1SFMI Update

Prayer/NewsUPDATESFMI

Shield of Faith Mission International

Fulfillng the Great Commission Through Establishing New Testament Churches

Winter 2018

Training andTeaching

P.O. Box 144, Bend, Oregon 97709 • Phone (541) 382-7081 Fax (541) 382-4471 • email sfmi@sfmiusa.org

Online at www.sfmiusa.org

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Gretchen VirkSFMI Office

Gretchen had blood work done last week, and her numbers were 33, in the normal range. When she started, her numbers were at 7000. So she is rejoicing.

Her follow up communique is: “Follow up from appointment. Doctor officially confirmed I am in complete remission (no evidence of cancer in my bloodwork or scans). The medicine I am taking is working. The future is always unknown as ‘remission’ does not mean cure. But guess what!!!!?—I will gladly take it! I choose optimism. Next checkup is in 2 months.”

In this issue:A Christian Nonnegotiable Belief ..................................................................................Page 3The Fear of God ................................................................................................................Page 5The Presence of God ........................................................................................................Page 7Short-Term Training Course ..........................................................................................Page 9Missionary News ............................................................................................................Page 10Winter Conference .........................................................................................................Page 15

Jim Lucas (Texas)April 16th to May 21st 2019 will see another training course in Texas.

Email Subscription: If you are interested in receiving the Prayer/News Update by email, please contact our office today with your email address. sfmi@sfmiusa.org

NOTE: The Update is sent free upon request to all wishing to receive it. The cost of $9 per year per subscriber for this Update is covered by the freewill offerings of God’s people.

Shield of Faith Mission International

Administration

Dick YorkFounder, Editor

Executive Council

Richard McDanielMission President

Training Program Director

Frank StangelMission Vice-President

Torry Rockwood

Mission Treasurer Technical Support

Jim Miller

Board Secretary Office Manager, Asst. Editor

General Board Members

OfficeHoward Modin, Office Secretary

Located at:1599 NW Galveston Ave

Bend, Oregon 97701(not for postal delivery)

(541) 382-7081

James BonnerDave KercherWeb LoyJames LucasBrian Martell

David MartellLarry Montgomery Edwin NewbyJack RingSkip Voetberg

Cover Photo: Brethren gathered at the recent Mexico

Missions conference.

3SFMI Update

The title seems preposterous. Aren’t Christians called “believers”? Isn’t it impossible to be an unbelieving believer?

Lewis Carroll’s White Queen once said, “Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!” It may be time for us to believe some impossible things.

For, as strange as it would seem, there is a mission’s movement today that seeks to make people “Christians” by eliminating many of those things Christians believe, indeed must believe, to legitimately call themselves by that name. In missiological circles, it is called the “insider movement.”

I may have lost some of you already. “Never heard of it,” some of you may be saying; “so just how important can it be?” And you may be right.

Like many of the fads that pass through churches in the West, this may simply fade away when it is no longer new, titillating, unique. However, its advocates—and many of its detractors—call it the most important issue in the church today:

I believe the debate about Insider Movements actually is a debate about the gospel, one as potentially earth-shaking as the Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, and Anabaptist reform movements of the 16th century. (Kevin Higgins, “Devoteds”)

Indeed, advocates of the insider movement (IM) contend that what is at stake is “the integrity of the gospel itself.” (Rebecca Lewis, “Integrity”)

So...what exactly is the “insider movement”? Though the term is broad, it can be defined by one of its advocates: “insider movements consist of believers remaining in and transforming their own pre-existing family networks, minimally disrupting their own pre-existing families and communities.” (Lewis, “Promoting”)

In practice, this means they speak positively of Messianic Muslims, Hindu Christ-Followers, Buddhist believers in Christ. The insider movement among Muslims, for example, encourages “converts” to remain in the mosque, call themselves muslims, make the hajj and, in many cases, continue to hold Mohammed as a prophet and the Koran as a book of spiritual import. Often, Muslim converts to Christ who have left the mosque are encouraged to return in order to win others. Some promoters of IM encourage missionaries to publicly convert to Islam in order to

witness in that community. Thus, these “converts” are not saved from their “false religion” but in it. IM promoters would bristle at the term “false religion,” insisting true Islamic perspective shows that the “religion revealed by all the prophets (e.g., Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad) was originally the same . . . ‘true Islam’ is what real Christians believe.” (Bernard Dutch, “Should Muslims Become ‘Christians’?” IJFM 17:1 [2000]: 17)

These “Jesus-muslims” are often not baptized in order to avoid the reproach baptism brings. Some do not meet in a local congregation of believers, even in a home study. One IM author has written excitedly about this in his book, Churchless Christianity. IM groups have made new translations of the Bible, eliminating terms unacceptable to muslims—Son of God, Son of man, God the Father—and adding the phrase “blessed be his name” at the mention of any of the prophets.

Where is this strange aberration coming from? How has what may tacitly be named “syncretism” found it way into the heart of evangelical mission organizations?

By the road of “contextualization.” We do not expect converts from Islam to adopt western cultural practices. No convert to Christ should be required to dress in a western fashion nor make his Christianity look like what that in the US. Converts may wish to continue taking their shoes off when they enter a place where they study the Bible. They may pray kneeling with forehead to the ground. These things are purely superficial, not forbidden in Scripture and principally cultural in character, without, in themselves, religious weight. If these are done by choice, without compulsion or attribution of Scriptural authority, they are not improper since the Scripture gives no inspired posture for prayer and the New Testament admonition concerning clothing is that it be modest, not that it be a certain style.

