Participants:
Series Code: JFAN
Program Code: JFAN000155S
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00:00 (uplifting music)
00:22 - Hello and welcome to Jesus for Asia Now. 00:24 I'm Natalie Wood and my husband Jon is here with me today. 00:28 Hello, love. 00:28 - Hi darling, how are you? 00:30 - I'm doing well. 00:31 I'm really excited about this 00:33 because this is a continuation of the story of the church 00:37 that is sponsoring Bible workers in India. 00:39 - Right, yeah, that's really cool how they got together 00:42 and decided as a board that they wanted to sponsor 00:45 10 Bible workers in India. 00:47 And so it's the story of how a church in Tennessee 00:50 can make an impact on the other side of the planet. 00:52 - Yup. 00:53 This church decided to do this at a time 00:56 when they were gonna be building a new church facility. 01:00 - Yeah, they were meeting in a tent. 01:01 - Right, right. 01:03 We remember that well. 01:05 - Yeah, we were there. 01:06 - Yeah, because this is our home church. 01:09 - Yes, yes, 01:10 - So the church facility that was going to be built 01:13 was not cheap. 01:14 - [Jon] No. 01:16 - And so it was like a big financial hurdle coming up. 01:20 And yet, the church board voted to sponsor 01:22 Bible workers in India, 10 of them. 01:26 So that they could be helping 01:29 on the other side of the world during this time. 01:30 So it's just a interesting neat relationship 01:34 and how the church made that choice 01:37 even at a time when they knew 01:38 financial challenge was coming. 01:41 And they went by faith and started sponsoring. 01:44 - So in the last show, 01:45 we kinda left it off as they decided to do this, 01:48 we got to see some of the results. 01:50 But what happened to the church? 01:53 Were they able to build a new facility? 01:55 Did they go bankrupt? 01:56 Did God bless? 01:57 How did that work? 01:59 And that's what we're gonna be finding out this show. 02:01 - Right, but before we get to that part of the story, 02:05 let's meet some more of the Bible workers 02:06 they're sponsoring. 02:08 (gentle music) 02:16 - My mother passed away when I was doing sixth grade. 02:19 It was my father who took care of me and my three sisters. 02:23 We were very strong Hindus. 02:26 I used to worship idols. 02:29 I did not know about Jesus. 02:31 I even used to go to Palani Temple 02:33 which is a famous Hindu temple. 02:36 I used to go on pilgrimage, walking from my house to Palani. 02:42 I used to lead a group. 02:43 And that was a time my father met 02:45 with an accident and he passed away. 02:50 I was completely broken. 02:52 My father was friendly with a pastor. 02:55 His name is Meshak. 02:57 And he used to come to our house 03:00 not very often, but sometimes. 03:03 And after my father's death, he started teaching me 03:07 about Jesus Christ because I was in a big depression. 03:11 (gentle music) 03:16 This Pastor Meshak took me 03:17 to the nearby seventh three Adventist Church. 03:20 The pastor who was there took care of me 03:24 and particularly in that church, I like so much 03:26 is that every Sabbath after the lunch, they would go 03:33 for outreach, meeting people and praying for them. 03:35 They would go to new villages. 03:38 And they even encouraged me, "You also come join." 03:41 But that time, I was not baptized. 03:44 But we used to go. 03:45 I used to join with them. 03:46 And the first time when they asked me to pray, 03:49 I was hesitating because I never ever prayed before. 03:52 But the same night when I went to home, I knelt 03:55 and I prayed to the Lord, 03:56 "Lord, please teach me how to pray." 03:59 That was how I was slowly learning each and everything. 04:03 And then the next week when we went for outreach, 04:06 they asked me to pray and I started praying. 04:08 I really liked the church so much. 04:11 And in the year 2015, October 24, 04:15 I gave my life to Jesus Christ 04:17 and I took baptism in the same church. 04:24 There was one old man in my church called Nayana Desigan. 04:29 He used to take me 04:30 to wherever he goes for visiting, to do God's work. 04:34 Many places he has taken me. 04:36 And he also takes me to funerals. 04:39 He taught me how to do these things 04:41 and he taught me so many truths from the Bible. 04:45 During that time, the church was so supportive. 04:48 And I told that to old man, "I don't have anyone." 