The weblog of the Bunnells, missionaries serving in Romania on behalf of
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Intense Heat
The temperature in Buzau hit the 100 degree Fahrenheit mark today, as Southeast Europe is continuing in a heat wave. This afternoon when I was outside walking to pay monthly bills and run some other errands, I thought to myself, this weather feels like we're back in Texas. (Although I hear that this year the weather in Dallas has averaged cooler in June than we've been having here, strangely enough.)
I am praying for a cool down--not just for personal comfort, but for ministry reasons. With the campaign we've got coming up for ministry in parks and outdoor areas, to be successful, I think we need weather more like Romanians are accustomed to, or they just won't be outside where we want to do evangelism. The outdoor vendors today had given up because of the heat and gone home instead of staying to sell their wares on the street--and these people are dedicated sellers--I've never seen them close up shop in mid-day before.
Our team from the US is completing its preparations to come and minister with us here July 2-13, and we're asking for God's people who partner with us in ministry to join us in a special concert of prayer during this time, for Christ to use each person involved in the building of His church, and the penetration of the gates of hell.
The ministry will be one of evangelistic outreach, focused on children and youth, but also sharing the gospel one-on-one with many adults in the process. We'll have four Americans and four Christian Romanians joining Lili and me for the outreach ministry, and if the Lord opens the door, we'll minister with others from Calvary Chapel works elsewhere as well.
In our city, we minister in a place of deep spiritual darkness. Almost all of the city's inhabitants are under the veil of false religion that claims Christ's name but doesn't know Him, and the number of those practicing witchcraft for a living continues to increase, in every neighborhood. Sometimes, you can even sense in your soul the forces of evil prevalent as you walk the streets in this place and as spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly realms seek to intimidate and/or discourage the servants of the Most High with an oppression on our hearts that really can't be described--but if you've ever faced it, you know what I'm talking about already.
God used something last week at a Calvary Chapel Europe conference in Hungary to minister to me in that battle. He used a song as a witness to my heart to strengthen me in Him, so that the fear and discouragement could be taken away and I could stand strong in His strength in spite of my weakness. The song, which you may know, is How Great is Our God, and part of the first passage of it says this, in the English version: "He wraps Himself in light. The darkness tries to hide, and trembles at His voice--trembles at His voice"
Three different worship leaders during the week all "happened" to pick that song as one of the ones they led us in during worship services. And the third time, those words penetrated me in a way that changed my outlook, as I finally realized in my heart and mind something I should have been banking on all along. That is this: It is the spiritual forces of darkness that have reason to be afraid of Christians walking in the Spirit, not the other way around. Brought into the presence of the light, the darkness tries to hide and trembles in fear. But let the darkness try to hide from the light. It can't. When light shines, darkness dies. If you shine a light into a dark room, it ceases to be a dark room.
So as we begin this year's campaign, I will not walk in fear, and will try to encourage my colaborers to know that our God is great, and that He cannot be defeated. So as we are on His side, we have no need to fear, because we will never know defeat. Our enemy is stronger than we are, but He is indescribably weaker than the One who is in us, who calls us, and who will use us for His glory. The darkness of Buzau is trying to hide, but it can't, because the light is coming in greater force, and I believe we will see some of the elect of this city transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light when our campaign begins next week.
Jesus speaking to Paul in Acts 26: "I will save you from your own people, and from the nations, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes, turning them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they might receive forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me."
