|
Monthly Missions Message
"Discerning God's Will"
October 2002
Have you ever considered that discerning God’s will is as
much an art as it is a science.
Without sharing three points and a poem, let me try to explain.
You see, God can reveal His will to us by any means that He desires, but
the Scripture tells us that He speaks through His Spirit in a still, small
voice. I don’t know about you,
but with all the “voices” in my head, sometimes it is difficult to discern
the Voice of God.
Now before you call the psychiatrist to have me re-evaluated, you know
that there are all kinds of distractions in this world that can take our focus
off God. These distractions are the
other voices. When attempting to
discern God’s will, we must find the balance between using the brain that God
gave us to follow His leading and becoming so pragmatic in our decisions that we
never consult the Spirit of God in prayer.
Not having been to the
Philippines
since the summer of 1993, we felt that we were not able to pinpoint an exact
location for our church planting ministry.
It is very difficult to get a true picture of an area when it is based
wholly upon books and web-sites. So
our first priority has been to visit several potential locations for church
planting.
In the past three weeks, we have visited twelve different cities, all
which are in need of new churches. Two
of these cities, Lucena and Legazpi,
seemed to have the greatest need. Lucena
has a population of over 200,000 people, of which there are about 500 Baptists
and less than 4% evangelized. In Legazpi,
there seems to be an even greater need. Legazpi
is the most prominent city in the Bicol region of
the
Philippines
, and yet it has only one Baptist church and one Bible church.
Facts and figures about population density, socio-economic
profiles, demographics, and such comprise the scientific end of our search for
God’s will—we want to take the message where the message is not being heard.
But the artistry of discerning God’s will is much more difficult for
me. At times, I wish God would
simply give me a “pillar of fire” to follow.
Each time we entered a
new city
to explore its possibilities, I would pray, “God, if this is where you want
us to serve you, please reveal Your will to me and
give me peace in our decision.” As
we drove into Legazpi last Friday night, I had a
strange sensation that swept over me. It
was as if I knew that I was home!
Logistically speaking, Legazpi is an excellent
target for a new church planting movement.
It is the capital of the Albay province, as
well as the capital of the Bicol Region.
The people all speak the national language—Tagalog.
It is a large enough city to have large super-markets and American
fast-food. This will help keep us
all happy! But most of all, it is
where God spoke to my heart in a still, small voice, saying, “Your home!”
“Be careful for nothing; but in
everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known unto God. And the peace
of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep
your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7
For More Information Contact:
BMAA Missions in the Philippines
PO Box 30910, Little Rock, Arkansas 72260-0016 USA
Tel: 501-455-4977
FAX: 501-455-3636
Internet: www.bmaam.com
E-mail:
wade@filipinomissions.org
| 
