Missions; February 14, 2021

Posted on February 18, 2021 by jgarrott

Isaiah 66:19 “I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations–to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations.”

This is about as explicit a prophecy of foreign missionaries as you could ask for! The emphasis is on two factors: distance and the fact that the people reached know nothing of God. The listing of nations seems bizarre to us in the Hebrew, and even in the English equivalents given in the NIV seems rather odd, but the point seems to be that nowhere will be left out. Verse 20 talks about “brothers from all the nations,” and then verse 21 says, rather shockingly, “I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites.” These obviously could not be genetically qualified for those offices, but God says He will select them anyway. This prophecy speaks of the great push to the nations that began with Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:2-3) and continues even today. You can’t claim that it wasn’t God’s idea! It is also important to note that genetic distinctions will disappear, because offices and assignments will come from God. There has been a sadly persistent tendency among missions groups to trust missionaries above local believers, with the missionaries hanging onto the “reins of power.” That is in violation of the heart of God. However, the answer isn’t a reverse racism, as is being actively promoted by some in a political context in the US, but an understanding that external characteristics are quite literally unimportant. God is truly colorblind, because He looks at our hearts. (1 Samuel 16:7)

Naturally, being raised in a missionary family in Japan and serving here myself, the phrase, “distant islands of the sea” jumps out at me. Isaiah also mentions islands in chapters 11, 41 and 42, which is one reason I’ve always like Isaiah! The point, however, is to focus on the target of such activity being those who have never heard. I’d say the majority of the people in Omura are fully aware that Christianity exists, but the vast majority of those have no grasp of the Gospel at all. The general attitude toward religion in Japan is that it’s a matter of family tradition, or even ethnicity. That can make people very closed to the idea of “changing their religion.” Actually, the very idea of faith being at the center of a person’s life seems rather strange to them. My challenge is to be a living demonstration of the reality of God, as well as a mouthpiece to explain to people what they are seeing in me, so that they too may receive salvation by grace through faith.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the message You’ve given me for this morning, specifically on world missions. Thank You for the lady who’s not yet a Christian who’s expected to be here. I pray that all that she sees and hears would touch her heart and open her up to your grace, for her salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Watchmen; February 13, 2021

Posted on February 17, 2021 by jgarrott

Isaiah 62:6-7 “I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the Lord,
give yourselves no rest,
and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem
and makes her the praise of the earth.

Various groups today call themselves “watchmen,” sometimes including “on the walls,” specifically from this passage. There are indeed those who have a calling to continuous prayer, and it is a high calling indeed. The state of America today could be directly connected to the failure of those who were so called to fulfill their commission. Too many Christians have been asleep, and the enemy has infiltrated not only the nation but the Church itself. When even churches won’t stand for Biblical standards of morality, we are in deep trouble. The thing is, there have been people all along who have tried to sound the alarm, but they have been dismissed as “fanatics” or “prudes” and not listened to. The mantra of the enemy has been “tolerance,” and finally, it looks like a sizable number of people aren’t going to tolerate it any more. Of course, those who are waking up are being called all sorts of names, but then, so was Jesus! We need to take seriously God’s call to prayer and His call to action. Truth be told, the enemy is terrified of bold believers, because he knows we have the power of Almighty God on our side. The current situation is a mess indeed, but if sufficient numbers of God’s children wake up and start listening to their Father, this will turn out to have been a very good thing in the long run. We are not to be violent, but we are never to be pushovers, We are indeed not to be silent, but speak the truth in love, even when people label the truth as “hate.”

I find I am very careful with my words, even with relatives. It is deeply saddening to see how people I care about have swallowed the enemy’s lies, hook, line and sinker. I am not to be needlessly confrontational, but I must not run from confrontation either. My major focus is to be in prayer, and my words to others are to be an outgrowth of that. I have people that have followed my blog, that, when I take a look at their pages, seem to be in fairly direct opposition to the Biblical principles I espouse. I have no idea why they followed me, but I can pray that somehow God’s words through me would draw them out of the camp of the enemy, setting them free just as Jesus said. (John 8:32) In the process, I must be careful that I myself am not deceived by the enemy, but walk in the love and holiness of Christ Himself. A watchman should do no less.

Father, thank You for this powerful reminder. Help me be faithful on every level, not in my own strength, because I have none, but in Yours. May I consistently call people to light and life, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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God’s Acceptance; February 12, 2021

Posted on February 15, 2021 by jgarrott

Isaiah 56:8 The Sovereign Lord declares– he who gathers the exiles of Israel: “I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.”

