CHRIST IS ALL
Summer (June, July, August) 2005
Dear Friend in Christ,
On the last Sunday morning
back in May, a 46 year-old Japanese woman attended church services for the
first time at Pastor Hayashi’s house here in Matsuida. He was preaching at a
Chinese church in Tokyo that morning, so I brought the message at his house.
Two days later, this woman came to my house for Bible and prayer. I talked to
her from the Bible about salvation in Christ and prayed for her. Then I asked
her if she wanted to trust in Christ as her Saviour. She said that she did and
then she prayed aloud, repenting of her sins and asking for forgiveness and for
Christ to be her Saviour. How it blessed me to hear that prayer. She asked me
several questions about living a Christian life and such. And with God as my
Helper, I tried my best to answer her from the Bible. I gave her a Bible and
urged her to read it and to pray daily. The next Sunday she again came to
church, and both Pastor and Mrs. Hayashi talked to her from the Bible about what
it means to trust in Christ and to have God’s salvation and eternal life. They
also prayed for her. Since then, she attends church regularly.
She has cancer and that is
one reason she sought the Lord. But I believe that she is sincere in her
decision to repent and trust in Christ. She has been receiving medical
treatment for the cancer, and is in pain and is quite weak. It blesses me to
see her come to church in spite of that. She is depressed about the cancer and
says that it lifts her spirit greatly to come to church. At church, we pray for
her and encourage her in every way we can. We are praying that her husband and
2 teenage sons will soon trust in Christ as their Saviour. Would you please
pray for their salvation and pray for the health of this new Christian woman,
and for her to grow spiritually. I know she would greatly appreciate your
prayers.
Since late April, I have
preached quite frequently on the crowded main street of the nearby summer
resort town of Karuizawa. One day, 2 Japanese ladies who appeared to be in
their forties read aloud the written message I had on display; “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Upon reading that, they both erupted into laughter. As kindly as I
could I told them that was no laughing matter, that it was God’s eternal truth,
and that all people who reject Christ perish in Hell. With a lot of effort they
both managed to keep straight faces as I talked to them, but again erupted into
snickering as they walked away. Japanese people are known for being
straight-faced and not prone to laugh. But as I preach to them out in public,
many are most prone to laugh at any Bible message. But Christ-rejecting humans
are not the only beings known for laughter. Their Creator has warned them, “I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when
your fear cometh.” (Proverbs 1:26) Oh how pitiful their fate. Therefore I often
intercede in prayer for them to repent. Would you please pray for God to have
mercy on them and lead them to repentance.
Another time when I was
preaching on that street, a man stopped right in front of me and listened.
After a while I began to talk to him personally about salvation in Christ.
Whereupon, he commenced talking to me about his heathen religion. I soon asked
him to stop that because I was not there to hear about the devil’s religion,
but rather was there to proclaim the True God to him. Tho it is heartbreaking
to daily face a multitude of lost souls so set against God’s Truth, I feel so
privileged to be here to proclaim Christ to them. May God keep me faithful in
preaching Christ to them and praying for them.
In late July, I went about 60
miles from where I live, to down near Tokyo, and joined other missionaries and
Japanese Christians for 2 days as they did outdoor evangelism. We would go to a
school early each morning and pass out tracts to students as they came to
school. Then we went from house to house, leaving Gospel literature while the
driver of our van slowly drove around broadcasting the Gospel over loudspeakers
on the vehicle. Then in mid-afternoon, we went to a different school and passed
out booklets to students as they left school. May God save many of those who
heard and read Gospel messages.
One of the Japanese Christian
men working with us, Mr. Matsuo, until a short time ago, was unsaved and was
homeless in Tokyo. He heard the Gospel when this group of Christians broadcast
it near the large train station where he hung out. At first, he thought it was
foolish teaching and that they were so foolish for broadcasting it. “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness…”
But after listening to it for some time, he
repented of his sins and asked Christ to save him. Now that homeless man has a
home in Heaven. Also he is now out in public spreading the same Gospel message
he first thought to be so foolish. Amen! Please pray for Mr. Matsuo to grow in
grace, and for many other lost Japanese to get saved when they hear or read the
Gospel. Prayer is so important. Let us pray without ceasing.
On the last Sunday morning in
August, I preached in the Union Church in Karuizawa. Presently, it only has
services from late July to the end of August each year. During that time
several missionaries and other Christians come to Karuizawa to attend Christian
conferences, do evangelistic work, and to vacation in the cool mountain climate
there. I felt honored that they invited me to preach the last Sunday they had
services there this year. About 40 people were present, mostly missionaries,
and I preached in English. I exhorted them to continue to be faithful in letting
God’s marvelous Light shine in this land of spiritual darkness. I pray that the
message encouraged them.
It means so much to me that
you pray for me and for the many lost Japanese people God is enabling me to
preach to. May God richly bless you for praying. For you who gave me offerings
during the summer, that was such a help to me. Thank you for being so generous
to me. May God repay you many fold over for your giving. May God be with you to
bless, protect, and help you, as we stand for God in these perilous times.
Christ’s unprofitable servant,
Richard Yerby