“You Must Go to All
that I Send You”
“For you shall go to
all that I shall send you, and
whatsoever I
command you, you shall speak.”
Jeremiah 1:7
Shepherded
67 Years
Laymen’s
Evangelical Fellowship
9-B,
Big words are never a substitute for true faithfulness to God’s appointments. Those who have any understanding of the price which was paid for their salvation, even the shedding of the sinless blood of Jesus, will place themselves entirely at Jesus’ Feet, and thus at God’s disposal.
To this nondescript man, Jeremiah, is given here such a weighty mission and a message calling people back to God and a renunciation of their evil works. He pleaded the excuse of raw youthfulness and a total lack of experience but God would not hear of it. God said, “Say not that I am a child for thou shalt go to all that I that I send you, and whatever I command you, you must speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with you to deliver you, saith the Lord.” So saying God put forth His hand and touched his mouth.
What world-shaking equipment was given to Jeremiah when God said, “Look I have put my words in your mouth” ! (Jer. 1:9) There could be some of you right here who are full of your own words—profitless, idle, vain and even boastful words. Stop right now and cry, “Lord, put your words—your Almighty words—in my mouth.”
How sad that in many homes, there is money, there are degrees from the universities, there is an abundance of other things—but no word from the Lord! The mother and father don’t have a word from the Lord, neither the children.
Those of us who are spiritual will glory in nothing but the Cross of
Jesus. The love of Jesus, His death and resurrection just fill our whole
horizon and grip our hearts. Nothing in the world can give us such an incentive
for service and motivation to lift others. Actually our product and performance
should reflect our indebtedness to Jesus and match
Some shallow men focus on church buildings and prayer halls as though bricks, concrete and stones reflect the glory of God! They don’t. They get mossy, old and otherwise disfigured. If a “Thus saith the Lord” thunders out from the pulpit, then flashes of Shekinah glory from heaven which exceed even the noon-day light, will descend upon the congregation. But if only second-hand sermonettes and cold-storage sermons and gloatings are heard, the shroud of death will engulf the nations. Bro. Joe repeats tirelessly from the pulpit that halls however huge will not talk, they merely stand static. A Fellowship which only produces such monuments has nothing to give the world. God wants a mobile people—a people whom He can send wherever He pleases.
May the Lord send us forth with His burning, cleansing word!
There has been a feeling in us for a long time that we are not quite made for the television and that the tinsel and the self-advertisement which the television engenders, went completely against the grain with us. Moreover for long years, Bro. Joe* (Footnote: *Brother Joshua Daniel is often referred to in short as Bro. Joe.) has denounced the decadent values of the television in no uncertain terms and still feels that parents who bring in the television into the home, endanger the moral stability of the family. Furthermore, the high cost of producing a single programme or getting together the equipment necessary for such production is prohibitively costly and we could scarcely afford it. But there were some few far-sighted people in the Fellowship, who saw and desired that the message which God has given us, should reach a far wider circle of people.
In
A highly trained television and information expert living near
In a heart to heart talk with Bro. Joe, Mr. Peter Cunningham tried to show the former - who often laments that he is slow of understanding - that the need for a wider outreach and the strategic necessity of speaking to people in their own living rooms, demanded that he should give special time to recording for the television, just as he would to any of his several campaigns. Although this was quite obvious, it was ‘new thinking’ to Bro. Joe, which required a rescheduling of his closely packed itinerary. He simply had to find or make the time for this new avenue of ministry.
On the 4th of April at
Stripped of all vanity and show and full of the straight proclamation of God’s Word, our television broadcast is causing quite a stir, as we are told, even among other television broadcasters. The Lord alone is making it possible to continue these broadcasts and to pay for them. Daily let us cry to the Lord that more souls may be reached and touched by the Lord.
One of our dear girls who grew up in the
Fellowship, felt that the FM All India Radio Broadcast which specializes in
song and music, which is widely listened to by the young people in that vast
city, should carry the saving message of the Lord. So she went ahead and
convinced the manager of this station that they should give us air time at
Christmas and Easter. Now
Although this appears to be a mere drop in the bucket, yet it is the Word of God which went out and alas, how many there are in that city, who do not know ‘the Saviour of all men’! Some of them at least would have heard that the Lord Jesus who died for their sins, rose from the dead and that it is He and He alone who can deliver a man from his sins.
