When I think about our life as missionaries and what we’re trying to accomplish in the lives of others, I’ve always liked the concept of rewriting life stories. All kids are dropped into a story already underway. It may be a great story, but in many cases in Southeast Asia it’s a story of poverty and substance abuse and mental domination. Many of them are taught to worship the old gods—gods who crush all human potential.
The missionary calling is to break into the life of such a young person, exercise the authority of Jesus the King and offer them the possibility of having an entirely different life.
In outreach, we dip a pen in the blood of Jesus, and rewrite the beginning of a new life story for them.
It is breathtaking to see the changes Jesus can bring!
I want to tell you a story today about lives that are being rewritten in one village in Northern Thailand, along the border of Myanmar. But before I do that, I want to say thanks again to those of you, and you know who you are, who have faithfully stood beside us for many decades in financial, prayer, and moral support. These young lives would not have been reached without your initiative in supporting the development of such a ministry in Southeast Asia. I could not be more sincere.
Rewriting life stories is audacious work. It takes confidence in the Lord’s willingness to anoint human intervention. It takes boldness to drive into a territory where you are a stranger and to step out of the car and start engaging people, building new lifeline relationships. It requires that you truly believe that through the authority of Jesus you actually have the ability to change their life story.
Only bold people will ever get to use the true power to pull down strongholds and set young lives free.
In the words of Jesus, “The Violent Take it By Force.” To do the Lord’s mission, you have to be forceful.
I like that word audacity. It means, “having disregard for normal rules. Exercising extreme boldness, nerve, and gall to go against accepted convention.”
Society has lots of rules to teach us all how to behave. Most of them are probably positive. You really shouldn’t come in the house with your muddy shoes and it’s good to know when to wear a tie and when to wear shorts and a T-shirt. But sometimes the rules are just another way to keep us passive and in our place.
The devil knows how to use these rules.
Missions work is the attempt to rewrite the stories of other people’s lives. Even just to dare such a thing is in itself audacious. The manner in which it must be done is necessarily bold.
Modern missionaries are lectured to respect traditional cultures and the rules of the host society, both written and understood. “Enlightened” missionaries know that they shouldn’t disturb folklore beliefs, and that we must show respect for ancient religions that we may disagree with. Those religions are well woven into the cultures we are embedded in.
Some of this is common sense courtesy. There’s nothing nothing worse than a foreigner who is arrogant and acts like a jerk, disregarding the sensibilities and feelings of other people.
We would never tolerate disrespectful behavior from our team or any visitors. But even with all our delicacy and respect, there are certain lines that you simply must cross if you’re going to be any good to the Lord in doing his mission.
Our ministry partner, Somkiat Jakchee is from the Lahu tribe. He knows his people and he knows the crushing power under which they have suffered for hundreds of years as a result of being under the thumb of the ancient demon gods. The people live in fear of them and are constantly making sacrifices to them. The most common is to sacrifice is a chicken. In the West, the cost of the chicken is no big deal, but I have met families that have never eaten meat or might get to eat at once a year, yet they work for a month just to buy a bird that they will then kill and pour out to the gods. It’s heartbreaking to observe.
Everywhere we and our partners turn, we try to do good for the people. We bring food and clothing and try to help their children get a better education. In this video, I want to show you one village that was so broken that nothing could be done to help them until the gods were confronted.
The shrine on top of this village was dedicated to the gods. Before any meaningful work could be done, these idols had to be removed and the building cleansed and repurposed as a community center and place of worship to the creator of all things.
The old gods were hauled out, the structure was modified, cleansed, and dedicated as a place of worship to the Creator. In our context, this is not something you take a lot of pictures about. You do it discreetly but forcefully.
After nine years of intervention, there are clear signs of transformation in this place. New life has begun.
I really believe in the power of ongoing systems. The weekly systematic nurture of new life in this village was just as essential as the daily care of a garden in the summer. But in order for these systems of nurture to work, you have to break ground, and breaking ground is a violent act. This is a victory story, and I wanted to share it with you.
I shot this video last week on site when we took a Lee University global perspective team to visit the village, pray for those people who came forward asking for prayer and to spend the afternoon playing with the children. It was a wonderful time for all of them.
For us it was a time of celebration for sharing what nine years of faithful spiritual warfare has accomplished. Yes, it needed to be combined with practical assistance like bringing a clean water source, job skills, and establishing a preschool program but none of it would have succeeded without the bold spiritual warfare of entering a village and physically removing the idol shrine on top of the hill and the influence of pagan priesthood over the people.
These outreaches matter! Please join our 45-day sprint to raise $45,000 for a year of outreach in the lives of children and young people.
The fight for this generation is not primarily political, economic, or social — it is spiritual. And spiritual battles require spiritual weapons. Emerge Missions deploys workers into the 10/40 Window not simply to meet physical needs, but to bring the transforming power of Jesus Christ to young people whose identity, hope, and future are under direct attack.
Every prayer prayed, every dollar given, and every worker sent is an act of spiritual warfare on behalf of a generation that desperately needs someone to fight for them.
To donate to the Summer Freedom Fund, just click the donate button or scan the QR code below.
When you click the page, you’ll see the thermometer is at zero right now. Please help us move toward our 45,000 at the end of this sprint. Thanks so much!
Every blessing!
Chuck and Sherry
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.