This week we had a speaker come in from a closed country to teach on the school (for his security I will not use his name or the name of the country he is working in.) This was the first time I have ever met him, but he is an old friend of many people on the base. He taught our school on evangelism and foreign missions. One of the main points that he made was that evangelism isn't just going out to the streets to tell people they need Jesus, but that a big part of evangelism is your lifestyle. He talked about how in the country he works in that the Lord told him that one of his strategies would be to keep his house clean and to show hospitality. He told a story about one of his friends who worked in the same country and about the first person he was able to lead to Christ. When he asked the person why he came to Christ he said that one of the main reasons was because he could see the difference in his life based on the way he kept his house and the way he showed hospitality.
During all of the teaching you could see his passion for the people group he was working in. In everything he did and said you could see that his heart longed for that people group to come to know the Lord. I pray that the Lord will help my heart to be as much for the Mexican people as his was for that people group.
This week we also did a lot of getting ready for Outreach. We saw God work in some amazing ways as the Haiti team got in all their money for their Outreach. It came down to the last day, just hours before the absolute last moment they could turn in money. If they didn't have their money they wouldn't be able to go, and the outstanding amount was thousands of dollars, but an anonymous donor paid for two girls to be able to go on Outreach just in the nick of time. It was amazing to see how God worked in every situation. God has been faithful to us up to this point and I know that He is going to continue to show His faithfulness in even more, bigger ways as we go on to plant this base!
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
"I only need Jesus Christ!"
This week we had Troy Sherman in to speak about "The Cross beyond repentance." The idea of the teaching this week was that the Cross was not just about ensuring that we could all go to Heaven, but that it compels us to so much more! Because of the Cross we are compelled to live a completely new life. We are called to love our neighbor and truly follow the principles Jesus set up for us in the Bible.
We talked about how applying the principles of the Bible could actually solve many of the world's problems, including world hunger and giving clean water to all people. There are two reasons for this: first, all Laws in the Bible are simply descriptions of reality and two, because God gave us the Laws and principles in the Bible because He loves us and wants the best for us. Because of this we should be trying to apply the principles in the Bible because of God's Love, and the ultimate demonstration of this was at the Cross.
We also talked about how the Christian actually has some great responsibilities. God gave man authority on the earth and a freewill, so a lot of the things we blame on God are actually our responsibility. One example is that 80% of all violent crimes are committed by men who grew up without fathers. So someone might blame God for a violent crime, such as rape, committed against them or their family, but that was never in His Plans at all. That same person, however, might be having sex with their boyfriend outside of wedlock which is the number one reason for fatherless children. God did not intend for this to happen, but man has made this problem because of our sin, not His fault. But God is so good that He still sent His Son to die for us to answer any questions about His Goodness! The Cross says to us, "I love you and would never do anything against you, but even if you do have anything you think you can blame on me, I died for that too!"
Troy also really challenged the YWAM Centro Mexico City as well. He is the son of a man who has been one of the key players in YWAM since the beginning, so he has seen tons of behind-the-scenes stuff and has seen bases rise and fall. He told us just how hard pioneering will be and that we really need to be ready for the storm. He also challenged us with commitment because, as he said, "Most of the key players in YWAM will tell you that they aren't the best or the smartest or the most spiritual, but rather that they just stayed when everyone else had left." So I have really been rethinking my one year commitment. I am trying to get my heart to a place where I can truly say to God, "Ok, Lord, I will stay here as long as you want." I am not sure what is going to come out of this, all I know is that God is good and the things He has in His plans for me are the very best things for my life!
As I was thinking about my commitment and was praying about my call to Mexico City I decided to take a walk. I was just wandering through the streets asking God to give me a stronger "yes." As I was walking along the Malecon (the boardwalk which overlooks the ocean) a man came across the street on crutches asking me, "Hey man, what are you looking for?" I told him I wasn't looking for anything to which he responded by offering me some marijuana. I told him I didn't smoke weed so he offered me coke, pills, "whatever you want." I told him I didn't do drugs, so he offered me a prostitute. I said I didn't need any of that because I have now found Jesus and He is better than all of that.
