Document

Volume 47: February 2006 - March 2006

To the YouthA Call to Follow

Don�t Waste Your Life

HeartCryThat The Lamb Receive theFull Reward of His Suffering...

Missions

2 HeartCry Missionary Society, February-March 2006

OUR PURPOSE

�For from the rising of the sun evento its setting, My Name will be greatamong the nations...�

- Malachi 1:11

The chief end of all mission work isthe Glory of God. Our greatestconcern is that His Name be greatamong the nations, from the rising tothe setting of the sun (Malachi 1:11).We find our great purpose andconstant motivation not in man or hisneeds, but in God, His commitment toHis own glory, and our God-givendesire to see Him glorified in everynation, tribe, people, and language.

OUR MINISTRYAlthough HeartCry recognizes thegreat importance of sending mission-aries from the West to the un-evangelized peoples throughout theworld, we work in partnership withindigenous missionaries to plantchurches among their own peoples.

MAGAZINEThe HeartCry Magazine is offeredfree of charge to all supporters andinquirers.

WEBSITEwww.heartcrymissionary.com

GIVINGAll donations sent to the HeartCryMissionary Society will generate atax-deductible receipt.

PRODUCTION STAFFEditor-in-Chief: Paul WasherGraphic Design: Jonathan GreenCopy Editors: Rita Douglas

Amanda GlassCharo Washer

IDENTIFICATIONHeartCry is a bimonthly publicationof the HeartCry Missionary Society,under the direction and authority ofWaldo Baptist Church, 6970 WaldoChurch Rd., Metropolis, IL 62960

CONTACT US(618) [email protected]

C O N T E N T S VOL. 47 FEBRUARY-MARCH 2006

F E A T U R E S

11 SPECIAL FEATURE

On the Battlefieldof the Enemyby Sorin Prodan& Paul Washer

It is one thing to be a witness for Christ behind the �safe�walls of the church, but it is quite another to go behind enemylines and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We should pur-pose to take the risk and follow Christ no matter the cost.

D E P A R T M E N T S

LETTER FROM THE EDITORFocus, Focusby Paul WasherThe changes continue at the HeartCry Missionary Society as we focus with greaterand greater intensity upon the things that God has called us to do. We are moreencouraged than ever about serving the Lord and spreading the good news of theGospel throughout the world.

3

HEARTCRY NEWS

Too much news is dedicated to the secular and thetemporal. It is refreshing to hear some �Good News�about God�s eternal work in the world.

5

8 COVER STORY

To the Youth:A Call to Followby Paul Washer

A word to the youth who receive this publication. We askyou to prayerfully consider the things written in this ar-ticle, and we admonish you to adjust your life accordingly.Do not waste your life!

One of the most exciting andrewarding aspects of ourministry is the overseas Bibleconferences. Read some of thetestimonies of those who havebeen blessed by this ministry.

14 BIBLE CONFERENCESAlthough HeartCry isprimarily a church-plantingministry, we sponsor a fewmissionaries who seek toreach the lost on collegecampuses in Romania and toincorporate them into the lifeof the local church. Read thetestimonies of those whohave come to know the Lordthrough the lives andministries of Ion Tomeci andAlexandru Palade.

16 CAMPUS MINISTRY

A good word on reformationand revival, and a shortsummary of the greatest needsin contemporary Christianity.

22 REFORMATION & REVIVALPAUL WASHER�S PREACHING MINISTRY

Missions

That The Lamb Receive theFull Reward of His Suffering...

Volume 47 3

THE EDITOR�S DESKFOCUS, FOCUS

Paul David WasherDear HeartCry Family,

We hope this edition of the HeartCrymagazine finds you growing in the grace andknowledge of our Lord and Savior JesusChrist. We pray that your confidence is rest-ing in Christ alone, that your eyes are setupon His specific will for your life, and thatyour heart and energies are surrendered toHis leadership.

The word �Focus� has become the im-perative for us here at HeartCry. Our great-est desire is to know exactly what God hascalled us to do, to focus our attention uponHis perfect will, and to be blind to everyother thing. We have no designs for great-ness and no ambition but His glory. The endof our days is coming swiftly and the realityof the coming judgment leads us to disdainpersonal goals and ambitions as grotesquemanifestations of self-will. It is better to servethe Lord according to His will in the small-est things, than to do �great things� in con-tradiction to His will.

In the last few months, we have de-creased the number of missionaries wesponsor by approximately 25%. This is pri-marily due to the fact that several mission-aries we have supported are now pastoringthe churches they have planted. It is nowthe responsibility of their churches to takeover their full support.

Although the need is great and it wouldbe possible to replace these men immedi-ately with other worthy indigenous mission-aries, we are restraining from this tempta-tion. To be most effective in the Kingdom,we will work in fewer places and with fewermen and focus all our resources and ener-gies in planting local churches and helpingthem to become autonomous (self-govern-ing and self-supporting) as quickly as pos-sible.

By God�s grace, we will redirect all thesupport, energy, and effort possible to meetthe needs and promote the ministries ofthose missionaries that we are sponsoring.Our primary focus will be on the personal

growth of our missionaries in the knowledgeof God and true piety. The greatest need inthe world today is for missionaries who areGod-besought, Christlike, filled with theHoly Spirit, and who rightly handle theWord of Truth. One godly man or womanwill have a greater impact upon the worldthan a thousand mediocre ministries, andone biblical church will do more to promotethe advancement of the Kingdom than allthe plans and strategies of men. In this newyear, we will focus our attention on the fol-lowing crucial areas:

Planting Churches - A mission agencycan do many things on the field withoutdrawing the attention of the devil, but plant-ing a church will arouse the hordes of hell.We believe that we are only �playing mis-sions� unless the end of all we do is theplanting of biblical churches that are able togive birth to other biblical churches.

Bible Conferences - There is a greatneed for sound theological teaching andthere are countless missionaries and pas-tors who are willing to travel great distancesand suffer whatever hardship to refine theirunderstanding of the great truths of Scrip-ture. The greatest needs are expositorypreaching and systematic theology, with aspecial emphasis on soteriology (the doc-trine of salvation) and ecclesiology (thedoctrine of the church).

A Systematic Training Program -There is very little training provided forthose in the ministry outside the West. Wehave written several studies that have beenused in Peru and other Spanish-speakingcountries, but our desire is to develop anentire systematic training program.

Pastoral Libraries - In recent years, wehave not been able to invest in this worthyproject because all funds (except those des-ignated otherwise) were used to cover themonthly missionary support. There is a greatneed for biblical literature among indigenousworkers. Many missionaries have nothing

more than a Bible with a concordance in theback. Their usefulness in the Kingdomwould be greatly enhanced with a few es-sential study aids: Bible dictionary, exhaus-tive concordance, one-volume commentary,etc.

Tools for Evangelism - The work of mis-sions through indigenous missionaries isoften limited by a lack of the necessary toolsto carry out their work. Mountain mission-aries need mules to travel, while missionar-ies in the jungle need boats, motors, andgasoline. Some of our church planters usetents to hold meeting in towns and villageswhere there are no churches. Others needonly tracts, New Testaments, and disciple-ship literature. There is an almost endlessvariety of needs that cross our desk eachweek. Most of them are valid and many ofthem should be met. I hope and pray thatGod will be gracious to us and allow us toserve those who have gone out �for the sakeof the name.�

Promoting Missions - Every Spirit-filled Christian will have a heart for the GreatCommission. The problem is that our livesare bombarded by so many other things andmission work is so far away that God�speople often forget about missions. It is ourdesire to be a constant reminder to God�speople that the task of preaching the Gos-pel to every creature is yet to be done!

Please pray for us as we seek to pleasethe Lord in all things concerning His will.We count it the greatest of privileges toserve Him and work with you!

Your brother,Paul David Washer

E D I T O R � S D E S KVOL. 47 FEBRUARY-JANUARY 2006

VOL. 47 FEBRUARY-MARCH 2006S P E C I A L O F F E R

The One True GodA Biblical Study of the Doctrine of God

The great goal of this study is for the student to have an encounter with God throughHis Word. Founded upon the conviction that the Scriptures are the inspired and infallibleWord of God, this study has been designed in such a way that it is literally impossible forthe student to advance without an open Bible before him or her. This book may be used byan individual, small group, or Sunday school class.

The true Christian cannot bear or even survive a divorce between the emotions and theintellect, or between devotion to God and the doctrine of God. The mind is not the enemyof the heart, and doctrine is not an obstacle to devotion. The Scriptures command us tolove the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind (Matthew22:37), and to worship God in both spirit and in truth (John 4:24). The study of doctrine isa passionate search for God that should always lead the student to greater personal trans-formation, obedience, and heartfelt worship.

What Others have Said:Iain Murray writes, �Paul David Washer�s study guide on the doctrine of God, �The One True God�, is the best introduc-tory work known to me. It sets out great truths in clear and balanced form. Human authorities are not quoted but it isevident that the author is familiar with the literature of historic Christianity and accordingly he misses the pitfalls intowhich others might fall. Young Christians could scarcely spend their time better than working carefully through thesepages.�

An Excerpt from the One True God

The Meaning of HolyThe word �holy� comes from the Hebrew word qadosh that means, �separated,� �marked off,� �placed apart,� �withdrawn

from common use.� ... The distinction between God and the rest of His creation is not merely quantitative (the same, butgreater), but qualitative (God is a completely different being). Regardless of their splendor, all other beings on earth and inheaven are mere creatures. God alone is God, separate, transcendent, and unapproachable. The most splendid angel that standsin the presence of God is no more like God than the smallest worm that crawls upon the earth. God is incomparable!

1. In the Scriptures, we find that the holiness of God is both preeminent and transcendent. It is preeminent in that no otherdivine attribute is so often declared and explained in the Scriptures. It is transcendent in that there is simply no compari-son between the holiness of God and that of any other being or thing.

a. God�s Holiness is Preeminent [Latin: prae, before + eminere, to project]. It is impossible to understand the charac-ter of God apart from His Holiness. Above all things, God is Holy! How is this truth demonstrated in Isaiah 6:3 andRevelation 4:8?

Note: In Hebrew literature, repetition is used to give emphasis to what is being said. That God�s holiness is declaredthree times [called the trihagion in Greek, tri, thrice + hagios, holy] denotes that God is absolutely and infinitelyholy. No other divine attribute is proclaimed with such great emphasis. We never read in the Scriptures that God is�love, love, love,� or �merciful, merciful, merciful,� but we do read that He is �holy, holy, holy.� Holiness is thefoundation of all that God is and does. If there is one attribute of God that we simply cannot overemphasize, it is Hisholiness.

b. God�s Holiness is Transcendent [Latin: trans, across or beyond + scandere, to climb]. God�s holiness infinitelysurpasses all others. There is none holy like the Lord! What do the following Scriptures teach us with regard to thistruth?

