A Gifted Haitian Pastor

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

One of the spiritual gifts of our Ascended Lord to his church is gifted men. Paul wrote to the Ephesian church, “God gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph 4:11-12). One of those gifted men is the pastor-teacher. Every church should see clearly that the pastor is not the booby prize, he is the gift of Christ to His church.

I want to introduce you to a gifted Haitian pastor. Yvon Selin is one of the most effective pastors of Port-Au-Prince. He has been such an important part of the work of Christ in that stricken city. When we arrive in Haiti, Yvon will be the man to meet us. We will be staying in his home and he will probably be our interpreter while we are there. In past years he has helped organize Bible conferences and has been the catalyst in the area wide crusade.

Brother Selin lives in the heart of Port-au-Prince. His church and ministry is at the epicenter of the recent earthquake. I want to share with you his first hand account of the earthquake and the faith of the Christian community. His English is a little broken but I think you will be blessed to hear it from him. The first email he sent to the states after the earthquake was several days later. The first several days he was constantly seeking to comfort and minister to those around him. When he was able to make contact through email he wrote:

Dear Co workers:

Special greetings in Christ Jesus our Savior and Lord

From the bottom of our hearts, Claudie and I would like to thank everyone who made a phone call or send emails to inquire about us. We want to thank you for your prayers, your love and your concern for us. We are writing this with a heavy heart, but we are doing well. The good Lord has girded us with His shield of protection to be His voice in the midst of the desolation and devastation of this dark hour. We are so thankful and appreciative to be alive. We thank Him every day for the gift of life He has given to us; we try hard to live life to its full potential.

On January 12, 2010, Claudie and I were at home finishing supper when all of a sudden the earthquake was felt. The whole house felt like a boat bouncing back and forth. We hurried to position ourselves under the table and fell flat on our face; we were shouting one word, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” The experience lasted about 30 seconds but it felt like an eternity. When we got up, we ran to the veranda and looked south; we saw white smoke of dust coming from the ground and in shock we uttered these words, “The country has been destroyed.” Then we went out in our immediate neighborhood to witness the worse nightmare ever. Words are not capable to describe. We could hardly believe our eyes, it looked like a Hollywood horror movie. We heard the mourning of the survivors, we felt the pain of the wounded and we witnessed the agony of the dying. We opened our backyard to our neighbors whose houses crumbled in the earthquake. We felt helpless for a while. When we do not know exactly what to do, prayer seems to be the best therapy. We held hands with neighbors and prayed. Some prayed maybe for the first time. The night was dark and long and scary.

The following day, the phone rang. The voice at the other end of the line was a long time friend and preacher, Luc Louis who calmly told us that his son, Samuel, did not make it home yesterday. We hurried to the school where Samuel attended to find only a pile of rubble. The four story building have succumbed to the earthquake. We intensified the search to find three days later the body of young Samuel that we could hardly recognize. The inhumation of the body in decomposition had taken place.

Another shocking news was the untimely departure of our beloved sister, Yasmine Widler who went to be with the Lord. Yasmine attended the congregation of Delmas #75. Pastor Precois and I were privileged to marry her on December of 2007. She gave birth to twins in 2008 and returned to school in 2009. She attended Caribbean University which also fell flat with most of the students. The body has not been found along with many others. The Hollywood horror movie continued to play before our very eyes. There are piles of bodies everywhere. The local magistrates were doing whatever they could to bury the dead in common graves. They just shoveled the dead like trash in a way unworthy of the human species. Other bodies are abandoned on the streets of Port-au-Prince. The country is covered with dust and there is the aroma of death on every corner. About 120,000 dead have been already recorded and buried. An unknown number has been still buried under the rubble. As I look at my beloved country, I am reminded of the complaint of the prophet:

“My eyes are exhausted with weeping; my emotions are deeply disturbed; my grief is poured out on the earth for the downfall of the daughter of my people, for swooning of babies and nurslings in the open places of the city.” (Lamentations 2:11).

In spite of the apparent hopelessness of the situation, there is hope for Haiti,

“My soul is bowed down within me. Of this I remind myself, I still have hope: Because of the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed; His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:20-23).

There is hope for Haiti when we consider the strength of His people, the courage of many young men and women and the resilience of this young nation. I am confident that we will sing and dance and laugh again.

There is hope for Haiti when we see the determination of those young men and women who toiled hard all night to get out a little boy from the rubble after he was buried alive for about eleven days. The little boy finally came out of the debris with a big smile that inspires confidence in the future. Haiti shall not die we shall live to tell of the glory of the Lord.

Pastor Yvon has written recently to report that there is a new openness to the gospel in Haiti. He has faithfully ministered the grace of God to the inner city of Port-au-Prince and I look forward to working with this godly, gifted brother and pastor. The first worship service in the crusade will be tonight. Pray that the gospel will have free course in these days, that God’s hand of blessing will rest upon our labors and that He will do the thing in our midst that will bring the greatest glory to Jesus.

