I.        Reflections on the importance of the Prayer Warrior in missions.

II.     Word studies on the Ministry of Intercession from II Corinthians 1:11 and Romans 15:30 - 32

III.   Prayers indeed change things

IV.  Satan’s goal: Not to thwart our ministry in Kenya, but rather that we never arrive in Kenya

V.    A word of personal testimony and praise to God

VI.  Prayer Requests

A.    That God would continue to raise up prayer warriors.  Please claim Isaiah 62:6-7, that God would raise up men and women of prayer who will sustain and bless our missionary work through their faithful prayers.  “On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves;  And give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”

 

B.     That God would continue to raise up donors.  Please claim 2 Corinthians 9:10-11,  “Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness;  you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.”  That God would so bless our current donors and our prayer warriors who do not give that we might expand our ministry to national ministers, pastors and missionaries in Kenya.

 

C.     That God would continue to supply Bibles, Bible study aids and Bible reference books for Kenya.  Please claim Philippians 4:19, “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

 

D.    That God would provide for their shipment and safe transport through customs and over land to the national staff and ministers for who they are destined.  Please claim Philippians 4:18 for the national pastors, ministers, staff and missionaries to whom we will be ministering in Kenya.  “But I have received everything in full, and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.”

 

E.     That God would protect and preserve us, delivering us miraculously and safely on the shores of Kenya.  Please claim II Thessalonians 3:1-2  “Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; and that we may be delivered from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith.”

 

F.      That God would crush satan under our (those who go, those who pray, those who give), under our feet.  Please claim  Romans 16:20  “And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”

 

 

Dear Prayer Warriors,

 

I have been thinking of late the importance of your ministry to us and with us in prayer.  I have often shared with you II Corinthians 1:11,

 “you also joining in helping us through your prayers, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed upon us through the prayers of many.”

 

There are several key words in this passage which God the Holy Spirit uses to teach us the imperative of intercessory prayer when it comes to missions.

 

1.      “joining with us” – is actually the Greek word SUNUPOURGEO which denotes "to help together, join in helping, to serve with anyone as an underworker".  It is the joining of several Greek aspects of the Greek language - SUN, "with," HUPOURGEO, "to serve"; HUPO, "under," ERGON, "work".  Thus it literally means to be a co-laborer, a fellow laborer.  In the eyes of God, in the spiritual economy of missions as taught by God the Holy Spirit, those who pray are literally co-laborers.  They are with the missionary on the field, in the battle, in the ministry.

2.      “the favor bestowed on us” – here the Greek word used by God the Holy Spirit is CHARISMA which literally means a divine gratuity, specifically a . deliverance from danger or temptation.  Dr. Vines, in his Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words puts it thus – “gracious deliverances granted in answer to the prayers of fellow believers”.  Nothing could better describe our dependence upon your prayers as these two key phrases from IICorinthians 1:11.

 

We see this same principle taught in Romans 15:30 - 32

30        Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me,

31        that I may be delivered from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints;

32        so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company.

 

1.      “strive together with me”  Again, God the Holy Spirit chooses His words specifically.  The Greek word here is SUNAGONIZOMAI which means literally “to struggle in company with” or  to be a partner or an assistant who serves along side. It is actually the combination of the Greek word “to struggle against” and SUN – “with”.  In other words, in God’s eyes, you literally join with the missionary in his struggles as if you were actually working alongside him, on site, as his assistant. 

2.      Notice there are two immediate results of striving side by side with the missionary through your intercessory prayers. 

a.      First: “that I may be delivered”  The Greek word here is  RHUOMAI which is literally “a deliverer” it means, "to rescue from, to preserve from," and so, "to deliver,"   The intercessor literally plays the role of “deliverer” for the missionary.  He is the one who rescues the missionary.

b.      Second: “so that I my come to you in joy” – The intercessor does not just deliver the missionary, but assures his ability to minister effectively on the field and return safely from the field.

 

This then is the ministry to which God has called you our intercessory prayer warriors

1.      You are our co-laborers

2.      You actually serve with us on the mission field

3.      You bestow favors upon us which we would otherwise not experience.

4.      You deliver us from the disobedient in the world

5.      You assure our safe and joyful return from the mission field

 

This is no small ministry.  We are all too aware of this, that at each step, at each juncture we are in this together.  That is why we take such pains to keep you involved in up to date, real time  reports on our ministry.  We take your ministry very seriously, we realize that you are here with us.  We understand that for you to fulfill that ministry to which God has called you, you need immediate real time ministry reports.  That for Eleanor and I to accomplish that ministry to which God has called us we need your immediate real time intercessions.  Together and only together are we (the one who goes, the one who prayers and the one who gives) able to accomplish the ministry to which God has called us all as co-laborers together on the mission fields of the world.

