Court with freedom fighters in South Sudan in 2001 - see update on Sudan below.

 Dear Friends and Followers of Jesus Christ, 

Available in Print - The Cost of Freedom by Court Wood

In Jesus' Name Ministries has published a beautiful 16 page booklet, giving the history and importance of Freedom to the Kingdom of God; Its origins in God, its loss through the disobedience of Adam, its restoration through our Lord Jesus Christ, and its preservation through the sacrifice and obedience of courageous men and women throughout history. For copies let our office know and we will be happy to send you a free copy, or several for distribution. Following is a copy of the cover.

Christians slaughtered by Muslims in a mass grave, near Jos, Nigeria. When our courier visits Nigeria, with gifts of love from our American brethren, our hearts are bound together and we "fulfill the law of Christ." Gal 6:2

Have the American Churches "no Pity"?

The Answer is No to the Leadership!

(We have forsaken the freedom and love associated with the "law of Christ" to "carry each other's burdens," and in exchange allowed others to place us back into bondage under the law)

By Court Wood

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?  Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."  1 John 3:17-18

First I want to thank the pastors, churches, families, and individuals who have already taken to heart, very seriously, the sufferings of the body of Christ, their family, around the world. I trust these words will strengthen your hearts, and bless you, as you continue to pray for, help, and speak out for, the Lord and His brethren, in whom He lives.

A Christian widow in  the Philippines, standing by her former home. She now has a much better home to live in, provided by the love and gifts of her American brethren. She faithfully rides a bus one hour each week to church.

 The dictionary defines pity as "having compassion, sympathy, mercy, kindness, and understanding."  To escape pity, one must find an excuse to avoid our duty to help our fellow Christians in need. 

I am not speaking here the so called "social gospel." I reject the notion that Christians have an obligation to help all the poor and suffering of this world. I reject the frequent guilt placed upon Christians, all too often seen in evangelical churches and ministries, pressuring us to help the world. We are  to "do good to all men, but especially the household of faith." We are to show mercy and grace to all men, but we have a unquestionable and great responsibility to help our brethren in Christ, the brethren of the Lord (See Matthew 25:31-46). When the new Testament speaks of helping "brethren" it is clearing speaking of fellow Christians, and indeed only those Christians of proven character who are in difficulty due to persecution or hardship beyond their control. Trying to help the world in general would soon exhaust and drain the Kingdom of God.

This Pakistan Christian was married with children. His murder will go unpunished. We are seeing a Christian holocaust in the Islamic countries. Very little help is reaching our brethren.

Our Lord in Matthew 25:31-46 clearly tells us that when He comes in His glory, and all the nations are gathered before Him, the genuiness of our faith (whether we are sheep or goats) will be judged by our care, or lack of care, for Christians who were suffering, and in need. In light of this, how will we, in the prosperous American Christian community, excuse ourselves when we stand before Him, when hundreds of millions of Christians in the world are destitute, and often unable to feed, clothe, and get medical care, for their own families; not because they are lazy, but because they live as followers of Jesus Christ in Hindu, Buddhist, Communist, and Muslim nations.  These Christians are despised because of their association with Jesus Christ and the Word of God.  These are our brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, and sons and daughters, in the faith of Jesus Christ.  Christians born in America are a fortunate few in the Kingdom of God, blessed by God not for our own comfort, but for the strengthening of all the family of God, and for the sharing of the gospel with the lost.

The apostle Paul, speaking of his own

Pastor G. Isaiah and his wife with Court in front of their thatched roof home. He has asked if we could help his family to have a better home. He has prayed and waited for 3 years. These poor brethren are "rich in faith." When we embrace and help them, we too are richly rewarded by our Lord, and our brethren "pray for us and their hearts go out to us." 2 Cor 9:14

afflictions, and sufferings, admonished the Corinthian church concerning their untimely ease and comfort. The vast majority of persecuted pastors and Christians in our world today could very fairly speak these same words of Paul to the American Christian community. I know many of them personally and I can tell you they are too kind and gracious to quote this passage to their American brethren, but I am not so kind since I know for our own good we need to read these words, however painful they are, and take them to heart. 

