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THE HARVEST IS RIPE
The Harvest is ripe -- Here's proof:
Wycliffe: Vision 2025
Translation projects started in every language on the planet by 2025.
Worldwide evangelism:
In "The Faith Equation," Dr. Marvin Bittinger, Professor of Mathematics at Purdue University and author of over 175 college math textbooks, claims that by 2033 every person on the planet capable of understanding the gospel will have been presented the gospel, according to modern evangelism trends.
34,000 converts each day in South America
28-37,000 Chinese converts daily
23-25,000 African converts daily
16,000 Muslims come to Christ daily - the following stories are all quoted.
"In December 2001, Sheikh Ahmad al Qataani, a leading Saudi cleric, appeared on a live interview on Aljazeera satellite television to confirm that, sure enough, Muslims were turning to Jesus in alarming numbers. "In every hour, 667 Muslims convert to Christianity," Al Qataani warned. "Every day, 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity. Every year, 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity." Stunned, the interviewer interrupted the cleric. "Hold on! Let me clarify. Do we have six million converting from Islam to Christianity?" Al Qataani repeated his assertion. "Every year," the cleric confirmed, adding, "a tragedy has happened."
Stories from Muslim countries: Iraq -- thousands of new Christians since Saddam was overthrown, many new churches started, Egypt -- some reports say 1 million Egyptians have trusted Christ over the past decade or so. The Egyptian Bible Society used to sell about 3,000 copies of the JESUS film a year in the early 1990s. But last year they sold 600,000 copies, plus 750,000 copies of the Bible on tape (in Arabic) and about a half million copies of the Arabic New Testament. The largest Christian congregation in the Middle East, meets in an enormous cave on the outskirts of Cairo. Some 10,000 believers worship there every weekend. A prayer conference the church held in May 2005 drew some 20,000 believers, Afghanistan -- only 17 Muslim converts to Christianity before 9/11/01, but now more than 10,000, Kazakstan -- only 3 known Christians in 1990, but now more than 15,000, Sudan -- more than 1 million Sudanese have converted to Christianity just since 2000, and some 5 million have become Christians since the early 1990s, despite a radical Islamic regime and an on-going genocide that has killed more than 200,000.
Seminaries are being held in caves to train pastors to shepherd the huge numbers of people coming to Christ. Why such a dramatic spiritual awakening? "People have seen real Islam, and they want Jesus instead," one Sudanese evangelical leader said, Iran -- in 1979, there were only 500 known Muslim converts to Christianity, but today Iranian pastors and evangelical leaders say there are more than 1 million Iranian believers in Jesus Christ, most of whom meet in underground house churches. One of the most dramatic developments is that many Muslims are seeing dreams and visions of Jesus and thus coming into churches explaining that they have already converted and now need a Bible and guidance on how to follow Jesus."
Worldwide: 174,000 converts daily -- David B. Barret and Todd M. Johnson of the Global Evangelism Movement.
This is truly the most exciting time in all of history to be alive and a part of His Great Commission. The opportunity has never been more dramatic and the need has never been so huge:
All of history has built up to this point.
Global impact in your hometown.
Multiplication opportunities.
Transportation and communication impacts.
Globalization
English
Current end time events.
Israel, wars and other events.
The 4th qtr., bottom of the 9th, the end-game.
(From a sermon by Nate Herbst, The Great Commision -- Discussion, 11/21/2009)
Troy Borst
James 4:13-4:17
Matthew 16:27-16:30
Luke 18:35-18:41
Isaiah 43:1-43:21
Matthew 10:1-10:15
Jeremiah 1:1-52:34
Exodus 7:14-8:17
John 15:9-15:17
Proverbs 30:1-30:11
1 John 2:15-2:17
Mark 13:1-13:8
Romans 5:1-5:11
Hebrews 4:1-14:14
John 3:16-3:16
Genesis 1:1-2:1
Mark 6:17-6:29
1 Kings 3:16-3:28
Ephesians 6:11-18:18
Ephesians 6:1-6:3
John 5:1-5:47
Luke 14:25-14:33
Hebrews 13:15-13:16
Philippians 2:5-2:11
Ruth 1:16-1:16
Romans 5:5-5:5
John 4:1-4:13
Hebrews 4:12-12:12
Genesis 22:1-22:18
2 Corinthians 9:12-10:1
Philippians 2:5-2:12
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ILLUSTRATION… Discipleship Journal, 11-12/92
A recent survey of Discipleship Journal readers ranked areas of greatest spiritual challenge to them:
1. Materialism
2. Pride
3. Self-centeredness
4. Laziness
5. (Tie) Anger/Bitterness
5. (Tie) Sexual lust
6. Envy
7. Gluttony
8. Lying
Survey respondents noted temptations were more potent when…
they had neglected their time with God (81 percent)
and when they were physically tired (57 percent).
Resisting temptation was accomplished by prayer (84 percent), avoiding compromising
situations (76 percent), Bible study (66 percent), and being accountable to someone (52 percent).