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Mission to Haiti

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

I praise the Lord for the effectual open door He has set before us this year. I am especially grateful for the opportunity to take the gospel to places like Pakistan earlier this year and now to Haiti.

I will be leaving in the morning (Tuesday) to return to Haiti for a city-wide crusade in Port-au-Prince. As you know, there was a massive earthquake there on January 12 and it is estimated that over 120,000 died. The invitation for this crusade came a year ago from a group of pastors and churches who have been praying for revival in Haiti for many years. I will be traveling with Don Graham, a dear evangelist friend and brother in Christ from Clanton, Alabama. Don and I entered the ministry together and have remained close friends in the Lord through these years. He is a powerful and blessed preacher of the Word of God I am pleased to be able to share this important preaching assignment with this dear godly brother.

We were invited to Haiti three years ago. A group of pastors in the Milot area had been praying many years for revival. They said, “We believe God is going to send revival to our country.” They asked us to come and help them prepare for revival and help their people understand how to deal with the demonic influence of Voodoo which is so common on the island. We have returned for the past three years. This year they have scheduled an area-wide crusade in the capital city. The plans were made last July, several months before the earthquake.

I have been a student of revival for many years. One thing I have observed is that many times God gives revival out of the ashes of judgement. We saw that in Russia. I wonder if that is going to the be way of revival in Haiti.

Consider this: The earthquake earlier this year was devastating. During the eighteen months prior to the earthquake Haiti suffered three hurricanes. In two hurricanes the eye of the storm came dead center over the island. One hurricane alone of that magnitude would be tragic.

Missionary Bill Younger of Good Shepherd Missions said recently that the word on the streets is “judgement.” That is what the people are saying. American preachers who visit the island these days don’t have the courage to say that. But the Spirit of God has burned that realization on the heart of the people who live there. In 1804 the government of Haiti signed a two hundred year compact dedicating the island to Satan. Through the years Voodoo has been the predominate religious activity. The people worship demonic spirits, not out of love but fear: fear of what might happen to them if they displease the evil spirits. Now they have seen the effects of three hurricanes and an earthquake that has claimed the lives of so many people. According to Bill Younger, the people are saying, “This is bigger than our Voodoo gods. Our Voodoo practitioners can not help us with this. This is a judgement from God because we have been worshiping the wrong God.”

I believe the Spirit of God has burned that into their hearts and I pray they will keep thinking that way. Our God is a jealous God and He has demanded there be no other gods before Him. If man does not worship the true God of the Bible he will always, inevitably, worship a false god of his own imagination. As when the Israelites came out of Egypt to Sinai: God caused them to stop and receive the law of God. The presence of God was manifest on Mt. Sinai. No one could enter into the presence of God lest they die. But God called Moses to enter into that presence with him. The people became anxious. They turned to Aaron and said, “Up. Make us a god who will go before us.” Aaron took their jewelry and melted it in a furnace and “fashioned a golden calf.” He brought that calf before the people and said, “These be thy gods, O Israel.” If man does not worship the true God of the Bible he will always create a false god of his own imagination and worship that god.

I think that is what has happened in Haiti. They have rejected the God of the Bible, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. They have in turn heaped to themselves false gods and it is the worship of these false gods that has left Haiti the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.

The task of the preacher is to confront man with the God of the Bible. I have said for many years that the purpose of all preaching is to confront man with the reality of God until man comes to realize: I am dealing with God; I am not dealing with the church, I am not dealing with the pastor or deacons; I am dealing with God. I don’t think any man is ever saved until he comes to realize he is dealing with God. The Bible demands, “He that cometh to Him must believe that He is and that He is the Rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Please pray for us as we go to Haiti. The crusade is sponsored by about fifty churches and we will be teaching the pastors during the day and preaching in the crusade at night. I will be teaching pastors from the book of Romans, dealing with the nature of the gospel as it is revealed in the book of Romans. Pray that the Lord will give us wisdom and that we will preach the Word of God in it’s purity, with clarity and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Pray that God will be pleased to bless our labors and that many will be saved.

The prayer of my heart in every preaching mission has for years been that God would put before us an effectual open door and that hearts will be prepared by the Spirit of God to receive the message of Christ. We are already hearing that there is a new openness to the gospel in Haiti.

Pastor Yvon Selin is one of the most faithful and effective pastors I have met on any mission field. I plan to introduce him to this blog in the next few days. Look for that update. He has reported that there have been since the earthquake 120 professions of faith in his church. Another pastor in the area has reported over 250 professions of faith. It does seem that the fields are white to harvest. Pray that it will be so.

I am so grateful for the prayer support of those of you who are on this email list. May the Lord bless us as we seek together to be faithful to his plan for our lives.