Exodus 15:11

In Stock and Available - Order by Phone: (618) 564-2770 / (618) 564-3746

Volume 47 5

Persecutionin MoldovaIgor and Mariana Seremet areHeartCry missionaries toMoldova. In recent months theyhave experienced persecution fromthe townspeople that has been in-cited by the Orthodox priests. In spiteof the many threats against them,God has caused them to triumph.The following account is taken fromthe Seremets� last report:

In the recent months, the Orthodox priest is very angry at usand stands against all our activities. He speaks very rude about usand our teaching. He proclaims to the people that our Christianconfession of faith is untrue. One day, all the townspeople gatheredtogether and shouted at us. They told us that they would come toour meetings with pitchforks! I praise God that the people did cometo our meeting, but they did not come with weapons. God changedtheir hearts and they came with open minds and hearts. May Godcontinue to bless them with a holy wisdom so that they might knowthe truth about us and our Gospel. We need your prayers and arethankful for this help you give us. Pray for the work and for all ourpreaching in the cities of Anenii Noi and Speia. Also pray for myfamily, especially for my wife�s health.

Giving beyond their MeansZoran and Liliana Milovanovic are HeartCry missionaries to the country of Serbia. It hasbeen a joy to watch Zoran mature in the Lord and become a useful church planter in acountry with so great a need for the Gospel. The following is an excerpt from a recentreport. It demonstrates how the financial gifts from believers in the US have motivated theEastern European Christians to give even beyond their means. Brother Zoran writes:

I visited the Romanian believers in the church in Resita and presented the needs of ourchurch. At the end of the worship service the church took up a collection for us. I wasdeeply surprised by the attitude of the congregation. We not only received money, but alsogold earrings, necklaces, and other types of jewelry. We were very glad to see that thebelievers in Romania truly shared the burdens of the Serbians. We discovered that they hadbeen challenged financially by the Christians from other countries who had given to help usand other struggling churches like ours. We praise God that once again we had the privilegeof seeing the grace of God. We are glad that our faith has been strengthened to believe thatall things will be done in God�s timing. Thank you for your spiritual and financial help. MayGod reward your love for His church in Serbia and may His joy revive into your hearts.

PersonalEvangelism inGhana

The following is a brief tes-timony from HeartCry mis-sionary Joseph Lamptey. Itdemonstrates that evangelismis not a program but a life-style:

I had the wonderful privilegeof sharing the Gospel with a

middle-aged auto mechanic who was working on my car. He toldme that his parents and brothers were idol worshippers. He alsoshared that his parents had totally rejected and disowned hisyounger brother because he had renounced idol worship andbecome a Christian. This man was afraid that a similar fate mightawait him if he became a Christian. I shared the Gospel with him(He is called �Ecomog� by his friends), and he professed Christas his Lord and Savior. Please pray for him that he will not followhis parent�s idols, but make a true stand for Jesus Christ. In thelast few weeks, our church has made 120 contacts for Christ andshared the Gospel with 51 people. Please continue to pray withus that our good Lord will help us here in this place.

Zoran Milovanovic (on right) and pastor Daniel Barnut ofthe church in Resita, Romania that gave so generously.

H E A R T C R Y N E W SVOL. 47 FEBRUARY-MARCH 2006

Advancing under conflict


Confusion in IsraelAntony Simon is a missionary in Israel andis sponsored in part by your giving to theHeartCry Missionary Society. The followingexcerpt is taken from his most recent report:

In this city of Jerusalem where our Lordwas crucified, there is much confusion. We seeso many people that do not have any discern-ment. At the moment, it seems like more andmore crazy people are arriving every day. Manycome with great visions and a �personal word�from God saying that God is using them to bringabout the conversion of the entire Jewish

people. Many of these self-proclaimed prophets leave behind their spouses andfamilies in order to fulfill their �high calling.�

Recently, I met a woman who was walking up and down the main street inJerusalem proclaiming that she was the Messiah. Another man who is not Jew-ish is searching all of Jerusalem to find the grave of his grandmother who hebelieves is Jewish. He wants to prove that he is a Jew. He reads the Jewish prayerbook with his family even though he and they do not understand Hebrew. Hebelieves that Hebrew is a holy language and that the prayer book is holy (al-though it makes no claims to inspiration). He has also added Jewish ritual intohis house and insists that it be followed to the letter. All this has caused greatconflict in his family. Although he and his wife are professing believers, hisinfatuation with Judaism has caused the breakdown of their marriage. I told himthat if he truly wanted to obey the Lord he should return to the United States andsort out his marriage. So far he has not responded.

Judaism was given by God and is the foundation of the Christian faith, butwhat Jews believe today is not the Judaism of the Bible. It is a rabbinical Judaismthat is as far removed from the Scriptures as English is from French. In Israeltoday some believers say that they are not Christian, but Messianic. I tell themthat the word �Messianic� is nothing more than a synonym for Christian. TheBible tells us that Israel is not the church, but the future of Israel is with theChurch made up by the people of God - both Jew and Gentile. We should lovethe Jewish people and pray that they might turn back to the true and living God,but the center of the believer�s theology and life is the Lord Jesus and not Israel.If Israel is the center, then something is wrong. Believing in Israel cannot save!

To bring an end to this confusion, we are praying about starting an Englishspeaking service on Sunday evenings. There is a great need for the Bible to betaught verse by verse without emotionalism. Please pray with us that we mighthave wisdom and guidance in this matter. We are currently looking around fora place to meet. Please pray that a door will be opened for us according to theLord�s will.

VOL. 47 FEBRUARY-MARCH 2006 H E A R T C R Y N E W SH E A R T C R Y N E W S VOL. 47 FEBRUARY-MARCH 2006

Young Missionary JoinsLeonid BanchikLeonid Banchik is a missionary in Israel and issponsored in part by your giving to the HeartCryMissionary Society. The following excerpt is takenfrom one of his most recent reports:

Shalom from Israel! During the last year we havebeen praying that the Lord might give me an assis-tant in the ministry in Tel-Aviv. Recently, God sentus a young man named Denis who left another Mes-sianic congregation because the preaching of thecrucified Savior was replaced by the keeping of Jew-ish laws and ceremonies. The congregation has nowturned into a synagogue! Denis came to the rightdecision to leave it.

Sadly, there are many congregations in Israelthat have gone astray. The acceptance of Jewish tra-dition is becoming more and more fashionableamong �Christian� congregations. Many pastors andpreachers quote the Talmud more often than theydo the Bible. They seem to have forgotten that theTalmud is a book of human wisdom, but it is not theinspired wisdom of God. Exposing the Pharisees,Jesus once declared, �... laying aside the command-ment of God, you hold the tradition of men �� (Mark7:8). The Talmud is a collection of traditions and leg-ends that can be used for the purpose of illustratingspiritual truth, but it must not be taught as though itwas the very Word of God!

Standing for Christ in UkraineIn Matthew 10:36, Jesus taught that His followers would even be persecuted by their own family. This iscertainly the case for an elderly Ukrainian believer under the ministry of HeartCry missionary IonGireada. Brother Gireada writes, �A dear elderly sister in our church is suffering great persecution from herfamily because she repented of her sins, left the Orthodox church, and was baptized in the Baptist churchwhen she was eighty years old. Her family is angry at her because of her faith in Jesus and biblicalconvictions. Her family is very nice to us when we visit, but in our absence they treat her with scorn andthreats. They are constantly accusing her of bad things and threatening to do bad things to her. Sherecently told me that she will never leave her faith in Jesus and that no human being could take it from her.She waits day by day to meet her heavenly Father and Jesus in heaven.�

Ion Gireada (right front) praying with fellow believers.

Volume 47 7

H E A R T C R Y N E W SVOL. 47 FEBRUARY-MARCH 2006

The Gamonal Family PassThrough the Furnace

Joel and Dana Gamonal are missionaries to Peru and aresupported in part by your giving to HeartCry. They are liv-ing and working in Manchay, a very impoverished area out-side of the capital city of Lima. The following is from a recentletter written by Dana:

Right before the Holidays, a young lady ran out in front ofme from behind a parked bus. Though I swerved, she still hit thefront side of the car. It was the worst experience that I have everhad and the most difficult to overcome. The woman had to un-dergo one operation and spend four days in the clinic. She wasalready terribly anemic so we had to find blood donors for her.I thank the Lord that we have car insurance and it is paying forher medical care. The woman is now at home and has a goodrelationship with me, but her family seems to think that the ac-cident is a golden opportunity to get money from the UnitedStates. The police told me that if the woman had been in a car,she would have been totally to blame, but since she was not, Iam at fault. Peruvian law says the driver is always responsible.If someone suicidal jumps in front of a moving car with a suicidenote in his pocket, the driver is to blame. If the person dies, thedriver may go to prison! Such laws make me afraid to drive.

All of this has been a terrible, horrible, nightmarish trial inevery sense of the word. I have never been so shaken. Even myspiritual life has been affected. I have NEVER doubted that I waswhere God wanted me until this happened. I have fought thedevil tooth and nail. I know I did nothing wrong, but it is hard forme to see someone hurting so much and know that I did it. Myfamily and I must also face all our neighbors in the community ofManchay. The girl�s family has circulated awful stories about meand my family. It has been so awful that I wanted to run. I havecried until I could not cry anymore.

I am happy to say that I have finally learned what the title�Prince of Peace� means. We have had so many trials lately -one on top of another. For several days after the accident, wewere required at great cost to submit the necessary legal paper-work. In the middle of all that, we received my son Aaron�s labresults showing that he had E.coli and his second wave of bron-chitis. My other son Caleb was in his last week of exams, and Icould not study with him. I have never prayed so much for hisstudies and by God�s grace he received 100´s. On top of all this,we were �getting ready for Christmas� (whatever that means),and I had to play in the choir at the Fetzer Christian school. Ontop of everything, Joel and I were getting over strept.

Life was horrible until I realized that there is a Prince of Peace.My eyes fell upon a tract saying something about Yeshua com-ing to Bethlehem long ago as a babe. I cannot explain it, but whenI read the name �Yeshua� a LONGING came over me to throw

myself in Yeshua´s arms. How I longed to look up and see Him!But then I realized that the Prince of Peace is HERE in the midst ofall my turmoil. There is no reason for the Prince of Peace to cometo a peaceful place. He comes to the very place where the mostturmoil is found! He was with me when people horribly mistreatedme and the police said awful things trying to make me feel evenworse. He was with me when I could not rest, when I could notbuy gifts, and when everything was wrong!

One morning my son Caleb and I went to the market and acouple of people refused to greet me. It made me feel horrible,but Caleb said, �Mommy! You are like Jesus.� I felt like ANYTHINGbut Christ-like right then, so I asked him what he meant. He said,�People treat you bad even when you did not do anything wrong.That is just like Jesus! You are very special! Now you know whatit is like to be like Jesus!� My son�s words were like a slap in theface, but they were true. We all want to be like Jesus, but we arenot often very willing to go through anything of what He wentthrough!

ZambianBelievers onthe MoveConrad Mbewe reports thatthe government of Botswanahas approved registration forthe new Reformed BaptistChurch in Botswana. ZambianBaptists applied for the regis-tration in December of 2003and have waited prayerfully for

two years. The next phase is to apply for a work permit for Zam-bian missionary pastor Kapambwe Nsenduluka. Pastor Mbeweasks that all pray for this process to be successful. In addition tothis important prayer request, Pastor Mbewe mentioned severalother matters of prayer:

* The gaining of strength by the Zambian kwacha (Zambiancurrency) has brought new challenges to our mission en-deavors. The kwacha has increased 25% against the dollarand inflation continues at about 17%. It is a good sign forthe economy, but decreases the power of US funds.