However, when in the name of contextualization converts are encouraged to continue in religious practices of their past, identifying themselves as adepts to their past religion and when they attribute final spiritual authority to a prophet, leader or founder of some religious movement or to his writings, the line has been crossed from contextualization to syncretism; and the message is no longer that of Biblical Christianity. Also, when a particular cultural practice is given spiritual significance and made a requirement for right standing before God, the message has departed from the Biblical Gospel.

Conversion to Christianity requires repentance and faith (Acts 20:21). Repentance includes turning to God from idol s—and false religions and false prophets (1 Thess.

A Christian Nonnegotiable: Belief

Steve Montgomery

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1:9). Faith means believing certain things: things about Christ, His Work and His Word. Apart from that sense of repentance and apart from that meaning of faith, there is reason to question whether there has been true conversion.

Among those certain things which must be believed is the Sonship of Christ. When Philip preached Christ to the Ethiopian eunuch, he clearly emphasized this essential truth, for when the eunuch asked to be baptized, Philip replied, “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (Acts 8:37) It was on his confession of Jesus as the Son of God that Philip baptized this new believer. If IM hides or covers the Sonship of Christ, they are presenting less than the Gospel.

Another truth which, if denied, brings into question the salvation of the denier is the trinity. While I cannot say that belief in the trinity is a requirement of salvation, I can say that denial of the trinity should cause us to question if conversion has taken place. To deny the trinity not only requires we ignore a preponderance of Scripture, it also brings into question, depending on how the relationship with the Father is perverted, the true Sonship of Christ, Christ’s true humanity or His Lordship. Many IM promotors call the trinity fruit of an unhealthy mix between Jewish Messianic and Greek philosophy. So their desperate attempts to justify a fruitless decisionism has led them not only to call the doctrine of the trinity a non-essential but to go a step further and call it false, a product of syncretism.

But wait! Are these IM promoters telling us that attempts to mix Christianity with other religions and

philosophies will create false doctrine and syncretism? Have they heard themselves?

Rom. 10:9 tells us that another essential truth is the Lordship of Christ. If Jesus is the lord, another is not. God has declared He will not share His glory with another (Is. 42:8); and Jesus spoke of the impossibility of serving two masters (Mat. 6:24). You cannot serve both Jesus and Mohammed, nor call both Buddha and Jesus “Lord.” To recognize Mohammed as a prophet is to lower Jesus, for one of the clear distinguishing mark of all true prophets is that they pointed to Christ as supreme.

A non-negotiable truth which undergirds all of these and in turn is undergirded by the very nature of God is the authority of the written Word, the Bible. No other scripture can be held as equal, or near, or comparable to the Bible without exalting that writing and lowering the uniqueness of the Bible. IM missionaries struggle to find ways to endorse the Koran as a book of God and in so doing, make the Bible less than it is.

IM also lowers the Bible by making culture the interpreter and determiner of Bible instruction. Old and New Testament declarations are lightly dismissed as “cultural,” and therefore non-binding. Biblical authority becomes relativized, to be examined by the final authority of, “Will that work here?” Thus, for example, water baptism is pushed aside or replaced with some practice unfound in Scripture. This matter of culture over Scripture is a watershed issue, for as Christians we believe, as David Garner expressed it, “The divine canon transcends and trumps any cultural canon.”

Introducing Jessie and Tess BarnardMissionaries with SFMI

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, My name is Jesse Barnard, and my wife Tess and

I are praying about going to Ecuador in March. We would love for you to join us in prayer as we begin to take steps in that direction. We have had the peace to start on paperwork and would love prayer that God would give us wisdom in this and favor with the Ec-uadorian government. Please pray that God would go before us and prepare the hearts of the people there and that we would walk in the way He has for us. We would also appreciate prayer for the health of Tess and our baby as we are expecting in April.

Isaiah 62:10-11: “Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a stan-dard for the people. Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, say ye to the daughter of Zion, behold thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.”

Blessings, Jess and Tess

5SFMI Update

Richard McDaniel

The Fear of God“Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.” (Ps. 112:1)

We have a sign that we use in our street evangelism that says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” This sign gets more reactions from passers-by than any of the others which we use. Unbelievers chafe at the idea of having to fear someone. They associate fear with condemnation and the prospect of judgment for those who don’t submit to the one who should be feared. This is actually the right perspective to have, but it’s not one they want to accept. What is puzzling, however, is the reaction from many believers. They say we are giving the wrong message, turning people away from God, not showing love, etc. We point out that the quote on our sign comes directly from the Bible. Does the Bible give the wrong message?

The Bible speaks of fear that is healthy and fear that is not healthy. It is healthy for every man to know that there is a God in the heavens that created us and that we are accountable to Him. He is the judge of all the earth and will always judge in righteousness. There are consequences for those who deny Him, disobey Him and trifle with Him. Those that are not right with God should fear for their own well-being because in reality they are in great danger. Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon entitled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in which he used Scripture to describe in graphic terms the wrath of God and the perilous position of those who reject His offer of reconciliation. As he preached, the Holy Ghost descended upon his congregations, bringing tremendous conviction which incited men and women to weep and tremble in their pews. It is right and good that men should fear God concerning the perilous condition of their souls. When men can see something of the Almighty, the righteous God, and in contrast, see man in his sinful state, the correct response is to say like Isaiah, “Woe is me! For I am undone” (Isa. 6: 5). “The Lord shall judge his people [those He created]. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands

of the living God” (Heb. 10:30,31). When we consider godly fear, we need to think

of it in terms of a respect and reverence for God. He has revealed Himself to us, and we are to stand in awe of Him. The book of Proverbs describes fear in several ways. It is the beginning of knowledge, the beginning of wisdom, and a fountain of life to depart from the snares of death (Prov. 1:7; 9:10; 14:27). A good and proper fear begins with a realization that God is the Almighty. He is the Judge of all the earth. I am but a worm in comparison. Along with that, there is a realization of His great mercy and grace: that God would save a “wretch like me.” This is the fear which is the beginning of knowledge. Wisdom is the application of knowledge. It is wise for man to fear God. Only those who fear God can partake of the fountain of life.

