April 2014 / Edition 723 / www.impactoevangelistico.net
The magazine that edifies your life
evangelistic OFFICIAL PUBLICATION
WORLDWIDE MISSIONARY MOVEMENT
Devotional
Trust, I have defeated Testimony
The salvation of Gast贸n Why does God allow that Christians suffer?
Suffering and
Glory
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EDITORIAL
My attitude towards tests Rev. Gustavo Martínez International President of the WMM
“All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do… And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee… to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart…” Deuteronomy 8:1-2.
A
TTITUDE IS AN INNER FEELING EXPRESSED IN BEHA-
gin to speak evil, we will embitter our hearts and of
VIOR, it’s our behavior; that is why the attitu-
course to get out of His way.
de shows what is in our heart, what we are,
We must understand that God will not exempt us
even without speaking a word. When we go through
from tests, He will not remove anything from our ad-
periods of tests or crisis, we often focus on adverse
verse circumstances, one thing we do must take into
circumstances and disdain the fact that the tests have
account, this is that He will be present, He will be the-
a purpose in God’s plan. But, what is the attitude we
re to help, to sustain us. Jesus said: “In the world ye shall
assume at critical periods, periods of crisis?
have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world”
Around difficulties we will understand the purpose that God has with the tests, and how we can learn
(John 16:33). And the Apostle Paul declared: “We are
more than conquerors through him” (Romans 8:37).
to benefit ourselves whenever we come across one.
Blessed is the man who is faithful in test or temp-
Otherwise, we will mix up our lives, we will get de-
tation. Blessed is the man who overcomes a disease,
pressed, we may sink into depression and even fail;
a tough situation, a defamation, a critique. Blessed
because we think that God abandoned us or left us
is the man who is faithful, no matter what offers or
alone.
proposals were made to him or what challenge he is
We sometimes focus on believing, when we are in
facing. Blessed because that person will receive the in-
the plan and purpose of God, that difficulties have tur-
corruptible crown, that person will have complacency
ned away automatically from us and that tests, fights,
from God.
nothing that can bother us, cannot come across while
“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he
we’re obeying and honoring God. That approach is
is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath
not true. And when we focus in this way, we will be-
promised to them that love him.” (James 1:12)
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Founder Director: Rev. Luis M. Ortiz April 2014 / Edición N° 723 (USPS 012-850) OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE WORLDWIDE MISSIONARY MOVEMENT The World-Wide Missionary Movement, Inc. is a non-profit church with a vision to plant new churches in the United States of America and its territories, and also with a missionary vision to plant new churches wherever God opens new doors all over the World. PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY Movimiento Misionero Mundial, Inc World-Wide Missionary Movement, Inc San Juan, Puerto Rico Washington, D.C. Periodicals Postage Paid at San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936
POSTMASTER: send address changes to Impacto Evangelístico P.O. BOX 363644 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-3644 Phone (787) 761-8806; 761-8805; 761-8903
INTERNATIONAL BOARD MEMBERS OF WMM INC. Rev. Gustavo Martínez President Rev. José Soto Vice President Rev. Rubén Concepción Secretary Rev. Rodolfo González Treasurer Rev. Álvaro Garavito Director Rev. Margaro Figueroa Director Rev. Rómulo Vergara Director Rev. Humberto Henao Director CHURCHES ESTABLISHED IN: Germany Argentina Aruba Australia Austria Belgium Belize Bolivia Bonaire Brasil Cameroon Canadá Chile Colombia Congo Costa Rica Curacao Dinamarca Ecuador El Salvador Spain United States The Philippines France Gabón Ghana Guatemala Equatorial Guinea French Guiana Guyana Inglesa Haití Holland
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The Worldwide Missionary Movement is a religious nonprofit organization duly registered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and in the federal capital, Washington DC, with headquarters in both cities and in every state of the United States and other countries where we have established missionary Works. Important The offerings and donations in cash, equipment, real estate and bequests by will, in the benefit of the Worldwide Missionary Movement, Inc.’s Work, are deductible from the income tax, and receipts issued by the WMM are recognized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the Federal Government of the United States of America and of the Free Associated State of Puerto Rico. n
Visit our website Obtain uplifting information about God’s Work and keep up with the latest news. A customized access from anywhere in the world: www. impactoevangelistico.net n
If you wish Write to us at our postal address: Worldwide Missionary Movement, Inc. PO Box 363644 San Juan, P. R. 00936-3644 n
Copyright © 2009 Impacto Evangelistic Movimiento Misionero Mundial, Inc. (World-Wide Missionary Movement, Inc.) All content of this magazine and each subsequent edition are duly registered at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC USA. All rights reserved. Total or partial reproduction in any form and translation into other languages without prior permission of the Director are prohibited. Under international copyright agreements, they are crimes punishable by law. n
Doctrinal Statement The Worldwide Missionary Movement adheres to the fundamental doctrines of Scripture, such as: n
• The inspiration of the Holy Scriptures: 2 Timothy 3:15-17, 2 Peter 1:19-21. • The Adorable Godhead in Three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit: Matthew 3:16-17, 17: 1-5; 28:19, John 17: 5, 24, 26, 16:32, 14:16, 23, 18:5, 6, 2 Peter 1:17,18; Revelation 5. • Salvation by Faith in Christ: Luke 24:47, John 3:16, Romans 10:13, Titus 2:11, 3:5-7. • The New Birth: John 3:3, 1 Peter 1:23, 1 John 3:9. • Justification by Faith: Romans 5:1, Titus 3:7. • Water Baptism by Inmersion, as commanded by Christ: Matthew 28:19, Acts 8:36-39. • The Baptism in the Holy Spirit subsequent to salvation, speaking in tongues according to: Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4, 8, 2:4. • Divine Healing: Isaiah 53:4, Matthew 8:16, 17, Mark 16:18, James 5:14, 15. • The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11. • The Fruits of the Holy Spirit: Galatians 5:22-26. • Sanctification: 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 5:23, Hebrews 12:14, 1 Peter 1:15, 16, 1 John 2:6. • Ministry and Evangelization: Mark 16:15-20, Romans 10:15. • Tithing and Maintenance of the Work: Genesis 14:20, 28:22, Leviticus 27:30, Numbers 18:21-26, Malachi 3:7-10, Matthew 10:10; 23:23. • The Rapture of the Church: Romans 8:23, 1 Corinthians 15:5152, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. • The Second Coming of Christ: Zechariah 14:1-9, Matthew 24:30, 31; 2 Thessalonians 1:7, Titus 2:13, Jude 14, 15. • The Millennial Kingdom: Isaiah 2:1-4, 11:5-10, Zechariah 9:10, Revelation 19:20, 20:3-10. • New Heavens and New Earth: Isaiah 65:17, 66:22, 2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1.
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What does God have to say about real suffering? Why does God allow Christians to suffer? Whether you are facing great suffering in your life or that you are going to face hard times.
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Impacto Evangelistic Magazine
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Hymn of Mexican preacher, missionary, singer and poet, Juan Romero. From humble beginnings, the author sought the Lord since childhood until his early encounter at the age of seven.
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Memories of the evangelisation work throughout the 50 years of the Worldwide Missionary Movement.
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George Fox was brave when he exposed the truth and defended it. He suffered but he never gave up. He -a man with an extraordinary spiritual strength- shared a powerful message.
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He was a man who was tired of life and thought about suicide. But God came to his aid and managed to save him at the last minute. This is another example of divine power.
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Events in: Bogota, New York, Puerto Rico, Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Bolivia, Italy, Geneva, Chile, Ecuador, Philippinas and Switzerland.
Letters
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By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures‌ 1 Corinthians 15:2-4, 20-22.
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Persecution
for the sake
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of Christ What does God have to say about real suffering? Why does God allow Christians to suffer? Whether you are facing great suffering in your life or that you are going to face hard times, let the Word of God arm us with the truth that will help us when difficulty comes, so that we can bear it with strength and loyalty. Dr. David Jeremiah
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HE BIBLE CORRECTLY describes the results of suffering and what it does in our lives. Romans 8:17-18, says, “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ … — we are all excited about the first part, and the it says— …if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” J. I. Packer, the great theologian, defines suffering like this, “Suffering is getting what you do not want while wanting what you do not get.” I am not talking about people who get in trouble because they violate God’s laws or step outside the moral boundaries which are so clearly set in the Bible. I am talking about the kind of suffering that comes on people who are living for God, who more than anything else want to glorify God with their lives. SUFFERING AND CHRISTIAN LIFE
In Romans 8:17, we are reminded that suffering and glory are married. They are married in the experience of Christ, they are married in the experience of his own people, it is only after we have suffered for a while that we will enter into the eternal glory in Christ. We all want the glory, we do not want the suffering; we want the joy, we just do not want the tribulation; we want Eastern Sunday without Good Friday. The pathway, the glory, takes you through suffering. There is suffering that is the direct result of our sin and we are not talking about that. The8 Impacto o evangelistic
re is suffering that we endure for Christ’s sake, suffering that comes from our Christian profession in a world that does not have anything to do with Christ. 1 Peter 4:12-13, tell us, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” Philippians 1:29, says, “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his.” Bible teaches that suffering
is the normal, natural, expected experience of believers and we should not be shocked when it happens to us. Do not say, Why me? What happened? Just understand. And this is not a defeatist attitude, is a realistic approach to real life. Understand that there are bumps on the road. WHY DOES GOD ALLOW SUFFERING?
