It’s good to see everybody out this morning. Those statistics are pretty powerful, are they not? Pretty overwhelming. What’s going on in this world today. Today we’re going to be discussing the importance of missions and being able as a church to be God’s light, God’s salt in this earth, and so that’s what we’re going to be focusing on today. But before I get started I want to introduce … or dismiss not introduce, but dismiss the 10 and 11-year-olds to their class.
If you guys want to head back with Lincoln, he’ll take you back there and teach you a lesson. If you’re visiting with us today I just want to extend a welcome to you. I just want to thank you for being here and choosing to worship with us. We have a gift for you there at the front, hopefully you got one, but it just is a packet of who we are and what we’re all about. So if you’re visiting us today please feel free to grab one of those and we’ll be more than happy to answer any questions that you might have about our church and what we’re all about.
Basically that’s all about Jesus and that’s what we’re going to be talking about and discussing today. Mission Sundays, we’re titling it today in my sermon and on the heel of our short-term mission trips to India that we just finished in February, the end of February. We just wanted to come to you and present not only the details and the successes of our trip, but also provide you an opportunity as the church to give you some guidance and focus as far as what we want to do.
Why we think going beyond our walls here in Lehi and even out of the state of Utah and across the world, why that’s important. I want to provide you the biblical framework for that. The first thing that I’d want to do is discuss the three distinctives of a healthy church. Why it’s important and why for such a small church like this, why are we taking our talents and our time and our resources to go halfway across the world to try to make a difference for God’s kingdom.
I want to provide you the biblical framework for why we think that’s important. There’s three distinctives of a healthy church that the Bible provides for us. The first one is the upward focus. As a church we meet and hopefully you would agree with us that every Sunday we try to emphasize the fact that it’s so important for each and every one of us to have an upward focus. That each and every one of us need to have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ that He’s provided in His reconciliation work and substitutionary work on the cross.
That is a way in which we can be united with God, reconciled with God, have a relationship with God, be adopted into His family. Upward focus is extremely important of a healthy church. It’s an extremely important distinctive. Also, the second one is inward focus. After we have that upward focus emphasize, we want to begin to emphasize on our need for the body, the church body here to be in unity and to do life together, to bear one another’s burdens, all these things that the Bible calls us to do as a church.
We have an upward focus towards God and an inward focus toward one another, body of the church and then finally the outward focus. That’s what we’re going to be emphasizing and focusing on today. That’s the need to look beyond ourselves and beyond our walls and fulfill what Jesus commanded and that’s the great commission. The first one I want to focus on I think it’s good to be able to just briefly look at each one of these distinctives. The first one of course is upward focus.
I have here John 15:5. This is Jesus taking and He says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” Here we are. We have our savior Jesus Christ in His earthly ministry telling us in His word, captured by John that we are to abide in Him and we cannot do anything if we’re not abiding in Him. Apart from me ye can do nothing. There’s lots of things and outward works that we can do, but unless we’re abiding in Christ that’s all for naught.
It’s all for vain and that’s what Christ is telling us there in John 15:5. The upward focus is so key for us. We can’t lose that. In revelation chapter two John is again writing and Jesus gives him messages to give to seven churches. He tells John to write to the church of Ephesus and He says, “I see your works. You’re doing all these wonderful things. You’re calling out people that claim to be prophets and apostles and they’re not. You’re doing all these wonderful things, but you’ve left your first love.”
Which was coming to that church. That first love is that upward focus and abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s so important that we never lose focus of Him and the upward focus on that. Another author of Hebrews puts it very succinctly. I love this passage or scripture, Hebrews 12:1-3, and if you have your Bible this morning feel free to follow along. There should be a Bible in the back. If you can’t see it up there behind me, in the seat back there, there should be some Bibles for you if you’d like to follow along as well.
