Intentionality

One of our Alliance workers recently wrote that they were being challenged to share Christ intentionally with nationals with whom they had established relationships. Simply taking the chance opportunity that comes along didn't match the urgency of the task.

I think about this in relationship to prayer. We need to have intentionality in our prayer lives. To leave prayer to chance speaks volumes about the relative importance we actually place on intercession. Is interceding for the nations something that is enough of a priority that I actually plan for it, and discipline myself to pray? Or do I leave it to chance?

Wesley Deuwel in Mighty Prevailing Prayer wrote,

Whatever gets you too busy for prayer time, whatever distracts you from holy prevailing, whatever robs you of hunger for God, for souls, and for times of prayer warfare is a hindrance to God and his kingdom. YOU CANNOT AFFORD IT.

Can you really afford not to pray?

Night of Prayer for Missions

Join us on February 28th at Nashwauk Alliance Church for a Night of Prayer for Missions. We will be focusing on praying for the Middle East, an area that was once the center of Christianity, but has become a difficult place for Christians.
We will be learning how to pray effectively for Alliance work in the Middle East and spending time interceding for a move of God in the land of the Bible.

Next Night of Prayer for Missions

November 22 we will be praying for some missionaries who are planting the seeds of the Gospel and growing Christ's Church in a country where civil unrest is making life a lot more complicated than our lives in America. They need our prayers much! I hope to see you there.

Sunday Nov. 22 at 5:30 PM
Alliance Community Church
2621 W Arrowhead Rd
Duluth, MN 55811
2i8-722-24o4
www.allianceduluth.com

Upcoming Night of Prayer

October 10 will be an exciting Night of Prayer as we focus on intercession for missionaries in creative access countries. These missionaries are working in dangerous situations and are in tremendous need of effective prayer support.

6:00 at Hibbing Alliance Church. See you there!!!

What's Needed Now More Than Ever

Sometimes circumstances converge in such a way that it is clear that God is teaching me something. This week has been one of those moments for me.

I am getting ready to go to the Middle East in late October. In preparation, I am reading several books on Islam and the Arab world. It is fascinating reading. I'm learning things that I simply didn't know before and am working hard to see the world through Arab eyes. As I have studied, it has become apparent to me that over the last 1400 years the Church has tried numerous ways to reach Muslims with the gospel with little success. Great theologians have met and debated ideas like the Trinity, the atonement, the incarnation, the nature of man, etc. Each side has claimed "victory" in the debates, but neither has won the other side over to their way of thinking. Humanly speaking, it seems hopeless.

In the midst of this studying, Harry and Jane Landaw, C&MA missionaries to Japan, arrived for our Fall Missions Conference. The stories that they have shared have moved us to laughter and tears and have focused us on the task of reaching out to others. Perhaps one of the most eye-opening moments for me was a video that they showed. Produced by a Japanese group interested in helping Americans understand their culture, the video focused on the religious traditions of Japan. It became apparent during the video that the Shintoism and idolatry of the culture keeps people from turning to Christ. Gospel tracts and "friendship evangelism" seemed about as powerful as a peashooter in the face of such a secure cultural fortress.

In looking at both of these situations, it became crystal clear that some new evangelism or church planting technique simply was not the answer. Frankly, over the years human creativity and ingenuity has been tried and failed. Our fancy theological presentations simply have not cut it. A new evangelism approach isn't the solution. Those who think it is either haven't studied their history or have an over-inflated ego.

The need of the hour is not a new technique, but a new kind of missionary. We still need people to wear holes in the soles of their shoes taking the gospel to these difficult places. But the greater need at the moment is for people to wear holes in the knees of their pants praying for these difficult places. It is a spiritual battle that needs to be waged by an army of humble, committed soldiers who know that the weapons of their warfare are powerful and absolutely essential in the Kingdom of God right now.

