The Rapture Didnt Happen Today

Hey guys n gals,

Well, May 21st came and went, and, as expected, nothing happened. Here we are, and I seriously doubt that anyone who knows his/her Bible is nearly as disappointed as the followers of Harold Camping. Its should come as no surprise that there are those who make such predictions. We've seen this act before, and each time some wacko takes the stage with his bold predictions about the end of the world, we roll our eyes and wish he would just shut up and stop embarrassing the rest of us.
After all, the enemy loves to discredit the church by exploiting these false prophets. Leave it to him to take full advantage of every opportunity to make us all look like a bunch of fruitcakes. How else does a man like Harold Camping gain such instant recognition? Someone is pulling strings.

That is not the purpose of today's message to you, however. Instead I would like to look at it from another angle, if you will permit.
When suppertime on May 21st came and went, and you first realized that you were still here, what did you first think of? Aside from the fact that every believer would far rather be with the Lord, what was the first thing you thought of about life here on earth? Some people maybe were relieved that they could still get married someday. Some thought about the fact that they still hadnt experienced the joy of raising children. Some were relieved that they could still finish that big business deal, or that new thing they were about to purchase. What was it for you?
Did you think about your family? Were you glad that you or they were still around? Or were all your thoughts turned inward?

The best thing, and often the most forgotten and least spoken of, is that we still have time to reach out to our lost friends, neighbors, and loved ones. Those who we care about who have yet to repent and trust the Savior. God is still being longsuffering and patient with them, giving them more time to repent. Were you relieved that there was still time for your family to come to Christ? Were you grateful that you were still given time to reach out and share the gospel with those you love?
Perhaps you were feeling a little perplexed inside in the last few days leading up to the supposed day of the rapture because you knew you had not been faithful to share with people as you should. Often when people have near-death experiences they say that all they could think about was the regret of the things they should have done in life, but never did. Their experience changes their priorities in life.

If the rapture had happened today, how many people in your life, whether at work, at school, in your family, in your neighborhood, etc., are there that you would wish you had tried harder to reach with the gospel of Jesus Christ? How many of them could point an accusing finger at you on Judgment Day and ask, "Why didn't you tell me?!" Think about it.
It is my hope that we can take a lesson from May 21st that will actually be useful. As the world sits back and laughs at God's promise, let us realize that one day that promise will become reality, and the very thing they once laughed and scoffed at will really happen. One day the laughter of the world will turn to mourning. One day the church will be gone and many people will be left to face the full wrath of God in the tribulation. One day, the world will stand before Him and the books will be opened, and anyone whose name is not found written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire.
We have been give one great commission here on earth. Let us be true and faithful witnesses. Let us be good and faithful servants. Don't waste your time building your own empire, but spend your life building the kingdom of God. One day, it will be your last day. Leave this life with no regrets. Think about it.
Until next time,
See you on the streets!

Testimonies from India 2011

Hey guys n gals,

Here are some testimonies of faith, healing, and deliverance from our trip. Many people have been converted to the glory of God the Father, and many have had their lives changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. I received this email today and wanted to forward it on to you...

Dear most respected Brother Billy, Bill, Brice, Jack, and Jack in Christ,

Greetings to you all in the most precious name of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. I thank you so much for visiting our Ministry in India. We will be thankful to you for your successful preaching and Ministry.

I thank you Brothers especially for the Crusades. Nearly 5,000 people heard the message of Jesus Christ in 3 days. Our Pastors estimated that 2,045 people were came to know Jesus and first time they were converted. All this Glory will go to Jesus Christ. Many of these people who heard Message of Jesus Christ came to this meeting for many diseases and Sickness. Over 600 people were healed. Out of this I am writing only the high lights of the healing.

1. Two woman who possessed with Demon spirit for over 15 years were completely healed. Many thanks from the two woman and from their families for casting out demons from them, permanently.

2. A Boy who was born as mentally RETARTED When family have lost Hope, and Doctors are also said he would die soon. But he was completely healed from his Brain, Nerves and his Chest Bones were normal.

3. A Woman who had Fits(Seizures) for over 30 years, she was completely healed.

4. 10 Woman with issue of Blood were completely healed, their bleeding was stopped.

5. 6 Woman were completely healed from Migraine and head ach.

6. A Paralyzed man was completely healed, he is walking.

7. A Boy who was born as deaf and Dumb he could hear and speaking.

8. Many people who had back pain were healed.

9.A couple who do not have Children and Doctors declared that they would not get Children, now the wife was pregnant.