Verse one says in Hebrews chapter 12, “Therefore since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every encumbrance and a sin which easily entangles us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against himself so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Here it is the writer telling us that what we’re doing here, this Christian walk he’s putting it in terms of a race, and this race that we have is not a sprint. It’s a marathon in many instances. He gives us these keys to success here that we understand that this is walk of faith as he points to us this great cloud of witnesses, as he’s pointing back to chapter 11 where it’s listed all these people in God’s word who had trusted God in His promises and lists those out.
For this great cloud of witnesses, this walk of faith. He demonstrates that because of their faith, right? They achieve what God desired and they had relationship with God. He provides those witnesses for us to have this race and race this race with faith. It’s faith, and the key to that success and that endurance for this race is fixing our eyes on Jesus. The upward focus. For He is the author and perfecter of our faith. I taught this passage a few years ago in … 10 years ago, and well, I don’t think we’re there quite yet.
Probably about 10 years ago. It was probably one of my first sermons and so I used a baseball bat and I brought up one of the kids that was really good at sports, and I made him try to balance this baseball bat in the palm of his hand like this. I made him look at the base and that’s all he could look at and he couldn’t do it, right? Very talented athletic kid and he could not keep that bat balanced in the palm of his hand. Then I told him to try to keep it balanced but just keep looking around everywhere except for the bat.
Well, that didn’t go so well. I was thinking about doing it up here but I thought probably would break something, right? Then I had him put his eyes on the tip of the bat balancing in his hand. As long as he kept his eyes focused on the tip of the bat he could balance that bat. This is what this passage is calling us to keeping and fixing our eyes on Jesus. The upward focus is so important and I know today’s Mission Sunday and I’m spending a lot of time here on just the upward focus and not the outward focus, but this is foundational.
If we’re not keeping our focus on our Lord Jesus Christ we’re not giving Him the honor and glory due. We’re going to ultimately fall on our face because He’s the author and perfecter of our faith. We must keep our eyes on Jesus. The source for the church is upwardly focus, the well from which we draw on is Christ. I could take you all throughout the Bible about the source, of Christ being the source and His word and the truth for those things that we need to go to the well to draw from to keep our eyes on Jesus, but just for brevity’s sake I just want to keep us in John chapter 17 here.
This is the Lord’s high priestly prayer. This is just before He was to go and die on the cross. He prayed this prayer to the father. It’s an amazing chapter. I encourage all of you to spend some time there. You just see a connection in Jesus, demonstrated a love for His followers in this passage description, in His prayer to the father like none other. We see here in just these three instances of chapter 17, the source, the well from which we can draw from. That’s first Christ intercession as the great high priest.
He says there, “I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world but of those whom you have given me for they are yours.” Christ interceding for us. The book of Hebrews is just a wonderful book about how Jesus is the great high priest after the order of Melchizedek and He is forever at the right hand of the throne of God forever making an intercession for the saints. The priest in the Old Testament was man’s representative for God, right?
He would go to God on the people’s request, and so Jesus came into His … This is the story of the scripture that Jesus came into His creation as a spotless lamb of God. Took the penalty and payment for our sin and rose again. He ascended, which we celebrated last week, right? His resurrection. As the book of Hebrews demonstrates He’s forever making intercession for us after the order of Melchizedek. That is the source. Christ is the source. His intercession for us, and so the good news for us is that it’s not about our own merit any longer.
Those who are in Christ are given Christ righteousness and so we can, as the book of Hebrews says, boldly go before the throne of grace in our prayers, in our just need to be able to come to Him for rescue and redemption and all those things, we have an intercessor. Christ is our intercessor on the behalf that enabled that way, enabled us for us to be able to come boldly before God’s throne. The second thing that’s referenced here is John 17. Another source that we have been given, this beautiful, wonderful gift. This treasure. God’s word.
Christ said in His prayer to the father, “Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth.” We can have an intimate knowledge of who our God and creator is because He’s given us inspired words through His prophets and through His apostles. Written and codified for us so that we can know Him and have a special revelation of who He is and what He’s all about and what His plan of redemption is all about. It’s the gospel. It’s the good news that Jesus came for sinners and died for them and took their penalty so that we might have an eternity and be adopted under God’s family.