Now this is the real heart of the matter, the reasons for suffering. So, why do Christians suffer? 1°). Suffering proves the reality of our faith 1 Peter 1:7, says, “That the
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trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” Martyn Lloyd Jones, said, “If you are suffering as a Christian and because you are Christian, it is one of the surest proves that you can ever have of the fact that you are a child of God.” Maybe you are going through something right now and you cannot figure it out but as far as you know there is no sin in your life, then God has just put you in the crucible. The Bible says that those who live godly in
Jesus Christ shall suffer. (2 Timothy 3:12). 2°). Suffering promotes our dependence on God 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, says, “For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life, but we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead.” Many of you know that it is more difficult to trust God when everything is great, but
when you hear unexpected bad news, suddenly in the midst of the suffering, what do you do?, well, you are forced to depend on God. 2 Corinthians 12:9, says, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” God withdrew his support from Paul so that he had no choice but to Him. 3°). Suffering purifies our relationship with God
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g Psalm 119:67, 71, says, “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word. It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” In other words the psalm says, “God you put me through some trouble, and the trouble made me come closer to you.” Pierre Rouen, a French painter, had arthritis. His hands became deformed, so much that simples tasks such a holding a brush became extremely painful. Over time, he was confined to a wheelchair, but he did not want to stop painting, he refused to do that. One day, his friend Henry Matiz visited him, and watched him as he painfully grasped the brush with only his fingertips. This caused him pain, yet Rouen stubbornly continued painting. Matiz asked him, “Why do you do this for? How can you paint at the expense of such torture?” The painter replied, “The pain passes but the beauty remains.” That is what happens to a Christian who goes through suffer. The pain passes but the beauty of a greater, deeper, more loving relationship with God is a lasting value. James 1:2-3, says, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” 4°). Suffering prunes us for better effectiveness The Bible says in John 15:2, “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” Sometimes, He will begin to set some things aside, because 10 Impacto o evangelistic
you see, one of the reasons why they prune a vineyard is because little shoots begin to grow on the vine and suck up the sap that causes fruit to happen. So they go through the vineyard and they take their shears to cut this little shoots that grow on the vine and do not have any fruit on them, because what happens is that they suck away the energy that is in the vine that should be directed to the production of fruit. Has God ever do that in your life? He comes along with pressure, and in the midst of that pressure you say, “Wait a minute, I need to get that out of my life, that is just eating up the energy that God wants me to use in something else. I
do not think that we will ever get to the end of this process. When you think you have resolved something, it happens again. You get rid of something and five more things happen. The pruning process for more effectiveness. 5°). Suffering provekes courage in other believers Philippians 1:14, says, “And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” The people who knew that Paul was in prison took courage from his pain, and they were more daring to preach the Gospel. It is hard to over exaggerate the impact that the martyrdom
COVER of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Peter Fleming y Roger Youderian has had on generations of students. The word that appears again and again in the testimonies of those who heard the story of the Huaorani and the massacre of those men is the word dedication. But one of the things that is often untold is that the real courage was probably in the wives of these men. Barbara Youderian, the wife of Roger, wrote this in her diary that night in January, 1956, “Tonight the captain told us that four bodies were found in the river. One had a t-shirt and blue jeans. Roger was the only one who wore them. God gave me this verse two days ago, Psalm 48:14, ‘For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death’. As I came face to face with the news about Roger’s death, my heart was filled with praise, he deserved to go home. Lord, help me to be both, mother and father.” Due to this testimony hundreds and hundreds of recruits went to the mission fields. John 12:24, says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” 6°). Suffering provides opportunity for testimony Paul says in Philippians 1:12, “But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel.” Every day, over four hour periods, they chained two guardians to him; Paul had a captive audience for the Gospel. These guardians wanted to get away
from him but they could not and Paul witnessed to them. God put Paul in prison and gave him the opportunity to testify about the grace of God. One of the most powerful illustrations of the purpose of suffering and witness is presented in a story that Michael Card tells about a man named Joseph who has come to Christ out of the Muslim religion. The writer says, “One day Joseph was walking along one of those hot African roads when he met someone who shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with him. There, he accepted Jesus as his Savior. Hi was so excited that he went back to his village to share the good news. Joseph witnessed to everyone he met, expecting their faces to light up just as his. To his amazement, but the villagers not only did not care, they also became violent. They dragged him out of the village and let him die. After regaining consciousness, Joseph could not understand the hostility he received from people he had known all his life. He thought he had not done it correctly so he decided to talk them again about his faith. He limped and began to proclaim Jesus. They grabbed him again, reopening the wounds that have just begun to heal. They dragged him and left him to die. Days later, Joseph awoke hurt, scared and determined in his heart to go back. He went back to his village and this time they attacked him before he had the chance to open his mouth, as they flogged him for a third and last time. He told them again about Jesus Christ. And before he passed out, the last thing he saw was that the women who were flogging
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g him had begun to weep. This time he woke up in his own bed. Those who had severely beaten him were now trying to save his life. The entire village came to know Jesus Christ.” What a story! 7°). Suffering prepares us to reign with Christ Romans 8:17, says, “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” The Bible says in 2 Timothy 2:12, “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us.” 12 Impacto o evangelistic
John Piper, writes: “Following Jesus means that wherever obedience requires it, we will accept treachery, rejection, scourge, taunts, crucifixions and death. Jesus gives us the insurance that if we follow Him during all Good Fridays of this life, we will also rise with Him in every day of resurrection.” There was an old believer who once refused John Paton’s plans, the great missionary, to go to the South Sea Islands. He told John, “If you go there, you are going to be eaten by cannibals.” Paton, replied, “Mister Dickson, you are already an old man and your own perspective is to lie soon in a grave
to be eaten by worms. I confess to you that if all I can do is live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, I do not care if I am eaten by cannibals or worms, and in the great day of my resurrection body I will I arise just like you and of our risen Redeemer.” RESPONSE TO SUFFERING IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
• But the response to suffering in the Christian life is first of all preparation. For instance, 1 Thessalonians 3:24, says, “And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to esta-
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blish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith: That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.” Paul told them that they needed to be prepared for that. Richard Wurmbrand, who endured fourteen years of imprisonment, performed a secret and clandestine ministry after the communists seized Romania and tried to control the Church for their purposes. And Wurmbrand stresses the tre-
mendous need to be spiritually ready to suffer. He says, “What shall we do about all these tortures? Will we be able to bear them? If I do not bear them, I will put in prison another fifty or seventy men who I know because that is what the communist want me to do, to betray those around me.” Wurmbrand wrote, “It will be too difficult to be ready when the communists have put you in prison. I remember my last class before leaving Romania. I took a group of ten or fifteen boys and girls, not to the Church but to the zoo. Before the cage of lions I said: Your ancestors were thrown to wild
beasts like these on account of their faith. You should know that you will also have to suffer, you will not be thrown to lions, but you will have to deal with men who will be worse than lions. Decide if you want to pledge allegiance to Christ. They had tears in their eyes and they all said: Yes.” When you know that there is going to be some hard times, because you are in Christ, you are not going to be surprised when they come; you are going to walk through them with courage and strength. • M E M O R I Z AT I O N . When you go through hard times, you do not have time to go back and memorize. It is wonderful to know some verses. For instance, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee” (Isaiah 43:2). • DEDICATION. Paul was dedicated in such a way that even if suffering was a part of his life, he was willing to face it. We are going to see that it is harder and harder to be a Christian in the American culture today. It is acceptable to be almost anything than to be a Christian. You can believe anything, you can say anything, you can do anything; but if you say you are Christian in public, you can be sure that they are going to put the microphone away from you. You can go to the schools and talk about Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, any kind strange topic you want; but if you start talking about Christ, then you are marginalized u april 2014
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REMINISCENCIAS of the
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IMAGES
1. Class 1969-70 of the ELIM Bible Institute in Puerto Rico. 2. Class 1960-61 of the ELIM Bible Institute in Puerto Rico. 3. Class 1978-79 of the ELIM Bible Institute in Puerto Rico.
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Dictatorship of the minority?
A minority seeks to subjugate the right of the vast majority. Even the freedom of expression could be overtaken by new gay rights that aim to be implemented in Europe.
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HE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT approved last Tuesday, February 4th, the “Lunacek Report,” a document that outlines the basics of what will be a more forceful European legislation when it comes to “protect” the rights of lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual or intersex (the population group known as LGBTI). The purpose of this group is to establish a “roadmap in EU against homophobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.” The document aims to create “a strategy or plan of action” that leads to 18 Impacto o evangelistic
unite all European and national agencies to “strive to raise public awareness regarding the rights of LGBTI people.” The text is fully expressed within the area of education, saying that the “European Commission should promote equality and non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity in all its programs for youth and education”. The legislation related to equality should include “gender identity”, says the approved text. The approved report, therefore, encouraged to create a single unified doctrine in all countries of the European Union in which the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex must be protected and promoted. PRIVILEGES TO OTHERS
The approval of the document that will lead the way of the ideology in terms LGTBI in Europe, has received all
“Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves…” Romans 1:22-32.
kinds of criticism from those who believe that the creation of “special rights and privileges” for certain citizens will necessarily prevail over freedom of expression, conscientious or religion of other million of citizens. “By adopting this report, which advocates legal privileges for homosexuals, and at the same time rejecting an alternative motion that called on the EU and its Member States to ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights by all citizens, the Parliament has put a thick question mark behind its claim to be an institution that protects human rights.” has opined JC von Krempach, a commentator on European law. “In other words, the European Parliament’s vote has rejected the universal principle of human rights. It’s a day to shame, “he added. Meanwhile, the Dignitiatis Humanae Institute, ex-
INTERNATIONAL and irrespective of national cultures.” Representative of the UK Conservative Party, Deva recalled that “the rights of British people, whether they are gay, straight or otherwise are sufficiently safeguarded by British law; we have neither need nor desire for the EU to divide our society and people into separate tiers of rights and privileges.” OTHER CRITICS
pressed through its chairman Luca Volontè: “By seeking to codify certain rights, with special privileges and exemptions over and above our current definition of human rights, and apply them only to one group of persons while at the same time denying those same rights to others, Lunacek is destroying the fundamental equality of our justice system.” “If we begin to tailor our legal understanding with laws that are not universal in their nature – that only afford rights to politically favoured groups of people – we will be responsible for creating a two-tiered system. Such irresponsible manipulation will fatally undermine the most important foundation of the concept of human rights: the universality of their applicability.” He warned.
The Institute, which aims to “protect and promote human dignity” based on a Christian worldview believes that if future laws pro-LGBTI are based on this report, homosexual lobbyists will veto any legislation that goes against their interests, in any country of the European Union. IMPOSITION OF A DOCTRINE
The intention of “Lunacek Report” is also the creation of the concept “homophobic hate crimes” as a single category separated from the general “hate crimes”. In this regard, Nirj Deva, member of the European Parliament and President of the International Committee on Human Dignity, believes the approved document “seeks to impose personal social doctrine upon all member-states; irrespective of national parliaments
Meanwhile, Catholic media as the agency Zenit interprets the vote as a sign that “in short, the EU institutions and Member States should commit to globally incorporate a homosexualist perspective in all areas of public policies, including not only those that correspond to classical-national powers such as public health and education, but also employment, asylum and international affairs. ‘The Lunacek Report’ includes an EU-wide veto mechanism for the LGBT community: no future EU legislation will be able to contradict the personal interests of gay activists.” “Besides…”, says Zenit, “the roadmap will be manipulated to force members to allow ‘same-sex marriage for all’ States. And it will allow the excuse of “hate speech” to silence critics of homosexuality and LGBT activism“. After the approval of “Lunacek Report” in the European Parliament, it is expected that LGTBI lobbyists move forward to a European legislation that promotes (actively and in all member countries) the special rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex u april 2014
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The Apocryphal (VI) Gospels
This is the sixth installment of the work that reveals the falsehood of the Popular Version of the Bible in Spanish. Rev. Domingo Fernández Dr. César Vidal Manzanares
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OR AN EVANGELICAL BUYER of the Popular Version of the Bible in Spanish there are two circumstances that are particularly striking at the outset. The first one is that the presentation of the PV comes before the General Index and it is signed by Raymundo Damasceno Assis, Auxiliary Bishop of Brasilia and General Secretary of CELAM (The Latin American Episcopal Council). The second one is that this version includes the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical books. This second aspect has been addressed by Pastor Domingo Fernandez in one of the appendices of this book so that we will not refer to it. On the other hand, the 20 Impacto o evangelistic
first aspect could not be more revealing. The presentation of the PV written by the Secretary General of CELAM reads, “The Latin American Episcopal Council - CELAM, welcomes that its Dialogue Programme with the United Bible Societies UBS, has published the STUDY BIBLE “DIOS HABLA HOY,” which includes the deuterocanonical books, pastoral and explanatory notes prepared in collaboration with Catholic biblical scholars with the intent to serve all Christians.” “It is left to the careful discretion of CELAM the disclosure of this Study Bible that will help people and, especially, the catechetical groups wishing to get into the Word of God and live it to understand it better Episcopal Conferences of Latin America is especially, particularly as we Hope have begun the journey of a New Evangelization in the Continent of Hope.” The text could not be more clarifying. CELAM expresses
its satisfaction regarding the PV for reasons that are very clear: It includes the Apocryphal Gospels and a number of Catholic scholars have been involved in its preparation. Not surprisingly, CELAM recommends it as an instru-
HISTORY
ment of the “New Evangelization� that the Catholic Church has begun on the continent. This is hardly surprisingly because, as we shall see in the following pages, the PV has made significant efforts to adapt the biblical text to the Catholic
dogma, including those areas where it clashes directly with what the Scriptures teach. Texts translated in favor of the Catholic thesis: a) Alterations in texts referring to Mary: A particularly important
role within the texts adapted to the Catholic taste is related to the figure of Mary. As we all know, Catholic theology not only claims that she was a virgin, prior, during and after childbirth, but also stresses her
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g role as mediator between God and men. Both beliefs are reflected in the PV. Mathew 1:25 PV. “But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” (The PV suppresses the reference to the fact that Mary only abstained from sexual intercourse until the birth of Jesus and that he was her firstborn son. Furthermore, in the footnote of Matthew 12:46 it is stated in accordance with Catholic teaching – that “siblings” are not the children of the same parents but “people related by other degrees of kinship.” Thus, the dogma of Mary’s perpetual virginity is maintained). 1 Timothy 2:5 PV. “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” (The PV replaces the fact that there is just one mediator, the man Christ. Therefore, the only man who can act as a mediator is Christ. This also opens up the possibility for a female mediator: Mary). b) Alterations in the texts referring to the government of the Church: 1 Timothy 3:1-2 PV. “Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. 2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach.” (The PV suppresses the word “bishop”, which overshadows the fact that, among Christians, the bishop should be a married person). Tito 1:6-7a PV. “An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man 22 Impacto o evangelistic
whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer manages God’s household…” (The PV suppresses the word “bishop”, which overshadows the fact that, among Christians, the bishop should be a married person). Texts translated in favor of the Adventist thesis However, the Catholic Church is not the only religious denomination that has been granted concessions in the text of the PV. The second major beneficiary has been the sect known as the Seventh-day Adventists. Adventist theology is the fundamental basis of the teachings of the Jehovah’s Witnesses who have taken from it the belief that Jesus is the Archangel Michael and the denial of the biblical doctrines about the immortality of the soul and hell. Furthermore, the Adventists claim, among other unbiblical thesis, that God laid on Satan the sin of humanity, that the atonement was not consummated until 1844 when Christ entered the heavenly sanctuary, that evangelical churches are the daughters of the Great Whore of Revelation and that the writings of their prophet, Ellen White, are inspired. In connection with
them - and with liberal theology – the PV has taken particular care to blur the biblical teaching about hell, which is described as a place of eternal and conscious punishment for the damned. Below are some examples. Mark 9:44, 46 RVR. “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched… where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” The PV entirely suppresses verses 44 and 46. Philippians 1:28 RVR. “And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.” PV. “Without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved - and that by God.” (The PV uses the word “destruction” instead of the correct Greek term, which gives the sense that it abandons the Adventists’ and Jehovah’s Witnesses’ thesis about the annihilation of the damned). 2 Thessalonians 1:9 RVR. “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” PV. “They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might”, (The PV uses the word “destruction” instead of the correct Greek term - “perdition”- which gives the sense that it abandons the Adventists’ and Jehovah’s Witnesses’ thesis about the annihilation of the damned).