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15 Years of Sound the Trumpet Ministries

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

I do not want the month of March to pass without praising God for all He has done through this ministry. It was in March of 1995 that we left the pastorate to begin a ministry of full time evangelism and missions. For most of March I have been in Pakistan and rejoice that our wonderful Lord has been pleased to bless our labors there so richly. But I also want to reflect on His goodness in and through this ministry through these years. It is hard to believe fifteen years have gone by so rapidly. They have been busy years and I thank the Lord for every opportunity He has given us to serve him whether in this country or in so many other countries of the world.

I believe an evangelist is a man who plants churches and a man who corrects churches and encourages churches that are alreay planted. His ministry is always directed to and through the local church. We have seen many churches planted not only in Russia but in other countries as well. I have witnessed the hand of the Lord at every step of the journey. As the Psalmist David said, “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” There reigns in our hearts a spirit of gratitude as we praise and magnify the Lord who has been pleased to smile upon this ministry.

I am especially grateful to God for allowing me to serve Him. Have you ever thought of what a privilege and blessing it is to serve the Lord? Charles Spurgeon once said, “I could bow at his feet and bless his name if he would only let me be a little ant, and live at his feet, if he only would not crush me, and let me live there, and carry grains of sand for him throughout eternity.” To me, it is one of the highest gifts of God’s grace to be called to serve the Lord.

Paul expressed overwhelming gratitude when he thanked God that He had put him in trust with the Gospel. It was the grandest trust that could be given to any man and God had entrusted such a sinner as Saul of Tarsus with it. The apostle was overcome at the grace of God that could take this man who was the “chief of sinners” and turn him into a vessel of honor, an ambassador for Christ, to carry the Gospel of Christ throughout the known world. He said, “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” He could have entrusted the task of preaching the gospel to angels but He gave that commission to His church.

It is a mark of our complete reconciliation when God allows us to serve Him in the very work which is dearest to his heart, which is the apple of his eye; the very work for which the Savior shed his blood. Have you ever realized that your service for Christ is actually a part of your fellowship with Him? I am convinced that we could never sense our oneness with Christ if we were not permitted to serve Him. If God had chosen to save us by his precious blood, but then leave us with nothing to do, we could have had fellowship with Christ only up to a certain point, but when we give ourselves to take the Gospel of Christ to a lost world, to pray for their salvation, travailing for them until Christ be formed in them (Gal 4:19); it is then that we come to know more intimately the heart of Christ and to understand something of Him who came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost.

It is a high privilege that God has given us to be associated with Him in this work. When God created the world, He did it alone. There was no one there to assist Him. When He redeemed us to Himself, He paid the price in full. There was no man who could contribute anything to the work of redemption. He paid it all. But now, God has made us laborers together with Him in the task of global evangelism. He does His work through us that others may know. He has put this treasure in earthen vessels.

Think about that! He has not merely given us a little task, some easy work to do. Suppose He had given us a little task. Suppose He had sent us to take the Gospel to only one family. We would desire to take it to other families. If He had sent us to one nation, we would desire to take it to another nation. If we sincerely loved Him we would ask for our commission to be extended. But He has called us to envision the world and to take the message of Christ to “every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (Rev 5:9). There is no limitation to this commission. Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). We are to preach the Gispel without compromise, without apology; to every man without exception, and leave the results with God.

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My Visit With A Muslim Cleric

Monday, March 29th, 2010

The apostle Paul never dealt in half truths.  He always preached the whole counsel of God.  Speaking to the Ephesian elders, knowing they would never see his face again, Paul reminded them, “I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you” (Acts 20:20).  He would never conceal a part of his message to make it more palatable or less offensive.

Gate to the Muslim school and mosque that was once a Taliban training ground.

Muslim school building

Last week I had the opportunity to speak to the student body of a Muslim school in an area the Taliban once held as a training ground.  After they had been forced to clear out, the facilities were transformed into a school with over a thousand students. The director of the school is a Muslim cleric who has under him three thousand schools and three thousand mosques.  Every school has a mosque attached to it and financed with money from Saudi Arabia.   When the Muslim cleric learned I was there, he invited us in.  We saw it as an opportunity, perhaps in a small way, to build a bridge of communication in that area between the Muslim and Christian communities and hopefully to help minimize the persecution being constantly directed toward Christians by radicalized extremists.  For the twenty mile drive to this school, we had passed through an Islamic community known to be very radical.  Because of this, they requested that I sit in the back of the van with the curtains pulled so they would not see my American presence.

This Muslim Cleric is in charge of 3000 Muslim schools and mosques.