The testimony of Job was that he was a man that feared God and eschewed [abstained from] evil (Job 1:1). God says, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. Pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate” (Prov. 8:13). The God-fearing man will be in agreement with God. That which He hates, the one who fears God will hate also. This hatred of evil separates the godly from the ungodly. They have two different perspectives concerning evil.

Holiness is perfected through the fear of God (2 Cor. 7:1). Those whom God loves, He chastens. He does it for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness. Knowing this, the children of God should have respect for the rod of correction and, in reverence for Him, submit to Him (Heb. 12: 5-10). Unfortunately there is a carelessness among Christians today. Grace has been misrepresented in Christianity as a means of excusing sin and as that which gives license for Christians to live carelessly. This, I think, has contributed to a lack of respect for God in the church today. You can hear this in the contemporary Christian songs. “God is my buddy; Jesus is my boyfriend” is a generalization of the content of some of them. There’s a certain familiarity in the songs and in the preaching that brings Him down to our level and detracts from the

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fact that He is the Most High God. It is true that He is our friend, but this doesn’t release us from our obligation to submit to Him as Lord, nor does it put us on an equal level with Him. Jesus said, “Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you” (Jn. 15:14).

“Teach me thy way, O Lord. I will walk in thy truth. Unite my heart to fear thy name” (Ps. 86:11). A divided heart will undermine a person’s respect for God and bring about compromise. Man’s carnality seeks to distract him and to take his eyes off of Him and to put them on himself. It seeks to diminish His word so that it doesn’t have the authority it should have. Just as a divided house cannot stand, so it is with a divided heart. Knowing this, the cry of the godly should be, “Lord, unite my heart to fear thy name. Give me a single-minded pursuit after God.”

There are other benefits which God extends to those that fear Him. The man that fears the Lord will be taught by the Lord. God will reveal to him His secrets. He lays up His goodness for him and shows him His marvelous kindness. There is no want to them that fear Him. The eye of the Lord is fixed upon them. The Lord pities them and extends His mercy to them. He is a companion to them. These benefits are all stated in these verses from the Psalms: Ps. 25:12,14; 31:19; 33:18; 34:9; 61:5; 103:13,17; 119:63.

There is a fear that is not healthy for man. The fear of death is not healthy. Scripture describes it as a bondage (Heb. 2:15). If I am in right standing with God, however, why should I fear death? Death is a release from the body of my flesh into His presence for all eternity.

The Christian need not fear to hear the voice of the Lord or to come into His presence. We have an advocate in Jesus Christ that releases us from that; and we can now approach the Lord with boldness and confidence, knowing that when Christ died, the veil which kept man from God was rent.

It is not good to fear what man will think of us or of what he can do to our bodies. “The fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe” (Prov. 29:25). It is the fear of man that shuts our mouths from speaking truth. It is this fear that causes believers to shy away from “offending” those who are lost. There is a reproach between God and the world, which Christ Jesus took upon Himself. We are called to

bear that reproach with Christ. Fear will keep us from it, however; and it is this fear which brings about the kind of reaction by some Christians to the quotation on our sign that I referred to in the beginning of this article.

We need not fear tragic circumstances nor to fear the enemies of God. Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33). Our circumstances may cause us to be anxious.

Anxiety is a manifestation of fear. It comes about because of a lack of trust. Fear and unbelief go hand in hand. Jesus said, “Fear not little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Lu. 12:32). He would have us to see beyond our present state of affairs to the end result.

“God has not given us the spirit of fear” (2 Tim. 1:7). At the time of this writing Paul was in a prison cell in Rome, awaiting execution. In this passage he isn’t talking about the fear of God but about fearing man, and death, and the unknown. This is the carnal fear. The apostle John also speaks about this carnal fear. He says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love” (I Jn. 4:18).There are two ways to apply this. One is if a man doesn’t love God, he has reason to fear the judgment of God. Once he comes into the love of God, however, that fear is cast out, for he need not fear judgment any longer. The second application is walking in love means that one is walking in faith. In perfect faith, “which worketh by love” (Gal. 5:6), there is no fear of death or of man or of circumstances. Those fears are cast out by love.

Everything the Bible says indicates that the fear of God is a good thing. It is good for the unbeliever because it shows that they realize what can happen to them in their present state. It is good for the believer because it’s the beginning of knowledge and of wisdom and is a fountain of life.

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Eccl. 12:13-14).

7SFMI Update

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb.11:1). Not all living things are visible. God is a Spirit; Moses endured as seeing Him who is invisible. Invisible to the eye, but His presence is manifested in many ways. The awe-some presence of God can bring fear, wisdom, faith or peace, joy, revelation, understanding, light, compas-sion, humility, leaving no doubt of His presence.

The fear of God is unique to all other fears. True fear of God is not found by your casual seeker.

“My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments” (Pr. 2:1). Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowl-edge of God (Pr.1:5). The presence of God will be revealed to those who honor His commandments; but the light hearted efforts of many may soothe their conscience, possibly bring a temporary comfort, or a fuzzy feeling. However, only those who have been in His presence can understand the fear of God.

Those who have known His fear are endowed with wisdom and find the knowledge of God. And unto man He said, “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28).

The presence of God brings faith because He is the author of faith (Heb.I2: 2). Faith is fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5: 23). The one who knows that God is with him, fears nothing else. “Because, greater is He that’s in you than he that’s in the world” (1 John 1:4). His presence brings peace that passes all understanding (Ph. 4:70). Fear of our circumstances and the lack of peace assures a need for seeking His presence.

