21:17 Eph 1:16 S – Saviour 1 Timothy 1:15 Matthew 28:18-20 Going with the message of the Saviour 1 Tim 4:10- For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe. Titus 2:10-15 - Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee. 2 Pet 3:2 - That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: S - Simplicity 2 Cor 11:3 - But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. I - Instrument Rom 6:13 - Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Rom 9:22-23 - What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Rom 9:21 - Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 1Thes 4:4 - That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 2 Tim 2:21 - If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. O - Ordained Acts 13:1-3 Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. 1 Tim 2:7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. Heb 9:6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. Exod 28:41 And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office. N - Night Approaches John 9:4 - I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. There are four watches in the night, we're in the last, which means there isn't much time left. Redeem the time "You have undoubtedly heard the phrase 'saving time,' ... But in a sense this phrase is misleading. Certain resources can be saved and even stockpiled - time cannot. Time is something which inevitably does and inevitably will proceed. Rather than stockpile it, hoarding it, or keeping it locked in a safe, all we can do is manage how well we actually spent it." (Quoted from book, "Smart Moves", by Sam Deep and Lyle Sussman, quoted in "IEEE Potentials", Feb 1992, page 6.) If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with $86,400, that carried over no balance from day to day, allowed you to keep no cash in your account, and every evening cancelled whatever part of the amount you had failed to use during the day, what would you do? Draw out every cent, of course. Well, you have such a bank, and its name is, "Time". Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it rules off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balances. It allows no overdrafts. Each day it opens a new account with you. Each night it burns the records of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against the "tomorrow". You must live in the present - on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success!! “Only one life ‘twill soon be past Only what's done for Christ will last!!" S - Sacrifice 1) Romans 12:1-12 Their Lives "An old Roman coin was found on which was a picture of an ox, one of the servants of man. The ox was facing two things, "an altar and a plough". The inscription read, "Ready for either." To those servants of God who made the supreme sacrifice upon the "altar of martyrdom" in Japanese prisoner of war camps or in the fetid jungles of Borneo... And to those who put their hand to the "plough of service" for the Master, never looking back, surviving the imprisonment, deprivation, separation from and loss of loved ones, hunger, beatings, and rape, and bearing in their bodies the cost of following the Master wherever He led, until He called them home." (Dedication of the book, "Evidence Not Seen", by Darlene Deibler Rose) By Their Blood - 4 Times thicker then Foxes Book, but talk of missionaries who lost their lives in service for the Lord. "In October, 1931, widower Jack Vinson, a beloved Southern Presbyterian missionary, was captured by bandits while visiting rural churches in Kiangsu Province (China). A government force, loyal to Chiang, pursued the kidnappers and surrounded them in a small town. The bandits offered the missionary freedom if he would persuade the force to withdraw. Vinson agreed only if they would release other captives. The bandits refused and tried to shoot their way out. In the melee many bandits were killed, and the survivors fled with Vinson. However, the missionary could not run because of recent surgery. One bandit shot him, then another ran up and cut off his head. The daughter of a Chinese pastor was among those rescued by the government troops. She recalled having heard a bandit tell him, 'I'm going to kill you. Aren't you afraid?' She said Vinson had replied simply, 'Kill me, if you wish, I will go straight to God.' John Birch - China Missionary Killed by Communist. - Out of J. Frank Norris's School in Texas. "One morning after Russell had told the final episode of his story, Dr. Jaffray walked into the bedroom and saw me tearing the dead tissue off Russell's feet, the blood and pus running. A wave of nausea passed over his face; then he turned and without a word abruptly left the room. He closeted himself in his bedroom, and when I called him at noon, he said he would not be out for lunch. About four that afternoon, he walked out and laid a manuscript on the table in front of me. I picked it up and read the editorial for our field magazine, "The Pioneer "This morning I looked at the bleeding feet of a missionary, saw his wife tending them, saw the blood and puss running from them and thought to myself, "What a nauseating sight that is!" But, as I walked from the room, the Lord kept saying to me, "Oh, but to Me they are beautiful feet!" "Then I remembered - "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings" - good tidings to men and women like those in New Guinea who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. Someday it will all be over. Someday the tired, bleeding feet of the missionaries will for the last time cross those broken-bottle limestone mountains. Someday for