September, 1998

Dearest Child of God,

May the riches of our wonderful heavenly Father’s love permeate your heart and life on this day He has given you to live for Him. How thrilling it is to know that God loves each of us unconditionally and that all His promises to us are "Yes!" in Christ. What a joy it is to consider each day an adventure in lighting up a world floundering in darkness, and to know that our Lord Jesus Christ is absolutely going to come for us, rescue us and reward us for our good works.

In this newsletter, you will find information about our first annual Christian Leadership Conference November 13-15 here in Indianapolis. We are very excited about this, and we heartily encourage you to consider attending or helping some representatives of your local fellowship to attend. Nothing happens without leadership , and it must be available to "do it right." At the very least, we intend to give it our best shot.

You will also find information about the Fall Fellowship in Charlotte, North Carolina. Our theme at the New Jersey Weekend in August was Walking In The Light  (tapes are now available and a description of them is enclosed). As a follow up to what happened in New Jersey, our theme for the Fall Fellowship in Charlotte will be Let Your Light Shine , with the theme verse being Matthew 5:16. We hope you will come and be a part of this time of inspiration and edification.

We love you with all our hearts.

Proud to be on the winning team with you,

John,

John & Jenivee

Mark and Karen Anne

In what follows, we want to elaborate on the idea of reaching out to others by speaking  the truth in love. God’s Word makes it plain that to love  is to give . We believe that it is also clear that to give  is to live . Jesus Christ is our supreme example of self-sacrifice for the sake of giving to others. As we point people to Him by our words and works, we give them the same thing He gave them—life.  The following exhortation by Paul to the Thessalonians includes all these truths, and more.

13. But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
14. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
16. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope,
17. encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

Allow us to focus for a while on the "word" aspect of our two-fold witness of words and works. How motivating it should be to us to realize that each of us can open his mouth and speak to another person words he can believe and in that moment of time be born into the family of God and guaranteed a parking place in Paradise. Another inspiring thought is that nearly every human is a potential "customer." In other words, you have within you the potential to make a difference in the life of almost everyone you meet by the words you speak to him.

In the 20^th Century, World Wars I & II stand out as black marks in the history of mankind. We must realize that each day we wake up in the middle of "Word War V" (based upon the biblical truth that we are currently living in the Administration of the Grace of God, also known as the Administration of the Secret, which is the fifth administration chronologically). Adam and Eve lost Word War I. Everyone on the earth except Noah and his family lost Word War II. Now we are engaged in Word War V, and the difference is that we are assured of the ultimate victory. Why? Because of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!!! It is that simple truth that should be the basis of our boldness to proclaim God’s Word at every opportunity we have, many of which we can make  by our aggressive obedience to our Lord.

Would you say that the Devil is bold in his promotion of lies that contradict the truth of God’s Word? Stop and think for a few moments about His relentless, persuasive, appealing, far-reaching assault on the Word of God that he began in Genesis 3. Satan is using every conceivable means to infiltrate the minds of men with every lie he can. In enumerating these, we can begin by citing the non-Christian religions of the world, such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, et al . Think how many hundreds of millions (if not billions) of people are deceived by the words that frame these lies. Then toss in the whole New Age movement, which is actually a religion for those who don’t want to be "religious." Think about how boldly and loudly the proponents of these deceptions hawk their wares.

Then think about the deceptions that abound in Christendom, and think about how many Christians Satan is tricking into speaking his lies for him, lies that definitely detract from the quality of individual believer’s lives, as well as from their ability to witness God’s love to others.

What do you think each of us should do about the whole situation? Would not the basic exhortation of the angel of the Lord as spoken in Acts 5:20 be appropriate? "Go, stand and tell the people the full message of this new life." In Word War V, our weapons are the words of truth, the sword of the spirit. It is up to each of us to decide to wield this formidable sword by choosing to speak the truth in love to person after person. Scripture makes it clear that it is the Word of God spoken boldly on lips of faith that at least dilutes, and often renders inoperable, the power of the Enemy. Hebrews 12 refers to God’s originally speaking the Ten Commandments from the top of Mt. Sinai and how "His voice shook the earth." Jesus Christ always spoke the words His Father gave Him to speak, and thus His voice also shook the earth. Now you and we  comprise the Body of Christ, but only if we choose to speak the truth in love will the voice of God once again shake the earth.

In the New Testament, the Greek word parrhesia  is the word most often translated as "boldness." It almost always refers to boldness of speech , and its usage in the Greek literature of the time indicates an emphasis upon the right of a Greek citizen to freedom of speech. Linguistically, parrhesia  is made up of two words that mean "all"  and "to speak."  We suggest that a good definition of "boldness" is to say what  needs to be said, when  it needs to be said, how  it needs to be said, to whom  it needs to be said. If you study this word for yourself, you will see that it is inextricably linked to and based upon the RESURRECTION of Jesus Christ. Allow us to set forth just a few of the uses of this wonderful word and some of the corollary truths accompanying it.

The first time this word is used in reference to Jesus Christ is in Mark 8:32, where it says that Jesus spoke "boldly" about His death and RESURRECTION that he had just mentioned for the first time in the previous verse. Then you can find parrhesia  in Acts 2:29, as Peter "boldly" speaks on Pentecost. It sits exactly in the middle of seven verses on either side of it that trumpet the truth of Christ’s resurrection.

We also find parrhesia  in Acts 4:13, 29 & 31 as it describes the boldness of Peter and John in speaking the truth about the RESURRECTION of Christ despite the opposition from the Jewish religious leaders. It was their boldness in speaking the Word that allowed God to boldly back it up with signs, miracles and wonders. Acts 13:46; 14:3; 18:26 and 19:8 are other sterling examples of this same truth. It would be well worth your while to look at them.

Now consider the following verse:

The "horizontal" boldness each of us manifests to people is directly proportional to our "vertical" boldness toward God and the Lord Jesus (1 Thess. 2:1-4 and 1 John 2:28; 3:21; 4:17; 5:14 elaborate upon this truth). Deeper intimacy with Christ and greater security in Him results in us being more bold toward others and more willing to risk their rejection in order to reach them with the Gospel. We assert that the boldness we each manifest in pressing into the heart of our Lord is directly proportional to our understanding of "The Secret" and who we are in Christ.  The following verses are taken from one of the most important sections of Scripture about "The Secret."

8. Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
9. and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery [Secret], which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.
10. His intent was that now, through the church, [Holy, smoke, that’s us ] the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,
11. according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
12. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom [parrhesia ] and confidence.

It is by our being bold to live the truth and to speak it in love that we will make known to the Enemy the infinitely diversified wisdom of God. Satan knows this, and his number one goal in regard to each Christian is to keep him in the dark ("blind his mind") about the good news of the Gospel. For those of us who know the truth, Satan’s goal is to seal our lips, usually by either fear or apathy. The last verses we will look at set forth the heart of the great Apostle Paul in regard to boldly proclaiming the truth. Remember that he wrote these words from a prison cell in Rome. What about those of us who have no such civil prohibition to speak God’s Word? Should each of us not also have this same attitude?

19. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly [parrhesia ] make known the mystery [Secret] of the gospel,
20. for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly [parrhesia ], as I should.

When the Lord Jesus Christ appears, He may well ask each of us something like, "What did you do  with what you knew  about me?" We believe that He has graced you and us with a knowledge of the good news, and we believe that it is His desire that we "declare it fearlessly, as we should."

Perhaps the question that then arises is, "How should we share the Gospel?" Well, we should certainly look for every opportunity to speak it whenever we can, but may we suggest that quite a number of folks with whom we are in contact have seen the benefit of systematic teaching of God’s Word. We have seen how it is possible to communicate a large amount of the Word in a relatively small amount of time. Many of us are living testimonies of the effectiveness of such a method. May we exhort you to deeply consider the power of the truth (Rom. 1:16), as well as the power you have within you to herald it via words and works. We would also encourage you to consider that CES  has available the kind of systematic teaching of God’s Word that can help you reach others. We have made the choice to produce such materials, and to continue to do so. It is your choice as to how you use them. We are willing to do whatever we can to help you in this regard.

We believe that the developing CES  network of locally-governed fellowships is one means by which we can effectively reach out to the world with God’s Word, but, as we know you are well aware, it all comes down to the choices of individual believers to function according to the calling of the Lord in their lives. The systems of the world are designed by the Enemy to get us to focus on ourselves. The Lord Jesus is calling each of us to focus first on Him and then on others. Think about the joy of serving the bread of life to a hungry soul. Yes, it takes effort. Yes, it is often tedious. Yes, you risk rejection, but our example is the Lord Jesus, and it is He who will guide, empower and sustain you to boldly proclaim the truth about Him. The more that those called to lead  local fellowships rise up and do so, the more effectively we can see Christians trained for personal evangelism and ministry. Let’s do it together.

We finally have our own domain name for our website!! No more long address to remember! Pass the word, and remember to be sure to bookmark our site in your web browser for easy access. Plus, check out the site for new & improved layout and graphics, regularly updated information on our home page with CES  News and events, free document downloads & much more.

New Jersey Weekend Tapes

The CES  get-together held the first weekend in August in Morristown, NJ turned out to be a time of great healing, deliverance and inspiration for those who attended. The theme of the Weekend was Walking In The Light , and as you will see, the teachings focused on the practical side of Christianity. We wanted to show people that CES’  emphasis on right doctrine is primarily so that each believer’s behavior  will be Christlike. No one can obey the commandments if he does not know and understand them.

