Neighbor Prayer Update

“Not one of ALL God’s promises
to the house of Israel failed;
every one was fulfilled.”
(Joshua 21:45)

This passage is set in the context of Israel’s crossing into the promised land. But God’s fulfilled promises did not stop then and there. As God’s true “Israel” the followers of Jesus the Messiah (Rom. 9-11; Gal. 6:16; Eph. 2) have an even greater promised inheritance that is still being fulfilled. The promise to Abraham was that “all nations on earth would be blessed through you” (Gen. 12). We know that this ultimate blessing comes through Jesus. As disciples of Christ, our “promised land” is PEOPLE — the nations (Ps. 2). Lets continue to pray and work with expectancy that God is still at work fulfilling his promises to draw all nations to himself.

1. God is at work in a major gateway city in Asia amongst a large minority UPG. Tension remains high in this area, but tentmakers are there working and living in community with both majority and minority people. God has raised up at least four house fellowships amongst them in the past 6 months. Please pray for these tentmakers, that God will give them wisdom as they learn how to respond to the emotional responses to mutual mistrust among groups. May their respect and honor for all open hearts for the Truth.

2. Pray also that God will give them wisdom with the weekly groups with whom they meet. Some groups are made up of believers. Some are a blending of believers and pre-believers. Two of our groups have no believers…..YET.

3. A neighbor family in Jakarta (immigrants there from the M.E.) have been adjusting to life in a new city / country. They are searching for truth and open to dialogue about Scripture. This past weekend some believers were visiting them, staying in their home, and had great opportunity to share clearly about Isa al Masih. The neighbor family was receptive. Pray that God’s word and God’s truth sink in and take root, and that God’s Spirit will continue to draw this family to Himself. May they come to recognize Jesus as Messiah and Lord.

4.  We just received a great report from a Jesus Film team working in a creative location.   They are rejoicing about God’s work in two key areas:

• TEAM 1 — “Earlier this month, we showed the film in the home of the J family who had just returned  from an island  where they have lived in a transmigration camp for several years.  There are three children in the family, and one of them, named A, accepted Christ and has started attending services at our church.  PTL!
• TEAM 2 –  “In the face of much opposition, a 29-year-old woman named M has accepted Christ as her Savior after watching the JF.  At the present time we are disciplining her and she is learning to study the Bible.  Pray for her because discipleship for her means facing huge oppostion.”

5. Pray for ongoing preparations and logistics for a conference in Europe at the end of April. This event is designed to awaken and mobilize the church to respond in love to the many immigrant neighbors who are settling into cities all around the world. This is God’s plan to bring the nations to Himself, by bringing them into close proximity with His people — where the church exists. Pray that this conference and others like it will truly spark a strategic response from the church around the world. As you pray, ask yourself — “What am I doing to love neighbors in my community?” (Open your eyes for the harvest is ripe).

“…how true it is that God does not show favoritism,
but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.”
(Acts 10:34-35)

When the Apostle Peter spoke these words, in was in the context of divine appointment with Cornelius and his entire household (Acts 10), and realizing that had been at work in this sincere Gentile’s life, drawing him to Christ. God was not concerned about Cornelius’ religion, but was moved by his desire for right relationship. Peter simply had to obey God’s leading and reveal Truth (Christ) to Cornelius who readily accepted. Today, there are many “Corneliuses” around us (sincere Neighbors) who have just come through a period of fasting and prayer. Many are ripe and ready for the Gospel. Pray that God reveals these people to YOU and to those who are serving amongst neighbors.

This week, we also want to feature a video taped message from Carl Madeiras that challenges each of us to focus on relationship with Christ NOT religion. Watch and obey!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8840641224633551184

1. Requests from various colleagues serving in Singapore:

• Pray for N….and M….., a couple from Pakistan. We will have an opportunity to be with them several more times before they move to another city in the Middle East in December. We continue to look for opportunities to lift up Jesus. May they recognize Him as Messiah.
• Massoud has finally viewed the video testimonial! And Praise God, he was moved by the testimony and has contacted us because he wants to know more about Jesus! In fact, he has requested to attend church with us next Sunday and then visit with him in his home afterwards for more discussion! Please keep praying that nothing will stand in the way of this divine appointment next weekend. May the service and message next Sunday in church speak clearly to Massoud, and may our conversation afterwards draw Him closer to accepting and following Isa al Masih!
• Pray with us for our friends, E…. & A….. They are a young Malay couple. E’s father died recently, causing E to be more open to dialogue about spiritual things and Christ. His wife, A, is due to have a new baby soon. May these transitions and stresses of death and birth continue to create within them a desire to be in right relationship with God, and may they come to the realization that only Christ can do that for them.
• Lift up our Malay friend S___. She is currently serving a prison sentence for drug offenses, scheduled for release in November, but facing some real challenges. S will move back home with her parents, but their relationship is very strained. S also will return to her role as mother to her three young children ages 9, 8 and 7. S is divorced so much cope with raising these precious kids on her own. Pray that S will respond to an ongoing mentoring relationship with our colleague and through this relationship may S realize that Christ is the only answer for her past and future challenges.
• Now that Ramadan is over, A___ will try to resume language study with her neighbor friend K___. Pray that A will be quick to learn the language, that her relationship with K will be strengthened, and that K will be drawn to Christ in A’s life.

