John Cook's Monthly Newsletter Report
Guyana Activity Report, John Cook, One-Way Evangelistic Ministries- April 2010
Hello everyone,
Thank you all for your faithful prayers and support. Resurrection week ended with our 6 AM Service, closing a wonderful week of meetings in a different home each afternoon. I instituted an adult bible study that meets Wednesday evening at 5:45 PM sharp and Sundays at 9:00 AM sharp! Each session goes about 40 minutes and we are studying Eschatology and Revelation. Most of the people in the church have had a chronological study of the Bible using either All That The Prophets Have Spoken, The Stranger On The Road To Emmaus, the Lamb Picture Book (GoodSeed, Intl), or Firm Foundations (NTM). Because a proper understanding of Revelation requires background knowledge contained in the Prophets, Matthew and the books to the Thessalonians, for example, we have been focusing on these materials.
Our normal transportation, a 1-ton lorry has been down for maintenance with a couple of broken leaf springs. One of the men in the church is in charge of taking care of the repairs. So my vehicle has been used to shuttle people to and from church.
We are having a sign made for our bottom house church, as we did not have one. I will be picking it up tomorrow.
I am pleased to report the continued assistance of the young men in the Church.
Some members of our church have decided to join me in a visit to the New Amsterdam Hospital Sunday after Church. On our first visit, I asked a Muslim family of 12 if they would like prayer in Jesus' name. Then immediately, I asked if they would like me to share something from the Bible. They agreed, so I shared from John 1:23,29. After that, I once again joined a Muslim friend of mine, Roshan, who had invited me to join him to distribute meals among inmates in an Old Folks Home his family had prepared. Once again, I was able to share a gospel message from the Bible with the inmates and him listening.
The parents of little two year-old, Udish, asked me to come to Georgetown Hospital when he has been recovering from his 8-hour heart surgery of April 12. I returned from there this afternoon 2 1/2 hours ago. Udish is unable to speak, but can make some weak whines. I noticed that he responds very well to his father who was present. He is able to raise and lower his right arm, and he actually squeezed my fingers while I was reading him a story. He can also stretch his legs and pull them towards him, but I did not see him raise his legs up. He did move the toes of his left foot too. Obviously he has a way to go in his recovery. I asked permission of his parents ans Willow, our driver, to share from the Bible. They are Hindu. Since they agreed, I was able to share the Gospel using John 1:23,29, which is below.
I thank the Lord for the opportunities to share the gospel among Hindus and Muslims, as well as others. Please pray for the family of Udish, that they would trust in Jesus and cast off Hinduism, and of course that Udish would soon recover. Please pray for the salvation of Roshan and his family. Please pray for the salvation of driver Willow, whose two daughters have so faithfully been teaching our Sunday School children.
I thank the Lord for your prayers and support in this ministry.
Your brother in Christ,
John Cook
The setting is AD 30 near Bethany beyond the Jordan River, where John was baptizing, just a few Km South of the Sea of Galilee. The religious leaders sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask a man named John, what gave him the right to baptize Jews. John replied
READ John 1:23: /I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Make straight the way of the LORD,' as the prophet Isaiah said./
Quoting from the Prophet Isaiah's words (written in 681 BC), John said, /I am the...one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way for the LORD!/ John's use of this prophesy must have appalled his interrogators. He claimed /the LORD/ Himself was the reason for his baptizing. /The LORD/ would come to earth as a result of John's ministry! Our text continues, The very next day, at the same location.
READ John 1:29: /The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'/
John /saw Jesus coming toward him/. It was then that John made the singular proclamation, /Behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!/ What did John mean by describing Jesus as /the Lamb of God/?
I) /The Lamb
/ Lambs are docile, meek and helpless animals (we have lots of them in Edinburgh). The Bible teaches us that male lambs from the stables of Bethlehem had been used as sacrifices at the altar in Jerusalem since the days of King David. It was very important that these male lambs be blemish free. They had to be perfect males to be accepted by the LORD as sacrifices. These innocent animals would then be killed at the altar. But what was the reason for these sacrifices?
II) /takes away sin/
The Bible says that men would bring these perfect male lambs as Substitute sacrifices. The reason for this was because of sin, for the Bible tells us that, 'There is not a just man on earth that does good and does not sin' (Eccl 7:20). When the person brought the lamb to the altar, he would put his hands on the head of the lamb and confess his sin and that of his family to God. It was as if the sin passed from the man onto the lamb. Now, the Bible tells us that, 'A person shall be put to death for his own sin' (Dt 24:16). Death is the penalty for sin. But since the lamb now had the man's sin, it would die instead of the man or his family. The lamb would be the man's substitute. Additionally, on the Day of Atonement, God said that one perfect male lamb would die for the sin of the whole Nation for that year.
But, if a person refused to believe God about his provision for sin, he would have to die and spend eternity in the Lake of Fire, because sin offends our eternal Holy God.
III) On seeing Jesus, John said, /Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world/.
In our passage, John was prophesying that Only One substitute sacrifice would take away /the sin of the/ whole /world/- all sin, past, present and future. In other words, the penalty for all sin would finally be paid once and for all. People would not have to go to an altar and sacrifice animals anymore. John specifically identified /Jesus/ as God's /lamb/. The lamb that God Himself had selected as the perfect substitute sacrifice for sin.
Concl: John baptized Jesus later that day, marking the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry. Jesus lived a sin-free life, 'nor was any deceit in his mouth' (Isa 53:9). Three years later, Jesus fulfilled John's prophesy about 'the lamb of God' when he willingly allowed himself to be killed by crucifixion on a cross and be buried in a tomb. Jesus' resurrection from the dead on the 3rd day and subsequent ascension into Heaven 40 days later are proof that his death paid the penalty for the sin of the whole world. 'The Lamb of God' proved that he had indeed come down from Heaven and was our substitute sacrifice for sin. John's ministry had prepared /the way for the LORD/, who is Jesus! As the prophets who wrote the Bible all testified. So anyone who rejects Jesus as /the lamb of God/, rejects God Himself and must therefore pay his own sin debt- an eternal payment- an eternal separation from God. Therefore, all people need to trust in God's lamb as payment for their sin, because there is no other provision for sin than the LORD Jesus, /the Lamb of God/.