“And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men,but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” --Matthew 12:31
In the age of law, God the Father came to fallen mankind, and spoke to us through the law of Moses, declaring His righteous standards and defining holiness. But we, in our fallen state, were a race incapable of living up to the standards of the law. So Jesus, the second Person of the Trinity, came to earth to live a perfect life under the law and sacrifice Himself in our place, to give us God-pleasing righteousness that comes to us by faith in Him. Then Jesus ascended to heaven, sitting down at the Father's side, because His work of redemption had been completed. Then Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, just as He had promised. As the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, using the Word of God, now sounds God's final call to come to Him through faith in the Son, that whosoever believes may be saved. This call is sounded to everyone alive in some way or another. The same Jesus who told us that "God so loved the world" told us that the Spirit when He came would convict the world in regard to sin, righteousness, and judgment. To reject the Holy Spirit's final call and thus die without Christ's salvation, is to reject one's only chance at redemption and eternal life. Jesus told us that He offers forgiveness of "all manner of sin and blasphemy," but the one who dies having rejected the Spirit's offer on Christ's behalf has made forgiveness of his sins impossible. So anyone who dies without Christ will be eternally condemned. Some practical applications of this verse are in order for each individual's life. The first application is for the believer who has trusted Jesus Christ for salvation: Do not fear condemnation, and don't be afraid you might someday commit "the unpardonable sin." You have already passed from death unto life (John 5:24) and your Savior has declared that "every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven" you. No matter what you have done, you have not done something that can take your salvation away, because "all manner of sin" will be forgiven for His children. When you chose Christ, you made your decision not to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. For it was the Holy Spirit Who called you to salvation on Christ's behalf, and you responded rightly. Now you are saved, and eternally indwelled by the Spirit, who has promised, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” The second application is for those who have not yet trusted Christ for salvation: If you are sensing the Holy Spirit drawing you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved, you reject that message at your own peril. God has said His Spirit will not contend with you forever. There will come a time when it will be too late for you. That sense you feel in your heart that you have sinned against God and fail to meet His perfect standards -- that fear of what will happen when you die and face a holy God -- this is what the Bible describes as the conviction of the Holy Spirit. He pleads with you today not to reject Him. Believe what the Bible says about Jesus. Trust Jesus today, while there is still time, believing He died to be punished instead of you for your sins and rose to life again, and you will be forgiven for every sin you have ever committed. Because by accepting the Holy Spirit's invitation to trust Jesus, you will be choosing not to commit the only sin that cannot be forgiven.
We're back in Buzau now after a week in Hungary, where we went for the first time to the annual Foundations conference at Calvary Chapel Bible College Europe. It was a good time to worship God with Christians and missionaries from Romania, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Albania, The Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Austria, and a few other places.
You can listen to the teachings at the conference on their website here, and the page also has a link available for downloading video.
Several people emailed us or contacted us in other ways while we were gone, and we'll be returning those messages this week as we are able.
The new June 14 edition of our ministry newsletter Harul Domnului that will be emailed out to its readers tomorrow has been completed this evening, so I'm making it available here on the blog now. Hope that it will minister to you.
The newsletter contains, among other things, an article on our children's ministry opening doors to families, a look at why we're doing what we're doing in Romania, and our monthly prayer list.
The economy of Buzau is growing, and the city becoming more "westernized," as is shown by this link here, which tells about the construction taking place now of the city's first American-style shopping mall, which they expect to open in the first quarter of 2008. In the same part of the city, there is also a new suburban-American style neighborhood of individual-family homes and yards being built with wide streets and driveways for each home, as the wealthier ones among us want the town to look more like the Western world.
“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace…. “No rotten talk should come from your mouth, but only what is good for the building up of someone in need, in order to give grace to those who hear. And don't grieve God's Holy Spirit, who sealed you for the day of redemption.All bitterness, anger and wrath, insult and slander must be removed from you, along with all wickedness. And be kind and compassionate (tenderhearted) to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.” --from Ephesians 4
When I was growing up in America, I remember frequently hearing people in church praying something like this: "God, thank You for blessing us with a nation to live in where we have the freedom to worship openly." Sergey is a pastor friend of mine who grew up not being able to say prayers like that in the same time period. He is from the Ukraine, which was part of the old Soviet Union. For Sergey's young life, and even when he was grown and starting a family, practicing his faith was illegal. One night in a men's Bible study group while I was living in Pennsylvania, Sergey told us that while they were under communist tyranny, when they gathered together to fellowship, pray, worship, and study the word, the threat of the authorities' busting in to take them to prison was always very real.In order to gather together, they had to be able to trust one another, because the very safety of their families was at stake. Having come through that experience, Sergey was very sensitive to the need of the body of Christ to work together in sacrificial love for one another, and to remain unified. He shared with us a story he had personally known about from the book "Jesus Freaks," which tells of many modern-day martyrs. It was the story of a man who had been tortured in an effort to force him to tell the names of the congregation of believers so that they could all be imprisoned. But the man and his pastor, who was forced to watch the soldiers gouge his eyes out with a knife, stood strong and did not betray their brothers and sisters in Christ, even though they were having to pay the ultimate price. With his last words, he spoke praising the Lord Jesus, and they killed him. Sergey related this story to some of the men from our church that was disputing a lot of things at that time, and said we are in a time of peace and freedom, "when it's easy to be a Christian." Then he asked us, "If people in the church at a time like this are gossiping about one another and doing things behind each other's backs to hurt each other, what will it be like if the church comes under persecution?" When the body of Christ is operating as it should, there should be such love and unity that people defend one another, and always put others' needs ahead of their own, to the glory of God. There will be no self-centeredness. No tearing each other down with words. No competing with one another for position or prestige in the church. No envy, strife, or bitterness. And the members of the body will even be able to trust each other with their lives. Today, Sergey's comments are lingering in my thoughts again. Could today's free-country churches even withstand persecution? Do we love each other enough that we would be willing to truly sacrifice for each other if called upon to do so? Or are we so self-focused that we would turn on one another to protect ourselves? Sergey's point is a very good one, and ever since hearing it, I’ve tried to take Ephesians 4 more seriously than before. Maybe we need to put that entire chapter on a sign, and post it on the walls of our churches. Then, whenever human nature starts to supersede the leading of the Holy Spirit in our conversations at church, we can just point to the sign.