This new type of missionary will never be listed in Alliance Life, will never carry a flag at Council's "Parade of Nations", will never tour churches talking about their ministry. Those things aren't important to them. They don't feel slighted or left out. Those things aren't even on their radar screen.

Their concern is pouring themselves out in intercession on behalf of those that do not know Him. They are praying for people that they have never met and places that they have never been. They know the heart of God for there to be throngs of people from every people group around the throne. They are burdened for the unrepresented and under-represented people groups. And so they pray unceasingly, wearing themselves out in intercession for these people so loved by God.

This new breed of missionary will never receive the accolades of men here on earth. They are okay with that. They know that one day they will be surrounded by the people for whom they have spent their lives praying. On that day, they will receive thanks and thunderous applause will echo through the throne room. On that day they will hear those precious words, "Well done, good and faithful servant." On that day they will humbly and somewhat awkwardly respond, "Lord, you, you alone, are worthy to receive glory and honor and praise."

A new type of missionary is being called and equipped today. Are you ready dig in and fight the battle that needs to be fought?

Say yes.

2nd Greatest Reason the Great Commission is Incomplete

There is an enthusiastic "Amen! in my heart as I read the "Who We Are" statement on this AIM blog. The last sentence says, "We are dedicated to calling, equipping and encouraging intercessors with a heart for the completion of the Great Commission." So I was all the more excited to attend a four-day conference on living the victorious Christian life and discovered that almost half of the speaking would deal with getting God's Great News to those who have never heard the story of Jesus. Two of the four "Missions Messages" were entitled "The 2nd Greatest Reason We Have Not Completed Great Commission" and "The Single Greatest Reason We Have Not completed Great Commission."

Dr. George Murray of Columbia International University was the Missionary Speaker at America's Keswick for their Victory Week # 6 just a couple of weeks ago. I went with a heavy heart needing a fresh in-filling of the Holy Spirit. God met me in a powerful way. I was re-infused with a fresh awareness of the presence and power of Christ in my life and powerfully challenged to remain committed to completing the Great Commission. I will merely be passing on what I learned from George Murray, but I'm sure he would point us to Christ and give Him all the glory for the content of the messages.

The 2nd Greatest Reason the Great Commission is Not Completed
Murray began his Missions talks by giving us a "big picture" of where we are at in terms of completing the Great Commission. Consider the following...

GOOD NEWS:

• In the last 60 years or so the percentage of the world population who are professing faith in Christ has grown from 3%-12% Wow! That is great growth.
  

BAD NEWS:

• 9 out of 10 people still do not know Jesus Christ as LORD and Savior.
• 2 of every 3 people in the world have NEVER heard a clear presentation of the Gospel.
• One third of the world's population has NO ONE living near them to tell them about Jesus.

So why are their still so many who haven't heard? How can it be that after 2000 years there are still so many who have never had an opportunity to receive the gift of God's salvation which is in Jesus Christ alone?

Murray believes that the 2nd greatest reason the GC is not accomplished is described by Jesus in the Parable of the Rich Fool.

Luke 12:13-21 (NASB95)
¹³ Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” ¹⁶ And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. ¹⁷ “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” ’ ²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ ²¹ “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (NASB)

Think about the phrase, "rich toward God," for few minutes. God says to this man "You fool! Then He goes on to say "So is the man who stores up treasure for himself but is not "RICH TOWARD GOD." (Emphasis mine) I don't know about you but I'm thinking I'd like to have it said of me, "He's rich toward God." Conversely I'm all the more certain that I never want God looking at me and saying "You fool!"

Are you rich toward God? How do you use what God has given you? For self or for Jesus?

Murray told of some businessmen that he met several years ago. They started a business together and set all of their salaries to equal that of a public school teacher. That amount would only increase each year with the annual cost of living index. They committed to giving all the profits from the business above their meager salaries to supporting foreign missions. They gave $50,000 to missions in the first year. When he'd last spoken to them, God grew this business in such a way that more recently they have been able to give one million dollars a month to missions. These men are rich toward God.

