What God Has Done In 5 Years

We have begun our 6th year in ministry here in Brazil, and we are amazed at what God has done during our time here. I stress the part about what God has done, because without Him we can do absolutely nothing. We are ordinary people who have the privilege of joining God in the great mission work He is doing here. We did not go to seminary, and we have had no previous formal training to be missionaries. Before the mission trip we took to Sao Paulo in 2005 (when God called us to join Him in Brazil), we had never been on a mission trip before, and we had no experience as missionaries. In fact, we did not even know enough about missions to adapt or copy some other mission ministry's strategy (which is not the way it should be done by the way). When God called us we had to fully depend on Him, and we still do, for everything ... protection, strength, ability and power, ideas, strategy, wisdom, guidance, boldness, courage... When God called us, He also gave us His love and passion to reach lost people for Jesus, and He also gave us His vision of what to do and how to do it. 

Here is what God has been able to accomplish through us, a couple of ordinary "nobodies", in the first 5 years:

* Over 63,000 people have accepted Christ and committed their lives to Him

* We have worked with 65 churches & preached in 62 churches in Brazil

* We have held 24 People Sharing Jesus seminars and have trained over 1000 people to share Jesus

* We have spoken in 99 schools

* More than 1200 teachers have accepted Christ and committed their lives to Him

* We have helped many churches in special events to share Jesus (at a ministry for business people; hospital ministry; during VBS; various ministries for poor people; community outreach events; family events;...)

We give God all of the praise, honor, and glory, and we are looking forward to seeing what God is going to do this year and in the future. God truly is awesome and all powerful, and nothing is too hard or impossible for Him.

"I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing"  - John 15:5

"Thanks be to God, who always leads us victoriously in Christ, and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of Him."   - 2 Corinthians 2:14

"Not to us, LORD, not to us, but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness."  - Psalm 115:1

Ordinary People

Dwight L. Moody was considered the most influential evangelist of the 19th century, and was founder of the Moody Bible Institue. God used him in great ways, and reached many for Christ through him. Yet he was an uneducated, ordinary person who sold shoes for a living when he was young. No one would have predicted that he would become a man greatly used by God. Here are some things that were said about him soon after he became a Christian in 1855:

"I can truly say, and in saying it I magnify the infinite grace of God as bestowed upon him, that I have seen few persons whose minds were spiritually darker than was his when he came into my Sunday School class; and I think that the committee of the Mount Vernon Church seldom met an applicant for membership more unlikely ever to become a Christian of clear and decided views of Gospel truth, still less to fill any extended sphere of public usefulness."

On another occasion after Moody spoke in the church he was attending, a deacon told him that he would best serve God by keeping still. Another person told him he should stop speaking publicly saying "You make too many mistakes in grammar." Moody's response was "I know I make mistakes, and I lack many things, but I'm doing the best I can with what I've got." Moody was a man who was fully surrendered to God, and whose availability far surpassed his ability.

Billy Graham is considered the greatest evangelist of all time. God has used him to reach millions for Christ. Yet he was a simple country boy raised on a dairy farm in North Carolina. He accepted Christ at the age of 16, but afterwards he was turned down for membership in a local youth group because he was considered "too worldly". He started college at Bob Jones University, where he was almost expelled. Bob Jones Sr. said this to him: "At best, all you could amount to would be a poor country Baptist preacher somewhere out in the sticks." He finished college at Wheaton College, and although he ended up being a great evangelist he never received any formal theological or seminary education.

How could these 2 men with such humble beginnings turn out to be some of the most fruitful and successful servants of the Lord ? Only by God's grace, and only by the all-powerful hand of the Lord. God's hand was upon these men in a powerful way. God loves to use plain, ordinary people in His work. When God does great and miraculous things through plain, ordinary people everyone knows it is God who did it, and He gets all of the glory and honor and praise.

It's The Relationship

"We tend to say that because a person has natural ability, he will make a good Christian. It is not a matter of our equipment, but a matter of our poverty; not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us; not a matter of natural virtues, of strength of character, of knowledge, or of experience— all of that is of no avail in this concern... The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack." - Oswald Chambers

What would you say is the single most important requirement to being a fruitful and victorious follower of Christ ? The "one thing" that will make the difference in your service for the Lord and produce greater fruit ? Education ? Training ? Experience ? Zeal ? Trying your very best for the Lord ? More prayer support ? All of these things can be very helpful and are important, but the "one thing" that is absolutely vital to being fruitful is your fellowship with the Lord. Many people place their ministry for the Lord as the top priority and emphasis in their lives, and they end up leaving no time for fellowship with the Lord Jesus, who is our Source of power and victory and fruitfulness. No matter how hard we try, and no matter how zealous and passionate we are in ministry, we can do absolutely nothing without Jesus. We first need to have a passion for Jesus, and not just for doing things for Him.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." - John 15:5

"but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." - Luke 10:42

The Hand Of The Lord - Part 2

Dwight L. Moody was considered the most influential evangelist of the 19th century, and was founder of the Moody Bible Institue. God used him in great ways, and reached many for Christ through him. Yet he was an uneducated, ordinary person who sold shoes for a living when he was young. No one would have predicted that he would become a man greatly used by God. Here are some things that were said about him soon after he became a Christian in 1855:

"I can truly say, and in saying it I magnify the infinite grace of God as bestowed upon him, that I have seen few persons whose minds were spiritually darker than was his when he came into my Sunday School class; and I think that the committee of the Mount Vernon Church seldom met an applicant for membership more unlikely ever to become a Christian of clear and decided views of Gospel truth, still less to fill any extended sphere of public usefulness."