* In July 05, the Reformed Baptist Church of Kabwata sentmissionary Raphael Banda to the city of Mazabuka. Sup-port was available until the end of the year. Kabwata is cur-rently praying for the extra support needed to keep Bandaon the field - $1000 a month.

* The Kabwata Baptist church is preparing to send BonangLekoba to Botswana after three more months of training(January to March). Due to the strong economy in Botswana,$2000 a month is needed.

* A sister church has requested that a missionary be sent tothe semi-village environment of Kasama. A man has beenselected and the support is available. It seems that it is onlya matter of time before the work will begin.


C O V E R A R T I C L E

A Word To the

Over the last few days I have felt com-pelled to write the following word to theyouth who receive this publication. I ask youto prayerfully consider the things you willread. If you find any truth in what is written,then I admonish you to adjust your life ac-cordingly. Do not waste your life!

Remember theBrevity of Life

The first man was created in the imageof God. If he had submitted to the will ofGod, he would have been immortal. He wouldhave passed through the years of his un-ending existence from strength to strength,without deterioration or decay. The passingof time would have brought him to greaterlevels of maturity, contentment, and joy. Hisexistence would have abounded with pur-pose and glory.

With the advent of sin, all was lost, andman�s existence became tragically twistedand deformed beyond recognition. Man be-came a mortal being of brief duration, weari-ness, and futility. He now lives his life untilall vitality is drained away, all purpose is de-molished, and the body finally returns to thedust from which it came. It is not withoutreason that the preacher cries out, �Vanityof vanities! All is vanity� (Ecclesiastes 1:2).

As a young man or woman, you mustconstantly fight off the temptation to forgetabout the brevity of life and the vanity ofeven the longest life lived apart from God�swill. You must learn from the Scriptures that

your life is less than a vapor. You must be-come convinced of this truth, and then youmust set it before you as a constant reminder.You are mortal and your days are numbered!

�As for man, his days are likegrass; as a flower of the field, sohe flourishes. When the wind haspassed over it, it is no more, andits place acknowledges it nolonger� (Psalm 103:15).

�...You are just a vapor that ap-pears for a little while and thenvanishes away� (James 4:14).

You know the Scriptures are true. Youknow that death is a certainty for you. Ev-ery tombstone and eulogy bear witness tothe inescapable reality that you are goingto die. And yet, how is it that you so quicklyforget and give yourself to the passing vani-ties of this life? It is because you are sur-rounded by a culture that does everythingin its power to avoid any thought of the endof life. It is because the god of this ageworks with all his cunning to keep you en-tertained and distracted. It is because, al-though you have been redeemed, you stilldwell in a body of fallen flesh that runs forall that is carnal and temporal. Knowingthese things, you would do well to bothmemorize and often pray the prayer ofDavid in Psalm 39:4:

�LORD, make me to know my endand what is the extent of my days;let me know how transient I am.�

Keeping your mortality at the forefront ofyour thoughts is not for the purpose of be-ing morbid or lamenting as those who haveno hope, but to compel you to hope inChrist alone and to give yourself whole-heartedly to His will for your life. Only inChrist is the grave swallowed up in victoryand temporal futility replaced by God�s eter-nal and glorious purpose for you.

Remember your CreatorKnowing something of the brevity of

life, �How then shall we live?� The writerof Ecclesiastes answers this question forus in the form of a command:

�Remember also your Creator inthe days of your youth...� (12:1).

The word �remember� comes from the He-brew word zakar which means to recall orcall to mind. This command to remember Godrefers to more than a casual recollection thatthere is a God. It means more than simply

bowing your head every time you pass by asteeple. It is not fulfilled merely by attend-ing church every time the doors are open. Itis a radical and life-changing command toknow and understand the God of Scripture,to acknowledge His preeminence in all things,to seek His glory in all things, and to striveto obey Him in all things.

The great importance of this commandbecomes clear when you remember that youare constantly bombarded with temporal dis-tractions designed to make you forget theworth of God and the joys of His will. Unlessyou purpose in your heart to remember Godand use every means at your disposal to re-main true to that purpose, you will fall intovanity and your life will be wasted! Considercarefully what I have written. I am not ask-ing you to simply agree with me. I am plead-ing with you to PURPOSE in your heart to fixyour eyes on God as though your life de-pended upon it (for it does) and to actively,aggressively, even violently (Matthew 11:12)seek out and use every means at your dis-posal to keep from being distracted and fall-ing into the vanities of this perverse age!

It is important to note that the preacherof Ecclesiastes not only commands us to�remember God,� but he tells us the mostconvenient time to do so - in the days ofour youth. It does little good to prepare fora battle at the end of the battle, or to waituntil the last lap of the race to tie on yourrunning shoes. Likewise, it is a ridiculousnotion (found in the head of many youngpeople) that one should delay living for Goduntil later in life and usually after a greatportion of life has been wasted. Do not belike the prodigal who �came to his senses�only after squandering his fortune and thestrength of his youth. Come to your sensesin the early days of your life. Set your heartto seek God now - to know Him, worshipHim, serve Him, and rejoice in His goodness.As one older than you, as an ambassador

Youngby Paul David Washer

Volume 47 9


make ministry into something other thanChrist�s life flowing through your intimaterelationship with Him is to make it nothingmore than a stupid work of the flesh.

Read the BibleNow there�s a novelty! One of the great-

est things a young Christian can do is tomake a lifelong practice of reading the En-glish Bible systematically from Genesis toRevelation over and over again. If you cando so in the original languages it is evenbetter, but I know only a handful of mencapable of such a thing and I am not one ofthem.

Most Christians� knowledge of theScriptures is very fragmented because theyhave only read parts of the Bible. I haveknown individuals who were brilliant in cer-tain aspects of doctrine, but whose overallknowledge of the Bible was very weak. Toavoid this pitfall, you must read the BibleSYSTEMATICALLY and from cover to cover. Noone in their right mind would read a workof literature by bouncing to and fro throughthe book and randomly reading only certainchapters. They would begin at the beginningand move progressively through the bookchapter by chapter until they reached theend. And yet very few Christians have everread the Bible this way! Remember: theBible is the inspired and infallible Word ofGod given to us in book form. To under-stand it in whole and in part, we must readthrough it!

One of the most rewarding ways to learnthe Scriptures is to write your insights andquestions as you read. Each time you passthrough the Scriptures you will notice thatyou are able to answer many of your oldquestions and that new questions have cometo mind. You will also be able to refine andclarify many of your previous insights. Bythis means, you will learn that the Bible isthe best commentary of itself.

One word of caution: Most people nevermake it though the entire Bible because theywear themselves out trying to understandeverything or trying to write a commentaryon each book. I offer two suggestions: First,do not get bogged down. Write down briefquestions and keep on reading. Secondly,only write down those insights which Godhas impressed upon your heart to remember.BE BRIEF! We already have enough commen-taries to bankrupt every seminary studenton earth!

To a young Christian, the Bible can seem

overwhelming. This will never change. TheBible is overwhelming! It contains more truthabout God than any man will ever compre-hend or obey. Nevertheless, it is a magnifi-cent journey to read through its pages andnot only learn, but be transformed. Chris-tianity requires that the mind be fully en-gaged, but it is not solely or even primarilyabout the intellect. It is about knowing Godin a personal and intimate manner and beingtransformed into the likeness of His Son. Donot be discouraged! Every day that you giveto the reading of God�s word will eventuallyadd up to years of study and a wealth ofbiblical knowledge. Every day lost will re-duce the size of that final treasure.

PrayI divide my praying into two separate

categories: Praying in my walking shoes andpraying in my work boots. The first categoryrefers to communion, adoration, andthanksgiving. It is walking with God as anever-present companion, enjoying His fel-lowship, and seeking greater and greatermanifestations of His presence. This typeof praying has one purpose - to know Himand to simply �be� with Him. Apart from thistype of praying, all the knowledge in yourhead will never be anything more than sec-ond hand theological jargon. You will spendyour entire life speaking correctly aboutsomeone you do not even know and aboutthings that have never become realities inyour life.

I have heard people say that they do nothave a specific time of seeking God in thisway, but they commune with God through-out the day as they go through their dailyactivities. It has been my experience thatthe ability to �practice the presence of God�throughout the day and in the midst of myactivities is only made possible because Ihave separated myself from my daily activi-ties and sought God in specific times ofprayer. This seems to have been the prac-tice of our Lord Jesus Christ during Hisincarnation:

�In the early morning, while itwas still dark, Jesus got up, leftthe house, and went away to asecluded place, and was prayingthere� (Mark 1:35).

The second category of praying - pray-ing in my work boots -refers to intercessoryprayer. Let no one mislead you. This type ofpraying is hard work! It is not a small thing

for Christ, as though God were making anappeal through me, I beg you on behalf ofChrist, do not waste your life.

�Why do you spend money for whatis not bread, and your wages forwhat does not satisfy? Listen care-fully to Me, and eat what is good,and delight yourself in abun-dance� (Isaiah 55:2).

Set Your Heart toFollow Him

I am hesitant to use this type of lan-guage with you because I am afraid that youwill misinterpret. To most Christians, theadmonition to �follow after God� conjur-ers up thoughts of duty, obedience, and min-istry, but these things by themselves willonly leave you tired, hollow, and bitter. I havebeen down that road and I will do everythingin my power to keep you from it. It leads toa horrid place!

When I speak of following Him, I amprimarily referring to fellowship with Hisperson; to acknowledge Him and share withHim every experience; to purpose not tohide from Him or shut Him out of somearea of your life; to see everything as sa-cred and nothing as secular; for Him to havepreeminence in every moment of your life,every thought in your head, every word thatproceeds from your mouth, and every workthat you endeavor to do - walking, talking,eating, drinking, laughing, crying, working,playing - experiencing all of it in Him, throughHim, for Him, and most of all WITH Him!

Do you realize that you can do almostanything for all the wrong reasons? You cando ministry for the personal satisfaction orfame it may bring. You can even grow inknowledge and piety for the reputation theymay reap for you among other believers. Butit is the true and loyal heart that seeks onlyto be WITH Him for the sake of being WITH

Him!You may look upon me as a mature

Christian who has learned many things, butI have been so wrong in so many ways, andthis has been my greatest error. I have al-ways pressed hard to accomplish something,when I should have pressed hard just to bewith Him! Yes, my dear young Christian, youcan even waste precious drops of your lifein the work of ministry and missions!

Remember this: To confine God to aquiet time is grotesque, to reduce disciple-ship to only obedience is pathetic, and to



for a mortal man to wrestle with God (Gen-esis 32:24-32) and against the devil(Ephesians 6:12). The stakes are high andeverything is won or lost on this battle field.We labor in prayer for the Glory of God,the Great Commission, and the advancementof the Kingdom (Matthew 6:9-10); we la-bor in prayer for the preservation and sanc-tification of the Church; we labor in prayerfor every need and for the fulfillment ofevery promise that God has given. This mayvery well be the most holy task given tomen!

I will leave the subject of prayer be-hind with a bit of advice that has been veryhelpful to me. It was given to me by an olderpreacher, who received it from an even olderpreacher. It goes something like this:

�Pray until you can pray, and thenpray until you have prayed.�

Often when we bow our knees in prayer, wedo not sense the liberty or power to pray. Itseems as though there is a sky of brass aboveus. This should not be a cause of discour-agement, but it should lead us to wrestle inprayer until we have �broken through� toGod. It is then that we should set ourselvesto praying until our burdens have lifted andwe know that we have prayed.