the last time they will go down into one of those newly discovered valleys. Someday for the last time they will speak the message of redemption through Jesus Christ our Lord. Someday the last one will turn to Jesus. Then the clouds will part asunder and our Savior will be there." ("Evidence Not Seen", Darlene Deibler Rose, pages 16-17) *** 2. Sacrifice of People to send these Missionaries. Acts 13:1-3 Phil 4:13-19 Heb 13:16 Col. Jack Henry told my Dad many years ago, "You pray that God will send you to the mission field, when God doesn't let you go, then you ask how much you can give. Too many people are only interested in how much they can give, not caring if they can go. Missionaries aren't sent by God Bless You, but by the sacrifices of God's people, who have prayed for the harvest, surrendered for the harvest and when the Lord says no, asked the Lord how much they can sacrifice for missions. DEPUTATION STATISTICS Average 1960 - 69 1970 - 79 1980-89 1990-98 Deputation Time 12 Months 17 Months 30 Months 24 Months Meetings 46 112 320 265 Miles 31,000 54,500 75,000 65,000 Support $556.00 $1,318.00 2,000/month 3,000/month Cost $30,000.00 (1960- 1979, as Quoted in Baptist Missions at the Pensacola Bible Institute, Pensacola, FL., on 28 FEB. 84, 1980- 1998, as quoted from a letter from Jonathan Richmond, Dir. of Bible Baptist Missions, FEB 98) A missionary wrote my Dad: Dear Randy, The only available statistics that I have concerning deputation would be for 1994. 1. Average deputation time -- 2 years, 5 months 2. Average meetings -- 220 meetings 3. Average mileage -- 80,000 - 100,000 miles M- Multitude I - Intercessor S - Saviour S - Simplicity I - Instrument O - Ordained N - Night Approaches S - Sacrifice There is an ‘I’ in all of these points today and my prayer today, is that you would truly be in missions. "Lift up your eyes and look, Lift up your hearts and pray, Lift up your hands and give, Lift up your feet and go, Lift up your voice and preach."
Prayer Requests
Our President
Our Millitary
Pastors
Missionaries
Evangelists
Allen Marshall - cancer
Kim Scherer - Assistant Pastor's wife - Cancer
Leonard Sherry - broken neck - needs surgery, but doctor's refuse to operate.
Q. How can He send forth laborers, if no one volunteers to go? A. He can’t. He will never force us to go anywhere, or do anything. My Dad has preached a message called, “Where Am I In Missions?” He created an acronym for each of the letter in missions. M- Multitude Matt 14:14 - And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. Matt 9:36-38 - But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. John 4:35 - Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. 1) Fields are white unto harvest, but the labourers are few, - White Wheat - Letter from Kansas State University - states the wheat that is white is past the harvesting time, damaged buy too much sun and rain, but edible, if harvested quickly. 2) Pray that God calls the workers, he's not asking that our emotions run before his call. I – Intercessor Ezek 22:30 - And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Isa 59:16 - And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. We read in Genesis about Abraham, the intercessory man before God, who talked God from 50 righteous to only 10. Gen 18:23-33. Man to Man intercessor - Gen 37:21,26, Phm 10 Moses for Israel - Ex 32.32; Numb 14:17, Deut 9:26 Samuel 1 Sa 7:5 David for Israel 1 Chron 21:17 Eph 1:16 S – Saviour 1 Timothy 1:15 Matthew 28:18-20 Going with the message of the Saviour 1 Tim 4:10- For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe. Titus 2:10-15 - Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee. 2 Pet 3:2 - That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: S - Simplicity 2 Cor 11:3 - But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. I - Instrument Rom 6:13 - Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Rom 9:22-23 - What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Rom 9:21 - Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 1Thes 4:4 - That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 2 Tim 2:21 - If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. O - Ordained Acts 13:1-3 Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. 1 Tim 2:7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. Heb 9:6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. Exod 28:41 And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office. N - Night Approaches John 9:4 - I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. There are four watches in the night, we're in the last, which means there isn't much time left. Redeem the time "You have undoubtedly heard the phrase 'saving time,' ... But in a sense this phrase is misleading. Certain resources can be saved and even stockpiled - time cannot. Time is something which inevitably does and inevitably will proceed. Rather than stockpile it, hoarding it, or keeping it locked in a safe, all we can do is manage how well we actually spent it." (Quoted from book, "Smart Moves", by Sam Deep and Lyle Sussman, quoted in "IEEE Potentials", Feb 1992, page 6.) If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with $86,400, that carried over no balance from day to day, allowed you to keep no cash in your account, and every evening cancelled whatever part of the amount you had failed to use during the day, what would you do? Draw out every cent, of course. Well, you have such a bank, and its name is, "Time". Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it rules off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balances. It allows no overdrafts. Each day it opens a new account with you. Each night it burns the records of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against the "tomorrow". You must live in the present - on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success!! “Only one life ‘twill soon be past Only what's done for Christ will last!!" S - Sacrifice 1) Romans 12:1-12 Their Lives "An old Roman coin was found on which was a picture of an ox, one of the servants of man. The ox was facing two things, "an altar and a plough". The inscription read, "Ready for either." To those servants of God who made the supreme sacrifice upon the "altar of martyrdom" in Japanese prisoner of war camps or in the fetid jungles of Borneo... And to those who put their hand to the "plough of service" for the Master, never looking back, surviving the imprisonment, deprivation, separation from and loss of loved ones, hunger, beatings, and rape, and bearing in their bodies the cost of following the Master wherever He led, until He called them home." (Dedication of the book, "Evidence Not Seen", by Darlene Deibler Rose) By Their Blood - 4 Times thicker then Foxes Book, but talk of missionaries who lost their lives in service for the Lord. "In October, 1931, widower Jack Vinson, a beloved Southern Presbyterian missionary, was captured by bandits while visiting rural churches in Kiangsu Province (China). A government force, loyal to Chiang, pursued the kidnappers and surrounded them in a small town. The bandits offered the missionary freedom if he would persuade the force to withdraw. Vinson agreed only if they would release other captives. The bandits refused and tried to shoot their way out. In the melee many bandits were killed, and the survivors fled with Vinson. However, the missionary could not run because of recent surgery. One bandit shot him, then another ran up and cut off his head. The daughter of a Chinese pastor was among those rescued by the government troops. She recalled having heard a bandit tell him, 'I'm going to kill you. Aren't you afraid?' She said Vinson had replied simply, 'Kill me, if you wish, I will go straight to God.' John Birch - China Missionary Killed by Communist. - Out of J. Frank Norris's School in Texas. "One morning after Russell had told the final episode of his story, Dr. Jaffray walked into the bedroom and saw me tearing the dead tissue off Russell's feet, the blood and pus running. A wave of nausea passed over his face; then he turned and without a word abruptly left the room. He closeted himself in his bedroom, and when I called him at noon, he said he would not be out for lunch. About four that afternoon, he walked out and laid a manuscript on the table in front of me. I picked it up and read the editorial for our field magazine, "The Pioneer "This morning I looked at the bleeding feet of a missionary, saw his wife tending them, saw the blood and puss running from them and thought to myself, "What a nauseating sight that is!" But, as I walked from the room, the Lord kept saying to me, "Oh, but to Me they are beautiful feet!" "Then I remembered - "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings" - good tidings to men and women like those in New Guinea who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. Someday it will all be over. Someday the tired, bleeding feet of the missionaries will for the last time cross those broken-bottle limestone mountains. Someday for the last time they will go down into one of those newly discovered valleys. Someday for the last time they will speak the message of redemption through Jesus Christ our Lord. Someday the last one will turn to Jesus. Then the clouds will part asunder and our Savior will be there." ("Evidence Not Seen", Darlene Deibler Rose, pages 16-17) *** 2. Sacrifice of People to send these Missionaries. Acts 13:1-3 Phil 4:13-19 Heb 13:16 Col. Jack Henry told my Dad many years ago, "You pray that God will send you to the mission field, when God doesn't let you go, then you ask how much you can give. Too many people are only interested in how much they can give, not caring if they can go. Missionaries aren't sent by God Bless You, but by the sacrifices of God's people, who have prayed for the harvest, surrendered for the harvest and when the Lord says no, asked the Lord how much they can sacrifice for missions. DEPUTATION STATISTICS Average 1960 - 69 1970 - 79 1980-89 1990-98 Deputation Time 12 Months 17 Months 30 Months 24 Months Meetings 46 112 320 265 Miles 31,000 54,500 75,000 65,000 Support $556.00 $1,318.00 2,000/month 3,000/month Cost $30,000.00 (1960- 1979, as Quoted in Baptist Missions at the Pensacola Bible Institute, Pensacola, FL., on 28 FEB. 84, 1980- 1998, as quoted from a letter from Jonathan Richmond, Dir. of Bible Baptist Missions, FEB 98) A missionary wrote my Dad: Dear Randy, The only available statistics that I have concerning deputation would be for 1994. 1. Average deputation time -- 2 years, 5 months 2. Average meetings -- 220 meetings 3. Average mileage -- 80,000 - 100,000 miles M- Multitude I - Intercessor S - Saviour S - Simplicity I - Instrument O - Ordained N - Night Approaches S - Sacrifice There is an ‘I’ in all of these points today and my prayer today, is that you would truly be in missions. "Lift up your eyes and look, Lift up your hearts and pray, Lift up your hands and give, Lift up your feet and go, Lift up your voice and preach."
Prayer Requests
Our President
Our Millitary
Pastors
Missionaries
Evangelists
Allen Marshall - cancer
Kim Scherer - Assistant Pastor's wife - Cancer
Leonard Sherry - broken neck - needs surgery, but doctor's refuse to operate.