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Sharing Christ in the Villa

On Saturday, my friend Lucas and I went to a neighborhood on the outskirts of the city of Córdoba, where he is a teacher. It is a poor neighborhood with many problems like prostitution, sexual abuse and all kinds of delinquency. We went to investigate possibilities of reaching out for Christ there. On the way to the neighborhood, Lucas told me different stories about how some of the kids in his school had been raped or had parents who are prostitutes and that many of the girls would do the same.

When we arrived we asked a young father if he knew if there was a church in the neighborhood. He told us that there isn’t but that there was a guy who teaches catechism classes on Saturday’s. His name is Jorge, and the Jesuit priest that we met is named Pablo. We told Jorge that we are believers, but not from any particular denomination (meaning not Catholic). He invited us to observe the catechism. As we walked across the street to the community center, there were about 30 children waiting. Most of them were about 12-15 years of age. To our surprise, Jorge told the children that Lucas and I were going to teach the older class. Lucas knows some who were in our class because he teaches them every week.

At first, I didn’t know what to do with this opportunity. I knew that if I really sat down with the priest and with Jorge that we might disagree on many things. Then I thought, God has opened this door, and we preach Christ and not ourselves… so they shouldn’t have a problem with that.

We spent the next hour talking to the kids about Christ, and the need to be born again to have Spiritual life. It seems like some of the kids were getting it. At the end of the time, we asked them to write down what ever they wanted to say to God in their notebooks. Some of them wrote to Mary, some wrote the Lord’s Prayer, some asked for God to bless their family, some asked for their sins to be forgiven, and some wrote things like, “Today, I learned that I need to have Spiritual life with You.”

Lord, will you guide us to speak truth to all people. Will you open their hearts to know You, and to trust in Christ! Help us to overcome religion for the sake of Christ.  God through Your Spirit, please minister to Jorge and Pablo’s hearts.

Here’s how we backpack in the sierras de cordoba

fotos nuevas

John 17:1-5 Jesus was in the zone…

He was so connected to the Father that it was as if He could see His Father as He lifted His eyes to heaven.  He most likely could.

We see here a quick glance into Jesus’ heart of who He is on the night just before He suffered for us.

- Jesus is God:  “Glorify your son” implies a claim to deity since the Old Testament tells us that “He will not share His glory with another” (Is. 42:8; 48:11). “the hour has come,” God is particularly glorified through the cross of Christ.

-Christ has authority over all flesh__ because of His authority we can be yoked to Christ and know that He will lead us. Our creator knows us (Psalm 139:1-6)… He formed us (13-16).  How can we now not submit ourselves to Him?

- Christ gives eternal life __ to all the Father has given Him.  This is a God-centered gospel, which implies that God seeks us, and we believe… trust and keep trusting.   He desires that no one would perish. God wants all of us to trust Him, and look no longer to the flesh, the world or the evil one.  He thrashes our sin and purges it out of us… the truth sets us free.  If any one is in Christ, he is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).  Now I no longer live, but Christ lives in me (Gal. 2:20).  This gift of grace of eternal life produces joy and gratefulness that transforms our lives. It is like the aroma of fresh baked bread. He makes this grace so appealing to us that we cannot resist it.   How different than becoming a Christian through praying a prayer or receiving Jesus or walking down to an altar to whisper in the pastor’s ear.

We see in this pray of Christ that eternal life is knowing God.  We see that glorifying God is accomplishing the work that He gives us to do.

- Christ is eternal___ He has no beginning and no end!

In this prayer, He begins by telling the Father about Himself.  Maybe we should tell the Father about ourselves with the expectation that as we do He will show us who Christ is and transform us into Christ-likeness.

The number that God keeps putting on my heart

“Pueblos” is Spanish for “towns.” 10000 is the number God keeps putting on my heart.  It is good to have a goal. 

The humanist Henry David Thoreau said, ” If you built castles in the sky ; your work need not be lost ; that is where they should be. Now, put the foundations under them. “

How much more should the Church dream big dreams? For Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” 

It seems that Paul believed in big dreams in these ways:

• He believed God wants to reach the world, then began living that way.
• He believed that Jesus is the foundation of those dreams. 
• He believed that His power works within us.
• He led others to pray big things for God’s glory.

So unlike Thoreau, we have One who is already our foundation and our cornerstone, now we can walk into the plan that God already has for the Church: “to make disciples of all nations.”  Suddenly, I don’t feel that alone anymore.  Jesus said, “HE is with us until the end of this age.”

God wants His grace to be poured out on people’s lives like the rain pours out on dry and parched land… which causes the land to produce good fruit. Imagine 10,000 towns becoming fruitful for God in this generation.  I can think of no other way to invest my life that is better than for a big dream, which is eternal.  I see my life standing before His throne singing eternal praises to my King, and all around me, people “from every tribe and nation.”

10,000 towns reached for Christ during this generation + 100 people per town changed by His grace= 1,000,000 grace-transformed disciples made during our life time.

