Scattered, Gathered and Sent

Scattered:

The story of the Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal is very sad.  They are largely a forgotten people.  These refugees fled to Nepal almost 20 years ago.  They were an ethnic and religious minority living in the southwestern part of Bhutan.  They are ethnically of Nepalese descent several hundred years ago.  They are also Hindus in a land that is religiously Tibetan Bhuddist.   In the early 1980's they began to experience losses;   loss of land, loss of their language in schools, loss of legal rights, and eventually even loss of citzenship.  They were beaten, imprisoned, raped, and forced out of Bhutan.  As a people, most had never heard the name Jesus.  They were unreached as a people with no exposure to the Gospel living in a land where Christianity is illegal.  Over 100,000 were "scattered" to the South Eastern corner of Nepal and set up in United Nations refugee camps.  

Gathered:

As a result of severe trials, persecution and eventual relocation in refugee camps, God has created a longing in their hearts for "true citizenship and belonging".  Because they have been in U.N. camps,  religious freedom is allowable.  Over their 18 years of unsettledness, God has brought the Gospel of hope and freedom in Jesus Christ to them through relief workers.  Slowly they have been responding to the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Small churches have begun to spring up.  Hearts and lives have been transformed.  God has been preparing  hearts to hear about Jesus through their first ever Evangelistic festival.  As we spoke to them about Jesus Christ, as the pastors and churches prayed, the Holy Spirit moved in power to convict of sin and draw hearts to Jesus.  Thousands responded to the Good News of Jesus Christ.  God is "gathering" the lost.  They are no longer without hope in the world.

To be Sent:

And now, in the preordained purposes of God - He is sending them to the nations.  The camps are slowly being closed.  Although Bhutan will not take the refugees back and Nepal does not want them, God Does!  Over the next five years all the camps will be closed and the refugees will be resettled as permanent citizens in various countries around the world.  We were absolutely amazed to see how God removed them from their land and homes, brought them to a place to hear the Gospel and grow in their faith, and how he is now sending them into the world.  Their testimony is powerful.  Their witness to a lost and dying world is compelling.  They have been commissioned by God through various trials and sufferings to be "image bearers" of Jesus Christ to the world. 

They have been "scattered, gathered, and sent."

Where is God sending you?

"It Is Finished!"

Mike recently preached at Vast Church in Sisters, Oregon.  His sermon was titled "It Is Finished!"  as he wrapped up a series that had been focused on the 4 gospels.
Take a listen!      http://www.vastchurch.com/wp/portfolio/1-15-2012-sermon-podcast/     Simply click on the play button and you should be in business!
Mike will be preaching at Sisters Community Church on February 26th.