In This Issue... "Russian around the UK and Ireland" 

Dearest Christian,

God bless your wonderful heart in Jesus' mighty name. We trust that this letter finds you excited about your relationship with The Man, your Lord Jesus. In regard to the above salutation, we are in awe of what it really means to be a "Christian." It means that each of is guaranteed everlasting life in Paradise; it means that today, amidst a darkening world, we are plugged into the Lord and can shine brightly; it means that we can understand the Word of God and put it into practice every day; it means that by our free will choices we can think, speak and act like Jesus did; it means that we belong to the Creator; it means that His eye is not only on the sparrow, but even more so on each one of us, as if each of us were His only child; it means that we are part of a global organism, a worldwide family, and that we can mine all the treasures contained in the Secret of godly interaction with other members of the Body of Christ; it means that "we are on a mission from God"; it means that we need not worry about our future. WOW!

Well, this is the last issue of The Sower  for 1999, and we hope that you have been blessed with it as well as with The Contender , both of which were instituted at the beginning of this year. It is always a joy for us to labor in putting them together to share our hearts with you. As we approach the end of this calendar year and the beginning of the last year of this millenium (despite the fact that some Christians want us to panic, and the world wants us to celebrate wildly this  December 31st), our hearts are absolutely overflowing with thanksgiving to God and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are exceedingly grateful for the privilege we have to serve them as we do, and we are also overjoyed to be able to do so with saints like you. We don't need turkey or pumpkin pie to be thankful for you.

In the depths of our hearts we believe that God is "teeing up" something very big in terms of us spreading the true Gospel around the world. We are now in touch with people in 50 states and 34 countries, a number of whom have "found" us in miraculous ways. The Lord is laying the infrastructure for a significant international network. We can see His hand on our lives and on the lives of many other dear saints with whom we are in association, and we are thrilled to be serving our Creator and our Lord.

One of the things that we find particularly encouraging is that God is inspiring people to stand with us to advance the move of God's Word in ways that we are not orchestrating. For instance, with no organized effort on our part, some of our work has now been translated into Spanish, Swahili, French, Creole, Cebuano, German, Russian and probably others. As you will read in John Lynn's account of his trip to Russia, Avel Eliseyev took it upon himself to begin translating Is There Death After Life?  into Russian. And when John was in England, he met an English woman whose name he received from Avel. Avel had met her in Moscow and enlisted her help in transcribing our seminars into Russian. She has already finished a couple of them, and John really enjoyed the brief time he spent with her. We are also making regular contacts with people who are "browsing by the spirit," finding our website and being blessed with what they see there. Finally, we find it immensely encouraging that more and more people are speaking of CES  as their  ministry, and seeing it as a "we" thing, and not just the "Three Amigos/ Stooges/ Knuckleheads, etc ."

After thinking about it for two seconds, we figured out that we cannot do this by ourselves. We want to make a way for all those who are likeminded with us about the Word of God and who desire to exercise their individual ministries to do so within a family of affiliated brethren having the common goal of taking God's Word around the world. When we say that CES  is your ministry, we of course understand that this is relative to whatever degree you choose to stand with us and support us. If you have not taken advantage of our work, or if it is not benefiting you, and you are only a casual observer, then it probably doesn't matter to you not to be an active part of it. Our heart is that you support us in response to the blessing you receive from us.  That is the biblical principle behind giving, both financial and otherwise. Yes, we do need as much financial support as you can possibly give us, but we want it to come from your heart, in response to how our work has blessed you and because you want others to hear, believe and be blessed by the Word of God that we teach.

Now that the One God & One Lord  book has basically left our hands, we are prayerfully considering what our priorities should be. We are in agreement that the remaking of Introduction to God's Heart  is very high on the list of things to be done in the year 2000, to be produced in video, audio and maybe CD ROM formats. We believe that this will be a great tool for outreach when it is finished.

If you have been a financial supporter of CES  in 1999, we thank you, thank you, thank you. We believe that the best way for us to show our appreciation to you for your support is to continue to press in to the Lord Jesus, be accountable to him and to one another and to you, and continue to produce biblically accurate and heartfelt materials that glorify God and His Son. If you have not yet supported us financially, please consider looking more closely at what we are doing and, if you like it, helping us get our work to other people.

So, since we will not write to you again until January, let us no doubt be the first to say Happy Thanksgiving! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! We love you very much and look forward to the best year of our lives, and yours. The future is  as bright as the promises of God, and He is faithful.

In His service,

Great Scott! I just signed up to have "apparent Bible contradictions explained," and now here I am roaming the globe. Although it is true that the world of my service to the Lord may be geographically larger than your world of service to him, you are no less a fellowlaborer with God and His Son than I am. Even if you never leave your own neighborhood, there are no less exciting adventures in walking with the Lord waiting for you. I guess the biggest thing on my heart right now is each Christian's reciprocal relationship with his heavenly Father and his Lord Jesus. God has invited you and me into a fellowlaborer relationship with Him in the work of redemption. The degree to which each of us do our individual part is directly proportional to how much of God's will is accomplished in the lives of people en route to His and our overall victory.