04:52 And during that time, there was a transfer 04:54 for the pastor, Pastor Sauria. 04:56 He came as a pastor here, and he introduced me 05:00 to my wife, who was then working in the school as a teacher. 05:04 They're also looking for a nice man, godly man. 05:08 And that family is a godly family. 05:10 So they were talking about it. 05:12 It took nearly six months of time. 05:14 And then finally 2017, he married Sister Joy. 05:19 (gentle music) 05:28 - I think it's neat because the pastor was there 05:30 when he was in sorrow over his father's passing 05:33 and could share with him. 05:35 And the church just brought him in and drew him in 05:41 into helping with outreach 05:42 and he was converted as a result of the church 05:45 just working and helping him and... 05:48 - Yeah, and that he liked doing the outreach 05:51 right off the bat. 05:52 I think that's a really good example 05:55 to involve new believers with outreach 05:57 to give them a chance to share what they're learning. 06:00 - Right. 06:01 That, and it was also neat how he would say, 06:03 "Lord teach me how to pray and different things." 06:06 The Lord was teaching him everything. 06:09 - Yeah, that's really beautiful. 06:10 - Sometimes, our testimonies are just like, we live them. 06:14 So we don't say them out loud. 06:17 And so other people don't necessarily know 06:20 what our testimony is. 06:21 And sometimes, it's very simple. 06:24 But other times, it's major. 06:26 I mean, he came out of Hinduism. 06:28 He was walking back and forth to Palani, that temple 06:31 worshiping the idols there and- 06:33 - We did a show on Palani. 06:35 Yeah, we did a show in Palani back in 2004. 06:37 It's a major temple city. 06:40 - Yes. 06:40 So we have another video. 06:42 So let's watch that one next. 06:44 - Okay. 06:45 (gentle music) 06:56 (speaker speaking in foreign language) 07:00 - [Translator] I was introduced to this Kumar, 07:03 who's a Hindu priest. 07:04 He was the in charge for the whole temple. 07:07 And when they went to his house, 07:10 he invited few of the neighborhood people also for prayer. 07:14 But there were people who started questioning, 07:17 "You being the Hindu priest, 07:20 how can you have prayer in your house? 07:23 How can you entertain other religion? 07:25 And that to a Christian religion, it is not good. 07:29 But I was surprised to see this man. 07:31 He said, "It is my business. 07:33 You don't mind my business. 07:34 You mind your own business." 07:36 When he started listening to the message from the Bible, 07:39 God really touched his heart. 07:42 (uplifting music) 07:47 The Hindu priest asked us, 07:49 "Can you please pray for my brother? 07:51 I tried everything what I can 07:53 but nothing is being answered." 07:55 He was really mentally disturbed 07:58 and he was possessed by devil. 08:00 And that time, this Gopi was admitted 08:03 in rehabilitation center 08:07 so that he can recover from these mental issues. 08:10 But he was getting worse. 08:12 And when I went to visit him in the hospital, 08:15 he has so many threads tied on his fist 08:21 and on his hips, and even on his neck. 08:24 And he's having this lemon in his pocket 08:27 and some ashes and other things in his pocket. 08:31 And when we went and told Gopi to pray, read Bible 08:35 he said, "No, I don't want to do it. 08:37 I won't pray. I won't read Bible. 08:39 And you just leave me alone." 08:41 As we were talking to him in the hospital, the next patient, 08:45 she said, "Can you please pray for my son who's very sick?" 08:49 And we went and prayed for him. 08:51 When we came back, this Gopi started asking us, 08:55 "I had a lemon in my pocket, and that is missing now. 08:59 You are the one who took it. 09:01 And all the other things which I had in my pocket, 09:03 you took it, you give it to me right now. 09:05 I know you took it." 09:07 But we didn't take it. 09:09 And then even though he didn't like us to pray for him 09:12 but we prayed for him and we left a Bible 09:15 with his mother and came from that hospital that day. 09:20 And after two weeks, he was discharged 09:22 from the hospital and his mother called us. 09:25 She said, "We have brought Gopi home. 09:27 He's with us now. 09:29 Can you please come to my home 09:30 and have a fasting and prayer, especially for my son?" 09:34 So we organized a prayer and we went. 09:37 We went to his house for prayer. 