Whoever thought that
The lower reaches of
When Bro. Joe scheduled some days for a campaign cum retreat in
The Lord greatly blessed these meetings and many who seemed to cover
in fear and dread, due to both Islamic terrorists as well as Hindu fanatics,
began to surface from their homes where they had been hiding. It grieved us
that we had neglected this part of the sub-continent, for such a long time.
Most amazingly when the meetings closed, the road from
It was simply amazing that in a most strategic place of this city, our bookstore- ‘Beautiful Books’- could be opened with prayer. Situated barely a few minutes away from the Victoria Railway Terminal, this small room which the Lord gave us for rent, is a place by which many thousands of commuters and others pass.
After the very brief opening ceremony, the many people who had gathered were invited to a neighbouring hall for tea and a meeting, where Bro. Joe gave them a very straight message.
Day after day the work continues here and is steadily growing. Already visitors from several nations, have taken away books from here, which will continue to speak to them.
The new ‘Beautiful Books’ store on the road leading
to the Chinese border, less than 40 miles away, was opened during the 2 days of
revival meeting here in Gangtok, Sikkim.
On the road to
It is now several years since we started labouring for the people of Manipur. This land-locked area is placed at a great disadvantage by it’s geography. Of late also it has become a war-zone for tribes and groups fighting for ascendancy and the right to plunder.
The last few years have been more chaotic than ever with wanton and mindless blood-letting. Even the army which was sent to this area to bring some semblance of order, has proved to be quite ineffectual. In the midst of all this civil and social unrest, we have been steadily working and giving the Gospel of God’s Love to the people. Our team led by Dr. Samuel Job and his wife Marjorie have been doing some sterling work and the Lord has been touching and transforming many including terrorists and Aids patients.
It is now more than five years since we started building our Church building here. The first structure which was put up in the local manner, was so flimsy that Bro. Joe asked that it be torn down and a totally new structure be put up with sound foundations. Bro. Job Das our engineering professor, supervised the laying of strong foundations and from then on slowly but steadily the work on the building has been proceeding, as the Lord provided. There were several stoppages as building materials could not be brought in due to terrorist activity, when all road transport came to a standstill.
Now at long last, during our revival meetings in September, Bro Joe
was able to open this large facility.
Even at these meetings the hall was well filled. Now as many had fled to
the North to the State of
There was quite a movement of God’s Spirit as the Word preached during these four days took effect.
Late news: In a place most notorious for terrorist activity, a new centre is just in the process of coming up close to Nagaland.
As to our center on the border of
Here in Pune, Dr. Shrisundar and his wife, Joan, have been working faithfully all these years. The team of our faithful brothers too, in spite of their families of growing children, have steadily laboured along side.
Souls have been built up through our many retreats and revival meetings. Yet to find the right place to put up our church building, has been a most elusive project. Now, just beyond the reach of the‘madding crowd’ and the dusty road, the Lord has found for us a piece of land, where the first revival meetings were held in early October. It was a thrill to see the temporary structure which was put up for the meetings filled and the heart of Bro. Joe went out to those who sat huddled outside the structure in the cold breeze. He himself was nearly trembling from the cold on the platform, but the Lord granted great freedom for His Word to go out. The hills and the fields around make this a very scenic setting, for the large building which is to come up.
In the meantime, a structure has been put up where our services are currently being held. It is a great victory of faith, seeing that some years ago when Bro. Joe was preaching in the large and ancient Christ Church, the shopkeepers and others who heard him over the loud speakers from across the road, threatened saying, “Does not that man know that we will come and tear down that building if he should preach in this manner?” Yes, Pune has gone down in history as the place which produced the assassin of Mr. Gandhi. Oh that God will touch the most fanatic people in this city!
We have specialized in rickety structures and fire-prone bamboo and palm leaf pandals in this place, down through the years. It never struck us that a more durable rain- proof structure should be put up here.