I have long loved the verses ahead of this, talking about the inclusion of foreigners into the family of God, because of my family’s involvement with missions work and also because, as a Caucasian in Japan, I have always been aware of being a foreigner myself. However, this verse indicates that God isn’t through gathering, and that is wonderful news. We have a strong tendency to place limits on the “in crowd,” but God isn’t like that. The statement just ahead of this verse was famously quoted by Jesus Himself when He drove the merchants out of the Court of the Gentiles in the Jerusalem temple. (Matthew 21:13) Sadly few Christians are aware that was the location of that incident. Merchants wouldn’t have dared set up business in the inner areas of the temple, but they took over the area where anyone who was curious about the God of Israel could come to worship, and Jesus wasn’t having any of it. God is insistent about maintaining an open door for all who will enter. The only requirements are repentance and faith. (Mark 1:15) We tend to set up all sorts of check lists for those we will accept, but God is far more direct and accepting. That’s not to say He excuses sin, but everyone has sinned, so we have no more claim than the next guy. Identity politics has absolutely no place in the kingdom of God. Anyone who turns to God in repentance and faith, acknowledging Jesus as Lord, is saved and received as a child of God, period.

I have been both aware of differences and oblivious to them from childhood. When I was just learning to talk, on at least one occasion I identified my mother with the name we called our Japanese housekeeper. (That was probably very painful for my mother.) The first time I saw a Black person, on my first visit to the US just before I turned four, I insisted on speaking Japanese to them, because in my experience to that point, anyone with skin darker than my immediate family was Japanese. I have been both aware of external characteristics and convinced they didn’t really matter. I rejoice in the assurance that before the throne in heaven there will be “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language.” (Revelation 7:9) While I’m here, I want to keep adding to that number!

Father, thank You for Your open heart, open arms. We are so prone to close ours! Help me be an accurate expression of Your heart, not overlooking the need for repentance but not excluding anyone who is repentant. May Your words, Your love through me draw many more to You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Growth; February 11, 2021

Posted on February 15, 2021 by jgarrott

Isaiah 49:20 “The children born during your bereavement will yet say in your hearing, ‘This place is too small for us; give us more space to live in.'”

For once I prefer the NIV here to the Japanese. The Japanese says, “the children born after your bereavement will again say…” The “again” doesn’t make much sense, and the “after” feels like they’re trying to escape the miraculous nature of this prophecy. The whole point of this is that God isn’t limited by what we think the circumstances are. Right now the world, and particularly the US, looks like a mess, but that doesn’t crimp God’s style. In a number of ways US churches were too comfortable, satisfied with business as usual and just aiming for more comfort. That’s no way to be the Body of Christ! By allowing all this upset, with actively anti-Christian people in power, the genuine believers are being forced to take stock of their own faith, and that’s a very good thing indeed. When individual believers start living in fellowship with the Holy Spirit as representatives of Christ, instead of leaving everything to “the professionals,” then God’s name is recognized as holy and His kingdom comes as His will is done. Many see what is happening as a time of bereavement of sorts, but God is going to use it to advance His kingdom.

On a personal level this speaks to me a different way. We have been in Omura for going on 40 years now, and there have been some times of real bereavement in that interval. The majority of people who have been associated with this church are no longer here for a wide variety of reasons. Cathy has been sorting paperwork from her workroom recently, and some of the records are pretty depressing. However, God is starting to bring in others that we had no direct part in attracting. He is giving us a renewed sense of purpose and hope, showing us that He hasn’t been idle in what has seemed like a relatively desolate time. I often tell others to look beyond themselves and their circumstances, because God’s plans are “good, acceptable and perfect,” (Romans 12:2) and He’s got it all worked out, but I’ve got to keep remembering that for myself as well. It’s a classic example of the reality that preachers need to listen to their own sermons!

Father, thank You for this encouraging Word. Thank You indeed for all that You are doing: the people You are bringing in and the ideas You are giving us as to what we should be doing. Help us be fully sensitive and obedient, so that Your Body may indeed grow as You intend, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Outcome; February 10, 2021

Posted on February 14, 2021 by jgarrott

Isaiah 49:4 But I said, “I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God.”