09:40 And also a few church member joined us. 09:43 When we went, we gave the Bible 09:45 and asked this Gopi to read Psalms 23. 09:48 But he never read. 09:50 And the pastor understood that all the ropes 09:53 and all those things which he was having 09:56 on his fist and his hip 09:58 and on in his neck, pastor said, "We need to cut them. 10:02 Then only he will be completely delivered 10:05 from the he will perception." 10:07 So she brought the scissors and they cut everything. 10:11 And after that, Gopi was able to read the Bible 10:17 and pray with them that day. 10:18 (uplifting music) 10:22 The following week, Gopi's mother decided to take baptism. 10:29 She and her younger son, but Gopi refused to do that. 10:33 So we started singing song, we started praising God 10:37 so that the devil will leave him alone. 10:41 But still, Gopi was refusing. 10:43 Then the pastor saw they was one rope on his fist 10:48 which was still there. 10:49 So pastor said, we need to cut that, 10:52 that Satan need to flee from him. 10:54 So when they brought the scissors 10:56 and they when they cut and threw the thread from his hand, 11:02 he was touched by the Holy Spirit. 11:03 Then Gopi said, "Yes, I will take baptism." 11:07 He came inside the tank and he was baptized that day. 11:11 He accepted Jesus Christ. 11:13 He was completely cured from the devil position. 11:17 And he could not even complete his 10th grade. 11:20 But after he accepted Jesus Christ, 11:23 God helped him to do his studies well. 11:26 He passed his board exams. 11:29 And now, right now, he's studying 11:32 in a college in the IT field. 11:35 When Gopi was baptized, pastor gave him a new name. 11:41 He was called Daniel. 11:42 Now, Sister Joy requests 11:44 that you would please pray for this Daniel, 11:47 so that he will be a true Daniel 11:50 like the Daniel in the Bible. 11:51 (uplifting music) 11:59 - That seems to be a theme 12:00 in these videos where people get delivered 12:02 and they end up with a smile on their face. 12:05 - Yup, and it's beautiful. 12:06 - Yes, it is. 12:06 That's what Jesus does. 12:08 - Right, Right. 12:09 That's an amazing story. 12:10 - I know. 12:12 - All the things that that poor young man had to go through. 12:14 - And you know, that's a specialty that Satan has 12:17 in blinding the eyes of those that he likes to control. 12:21 We have a story of a man that wanted to become a Christian 12:25 and he got a Bible from a Christian 12:27 but there were no words on the pages. 12:29 They were all blank. 12:30 And so he went back 12:31 to the Christian says, "This Bible's broken. 12:33 There's no words on the page." 12:34 And the Christian says, "Oh, Satan's blinding your eyes. 12:38 Pray this prayer." 12:39 So he went home and he prayed that prayer 12:41 and then he could see all the words on the page. 12:43 This is what Satan can do. 12:45 Right, right. - Powerful. 12:47 - But God is stronger. - He is stronger. 12:50 - And he specializes in delivering captives. 12:52 - Yes. 12:53 - Well, we've got another video. 12:55 (gentle music) 13:02 (speaker speaking in foreign language) 13:05 - I'm taking care of two churches 13:07 and we don't have churches there 13:09 but these are the new areas we have entered into. 13:13 And by the grace of God, 13:14 now we have a small gathering there right now. 13:18 (speaker speaking in foreign language) 13:22 As we were praying door to door, 13:25 the people nearby, they told us 13:27 there is one more family or a Christian family, 13:30 "You please go pray for them. 13:32 They need prayer." 13:33 That is how I was led to this house. 13:36 She told me, "My sister's son, three times, 13:38 he met with accident, but somehow, two times, he's saved. 13:42 But this time again, he met with an accident 13:45 and he got hit on his head, and his head is injured. 13:50 Now he's not able to move. 13:51 He's in coma stage. 13:53 Would you please go pray for him?" 13:55 That we went, we met this Raja 13:58 and we started praying for him. 14:00 (speaker speaking in foreign language) 14:02 So this Raja, when I went 14:04 and when I saw since he had this major accident 14:08 and his skull was majorly injured, he lost his memory 14:15 and he could not even stand for a while or sit for a while. 