The Muslim cleric is himself unpopular with the Taliban and Islamic radicals in the area because he had in the past consistently denounced the violence of the extremists.  He seemed to be sincere in his invitation to us.  We had tea together and talked for some time.  Before we left, he invited us to speak to his entire student body.  When he introduced us to his students, he reminded them that he strongly denounced violence and made it clear that they would respect us while we were their guests.  I appreciated his graciousness to us.  It was the only experience of that nature we had with any Muslim group in these past three weeks.  But one part of our conversation should strike a warning whenever Christians seek to relate with anyone who holds to another religion.  Though he was gracious to us, he is still very much a Muslim.

We talked about the subject of whether there is any common ground between what Muslims believe and what Christians believe.  I said, “Christians believe there is one God who is over all, God blessed forever.  We believe He is Lord of heaven and earth.”  He did not challenge this.  Then he added, “Muslims believe that Jesus is coming again and when He comes He will judge the world and then there will be peace on earth.”

That is true: they do believe that.  I think many Christians would be shocked to discover that, but he avoided telling me the rest of the story.  They believe that when Jesus comes again the Taliban will come with Him; that when He has judged the world He will then bow before Mohammad and worship Mohammad and only then will there will be peace.

In other words, he deliberately avoided anything that might be offensive to me.  That seems to be good diplomacy but it is no way to preach the Gospel.  It seems to me we have many preachers in America who determine to do the same thing.  I think that explains the popularity of men like Rick Warren and Joel Olsteen.  They have found a way to market the church by removing anything that might be offensive to the unchurched.  As a result, they end up preaching something less than the whole counsel of God and they expose their lack of confidence in the power of the Gospel of Christ.  When it comes to false prophets, we must learn not only to listen to what they say but also to what they do not say.  Listen for the whole counsel of God.

There is a second thing we must never forget when we encounter followers of other religions:  Christianity cannot mix with any other religion.  Christians and Muslims do not believe the same thing.  God’s truth and error can never mix.  Truth stuffed with a lie is not truth at all.  Paul said, “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest .  .  . think on these things” (Phil 4:8).

The early Christians would never have been persecuted by the Roman Empire if they had been willing to mix with other religions of the day. When Rome conquered a nation they brought the gods of that nation back to Rome and worshipped them alongside all their other gods.  The problem for Rome was that Christianity would not mix with other religions.  Jesus Christ is not one among many.  He us unique.  He is Lord of heaven and earth and He has no rivals.

Addressing the student body at a Muslim school.

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Two Countries at a Crossroad…

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

America is a very proud country.  It is hard for most Americans to imagine that there is anything to be learned from another country or another culture.  I disagree.  There is much we need to learn from history for history is His Story; it is the story of a sovereign God at work in His world.  After all…

“This is my Father’s world.
Oh, let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong be Oh, so strong,
God is the ruler yet.”

And there is much we could learn from the history of other nations.  We are not the only ones in this world.

Every year the Pakistanis commemorate March 23 in remembrance of  “The Pakistan Resolution” passed in the city of Lahore.  On that day in 1940, the Muslim League declared its support for the idea of Pakistan.  This resolution lowered the final curtain on any prospects of a single united India.  It was a repudiation of the idea that a Hindu-Muslim-Sikh populace could mutually coexist as one nation.  This led to a struggle for independence not unlike America’s struggle.  It had been for years under British rule and simply a part of the nation of India.  Seven years later, on August 14, 1947, Pakistan was born a sovereign independent nation.

We in America trace our independence to July 4, 1776.  Even then, that independence had to be won on many battlefields and a form of government had to be established.  After he left the Constitutional Convention of 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked by an admirer, “Dr. Franklin, what have you given us?”  Ben Franklin replied, “A Republic if you can keep it.”

I look at the Pakistani experience and wonder if we are not on parallel roads.  Pakistan was given a great country by the iron will of good and great men, but today where previously giants have walked, midgets now stand.  The idealism that once inspired them has vanished in the cloud of politicians who are self-serving and out of touch with the people. Somehow, to this American, that sounds disturbingly familiar.  Please take a close look at Washington today and tell me if you really think we are that different.  Here is what Roedad Khan (one of the most senior civil servants of Pakistan and a retired bureaucrat) said yesterday about the Pakistani dilemma, “The kind of Pakistan we have today has lost its manhood and is a ghost of its former self.  Our entire political system has been pulled into a black hole caused by periodic army intervention and prolonged army rule.  Today, if Pakistan were to look into a mirror, it won’t recognise itself.  The contrast between Pakistan in 1947 – idealistic, democratic, progressive, optimistic, and Pakistan today – leaderless, rudderless, violent, besieged, corrupt, uncertain about its future – could not be sharper or more disheartening.  If you want to know how a people can survive despite their government, or leaders, well, visit Pakistan.”

The Pakistani struggle has mirrored our own in so many ways.  They lost half the country in a suicidal civil war in 1971 to the newly formed Bangladesh.  Today, it is dangerously close to war with itself again.  Taliban-like parties want to create so much havoc and overthrow the government in order to take control for themselves.