When he heard me say that he had me sit down with him and he began to apologize. He told me that he knew what he was doing was wrong, but that he was doing it because he had no money at all and was just trying to make it in life. He then told me that he really knew how bad it was because he had hurt his knee one day when he was high and drunk. To that I asked him what was wrong with it and he said that he just woke up off a high one morning and couldn't walk and was in tremendous pain. When I heard that I asked if I could pray for him. He said that I could, and then I told him that Jesus died to take away our pain both physical and spiritual. I then laid my hand on his knee and prayed a simple one or one and a half minute prayer for healing and then asked him how he felt. He said his pain was gone, so I asked him to get up and see if he could walk. He got up, took a few steps forward, and then looked back at me smiling and laughing. He started jumping up and down saying that he was healed and that he could walk again! He was probably more excited than anyone I have ever seen after they were healed! I then asked him if he had eaten, he said he hadn't, so I took his crutches up on my shoulder and we walked back to the base for dinner.
When we got here to the base he and I sat down with the base director and he began to share his story. It turns out that he had been a drug mule since he was 12 years old, had been on drugs for years, and hadn't been back to his home in Monterrey in three years. He then took out a bag of weed that was about the size of a sandwich bag and threw it away, saying that he never would need weed again! By the end of the night we were able to buy him a bus ticket back to his home in Monterrey where he had a Christian mother who had been praying for him all along. He called me when he got to Monterrey telling me he was safe with his family, that he was planning on doing the January DTS at YWAM Mazatlan, and that he, "doesn't need weed, pills, or coke, I only need Jesus Christ!"
We talked about how applying the principles of the Bible could actually solve many of the world's problems, including world hunger and giving clean water to all people. There are two reasons for this: first, all Laws in the Bible are simply descriptions of reality and two, because God gave us the Laws and principles in the Bible because He loves us and wants the best for us. Because of this we should be trying to apply the principles in the Bible because of God's Love, and the ultimate demonstration of this was at the Cross.
We also talked about how the Christian actually has some great responsibilities. God gave man authority on the earth and a freewill, so a lot of the things we blame on God are actually our responsibility. One example is that 80% of all violent crimes are committed by men who grew up without fathers. So someone might blame God for a violent crime, such as rape, committed against them or their family, but that was never in His Plans at all. That same person, however, might be having sex with their boyfriend outside of wedlock which is the number one reason for fatherless children. God did not intend for this to happen, but man has made this problem because of our sin, not His fault. But God is so good that He still sent His Son to die for us to answer any questions about His Goodness! The Cross says to us, "I love you and would never do anything against you, but even if you do have anything you think you can blame on me, I died for that too!"
Troy also really challenged the YWAM Centro Mexico City as well. He is the son of a man who has been one of the key players in YWAM since the beginning, so he has seen tons of behind-the-scenes stuff and has seen bases rise and fall. He told us just how hard pioneering will be and that we really need to be ready for the storm. He also challenged us with commitment because, as he said, "Most of the key players in YWAM will tell you that they aren't the best or the smartest or the most spiritual, but rather that they just stayed when everyone else had left." So I have really been rethinking my one year commitment. I am trying to get my heart to a place where I can truly say to God, "Ok, Lord, I will stay here as long as you want." I am not sure what is going to come out of this, all I know is that God is good and the things He has in His plans for me are the very best things for my life!
As I was thinking about my commitment and was praying about my call to Mexico City I decided to take a walk. I was just wandering through the streets asking God to give me a stronger "yes." As I was walking along the Malecon (the boardwalk which overlooks the ocean) a man came across the street on crutches asking me, "Hey man, what are you looking for?" I told him I wasn't looking for anything to which he responded by offering me some marijuana. I told him I didn't smoke weed so he offered me coke, pills, "whatever you want." I told him I didn't do drugs, so he offered me a prostitute. I said I didn't need any of that because I have now found Jesus and He is better than all of that.
