[0:00] These messages were recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. This service was a blessing service for missionary Jason Holt.
[0:15] I have to admit that I was kind of nervous preparing a message for Jason. I mean, what do you tell a guy that's been a missionary for the last nine years? He started three churches.
[0:27] He started pastors in those churches. He started a Bible institute. He's led people to Christ. He's discipled them. He's trained other people to disciple others.
[0:37] What do you tell a guy like that? Good job. Keep it up. That's basically what you can say. But Jason, I don't really have any words for you. I was trying to think what I could say, but I think the Bible speaks much better.
[0:49] So I hope that I'll just let this Bible speak for itself. In 2 Timothy chapter 3, if you turn your Bibles there, we'll start in verse 1. Just some background real quick. This was Paul's last letter.
[1:04] And that should say something. Paul's last letter was not a how-to on evangelism. It wasn't a how-to on discipleship.
[1:14] It wasn't a life story of what he's done. But the last letter Paul wrote, according to certain commentators and scholars, was written to his son in the faith.
[1:24] It was an encouraging letter. It was to warn Paul what was about to happen. It was to help him grow in the faith. It was to tell him what to do.
[1:35] And in 2 Timothy chapter 3, we find some things that Paul tells Timothy to do in order to continue in the work of God.
[1:45] And Jason, I know you're not starting out. I know you're just continuing. But I hope this is a blessing to you. In 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 1, the Bible says this.
[1:56] This know also. That in the last days, perilous times shall come. Paul looked at what he wrote down this letter to Timothy when he was in jail and in his bonds and his chains.
[2:10] And he says, Timothy, I just want to let you know that perilous times, troubled times are coming. I need you to know that. You need to expect that. And Jason, right now you're excited about going back to Chile, which anybody would, getting back in the ministry and implementing what you learned here.
[2:24] And you've got your plan. And I've seen your schedule. And you've got everything figured out. And it's all exciting. But Paul said to Timothy, he said, Timothy, I want you to know something. That troubled times are coming.
[2:37] For men. Wicked men. They'll be lovers of themselves. They'll be covetous. They'll be boasters. And he goes on and he lists 16 different things that Paul says that men will do.
[2:49] And Paul warns Timothy. And he says, Timothy, from such, turn away. In verse 5. He says, avoid them. Jason, you're going to go back and you're going to go to a country where the gospel hasn't, it's just seen on the surface.
[3:04] I mean, it's just breaking the surface. It hasn't got down into it. It hasn't changed the culture just yet. And there are going to be wicked people out there that you need to avoid. And Paul tells the reason why in verse 6.
[3:15] He says, they shall come in and they'll creep in and they'll lead people away. These wicked men have a goal in mind. They want to lead others away. And Jason, God has entrusted you with some sheep.
[3:27] And you need to take care of that flock. You need to watch over that flock. And from such evil, wicked men, these wicked men that are boasters, are covetous and lovers of themselves.
[3:39] And things that we don't really think is that bad. It's probably because a lot of us, we can fit in that characteristic. But we need to stay away from such men. Jason, these people, these men, these wicked men will encounter you and try to withstand you from the truth.
[3:53] When Paul was writing this, he used the illustration of Moses. And when Moses stood before Pharaoh. And he tried to lead God's people out.
[4:05] Moses came up and he did some miracles before Pharaoh. But if you remember the story, Pharaoh had some magicians. And they also did miracles. Which tricked people.
[4:18] Jason, you're going to be encountering people that not only are wicked. Not only are wanting to try to draw people away. But they're going to do some works that are going to draw people away. So what do you do?
[4:31] You avoid the people. But Jason, you need to know and realize something. In verse 9 he says, Actually, verse 9 he says, But they shall proceed no further, for their folly shall be manifested unto all men, as theirs also was.
[4:49] Jason, you need to realize something. That not only will these wicked men, these troubled times are coming, these wicked men are going to be there. But their works and their follies will be revealed. One day Jesus will come back.