"You think you already have everything you need! You are already rich! Without us you have become kings! I wish you really were on your thrones already, for then we would be reigning with you!  But sometimes I think God has put us apostles on display, like prisoners of war at the end of a victor's parade, condemned to die. We have become a spectacle to the entire world-to people and angels alike. Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you are so wise! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are well thought of, but we are laughed at.  To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, without enough clothes to keep us warm. We have endured many beatings, and we have no homes of our own.  We have worked wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us.  We respond gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world's garbage, like everybody's trash-right up to the present moment."  1 Cor. 4:8-13

A church burned by militant Hindus in Orissa State India.

In America, most Christians are prosperous, especially when compared to the vast majority of the world's Christian community.  America has been blessed only because of the Christian foundation carefully established and upheld by our forefathers. Ours is a heritage which has blessed not only this great nation, but the entire world.  But, as Christians, we are members of a greater nation, the Kingdom of God.  We are citizens of Heaven.  And how are the citizens of this eternal Kingdom (the brethren of the Lord) faring today in this world? According to a report from Senator Brownback's office several years ago (The situation today is unquestionably worse): "200,000,000 Christians experience severe persecution, and 400,000,000 Christians experience serious discrimination."  They suffer because they identify with Jesus Christ. Their discrimination often results in their being disowned by their families, divorced by their spouses, denied equal access under the law, and greatly reducing their opportunities for employment, education, and adequate medical care.  Often they are beaten, raped, imprisoned, or killed. These Christians work hard, very hard, and they lack adequate food,

Walking hand in hand with lepers and their families after sharing the gospel. Brethren in Georgia helped to build better housing for these dear saints.

clothing, shelter, and medical care because they love Jesus Christ.  What is our responsibility to them?  They are our brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.  They are the brethren of the Lord.  They are the Body of Christ.  Christ suffers in them, and with them.  What would Jesus Christ, our Lord tell us to do for them?  The answer is obvious.  We are to have pity toward our brethren, and we are to "lay down our lives for our brethren."   

In Hebrews 11 we read of Moses who "chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time."  All these heroes of faith in Hebrews, "did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them."  Hebrews 11:13-16

The benefit and blessings we have received here in America can only be understood from the perspective that we are intended by God to be a blessing to others, especially our less fortunate brethren, in His Name.

A wonderful pastor whose church has regular "collections for God's people."

American Christians are not insensitive, but our pastors are incorrectly taught in most seminaries and Bible schools when it comes to what is obviously the overwhelming focus on giving in the New Testament: Christians    helping fellow Christians. Because our pastors themselves are not well informed of the persecution of the church worldwide, and our New Testament responsibility to help them, it is up to us to study the Scriptures for ourselves.  In our churches, we rarely hear mentioned the needs of our Christian brethren.  Even more rarely mentioned are the clear and frequent instructions of the New Covenant for us to help our brethren.  Instead, we are only instructed to give under the law. And when we place ourselves back under the law, we blind ourselves to the multitude of Scriptures in the New Covenant for us to selflessly help our poor and persecuted brethren. Will we be able to excuse ourselves when we stand before the Lord by saying

Young Christians in Pastor D. Stephen's church in rural India. The thatched roof and walls are covered with newspaper. They need our love and encouragement.

"I tithed?" I think not. Pastors will not be able to excuse themselves for placing their people back under the law and failing to teach New Testament giving. We will have no excuse for our failure to have a "collection for God's people" such as the early church, to help the suffering people of God, in whom Jesus dwells, when more Christians are struggling to survive today than in the history of the church. If we too were barely surviving, we would be excused, but that is far from the case.  In this age of information we will not be able to say "I did not know." Only once did our Lord mention tithing. The law was still in place, not yet "nailed to the cross." Col 2:14  Most important, Jesus was not speaking to his disciples, but rather rebuking the Pharisees, for "tithing" every penny, but neglecting the weightier matters of the law,"justice and mercy."  Not even once did the apostles mention tithing as a practice in the early church, let alone as a requirement. Paul in his epistle to the Galations clearly warns us against falling back under the law in any area of the Christian life. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law." We are now under the higher law of Christ. In giving the goal is no longer a "tithe". Our Lord told us in Luke's gospel: "So then, any of you who does not forsake (renounce, surrender claim to, give up, say good-bye to) all that he has cannot be My disciple."

Sister James, the wife of a godly pastor in Kenya. I have been blessed to share a meal with them in their mud walled home.