The crowds too have grown in numbers so greatly and still keep growing, so that no structure can be guaranteed to be sufficient.
With hardly twenty-five days to go before the huge revival meetings, which draw a hundred thousand people, Bro. Joe discerned that the Lord wanted a huge steel and concrete structure 150 feet long and 90 feet wide to be put up. When the word reached our building team, they found that they had approximately only about fifteen working days ahead of them, to execute the job. Huge steel trusses had to be welded and fabricated and being a very sandy area, deep foundations of concrete had to be laid and cured . Now prayer began to go up and Bro. Joe could only say, “Lord send your angels and let them build for us so that the structure may be ready for the meetings”. It was later reported to him that so many helpers turned up from all the surrounding villages and pitched in, so that the work went forward at an unbelievable speed. By the time Bro. Joe stood on the platform to preach, everything was in place. Our hearts were filled with praise and worship for our Good Lord “who doeth all things well”.
Of course, many marquees had to be put up around this structure and even they could not contain the crowd. Our Lord said, “The poor have the gospel preached to them.” The Lord is helping us to continue to do the same.
When we took up the challenge which was placed before Bro. Joe by
Miss Buchan, an indomitable Canadian missionary, who had laboured persevereingly for almost sixty years, dispensing medicine
inexpensively to many rustic women, besides giving them the Word of God; we did
not envisage a school and a great complement of converted teachers being
stationed here. This is a remote area close to the border of
When we overflowed the old rented building which belonged to a local princely family, with great difficulty, we acquired a low-lying area which would be water-logged during the monsoon rains. “How are we to build a school facility here?” was the big question.
The Lord directed us that a strong retaining wall should go up first, to cut off the rising waters. Having done this, we were able to raise the level of the ground and build several classrooms to accommodate a second section of the school.
Our young team has to learn many more lessons before we can expect to see any great breakthrough amongst the general population. This is an area where many hate to see any Christian work rising or prospering. Yet the Lord preserves this work and the Word of God is being sown in many hearts, especially the hearts of the young and tender.
Many developments are taking place in our numerous schools. The great need now is for missionary hearted people to rise from our schools. Our schools should not be just another source of possible employment for our young people. Our schools must teach the pupils, how to overcome the pressures of our times. In other words, the Lord must touch them.
We greatly appreciate those of our faithful teachers who have been steadily labouring, being quite unmindful of the fact that in many a state- aided school they would draw much bigger salaries.
Our new hall which has turned out to be a very big one, is situated right amongst the poor and those without much social standing.
As usual, it was during our revival meetings, that we took a few minutes to dedicate our hall to the Lord. We do not allow any elaborate ceremony to go with it.
Even at these meetings, when the hall was dedicated, there was scarcely any room in the ground surrounding the hall for the people. This hunger for God’s Word amongst the common people, is a mark that the Lord is still among us. We dare not lose His presence or power by any vanity, self consciousness or feeling of competence arising in our hearts. Alas, we are still falling far short of His glory.
In one of the industrial suburbs of the big port city of
Yet another place where a new hall is waiting for revival meetings cum dedication, is a very needy place called Parchur.
This state carved out of what was known as the Bombay Presidency,
quickly gained the reputation of being the most industrial state in
Hardly has the government coped with the massive earthquake of
recent times, before the scourge of organized Hindu militancy is devastating
Let it not be said that our Christian conscience also lay dormant while millions were being terrorized and thousands butchered. Almost a year before these unspeakable scenes of violence seized the various regions and cities of Gujarat, Bro. Joe conveyed the burden of Gujarat to Bro. Whitson and others and said that unless we produce men of God and preachers of good tidings in that region and special efforts to reach Gujarat with the Gospel are taken, we would not be doing right.
Although Bro. Whitson is no longer young, he did make some visits
when he preached to several needy people in
What began during the forties of the last century as a small students’ camp with just about forty students, has now become a movement which is producing some very valuable workers in the Lord’s vineyard.
