Midnight Cry Messenger

• Main Article: Examine Yourselves, Part 8 by Phil Enlow
  A continuation of this vital series. Do you know that you know the Lord? Are you ready for His return?
• The Editor's Letter

Dear Saints,

We greet you in the wonderful name of our Lord Jesus! This issue continues with the next part of Examine Yourselves, part 8, in which we begin to look at the important subject of the Seal of the Spirit. Every true born again believer has been "sealed" with the Spirit. As John puts it in 1 John 4:13, "...he has given us of his Spirit." John says that this is how we know we are "in him." Paul says in Romans 8:9, "...if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ."

I believe that this is an area of great importance to God's people. Surely we need to know if we have received God's Spirit -- or not. This subject will strengthen and encourage some who are oppressed by the devil with doubtful thoughts and will also disturb others who are walking in a false hope. My only regret is that due to space considerations part 8 will stop just short of answering the question, "How to we know that we have received God's Spirit." That will, Lord willing, be in part 9.

I sincerely hope that the next issue will be out before too long as it is obvious that we have fallen behind on the schedule, and also because I don't want readers to wait too long on this important subject. We covet your prayers that God will enable us to give out good "sheep food" that will edify His people. Too long many of them have been abused by false doctrine, tradition, and the religious systems of men. May God give us a hunger for pure truth that will set us free and enable us to stand against the growing power of darkness in this present world.

Once again, Labor Day Weekend in the beginning of September saw our Youth Camp near Columbia, South Carolina. This camp was well attended and, while the focus was on youth, people of all ages joined together services under an outdoor pavilion. God challenged us all through His Word and there were many encouraging testimonies that let us know that God is doing a work in many hearts. We are thankful and give Him all the glory.

I know many of our readers are wondering, "What about the trip to India?" Well, I'm getting to that! In short, it was a wonderful, Divinely-ordered experience--one we will never forget. Part of me wants to tell all about it in detail but I believe that it would be wisdom not to give names and places.

Bro. Jim Easterly had been overseas before but I never had so it was quite an experience to travel about 35 hours "door-to-door" with no real rest, have 9 and a half hours of jetlag to contend with, and suddenly be immersed in what, to us, was a foreign culture. I will say that we were in the state of Andhra Pradesh for about a month and never once had contact with another American, and only one or two westerners. Despite every challenge--and in a number of potentially dangerous situations--God answered prayer and His grace and strength were sufficient.

We thorougly enjoyed getting to know many wonderful Indian believers. Our hosts and hostesses without exception could not have been more gracious and hospitable. I have no doubt that there was considerable sacrifice involved and I know that the Lord will bless them for their faithfulness.

It was quite a challenge to say the least to participate in a variety of gatherings that took place entirely using the Telegu language. The songs were unfamiliar and we had only a general idea what was being said. Then the host would turn to one of us and say, "OK, you speak!" And we would endeavor to, with the Lord's help, greet believers and brothers and sisters, minister something that was at the same time encouraging to the believers yet might also sow a seed in the heart of any unbelievers present.

At various times we spoke to illiterate tribal villagers including both believers and unbelievers, children, caste villagers, city congregations, some that included university professors and students, and ministers. We always spoke through an interpreter--and in some tribal villages we spoke through two interpreters since the villagers didn't understand Telegu! This can be a mixed blessing. On the one hand it gives you time to think what to say next; on the other, it is easy for the mind to wander by the time all the translating is done and everyone is waiting for you to say something again!

We did participate in one English service but when it came time for us to speak it was translated into Telegu as they felt our accents would not be readily understood! I trust that, in spite of us and our limitations, the Word was sown in hearts and will bear fruit. Still, it would probably be fair to say that the simple fact of our presence was of more value than our preaching!

Everywhere we went we were welcomed and honored. We would arrive in a believer's home in a tribal village and out would come plastic chairs along with a simple wooden bed frame covered with webbing and a blanket. In addition, in some of the remotest places, they would bring out small bottles of Sprite! To us that may seem like a small thing but I have no doubt that it was a considerable sacrifice--and one that the Lord, I am sure, took careful note of.

Travel in India, in our brief experience, is quite an adventure. It quickly became obvious that if we were to react to automobile travel as if we were back home the result in short order would be an ulcer! The only way to handle it is to just relax and trust the Lord and "go with the flow."

I commented to one audience that a "traffic jam" in America usually means a lot of cars. In India it more often involves buffaloes, sheep, or goats--and in one case, ducks! And Indian "rush hour" in any rural area is marked by people moving their herds home along the roads for the night. That can make for some slow driving. Of course, we weren't foolish enough to attempt any of the driving!