HISTORY
2 Timothy 2:14 PV. “Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.” PV. “Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.” (The PV uses the word “ruin” instead of the correct Greek term, -“subverting”- which gives the sense that it abandons the Adventists’ and Jehovah’s Witnesses’ thesis about the annihilation of the damned). 2 Peter 2:3 RVR. “And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” PV. “In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condem-
nation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.” (The PV uses the word “condemnation” instead of the correct Greek term - “damnation”which irons out the passage). 2 Peter 2:12 RVR. “But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption”. PV. “But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.” (The PV uses the words “like animals they too will perish” instead of the correct Greek terms – “they shall perish in their own corruption” – which gives the sense that it abandons the Adventists’ and Jehovah’s Witnesses’ thesis about the annihilation of the damned).
Revelation 17:8a RVR. “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition...” PV. “The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction...” (The PV uses the word “destruction” instead of the correct Greek term - “perdition”- which gives the sense that it abandons the Adventists’ and Jehovah’s Witnesses’ thesis about the annihilation of the damned). These examples serve as a sign not only of the extent to which the PV has no objection to maul the biblical text as we saw in chapter 1, but also to adapt it to the theological courses of some of its most important customers such as the Catholic Church and the Adventists. Unfortunately, not only these circumstances make the PV an unfortunate edition of the Bible. The openly liberal character of its notes is added to such circumstances u april 2014
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In the arena of faith (III)
We end this series with this extract of the book “In the arena of faith”, written by the theologist Erich Sauer.
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OR THE JOY THAT WAS SET BEFORE HIM” He took upon Himself the suffering. What was this joy? Not the glory of the Logos which He had as the everlasting “Word” before His incarnation; not the joy in the world, which the Tempter would have given Him if He had only taken all the glory of the kingdoms of this world out of his hand, instead of going the way of the cross (Matt. 4: 8 – 10); not even the simple joy in mere freedom from earthly human sufferings in general which He could have had, had He only avoided the cross; but the future joy is meant which Christ beheld ever before Him: the completed redemption, the Ekklesia which one day should be won, the glorifying of the Father, His own personal position as Victor in the glory after a completed work-in fact just the joy 24 Impacto o evangelistic
which He would have if He held out steadfastly right on to the end. In the statement, “He endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him,” the Greek word anti, just as its English equivalent “for,” could indeed also mean “instead of,” so as to mean that Christ had the choice between the enjoyment of heavenly or earthly blessings on the one hand and humiliation unto the death of the cross on the other hand, and that he endured the cross “instead” of this joy. But in our connexion the word must have its other meaning “in order to”-”in order to” bring in something valuable for which one must do or endure something, “in order to” gain or attain it; Christ endured the cross “in order to attain the joy which lay before Him.” The word anti is used here with the same meaning as in Hebrews 12: 16, where it says that Esau sold his birthright in order to attain the pottage. The decisive factor, however, that anti means here “in order to” is the context, which in the symbol of the race speaks of the athlete keeping the eye set wholly on the reward, and at the same
time places the word “set before Him” (Gk. prokeimenos) in connexion with the word “joy.” One must also remark that this Greek word prokeimenos for “set before” is often used with respect to public gifts intended to honour a person. These gifts were used as prizes in the Greek races and were publicly exhibited, i.e., “set before” the eyes of all onlookers. Professor A. Tholuck, the well-known German theologian, calls this word prokeimenos even the “technical term” for such rewards when these were exhibited as prizes before the races to those who took part in them. So Jesus in His “race” looked steadfastly upon the coming joy. He did not allow Himself to be turned aside from the future to anything connected with the present. His suffering took place in the anticipation of joy. His faith as He was adorned with the crown of thorns was at the same time a sure hope of the kingly crown of heavenly glory. And God gave His approval to this attitude of faith and hope
LITERATURE
in the Crucified One. Therefore we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honour for the very reason that He suffered unto death. The words in Hebrews 2: 9, “for the suffering of death” refer to “crowned” and not to “made a little lower.” The text here does not mean that Jesus was made a little lower than the angels in order to be able to die, as the King James Version takes it, but that He was exalted “because” He had been willing to die, as the Revised Version rightly translates: “crowned because of the suffering of death.” The text does not speak of the incarnation but of the ascension. The thought is the same as that behind Phil. 2: 9,” Wherefore [because of His obedience unto the death of the cross] God also has highly exalted Him.” Christ’s way went through humiliation to glorification, through rejection to recognition, from cross to crown. His selfhumbling is the reason why He is now “in the midst of the throne,”
in the glory as the “Lamb as it had been slain,” bearing the marks of the wounds of His love (Rev. 5: 6). And for this same reason the “new song” is sung there: “Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof [the book of the consummation of God’s ways of redemption with mankind and the earth], for thou wast slain and hast redeemed unto God by thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation; and madest them unto our God a kingdom and priests: and they shall reign upon the earth” (Rev 5: 9 – 10). Jesus as the Lamb of God is by the glory of the Father, the highly exalted and triumphant Perfecter of the world. When Paul speaks of this exaltation of the One Who was formerly humiliated, he feels that it is almost impossible to find a word which expresses the full measure of this exaltation and glorification. As is so often the case, he is confronted here with the fact that the otherwise so rich and manifold Greek language does not possess a word adequate
to express that which must be expressed here. The fact is that the language of men does not possess a suitable word simply because human experience does not rise to the matter to be expressed. So Paul invents a new word and says that God did not simply “exalt” or “highly exalt” Jesus, but that He “super-exalted” Him (Gk. hyperhypsosen). All other exaltation is nothing compared to His exaltation. All mountains are but plains compared with the summit of this high mountain range to which God has “hyperexalted” Jesus. Compared to His greatness all other greatness is a sheer nothing. This is the answer of God to the unflinching faith and hope of the Crucified One. But all these words are found in the Scriptures in order to serve a practical end. When we are exhorted to look unto Jesus, and when He is presented to our eyes in this connexion in His heroic steadfastness, His perfect faith, and His purposeful hope, all this is written in God’s Word to encourage us to genuine, actual discipleship in life and practice. 4. As the Example that should encourage and empower His followers. The purpose of the exhortation “Let us look unto Jesus!” is, in the context of the letter to the Hebrews: Let us, looking unto Jesus, gain courage to follow after Him in the arena of faith. The look unto the Crucified One gives us new courage in every situation. Even suffering is brought by the cross into its right perspective. In order to weigh up our own difficulties aright we must consider what Jesus suffered and think over what a contradiction of sinners He endured. That is the encouragement which arises out of looking unto Jesus. The
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g exact meaning of the Greek word for “consider” (analogizesthai) is “to reckon, count the cost, to check a calculation, to calculate carefully.” It occurs e.g., III Macc. 7: 7; I Clem. 38: 3. So we have to “calculate” what Jesus suffered, and just as He was unflinching we also would be unflinching. He exercised faith, therefore let us also live in faith. He hoped while suffering and looked onward to the crown; so let us also keep our eyes fixed, on the goal. Christ, the Crucified One, is not only our Saviour but also our Example. We are not intended merely to cast a glance after Him but to follow after Him. We are not only to meditate upon Him, but we must respond to Him; not only to admire Him, but to obey and in practice to respect Him. Let us not forget: The cross brings not only redemption but also obligation, it not only frees us but binds us, it not only looses us from our former sins but takes possession of us in order to make possible a new, holy life. One cannot in truth believe on the Crucified One without at the same time making His experience on the cross the principle of one’s own life and behaviour. “For to this end Christ died and lived again that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living” (Rom. 14: 9). To forsake all (Luke 14: 33), to take up one’s cross (Matt. 16: 24), to love Jesus more than the dearest on earth (Matt. 10: 37), to serve Him alone (Luke 16: 13), to hate oneself (Luke 14: 26), to lose one’s life so as to gain it for ever (John 12: 25)-this is the attitude of mind which the Crucified One demands of His own. Only this attitude brings the real fellowship of the cross with Him. Only thus is it also possible to live a happy life of fellowship with Him as the Risen One (Rom. 6: 1 – 14). During my travels I have often visited places well known through 26 Impacto o evangelistic
the life of Martin Luther. In fact, I have visited most of them: Eisleben, where he was born and died; Eisenach, where he went to school and studied the classics; Erfurt, where he visited the university and then later in the monastery cell sought a merciful God with many a sigh and a tear; Wittenberg, where he was Professor and where he nailed up his Theses and burnt the Bull of his excommunication by the Pope; Wartburg, where he translated the New Testament; Worms, where he confessed his good confession before the Emperor and the Imperial Diet; Marburg, Coburg, and Halle. In most of these places one sees the so-called “Luther-Rose” on the doors and walls of these houses or in the collections of the letters and documents of the great Reformer. This rose represents Luther’s coat of arms and was designed himself. By means of this rose Luther wished to express the principles of his own faith and of his personal experience of salvation. It is the “symbol of my theology,” he once said. In the centre is a black cross in the midst of a red heart, and the whole surrounded by a white rose on a blue background, surrounded by a golden ring. With this form of seal Luther wished to express symbolically in form and colour what he once wrote in a letter to Lazarus Spengler, the clerk of the city of Nuremberg. It was writ-
ten on the 8th of July, 1530, during his stay in the castle of Coburg, at the time of the Augsburg Diet: “The first must be a cross, black in the heart, so that I remind myself that faith in the Crucified One saves me. For if we believe in our hearts, we are justified. Even though it is a black cross and mortifies and hurts, yet it leaves the heart in its natural colour (red). It does not destroy our natural personality. It does not kill, but it rather allows us to live. For the just lives by faith. This heart must be set in the midst of a white, gay rose, in order to show that faith produces happiness, comfort, and peace, and not as the world gives. For this reason the rose must be white and not red. For white is the colour of the spirits and all angels. This rose is set in the centre of an azure background in order to show that this joy is the beginning of a future heavenly joy. And this background is set in a golden ring in order to show that this blessedness in heaven is everlasting and will never end, and is more precious than all joy and earthly possessions, just as gold is the most precious of all metals.” On another occasion Luther expressed himself on the same subject as follows: On roses walks the Christian heart, even though the cross be here its part. Holy joy, heavenly nature, and everlasting glory is our blessed lot where faith in the Cruci-
fied One is the true possession of our heart and the centre of our life. The cross is not a symbol of destruction but of life. It is inextricably connected in Scripture with the resurrection. For Christ’s death is at once the death of our death and therefore life and eternal bliss. “Let us look unto Jesus.” In the cross is our salvation. But if Jesus is to be your example, He, the Crucified One, must first have become your Saviour. Before the cross can be our sanctification we must have experienced it as our justification. Before the “new” can begin the “old” must disappear. Some years ago an artist painted a remarkable, highly symbolical picture. It showed a spitting mouth, a flaming eye, a clenched fist, and-nothing else: No representation of Christ’s person-not even any other fully represented human figure. Under this picture are the words: “Prophesy unto us, 0 Christ, who it was that struck thee?” The meaning of this picture is plain. It says to us: All you who regard Me, fill in the parts of this picture which are lacking with yourself. You are the one who struck Christ. This spitting mouth is your mouth. This flaming eye is your eye. This clenched fist is your fist. You are the one who brought Christ into this, His deep suffering. Do not look around yourself, but look into yourself. Strike your own breast, and confess in humility and shame: 0 sacred Head, what glory, What bliss till now was Thine! Yet, though despised and gory, I joy to call Thee mine: Thy grief and Thy compassion Were all for sinners’ gain; Mine, mine was the transgression, But Thine the deadly pain. Bernard of Clairvaux, 12th century A.D. (translated by I. W. Alexander).