2. Pray today for team members serving in Indonesia:

• For quick acquisition of new language, culture and formation of deep relationships with the Indonesians….to understand the nuances of the new culture….find bridges to the Gospel…and meet men and women of peace.
• That their ongoing passport application and visa issues will be ironed out.

3. From coworkers in the Sealands: This week God has opened a door to neighbor community where there are no others making an effort to share Good News. The head of the village is very open. Pray for the family and community of Mr. T in the area of S-bi. Pray for wisdom and ability to continue the effort. (Could this be another Cornelius? Let’s pray so.)

4. From team members serving in a “gateway” city: I have learned the mother-tongue of a neighbor people group to almost a survival level. I will now be out of context for 3.5 months. Please pray that daily language study review will allow me to at least sustain my current level. Also lift up my many pre-belief friends whom I will not see for this period of time. My periodic phone calls and emails will not be enough. Rejoice with me that the Lord’s Spirit will continue to speak to their hearts as He was before I even met them.

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear….
The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail, …then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.
(Isaiah 58)

As you pray today (this week) for Neighbors who will be celebrating the end of Ramadan (Eid ul-Fitr), ask God to shine His light of mercy and love on them, bring spiritual healing to their lives and communities, give them the true joy of personal relationship with Christ and a share in their intended inheritance (promise) that He has for them (as spiritual sons and daughters of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob….).

Here are today’s Prayer Requests –

1. From colleagues serving in the Sealands: “We’ll be travelling across the island (and fighting traffic to do so) to be with friends at Idul Fitri. Pray for a good time of fellowship and sharing. May the love and joy of Christ be evident in our lives.” Even though this family will be celebrating with neighbors, their hearts will also be heavy due to an illness in their family. Their uncle was recently diagnosed with lung cancer that has spread to his bones. Ask God to give S & T peace of mind, knowing that their uncle’s life and health are in God’s loving hands.

2. From a MBB brother in Pakistan, requesting prayer for his nation (especially during this time of upheaval, political uncertainty, recent bombings, etc): “I bless God the Father in Christ, for His Grace, that He called me from The darkness into His Holy Light, during 1985, when the Divine Power of The Lord God just drew me to Him. I thank God that now He has shown me His Love for Christ, for the Gospel and the Spirit of Witness of Christ urges me to reach to my Neighbor brothers and sisters, that I may reach to them, like Paul of the New Testament. I offer all my life, my ability, my talents, all myself to the Gospel of Christ, so that I may preach Christ to Neighbors, with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. Please accept me as a fellow-worker to serve God and His people. Please pray that I can start door-to-door visits in this city and near-by places, correspondence service with Neighbors via e-mail reply and web sites. May our Lord God, fill me with His Divine Wisdom, with His Divine Holy Word and with the Courageous Strength of His Holy Spirit, so that I can obey the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus to the all nations, especially the Neighbors of Pakistan. Thanks that you pray for the Work of the Lord God in Pakistan and I offer my service for the same to glorify the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Remaining Faithful to the Call of God. Yours in Him — Khalid

3. From team members serving in a “gateway” city: I have learned the mother-tongue of a neighbor people group to almost a survival level. I will now be out of context for 3.5 months. Please pray that daily language study review will allow me to at least sustain my current level. Also lift up my many pre-belief friends whom I will not see for this period of time. My periodic phone calls and emails will not be enough. Rejoice with me that the Lord’s Spirit will continue to speak to their hearts as He was before I even met them.