Various passages in the prophets, and particularly in Isaiah, show a blending of the prophet and the Messiah, and this is one of those. The passage as a whole is clearly Messianic, yet this particular verse would seem to be a very natural statement of Isaiah himself. I think the answer to that is part of the mystery of being in Christ, which is expressed extensively in the New Testament. My father wrote his doctoral dissertation on it, but he told me, of course many years later, that he had no real idea of what it was until he had a powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit, after he was already a missionary in Japan. Jesus talked about our being in Him and He in us a lot in the Upper Room Discourse, just before going out to Gethsemane. (John 13-17) Paul, in turn, spoke of our being Christ’s agents, His ambassadors. (2 Corinthians 5:18-29) Isaiah is here expressing what probably every servant of God has felt from time to time. We run out of our resources pretty quickly, and the results are seldom on a schedule we would like. Hebrews 11:39-40 tells us that the results are often after our death! However, every true servant of God needs to be like Isaiah here, yielding themselves to God and trusting Him to reward them appropriately, whatever the time table.

This is something with which I am deeply familiar, on a generational level, even. My father was a missionary from 1934 until He was called Home a few days after his 64th birthday in 1974, but he never saw the massive harvest for which he prayed and labored. He did have fruit from his ministry, certainly, but not at all on the scale that he desired. My mother told me after his death that on at least one occasion he prostrated himself on the floor before the Lord and cried out, “Lord, if I am standing in the way of revival in Japan, then take me out of the way!” I certainly identify with that. We have been ministering in Omura since 1981, and our current church attendance is around a dozen. However, I have baptized over 50 people over the years, both Japanese and non-Japanese, and there are people in active ministry who were raised in this church. I have had my times of feeling exactly as Isaiah states in the first half of this verse, so I need to follow through with the second half, in full faith and trust.

Father, thank You for Your faithfulness, to my parents, to Cathy and me, and to all Your children. Help us all love You and trust You enough to be fully obedient to You, doing Your will on Your schedule to produce Your desired outcome, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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World Missions; February 9, 2021

Posted on February 14, 2021 by jgarrott

Isaiah 45:22-24 “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.'”

This is underlined in my Bible, but I honestly don’t have that clear a recollection of it. It is an absolutely clear, unequivocal statement of God’s love for all mankind, His invitation to salvation to everyone. I would imagine that this sort of prophecy didn’t make Isaiah very popular among the Jews of his day! The tradition is that he was eventually martyred by being sawed into pieces, and his insistence that the physical descendants of Abraham weren’t as exclusive as they thought they were was probably one of the reasons for that. I would think that this passage would be dear to the heart of every cross-cultural missionary, but many, like me, are probably not that aware of it. Too many people, and even whole cultures, are focused on I-my-me-mine, and are irritated at the insistence that God’s heart is bigger than that. If we want to understand the heart of God and please Him we’ve got to lift our eyes off of ourselves and our immediate surroundings. We tend to focus on The Great Commission, spoken by Jesus at the time of His ascension into heaven, (Matthew 28:18-20) but we forget that God has not changed from eternity. He chose Abram, transforming him into Abraham, because He had to start somewhere. That part is already history for us, so we need to be focused on what He says here: “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth.”

To say that this is a family tradition with me would be an understatement. My maternal grandfather, W. O. Carver, founded what is today the oldest Department of Missions in the world, at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. My parents were appointed as single missionaries and married in Japan before WWII, and one of my mother’s brothers was likewise a missionary to China, teaching in a school in Shanghai until the war forced him out. My parents are buried in Japan, and I’ve been here in ministry since 1981. All of that is a point of gratitude and satisfaction for me, but I must not make it a point of pride. It was only by the grace of God that any of that happened. Now, I am challenged to help Japanese believers understand that they too are part of God’s world-wide plan of salvation. The Japanese sense of ethnic identity is perhaps second only to that of the Jews. That makes it difficult for them to accept that a “foreign religion” has anything to do with them, and if they do open their heart and believe in Christ, that they have anything to do with communicating the Gospel to other people-groups. However, there are some Japanese missionaries in other countries, and society in general is becoming much more globalized. My particular calling is to communicate God’s love to the Japanese, and by His grace they will understand that it is to go through them to others as well.

