Preaching Jesus Christ

BACK IN TEXAS - LEAVING TEXAS

As many of you know we've been back in Dallas now for about three weeks.   It was a long flight back from India with just a few bumps.  The airline had to reroute our flights from India due to some weather delays but they worked it out and we made it back almost in the same amount of time.  The airline however lost one of my bags (containing both of my hand held PA systems) and haven't been able to find it.  Overall though it was a good flight back and the Lord gave us much grace with our children.  (They really did do well for taking a 6 hour bus ride and then 4 different flights!)

Since being back in Texas we've been able to meet with some dear brethren in Christ AND have been preparing to leave once again.  It was great to see some brethren we know and love here in Texas and to see Josef and Lina who traveled up from Mexico. Also, by the grace of God and a generous gift we were able to purchase a used van for our family to travel in.  Before we came back to the U.S. the Lord showed us we'd be in Texas for a short time and then He was sending us to New Mexico.  So tomorrow morning we leave for New Mexico to fellowship with and exhort some brethren in Christ as the Lord has led us.

In many ways it was really difficult to leave India especially seeing real fruit in some of the brethren there.  Two brothers in particular seemed to really grow in their faith.  And it seems the Lord sent us specifically for them during this time in their life.  One brother in particular, brother Ismail, I've written about before.  He was my personal translator, and has become a dear friend in Christ, who was kicked out of his fellowship for preaching the Word of God.  I've continued to talk with him since arriving back in the U.S. and he and his home fellowship are doing well.  Also, for those of you who would like to help brother Ismail as he preaches to Hindu's and Muslims can do so by visiting the "Missionary" page of our site (  http://www.preachingjesuschrist.com/missionaries.html  )  He is certainly a brother who has counted the cost of following Christ and worthy of the support of the body of Christ.  Any gift or support would truly be a blessing for him and his family.

It almost seems unreal that we're back here in the USA.  India seems to have come and gone in a flash.  But the Lord directed us to return and to specifically warn brethren about the coming judgment from God Himself.  During about the last month of our time in India the Lord began speaking to us about returning to the U.S.  The Lord even gave Lisa a prophetic dream concerning the coming judgment.  During the same time the Lord had also provided the air fair for us to return to the US.   We continued to pray about it all just asking the Lord to confirm everything.  We were all the way over in India and really wanted to make sure the Lord was sending us back.  About a day or so later, a sister in Christ who Lisa was meeting with said she had a dream about us.  In her dream she saw us all get on a plane and head back to the U.S.  She knew nothing of what we were praying about and what all the Lord had been doing in us.  It seemed clear that the Lord was telling us to return, telling us why He's having us return, and providing the means for us to return.  So we booked our tickets and headed back to the U.S.

DREAMS OF JUDGMENT

While in India the Lord gave my wife a prophetic dream about judgment from God specifically in the USA.  (The Lord has given Lisa many prophetic dreams since her conversion).  This was really a continuation of two other dreams the Lord had previously given her.  The first of these dreams was about 4 or 5 years ago.  In this dream she was in the U.S. inside a high tower looking out at the sky.  In the distance were very dark clouds that were moving to cover the whole sky but had not done so yet. They were still a great distance away. But she knew in the dream that God was in the clouds (Psalm 18) and that He was coming to bring judgment. She also saw a valley below and there were many people in the valley who saw the dark clouds coming. They were trying to escape but were unable too.  They were trying to climb out of the valley with all their effort without success.  This was the first dream.  Then about a year ago she had another dream along the same lines. In this dream she was in a closet praying. When she was done praying she went to look out of the window and saw dark black clouds with lightning going through it. Then she went outside and saw that the clouds were covering about a fourth of the sky but she knew they were moving to cover the entire sky. In this dream she saw people and they seemed to be unconcerned about the coming storm.  The last dream she had on the coming judgment was when we were in India about a month ago. In this dream she was in the U.S. and was again looking at the sky. Only this time the thick black clouds were covering the ENTIRE sky. The whole thing was completely covered. She knew that the only thing left was for God to rain down the fullness of His judgment and that it would happen very soon. She knew that we had very little time before this came to pass.  She also knew in the dream that the Lord had given us time to exhort brethren but that this time was SHORT. 

I truly believe there will be very few people in this country, including believers, who are ready for what's ahead.  Though many claim to be walking with Christ it is evident that the love of the world (lust of the flesh, eyes, and pride of life) still has a deep hold on them.  Many believers and professing believers still have not let God deal with the idolatry in their heart and they will find these coming days most difficult as the Lord strips them of everything they've truly trusted in.  For some it will be their houses, for some it will be their comfort, for some it will be their money, possessions, ect...ect (the list goes on and on).  As they see these things disappear fear will rise in their heart as they see their idol destroyed and be forced to realize they have not truly trusted in the Lord.  Many will certainly go through many trials and pains that could have been avoided had they heeded the Word of God and listened to that still small voice. 

If you are reading this I urge you to get before the Lord and examine your life in light of His Word.  And may the Lord give you light to know the true condition of your heart at this moment in time. 

In Jesus Name,

Sean Scott

It’s a great joy to share with you a testimony regarding one of the pastors we’ve been working with. Especially since about 90% of the pastors I’ve met here seem to be completely compromised. As I’ve written before most of them are not serving Christ but instead are serving mammon and are just as much idolaters as the Hindu’s they claim they want to reach. Unfortunately this seems to be the case in so many places across the globe and truly is a sign indicating the times we live in. But nothing, including apostasy, will hinder the Lord from accomplishing His will, in His time, and in His saints. So it’s a great joy to share with you about Brother Ishmail and what the Lord is doing in him. Brother Ishmail has been my translator for about four months now. He’s a convert from Islam and has been shepherding a small fellowship of about 50 people in his home town. He comes to our village each Monday through Friday to translate for me and work together as we preach in surrounding villages and in house meetings. He’s become more than just a translator, he’s become a dear friend and is a brother in Christ. Not only have we been able to preach together but have been able to spend time just going through the scriptures on many different topics. I can remember the first time we went village preaching together. In part of my message I had preached on Acts 17 where Paul is speaking in Athens and speaks to the people about their Idolatry and how God doesn’t dwell in temples made by hands of men. Ishmail was very uncomfortable as I preached through those verse and later explained he didn’t feel we should directly speak against the Hindu’s idolatry or temple worship.  Not only that but when I had finished preaching he proceeded ask every one “who wants to receive Jesus? “ and then led them all in a sinners prayer. I almost reached over and took the mic out of his hand but it was too late. He had officially made everyone a “Christian” by one prayer. Needless to say this led us to discussing many different topics such as the nature of Salvation, what regeneration is and isn’t, what happens when someone has true saving faith, as well as what topics to preach to those who don’t know Christ. Through our time together the Lord really helped Ishmail receive light on so many different topics. Brother Ishmail has grown in his understanding of the Gospel as well as understanding the need to present the “full counsel of God“.
About a week ago I asked brother Ishmail what he preached in his local fellowship for the previous Sunday. His wife was with him and they just kinda looked at each other then told me he is no longer part of that fellowship. This was a surprise for me to hear. He said lately he’s been preaching on topics he usually doesn’t preach on. He’s been preaching on God’s attributes and character, talking about God’s Holiness, His Righteousness, preaching about the Judgment seat of Christ, eternal judgment, sin and repentance, in other words - topics you don’t normally hear preached on in most churches today. The elders of the church came together and said they, as well as the congregation, didn’t like the topics he was preaching on and wanted him to only preach on the love of God, the mercy of God, and the blessings of God. They only wanted to hear preaching on the scriptures that comforted their flesh (though theses also are topics that need to be preached on). Brother Ishmail said he would continue to preach on all the scriptures as that is what he is called to do. The elders didn’t like his answer and decided to kick him out of the church! Brother Ishmail had been a pastor there for a few years. He now knows he was mainly pastoring GOATS and not SHEEP.
Even before he was kicked out of the church Ishmail and his wife had been discipling three ladies who are converts from Islam. They now have a small home fellowship with these ladies and are nurturing them as new born babes in Christ. They meet during the week because the wives husbands have forbidden them to follow Jesus. Since their husbands are home on Sundays it makes it impossible for them to meet on Sundays. In fact, one of the ladies husbands found out recently that she was meeting with Ishmail and his wife. He beat his wife until she was blue in the face and threatened her with divorce. The wonderful thing is this new born believer remained faithful to Jesus and would not stop following Jesus due to the persecution by her husband. And though at this point the number of those in Ishmail’s home fellowship is less than those he was pastoring in the church, he knows he’s discipling true Sheep that belong to Jesus Christ. He believes the Lord has now called him to work specifically among the unreached Muslims and Hindu’s in his home town.
The greatest part of all of this is to see Brother Ishmail’s faith in God during this trying and transitional time in his life. When he was kicked out of the church he lost all income he was receiving from them. Now that I’m leaving he’s also losing the money I was giving him for all the time he was spending with me helping with translation. The denomination he is part of (AOG) is going to give him 500 rupees a month, about $10, for a couple years as he starts this new work. (Though he’s part of AOG their fellowships are all pretty independent). Ten dollars is hardly enough for Ishmail, his wife, and his two son’s to live on. However even with this, he realizes all that has happened to him is the will of God and believes the Lord will take care of his needs as he remains faithful to living and preaching the truth. It’s so encouraging to see a Pastor serve Christ instead of money! (Update: since I started writing this a couple days ago the Lord has provided for Ishmails financial needs to be covered for the next six months! God is faithful!)
I wanted to take time to share this for a couple reasons. One, to give glory to God for what He’s doing in our brother. And two, that you yourself would be encouraged to trust the Lord in all things and know that God will provide for you as you faithfully obey His word. Like Ishmail, when you decide to not compromise you could lose your job, your friends, your family, your reputation, you might be misunderstood by others..ect but you’ll gain Jesus Christ!
I pray you will follow our brothers example in following the Lord. That you will seek a life with no compromise no matter how great the cost may be for you and your loved ones. Know that as you do Christ will never leave you nor forsake you and will always be faithful to His word!
Please keep brother Ishmail and his family in prayer.
IN Christ,
Sean & Lisa Scott
 

