Ahead of The Times
“Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens…” – Genesis 49:14
“And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.” – I Chronicles 12:32
“And last of all he was seen of me also, as one born before the due time… But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” – I Corinthians 15:8, 10
Being ahead of your times can have two results – Prominence and problems. We can think of men throughout modern history that were ahead of their times. In military circles, Army General Billy Mitchell and his fight to make American “brass” see the potential of aircraft come to mind; his career plunged, but America ultimately profited. Dr. Rudolf Diesel and his motor were ahead of their times; he despaired and committed suicide, but today his invention is found all over the world. Steve Jobs was ahead of his time and was fired from his company and then rehired, and now he is idolized for his vision while his successors reap a fortune.
The Hebrew tribe of Issachar was also ahead of the curve. According to Rabbi Moshe Polter, the tribe of Issachar bore two burdens – The burden of teaching the law and the burden of war. Two hundred leaders of the Sanhedrin came from the tribe of Issachar. The Torah scholars of Issachar studied the Torah day and night, going to sleep fully dressed in order to be ready to study the Torah when they awoke again. They understood the times because they understood the Word, and they understood the Word because understanding was their hereditary assignment.
Paul was ahead of his time because that was his calling; he saw himself and his conversion through the appearing of the Lord in glory as illustrative of the future national conversion of Israel. Paul was rejected by his nation and somewhat apart from the original twelve Jewish disciples – a lonely position. He was beheaded, but his letters are read daily in the Christian churches of all nations.
In our time, David du Plessis was ahead of his time in reaching out to “unsanctified and uncertain” audiences beyond church borders with the charismatic experience. Chuck Colson, who has just passed on to the next life, was ahead of his time in reaching out to Catholics in matters that should unite all Christians in a common cause, not divide them.
This year, as I talk with Christian leaders I am made aware that there is “something in the air.” It is a new spirit of unity and practical cooperation combined with a de-emphasis on personal identity and exclusiveness. I am told of one large evangelical denomination that has recently held repentance meetings and apologized to a group of linguists and Bible translators for criticizing them for focusing on “dictionaries” instead of saving souls. In the Philippines, World Missionary Evangelism is helping to build a church for a Baptist pastor and getting ready to take revival to a Catholic parish at the request of their priest. People are reaching across traditional denominational lines instead of majoring on the minors.
There is a great prophetic end for those who are appointed to be forerunners: Moses decreed in Deuteronomy 33:18-19 that Issachar would lead his people to the mountain of worship and to the treasures of sea and sand. May we all come to share and know this joy. Amen.
By John G. Cathcart
www.wme.org
Instant Change
“And one of the (two) malefactors which were hanged… said unto Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Verily I say unto you, Today you shall be with me in paradise.’ ” – Luke 23:39 & 42-43
About two years ago, I met Pastor Nikolai Poliakov from Kamchatka in Russia. Pastor Nikolai told a great story about some of the remote Russian tribal peoples that were visited by a Communist politico. Their visitor was totally opposed to the Gospel of salvation, telling the tribesmen to give up their new-found faith to become atheists and communists because Christian missionaries were ignorant anachronisms that needed to be thrown out of the village. The tribal chief listened to the politico’s communist rant and finally said:
“You should thank God for those missionaries because a few years ago, before they came here, I would have cut off your head and eaten your body.”
I remember as a boy how some of the Māoris of New Zealand would tell the white, British settlers they had Presbyterian blood in their veins, claiming, “My grandfather ate one of your missionaries.” It may be great fun to watch the Haka dance performed by the New Zealand Rugby team, but there was a time when that Māori ritual preceded the drinking of their enemy’s blood. That is what is signified by the warriors stomping around, making threatening movements and sticking out their tongues when they go through the ritual of meeting tourists to New Zealand at the entrance to their villages. Tourists are told in advance not to laugh. If it seems funny to Westerners now, it is because someone gave his or her life to evangelize these peoples. Incidentally, the Māoris are the most advanced of all the Pacific people-groups, which is a testimony to how far civilization without Christ will take things.
We are all much closer to paganism and savagery than we realize. Back in the early days of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, it was said there were more rocket scientists and cannibals within a few hundred miles of Clear Lake, Texas, than anyplace else in the world. Likewise, World Missionary Evangelism in the Philippines has a center at one end of an arc that runs from the town of Maasim to Davao on the Sarangani Bay that is raided by pirates to this day. There are also known pirates on Lake Tanganyika and Lake Victoria in Africa between Kenya and Uganda. In fact, there may be more pirates in the world today than ever before.
If the world seems civilized and orderly where you are, it is probably due to a past Christian influence on morality and behavior that today’s secular, Western authorities are trying to marginalize and destroy. But as the saying goes, “Be careful what you wish for; you may get it.”
The real truth is there is only one thing that can still transform the lives of men and women it in a single instant like the thief hanging on the cross next to Jesus or like how Saul became Paul in the time it takes to hit the ground from ridding on a saddle.