Seek Out GodlyCompanions

At the risk of offending you, I must saythat if you are young there is probably agreat deal of foolishness still bound up inyour heart (Proverbs 22:15). If the great-est influences in your life are other youngpeople just like yourself, then you are acompanion of fools and walking down adangerous path. The Scriptures teach a verylifesaving truth that is often neglected to-day:

�He who walks with wise men willbe wise, but the companion of foolswill suffer harm.� (Proverbs 13:20)The idea of a �generation gap� was born

out of the godless counterculture of the 60�sand has now been thoroughly adopted bymost churches. The idea that young peopleneed to be with other young people is a di-rect contradiction to the Scriptures. Al-though periods of supervised fellowshipwith other youth can be both enjoyable andprofitable, the Scriptures everywhere teachthat young Christians need to be with olderand more mature Christians so that they

might learn their ways and avoid the pitfallsof the young and naive.

According to the Scriptures, the great-est influences in your life ought to be yourmother and father, provided they are godlyand mature Christians. Following them, itis the role of the church elders and the en-tire adult congregation to model the Chris-tian life before you. In summary, you willdo well to surround yourself with men andwomen whose progress in sanctification andusefulness to God are evident. Get to knownot only the godly Christians of our time,but also the saints of yesterday through theirwritings and the writings of others aboutthem.

Flee Youthful LustsIn Ephesians 6:10-12, you are com-

manded to make your stand against the devil.In James 4:7 you are given the promise thatif you resist him, he will flee from you. Nev-ertheless in II Timothy 2:22 you are com-manded to �flee youthful lusts.� It is ratheramazing that you are commanded to bestrong, take your stand, and fight againstfallen angels, while at the same time, youare commanded to flee with fear fromyouthful lusts. This demonstrates that theyouthful lusts of your flesh and the unbridledsensuality of your culture is more danger-ous than a face to face battle with the devil.

I have known countless Christian youthwho demonstrated genuine evidence of con-version, and yet upon entering into a rela-tionship with the opposite sex, they fell intoimmorality. I have known them to memo-rize Scripture, pray, and even fast to be purein their relationship, and yet still they fell.Why? Because they did not understand thatall the spiritual disciplines in the Scripturescould not save them from youthful lust. Theywere trying to wage battle while God com-manded them to flee. To summarize: You can-not be alone in a relationship with a personof the opposite sex for any extended periodof time without falling. Therefore, you shouldnever be alone together in a house, car, orany other place where lust can be kindledand failure is certain.

Give Yourselfto Noble Purposes

I see young Christian men in the uni-versity who squander away their time play-ing video games and frequenting malls andmovie houses. They should be giving them-selves to more noble purposes! You were

not bought by the blood of the Lamb in or-der to give yourself to such things. You havebeen adopted into a royal family and royaldeeds are expected of you. Shun the mind-less entertainment of the age and give your-self to the will of God. The Scriptures de-clare in II Timothy 2:20-21:

�Now in a large house there arenot only gold and silver vessels,but also vessels of wood and ofearthenware, and some to honorand some to dishonor. Therefore,if anyone cleanses himself fromthese things, he will be a vesselfor honor, sanctified, useful to theMaster, prepared for every goodwork.�

Do you desire to be a vessel of honor andused for noble purposes? Do you desire tobe an instrument in the Master�s hand? Thencleanse yourself of the foolish games oflittle boys and vain girls, and become theman or woman you were called to be. I be-lieve it was A.W. Tozer who said that on thetombstone of America would be written thewords, �They entertained themselves todeath.� This is a pathetic epitaph when com-pared to what was said about King David:

�[He] served the purpose of Godin his own generation, fellasleep, and was laid among hisfathers...�

What legacy will you leave? What will becarved into your stone? Most importantly,what will God declare about your life duringthe great Day of Judgment that awaits you?May God have mercy on you and grant yougrace to far surpass the character and deedsof the one who is writing to you this letter.

Your brother,Paul David Washer

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VOL. 47 FEBRUARY-MARCH 2006 S P E C I A L F E A T U R E

ON THE BATTLEFIELDOF THE ENEMYCo-written by Sorin Prodan and Paul Washer

The world is very different now in Eastern Europe. Wehave been granted religious freedom and exciting opportuni-ties to advance the Gospel in the very countries that little morethan a decade ago were behind the Iron Curtain. It is a glorioustime for the Gospel and for those who preach it faithfully. Andyet, the enemy does not sleep. Every country in Eastern Europeis striving to join the European Union and the price they arewilling to pay is costly. In the name of tolerance, they mustopen their doors to sexual perversion, abortion, prostitution,and countless other sins.

The media gloats that God is slowly being removed fromour post-modern society, but it fails to see that a remnant isbeing kept by God�s almighty power. The evangelical Chris-tians who survived under Communism will also survive thisnew onslaught of the enemy. Not only will we �survive�, but wewill continue to pray and preach the Gospel. God will vindicateHis great Name by proving that He is greater than politicalregimes, humanistic philosophies, vain constitutions, and apos-tate religious leaders who claim a form of godliness, but denyits power. Our God is Sovereign over all!

In such times, we must remember that the true Christianwill always be persecuted, even in times of apparent freedom.The unbelieving world and the unregenerate religious do notwant God! Therefore, those of us who believe and preach Christare a loathsome goad to them. They hate us because our livesand message remind them of the righteousness of God, thesinfulness of their deeds, and the coming judgment. Yes, thetrue Christian is bound to suffer the onslaught of the enemy.The devil�s methods may change, but his goal is always thesame � He seeks to kill us. If he cannot burn us at the stake, hewill try to lure us into his filth and make us unfit for the Master�sservice. If he is unable to stain our testimony, he will seek toturn us inward and away from our generation. If he cannotcontain us, he will try to trick us into relying on �efficient meth-ods of ministry� rather than absolute dependence upon God;giving ourselves to religious activity rather than fervent prayer;trading anointed preaching for harmless sharing.

In the midst of these struggles against the devil and theworld, God calls us to preach the Gospel to our Nineveh. He

calls us to shake off the spirit of Jonah. He calls us to abandonour beautiful temples, elegant pulpits, and splendid missionsconferences filled with like-minded believers. He calls us toenter into the battlefield of the enemy: A very difficult place, aplace where Satan is strongest and casualties abound.

It is so easy to invite a lost friend to an evangelistic meet-ing. The auditorium is filled with only Christians, the music isexceptionally spiritual, and the preacher is biblical. Surroundedby friends, we speak freely about the merits of Christ. Weboldly encourage our guest to repent and turn to God. We warnhim that today is the day of salvation and exhort him regardingthe dangers of rejecting Christ. We are fearless, and yet it iseasy to be fearless when we have the home field advantage.But it is an altogether different story when the advantage be-longs to the enemy � when we are called to enter alone into acity or village that is known to be hostile to the Gospel. Ittakes a different sort of strength to take your stand alone on astreet corner or town square and preach the free grace of JesusChrist when the people would rather have their idols and vainrituals. And yet this is what must be done if the Gospel is to bepreached to every man on this globe. The Kingdom of Heavenis built by those who are willing to leave the comforts of thepalace and give their lives so that the Lamb might receive thefull reward of His sufferings!

Recently, I [Sorin] invited a group of Christian studentsfrom the University of Bucharest to accompany me to Ukraine.I warned them that it would not be a vacation, but a long weekof very hard work in several villages that are extremely closedto the Gospel. After twelve hours of driving, we arrived in thecity of Cernevtsy. There, we divided up into four teams andwent to separate villages. My team went to Malinesti. Our goalwas to preach the Gospel to the entire village. Our plan was togo door to door and ask permission to share Christ with everyindividual. I could sense that the students were very afraid. Itried to encourage them by sharing many positive testimoniesfrom my past experiences. I looked calm and experienced on theoutside, but inside me there was fear. What was the reason forsuch fear? Was I ashamed of the Gospel? No! Was I afraid ofbeing rejected, mocked, and mistreated? Maybe, but I havesuffered many such things over the years. What was I afraidof? Only this: I was not in my church behind a carefully craftedpulpit. I was not in my home or even in my car. I was standing inthe very place where Satan keeps people in spiritual darkness.We had entered behind enemy lines.

The young students were looking to me for leadership.They wanted to follow me. I realized that if I appeared weak,they would be weak. If I told them about my fear, they wouldlose the necessary courage to witness. I took out my Bibleand read to them from I Samuel 14. In this chapter, Saul andhis small army were under attack from the Philistines. Throughthe Lord�s faithfulness and power, they defended their coun-try against an army of �thirty thousand chariots and six thou-sand horsemen, and people like the sand which is on the sea-shore in abundance� (I Samuel 13:5). Humanly speaking, theonly way to repel such an attack is to have superior weapons,but the Israelites had next to nothing. In I Samuel 13:22, theScriptures tell us the following:


VOL. 47 FEBRUARY-MARCH 2006S P E C I A L F E A T U R E

�So it came about on the day of battle thatneither sword nor spear was found in thehands of any of the people who were withSaul and Jonathan, but they were foundwith Saul and his son Jonathan.�

Israel�s army had about as much chance against the Philistinesas a primitive tribe would have against the combined forces ofNATO. They were a small unarmed band against an army ofthirty thousand chariots and six thousand men clothed in ar-mor! The situation seemed hopeless, but God intervened.Jonathan, the king�s son, decided to go over to the Philistines.Without telling his father, he went alone, taking with him onlythe young man that bore his amour. Except for his confidence ina faithful and omnipotent God, his actions were absurd. TheScriptures tell us in I Samuel 14:6:

�And Jonathan said to the young man thatbare his armor, �Come, and let us go overunto the garrison of these uncircumcised:it may be that the LORD will work for us:for there is no restraint to the LORD tosave by many or by few�.�

Was Jonathan sure that he would succeed? No! He said,�It may be that the Lord will work for us...� Was he afraid?Probably, but he knew his God! He understood that the largestarmy in the world was nothing before the Almighty. By faith,he crossed over into the enemy�s camp and God worked a mightydeliverance:

�Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet,with his armor bearer behind him; and they fellbefore Jonathan, and his armor bearer put someto death after him. That first slaughter which Jonathan

False Accusationsand Inconveniencesby Sorin Prodan

During the last days of July, we focused our evange-listic efforts on three Romanian cities: Rimnicu Sarat,Pucioasa, and Colibasi. We began in Rimnicu Sarat withstreet evangelism, handing out Bibles and holding evan-gelistic meetings in the church. I never realized that therewas so much misunderstanding and opposition against theGospel in the city. The people were even afraid to accepta New Testament from us. We tried to speak to them, butthey were far too afraid to listen. As in most other cities inRomania, this fear was sown in their hearts by the Ortho-dox priests. The fear is compounded by the fact that theGospel of Jesus Christ first reached this area with the fallof Communism in 1990. Please pray for this city. HeartCryhas two missionary couples that live and minister in thisplace.