The joy of the Lord is our strength. The joy of the Lord can only be found in His presence. The one who walks steadfast in His presence will maintain the joy and strength of God. The joy of the Lord is the mark of the one who has been spending time with our Lord and Savior.

Revelation is given by the Holy Spirit; Jesus said that the Comforter (Holy Spirit) would teach us all things. See John 14: 26.

Like Philip many are professing to have been long with Jesus and still not knowing the Father. This should not be because for this very purpose Jesus came to manifest the Heavenly Father in order to reconcile us. We had to come to know the Father. See John 14:1.

Too often the knowledge of God has been taught by man, and not by revelation of the Holy Spirit. This is very serious because our hope of salvation

depends upon it. “And this is life eternal, that they might know

thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). Jesus came for this very purpose.

Teaching can sound good, even reasonable; beware of the wisdom of man. Paul brings out the importance of comparing spiritual things with spiritual rather than the wisdom of man.

“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man‘s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiri-tual But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God” (2 Cor. 2:13,14).

A good example of man’s wisdom is his reluc-tance to minister the cross of Christ. They don’t want to offend anybody. Grant you, it is not good to bring offence because of our wrong doing; and we will be held accountable if we do. However, the preaching of the cross is not foolishness for the believer.

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18). Believers are called to preach Christ crucified. That means obviously CHRIST is not the only one who is to be crucified, for He did no sin. Of course His death alone pays the penalty of our sin because He gave a perfect sac-rifice. Then He graciously gave opportunity for us to repent of our sins and to follow Him. “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come af-ter me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, for what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Ma.16:24-26).

Today people are preaching a gospel where they are willing to accept that Christ Jesus needs be cruci-fied, much like the ones who demanded for Jesus to be crucified. “ Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified!” (Ma.27:22). There seems to be an allowance for sin that is contrary to sound doctrine. For example Paul wrote to the Gala-tians, “And they that are Christ‘s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Gal.5:27).

Paul had a testimony that he was crucified with Christ. “I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live, yet not I but I live by the faith of the Son of God who died and gave himself for me” (Gal.2:20). How about you? Do you have this testimony? If you do

The Presence of God Jim Lucas

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I encourage you to preach the gospel of Christ cru-cified. Paul said, “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16).

The Apostle John wrote under the anointing of the Holy Spirit: “These things write we unto you that your joy me be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).

I also sincerely desire that your joy me be full. As stated before, the joy of the Lord is only found in the presence of God Almighty. The Holy Spirit wants us to know, with no doubt, “that God is Light, and in him is no darkness AT ALL.”

That is spoken simply and to the point. Then the next verse is equally clear and to the point. “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.” Paul said: “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” Comparing spiritual things with spiritual we can understand. For us to say we are having fellow-ship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. Notice it says “and do not the truth”; it doesn’t say “and knows not the truth in this age;” many may know the truth but fail to live it.

Thanks be to God the Holy Spirit doesn’t end the epistle here because He finds it important for us to know how we can have our sins forgiven. He goes on to say: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1: 70).

The word walk in Greek is (peripateo) tread all about, that is to walk all around (especially as a proof of ability). It does my heart good to see the professing believer walking IN the light.

I am sure many of you will remember this next verse.“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive our-selves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). I truly thank God for this verse because as you know, all of us have sinned. But we never should think it’s ok to continue to sin. The wages of sin is death, and death is separation from God. Therefore, it is impossible to be in sin and be in fellowship with God.

What do you do if you fall into sin? The same as we did when we first heard the gospel, believe His word and repent.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrigh-teousness” (John 1:9). Our wonderful Savior knows how to deliver us; He will cleanse us of our filthy ways, giving us a new heart that loves righteousness and holiness.

The presence of God is amazing, once He is truly in charge. He changes things. He takes the sinner and makes him a saint. The mysterious, invisible, creator of mankind is magnificent in all of His ways.

“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glo-ry” (Col.1:27). “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Col.1:28). “And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion to-ward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd and He began to teach them many things” (Mark 6: 34).

Here He is teaching sinners the way. Good and upright is the LORD. “The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mer-cy” (Ps. 145: 8).

Jesus always demonstrated the love of God. “Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them” (Lu .4: 44).

Jesus is the same today, and He still heals all that we bring unto Him. God commendeth His love to-ward us, “In that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

In the three and half years of His ministry on this planet, the attributes most demonstrated above all are love and humility. The greatest demonstration of love and humility that has ever been or ever will be seen in this world took place at Calvary. Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Creator of all that is cre-ated, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, came and was made in the likeness of men. He not only came as a man but came as a servant of all demonstrated so effectively in the washing of the disciples’ feet, obedient to the will of His Father even unto death and even the cruel death of the cross. This act of humbling Himself to this degree, simply because of love, outshines all other noble efforts made by man. In doing this He overcame the devil, death, the grave and made it possible for us to do the same; but you and I know we can only do it in Him. His PRESENCE is my greatest desire. I recently learned something that really blesses me.

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Al-mighty” (Psalms 91:1). The shadow of the invisible God is the way He makes His presence known. This He chooses to do when we are walking pleasing unto Him. Dwelling in the secret place comes for those who really desire it. The blessing the shadow gives is the knowledge that He is there.