We have these sources from which we can draw from, Christ intercession as a high priest. The truth of God’s word that we can go to and trust in, and learn of Him and grow closer to Him because of that. The Holy Spirit is referenced again in the book of Hebrews that the word of God is the sword of the spirit. It’s what God the spirit uses to mold us and sanctify us, and set us apart for His purposes as we look into God’s truth and be transformed into the image of God. Then finally Christ atoning work on the cross.
John 17:9, “For their sakes I sanctify myself that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.” He’s about to go to the cross, and sanctify means to be set aside, to be set apart. He knows what’s coming and He’s about to set himself apart, to be the sacrifice for all who would believe and trust in His vicarious work on the cross. He did that so we could be sanctified, we could be set apart, for God’s purposes, for God’s intended purpose for man and the church. We can be set apart in His truth.
Christ, the truth of God’s word and His atoning sacrifice are the means, are the source, the well which we can draw from every day to be able to have and maintain our upward focus. If you do not abide in me you can do nothing. So important. So important that we keep our upward focus on the Christ and so a healthy church hopefully you would agree that that’s what we at least attempt to do here, right. Ultimately it’s about why we do the other things. Why we love one another and why we go out beyond these walls and go halfway across the world to India.
It’s because of what Christ has done on our account. One of my favorite scriptures is in 2nd Corinthians chapter five. The Apostle Paul wrote this, “For the love of Christ constrains us because we thus judge that if one died for all then all were dead and that He died for all. That they which live should no longer henceforth live under themselves, but unto Him which died for them and rose again.” Christ loved, the love of Christ constrains us or controls us.
We looked and we see this wonderful gift that is given to us and it’s an expression of His love towards us. As we ponder that and we look to that and we keep our focus on there, that’s the love that controls us. It’s no longer about doing a list of dos and don’ts, but this love that’s demonstrated by our God in the vicarious work of Jesus Christ. As we look to that and gaze to that, that controls us, that constrains us. That causes us to die to self and live for him. That causes us to no longer focus on self but look to the others, to others outside of us, which naturally flows into our inward focus as we become the believers God calls us.
Do not forsake the assembling of ourselves together as a manner of some is, but to assemble. This wonderful thing as gospel is proclaimed throughout the world and the message that if you by faith turn from your religious works or your good marriage or your good righteousness and trust in Jesus alone, in His righteousness that He’s provided for you in your behalf, if you turn from that and turn to Him, to God and the gospel and Jesus on the substitutionary death on the cross that you are saved. That you become adopted into His family. This family is called His church.
The Greek word for church is ecclesia. It’s the called out ones. People hear the gospel. They repent. They turn from whatever they were doing and they trust in Christ alone. The scriptures declare them to be added into Christ body which is the church in Ephesians and Colossians and many other places. As we’re called into this body, this universal body that’s all throughout the world and has been since Christ has come and died and begin in the day of Pentecost, the church, this universal body is expanding and growing.
But it’s represented here locally in churches such as Alpine and other churches throughout The Valley and all throughout the world. We’re a physical manifestation of this universal body, but Christ calls us to this physical manifestation and He calls us when He was on His earthly ministry ministering in John chapter 13 He says this, “A new commandment I give to you that you love on another even as I have loved you. That you also love one another.”
He says this, “By this, all men will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.” He says, “We’re called into this body, this physical manifestation of this universal church.” Christ declares to us the need to be able to express this love as we gaze on our upward focus toward the Lord and Christ and what He’s done for us. To express that horizontally to those around us and specifically here this inward focus, the church.
In Philippians chapter two Paul writes this, “Therefore if there’s any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the spirit, if any affection or compassion make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves. As followers of Christ it’s no longer about us.
It’s about a relationship and our upward focus through Christ and expressing that appreciation, that controlling love that constrains us, to express that horizontally to those around us and to those specifically in the church. With humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves. Do not merely look out for your own personal interest but also for the interest of others. Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus.”