[5:03] And he will be a man with a fan. And he will thoroughly purge his floor. And he will gather the wheat into his garner. And the chaff he will burn with an unquenchable fire. One day, according to Romans chapter 2, that he will render unto every man according to his deeds.
[5:17] One day God will judge the secrets of men according to the gospel. One day God is going to come back. Christ is going to come back. And he will judge those people that's done wrong. Jason, it's not your fight to fight them.
[5:30] You're to avoid them and protect your sheep. Another thing that Paul tells Timothy at the end of his life. He tells Timothy to continue.
[5:40] And this is the point that I want to get out there. He says, Continue in the things which thou hast learned. Verse 14 he says, And continue in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of.
[5:53] In verse 10, Paul told Timothy, He says this. Listen to these words. He says, But thou, Timothy, thou hast fully known my doctrine, my manner of life, my purpose, my faith, my long-suffering, my charity, my patience, persecutions, and afflictions, what came unto me in Antioch, and Iconium, and Lystra, which persecutions I endured.
[6:11] But out of them all, the Lord delivered me. Timothy had fully known Paul's life. Timothy knew all the manner of life of what Paul did.
[6:24] Timothy knew Paul's purpose to get the gospel out into all the world. Timothy knew Paul's faith and how he had long-suffering. Timothy seen his charity. Timothy seen how the more Paul loved, the lest he was loved.
[6:36] Timothy saw how Paul would endure persecutions, and yet the Lord would take him out of it. And now Paul says, Timothy, it's your time. You continue in that thing which you've learned.
[6:50] Jason, the Lord has allowed you to grow up in a godly home. The Lord has given you a godly heritage. I had the privilege to marry your cousin, which is awesome.
[7:04] Anyways, and one of the things that was spoken so highly of me, or spoken so highly about you, was the fact that your father, and how selfless he was, and how much my in-laws loved him, and loved what he did.
[7:21] And you grew up in that. And not only that, but you got to be underneath a mentor, a spiritual mentor. Jason, the Lord has allowed you to be around great men who's done great things for the Lord.
[7:35] Jason, you have seen how godly men have faced persecution and trials. And you've seen how they've reacted. Jason, it's now your time to continue, not to start, but to continue in what you have learned.
[7:52] Jason, the reason why this is so important for you to continue in what you've learned, and what you've learned from your father, and what you've learned from your pastor, is because one day, one day, I pray to God that one day, you will stand up, and hopefully, not in the near future, but near the end of your life, you look at a Chilean pastor, and you get to look at him, and you get to warn him, and say that hard times are going to come because the ministry's hard, and people are going to do you wrong, and people are going to leave you, and there's going to be people that try to steal your flock away.
[8:27] But keep going as a good soldier. And you're going to be saying to that young Chilean pastor, you have fully known my life. I have poured doctrine into you.
[8:39] I've taught you as best as I can. You've been with me in my life. You've seen me in my good times. You've seen me in how I've treated my wife. You've seen me in how I've treated my kids. You've seen my purpose. You've seen my faith. You've seen my long-suffering. You've seen my love.
[8:50] You've seen my patience. Continue in that. That's the job of you. That's the job of a missionary. That's the job of a pastor, is to teach faithful men.
[9:01] Jason, don't ever stop continuing the Lord's work. Now, to the church, it seems like I was just talking to Jason, which I was. But what's that in for us?
[9:15] Look down at verse 15. In 2 Timothy chapter 3. The Bible says this, And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.
[9:29] Do you know who led Timothy to the Lord? Do you know whose faith that impacted Timothy's life according to 2 Timothy chapter 1?
[9:41] It was his grandma and his mother. Church, we have an opportunity, a responsibility to take this word and enigrafe it into the lives of those kids and newborn believers.
[10:01] It is our job to teach them the scriptures, which was able to save their soul. And one day, one day hopefully, we'll have hundreds, if not dozens, dozens if not hundreds, of Jason Holtz running around here.
