STATE MISSIONS: If Any Man Be in Christ - II Cor. 5:17 (Pt. 4)
God cannot look upon sin. He turned His back upon His only begotten Son on the darkest day in the history of man because the sins of the whole world were heaped upon Him, who knew no sin. My sins and your sins were laid upon the Son of God. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:6).
When the sins of the world were laid upon the Lord Jesus, the sun hid its face and refused to show forth one ray of light for more than three hours while the Son of God was shrouded in the blackest of darkness. Christ was made to cry out from the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The Son of God knew why He was forsaken. He spoke these words because He knew His words would be recorded and subsequently be a manifestation to the world that God had no other plan in which man might be saved from the penalty of sin but by His Son’s sacrificial death on the tree of Calvary.
God turned His back on His Son so that He might turn His face toward a lost world. No, sin will never defile the glorified body of the Son of God. Therefore, I say again, by the authority of the Word of God, if any man be in Christ, he must be born of the Spirit who cannot sin because “…his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (I John 3:9).
From Our Missionaries
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “In previous reports, I told you about Jeferson, who had a serious accident. I visited him weekly in the hospital. He had three surgeries, and on Friday, Aug. 16, he was discharged. We visited him at home on Saturday and bought some crepes his family was selling to raise funds to pay the accumulated debts due to his situation.
During one of the visits to the hospital, I shared the gospel with Jeferson and his partner, Janneth and they both made a profession of faith. Today, they came to the temple for the first time for the Sunday service. It was a blessing to see them enter, and it filled me with joy to see them worshiping the Lord. I ask for your prayers so they can strengthen themselves in faith and that Jeferson can regain strength in his legs and walk again if that is God’s will.
“In a previous report, I also told you about Benjamin and Alanis, a couple of Venezuelan origin, with whom we discussed biblical marriage. Last Monday, to my surprise, Benjamin asked me where he could buy an engagement ring, and this week, they got engaged to be married. So, we will have a wedding in the church. Benjamin and Alanis invited their friends, Jesus and Eliveth and their daughters, Valentina and Hillary to the church. They were very happy and expressed their desire to congregate with us. Let us pray that they can establish themselves in our church and that we have the opportunity to disciple them.”
Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “It has been a week of activities. We had our Discovery Bible Study (DBS) in our home on Monday. It is a blessing to see how people remember Bible stories and discover biblical truths for their lives. We always close with fellowship and deepen our friendship. In each DBS, we apply the discipleship principle of passing on the truth of God’s Word and giving of our own life.
“We received the Missions Committee in our meeting place in Chenal on Tuesday. It is the opportunity every missionary in the state has to tell what God is doing. In Ebenezer, every time I present myself before the committee or before you in our association’s annual meeting, it is a mixture of emotions. On the one hand, I have the privilege of speaking about what God is doing among us, but I also have fear because of my limitations in the English language. As I always tell my wife, God is glorified.
“In addition to our Celebration Service on Sunday, we had our Ebenezer members meeting. We welcomed two members, Moises and Joselyn Rico. Our meeting was to better organize the church’s committees, ministries and leadership. It was a very fruitful meeting. Our next meeting will be in November, and we hope to have fruit regarding our meeting.
“Please pray for leadership to emerge at Ebenezer, a battalion of Servants. Pray that those who have not yet decided to be baptized will do so. Pray for my children as they will both be going to college this week and for God’s provision to pay for it. Pray for Ebenezer to continue in harmony. We have always had a good atmosphere of brotherhood in our congregation.
“Thank you for your support of the mission. To God be the glory!”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “We had another good week at Faith Chapel, with another really good number for worship, including one first-time and several return (faithful) visitors.
“The Missionary Advisory Committee visited us on Monday on their annual visit to all the state missionaries. They were very complimentary of the new building and of the mission in general. We appreciate them so much, and our association should, too. They give their time to serve and have never seemed to be trying to find fault, but always trying to find how they can help us to grow and fulfill our mission. We thank God for them!
“We went to the Jonesboro Association Brotherhood meeting on Tuesday and stopped and visited with Jim Johnston. He is building a new pulpit, communion table and foyer table for the new building. I can’t wait to show them to you. They will be beautiful! What a gift the Lord has given him! Thank you, Lord!
“The floors are being done. It will probably take another week. I knew it was a lot of work, but I did not know how much. I can’t wait to see the finished product. The carpet for the stage is in and we are waiting for the floors to be done, then the plumber and cabinet contractor can get in there and finish and after that, we will be ready to move in. We are ready after all this time. Thank you for your prayers and support. This building is coming together because of them. We thank God for you as well!”
Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes, “It was back to school time for some of our folks last week, and the rest of them start back this week! We are praying blessings over them for protection and a successful school year. We provided a yummy treat for the teachers on Friday to celebrate finishing the first week of school. We served ‘Finally Friday Coke Floats!’ It was a great way to end a busy week.
“I had the opportunity to invest in the life of a young youth pastor this weekend. He is very passionate about the Lord, and I spent some time encouraging him in his ministry. He is a godly young man and has such a love for the youth he is leading. God is going to do great things in his ministry.
“We also got to hear a great testimony from one of our ladies at the mission to finish up our week. She was blessed to help lead a young lady who was visiting her home to the Lord this week. This young lady was not raised in a godly home growing up, but through speaking with her and praying with her, she came to know Christ. Praise the Lord!”
Misión Gracia Soberana (Sovereign Grace), NWA:Roberto Marcelletti writes, “We had an extraordinary and very busy week. On Monday, the Advisory Committee visited us in Rogers. The brothers of the committee were with Sovereign Grace, and I was able to give them a report on how the mission has progressed. They prayed for us, and their visit was very supportive.
“We started our Springdale small group again on Tuesday, with five new people, and one of them testified that he had accepted Christ.
“Saturday, Patty continued with the study that she gives every month to the women of the church and 12 attended. The study is called ‘For the Love of His Name,’ which is a study of the names of God.
“Sunday was our fourth Sunday School class with very good attendance. At the end, we rejoiced and enjoyed the Sunday service, where we continued in John 7.”
Epic Life, Pea Ridge: Jake McCandless writes, “Throughout my time in ministry, I have talked about our Sunday School classes or life groups as ‘doing life together,’ but it hasn’t been until the launch of Epic Life and this model of ministry that I have truly begun to experience that. I believe it can be summed up in my daughters’ last several birthday parties. When we have a birthday, you can count on my family being there, my wife’s family being there and our Connection Group being there.
Our Connection Group is family. I love seeing how church integrates with our regular life and our family rather being something that pulls us away from our family. I had eight meals with Epic Life coaches, members and prospects this week. Luke 7, where Jesus was called a glutton because he was dining with so many people, came to mind. I hope our ministries can begin to look the same way as the ministries of Jesus, the Apostles and the early church.”
El Faro #2 Hispanic Mission, Cabot/Jacksonville: Michael Hight writes, “We are getting close to our launch time. We had plans to launch on Sept. 1, but I’m not sure if we can pull it off. We may have to postpone it for a week or two. I have been taking my infusions for four weeks now and, for the first time in over two years, I had some days where I felt almost normal. Please pray that I continue to get stronger.
“I want to also thank Landmark, England, for letting me speak to their VBS, and especially for their generous love offering. Thank you to Central at Hughes for their support as well.”
73
Paul White
Arkansas State Missions Director Paul White pens a weekly column to inform the BMA of Arkansas concerning Arkansas Missions’ activity and includes individual reports from each church planter.
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