Father, thank You for this reminder. This isn’t something I’ve preached on very much. Help me communicate Your world vision to the people so that they will understand that Your vision for this church and this city isn’t so huge after all, but just a small part of Your Plan of the Ages. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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The Love of God; February 8, 2021

Posted on February 10, 2021 by jgarrott

Isaiah 43:4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and I love you…

Multiple Japanese translations isolate this from the second half of the verse, leaving out the conjunctions the NIV inserts, which makes me think the Hebrew is probably the same way. That makes this, “You are precious and honored in my sight. I love you.” No wonder this is the favorite verse in the Bible for many Japanese Christians! We all have a fundamental need to be valued and loved, and yet far too many people lack that assurance, some of them completely. That leads to all sorts of aberrations, in individual lives and in society as a whole. People will do almost anything to try to get that assurance, but the problem is, it can’t really be earned. People strive to climb the corporate ladder in order to feel valued, and often enough end up being hated by the people they trample on the way. People mistake the release of endorphins for love, and end up addicted to behaviors and substances that destroy them. The only real answer to all of that is the gracious love of our Creator. If it seems too good to be true, that’s because on the human level it is. We can’t generate that sort of love, but God loved the world so much that He sent His Son to die for us. (John 3:16) Countless things interfere with human love, but “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, no any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39) That is the answer to every issue of self-image, to every need to belong, to be valued. That doesn’t mean it’s OK to be puffed up and conceited, because God loves every other human being just as much. However, no person, from conception through physical death, is unimportant to God. There is the whole issue of sin, in violation of the holiness of God, but God’s love is so great that He gave His Son as the solution to that. He can’t excuse, but He can forgive. Those who repent of their rebellion and unbelief and understand that Jesus’ cross was their cross receive the holiness and purity of Christ Himself. (2 Corinthians 5:12) That is the glorious message of the Gospel.

This is something I have been proclaiming for many years, but at the same time it is something I am still learning. I’m a member of a “Missionary Kids” group on Facebook, and it’s interesting how many of us still struggle with the whole issue of belonging, with many not feeling “at home” anywhere. The irony is that for someone raised with the Gospel, the awareness that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20) should come naturally. I have that awareness, but it has come painfully, with many instances of human rejection. I need to remember that Jesus was clear that we are in the world but not of the world. (John 17:15-16) I am to open my own heart fully to the love of God so that I may be an instrument of His love reaching the hearts of those around me.

Father, thank You for Your incredible love. It does seem truly unbelievable, but by Your grace I do believe it. I pray that I would be fully useful to You so that as many as possible may come to repentance and faith as well, for a massive influx into Your family, for Your pleasure and glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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The Word of God; February 7, 2021

Posted on February 9, 2021 by jgarrott

Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.”

There are many angles to this seemingly simple statement. Isaiah has just been talking about the fleeting existence of grass and flowers as a metaphor for human life, and this is the climax of that. In sharp contrast to man’s brief life, God’s Word is permanent. But why Word? In the first place, Genesis 1 tells us that God spoke the universe into existence. Words are an expression of intent, of will. Isaiah could have said, “God’s will stands forever,” but words can be recorded, written down. You could call the Bible “The written will of God.” On top of that, we have the momentous words of the first chapter of John’s Gospel, which tell us that Jesus the Messiah is the Word of God. From that perspective, this verse is a statement of the eternal Deity of Jesus. Any discussion of this sort can quickly “get into the weeds” when you start considering things like translations and scribal errors and the like, but we must not allow such things to distract us from the fundamental reality that God has spoken to mankind and had His words recorded. However many distortions or how much noise we might feel have crept in over the centuries, if we forget that it is fundamentally the Word of God we lose everything. One of the biggest shocks of the Dead Sea Scrolls was that the most complete book of the Old Testament among them, the very book of Isaiah that contains this verse, was essentially identical to the text in general use at the time of their discovery, 2000 years after those scrolls had been hand copied. So much for scribal errors! God is quite capable of protecting His Word, even today when people are producing “translations” that do things like remove all gender-specific pronouns for God.

I was thankfully raised in a home with a deep respect for the Bible, with a father who taught Greek and Hebrew. The Bible my parents gave me after I was baptized was the RSV translation, even though the KJV was still very much the standard at that point. On top of that, I grew up bilingual with English and Japanese, so I was intimately aware of the difficulties of translation. As a result, I haven’t been so tied to the words (particularly in English) of the Bible so much as the reality that it is the Word of God. He does guide and anoint translators, in whatever language, and sometimes the specific words have enormous impact, but I seek to be aware at all times that it is God talking to me, and not just some literary creation. That is why I delight to teach the Bible, acting as a “repeater” for God. This morning I will be speaking on Words of Life, from Jesus’ statement that “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” (John 6:63) I need to let God’s words of life live in me fully (Colossians 3:16) so that they may flow through me unhindered, bringing life to all who will receive them.

