CHRIST IS ALL
Spring 2005 (March, April, May)
Dear Friend in Christ,
I often attend Sunday
morning church in the home of Pastor and Mrs. Hayashi here in the town of
Matsuida where I live. Besides his family, there are usually only about 4 to 8
other people in attendance, and most of them are children and teenagers.
Usually Pastor and Mrs. Hayashi and I are the only adults attending. In March,
a Japanese high school girl who attends his church quite regularly made the
decision to receive Christ as her Saviour. That was a great joy to the Hayashis
and me. I think it best not to put her name in this open letter, but please
pray for her. Typically Satan assaults a new Japanese Christian with all his
might, trying to turn them from Christ. Please pray that she will cleave to the
Lord, and grow spiritually by reading the Bible, praying, and attending church
services. No one else in her family is a Christian. So please pray for her
parents and her brother and his family to be saved.
Since
returning to Japan on February 25th, I have distributed tracts and
Christian literature to a total of over 4,000 houses here in Matsuida, the
nearby town of Haruna, and nearby cities of Annaka, Tomioka, and Takasaki. I
pray that the Holy Spirit will deal with the hearts of those who receive this Gospel
literature, causing them to read it and to think seriously on the Bible
messages in it. Would you please pray for them too?
In
April, a Japanese lady who lives several miles away drove to my house with the
literature I had left at her house. She said that her religion was different,
so she wanted to return that Christian literature. I told her that it was fine
with me for her to return it if she did not want it. Then she started lecturing
me on how wrong it was of me to leave Christian literature at people’s houses
because it offended her. As kindly as possible, I told her that Jesus Christ is
the True God, the Saviour of the world, the One Way to Heaven, that there is
salvation and eternal life in Christ alone, and that He loves her with a
perfect love. Tho she was standing inside the front door of my house,
she did not want to hear that at all. So she kept interrupting me as I tried to
talk to her. Still, with God’s Help, I did my best to tell her of her need for
Christ and His salvation. I told her that Christ’s death on the cross was for
her personally, taking the punishment of her sins in her place, so that she
would not have to go to Hell to be punished for them. I told her that she could
receive God’s forgiveness and eternal life by repenting and trusting in Christ.
The more I talked to her, the madder she got, kept talking devilish nonsense as
I talked, and soon stalked off. Since then, I have been praying for the Holy
Spirit to keep reminding her of the things I said. And I pray that she will be convicted,
and will repent to God. Please pray for her.
More
recently, after leaving literature at the door of a house, a man came out of
the house and called to me as I was leaving. When I walked back to him, he
subtly indicated that he did not want it, tho he had not even glanced at it. I
took the packet of literature in both of my hands (which shows politeness to an
Oriental person) and held it out to him, telling him that it explained
salvation in Jesus Christ. Whereupon he quickly closed the screen door between
him and me as he smiled most cunningly. So I sadly left with the Words of Life
that I had held forth to him. “Holding forth the word of
life.” (Phil 2:16)
On
another day, as I left a Gospel packet at a different house, an elderly
Japanese lady was sitting just inside the open door watching me. She quickly
told me that she didn’t want what I had left; tho she had not seen the
contents. I told her that it was teaching about salvation in Jesus Christ,
whereupon she again firmly told me that she did not want it. So I complied with
her request and took the literature with me. In such cases, I could walk away;
leaving the literature there, praying that the Holy Spirit will deal with them
to read it. But ignoring their “command” to take it away would probably only
offend them more. Tho our Lord Jesus desires that no one perish, still He
doesn’t push Himself onto anyone. It is heartbreaking to see these Japanese so
opposed to their Creator God. Please pray with me, for God to break down their
stony hearts and work repentance in them. There is unlimited power in prayer,
and I so much appreciate you praying for these Japanese people to whom I am
proclaiming Christ.
On
April 29th, I started going up the mountain a few days each week to
the nearby resort town of Karuizawa, and there preaching on the streets and
giving out tracts. Thus far, a few thousand Japanese people have heard me
preaching as they walk past. May the Holy Spirit convict them of their lost
condition and lead them to the Saviour of the world. Thank you so much for
praying for these lost Japanese. And thank you for praying for me as I preach
to them. For those of you who gave offerings during the spring, I thank you for
that financial help. May God bless you abundantly and reward you many fold. You
are so good to me, and I appreciate it more than you can know. God bless you as
you live for Him.
Christ’s unprofitable servant,
Richard Yerby