Evangelizing in the darkest corners of the world

A 59-member team of young evangelists in Ethiopia that those of Tomoka Christian financially supported has returned to their home base after a month of mission work to dangerous Orthodox- and Muslim-dominated Ethiopian cities. Shelly Hilvety, their mentor in the capital city of Addis Ababa, recently threw a party for them all to celebrate their safe return. At the party, the young evangelists shared many victories with her — including healings and conversions of those they met, but also beatings and a failed poisoning attempt of team members by those dead-set against the gospel. Below are some details from Shelly.

Greetings from Addis Ababa. Just wanted to share with you what I know of the 59 young people who went to the countryside to cities to share the gospel in Ethiopia. In one month's time they shared with 9,964 people. Those who accepted Christ will be discipled by the host churches in those cities where the young people stayed. We still don't have a complete account of how many accepted Christ. In these cities, residents are mostly Orthodox and Muslim so the conversion rate will be lower than what we expect. But their job was to plant the seeds and God will bring the increase.

God's hand was completely upon this trip. In one city they cast out six demonic spirits. In another city many deaf people were healed and backsliders came back to Christ.

With all these victories came many persecutions. The water was bad, the food was not good and the sleeping conditions were not something that any of us would have accepted. Some had stones thrown at them. Others were told they would be killed if they shared the gospel, but they shared and no one was killed. One person was whipped and two were beaten by police in the jail. A whole team would have been poisoned if it hadn't been for a waitress telling them to order something else. This happens often when people try to share the gospel.

Upon their return, I bought three sheep for the celebration camp fire and they ate and ate and ate! But the food was not the blessing. The joy on their faces as they shared what had happened was amazing. God's glory was all over those young people. I had the chance to challenge them to continue to share the word in Addis Ababa and the villages. This work is God's work and He protected them all the way.

Thank you so much for allowing these young people to experience mission work in their own country. Thank you that your faithfulness to bless us financially, allowing for 9,964 people to hear the gospel message in one month’s time. Please keep these young people in your prayers because when victories come here, Satan in not very far behind trying to choke out the joys of all the work that was done.

Heads Up!

Anytime you are near a baseball field you might hear someone yell, "Heads up!" This announcement means that you have a split second to look up and locate a sphere hurtling at you with the velocity of a bullet shot out of a rifle. Quickly, you must make a decision to dodge it or attempt to catch it. Someone is in danger when "Heads up" is heard.

As a pastor serving our Lord Jesus Christ, part of my job is to yell "Heads up!" to what is happening spiritually and historically in our day. Take a moment to read the Apostle John's words around 90 A.D.

1 John 2:18-23
"Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also."

1 John 4:3
"but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world."

2 John 1:7
"Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist."

"Heads up" - John told us 2,000 years ago that we were in the last days. Then just where are we now? The spiritual showdown is near at hand. Now is the time to grow strong in the following areas:

• God's Spirit - Soak God into your pores
• God's Word - Soak God into your mind
• God's Love - Soak God into your heart

The church of Jesus is called to stand firm on both the humanity and deity of Jesus.

"Heads up" - Antichrists are everywhere. Be aware that those who do not believe that Jesus is the Christ is antichrist. Jesus is the anointed one sent from God to be our Savior. He was the sinless man, God in the flesh, who died to bring forgiveness to every person on earth who accepts the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross. Paul stated in Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

"Heads up" - The antichrist is coming. There is one man who will rise to power, be proclaimed as the savior of the world. He will be religious; pulling all religions into a one-world religion. He will create a one-world government. The only ones not accepted will be the true followers of Jesus. Those of us who are labeled as fanatics, even fools for beliefs such as:

• There is only one God, the creator of the universe. (Genesis 1:1)
• There is only one way to Heaven — through the blood of Jesus. (Acts 4:12)
• Jesus was born of a virgin. (Luke 1:34)
• Jesus rose from the dead. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)
• Jesus is returning for His people. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
• Jesus is God in human form. (Colossians 1:15)

We as Christ followers will have to anchor ourselves to Jesus, His Word, and His people for surely tough days are ahead. Days of persecution, loss of jobs, imprisonment, perhaps even death. All of these persecutions are going on in one form or another in nearly every nation in the world. The days of soft American Christianity have come to an end. The weak or half-hearted will not survive. Dig deep, fellow followers of Jesus. The last days are upon us.

"Heads up!"