How marvellous and all-inclusive is the redemptive power of the Crucified One! Our sins were innumerable. How unfathomable our guilt! How absolutely impossible it is to make our crooked life-story straight before God by our own unaided strength. In a very impressive manner this was made clear to the disciples by the Lord in His parable of the wicked servant. He spoke of a king one of whose slaves owed him ten thousand talents, and he forgave him the whole debt (Matt. 18: 23 – 24). Ten thousand talents would have a value of about three million pounds sterling in gold. The buying power would be, however, much greater, needing to be multiplied many times. We must compare these values with the monetary and wage values of those times in order to understand the great force of this parable. One talent consisted of 6,000 denarii. This means that 10,000 talents were equal to 60 million denarii. Two chapters further on, in the parable of the workers in the vineyard we, that the daily wage for a worker in the harvest amounted to one denarius, i.e., not quite a shilling (Matt. 20: 2 – 10, 13). This means that the servant concerned, had he had to earn his money in the harvest-field as a labourer, would have had to work 60 million days solely to work off the capital amount which he owed his king and lord. Or shall we put it even more plainly: He would have had to work 164,000 years without holidays, without any Sundays or other furlough. And even then he would have worked off only the capital amount without having paid the interest, simple or compound interest, which of course would have to be reckoned up and added. Even if the rate of interest had been very small it would have cost much more than the few de-
narii which the debtor would have been able to earn. So that the more he worked to decrease his debt, the more his debt would have been increased from day to day. Thus it becomes clear why the Lord used this tremendous, almost alarming comparison –similar figures of speech used by the Lord when He speaks of the “beam” in the eye of the hypocrite (Matt. 7: 3), of the “eye of the needle,” through which a camel should pass (Matt. 19: 24), or of the “plucking out” of the right eye and of the “cutting off” of the right hand, which would be better than to sin (Matt. 5: 29, 30). He purposely names such a huge figure. He wants to make it clear to us that our guilt before God is so immensely great! It is impossible to pay it off by our own efforts. Self-redemption is absolutely insufficient and out of the question. On the other hand, God’s mercy is so wonderful that it exceeds all earthly relationships and comparisons. Jesus paid the ransom price for our huge guilt of sins of omission and commission. He did it on Golgotha. What a redemption! What a Saviour! But then we must remember what duties this brings with it, even to serve Him in love and to show the same attitude of mind which corresponds to God’s nature and God’s forgiving goodness. Therefore, if you have not yet taken Him as your personal Saviour, do not hesitate any longer. Do it now. He does not want to rob you of anything. He only wishes to give you something. He does not wish to impoverish you but to enrich you. Faith does not make poor, but rich. There is life in a look at the Crucified One, There is life at this moment for thee! “Let us look unto Jesus!” u april 2014
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There were 100 sheep
Hymn of Mexican preacher, missionary, singer and poet, Juan Romero. From humble beginnings, the author sought the Lord since childhood until his early encounter at the age of seven.
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LL MY SONGS are divinely inspired,” said a few years ago the Mexican missionary, pastor, teacher, singer and composer Juan Romero. In this regard, listening to some of his songs is enough to agree with this man of God. “There were 100 sheep,” one of his most iconic songs, is a great example of how the Lord shares with his followers all his love. It is a hymn that reminds the believer that Christ went out to search for him in order to bring him back into his arms after finding him and healing his wounds. And once inside the flock, he invites him to be the one who now goes out to search for other lost sheep. 28 Impacto o evangelistic
Juan Romero, a man marked by the grace of the Almighty , was born in the city of Monterrey, capital of Nuevo León, in northwest Mexico, on January 11th, 1929. His family, who professed traditional religion, was so poor that the homeless used to call them “the poor”. However, they, guided by their religious habits, used to travel every year to the city of San Felipe, a small town in the state of Guanajuato, to make sacrifices and penances. With faith and much fervor, they walked on their knees from the center of town to the cathedral. At the age of seven, Juan was invited by a 14-year-old girl to an evangelical church on May 10th, 1936. Despite the opposition of his father, typical Mexican macho man, Romero, his brothers and his mother attended the call of God. They reached the temple all wet because it had been raining in torrents during the morning. Once inside, they heard the
plan of salvation from the lips of a missionary named Louise Jeter. She had come here looking for souls and she found the soul of a barefoot, disheveled, ignorant, dirty young boy and she immediately told him about Christ. That boy was none other than Juan Romero. Seven years later, Juan became teacher in the Sunday school of his congregation. Then in 1948 he graduated from the Bible Institute and received the missionary call that later sent him all over the world to preach the Word. In addition, at the time, he fell in love with Aurora Orozco, director of the choir of the church he attended, and he married her on June 12th, 1949. The following year he moved to the United States and worked as a teacher in the Latin American Bible Institute. He also traveled throughout Latin America, for fifteen years, with the mission to prepare and distribute educational materials to teachers of Sunday schools across
MUSIC THERE WERE 100 SHEEP
1 1 There were 100 sheep he had in his flock there were 100 sheep He cared and love, but one afternoon, when counting them all, he lacked one, he lacked one and sadly he cried. Choir The ninety-nine He left in the fold and went to search for it in the mountains he found it moaning, shivering, he healed its wounds carried it on his shoulders and returned to the fold. 2 This same story repeats again, There are still sheep That are wandering; with the broken soul go over the hills, shivering wandering the world without God and without light.
the continent. Although one day a teacher told him that he was not even worth “three peanuts,” Juan ordered his life to serve the Lord through music. Thus, throughout his long life, he has recorded 29 albums and has composed a total of 437 songs. Among his most notable compositions may be mentioned the hymns in spanish: “Oh Jesús, creo en ti”
WELL KNOWN TROUBADOUR
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OR HIS DEDICATION, effort, excellence and great contribution to the cause of Jesus Christ, Juan Romero, who is now 85 years old and keeps serving the Lord, has received significant recognition in recent times. For example, the so-called “Latin American Troubadour” won the Special Prize of the ARPA’s 2008 Academy Awards in October 2008. Months earlier, in June, he was honored in Washington during the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast held every year. In addition, he was the first Christian representative to receive a Latin Grammy for Musical Excellence in 2009.
(Oh Jesus, I believe in you), “Alborada” (dawn), and the children’s songs “Pedrito” and “Juanito”. However, “There were 100 sheep,” also known as “pastoral vision” is the most outstanding creation among his compositions. This song, that knew how to cross borders and break down barriers of language, reminds us of the obligation to share the Gospel as a primary task u april 2014
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The wandering inglishman
George Fox was brave when he exposed the truth and defended it. He suffered but he never gave up. He -a man with an extraordinary spiritual strength- shared a powerful message, which showed the right path to the arms of the Lord to thousands of souls.
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OX’S TESTIMON y denotes deep love and loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ. From humble beginnings and indomitable character, the founder of the Quaker movement is a remarkable man. His passion for the scriptures and his commitment to evangelism led him to develop his tireless missionary work. Amid this task he had to suffer various trials, such as being arrested several times, but none of that was obstacle to continue passionately proclaiming the good news. Fox was born in July 1624, in a humble and pious family in a
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HERO OF FAITH
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g small village near Leicestershire, in northern England. His mother, Mary Lago, descendent from a family of martyrs, was a person of remarkable qualities. His father, Christopher Fox, was a poor weaver of known honesty, nicknamed “Righteous Christer” by their neighbors. In this atmosphere of total respect to the Scriptures, and God as the main focus of his existence, grew up a man who fifteen years would become the driver of a spiritual revival in England. SPIRITUAL CONCERNS
Because George Fox was poor there is no record of any formal schooling but he taught himself to read and write. This motivated him to grow up far away from the centers of influence and political, economic, intellectual and religious power of his time. Since Fox was a teenager, he began to experience great spiritual concerns, so he even thought about becoming a priest. However, George was engaged in shoemaking, a job which was not alien to his contemplative temperament, and he became recognized for his diligence among loggers who did business with his boss. Named “one of the few religious geniuses of English history” by historian Williston Walker, Fox was a prudent and sensible man. Once, when he was 19, he decided to surround himself with genuinely believing people as he saw the bad behavior of certain brethren of the church he attended who used to drink alcohol. Then, the search of a place where “sound doctrine” was preached led him to visit different established and separatists congregations. 32 Impacto o evangelistic
In 1647, when he was 23 and after a long search by established and separatist churches, Fox had a personal spiritual experience of significant consequences. In this regard, he tells in his personal diary: “One day, while I walking in the countryside, the Lord made me understand that being fed at Oxford or Cambridge was not enough to fit and qualify men to be ministers of Christ.” At that time, George, received a revelation from God to preach “sound doctrine” “in time and after the deadline”, despite his poor education.
MINISTRY
In 1648, Fox began practicing his ministry in public markets, in the countryside, in specified places and, sometimes, even in “houses with bell towers” after priests were gone. Due to his preaching, full of a true Christian zeal, he earned fervent enemies, but the sincerity of his actions, which were perfectly consistent with his words helped numerous people to adhere to his “way of understanding Christianity.” Thus the Religious Society of Friends was formed. This was a
HERO OF FAITH group led by George Fox, who preached passionately and invoked the population to wake up from that spiritual lethargy in which they were immersed. Later, this group became known as the Quakers. The name is because at one point Fox was brought before a judge and there he told him that “the Word of God would make him tremble.” The judge called him in a mocking tone “shaky”, quaker in English, name with which all Fox’s followers would be associated since then. Quakers developed a very good evangelistic organization and in no time they “flooded” the whole England with his teachings. In addition to strictly spiritual matters, Quakers struggled to put an end to slavery, for humane treatment of prisoners and care for the weak and poor. The largest expansion of the Quaker movement was between 1650 and 1690, first in England and then in other parts of the world. For a time it was the fastest-growing Christian movement throughout the Western world. On this point, Christian author John Driver estimate that about twenty thousand people joined the Quakers in the first five years. RELIGIOUS PRISIONER
Because George Fox was a man of extreme honesty in his critiques of the authorities and religious leaders of his time, he was imprisoned until eight times: in Derby (1650), Carlisle (1653), London (1654), Launceston (1656), Lancaster (1660 and 1663), Scarborough (1666) and Worcester (1674), in dark dungeons and with added cruelty. But in prison, his fountain pen did not rest or was less
powerful than his voice. The longest imprisonment lasted two years and eight months and was caused for refusing to take the oath of allegiance required by the civil authority. Although he was confined to dark dungeons and was subjected to all kinds of abuse, he never stopped preaching and teaching “sound doctrine.” The guards and other prisoners were his “new audience”. His followers were not free to go through such tests. In fact, thousands of Quakers, both men and women, were imprisoned and tortured. During the first 25 years of the movement, 15 000 Quakers were
In 1648, Fox began practicing his ministry. Due to his preaching, full of a true Christian zeal, he earned fervent enemies, but the sincerity of his actions, which were perfectly consistent with his words helped numerous people to adhere to his “way of understanding Christianity.”