[10:18] Because we did what we, we did our job. We did our job of putting the scripture into them. Jason, continue in the work. Church, never stop preaching.
[10:30] Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you again for this day. I thank you for what you've done. Thank you for all your goodness and kindness. Please bless the Holtz family and we'll give you all the praise. In Jesus' name, Amen. Please join me for a moment in 1 Thessalonians chapter number 2.
[10:44] And I believe it's symbolic and it shows the heart of the Holtz family that tonight, that so much of the service would be in Spanish, is that their love for a people has changed their heart language from English to Spanish.
[10:57] That when they sing songs in Spanish, it means something to them special because they have been teaching these truths in Spanish for a number of years now. And so they love the Spanish language.
[11:10] It doesn't, I know a few words in Spanish when I was in Chile with them last year, a couple years ago. I learned the words for a beef jerky made out of horse meat. Those are some words that I will never forget.
[11:23] But they, I'll make sure I'll notice that next time. But they have done so much of their ministry in Spanish. They enjoy singing in it and God has given them a heart for the people they work with.
[11:33] And I would like to just quickly remind them of three things, though not always seen or always there. Two of them being positive and one of them being negative. In 1st Thessalonians chapter number two.
[11:44] And I can only imagine the heart of a missionary, I know as a Christian, being pulled between here, the present world, and wanting to be in heaven as we learn in the Bible that we have. Also, then you are pulled in another direction because you desire to be here, as Miss Laurie said so well, that you have a love for this church, but you also have another love for people.
[12:03] And it calls you away and you feel pulled in so many directions. And on Brother Jason's blog, he's given some wonderful examples here lately of the benefits of furlough.
[12:15] And as we know, if you haven't been following his timeline in life, he didn't really like furlough. That's why he was a couple years late for his first one because he's having so much fun. But he gave some reasons why he enjoyed furlough.
[12:27] Well, I'd like to add one more reason that I think you should enjoy furlough. It's because you know that even though you are not presently in Chile, your heart is still with the people of Chile, even though you're not there.
[12:40] And I hope it reminds you of how we feel about you two. You know, I count it a great joy and honor, and I know I speak for the entire church to say that we are so thankful for your investment in the country of Chile.
[12:53] That we are thankful that you are, as a parent, I'm thankful because I want to raise my kids with a proper biblical worldview. And I thank you for your time here and the extra miles that you drove, Brother Jason, so that Miss Lori could be here and your kids could be around.
[13:07] And I thank you for that because even though we're not present, we always love you. And our love for you is there even when we can't be seen. And 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 17, it says, But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavor the more abundantly to see you face with great desire.
[13:27] And so even though you'll only be gone for a short time, it feels like a long time in heart because we love you so much. And the feelings that you have towards the Chilean people is how we feel about you guys when you're gone.
[13:38] And even though we don't get to see you every day, we think about you and we think, we tell our kids about you and we pray for you. And I have some brothers from different mothers in a different country that are going to help me out here. Two of my friends that I made when I was in Chile have made a quick video and they wanted to speak to you for a moment.
[13:54] And when it's done, Brother David will... Hola, mi nombre es Christian Aracón. Soy el compastor de la Iglesia Bautista Fe y estamos enviando un saludo desde acá. Campamento 2012 corre para ganar a la familia Hall.
[14:05] Quiero agradecer a la Iglesia Bautista Visión del pastor Guillermo Gardner por la oportunidad que nos dan de poder expresar nuestra ansiedad por volver a estar con la familia Hall.
[14:17] Estamos muy, muy animados, muy contentos esperándoles. Hemos estado nueve meses sin ellos pero ha sido un tiempo buenísimo de crecimiento para la Iglesia, de crecimiento para el liderazgo pero le estamos extrañando mucho.