10. Marriage relations between 5 couples were reestablished .

12. Many who do not have peace, Christ restored and comforted them with Peace and Joy.

13. A young boy got Government Job.

15. One Family enemies who are giving trouble turned as friends to this family.

Brother, I thank you so much for praying for the Hindu man near the evening Crusades who had house. He also heard you preaching through PA System and God touched his heart and he promised us that he would not give us any more trouble. What a wonderful thing God has done through your preaching of Jesus Christ. I invite all your Friends and Calvary Chapel to visit us and save many thousands of souls every year. May God richly bless you all,

Thanking you Brother,

Yours in Lord Jesus Christ,

Dr.K.S.Kumar.

Incredible! The Lord is doing amazing things in India. Thank you for your continued prayer for this place and these people. All glory and honor and praise to the One who sits on the throne!

India 2011 Day 12

Day 12

Wow, twelve days of full on ministry blow by pretty fast. We are all stunned by how quickly the time went, but also very anxious to get home to our families. 15 days is a long time to be away from your wife and children, and although we have had a lot of good times and great fellowship, we are all feeling pretty lonely and are eager to get on the plane. Extra special thanks to Josh and his family for opening up their home and hosting our team for 6 nights. Here you can see Josh, his wife Dorathy, son Elijah, and his parents.

Its Easter Sunday, and we have sunrise services to be at. Josh and I dropped Brice and Bill off at a church at 5:00 am and headed to his church for the early morning service. I spoke here last year and had a great time and met a lot of people. They were in the beginning stages of expanding the church building last year, and we stood on the foundation of the addition and prayed for God’s blessing on the project, so I was excited to see what had happened in a year.
It was encouraging to see the walls and roof up. They have different building styles and practices in India. It takes a long time and a lot of hard work to build. I could see that they had been working all year on it.

Zach L and Zach S were picked up from Josh’s around 7:00 to go back to Caleb’s church and finish firing off part two of his electrifying sermon series, so when we returned, they were just getting started. We took some much needed rest and waited for them to arrive. We all packed our bags because we would be heading straight to the airport from the evening crusades.

The crusades went well again, with a lot of new faces. There were many non-Christians coming out every night. When the call to repentance was made, the majority of the crowd stood to their feet to call upon the name of the Lord. It was wonderful to see so many people forsake the bondage of Hinduism for the salvation that is found in Jesus Christ. We were able to pray for many people once again and show them that we really care for them.

In the three nights of crusades we held in Vandalur, we packed the building out. I have no idea exactly how many it would hold, but I am guessing between 400-500. Each night, many lost souls were coming forward for eternal life for the glory of God. How awesome it is to be used as a tool in his mighty hands. We prayed and praised God together with Caleb and his senior pastor before leaving. The team is totally fired up and ready to come home and testify to the hand of God on this trip.

Seeing all this incredible fruit puts things into perspective for us as far as all the fundraising went. Sometimes we sure got sick of selling those donuts, and I am sure some of you got sick of eating them, but now that we have seen how far one dollar will go in a place like this, it makes it all seem like it was too easy. What an exciting trip we had! We are eager to come home and share it first hand with you and answer all of your questions.

We did have a glitch at the airport. Thank God for our dear brother John. He is Josh’s brother –in-law, who works at the airport. He met us at check-in and helped us through. It was a good thing, too because Lufthansa had somehow lost all of our information and did not have us on the flight at all. If it had not been for John, I am not sure we would have gotten on the plane. He really went to bat for us and they ended up calling headquarters at Frankfurt and printing us boarding passes. It took a long time and we began to seriously doubt whether or not they were going to get us out of India on Monday. But, after about a half hour, they came out of the back with our boarding passes printed up.

Then, good ole John marched us right through the long line at customs and put us in the diplomat line, so we cruised right through. We followed him all the way to the executive lounge reserved for first class passengers and he got us inside, where we enjoyed complimentary drinks, snacks, and internet service. When our flight began boarding, he marched us straight through the first class line so we didn’t have to wait, and then as I gave them my ticket, they pulled me aside and offered me a business class upgrade. Wow! Praise the Lord! I remembered when we were having trouble at the check-in counter that I was telling the guys it was a blessing in disguise, because perhaps the Lord was going to get us free upgrades because of the inconvenience, but they were a bunch of doubting Thomases. I rebuked them (playfully, of course) and told them they needed to dream big with me. Then, what happens? God blesses me with an upgrade! I am quite certain that my good buddy John had something to do with it, but I believe it was ultimately from the Lord. I walked down to the plane with the biggest grin you’ve ever seen. 10 hours is a long time to fly in a coach seat, but even as I write this we are descending for landing and I can say I could sit here for another 10, no problem. May God pour out a massive blessing on John!