It goes on to declare how Jesus’ humility was demonstrated on the cross as He stepped into His creation. Took upon the form of a servant, came with no sin as a spotless lamb of God yet voluntarily gave His life and endured the wrath of God and His punishment on sin for our behalf. He did not consider Himself. He looked forward to the time in which those who would trust in this wonderful gift that He’s given will be added into the church body. We see the importance of inward focus, right?
As we focus on the Lord, and as Jesus says, “By this the world will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” What better way to express the love of God as we express our love for one another because of what He’s done for us on our behalf. So important that we keep that inward focus, bear one another’s burdens it says in Galatians chapter six and two. We’re supposed to do life together, right? My wife always says, “You might be sick of me right now but you better get used to me because I’m going to be with you for eternity.”
Right? We’re to bear one another’s burdens, live life together. It’s not an accident that you’re here and you’re a part of this church. As a healthy church as this biblical framework is being shown to us it’s important to be involved. Not as a checklist, but as a means in which we can be a healthy expression of what God desires His church to be. Then finally we come to the outward focus. What we’re here and focusing on today and that’s the great commission. The famous passage for this is in Matthew 28:18-20.
It says this, “And Jesus came and spoke to them saying all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.” You know, when I first moved to Utah about eight years ago, I was putting in my application everywhere as probably many of you have as well. I got called for an interview in Salt Lake. I had my resume and I gave it to him and so he’s looking it over and we’re talking. He was a really nice guy, and he had noticed that my degree was from a Bible college and so I got a question in the job interview that I was not prepared for.
He said, “Can I ask you a question?” I’m like, “Sure.” I’m thinking it’s a telecom thing. He goes, “Where do you get your authority at?” I’m like, “What?” “Well, it says here you’ve got a degree in biblical counseling. Where’s authority from?” I immediately pointed him to this verse, Jesus gave me the authority because I’m in His church and He says, “Well that Matthew 28, that’s for the disciples.”
I said, “Well, if you continue to read the New Testament the apostles in Ephesians chapter two, the apostles and the prophets are the foundation and Jesus is the chief cornerstone on which the church is built. That’s where I get my authority from.” It’s just kind of interesting to see that, but this is the authority that He’s given us as the church and this is His command. The great commission that He’s provided for the church to look beyond ourselves and look beyond not only to take care of ourselves but then look beyond our walls.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. Baptizing them in the name of the father and the son and the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all that I command you and know I’m with you always even to the end of the age. That’s Christ’s command for our outward focus. Yes, we must always keep the upward focus. Without that if we lose sight of that we’ve left our first love. We need to repent and I always go back to that, right? The Christian walk is always a walk of faith and repentance.
We’re always wondering and we’re always trying to seek God’s … the power of the Holy Spirit to come back to what’s important and keep our focus on God, and demonstrating that love that He gave us by loving one another as a way in which we can witness to those around us, specifically, but then He asks us to go outwardly beyond the walls. Acts 1:8 says this, this is after Jesus’ resurrection. He’s just about ready to ascend into heaven and He says this, “But you will receive power when this Holy Spirit has come upon you.
You shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth.” What are we supposed to do with this power? The scripture has declared that those who believe and trust in Jesus Christ are then regenerated and the Holy spirit will become the temple of God and the Holy Spirit. God the spirit dwells inside the hearts of the believers and we’re given this power. What does Christ want us to do with this power?
You should be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria. Well, we don’t live in Jerusalem and Judea and all Samaria but we have our own Jerusalem, do we not? It’s in Lehi. This is where we live. This is where God’s called us all to be. I know that for a fact because you’re here and He desires us to be witnesses to our friends and our neighbors and our loved ones and demonstrate God’s love in our interactions with them and be able to witness to them, to share the wonderful news, the good news of the gospel.