The Pakistani people are a passionate people.  I have been thrilled by the passion they exhibit in their worship as well as in the passion in the heart of their preachers.  They also have a way with words.  Roedad Khan observed, “This is an eerie period in Pakistan, the heart of the nation appears to have stopped beating while it’s body remains suspended in a void.”

We need to pray for the people of Pakistan.  At this point they are not merely struggling for survival: they are struggling to know their identity.  This is nowhere more evident than the current effort to rewrite the Constitution.   In a democracy, Constitutional amendments should be rare and solemn moments.  They should never be flippant.  According to Kahn, the politicians have lost that reverence for their own Constitution.  He charged that in Pakistan today, constitutional amendments are easier than changing traffic regulations.  Now, after 62 years, a parliamentary committee is busy rewriting the Constitution of Pakistan.  Sadly, our own politicians are not bothering to rewrite the Constitution of the United States.  Our President along with this Congress are simply choosing instead to  ignore it when it gets in their way.  I believe our government could indeed learn something from Pakistan.  Let them look closely and see what happens when the Constitution, the fundamental law of the land is decimated, disfigured, defiled and treated with contempt.

All of this brings me to a compelling conclusion.  Pakistan is a country ready to hear the Gospel.  Yes, there are many who oppose the Church and her efforts to preach the Gospel, but that is not new.  When Jesus came into the world, He came into a world of darkness.  John says “the Light shined in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not”.  In other words, the darkness was not able to put out the Light.  Jesus came “in the fullness of time”.  He did not come at a time when the world was so good it could finally get along with Him, but rather He came at a time when the world was so evil it could no longer get along without Him.  It is ever imperative that the Church be ready to move into the vacuum with the mighty Gospel of Jesus Christ.  That Gospel is the power of God unto Salvation.  When it is preached clearly in all it’s purity and preached with courage, God will bless it to the salvation of souls and He will prepare a way before the face of the man who will simply preach it.  Let us never lose our confidence in the power of the Word of God in a world of darkness.

Yes, there is something we stand to learn from nations like Pakistan and that is that the struggles we face are still much the same.  We are living in a world that needs Christ and the heart of the human problem is still the problem of the human heart.

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Mission to Pakistan : Report Seven

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Today, March 23,  is a holiday in Pakistan:  Resolution day.  It was on this day in 1946 that the resolution was formed to make Pakistan an independent nation.  Their Independence Day, then, celebrates the date in 1947, a year later, that they actually did become a separate nation, separating from India and also from British rule.

I have been greatly encouraged at the state of the church here in spite of the fact that the Christian population is a mere 1.5 percent.  I spoke yesterday evening at the Bible School established recently to help train pastors.  There were about fifty men present.  This will be an ongoing work.  The training they receive here is not at the level of a college or seminary training, but it is a much needed training for them at this point in their struggle to strengthen the church in Pakistan.  Until recently this type of training was unavailable.  I spoke from 2 Tim 2:15, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of God”.  Study for a pastor is a life long commitment.  It is a continual action word.  It is a way of life as long as you live.  I was blessed at the response of these men,  many of whom had been at the pastor’s conference two weeks ago and I was glad to see that they are taking advantage of every learning opportunity.  We have sought to instruct them in this mission trip on the importance of expository preaching.  I have been amazed.  These men are not only anxious to learn, but they are excited to learn as well.

The Kingdom of God does not grow like a massive explosion.  Rather, it grows like a mustard seed until it covers the whole earth  (Matt 13).  The work here is like that.  They have sought to build a foundation in their church.   We were privileged to baptize about 140 in three baptismal services in this past week.  These were people who were saved and discipled before we arrived.  In every place we have preached, the people have come from the surrounding villages.  These have been a few hundred professions of faith.  I praise God for that, but I still say the best indicator of what God is doing is not what we see at the invitation time, but at the baptism.  When they are baptized they are willing to be targeted by their own families for the cause of Christ.  There is a certain risk involved.  These who have made profession of faith in these past two weeks will be taught and discipled and will bring forth fruit worthy of repentance before they are baptized.

We are beginning to hear reports from the cities where we have preached.  I think we have a report from every place we have been.  I spoke in a previous blog about the people working in the brick kilns.  We have received a report that the man who owns the brick kilns was actually present.  He was sitting in his car listening to the service.  He was concerned that this American would talk about politics and create problems.  Afterward he himself said to the pastor, “I heard that man preach.  He did not talk about politics but preached the Bible.  I have a Bible and I read it every day and I know what he said was what the Bible teaches.”  That was an encouraging word.  He could make life very difficult for those Christians but he was receptive and felt what I had preached needed to be preached.  That is evidence of a great God-given victory.  Pray for that man that he might come to know Christ himself.