Time to Move

The Lord has clearly confirmed that our time here in India has come to an end. Our family will be leaving India to return to the U.S. on Feb 3rd. With all the opportunities to preach, people being open to the Gospel, and being able to exhort some true brethren truly makes it difficult to leave. But again and again the Lord has confirmed that this is definitely His will and has even provided the means for all 6 of our family members to fly back to the U.S. at this time (we came here on one way tickets). We’ll be back in Dallas, Lord-willing, for few weeks to visit some brethren. We’ll also be meeting up with brother Josef and his wife Lina as they cross the border to renew their visa’s. After that we’ll be headed to another state or two, Lord-willing, to exhort and fellowship with some other brethren as well.

I know this is a surprise for some that we would be departing from India at this time. Especially with all the favor God has given us. But the Lord has clearly given us direction to warn and exhort some brethren as the days grow darker and the clouds of God’s coming judgment (specifically in the U.S.) continue to grow thicker and nearer with every passing day. We know that when we are faithful with what God has called us to do in returning He will show us, as He always does, the next step and direction for us. Through everything the Lord has led us through we have learned, and are still learning, to follow and be led by the Spirit of God and NOT our own human reasoning and understanding. It would be so easy to justify staying here in India but it would be against the will of God at this time (Mark 1:37,38). So brethren please keep us in prayer as we finish our work here and prepare to leave.

 

Preaching at Cancer Hospital

It has definitely been interesting time here in India. The Lord has given us many opportunities to share the Gospel with people willing to listen. In fact, last week I went with a man here to a cancer hospital to pray for and minister to his mother. Instead of just praying for his mother we ended up preaching to the entire floor of patients for about and hour! It was an amazing time as we directed their thoughts to the resurrected Christ who is not only able to heal their bodies but more importantly to forgive their sins and bring them to God. There were probably about 50 people there and most of them were Hindu’s and Muslims. It truly seemed as if the Lord was doing a work as some of patients were in tears and others praying under their breath to the Lord like Hannah. We were able to pray for them all and pass out new testaments to those who wanted them before we left. So many of our outreaches have been just like this. I am thankful that there are a couple brethren here who will be able to continue the work we started in these different area’s.

 

True Brethren and Apostasy

In fact, my greatest joy has been to see two true brothers in the Lord grow in their faith and walk with Lord. Though we were able to preach in many different areas, villages, house meetings, churches…ect.. it seems the Lord specifically had us here for these two brothers at this time in their lives to teach them and exhort them to stand up for the truth in the midst of apostasy. And without a doubt, the apostasy with in many Indian churches is just as great as in those we see in many American churches (though it sometimes manifest itself in different forms). I can’t tell you how many false brethren we’ve met since being here. Pastors who are greedy for financial gain and using the name of Christ to promote their own kingdoms and to exalt their own names. People truly do either serve God or mammon regardless if they live in a rich country like America or poorer country like India. But we praise God he enabled us to meet some true brethren to fellowship with, to exhort and to be mutually edified. We will definitely miss these brothers and will continue to stay in contact with them and uphold them in prayer.

 

Nothing is Hidden From God!

I have to share a testimony about God’s goodness and care towards us that happened a couple days ago. There has been a man who we’ve continually preached too since being here. At first he seemed like he was eager to help us do daily task, acted as if he wanted to hear the gospel and at times even brought others to hear the gospel at our house. But God gave Lisa a dream a while back that this man’s heart was totally hard and that he wanted nothing to do with Christ. Which over time truly turned out to be the case. He had stolen a couple things here and there but we continued to pray for him and preach to him as the opportunities arose. Well he came over to our house a couple days ago wanting to accompany us to Hyderabad to say good by. When he was here our house owner showed up and wanted to talk with me. I had already given him notice that we were going to be leaving so this was a special trip he was making to our house from the village that he lives in. I went outside to talk with him and he said someone came by his house telling them that he was to give them our house key on the day that we leave so he could “help” move all our stuff out of the house (fridge, beds, ect.. we’re leaving these to a few brethren here). I told him I had not told anyone to go by his house and that I was leaving the key with a friend of mine. Just then this man in my house walks out to see what we’re doing and my house owner says “That’s the man! He‘s the one who came to my house”. You should have seen this young mans face. He knew he was caught and was trying to back peddle his way out of the situation. My house owner started confronting him. I told him he need to leave and he practically ran from our place once he was outside of the gate! Apparently him and his friends were planning on cleaning our place out of everything while we were on the train headed towards Hyderabad! God totally exposed him AGAIN and kept us from losing anything. Hopefully the Lord will use this to confirm to him what we’ve spoken to him about the condition of his heart and lead him to repentance. We’re very thankful the Lord was watching over us and that our house items will go to the brethren instead of a thief.

 

We plan on spending our last few days here fellowshipping with some dear brethren and in prayer and preparation for leaving. (and possible going to the cancer hospital again).  And by God’s grace our whole family is also recovering from being very sick which will make the travel much easier.  Please keep us in prayer and feel free to write any time.

 

 Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling,

and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory

with exceeding joy

To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty,

dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen

 

 

IN Christ,

Sean & Lisa Scott

preachingjesuschrist.com

IT NEVER FAILS!

Seems like every time I sit down to write an update the Lord brings someone over to share the gospel with. For the last couple hours I’ve been talking with a Muslim boy who lives around the corner from me. His parents run a little shop where I buy my milk and eggs at. This was his first time to come over to our house. He asked some of the best questions regarding the truth and the nature of God that I’ve heard anyone ask in a while. It was a blessing to be able to take him through the scriptures showing him God’s character and nature. Due to the recent Muslim attacks in Mumbai India he also had many questions about the Quran. So we spent some time online looking at different verses in the Quran he had never seen before. I ended up giving him Telegu New Testament and exhorted him to seek the Lord. It was a GREAT time of sowing the seed of God’s word into his heart. Lord-willing he’ll start coming to the children’s/young men’s meeting we have at our house.

