"REST IN THE LORD AND WAIT PATIENTLY FOR HIM"
Psalm 37:7
All too often in this Christian walk, God’s people allow the circumstances
around them to dictate their feelings and their reactions. How easy it is for
far too many Christians to become discouraged or distressed by outward
circumstances and allow the enemy to rob them of their joy. In times of trouble,
we need to listen to David’s advice in Psalm 37 to "rest in the Lord and
wait patiently for Him".
Church Triumphant has had many opportunities already this year to put these
principles into practice as the enemy has attacked time and again. Yet every
time, God has been faithful to intervene and give us the victory. To Him be all
the honor and glory.
January began in seeming tragedy. The youngest son of the head chief of the
Talaingod tribe was killed in an accident. But as the people gathered beside the
Lake of the Dove for the first Christian funeral they had ever known, Pastor
Asang preached the Gospel. Several tribal chieftains who came to comfort the
grieving family heard the Gospel for the first time. They all received Christ as
Savior and have opened up even more territory for the Gospel to go forward among
the tribes. One young man’s death resulted in an open door to bring eternal
life to thousands who have never heard before.
The enemy never gives up. Soon afterwards the rainy season hit, bringing
torrential rains and killer mudslides. Thousands of acres of crops were
destroyed. Then a "killer bacteria" in a polluted stream brought death
to two villages where 75 people died in a matter of days. In desperation, the
chieftains came to Church Triumphant for help to buy food, medicines, and
vitamins, but especially for prayer for divine intervention. We sent all the
help we could but, more than that, we prayed and trusted the Lord to do what no
doctor could. God spoke the word. The sickness was stopped in its tracks. Not
another person became sick or died. God showed His authority over sickness and
death when people come to Him in faith.
God doesn’t limit Himself to only great miracles. We can trust Him with all
our needs. One day, Pastor Asang was riding his motorcycle along a narrow road
through the rain forest on his way to visit our church in the village of Sua-on
where the road ends. Suddenly a man stepped out of the bushes and walked right
in front of him. Unable to stop or turn aside in time, Allan hit the man,
knocking him down and wrecking his motorcycle. The man was taken to the hospital
with severe head injuries and Allan was told that he would have to pay all the
medical expenses. Allan had no money so he emailed us, asking for our help. We
explained we did not have much money to send and asked him if he had prayed for
the man, trusting God to move in the situation. Immediately after receiving our
email, Allan gathered his family and they prayed for the man. Then Allan went to
the hospital to pray for the man in person. Much to his amazement, he met the
man leaving the hospital as he was arriving. God had touched him and healed him
the instant Allan and his family prayed. As Allan shared with the man about
their prayers, he was able to lead the man to a saving knowledge of Christ. The
man returned to his home village not only totally healed but also born again
through the blood of Christ. His medical bills were a fraction of what the
doctors anticipated because there was no need for any expensive testing that had
been ordered. We were easily able to cover all the medical bills and repair the
broken motorcycle. More than that, just a week later, the chief of a Muslim
tribe in that same area came to our people to ask us to send workers into his
tribe to teach literacy to the children and farming methods to their parents.
What a wonderful opportunity to show and teach the love of Christ to these who
have lived all their lives in darkness and deception.
Over and over again, God speaks life in the midst of destruction, hope in the
midst of despair, and deliverance in the midst of great darkness. On every hand,
He is opening doors for the Gospel to penetrate areas where it has never been
heard before. We praise God for His faithfulness.
Yet, far too often, we stand empty handed in the face of overwhelming need.
There are more open doors than we have workers prepared to walk through them. We
have 20 students waiting for classes to begin in Tagum City, 45 students waiting
for the new Bible school to open in Sarangani province for the first time. Yet
we had to tell them to wait another month because there was no money to send to
buy food for the students and their teachers. We have laborers in the field
ready to teach the tribal people how to farm but we need money for seeds and
seedlings for them to plant. The seedlings cost just $4 per family. 1,200
families are waiting for some help. It costs $50 a month for six months to
provide for a Bible school student while he is training to become a pastor.
We do not believe that God would open the doors and then not provide the
resources to walk through those doors. We have an enemy who tries to hinder the
work of God. He comes to steal, kill, and destroy. It is a spiritual battle and
literally thousands of souls are the prize that goes to the winner. The price
for victory has already been paid on the cross by Jesus Himself. We need you to
stand with us to enforce that victory through prayer and through your faithful
giving. Pray with us that the enemy will no longer be able to steal the
resources God has provided to meet the needs of reaching these tribal people
with the Gospel. Pray that God will speak to the hearts of those who have the
resources to give and that He will pour forth an abundant blessing upon them as
they are obedient to His voice. Pray for continued favor upon the work there.
Pray for protection for the workers and for the chieftains who have opened the
doors for the Gospel to go forth.
We know why the battle is becoming so intense. God has given us a promise
that this year will be a year of breakthrough for the ministry in the
Philippines. This is the year when revival will be poured out on Mindanao and
Satan is furious because he knows that his time is short. Stand with us as we
declare the victory that is ours as we trust in the Lord and wait patiently and
expectantly for His victory to be established on Mindanao.
WE HAVE MOVED! Our new address is PO Box 2806, Antioch, CA 94531. We have
been in a three month fight to get our new phone service properly connected. If
you still cannot reach us at our new phone number of (925)778-7094, you can
reach us at (925)778-7091 or our cell phone (925)360-9012. God bless you
abundantly. | 