9SFMI Update

Richard McDaniel

Short TermTraining Course

Frequently we get requests from various places in the world for help in teaching/training of church leadership as well as building up the saints in the churches. We, as a mission team (SFMI), are committed to doing the will of God for the end of establishing His church here on earth. Our vision is to fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ through the establishing of New Testament churches. We believe the Christian mission has two great objectives: God and lost men. As redeemed men, our primary objective is God Himself, knowing Him and loving Him with all of our being. The great object of God’s heart is reconciling lost men to Himself; and because our love is fixed on Him, we love what He loves. His objectives become ours. Thus the primary task of Christian mission is to extend God’s reconciliation to all nations and to every creature. The Commission doesn’t stop with bringing men into the kingdom. Conversion to Christ is just the beginning. Jesus said that we are to make them His disciples. This involves teaching the new converts to observe all that Jesus commanded.

SFMI offers two programs that are intended to help in understanding discipleship and in the making of disciples. These programs may vary some in length and content but are intended to run for a two-week period of time with about forty hours of teaching. In addition to class time, the programs may include other activities and requirements for the attendees. Both men and women may attend. Our only requirement is that those who come are serious about following Christ, desiring to do His will and committed to attending the full program. All who come will be expected to come with their Bibles and to be prepared to take notes. (Exception can be made for those who don’t read.)

PROGRAM OVERVIEW: Program I. Discipleship Course: comprising forty hours of teaching. 1. Defining the Gospel (4) 2. Defining Discipleship (2) 3. Tools of Discipleship (14) 4. Quiet Time/ Hearing from God (4)

5. God’s Eternal Purpose (12) 6. Biblical Faith (4)

Program II. The Church Studies*: comprising forty hours of teaching. 1. Priesthood of the Believer (10) 2. The Church; Defined, Purpose and Function (14) 3. Spiritual Gifts and Ministries (10) 4. Servant of the Lord (abbrev.) (6)

*The second program is built for those who are more mature in the Lord and are already functioning as His disciples. We believe that the Scriptures do not support the clergy/laity system which is currently the standard for the traditional church. Our teachings on the church will show from the Word that every believer is called, ordained, and gifted for ministry. With this as a foundation, we will be teaching on how God intended for the church to function. When the church is following the pattern given by Jesus and the apostles, every member of the body will grow strong in faith, sharing in the responsibilities of ministry; and there will be a multiplication of disciples, just as happened in the book of Acts. What we teach will possibly be contradictory to what you and your organization practice. We want you to be aware of that. Therefore, we advise that if you who are in leadership are not willing to consider this simple and scriptural pattern of church life, with the changes it may require in your present system, you should not apply for this second program.

At your request and if the Lord is willing, Shield of Faith Mission is willing to send the workers necessary to conduct these short-term training programs. They will trust the Lord to provide for their own travel needs. We expect, however, that in the matters of venue, travel, lodging and food (if these things are necessary) that the local churches will be responsible for these costs. Please contact the SFMI Office for further information or to request a program.

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Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)Jerry and Cherry Skiles

My last trip to Ivory Coast in September was full of unexpected changes, but the Lord created alternatives that actually worked to quicker results with all goals being reached. I left Oregon, and about fifty-six hours later I was in the tribe in N.E. Ivory Coast. I have never traveled that fast or in some ways that hard. I spent about twenty hours in planes and about ten hours on a motorcycle getting there. I thank the Lord for giving the strength and safety to be able to do that.

The rains were exceptionally hard this year, filling the rivers beyond their normal flood levels. The ferry where I often cross from Ghana to Ivory Coast was out of service due to flooding; that did not create a problem this time as I was traveling on a motorcycle and used a waiting canoe that ferries the river in all conditions.

I was not able to spend as much time with the Loron and Loma believers as I would have liked. The flooded swamps made moving difficult and several meetings were aborted due to rains. Despite the flooding I was able to deliver food supplies to five schools for their lunches. My return to the airport in Ghana involved another long motorcycle ride down flooded paths and through tightened security in Burkina Faso, and navigating again the swollen Black Volta River that creates the border.

Cherry and I have plans to return in January and February to the tribe. The trip is during the dry season; work for the farmers is not as pressing, and people are free to meet and fellowship. I am looking forward to seeing those who I missed during September. We will once again be working with and blessed with the efforts of the 1040i team that does surgeries and meets other needs in the area.

John is a Loron believer who evangelizes and teaches the Loma people. He recently called me and told me his wife had passed away suddenly. I sensed he wanted me to come and help him during his loss. Pray for him that he finds comfort with the Lord.

Hovare’s family continues to move forward. I always felt that any hole that a man leaves is quickly filled with time. I am modifying the “quickly” part; I still see the emptiness that Hovare left. My ignorance should have been filled sooner as we see from the Bible that the nation of Israel is waiting a long time to see the Son of

David reign from Jerusalem. That hole will be filled. Maranatha! In Christ Love and Grace

Jerry and Cherry Skiles Mexico/NepalJim and Francille Lucas

Dear Friends,Looking back over the year is getting harder for me

sometimes I don’t know what I did this morning let alone a year ago. Thank the Lord for my lovely wife Francille who holds an advantage in being able to remember a little better. She definitely is my helper, not only in this department, but so many more.

We don’t recall anything significant happening in January and February. However after that life got a lot busier for us. In March my Grandson Steven Montgomery and I went to Nepal. It started out by simply wondering where perhaps the Lord would like me to go and preach the gospel or make disciples.

The thought came, perhaps Nepal? Right away I had lot of peace about going to Nepal. Over the years it had come across my mind a few times but not so strong has this time. Once it was clear to me that it was the will of God I started Looking for flights to Nepal. I asked Steve what he thought about going with me; after some prayer he also thought he was to go. Then I began to read about Nepal; it had been the only country in the world with a Hindu government for 240 years, but about twenty years ago they passed a new law allowing other faiths to come in. Now Nepal is one of the fastest countries in the world in the growth of Christians.

Steve and I went there on March 4th. We didn’t

Missionary News

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know anybody; we had no plan other than seeing what our Lord had in mind.

