November Newsletter

DEAR FRIENDS, AUTUMN AND SPRING ARE MY FAVORITE TIMES OF THE YEAR. THE LEAVES ON THE TREES CHANGING colors, piles of leaves in yards, and the cooler morning temperatures in autumn are all part of the changing of seasons which I enjoy. I’m thankful for where I live. THE CHANGING SEASONS REMIND ME OF MY WALK WITH JESUS CHRIST. There are seasons in our lives, if we are pressing on to know Jesus Christ, when things will not always be the same. The past three and a half years have been times of intense breaking in my life. I’ve never felt as broken as I have during this time. I’ve witnessed God’s hand of blessing on the ministry and my personal life and I've also seen Him at work in my family. The ministry continues to grow and the Lord Jesus keeps opening more doors, and increasing our realm of influence. But, at the same time, I’ve never felt so much opposition. I know that, just as God wants to work through His people to touch the lives of others and bring the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, the enemy also wants to use people to destroy the work of God. Unfortunately, sometimes those who are most used by the enemy are those who call themselves the servants of God. During this time of intense opposition and persecution, I’ve found solace in reading about the life of David and the Psalms he wrote. He was a humble young man who loved the Lord God with all of his heart and would worship God for

hours. He had a testimony of how God delivered him from the mouth of the lion and the bear. He was a lowly shepherd boy, overlooked by his family while he obediently tended to the sheep entrusted to him. He was immediately thrust into the furnace of affliction after being anointed as king by Samuel the Prophet. King Saul was jealous of David because he had a heart after God, so Saul tried numerous times to kill him, although David refused to raise his hand against God’s anointed. I can’t begin to

imagine what this humble man of God experienced as the highest leader in the country was slandering him and seeking to kill him.

I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO RELATE TO HIS MANY EMOTIONS AND INTENSE TIMES OF QUESTIONING WHILE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST HIM CAME FROM EVERY SIDE. There was a time when I felt like a miserable failure as accusations were hurled at me by those I trusted most. Hurtful things came out of the mouths of the very people I thought were like family. Even words and actions of hate have been directed at me. But the LORD sustained me with Psalm 109, “Do not keep silent, O God of my praise! For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful have opened against me; they have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They have also surrounded me with words of

sustaining me in the midst of all the opposition. He alone is my refuge, my fortress, my High Tower, and I dwell under the shadow of the Most High. Jesus is my rock. Whether it was standing up for Jesus at the grocery store when I was in college, or while working at jobs, I was falsely accused by those who rejected the Gospel. I experienced opposition for my stand for Jesus while on the mission field in Northwest China. I understand some of what our brothers and sisters face around the world. But most of all, I get a taste of what Jesus Himself faced when He walked this earth.

MY HEART’S CRY, SINCE I WAS SAVED 28 YEARS AGO, ECHOES WHAT PAUL WROTE IN PHILIPPIANS 3:7-11 “But what things

hatred, and fought against me without a cause. In return for my love they are my accusers, but I give myself to prayer. Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. Psalm 109:1-5 Jesus said, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matt 5:11-12 I’ve experienced much opposition through the last 28 years because of my faith in Jesus Christ and 25 years of missions work. It’s difficult when the people who should be praying for you and standing with you are the very ones who want to see you brought down and the ministry destroyed. They didn’t teach me about this in Bible School, but God is

were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Fellowship of His sufferings means that I will experience rejection, false accusations, misunderstandings and even hatred at the hands of those He created. My responsibility is to cling to Jesus, keep my heart from bitterness and unforgiveness and know that He alone will sustain me. The encouragement I have during this time is that, in the process of all these trials, God is making me more like Jesus, which is what matters most.

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You’re probably wondering why I’m sharing all of this. I have sensed for many years that persecution is coming to the American Church. I believe hard times are ahead and that the “True Church” is not people who follow a man-centered Gospel, but those who have truly trusted Jesus Christ and repented of their sins and are being transformed by the Word of God and the Spirit of God. They will go through the fire of affliction before the LORD returns. “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified…For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” I Peter 4:12-14, 17

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The pictures inside are of Pastor Yuan (smaller picture), and Pastor Lamb. Pastor Yuan, who is now with the Lord, was imprisoned from the age of 44 until 66 for his faith. Pastor Lamb was imprisoned from 1955-1957 and 1958-1978 for his faith. "Please tell them to pray for us...pray for revival, pray for more new converts, pray for more strength to stand firm, because persecution is still severe." Pastor Samuel Lamb Let us be found faithful when Jesus returns or calls us home. Let us be people who are daily in the Word of God, spending time in His presence and sharing the hope of Jesus Christ with a lost and dying world. We must love and always embrace the truth in every area of our lives. Jesus is the truth! God Bless You! Patrick, Board and staff

Only one life, soon it will be past, only what’s done for Christ will last!