How about you? Are you with Him?

Life and Ministry in Nueva Cordoba

We are having some technical difficulties with our e-newsletter server, so I have the snail mail version for you here.

“…they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:16).

Dear Partner in the Gospel,

Thank you for your joyful giving to our ministry during a tough time for America.  Thank you for investing in God’s kingdom with us.

Sometimes I think that we should see a movement of God that is much quicker than is our present reality.  Then I am encouraged that we are on God’s timetable and not our own.  I am reminded that it took Solomon seven years to build the 90 by 30 feet temple to perfection.  It took Paul 14 years to be prepared to set out on his missionary journeys. And John lived into his 90’s faithfully ministering the grace of God. 

We are reaching a community that is highly educated by free socialistic university.  We are reaching out to a society that is a very secular and post-Roman Catholic. We are reaching people who think evangelicalism is a cult and it is only for the poor and uneducated to be deceived.

Still, the reality of Christ’s love is sparking a small flame in the hearts of a few who are being transformed into His people, whose journeys  have encouraged us to keep preaching grace to those who are in the worst kind of poverty, spiritual poverty. People like Laureano, who has come to Christ in the last few weeks after an intense 6 months of weighing out Scriptural truths with his former religious belief. The key was a series of questions in our “Life Forever” evangelistic discipleship study. “Have you ever misunderstood Mary’s words to the point that you see her as one of the ways to God?” “Are you willing to give your past belief to God?” “Where are you at in your spiritual journey with God?” His answers were “yes, maybe, and 50%,” which opened the door to lead him to Christ!

I wish that I could report to you that hundreds have trusted in Christ here, but that is not the reality in an area like Nueva Cordoba.  The truth is we are reinventing the way missions is done so as to be relevant to the people of this city.  Using traditional ministry approaches here do not produce the goal of making disciples due to the spiritual apathy of the people and their prejudices. Spreading God’s grace here requires spiritual strength and perseverance coupled with fervent prayer and creative evangelism.  Planting churches today in Argentina is a task that few have decided to do. We have a goal of reaching 10000 pueblos or towns with the gospel.  Right now, we often feel outnumbered and alone.  That is why we need your prayers. 

Please pray with us in the Kingdom calling that God has for our ministry.  Please continue to give so that we may remain here as a light to this city that is scarcely graced with the gospel.

Grace to You,

David Fulfer

The Revival that you may hear about in Argentina

Yesterday, I went to the ATM to take out some money.  Above the machine I noticed some invitations for a healing service at the Universal Kingdom of God Church in downtown Cordoba.  So I had the idea that we could go (respectfully, not confrontationally) and film what really happens there. This morning we went to try and film at this healing service.  They let us in, but would not let us film anything. In the time I was there, I did not hear the Word of God being taught or even read.  However, there was an offering taken with a promise that all who give would be made prosperous, and there was an invitation to go to the “Santuario de Milagros” or the Sanctuary of Miracles. The “pastor” gave the invitation for people to bring a picture of their families into the Sanctuary of Miracles so that He could touch the photo and heal the sicknesses that the people had. It is my understanding that this particular church does nothing more than what I witnessed today.  I was amazed to see over 100 people in this place in the middle of the day. This shows that there is a hunger in people for something beyond themselves.  

In the early 20^th century, missionaries to Argentina started several churches but not a mentality for church planting.  In the 70’s 80’s and 90’s many churches were started, but quickly became saturated with unbiblical teaching and emotionalism.  Many churches preach a second blessing of baptism by the “holy spirit” that they say must be accompanied by the gift of tongues. This is the “revival” that you may have heard about in Argentina.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OEgi9VjjgU

 

Using the video footage from the above link of the most famous “preacher” from Argentina, Carlos Anacondia, I have taken the time to outline for you what the gospel is for many “evangelicals” in Argentina. You can see this at 2:30 in the video.

 

Taken from Mark 16:17-18 their gospel is three things:

1)      Being delivered from demonic powers

2)      Being baptized in the Holy Spirit

3)      Being healed of their sicknesses and diseases

 

Unfortunately these verses are misused today and were actually apostolic in nature (meaning, meant to be gifts that the original apostles used to authenticate the Gospel message of salvation by faith in Christ alone.)  in this video it says that by the preaching of the gospel people will be set free.  This is true when we are talking about freedom from sin and death. Christ promised that believers would be baptized by the Holy Spirit.  This one of the most misunderstood teachings of our day.

 

I have outlined in the following graph, the misunderstanding of this teaching taken from another verse in Luke 3:16,17:

The action of Jesus	Comparison	Explanation	Misunderstanding today
Baptize with the Holy Spirit	He will store the wheat in His barn	He will gather believers into heaven	Many think that this means that the believer will receive a special grace of God and be able to speak in tongues and prophecy
Baptize with fire	He will burn the husks with a fire that never goes out.	He will punish unbelievers in hell	Some think that “baptize with fire” is having an ardent spirituality, like having a fire that will never go out, but the context explains that there is condemnation for those who reject Christ.

