As we have traveled, many have asked how much we need to raise before completing itineration at the end of August, 2011. As you look at these numbers, please bear in mind that our vision is to share the gospel with all of the four to five million Filipinos within the Bicol region of the Philippines and plant a church within walking distance of every one of them. Raising up and training Filipinos to accomplish this vision is at the core of our strategy.
One, direct evangelism. Over the last 17 years we have conducted approximately 700 evangelistic crusades in conjunction with local churches. Many churches have been planted. Each crusade costs about $350.00, and we conducted about 45-50 per year, each crusade lasting three nights. Except for Debbie and me, all members of the team are Filipinos, as are all of the pastors with whom we work. While the Filipino churches do partner with us in sharing the expenses of this ministry by shouldering the expenses over the dollar figure given above, the nature of this type of work is finance intensive and more help is needed.
Second, in 2007 God gave Debbie a vision to plant house churches. Working hand-in-hand with Filipino church leaders in our region and one other missionary couple from another organization, three house church planting schools were started and about 12 house churches were started. Today, this movement has grown to include 15 house church planting schools and as many as 200 house churches have been started. The possibilities for expansion are almost limitless. God's blessing on this effort is obvious, and we are anxious to see this movement grow. We foresee the need for expanding the level of training and are excited about participating in it.
Monthly pledges We are still $1,718.12 short of where we need to be by August 31, 2011. If you are willing to make a commitment to support us over the next four years of our term, you can download a pledge form at http://www.daveanddebbiejohnson.com/.
Please note: if you are a member of an Assemblies of God church, please support your church's missions program by channeling your support, designated for us, through your church.
Second, in 2007 God gave Debbie a vision to plant house churches. Working hand-in-hand with Filipino church leaders in our region and one other missionary couple from another organization, three house church planting schools were started and about 12 house churches were started. Today, this movement has grown to include 15 house church planting schools and about 200 house churches have been started. The possibilities for expansion are almost limitless. God's blessing on this effort is obvious, and we are anxious to see this movement grow. We foresee the need for expanding the level of training and are excited about participating in it.
Monthly pledges We are still $1,776.00 short of where we need to be by August 31, 2011. If you are willing to make a commitment to support us over the next four years of our term, you can download a pledge form at http://www.daveanddebbiejohnson.com/.
In the first two blogs, I discussed some of the basic tenets of animism in order that we might understand the ten plagues as Moses, Pharaoh, and the peoples they led would have understood them. At its core, animism is a religion of power—and the ten plagues, along with the resultant exodus from Egypt, are the most powerful example of, and most referred to, power encounter in the entire Old Testament. That Moses should devote so much narrative to them is indicative of their importance.
We pick up the story again in Exodus 8:22-23, the description of the fourth plague. Here, Moses records a significant change in the way God sent the plagues. From this point on, the children of Israel would not be affected. Since the first three plagues impacted everybody, one could make the case that these were general natural disasters that, in the minds of the Egyptians, could have been caused by other deities. Sparing the Israelites, however, would send a clear message to the Egyptian people that something of a different order was happening, and that God was identifying himself as the God of Israel, giving the Egyptians a crystal clear understanding of who was calling the shots—a message even the hard hearted Pharaoh was able to grasp.
The god of the flies was most likely Beelzebub. One writer contends that these flies were actually scarab beetles rather than flies, but this view does not appear to be common (www.khouse.org/articles/2000/263/). V24 records an interesting statement that the land "was corrupted" the flies. The flies fed off animal dung, which may have been the source of defilement, although they would not likely have known then that dung was unsanitary. This being said, however, the meaning of this phrase remains a bit unclear, at least to me.
Again, the impact of the plague was not serious. Apparently no one died or even became sick, although flies feeding from the manure piles would have carried terrible germs. But, no doubt noting the absence of flies among the Hebrews, Pharaoh noticed that this plague was somehow different and, in verse 25, for the first time, he began to negotiate--offering the children of Israel some time off for sacrificing to the Lord—but he wanted them to stay in Egypt where he could control them. In other words, he wanted to appease the Lord to get him to lay off the plagues and leave Egypt alone.
Why Pharaoh began to negotiate here is admittedly speculative, but there may have been something going on that would not be obvious to Western readers. Animistic religions are based on getting, controlling, and maintaining supernatural power. In the Egyptian worldview, Pharaoh, as a descendent of the sun-god, was believed to be very powerful. In early 1998, Debbie and I made a ministry trip to Indonesia. One day, as I was teaching on the plagues to a group of villagers living in a remote area near the equator in the Indonesian rain forest, one older man observed that perhaps Pharaoh was negotiating because he sensed that his power was waning, and he wanted to maintain it at all costs. Therefore, appeasing the God of the Hebrews was called for in order to maintain the supernatural status quo. I believe the villager was right. Pharaoh was correct that his power was indeed waning as the God of the Hebrews was making his point that he, not Pharaoh, was the one who controlled the universe.
When Pharaoh offered to let the Israelites go and sacrifice within the land of Egypt, Moses, being very polite, in an indirect manner, told Pharaoh "no deal." Notice, too, that when Moses said that they would go a three days' journey into the wilderness, he never promised that they would return. Moses did not lie or deceive Pharaoh in any way. He simply felt no obligation to tell him the whole plan. Although he did not say that they were planning to leave permanently, Pharaoh, who initially agreed to let them go, well understood what was happening and, once again, hardened his heart once the flies were gone and did not keep his promise.
While the first four plagues presented just inconveniences to the Egyptians, the fifth (Exodus 9:1-7) began to have a major economic impact. In verse 3, Moses warned Pharaoh that the consequence of further arrogance would be severe and stated that, once again, the cattle belonging to the children of Israel would not be affected.
Some of the gods of Egypt were more popular than others. The gods represented by the animals mentioned here appear to have been of some importance.
The plague was a "murrain," a contagious disease among the cattle, and even the sacred bulls in the temple died (www.khouse.org/articles/2000/263/).
The economic impact must have been catastrophic and livelihoods of many Egyptians wiped out…literally overnight. Even the sacred bulls were killed, so the Egyptians could not sacrifice to these gods to appeal for help. If they thought that their own gods were doing this to them, they had nothing with witch to appease them. No outcry from the people was yet recorded, but they must have been getting restless by now. Surprising, Pharaoh himself is not moved by the impact of this plague, although he did sent someone to check on the herds of the Israelites to see if God had kept Moses' promise that they would not be affected.
Again, there is clear evidence that the God of the Hebrews is the Lord of the universe. He was more than willing to disturb the natural order in order to display his power and, in this case, his wrath against Pharaoh and the other gods of Egypt. Like a piece of wood in a vise grip, God was increasing the pressure he was putting on the Egyptian worldview—both challenging the Egyptians convictions about his sovereignty and establishing the reality of his power and love to the children of Israel. So far, the impact on bodies of the Egyptians people had been minimal. This would soon change. God was upping the ante.