Father, thank You for this reminder, particularly considering the message You’ve given me for today. May I be fully yielded to You so that Your Word through me may penetrate and do its full work, (Hebrews 4:12) for the liberation of my hearers and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Fulfillment of Prophecy; February 6, 2021

Posted on February 9, 2021 by jgarrott

Isaiah 11:12 He will raise up a banner for the nations
and gather the exiles of Israel;
He will assemble the scattered people of Judah
from the four quarters of the earth.

I don’t think most people have any awareness of the fact that Jews from all over the world are continuing to move to the nation of Israel. It’s called “making aliyah,” and people arrive regularly. I get a newsletter from the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem that keeps me updated on such things. (Incidentally, it was the “gather” in this verse that caused this passage to come up in my search for things related to “harvest.”) The thing is, the prophecies of the Bible are being fulfilled all the time, but very few people are aware of it. It’s rather like how so many of the details of Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection were prophesied, but even His disciples didn’t recognize it until after the fact. Events in America have certainly been in a turmoil, but that doesn’t mean God has lost control. In many ways the mask has come off, which is ironic considering all the corona virus business. People are being exposed for who and what they are, and that in itself isn’t a bad thing. Connecting current events to specific Biblical prophecies can be risky, but we need to remember that God is never surprised by anything, much less be at a loss for what to do. The re-creation of the nation of Israel in 1948 was a fulfillment of prophecy that shocked the world. The reason the devil and those controlled by him are so adamantly against Israel is that its very existence is a proclamation of the sovereignty of God. As I brought up a few days ago, God said it and that settles it. That doesn’t mean that we are to let down our guard and not fight for truth and righteousness, but it does mean we never have to be anxious about the final outcome. Things won’t be smooth along the way – Matthew 24:21 and Revelation 7:14 both refer to a time of “great tribulation” – but the final outcome will be glorious.

I have never been much of an “End Times preacher,” but that may change. A lot of what I have heard in that area has tended to stoke panic and distract people from faithful obedience here and now. I certainly don’t want that. However, I do want the believers to recognize that God is very much in control, no matter how much the devil and those controlled by him thrash around. (Revelation 12:12) I have had my own moments of considerable depression over the past few months, so this is something I need to take to heart myself! As I told someone just yesterday, I will be delighted whenever my Lord tells me, “Come on home,” but until then I will live here fully, delighting to serve my Lord however He directs, participating in His plans, His kingdom, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for anointing my lips yesterday, just as I had asked. I pray that Your words through me would sink into the heart of the person who heard them and produce the rich fruit of faith, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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The Joy of Harvest; February 5, 2021

Posted on February 7, 2021 by jgarrott

Isaiah 9:3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest,
as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.

It is somehow significant that in a Scripture reading list based on terms related to harvest, we get passages directly connected to the Messiah, the Christ. This particular verse is seldom emphasized, but verses two, six, and seven of this chapter could hardly be more famous, particularly at Christmas time. Even so, we seldom think about them apart from Christmas, so it’s good that this came up now. The Japanese here is clear that “the nation” is talking about the people, and not the geographic territory. It is clear from the Bible as a whole that this is talking about the people of God, His kingdom, His family. That is indeed to grow, and harvest is a very good metaphor for that growth. “Dividing the plunder” seems a bit violent and even primitive to us today, but every person won to Christ is won from the devil and his dominion. As Paul wrote, “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14) The devil steals all he can, (John 10:10) and we are indeed to plunder his strongholds. (Matthew 16:18) The joy of harvesting the seed we have planted (Luke 8:11) is so great that even heaven joins in. (Luke 15:7) We let ourselves be distracted by all sorts of temporal pleasures, when God has something far better and greater for us!

I have experienced the joy of birthing people into the family of God, but it has happened seldom enough that I am definitely subject to distractions. One issue is that I can’t force harvest, and I get impatient. I talk to others about God’s time frame being different from ours, but I don’t always remember it well myself! I have indeed “put in the sickle” too soon with some people, and that has never been good. I need to be faithful on a daily basis, trusting God with the outcome of whatever He directs me to do, looking forward to the joy of harvest in His time.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for giving Cathy the strong feeling that we are approaching explosive growth, but that it will be based on unconventional ways of “doing church.” Help me be fully open and sensitive to You to recognize what You are saying and do things on Your schedule. May we indeed fulfill Your plans in Your way, to bring in a huge harvest for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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