"The first meeting I ever saw him at was in a little old shanty that had been abandoned by a saloon-keeper. Mr. Moody had got the place to hold the meetings in at night. I went there a little late; and the first thing I saw was a man standing up with a few tallow candles around him, holding a negro boy, and trying to read to him the story of the Prodigal Son and a great many words he could not read out, and had to skip. I thought, 'If the Lord can ever use such an instrument as that for His honor and glory, it will astonish me."

Billy Graham is considered the greatest evangelist of all time. God has used him to reach millions for Christ. Yet he was a simple country boy raised on a dairy farm in North Carolina. He accepted Christ at the age of 16, but afterwards he was turned down for membership in a local youth group because he was considered "too worldly". He started college at Bob Jones University, where he was almost expelled. Bob Jones Sr. said this to him: "At best, all you could amount to would be a poor country Baptist preacher somewhere out in the sticks." He finished college at Wheaton College, and although he ended up being a great evangelist he never received any formal theological or seminary education.

How could these 2 men with such humble beginnings turn out to be some of the most fruitful and successful servants of the Lord ? Only by God's grace, and only by the all-powerful hand of the Lord. God's hand was upon these men in a powerful way. When God does great and miraculous things through plain, ordinary people everyone knows it is God who did it, and He gets all of the glory and honor and praise.

The Hand Of The Lord

Acts 11:21 - "The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord."

The early church in the book of Acts saw God do great and amazing things. Many people were reached for Christ, and the church grew quickly. What was the key to their victories and success ? Acts 11:21 shows the one thing that is absolutely vital to experiencing spiritual victories and to being fruitful in ministry - the hand of the Lord.

The hand of the Lord represents God's glory and power, His presence, His blessings, His favor, and His authority over the enemy. Why was the hand of the Lord with them ? Go back to Acts chapter 8 and you find the answer. Acts 8:1 tells us that a great persecution broke out against the church, and everyone in the church except the apostles were scattered to other areas. Verse 4 tells us that everyone that was scattered preached the word of the Lord wherever they went. Imagine a church where everyone shares the Good News of Jesus with others, not just the pastors or leaders. They understood that God's plan for the church is for everyone to share Christ with others, and they understood that this is what Jesus commanded them to do in Matthew 4:19 and Matthew 28:19-20. Not only did they understand this, but they obeyed what the Lord said to do. Thus the hand of the Lord was with them, and He empowered them to reach a great number of people for Jesus. God used everyone in the church, including the ordinary people, to do extraordinary things for His glory.

Is The Church Truly Following Jesus ?

Is the church today what God wants it to be ? How does the church today compare to the church in the Bible, particularly the early church in the book of Acts ? The early church in Acts is considered the model of what the church is to be like. In Matthew 4:19 Jesus says "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." In order to truly follow Jesus we must be "fishers of men" - people who activiely share Christ with others in their daily lives. In many churches today there is alot of talk about sharing the Good News of Christ with others and of making disciples. It seems that many churches talk more about the Great Commission than actually do it. How many people in the church are being true to Jesus and being fishers of men ?

There are some very interesting verses in Acts chapter 8 about the church. Acts 8:1 tells us that a great persecution broke out against the church, and that everyone except the apostles were scattered to other places in Judea and Samaria. The apostles, the main leaders of the church, remained in Jerusalem, and everyone else in the church was scattered. If this were a modern day church, it would be the pastors and the staff that remained in Jerusalem, and the regular ordinary people of the church were the ones scattered. Acts 8:4 tells us "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went." In the church of the Bible, it is God's design and plan for everyone in the church to share the Good News of Christ with others, not just the pastors or the staff members or the missionaries or the deacons. In most churches today only a hand full of people are true "fishers of men" that actively share Christ with others in their lives. With regards to the Great Commission it seems the church is falling far short of God's design for the church shown in the Bible.

Amazing Story Of God Using An Ordinary Man

You need to watch and listen to the video below of how God used a "nobody" in amazing ways. This man had incredible faithfulness for many years in reaching out in love to the lost in Sydney Australia. What makes it incredible is that he saw no visible signs of fruit or success, and yet he continued to obey Jesus - to be a "fisher of men". This video is a must see.

God Loves To Use Ordinary People

Dwight Moody was a simple ordinary man. As a young man he sold shoes to make a living. He was not your idea of someone that God could use to reach many many people for Christ. And he was not formally trained or educated to be the evangelist that God called him to be. But Mr. Moody was a man totally committed and surrendered to God, and as a result God was able to use him in great ways. God's hand was on him in a special way. There are many other examples of plain ordinary people that God has used in great ways ... Billy Graham is the son of a farmer ... Jesus' disciples were fishermen, a tax collector,... King David was the "runt" of his family ... God loves to use ordinary people to do extraordinary things, because everyone knows that it was God that did the great work. And God receives all of the glory, which He is worthy to receive. Can God use you to do great things ? Absolutely, if you are willing to sacrifice yourself and be fully committed & surrendered to Him. "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. And he will do even greater things than these..." - John 14:12-13