 

Prayer indeed changes things and we are in need of concerted prayers no less, while here in the US than when on foreign fields.  As we prepare to depart to Kenya to teach and preach the holy, inerrant, inspired Word of God, we are no less an object of satan’s scrutiny than when on the field, than when in Kenya.  In warfare the objective is always to keep the enemy off the beach, to destroy him to turn him back before he is able to land, and satan is no different in his objectives.  Make no mistake as you pray for our fundraising, for our collections of Bibles and Bible study aids, for our preparations to leave, satan’s objective is not to foil our ministry in Kenya, it is to keep us from ever stepping foot in Kenya.

 

I will close this dispatch with a short word of personal testimony...

Ø           This Friday I spent the day playing “catch up” in our lawn.  (As you can imagine, being out of the country three or four months at a time creates a back log.)  When I got through I realized that I had been pulling out vine after vine of poison ivy – too which I am extremely allergic.

 

Ø           Saturday afternoon I walked out the back door and a wasp from out of no where dove straight at me, landed on my ear and stung me.  I could immediately feel the ear swelling shut with the accompanying hearing loss – I am very allergic to bee stings and this wasp was no different. 

 

Ø           Then Saturday night just after midnight the AC quit.  I tried everything, the fuse box, turning it off and on, I even took the top off the unit and spun the fan manually – it kicked on for about a minute and then died.  The house was heating up, my wife was bathed in sweat (remember this is Houston and the AC is also the de-humidifier).  There was no way I was going to be able to get anyone out on Sunday nor most likely the week of the 4^th of July holidays.  By then it was 1 a.m., I was bathed in sweat, soaking wet (remember all the rain that has been soaking south Texas), I could feel my skin getting feverish and swollen from the sever reaction I have to poison ivy and my ear still aching and swollen shut.

 

V             It was then that I fell down on my knees and called to God.  I pleaded for the AC – all money which could be used for this (our car savings account) had gone for the wedding and then some.  Now was not the time for the AC to go out; I pleaded for my poison ivy and wasp sting.  The 4^th of July holiday with the family visits, the fundraising and prayer team meetings already scheduled, now was not the time for me to be covered with itchy, oozing welts;  I called to God about the wasp sting, my face swollen my hearing impaired,  in despair I called to God for miracles, and as I was praying I heard the AC click on.  The next morning there was no indication of poison ivy nor of the wasp sting.  My thoughts now turn to Psalm 116 which is in my prayer notebook

 

“I love the LORD, because He hears My voice and my supplications.  Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.  The cords of death encompassed me, and the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow.  Then I called upon the name of the LORD: ‘O LORD, I beseech Thee, save my life!’  Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yes, our God is compassionate.  The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.  Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.”

 

I am thankful to the Lord for His miracles.  He did not have to do this for me and as I reflect I realize it was to remind me of my total dependence upon Him and the vigilance I must keep in regards to the attacks of the enemy.  I share this with you to encourage you as well in your vigilance as you co-labor with us both in our preparations for the mission field and on the field itself.  We look to you to sustain us, to get us on the beach, into the thick of battle and then to drive the enemy from before us.

 

We are sustained and we minister by the grace of God

and

by the effectual and fervent prayers of you our prayer warriors.

 

By His mercy,

II Corinthians 4:1

Rev. John S. Mahon

Grace Community Int

 

 

I. Thankful for your ministry of intercession
II. Our Goal: To Always Be Found Ministering The Word of God
III. Special Time In The Word And Prayer While On The Road
IV. Choose Me O My God
V. Prayer Requests
A. Joshua: Ask God to bless and preserve this young man and to maintain
that sensitivity in his heart to the Word of God as he matures.  Please
claim , Luke 2:40  "And the Child continued to grow and become strong,
increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him."