Then we met these brothers who were rickshaw drivers. They asked us what we were doing in Nepal; we told them we were missionaries. They become excited and said we have people you need to meet. They then introduced us to Brother Amen who has seen the Lord form fifty churches in Nepal.

Steve and I ended up ministering in six different churches and two Bible schools. There is much need in Nepal for disciple makers. Brother Amen and his brother Sanjip who is also involved in a very fruitful ministry have the vision for discipleship and really appreciate help. We left there the 21st.

The next thing on our Lord’s plan for us was the disciple class here in Texas. This had come about by realizing we are not able to meet the many invitations and opportunities of ministry in so many different countries. So after praying about it, I decided to do a five-week disciple course here in Texas. I invited Brother Richard McDaniel to help teach, also Brother Dick York and Brother James Bonner. This is a wide range of experience and gifting which I believe is so important in the making of disciples. We had eight disciples some from Dallas, Brother Timothy, Greg Schenberg’s two daughters, Brother Howard Modin who is now helping in the SFMI office, two brothers from Myanmar, Brother Geoffrey with his wife from Kenya who are now living in Uganda. I believe it was

a very profitable time. We are planning on doing a it again this year starting April 16th unto May 21st. We already have six or seven wanting to come from Uganda and Brother Amen and his brother Sanjip from Nepal. I hope you can see the advantage of having a class here as well as going to as many countries as we can.

The month of August was a real delight. First we were invited to work with our daughter Daniela and son-in-law Fred Chugg in the Central Oregon youth camp. In this youth camp you can find some very sincere mature young people, some of them being our Chugg -lets. Fred and Donnie have five children; several of them were there. They love the Word and really enjoy hearing testimonies of faith.

We were also able to see our grandson Thomas Justin joined in marriage to his Julia, which took place in Pacific City, Oregon.

In October I was invited to speak at the annual believers’ conference in Mexico. We haven’t been to one of these conferences for a real long time; therefore, it was a real privilege to go. Guadalajara was the first mission place that our heavenly Father sent us to in April 1972. After living there a short while the Lord saw fit to send down a young man to help in the ministry from the States; his name is Larry Gallegos. Larry was a lot of help and very dedicated. Our heavenly Father graciously brought various ones into the family of God. We spent three years ministering there in Guadalajara evangelizing, making disciples; and we did some

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conferences. Then the Holy Spirit made it clear it was time to move on. We went to Bochil, Chiapas in southern Mexico. We spent a year there and then on to Belize, Central America.

We had left Larry in Guadalajara, and he was there faithfully until his family in Washington had a house fire and his sister died.

Our Lord Jesus had everything covered. He sent down Steve and Linda Montgomery who have been there ministering in Jalisco ever since doing a great job.

An interesting turn of events that I believe is worthy of bringing out is that we spent three years in Belize, while there as before, my lovely wife not only took care on me and our seven children but also did homeschooling. This she did for years faithfully unto the Lord.

However, for some of those years she was given help. While we were in Belize we were blessed to be given a young lady of 18 years of age to help teach the children. She did a great job and even went with us to our next place of ministry, which was San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México, where we stayed for nine years. During that time Peggy returned to the States for awhile where she met Larry Gallegos; yep you guessed, she married him.

It turns out that our heavenly Father sends them to Jalisco, Mexico. They have been very faithful for so many years like Steve and Linda Montgomery. I am very thankful that both of these families have continued in the battle for so long.

To bring this up to date, after being invited so graciously to speak at the conference in October, the Gallegoses picked us up at the airport; we stayed at their home before and after the conference. The conference was great as it has been for forty-four years or more. But we really enjoyed seeing people we hadn’t seen in so long. Larry had gone to the trouble to rent a car for the occasion. He looked up some of the older saints that weren’t at the conference. We were so blessed that not only have they remained in the faith but in most cases they now have four generations of Christians bringing witness to Christ, just like God promised Abraham to bless him and his seed and his seeds’ seed.

Soon after returning to Texas we were off to Nepal for disciple making. We being Steve and his friend Tyler, a beloved friend and fellow labourer in Christ. They were one team; and Jess and his wife Tess, a beloved young couple (recently married) who are called to be missionaries to Ecuador, along with myself made up the other team. There is not space to give a full report, but both teams had a wonderful time doing village work and teaching in Bible schools. The Word of God is having free course there in Nepal. Jesus said to look unto the fields that are white unto harvest; the fruit is falling off the trees, a great time of harvest for sure.

I will wrap up this report giving you a glimpse of

what lies ahead for us. January 8th my grandson Brandan Chugg

(missionary in making) and I will fly to Myanmar for about my fourth trip. We will be very busy making disciples up until we depart on January 28th.

Then in February, Mike Ball (tremendous Bible teacher) and I will be one team; and Richard McDaniel and Skip Voetberg (true men of God) will be the second team. We plan being in Cameroon, Africa about four weeks. The brothers there are really desiring discipleship and are already fasting one day a week until we come for this time.

April 16th to the 21st of May will be the course here in Texas. I want to close thanking all of you who have prayed and provided the money to make all this report possible. God bless you richly. Thank you.

Jim and Francille Lucas

David OmariTanzania

Dear brothers in Christ,

Osoro Pattorn, Nyabuto Amenya and I made a trip to Tanzania which was a blessed one. Along the border, we received Bibles which we got from the Bible society that we were to share with other brothers who didn’t have in Tanzania. which we cost-shared with our Tanzania brethren. The place we went to is really far, near to the Serengeti National Park, a place called Mwadoana. We were well received and given good food, the majority consisting of Zebra and other wild meats, (not knowing what it was, but realized later). Faith in the work of Jesus Christ is your defense always. We have no authority over any enemy of God except thru Jesus Christ who has authority over us and in us.