GOD’S PROVISION

As some of you know for the last couple weeks we had the “Special Investigations Bureau” questioning us and some of the believers here that we fellowship with. We came here on a visa that’s pretty restricted. But the Lord provided a way for us to get residency papers which gives us more favor with the authorities and the permission to reside in the country for up to five years without leaving the country. Without these papers we would have to leave the country every 6 months to renew our visa’s. The main thing they do though is help us with the local authorities. It was pretty amazing how we found out about it and were able to receive them. I had no knowledge of the residence papers until one day when I was in a Christian book store in one of the larger cities. As I was looking at the bibles a white guy walks in and starts talking to the clerk. Not only was he white but he was talking in a southern Texas accent. I asked him where he was from and he tells me he’s from a city which happens to be about 20 minutes from where my house was in Texas. Pretty amazing. He has been in India for almost 10 years. I asked him how he was able to stay here without leaving every 6 months. He told me he was able to receive residency papers about 7 years ago. He said wasn’t sure if they still issued them but said I should check it out. Since being here I’d also made another contact. A friend of mine in the U.S. works for a company that has a branch here in India. When he knew I was going to India he wanted me to meet a friend of his from the India branch who is a believer in Christ. So I contact this man and he got on a train and came to our house. It was good to get to know him and we stayed in contact through email and phone. Well, when the situation with the authorities came about I told him about it. Come to find out his uncle is the Chief of Police over the entire state that we live in. He tells me to come to his city and he’ll help me get the residency papers! So I took a 6 hour train to Hyderabad and we went and met with his uncle. We walked into the head police station and into his uncles office. I was a little nervous not knowing what questions he would ask me. Well he just briefly looks at me and writes a note for us and sends us on our way. I couldn’t believe we were in and out of his office without any questions! We then went to the foreign registrations office. It was already past hours but since we had a note from the Chief of Police they let us in. It was still a long seven day process to get the paperwork filled out but we got it all completed. While I was there I saw other foreigners trying to get the same paperwork and they were all being denied. It truly was a Sovereign work of the Lord in the whole matter. When I took a step back and just look at the hand of God in all the details it made me just more amazed at the care and provision of our God. Nothing is too hard for Him! And having the paperwork is helpful. It doesn’t give us complete freedom in the Governments eyes but it does help!

PREACHING TO GYPSIES

A couple weeks ago one of our night meetings was canceled. I went to pick up brother Vali and noticed a whole bunch of blue tents across the field from him. We decided to go talk with them and found out they were Gypsies that travel around India putting on drama shows. It was a whole community of people from one of the lowest cast in India. They put on drama’s and dress up like all the demonic Hindu God’s. They showed me some pictures. It’s pretty sick. We scheduled a meeting to come back in the evening to preach since most of the men were not there. We came back at dark and set up a light under a tree. About 15 or so people came. I started preaching and about 5 minutes into it a guy interrupts me and says him and 5 other guys are Christians. He told me that they became Christians a few days ago by going to one of the churches not too far from there. I’m just looking at this guy telling me this and he’s decked out with about every Hindu trinket you could think of and he’s getting ready to leave in a couple days and put on more of these plays. Since these five were “saved “I asked them to share the gospel with me. They all just looked at me with blank faces. Then I asked them to share anything about Jesus and they just continued to look at me with a puzzled look on their face. So I told them I would tell them about Christ and began to preach again. They interrupted me again and said “we’ve hear this before”. So I asked them why they had not obeyed the Gospel and they replied that they had! I asked them about all their Idolatry. They then told me they still worship all their god’s but now they worship Jesus too. Apparently they somehow went to a church where the pastor just got them to all say a “sinners prayer” and then pronounced them all saved. The only problem was none of them were saved and now they were in a worse condition than before. Now they’ve been led to believe they already worship Jesus along with their other God’s. So we spent some time preaching Christ as the only way, that there is only ONE God, and that they would have to forsake their Idol worshipping and drama’s to follow Jesus. A couple guys got angry and said they couldn’t do that because they would lose their income. It reminded me of what Demetrius said in Acts 19. Most of the guys began to lose interest and even got angry once we started talking about the god of “money” and the call of Christ to leave all and follow Him. There were a couple guys though (there usually always are! ) who did listen intently and it seemed as if the Word of God was sinking deep into their hearts. Those couple guys took bibles from us and then we left. It was a pretty frustraighting night! While we were leaving one of the guys who had been against what we were saying began to sing at the top of his lungs. It seemed really odd. I asked Vali what he was singing. He said he was singing how they all need to follow Christ, forsake their God’s, how there is only One true God, how their friends who were preventing them from following Christ were worthless and they needed to forsake them! It was pretty amazing. I couldn’t believe this guy was singing these things… and it wasn’t in a sarcastic way at all. It reminded me of when Saul was chasing David and the Lord made Saul prophesy all day and he was unable to get David. (1 Sam 19:23,24) The Lord can even make an unregenerate Idolater declare the truth if He wills to do so! I did go back the next day but they had packed up and were on their way to another state.

 

I’M NOT SAVED!

We’ve been having regular house meetings with a group of people who live around our house. About every other week they come over and say they want to have another meeting. There will be about 10 or 15 of them that gather together to hear the word of God. This last meeting was a real break through for some of them. After finishing preaching a few of them came up to me and said they knew they were not saved and wanted to be. It was a real joy to hear! I didn’t have them pray a sinners prayer (which is unscriptural) because when the Spirit of God does a thorough work in their heart they will have saving faith and pray on their OWN to the Lord to be saved. I did exhorted them though with what the scriptures says about salvation, how we can be saved, the freeness of God’s gift of Salvation (Grace), and the assurance that GOD gives us when we are saved by faith. We’re praying for their souls and believing we’ll see them born-again soon! We’ll be having another meeting with them soon.

 

VILLAGE OUTREACH

We’ve been focusing a lot on one particular village. We actually do less open air preaching there and spend most of our time with home visits and personal bible studies. Each time we go we try to go new homes and personally teach them about Jesus Christ. Then one night a week, in this village, we hold an open meeting and invite the families we’ve been preaching to along with the rest of the village, or anyone who will come. Seems like we’re just starting to see people open up to the gospel there. Today me and Ishmail went to the village to go door to door. When we got there we found a group of people all with big metal rods in their hands. They were trying to kill a 5-6 foot poisonous snake that was making it’s way through the village. It was a great opportunity to talk to them about their Idol worship. I asked them how many of them go to the snake temple to worship the snake god. Most of them said yes. So we asked them why they would kill the snake which is one of the object of their worship. It was a great opportunity to help expose the foolishness of what they were doing and worshiping. We were then able to sit down with a new family, answer many questions, and preach the gospel to them for almost two hours. It was great. One of the ladies in particular was really antagonistic and against the gospel at first but by the end of our time her heart had been completely softened. She even said she’d like to start attending our weekly meetings. While we were preaching to the family a Hindu temple priest/beggar came and asked for money. They go house to house saying that if you give them food they will pray to the gods and their families will be blessed. When he saw us preaching the word of God he asked us for prayer for his sickness. We told him to sit down and listen for a while and we’d pray for him when we were finished. Surprisingly he sat down and listen to the end. Since he was there I took the opportunity to go over to Acts 17 and expound on what Paul preached to those in Athens. He listened the whole time and you could see him just processing it all in his mind. When we were finished he said he really didn’t impart blessing to the people but it was all a ploy and a way to just get food. And he said this in front of everyone there. He took a Telegu new Testament from us and thanked us. We prayed for him and the family and finished our time there. Lord-willing we’ll see them at our night meeting.

