“SERVING THE SERVERS”

Shalom Bible College

Many young men and women in India have felt the call to ministry, but lack theological education.  The reality of this leaves them ill-equipped to raise up biblically mature disciples for the kingdom of God.  This also impacts church planting, stunting the growth of new churches because of a lack of qualified leaders.

Pastor Ravi (on left) & Student

Lead by President Ravi Sundar, the Shalom Bible College seeks to "Serve the Servers.” We accomplish this by providing free tuition to those who have a desire to serve God as ministers of the gospel, and developing church leadership. In turn, they can better minister to their congregations and reach out to the lost.

We achieve this by intensive training in the core Theological subjects, providing hands on practical experience conducting gospel meetings and witnessing in area villages, and providing Bibles, tracts and other printed materials. When they graduate they are inserted into an unreached village where they are required to plant a church; they will be supported for their first year of service, and trained to develop some type of cottage industry to become self-supporting. All of this is without charge as provided by the generosity of our funding partners.

To accomplish this purpose Asia International Mission raises funds to hold pastors conferences throughout India, and to give those who feel the call of God to the ministry an opportunity to attend Bible College. 

With dozens of new churches being planted each year, there is a great need for pastor and leadership

Shalom Bible College Students

training. AIM provides training conferences free of charge to church leaders in India where pastors and leaders have little access or resources to study the Bible. We offer teaching conferences, taught by qualified and experienced pastors and leaders. We offer periodic 2-3 day conferences on relevant topics for Christian leaders. We provide study materials, including Bibles and tracts.

Many times, Christians are called to serve the Lord, and yet they have no financial means to study and prepare themselves for service. Through our Timothy Fund, we help students through edification, encouragement, and financial support.

Criteria evaluated include financial need, educational achievement, personal character, and spiritual maturity. We help native students attend Bible College in preparation for pastoral service.

If you would like to sponsor a Training Conference or send young people to Bible College click HERE now. Or you can send a check to:

                                                            AIM

                                                            PO Box 1597

                                                            Stillwater, OK 74076

Training Conference                   - $500

Timothy Fund (Bible College)       - $450 per year                                                    

                                                - $150 per semester

                                                - $50   per month

Be sure to designate “Training Conference” or “Bible College” on the memo line. Thank you for your generosity, and may God bless you greatly. 

 

 

The Parable of the Sower

The parable of the Sower is one of the more familiar parables Christ taught (Matt 13:3-8). Like all parables, the story is relatively simple, comes from real life experiences, and teaches a valuable lesson, which is that the condition of a man’s heart (the soil) determines the fruitfulness of the seed (the word of God).

While this parable is referring primarily to the Gospel and the process of salvation, I think it’s acceptable to view the seed as representing any spiritual truth…God’s truth as it relates to any aspect of life, not just salvation. The whole of Christian life is one continuous and progressive response to fresh spiritual revelation.  

With that thought in mind, let’s see what the parable teaches those of us desiring to walk in God’s

truth. The first soil is the path…ground so hard the seed is eaten by birds before it has a chance to sprout. This represents the hard heart from which Satan removes truth. Hopefully, none of us are in this category.

The fact that you are reading this indicates that your heart has an interest in the things of God. Next is the rocky soil which represents the shallow heart. This heart has an immediate and joyful, but short lived response to truth. The shallow heart responds with an emotional burst, but dies out quickly when problems arise. No fruit is brought to maturity, The third soil is the thorny soil. The cluttered heart is one that is so full of competing things the truth is choked out and is unproductive. Finally we hear about the good soil. This soil is deep enough for germination to take place and for adequate roots to develop. And because this soil lacks thorns, a fruit bearing plant is the result. This is the productive heart. This is the heart God wants each of us to possess.

To keep this devotional from becoming a sermon, I’m going to focus on only one soil…the thorny. I have chosen this soil because it all too often is a picture of my own heart and I know that I’m not alone. Jesus is very specific as to what is represented by the thorns in the soil……worries of the world, deceitfulness of wealth, and pleasures of this life.

The worries of the world represent the poverty stricken person who is literally worried about getting enough food to maintain his physical life. For us who are fortunate enough to not be in that situation, the worries of this life represent the everyday problems encountered by humans living in this fallen world. These may be small, irritating things like flat tires, demanding clients, or they may be major issues with our health or family life. These are thorns with the potential of destroying our response to God if we allow them to do so. Christ also said the thorns represent the deceitfulness of wealth. Who us?

Just because we live in perhaps the most materialistic and money worshiping society in history doesn’t mean we’ll be deceived by the allure of wealth. Or does it? Wealth is deceiving because it promises us happiness. In our society, we are constantly bombarded by the message that money will bring us joy and fulfillment. Riches are deceitful because they promise what they can’t deliver. Only God can give us true and lasting joy. Only He can bring fulfillment to our lives. Buying into the world’s mentality by pursuing wealth as the means to contentment is certain to result in spiritual unfruitfulness.

What about the pleasures of this life? I can’t say it any better than the following sermon excerpt: “Amusement should be used to do us good like a medicine; it must never be used as food for the individual. From early morning until late at night some spend their time in a round of frivolities, or else their very work is simply carried on to furnish them with funds for pleasure. This is an age of excessive amusement. Everybody craves for it like a babe for its rattle. In the more sober years of our fathers, men and women had better things to live for than silly sports. The thorns are choking the age.”

That hits pretty close to home for most of us in today’s fun seeking society. What’s really interesting about this statement is that it’s found in a sermon delivered by Charles Spurgeon in 1888! If only Charles could see us now!! God wants us all to be fruitful. He wants to see His truth grow and mature in our hearts until a visible result is produced in our lives. His truth, like Him, is constant. It never changes. What changes is our heart and we alone are responsible for the condition of our heart.

We all know that a field, a garden, or a yard needs attention to be maintained in a weed-free state. The same is true of our hearts. We all need to be in a constant state of watchfulness to see that the thorns of worry, money, and pleasure do not prevent God’s truth from having a bountiful effect in our lives. 

—Russ Sharrock

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"Change The World, One Child at a Time!"

Connecting With the Suffering

"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." (Matthew 10:42)

There is so much need around us that it is easy to get hardened to it. As the misfortunes of others pile up in our minds, we are forced to tune them out in order to make it through the day. And the result is that we don’t help anyone. In our efforts to manage the floodgates of suffering we tend to close them off completely.

Imagine the suffering that Jesus saw on a daily basis. Once He was known as the healer, He was surrounded with sickness, suffering and death. Each day He had to get up knowing that He would experience great suffering. He did not always heal. But many times He had compassion on people even when there were other things that needed His attention.

Think about the last time you closed your mind to manage the suffering around you. If we are to take the words of Jesus seriously in the passage above, we know that we cannot afford to avoid the suffering in this world. We have to connect with those who are hurting. 

The key is to be walking with Jesus so that you will know when He wants to use your voice and hands to be involved.

 –Russ Sharrock

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You are Invited to AIM's

"Jewels of India"

Annual Fundraising Banquet

If you are going to be in the Stillwater, OK area we invite you join us for our annual Fundraising Banquet to raise money for our children's ministry in India. The banquet will be held on: 

                                                          Thursday, August 3rd, 2013. 
                                                  The doors will open at 6 PM 
                                         Dinner will begin at 6:30 PM

There will food, music, testimony, and our special speaker will be Pastor Albert May. We will also have items from India, and donations from area stores for sale to help raise funds to provide children with food, clothing, medical care, and the love of Christ. So please join us for a great time of fellowship, and an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the children of India.

You can go to our website to RSVP.

Help Us Change the World, One Child at a Time!  

 

What Would God Have You Do?

As I mentioned in my last blog, Alice and I recently returned from India after three months of working side by side with Indian pastors and missionaries to bring the gospel to the lost of that great country. I can’t even begin to tell you all that we have witnessed in that time. 

We covered seventeen villages and cities during that time going all the way from Tenali to Bapatla, to Vijayawada to Pithapuram, to Paralakhemundi to Hyderabad, and then to do VBS in Bangalore and Kolkata, a total of about 2469 miles. I wish I could tell you all that we saw, heard, and experienced. God has so richly blessed this work, immensely blessed it.

It was so amazing to see how God worked to change lives, setting them free from the bondage of sin,

and adding them to the family of God through the life changing power of the Holy Spirit. In it they

Please Pray for Chandrappa

found hope for both this life and the life to come. There was Chandrappa, who had lost his left leg twenty three years ago due to leprosy. As I talked with him, hugged him, and prayed for him I felt the longing in his heart for something better; to know there is someone who really cares and loves him

These past few months we saw prayers answered and over 19 people saved, even in the middle of great hardship. That is what this ministry is about—to meet people in their need and to do it with a beauty and the splendor of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its full authority. I pray that in the days ahead you will ask God what He would have you do in coming alongside us. Without you, we cannot truly fulfill this calling. 

If God has blessed you, I pray you will ask Him what He would have you do in sharing with us as we head into the second half of this year. Anything you can do to help, it all comes together and gives us that encouragement to move forward and to meet the many opportunities God has placed before us.

Thank you for being a faithful follower and we pray that you will truly be blessed and that God will direct you in all you do. And please know that we as a team will be enormously grateful. May God bless you. 

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:9)

If you would like to help us be the hands and feet of Jesus just go here to DONATE NOW.

—Russ Sharrock

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If you will be in the Stillwater, OK area on Thursday, August 3rd please join us for our annual "Jewels of India" Fundraising Banquet. It will be held at The Pines, 110 E. McElroy in Stillwater. UNICEF estimates there are about 11 million street children in India. Please help us provide education, medical care, food, clothing, and the love of Christ to the poor and destitute children of India. Doors are open at 6 PM and dinner begins at 6:30 PM. You can go HERE to RSVP. 

Hope to see ya there!

Living God's Word

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…” 

(1 Peter 3:15)

Deepa

As followers of Christ, we want to share what God has done in our lives and the hope that we have in Him. Each of us has an amazing story of God’s deliverance from death to life that He wants us to share over and over for His glory. The question is: how is the integration of God’s Word into our own lives drawing others to ask about the hope they see in us.

For Alice and I, part of our ongoing story of God’s grace involves the joy filled opportunity to spend the three months each year traveling throughout India. Some might wonder what we do when we are in the US. Yes, we speak at churches, make phone calls, write e-newsletters, send emails, tweet, and post on Facebook, etc., but we like to focus on the ministry to India, where the ongoing challenges encourage a deeper walk with the Lord.

While holding VBS for children, offering food, clothing, and an encouraging word with Lepers and

 widows, we also share moments of laughter and joy as we connect with those in these projects. We sing songs and tell them about the hope we have in Jesus, and invite our new friends to accept Jesus

Leper Colony, Bangalore

into their hearts.

The Lord has blessed us and those who have a part in these ministries by giving us the words to speak in grace about His love. It is an exciting experience to see God’s Word come alive through stories, music, laughter, tears, and the smiles of His children.

Live out God’s Word each day so you have the opportunity to share your hope in Christ. Your own story continues; connect with a cause in a deeper way in the next year by checking out our website today and let God use you to change a life. 

If you would like to partner with AIM you can Donate Today to change a life for tomorrow. 

--Russ Sharrock

Reaching the Nations for Christ

What is the most important thing on God’s heart today?

All Christians understand that Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose again from the grave so that mankind might be brought back to into a right relationship with God. But that was not the end of the story and God’s plan on earth is still unfolding. And it is the reason why Jesus has still not returned.

God wants the whole world to know about the great sacrifice His Son made on the cross. And He wants everyone to have an opportunity to hear, and have a chance to accept or reject His Son’s sacrificial gift for their sins.

But there is one last sign that is rarely mentioned that must take place before Christ’s return to the earth: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

Ganguwada, Odissa (Odisha)

This is what I believe is the most important thing on God’s heart today! God is bringing in the harvest, but only after the full numbers of Gentiles have come in will He bring an end to this world in its present form. 

We must understand how God measures the harvest. The Bible defines the task clearly where we are given a glimpse of the time when the harvest has been fully gathered in Revelation 7:9, 10, “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."

This is exciting news! We are told there will be worshipers of Jesus around the throne from “…every, nation, tribe, people, and language…” And just to make it clear God also mentions it in Revelation 5:6-10 and again in Revelation 14:6. 

God always completes things perfectly. He created the first divisions among the human race at the Tower of Babel by splitting people into, “…clans and languages, in their territories and nations. These are the clans of Noah's sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.” (Genesis 10:31, 32)

The whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation carries two themes. The first is the redemptive story of Jesus, and the second, which seems to have been lost on so many people today, is God’s plan to reach the nations.

Without understanding this, a Christian’s life will lack a key ingredient and sense of purpose. Jesus didn’t die on the cross just so you can have salvation; He died on the cross to save the nations. God doesn’t bless you and me just so we can be happy. He blesses us so we can reach the nations! And not just every country, but “…nation, tribe, people and language.” Only when this happens will Jesus return; “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

Let’s not deceive ourselves into thinking the work of reaching all the ethnic groups, tribes, languages, and people groups have been done. It has not! There are Christians that have sat on their backside for decades while they waited for the Lord’s return. Tragically, their lives have been wasted and they have done nothing for the Lord.

After 2000 years since Jesus gave us the Great Commission how much progress do you think we have made? One of the best sources of information is the Joshua Project. They have classified an unreached people group as having less that 2% Christian. Using this definition, how many of the 16,586 people groups do you think remain to be properly “reached” with the gospel of Jesus?

The answer may shock you: After 2000 years there are still 7,165 unreached people groups in the world today!   

From this point of view, the church is just past the halfway point toward the goal, no wonder Jesus has not returned yet. We are grateful to God that He has called us to Asia, because 72% of all remaining unreached people groups are found there.

Hundreds of millions of Asians are still waiting to hear the good news of Jesus Christ for the first time in their lives. Not only individuals, but whole tribes and ethnic groups remain totally unevangelized.

India remains the greatest challenge to the gospel in the world today. It is the home to 2,599 distinct

Lombadi Tribal Lady

groups. Of that number, 2,365 (91%) of them remain unreached by the gospel. Who will reach the Bhattra of Orissa (Odisha) or the tiny Muriya tribe who number less than 100 people?

Does God care if anyone reaches the Muriya? Are they too small to worry about? Not at all! Jesus died for the Muriya. They are a distinct nation who will one day have believers worshiping the Lamb around His throne.

The Lord Jesus is waiting for His full inheritance to come in, and it is a great privilege to be able to play a part in seeing this happens as we serve the Church in Asia together.

If you would like to join us in reaching the unreached for Christ you can click here to Donate Now. 

--Russ Sharrock

Gospel Risk-takers

In the time it takes to read this page, another Christian will be killed because of his or her faith in Jesus Christ. 160,000 believers around the world will be slaughtered this year alone…simply because they love Jesus.

This is not a news flash. The physical risk of going public for the glory of God among satanically dominated peoples is obvious.In Odisha (Orissa) state, three months of intimidation and assaults in two villages in eastern India has left four Christians hospitalized and others injured, two houses damaged, and the entire Christian community unable to do business or draw water from the town well.

The boycott of the Christians of Dangarguda village, led by some Hindu nationalist residents, began in April. The Christians were prohibited from buying and selling, and from fetching drinking water from the public well because of their faith in Christ. In many regions nationalist Hindus enjoy popular and bureaucratic support in their campaign to make India a purely Hindu society.

Jesus predicted that you will probably be disposed of quickly and without pause like a lion eats a lamb: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8). That‘s the risk of identifying with Jesus in this world; and too many are frightened at the thought.

Scripture describes the killing of God’s people as horrible, yet beautiful. Horrible because of the indescribable torment endured by so many; but beautiful in their humble Christ-likeness as they are afflicted, persecuted, struck down; but not destroyed (2 Cor. 4). When believers are crushed by suffering, the aroma of Christ stretches out even more widely and rapidly among the peoples. 

This is biblical boldness: to plow through hostile resistance with the gentleness of Christ and loving the hate out of those enemies of the cross. However, I dread a greater danger than death. I dread the consequences of not taking a risk for the gospel. What will I suffer if I refuse to suffer for Christ? What will I lose if I refuse to lose my life for Jesus for the nations? What glory (Paul‘s word – Romans 8:18) will I miss out on if I avoid suffering for the gospel?

There is something in suffering for the gospel that produces supernatural affection and compassion 

Puttasingh Village, Odisha

within you towards those who are harming you. At the same time, when one can praise God instead of denying him in the midst of suffering, unbelievers take notice. Some will be saved, which causes more persecution, which will fuel even more passionate and bold sharing of the gospel.

The result is that whole new regions are quickly populated with believers and churches. This is how suffering and persecution nearly always advance both personal sanctification in the sufferer and the more rapid, wide-ranging growth of the gospel among the persecutors.

There is nothing more powerful in evangelism than a life humbly laid down for Christ and the gospel. Gospel risk-takers are missionary madmen (2 Cor. 11:23). But God is glorified by them; and the world‘s unharvested fields need many more like them.

--Russ Sharrock