 

Christians are never to be placed back under the curse of the law. Frankly, the motives of anyone putting you back under the law are carnal and opposed to the Kingdom of God. Over the years, I have cried out to the Lord asking why the American church is generally blind to the sufferings of her brethren. The answer clearly revealed in the New Covenant is: We are under the law in our giving. Thus, we do not see the "living temple" but rather focus on temples of stone and mortar. Therefore, we simply do not see the suffering of Christ in His people. We do not read the New Covenant for direction in our giving, and seek to help our brethren. We have left the "living way of the spirit" and are under bondage to the law.

 

 "But now we are discharged from the Law and have terminated all intercourse with it, having died to what once restrained and held us captive. So now we serve not under [obedience to] the old code of written regulations, but [under obedience to the promptings] of the Spirit in newness [of life]." Romans 7:6 (AMP)

A godly widow in a poor Christian home I visited in Burma (Myanmar), one of the most repressive dictatorships in the world.

I am an evangelist, and I am so grateful for the brave pioneers of the missionary awakening that took place in the 1800's. Brave men and women traveled to China, India, Burma, Africa, and throughout the world, and tens of thousands followed. As a result all churches today, who hold to the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, have mission budgets, and support evangelism throughout the world.

Today we stand in great need of another awakening. An awakening to the preeminent command of our Lord Jesus Christ for us to "love one another" even as He loved us. John, the Apostle further described this love as "laying down our lives for one another" which he simply and clearly defined as having pity on, and helping our less fortunate brethren.  John went on to say that not helping our brethren is "loving only in word and tongue only." 1John 3:16-16

What a great awakening would follow if we would simply obey the New Testament in the matter of giving. It would bring such encouragement and joy to our brethren to know that they were loved by their American brethren. It would bring a great harvest of souls in the Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and Communist nations, for our Lord told us "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35 Our Lord Jesus further prayed that we would be brought to complete unity to let the world know that His Father sent Him. John 17:23 

In a remote rural are of Kenya, this dedicated Christian young man was able to finish high school, and will possibly be going to college, because of the love and help of his American family in Jesus Christ. I took this photo at his graduation from High School.

I believe pastors are frightened by the prospect of releasing their people from the law. Frankly, they fear their people will give less. This is clearly a lack of faith in the "living way of the Spirit." (Rom 7:6) "Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?"(Galatians 3:5) Sandy and I are blessed to attend a faithful New Testament church. In the two years we have gone there, we have never observed an offering. Once or twice a month those attending are briefly reminded there are a few boxes on the walls (we would not notice them if they were not occasionally brought to our attention). It is a fairly large church (3 weekend services with at least 2,000 attending and growing) and has a considerable budget. There is remarkably little debt which is miraculously disappearing! A few times the teaching elder has taken just a few minutes to mention the need for more classrooms since the church is growing, graciously thank those who are in a position to help, and state that if possible the church would like to retire existing debt before adding more space. Christians give generously and freely in this New Testament approach to giving. Frankly, in the area of giving, there is so much more to teach when referencing the New Testament. But care must be taken to teach the context of the verses which in most cases deal with helping our less fortunate brethren (So we need to include them.) The bottom line for pastors is this: If you are a faithful shepherd of God's people, they will not neglect your personal needs. They will not leave the building mortgage and expenses unpaid. They will want to give generously to missions.

This godly pastor from Srikakulum, India pastors a small congregation of saints from the "Dalit" (untouchable) casts. They are the poorest of the poor in India.

 And if you will let them know of the sufferings of our brethren they will also want to help them generously. And they will do all this freely, not under a curse, but cheerfully, not for rewards in this life as promised by the law, but for treasure in Heaven, as promised by our Lord. 

New Testament obedience in our giving would bring true riches to the American church as we began to heed the counsel of our Lord to the Church at Laodicea: "You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see." Revelation 3:17-18

 

Helping our brethren is the path to buy from (the Lord) gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. "So don't be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom. Sell what you have and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven have no holes in them. Your treasure will be safe-no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it. Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be." Luke 12:32-34  

 

"We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, 

 

whom God has given to those who obey Him."Acts 5:32  

2009, after sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in the Philippines, with some of the poorest people I have ever met, we took time for a photo together. Frequently I hear of poor Christians dying for lack of simple medical care and antibiotics. I hope to return next February.

Thank you for standing with us as we prayerfully seek to be a voice for the Lord,

and for His people.

 

Link to In Jesus' Name Ministries Website