Since our children’s camps were tending to be concentrated in the older centers of the Fellowship, we are now adopting a policy of giving the new and pioneer fields the chance of hosting these children’s camps. We need to train more of our young people to become effective workers amongst children. It is unfortunate that the older workers with proven experience, say that they find it hard to relate to the young people or children of today.Yes, the problems of the children of today are such that some older people find themselves to be all at sea, when seeking to help the young people or even modern children with their problems.
It is also being found that many children who had shown every indication of spiritual rebirth have not been able to hold fast after entering college. Hence, there is quite a need for those who had been hitherto very successful in guiding the little ones, to stop and ask themselves “How should we change in order to be a greater blessing”?
Another great stumbling block which is seriously eroding depth in our young people, is the absence of dynamic leadership and example in their own homes from their parents. Many of these parents having followed the Lord with faith and sacrifice, from the days of their youth, do not seem to be so desirous that their children should seek the highest or be disciples who pursue lives of self denial and sacrifice. In other words, the world has subtly got into the older generation too. This is greatly hindering our missionary advance and the depth of the work.
It is always such a thrill to see a group of young people drawn from widely scattered areas and distant universities, sitting at Jesus’ feet, drinking in the Word of God!
Nearly two thousand were present in
Although this camp took place right in the midst of the monsoon, yet the Lord did not allow the schedule of meetings to be hindered. This has been our history, that though we have met largely under temporary bamboo and palm leaf structures all along, the clouds and the monsoon winds have always co-operated with us. On the few occasions when Bro. Joe also was drenched on the platform together with the congregation, he always said, “Any sports person will gladly get drenched but will not quit playing. The Lord wants us to be hardy soldiers.”
Besides the children’s camps that were held in
The three nights which were given to these meetings saw many
gathered to hear the Word of God, Dr. and Mrs. Jayasingh
having laboured amongst the poor people and men of all communities in this
Northern section of the city of
Even in this place where Bro. Daniel Senior first laboured and Bro. Joe had spent years of preaching, Sunday after Sunday, in an old hall called Massey Hall, we are into the third generation. Bro. Joe says, “Economically, socially and educationally, many have shown great advancement but where is the spiritual depth and where are the young men and women of Christ-like love and sacrifice?” Revival is not meant for earthly gain. The way of spiritual increase is just like what Jesus said, “Except the grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” John 12:24
Only one meeting could be given to this place. Yet the response of the people was something to move one’s heart.
Steadily the work is spreading in
The vision of the Scudder family from America, which made them give so many years to India, and caused them to build a top-notch teaching hospital, resulted in the sending forth of well- trained and well- equipped medical doctors, into far- flung places, but the revival vision which the Lord has given us, which should have caused true missionary love to propel us , such that the saving power of the Gospel should have been made known to every person in Asia and the other needy people of the Earth, has not quite made us run with the Gospel.
If we want to humble ourselves and to be really honest before God, many of us would see that only sackcloth befits us.
Bro. Joe left this place with sorrow, humbly acknowledging that his
faith had been totally inadequate for
The campaigns in this State begin early in January and continue until the beginning of May. During this time, several hundred thousand people receive the Word of God, in many scores of places. Many of those who attend our meetings become active participants in the work of reaching souls with the message of the Saviour’s love and His death for their sins.
The bigger campaigns which Bro. Joe addresses, are drawing such vast crowds that accommodating them is becoming exceedingly difficult. “Who …maketh His minister a flame of fire.” Hebrews 1:7. Now if this is true of us, how the fire of God would burn irresistibly into areas which were never reached before by the Word of God. Hence, instead of self- congratulation, there is great need for all of us to humble ourselves. Shallow minds are flattered by superficial results but God’s true children are never satisfied until “God’s righteousness and the brightness of Jesus’ glory shines forth before all nations.” Isaiah 61:11 and 62:1.
As a professor of zoology, Dr. Job spent many years teaching the more advanced students at two universities and directing several in their research to obtain their doctorates. Bro. Joe felt that this vast fund of knowledge should be put to use and shared with so many who just lap up any theory, without ever attempting to research the subject. As an outcome, a new book has just been published. It is entitled the “The Seed” and the arresting subtitle is “Evolution, Fact or Fiction”. We believe many will be blessed by this book and by Norman Duncan’s study of “Abraham’s life of faith”, which also is just out of our press.