arrested and some of them, as in Boston, were hanged in the public square. Not even these afflictions caused Quakers to back off on their commitment to preach the Gospel. Rather, they devoted themselves to do it industriously and with perseverance. To do this they make the most of every opportunity: they witnessed to the jailers, judges, rulers and people. In brief, they witnessed to everybody without distinction of social classes. In 1669, George Fox married Margaret Fell, a lady of high social position and one of his first converted. Two years later, he went to Barbados and other
English colonies to continue his evangelizing mission. He was also in the Netherlands, between 1677 and 1684, teaching and establishing new societies of friends. His followers spread widely in Scotland, Ireland, Jamaica and the United States. This happened largely because the impact caused by his preaching which was focused on the Scriptures and was effective for the feeling of intense personal experience that it was capable of transmitting. The life of George Fox, known as “the wandering preacher”, can be summarized in his constant concern for the pursuit of simplicity in life, in his attachment to humility and the abandonment of any kind luxury and, above all things, in his tirelessly effort to “search and find what was lost”. To George the only evidence of being a true Christian was a changed life. He never tired of repeating that if a person has not experienced the new birth, everything else was in vain. This man was so radical and scriptural that, according to William Penn, one of his greatest disciples, “He knew and lived nearer to the Lord than others.” George Fox, “the man who was brave to expose the truth, dared to defend it, patient to suffer it and immovable as a rock”, died on January 13, 1691, in the city of London. He was buried in Bunhill Fields Quaker Cemetery (also known as the “Cemetery of the dissidents”) in London. In honor of his passionate missionary work, there is a university in Oregon, United States, which bears his name since 1949: George Fox University (founded as Pacific College in 1891) u april 2014
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The Salvation of Gaston
He was a man who was tired of life and thought about suicide. But God came to his aid and managed to save him at the last minute. This is another example of divine power. Marlo Pérez Photos: family archive
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ASTON IGNACIO ZAMORA AVILES began to convulse and throw plenty of blood from his mouth and nose. He lay fainting on the floor and could not get up. He was in agony as rescuers who went to save him, lost all hope. He had ingested ten grams of alkaloid and plenty alcohol to attempt to commit suicide. In those dramatic moments, images of a life of excess and sin passed before his eyes like a phantasmagorical movie while his body broke out into a cold sweat. Suddenly, an image came to his mind when his suffering 34 Impacto o evangelistic
was greater and the throes of death approached. He was a Christian who had said one day that Christ loves him and that He was the resurrection and the life. That was the peak moment. He wished to remain living, he regretted the decision he had made before and decided to appeal to the divine power. - Give me one opportunity to live. Break these chains and save me because I am dying and I will go to Hell. If you allow me to live, I will preach your Word-he said to himself. Suddenly, a very bright light appeared and the man felt a heat coming over his head which shuddered his whole body. After a few seconds, the bleeding stopped and the energy began to invade him again. He got up without help and walked to the street to get an ambulance
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g to take him to the hospital. - It is a miracle you are alive!the rescuers told him. This experience, which took place at Christmas 2009 in Barcelona (Spain), allowed him to experiment the power of God which saved him from death and addiction, and made him a good man after so many years of doom and sin, drowned in drugs and crime. CHILDHOOD
The story of this man does not start there, but thirty years
Suddenly, an image came to his mind when his suffering was greater and the throes of death approached. He was a Christian who had said one day that Christ loves him and that He was the resurrection and the life. That was the peak moment. He wished to remain living, he regretted the decision he had made before and decided to appeal to the divine power.
ago in Ecuador. Despite the economic crisis facing the country, Pascual Aviles Villamar and Esperanza Jesus Zamora conceived a child. Thus, Gaston Ignacio Zamora Avilés was born on May 17, 1979 in the city of Guayaquil, considered one of the largest and most populated cities of Ecuador. The child was born into an extra-marital relationship and that had consequences. One day, his father left with his real wife and abandoned everything in the middle of all the needs and economic urgencies. For this reason, poverty 36 Impacto o evangelistic
was always a structural part of his childhood and youth, and he could never enjoy basic amenities. His first three brothers -sons of another father- and mother had to work in a social dinning to get food. When Gaston grew up, he could realize the suffering of his mother who did not have a person to help her bear the family burden. So he had to start working early to pay house payment and food. Since then his life was divided into workdays. When Gaston was 19, he tried to apply to college and study law or psychology, but economic opportunities were scarce. He had no choice but to work in a company, where he earned a decent wage and got hopes to build a better life. However, his ambitions were beyond the boundaries of his home and country. So he shifted his gaze toward the Old Continent, where there were greater opportunities for crystallize the dreams of fame and money. Three years later, one of his brothers was imprisoned while another traveled to Barcelona, Spain. Gaston Ignacio Zamora Aviles, who had accumulated his savings and short settlement also thought about migration as an alternative to the economic problems. He traveled to the Iberian Peninsula in June 2002 and began working in all types of jobs: construction, smelting of metal, waiter and steward. The jobs were not stable and contracts lasted short term because he did not have valid documents. The lack of documents was the Sword of Damocles threatening him
permanently because he was in danger of losing his job at any time. GANGS
In 2005, his desire for greatness led him to meet the Latin Kings, one of the most violent youth hordes originated in the United States during the 40s and settled in much of Latin America and Spain. Other similar bands crossed the Atlantic and reached equal dangerousness. Years before, Gaston Ignacio Zamora Aviles practiced martial arts and was able to participate in a South American tournament which took place in 1997 at the Coliseum in Guayaquil. He had learned kick boxing to defend his mother and family who were harassed by alcoholics and drug addicts in the neighborhood. The practice of sport allowed him to resist violent initiation rites that every candidate must overcome to join the Latin Kings. Some of the candidates were crippled and even went into a coma. Over time, this youth gang became the new adoptive family of the young Ecuadorian man who advanced to the position of one of the main leaders of the organization. Although it was assumed that they dedicated themselves to art, music, dance and other forms of cultural expression, the Latin Kings, acted violently against other gangs such as the Ñetas (their main rival), Dominican Dont Play, among others. The confrontations took place in squares, parks or any other public grounds of the Spanish province. They
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g fought in the streets with knives and sticks and there were many deaths. DRUG TRAFFICKING
Police began to follow the steps of the young Ecuadorian man, but it was not only them who did it, also the narcotics mafia followed him. Drug traffickers had perceived that gang members operated in the streets, clubs and concerts of reggaeton, an appropriate market for their goods death. Thus, they tried to be in contact with them to serve as sellers. Gaston Ignacio Zamora Aviles would soon fall into the claws of this mafia. Thereafter, he began an alleged era of bonanza. He lived comfortably thanks to the illegal business, but, in parallel, he began to sniff the drug waste that was in his possession. Gradually, his addiction started swallowing him like a giant monster. First he consumed drugs only on weekends and then every day of the month. He spent whole days using drugs and alcohol. He was dying. By the end of 2009 Gaston was a compulsive addicted and mafia eventually dismissed him. The same happened in his workplace, with his family and with his partner who surprised him more than once stealing and selling household items to get some cocaine and its derivatives, such as “crack cocaine.” LIGHT
Sometimes, in moments of lucidity, Gaston Ignacio Zamora Aviles prayed to get out of that dark and stormy tunnel, but his will was still very weak. The inner demons consume 38 Impacto o evangelistic
him and he thought about committing suicide until twice. In November 2010, he had his first encounter with God. When the gang members were going to commit an attack, they took refuge in an empty place that was actually a disco. At that time, the music began to fail and the praise of a church that was very close was heard. While Christian music was playing, he heard a voice saying to him that God
loved him and that he will have a new opportunity, the voice asked him not to commit the crime. After hearing the praise, Gaston left his accomplices, he left tearful and turned on his home computer to try to calm down with the music of Hector el Father, a reggaeton fashionable singer. Great was his surprise, when he watched on television that the famous singer had become an evangelical
LIFE STORIES
Christian. “Many gave me ovations and cheered my name but none of that filled my heart and soul ...�, testified the artist. At these words, Gaston Ignacio Zamora Aviles went into crisis and thought about committing suicide. So he swallowed a drug and alcohol overdose and sat down to await death. As time passed, the effects began to be felt in his body and pain invaded her body. The crisis began and someone called res-
cuers. It was in that context that God saved him. When Gaston recovered, he realized that he should thank the author of his salvation so he went to a local church. That was how he found inside his wallet one of the many advertisements that a Christian gave him when he used to commit crimes in the parks of Barcelona. - I always got stoned using papers that I had in my wallet,
but I never took this advertisement- he says. That paper bore the direction of an evangelical church in Barcelona. He went there and entered. It was November 28, 2010. Since that day Gaston Ignacio Zamora Aviles gave himself to the Lord and his life has completely changed. He has given up drugs and lives given to God’s Word u april 2014
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Teachings and sermons of the most renowned preachers who expose the truth of the Lord through their life stories consacrated to God. The Bible says: “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life... And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 5:39; 8:32
DEVOTIONAL
Conquests of the dying Christ!
“By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures…But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1 Corinthians 15:2-4, 20-22. 40 Impacto o evangelistic
Rev. Luis M. Ortiz
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UCH HAS BEEN TAUGHT AND PREDICATED in these days about THE SEVEN WORDS of our Lord Jesus Christ while He was on the cross of Calvary. Oratory of these days almost always presents a starving Christ, who is helpless and victim, to cause
superficial sentimentality and produce beats on the chest of the same people who forget about Christ and His blood sacrifice on the cross throughout the year. But the fact of Christ being on the cross was a great victory, thus the divine plan drawn up “before the foundation of the world” was completed for God to ensure the eternal salvation of the fallen, lost and corrupted man through this blood covenant (Ephesians 1:3-7). Our Lord Jesus Christ was aware of this. Naturally, his sufferings were real and were double, physical and spiritual sufferings, carrying the horrendous burden of the sins of the entire human race for all generations. There on the cross of Calvary the Lord was on the battlefield facing all infernal powers, and every word of Christ on the cross was a great victory over the powers of evil. Our Lord turns the patibulum of the cross into the throne from which He gives orders in the middle of the battle. • “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34 When everyone expected curse and depreciations for torturers –as was the custom– the immaculate lips of Jesus opened to express a prayer of intercession and forgiveness for his enemies, and he said: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34). It was
the victory of love and forgiveness over hatred and sin. Conquests of the dying Christ! • “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43 One of the thieves who was next to him cried out to
the Lord and begged saying: “Remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” (Luke 23:42). In res-
ponse to this clamor Jesus said: “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43).
This was a promise to the man who could understand, that He, though crucified, was King, and had a kingdom, and He will establish that Kingdom. And where Peter’s faith was broken, the faith of that thief was born. Conquests of the dying Christ! • “Woman, behold thy son!... Behold thy mother!” John 19:26-27 The mother, Mary, had accompanied him to the cross. Although his physical suffering and spiritual struggle to redeem mankind were terrible, he did not forget his own; he found time to pay attention to his own. He told the mother “Woman , behold thy son” (John 19:26). He told John “Behold thy mother” (John 19:27). It was a double charge given by the Captain of our Salvation during battle. Conquests of the dying Christ! • “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46 ; Mark 15:34 The full weight of our sins, from Adam to the last mortal, rested on Christ. The powers of hell and darkness ran wild over Calvary, given this horrible scene the sun refused its light and darkness fell upon him. But worse than the hellish shadows that piled up in calvary, and worse than the physical darkness caused by lack of sunlight, the Lord deeply and intensely felt the lack of light in the eyes of the Father who had to look away from such horrendous scene; and it was then that our Lord
said: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34). And this was a proclamation to Heaven, Earth, hell, space, time, and eternity; he was indeed carrying all by himself the burden of our sins, no one could help him, no one helped him. There could not be co-redeemers, there is just one Redeemer. And what seemed to be a complaint are: Conquests of the dying Christ! • “I thirst.” John 19:28 Jesus was in the heat of the fight, and said: “I thirst” (John 19:28). He felt physical thirst, but also his spirit experienced the thirst by the soul in torment, as the rich who in torment asked God to mitigate his thirst. He suffered there the intensity of hell and was thirsty, so we do not have to suffer thirst of hell. Conquests of the dying Christ! • “It is finished.” John 19:30 Mockery increased around the Master, and people were celebrating his final defeat; the voice in concert that thunders the space and scares the hell is heard again: “It is finished” (John 19:30). It is a cry of victory. Redemption is finished, there is nothing to add, nothing can be removed, is complete, is a perfect work . Conquests of the dying Christ! • “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” Luke 23:46 Now the Lord bended his head, and as giving permission to death, so it can have its moment until the morning of the Resurrection, he prayed again to the Father, and says: “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” (Luke 23 : 46). CONQUESTS OF THE DYING CHRIST! u april 2014
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Give me children or I die! “And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.” Genesis 30:1. Why the Revival does not arrive E. Leonard Ravenhill Chapter 16
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A
GIRL of seventeen years and a boy of the same age may be equipped physically to parent a child, and even legally married. But does that in itself justify their offspring coming? Would they have financial security to cover all the need? And would they be mentally mature enough to train a child in the way he should go? Re-
DEVOTIONAL Preacher, if your soul is barren, if tears are absent from your eyes, if converts are absent from your altar, then take no comfort in your popularity; refuse the consolation of your degrees or of the books you have written! Sincerely but passionately invite the Holy Ghost to plague your heart with grief because you are spiritually unable to bring to birth.
vival would die in a week in some “Bible” churches, for where are the “mothers in Israel” to care for them? How many of our believers could lead a soul out of the darkness into light of Christ? It would be as sensible to have spiritual births in the present condition of some of these churches as to put a newborn babe into a deep freeze!
