Brown's Daily Word 2-16-11

Praise the Lord for this warm Wednesday. We will meet for our mid-week gathering today at 6 PM with a home made meal prepared with much love and served with great passion. Whenever I read about the times and the lives of the servants of Christ such as William Carey, John Wesley, Jim Elliot, and others I get excited about the call of Christ upon our lives. He has the prior claim in our lives. Recently I was reading about Walter Gowans
Walter Gowans knew that the Lord was calling him from his homeland to share the gospel in the Sudan.( How the world is now riveted on Egypt, and the whole region of North Africa) He traveled there to work among the people of the region because he knew that was God's plan for his life. God had so impacted his life that it was evident to those around him that Walter was part of something much bigger than his own dreams and aspirations. Walter's mother, who lived in Canada, was so captivated by her son's passion for the mission that she felt as if she were with him every day. Rowland Bingham, one of the founders of the worldwide missionary organization called, S.I.M. writes of the impact that Walter's mother had upon his life. Bingham wrote,
"In the quietness of her parlor she told how God had called a daughter to China, and her eldest boy (Walter Gowans) to the Sudan. She spread out before me the vast extent of those thousands of miles and filled in the teeming masses of people. Ere I closed the interview she had placed upon me the burden of the Sudan. "
Mr. Bingham felt as if God Himself were calling him to leave his post and go to the Sudan to join Walter Gowans as a missionary to the people of the Sudan. He did just that and then eighteen months later Bingham returned to Canada, alone. Walter lay buried in Nigeria's interior. Bingham writes of visiting Mrs. Gowans when he got home,
"I visited Mrs. Gowans to take her the few personal belongings of her son, he recalled. She met me with extended hand. We stood there in silence. Then she said these words: 'Well, Mr. Bingham, I would rather have had Walter go out to the Soudan and die there, all alone, that have him home today, disobeying his Lord.'
What can cause a mother to say such stunning words? It is only the love of God that could allow her to see that there are more important things in this life than life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. More important that these inalienable rights are passionate obedience, radical obedience to the will of God.
Rowland Bingham, after he visited with Mrs. Gowans and gave her the news of her son's death at age of 25, went back to Nigeria where 60 million people were waiting to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. The year was 1900 when he went back to follow God's call and he failed. In 1901, Rowland Bingham and his assistants set up the first home base for the mission at Patigi, 500 miles up the Niger River. Today there are still S.I.M missionaries working to spread the gospel throughout all of Africa. Rowland Bingham once wrote.
Our success in this venture means nothing less than the opening of the country for the gospel; our failure, at most, nothing more than the death of two or three deluded fanatics. Still, even death is not failure. His purposes are accomplished. He uses deaths as well as lives in the furtherance of His cause.
Young men in their early twenties, possessed with a deep love for their Savior and an undying thirst to serve Him no matter the cost has resulted in the salvation of millions. Obedience cost Walter Gowans his life, but today we know him as an overcomer who willingly paid the price of obedience because of his love for Jesus and his desire to see others come to know his Savior's love.
You and I are in a battle every day. If you are not aware of the battle that rages against you by the Enemy of the people of God then that is ample evidence that you are losing ground. The battle is being waged and the troops are growing weary because they have not been told that the battle is won. It's not won by intellect, cunning, brute strength, or the power of the will - it is won because of the victory of the Son. Whatever battle you are facing today we need to know that through Christ Jesus we are more than a conqueror!
"He’s the master of the mighty. He’s the capturer of conquerors. He’s the head of heroes. He’s the leader of legislators. He’s the overseer of the overcomers. He’s the Governor of the governors. He’s the Prince of princes. He’s the King of kings. He’s the Lord of lords. You can trust him.
His office is manifold. His promise is sure. His life is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy. His burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you. He’s indescribable because He’s incomprehensible. He’s irresistible because He’s invincible. You can’t get Him off your hands. You can’t get off your mind. You can’t outlive Him, and you can’t live without Him. Pilate couldn’t stand it when he found out that he couldn’t stop Him. Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him, and the witnesses couldn’t get their testimonies to agree, and Herod couldn’t kill Him. And death couldn’t handle Him, and thank God, the grave couldn’t hold Him. There was nobody before Him. There’ll be nobody after Him. He has no predecessor. He’ll have no successor. You can’t impeach Him, and He’s not going to resign. You can trust Him.
He’s the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the end. The first and the last. He’s all things. He’s the giver of life. He’s the joy out of every sorrow. He’s the light of every darkness. He’s the peace that passes all understanding. He’s the giver of every good and perfect gift. You can trust Him. There’s no God before Him. There’ll be none after Him. He is the first. He is the last. He is preeminent. There is no other God".S.M. Lockridge

In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX_7j32zgNw
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott


Saturday February 19, 2011
6PM Coffee Fellowship

6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music: Worship Band from Hawleyton UMC
Speaker: Rev. Bill Puckey