In the training we held, we didn’t expect that all religions would come together e.g. Catholic and Seventh Day Adventists; but God managed to bring elders with whom we shared together the training. After finishing, one of the brothers from the Seventh Day Adventists stood up and said he had something to talk. “Surely we have one Bible, even those you had; you gave us without partiality and shared the price. You were only teaching about Christ. Pray for us also to have Christ in us and not believing in a day. So we ask you to continue in the same and share together with us the body of Christ.”

Out of seventy people, only three had Bibles. Even the Gideon’s New Testament has not reached them, since no one had them. Pray with us that God provides more Bibles, that the hungry minds may feed on God’s Word. Most of them are ready, in fact very ready to have the hard copy Bibles and study God’s word.

Transportation was, however expensive as we had to hire a bicycle for 5,000 Tanzania shillings per day ($2.17) but God made all things possible. Please pray

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for us that God will provide finances to facilitate our transportation for baptism. Pray for future training opportunities

. RegardsDavid Omari

Steve and Linda MontgomeryAtotonilco, Mexico

Each year the group of sister churches together organize a family conference, a men’s retreat, a women’s retreat, a united evangelistic outreach and a youth retreat. It happens that this year, three of these events—the conference, the men’s retreat and the youth retreat—all took place between October 1 and December 2. Here’s just a little taste of those times:

FAMILY CONFERENCE: This year’s conference was hosted by the Church in Puerto Vallarta. Jim Lucas was the main speaker, and the theme was “Strangers and Pilgrims.” About 300 people attended, and it was a rich time of fellowship and encouragement. We all especially enjoyed Jim’s stories of God’s provision and leading for his family through the years. Jim and Fran have served the Lord in Siberia, Australia, Belize, Kenya and Ghana but began their missionary service in Mexico.

MEN’S RETREAT: The believers in La Barca, El Gobernador and Santa Lucia worked together to host the 2018 men’s retreat. It was held in a park called La Selvita, which means The Little Jungle. We camped out in tents and cooked our Saturday lunch over the fire (Friday the hosts had arranged for tamales!) My son Ryan spoke on “Men Under Authority” in three sessions. About fifty men attended. Friday night we spent a lengthy time around the bonfire, singing, praying and reading the Word aloud in a rich time of worship and communion.

YOUTH RETREAT: The youth retreat started just a few hours ago, so I can only give you a report of how many are going from Atotonilco and Tototlán. Between the two chuches, twenty-nine young people are headed to the event. The youth obtained the loan of a small bus so they could travel together. They will be joining another 30 or 40 youth from the various congregations at the site of the retreat. When they signed up for the retreat, they were given a digital copy of Dick York’s book, Thou Therefore My Son, a practical exposition on 2 Timothy 2. Daniel Fontanez is the speaker and will be keying off Mr. York’s book as he teaches through that chapter. The theme is “Training the Lord’s Servant.” We’ll have to get back with you on the impact of the time! For now, we know they would like your prayer!

As the churches grow and reproduce, we are seeing new opportunities and new challenges. We are glad we are not in this battle alone. Thank you for praying!

Steve and Linda Montgomery

Booher FamilyUkraine

We are entering into interesting times here in Ukraine! This past Sunday the Ukrainian government declared martial law, beginning yesterday, for all regions of the country bordering Russia-including the separatist Transnistria region of Moldova (also Russia supported). This seems to happening as a result of Russia’s action towards Ukrainian naval vessels in the Sea of Azov on Sunday; but is also happening perfectly in time with a new Ukrainian law that requires all Ukrainian citizens who own vehicles registered in countries other than Ukraine to either give up their vehicles or register them in Ukraine, which is very costly.

It is an exciting time to be here, as we are learning what it means to really trust in the Lord and believe His promises. Supposedly, martial law will only be in force for thirty days, but that could change. If it is extended, it could affect the upcoming presidential elections slated to be held March 31, 2019, which would create even more turmoil for the Ukrainians. In light of all that is happening here, we are even more needful of God’s precious word to us:

Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light! (Col. 1:11/12).

Proverbs 8:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Comforting words indeed, for those whose hope and trust is the Lord!

We are all well, warm and dry in Mukachevo, where it continues to be business as usual. At the moment I am with Kenneth, our 17 year old son, in Budapest for three days getting his visa requirements taken care of so the he can continue to stay in in country. Ukraine passed a new law this past year that requires all children over the age of 16 to have their own visas and posvidkas in order to stay here.

We are continuing to help with the English Bible Club hosted by our church here and are encouraged by the good discussions we have had with the kids. We’re always continuing to learn Russian as a family. Two days each week we are taught by Katya Brown, the wife of the Pastor of the Жива Вода (Living Waters) Church here in Mukachevo. We are really blessed that

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Katya has been willing to take time out of her busy schedule and teach everyone! Lisa is continuing to homeschool all of our children except Clayton, who is finishing his last year of high school in Mukachevo. He has shown great progress, studies hard, and is a testimony of his faith in Christ to his fellow-classmates and teachers there.

We will begin doing the repairs to Mila’s home this coming week, Lord willing. She is the gypsy woman we have shared about in the past, and we are looking forward to finishing this project. While on our visit in the States, we were given funding by our Bible study group in Texas for hygiene gift bags. We are planning to give out those packages along with some basic instructions on how to use things like toothbrushes in the next few weeks as the weather permits. We hope to travel to several of the outlying villages to share as well as with those in the Mukachevo camp who often visit our home.