14:19 And when he asked him, "Can I pray for you?" 14:21 He said, "Yes, you can pray for me." 14:24 So he and his wife started regularly going 14:28 and praying for them. 14:29 When they are not going, they would call them 14:31 over the phone and pray with them every day. 14:35 And their main aim was to make this man a living witness 14:41 among his relatives. 14:43 So they were praying very earnestly to the Lord. 14:46 And what happened one day when they went to pray for him, 14:50 he was very sick and he told his wife 14:54 that you should get oil and keep it. 14:58 It is not the oil which is going to cure him 15:01 but it is Jesus Christ. 15:03 You should have faith on Jesus Christ. 15:06 So that lady helped her husband 15:10 in applying the oil from head to toe. 15:13 When they started doing this anointing prayer, 15:16 they could see that improvement in his health. 15:20 He was getting better. 15:23 And also, God blessed him 15:25 in such a way that when we went to his house, 15:28 he himself would stand up and he would welcome them. 15:31 "Yes, please, come inside. 15:33 After Raja started walking, doing things on his own, 15:37 when we go for prayer 15:38 he used to bring all the neighborhood people 15:41 to come and sit. 15:43 Mostly his wife, his father, and all his relatives. 15:47 It's a small house, but used to gather them all. 15:50 And he and his wife used to teach them 15:52 about Bible and pray with them. 15:55 (uplifting music) 15:58 My only aim is that that village where Raja is now, 16:04 we pray that the whole village will be saved. 16:07 The whole village will know Jesus Christ. 16:10 And now God is opening doors there 16:13 through this person called Raja. 16:16 And we are praying that God will heal him completely. 16:19 Please pray for that village and for Raja's family 16:23 so that they'll accept Jesus Christ 16:26 and take baptism very soon. 16:29 Thank you. 16:29 Thank you, bye. 16:31 (gentle music) 16:38 - Isn't that beautiful? 16:39 - Yeah. 16:41 How God can change even the worst outlook. 16:45 He was in a coma, major skull damage there. 16:49 I mean, and he was in a coma and everything 16:51 and God has shown him himself. 16:55 And now he's bringing others. 16:56 That's awesome. 16:57 - [Jon] And the circle keeps widening. 16:59 - Yes. 17:00 - So a church sponsors a Bible worker. 17:02 He goes to a village, starts to grow. 17:05 Another person accepts Jesus. 17:06 They become kind of like doing the work of a Bible worker. 17:10 A missionary. 17:11 And it keeps growing and keeps widening and keeps widening. 17:14 I think we need thousands more Bible workers. 17:18 - Yes, we do. (chuckles) 17:20 Yes we do. 17:21 Well, we have one more testimony video from that area. 17:25 (gentle music) 17:34 (wife speaking in foreign language) 17:37 - Herself and her husband, they had a wonderful job 17:41 and they were planning to develop their business. 17:45 So they bought a truck. 17:47 They started building the house 17:48 but the house was incomplete. 17:51 And all of a sudden, they lost everything. 17:53 The job went down and their money really stopped completely. 17:58 The house which they started constructing, 18:01 they could not complete the construction. 18:04 It stopped altogether. 18:06 And that was the time I was really worried. 18:09 And I started going to all the temples 18:12 because I'm a Hindu and my whole family is a Hindu believer. 18:17 We went to many temples 18:18 but none of the idols answered our prayers. 18:22 And that was a time Sister Joy 18:24 and Pastor Zechariah came and met me. 18:28 I was in a very big problem that time, 18:30 mentally, physically, and spiritually. 18:34 It was so painful because I didn't have money. 18:36 I couldn't build my house. 18:37 There were so many debts. 18:39 My husband borrowed a lot of money from others 18:42 and everyone was just pressurizing me. 18:45 That was the time I decided that I should die, kill myself. 18:50 We wanted to die together 18:52 because we could not bear this pain. 18:54 And finally, one day, 18:56 Sister Joy called her and asked her, "How are you? 18:58 It has been quite a long time. 19:01 How is your health?" 19:02 Then immediately, Sister Joy and Brother Zechariah, 19:05 they both took the bike and came here 19:08 and met them and they started praying with them. 19:10 And then she told them, 19:13 "You please, you need to pray for me. 19:14 I'm going to commit a sin. 19:16 I'm going to kill myself and my husband." 19:19 They both went and bought the poison from the shop 19:23 and they kept it ready. 