IN HARD PLACES! Victory Even in the Hard Places
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THE HOSEN C Volume XXVII, Issue 5 PEOPLE JULY 2021 MAKING DISCIPLES... IN HARD PLACES! Victory Even in the Hard Places Dear friend in the Messiah, We all have our stories, of course, of how we experienced hardship for the Lord. I recently rediscovered this powerful and well-known passage penned by the Apostle Many years ago, I was part of a messianic Paul, which describes the insurmountable singing group invited to go to Northern difficulties he faced in bringing the gospel Ireland by an Irish Christian who had a “to the Jew first and also to the Greek” tremendous burden for his people. We (Romans 1:16). ministered through messianic music and preaching in and around Belfast. The year Paul’s life was in constant danger. He was was 1976, and bombs were exploding virtually imprisoned, beaten, stoned, and shipwrecked every day in beautiful, lush, green, and very FROM THE three times. His evenings were undoubtedly unsafe Northern Ireland. not spent at a five-star hotel. PRESIDENT, At the time of this trip, I was a seminary DR. MITCH Paul challenged the believers in Corinth student and a newlywed. Was I frightened? to follow him as he followed the Lord You bet I was! And my fear was justified! We GLASER (1 Cor. 11:1). Most of us would not welcome all wrote notes to our unsaved Jewish families, the kind of opposition and suffering Paul met sharing our faith and telling our loved ones throughout his ministry. The world teaches why we were doing what we did. We were all But in everything us to avoid unnecessary hardship, and yet, the ready to die for Jesus. Or so we hoped. commending apostle embraced life’s difficulties and sorrows ourselves as for the Lord. He wrote from a Philippian jail, I remember one day we had an engagement “that I may know Him and the power of at Queens University Belfast. We set up servants of God, in His resurrection and the fellowship of our sound equipment and began our music much endurance, His sufferings, being conformed to ministry. Hosts of students came and listened in afflictions, His death” (Phil. 3:10). Yet, in all things, and interacted with us regarding the gospel. in hardships, he found the victory through the We started our final song but were interrupted in distresses, Messiah Jesus—and so can we! by a loud boom. Within moments, shreds of charred paper began floating down from the in beatings, in Jesus endured life’s hardships and even bore sky like falling snow. A bomb had gone off imprisonments, in the pain of the cross, burying our sins and close by, and we, along with the hundreds of tumults, in labors, crushing the power of the grave! Jesus lived students, were frightened because we had no through an eternal moment of separation in sleeplessness, in idea whether the next bomb would explode from His Father—whom He loved for all closer to us. hunger, in purity, eternity and who loved Him—so that you and in knowledge, I would not suffer a moment of separation Another day, we were singing in downtown in patience, in from our Creator. Londonderry. We had to move from our original location as the establishment owner kindness, in the Think of all the apostle endured for the sake told us he no longer wanted us in front of his Holy Spirit, in of those he served and sought to bring into store. We were disappointed but continued genuine love, in the fellowship with the Father through the Son. our musical ministry two or three blocks Then consider all that Jesus, our beloved word of truth, in away. We were not even halfway through Messiah, gave up and suffered on our behalf. the power of God; our set of messianic music when we heard This might help us to gain a new perspective a loud explosion. You could feel the glass by the weapons of on all we endured, especially over the last windows of the store imploding. The bomb righteousness for year and a half. went off at the very spot where we were the right hand and Suffering teaches us lessons we could never supposed to the left; learn in any other way. Our character is shaped far more in the schoolroom of BROOKLYN 2 Corinthians 6:4–7 suffering than when surrounded by those we As antisemitic attacks love, the niceties of life, and even success. We increase we are speaking out. often learn more through failure and pain than we do through success. 2 The Chosen People | JULY 2021 The Chosen People | JULY 2021 © Nir Alon/Alamy Live News sing but were asked to leave. To this day, I do not know if someone warned the owner of that retail store that a bomb would go off, and he told us to leave to keep us safe. All I know is that Romans 8:28 took on an entirely new meaning to me and our team! ISRAEL Rioting Arab neighbors I could also tell you about incidents where someone angry destroyed vehicles in Israel. about my preaching the gospel physically attacked me. To this day, I believe those hostile encounters were small change compared to the price He paid for me on Calvary. and children to live in places that are difficult and even dangerous? I love our Chosen People Ministries staff. Sometimes I ask myself this question, as I have lived in They suffer without complaint and trust the Lord through Brooklyn now for more than three decades, serving among the most difficult of circumstances. one of the largest Jewish populations in the world. I chose You will read about what our staff in Israel recently endured to raise my children in this intense and often very hostile during the eleven-day war with Gaza. Most of our Chosen environment. But I have never looked back because of all People Ministries workers in Israel are Jewish and made the Lord has done for me. I know that our staff serving the Aliyah because they love the Lord and want to live for Him Lord under challenging conditions feel the same way. in the Holy Land. But, unfortunately, they have endured It is tough at times, but always—and I mean always— a lack of acceptance, persecution by some religious Jews, worth it! and the everyday threat of terrorism and war. What Dr. Cook prayed is so true, as safety and peace Before going to Northern Ireland for the first time, the (shalom) are always available to us through the Prince of president of Biola University (I was attending graduate Peace who is with us and dwells within us. Paul gave us a school there at the time), Dr. Clyde Cook, offered to pray rationale for the joy we can experience day in and day out with our group before the trip. I will never forget his as we share the gospel with Jews and Gentiles—even while prayer: “Lord, teach Mitch and his team that safety is not suffering or working in difficult places. the absence of danger but the presence of the Lord.” I will never forget those words. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we I pray that prayer today for our staff ministering in hard beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. places. They endure rejection, threats, and difficulties that He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our are all part of the worthy effort to share God’s love with our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness Jewish people, whom we love dearly. of God in Him. And working together with Him, Many Jewish people react and oppose us strongly because of we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in centuries of persecution by misguided and mostly nominal vain. (2 Corinthians 5:20–6:1) Christians creating an almost impassable gap between the And I can assure you that our staff feels this way. We know Jewish community and Jesus. Right now, our staff ministers that what we do for Jesus is eternally worthwhile because in Israel, Argentina, New York, Russia, the United Kingdom, what He did for each of us will endure forever. and so many other critical and strategic places where large numbers of Jewish people live. These busy urban areas are On behalf of our staff serving in difficult places, thank you loud, unsafe, and expensive. Yet, our workers endure all from the bottom of my heart for your love, partnership, these challenges for the sake of the gospel. prayers, and sacrificial support! I hope the reports in this newsletter will help you pray for our workers and the We need your prayers and generous support to share the Jewish people. gospel with Jewish people living in difficult places. We know we could move to someplace nicer, greener, and less We have established a fund to help support our missionaries expensive, but we choose to be where our Jewish people in difficult places so that they can focus on their ministry. live, work, and raise their families. We budgeted $250,000 of help for the next year. Please prayerfully considering how you can help them with a One way I encourage our staff serving in difficult places generous gift. I know your support will encourage our is to remind them of the vast number of like-minded dedicated and sacrificial staff. believers who pray for them and support their ministries.