4. Continue to live up our Iranian friend Massoud, who is currently very busy selling his products at a night bizaar. He is hoping that God will bless him with brisk sales. However, his late night selling and focus on business may be distracting him from the real purpose of Ramadan. He has thankfully acknowledged receiving the email with the VIDEO TESTIMONY but as of yet he has not indicated watching it. Pray that he WILL take the time to quiet himself and watch it, and in so doing will find that Isa al Masih truly is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”

5. Pray for Abigail who is serving as a dorm “mom” at a Christian boarding house in Quiapo, Philippines. Neighbor girls are sent to Manila from the provinces to study. Ask God to bless Abigail’s relationship with these girls. May they see a genuine love and Christlikeness in Abigail’s life and be drawn to Jesus through her.

6. From today’s “30-Days of Prayer” –  Pray for the 5 million Hindko-speaking people of Pakistan:

• that Hindko believers would overcome their fear of persecution .
• for additional believers willing to lovingly serve Hindko speakers through practical means.
• that God would reveal Himself through various means including dreams and visions among Hindko speakers.
• that Hindko speakers would have access to God’s Word in their own language through print, audio recordings, radio and the internet.
• http://www.30-days.net/muslims/muslims-in/asia-south-central/pakistans-hindko-speakers/

7. What is Eid ul-Fitr (or Id-Ul-Fitr) or in Malay Hari Raya Puasa and how should we pray?  Eid ul-Fitr is a three day Neighbor holiday that marks the end of Ramadan. Eid is Arabic for “festivity” and Fit means “to break the fast.” This is a very festive time of dressing up, visiting the homes of family and friends, sharing food and gifts, and community prayer celebrations. Pray for Neighbors that you know personally. And if you are invited to participate in their festivities, count it a great honour and a sign of their respect and friendship. This may be the open door for many to come to really know Isa al Masih through your life. If you are not fortunate to be invited to such a celebration, please pray for the many believers who will be that they will spread the light, life, love and joy of Christ.

Pass through, pass through the gates! Prepare the way for the people.
Build up, build up the highway! Remove the stones. Raise a banner for the nations.
The LORD has made proclamation to the ends of the earth:
“Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.’ “They will be called the Holy People,
the Redeemed of the LORD; and you will be called Sought After,
the City No Longer Deserted.”
(Isaiah 62:10-12)

Earlier in this passage from Isaiah 62, it says I have posted watchmen on your walls…they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest….” May we too be like watchmen who continually call on the Lord for the nations, so that many others will be called “Redeemed of the Lord!”

1. Intercede particularly for our Iranian friend, Massoud. He is very close to the Kingdom and is seeking a closer relationship with God. One of our colleagues has been meeting with him and Massoud is very open to dialogue about Christ and Scripture. This colleague will share a video testimony with Massoud this weekend about another Iranian who had a beautiful encounter with the Lord and was deeply loved and forgiven. Pray that the eyes of his heart will be opened to Jesus Christ as “the way, the truth and the life….” as he watches this video testimony. May this soon become Massoud’s testimony.

2. From the 30-Days of Prayer calendar, please pray for the people of Tunisia,

Arab Tunisian

particularly the 120,000 who reside in the city of Kairouan. Some believers in Kairouan are convinced that God has asked them to “raise a banner of praise” over this city, just as he called the worshippers to lead the march around Jericho. By His grace, they claim the promises of Isaiah 62 for their city. Pray through this text with Kairouan in mind.

3. Mark & Denise are developing a good relationship with a Malay couple who is very open to dialogue about Christ. Mark & Denise have been invited to attend a Hari Raya celebration with this couple’s family. Pray that they will have opportunity to share the Gospel and exalt Christ at this family gathering at the home of Murni.

4. Lift up Ahmad, who continues to suffer from diabetes, heart and kidney problems. He and his wife, Aida, run a canteen near a colleague’s office. These believers have been able to pray with Ahmad and have given him a Jesus Film in his language. Pray that Ahmad will watch the DVD and be drawn to seek physical and spiritual healing from Isa al Masih.

5. Joe & Kathy are serving in a gateway city in a creative access area, developing very good relationships with their language teacher and her extended family. Recently Joe & Kathy were able to attend a festive wedding and were very included as “part of the family.” Kathy has also been offered a full time teaching job at a school in this area. Pray that these open doors and developing friendships will lead to the salvation of many people in this family and in the communities beyond.

6. Stan and Tracy are serving as teachers in Indonesia in a predominately neighbor city and community. Every day they are awakened very early by the call to prayer from the many mosques that surround them, and are daily reminded during Ramadan for their own need to fast and pray for their neighbors. Ask God to give Stan and Tracy (and their two small children) a deepening sense of love and compassion for their neighbors that is constantly displayed in their actions and attitudes. May God send them men and women of peace who will become the catalysts for a church planting movement amongst these precious people.