While we were witnessing in Rimnicu Sarat, we vis-ited a Gypsy community of about 3,000 people. Abouttwo hundred Gypsies, men, women, and children came outto hear the Gospel. After about thirty minutes, a police carappeared and stopped us from speaking to the people.They demanded that we accompany them to the policestation and there they recorded our personal information.Except for the fact that they did not arrest us, they treatedus in much the same way that they would have under theCommunist regime. We explained to them that our pur-pose was to distribute Bibles and visit people. We also

and his armor bearer made was about twenty menwithin about half a furrow in an acre of land. Andthere was a trembling in the camp, in the field, andamong all the people. Even the garrison and the raid-ers trembled, and the earth quaked so that it becamea great trembling� (I Samuel 14:13).

This account is a wonderful encouragement for God�smissionaries when they go into the enemy�s camp to preachthe Gospel. We are just a few! What can we do against thissophisticated world? Satan seems to have far greater weap-ons: money, power, prestige, media, etc. But we have our Godand His Gospel. It is certainly safer to stay at home, attend achurch, worship with the chosen, hear sermons, and evenpreach behind a pulpit in a well-built sanctuary, but it is a fargreater challenge to go into the very camp of the enemy andproclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ to a captive world.

I hope that these words might challenge you to leave homeand comforts behind, to take the road to Nineveh, and to crossover to the Philistines on the other side. Also, I pray that youmight better understand the spiritual battle that our HeartCrymissionaries must face every day for the sake of the Lamb.

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VOL. 47 FEBRUARY-MARCH 2006 S P E C I A L F E A T U R E

very hard there and the Lord is blessing his efforts. He minis-ters alone with his family. By God�s grace, the property that webought is almost paid for, and next week, construction will be-gin on the auditorium.

On leaving Korvin, we went to the city of Smederevo, wherewe distributed literature on the streets and evangelized thosewho spoke English. It was a trial of our courage because wewere standing in front of the Orthodox Church and the policestation. After Smederevo, we held a two day evangelistic cru-sade in the village of Deliblato. We went from house to house,offering a New Testament and explaining the message of salva-tion to the people. By God�s grace we succeeded in reachingout to more than 70 families. Some of them even attended theevangelistic meetings at night.

On Sunday, we traveled to Belgrade and visited a churchwhere just seven elderly believers meet together. We wereshocked to hear that there is only one other church of about100 members in this important capital of Serbia. I invite youto pray with me for Serbia. They need strong and dedicatedleaders and young people with a missionary vision. Please praythat God might bring times of repentance and restoration inthis dark land. Pray that God might use Romania to play animportant role. Pray for HeartCry missionaries Zoran and LiliMilovanovic. Pray that God might raise up a missionary ormissionary couple to join them. Pray that they might finish thebuilding and be able to move in soon.

I want to thank you for all your prayers. It means a greatdeal to me. The battle is hard here, but we are victorious inChrist. We represent a Kingdom that is stronger than all thehuman authority that seeks to hinder it. We preach a Gospelthat is stronger than any message on earth. We serve a Godwho is over all and in all. I am honored to serve the Lord and amunworthy to be His servant. Thank you for being with us throughyour prayers and support of the mission that God has called usto accomplish. I pray that He might reward you richly.

With love,Your Brother in Christ,Sorin Prodan

explained that it was not our fault that such a large crowd gath-ered to hear the preaching of the Gospel. The police were un-reasonable and accused us of proselytizing. To make mattersworse, the officer who brought us in reported false informationabout us. He declared that we provoked tensions among thepeople and stirred up dissension. Although the crowd was verycalm and orderly, he reported that we were instigating a revolu-tion. Finally, we were able to have an audience with the inspec-tor. He was more flexible and released us with a strong warning.

The next day, God led us to speak with the Chief of Police.He granted us a meeting and we were able to explain to him ourmessage and activity. He was very kind to us and stated that hewas positive about our work because he had seen many peoplechanged by faith. He promised his help to us whenever weneeded it. We rejoiced to see how God was able to turn perse-cution into an open door to witness to the Chief of Police.

The last and the most exciting project of the summer tookplace in Serbia during the month of August. I traveled with amission team of eight Romanian students and a missionaryfrom Brazil. I was quite apprehensive before we left because Iknew how difficult it was in Serbia. I asked my church to prayfor us every day of our stay there.

Our first problems appeared at the border. The customspolice checked our papers and baggage for more than twohours. They made us unload our entire van and empty out ev-erything we had in our suitcases. In my Bible, they found aleaflet about Islam and the mission in Islamic countries. Sincethey could not read the Romanian language, they concludedthat I had some sort of relationship with a terrorist organiza-tion. Finally, someone was found to translate the leaflet andthey discovered that it told of the inconsistencies between thelove of God and Muslim terrorist groups. Even though theydetermined that I was not a Muslim terrorist, they still madeour entry almost impossible. They made us declare almosteverything that we had brought with us.

After crossing over into Serbia, God turned everythinginto a positive experience. We first went to the city of Kovinin order to visit with Brother Simo Ralevic. It was a specialprivilege for our team to meet such a man of God. We asked himmany questions about his life and experiences with the Lord.

I was very glad to see how the church is growing in the cityof Kovin. HeartCry missionary Zoran Milovanovic is working

Student evangelistic team by the Danube River ,on the border of Romania and Serbia.

Zoran Milovanovic in the doorwayof the new auditorium.


VOL.47 FEBRUARY-MARCH 2006

Teaching the Wordto Hungry Hearts

by Sorin Prodan

It is always difficult to anticipate the success of aconference. It may be organized very well, but void ofpower in the preaching. If that is the case, it is a waste oftime!

The most recent conference held by the HeartCryMissionary Society took place in two locations in Roma-nia: the capital city of Bucharest and the city of Timisoara.There were three pastor/teachers representing HeartCry:Charles Leiter (Kirksville, MO), Scott Lee (St. Louis, MO),and Timothy Conway (San Antonio, Texas).

The first conference was held at the Holy TrinityBaptist Church in Bucharest. It was a wonderful exampleof God�s grace. I only had a few days after returning fromthe US to organize the conference, and I tried to do mybest to have everything ready before the team arrived. Iintended to have a limited number of participants (ini-tially 60 people), but the pastors forgot to announce theconference to their congregations. One day before theconference, I had a list of only 30 students and HeartCrymissionaries who would be in attendance. Since the con-ference was to be held on Monday and Tuesday (workdays), I thought that there would be less that 30 people inattendance. By faith, I ordered meals for 60 people!

I was surprised when 60 people arrived before theworship began for the first session. When worship hadconcluded there were over 90 people in attendance! Peopletook off from work when they heard that a HeartCry con-ference was being held. I had to order extra portions forlunch. There were more than 40 students, 20 youth, manyadults, 20 Gypsy missionaries, and all the HeartCry mis-sionaries from southern and eastern Romania.

The first day, Brother Leiter spoke from Luke 22,Scott Lee taught from Romans 3, and Tim Conway taught

on heaven and hell. The day was long and each teachergave five lectures and participated in a final session of ques-tions and answers. The attendees were so excited aboutwhat they were learning that they asked us to continue with-out breaks.

The second day was another sign of God�s grace. Sincethe first day was so long and tiring, I expected that somewould not return. I was wrong! More people came on thesecond day than on the first day. I was very glad to see thehunger of the people for the Word of God. The working ofGod�s Spirit was more than evident! Again, the conferencedid not end until way into the night because the studentswere so full of questions. The following are just some of thecomments made by the students:

�I only wish that this conference would neverend!�

�I thank God for the opportunity to attend thisconference. I thank God for all those who wereinvolved in making this conference possible. Ileave here with a new desire to know the Lord andlive with more passion for Him�.

�I would suggest that everything be recorded onCD�s and that all the material be published�.

�I enjoyed the conference very much. Please bringthe same teachers here for another conference!May God bless the entire team and also BrotherPaul Washer!�

�Please organize these conferences more fre-quently. We need to learn from men like these.�

�Please do not limit the attendance. More peopleshould have access to teaching like this. It is adeep and sound teaching that more Christiansshould hear. The organizing was excellent! Thankyou for this conference!�

�I appreciate the effort taken to organize this con-ference. I am glad that I attended because I dis-covered a new depth of God�s Word. I learned newthings, and new light was shed on many things Ihad already learned. I felt the touch of the Spiritand I could see God revealing His glory. I have

B I B L E C O N F E R E N C E S

Tim Conway(right) teach-ing andChristi Ciucatranslatingin Timisoara

Scott Lee(left) preach-ing through atranslator in

Romania.

Volume 47 15

come to realize that I have neglected some thingsthat are extremely important. I am now challengedto seek out the irresistible and the pure light ofGod. Thank you very much for this!�

The second conference took place in the city ofTimisoara, on a university campus of about 50,000 students.We selected 50 Christian students to attend the conferenceand it was even better than the first! We did not have a largeroom and the hall was very crowded, but the grace of Godand His presence was very powerful. Brother Charles Leitertaught from Romans 1:16-32, Scott Lee preached on the sin-fulness of sin and the holiness of God, and Tim Conwaycontinued to teach on �Heaven and Hell.� I was able toenjoy this conference more because my good friend IonTomeci was in charge of organizing everything. I was able toattend each class and take notes.

The students found this conference to be a great chal-lenge to the way they thought about God and the Gospel.They were also challenged to reevaluate the way they doministry, especially evangelism. Many of the students werefrom Campus Crusade. The following are just some of thecomments made by the students:

�The teaching was very sound and refreshing. Theteachers had a profound and passionate way ofapproaching the Word of God! Please come back!�

�Why do you leave so quickly? When will you comeback?�

�The messages were clear, simple, and full of therichness of Scripture. My heart was touched. Morepeople should benefit from this teaching.�

�It was SUUUUUPER! I enjoyed the messages verymuch!�

�Maybe next year you will find a larger hall toallow more people to attend.�

�I would like to ask you to come more often andstay more time.�

VOL.47 FEBRUARY-MARCH 2006 B I B L E C O N F E R E N C E S

�Excellent! Powerful messages! Very goodteachers!�

�The conference deserves an A+. We wantmore!�

�Please write down these messages and trans-late them into a book!�

�Let�s organize these kinds of conferencesagain!�

�Be blessed! God works through you power-fully. He touched my heart. Please, come back!�

�May God bless your sacrifice! I was edifiedand very challenged through the Word of God.May God keep you in His grace!�

�It was a super conference that offered a soundand deep teaching. I would like to suggest thatyou organize a conference like this again inTimiosara.�

The reactions from the students, pastors, and missionar-ies helped me to understand that the goal of the confer-ences was fulfilled. God�s Name was again magnified bythe people who attended the conferences. It seems thatGod is raising up a new generation that is more and moreinterested in believing a sound theology and living witha deep passion for God. I am more and more convincedthat we need to invest more time in the youth, the univer-sity students, and the young ministers! May the Name ofGod be glorified among the nations!

CharlesLeiter (left)and MoisesMarin -director ofthe Gypsyministry inRomania.

Leadership training with(from right to left)Timothy Conway, SorinProdan, Nick Vulpe andFlorin Stan.


Timisoara

HeartCry has sponsored Ion and Ani Tomecifor many years as missionaries to the uni-versities of Romania. Over the years theirlives have been a constant joy and their dedi-cation to evangelism and discipleship hasbeen a constant challenge. In the followingpages are several testimonies of how God isworking through their lives and ministries.

Ani�s Bank EvangelismWe often hear of door to door evangelism,street evangelism, and even prison evange-lism. Ani Tomeci may be the founder of atotally new form of evangelism - bank evan-gelism. The following testimony is from oneof her most recent letters.