As our publishing programme is taking in more languages year after year, more regions and many more people are being reached with sound, inspiring Christian literature.
Reaching the six hundred million speakers of Hindi –Hindi being the third biggest language- is no easy endeavour. Every new book which we publish in Hindi is a definite step forward. Our slowness and dullness in faith have caused many to dwell with their own perverted concepts of God – they never even heard of Jesus.
Although the great man of God Sadhu Sundar Singh was a speaker of Punjabi, amazingly there was no biography of Sundar Singh – as far as we know – in the Punjabi language. We have now corrected this serious failure, by producing the story of Sadhu Sundar Singh in Punjabi.
This is yet another means by which many are being reached in large cities as well as in smaller cities. A team of our brothers go out and hold these Bookfairs in public halls where many come and purchase books and Bibles.
We make a special effort to make our books exceptionally good value. In other words they are very reasonably priced. The public is quick to notice that this is not a commercial venture and they begin to trust us, seeing that we have their well-being and the well-being of their families at heart.
These Bookfairs were held in thirteen
places: Gangtok, being the Northen
most place and
The Need of Myanmar/Burma…calls for many books to be produced and distributed in their own language. At great risk, a start has been made in this direction. It is however premature to talk much about this.
One stands amazed at what God is doing. When Bro. Daniel Senior called for the first retreat in May 1944 in obedience to what God said to him, “Gather my saints together unto me: those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” Psalm 50:5; he could not have guessed that the retreat would become a gathering with several nations represented. Now this is not meant to be a show piece conference but a no-nonsense gathering to pray and plead for the whole world.
The Lord stretches His people. If we walk with Him our faith will always be reaching out. We often sing, “New heights I am gaining everyday” but is this true? However, the Lord wants this to be true of us. We cannot study the Bible with a humble heart, without our feet being ‘planted on higher ground’ everyday.
It was like a little town of converted people, many went out into
the grounds to pray. The supply of three meals everyday, coming as did ‘manna’,
without any charge, was a marvellous experience, for all the three thousand who
resided in the camp and to those who had ‘eyes to see’. At the morning sessions
which began a few minutes earlier than the designated time of
In a growing fellowship there will always be spiritual babies and new converts. Sometimes one feels strong meat is too much for new converts, but on the contrary one sees that it is these ‘babes’ and ‘sucklings’ who often obey the Word of God with greater love, obedience and zeal. The level of the teaching is also getting deeper. This simply follows from the fact that the pressures which people are facing at their places of work, calls for a deeper humbleness, watchfulness and a true walk with God. The preacher must therefore travail for these souls, get into their shoes and have a “thus sayeth the Lord,” for them. The Word should be clothed in flesh and should be enacted and put to work in real situations, of everyday life. The retreat is not meant to cater to head-knowledge. We simply must produce ‘walkers’ and not ‘talkers’.
Every Annual Retreat brings a fresh impetus and reality to many peoples’ walk with God, a wider vision and sets ‘new fields’ before us to conquer. This is simply no time for formalism or for worshipping good old traditions or standing on past experience. The Cross of Christ and all that it entails is our only goal.
This is yet another step of faith which we are having to take. The vast temporary structure that goes up each year for the Annual Retreat and then brought down by a contractor, is proving both inadequate and very expensive, year after year.
The big hall with its very complicated planning is at last in the process of going up. The complexities involved in the design and building of this hall are so great, that we have had to call in competent engineers and constructors who can execute the job quickly.
Mark you, this hall cannot walk nor will it talk but you are the true temple of the Living God. Your feet can run with the Gospel, your mouth ‘like a trumpet’ can show people their sins and turn them to the Saviour. Hence, let us be careful never to glory in buildings.
News from Overseas
“For none of us liveth
to himself, and no man dieth
to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we
die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.”
Romans 14:7,8.
