Clay Pots ~ Wolves in Sheep's Clothing

EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT 6-8pm

Your Wednesday night between 6-8pm is when the Tobo believers meet together here in PNG. (Your Wednesday night is our Thursday morning because we are 15 hours ahead of you.) As you sit down and eat dinner every Wednesday night could you remember to pray? Or perhaps that is when you are at church for a Bible study or prayer meeting. While you are meeting, would you be willing to pray for your fellow brothers and sisters meeting at the same time half a world away?

This week I was reminded of Galatians 1:6-9. During the believer’s meeting last Thursday we were joined by a group of men and women from a village across the valley. One of the men had come the previous week; possibly to spy us out. They caught us off guard and brought their guitars, and proceeded to take over the meeting. PNG culture does not allow us to “shame” someone in a public forum, so the believers just sat there. These people were false prophets from a false belief who came and sang songs which we didn’t know (they were in another language to boot), prayed lofty memorized prayers showing off their lack of knowledge of Bible references, and they gave testimonies of how Jesus had appeared to and literally “spoken” to them. Praise the Lord, they did not try to do any teaching. But, they were there to take Jesus’ sheep and try to “lure” them away to their false believe. Some of it was subtle and some of it wasn’t.

I have talked to different believers this past week about what happened during that meeting, just to see what they thought of it. I have come away from those discussions encouraged with their maturity. It has been a great time of discipleship. Tingon said, “I felt very uncomfortable. That man was just showing off in his prayer like the Pharisees did in Jesus time. It wasn’t true.” And after I asked Nikos if anyone could actually see Jesus, he said, “No, Jesus is at God’s right hand, and God speaks to us through what the prophets wrote in His Word. If it isn’t written in God’s Word then it’s not true and it’s a lie.” So I asked him if a person adds anything to the gospel, what does the apostle Paul say about that in Galatians? And Nikos let out a yell and said, “Anyone who adds to the good news, and does not simply believe that Jesus died on the cross for them, they are going to hell! They are Satan’s people! Wow, I never saw it like that before!”

This Tuesday, Nikos and I will be hiking to where this group lives and telling them if they come again they can only sit and listen. They will not be allowed to sing their songs, pray their prayers, or speak. Please be praying for us as we go and confront them. And please be praying for the believers: that they will not be swerved from the truth; and that as we meet again next week and talk with them about what happened last week, that they will apply the truths of God’s Word to their lives.

Don’t forget to pray on Wednesdays! As you sit and eat dinner on Wednesday night, half way around the world, your brothers and sisters are worshipping the Lord in the Tobo language. Kind of awesome hey?!

His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, Malachi Knapp & The Tobo Church