Haiti: A team of "Victorious Disciples"

Hello to All. When the Lord our God began to gather us in for this deployment to Haiti, He reached out and called us forth, with diversity in mind. Our Lord Jesus Christ assembled a twelve person team (including the founder of the organisation that facilitated our trip). We were six men and six women - ranging in age from nineteen to sixty-three (I have the distinction of being the sixty-three year old). We came from California, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and Wisconsin. We came from diverse sectarian and denominational backgrounds. Our educational experience and ethnic heritage were just as varied. Some of us were professionals - others were not. Some had prior missions experience - others had none. All things considered, we had nothing significant to recommend us for the work that our Lord Jesus Christ was setting before us - except this one thing: each of us was committed to serving Jesus Christ in whatever way He chose to direct us! This is the essence of "Victorious Discipleship": a total commitment to Jesus Christ and nothing but Jesus Christ. This was the team, that the Lord our God had assembled for His work in Haiti. He quickly molded and shaped us into a band of warriors: equipped to engage the enemy and to reap a harvest. He then took us into the heart of one of Satan's strongholds and did the great work that has been referenced in previous posts. The work was all done by the "manifesting" presence of Jesus Christ - working through the disciple/vessels that He had gathered and shaped for His work. In all of the work that was accomplished - Jesus Christ is to receive all of the glory and all of the honor. If we are to continue as "victorious disciples," we must "keep looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith;" and take none of the glory for ourselves. Amen and Amen. Until next time my beloved brethren, in Christ Jesus, I continue to be:

Your servant and fellow pilgrim,
Elder Theophilus

Haiti: The Healing of the Lame Man

Hello to All. Something of a record here - two posts in one day. The Spirit of God is filling my head with the things He wants written - so here goes: It was towards the end of our first day of ministry in Haiti. We were in a remote village in the Leogane area - west of Port Au Prince. Earlier in the day, after one and a half hours of travel, over very rough roads, we arrived, set up our medical stations (4) and our prayer/ministry stations (2) and went to work. I was asked to provide leadership for the ministry teams. As people went through the medical lines, they were often prayed for, by the medical staff; and treated, to whatever degree we were able. The prayer stations were available for anyone wanting additional prayer and ministry. We had a busy day and our Lord Jesus Christ was hard at work. We could see the evidence of His presence in all that was happening. The "manifestation" of Himself, was evident in all that we did. It was towards the end of our day. Our Lord Jesus Christ had already brought many Haitian people to conversion to Him. We had also become convinced that many (and perhaps all) of those prayed for had been healed. A moment came, when our Lord chose to do a work, that only He can do. A member of the medical team was helping a man on crutches to one of our prayer stations. His journey was so difficult (even with crutches, the man could not walk without help). One of the ministry team members, took a chair and met him, in his journey, so he did not have so far to go. The lame man set down, with great difficulty; and with the help of those team members, who were near. The man had arthritic feet, that were turned in with knees bent and no strength. Both prayer teams prayed for the lame man. First one and then the other. Both teams prayed for healing; but the man continued to sit in his chair. One of the teams returned to their prayer station (other people were waiting). One of the prayer team members continued to kneel before the lame man. He will tell you that he continued in silent prayer - waiting on the Lord our God. God spoke to him. The team member then looked up; and through his interpretor, he said the following: "Look at me." (The lame man looked up at him.) - "Take my hand." (The lame man took his hand) - "Listen to what I say." (The lame man's gaze is now fixed on him.) - Next, the Spirit of God instructs our team member to say the following: "In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk; for Jesus Christ has healed you." Then, our team member began to gently stand-up; and there, in the presence of many witnesses, the lame man rose up with renewed strength and healed legs and feet. After being asked, he then took three un-assisted steps - stopped - raised his arms - and began thanking and praising God. After some moments of worship - he sat down for a bit. At that time the prayer team member got called back to his station. Other team members were blessed to see the former lame man, walk from the compound, without the aid of his crutches and without anyone to guide him. God had also healed his eyes, that were so affected by cataracts, that he could not find his own way along the road from his home, without someone to guide him. Enough said, for now. Let us rejoice, together in our Great God and Saviour Jesus Christ - to Him be all the glory and honor. Amen and Amen. Until next time, my beloved brethren, in Christ Jesus, I continue to be:

Your servant and fellow pilgrim,
Elder Theophilus

Haiti: Unbelief and Discipleship

Hello to all. One of the questions that I asked, of the Lord our God, when I returned from Haiti, was: "What shall I say to people when they ask why don't we see God moving in North America, in the same way that He moved in Haiti?" God's immediate response was: "Tell them about unbelief." Up to now, we have not spoken, directly, about unbelief. In an earlier posting (January 16, 2010), titled "Entry-level versus Victorious Discipleship," we touched on the effects of unbelief as we mentioned the characteristics of "entry-level" discipleship. Unbelief is the "way of the flesh." It cripples our effective use of the faith that our Lord Jesus Christ has given us. It can be likened to a great weight carried on the back of a marathon runner. The ability of the runner to complete the course would be severely hampered. We see this truth recorded in Hebrews 12:1: "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us." Unbelief is that weight on our backs; and the effective use of the faith, that we are given, is the race that we are running. We often, cannot recognise the "sin which doth so easily beset us," because of the "weight" of the unbelief. Thus, our ability to move from "entry-level discipleship," to "victorious discipleship," is made more difficult, because of our unbelief. Verse two, of the text, shows us the way to victory: "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." We shall learn more about unbelief in future posts. Until next time, my beloved brethren, in Christ Jesus, I continue to be:

Your servant and fellow pilgrim,
Elder Theophilus

Haiti and Victorious Discipleship

Hello to All. As our Lord Jesus Christ has been guiding and directing me in reaching a deeper and fuller understanding of all that He did in Haiti, I more and more see the affirmation of the direct relationship between "Victorious Discipleship in Jesus Christ," and the "Manifesting" presence of Jesus Christ. While in Haiti, my interpreter and I were directly involved in ministering, one on one, to approximately 300 people. A significant number of them were miraculously healed right before our eyes (more on this in a later post). We saw approximately 80 of those taken, by the Holy Ghost, from not knowing Jesus Christ, to being fully converted to Him. We also were privileged to baptize 16 of them. All of this was done over a period of four days of medical outreach, with approximately 22 hours of actual ministry taking place. If you do the math, you will recognize that we spent three to five minutes per person in prayer and ministry. There was no time for persuasive conversation. There was no time for detailed examination of the written word. In fact, the scriptures were never directly quoted. All proclamation and questions were directly related to the "Living Word" - Jesus Christ. These people were not healed and converted on the basis of our holiness or our work or our words. We were the human vessels through which the "Manifesting Presence of Jesus Christ," brought healing and conversion as He gathered so many Haitians to Himself. We were seeing the "mystery of Christ in you, the hope of glory," being manifested through the fragile vessels that we are. This, my beloved brethren, is what our Lord Jesus Christ desires for each and every person who calls on Him for salvation. We will continue to examine this "great mystery," as we continue to grow in our understanding of and submission to "Victorious Discipleship in Jesus Christ." Until next time, my beloved brethren, in Christ Jesus, I continue to be:

Your servant and fellow pilgrim,
Elder Theophilus

Let Us Repent of Our Sectarian Ways: Revisited

Hello to all. It is time, once again, to place this call to repentance before us. If we are to daily die to self, we must daily be reminded of our sinful inclination to set ourselves one against the other. Victorious discipleship cannot be achieved, when we are divided and thinking more highly of ourselves then we should. Jesus must be increasing and we must be decreasing. Without repentance and on-going conversion, such potentials will not be reached; and we will continue to be in bondage to entry-level discipleship. Please prayerfully and carefully read the following letter and join with me in "repenting of our sectarian ways." Until next time my beloved brethren, I continue to be:

