Preaching Jesus Christ

     We had another great outreach last Wednesday.  It was a long day too.  We where there for about 8 hours; Praise God. I think the word is slowly getting out about us being there.  There were about twice as many children there and more adults as well.  We pulled into the Village at about 10:30.  When we pulled up there were a handful of kids and adults.  Some of the kids go to school in the morning and get out at noon.  So once school let out many more kids and parents began to show up.  We had prepared a large cooler of rice and beans and brought some fruit.  We probably had enough to feed over a hundred people.  Some of the children would come up three and four times for more food.  Lisa, Hannah and Hadassah served the food throughout the day.  For us it's been such a blessing to see our kids want to help serve and taking joy in it. While the kids where eating Josef used this opportunity to share with the adults about not working for food that perishes but for food which endures to everlasting life.  It was a good message to help them focus on what's really needed and important.  I see so many people involved in either feeding the poor or medical "missions" and they fail to preach the Gospel.  They fail to tell men of their sinful condition, the consequences of their sin, the righteousness of God, the judgment to come, and how to be saved.  Instead they take care of their temporal needs and withhold from them the very truth that is able to save their soul.  So in essence, they make them feel better while they're on the road to hell.  What a horrible thing it would be to stand before God on the day of Judgment and see all the people that you help with material things and see them cast into hell because they died in their sins..especially when you claim to have the truth that is able to save them.  I would rather see someone hungry and sick and be given the Gospel than see someone full and well and have the Gospel withheld from them.  But Praise God we can do both! 

     After the kids finished eating we did a bible study with the kids.  We used the flip chart again and went through the first two pictures.  It starts out with the creation account and with Adam and Eve sinning against God and being banished out of the garden.  We would teach them God's word and then ask them questions.  Some of the children knew some of the history of Genesis and were eager to answer.  It was great to see them want to learn.  We then taught them about humility.   How God resist the proud but gives grace to the humble.  How if we are to be like Jesus we are to be a servant like He taught us.  How the first shall be last and the last shall be first.  We then told the kids we had brought them all some toys and to line up behind the car.  And of course, like all kids - with sin bound up in their heart - they proceeded to race to be the first in line before everyone else.   We then talked to them about preferring each other more than themselves and started the BACK of the line to hand out the toys.  Now of course we know that all the kids were selfish as they raced to the car for the toys.  It just happened that those at the back of the line were slowest.  Never the less, it was a good teaching tool and we pray the Lord would use it to help them remember what we taught.  After we finished teaching the children Lina passed out the clothes we brought.  We brought a lot of clothes so it took a while.  We also brought some of the blankets from our house to give out.  It gets really cold here at night sometimes and the houses down there really shouldn't even be called houses.  We took the blankets over to this girls house and met her parents.  It's probably one of the worst houses I've seen down there.  It's this two room shack with two beds and a refrigerator.   The floor was pretty much just dirt.  There were about 4 kids and three adults that lived there.  I didn't see any blankets anywhere so it was good to be able to give them some. 

     At about 4p.m we went over to the house of a couple that had come to both of our outreaches.  They are both believers and wanted us to have a bible study at their house.  We went there and had a bible study with them and a few other people who had been at the outreach.  This lady who's house we were at has been preaching to Lucy before we ever came to the village.  She told us that the day we showed up Lucy told her something amazing that just shows the greatness and Sovereignty of God.  Lucy's known in that area for wanting to help the children.  The morning before we showed up she said she heard a voice say to her "what does it matter if you help these children and you yourself don't know God".  Then later that afternoon we pull into the village just happen to meet her!  When we pulled into the village we pulled over to ask someone about the village.  We saw a lady walking up the hill with her son.  And it was Lucy!  It's amazing to see how the Lord directs our steps and is in complete control over everything!  So back to the bible study...   I shared some from 1 John 1, shared some of my testimony, and about seeing Christ by faith.  Josef finished the study by sharing about seeking God by the means He's provided.  It was a really good time.   Though out the day we also had three other, unconverted, people tell us they would like us to start coming to their house and teach them about Jesus.  It's such a joy to see people say they want to know about Christ.  I'm really looking forward to these home visits and believe God is going to give us many more. 

    The guy who live in the home we had the bible study at is a believe who sometimes preaches to the prostitutes in the area.  Most of these towns and villages are filled with gangs and prostitutes.  As he was telling us about preaching to them I was thinking about what Jesus said about sinners and prostitutes coming into the kingdom of God before the Pharisee's.  And how not many wise or noble or mighty called but God chooses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise (1 Cor 1:25-27).  I've talked with so many people who sit in a church week end week out and yet remain unconverted.  They look down on the lowly, the poor, those heaped up in visible outward sin and fail to see the wickedness in their own heart.  They become religious Pharisees not realizing they are shut out of the kingdom of God while God is everyday accepting the very ones they themselves look down on (Luke 18:9-14).  But Praise God He can save a self righteous Pharisee too if they will humble themselves and repent putting their faith solely in Christ to save them.  The offer of Salvation still remains available to "whosoever" will believe.  But we know that even with the offer of Salvation made available not many wise, noble, or mighty after the flesh are called. 
    All in all it was another great outreach.  We continue to see grace of God in our own lives and it being manifested to those we are preaching too.  Lord-willing we'll be able to start some of our home visits soon.  We plan on going back this Wednesday.

On Saturday we took the kids to the beach for a about and hour or so.  The beach is only about 10 minutes from where we live.  It's also still cool enough outside that you don't have to worry about seeing half naked people walking around.  Hannah and Hadassah had a really good time.  However, Ethan just cried most of the time.  He was afraid of the waves.  He was certain that they were going to keep coming and eventually get him wet.  There was a man with some horse so we let Hannah go for a Horse ride.  It was Hannah's first horse ride so she was excited.   Hadassah wasn't quite ready to get on the horse though.  She was content with just petting it. 

On Sundays we usually go to the open market.  It's a great place to buy meats, fruits and vegetables.  It's just a few minutes from our house and gets really crowded.  Today we went there early, to avoid the rush, and bought most of the food for the next outreach.  It's pretty amazing that we could buy enough food to feed about 75-100 people for about $25.  And not only can we feed them but we can preach to them about the one who can give them Living Water and teach them about the true Bread that came down from heaven.  And when I think about how much money I've spent on myself before just going out to eat I realize how foolish I've been with my money so many times.  Jesus says in Luke 12: "Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  It says what it says and Jesus is always true.  Where your treasure is is where here our heart is..no matter how much we try to justify ourselves.  Now I'm not saying it's a sin to go out to eat.  But I do believe we would spend less money on ourselves if we really had eternity in our eyes.  I'm thankful to God for making these truths real to me since we've been here in Mexico.  God is good.

  

Lastly I've been reading a book by A.W. Pink called the Attributes of God.  It's been really good.  Pink is right when he says:  "That God is great in wisdom, wondrous in power, yet full of mercy, is assumed by many to be almost common knowledge; but, to entertain anything approaching an adequate conception of his being, his nature, his attributes, as these are revealed in Holy Scripture, is something which very, very, few people in these degenerate times have attained unto".  I'm still reading through the book but it's really helped me to think on God..not His gifts, or evangelism, or the church, or any ministry, just God Himself.  I've include the first chapter in the link below (it's available free online).  It's called "The Solitariness of God".  He talks about how God has always been complete, perfect, self sufficiant, and needing absolutely nothing throughout eternity.  Nothing adds to His glory and nothing takes away from His glory. God did not need men, or angles, or heaven to be complete.  He wasn't lacking fellowship or needing worshipers.  He is God. 

                               THE SOLITARINESS OF GOD

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