When he heard me say that he had me sit down with him and he began to apologize. He told me that he knew what he was doing was wrong, but that he was doing it because he had no money at all and was just trying to make it in life. He then told me that he really knew how bad it was because he had hurt his knee one day when he was high and drunk. To that I asked him what was wrong with it and he said that he just woke up off a high one morning and couldn't walk and was in tremendous pain. When I heard that I asked if I could pray for him. He said that I could, and then I told him that Jesus died to take away our pain both physical and spiritual. I then laid my hand on his knee and prayed a simple one or one and a half minute prayer for healing and then asked him how he felt. He said his pain was gone, so I asked him to get up and see if he could walk. He got up, took a few steps forward, and then looked back at me smiling and laughing. He started jumping up and down saying that he was healed and that he could walk again! He was probably more excited than anyone I have ever seen after they were healed! I then asked him if he had eaten, he said he hadn't, so I took his crutches up on my shoulder and we walked back to the base for dinner.
When we got here to the base he and I sat down with the base director and he began to share his story. It turns out that he had been a drug mule since he was 12 years old, had been on drugs for years, and hadn't been back to his home in Monterrey in three years. He then took out a bag of weed that was about the size of a sandwich bag and threw it away, saying that he never would need weed again! By the end of the night we were able to buy him a bus ticket back to his home in Monterrey where he had a Christian mother who had been praying for him all along. He called me when he got to Monterrey telling me he was safe with his family, that he was planning on doing the January DTS at YWAM Mazatlan, and that he, "doesn't need weed, pills, or coke, I only need Jesus Christ!"
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Faith
When Brent and Heather Madson (the base directors for the YWAM Mazatlan base) had only recently finished their DTS and had not yet really stepped out in leadership in YWAM, someone came looking for them to ask if they would help lead a DTS. That man was David Stephenson, or as most people affectionately call him, Steve-o. Steve-o is the director of the Newcastle base in Newcastle, Australia and I would truly call him a man of faith. He came to teach the DTS on the subject of faith and really what taught us more than anything was his life. His teachings seemed to be perfect for this point in my life and the lives of many of the students as well! He taught a bit about trusting God with our romantic relationships and said, “If you trust God with your romantic life, you probably trust God [in general].” He also used the story of Abraham and Isaac as God asked him to sacrifice his son and from that taught us about how God many times requires of us the things we value most in this life. At that point we have to have faith in Him that He will be found trustworthy with what we give over to Him.
He told us many stories about his life walking with the Lord and how he has been in cases which required great faith and come through to the other side. I was encouraged even more by him when I got the chances to actually sit down with him and listen to some of his stories and encouragements for us to keep strong in our faith. He sat down with the YWAM Mexico City base plant team and gave us some words of wisdom and encouragement as well. Overall it was a great week for my faith to be strengthened and for my vision for the future to be deepened.
We are also getting ready to go to Mexico City and we are all very excited! We have been doing some planning for the Outreach and for planting the base there. Please be praying for us as we get ready for this great adventure. Also, I still need about $1,200 for this Outreach so please ask the Lord how He would like to use you to provide for this need.
He told us many stories about his life walking with the Lord and how he has been in cases which required great faith and come through to the other side. I was encouraged even more by him when I got the chances to actually sit down with him and listen to some of his stories and encouragements for us to keep strong in our faith. He sat down with the YWAM Mexico City base plant team and gave us some words of wisdom and encouragement as well. Overall it was a great week for my faith to be strengthened and for my vision for the future to be deepened.
We are also getting ready to go to Mexico City and we are all very excited! We have been doing some planning for the Outreach and for planting the base there. Please be praying for us as we get ready for this great adventure. Also, I still need about $1,200 for this Outreach so please ask the Lord how He would like to use you to provide for this need.
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