We also received a report last night from the city where we had baptized ninety people.  The pastor said there were forty people there who watched the baptismal service out of curiosity.  Those forty people went back and told their families what I had taught.  They said, “Nobody has ever explained to us what baptism meant.  Pray that those forty families will be open to the Gospel and that the Lord will open their eyes to see that salvation is truly found in Christ alone.

These are encouraging days.  Pray for this work and for us that the Lord will continue to give us protection and that we might be found faithful.
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Mission to Pakistan : Report Six

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

I don’t think I will ever again be able to read the first chapter of Exodus without thinking about the many Christians I have met here who are the poorest of the poor forced to labor in the kilns in scorching heat to make bricks.  Everywhere I have looked I have been reminded of the desperate plight of the Israelites in Egyptian bondage.

When Israel was in bondage to Egypt, they were blessed of God.  They were “fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied and the land was filled with them” (Exod 1:7). The Egyptians, especially Pharaoh, were fearful that the Israelites might someday outnumber them.  Because of this they set out to control them by placing them under lard labor and denying them many of the necessities of life so that they might not be able to multiply.  They were reduced to slaves and made to labor making bricks under the hot Egyptian sun.

I have seen that with my own eyes.  For the past few days we have been in villages south of Lahore working among a large group of Christians there.  They work in the brick kilns.  As I preached I could look outside the tent and see five kilns in a row.  These Christian brothers and their families work from sun up to sun down making brick.  They are paid on the basis of how many bricks they can make.  I was there on March 21 and the heat was oppressive.  I felt that it must have been well over ninety degrees.  They work in the kilns through the summer season which can reach 120 degrees in July and August.  During the fall when it is cooler, the monsoon season begins and they are not able to make bricks then.  If the rains fall on the brick before it is fired the bricks are lost and they receive no pay for their labors, therefore it is imperative that they produce during the hot season.  They are malnourished, especially the children.  There invariably comes a time when they need to borrow money from the man who owns the brick kilns.  When they do he virtually owns them.  They cannot leave until the debt is paid and they end up spending their whole lives there.   They have no hope of life being different for them.  Because they are Christians they are denied many of the opportunities given freely to the majority community.  Most have no education and without it they cannot compete for better jobs.  I look at their beautiful children and realize that they will be destined to that same life style unless the Lord intervenes for them.

Their only church is a small cubicle of bricks smaller than my bedroom at home.  When we were there many were coming from other villages so we rented a tent where they could worship.  When the services were over we were able to provide the food to feed them before they returned to their homes.  It is a blessing to be able to do that.  I am sending a few pictures of the service yesterday.  As you look at their faces pray for them.  These are our brothers in Christ.  We are all one body.  Paul said, “By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jew of Gentile, bond of free, and are all made to drink of one Spirit.”  When one part of the body of Christ suffers, it affects the whole body.

**Note from the webmaster:  Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the pictures that Dr. Draper is referring to above were not attached to his email.   He has consistently had problems in Pakistan finding a time when the electricity would stay on long enough for emails with attachments to be sent.   When we do receive the pictures he is referring to, this blog entry will be edited to include them.  Sorry for this inconvenience.

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Mission to Pakistan : Report Five

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Last week I had the opportunity to visit a sewing center in the heart of Lahore that has been established by Global Missions International of Pakistan. They have opened three centers with a fourth to be opened this week. In the centers, they offer young ladies the opportunity to learn a skill which will enable them to earn a living and to provide for themselves. They receive training in sewing, tailoring, needle craft, and also training to be a beautician. This training is provided entirely by the ministry as these young ladies do not have any resources of their own. Most young ladies in Pakistan do not have this opportunity. The majority community forbids their women to use lipstick or to beautify themselves in any way. They forbid such training. Many of these girls have to come stealthily to the center. You will see here pictures of the center and the kind of training they receive.

Yesterday, I was privileged to be present for their graduation. Many of these girls are from non-Christian homes. I spoke to them from John 10:10 where Jesus said, “The thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy; but I am come that ye might have life and have it more abundantly.” I told them that the way of Christ is never to push them down but to lift them up. We want so much for them but there is a God in heaven who wants even more for them. I told them that God is for us (Rom 8:32). “He was for you before He created the world. He was for you before you were born. He is for you now. The way of Christ is always an upward way.” We sing, “I’m pressing on the upward way; new heights I’m gaining every day. Still praying as I’m upward bound. Lord plant my feet on higher ground.” During the school year, these girls are led in prayer every morning. Even though some of them are Muslim, they pray every day thanking God for the opportunity He has provided and they pray for the outreach of Global Missions International. This week four new sewing machines were provided that they can now open another sewing center.

