Dear Friends,
As the end of the year approaches, we are so thankful for all that the Lord has done this year and we look forward to what is ahead. As the year ends, I want to share a word with you on the tremendous value of partnership. Partnership is a wonderful gift created by the Lord to greatly expand the resources, abilities and rewards of every one of His children.
The Bible shares a great example about partnership in 1 Samuel 30. Israel’s enemies, the Amalekites, attacked the Israelite city of Ziklag, burned it and carried off all its supplies and inhabitants as plunder. David and his army started a grueling march after them, to get back what was stolen. Partway through the march, some of David’s army was too weary to go on, so David instructed them to stay back and guard the army’s supplies. God delivered the Amalekites into David’s hands and, according to His Word, they retrieved all their plunder back intact. Upon returning home in victory, some of David’s fighting men refused to share the plunder with those who had stayed back to guard the supplies. But David rebuked them harshly, and established the Biblical principle of partnership that endures to this day:
“David answered, ‘No, my brothers. Don’t do that after what the Lord has given us. He has given us the enemy who has attacked us…The share will be the same for the man who stayed with the supplies as for the man who went into battle. All will share alike.’ David made this an order and rule for Israel. This order and rule continues even today.” vv. 23-25
This Biblical principle of partnership has great application for you today. You are a soldier just like David’s men were—you are part of the army of Jesus Christ! You too are on a holy mission—to bring the love and power of Jesus to people in all the dark corners of this world. You may not be on the front lines of this struggle, but the Bible’s principle of partnership has wonderful news for you today. According to the Word, when you are in partnership with people and ministries who are doing the glorious work of the Great Commission; when you fight alongside these people in prayer and giving, you too receive the same blessing, joy and reward that those on the front lines do!
Jesus taught His 12 apostles the same value of partnership in Matthew 10, when He said: “Whoever accepts you also accepts me…Whoever meets a prophet and accepts him will receive the reward of the prophet. And whoever accepts a good man because that man is good will receive the reward of a good man. Whoever helps one of these little ones because they are my followers will truly get his reward. He will get his reward even if he only gave my follower a cup of cold water.” vv. 40-42
This is why we invite you to partner with us. We want to see your lives blessed with the same blessings we ourselves receive by seeing the masses come to know Jesus and His love around the world. What great joy it is to see an elderly man in India, trapped in the darkness of Hinduism his entire life, receive Jesus into his heart for the first time! What abundant joy it is to see the face of a young African girl light up as she hears and speaks for the first time in her life, due to the healing power of Jesus! And these spoils of victory are yours to share with us as we return from our victorious marches into enemy territory. Praise Jesus for His principle of partnership at work today! And we praise Jesus for your partnership with us, as together we share the work and the blessings of the Great Commission.
As you read this, Joshua, Michelle and Anna are ministering in El Salvador, and we ask for your partnership in praying for them. At the end of this month, I head to another needy nation, as I preach a crusade in Ethiopia. In January and February, I preach two more Crusades in needy nations of Asia that we have never preached in before. All these Crusades cost a significant amount of money. I’m inviting you now to ask the Lord what He would want you to give toward these soul winning ventures.
There is perhaps no better time of the year to give than right now to partner with us, and let me tell you why. As you know, every donation made to our ministry is 100% tax-deductible, and as the fiscal year comes to an end, we want to give you an opportunity to donate to our Ministry so as to receive the tax benefit for your 2016 taxes. Your money can be put to good use in a variety of ways, but I am confident that investing your money into the salvation and discipleship of people is of utmost importance! And for many of you, your option is to either donate to a registered charity, like our Ministry, or to pay taxes to the government. Thank you for your prayers and financial support. Without them we could not do what we do; but with them, the world is coming to Jesus, and you are blessed in the process!
For the Lost,
Dr. Kevin Wagner, D.Min.