Trust in the Lord and Stay in the Race!

By Pastor Ken Foreman

Text: Genesis 50:24-25 - "And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which He sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence."

Joseph's family was still in Egypt when he died. He knew they would not be there for ever. But it came to a place and time (400 years later) when they had accomplished all that could be done in Egypt. It was time for them to go to "the promise!" You'd think that the promise was something they should have rushed toward - ASAP! But it was necessary that they go through the wilderness "school" before they were fit (prepared) for the promise.

Stuff had to be purged (burnt out). Stuff had to be laid aside (laid down). Stuff had to be pruned (cut off). It was necessary for Israel to learn patience as thy waited for God to bring them to the promise. They had to learn - it's not me, but it's US!

"Let us run this race with patience."

"Let patience have her perfect work."

We might not see the big "picture," but you can rest on the promise. He did not call you out so you could fail. He called you so you could be victorious! Jesus endured the cross... for the joy! We need to do the same - endure our cross. You can have joy in the midst of a trial. You can have everyone wondering what you're smiling about... not because of the tribulation, but because of what's on the other side!

Our witness needs to be about the goodness of God. That's what brought us into the truth. And it's what will bring them in too. This is the reason we hold on. This is the reason we don't give up. Think about it...! What happens if we get out of the race? They're watching us. We have a responsibility to them and to Him. As long as we trust Him and stay in the race, He has promised that we will reap the benefits. He wants to save more, fill more. The promise is there. It's prepared, waiting and ready for those who continue, those who endure, those whose eyes are on the promise, and who invite others to partake in the promise too.

Ten Things My Dad Taught Me!

By Mark Henry

Text: Isaiah 38:18-20 -- "For the grave cannot praise Thee, death cannot celebrate Thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for Thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise Thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known Thy truth. The LORD was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD."

At the age of twelve, Jesus said, "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" Early on, He knew He was on a mission ordained by His Father, and had already purposed in His heart to carry it out faithfully.
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My father and mother were divorced when I was still very young. I would spend the school weekdays with Mom and go to my Dad's on Fridays after school. Every Friday, as soon school let out, I'd climb to the highest point on the playground and begin my watch for my dad's truck to come into view. Many times over the years he took me with him to job sites. There I learned many important lessons. I've listed ten of them for this Father's Day message...

1. Work Hard - Not just a conqueror, but "more than conquerors." Dad said, "If you're willing to do hard work, you'll always have a job, 'cause [most] people won't work hard."
2. Do the Right Thing - Do it the right way. Share the truth with your children.
3. Hang in There - Life doesn't always bring pleasant surprises. Stay in the game. Never give up!
4. With Privilege Comes Responsibility - Be faithful in the small things and God will open the door to greater things. Peter was given the "keys"-- and also the responsibility (Acts 2, 8, & 10)
5. Be Faithful - Mark worked at pizza delivery for seven years - Dad said, "Work it well and see what happens." Clean the toilet, do whatever needs doing. Rejoice! Do it as unto the Lord!
6. God Will Make a Way - God will never allow you to get into a situation where He can't/won't provide the solution (a way of escape).
7. Reminders are Needed - Repetition/drill! It's needed! Read it again! Quit resisting! Get it done! Get busy! Otherwise, you're wasting time.
8. Learn to Take Correction - Sin has consequences. (Sinking sand, Bottomless pit) "Go and sin no more!" Walk in the Spirit - be led bu it! This proves you're a "son of God." Don't run away! Running makes for spiritual anemia. "Spiritual teenagers" won't take it. Growth is God's goal. He's a loving Father.
9. Let God Take You Home -- We don't know who's hurting. Wait on God's timing - He knows when - don't take it into your own hands. When HE's Ready!
10. Get Your Head Up! - Keep looking up! Redemption draws near. Your Help comes from "up." (the hills) Be strong, keep the commandments of God.

Editor's Note: Bro Mark Henry and his family serve as associate minsters under Bro. George Hicks in Boulder, Colorado. They visited with us over Father's Day weekend and New Life was blessed and strengthened by their ministry. He was recently ordained by the Colorado District of the United Pentecostal Church International.

Russian Report...