[14:30] Queremos estar con ustedes, queremos ya estar con la familia Hall trabajando codo a codo sirviendo a nuestro Señor. Agradecidos de todo lo que la familia Hall ha hecho con nosotros y agradecidos también de toda la influencia recibida por parte de la Iglesia Bautista Visión.
[14:49] Estamos muy contentos. Hola Iglesia Bautista Visión mi nombre es Carlos Fernández trabajo en la Iglesia Bautista Fe con jóvenes y estamos súper contentos de poder tener un tiempo ahora en su servicio especial para poder saludar a la familia Hall.
[15:03] Estamos extrañándoles mucho y queremos pronto que lleguen para poder compartir juntos una vez más. Les hemos extrañado todo este tiempo a él, su familia, sus hijos sobre todo y estamos felices que ya van a llegar.
[15:15] Iglesia Bautista Visión muchas gracias por haberles recibido por haberles cuidado y por hacer este servicio especial para ellos. Pastor Jason Hall muchas gracias por el entrenamiento que nos dio que sin duda fue mucha bendición para este tiempo.
[15:29] Gracias a su familia por el cariño que han invertido y todo lo que han hecho por nosotros y esperamos verles pronto y estamos ansiosos porque ya pronto van a llegar. Dios les bendiga y les amamos muchos. Gracias a todos. Gracias a todos.
[15:40] Gracias a todos. Gracias a todos. Gracias a todos. Gracias a todos. I'll try to remember everything they said. The first man was Cristian Alarcón and he is the assistant pastor of Faith Baptist Church and he wanted to first of all thank Vision Baptist Church for being able to be a part of this service and be able to encourage Jason and Lori and he's very thankful for the time that they've been able to be here in the states.
[16:02] It's been nine months that they've been away and it's been great for the ministry down there and the church has grown and he's thankful for it but at the same time they're very excited about Jason and Lori getting back and getting back in the ministry and being able to grow and I believe that's all he said and then the second young man is named Carlos Fernandez and he is a Bible college student in Chile and in charge of the youth ministry.
[16:27] That slipped my mind. I don't know how but anyway he's in charge of the youth ministry and once again he's very thankful for the opportunity to be involved in the service tonight and looking forward for Jason to get back and Lori and more than anything his kids is what he said.
[16:45] Alright, thank you brother David. I was going to do that but I'm unable to. So I was hoping they said something nice because that was really going to ruin where we were going with this thing. And even if you understood Spanish in here tonight you still didn't understand it on the same level that the Holtz did.
[16:59] I just want to make one point real clear that God did something special in their heart that give them a love for those people. Missionaries are not on the front line because they're in a different place geographically. They're on the front line because they're involved on life on life discipleship.
[17:14] It's that relationship with those people that bond their lives together. That's why they don't stop loving us to go to Chile that their love for us has grown but they still desire us to go back as it said Paul here that even though it felt like they were gone for such a long time from their heart and they longed to go back and that's a wonderful thing that the God of Heaven did.
[17:33] Why does a couple want to leave what's familiar with them and go live in another country? There's no country that's nice enough to make you want to pull you away from something you love but a greater love for Jesus.
[17:45] The Holtz have a desire to see the people of Chile once again and as it's been said before here by Brother Chris that numbers have names and they now know the names of the people that they pray for and when they say that they love the people they're not as missionaries headed to the field the first time that know that they love them because God's done that but they have been hurt by the people and they have loved the people they have cried with the people and they still love the people because of what God has done and this is like the Apostle Paul it's the type of love that he has.
[18:14] Paul loves the people in 2 Corinthians chapter number 2 and verse number 4 it shows us one example here of the love that he has it says for out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears not that you should be grieved but you might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.
[18:33] The Apostle Paul you think of maybe a rough and tough guy that goes around but he could be with people for 6 months and leave them and have an anguish of heart to love them because he shared his life with them.
[18:43] The hosts have shared their lives with the people and now their heart desires to go back and be with them. In Romans 16 Paul takes almost half a chapter to name people that he loves. In Philippians 1 it tells that his thoughts are continually with those people.