I met Gina in a bank. She was nice andalways ready to give a helping hand. Oneday, while I was completing a form she askedme what I did for a living. I told her that al-though I had graduated from the VeterinaryFaculty, I was now working as a missionarywith students. Her curiosity and questionsopened the door for me to share the Gospelwith her and tell her how the love of JesusChrist changes lives. She asked me if it wastrue that the �repenters� always helped eachother. I told her that it was especially truewith regard to watching over one another inspiritual matters. As we spoke, the Lordtouched her heart and she asked to go tochurch with me.

Next day, I visited her again and gaveher a New Testament and two other bookswhich she received with joy. She told methat she was not from Timisoara, but whenshe returned home she would find a churchand read the books I gave her.

I praise the Lord because He works

through every event and in any heart. Maythe Lord give us power to share the Gospelin season and out of season!

Crina and MiraCrina and Mira are two of the many girlsthat Ani is discipling. She describes themas having a great love for Christ and a greatheart for His work. In the following, Anishares how God is working in their lives:

It is such an encouragement to discipleCrina. She constantly testifies about all thewonderful things that the Lord is teachingher and how much He takes care of her. Sheis a living testimony to her unbelieving fam-ily. She is especially burdened for her twosisters who still have their hearts �bondedto the pleasures of this world.� She praysfor her sisters and her parents, and they re-spect her for her faith. Although unbeliev-ers, her parents encourage her sisters to belike her, to follow the faith that she has, andto attend church with her. They recognizethe difference! Please pray that they will oneday understand the reason for it!

Mira is a sensitive girl who loves Godand His ministry. She is currently working asa rehabilitation psychiatrist for children. Inthe last few months she has been quite busywith her job and her masters level studies.Recently she told me: �Ani, the fact that Ihave not shared the Gospel with the otherstudents in the last few months makes mefeel so empty inside. I want to do more forour Lord. I know that I have to tell othersabout the joy that I received from Jesus. I donot want to be selfish and keep this wonder-ful gift just for me.� At the moment, Mira isin a spiritual battle with her parents. Theydo love her, but they do not accept her as aChristian. Her father told her: �Mira, from

my point of view, anyone who reads the Bibleis a low life, a nothing.� His words hurt Miravery much, but she continues to pray for herparents and her sister. In spite of all the con-flict, she truly desires to follow the Lord withall her heart and to give Him what she caresabout the most: her life.

Ion and AdiIn the following, brother Ion Tomecishares a wonderful testimony about a youngman named Adi. Adi was converted througha series of personal one-on-one Bible stud-ies and the godly testimony of other Chris-tians. The following is an excerpt from oneof Ion�s most recent letters:

�Oh, Jesus my Lord, I need You! Iam a sinner and I need your forgive-ness. Please, come into my heart andlead my life!�

Those were the words of Adi, a secondyear student of Political Sciences when hecried out to the Lord for salvation. I metAdi during the second semester of last year.I saw him as an intelligent and sincere youngman who feared God, but according to thereligious traditions he had received and notaccording to the Bible. At first, he came toour Bible studies because he liked beingaround us. Then, during a summer evange-listic outreach, God touched his heart andbegan to change his life. He began to enjoythe things of God and wanted to find outmore about faith in God.

Two weeks ago, God enabled me tohave my third �one on one� Bible study withAdi. He was not yet converted, but he wantedto study the Bible together. We sat for overan hour on a park bench on the river Bega. I

EUROPE SPOTLIGHT ROMANIALight and Salt on Campus

Ani Tomeci on the far right with Crina onthe far left and Mira in the middle.

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talked with him about his sin and how it wasdestroying any possibility of a relationshipwith God. We always prayed at the end ofour Bible study and Adi�s prayer was usu-ally short and simple. This time things weredifferent! Adi cried out to God for salvationand asked Jesus to come into his life. Afterthat, he took off an unusual ring that he wasalways wearing and threw it into the Bega.He said, �I no longer need things such asthis!� I could see on his face a joy and a lightthat he did not have before. He had the atti-tude of a free man. Praise the Lord becauseHis Gospel has the same power today tosave men and release them from the burdenof sin!

Further witness ofGod�s SalvationThe following are several more testimoniesfrom Ion�s and Ani�s ministry to universitystudents in Romania. We hope that they willbe as great an encouragement to you asthey are to us!

Camelia Botar - Freed from FearMy name is Camelia Botar and I was

born in the small town of Baia de Aries inAlba county. I was raised in the Orthodoxtradition. I have an elder sister named Deliawith whom I shared my childhood. Grow-ing up, she was my standard - I followed herin whatever she did and liked. We were to-gether all the time and that was all that mat-tered to me. When I was in the fifth grade mysister went to college and I was left alone. Iwas always a very shy girl, but after mysister�s departure, I became very withdrawn.I was insecure and very afraid. I was afraidto try anything new, and most of all, I wasafraid of failure. I did not trust people and Ialways believed that their intentions towardsme were not good. Above all these things, Ifelt that no one loved me and that I belonged

to no one.In spite of all these �disorders�, I enjoyed church, es-

pecially the songs and the part where the priest read fromthe Bible. When I was 14 years old, I thought a great dealabout becoming a nun. Deep in my heart I was searchingfor something and I thought that becoming a nun wouldput an end to my searching. I never fulfilled this desiresimply because I was afraid. How I overcame my fearsand enrolled in the university at Cluj is still a mystery tome. For some reason, I had a new desire to change my life.I wanted to experience what it was like to live away frommy parents. I wanted to take my life in my own hands!

I took the admission exam for the faculty of Biologyand was accepted. I received a room in the dorm and my

dream had come true - I had a new beginning. I was a student and free todo whatever I desired. However, my dream proved to be different thanwhat I had imagined it to be. I felt lost, small, and insignificant in such alarge town. I felt lonely and the fear of the unknown which I had carriedall my life became even bigger. I began to think that I had made thebiggest mistake of my life!

In the first days of October, I received a Christian magazine from Ionand Ani�s college group along with an invitation to attend their meetings.I read the magazine immediately and learned about the Gospel of Jesus. Ieven called on God for salvation even though I did not understand ex-actly what I was doing. A few weeks later, I was invited to a Christianretreat directed by Ion and Ani. One night at the retreat, a girl shared theGospel with me. She told me about the love of God and how my sin waskeeping me separated from having a personal relationship with Him. Shetold me that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and that His death wasthe only solution for solving my �sin problem� with God. She told me thatI could receive forgiveness from God for my sins through trusting inJesus Christ and crying out to Him for salvation. When she told me this,I understood the meaning of the prayer I had prayed after receiving themagazine. That night, I prayed with all myheart because I wanted to be sure that Godhad saved me.

After the retreat, I began to meet witha girl who was discipled by Ani and westarted a Bible study. I enjoyed the Biblestudy very much, but I was still afraid totrust anyone. I was uncertain about thereal intentions of the girl who led the studyand the intentions of the entire group. Astime went on, this fear began to erode andI saw that they truly cared about me andwanted me to know more about God.

As time went by, I also saw somechanges in my own heart. At the beginning, I noticed that there was nolonger an emptiness in my soul. As time progressed, I began to feelloved, not just by the people around me, but by God Himself. When Iread in the Bible or in a Christian book that God loved me, it was not justinformation or an impersonal fact, but it was something that I felt deepinside my heart. I was happy, really happy.

The changes in me have continued beyond my heart. The relationwith my parents changed for the better. I began to talk with them morethan I ever did before. One day, I even found the courage to talk withthem about what was happening to me. As I spoke, I felt God�s lovefilling my heart, and I realized how much I loved my parents, and howmuch they loved me. Another thing that God changed in me was my fearof doing something that involved risk or the possibility of failure. The

Top-Left:Ion Tomeci(on right)and newChristian,Adi.

Below:Camelia�sbaptism.Praise theLord!


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through the people that He put around me made me over-come the fear. Now I do things that I had only dreamed ofbefore. I am no longer afraid of people. I only see theirneed for God. God�s love has released me from the self-centeredness that controlled me and helps me to paymore attention to the people around me. At this moment,I am still growing in the knowledge of Him and beingtransformed. I have one great purpose - to be like the Onewho gave His life for me!

Dana�s TestimonyBefore coming to Christ, I had

a life full of sorrow. While mostyoung people my age were dream-ing of nice toys and expensiveclothes, all I ever wanted waspeace in my family. My father isan alcoholic and he has made ourfamily look like something out ofa horror movie. We loved our fa-ther but at the same time we were

very afraid of him. As a young girl, I began looking forhelp for my family, but I did not find it anywhere. I went tothe Orthodox church because it was our tradition, andsometimes I even read the Bible, but it seemed like a col-lection of stories that had nothing to do with me person-ally.

Even at the university, I could not free myself frommy fears for my family. Although student life was fullof fun, I could not overcome the sorrow I carried in-side. I felt inferior to everyone else and carried a greatemptiness inside. I thought that God was not interestedin my difficulties until one day the door of my dorm wasopened and two girls asked if they could share the Gos-pel with me. I noticed that they were joyful and full of

peace.I will never forget that day in

November, a year ago. The twogirls that came to tell me aboutJesus were from Ani�s discipleshipgroup. They shared the Gospelwith me and compelled me to trustChrist. That day, I understood theGospel and cried out for God tosave me. I began to go to the cam-pus Bible study once or twice aweek and everything was new.

The Bible and its message became personal to me asthough God were speaking directly to me. I remembercrying in one of the Bible studies when I caught a glimpseof how great, kind, and loving our God is! I saw that I hadbeen rescued from this world of shadows because of theHoly blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. Untilthat time I did not understand the importance of His sac-rifice.

I have experienced a transformation in all my being,

and now my mind, soul, and heart are directed towards God�sholy will. I have said �NO!� to sorrow and doubt and havegiven them to Him. I have given Him my burden and ac-cepted His will in all the areas of my life. I fully trust in Him,and pray that my family will be changed through His Grace.I live in Him, and I want to be used by Him to share His loveand Good News to others. Please pray that He might give methe strength to confess Him to strangers. I praise Him be-cause He holds me up whenever I am ready to fall, and Helistens to me and offers me guidance in every situation. Aperson who has not been born again cannot even imaginethe joy that comes from knowing that one is a child of God,and seeing His hand working in one�s life. Even when I havebeen defeated, I know that I can come to Him in prayer andspeak face to face with Him. I know that He will comfort meand raise me up!

Thank you Lord, for bringing me into your family!Thank you for your mercy!Thank you for Jesus Christ!

Recent Baptism�You have heard me teach many things that havebeen confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Teachthese great truths to trustworthy people who areable to pass them on to others.�

II Timothy 2:2

Recently we held a day of celebration for the entirecampus group at Timisoara. In the last two months, Godhas changed the hearts of many students and brought theminto fellowship with the other believers of the Stanca BaptistChurch where we serve.

Three of the recent converts - Bogdan, Crina, and Radu- made the decision to be baptized by our pastor as a testi-mony to their faith in Christ. They were baptized in the morn-ing before a large number of believers and afterwards wecelebrated with the other students. It was a wonderful timeof fellowship. There is a real sense of the Holy Spirit workingamong us and many students have taken strong stands forChrist in their lives, among their family members, and oncampus. They have given themselves to the will of God.Please pray for the other students from our group that theymight mature in their understanding of the great importanceof the local church, and that they might make the decision topublicly profess Christ in baptism!