The 21 days I spent last month in Moscow, London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin were an incredible example of the Lord getting me to the right places at the right times and helping me to say the right things to the right people so that he could deeply touch the hearts of many. If the Bible is right, your prayers  for me made a difference in what happened. Without your prayers, I do not believe the same things would have come to pass. Never have I been more aware of my working relationship with the Lord, and it is in large part due to a book I have just read, titled The God Who Risks , by John Sanders. I highly recommend it, and I will review it in the December Contender.  I am looking at certain parts of God's Word with enlightened understanding, and the result is that God and His Son have become much more personal to me, and prayer much meaningful.

My dear friend Ken Frook, who had gone with me to Moscow in 1992, again went with me as my interpreter. Ken is in large part responsible for the fellowship there in Russia because of his efforts in teaching a great deal of the rightly divided Word there in the early 1980s. Those were the days when religious freedom was at a premium for Russian citizens, and the KGB at times used to follow him around. Ken volunteered his own time and paid his own way to accompany me and I am exceedingly grateful to him. So are about 40 Russian believers who for six days heard the Word of God and soaked it up like sponges. I taught many subjects, at three different people's homes, and each time they laid out a beautiful spread of food afterward. Today the Russian people have access to many more kinds of food than ever before, especially fruits and vegetables. The believers seldom go out to restaurants, and there was always a lot of food at fellowship.

Ken and I stayed at the home of Avel and Natasha Eliseyev and their four daughters, who live in a highrise apartment on the north side of Moscow. Ken witnessed to Avel many years ago, and has stayed in touch with him since. I first met Avel and his family in 1992, and after several years of not hearing from him, he contacted me a year or so ago and told me they were translating some of our CES  materials into Russian. I suggested that we come back over there, and that is how the trip materialized. Avel is a wonderful man with a big heart for people. He treats his wife and children much differently than does the "average Russian," according to Ken. Many Russian wives suffer regular abuse, and the Eliseyev family is a wonderful example of Christianity in practice.

The majority of the believers in the fellowship are women, a number of whose husbands want nothing to do with it. I was most impressed with the sterling quality of their commitment to God in light of their challenging familial and cultural circumstances. The precious believers pretty much clung to Ken and me during our stay there and, although I never expected it, they gave me a financial gift on the last day. I knew it came from their hearts, so I graciously accepted it.

I had been told that due to the prevailing influence of the Russian Mafia and also terrorist bombings by Chechen dissidents, Moscow was like "Dodge City." But the Lord and my traveling angel companions took good care of me, and the trip was without incident. That is, except for the highspeed tank chase through the streets of Moscow to the airport where I held off scores of KGB agents in a lengthy gun battle and finally stowed away to London in the wheelwell of a 747 with a beautiful Russian spy and two miniature, airline-size bottles of vodka.

"Look right." That's what it says at many intersections in London. That's because cars are coming from the right , as they do in Scotland and Ireland also. Whose bright idea was that? Of course that means the steering wheel is on the right side of the car, and I spent what I would call an inordinate amount of time taking laps around vehicles due to first going to the right-hand door and then having to go around.

Michael and Bonnie Mantock arranged for the three days of fellowships in London, which were held at the home of Savash and Donna Munir, where I also stayed with them and their three young children. Only ten people in London attended the fellowships, but what God did for them was most significant. Many times on this trip I thought about how often Scripture records Jesus ministering to only one or two or a few people. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was supposed to go to each place I went, and God confirmed it by doing big things in the hearts of those who came, no matter how few there were. He really is an up close and personal Father.

After three days in London, two believers from up north near Manchester, Allan Richardson and Alan Clarke, drove down and transported me back to Leigh. I taught five times in four days there, and people came out of the woodwork to hear the Word. The 25 were not a big crowd by certain standards, but there was tremendous emotional and spiritual healing and deliverance, in particular for a number of people who had once been really turned on about the things of God.

I stayed with Allan Richardson and his wife, Emma and their two daughters. They are priceless saints who have faithfully been coordinating a fellowship and not giving up when they have had only a handful of people. I am confident that will change, based on what happened while I was there. The Lord rejuvenated some dynamic saints and they are eager to get together again and accomplish something for him. As with each of my hosts, the Richardsons went out of their way to bless me and take good care of me. No doubt they will receive extra rewards for having a television channel that showed the Yankees - Red Sox playoff game live one night. In an uncharacteristic fit of diversion, I stayed up until 4:00 a.m. watching it. I am  an American.

The general apathy of the English population is startling, especially in light of its heritage of many great Bible scholars like Isaac Newton, William Tyndale, John Wesley and E.W. Bullinger. The nation of England for the most part lies in spiritual slumber under a blanket of stifling tradition. Nonetheless, there is no question that the hearts of many people there hunger and thirst after the truth. I honestly believe that the time is right for a John Wesley-type revival. All that is needed are some saints boldly committed to preaching the true Word.