Then Judea and Samaria, right? It gets bigger and bigger. Judea is our maybe Utah County or Utah. Samaria, the United States. He’s called this church of a couple of hundred people to fulfill this great commission but He’s given us power to do it. The power of the Holy Spirit. The source on which we can draw from, Christ intercession for us. The truth of the word of God and the power of the spirit working inside of us as He desires to demonstrate His glory to those around us and to demonstrate the gospel’s power.
I love this passage in 1st Thessalonians about this church that Paul in one of his missionary journeys established. He wrote this letter to them and it’s just an amazing thing. Says here in 1st Thessalonians 1:5, “For our gospel does not come to you in word only, but also in the power of the Holy Spirit and with full conviction just as you know what kind of men we prove to be among you for your sake.
You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit.” If you follow in Acts this missionary journey you’ll understand that the people that believed and trusted in the gospel after Paul preached endured some pretty serious tribulation because of what they decided to do in following Jesus. It says here that in spite of that tribulation they had much joy, why? Because of the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling with inside of them.
Verse seven goes on, “So that you may become an example to all believers in Macedonia and the Achaia, for the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything.” Here’s an apostle of Jesus Christ walking in a town and goes, “I have some good news for you.” They say, “Oh we already heard of it from this church down in Macedonia. We’ve already seen the power.
We’ve already seen it. It’s already spread.” Why? Because this church decided … saw the promises of God and decided by faith to step out and express this wonderful thing, even in the midst of tribulation they did this. They were witnesses because of what the Holy Spirit can do in the heart of each and every believer. For they themselves report of us, about us, what kind of reception we have with you and how you turn to God from idols, to serve a living and true God.
That’s the message of the gospel, and the message being worked out in the lives of everyone who hears it, everyone needs to be presented with the good news that Jesus died for our sin and that’s no religious work that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, that there’s none righteous, no not one. It’s those who understand that because of our need and the need that we could not personally pay back toward God that God intervene on our behalf, came into His creation.
Jesus the only begotten son of God, the lamb of God without a spot or blemish came and lived a perfect life, lived the law to its fullest. Fulfilled everything for us and then went to the cross to pay our sin that he did not sin but the sin that we had it’s called the great exchange. 2nd Corinthians talks about, “He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” It’s a gift. We can’t earn it. Grace is unmerited favor by God.
That’s the definition of grace. It’s unmerited. It’s because He loved us. He did that for us. That’s the wonderful good news. It’s not about what you can do or what you haven’t done or have done. It’s about what Christ has done. That’s the wonderful message of the gospel. The people that heard this message they turned from their idols and they turned to God to serve the living and true God and to wait for His son from heaven who He raised from the dead. That is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.
We have Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and then it goes on to say and even the remotest parts of the earth. You might ask, “Why India? Why halfway across the world? There’s so much need here in the United States. Why must we go all the way over to India and spend our precious resources and stuff?” It’s because we desire to live out the great commission as a church, but we also desire to live out this walk of faith that God has called us to.
We could probably pick something that’s a little easier to get to and a little easier to fund, and a little easier to interact with, but there’s no faith in that. If we settle for what we’re comfortable with it’s no longer a life of faith and we desire to model that, what God has called us to, this life of faith. Setting our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith and trusting that God will use this little body, this physical manifestation of His church here in Lehi to do work almost exactly halfway around the world.
We believe as we step out in faith as carers, and many of you have done for many years now through the One Love Ministry, that God in honored in that. He’s glorified in that. We desire that people in India will know the wonderful news of the gospel. That’s what it’s all about. It’s not just about humanitarian. It’s about setting the stage for God to do the work in the hearts of all those who we interact with in India. How do we interact in India?
One Love is ABC’s expression of our outward focus of a healthy church, but with the size of ABC being what it is and the relative infancy of our church, we’re under 10 years old, our focus needs to be both intentional and narrow, right? We can’t just do a shotgun approach and so we need to be intentional and narrow. One Love provides us the opportunity to do that in India. Then just as Jesus was relational, One Love is relational.