Mark Graeser opened the Weekend with a teaching titled Walking In The Light . Showing that each Christian is justified from the penalty  of sin, Mark went on to show from Scripture the battle raging in each of us between the old and new natures. In his very poignant and powerful sharing, he showed that each of us needs to aggressively ask the Lord Jesus to show us the hidden areas of sin in our lives to which we are blind so that He can help us deal with them and thus become more like Him. You don’t want to miss this teaching.

Stephanie Savatteri shared on Fellowship With God And Jesus Christ . In a simple and down-to-earth manner, she showed the need for each of us to go to the Lord during the tough times in our lives, and she set forth Jesus Christ as the example of perfect trust in God. John Machado shared The Grace Of The Gift , and in his unique style emphasized the importance of standing in the grace we have received in order to make a difference in other people’s lives. He called the Bible "a very simple book for very complicated people." Ed Fisher turned his heart inside out when he shared about A Love Affair With Jesus Christ . His exposition of Matthew 11:28-30 moved everyone in the room as he shared how the Lord Jesus wants each of us to be yoked with him.

Then it was John Schoenheit with Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Look In The Bible . John brilliantly expressed the difference between attempting to keep an externally-imposed law in order to avoid the consequences and obeying truth that one has hidden in his heart so that he might not sin against God. You gotta hear this one! Karen Anne Graeser taught on Bridling Your Tongue , a teaching with which everyone in the room immediately identified. She focused on three areas: godly principles regarding the words we speak; what it means to speak "presumptuously" (to say you are speaking for the Lord when you are not); confidentiality and gossip. John Lynn closed the Weekend with The Character Of Truth.  John talked about the corresponding relationships between right doctrine/godly character and wrong doctrine/ungodly character. This humorous teaching also touched upon the godly use of money by leaders and by those in positions of Christian leadership. The tape set for the Weekend also includes a one hour question-and-answer session and sharing by the CES  principals.

The cost for the Weekend tapes is $25, and they will be available until the Fall Fellowship in Charlotte at the end of October. We encourage you to order a set for your personal CES  library and for the enrichment of your spiritual walk.

Our work in Haiti began in September 1997, when John Lynn and John Schoenheit went there at the invitation of Lesly Bertrand, who had received a CES  book from someone whose name we did not even recognize. Lesly was so touched by the book that he contacted us, and John and John spoke to about 70 Christian leaders there.

On September 13, John Schoenheit returns to Haiti accompanied by Michael Branch, a believer from Indianapolis whose wife Eleanor works in the CES  office. John and Michael will be there until September 19, during which time they will teach a seminar with about 50 leaders. This is a very rigorous physical endeavor, and we solicit your prayers for their health and strength and for the good seed of the Word to be planted in many receptive hearts. We definitely have our foot in the door in Haiti, and as God provides the resources we need, we expect to reach tens of thousands of people there with the Word of God.

We continue to correspond with about 100 leaders in the Philippines who are doing their very best to share with others the truth of God’s Word they have learned from us. The El Niño  weather phenomenon has severely affected the Philippines, causing a terrible drought for about nine months now. Many people’s subsistence crops have failed and many livestock have died. Quite a number of people have also died as a result, some from starvation. We solicit your fervent prayers for our brethren in the Philippines.

Despite these hardships, those who communicate with us continue to press on in reaching out with the truth. The following letter from Leonidas Duazo, one of the first believers we met there in 1991, is representative of their efforts. Many of these saints would love to have a "pen pal" or "sponsor." How about you  being one?

We have been to the Philippines for seven consecutive years now in November/December, but it does not appear that we have the resources to return this year. We have the time and the personnel to do one overseas trip at most, and if we get the finances we need, we will probably go to Africa to follow up on what we began there in January.

Our hearts were very saddened by the terrorist bombings in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. These are two of the three cities where we are planning to do seminars when we return to Africa. We believe these bombings are a direct assault by the Devil on the places where we have begun to sow the good seed of God’s Word. In light of at least one prominent Moslem’s recent statement that it is okay with Allah to kill Americans anywhere in the world, this seems aimed at intimidating American Christians from missionary work. Thank you for praying with us for a great move in Africa, which we expect to see.

The doors are wide open for us to return to Kenya and Tanzania, and also to go to Kampala, the capitol of Uganda. We had hoped to go in September/October, but we did not receive the finances we needed. We are still entertaining the possibility of going in November/December, but without the sufficient finances well ahead of time, it is unlikely we could properly set up this trip.

Our hearts burn to return to the countries where we found such receptive hearts in January. We continue to pray for God to touch those who have the capacity to give us the money we need to reach out in this way. Please pray with us that God raises up quality leaders in each place.

We are currently in touch with a number of Christian leaders in India, and we now have a solid invitation to go there and teach as many leaders as we can provide for in our four-day seminar. We have sent quite a number of books and tapes to the believers in India, and encouraged them to study these things and share whatever they find in them to be true. It would make sense for us to combine a visit to India with a trip to Africa, when this available. Thank you for your prayers.