19:24 Anytime if there is a gap, 19:26 they wanted to eat and drink and kill themself. 19:29 Then when they shared with the Bible workers, 19:32 they told them, "You please bring it. 19:35 You should not have it with you. 19:36 How did you take this decision? 19:39 You have a Jesus who's alive. 19:41 How did you take this decision? 19:43 Give it to us. 19:44 We are not going to leave you like this." 19:46 Then she told them, "If you take this, 19:49 we will buy it again." 19:51 They said, "No, please don't do." 19:53 That night, till eight o'clock in the night, 19:55 they all together, four of them knelt down 19:58 and they started praying tearfully. 20:00 They prayed that God will take the thing 20:03 out from their mind to kill themselves. 20:06 And they took the poison and they went after going home, 20:10 they called up them over the phone, 20:12 and they started praying over the phone, encouraging them 20:15 and telling them not to commit this kind of a thing. 20:19 (gentle music) 20:22 Now, God has given them the peace. 20:24 Their house, where they're staying is a mud house. 20:27 They don't have even floor. 20:28 It's a very small, tiny house with mud. 20:31 This new house is given by their father-in-law. 20:36 This was donated for him, and he has donated this house now. 20:40 As they are praying, as they're coming close to God, 20:43 God is one after the other, and answering their prayers. 20:47 And regarding their house, the man who gave loan, 20:51 he filed a case on them and their own advocate said, 20:57 "You have signed in all the papers. 20:58 If you don't pay the loan, 21:00 your house is going to be on auction." 21:03 And they came and stick the auction, 21:06 the warning paper on our house. 21:08 And we didn't know what to do. 21:10 We called Sister Joy, the JFA worker 21:13 and we told her the problem. 21:15 Again, we knelt and we prayed to God 21:17 and God answered the prayer. 21:20 When we went to the court, even our own advocate, he said 21:23 "We cannot win the case." 21:24 But when they went to the court, the judge there, 21:28 he gave gave a verdict, which was surprise, 21:31 which was an answer for our prayers. 21:33 The judge said, "No, you cannot take their land. 21:37 You cannot put the land for auction. 21:39 Where will they go live? 21:41 They have children, they have a family." 21:43 And the judge said, 21:45 "We will give five month time to pay the loan." 21:51 And judge said, "You cannot put the house on option." 21:53 So now God even saved their land from being put in auction 21:59 and we thank the Lord for that. 22:02 (gentle music) 22:09 - Isn't that beautiful how God works? 22:11 - Yes. 22:12 - It's his kindness that leads to repentance. 22:14 So God is kind to these people, 22:16 they recognize it and they follow him. 22:18 - Right, and they come to him with all of their problems. 22:21 Financial problems, family problems, health problems. 22:25 - We haven't finished with the story of the church. 22:27 What happened to the church in Tennessee. 22:28 - Right. 22:29 You wanna share that? 22:31 - Sure. 22:32 So they were in a tent and they were getting ready to build. 22:35 It was gonna be an expensive project, 22:38 but in spite of the fact that they were spending money 22:41 on the overseas foreign missions, they had pledges 22:45 and donations for the full amount 22:47 of the building before they started to build. 22:49 - Yes, so God really blessed. 22:51 - That is a miracle. 22:53 - It was very fast too. 22:55 For that large of a project, it was very quick 22:57 that all the donations and pledges came. 22:59 - Yeah. 23:00 And so now the church is standing 23:02 and it's full and there's a lot more people coming, 23:07 new people visiting every Sabbath 23:09 and it's just a beautiful thing to see. 23:12 - And they're using it for health ministry 23:14 and other types of ministry. 23:16 - A lot of community outreach. 23:18 And it's just a beautiful thing. 23:20 And it's a visual picture 23:21 of how when you put God's kingdom first, 23:24 he takes care of you. 23:25 - Right. 23:26 Many times, we think it's a competition 23:29 between the local church budget 23:31 and the foreign mission field. 23:32 But it's not intended to be that way. 23:35 God doesn't intend it to be that way. 23:37 - In fact, just the opposite. 