SeekersThe following brief testimonies demonstrate how Ion andAni are constantly reaching out to the lost. Most are con-verted only after a long-term and costly investment ismade in their lives. We praise God that Ion and Ani havebeen given the grace to count that cost! They are a chal-lenge to the rest of us to reach out to all whom God hasplaced in our lives.

Claudia is a young student who found our telephonenumber on the back of one of our magazines. One day she

Above:Dana setfree by thegrace andpower ofGod!

Above:A recentbaptism atthe BaptistChurchwhere Ionand AniTomeci aremembers.

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called me and said that she wanted to participate in our Biblestudy. She came to our Thursday night meeting and sharedthat she liked to talk about God and even considered a de-gree in Orthodox Theology. She thinks that she is a Chris-tian because of her relationship with the Orthodox churchand because she knows many verses from the Bible, butshe has little genuine knowledge of the forgiveness thatcomes by faith in Jesus Christ. After our meeting, she saidthat she was seeing things differently. Please pray for herthat she might come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ!

Octav is a very unique young man. He is very academicand inquisitive and has the personality of a leader. He isvery disappointed about society and the plight of man, buthe comes to our meetings without prejudice against us. Atthe moment he is not very open to the Gospel, but he likesour morality and wants to be with us. We rejoice that eventhough he is not yet open to the Gospel, he does recognizea difference between us and the world, and he is being ex-posed to biblical truth and spiritual things. God has brought

us several students who are leaders on campus. If they willtruly turn to God, they will have a great impact among theother students.

Adela is a miracle from God. I met her more than a yearago through Adriana, another young girl whom I amdiscipling. She always came to our meetings and was veryopen to the Gospel. We made several appointments with herduring the last year to share with her the Gospel and she

Top andbottom:Some ofthestudentswho arecurrentlybeingdiscipledby Ion andAni.

became agitated with us because she thought she wasalready a Christian. In spite of her false assurance, shewas tortured by the thought of life after death and thejudgment. Her father had died a few years ago and shedid not want to accept that he might be in hell. She be-lieved that forgiveness was gained by good deeds andthat her father was a good man. She read the Bible withus, but she could not understand or remember much. Sheseemed to have no ears to hear and eventually we stoppedmeeting together.

This spring she came again to our meetings and foundout about the upcoming HeartCry Conference. To oursurprise she said that she wanted to attend. I must admitthat I never considered inviting her, but God spoke to herpowerfully in the conference. Afterwards, when I talkedto her, she was not sure whether she was going to heavenor hell, but she was inclined to think she was going tohell. In spite of her doubt, she still did not want to surren-der to the Lord.

A short time later I met with her again and I talkedto her about the certainty of forgiveness through JesusChrist. Her answers were very confusing and uncertainuntil we read I John 5:11-13 together:

�And the testimony is this, that God has givenus eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Hewho has the Son has the life; he who does nothave the Son of God does not have the life.These things I have written to you who believein the name of the Son of God, so that you mayknow that you have eternal life.�

I asked her the question, �On a scale from 0 to 10 howsure are you that you are going to Heaven?� She said, �Ido not think that I have the Son or that He has ever cometo be in my heart.� I asked her, �Do you want Him tosave you now and abide with you?� and she answered,�Yes!� At that moment she cried out to God for salva-tion and asked Jesus to be her Savior. Afterwards, shedeclared in a loud voice and with tears streaming downher face: �I am 100% sure that God has saved me!� Therewas so much joy on her face that I was amazed. Shethanked me and declared that she wanted to come to ourcollege meetings and to attend church with me.

A few days later, we met again and she said to me, �Ihave read the Gospel of John until 2 o�clock every nightand now I am starting with the Gospel of Mark.� It issuch a joy to disciple her. In each meeting, she asks ques-tions that are more and more profound. She comes toall our meetings and has a great desire to grow up spiri-tually. She is a fourth year student and will soon be re-turning to her hometown. I do not want to let her go, butshe has learned the importance of growing to spiritualmaturity and the importance of the local church. I entrusther to God who can do all things! Praise the Lord forgiving fruit to our ministry!


Alex andSimona PaladeHeartCry has sponsored Alex and SimonaPalade for many years as missionaries tothe universities of Romania. Like Ion andAni, they are very dear to us at HeartCry.Their lives both convict and motivate us toseek harder after the Lord and to serve Himwith greater zeal. In the following pagesare several testimonies of how God is work-ing through their lives and ministries.

Looking for ZacchaeusIt is a great joy for a worker in God�s

vineyard to see people coming to Christ andbeing baptized. I sense the Lord�s leading tocontinue a story from the field that I begantwo years ago. The story is called �Search-ing for Zacchaeus.� Two years ago, Levi (afellow missionary) and I were doing evange-lism among the university students inBrashov. Day after day, we sought to spreadthe Gospel, but we saw no results. We expe-rienced only denials, indifferences, preju-dices and suspicions from the unbelievers.We were beginning to be discouraged.

One day in front of the dorms, Levi readthe story about Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10and a thought came into my heart, �Let�s gofind Zacchaeus.� God used the story ofZacchaeus to show us that in spite of all theindifference among the students, He hadprepared the hearts of some to both hearand receive the Gospel. We prayed that theLord would lead us to Zacchaeus, and wewere awakened and encouraged by the HolySpirit in the next days and weeks. We wereguided by the truth that we were looking forZacchaeus.

After several days, God led us to ayoung man named Marian from the city ofToplita. In the beginning, he was suspiciousof us and so we left him with a Christianbook. He read through it during his sum-mer holiday and God began to work in hisheart. Before he came back to college forthe fall term, Marian repented of his sinsand trusted in Christ. He was a man changedby the Holy Spirit. We baptized him alongwith several other new believers.

Persecution of Young BelieversOne of the new converts who was re-

cently baptized is Ionut - a student in Brasov.His father said that he would never enter a�repenter�s� church, but God worked in his

heart and he came to his son�s baptism. Ayoung student from Sibiu named Leo wasalso baptized. When his parents heard thathe was baptized, they announced that theywould no longer support him in school. Hisuncle who works in Italy told him that hewould no longer give him money to continuehis studies. His uncle was so angry that hethrew his cell phone into a garbage can sothat Leo could no longer call him. The lastthing he said to Leo was, �Your God and therepenters can take care of you now. You havedisappointed me by repenting. I would haverather seen you become a drunk than arepenter.� Please pray that the Lord will proveto his dear children that the repenter�s Godis the real God so that they will never bedisappointed or ashamed for having be-lieved in Him.

Another student named Bogdan hassuffered much persecution from his parentsbecause he has become a believer. They toldhim that he had no right to come into theirhouse again. As time passed, I began to havea burden for Bogdan�s parents and to prayfor them. I wanted to meet them and sharethe Gospel with them, and God did not makeme wait too long. He opened a door thatwas greater than anything I had asked orexpected. He brought them into my house!

While my family and I were traveling,Bogdan�s parents passed a few days of theirvacation in our house. When we returnedfrom our travels, God opened the door forus to spend some time with them. I wasamazed when Mr. Nelu, Bogdan�s father, be-gan to tell me all the troubles in his life. Hesaid: �Alex, tell me, how can I become asyou and as my son? I quarreled with my son,but I realize that I am the one who does notlive in God�s will. I realize that I have no rea-son to call myself Christian, because I donot do what the Bible says.� At that mo-ment, I shared the Gospel with him and hiswife. They showed no evidence of conver-sion that night, but I could see that theywere overwhelmed with Jesus� testimony.

Multiplying DisciplesIn the fall, I began to meet with a young

Christian named Alex. He told me that sincehigh school he wanted to share the Gospelwith others. He was hindered by his lack ofknowledge and his fear of men. He told me

that now that he was a university student,he wanted to share the Gospel with othersand he asked me to teach him. The next week,I gave Daniel some Christian magazines togive to his colleagues. The magazines in-cluded some very good evangelistic articles.One of his colleagues was so intrigued bythe articles that she was caught reading themin class. The professor confiscated the maga-zine and began to read it. She liked the maga-zine so much that she offered to give Danieland the Christians a hall in which to holdmeetings.

A few weeks later, I went with Danieland Bogdan to the share Gospel in the men�sdormitory. We began to knock on doors andtalk to people who would talk with us. Oneyoung man named Daniel recognized mefrom when I visited the same room last yearand he was open to hear the Gospel again.When I read to him from Hebrews 9:27, hewas very amazed and shaken up. He listenedto the rest of the Gospel message and de-clared that he wanted to believe in Jesus andbe saved. That day, both Daniel and his room-mate Alin made professions of faith in Christ.

As time went on, Daniel continued tomeet with us and grow, but Alin became verysuspicious of us. He went home and sharedwith his parents about our message. Theyare Orthodox and opposed to the Gospel.Therefore they prohibited him from listen-ing to us. He has now abandoned the faithhe professed and fulfilled the words ofJesus in Matthew 13:21:

�Yet he has no firm root in him-self, but is only temporary, andwhen affliction or persecutionarises because of the word, imme-diately he falls away.�

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The difference between Daniel and Alin was an example ofthe lesson I was teaching to the students in Brasov regard-ing genuine conversion. I am teaching through I John anddiscussing how a person my truly have a biblical assurance.

May God be glorified for such ministry!

May the Lord reward the prayers you raise beforeHis throne of Grace and grant mercy for the salva-tion of our students.

Testimonies from SimonaMy husband and I traveled to Bacau to meet with the

Christians who are studying and serving God on that cam-pus. While I was there, I met with several disciples. Amongthem were Codrina, Ana, Roxana, and Alexandra. Ana and Iwent to share the Gospel in the dormitory. We stopped atroom 306 where we met Elena, Alina and Monica. Elena isa leader from ASCOR, a student Orthodox movement that isvery antagonistic to Evangelicals. Most of them hate us.They tell us that we are wrong and call us a cult. I sharedwith them my testimony and they asked me what kind ofchurch I attended. When they discovered that I was notOrthodox, they asked me to leave their room. I was veryhappy that I could tell them about Jesus before they kickedme out.

It is important to understand that the Orthodox Churchis very strong in the city of Bacau. The people care littlefor serving God, but they are obsessed about never chang-ing their religion. In the Orthodox Church it is not a greatsin to have an abortion, to live in sexual immorality, to takedrugs, or to practice the occult, but it is a great sin to be anEvangelical or �repenter� who renounces such things andfollows Christ. The people are deceived by their Orthodoxpriests. The Evangelical Church is very small in Bacau andthe unbelievers have many prejudices against the�repenters.� It is difficult to spread the Gospel in a place like

this, but it is not impossible for our God! Praise the Lord!After being kicked out of one dorm room, I went to

another with a young disciple named Roxana. In 312 wemet with three girls - two girls named Alina and anothernamed Monica. We shared the Gospel with them andthey understood that they were sinners. They were soimpressed with the message of the Gospel, that they em-braced us at the end. It was a good reminder that not allhearts are closed to the Gospel. Some of them have beenopened by God!