Your servant and fellow pilgrim,
Elder Theophilus

An open letter, from Theophilus, a missionary elder, called, ordained and equipped by our Lord Jesus Christ to serve all of God’s people: to the Church of God scattered across North America – to all who, with me, call upon Jesus Christ for salvation and eternal life.
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Great God and Saviour. This is the same Jesus who is: “The Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world (Jn 1:29).” Amen.
My brethren - my fellow bond servants: how is it that we have fallen so far? - why are we so filled with division, strife and envy? - how is it that our sectarian views have so readily set one group of us against another? - why are we so quick to embrace the precepts and commandments of men? - rather then the fullness of God’s Word!
The answer lies in our sinful condition – in believing that we are right and everyone else is less right. In our own eyes – we believe we are right (Prov 21:2); and thus we continue in our sinful ways of being set one against the other. May the Lord our God have mercy on us and deliver us from this bondage, this pit of division, into which we have so readily fallen and so willingly promote.
In one place it is recorded (Mk 12:18-27), that a group of the Jewish Sanhedrin, holding to a sectarian view on the resurrection, had come to Jesus to lay their case before Him. Before our Lord corrected them, He first rebuked them by saying: “you are deceived, because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God.” He then proceeded to correct them by revealing the truth of the scriptures. Let me suggest, my most beloved brethren, in a most emphatic way, that we continue in our own sectarian ways because we are “deceived” and “do not know the scriptures or the power of God.”
In another place, it is recorded (1 Cor 3:1-4), that the Corinthian church was called to task for their peculiar sectarian views. Their perspectives had caused them to remain and continue as “babies in Christ” – not ready for the “solid food” of the Word of God. Their condition is likened to that of “typical men.” Earlier in the text (1 Cor 2:14), it is demonstrated, that these “typical men,” these “natural men,” consider the things of the Spirit of God as “foolishness.” They cannot comprehend these deep things of the Spirit of God, because their sectarian views keep them in bondage as “babies in Christ.” Our condition, my brethren, is the same. Our sectarian views have so hindered our ability to understand the Word of God, that we continue as “babies in Christ,” unable to feed and grow from the “solid food” of God’s Word. We continue to be sectarian because we are “babies in Christ” and not fit for “solid food.” Our lack of “solid food” causes us to continue being deceived, because we “do not know the scriptures or the power of God.”
How is it then, that we can escape so great a bondage? It is a simple thing my brethren – we must “repent and believe the gospel.” Jesus says, in one place (Jn 8:32), that if we are “truly His disciples,” we must “continue in His word,” then we “shall know the truth and the truth shall set us free.” Please be reminded, that it is “His Word.” The Word of God is not subject to the peculiar interpretation of a peculiar sectarian idea or viewpoint. The Word of God is subject to Christ and Christ alone!
In one place (Eph 4:1-6), we are reminded of our “calling” to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” In every way that we assert our peculiar sectarian views, we violate this command of the Lord our God and we sin in a most grievous way; and we continue as “babies in Christ.” Let us repent my brethren, of our sectarian ways; and let us then be mature Christians, visibly one in Christ. The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you my beloved brethren. Amen
Posted by Elder Theophilus

Reflections on Haiti

Hello to All,

It has been a few days since returning from Haiti. It is taking me some time and effort to process all that was experienced. The Lord our God moved in powerful ways. We literally saw the pages of the "Acts of The Apostles," come alive in Haiti. There were many miraculous healings, large numbers of conversions to Jesus Christ and numerous baptisms of new believers. In spite of the poverty and oppression, we found the Haitian people to be resilient, kind, joyful and very open to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please pray for the people of Haiti and the work that God is doing there. In Christ Jesus, I continue to be:

Your servant and fellow pilgrim,
Elder Theophilus