[18:58] In Acts 20 verse number 36 when he's leaving the people of Ephesus the older ladies in the church just kept kissing him on the neck over and over the night. That won't be happening here even though he wouldn't mind that being from Chile working in Chile but they loved him and he loved to see them grow and God has given our missionaries a wonderful love and even though we don't get to see it we don't get to see the Chilean people from here unless you go visit that love has not disappeared and also even though we won't see us day in and day out that love is not going anywhere we love you with that love and we're thankful and it's the mark of a noble servant that he cares about his people and though we separated from them as a host they still care about them that their hearts still leap for joy when they saw brother Christian and brother Carlos there because those are people they've invested life in and as I said about Ephroditus they have a great zeal for those people so let's first of all I want to remind you of that relationship of love that even though you may not always see it presently in people it's still there but also verse number 18 reminds us of something though not seen is there wherefore we would have come unto you even I Paul once and again but Satan hindered us
[20:07] I don't imagine that you describe furlough as Satan hindered you for a year even though I know you're looking forward to getting back but Satan is ever present even though he may not be seen and so here he's not speaking symbolically about Satan he is speaking about the real being of Satan wants to hinder you and so in good days he's still there wanting to hinder you and I won't belabor the point because brother Robert has said it so well but he is waiting of all the plans and dreams that you have he would love to hurt you in any way possible and hinder that even though not seen and then lastly here we may not literally stand by your side as you work day in and day out but we will stand with you in the day of rejoicing because we know that we're in this thing together verse 19 for what is our hope or joy or crown or rejoicing are not even ye in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ as his coming for ye are glory and joy Paul had rejoicing as his end game he knew that that is what was going to happen these people had been a great cause of joy as the people of Chile have been a great cause of joy in your life and there should be you should be glory in the cross of that you are a great source of pride for our church you are something that we thank our God for as we acknowledge us in part we are rejoicing even also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus 2 Corinthians chapter 114 and you have acknowledged us in part that we are rejoicing even you also are in the days of the Lord Jesus that someday even though I don't have the opportunity to stand with you day in and day out or these other men on the back wall as much as we desire that we know that someday in the day of rejoicing the day of the hope the joy of the crown of rejoicing that we will stand with you side by side and see what God did for you and as with the life of the apostle Paul his ministry is still impacting lives my life has been impacted by his obedience to sharing the gospel that for decades and decades till the Lord returns what you've done in Chile with loving people loving his word and sharing Jesus will impact family after family so in the days that you don't see victory and the days that you do see Satan victory is still present and on the days that you don't see Satan but you do see victory be aware that Satan is still present and all of those days even when we're not there visiting and we seem we're so far away know that our love for you has not changed one bit as your furlough has not changed your love for those people your time on the field will not change our love for you one bit but we will continue to love you and thank God for your family take your Bibles if you would and turn to Matthew 10 we'll take just a few minutes
[22:48] I know it's a little longer service but I tried to cut out as much as we could but I want to say just a few things to them I'll read the first verses with you and I'll only mention the others and this is just a little talk with them I hope on behalf of the church that I can speak from the church to Jason and Lori the Bible says in Matthew 10 38 he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me he that findeth his life shall lose it he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it that ought not only be for Jason and Lori but for every one of us as we pray for them and send them off that we have decided to follow Jesus we're not in it for ourselves we're not seeking our own life we're seeking his and to honor him and so I want to have a word of prayer and I want to say a few things to them and then we'll have the special prayer that we do for as a church together Father bless this few thoughts right now help this family as they go back bless Jason bless Lori and God bless those that are in the nursery and with the children as they go into overtime and I just pray that you'd bless them give them strength in Jesus name amen thank you you can have a seat