Pastor Nikolai Poliakov relayed another story of how salvation and sanctification had come to hardened criminals in Russian prisons. The psychiatrist for these prisoners said, “In all my years in criminal psychiatry, I have never seen one of these men change. But you come in here and strum your guitar and sing your little song and invite them to accept Jesus, and they become changed. Some of them are even telling me that my problem is I need to be saved.”
A few days ago I gave a call to salvation and to Christian service at a tribal mountain church on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, and some men committed their lives to serving Christ. I count it a privilege to stand with our Philippine pastors, one of whom was the chief bandit in that region not very long ago. Jesus still changes lives and does what scholars and experts cannot do in man. He can save us at any point in our life’s journey. He is the revelation of God to man and the revelation of man to man. He is Son of God; He is Son of Man; and by Him we can be:
“Saved by His power divine,
Saved to new life sublime!
Life now is sweet and my joy is complete,
For I’m saved, saved, saved!”
Lyrics to hymn “Saved, Saved” by Jack P. Scholfield
By John G. Cathcart
www.wme.org
Babes & Sucklings
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings you have ordained strength…” – Psalm 8:2
Have you ever considered how strange the placing of this scripture is as the second verse of a psalm about the physical heavens and a question on the significance of mankind? Scofield adds a wonderful note to this passage stating:
In Psalm 2 Christ is presented as Jehovah’s Son and King, rejected and crucified… In Psalm 8 he is seen as the Son of Man who, while made a little lower than the angels, is to have dominion over the redeemed creation… that which the first man lost, the second man and last Adam more than regained.
A few days ago, I sat at the 8th Commencement Exercises of a Nursery, K-1, K-2 and Grade 1 school supported by World Missionary Evangelism in Maasim, Serangani Province on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. Unlike previous annual exercises, this had to be conducted in an outdoor sports facility in order to accommodate the students, staff, families and guests. Obviously, this “child” has grown.
To say I was impressed by the commencement is an understatement. You have to take note when you see small children whose native language is not English and who must be hoisted up to stand on a box behind a podium in order to be seen, then proceed to read the English Bible with fluent authority and great poise while never hesitating for a second. The program included speeches, songs, dance and the distribution of certificates, medals and honors. I was asked to give an “Inspirational Talk,” which I changed on the spur of the moment to say that I didn’t need to inspire them – They had inspired me. I was refreshed by what I saw, by what had been accomplished, by their teachers and by their families.
I wasn’t the only one impressed. Sitting along with WME’s national representative for the Philippines Rene Canillo, our Executive Vice President and myself was Mr. Renante F. Carido, the District Kindergarten Coordinator for the Department of Education. Before the exercises were all concluded, he invited us to expand our program and presence there, and he requested help to examine our curriculum more closely. Why? Because our little kindergarten children, so eloquent and self-possessed, have won reading competition(s) with older public school children in higher grades, and they go into the public school system more than prepared for what’s ahead of them.
While sitting there, my mind reached back to the time when our late and beloved Executive Vice President Rick Beals and I decided to leave the more Christianized and civilized northern parts of the Philippines to head into the somewhat less than secure area of Mindanao. That is what WME does. Rick would have danced for joy to see what was taking place before my eyes! Thirty years after Rev. Rene Canillo started his evangelical and pastoral work in Mindanao, we have seen our little child students grow to become leaders in ministry and education. What may have been lost in the past is more than regained in the present.
The children’s graduation song was called “Yesterday’s Dream,” and the lyrics are worth taking a moment to reflect on:
We are the children of yesterday’s dream.
We are the promise of the future we bring,
Waving the banner of life to all,
To every nation the rich and the poor.
We are the world of the restless and young,
And we need a hand to guide us.
We can be what we want for the world to see
That we are the children of yesterday’s dream.
We have a yearning to do what is best,
Be someone special from all the rest.
Nation and brothers in unity,
Building tomorrow for you and me.
Chorus:
For together we stand, divided we fall.
Together we climb to the top of the world.
We can be what we want for the world to see
That we are the children of yesterday’s dream.
What was only a dream in remote parts of Mindanao yesterday is becoming a reality today. Thanks to the sponsors and supporters of World Missionary Evangelism for making this dream a reality for the children of Mindanao and establishing a vision for us to carry forward and bring to full fruition. Praise be to God!!
By John G. Cathcart
www.wme.org
Beulah Land
“O Beulah land, sweet Beulah land!
As on the highest mount I stand,
I look away across the sea
Where mansions are prepared for me
And view the shining glory shore
My heaven, my home forever more.”
– Lyrics to “Beulah Land” written by Edgar Page Stites
Our departure from General Santos City in the Philippines, one of the kidnap capitals of the world, was delayed while we waited for our security guard to arrive. It brought back memories of my early childhood in South Africa when a Gospel trip was momentarily halted as an Afrikaner brother raced back into the house to get his nickel-plated pistols. It seems the more things change, the more they remain the same.
Our Philippine driver moved along coastal roads into the mountains on the island of southern Mindanao along stretches of paved road and stretches of unpaved road – difficult passages with potholes and mud holes. The terrain was lush and green with forests of palm trees stretching high toward the sky. Two to three hours later, we took a turn into the forest and arrived at our destination – a bamboo, mountain church.