B. Nathan: Ask God to continue to move in his heart as he learns to
recognize and respond to those opportunities of service which the Lord of
the Harvest has prepared beforehand that he should walk in them - especially
as it pertains to personal witnessing.  Please claim Ephesians 2:10

C. Families: Ask the Lord to bless the teaching and preaching of the
holy, inerrant Word of God, particularly as it pertains to our Family
Discipleship Seminar.  Ask the Lord to use our ministry to bring to light
for families the standard of God from His holy, inerrant Word for Marriages,
Families and their ministries.  Please claim  Isaiah 55:11,  "So shall My
word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to me empty,
without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter
for which I sent it."  That our ministry and it's results would be clearly
from the effectual preaching and teaching of the holy, inerrant Word of God.

D. Ask God to continue to raise up men and women who will not only pray
but also give towards this ministry.  Particularly that we would be able to
supply pastors and ministers with the Word of God and with Bibles, Bible
study aids and Bible reference works so as to equip and enable their
teaching of the holy, inerrant Word of God.  Pray for the Lord to
miraculously provide Bibles, Bible study aids and Bible reference books for
us and the teams going to Africa this fall.  Please claim  Philippians 4:19
"And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in
Christ Jesus."

E. Please claim for our ministry...
1. That the Lord would by grace, choose us for the privilege of
spending and being spent in the harvest fields of the world - in His service
as His laborers.
2. That as such He would draw us near to Himself
3. That we would be found to be faithful both in integrity of our heart
and in the skill in which we teach and preach the holy, inerrant Word of God
4. Please claim...
a. Numbers 16:5  "and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying,
'Tomorrow morning the LORD will show who is His, and who is holy, and will
bring him near to Himself; even the one whom He will choose, He will bring
near to Himself.'"
b. Psalm 78:70-72  "He also chose David His servant, and took him from
the sheepfolds;  From the care of the ewes with suckling lambs He brought
him, to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance.  So he
shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them
with his skillful hands."

Dear Prayer Warriors,

I. Your Ministry of Intercession:
I am so thankful for your ministry of prayer and your co-laboring with me
through your prayers.  This has been a full two weeks of ministry on the
road and I praise God for your sustaining prayers as we travel to teach and
preach the Word of God.  II Corinthians 1:11 speaks of  "the favor bestowed
upon us through the prayers of many" and we are ever conscious of the fact
the impact of our ministry lies as much in your labors as in our own.  The
favor we seek is not worldly blessings or material acquisition but the
opportunity to preach and teach the Word of God coupled with the empowerment
of that same preaching and teaching.  We realize all to well that both of
these are spiritual blessings and we praise God for a faithful prayer team
which continues to both open doors and empower the Word of God as it is
taught and proclaimed in Houston, in Texas, in the Southwest and throughout
the world. 

II. Our Goal: To Always Be Found Ministering The Word of God:
It is our goal to always be ministering the Word of God, wherever His call
my find us.  This past week after presenting our ministry to Dr. McWilliams
home group a young boy of eight years of age came up and said he felt the
Lord was calling him to minister as a missionary.  I had issued no call, yet
here was this young boy.  I was privileged to talk with him and to pray with
him and his father.  A little later a couple came up and shared that they
were so touched by the need for French Bibles in Madagascar that they would
like to be used by God to supply Bible when we visit this country with Dr.
Mukolwe in the fall.  That next Sunday a young career man, Nathan, came
forward in the service asking to pray with me about my exhortations in the
areas of personal evangelism.  Again, what a great opportunity to pray with
men as they respond to the preaching and teaching of the holy inerrant Word
of God.  Later that day during the luncheon and young couple came up to sit
with us.  The husband, recently out of the US Marine Corps, shared a word of
testimony.  He said that as he reflected back on his youth he found his
life, and that of his family much different from others and that this had
been a significant factor in his growth and success.  He said that they had
shared with him that early in their family life they had attended our Family
Discipleship Seminar and so he wanted to take this opportunity to thank me.
This was repeated by a young family in the church who wanted to share with
me how the Family Discipleship Seminar had changed their family and impacted
their marriage.  What a joy and privilege it is to minister the Word of God
and see it's impact in the lives and families of those to whom it is
ministered.  As I departed a physician came up and asked if it was too late
to join Dr. McWilliams team to teach and preach God's holy, inerrant Word in
Kenya.  He had been moved by God during the message and wanted to sign up.
Truly the God the Holy Spirit speaks with authority when He teaches us in
Romans 10:17,  "Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God."  We
have seen this over and over again, the clearly preached Word of God,
empowered by your prayers, yielding faith decisions of service.   We do not
take this ministry lightly and realize all to well it is not of ourselves
but rather by the Grace of God and the effectual prayers of your our prayer
warriors.