[24:02] I'm sure they're about ready to kill me in the nursery but just a few things I'd like to say if I could to them and you can write down verses if you want the first thing is to Jason and that's first Timothy chapter 3 verses 4 and 5 and that is Jason I want to challenge you to be careful to be the spiritual leader of your home I think all this will work with everybody whether you're going to the mission field or whether you're not going to the mission field be careful to be the spiritual leader of your home the Bible says about that pastor he is to rule well his own house have his children in subjection with all gravity because if you don't know how to take care of your own house how can you take care of the church of God that's gardener eyes but that's how it goes so two or three things remember to pray for your family each day I'm sure you do remember to take time each week to spend spiritual leadership time Betty and I worked at trying and we had off times and on times and good times and bad times but we tried to average about four days a week somewhere between five and ten minutes a devotional time and I challenge you and I challenge every parent here to spend some time helping their family know about Jesus second thing glory is for you and
[25:11] Ephesians 5 23 and 24 it obviously tells you to submit to your husband and so I'd like to challenge you to be careful to be the spiritual responder and follower in your home the spiritual responder and follower challenge you to pray for the family I challenge you to always help your children love and respect their dad and for years I heard in Peru I heard Peruvian ladies say to their children don't be like your dad when you grow up and I've seen and heard that in America and oftentimes when a husband is so highly motivated and driven as your husband it could be easy to let slip things that might cause your children to lose some of that love and respect and be careful not to nag if he doesn't do all that he should as a spiritual leader you're the responder and to be submissive number three Jason take time for your wife and children take time for your wife and children first Peter 3 7 the Bible says likewise your husbands dwell with them according to knowledge giving honor unto the wife is under the weaker vessel as being heirs together the grace of life that your prayers be not hindered and I say this because you know me but don't make the mistakes that I made I say that sincerely and honestly and humbly that I spent too little time playing with my children brother Paul
[26:35] Forsythe told me they will soon be gone it's amazing how with your grandchildren you figured out by then that you ought to take a little time you ought to be last night Chloe stuck her foot in my roast beef and gravy and I would have killed my children for that and I just wanted to kill Katie for that one but spend time with your children make a conscious effort to do what might not be comfortable and I say that because as a dad I failed my kids because they want to do things I did not like doing I'm just not that into rollerblading I never have been not that into you know what I've watched Peruvian dads kick a football I didn't want to take the time to do that I was too busy and I challenge you to make a conscious effort to do what might not be comfortable I challenge you to have a date night with your wife spend time with your wife leave the kids go out somewhere even if it's to buy a taco and sit on sit on a street corner listen to your wife hold her when she cries
[27:44] Lori I would like to challenge you to be careful to take time for your husband and children and remind you that in Genesis 2 18 the Bible said he made you to be the help meat that puts you in the position of God gave Jason a job to do and you're to help him do that remember that you will have the most pressure on you raising these children and your heart and attitude are determining factors for how they will respond to all the pressures whether we like to admit it or not we dads do not do most of the child raising moms do and the heart and attitude that children have often come from their mother the bitterness the bad attitudes the bad spirits the not liking work the mission field they're not liking the people we work with most pastors kids don't want to be in the ministry most missionary kids don't want to be in the ministry I challenge you to work on keeping that sweet spirit be careful to understand your husband and not nag if he fails but do carefully remind him when the time is right it's kind of hard to say this to because Jason might want to kill me for this later but we need sometimes for our wives to remind us nobody else has the courage unless they're stabbing us in the back nobody else has the courage unless they're gossiping about us but the person that loves us the most can often at the right moment say the words and I know that Betty has more than one time helped put me back straight and
[29:16] I challenge you to help your husband without nagging Jason and Lori let me remind you that you're to train men and women and allow them to do ministry in second Timothy 2 to the Bible said in the thing that thou has heard of me among many witnesses the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also I challenge you to teach the men and women to be Bible teachers and preachers teach the people to be self feeders let let me remind you that you're the your your example is their greatest teacher before I leave that little point you know no matter what we preach nobody ever remembers our messages I have more messages that are remembered from when I was on deputation because I preached that message 942 times and people might have heard it enough times but as a pastor they don't do that and on the mission field you don't do that you're preaching new messages all the time but you know what they're watching they're watching you they're watching the way you love Lori they're watching the way they love the kids they're watching the way you love Jason your example your example the message is all important but the life of the messenger sure affects how clear that message comes out last thing be on guard against spiritual attacks that are coming your way