We would ask for prayer for the continued outreach to the gypsies here, both in Mukachevo and the villages where we held the camps for the past two years, and also in Rhakiv, where some new racial issues have surfaced recently. There has been “racial” tension between the gypsy communities and the Ukrainians for many years; but there is a new idea being propagated in some gypsy churches that “white” Christian teachers are also racially motivated and, therefore, cannot be trusted. We pray against this kind of teaching that it has no effect on those who are true believers of the Lord Jesus Christ. We also pray that the ears of those who will hear would be opened in the many gypsy communities here that they would hear the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved to the uttermost. We would ask for prayer for those here who diligently and faithfully continue to share Christ with these people that they would be strengthened and encouraged for the sake of the gospel. We ask for prayer for ourselves that we will know clearly the plan the Lord has for us here, that our labor is not in vain, that we will be able to minister as He leads us, and not be distracted by the events in other parts of the country.

We also ask for special prayer for our teenage children that they would be fully submitted to the Lord in their young hearts and protected from the constant bombardment of worldly thoughts and ideas that lead to separation from Christ, sin, and ultimately death.

It’s difficult to go to shops, restaurants, or other businesses here without seeing large television screens playing music videos (mostly American) that depict depraved, sinful activities presented by popular artists. We realize that our children are also very needful of our parental love, care, and guidance through these perilous times and feel strongly that, even though we are here for the work on the mission field, as parents

we cannot neglect our first responsibilities We are so thankful for all your prayers and

support of the ministry here in Ukraine and pray that the seeds sown here will bear fruit in His time! We love you all and pray for you all as the Lord brings you to mind; and we continue to give thanks for the wonderful blessing it is to be part of such a body, the body of Christ! In Him,Chris, Lisa, and FamilyMukachevo, Ukraine

Francois and Nohemi MarcouxCanada

Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus,Just a quick update from Quebec, Canada. I just

came back from two weeks from Nunavik (different from Nunavut), the Inuit territory of Northern Quebec for my job as interpreter. It was a real eye-opener from the perspective of a disciple of Jesus. The spiritual needs of the Inuit people are enormous, including emotional and physical. I had heard before, but now “my eye has seen.” I was there with a government Inquiry Commission to hear the testimonies of First Nations and Inuit people regarding public services, such as health, social services, education, police, etc. There were many heart-wrenching testimonies, especially regarding the high rate of suicide, lack of housing, overcrowding, domestic violence, alcohol and drug abuse, racism, etc. I was able to encourage and pray with three Inuit sisters in the Lord (two interpreters and one prison worker). They were encouraged to see a fellow “white man” believer. I told one of them, that as a young believer back in the early 80’s, the Lord had put on my heart to pray for every Native and Inuit community in the province of Quebec with a map on may wall, etc. She was very touched by that. Let us pray for the Inuit people across the Arctic from Alaska to Greenland.

Marcel just finished a Bible Expo this week in Montreal in a Jewish neighborhood. He told me they had many good conversations sharing the Gospel, including an Orthodox man. Marcel has started working on making a second Bible Expo for Mexico. The goal is to bring it to Mexico this winter and leave it there, so we don’t have to haul it every time from Canada to Mexico. Please pray for him to finish this work for January. There is a lot of fine details. My wife and I are planning to leave in mid December Lord willing for Texas and Mexico where we would wait for Marcel to arrive.

Thank you for your prayers and support!

Francois and Nohemi Marcoux

15SFMI Update

Invitation from the Believers in Centralia, WANorthwest Winter Conference Invitation

Sunset Lake Camp – Wilkeson, WAJanuary 18-21, 2019

Dear Saints,The Lord has blessed us with the opportunity to host another Conference this winter in Western Washington. The Focus will be “The Preeminence of Christ.”Our calling can at times be difficult and unglamorous, especially in the dead of winter. That is why we are inviting you (and your church) to come together with other believers in the Northwest for a weekend of fellowship and encouragement. Keynote speakers - open meetings - mealtimes - optional breakout sessions - and free-time. Dates are: Friday 1/18/19 – Monday 1/21/19. Funding is by donation.For more information, Email: Joanna Fagerness, David Sterland or Mark Sterland.nwwinterconference@gmail.com— or call Mark (360) 523-5439To Register: Click On Link https://form.jotform.com/72886972323165(If you do not receive a confirmation that we have received your registration within 48 hrs, please email us to confirm, as it may have been lost.)If you need to register by mail, please contact us and we will send you an email with the file.Note: Please help by registering early so we don’t have to guess how many people will come.December 15th is ideal—January 11th is mandatory.Camp Address: Sunset Lake Camp— 30811 Quinnon Rd, —Wilkeson, WA 98396Details: Starts: 4:00 p.m. Friday. Check in begins at 4:00 p.m.; please note there is no meal served Friday evening. Ends: 12:00 p.m. (noon) Monday.Meetings: First meeting will be 7:00 p.m. Friday. Last meeting will be Monday morning.Meals: First meal: Saturday Breakfast. Last meal: Monday Lunch.Snacks: Please bring snacks to share for after the evening meetings.Accommodations: Family cabins and rooms will be available. YOU MUST BRING YOUR OWN BEDDING!Sunset Lake Camp Rules: No Pets; No Smoking; No Firearms Allowed.Questions: Regarding the camp or volunteering, please contact Joanna Fagerness, Mark Sterland, or David Sterland.Special Needs: Do you require handicap type accommodations? If so, please specify in your registration.How Can You Help? Kids Classes: Volunteers to head-up kids classes in the afternoons. Cabin Cleaning: This one is for EVERYONE! Basic cleaning of the cabin you stay in.

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Shield of Faith Mission InternationalP.O. Box 144

Bend, Oregon 97709

Return Service Requested

Non-profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDBend, OregonPermit No. 118

Proverbs 3:5-6Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.