From Manchester, I took a very scenic train ride to Edinburgh, Scotland. Both train stations reminded me of a movie set, as did a lot of places I went in those cities. Everything is smaller than in America, and the continuous blocklong buildings reminded me of a tour of Paramount Studios. In Edinburgh, I spent two days with my dear friend Ian Young, a believer who was very instrumental in the impact of God's Word in England, Ireland and Scotland in days gone by. Being with him again was sweet fellowship.

Then it was off to Ireland, where one of my main goals was to insult a leprechaun. Oops, sorry, I mean consult a lexicon. Maybe it's because I have some Irish blood in me, maybe it's because my daughter just married a half-Irishman, or maybe it's because the Irish believers I know have a boldness that is appealing to me, but I have had a special place in my heart for them ever since a flock of them descended on a college I used to run on the wind-swept Kansas prairie. So I was very excited to get back to Ireland after seven years (the same length of time since I have been to Russia, England, and Scotland).

Pat and Tina Sweeney both hosted me and arranged for me to share the Word at five fellowships in five days. The crowds grew slowly but steadily, and by the last day about 50 believers had shown up for one or all of the fellowships. Like many other places in the world, Ireland is an example of a people long bound by the influence of religious tyranny and, for centuries, rampant superstition. Today, it seems that the social and religious influence of the Roman Catholic Church is waning, and yet people, for the most part, are not being presented an alternative to the "eat, drink, drink, drink and be merry" life-style prevalent among the friendly Irish people.

About twenty years ago, the Word of God took root in Ireland and began to bear much fruit. The Enemy saw what was happening and mounted an all-out assault on God's precious people there. Today there is only a remnant of believers committed to the truth of God's Word, and yet that remnant is enough to kindle a mighty spiritual conflagration that can sweep across the country, which is only the size of New Jersey. I urge you to pray for our Irish brethren, as well as those in Russia, England and Scotland. People in each place are stirred up now, and, if they will stand together, they can see the hand of the Lord move in a mighty way.

In closing, let me share with you some random observations other than the fact that the Russians have exhausted their technology in outer space at the expense of the quality of their toilet paper. First, I am amazed at how often people say things about God or some spiritual subject with absolutely no basis whatsoever for their statements. Keep your ears open and see if you don't notice how prevalent this is. Upon hearing such statements, I constantly ask myself, and occasionally the speaker, "Who says?" How thankful we should be to have been oriented to the standard of "It is written" as the only valid determinant of truth. Here's another: God will move heaven and earth for any single person who trusts His Word. One more: The need for quality Christian leadership is indescribable.

Once again, thank you  for your prayers for me in this venture, and I heartily solicit your prayers for George Lemonis and me in the Philippines November 22 to December 15. It is going to be a very  challenging endeavor and we need your help. We will teach four seminars in four cities on three islands, and then do a three day meeting with the eight elders who are working together to oversee the outreach in the Philippines.

In closing, thank you for helping to make it possible for me to go and share the Word around the world. I can't tell you how turned on I am about my heavenly Father and my Lord Jesus, and the privilege I have to serve them with people like you. I love you.

 One God & One Lord

  "Who do you say that I am?"  

  We do. One major project we have in mind is filming our basic course in biblical study, which is now titled Introduction to God's Heart.  We have discussed the idea of changing the name to Faith That Makes Sense,  and putting it on a first class videotape. Even if we can make the course less than 24 hours, as it is now, this is still a huge undertaking, and we want to make it known to you for any pertinent input you may have.

Saints from 22 states and Haiti attended the Second Annual CES  Leadership Conference in Indianapolis September 17-19, and it was a rousing success. If the true Gospel is ever going to reach around the world via Christians interacting biblically, godly leadership  is an absolute prerequisite. We heartily encourage you to get the tapes of the weekend.

Karen Anne shared Saturday morning on spiritual maturity, exhorting us to let go of whatever is holding us back from giving our best effort to our Lord and our God. She pointed out the futility of trying to "get it together" before committing to the Lord's service, and encouraged us to ask God for what we needed. She also identified the need to let go of feelings of condemnation, guilt and anxiety about the things of the past over which we have no control, but which still seem to haunt and limit us.

Mark Graeser shared on "Meat Offered to Idols," as an example of leadership and spiritual maturity. He shared from 1 Corinthians 8 and 10, identifying 5 separate scenarios therein that require different responses from the leader, or the one with a "strong conscience." The point is that the leader is clear about his liberty in Christ, but is careful to learn about the limitations of those he seeks to lead in order to not offend them or be a stumblingblock to them. He then shared the highlights of Romans 14 that teach the same truths.

The cost of the Conference tapes is $25, which includes a syllabus.

If so, you can now drive it wearing your CES  t-shirt and  displaying our new CES  license plate on the front of your car (see above). It is royal blue with white letters The cost is $3.00 plus shipping and handling.