I will finish my letter with a testimony about one ofour disciples whose name is Ana. She is a student in theCollege of Journalism. Two years ago she moved fromthe university in Brasov to the university in Bucharest.In Bucharest, she lived in the dormitory and began toshare the Gospel with the others students. When thevice-rector heard about Ana�s evangelism, he called herinto his office and demanded that she stop preaching�her religion� to others.

In spite of the vice-rector�s treats, Ana did not stopsharing the Gospel with the other students and God usedher in the conversion of a girl named Aura. When thevice-rector heard that Ana had not stopped sharing theGospel, he called her into his office again. He threat-ened that he would have her kicked out of the dormitoryif she did not stop. Ana returned to her dorm and contin-ued to evangelize. For a third time, the vice-rector rep-rimanded her and then had her kicked out of her room.He prohibited her from ever entering into the dormitoryagain. Ana is sad because she cannot visit her colleagues,but is glad that God used her in Aura�s salvation. God hasalso helped Ana to enroll in another university.

Left:AlexandruandSimonaPaladeand theirbeautifulfamily.


Reformation and RevivalReform: 1. to make better by removing faults and defects2. to make better by putting a stop to abuses or malprac-tices. 3. to correct.

Revive: 1. to come back to life. 2. to come back to con-sciousness. 3. to come back to health and vigor. 4. to flour-ish again after a decline. 5. to come back into use or at-tention. 6. to become valid, effective, or operative again.

This article is born out of our desire to see the reformation andrevival of the Church. We do not pretend to offer a ministry that canor will produce such a move of God. Our only claim is that we see thedesperate need for such and passionately seek it for the glory ofGod and the eternal benefit of His people.

A Work of GodReformation and revival in the Church is a work of God that

cannot be produced by the will or efforts of men. Although allreformations and revivals in the history of the Church have beenmarked by great praying and anointed preaching, these things didnot cause revival, but were the first fruits of it.

Throughout the Church today, there is an ever-increasing fel-lowship of believers who have been awakened to the desperate needof reformation and revival. As I travel throughout the United States

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and abroad, I find an unprecedented number of individuals who longto return to the rock from which we were hewn, to walk in the oldpaths, and to once again embrace the foundational truths of theScriptures. This is especially true on our university and seminarycampuses where we find an increasing number of young peoplewho see through the �vanity fair� of much of contemporary Chris-tianity and long for God, biblical truth, and true piety. For this rea-son, and many others, we have great hope that God is visiting Hispeople in an extraordinary way!

We want to make it clear when we speak of signs of revival inour generation that we are not referring to most of the widely pub-licized and popular renewal movements or the amazing growth of�Christian media� or the majority of �mega� churches built primarilyupon church growth techniques and clever marketing campaigns.The reformation to which we refer is marked by a return to ortho-doxy (biblical doctrine) and results in true doxology (worship) andpraxis (practice or Christian living).

Areas of Greatest NeedWe believe that there are certain teachings and practices of

contemporary Christianity (especially in the West), that have ledto its demise. They are the things which stand in greatest need ofchange:

The Attributes of God: There is a great lack of biblical teachingon the attributes of God. As a result, church members often wor-ship a God they do not know, or worse, one they have created intheir own mind and according to their own image or culture. The�god� that is worshiped by many has very little resemblance to theGod of Scripture. If the true God were preached in many congre-gations throughout the land, the response would be, �My God isnot like that!� or �I could never love a God like that!� In Psalm50:21, God declares, �You thought that I was just like you; I willreprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.�

The Gospel: The glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ has been re-duced down to nothing more than �four laws� or �five things� Godwants man to know. For the Gospel to be properly understood,there are several essentials that must be proclaimed: The attributesof both God and man must be set forth - God is holy and just; manis radically depraved and deserving of all condemnation. The Crossmust be explained � Christ bore the sins of His people and wascrushed under the full weight of God�s wrath. Through such a death,God�s justice was satisfied that He might be both just and the jus-tifier of wicked men. The resurrection must be proclaimed � theresurrection is God�s public vindication of His Son and a publicdeclaration of the justification of His people. There must be aproper call - the Gospel does not call men to simply repeat a�sinner�s prayer,� but to repent of sin and self righteousness, andtrust in Christ alone. In modern evangelism, a man is asked whetheror not he is a sinner. If he agrees, he is asked if he wants to go toheaven. If he nods his head, he is asked if he wants to repeat asimple prayer. If he does, he is told that he is saved. This is not theGospel. It matters little if a man admits that he is a sinner. The realquestion is whether or not God has done a work in his heart so that

REFORMATION

& REVIVALTHE PREACHINGMINISTRY OFPAUL WASHER

Volume 47 23

VOL. 47 FEBRUARY-MARCH 2006 P A U L W A S H E R � S P R E A C H I N G M I N I S T R Y

ITINERARY2006

FEBRUARY 6Caldwell Lyon Baptist AssociationSouthside Baptist ChurchPrinceton, KYPastor Rick [email protected](270) 365-9960

FEBRUARY 11First Baptist Church of Muscle ShoalsMuscle Shoals, ALYouth (Courtship)Pastor Jeff Noblit(256) 381-7495

FEBRUARY 16Missouri Baptist UniversitySt. Louis, MOChapel - 11:00 AMCampus Pastor Freddie J. Hampton(314) [email protected]

FEBRUARY 17-19Lakeroad ChapelKirksville, MOPastor Charles Leiter(660) 665-7609

ITINERARY CONTINUED ...

MARCH 7Founders ConferenceMidwest 2006�Pursuing Godliness�First Baptist ChurchSt.Peters, MOChairman: Curtis McClain(636) [email protected]

MARCH 8-12Shelbyville Mills Baptist ChurchWorld Impact ConferenceShelbyville, TNPastor Jonathan Sims(931) [email protected]

MARCH 17-18Hardmoney Baptist ChurchMarriage RetreatBoaz, KYPastor Faris Sahaweneh(270) 534-4678

MARCH 23-26Gordan Baptist ChurchJordan, ARPastor Rick Thomis(870) 421-7021

MARCH 31-APRIL 2Rockport Baptist ChurchArnold, MOPastor Scott Lee(636) 464-1460

APRIL 9-15Hardmoney Baptist ChurchMarriage ConferenceBoaz, KYPastor Faris Sahaweneh(270) 534-4678

APRIL 23-26Highland Baptist ChurchBible ConferencePensacola, FLPastor Brad Hockensmith850-587-5174

APRIL 30-MAY 5Saulsbury Baptist ChurchBible ConferenceSaulsbury, TNPastor Jim [email protected]

he hates the sin he once loved. It matterslittle that a man wants to go to heaven. Thereal question is whether or not he desiresthe God he once hated and esteems as pre-cious the Christ he once ignored. It mat-ters little that a man is willing to repeat aprayer. The real question is whether or nothe repents and trusts in Christ!

Regeneration and True Conversion: In sal-vation, men are called upon to make a deci-sion, but salvation is not merely or primarilya human decision. Salvation is the super-natural work of God whereby the very na-ture of man is changed and he becomes anew creature. The Great Awakenings in Eu-rope and New England occurred at a timewhen people were admitted to the churchsimply because they had been baptized asinfants and thus the churches were filledwith unconverted and carnal members.Against this heresy, George Whitefield,Howell Harris, Daniel Rowlands, JohnWesley and others thundered out the mes-sage that one must experience the new birthas a supernatural and life-changing work ofGod. Today, men, women, and children areadmitted into the church simply because theyrepeated a prayer regardless of whether ornot there is any evidence of the new birth intheir lives. Because of this, our churches areagain filled with unconverted and carnalmembers. Many are deceived into a falseassurance by pulpits that either do not un-derstand the doctrine of regeneration or areafraid to preach it. There is once again theneed to sound forth the doctrine of the newbirth and the nature of true conversion!

Biblical Separation: The immoral and ma-terialistic culture of the West will find a safehaven in every congregation where the bib-lical doctrine of separation is not promotedfrom the pulpit. The church has been so in-fluenced by Western views of tolerance andpolitical correctness that any teaching onholiness and separation is often regarded asan attack on the Christian�s individual free-dom and labeled as fanaticism or legalism. Inmany congregations today, there is essen-tially very little difference between thosewho claim allegiance to Christ and those whodeny Him. Most Christian distinctives havebeen lost or blurred with regard to personalrelationships, family, dress, sex, entertain-ment, financial stewardship, and countlessother relevant issues. A failure to address

these issues biblically has resulted in thedestruction of God�s people and has invali-dated our witness among unbelievers. TheChurch must remember that it is not rel-evant because it is like the world, but be-cause it is contrary to it.

The Road to RevivalThe best efforts of the godliest men and

women cannot produce revival. It would bewrong and dangerous to say that there arecertain things we can do to make it happen.We are, however, called to seek the ad-vancement of the Church in all holiness andgodliness by walking in obedience to God�sWord and preaching the Scriptures boldlyand in love. We also believe that our God isa gracious God who hears the prayers of Hispeople and will not delay in their deliver-ance. We should always be willing to askfor great things from our God, for we knowthat He is able to do far more abundantlybeyond all that we ask or think.

DO YOU WANT TO KNOWMORE ABOUT HEARTCRY?

HeartCryMissionary Society

6970 Waldo Church RoadMetropolis, IL 62960

Phone: 618.564.2770 Fax: 618.564.3471

Non-Profit Org.U.S. PostagePAIDBrookport, ILPermit No. 10

All Christians are concerned about missions and desire to support themissionaries who have given their lives for the sake of the Gospel. How-ever, most Christians never become personally involved in any interna-tional mission endeavor. Many are discouraged because the closestthey come to the mission field is putting money in an envelope or anoffering plate. Most never imagine that they could support a full-timemissionary on their own and be-come personally involved in theirministry.

Through the HeartCry MissionarySociety, you can support an in-digenous missionary to work full-time in the ministry for as little as$150 a month. You can support amissionary as a family project, in-volving your children, or you andyour friends can support a mis-sionary together to share theblessing and the cost. You can alsosupport a missionary through yourchurch family. Contact us and wecan prayerfully work out all thedetails. We know of countlessqualified indigenous missionarieswho are worthy of support. God can use you to be a blessing in theirlives and to bless you in return. Though you may not be called to go,you can be an instrument of sending a missionary and interceding forthem in prayer.

Each individual, group, or church who chooses to sponsor a specificindigenous missionary will receive:

* A photograph of the missionary and his or her family.* Their personal testimony of conversion and calling.* Quarterly updates and prayer requests.* Personal correspondence.* Depending on the country selected, the supporter may visit the

missionary on the field.

We look forward to hearing from you and count it a privilege to helpyou participate in the greatest of all endeavors - the preaching of theGospel of Jesus Christ to the very ends of the earth.

YOU CAN PUT AMISSIONARY ON THE FIELD

Visit our Website:

www.heartcrymissionary.com

Email us:

[email protected]

Give us a Call:

618-564-2770618-564-3746618-564-2180

WHAT PART OF �GO� DO

YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

WE ARE EITHER CALLED TO GO DOWN INTO THE WELL

OR TO HOLD THE ROPE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE GONE

DOWN. EITHER WAY, THE SCARS ON OUR HANDS WILL BE

THE EVIDENCE OF OUR OBEDIENCE. WHERE ARE OUR

SCARS? HAVE WE SURRENDERED OUR LIFE TO GO OR TOSUPPORT THOSE WHO GO? WHAT HAS THE GREAT

COMMISSION COST US?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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