 

TWO BROTHERS

One of my greatest joys and where I see the Lord really using us is in discipleship and teaching of two brothers here. We spend a lot of time with these brothers in fellowship and preaching. It’s encouraging because I see the Lord using us to confirm a lot of things that He was already showing them. One of the brothers, who's become a good friend, in particular seems to have a real hunger and zeal for the Lord. He’s always concerned about the church and preaching to the lost. He was involved in a church and saw all the disunity inside it. So he wrote a tract using all the scriptures that deal with “loving our brother” and “loving one another” and passed it out to the believers. Well.. he was kicked out of the church for sharing the scriptures! Unfortunately this is the case of so many so called churches today. They desire you to grow until a certain point but any further than that and you become a threat to them. (Especially when you begin to question unbiblical practices with the Word of God) He didn’t realize it at first but getting thrown out of the church was the BEST thing to happen to him. He’s actually taking the word of God, DOING IT, and grow by leaps and bounds. He’s always telling me “God didn’t save me to just hear the word.. but to DO the word!” We’ve been able to help him through a lot of this, exhort him with the scriptures, and see so much fruit in his life. It was truly the Lords will for us to be here at the exact time that we came.

 

 

PRAYER

We’re continuing to do village outreaches, home visits, children/youth meetings and preaching at a few churches. I preached at a couple churches in Hyderabad and have a couple here locally this week that I’ll be preaching at. (In the churches I spend my time preaching on True and False conversion and what regeneration is and isn’t. Understanding these truths seem to Universally be the GREATEST need in the Church during this hour of ever growing apostasy.) Please keep us and these outreaches in your prayer. And especially the children/youth meeting. Our last meeting packed out our house and there are more and more Muslim youth coming. The Lord has really blessed these meetings .

Thank you for praying for us. It’s always our greatest need!

May the Lord Jesus Be Glorified!

IN Christ,

Sean & Lisa

Greetings in Jesus Name!

This last month has been a busy one and the Lord has opened so many doors for us to preach here.  He has truly given us great favor in the village we live in and the ones we’ve been preaching in.  Since our new translator arrived about two weeks ago we’ve been busy village preaching, open air preaching, having house meetings, and having a youth meeting at our house on Fridays.  Our translator, named Ishmael, is a brother who is a convert from Islam and works with us each Monday-Thursday.  On the weekends he goes back to his town to be with his family and fellowship. 

                                          (Brother Ishmanel - Above Pic)

Then there is another brother I met here who’s been a great blessing and has translated for us many times when the other brother is gone.  We’re truly thankful the Lord has provided genuine brothers for us to work together with in the Gospel.  Especially when so many of the pastors here seem greedy for gain, serving money, instead of serving Christ.  We’ve had many pastors come by our house wanting to work with us, set up meetings, and of course they only need so many $$$$ to do it.  But we’ve committed each one of them to prayer seeking if it was the Lords will to work with any or not.  It’s been amazing to see God’s faithfulness as He has shown us who to work with and who not to work with.  God is faithful!

There’s so many things I could share.  I’ll highlight a few of the outreaches and share what the Lord is doing.


VILLAGE OUTREACHES

One of the brothers I’ve become friends with, name Michael,  has really helped us out by showing us many of the surrounding villages where we can preach.  Most of these villages have no one who preaches there on a regular basis.  We’ve chosen about 6 or so villages to preach in so we can rotate them and go to them on a weekly basis.  Each day we’re able to have about 2 to 3 meetings in different villages.   This way we can continue to sow the seed of God’s word in the hearts of the people and we’ll get to know them as we continue to come.  While I know we’d all like to see people saved the first time we preach to them, and sometimes it does happen, it’s usually not the norm.  So by God’s grace we’ll be faithful to continue to preach the gospel to them and watch God give them the increase in their heart. 

The villages we’re preaching in now are predominately Hindu with a smaller Muslim community.  Some have a few believers in them but most of the “believers” here are not believers at all.  They are simply Christian by birth (which is impossible) and have no idea what the gospel is.  There’s one village by my house we’ve been able to preach in a few times.  Here’s a few photo's of the village: 

When we go to the villages it’s usually me and two other brothers.  We’ll find an area to set up in and usually start with some songs.  While we’re singing one of the brothers will go door to door and let others know we’re having a meeting and that we will be preaching about Jesus Christ.  By the time we’re done with a few songs there will usually be a small crowd gathered together to listen.  I’ll preach the Gospel and one of the brothers will translate.  I usually almost always preach two messages when we preach.  I’ll preach out of a text and explain the Gospel and then I almost always go and preach out of Acts 17 as well and relate it to India.  Because this country if FULL of idolatry it’s a great portion of scripture to expose idolatry for what it is and to lay some foundational truth about God and the Gospel.  After one meeting a couple families invited us over to their house (grass hut) to have tea and talk more.  Both of them began to take their idols down and throw them away!  Now, I’m not convinced these’s families are born again yet but God is certainly working in their hearts.  We were able to share with them some more one on one, pray with them,  and leave them with bibles.  Since we’ll be going to these village on a regular basis we’ll be able to continue teach them the word and, by God’s grace, see them enter into true salvation. 

Another time we went back to this same village all the men had gone to the city to try to get the power company to bring electricity to the village.  So when we started the meeting there were a few women and LOTS of children.  So we decided to do a meeting just for the kids.  Brother Ishmael and I, spent the next couple hours teaching the children bible songs and sharing some of the miracles Jesus did during His lifetime.  It was really a joy to teach the children about Jesus and to see them get excited as we shared. 


OPEN AIR PREACHING

While our village meetings are open air preaching we also decided one night to go preaching in a village center.  It was a place where four roads came together and was sort of an intersection for the villages.  We went at dark, and I wasn’t familiar with the villages around us, so I was a little nervous.  But myself and Ishmael stood up on a small wall with our mic and started preaching.  I started out sharing my testimony and before long there was a good size crowd.  Maybe 20-25 people who stopped or had come to listen.  I preached on sin, God’s righteousness, and the Judgment to come, and Christ as the only way to be saved.  It was more interactive as I asked people questions and let them respond.  It was amazing.  As I preached on sin you could see the conviction on people’s faces.  I then preached Christ to them and exhorted them to turn to the One true God.  When we were finished we again talked one on one and passed out bibles.   It was a good night.  And though I started out with fear I left rejoicing in the Lord. 


YOUTH/COLLEGE MEETING

There’s this young man (20 yrs) who is at our house every day.  He doesn’t speak good English but he comes over to just hang out when we’re home.  He’s pretty much a compulsive liar and has no real ambition except to hang out with his friends.  He reminds me a lot of myself before I was converted!  He’s a guy who knows just about everyone in town and he’s always brining his friends over to our house.  (I know the Lord has him at our house for a reason - and we're praying for his salvation!)  So a few weeks ago we asked him to invite his friends over on Friday night and told him we would have a bible study and talk about Jesus Christ.  The first night he brought about 15 young men over and it’s been the same almost every week.  On the first night he brought all his “Christian” friends who go to a “Christian” school in a large city about 45 minutes from here.  Since they go to a Christian school I asked them to explain to me the central message of the bible.  They all just looked at me with blank stares on their faces and had no idea what I was talking about.  They all said they were Christians by birth (which again is impossible).  I spent the next couple hours convincing them of their sin, showing them they were NOT Christians, that if they died in their current state they would go to Hell, and preached to them how there is forgiveness of sin’s through faith in Jesus Christ.  There was no confusion when they left that they too must repent and be born again just like the Hindu’s and Muslims.  The good new is that a couple of them have continued to come on the following Fridays.  Each Friday there’s a couple guys who continue to come and then there are always new friends that he brings over.  This last week we had more Hindu’s and a couple Muslims come as well.  I never really intended to start a youth meeting… and I wouldn’t really call it that.  The Lord has made a way though for these young men to come to our house so we can preach Jesus to them and teach them the word of God.  Please keep these meetings in your prayers!!