All of you have been … For many years many of you have been helping pack packets and suitcases and contributing money to this work which we’re desiring to do here in India. But beyond that it’s relational in India as well. I hope you get the chance to hear Kara’s story about how Joseph and herself … Joseph Thomas is a pastor that we’ve been supporting for many years through One Love over there in India.
He was on the brink of shutting down his ministry and getting a secular job, crying out to God, shutting down the school because he couldn’t afford to pay the teachers. Through God’s providential working Kara had met Joseph on her first and second trips to India, and through God’s providential working Kara committed to helping them through the One Love Ministry. That’s how it was created.
It’s just an amazing groundswell, just providential working with God how not only Kara and Joseph’s heart were in it together but now Joseph and his families heart are knitted together with us as ABC. I was kind of taken aback when I met Joseph when I went over to India at the end of February. He said, “I love Alpine Bible Church. Alpine Bible Church is my family.” Joseph is the hands and feet of ABC and my prayer is that all of you would meet Joseph one day, that we could get him here and his family.
But because we can’t do that just with a snap of the fingers, Shalom took many hours of footage in the video. He has provided us a clip today that you guys might see and maybe understand a little more of Joseph and who he is and let you know that he’s a part of our family here at ABC. So Shalom go ahead.
My name is Joseph, actually my real name is Srinivas, which the meaning of Srinivas is a god name, the name of Hindu god because I come from a Hindu background. My mother and my … My mother was a very strong Hindu. She had a long hair and she was devoted to her religion so much, so deeply. She used to go to the temple. She will wash the floors of the temple with her hair. My father had leprosy and because of this leprosy my father was so much disturbed. He never wants to spend time with me.
Whenever I used to come to my father to spend time with him he will chase me out. Every day he will go out to drink alcohol. If he don’t have money to drink alcohol he will sell out the things from my house. In the middle of the night my father knocked the door and he came with full drunk and he started kicking my mother. He started beating my mother. I was very, very small. Like child. I was like three and a half years or so at that time. My mother was screaming and she was asking for help.
She was shouting, “Please come and help somebody. Save our life.” I was sleeping in my bed so I heard that sound and I went outside and I asked people to come and help my mother but nobody came there. My mother was bleeding and I tried to save my mother. In 1982, one great man of God, Dr. M.A. Thomas, he visited our leper colony and I was playing that time on the street without any clothes because my father and mother was very poor. I had never been to school, never had good food to eat.
I was playing on the street of that leper colony. This man of God he saw me there and he had compassion on me. He thought that he will take me to that orphanage but my mother had the option to send me there. She said that if I send this child there I can even protect my son with these problems every day, what she see. One day she decided to take me to that orphanage. I asked my mother, “Where are we going?” She said that, “We are taking you to school for study.” But actually we are going to the orphanage.
She said that she’s going to buy some chocolate for me. I was so happy because in my house I never got chocolate. No ice cream, no chocolate. I don’t know what chocolate means also, but when my mother said, “I am going to get some chocolate for you,” I was so happy. She asked me to sit down on the stairs of that orphanage. A four-year-old boy I was sitting there and she said that, “Do not move from here. Don’t move unless I come.”
She went there to the market and within nine second or 10 second she disappeared from my eyes, but I was excited that she will come back with a lot of chocolate. I was so happy, but I waited for half an hour, one hour, then I waited for two hours, three hours. I didn’t get the chocolate. I still remember I slept on the stairs of that orphanage. She just lied to me. She never came back for 17 years and I was waiting every day for my mother to come. Somebody took me from the stairs and they put me on the bed.
I slept there. The next day morning again I started crying. I started asking question by myself, “Why this thing happen to me? Why my mother left me.” She never came back. I started missing my mother very badly. I never had chance to spend time with my father because he doesn’t want to spend time with me. I was so hurt. I was going through so much of pain, but very slowly I understood that if I stay here I will get a good life, in that orphanage. People in that orphanage they were very caring for me.
They started loving me and they send me to school. That was a turning point for my life. When I went to Sunday school somebody told me that Jesus loves you so much and he cares for you. I learned that Bible says that there is a plan for my life. God has plan for me. After my Bible college I went to my room, I started praying, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” Then God said that you have to go back to your own people, to the lepers who are rejected. There is no one to help them.