By Mark Stumbo
St. Petersburg, Russia

It is a very sensitive situation right now for Americans living in St. Petersburg, Russia.  A gap has widened in U.S. and Russian relations more than I have ever seen. The recent conflict in the Ukraine has the potential to directly or indirectly affect us and the work of the Lord in Russia and our contacts in the Ukraine. Not only are the Russians starting to feel the impact of sanctions, but since we live among the people we feel them as well. Prices for food and travel have already started to rise. In the future, I am sure items and services will be limited. We hear rumors from time to time that it will be harder for Americans who wish to life in the country to get visa documents, and that Master Card and American Express will stop doing business in Russia. Already, some 70 billion dollars' worth of investment has left the nation as the world has lost confidence in Mr. Putin, confidence which took him around fifteen years to build.

Right now, there is a tense calm. We are praying for God to give us direction and divine protection as we are unsure what will unfold in the future. Some of our Russian neighbors do not look at us in the same way they did before. We see a storm across the bow of the ship.

Nevertheless, we are still determined to step across the railing and out into the sea of humanity; not to sink in the storm around us, but to keep our eyes on Jesus. We know that if we look at the ominous clouds of uncertainty, we will sink in doubt and self-pity. If we look at the crashing waves around us, we will be drowned by the opinions and feelings of others. But if we look at Jesus -- He shows us the way.

As I write this report, this upcoming Sunday will see three young children from the Sunday School Department being baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. On the 25th of May, we are planning a city-wide outreach,expecting people to come and break through in the Spirit. This summer we are planning to host a special event reaching out to children through English Evangelism. So, let kingdoms rise up against kingdoms, nations against nations, but as long as the Lord gives us the ability we want to labor in His Kingdom. We are not blind to the struggles around us, but are praying for revival, praying for the expansion of the church, praying and planning for God to do great things!

Editorial Note: Bro. Mark Stumbo and his family are ALJC missionaries home-based in St. Petersburg, Russia, with outreach in numerous places around the nation. They solicit your prayers that revival and a Holy Ghost outpouring will saturate the Russian people, filling them and empowering them to be witnesses any and every where all over this enormous nation. Hearts are hungry, God is willing, laborers are needed, prayer is vital! 

Seed for the Harvest

By Alan Demos

As Jesus spoke to both the multitudes and His own disciples, He knew that the Jewish people, however sincere or faithful, had no understanding of growth and harvest for their synagogues or the temple. They were people of tradition and Old Testament law. He had to prepare them to receive other sheep into His worldwide flock of believers. Several of His parables brought forth principles of the kingdom pertaining to evangelism, growth and the eventual harvest.

In the Sermon on the Mount, He taught that they would be “the salt of the earth,” and “the light of the world.” His plan was for them to influence more than one nation, one city and one religious group. All three Synoptic Gospels later record the parable of the sower. “A sower went forth to sow…” (Matt. 13:3.) In Matthew, Jesus pointed us to the ground when He said, “The field is the world.” Luke reveals what the seed should be. “The seed is the word of God.” (Luke 8:11) However humble the packaging, whatever the size or method of dispersion, the seed must be the Word of God and it must be planted in the ground! There we have it! God wants us to find a field, have the right seed in our hands, and sow! It doesn’t take an extensive knowledge of agriculture to be a sower – just willingness, time, a plot of ground, and some seed.

Have you found a field where you can labor faithfully for Him?

Finally, we must be patient. The seed we sow will rarely bring an instant harvest. Our love will be the sunshine; our tears in prayer will be the water. Yet, the regenerating power of the Word has to work through burial, germination, plant growth, flowers and, finally, in due season, the harvest. The faithful sower understands the principles of the harvest. He labors with purpose, beginning by preparing the seed. He knows that no two crops reach harvest in the same time period – the timing is ordered by God. Our Creator insured in the beginning (Genesis 1:11-12) that there would be future natural harvests when He created the plants and the trees with seed within. We learn what we need to know about spiritual harvesting by studying natural harvesting.

Has the seed been placed within you that will bring forth a harvest?