I think Murray was trying to say that the 2nd Greatest Reason the GC is not completed is because God's people have done much the same as the man in this parable with all their wealth.

Some things to pray about as you consider this parable...

1. The Bible never says it is wrong to be rich or to have money. No where in our parable does Jesus indicate this man did anything evil to gain his wealth.
2. Jesus nowhere indicated that this man wanted to do sinful things with all his wealth. He merely said to himself, “Soul,... take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” He merely wanted what we all like to enjoy every day; food drink and happiness.

So why does God say to this man, "You fool!"?

1. He forgot God in all his planning. Circle in your Bible all the "I's" and "my's" in verses 17-19. He was too focused on self to put God into the equation.
2. He confused surplus with security. He thought having a lot was going to make him safe and make everything turn out great.
   
3. He lived only for time and not for eternity.
4. He wrongly assumed he had a lot of time to live and enjoy life with all his stuff.

Murray wrapped up this message with some questions to ask ourselves and a couple of scriptures to meditate on.

1. Am I ready right now, today, for eternity?
2. As a believer what am I living for?
3. Am I rich toward God?
   

Deuteronomy 33:27 (NIV)
²⁷ The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, ‘Destroy him!’

Psalm 4:8 (NIV)
⁸ I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Dr. Murray shared one other thing from his experience of being General Director of a prominent Missions Agency. He mentioned that of all the well trained, fully qualified men and women accepted by the Mission to be sent over seas, all sensing the call of God to the mission field, ONE OUT OF THREE of them never made it to the field because of one factor; finances. God's people chose not to give. I don't know about you but that troubles me a lot. It troubles me as much as 30 of our very own missionaries being pulled from the field this last year because of a supposed lack of funds. I wonder is God looking at me (or you) and saying, "You fool!"

Murray did mention this is a real good message to preach if you do not wish to be invited back to speak. :)

This message spoke to me profoundly. I pray that my attempt to pass it on it will help us all be "rich toward God." May we all pray as never before for the resources to be given so that the GC will be accomplished in this generation.

I'll share a summary of "The Single Greatest Reason the GC has not Been Completed" in the next week or so.

I'd Rather Cancel Christmas...

Each fall as the Missions Conference rolls around I stand in front of the church I pastor and say something like, "I enjoy the missions conference so much that if I had to choose between Christmas and the missions conference, it wouldn't even be close. The missions conference would win by a mile." I've never really explained why that is so. It goes way beyond the over-commericalization of Christmas.

At its best, Christmas is a time to reflect on one of the most incredible events in all of human history. The fact that God became a man and made his dwelling among us is worth contemplating and celebrating. The incarnation is one of the most central parts of the Christian faith. Without the incarnation there would be no cross, no resurrection, no forgiveness of sin, no reconciliation with the Father. It is worth remembering in a special way.

The missions conference, on the other hand is not about the past at all. It is about what God is doing today...in our day. Whatever part of the world we focus on in our missions conference, exciting things are happening. Missionaries are knocking with increasing fervency on doors long closed. Other doors are beginning to open for the very first time. Still others are wide open and multitudes are flooding into the Kingdom. Other doors have been open so long that new missionaries are flooding out of those countries, carrying the good news around the globe. This is worth learning about and celebrating! But that's not the real reason I prefer the missions conference to Christmas.

As much as I enjoy contemplating the incarnation at Christmas, my deepest longing is to see Jesus face to face. My greatest hunger is for HIM. He himself told us that "this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to the nations, and then the end will come." You see, with every new people reached, every new church planted where there was no church, every soul gathered, we are just that much closer to seeing Him. The missionary effort paves the way for his return. The missions conference is about what God is doing now to prepare for that day.

As much as I cherish his first coming, my greater desire is for his second coming. On that day my greatest longing will be fulfilled, for I will see Him. THAT is the reason I prefer the missions conference to Christmas.