We are almost home, and I can’t wait to see my family. I am also excited to bring our testimonies to all of you who have stood with us financially and in prayer. We are forever grateful to you, and I am fired up for you and the treasures you are building in heaven. Thank you brothers and sisters. This wouldnt happen without your support!

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Until the nets are full,

See you on the streets!

India 2011 Day 11

Day 11

Saturday. We have been so busy every day for the last 10 days straight. Today we have a bit of a lighter load. All we have for speaking is the crusade tonight, and Zach Lamberson is delivering the message, so I have a day off.

We are using the day to get all of our shopping done. All of us have families and loved ones to buy things for, so we headed to the mall. The new mall here is actually pretty impressive. It is very modern and everything is new. Its hard to believe you are in India when you walk in this place. Everyone got their souvenirs and filled out their gift lists. We also purchased a bunch of sari’s, handbags, purses, silks, and jewelry for a church dinner/fundraiser when we return. We are planning on having a night at the church with dinner and an auction to give testimonies about the trip and raise some more funds for the ministry. Its more for giving encouragement than for raising money, but we know that many people asked us to get these items for them, so we are hoping this will be a win/win for everyone.

We went to the crusades and enjoyed some more great worship and colorful skits. Zach got up and preached the lights out, challenging them to respond to the gospel. Caleb and his church were excited to see many new faces there, and even more so when the call to make a decision was made. At least a hundred more people stood to their feet and prayed to receive Christ when the call was made. We all rejoiced in the Lord and his mighty power as we were witnesses to so many changed lives.

We asked them to come forward for prayer again and laid hands on many sick people, many people suffering with bondage to addiction, and many people, young and old, seeking the blessing of God on their lives. It is such an honor and privilege to be used by the Lord in the changing of a life for good.

We are seeing the fruit of your prayers. Keep up the good fight! We only have one day left!

India 2011 Day 10

Day 10

Its Friday morning and we are all realizing how fast the time has slipped by. We have a full agenda today, packed with great ministry. Today is Good Friday, so there are church services this morning that we are to speak at. The plan is to split up into groups of two and hit three different churches at once.

Zach L and Zach S teamed up and went to Caleb’s church in Vandalur. They held their Good Friday services in the same building that we rented for the crusades. From what I heard, the place was packed out and Zach preached part one of a rip-roaring sermon series that he would finish up on Sunday.

Brice and Bill G went to the same place as the orphanage we visited yesterday. The pastor of the church built the orphanage on the second story of his church. There were many people who came to listen to the word of God.

Josh and I went to pastor Rajendran’s church, the place where we held our first pastor’s conferences in Chennai. This pastor was the one who put our crusades together last year in his village. Josh is a great guy to work with in terms of preaching and getting translation across.

The team regrouped at Josh’s place after the meeting and got some rest before heading back to Vandalur for our first night of crusades. Its about an hour drive to get there. We have to hold the crusades indoors this year because the government won’t allow any public demonstrations or rallies of any kind until next month. The state of Tamil Nadu just held elections last week, and they will not publicize the results until next month. There is potential for a huge power shift, so they expect riots or demonstrations no matter who wins. So, they are not allowing us to hold our crusades outdoors because of this reason.

Caleb found a meeting hall that we could rent out. The place is small, but it has a second level, where we set up a couple of big screen TVs with a live feed of the meeting downstairs. I would say the maximum occupancy for us would be about 500. I have to admit I was a little disappointed at first about the building, but it turned out to be the hand of God. God makes all things work together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.

I say this because it started to rain on Friday. Not just a little rain, but heavy enough to have spoiled our crusades, had they been outside. We would have been rained out if it were not for the building. Praise the Lord for going before us and preparing the way!

The place packed out on the first night. There were all sorts of cool dances and skits that Caleb’s youth performed, followed by dynamic worship led by Josh and Caleb. Zach Smith gave a brief greeting and then I launched into the gospel. When we did the altar call, 75-80% of the crowd stood to their feet and cried out to God in repentance. It was powerful and moving to see so many people eager to receive God’s forgiveness in Christ.

We asked them to come forward after we prayed so that we could lay hands on them individually and pray for their specific needs, and many came to the altar for all sorts of requests. The team is really fired up now, as we are continuing to see the same hunger for God in this place. We are excited to see what else the Lord has in store for us over the next few days.

We’ll keep on sending the updates as time and internet service allows. Thank you for your prayers, brothers and sisters. You are doing battle in spiritual realms and we are winning victory after victory by the power of God!