[30:32] I wrote all these verses down but remember this casting all your care upon him for he cares for you so you don't worry you put your worries on him because he worries about you be sober be vigilant against your because your adversary the devil is a roaring line walking about seeking whom he may devour whom resist steadfast in the faith knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world five little things that I'll have prayer with you the second term has strange opportunities to mess you up some things aren't the way you remembered them some of the people won't have missed you as much as you would like them to have missed you there's something built into a preacher that loves to want to be loved and oftentimes the there's probably be somebody to say man we did just fine without you and there'll be people and they won't even mean ugly things they won't mean it but it'll hurt and they'll say little things so I challenge you to be ready because when they say those things the devil will take those and plunge them into your heart a thousand times over it was probably a offhand statement they didn't mean it but the devil is a roaring line and he will use that to hurt you I can say all that because I've been through that also you're going to go back and I remind you Lori and I remind you Jason the expenses of getting set up the unsettled life and the moving back can be a problem you know I I don't know that I really enjoyed our first term very much God did a lot of things but I was never very comfortable there's a lot of terrorism and a lot of issues going on I was afraid most of the time I lived in almost constant fear but nobody knew that sent me in the
[32:29] Lord and we flew back to the States and we were here for about a year and I remember landing in Adikipa and as we were driving across the city back to our house all of my ministry had literally fallen apart completely the pastors had messed up the churches were a shambles the church people came but there was no spiritual life left and I knew that I had completely blown it and failed in the ministry but I knew I was home I remember riding across the town thinking this is Plaza de Yanawada I remember riding through by you sito and say boy this is by you sito and I knew how to get home you know and when I got home and everything was dumped on me the honest truth is something inside of me said it'll be all right I'm home and God's with me and so it was a great time for us getting back it was still hectic it's still all the problems but I knew other missionaries and I just tell you this to love you because I'm the old guy here but there were other missionaries that said the second term was far harder they said I we didn't remember how dirty it was before we had been here and we didn't pay attention to how things were like they were we'd we'd gotten so used to the way they do things so messed up now it seems exaggerated and they had a hard time so I challenge you be on guard against spiritual attack because right now is a major turbulent time in your life moving back flying into the country setting up the house getting all back together is a major turbulent time have you guard up pray with one eye open Laurie pray with one eye open know the devil's going to want y'all to fight know that the devil's going to want to discourage you know that even sweet things that church people say that they don't mean anything by may hurt just stay loving Jesus that's by for prayer father I love you and I thank you for the chance to be here today I thank you for these wonderful missionaries
[34:24] God I thank you for all the beautiful testimonies I thank you for the two wonderful messages by the men of God tonight and I thank you for Christian and all the workers down in Peru I thank you for Vladimir and for Nicolás I thank you dear God for Carlos I thank you for all the men that are there and all those folks that are waiting for them I thank you for those Lord that will receive them when they land in just a few days and I thank you for the place that you provided for them to live and I thank you for the wonderful churches but God I ask you to put a hedge of protection around them I ask you to help them know your love and have your grace I know you will give them more and be more than ready to handle every need they have help them to resist the devil and to trust you God I pray for more of this term than ever happened before I pray that your name will be honored and glorified thank you for allowing Vision Baptist Church to have a very small part in their life and ministry bless them and use them and
[35:27] I will give you great honor and glory and praise for all that you do in Jesus precious name amen you have been listening to Austin Gardner pastor of Vision Baptist Church for contact information location service times or more audio and video recordings log on to www.visionbaptist.com you you