Emigration and Money have become a single word and concept in the minds of most people today. The latest trend in this shifting of population, is even beginning to hit America, where doctors unable to cope with the heavy expenses involved in their insurances and practice, are beginning to plan on moving away…
Money has become the guiding star of people today. But what did the Lord Jesus teach us? We are to go to every needy creature made in the image of God and every inhospitable nook to love others and lift others, that it may be truly said of us, “They love not their lives unto the death.” Revelation 12:11.
We are called to be servers with the ‘Heart’ of the great Servant of All- the Lord Jesus. When He said, “the hour is come..”, he knew that the Cross was immediately ahead, so He added, “for this cause came I unto this hour.” John 13:27. Now we that are saved from our sins by Jesus’ death and resurrection, for what cause have we come into this world? To make money? Many say to us we don’t love money; but they hardly know their own hearts. The main driving force in many people’s lives today, is the thought of more comfortable living, through acquiring more money.
Either the glory of Jesus and saving of eternal souls will be our one motive in life or we shall prove to be another set of ‘grave-diggers’ parading around as Christians.
For over ten years now, Bro. Joe has laboured in the small country
of
While our campaigns in
Dr. Danny, of late has been fighting a lone battle. God has been raising a few nationals to bear the burdens of the work there. When anyone goes to a foreign country from any of our stations in the world without a true missionary burden, then that person will only destroy the existing work there. We too have begun to suffer from this.
A new area where we had revival meetings was the mining town of
Though we were strangers in
In spite of setbacks and difficulties, we shall continue to labour for all in this nation.
The meeting at the
Klaus Klinger who is our missionary here is being used of God to bring a deep deliverance into the lives of several who have been afflicted by evil spirits for many years. Some of these works of darkness, appear to be entrenched in families, down their generations.
The three days which were given to the ministry here by Bro. Joe and Sister Lily was a time when the Word of God rang out to many in a big housing complex. Stealing, mugging and raping have become so endemic that the nation is reeling under the weight of its own sins.
The desperate and crying need for these camps in the Western world cannot be overstressed. Many children are so neglected by overworked and sometimes very selfish parents, that when someone else steps in who has a genuine love for them, they will remember even small acts of affection and care for their needs. Children are growing up in a very savage world today, where only a few there are who even think of protecting their tender minds from the total pollution around them.
Our team in
The children’s camps in
The Youth Camp in
The preaching of God’s Word cannot go in vain. We must exercise faith that the Lord will raise these young people to be overcomers and winners of souls. Bro. Joe considers this retreat as a very important event, when these young people must find God’s plan for their lives.
The knock on Bro. Joe’s door in the afternoon of 11th September in Ballymena, in Northen
The meetings went on uninterrupted in this church. Nothing should stop
or deter us from pursuing the most positive course of action, which is to
preach the Word of God. Even to this day
Disgruntled people there will always be in the world. But for anyone to preach hatred and murder and to offer paradise and unlimited sexual favours in the hereafter, as a reward for mindless murder in the name of their religion, is unthinkable. We bear a great responsibility for this tragic situation, rising on so large a scale. We have not brought the message of the Saviour’s Everlasting Love to the many nations, where the generality of the people danced and rejoiced, when thousands died and many more thousands were rendered widows and orphans, in one fell moment. There is no weapon like the ‘love of the Cross.’ Let us then learn to employ this great weapon and prove that it is far superior to the gun and the bomb.
The Lord continued to stand with us in our retreats in
Now we need a new wave of revival. The Lord must cause our young men and women to prophesy and the older people definitely should get new ‘dreams’ and visions for His kingdom.
After the Winter retreat in
The Air France flight which took off to
They were put on the next flight to
Following the retreat in
Brixton continues in its downward spiral, as crime and violence constantly increase. Right in the midst of this moral wilderness, out of our bookstore –Beautiful Books- Bibles and books continually go out to many parts of the World. Bro. Joe looks on preaching here at Brixton as a real challenge, which indeed it is.
Our Summer Retreat which takes place in August for five or six days, is the one retreat when people can put aside the many pressures to which they had been subjected all through the year and pay attention to God’s Word.
