God's works through men; part 2

We seldom see how significant our works for the Lord are. You may have just read the first part of our mission’s trip story today. This is the second part, added because of not only an event that preceded it, but also one that followed it. Building the church for the Filipinos was the middle of a series of what we call “God appointments.”


When Dave and I arrived in the Philippines with our team we spent the first night in a hotel, called “Shalom.” This was the setting for our first encounter. While sleeping that night I had a night vision of robed angels singing to us. They were standing in the parking lot and took turns flying up to our 3rd floor room, as if there was no wall. They were singing “Praise to you men for the works you will do.”

When I awoke I saw there a wall and a window where formerly there had been many, many angels entering and leaving our room. What I marveled at more than seeing angels was their message. In sharing this with my husband I asked him why angels, who knew God’s power, would praise men. Neither of us had an answer. But it set an expectation in our hearts of finding God’s perfect will along with our team, and performing the “works.”

During our stay in the Philippines there were many times when a team member would be too tired, or frustrated, to want to do further works. But we met together and encouraged one another daily. This is the key to doing team work, and keeping a right heart towards each other. By the time our stay was up we had wonderful stories of how the Lord had worked through each one of us.

Another mission’s team followed after we left. They too were expecting to serve the Lord to the fullest, and were in the exact same location we had been in. However, shortly after their arrival, terrorists kidnapped a business man in the area and the entire team was sent home. Where the door had been opened for us, it was closed for them. If we had not done the works that the angels knew were appointed to us, they would not have been done.

The event preceding our works for the Lord was the visit from the angels, encouraging us with the importance of what we were appointed to do (Eph 2:10). The event that followed our arrival home was a second night vision. In it I saw one robed angel, carrying the crucified body of Jesus. He laid Him on a raised surface in front of me, and I became overwhelmed with how valuable His sacrifice was. The Holy Spirit prayed one prayer through me during this time, and the angel prayed as well; the prayer was for the Church to do the works of Jesus Christ. Then I awoke.

It is of great value that we serve the Lord with our gifts. He gave those gifts to men when He rose from the dead (Eph 4:8), showing that our works are an important part of the continuing plan of God for the Church, and for the lost. I want to encourage each and every one of you to serve God and do not be discouraged by closed doors. Be faithful and the Lord will open one for you (Rev 3:8). It’s that important. Amen.