HOUSE MEETINGS

Another outreach we do frequently is house meetings.  We’ll meet someone and get invited over to their house for dinner and be able to preach to them and their neighbors.  There are always kids that come over to our house to meet us and play with our children.  Usually the children speak some English because they are taught it in school.  There are these two brothers that always come by and they asked us to come and have dinner with their family.  They’re from a Hindu family and their house is in walking distance from ours.  We had dinner and scheduled a time when we could come back the following week and have a bible study.   The next week we all went back and there were about 20 people there to hear the word of God (family and neighbors).  The brothers and I sang some songs and then I preached the Gospel and again preached from Acts 17.  People seemed pretty attentive when I was preaching from acts.  Lisa said she saw one young man get mad when I was preaching about idols.  He got up and left.  The rest listened and followed along in the bible.  When we were finished we prayed for just about everyone individually.  We again passed out bibles and had dinner with the family.  Lord-willing we’ll have another meeting at their house soon!  (We’ve actually had several house meetings like this in different places)

BIBLES, BIBLES AND BIBLES

Seems the word had gotten out that we are Christians and have bibles . J  Over the last two weeks, on almost a daily basis, we’ve had many people come to our house and ask for bible.  Some we’ve never met before.  Some are what people call “nominal” Christians  (which means that if they died they would be lost and go to Hell) and some are Hindus who are interested in learning more about Christ.  We had one lady who came by for a bible the other day and we had a home meeting at her house 2 days ago and have another one scheduled for this next Tuesday.  It’s been a blessing to be able to give bibles and see people come and ask for them.  I know that if they will just read the word of God it can do FAR more than my preaching for one or two hours can.  In fact the first thing I do before I preach the Gospel is always lift of the word of God and share some passages that talk about God’s word and what it will do for us if we receive it.  My sincere hope is that after I’ve preached they will take the word of God home and begin to read it for themselves….that God will give them faith…and that they will meet God through Jesus Christ and be saved.  We’ve actually run out of whole bible (praise God!) and will be getting some more.  I did find a place where we can get some free new testaments and have some on their way to us.  As far as ministry needs that’s pretty much our only need at this time.  If anyone wants to help with bibles we can get them for about $2-$2.50 each (whole bibles) and is definitely money well spent!!


PREACHING IN MUSLIM VILLAGE

I specifically want to ask for prayer for the next couple of weeks.  Michael, a dear brother the Lord has allowed me to meet and fellowship with, has shown me a village not too far from my house that’s probably about 90% Muslim.  It’s a dark place.  You can just feel it when you enter the village.  There is a local pastor there who’s been preaching and laying his life down to reach the village.  In fact he was financially well off, living in Hyderabad, when he forsook everything to reach the Muslims with the Gospel.  Now he lives in almost poverty so he can preach and reach the Muslims in the village with the Gospel.  He has nine children and often goes without food for periods of time.  In fact, one time they went without food for so long one of his kids got sick and died.  The pastor didn’t tell me all this…Michael did.  The pastor just had joy on his face as he talked about the Lord and introduced us to a mother and daughter who had come to Christ.  So we’re planning on going there and preaching along with this brother a couple times a week to help him reach those in the village.  We’ll be holding open meetings similar to our other meetings and going door to door as well.   If you could, please specifically keep this in prayer.


UNCLEAR GOSPEL AND FALSE CONVERTS

Ironically one of the greatest hindrances to the Gospel here are the PREACHERS!  So many of them preach a watered down half truth Gospel.  They apparently fail to tell their congregations that if they believe in Jesus they must FORSAKE their idols AND Hindu customs.  So you’ll see many so called believers who still paint their nails orange (Hindu custom), they’ll still have pictures of Idols in their homes, paint their children’s face around the eyes, do witchcraft on their children when they are sick and many other superstitious things.  When I ask them about it they’ll just try to say it’s India custom.  But the FACT is India custom comes from Hinduism.  When I point that out they’ll finally, reluctantly, agree with me. But they don’t see it as that important…yet their congregations are half dead.  You’ll sometimes go into a “believers” homes and find they’ve removed all the Hindu pictures and replaced them with these false Catholic pictures of Jesus (the one where he has the burning heart in his chest).  So instead of praying to the idols they pray before this picture of a false Jesus.  So they replace one idol with another idol and the preachers seem to be content.  It reminds me of what the Lord said in Jeremiah 6:14 “They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. “   They fail to teach people that God is worshiped in “Spirit and Truth”.   (John 4:24)  They think the people are spiritually healed while they are actually still in bondage.  And when they don’t teach people that they must repent of and forsake their Hindu customs they are saying it’s ok to drink from the  cup of the Lord and the cup of demons at the same time…. contrary  to what the Word of God says (1 Cor 10:21)  So along with the saving message of Jesus Christ we always preach on these things as well.  Jesus was clear in Luke 14 regarding the conditions of discipleship and we should be clear about what it means to follow Jesus if we truly love people and the Lord.  The truth sets men free!  But if you don’t tell them the whole truth you leave them in bondage.  This is the case of much of the church here. 



THE OTHER IDOL


Everywhere you turn here there are idols.  There are probably 20 billion idols in this country…maybe more.  They are easy to see.  They look demonic.  They are usually some half man half animal creature with at least 4 arms.  Anyone walking into this country would easily agree with Paul when he saw Athens and say this country is “wholly given over to idolatry”.  But the bottom line truth is America is the same way!  And as many of you know Americas idol ($$$) seems to be in big trouble right now and unable to deliver those who are trusting in it.  People think the idolatry here is bad because it SO obvious.  It’s easy to look at and see how sick and perverted it is.  But the idolatry of money, possessions, comfort, ect is NO different.  God says that covetousness IS idolatry.  All idolatry is sin and NO idolater will enter the kingdom of God.  Whether you physically bow down on your knees before some demonic statue or with your heart you bow down and serve money, it makes no difference to God.  It’s all the same.  God lumps them all in the same class and excludes all idolaters from his Kingdom.   I don’t know what lies ahead but if things keep going they way they are it’s only going to get worse.  And if you’re secretly in your heart trusting in money, seeking possessions, and living for this life - even if you claim the name of Jesus, you’re going to be like the man who built his house on the sand - one who hear the word of God but doesn't obey. (Matt 7).   Your ruin will be great, your life will be a disaster, and you’ll end up in Hell.  I pray that before things get worse that you will evaluate your heart/life in light of God’s Word.   Let the Lord begin to expose any sin in your heart and truly begin to trust and obey Jesus.  “For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”  (Romans 10:11)


Brethren, we ask that you continue to pray for us!  Pray that God would continue to graciously open the doors for us to preach and see a harvest of souls come into His kingdom.  The day of our final redemption truly does draw closer.  Let us all finish our race reaching for the prize! 

IN Christ,

Sean & Lisa
www.preachingjesuschrist.com
(there are more family pic's on Lisa's blog)

Greetings in the Name of Jesus!



PERSECUTION - Please pray for the Brethren!!!

Brethren, for those of you who aren't aware yet I would like to first let you know of the persecution that many believers in the State of Orissa have been facing.  A few days ago some Hindu leaders were killed by Maoist rebels.  Instead of retaliating against the Maoist the Hindu's have used this incident to persecuted the Christians and are blaming them for the attack.  The reports seem to change every day regarding the persecution but the numbers seem to keep growing.  Last I heard around 25 Christians have been killed, over 600 churches burned and up to 4000 believer have fled their villages for safety.  Some of them are hiding in the jungle to flee their attackers.  The few Christian schools where I live have all been closed so the believers could spend time in prayer for the Saints who are suffering for the sake of Jesus.  Please brethren, keep these Saints in prayer during this great trial they are undergoing.  I know there are ministries like GFA.ORG who are probably already requesting help for these brethren and have the means to deliver it to them.  If you'd like to help them and share in their suffering please visit their site and I'm sure there are ways you can help.  (I haven't visited the site myself because my internet connection is too slow.  But I'm sure GFA is working to help our brethren in Christ in this area).  You can also read more about the persecution on this thread at Sermon Index :  http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=24987&forum=44

Also Brethren, please pray for the Hindu's.  We are to pray for those who persecute us.  Pray God would be merciful to them and grant them repentance and faith in Jesus Christ!