"He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all,how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" --Romans 8:32
A certain Hebrew Passover hymn repeats throughout a line that can be translated in English to mean, "It would have been enough." It begins by saying, "Lord, if all You had done was to take care of us in Egypt, it would have been enough." Then it moves on to, "Lord, if all You had done was to set us free from the bondage of Egypt, it would have been enough." Then, "Lord, if all You had done was to part the sea for us to escape Pharaoh's army, it would have been enough." It is, for good reason, a very long song, recounting the seemingly endless list of incidents throughout the centuries, where, time after time, God gave a great blessing to His people. Each time the blessing was unearned. Each time it was brought on by nothing but asking in faith. And each time, if God never blessed them again, He would still have done enough to prove Himself a faithful, good, loving, compassionate, powerful God who stands ready to move on His people's behalf. We who have been redeemed by Christ's great sacrifice on the cross can all the more say, "That would have been enough." No matter what happens to us in this life, salvation alone would be enough for Him to prove His infinite love for us. But our Father in heaven is not content to stop at delivering us from sin and death and hell, any more than He was content to deliver Israel from the clutches of Egypt and leave it at that. He longs to do so much more for His beloved. And the blessings to come are all the more easy for Him to provide, because He already paid the ultimate price--the price of watching His innocent Son die in our place. He also promises to give freely and richly all things to supply our needs and to shower us with blessings. Were we ever to take the hymn seriously, and actually try to count our many blessings, naming them one by one, we would find it a most daunting task. Impossible it would be to recount everything God has ever done for us. His mercies are new every morning. Constantly meeting our needs financially, materially, physically, and emotionally, He stands ready to protect, deliver, heal, and give most generously in every imaginable way. He answers prayers for our families. He provides wisdom for every situation and strength for every endeavor. He answers prayers about our jobs. He answers prayers said for friends, coworkers, classmates and others in need. He answers prayers for forgiveness, renewal, and revival. And the list could go on. And on. And on. The throne of grace is a fountain of blessing for the Lord's beloved that never runs dry. Our God takes sheer delight in our humbling ourselves, acknowledging our need, and asking of Him with simple faith that His answer is on the way, "while we are yet speaking." My brothers and sisters, whatever needs are weighing on your heart today, trust Him to give what is good, what is perfect, and what is best. Lay your needs at His feet in faith, and just watch in awe and wonder all that He will do. Further reflect on this topic by reading Psalm 103.
Please join us in prayer for God to reveal His perfect will on the “keys” to the city of Buzau and how and by what means He wants to reach this city.Pray for fresh vision and direction, as well as the grace to do as He wishes, moving our own plots and plans aside to follow His lead and give Him glory for all He does.
Pray for us to grow greater in love for the people in Buzau, who need Christ.
DaveBunnell Romania The Missionary's Day weblog-- Authored by Dave Bunnell. Dave and his family are missionaries for Calvary Chapel Garland (Texas) . View their Romanian ministry website here. This blog features exciting stories about what God is doing on the mission field, as well as reflections on the Bible and thoughts about walking with Christ.
You may use the email link by clicking on my name in the paragraph above to contact me about anything on this site, or any questions you have on matters of faith.
Sing to the Lord, praise His Name; proclaim His salvation day after day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens... Say among the nations, "The Lord reigns." --from Psalm 96