III. Special Time In The Word And Prayer While On The Road As I minister I
often find myself in the car -whether driving at 5 a.m.
across town to my men's Bible study or across south Texas to speak to a
student ministry or across both Texas and Oklahoma to speak at a missions
conference - no matter, in these cases I seek to preoccupy my mind with the
Word of God and with praises to our Lord.  When seeking to preoccupy myself
with the Word of God I turn to Scripture Memory and Review.  In Joshua 1:8
God the Holy Spirit teaches us,  "This book of the law shall not depart from
your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be
careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make
your way prosperous, and then you will have success."  What rich times in
the Word are possible while driving if you have laid the foundation of a
sound Scripture Memory and Review program. 

Often though I find myself driving at night and in those times my heart
turns to praise and worship.  My sweet wife gave me a number of CD's filled
with the great hymns of praise and dedication and this has become one of my
favorite activities - to drive through the night worshiping God and
rededicating my life to His service.

Most recently a hymn that has been ministering to my heart is "Pass Me Not O
Gentle Savior"
This is one of the many hymns written by Francis Jane Crosby (1820 - 1915)
Francis Crosby was probably the most prolific hymnist in history. Though
blinded by an incompetent doctor at six weeks of age, she wrote over 8,000
hymns. About her blindness, she said:  "It seemed intended by the blessed
providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank Him for
the dispensation.  If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would
not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had
been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me."

Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior

Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.

Let me at Thy throne of mercy
Find a sweet relief,
Kneeling there in deep contrition;
Help my unbelief.

Thou the Spring of all my comfort,
More than life to me,
Whom have I on earth beside Thee?
Whom in Heav'n but Thee?

Refrain
Savior, Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.
IV. Choose Me O My God
It is all too clear to us that we minister by the grace of God and effectual
prayers of you our prayer warriors.  Our ministry is one based on being
"called" as opposed to being sent, our messages is purely and simply the
clear presentation of the holy, inerrant, written Word of God.  Without the
grace of God and the empowering prayers of you our prayer warriors, we
simply cannot minister.  Our prayer, our call to God is the same as those of
the men of old who called out to the Lord of the Harvest, and I too call out
to the same, immutable, Lord of the Harvest, "Choose Me O My God, Choose Me"
for your service, to spend and be spent for your eternal glory.

I have a section on this in my prayer notebook along with this hymn which I
often sing to God as a prayer of dedication.  It is entitled

Leadership: "Choose Me O My God"
And is followed by Numbers 16:5 and Psalm 78:70

Numbers 16:5  "and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, 'Tomorrow
morning the LORD will show who is His, and who is holy, and will bring him
near to Himself; even the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to
Himself.'"

Psalm 78:70-72  "He also chose David His servant, and took him from the
sheepfolds;  From the care of the ewes with suckling lambs He brought him,
to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance.  So he shepherded
them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them with his
skillful hands."

This is my prayer to the Lord of the Harvest.  That He would, by grace,
choose us for the privilege of spending and being spent in the harvest
fields of the world, in His service as His laborers.  That as such He would
draw us near to Himself and that we would be found to be faithful both in
the integrity of our heart and in the skill in which we teach and preach the
holy, inerrant Word of God.  It is my daily prayer, "Choose me O Lord,
choose me for labors in your harvest" -

"Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.

Thou the Spring of all my comfort,
More than life to me,
Whom have I on earth beside Thee?
Whom in Heav'n but Thee?"

It is an unspeakable privilege to teach and preach the holy, inerrant Word
of God.  It is an equally humbling privilege to be able to do this in the
harvest fields of the World.  This is what we have devoted ourselves to in
the last years of our ministry.  As long as God grants health, as long as He
grants the "Macedonian Call" as long as He grants the resources we will
devote ourselves to the preaching and teaching of the holy, inerrant Word of
God in the harvest fields of the Word.  But this is not of ourselves, we
have no control of any of the factors which have made and continue to make
this ministry possible - so we call to God, "Choose me O Lord, Choose me"

We minister by the Grace of God
And
By the effectual and empowering prayers of your our prayer warriors.

By His mercy,
II Corinthians 4:1
Rev. John S. Mahon
Grace Community Int.