Do you remember the Lord’s Prayer? Twenty-five percent of Christ’s fifty words have to do with deliverance from evil. What did he say? Matthew 6:13, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” I challenge you to make that petition before God. I challenge you to say, “From this day forward, I am going to adopt this keep me from evil attitude with the Lord.”
We are not told that Jesus ever taught his disciples how to preach, but he taught them how to pray. He wanted them to have power with God; then He knew they would have power ...
Church growth expert, George Barna found that prayer was the foundational ministry of rapidly growing churches in America. He wrote: “The call to prayer [in these churches] was the battle cry of the congregation: it rallied the troops. These people understood the power of prayer. They actively and consistently included prayer in their services, in their events, their meetings and their personal ministries.” Barna also said in Little Rock at a church growth conference that, “culture reinvents itself every 5 to 8 years, while the church reinvents itself ever 35 to 40 years. Therefore the church is at least 75 to 80 years behind culture all the time.”
On January 20, 1953, Dwight Eisenhower, his wife, family, and Cabinet members went to the National Presbyterian Church before his inauguration as 34th president.
After the service, Ike went back to the hotel suite to write a prayer that he would read during the inauguration ceremonies.
He wrote: “Almighty God, give us, we pray thee, power to discern right from wrong, and allow our words and actions to be governed thereby and by the laws of this land. Especially we pray that our concern shall be for all the people, regardless of station, race, or calling, so that all may work for the good of our beloved country and thy glory. Amen.”
THE STATS ON PRAYER
A Newsweek poll several years ago titled "Is God Listening?" indicated that 54% of those the magazine surveyed prayed on a daily basis - 25% said they pray to God once a day and 29% more than once a day.
87% believed that God answers their prayers at least some of the time. Even so, unanswered prayers did not deter them from praying. 85% insisted that they could accept God's failure to grant their prayers. Only 13 percent declared they have lost faith because their prayers went unanswered. 82% don't turn away from God even when their prayers go unanswered. 54% say that when God doesn't answer their prayers, it means it wasn't God's will to answer.
The things people pray for include health, safety, jobs, and even success, valid or not. 82% said they ask for health or success for a child or family member when they pray. 82% believed that God does not play favorites in answering prayers. 79% said God answers prayer for healing someone with an incurable disease. 75% asked for strength to overcome personal weakness. 73% answered that prayers for help in finding a job are answered. On the lighter side, 51% agreed that God doesn't answer prayers to win sporting events. 36% never prayed for financial or career success.
SOURCE: Victor Yap in "The Cry of My Heart" on www.sermoncentral.com. Citation: "Is God Listening?" Newsweek Magazine, 3/31/97.
I heard an interesting news item this week. According to the US Government it will now cost $160,140 for the average middle class American family to raise a child to the age 18. If you are quick on the draw with your math facts you just estimated what it may cost you to raise your children. For Susie and I, if the estimates are correct, it will cost us around $800,000 to raise our 5 kids, and that doesn't include college! We could be over one million dollars if you were to add college costs for our five kids.
When you stop to think about it, the cost of raising our kids is still a real bargain. $160,140 over eighteen years works out to only about $8,897 per year, or just $741 per month. Now that is only $24.37 per day or about $1 per hour. That's a deal!
Some might argue that investing our money in something other than children would give us a better return on our money. With the right investment strategy parents could skip having the kids and just get rich. Before we jump to any conclusions, just what can you get for your investment of $160,140 per child these days? For only about $1 per hour you will receive the following:
Baby's first steps, and their first words, "Mama, Dada!" To play tickle monster, and blow raspberries on tummies.
Small hands to hold and bear hugs that hold on tight.
A lifetime supply of butterfly kisses (a.k.a. perma-kisses!).
The chance to be the tooth fairy.
The opportunity to always believe in S...
According to a poll on prayer for Newsweek (3/31/97), the following percentage said:
They ask for health or success for a child or family member when they pray -- 82
They ask for strength to overcome a personal weakness -- 75
They never ask for financial or career success -- 36
God answers prayers -- 87
God doesn’t answer prayers -- 51
They believe God does not play favorites in answering prayers -- 82
God answers prayers for healing someone with an incurable disease -- 79
Prayers for help in finding a job are answered -- 73
They believe that when God doesn’t answer their prayers, it means it wasn’t God’s will to answer -- 54
They don’t turn away from God when prayers go unanswered -- 82
WHY PRAY? PRAYER HAS REAL POWER!
A. The atomic bomb is a very powerful weapon.
Its great explosive force comes from a sudden release of nuclear energy through fission.
B. On August 6, 1945 the USA dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima,
and three days later on Nagasaki, Japan.
C. These two atomic bombs dropped over Japan killed around 92,000 people, and brought an end to World War II, now talk about power?
That is great power.
D. That was great power, but God has more power than that. In one prayer a hopeless King Hezekiah prayed over Jerusalem’s
entrapment, God sent one angel and killed 185,000 of the enemy!
