“I am a servant of Christ to a foreign
nation for the unspeakable glory of life everlasting which is in Jesus Christ
our Lord.” – Patrick
nation for the unspeakable glory of life everlasting which is in Jesus Christ
our Lord.” – Patrick
“Call to me and I will show you great and
unsearchable things which you did not know.” Jeremiah 33:3
The river across the street from our home
in Siem Reap has a greenish hue to it. It’s the same dirty green that the
Chicago river maintains throughout the year, but nowhere near the kelly green
it took on at some point last week.As the holiday came and went, I wanted to
know what it was really about. Who is this St. Patrick? All I really know about
the holiday consists of green beer, shamrocks, parades and other
folk-lore…nothing of significance about this man. But as I studied this year, I
saw a man who is worthy of following, as he followed the example of Christ. A man whose testimony met me where i’ve been this month, and really spoke to me and challenged me.
in Siem Reap has a greenish hue to it. It’s the same dirty green that the
Chicago river maintains throughout the year, but nowhere near the kelly green
it took on at some point last week.As the holiday came and went, I wanted to
know what it was really about. Who is this St. Patrick? All I really know about
the holiday consists of green beer, shamrocks, parades and other
folk-lore…nothing of significance about this man. But as I studied this year, I
saw a man who is worthy of following, as he followed the example of Christ. A man whose testimony met me where i’ve been this month, and really spoke to me and challenged me.
Patrick wasn’t even Irish, he was born
around 390 AD as an Englishman who spoke
Latin and a bit of Welsh, to a family where his grandfather was pastor and his
father was a deacon. (let the similarities between he and i begin…) I also found out that he had
never been given the Saint status by the Roman Catholic Church…so he’s
technically not even St. Patrick – just Patrick. At the age of 16, Patrick was captured by
pirates, brought by boat to Ireland where he was sold into slavery. The man who
purchased him, entrusted him with the task of shepherding his sheep and
cattle.
around 390 AD as an Englishman who spoke
Latin and a bit of Welsh, to a family where his grandfather was pastor and his
father was a deacon. (let the similarities between he and i begin…) I also found out that he had
never been given the Saint status by the Roman Catholic Church…so he’s
technically not even St. Patrick – just Patrick. At the age of 16, Patrick was captured by
pirates, brought by boat to Ireland where he was sold into slavery. The man who
purchased him, entrusted him with the task of shepherding his sheep and
cattle.
Patrick rebelled against his Christian
upbringing as a teen, but in the lonely times shepherding (hmmm…more similarities…), he began to remember
the God of his youth, the God his father and grandfather spoke of, and
developed a very lively, passionate relationship with Jesus Christ. Prayer
became Patrick’s sanity and comfort in the long days of shepherding and of isolation.
upbringing as a teen, but in the lonely times shepherding (hmmm…more similarities…), he began to remember
the God of his youth, the God his father and grandfather spoke of, and
developed a very lively, passionate relationship with Jesus Christ. Prayer
became Patrick’s sanity and comfort in the long days of shepherding and of isolation.
In his early twenties, God spoke to Patrick
in a dream, telling him to flee his master, and that God had provided a ship
that would be waiting for Patrick. After fleeing the 200 miles without being
caught, Patrick found the boat, exactly as God had promised him. As it turns
out, in the providence of God, the sailors did not have food for the journey.
Patrick, in that moment prayed to the God of heaven, and within minutes, a herd
of pigs ran at the ship, providing the sailors with a full meal, as well as
food for the journey back to England.
in a dream, telling him to flee his master, and that God had provided a ship
that would be waiting for Patrick. After fleeing the 200 miles without being
caught, Patrick found the boat, exactly as God had promised him. As it turns
out, in the providence of God, the sailors did not have food for the journey.
Patrick, in that moment prayed to the God of heaven, and within minutes, a herd
of pigs ran at the ship, providing the sailors with a full meal, as well as
food for the journey back to England.
Upon returning home, Patrick attended
Seminary, was commissioned as a pastor. But the dreams continued. God spoke
again to Patrick commanding him to return back to Ireland where he would preach
the Word and plant churches for the pagans who lived there.
The Irish were “beyond redemption” in the
eyes of the Roman Catholic Church…and without going into detail, the lack of
organization, the bizarre practices, drunkenness, and brutality that was a
reality among the Irish made them beyond hope for anyone but our God.
eyes of the Roman Catholic Church…and without going into detail, the lack of
organization, the bizarre practices, drunkenness, and brutality that was a
reality among the Irish made them beyond hope for anyone but our God.
In response to his dream, Patrick sold
everything he owned, even land his father left for him as an inheritance, to
embark on his missionary journey to Ireland. He worked as a traveling
preacher, and was forced to pay large sums of money to various tribal leaders
to ensure he could travel safely through their lands and preach the gospel.
Patrick did his best to assimilate into the Irish culture, using and redeeming
some of it’s practices, while including things the irish were familiar with to teach them
(like using the clover to teach about the trinity.) Patrick would try to
convert the leaders of a community first, then would pray for the sick, cast
out demons, and preach scripture using both art and music. Once he had seen
enough converts, he would establish a church, appoint a pastor from one of the converts, and move on and
start again.
everything he owned, even land his father left for him as an inheritance, to
embark on his missionary journey to Ireland. He worked as a traveling
preacher, and was forced to pay large sums of money to various tribal leaders
to ensure he could travel safely through their lands and preach the gospel.