There is no one who care for them, so God said that you have to go back, help these lepers, care for them and raise more Joseph from that leper colony. In one month I used to share gospel with 37,000 students. 22 Hindi school they open their door for me. Every day eight o’clock to two o’clock I stay in public school, I share gospel. Last year Alpine Church was here in Faridabad. I took that team to one of the school. They had a very good ministry there.
In India, we have a big problem of child marriage, child labor, sex trafficking, even people sell their girls for little bit of money. So my fear is that it should not happen to this girls. When we came here we felt that these girls need someone who can care for these girls, who can love them, who can understand the way they think because we’ve grown up in that atmosphere as I started my ministry here. For the last two years I am here.
I got chance to bring so many leper colony girls here from the leper family, and we see hope in these girls. I teach them Bible. I teach them how to worship and we see ourself in them. We have 86 girls here. I know all the girls very well. What is good in them, what is bad in them, what is their weakness, what is good thing in their characters. We see a big dream about these girls that one day they should have a good life. We teach them to dream every day.
When I talk to these girls I tell them there is nothing wrong dreaming, you know? You have to dream a big dream, and we have a big God also who answers our prayer. I tell all the girls you have to tell all your dreams to God and God will bring someone to fulfill their dreams. You know, people come according to God’s plan. Like Alpine is an answer of my prayer, Alpine Church. We were praying. 16 years I prayed in my ministry life in the leper colony. 16 years.
After 16 years I got Alpine Church in my life. Alpine Church, I don’t have enough words to say like Alpine Church is one of our … It’s not a church. Alpine is my family, and because of my sister Kara I met her seven years ago and she have a big heart for children. The best part about Alpine Church is they fulfill all the promise. Moreover, they also have big heart for children. They have compassion.
They love our girls, and whenever they come here for last two years Alpine Church is coming here regularly, and they have done a great work here, bringing resources from the U.S. for these girls, supporting our girls and supporting our leper ministry. I met so many Americans. They never come and hug any lepers. They never touch their hands, but something different, you know, about Alpine is like they show the real character of Jesus through their life. When they come in the leper colony they go and hug these lepers.
They help them with medication. They provide food, and for last many years my sister Kara has supported me to help these lepers. Alpine Church is a great church. I love them. Today you see someone has impacted my life. When I was in the orphanage someone came to my life, you know? My sister Kara she ministering to my life, and because of her help I did so much, because of her help I impacted others to learn.
So if Alpine Church … if one family will support one child, these girls will impact some others to learn like me.
Amen. I have never met a man so full of the Holy Spirit in my life. We’re here to stand by Joseph. As One Love Ministry we want to support Joseph and what he’s doing, and not only Mason’s Place but the slum schools and the leprosy colonies. He expresses desire to expand those ministries. So because we’re a small church we need to be focused and intentional in our funds, and so by faith we’re going to let Joseph know that by faith we’re going to step out.
We’re going to depend on God to provide $500 a month for Joseph and ministry through One Love so that Joseph can have the resources necessary to continue to do what he’s doing in the slum schools and the orphanage and at Mason’s Place. He’s their pastor, right? He’s the director but he’s truly their pastor. We after much prayer and talking with Kara and members of the group, of the team, we’re going to stand by Joseph. Joseph is the hands and feet of Alpine Bible Church in India.
He’s allowing us to fulfill the great commission in the remote parts of the earth. We just want to ask you to pray to God and see if you will be part of that as we step out in faith to supply those funds for him and for his future and his future plans, and of course Mason’s Place. Hope Partners International has a website if you feel led to donate, to support, sponsor, that’s the word. Sponsor a girl, you can go to their website and do that as well.
But as far as One Love is concerned we want to stand behind Joseph and continue to support him in all that he’s doing in proclaiming the gospel there in India and Faridabad and Ajmer, and we’re going to other places.