I am Entering into my last week on the continent of South America. All and All it has been a great time. From the team life, to the church life, getting to know our church members, to traveling, the teaching and preaching, it has been alot of action in a short period of time. I am so surprised with how fast my time has gone. I thought 4 months in a completely new place with new people would seem much longer, but that was not the case. The time flew. The first couple weeks felt long then after that time just started clicking by. We had our last day of Bible college today. The students were awesome all semester long. They work all week, (they work long hours down here) then give up there Sat. and Sun. to be in classes and church services. God really blessed our times because of there decisions that they made to be committed. I am seeing how God will bless when people make decisions by faith to live for him. It is amazing to see how God will pour out his life his word fellowship and unity when people have simple pure faith to get to know him. People that have no motives but just want Gods will in there lives. In Mk 7 the beginning of the chapter Christ blasts the Pharisees because they are raising the question of why his disciples are eating with out washing there hands. Christ responds by telling them that outer things dont defile a man but defilement comes from within, from there heart. That there hearts were stony, unable to be penetrated. So all they could live in was ridiculous rituals that there fathers had come up with. They had no spiritual life so they had to make something up to make them look like they were spiritual. But immediately after this portion there comes a Syro Phonenician woman that has a need. She wants Christ to heal her daughter. She comes with simple simple faith, and transparency before Christ. What does he do, he calls her a dog. This doesnt stop her from responding to him asking again to heal her daughter. Christ loves her faith and he heals her daughter. Its an awesome example of a simple woman that had faith. No other options but to believe that Christ was the only answer to her problem. I was thinking about all the people in the world that are not anything to the worlds standards. Maybe people that are not the most talented, gifted, powerful, popular people in there circles of life. They maybe are looked down upon. They are not the ones who are drawing a crowd around them, people are not interested in them. BUT they have a new heart. They have Gods Spirit, they have a new mind. They have Faith. They have the ability to make a decision of faith towards God. They walk by faith, pray by faith. They say "God I am poor and needy" I need you to touch me. I need a relationship. I need a word. I need life. I need an answer. I need, I need. And we know God answers. These our people that dont need recognition from the world, they don't need fleshly fulfillments because they have a relationship with the Living God who satisfies there deepest needs. They have transparency before God with simple faith and God honors them. Its amazing that God is not complicated in answering mans wants and needs.
The best part of my time here has been when we have been with a group of people that have hearts that are wanting only God to speak to them. They have no motive but to hear Gods voice and have his presence in our midst. And it happens. God speaks, he anoints. His word is preached and he is in it. It is amazing. It is real. We sit in the midst of a group of people that have this heart and we dont have to say anything. We just enjoy being in the presence of God. this is what its all about. God takes care of his people....
These people are hero's in the Kingdom of Heaven. I think of all the people in Heaven that our giants and nobody even knew it on earth. Maybe they were in the mountains of Asia. The jungles of South America, the deserts of Africa. They had nothing. They were despised, rejected, they were nobody's in the eyes of men. But they were Soldiers in the Kingdom of God. They were prayer warriors. They were as Enoch was, a man or woman that walked with God. Believing and honoring God in there decisions. Loving with a pure heart. Wanting a relationship and having one with the living God. They didn't receive any recognition until they entered into Heaven. I think of these people not even wanting recognition because they only saw there life on earth as an oppurtunity to have a relationship with God. When men and women are not recognized by the world, God almighty says "I recognize you as my child". Wow. that is awesome..... These our Gods people. It says in Hebrews 11:37-38 that "Gods people have been tortured, stoned, sawn asunder, despised but the world is not worthy to be compared to them." These our real people that knew the living God, and they didnt care for anything other then honoring and Living there lives for God and his calling.... This isn't some life of my gain. Some ridicoulous message like Joel Olstein. (I heard a interview the other day with him on the Larry King show, it was absurd. Total nonsenses. Making the Bible and Christianity into some sort of cute little package to sell people to make them more successful. How about Christ, God almighty , being rejected. A man of sorrows. John the Baptist a wild man in the wilderness paving the way eating locusts and honey. I dont think a seat would be saved for the baptist in the Astrodom. Olstein would probably have him ousted before he made his entrance into the dome to recite his nonsense.) This is about people who lose there life for Gods life. They don't care about there own wills, they want to hear from God. Its amazing to think of what people have given up and gone through with great joy in there hearts because they know that they are gaining so much more. They have found the secret and nothing else matters. Recognition, money, popularity, power, my own will, HA. who needs that when I have Gods presence, his word, his life, his fellowship, his power, his ear open to me, His Recognition. To be apart of this is amazing. Who are we to have this life. Isaiah 57:15 "Thus says the High and lofty one who inhabits eternity, I dwell on high and holy place with him who has a contrite and humble spirit."
It has been a great experience being with people like this. That have lost there lives to have a new one. To see Gods work. To see the word of God growing and multiplying in S. America and excited to see it continue. We want to see this message continue to go into all the world and to be part of what is going on down here has been such a fun time. Its happening down here with the vision, the people and Bible college. The Bible college is key. These are the guys who are going to be planting the churches in this country and others around us. Be praying for these students, Cause we know the Devil doesn't want this work to continue... God Bless
Justin
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