The numbers at our retreat are also gradually increasing. People have been constantly warned at our retreats that the pursuit of the dollar, which appears to be the one great goal of the average immigrant, will get them nowhere.
At the time of writing, the economic news is so dismal, with big companies collapsing and fraud in high places coming into the light, that one cries to God that people in sheer hopelessness and despondency will not commit suicide, at the loss of their jobs and livelihood.
No one knew that early September 2001 would change the world, for
the worse. Bro. Joe had however scheduled meetings just prior to those tragic
events. The meetings which he addressed at
Bro. Tom Saunders, the pastor of the church had indicated a great desire for revival. Unfortunately, he had early scheduled a special event when all the neighbourhood were invited for a special morning and afternoon in the yard in front of the church. Bro. Joe was to be the chief speaker in the afternoon.
Now this big evening meeting of Sunday was held at the street corner outside the church. The police had cordoned off the streets. Many sat in the open, others stood round while the message went forth. Quite a number of firemen were on hand, with their fire truck parked close by. It was a time when Bro. Joe spoke with great solemnity warning that the nation was sinking down into lies and dependence on untruth. Bro. Joe pointed out that the White House itself, meaning the earlier administration, had vitiated the atmosphere with lies. The whole crowd heard the Word of God with rapt attention. Even the special singers that had been invited and who had led the music, paid heed to God’s Word, and appeared to humbly receive it.
For the next few days, we moved into the church building. Had the people known what was coming, ...there would have been no room in the church. But some of the people gave the usual excuses and were not present.
Bro. Joe felt an urge from the Lord to leave quickly and hence, flew
out of the
The three days of meetings in this church were greatly owned of God. Earnest men and women from this and other congregations in the city, drank in the Word of God and seemed anxious for more.
The Christian and
Today, however, both congregations and the speaker at special meetings appear to be tired people. They do not seem to have the tenacity or the zeal to labour on till revival breaks out. Bro. Joe whose time is heavily committed to numerous campaigns, longs for a repeat of those days when he preached for twenty or twenty four days at a place, until revival broke out. Now that is the kind of revival which spreads and keeps growing in leaps and bounds.
The few days which were given to
The retreat in
Soon after this
retreat closed, we were on our way to Deniliquin, in
Although Dr. Sydney has only recently joined the hospital here, the
people appeared to trust and appreciate him greatly. Following these meetings,
there was a young people’s meeting in a church in
From
Mr. Cunningham is a very meticulous person, who wants a really professional job done. Bro. Joe as a newcomer to this field, had to learn much during the few days spent here.
The hits on our website have been continually climbing as more and
more people are visiting our website, to listen to the Sunday message. So,
though our Sunday congregation near
We must pray for Bro. Mike who in spite of heavy work as a pharmacist labours faithfully together with Melody, his wife, in this ‘hidden’ ministry. What a blessing it is to hide behind the Cross so that only Jesus is seen!
Some few radio stations who appear to value our message, have been asking that we should broadcast over their stations. Our broadcast which is of only fifteen minutes duration, once in a week, still costs a great deal. We send forth the message in faith, that God will bless the word to some needy souls.
Inasmuch as we do not solicit funds and do not ask for offerings to be sent to us, we have little knowledge of who is listening. This again is a ‘hidden’ audience, but over the years we have been continuing this ministry, trusting God to bless individuals and families.
In
What has been set before you in this brief narrative, is but a small fraction of so much more which the Lord has been doing. In fact, it is hardly possible to record all His mercies.
In so many of our stations- whose number grows continually- the Lord is using so many of our preachers and other ordinary people, that not a day passes without the wonderful works of God being manifest. Constantly also we see souls turning to the Lord and greatly rejoice when they are added to Him.
It would be very ill-advised of us to mention so many developments
and grave situations, in the midst of which some of our workers are labouring
faithfully. Some of these are pioneering areas where the work is going forth as
the leaven. The brothers and sisters here are engaged in hard battles. That is
the kind of work which though it attracts no publicity, will produce great
things in the future and lead to the accession of many souls to the
Pray for us that God will help us always “to do justly, to love mercy, and walk humbly with the Lord.” (Micah 6:8)