Patrick did his best to assimilate into the Irish culture, using and redeeming
some of it’s practices, while including things the irish were familiar with to teach them
(like using the clover to teach about the trinity.) Patrick would try to
convert the leaders of a community first, then would pray for the sick, cast
out demons, and preach scripture using both art and music. Once he had seen
enough converts, he would establish a church, appoint a pastor from one of the converts, and move on and
start again.
Patrick lived to be 77 years old, serving
the people that had originally enslaved him. In his life, he reached and
planted churches in 30 to 40 of the 150 tribes of Ireland, converted countless
thousands of people to be true worshipers of Christ, trained 1000+ pastors, and planted 700+ churches. It’s ironic, but the fruit he produced really
brought along with it a lot of opposition from the church. His new methods
surely, the church argued, were signs of insubordination and rebellion. Patrick, although not orthodox in his
methods of evangelism, was very orthodox in his theology and was radically
committed to things like Scripture and a Biblical view of God.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
So with countless numbers of similarities between this man we “celebrate” and say we remember on the 17th of March, i began wondering. What if I let Patrick’s life speak into my
own? What if I allowed God to speak to me through dreams? I can tell of several
experiences in this past week where the Lord has laid specific people on my
heart in exactly that manner (people here on the race, as well as people back
in the states.) As He lays them on my heart, he tells me what they need prayer
for. It’s also been exciting to watch emails fill my email inbox with the prayers of
people who tell me that the Lord was revealing the struggles of my heart to
them so they could pray for me. And they’ve been accurate. God does speak to
us, but I’m usually too busy talking to hear the soft, still voice of our Lord.
own? What if I allowed God to speak to me through dreams? I can tell of several
experiences in this past week where the Lord has laid specific people on my
heart in exactly that manner (people here on the race, as well as people back
in the states.) As He lays them on my heart, he tells me what they need prayer
for. It’s also been exciting to watch emails fill my email inbox with the prayers of
people who tell me that the Lord was revealing the struggles of my heart to
them so they could pray for me. And they’ve been accurate. God does speak to
us, but I’m usually too busy talking to hear the soft, still voice of our Lord.
What if I allowed myself to minister the
way the Lord directed in his Word, and was not concerned with public opinion?
I’m not saying I’m going to discredit the wisdom of others, or negate the truth
they speak into my life. But what if i could rid myself the fear of man that is so easily a
snare to prevent ministry and could trust in the sovereignty, the providence, and the comfort of YHWH? What if I didn’t set for myself the goals of
society, but the goals of the Kingdom of Christ – the Kingdom of Heaven? What
if I was willing to put myself into the midst of danger, danger I’d already
been carried through by the Lord, and entrusted him to carry me through it
again?
way the Lord directed in his Word, and was not concerned with public opinion?
I’m not saying I’m going to discredit the wisdom of others, or negate the truth
they speak into my life. But what if i could rid myself the fear of man that is so easily a
snare to prevent ministry and could trust in the sovereignty, the providence, and the comfort of YHWH? What if I didn’t set for myself the goals of
society, but the goals of the Kingdom of Christ – the Kingdom of Heaven? What
if I was willing to put myself into the midst of danger, danger I’d already
been carried through by the Lord, and entrusted him to carry me through it
again?
What if I let obedience to the voice of God
marked every step of my life? Could a whole nation, or many nations, be radically
turned upside down for Christ by that obedience? I absolutely believe that is
the only way a nation will be turned around for the Lord. So Lord, help me to
be obedient so that You can show the vastness of Your power through me.
marked every step of my life? Could a whole nation, or many nations, be radically
turned upside down for Christ by that obedience? I absolutely believe that is
the only way a nation will be turned around for the Lord. So Lord, help me to
be obedient so that You can show the vastness of Your power through me.
____________________
Prayer Requests:
Wisdom. Leadership
roles have kicked my tail this month and brought me to a deeper level of
brokenness and weakness than I’ve been to in a long time. That’s alright, but
pray that the Lord meets me and makes himself known in abundance to me in the
midst of brokenness and weakness.
roles have kicked my tail this month and brought me to a deeper level of
brokenness and weakness than I’ve been to in a long time. That’s alright, but
pray that the Lord meets me and makes himself known in abundance to me in the
midst of brokenness and weakness.
Cambodia has brought
with it a lot of distraction and inability to focus. As I’ve spoken with other
people on the team, and even on the squad as a whole, this month seems to be
bringing that. Pray that in my times of prayer, I have a singleness of thought,
focused on Christ. Pray that in my times in the Word, God would allow me to
find His heart on the pages I’m reading
with it a lot of distraction and inability to focus. As I’ve spoken with other
people on the team, and even on the squad as a whole, this month seems to be
bringing that. Pray that in my times of prayer, I have a singleness of thought,
focused on Christ. Pray that in my times in the Word, God would allow me to
find His heart on the pages I’m reading
Pray for the finances
of my brother Matt and my teammate and sister Anna. There is money out there
that the Lord owns that needs to be released so they can continue on this
journey of obedience. Pray that the hands that currently hold that money
release it to them.
of my brother Matt and my teammate and sister Anna. There is money out there
that the Lord owns that needs to be released so they can continue on this
journey of obedience. Pray that the hands that currently hold that money
release it to them.
The next two months. The guys from the squad will all be together next month in Chaing Mai, Thailand. We’ll be doing a few different things, but we’ve got our ministry all lined up. The girls were going to be doing prostitute ministry on the streets of Bangkok, but their ministry connection fell through…pray that the Lord opens doors so they’re exactly where they need to be. May will be a month where our team gets to choose our destination. As of right now, we are praying between prostitute ministry in one of two countries near Cambodia, or traveling a bit farther into a closed country to do homeless ministry. Be praying as we try to allow the Lord to direct our steps.