The birth of a natural child is predated by months of burden and days of travail; so is the birth of a spiritual child. Jesus prayed for His Church but then to bring it to spiritual birth He gave Himself in death. Paul prayed “night and day exceedingly” (1 Thessalonians 3:10) for the Church; moreover, he “travailed” for the sinners. The Old Testament tells us, “It was when Zion travailed that she brought forth” (Isaiah 66:8) Though preachers each week cry, “Ye must be born again,” how many could say with Paul “Though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel”?” (1 Corinthians 4:15). So he fathered them in the faith. He does not say that he merely prayed for them; he implies that he travailed for them. In the past century if the physical birth rate had been as low as the spiritual birth rate, the human race would now be almost extinct. We must pray to live the Christian life, whereas the truth is that we must live the Christian life to pray. We evangelists get a lot of credit-and very often take
what is not ours at all. There is a woman in Ireland who prays for hours. Others tell me “Never a day passes but what I lay hold of God for you.” They have brought to birth many that are credited to me, whereas I very often only act as the midwife. Sometimes I think we preachers who catch the eyes of the public will be among those rewarded the least. For instance, I know men who today preach sermons which they preached several years ago and who are no longer productive. Why? Such preachers used to pray; they hardly do it today. One of these men told me, “No, brother, I do not pray as much as I used to, but the dear Lord understands.” It is true that science has alleviated some of the suffering that our mothers knew in childbirth; but science will never shrink the long slow months of pregnancy. In the same way we preachers have also found easier methods for people to accept Christ or to demonstrate their wishes to be filled with the Holy Ghost. Folk are permitted just to slip up their hand and, presto! The groaning at the altar is eliminated. For the filling with the Holy Ghost, men are told to just stand where you are while the evangelist prays for you, and you will be filled. Oh, the shame of it! Brother, before the miracle takes places, true revival and soul birth still demand travail. As the coming babe dislocates the body of the mother, so does the growing body of revival dislocate the Church. The mother-to-be wearies
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g more as the time of the birth draws near. Often spending sleepless but not tearless nights; so the lamps of the sanctuary burn the midnight oil as distressed intercessors pour out their souls for a nation’s iniquities. The expectant mother often loses desire for food and, in the interests of the one she will bear, denies herself certain things; so denial of food and a consuming love seizes believers shamed by the barrenness of the Church. It is very obvious that Jacob loved Rachel far more than he loved Leah, but yet the woman’s delight was with Leah, for she had children. Consider how Jacob served fourteen years for Rachel, and yet that splendid devotion was no comfort to the woman stricken with barrenness. Undoubtedly Jacob proved his love by loading her with jewels, as the custom of the day was; but external nonentities were comfortless. And though Rachel was beautiful to look upon, for her sonless state she found no compensation in her own beauty or the admiration of others. The terrible truth remained that Leah had four laughing lads about her skirts; but at unfruitful Rachel men mocked and women shot out the lip. I can imagine Rachel with red from weeping, annoyed about her sterility and crying with a piercing cry, “Give me children or I die!” (Genesis 30: 1). That cry tore his heart as a sword would tear his flesh. Preacher, if your soul is barren, if tears are absent from your eyes, if converts are absent from your altar, 44 Impacto o evangelistic
then take no comfort in your popularity; refuse the consolation of your degrees or of the books you have written! Sincerely but passionately invite the Holy Ghost to plague your heart with grief because you are spiritually unable to bring to birth. Oh, the reproach of our barren altars! Has the Holy Ghost delight in our electric organs, carpeted aisles, and new decorations if the crib is empty? Never! Oh that the deathlike stillness of the sanctuary could be shattered by the blessed cry of newborn baby! Jonathan Edwards lacked no congregations and had no financial worries. But spiritual stagnation haunted him. The blemish of birth bankruptcy so buckled his
knees and smote his spirit that his grief-stricken soul clung to the mercy seat in sobbing silence until the Holy Ghost came upon him. The Church and the world know the answer to his victorious vigil. The vows he made, the tears he shed, the groans he uttered are all written in the Chronicles of the things of God. In the same way, Zinzendorf, Wesley, etc., were spiritual kinsmen for there is an aristocracy of the Spirit, as well as of the flesh. Such men despised hereditary honors and sought the accolade of the Holy Ghost. Women of the Bible who had been barren brought forth its noblest children. Sarah, barren until ninety years of age, begat Isaac; Rachel’s cut-
DEVOTIONAL ting cry, “Give me children or I die!” was answered, and she bore Joseph, who delivered the nation. Manoah’s wife bare Samson, another deliverer of the nation. Hannah, a smitten soul, after sobbing in the sanctuary and vowing vows and continuing in prayer, ignored Eli’s scorn, poured out her soul, and received her answer in Samuel, who became the prophet of Israel. The barren and widowed Ruth found mercy and bare Obed, who begat Jesse, the father of David, of whose line came our Saviour. Of Elizabeth, stricken in years, came John the Baptist, of whom Jesus said there was no greater prophet born of women (Luke 7:28). If shame of childlessness had not subdued these women, what mighty men would have been lost! As a child conceived suddenly leaps inside his mother’s womb, the same applies revival. In the sixteenth century Knox parodied Rachel’s prayer, crying, “Give me Scotland or I die!” Knox died, but while Scotland lives, Knox will live. Zinzendorf, chagrined and shamed at the loveless, fruitless state of the Moravians. He prayed fervently until suddenly revival came at about eleven o’clock on the Wednesday morning of August 13, 1727. Then began the Moravian revival, in which a prayer meeting was born that we are told lasted one hundred years. From that meeting came a missionary movement that reached the ends of the earth. The preacher and church, too busy to pray, are busier than the Lord would have them be. If we will give God
time, He will give us timeless souls. If we will hide in our soul-impotence and call upon His name, He will bring forth our light as the noonday. The Church has advisers by the carload. But where are her agonizers? Churches, boasting an all-time high in attendance, might have to admit an all-time low in spiritual births. We can increase our churches without increasing the kingdom of God. I know a family where all the children are adopted. Many of us preachers have more adoptions than births. The enemy of multiplication is stagnation. When believers lacking births become burdened, and when soul-sterility sickens us, then we will pulsate with holy fear, and pray with holy
Churches, boasting an all-time high in attendance, might have to admit an all-time low in spiritual births. We can increase our churches without increasing the kingdom of God. I know a family where all the children are adopted. Many of us preachers have more adoptions than births.
fervor, and produce with holy fertility. At God’s counter there are no sale days, for the price of revival is ever the same-TRAVAIL. Surely this ruined race requires reviving. I am fully aware that there are those who in their sleepiness will swing back on the sovereignity of God and say, “When He moves, revival will come.” That is only half-truth. Do you mean that the Lord is
happy that eighty-three people per minute die without Christ? Quote part of a text and you can make the Bible say anything. For instance, Ephesians 3:20 tells us: “Godis able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think…”, but the verse stops here and the rest is not important form them. This verse, misquoted, leaves the lack of revival on the steps of God’s throne. But finish the text: “God able to do-according to the power that worketh in us.” The verse ends with these words, and it means that the channel is blocked; it means God cannot get through to this age because of lack of power in the Church. So lack of revival is our fault. Finney said: “God is one pent-up revival so we can have revival “according to the power that worketh in us.” Thus the promise is: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you” (Acts 1:8). But have we Holy Ghost power-power that restricts the devil’s power and obtains God’s promises? Beloved, let us put away all trifling. Let us forget denominational issues. Let us give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word, “for faith cometh by hearing”, (Romans 10:17). Shamed at the impotence of the Church, let us give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word for faith cometh by hearing. Amen. Chagrined at the monopoly the devil holds, shall we not cry with tortured spirits, and mean it: “GIVE ME CHILDREN, OR ELSE I DIE!” Amen u april 2014
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Trust I have overcome the world T “These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs… At that day ye shall ask in my name; and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. Jesus answered them, do ye now believe? Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. 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” (John 16: 25 – 33). 46 Impacto o evangelistic
Rev. Gustavo Martínez
HIS PASSAGE of the Word of God tells us about the great victory of our Savior over the devil, sin, death, fear, sorrow, ignorance and transgression. Certainly, the Lord overcame the darkness and death forever through his death. Therefore, the same power of his resurrection will revive our mortal bodies, take us towards the Heaven, and transform us in the twinkling of an eye.
DEVOTIONAL Jesus-Christ came to the world and He accomplished perfectly the redemption plan of the Father. Through his sacrifice, both his divine love and justice were satisfied, opening the doors of grace before anyone willing to accept it. THE VICTORY OVER THE DEVIL AND SIN
The passage of Matthew 4: 1 – 11 tells us about the temptations that Christ had to overcome while He was wandering in the desert. He defeated Satan thanks to the Word, citing biblical passages given to men in the past. “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Deuteronomy 8: 3; Matthew 4: 4). “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 6: 16;
Matthew 4: 7). “For it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Deuteronomy 6: 13; Matthew 4: 10). It must be specially noted that Christ defeated the devil as a human being in order to free us and give us the power to do so: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews
2: 14 – 15). We were also under the domain of sin and no one was able to free us but God Himself: “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have
obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness” (Romans 6:
16 – 18). The expiation sacrifices performed according to the law were imperfect as it only concerned the sin itself and since people should present their own sins first before the sacrifice. Nevertheless, the sin never defeated our Lord despite his human condition and all the temptations offered to Him. Therefore, since his expiation sacrifice was perfect, He became able to free us from sin and to des-
The disciples never trusted the words of Christ when He announced them many times that He would die and then resurrect after three days. The crucifixion meant for them the end of their service and their return to their homes and old lives. But Christ appeared then before them to revive their joy, and when He showed them his wounds and side, their joy became great.
troy its condemning power. That was how Jesus became our High Priest, entering the heavenly tabernacle carrying his own pure, immaculate blood. Thanks to his merciful sacrifice, the throne of grace opened to us and now we can approach to God without fear, because He came to us first: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (He-
brews 4: 16). In consequence, anyone willing to come to the Lord should trust that His heavenly sacrifice is enough
to purify him, to let him reborn, and to replace his old sinner, dark nature. Similarly, it is great to know that Jesus can forgive us, understand us, and help us to defeat sin since He felt in the flesh all the temptations that every person, men and women, must face. The Epistle to the Hebrews tells us: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin”
(Hebrews 4: 15). Even though, it is upon each person born of God not to commit sin and remain to him/herself. If we do so, the devil will never be able to beat us: “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1 John 3: 9). “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not” (1 John 5: 18).