I want to introduce to you a wonderful lady. This is Hamida Ashiq. She has been the director of the first sewing center for over 25 years. She is very protective of the girls and loves them deeply and they, in turn, have great respect for her. A few years ago another sewing center was opened in the same vicinity supervised by the majority community in effort to compete with the Christian center but the girls refused to go there. They were hungry for the love they received and the caliber of training they receive only at the Christian center. I was grateful to be present for their graduation and to see the opening of the new center. These sewing machines are of commercial grade and are made here in Pakistan. The cost of each machine is about a hundred dollars. I pray the Lord will lay it on the heart of others to provide for at least one machine that this ministry can continue to expand.

Last night we held services in the city of Lakho Der. This village lies on the outskirts of Lahore. It is about thirty miles away. Lahore is a huge city with a population of about twelve million. There is a small Christian community in Lakho Der with one of the most vibrant churches I have seen anywhere. I preached last night on Psalm 24 and, since they sing almost entirely from the Psalms, I asked if they would sing Psalm 24. Their singing was thunderous and joyful. I believe God intended for his people to sing the Psalms and that they should be sung joyfully. Most of our churches in America know nothing about this joyful singing of the Psalms. Shame on us!

Another thing that invariably happens after every service: the people come to the man of God requesting that he pray for them. After every service I have been met immediately with great numbers of people who request that we lay hands on them and pray that God will bless and use them. Especially moving to me is the number of parents who bring their children and ask us to pray that they will live faithfully and that the blessing of God will follow them all the days of their lives. It is a joy for me to pray for them in this way. I pray God will indeed bless their lives and raise up a mighty army in this part of the world through these young people. Many also write their prayer requests and give them personally to Brother Farhat asking that we pray for them later by name. Here is an example of a typical prayer request which was given to us last night.

Here is the translation:
Please Sir,
I have something to say to you. Since I was born my life has been filled with tremendous problems and pains. I request that you write down my name and keep it in front of you and pray for me daily. I will be very grateful. May the Lord bless you greatly. My name is Waseem. I am in need of your prayers. I am in great pain.

Please continue to pray for the work here in Pakistan. There is a great spiritual warfare here as there is in every part of the world. Pray that God will strengthen these people to stand for their faith and that God will prosper their witness for His eternal glory.

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Mission to Pakistan : Report Four

Friday, March 19th, 2010

The Christians in Pakistan have suffered intense persecution for so long.  Yesterday, we went to the city of Saho Ki Malian for a baptismal service in the afternoon and an evangelistic service there last night.  These people are the poorest of the poor.  When Pakistan was formed as a nation separate from India and no longer under British occupation in 1947, these lands were set aside by formal treaty for the Christians.  Other areas were designated as Muslim lands.  There was a tremendous migration back and forth across the India-Pakistani border as Pakistani Hindus were forced to flee into India while the Muslims living in India fled to Pakistan.  It was a forced migration of over ten million people in a matter of a few days.  In the melee that followed, the lands that were set aside for Christians were taken over by Muslims.  This was never corrected and consequently, the Christians were displaced.  Today they are very poor and do not have the opportunities enjoyed by the Muslim populace to advance either in education of in job offers.  They have very poor medical treatment and many are malnourished.  Most of the women here have almost no prenatal care and because they themselves are malnourished it is very difficult for them to give birth to healthy babies.

Despite these terrible circumstances, the joy that these Christans demonstrate in their worship is abounding.  In the past two days we have baptized 120 people.  Tuesday afternoon we baptized over thirty people in the canal.  There were about sixty persons in Soh Ki Malian who were ready for baptism but several were unable to get off from work in time for the baptismal service.  Last night we baptized at Saleem Kot, about fifteen miles from Soh Ki Malian.  Some of those who couldn’t be baptized earlier came there to be baptized.  We baptized ninety believers last night.  In all there were 120 baptisms in two days.  I have never witnessed such celebration of joy as each new believer followed their wonderful Lord through baptismal waters, thus making a public confession of their union with Christ. 

It seems to me that it takes great courage and faith to be baptized as Christians in this land.  With every baptized convert there was an expression of praise not only from the people but from the baptized person as well.  Many times they came up out of the water clapping their hands together and exhalting, “Hallelujah. Hallelujah.” 

The ninety people who were baptized last night had been fasting throughout the day.  We were able to feed all of them last night.  It was truly a meal of celebration.  The service that followed was a joyous time with many others publicly confessing their faith in Christ.  It was such a joy to my heart to experience that blessedness with them. 

We had experienced that same blessedness the day before in the evening service.  The people came from some of the surrounding villages.  They are very poor but we were able to provide for them the money needed to ride the bus and they came in great numbers.  We were able to secure an enclosed area for security purposes which was in the open air.  There were over 700 present and many people were standing on the roofs of nearby buildings.  When the invitation was given for them to profess Christ publicly over half of them responded.  Keep in mind that only God knows what their own personal understanding is.  I am not sure that all people on a mission field understand what an invitation means.  I suspect some of those people who responded to the invitation were already Christians who simply wanted to profess Jesus publicly.  For so many years they were not able to profess their faith publicly.  Now they desire to do that at every opportunity.  I am perfectly content to rest in the Lord and leave the numbers with Him.  Jesus said, “I know my sheep.”

I believe these open public meetings are very significant.  For many years the Christians have been oppressed and depressed.  One pastor said to me, “This has brought new life to the church here.  Our people have not seen such public meetings.  It has emboldened them and given them hope.  When someone comes here from America and tells them that Christians in America are praying for them it says to them that they are important and that what happens to them affects the whole body of Christ.”

One thing is clear to me:  There is an openness to the Gospel here beyond anything I had anticipated.  Pray for these people as the pastors work with them to disciple them.  Many of these pastors are young in the faith themselves.  I saw that reflected in the pastor’s conference as the pastors were so eager to understand the Word of God and prayed that they might remember the truths they had heard that they might give these truths to their own people.  Pray for the pastors in Pakistan.  Pray that this work will continue to grow and that the Gospel will have free course.  There are many enemies of Christ here.  Pray for these young Christians that no weapon formed against them shall prosper. 

How thankful I am for God’s people in America who have continued through the years to support our ministry through their prayers and financial support.  I realize every day that I couldn’t do the things I do were it not for those at home who hold the ropes for us.  A mission project such as this is very expensive.  When there are several people traveling together they are able to share the expense.  However, when you come to a place like Pakistan it is best to travel alone.  Therefore the burden of the financial need is felt more singularly.  I thank my God for those who continue to stand with us in this way.

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Mission to Pakistan : Report Three

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

It has been a week since arriving in Pakistan.  I have had the opportunity to see something of the struggle the people here face on an ongoing basis.   On Monday, the first day we arrived, there was a major bomb blast in Lahore where we are staying.  I commented on that in an earlier blog.  This past Friday, however, there was a major suicide attack in the city.  There were a total of eight bomb blasts in Lahore that day.  In the early morning there was a twin suicide attack that killed at least fifty people including eight soldiers and injured around 120 others.  Then in the afternoon and evening there were six more lower intensity blasts set off by remote detonation.  The Tehrik-i-Taliban of Pakistan claimed responsibility for the suicide attack.  The police report said the attacks were intended to terrorize an already rattled populace. 

Despite these attacks, attendance at the 3-day pastor’s conference remained strong. We have had two such conferences already;  a three day conference last week in Lahore with over 150 in attendance and a one day conference today in Narowal with about fifty pastors present.  These pastors have come from all over Pakistan.  Can you imagine how important that is to help train and teach that many pastors in a country where only about two percent are Christian and ninety-seven percent are Muslim?  These men are very strong in faith and zeal.  The churches are being persecuted, but there is a spirit of joy that is overpowering.  When I arrived in Pakistan, there were several hundred people at the airport and after looking at their downcast faces there was no doubt that I was looking into the faces of suffering people.   By sharp contrast, when I went into the churches here, I saw joy on people’s faces and hope in their eyes.  And oh, how they love the preaching of the Word of God.  They are hungry for it.  Several pastors told me they had never heard the Word expounded like that and they were intensely earnest to learn more. 

In the conference I talked with them about what it is to preach the gospel in a mission field.  In such a world we do not have the luxury of assuming that people know who God is.  I dealt with the centrality of God in preaching.  We followed the preaching of Jesus and the apostle Paul.  They were very responsive.  Pray for these men.  They are pastoring churches and preaching the gospel in one of the most difficult mission fields in the world.

 

I have also preached in five of their churches this week. Their music is joyous and filled with good content.  For the most part, they sing the Psalms in their congregations.  I have often wished our American churches would sing more of the Psalms. Last night in Narowal, there were over 650 present.  They had rented and set out 300 chairs and they counted at least 350 sitting on the floor. When the invitation was given, I tried to present the claims of Christ as plainly as I could as well as explain what it means to confess their faith in Jesus Christ in the face of 98% Muslim population.  Over 150 responded to that invitation.  In all, about 225 have professed faith in Christ.

I truly think a better indicator, however, is when they follow Christ in believer’s baptism.  Sometimes people can come forward at invitations who do not understand what an invitation is.  But when they are willing to follow Christ through baptismal waters in a place like Pakistan it is usually a clear indication that they are beginning to understand the costs of discipleship. 

Tomorrow we will be going to a city where we are being asked to baptize over sixty people and to another city Wednesday where we are being asked to baptize another eighty.  These were saved before we came.  They have proven themselves faithful and have been disciples and counseled as well as possible.  Keep in mind that when believers are baptized as a Christian confession it often brings persecution, even from their own families.  Both baptismal services will be in the afternoon.  I will be baptizing in a public canal, and afterwards I will be preaching in both of these churches in the evening. 

Please continue to pray for the church here in Pakistan and also for us as we continue to travel to churches and preach the gospel here.

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