WE ARE SAFE & FOUND A HOUSE

Thank you for the emails asking about our safety.  We live in Andhra Pradesh which is the state just south of Orissa.  We haven't experienced any of the persecution here and it seems, at this time, to be confined only to Orissa.  In fact, at this time the Lord is giving us great favor with those around us. 

After being sick for a couple of weeks and hoping around from hotel to hotel the Lord provided us a house!  We were unable to find one in the city we originally planned to stay in.  Many people there won't rent to foreigners and most of the Hindu's won't rent to Christians.  So the brethren were able to find us a house to rent in a town about 50 miles from the one we originally were going to stay in.  A couple of the brethren actually moved here with us so we could be close together and do ministry.  It's so encouraging to see brethren be more concerned with God and His Kingdom than where they live.  And they have truly been servants of Christ as they've helped us to get settled in.  We're staying in a one bedroom house - maybe 700sq ft?.  I know that seems small but it's actually a little bigger than what many people have.  There are people who are  living in grass huts just down the road from us.  For us, we're just thankful we have a place!  It's great for the kids because it has a place where they can play in front as well as on the roof.  Most of the roof's here are flat with stairs going up to them.  This is usually where you dry your laundry but it's also gives the kids a place to run around.  We're right between a Mosque and a Hindu temple.  On one side of our house I can literally throw a rock and hit the Mosque.  Which also means I can hear the calls to prayer 5 times a day pretty clearly.  On the other side, a little farther away, is a large Hindu temple.  But there are small Hindu temples in just about every little neighborhood.   So Praise the Lord, we're right in the middle of everything! 

God has given us great favor with those around us.  We have Hindu's and Muslims that constantly come by ours house to talk and just want to meet us.  In the evening there's usually about 7-15 kids from the area that come by the house.  Some of them speak English and at other times we have a translator with us.  There's actually more people who speak English here than when we lived in Rosarito, Mexico.  Most of the kids are taught English in school.  After next week, we're planning on holding Gospel meetings either in the front of our house or on the roof a couple days a week.

MY MUSLIM NEIGHBOR

I met a young Muslim man (maybe 27 yrs old) who lives across the street from us.  He's very nice and has spent some time showing me around the town.  Peter and I spent a good deal of time with him the other day sharing the Gospel with him.  He was a little hard at first - giving all the answers that the Mosque teaches them to give.  It's amazing, no matter where you go, when you talk to a Muslim they all have the same responses.  They give them not because they've actually searched out the truth but because it's what they've been taught in the Mosque to say.  Instead of arguing about the differences between Christianity and Islam I reasoned with him about God's righteousness, his sin, and the coming judgment.  As I began talking to him about his personal sin against God, God's just condemnation for his sin, and the coming judgment his heart seemed a little softer I think he could see more clearly why we say Jesus is the only way to be saved.  He's not converted but the seed of God's word is being sown in his heart.  And he's still coming around!  May God give him the revelation of Jesus Christ!

1st VILLAGE OUTREACH

Last week myself, brother Peter, and brother Vali went on our first village outreach together.  The village is about two hours from our house.  We took a little three wheel auto (taxi) to get there.  These are SMALL little taxis and they manage to get about 15 passenger inside just one!   It was a pretty cramped ride.  There's no a/c either and it's been very hot and humid.  After about a two hour drive in the taxi we were dropped off at a rice field.  By this time is was pitch black outside…it was probably about 7:00pm.  We hiked for a mile or so through the rice fields before we got to the village.  The path through the rice field was about eight inches across.  There were these huge frogs everywhere.  Maybe the size of softballs.  You had to be careful not to step on them!  But after walking for a while we began to see lights and made it to the village.  It was a small village where most of the people live in grass huts.  It was very poor.  I'm sure most of the people there probably work in the rice fields.  There is a brother in Christ there who lives there and has already been preaching.  So the village is made up of believers and Hindu's.  They had set up a pretty loud speaker and amplifier and called people from the village to his house for a meeting.  Usually they hold meetings outside but because it was raining and too muddy to do so we had the meeting in the brothers ONE ROOM house and on his porch.  It was a good crowd with a mixture of believers and Hindu's.  We sang some songs, prayed, and then I preached the Gospel for about an hour or so with brother Peter translating for me.  It was a good first meeting.  We spent the night with the brother and slept on his floor.  The next day we went to another city and did a bible study with some Hindu's the brother knew who wanted to know more about Jesus.  It was a blessed time as we preached Christ to them and explained how they could be saved and receive everlasting life!  There was one girl in particular who was really concerned about her sin and wanted to know more about Jesus.  We were able to get her a bible so she could read the Word's of Life for herself.  The next day we had another night meeting at a different rice plantation.  There was a brother who works and lives there and he had invited his Hindu co-workers to come to his house to hear the Gospel.  Most of the workers seem to live on the rice fields in these row homes that are just small narrow living spaces.  They usually have one living area that would fit two beds, another small room and a kitchen.  There will be a row of about 10 or 15 of them attached together.  When you open their front doors you can see the rice fields where they spend their day working.  Our meeting was similar to the other one and I was able to preach the gospel for a hour or so.  I had brought my amplifier so I'm sure some of the neighbors who didn't come were able to hear as well.  After the meeting we found an auto (taxi) and headed home.  It was a good first outreach and was good for me and Peter as we're learning to work together in preaching and him translating for me. 

NEXT OUTREACH

On Tuesday we leave for four days of village preaching.  We'll be going to a village that is totally Hindu.  There are no churches or believers in that area.  I'm really looking forward to this time.  We'll be visiting people one on one during the day, preaching and praying for them.  Then we'll be holding open air meetings in the evening.  The village is about 3 hours from our house and we'll be traveling there by bus and train.  It was good to preach in the other village but I'm excited to preach in a place where there are no believers and where we're not building on another mans foundation.  If you would please keep this upcoming outreach in prayer.  And also pray for our family as Lisa and kids will stay at the house while I'm gone. 


CONDITION OF THE CHURCH


It's been interesting to be here and meet different believers.  The town I live in has quite a few churches from many denominations.  I've had the opportunity to meet many people who call themselves Christians.  I would say the majority of the church here, at lease where I live, is in a similar condition as the Church in America.  It's mainly filled with FALSE CONVERTS!  People who think they are saved but still in their sin never having been born again by God.  When you ask them to share their testimony they tell you when they were baptized.  They have no testimony of being saved from their sins, trusting Christ for their salvation, or of God giving them a new heart.  They just tell you of another "work" they've done that's made them a Christian.  But that's what it seems like many of the believers here preach.  So many people here are trusting in their baptism instead of Jesus Christ for their salvation.  Reminds me of a lot people in America.  You also meet many "believers" who say they've been believers since birth.  They say they were born into a Christian family and have always been a Christian.  The only thing is the BIBLE says that's IMPOSSIBLE.  You can't be born a Christian.  Jesus is clear that one MUST be born again if they are to be saved and enter the kingdom of God (John 3).  So we've had a lot of opportunities to preach the gospel to professing believers.  I know for many of them it's the first time, and will be the first time, they've heard the Gospel preached.   I'm praying God will grant some of them repentance unto life.

We did meet a great brother in the Lord the other day.  It was truly a blessing to meet a brother filled with Spirit of God who has a deep love for God and a testimony of being saved by Grace.  He had us over for dinner and we had a blessed time just talking about Jesus and getting to know each other.  He lives pretty close to us and hopefully we'll be able to fellowship often.  He has two kids and our kids really enjoyed their time with them.  We had been praying that God would give them friends who spoke English and God has answered our prayers.   


