September 30, 2006 - Breaking silence! Up dating you on our situation!

Dear Friends,

I have preached many times and to thousands of people around the world in my life time as a Christian speaker. We have seen hundreds making professions of faith under our ministry. Where these people are now - spiritually speaking -- only the Lord knows.

Only a handful have I discipled closely, and it has been the most rewarding experience of my life to see them falling in love with Jesus and pursuing the mind of Christ to lift Him up before others. Our motto has been the words of the Lord Jesus who said: "If you lift me up, I will draw all men unto myself." After all, the Lord has called us to "make" disciples. Conversions are God's business. Converting water into wine is a miracle. Miracles are the work of God. I am not God. I can not convert; but I can fill the empty jars of men's hearts with the pure water of God's word and expect him to do the miracle of conversion.

Once I heard over the grapevine that when some prominent leaders of the Christian world visited Bill Bright on his death bed and asked if he had a word from the Lord for them, he answered, "I sure do. Preach more about Jesus and less about Christianity." Billy Graham was present at that meeting, and when someone asked him what he would do if he could start all over again his ministry, he answered, "I would pick up where Bill Bright left off. I'd preach more about Christ and less about Christianity. I'd spend more time in discipleship." In fact when anchorwomen Diane Sawyer asked Billy Graham if he felt like a successful man, he answered: "I feel like a failure." "You didn't think that you were going to change the world, did you?" asked Diane. Billy Graham said that he thought that after a lifetime of preaching things would get better, but that instead he was leaving the world worse than he found it.

I would be a fool if I didn't take very seriously the words of a dying man and the advice of proven great men. As for me and my house, we are and we will lift up Jesus and Him alone and we are seeing men being drawn by His powerful name and beauty. The challenge of our time, as we see it, is to present Jesus as He really is till people see the invisible God in the visible Son of God.

Focusing on a small core of 3 brothers in a covenant relationship (like Peter, James and John), who have agreed to throw their lives in together for Jesus, is the secret for drawing the rest of the eleven disciples. Always encouraging that each of the eleven should have at least 3 friends of their own as their own core...was the secret of our Master Himself. This was the secret of His revolution.

This small obedience, as a by product, will produce numbers. But if first we go after numbers, we will miss the tree for aiming at the impersonal forest. Jesus' focus was never on the crowds. In fact, He walked away from them...who only sought Him for His miracles and wonders. "Jesus chose twelve to be with them", then assigning them to be apostles to teach, heal and cast out demons. Only disciples, who are disciplined in abiding in the Word, are able to understand the mind of Christ and know the will of God and fulfill the purpose of God for their lives and for the world.

The crowds cannot grasp the secrets of God. The multitudes can only at best hear and ponder and develop thirst for more if they are the chosen ones and seek to be included in the family of God. In fact, there is an exclusive side of Christ in relation to his servants. While the Lord made known His ways to Moses, He only shows His deeds to the people of Israel. Ps. 103:7. Even when Jesus goes to the Mt. of Transfiguration, He leaves the nine and takes only Peter, James and John. When Jesus is going to resurrect the dead girl, He closes the door to the crowds and only takes Peter, James and John. In Exodus 24:1 Jehovah invites only Moses and especially three of His friends Aaron, Nadab and Abihu to come up to Mt. Sinai to fellowship. And seventy elders of Israel are mentioned as well ...but as a group they had to stay at a distance. But Moses alone is permitted to get closer to God. The others must not come near. And the people must not come up with him. In Amos 3:7 we find the following: "Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plans to his servants the prophets". With this I am not underestimating the importance of the multitudes. I am only putting it in the right perspective in regard to small groups as priority. After all the forest is made up of many single trees.

This year it has been one of the toughest years of our lives health wise. At the same time it has been a glorious year as well. As Mother Teresa said, "You don't know how much you need Jesus till Jesus is all that you have." We have come to know more of our precious Lord and his grace. Ruthie and I had even made plans for our funerals, but our Lord had mercy on us in restoring our health so we can enjoy service on earth a little longer.

I confess I have been silent with you, my friends. I did not want to discourage you. In my pride I thought it would make me a "cry baby" whining about my pains, till I remembered that our Lord came to preach, to heal and to cast out demons. Then we asked the leaders of our new congregation to pray for us...laying on their hands on us and anointing us with oil. To the praise of our Lord, we have been so well ever since. Of course the doctors had their part. Even my weight is less than 200 pounds, and Ruthie is feeling great also. I can even bite my big toe. This is kind of a gauge to measure my belly. We must add that great things were accomplished in us and through us in spite of us in these times of testing. Once again sicknesses are like missionaries from God; after they finish their job they have no business to stay around.

Though we have gathered the strays after our short furlough, it was unavoidable that we experience some loss in the congregation to the world, the flesh and the Devil and some to apostasy. Others fell in the flesh and an evil agent led some sheep astray in our absence, but we still have a full church on Sundays.

The greatest blessing has been to see all of our children walking with the Lord and seeking to serve our King. Those whom we have discipled (mentored) are now feeding us back on a regular basis! This is sweet indeed.

If our Lord would call us now, we have no regrets. It was worth it. It could be better, and while our Lord allows us, we will seek to be and to do better. As Oswald Chambers said, "If you are not going to be better tomorrow, what need do you have for tomorrow?" In a nut shell, we are focused on Jesus. We were wounded, we were healed and we are pressing on toward the mark, thanks to your prayers and to His grace.

We are getting ready to celebrate the 15th of November the fourth anniversary of our congregation, and we will do so by inaugurating our fifth daughter congregation and the new building in which the Quechua people (descendants of the Incas) will be meeting in Huanta. This has been initiated and led by our orphans of our mentoring group, Ruben and Eliseo, and their wives, Maruja and Basilia.

Pray that every year we may add another congregation to our numbers. Please pray also for the approval of our building project for our mother congregation here in Huanta to be approved by the authorities and MTW.

Grateful to be your partners in His service,