Paul would call what is being preached in Argentina today, “another gospel, which really is not another,” so must I as well.

 

THE PROBLEM: Thousands of pueblos in Argentina and lower South America are without a biblical church. 

Our message is that the grace of God saves us and transforms us through a relationship with Jesus Christ. As we trust in Him by faith because of His work on the cross and the fact that He rose from the dead as the living God, He gives us His life in the place of our death and sin. 

Our passion is that every pueblo in this region of the world will have a biblical church. 

Our goal is to reach people, disciple new believers, train them for ministry, organize workers into teams, and mobilize them to plant churches to many unreached pueblos around lower South America and the world.

THE SOLUTION: We need more people to join with us. For this vision to happen we need a network of churches committed to seeing South America reached with the true gospel. We need more workers to be trained and sent out to preach and live the gospel of transformation in these many pueblos.  We need more believers committed to giving of their expertise and resources.

I have been involved in South American ministry now for 10 years.  I have never seen evidence of such a network. I have only seen a handful of churches bring down their people to get a taste of the need here, but they have just nibbled at the crumbs of possibility instead of buying, preparing and eating the whole meal deal.

I challenge you to google and see how many organizations are even working in Argentina. You will see work going on in Brazil, Peru, Bolivia and maybe Chile, but little to nothing in Argentina or Uruguay.  40 million people and maybe 2% that have a true faith in Christ… that equals a lot of work to be done.  I challenge you to google and see how many South American church planting networks exists. You may find some working in Central America, but there is a vast sea of uncertainty when it comes to Biblical work in Argentina. 

I am burden for this country to be reached, but just a handful of people are working to see this happen. I pray that believer’s eyes everywhere will be opened to the potential harvest in this proud country.

The Believer’s Rest

I just finished a discipleship time with a young 20 year old guy. He is like many of us, when we first come to Christ.  We want to learn as much as we can, as quick as we can.  In his case, he wants to put away his old life and be transformed.  He wants to be the best believer that he can be for that pretty girl he met who is also a believer. 

So that “God” will accomplish a transformed life, we often get involved with as many Bible studies that we can.  We run from one conference to the next, and from one worship service to the next.  We think that we are doing exactly what God would have us to do, but we forget one very important Scriptural precept: REST!

God created the world and everything in it in six days. On the seventh day, he decided to start on another world… no, He rested! The writer of Hebrews gives us this example just before he writes about the Believer’s rest.  “For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his work as God did from His” (Hebrews 4:11).

So what do we “rest” in? In God? yes! And in what God has already done in us and for us.  He has accomplished everything for us already.  Every spiritual characteristic is given to us at the moment He graces us with the gift of life, ie. salvation. We do not have to work for it.  We have to just live in His grace.  Paul wrote something similar to the Galatians.  “Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (3:3).

So how do we rest in a spiritual sense? None of this is an excuse to be spiritually lazy. I think the answer is in the following verses: “Let us be diligent to enter that rest so that no one will fall… for the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit… able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart… all things are laid open and bare to His eyes (Heb. 4:11-13).  God wants us to rest in Him by allowing His word and His Spirit to work in tandem transforming our state into what our stance before Him already is.  He already knows us, so we might as well rest in the fact that He is God and He has a purpose for us that will bring Him glory.

We even see the “why?” in this passage.  Jesus, the One who loves us, sympathizes with our weaknesses because He too was tempted in all things, except He did not sin (Heb. 4:15) So therefore, “Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in a time of need” (4:16). The other day I walked by a bread shop and could smell the fresh baked goodness.  It is the type of smell that just draws you in and says, “buy some criollo bisquits and take some home eating one or two on the way.” That is the way grace is.

We had a good little chat about some of these things.  As I walked him to the door he gave me a big hug. As I was closing the door, he started running across the street… I hope he was running home to rest.  Sweet dreams!

Remembering 9/11

In 2001, I traveled extensively.  On September 11, 2001, I was in the Andes Mountains in Argentina.  I was traveling with an Argentine pastor named Luis Raigne.  When we arrived to Villa La Angostura, we stopped to get some food for lunch.  I waited in the car as Luis went into the market.  When he returned to the car, he told me, “The US is under attack”.  My heart sank with the greatest of confusion.  How could this happen? What does this mean? Who is doing this? Are my family and friends safe? I sat in disbelief for the next couple of hours as I watched the terror on the news.  Five days later I was on the first flight permitted to leave from Buenos Aires. What a hard week to be away from our country!

As the memory fades of that moment, I am grateful to remember today why we are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.  I am thankful for the sacrifice of thousands through out our country’s history who have given their lives for freedom.  I pray for the family of the victims that God would give them the grace to live this life without the burden of this event that changed America forever.  I pray for our leadership that God would give them direction to lead our country responsibly and without political prejudice. 

Check out this video: