As Christians we don’t live life in the same realm as the rest of the world. We not only live to please God but we also live directed by God. As servants of the Lord we thrive on the promises that He gives us and we walk towards them each and every day of our life. Even the direction of teaching that we take for the church depends on the promises that we receive to go forward.
As we entered into this new decade we received, through prophetic word and confirmation, six promises for the churches working under our covering in Mexico. As we are now in the third month we are thoroughly blessed as we see these promises taking form and overtaking us. After a year of sowing all we had into the areas that the Lord directed us, we are excited and encouraged as we see this seed growing.
Promise #1: That there would be an influx of new believers into the church. In the past years the churches have evangelized but with little results. So far this year we have seen over 10 families come into three of our churches drawn only by the Holy Spirit. No one invited them to come or evangelized them. To establish them in their walk with Christ we were given a simple three-step plan, disciple them, baptize them and then teach them.
Promise #2: Extender the cords of your tent: One of the pastors that ministers under our covering called me last week and he said: “Can you loan me 25 chairs because on Sundays I have people standing”. Considering that he pastors a church of 60 members that is an exciting problem. This year we will be building, expanding and making room for more people to come and worship in the house of God. Even now we are looking for a property to move one church out of a rented building and into a larger building that will be there own.
Promise #3: Recover the lost and the stolen: We were given the example of David and his men when they went to war with the Philistines. When they returned to their homes in Ziklag everything was gone. David first strengthened himself in the Lord and then asked for direction of what to do. They recovered everything. In the churches we have had people leave. Some have gone to other churches while others have simply stopped serving God. The reasons, in many cases, have been hurts and offenses that the enemy has used to move people away from the plan of God in their lives.
One example of what is happening is a telephone call that I received three weeks ago. One of the leaders that had left the church a number of years ago offended and had gone to minister in another church called me and asked to talk with me. He said that the Lord had told him and his family to return. He had already talked with his present pastor and received confirmation. They are now back and looking on how to restore the ministry that they had in the church before they left.
There are still three more promises that the LORD has given us in financial areas as well as areas of authority in our lives. These promised will also overtake us this year even as we are seeing these first promises coming to pass.
We have also enjoyed the visit of a group of youth from San Antonio, Texas that spent their Spring Break with us painting churches and working with the children. I know that they returned exhausted but blessed.
We invite you to sow in this fertile ground as we pray rich blessings upon all you who support and pray for this ministry. We covet your prayers and your faithful offerings.
Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman
March/ April 2010
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