Dear Brethren,
The 5-day Missions trip to N. with our American delegation last week was another blessing in the pursuit of World Missions, especially with the continuing exposure of our partners in the various fields in Asia and beyond. It is indeed true what the prophet Jeremiah would declare in Lamentations 3:51a, “Mine eye affecteth mine heart…” What a blessing and joy, and at the same time what a challenge to see first-hand the realities of the vast harvest fields, and the great opportunities and potential in sowing the Gospel seed, and consequently reaping precious souls.
There is surely a dire need for more laborers, partners, and supporters in the fields that are plenteous and ready for the harvest. While it is seemingly rough and hard, we can continue to trust that God is able to save to the uttermost. We NOW continue to pray and depend upon God’s promises. Our Lord Jesus in Matthew 9:38 clearly commands us, “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.” We are likewise assured in Psalm 126:5-6, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”
We likewise continue to pray and heartily prepare for the renewal of our annual Stewardship and Faith Promise Missions Commitment. Let us always be cognizant of the fact that God possesses and presides over all the wealth in this world and the next. God has virtually entrusted the wealth that belongs to Him in every realm into our hands and expects an accounting. We should acknowledge our stewardship, appropriate those riches, and apply the rules of His Lordship. We need to understand that the way to appropriate God’s wealth is to GIVE. The Bible emphatically commands us in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Such command has a real clear promise, and a profound scriptural principle along with it.
What a joy it will be to stand before Christ with the fruit of souls! It will only happen, however, as we let Biblical motivations—the love of Christ, the reality of eternity, compassion for the lost, and the Judgment Seat of Christ—stir our hearts to faithfully, and consistently share the Gospel message and generously invest for eternal souls. We have only a short window of time, the NOW, to witness for Christ and invest for eternity. Jesus Himself said in 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.”
My dear brethren, let us truly have a heart that is unchanged for the Great Commission. Let us continue to make Christ’s Great Commission our personal priority.
All By God’s Grace and For God’s Glory!
Pastor Gerry Nable