We live with fields all around us – big cities, small towns, and villages. The people into whose hearts we must plant the seed are not hard to find. They’re at home, at work, at school, on the streets and in our neighborhoods. How do we turn barren, unprepared soil into a harvest field? People who don’t believe in God or know who He is are not candidates for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Faith in Jesus Christ comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God! The seed must be sown to bring forth faith! Jesus prepared for Pentecost by adding knowledge and understanding that would lead them to New Testament salvation. For three years He ministered through miracles and healings, taught and preached, rebuked the wayward and comforted the suffering. Why was He taking so much time to lay the groundwork?

He was preparing the ground even as He was preparing the seed.

None of us will ever be as effective as Jesus Christ, but He expects us to be both sowers and harvesters! Each of us can hide the Word in our hearts and minds, find a field, and decide how to plant, using our own chosen method. Some will pass out tracts to strangers or distribute literature in a neighborhood; some will preach from a pulpit; some will teach children in a Sunday School class; some will teach others in a home; others will just speak gently and persistently with a friend. No method is more important than another! No venue is off-limits!

The only requirement is that we sow His Word!

The written Word of God in a condensed version, a summary or an introduction, is called a tract, whether evangelistic for the unbeliever or doctrinal for the believer. Let’s supply ourselves with Gospel literature to use wherever we walk in our fields. Let us pray to be led by the Holy Ghost in our sowing. It is not for us to inspect the soil. We are called to sow on all kinds of ground - good ground and poor ground. Literature is a time and cost effective means of connecting God with believers needing more truth or sinners needing salvation. Literature should go out to those who don’t know about, or, are not yet ready for, our churches.

A literature evangelist can easily distribute more than a hundred tracts

in the same time that it takes to give a one-hour Bible study!

Literature ministry fulfills the purpose of God revealed in the parable of the marriage. The king said, “Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.” (Matthew 22:9). We can’t wait for them to come into our churches; we must go out to invite them. Without a doubt, we will not be wasting our time. “Cast thy bread upon the waters… for thou shalt find it after many days.” (Ecclesiastes 11:1-6) SOW faithfully in faith, and in God’s time, the Harvest will come.

Why not begin to utilize the wonderful tool of literature in your daily life

as you seek to win souls and lay a harvest at Jesus’ feet in eternity?

Editor's Note: Bro. Alan Demos and his wife Valerie have served as UPCI missionaries to the nation of Germany for many years. Bro. Demos skills and experience in literature ministry are legendary. In this article, he presents the concept of a literature ministry. Next month, we will feature a more in-depth look at what sowing the seed of the Word entails and the rewards it brings.

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Room to Grow?

By Bishop Charles R. Grisham

Scripture Base: Philippians 3:12 - "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which I am also apprehended of Christ Jesus."

Do you still have room to grow? One of the most dangerous things that can happen is to feel we have "already arrived." There are those in this world who continually measure themselves by foolish comparisons to others they think are far below their standard. Paul issued a strong warning concerning this; "For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measure themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise." (II Corinthians 10:12)

Jesus warned repeatedly of the leaven of the Pharisees; (spiritual pride,) the attitude that is afflicted with the infectiousness of arrogance, the idea that "I have arrived." or that, "I am perfect." He said, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." Once they obeyed all their own rules to their own satisfaction, they set out to impose themselves upon others. Jesus warned about three leavens. They were...

• the leaven of the Pharisees - spiritual pride
• the leaven of the Sadducees - power and control
• the leaven of Herod - the kingdom of self

These three Jewish political sects thought only of perpetuating their own power base. Jesus' warnings were well documented. (See Matthew 23.) Interestingly, these leavens became the apostasy of the New Testament church.

There are those who have obeyed a set of rules and now feel they have the right to "look down" on others they feel are less perfect. When a person begins to pride themselves with being the best, or the holiest of all, they have placed a lid on their potential to grow. After all, they think they are the best, greatest, and holiest in every way. It's like the old popular song that said, "Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way." They are blinded to reality...

• "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods,and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked;" (Revelation 3:17)

When we think we have already arrived we cannot grow and progress. There seems to be a necessity of need in order to progress spiritually. The apostle Paul never stopped reaching... pressing... striving. He always kept a pace of trying to get nearer to God. He made it clear he didn't think he had arrived. He said he was still trying to grow.

• "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

Do you think you have already arrived? Or, do you think there is still room to grow? It's a serious matter!