THE VICTORY OVER DEATH
Humanity was under the domain of the devil by the sin and the fear of death. But Christ came to destroy the empire and power of darkness. He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in the cross of the Calvary (Colossians 2: 15). John, during his vision of the Apocalypse, cried when he realized that nobody was worthy of opening the book of the seven seals (Revelation 5: 4). Why was he crying? Because fear overcame him, the fear that we would be lost forever. However, the Lamb of God came in and took the book from the right arm of God. Then, the four living
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g beings praised: “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5: 9 – 10).
Death could not beat the Son of God. The Holy Spirit came upon Him on the third day after his crucifixion and returned Him to life. We read on Mark 16: 4 – 6: “And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.”
Thanks to his resurrection, Christ destroyed the sting and power of death. The Holy Scriptures reveal that the sting of death was sin and its power lied on the law that condemned us. But death lost its power over us when Christ beat it in the cross of the Calvary: “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1
Corinthians 15: 54 – 57). Hell doors do not and will never prevail over the Church as our beloved Savior is victorious: “For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb…”
(Revelation 12: 10 – 11).
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Beloved readers, we must not fear death or anything else anymore; on the contrary, we must assume the words of the one who encouraged women not to be afraid of anything. There is no more fear in the victory of Christ; His perfect love destroys any fear that may control us: “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear…” (1 John 4: 17 – 18).
Christians cannot live with fear, desperation and dread as God provided us with perfect confidence. God looks with good eyes the death of the righteous since He knows that their souls will finally join Him. THE VICTORY OVER SORROW AND IGNORANCE
The disciples were deeply
God always uses the Scriptures when He wants to reveal Himself to someone. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10: 17). True faith does not let anything or anybody interfere with the love of God; even death; as our lives are based on the Rock that is Jesus-Christ.
drown in defeat and sorrow before knowing about the resurrection of Christ. They were so depressed and consumed by their tears and groans that they even did not believe Mary Magdalene when she came to announce them the resurrection (Mark 16: 11). The disciples never trusted the words of Christ even
though He announced them many times that He would die and then resurrect after three days. The crucifixion meant for them the end of their service and their return to their homes and old lives. But Christ appeared then before them to revive their joy, and when He showed them his wounds and side, their joy became great. There is a wrong idea about Christians walking over a rose’s path with nothing but joy and happiness on their way; otherwise, God is not with them. However, that would contradict the words of Christ, who said that we would suffer while living on this Earth, but that He would give us his divine peace: “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” (John 16: 33).
We overcame the world with Christ through faith; that’s our victorious proclamation. Christ did not only defeat sorrow, but ignorance. He appeared before two of his disciples who were going to the countryside after his resurrection, but they did not recognize Him; they even called Him “stranger”. When He heard that, the Savior told them: “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken” (Luke 24:
25). Christ used the Word to revive their faith, but when they went to see the disciples, they did not believe them either (Mark 16: 12). Then, when Jesus appeared before them, He reproached them the hardness of their hearts (stubbornness) and their lack of faith. God always uses the Scriptures when He wants to reveal Himself to someone. So then faith cometh by hearing,
DEVOTIONAL
and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10: 17). True faith does not let anything or anybody interfere with the love of God; even death; as our lives are based on the Rock that is Jesus-Christ. Who may then make us doubt about His existence, when we received the message that Christ lives in our
hearts, that He is real, and that his pardon is always available to anyone willing to approach the throne of grace? Beloved reader, you probably never felt the joy of salvation, or if you did, maybe daily life tasks distanced you from God. But God is calling you right now. He is giving you an opportunity to accept
Him. If you do, He will receive you and make you immediately an heir of the Kingdom of Heaven. If you have already accepted Him, then keep that joy every day of your life. Christ defeated death on the Calvary; we have nothing to fear. God bless you now and forever! u april 2014
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A quick report of the work that Worldwide Missionary Movement is making in America and throughout the world. The Holy Bible states: “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple... And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved”. (Acts 2:46,47).
EVENTS
National Convention in Argentina The mega event of the Work of the WMM was held from February 13rd to 16th at the Sports center Ministro Rivadavia in the city of Buenos Aires. Over a thousand people attended this event. 50 Impacto o evangelistic
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HE 14TH NATIONAL CONVENTION of the Work of the WMM was held WITH GREAT EXPECTATION once again at the Sports center Ministro Rivadavia in the town of the same name and within the metropolitan area of the city of Buenos Aires.
The event was inaugurated on February 13rd, 2014 but delegations from each one of the churches began meeting in the capital city since days ago, waiting for the big moment of the beginning of the great convention that set the work’s pace for the rest of the year. WMM International
Officers, Rev. Gustavo Martínez, President of the Work; Rev. Romulo Vergara, International Officer; and Rev. Gerardo Martínez, Missionary Supervisor in South America began to arrive days before the event. The event began with the participation of pastors and brothers from eleven
provinces in the country on February 13, as scheduled. Throughout the convention, Rev. Gustavo Martínez held several meetings with members of the National Board and gave the right advice for the aggrandizement of the Work in the country. It should be noted the presence of team Bethel
TV that with their cameras, equipment, professionalism, and facing a series of obstacles that occurred at the last minute, made it possible for this convention to be seen in different parts of the world, thanks to media professionally used by brothers from Peru. Pastors and brothers from Peru as well as the Supervisor of the Work in the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, Rev. Alfonso Martínez, and a delegation from the neighboring country were present. A missionary service was held the last day in which some of the missionaries established for several years now, told in brief and in a special way how God called them to this service and what motivated them to leave everything and give their lives to serve the Lord. The convention ended with a service of promotion and presentation new workers in which 5 new brothers enlisted in the ministerial ranks, and 1 was promoted from grade of licensed preacher to Ordained Minister. The latter was recruited by the International Board to fill a vacancy on the National Board, having again just the five members established from the beginning. Rev. Ismael E. Parrado, National Supervisor of the WMM in this country, expressed deep gratitude to the Lord for everything that happened in this glorious convention u april 2014
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Trinidad and Tobago was visited by God The Church of the Worldwide Missionary Movement in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago counted on the visit of the missionaries from the Church “La Concordia”, located in Bucaramanga, Republic of Colombia.
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nidad and Tobago with the authorization and supervision of the Rev. Samuel David Mejía Ibáñez. The missionary group was led by the co-pastor of the Church “La
Concordia”, Rev. José Obed Mora. Right after the arrival of the missionary group, the day of evangelization started in the places near the Church.
On January 29th, 30th and 31st, a conference directed towards the family was held under the motto “The Family in God’s order”. The main preacher was the Rev. José Obed Mora. The pastor Luis Manuel Martínez -who is in charge of the Church in the municipality of Matanza, Colombia- shared his testimony and spoke about how his life was without Christ. He stated that he was immersed in the world of drugs until
EVENTS
the Lord took him out of there in order to transform him. Now, he has the honor of preaching His Word. The preachers also visited two prisons: the prison for minors and the one for adults. In both places, the inmates and the functionaries of the prisons received the Word of God. At the end of the visit, the missionary group held a special service in the locality of Cumoto, where a group of brothers and friends
gathered together to praise the name of the Lord. The Work of Trinidad and Tobago started approximately six years ago, when the missionaries Alexander Ortega Pereira and Juliana Navarrete arrived to that country. They were members of the Church of the WMM “La Concordia�, located in Bucaramanga, Republic of Colombia, and left to the island following the call of God, who wanted them to be in front of the Church. During these years, the Church in Trinidad and Tobago has fought many battles, but it has always won thanks to the grace and power of God. The Lord Jesus Christ blessed the church and converted it into a lighthouse that guides the sinners to the reconciliation with God. This church sanctifies more with time in order to be ready for the Coming of Christ u april 2014
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Anniversary of the Church in Ventimiglia The persons responsible of the Work in the City of Ventimiglia, Brother Javier Macías and his wife Sister Nancy Arrieta, celebrated the Second Anniversary of the church with a great activity.
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HE CHURCH OF THE WORLDWIDE MISSIONARY MOVEMENT in Ventimiglia, Italy, celebrated its second anniversary on February 15th of this year, for the glory of God. This event was attended by brothers 54 Impacto o evangelistic
and sisters from the Zone 4 of the North Presbytery, which is composed by the churches of Imperia, Savona, San Remo, Ventimiglia and Genoa 2. During the first service, the bearer of the God’s message was the Rev.
Hugo Lope, National Treasurer and Presbyter of the North Zone. He gave a sermon called “Reviving our convictions”, based on Joan 2:10. He encouraged the assistants to search for God constantly and not to resign themselves to only
having what they have been given, but to keep conquering. In the second service, the Rev. David Echalar -National Supervisor in Italy, and Missionary Supervisor Assistant of the Block B in Europe- shared the powerful message of the Word of God using the Bible citation of Psalm 57. The theme was entitled: “Get out of the cave”. The brother Javier Macías and his wife, Sister Nancy Arrieta, are driving this Work in the city of Ventimiglia u
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Family Campaign in Geneva The campaign focused on the phrase “The purpose of the family”, and revealed the danger to which kids are exposed.
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HE WORLDWIDE MISSIONARY MOVEMENT IN GENEVA, Switzerland, held a glorious campaign for the family from February 14th to 16th. The Rev. Jimy Ramírez, pastor in Geneva, and Presbyter in Switzerland, led this event. During these days, they emphasized the fact that the children must be taken care of by instilling them the love of God. “As 56 Impacto o evangelistic
parents, we must support them every day and explain them the reality in which we live. For example, the sex and the dangers of practicing it against the will of God, which ends up in infection of AIDS, cancer, genital infections, unwanted or premature pregnancies, abortions or eventually in death”, claimed the Pastor. He said the parents must be aware of everything related to their kids. The parents are guides and teachers. On this occasion, the motto was: “The purpose of the family”. 60 people attended the event, which took place in the Building ICC (Route de Prés-Bois 20, 1215 Genève 15) u
EVENTS
New temple in England The congregation of London attended the inauguration of a temple in the city of Reading.
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BEAUTIFUL CAMPAIGN was held in the city of Reading on March 1st and 2nd. They counted on the visit of Rev. Christian Giordadino, pastor in the Church of Paris, France. On Saturday, March 1st, a new Temple was inaugurated in the city of Reading. All the members of the Church of London attended this event. 50 people (number of the attendance) were blessed on the campaign. On Sunday, March 2nd, the Women Society was in charge of holding a Missionary Worship. The women carried out a special presentation and a beautiful missionary drama. The temple was full u april 2014
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Evangelistic Campaign in the district of Valadares Several outdoor worships took place in the district of Valadares, where people praised God through beautiful songs and received the powerful Word of God.
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HE EVANGELISTIC CAMPAIGN, organized by the Worldwide Missionary Movement, took place this year on Sunday, March 3rd, in the district of Valadares, municipality of Bello, department of Antioquia, Republic of Colombia. 58 Impacto o evangelistic
In this activity, several worships were held outdoors, where people praised God through songs and received the powerful Word of God. Furthermore, they handed out tracts and the magazine of Impacto Evangelistic. This labor was developed under the direction of Sister Vilma Elena Noreña, and supported by the leaders of the congregation and all the brothers who attended this event. The purpose is to continue doing these evangelistic labors every Sunday of every month.
EVENTS
New Pastors in Puerto Rico As a result of the settling in of the new pastors, the Church of Riíto and the white field of the town Naranjito would become one congregation.