Our WME leader Rene Canillo told me I was to preach on this particular Thursday morning. I did not know what to expect; so I looked to the Lord. He gave me two scripture verses that both start out with the same words – “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit…” One is from Luke 1:80, the other from Luke 2:40. One verse is about John Baptist, and the other about Jesus.
To my surprise, the congregation was made up mainly of children. The rest were tribal pastors and teachers. I talked to the children about the young John and the young Jesus, who both grew and became strong in spirit.
One was isolated and apart from the society of men and women until he was revealed to Israel in a ministry of confrontation and denunciation. John the Baptist’s ministry helped to bring the old order down, but his style also took him down with it. If John had his way, Jesus would have been pruning and burning along with him. It’s a noteworthy lesson: The best that the greatest man born of a man and woman can bring forth is ultimately terminal.
The other child also grew and waxed strong in spirit, but He was gracious. In fact, men marveled at the gracious words He spoke. Jesus grew in stature as a man while increasing in favor with both men and God. Most of us forget the Son of God was in great favor with men for most of His life until He entered into a ministry of vicarious suffering for men and women of all tribes and nations. His way was always the way of ultimate grace. His way was the means to life and liberty for all mankind. He is our friend, not our judge.
I told the young men, women and children present at the service that the “Jesus way” was the way for them and the way that would redeem the region around them – a region now dotted with tribal churches where once bandits roamed. (In fact, a former chief bandit is now one of our committed tribal pastors.) As I closed that message, I extended an invitation to those who wanted to go the “way of Jesus.” Two strapping young men came forward and were declared for the ministry as tribal pastors. We concluded with prayer and prophecy.
Before leaving, we drove to a high look-out point from which we could see Balut Island with its cloud-covered top. Balut Island is the southernmost point of the Philippines and the immediate gateway to Indonesia. Our WME representative Rene Canillo told me he has been asked by an association of tribal Balut pastors to come and lead them. A Roman Catholic priest there has also asked him to come and bring revival to his church.
Balut Island is a Beulah Land where bamboo “mansions” are prepared for our coming in His Name. Please remember to go with us there in prayer and intercession. The only education the children here can get is the education we take to them because schools are too far away for them to travel to by foot.
May the grace exhibited by our precious Lord and Savior be also with your spirit and stand as a testimony to those with whom you come into contact about the higher way of Jesus Christ.
By John G. Cathcart
www.wme.org
Floyd’s Folly
“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in you heart to the Lord.” – Ephesians 5:19
Entertaining yourself in song is as old as history. As a matter of fact, most people don’t realize that the oldest piece of poetry in the world is found in early Genesis. The composer’s wives made up the entire audience by command, and the composition was the embryonic music industry’s first recorded “somebody-done-me-wrong” song.
For most of us amateur vocalists, the best audience we’ll ever get and the best place we’ll ever sing is in the shower, particularly since most showers make excellent echoing and resonating sound boxes. Simply put, mankind is a singing species. We sing about what we are, where we are, and how we feel deep down within. We sing to express and to release pent up emotion. We sing when we’re up, and we sing when we’re down. We sing to approve and support – we sing to rebel and reprove. It doesn’t matter whether it was Bob Dylan singing “Cause God Was on Their Side,” or Peter, Paul and Mary asking “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” deploring man’s inability to learn.
Even Christians get into the act. As my father used to say, “When Christians can’t rise to the requirements of God’s Word, they write a song and sing about it.”
Back in the 50’s, there were a couple country performers who entertained in Houston, Texas (back when it was still a big country town) by singing out their woes and wanderings on the air waves. Old-timer Houstonians may remember Floyd Tillman, Little Margie, and their up-and-down marital problems expressed through song.
Even the feminist movement and the sexual revolution joined the good ol’ boys in protesting and promoting their position in song. Kitty Wells replied to the boy’s “I Didn’t Know God Made Honky Tonk Angels” with “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels.” The boys’ club rejected it as too suggestive. The battle was joined – vocally.
Before automobiles had anything in them but radios, we all sang to what was broadcast on the air. I specifically remember one day many years ago while I was still an engineer, driving along in traffic and finding myself singing with great gusto:
“Wasting away in Margaritaville,
Looking for my lost shaker of salt.
Some people say that there’s a woman to blame;
But I know, it’s my own darn fault.”
Suddenly I snapped to. I said to myself, “What in the world am I singing?” As country artist George Jones wisely observed – If you sing this stuff long enough, it enters into your spirit, and you become and do what you are singing and saying. I turned the radio off and thought about it. Although I didn’t know it, I had a passenger in the car – the Holy Spirit.
So remember the next time you break into song, regardless of what Lena Horne said, you don’t “have a right to sing the blues.” But you do have a right to sing the song of Him who has redeemed you from sin, death, and the grave. So sing it out to Him, and let God be praised while the angels back you up.
[Oh! And if you want to know what the first poem in history was – email us here and ask!]
By John G. Cathcart
www.wme.org
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