OPPORTUNITIES  

If you would please be praying for me regarding the opportunities here.  Being a foreigner the opportunities are endless.  I've had several pastors who heard "a foreigner" was in town and came by my house.  They all want to set up crusades and speaking engagements at every church.  I had one pastor come by who was ready to plan the next year of my life!  It's actually pretty sad because none of these pastors even know the Gospel that I preach.  They have no idea if I'm a false teach or what I'm preaching and yet they are opening up their pulpits and want to arrange meeting for me.  While that can be a good thing  for them - allowing them to hear the Gospel - it's a scary thing to think anyone can work their way into these pulpits and spread false doctrine and fleece the flock.  And of course it already happens.  There are lots of American prosperity preachers who hold massive crusades in some of the larger town spreading their false doctrines.  So if you could just be praying that I would hear from God regarding which places to preach at and which ones not to.  I'm actually praying that God would also give me a brother who speaks English who is willing to go street preaching in the places where other won't go.  I think most of the believers shy away from preaching in market area's, by temples, mosque's and in the more busy areas out of fear.   But these are great places to preach at with lots of people who need to hear the Gospel.  When you walk down the main street in our town you'll sometimes see the Communist party openly trying to recruit members to their organization (there is a Communist political party in India).  If they are that bold for a wicked earthly political party shouldn't believers be even more bold and zealous since we hold the truth of God?  I pray God would give believers grace to not save their lives but to proclaim the truth of God with all the power and authority it should be declared with! 

Outside of the Church the opportunities are endless as well.  Especially for foreigners.  There's hardly a day that goes by that I can't walk down the street without being invited into someones house for tea or coffee.  One day it literally took me about 1.5 hours to go about 100 yards.  Everyone kept asking us to come into their home and meet them.  Even if you don't know the language God will provide a translator and you can spend the whole day preaching to people who really know very little about Christ.  I know that's not just the case here in India but is similar in many places in the world.  So if you've ever thought about missions offer yourself up to God.  Maybe you'll hear Him call you to preach to some of millions of people who've never heard about Christ or to those who may have heard about Jesus but have never heard the Gospel.  I'm sure if more believers offered themselves to God in this way, and currently lived in such a way as to show they were ready to go, that they would hear the call of God to go to a place where people haven't heard the Gospel!   I'm still working on uploading some photo's but our Internet connection here is SLOW.  We're working on getting a fast connection at our house but it's taking a while to do so.      Thanks to all who have been praying for us and please continue to do so!   IN Christ,   Sean & Lisa

Greetings Brethren!

By the grace of God we made it to India and are doing well.  It was a long flight but we finally made it.  We flew standby and thankfully we were able to make each flight without any problems.  A friend of ours had helped us get standby tickets which helped to keep the cost of the flights down.  Everything about the flight was great until we landed in Mumbai and learned that none of our luggage had made it out of New York.  There wasn't much we could do so we continued on the way and flew from Mumbia to Hyderabad.  I was able to meet the brethren at the airport and then started working on our luggage.  They told us they had located all of our bags and that they would arrive a day later.  So we left the airport and drove 6 hours to the village that we'll be living in.  The next morning I got up with the brethren at about 3:00 a.m. and drove the 6 hours back to the airport to get the luggage.  However, when we got there they said it still wasn't there and they were "expecting" them to arrive in the evening.  So we all stayed at a hotel outside of Hyderabad until the evening and thankfully our luggage arrived when we made it back to the airport.  So we headed back and started our third 6 hour drive back to the village.  I have to say, after flying for 30 hours and driving for about 20 hours I was getting a little delirious towards the end.  After a couple days of rest though and some time in prayer and the word I am refreshed and feeling much better! 

Lisa and the kids have been doing great too.  Jeremiah did good on the plane ride and to our surprise we were able to get the seats with the bassinet for the long flight over the ocean.  So far only Ethan's had a little sickness but he's already doing better. 

We're still staying in a hotel as the brethren look for a place for us to stay.  They had a place lined up but before we got here the owner rented it to someone else.  So our hotel stay is going to be a little longer than expected but we trust the Lord will provide a place for us soon. 

It's been a real blessing to meet and fellowship with some of the brethren here.  They really have been Christ like servants as they've sought to make sure we are well taken care of.  I was able to attend their fellowship last Sunday.  It's held in a little rented house that's maybe 500-700 square feet.  The roof is made out of tree branches that have been woven together.  It was raining during fellowship so we all got a little wet but this didn't stop about 30 people from coming together to worship the Lord and fellowship together.  I was able to pray with just about everyone there and sing a hymn for them in English.  I'll start preaching there next week and as soon as we find a house we'll start open air meetings in the villages.

If you would..please keep me in pray for this coming Wednesday.  I was able to meet a believing professor at one of the local secular colleges.  He's asked me to come and preach the gospel to about 250 of his Hindu students on Wednesday!  I'll be purchasing 250 new testaments to take with us to hand out to the students when we're finished.  Pray that God would use me to glorify the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit, to clearly present the Gospel of God's grace! 

Thank you brethren for praying!  Lord-willing I'll write another update next week and try to upload some pics. 

IN Christ,

Sean & Lisa
www.preachingjesuschrist.com



**For those of you who have or will be emailing me it may take me a couple days to respond.  Everything takes a little longer over here and the power is out at least 3 or 4 times a day.  But I'll write back!  :)

July Update
-Sean & Lisa Scott-
(Preaching In Asia)

Proclaiming the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light!!  (1 Peter 2:9)

QUICK UPDATE
Another Arrow in the Quiver!
(Psalm 127:3-5)

As many of you know we've been back in Dallas for a couple months waiting for the birth of our son.  And Praise the Lord, Jeremiah Aiden was born on July 3rd at 5.13 lbs.  Though he was born on the smaller side, as with all our children, he has been eating well and putting on weight.  It's been a blessing to see his brother and sisters so affectionate towards him and eager to spend time with him.  Here's a few pic's of the kids as they take turns holding their brother:        

       
With Jeremiah here we'll be leaving for India, Lord-willing, by the end of the month.  We've started working on his passport and should have all our travel documents by the end of next week.  While I can't say I've enjoyed being back in the States I have been extremely blessed to fellowship with some brethren who are dear to my heart.  And you know, it doesn't matter where one lives as long as there are others in the body of Christ to worship with and fellowship with.  You could even be like Paul and Silas in jail, still praising God and enjoying the fellowship of the Holy Spirit! True brethren are a blessing from God.  I wouldn't want all the money in the world in exchange for taking away true fellowship with Godly brethren who love the Lord. 

So, if everything goes as planned we'll be leaving by the end of the month (or shortly after).  When we get there we'll be staying in an inexpensive hotel while we look for a place to live near some of the brethren there.  After getting the family settled in I'll begin a heavy time of preaching in some of the surrounding villages near where we live.  Not sure about all the details but trust the Lord will lead us as He's always be faithful to do. 
Since we've been back in Dallas we've experienced attacks from the enemy to keep us from doing what God has called us to do.  But I praise the Lord through it all!  God was faithful to warn both myself and Lisa regarding the trials we would experience while being back in Dallas.  One morning during family bible study we were reading out of Mark Chapter 8.  It's the text where Peter seeks to keep Jesus from going to the cross and where Jesus, speaking to Peter, rebukes the Devil.  I wrote a short note about it on my blog that you can read by going to our site.  Basically Peter was seeking to keep Jesus from the suffering and death that God had ordained.  So the Lord had quickened this passage to me but I did not realize the full reality of why until later.  Then the Lord gives my wife a dream.  (Those who know my wife know the Lord speaks to her this way often - usually to give warnings).  In the dream there were two evil guys who appeared in our living room.  Lisa thought they were after our kids but they were after us and trying to get us to TAKE OFF OUR SHOES!  Lisa then woke up from the dream.  Immediately the Lord quickened to her what the shoes represent - THE GOSPEL OF PEACE.  These men, who represent wicked spirits, were seeking to get us take off our shoes, the gospel of peace, and cease from preaching the gospel.  And I tell you, that is exactly what we've experienced from many since we've been back - from non-believers AND professing believers.  We've had people question us about the wisdom of our going, people talk about how we're depriving our children because they won't be raised in America, people seeking to cause us to doubt or have fears about going, and people saying we should by round trip tickets "just in case".  Of course this is to be expected from those who do not know Christ.  But from professing Saints?  Never!!  Though I haven't, I'm inclined to rebuttle them like Jesus did to Peter (and in reality Satan) - “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”  It's ok for people wanting to make sure that you know God's will in the matter but then they should encourage you to pick up your cross and follow Jesus.  Jesus carried a cross, His disciples carried their cross, and us current day disciples have the same cross to carry as well.  It would do well for many to go back and read Luke 14 and examine their lives by the saying of the Lord Jesus in that chapter.   But I know that behind it all is the devil.  It's the devil, or wicked spirits, that seek to distract the saints and keep them from following the narrow path that Jesus has said we must abide on.  So I pray for these people and thank the Lord for the trial.  Trials serve to bring us closer to the Lord and cause us to rely on His strength and power and not our own.  And there have been a few brethren that have been a tremendous blessing as they've encouraged us to follow Jesus wherever He leads.  They live their lives with their eyes on eternity and seek above all for all our lives to Glorify the Lord Jesus during our short time here on this earth. 

