Doing Work, Work for the Lord

 

This past Sunday I was able to give a sermon over The Great Commission, Matthew 28:16-20.  I have now talked people to sleep in 3 languages (English, Spanish, and now Portuguese).  Seriously.  The worst part about that truth is the first person to ever fall asleep in my sermons was my brother, .  LOL, They say family will let you know the truth.  However, I hope the Lord will bless the purpose of the sermon.  I tried to focus on application regarding the process of Going and Making Disciples.  If you could see all these apartment buildings, how they roll across the hills in waves that are unending, then you might have the daunting feeling ‘how can I reach all these Portuguese.’  The truth is I can’t.  However, I am not going to throw Jesus in a box and say He can’t.  So my hope in the sermon was the listeners would get the church planting mojo.  Having a 100 national-born missionaries going around Vila Nova de Gaia and trying to plant churches is my vision. 

Dream big people, pray bigger than my dreams. 

LOL, I know some people want to read this blog and see all the wonderful results we are having in spreading the gospel.  You want to hear about long lines of people heading into the water for baptisms.  You want to use a calculator to decipher all the spiritual numbers I am throwing on this blog. People, it’s not happening at this moment.  It’s a spiritual struggle.  That is why I am begging for prayer. 

So this blog is going to be short, and I think it’s pretty simple.  My holiday request from you is to pray specifically for Danielle’s and my ministries.  Pray that we can form more relationships.  Pray that the Lord will give the church in Gaia a unique heart to spread His message.  It can be discouraging to work for an entire year and not see much fruit from your labors.  A guy named William Carry was the first Baptist Missionary sent out.  He toiled for 7 years in India before someone believed the gospel.  I can’t imagine the difficulties that man must have endured, the loneliness, the frustrations.  I do know this, The Great Commission ends with a promise from Jesus. So however small my work might seem, however small the spiritual numbers I am able to present, I believe there is a purpose.  I hope you ladies and gentlemen will share with me in this work by praying.