23:39 - Right, and there's a quote from Mrs. White 23:41 that we'd like to share at this time. 23:44 "The home missionary work will be farther advanced 23:47 in every way when a more liberal, self-denying, 23:51 self-sacrificing spirit is manifested for the prosperity 23:55 of foreign missions, for the prosperity of the home work 23:59 depends largely under God, upon the reflex influence 24:04 of the evangelical work done in countries of far off. 24:08 It is in working actively to supply the necessities 24:12 of the cause of God that we bring our souls 24:15 in touch with the source of all power." 24:19 - Wow. - Yeah. 24:21 So foreign missions and local church budget 24:23 are not in competition. 24:25 - No, it's a cooperative combined effort. 24:28 That pushes the gospel forward in both areas. 24:30 - Right, exactly. 24:33 - Well, it's been our privilege to share these stories 24:36 in writing with the church that's sponsoring them. 24:39 But now we have video so we can share, 24:42 I'm looking forward to sharing the videos with the church. 24:45 - Yeah, and I think they're gonna be really pleased 24:48 because they've been putting the money in by faith 24:52 that the Lord would use that 24:54 and now, they can start to see the fruit. 24:56 - Right. 24:58 'Cause sometimes, when we give to foreign missions 25:00 this is one of the hardest things. 25:02 We give it, and we don't personally see 25:04 the results many times. 25:06 And so it's like we're just casting our bread 25:09 upon the waters, so to speak, as the Bible puts it. 25:12 And sometimes, we get to find out 25:15 what happens with it, and sometimes, we don't. 25:18 - It's all by faith. 25:19 Now this is a new area 25:21 that they sent these Bible workers into. 25:23 So there was no work started there. 25:25 So that takes the extra time 25:28 to find the inroads, to find the open doors. 25:31 And so it takes more time to get that going 25:33 but after a few years you can see, 25:37 "Wow, this was really worth it." 25:38 - Right. 25:39 And it's so neat, the influence 25:41 of the two together, the husband and wife, 25:45 when when he first came into the church, 25:47 he was a single man and he was like, "I'm all alone." 25:51 And then they found each other 25:53 and the Lord is using them together so powerfully. 25:57 It's just so neat. 25:59 - There's still so many towns and villages 26:01 in India that have never heard the gospel 26:04 from any denomination. 26:06 They say 400,000 towns and villages 26:11 still have not heard the gospel. 26:14 And so there's still opportunities for this generation 26:17 for us to really get involved, to really make a difference. 26:21 And I think other churches could do the same thing. 26:25 - Yup, and it's not that hard. 26:27 And it's really not that expensive. 26:30 - No. 26:31 $100 a month will supply the basic necessities 26:34 for a Bible worker. 26:35 Full-time Bible worker. 26:36 And so a church can say, 26:39 "Oh we'd like to sponsor five." 26:41 Or, "We'd like to sponsor 10." 26:42 Or, "We'd like to sponsor 20." 26:44 And we can find a special area in India 26:47 that we can say, "Okay, this is your church's area." 26:51 And send them out, send the Bible workers out into that area 26:54 and keep watering those seeds and see what happens. 26:58 - Yeah, yeah. 26:59 It's especially neat because the local church 27:01 is praying also for those workers 27:03 and for the people they're reaching out to. 27:05 So that extends the reach 27:07 and the ministry of those Bible workers even farther 27:10 because God's holy angels go with them then 27:13 as a result of all the prayers. 27:14 - And the prayers go the other way too. 27:16 Because the Bible workers pray. 27:19 - For the church. - For the church, yes. 27:21 And so it's a reciprocal 27:22 and the end result is more souls won for Christ 27:27 - Everywhere. 27:28 - Everywhere, both sides of the planet. 27:29 - Yup. - Yes. 27:31 - I would like to invite you to pray for these people 27:35 and consider whether your church would like to sponsor 27:38 Bible workers in India or other countries in Asia 27:41 or whether you'd like to personally sponsor some. 27:44 If you would like more information, you can contact us 27:47 at Jesus for Asia PO Box 1221, 27:51 Collegedale, Tennessee, 37315. 27:55 Call us at (423) 413-7321 27:59 or visit our website at jesus4asia.org. 28:03 May God richly bless you. 28:05 Until we see you next time on Jesus for Asia now. 28:09 (uplifting music) |
Revised 2023-08-01