While I know difficulties await us, it is a true joy to be able to follow Jesus and declare the EXCELLENCIES of the ONE who has called us out of darkness and into His glorious light.  And when we step into eternity and see the one we love as He really is we'll all wish we had given more to Jesus who has loved us so much. 

So brethren, please remember to keep us in prayer - we need it!  Looking back at our experience in Mexico I know how real this spiritual battle is.  I know how real the enemy is, how much we need to watch and pray, and how utterly dependent we must be on the Lord alone and to put no confidence in the flesh.  And of the many blessing the Lord bestowed on us in Mexico one of the greatest blessing was to know that brothers and sisters in the Lord were faithfully praying for us.  I'm unable to really describe to you how blessed I was to hear of brethren in New Mexico and Dallas say they had been praying for us during our time in Mexico.  So we truly thank you in Jesus Name for keeping us in prayer! 


FOR THE GLORY OF GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST,

SEAN & LISA SCOTT
 

PLEASE PRAY FOR US:
 - That we would stay in the center of God's perfect will at all times.- That we would be delivered from temptation, kept from sin, and protected from the wicked one.- That our marriage would be kept strong and beneficial for mutual edification and advancement of the Kingdom of God.
- That I (Sean) would be the godly husband and father God has called me to be.
- That our children would understand the cost of following Jesus which would lead them
closer to Christ and not away from Him. 
- That we would be baptized afresh in the Holy Spirit and power, and continually be filled with the Spirit.- That the Lord would open doors for the Gospel, and grant that we may speak with all boldness and be faithful witnesses.
- That the Lord would confirm His Word with signs following according to Mark 16:15-20.- That the people's hearts to whom we will be preaching will be prepared and receptive to the Gospel.- That salvation would be made powerfully effectual to the elect through the preaching of the Gospel.- That the Lord would grant us favor wherever we go with the authorities and with the people.- That our temporal and financial needs would continue to be provided according to His riches in glory.- Ultimately, that God would be glorified and Christ would be exalted though our mission. 

How you can help

Brethren we walk by faith!  The Lord supplies our needs and has done so through the generous gifts given to us by friends and faithful brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. We will never beg anyone for money or manipulate the saints of God to compel them to donate to us. But I certainly want to let our needs be known to those who have given and for those who would like to give and help support us as we preach the Gospel.  I have created a page on our website that list our expected needs for living as well as for ministry.  We are truly grateful for all who willing give with a cheerful heart out of their own means so that we might preach and glorify the name of Christ. 


If the Lord has laid it on your heart to donate, you can go here to go to our ministry needs page.   http://www.preachingjesuschrist.com/ministry-needs.html

We want to say in advance that we deeply appreciate all the help and support we get from the saints of God.

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."  ~ Jesus

I've decided to just use this update page for ministry updates.  We've created our own blog's where we can share exhortations and talk about things not directly related to the ministry.  There's a link to both our blogs on the side bar to the right of this page and also on the main page of the site.  Also if you get a chance check out the video I updated on the home page.  It's amazing to see how the Lord works in saving men.  It's always a blessing to see the absolute brokeness and joy that are evident when someone experiences the new birth.  It truly does make you praise the glory of His grace.

IN Christ,

Sean Scott

Well, we're back in Dallas.  It was a 25 hour drive but we made it!  We've been back here for about three weeks and are waiting for the birth of our forth child. He should be here any day now and then we'll be off to India next month.  It's been a blessing to have this time to seek the Lord in prayer and spend more time in the Word before we head off.  I've been staying in touch with Brother Vali and getting some of the details worked out...  well as much as is possible over the internet and without being there.  Much of what we'll be doing and what it will look like we won't know until we are actually there. But we know that God will lead us and order our steps as we continue to follow Him.  We do know that we'll be focusing on preaching the Gospel to Muslims and going to villages that have no Christian witness.  By this I mean that there are either no Christians or no established local fellowships.  So what does evangelism look like there?  Just like it should anywhere else.  I've witnessed one on one, open air preached, gone door to door...ect.  No one way is the only way to preach the Gospel.  One has to listen to the Lord and be led by the Spirit.  When we preached in South Dallas we primarily did open air preaching followed up by one on one conversations.  When we were in Mexico it seemed like in the area we were in it was very beneficial and fruitful to go door to door preaching.  Many times the best way is all of the above.  It comes down to being led by the Spirit of God, continuing in prayer, and MOST of all knowing that Salvation is of the LORD.  If one does not realize that Salvation is the work of the Lord from Start to Finish they for one are in error and then usually end up being extremely frustrated.  They are in error because they do not understand the nature of Salvation.  And they will be frustrated because they think that somehow THEY must get men who are dead in their sins to believe the Gospel.  There is nothing more frustrating than talking to a totally depraved man (all unconverted men are), who has no desire for God, and trying - in yourself - to get Him to believe the Gospel.. and not realizing the salvation is a supernatural and sovereign work of God.   God is the one who draws men to Himself (John 6:44, John 6:37), He opens their minds to understand the scriptures (Luke 24:27, Acts 16:14), He grants repentance (Eph 2:8, 2 Tim 2:25), and He gives the New Birth (John 3:8, John 1:13) .  It is all God.   Though we preach and labor in prayer we are simply the instruments and means that God uses to accomplish His will in bringing men to repentance and into the kingdom of God.  What a privilege it is that we can lay down our lives for the One who brought us so great a Salvation at such a great cost!  It is our hope and expectation that through the preaching of the Word God will receive the Glory He is due from our lives and from those who hear the Word of God.  We pray and ask that you would join with us in prayer that God's Grace would be glorified and magnified by men and women turning from the Muslim faith being saved, sanctified and justified by the blood of Jesus Christ!

In addition to outdoor street meetings and evangelism we'll be holding pastors meetings to edify and encourage those who are already laboring among the unreached.  We'll also be working together with some of these brethren coming along side them to support them in their work to plant churches in the villages they are preaching in.  We plan on renting a small two bedroom house to live in.  This will be near some of the brethren that we'll be working with.  We'll then travel from the town we live in to preach in the villages.

The fellowship we'll be working with is made up of about 25 believers.  There are a couple brothers there who speak English and will be able to translate for me.  Also exciting is there is a sister in the Lord who speaks English who will be able to translate for Lisa.  She'll be able to hold meetings with the women and exhort and encourage them in the faith.  Lisa will also continue to home schooling our children.  We just purchased the new lessons for the next year and will be taking the material with us. 

A friend of mine was able to help me get a discount on the airline tickets.  There are five, soon to be six, in our family so getting a discount on the airline tickets is great blessing.  We plan on purchasing them after the baby is here.  Lord-willing we're planning on leave sometime towards the end of next month.

We hope that you will continue with us in prayer during this time of preparation. 

Since I have a little more time between now and when we leave I plan on writing a little bit more on the blog..maybe sharing some short exhortations.  As Paul said..what he longed for in Romans 1, that we should desire to be comforted by our mutual faith... so please feel free to leave comments or email anytime. 

I hope you'll listen to this comp below by Leonard Ravenhill.  May it challenge you and cause you to look to Christ.

AGONY

http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/visit.php?lid=16733