M300 Ministries - Home of the Mighty Warriors - Open Letter to M300 Valiant Warriors

Tuesday, 07 September 2010

AN OPEN LETTER TO M300 VALIANT WARRIORS

Serving our Lord in the hardest to reach places on earth.

Late last year I was headed on a mission trip and at an airport connection I came across this precious little girl who had placed her whole self in the "carry on" baggage measuring device. At the time I thought that it was a cute photo and asked her mom if I could take the photo. Her mom agreed that I could take the innocent childhood photo. Now nearly a year later I reflect back on this photo and I see a message from God. On airplanes we have to follow airline packing instructions and weight limits or pay heavy penalties. We also have to follow particular rules when it comes to "carry on baggage". The standing rule is that the bag has to fit size restriction requirements and safety requirements and be limited to just one bag. Yet in our personal lives and our lives in Christ we often over burden ourselves with heavy luggage and we pay stiff penalties in our lives for this. Even after we have followed the instructions of Jesus to "cast our burdens upon Him", we more often than not keep a "carry on" bag of burdens for ourselves. This little girl is the perfect illustration of what we who are in the Lord should do when following Jesus' instruction on casting our burdens upon Him who is meek and lowly. Just as this little girl positioned herself inside of this carry on baggage measuring device so should we position ourselves before the Lord our God saying, "Here I am Lord, all of me for all of you. Lord I give you myself and all of my burdens". We get into this "carry on baggage measuring device" most easily by fasting prayers which touch the very heart of God. Read Isaiah 58 about what God sees as True Fasting.

I along with some others are in fasting prayers for this entire month of September. We appreciate all of you who entered into fasting prayers with us for the first three days of this month and some of you have reported how the Lord blessed your gatherings with a strong anointing and His powerful presence. Yet others we have not heard back from you as of yet. Some of you expressed a desire or leading to continue fasting for the entire month of September so with those of you who had that leading we continue the balance of the month in a Daniel fast. We are seeking God's face in fasting prayers for "change". We need change in the resource level of M300 Ministries and we are asking the Lord to consider our faithfulness to His calling and those that He has gathered to us in order to bless all that our hands come into contact with that it might produce glory for His name. I know that many of you are walking in great sacrifices for the Lord as you preach Jesus serving the orphans and the widows. We share in this with you and we make known to you that we as well walk as living sacrifices unto the Lord and His people. Few are givers to the things of the Lord in these latter days so we find great challenge in being able to help you all many times in economic ways, yet at times we are able to help economically, yet at other times we help in prayer, fellowship, fasting and friendship in the Lord. Which is greater the former or the latter? We think we see so much wisdom in God's design to have us partnered together in the strong bonds of fellowship and suffering with the always living intention to be of help when the Lord enables. We ask therefore that you pray for the Lord to work His will as He pleases in our lives and in yours so that we might be found faithful and obedient to His leading.

I want to share a word with each of you about "faith". I was reading with great interest the story of Jesus and Peter when Jesus told Peter that Satan had desired to sift him like wheat and that Jesus himself has prayed for him that his faith would not fail him. The question arose in my heart and mind as to whether a man's faith can fail him? I am not sure what you think of this? Can a man's faith fail him? Sometimes it feels like my faith may indeed fail me. I share this not so that you will find doubt or fault in me but that you might consider your own walk in the Lord and your own faith. I stand here today as a man who was given a vision by the Lord as "one called to serve in the trenches as a cornerstone to a new thing that the Lord is doing in the earth." I was told that a "cornerstone" has to be tested and tried so that it will not fail under pressure. The Lord told me that if the cornerstone fails then the foundation fails and if the foundation fails then the wall fails and if the wall fails then the roof falls in. The Lord was clear in saying that testing and trials were part of the process of being found tried and tested before the Lord. Today I can speak two years into this time of testing and trials to say that testing and trials can hurt and sometimes to the point of the "fleeting thought" that perhaps "a man's faith can indeed fail him". I want to know your thoughts on this and I want your prayers that my faith will not fail me. I ask the Chief Cornerstone to help me in this hour of need and testing so that His house and His glory be forever lifted up and exalted. Has your faith been tested like this? Have you seen death face to face? Have you walked fully where few men have considered even going? Have you had your life threatened and your needs go unmet for a season? Did your fail ever fail you? Jesus told Peter that after he had returned that he was to encourage his brothers. If you have any word of encouragement for me in the Lord then send it along to me. Faith is a power from the Lord that we walk in to do His bidding. He has taught that faith in action is what He can most easily bless. He has told me, "I don't reward the kind of faith that won't move for me". The Lord put His own faith into action on the cross of Calvary for all of us. He was the cornerstone rejected by the builders that became the "chief cornerstone" or "keystone". God is working a work in all of us and He told me two years ago that in this new addition to what He is doing in our latter days that I would not be the only cornerstone but that God already had others who were in different corners of the world who were also cornerstones being tested tried and made ready to be of use. Who would have guessed that He would ask us to be cornerstones because after the building is built no one sees the cornerstones. God said these very cornerstones are hand selected by me and they must be tried and tested so that when I build my house they will not fail. I have alluded to some of this if you have read the M300 Ministries website but it is today that I wanted to share this more clearly with each of you. We are not a ministry with great reserves of funds or great support in terms of finances yet we have the Lord on our side and He is the master builder, architect and engineer of His own house. He has called many of us to suffer, endure and stand firm under great pressure. Some days my chest heaves with the pressure. Other days I rejoice in it. Then yet other days I shed so many tears as I walk out this calling. Some days I feel like I want to run away but there is no running from God's calling upon our lives. I mean where could we run or where could we hide from the Lord's call? God knows that He will not cause us to suffer more than we can handle and that He alone is our source for all of our daily needs. I am greatly encouraged when some of you tell me that you had a need for example with a sick orphan and you sold your table and chairs to pay the medical bill. Or you walked 8 hours to get to the internet to answer a email about your ministry and to send us a report. I am greatly encouraged when some of you walked away from your former lives to fully serve the Lord. Indeed we are gathered into a Mighty Band of Warriors for the Lord of host. Since He is for us let us not be dismayed at the times of trouble that want to stand in our way. If we are poor then we are poor in the Lord. If we are rich then we are rich in the Lord. If we are alive then we are alive in the Lord and if we die then we die in the Lord. The matter of this being that we are His, He is ours and we do not waiver in the face of daunting challenges and needs because He who went before us was able and said that those of us who are in Him will do greater works than he did if we will just believe. With this being said let us commit to pray for each other and to lift each other up in the Lord for this is greatly pleasing to the Lord from where our help comes from.

I pray for you, for your family, for your ministry, for those who are with you, those that Lord will bring to stand with you, for the orphans and widows that you serve and ....that your faith will not fail you for we serve an awesome God who stands with us, for us, in us and through us to bless His creation with grace and mercy until His day of coming and reckoning. He indeed is Able. Praise the Lord who loves to rescue. Give all honor and praise to Him. Lift up your hands in worship and magnify His name. Bless His name and stand with His people. Honor the Lord in all that you do and He will bless your days upon this earth. He is Able.