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HE WORK OF THE WMM in Puerto Rico, chaired by the Rev. Luis Ayala and the National Board, held on Thursday, February 20, an inclusion ceremony of new pastors in the Church of Barrio Nuevo, Sector Riíto, in Bayamón. The worship was attended by the Rev. Margaro Figueroa, International Director; Rev. Luis Ayala, National Supervisor of Puerto Rico; Sister Jacqueline Rovira, National Secretary and General Manager of the WMM; Sister Norma Santiago, National Treasurer; Rev. Albert Ri-
vera and Rev. Jimmy Ríos, National Directors. Many presbyters like the Rev. Edgar de Jesús, Zone 1, and Rev. Dan Moyeno, Zone 4, attended the
ceremony. Pastors of the Zone 4 and 5 were also present with part of their congregations. The change is made after four years of a hard and
productive labor carried out by the leaving pastors, Rev. Héctor Gautier and his wife, Sister Irma Velázquez, a marriage with a long ministerial and missionary trajectory. The Rev. Albert Rivera, Presbyter of the Zone 5, introduced all the attending pastors, congregations and visits, and took advantage of the opportunity to talk about the experience of the leaving pastors. He also congratulated them for the good work done in the place where the temple is located, and for the effort they made to go from their homes to the temple in order to look after the work and to celebrate with their congregation worships to God. He announced, as well, that as a result of the new pastors’ inclusion, the Church of Riíto and the white field of the town Naranjito would become one congregation, which would pass from the Zone 4 to Zone 5. The message of the Word of God was given by the Rev. Jimmy Ríos. The theme was: “Facing the Confusion”, based on Book of 1 Kings 18:17-21. Right after the message, the Rev. Margaro Figueroa and some of the participants of the National Board, prayed for the leaving pastors and, at the same time, introduced the Brother Luis González Adams and his wife Sister Rebeca Jiménez as the new pastors of the Christian Church Pentecost of the Worldwide Missionary Movement of the Sector Riíto, in the city of Bayamón u april 2014
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Youth Retreat in Toledo, Uruguay The youth of Toledo felt renewed and are now ready for facing a year with strong convictions and continuing going in the path traced by the Lord.
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ROM FEBRUARY 21st TO 23rd, the Third Youth Retreat of the WMM was held in Uruguay, in the church of the city of Toledo. More than twenty people from the churches of Canelones, Montevideo and Cerro Largo enjoyed the presence of the Lord. The retreat started with the motto: “Young people, do your best and be brave”. The speech was given by Pastor Alfonso Martínez, National Supervisor of the WMM in Uruguay, and by pastors Da¬niel Lapaz and Rumalda Martínez, and by brother Fernando Paniagua of Argentina. Topics such as: “The Christian engagement”, “Original or copies?”, “It´s necessary to have fire burning in your life”, and other topics were exposed during the retreat u
EVENTS
Water Baptisms in Santiago de Chile Nineteen candidates descended into the baptismal waters to increase the number of brothers in Chile.
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N ORDER TO FULFILL THE GREAT COMISSION of making disciples in all the nations and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; a great ceremony of Water Baptism was held on February 1st in the sector Los Duraz-
nos, La Pintana. Nineteen brothers of the Central and La Portada Church were baptized in this ceremony, which was led by the Rev. Gerardo Mart铆nez, National Supervisor of the WMM in Chile, and the pastor Ariel Le贸n, from La Portada Church u april 2014
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National Convention in Belize This national activity started with the motto: “Year of brave people ready for the battle”. It was held in the Gala Lange, in Orange Walk, Belize.
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HE NATIONAL CONVENTION OF THE WMM in Belize took place from February 20th to 23rd in the Gala Lange, in Orange Walk. This event was developed under the motto “Year of brave peo62 Impacto o evangelistic
ple ready for the battle”. On February 20th, the service started at 6:30pm, but during the rest of the days the services started at 9.30am with prayers at the altar. They counted on the visit of the Rev. Álvaro
Enrique Garavito, who is an International Officer of the Work, National Supervisor of the WMM in Guatemala, and also a Missionary Supervisor of Central America. The teaching of the
Word of God was given by the Rev. Álvaro Garavito. Other four pastors of Guatemala also ministered the Word of the Lord. On Saturday, February 22nd, the youth attending this event carried out a worship. And on Sunday morning, a glorious Missionary Worship was held; on this occasion, the pastor Álvaro Garavito spoke about the great power of God, while the pastor Juan José Chamale, from Guatemala, ministered the Word of God u
EVENTS
Fellowship of Pastors in Malabo More than four hundred people attended the Fellowship of Pastors held in Equatorial Guinea, the only country that has Spanish as official language in Africa.
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HE WORK OF THE WORLDWIDE MISSIONARY MOVEMENT celebrated a glorious Fellowship of Pastors, from February 13rd to 16th, in the city of Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. People from the Zone 1 (Malabo), Zone 2 (Bata) and Zone 3 () attended the event. During these days, all the pastors gathered in the Church of Rebola, shepherded by the Rev. JosÊ Mariano Mba, to share their knowledge about God’s Word and and for receiving guidance to improve the work within the clergy. In the afternoons, they and all the churches of the zone participated in worships carried out in the Central Church, which is led by Rev. Edelmiro. More than four hundred people attended this activity u april 2014
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Others Events CHILE
PUERTO RICO
PANAMA
PARAGUAY
EVANGELISTIC MARCH AND CAMPAIGN
SETTLING IN OF PASTORS IN THE CHURCH OF MOROVIS
NEW PASTOR IN THE CHURCH OF METETÍ
GLORIOUS NATIONAL CONVENTION OF THE WMM
The Worldwide Missionary Movement held an evangelistic march and campaign on February 15th in the town of La Legua, a district located in the south zone of the city of Santiago. It is important to know that this town is one of the cities with more problems in the country; here reigns the sin. A group of the Central Church and brothers of the different churches in the city of Santiago marched and testified the power of God. Then, as closure, they held an evangelistic campaign, where the power of God manifested itself in many of the attendees.
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The Work of the Worldwide Missionary Movement in Puerto Rico, led by the Rev. Luis Ayala, has made changes for ensuring its improvement. Thus, new pastors settled in the church last Sunday, December 8th, 2013. After Sunday School ended, the main worship started. Right after the devotionals and spiritual hymns, Rev. Federico Cabreras, the former pastor, introduced the visits and attending pastors. They counted on the attendance of Rev. Jimmy Ríos, National Officer; Rev. Oscar Martínez, Pastor in Barceloneta; and Rev. Arcadio Román, Pastor in Manati. After the welcoming greeting to those pastors, Rev. Jimmy Ríos gave a sermon under the theme “There is always an answer in the house of God”, based on 2 Chronicles 20:1-12. At the end of the message, Rev. Jimmy Ríos started the settling in ceremony of the new pastors, where he officially introduced the Rev. Miguel Rodríguez and his beloved wife, sister Lucy Castillo, as the new pastors of the Church of Morovis.
Last January 11th, Rev. Ismael Simití and his wife, sister Senaida de Simití, were formally introduced as the new pastors in a prospering congregation of the Worldwide Missionary Movement in Menetí, Province of Darién. The event was chaired by Rev. Alcides Ramea -National Supervisor of the WMM in Panamawho gave the symbolical keys of the Church of Metetí to Rev. Simití and his wife. The brothers and sisters from the different churches in the city of Panama and Colon who attended this glorious worship were witnesses of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
The Worldwide Missionary Movement carried out a new edition of the National Convention in Paraguay, from February 7th to 9th. This magnificent event took place in the Municipal Theater, city of San Lorenzo. Rev. Luis Rivera, National Supervisor of the Work in this country, highlighted that the event was nourished with the powerful Word of God. The Word was shared by Rev. Gustavo Martínez, International President of the WMM; Rev. Rómulo Vergara, International Officer; and the Rev. Gerardo Martínez, Missionary Supervisor of South America.
AMENITIES
Does the universe have a meaning and a purpose? Sometimes, astonished scientists express their surprise about the simplicity, harmony and the absolute excellence that are found in the physic universe.
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HE ASTROPHYSICIST PAUL DAVIES CLAIMS that “the universe adjusts to an ordered scene and not to an arbitrary disorder of events”. He recognizes that this fact makes us wonder: “God or not God- if there’s a meaning behind all of this” (The Goldilocks Enigma, 2006, p. 15-16). “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.” Psalms 8:3-5. “Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for
the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.” Psalms 19:2-6. “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”
Romans 1:19- 20. Even though the Bible gives
the universe a great meaning (Psalms 8:3-5; 19:1-6; Romans 1:19-20), many scientists are blinded at their own purpose. The physicist Richard Feynman claimed: “The great accumulation of understanding as to how the physical world behaves only convinces one that this behavior seems to have a kind of meaninglessness” (Quoted by Davies, “Beyond Belief”, conference, November 6, 2006). The cosmologist Steven Weinberg expressed something similar: “The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it (also) seems pointless” (The First Three Minutes, 1977, p. 149). The most brilliant minds of the world are blinded at the amazing meaning of the universe and how it fits in the great plan and purpose of God for the human race. Jesus Christ said: “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.”
Matthew 11:25
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THEY WRITE TO US... WORLDWIDE MISSIONARY MOVEMENT America • Europe • Oceanía • África • Asia
cartas@impactoevangelistico.net MARIANA MATOS Dear brothers in Christ, may the Lord bless you. I thank you for this magazine that is inspired by the Holy Spirit, because you neither delete nor add to His Word. It is a joy to my life every time I receive it, and I don’t put it down until I read it all because it is a blessing for me, and when I finished reading it, I gave it free to people who do not serve the Almighty God yet. Who loves you in the love of Christ. From Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico.
CARMEN D. CARRIÓN
MARCH 1-4 19-22
CONVENTION IN PANAMA CONVENTION IN HONDURAS
APRIL 16-20 CONVENTION IN GUATEMALA 17-20 NATIONAL FELLOWSHIP IN AUSTRALIA (SIDNEY) MAY 3-5 CONVENTION IN JAPAN 20-25 CONVENTION IN PERU (LIMA) JUNE 25-29 17-20
ANTONIO SÁNCHEZ Dear brothers, hereby I want to thank you all for the wonderful work you do in order to win souls for Jesus Christ. May the Almighty God keep blessing you greatly. I send you much love and express appreciation for your great work. Your brother in Christ, Antonio Sanchez. Since Gardner, MA, USA.
Worldwide Missionary Movement, beacon of light that gives light to all nations/ And makes them shine, bringing salvation and eternal life / Beacon that transforms the soul, thirsting for the gospel of peace / That lights the way you have to walk, without looking back / Light that shines day and night wherever it goes, and transforms many souls with its light / You are the light of Christ’s glory that makes you shine wherever you go / Worldwide Missionary Movement, May God greatly bless you. From Arroyo, Puerto Rico.
of my Heavenly Father. When I get the magazine, it is a great blessing to my life and that of my brothers because we all want to read it at the same time. Greetings to all magazine’s members. From Holguin, Cuba.
ANA LUISA MARTÍNEZ
LILY
God bless the Evangelistic Impact magazine and especially you WMM International President, Rev. Gustavo Martinez. Thanks for sending me the magazine which is a great blessing to my life, like being in the ways
JANUARY 1-4 CONVENTION IN PUERTO RICO 7-14 CONVENTION IN COLOMBIA
FEBRUARY 7-9 CONVENTION IN PARAGUAY (ASUNCIÓN) 13-16 CONVENTION IN ARGENTINA (BUENOS AIRES) 20-23 CONVENTION IN BELIZE
ROBERTO RODRÍGUEZ Dear brothers of the WMM. May the Lord greatly bless you and favor you. I am writing to thank you from the depths of my heart for Evangelistic Impact magazine, which, since I 'm reading it, God has impacted my life in an amazing and special way. It has changed my way of being and even of thinking. My faith and hope in Christ have grown dramatically and I am currently very active in the Lord’s Work here in prison. Since I am receiving the magazine, I have conducted myself in the ways of the Lord and I daily live a victorious life in Jesus Christ. May God bless all the staff of the WMM. From Graceville, Florida, USA.
GLOBAL AGENDA 2014
The message of Pastor Manuel Zuñiga about “The danger of fame” is a simple truth. Glory to God for the magazine that conveys a message of truth amid the evil that is transmitted in these times. From Costa Rica.
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n Events
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Founder Director: Rev. Luis M. Ortiz Editorial board: Rev. Luis Meza Bocanegra, Jacqueline Rovira, Samuel Martínez, Rev. Andrés Espejo Editorial coordinator: Rev. Julián Morón General editor: Víctor Tipe Sánchez Editor: Jaime Tipe Sánchez Graphic editor: Roberto Guerrero Graphic design: Adolfo Zubietta Writers: Johan Pérez Landeo, Marlo Pérez. Designers: Lesly Sánchez, Cesia Heredia. Web master and Infographics: Julio de la Cruz. Illustration: Julio Limachi. Transcription: Fanny Vidal, Ana Rodriguez. Community manager: Juan Becerra, Denisse Barrientos. Distribution: Javier Arotinco.
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