We were there during the Cyclone that struck that region during mid-September and gained an appreciation for the impact such a storm can have. The area just cannot take a lot of rain at one time and the result was widespread flooding along with the destruction of many of the simply-constructed village houses. Rivers overflowed bridges, washed out major roads. Fields of crops were "drowned." At one point we drove across a bridge as villagers with nets were catching fish that were being washed over the bridge by a swollen river. The Lord kept us and we got home safely!

We had an opportunity to visit an area of the coast that had, some nine months earlier, been devastated by the tsunami. We walked out on a beach among wrecked boats where villagers were living in simple huts made of bamboo and palm thatch less than 100 yards away. There was no high ground in sight. My reaction was to be amazed that more people weren't killed. Yet in that very village we met a good group of Christians who had the joy of the Lord in their faces.

I could go on and on talking about the interesting "travel" aspects of the trip but that, of course, wasn't the purpose of the trip. Everywhere we went we met real believers. We could see it in their faces and sense it in their spirits. Many live in serious poverty and in the midst of a culture of spiritual darkness. In more than one village we walked past Hindu shrines with colorful flags that the unbelieving villagers actually worshipped as gods in order to visit a believing family or two and seek to encourage them in their faith. I'm so thankful that the God I serve doesn't wear out like a flag.

Oftentimes unbelieving neighbors would gather out of curiosity, giving us a wonderful opportunity to lift up the Lord and to encourage them to listen to the message of life brought to them by the pastors who so faithfully labored among them. In one village we held an open air meeting with a good group of believers and became aware that much of the rest of the village was listening back in the shadows. What a wonderful opportunity!

We met many of those pastors and were greatly humbled to see their dedication and faithfulness, often in the midst of great poverty. They labor by faith at great personal cost and boldly preach the gospel in places where the gospel has never gone before. Truly, such areas are among the "front lines" of gospel work and it was a great privilege to witness such work.

We saw fresh evidence that the God of miracles is alive. I'm afraid that we "civilized" Christians have far too much unbelief. But in tribal villages, among much simpler people, God often confirms His Word with signs following. We met one man who had been pronounced dead and and his body sent home by the doctors. The villagers had gathered to bury him. Then a pastor prayed for him and in a little while he got up, gave his heart to Christ, and was baptized! Needless to say the Lord used that to reach a number of hearts. Today, he and his family are strong Christians and his son is also the elected political leader in his area.

We met a number of others who had similar stories. They had used up all of their earthly wealth seeking healing through offering Hindu sacrifices or going to doctors only to face certain death. Then God intervened and healed and saved them. Some of these have become pastors themselves who can give wonderful personal testimonies to God's power and the reality of the gospel message.

There is a real work of God going on in some very out-of-the-way places. It would be easy, upon hearing of some of the miracles that have occurred, to suppose that the progress of the gospel there has been easy, a simple process of performing miracles and reaping the harvest but that would be a very false picture. The work that we saw has been accomplished in the face of mountains of difficulty and even suffering and persecution.

We met one group of people who had been driven from their village, dispossessed of houses and lands for accidentally desecrating a small Hindu Shrine. They were living in makeshift shelters in a field. Yet, even there, we saw the joy of the Lord in faces. We in the west have little idea of what it costs many of our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world to serve Christ. May we be ready when our turn comes to suffer for His sake.

We had the opportunity to visit one school/orphanage and greatly enjoyed seeing the delightful children, younger and older. I believe the burden there was rightly for their spiritual welfare as well as that of their families and surrounding villages. Still, meeting real and practical needs provides wonderful opportunities that can have eternal results.

I could easily go on and on about the trip but one thing was evident: God was in it and blessed and kept us in answer to a lot of prayer that went up on our behalf. We were in any number of potentially very dangerous situations, yet enjoyed safety and a sense of peace. We travelled right after the cyclone through flooded countryside on an overnight train and came through safely. Just recently there was a terrible accident involving a very similar train and not far from where we were!

Even in a month we didn't see even half of the work that was going on the two areas we visited. Once again, I apologize to many others in the same general region who will read this. In one sense I wish we could visit you all but God has His own plan. I would encourage every reader to pray for such gospel work wherever it is being carried out. I am well aware that the world is full of gathering spiritual darkness and that much of professing Christianity is apostate, but God has a true remnant that is faithfully reaching out in remote corners of the globe. I believe it is part of the last call. May God bless and strengthen everyone Who has been sent with His message--and all to whom they minister.

As I write this our November Meeting is upon us. Once again we are expecting people from several states and at least one foreign country to join together to worship and hear from the Lord. There is a great sense of expectation and I know the Lord will be faithful to do His part. Once again, the church in Southern Pines, North Carolina will be the host for this meeting.

And now, until the next issue may God richly bless you...

Your brother in Christ,
Phil Enlow

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