A Prayer for Japan

A Prayer For Japan

Just a simple video slide show on You Tube of a written prayer for Japan.

Why don't you join click the link above and join in with our prayer for this precious people and nation?

God bless you richly!

Dan Corbett
"Reaching One Among Millions"

Faith or Fear?

Faith – pistis - persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction, especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of Gospel truth itself: KJV - assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

 

Fear – phobeo  to frighten, to be alarmed; to be in awe of, i.e. revere: KJV - be sore afraid, fear (exceedingly), reverence. phobos & phebomai (to be put in fear); alarm or fright: KJV - be afraid exceedingly, fear, terror. (Strong's Numbers and Concordance)

 

Faith

Matt 17:20b  "For if you had faith even as small as a tiny mustard seed you could say to this mountain, 'Move!' and it would go far away. Nothing would be impossible. TLB
Matt 21:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. 22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. KJV

 

Fear

Rom 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. KJV
2 Tim 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. KJV

 

How About us Today?

What are you facing today - sickness, uncertainty, financial troubles, relationship problems, or crucial decisions? In many cases we have no choice about the circumstances that we find ourselves facing. We cannot control our environment, but we can choose how we react to that situation.

 

I believe there are two basic choices that every believer has in any one scenario we find ourselves in. We can react either in “Faith” or “Fear”! The Bible is full of stories of God’s children coming against impossible odds. Some chose to follow God and believe His Word while others failed the Faith Test failing to move when God told them to go forward.

 

Young David found himself in the middle of a standoff between the armies of Israel and the Philistine giant Goliath. King Saul with his well equipped troops and resources trembled in fear each day as the giant “called them out”. But young David reacted in “Faith” and declared that his God was well able to deliver him from the hand of Goliath. (1 Sam 17:37)

 

It was not David’s youth, speed, intelligence, or training – just simple and powerful faith in God. We have access to that same faith. Many of us have preached the Word of God. We have seen miracles and received numerous answers to our prayers. Yet, when faced with new problems, mountains and challenges, each of us must once again make that crucial decision to react or act in Faith or Fear.

 

Victory or Defeat

It is not an oversimplification to say that the difference between victory and defeat can be summed up in two words – Faith or Fear! May God help us to take that important step to say, God I believe and then if necessary finish up with Help thou mine unbelief! (Mark 9:24)

He won’t let you down. He did not let the three Hebrew children burn. He opened up the Red Sea. He opened the blinded eyes. He promised that He would never leave us. God ahead and take that step of Faith! Jesus is waiting for you!

God bless you as you walk in Faith!

Dan Corbett

“Reaching One Among Millions”

Gideon's Army IN Japan

Gain – To come into possession or use of; acquire; to attain in competition or struggle; win; to obtain through effort or merit; achieve.Gideon's Army IN Japan. GAIN Japan! In order to “gain Japan” for the kingdom of God something powerful, unique and new must be found and employed in sharing God’s Love here in an effective manner. The past century of western-style evangelism and mission’s strategy has been found to be sorely wanting in results and long lasting change.

In the Book of Judges we can read the story of a shy young man living in a horrible time of oppression and conflict. God’s favored people, Israel, had sinned and brought judgment upon themselves in the form of invasion and oppression from the powerful Midianites. It was so severe that the Israelites lived in caves and dens in the mountains. Their livestock and crops were stolen and consumed by the Midianites. In fact, Chapter 6 opens with the young man Gideon hiding behind a winepress in order to thresh a little bit of wheat out of sight of the Midianites.

Outwardly Gideon appeared to be timid or fearful, yet the when an angel from God greeted him, he was called a “mighty man of valor”. Gideon was given the assignment of setting his people free from the oppression of the Midianites. Several times Gideon expressed concern and needed assurance that God truly was with him and would make this victory reality. Then he was told to issue a call to others to join with him in this dangerous adventure.

At first, 32,000 other Israelites showed up to volunteer to take part in the battle against their powerful enemy. God told Gideon that there were too many and that a victory would surely be attributed to man’s power rather than God’s. So the fearful were released leaving 10,000 to do battle. Still God said there were too many. Next a simple test was applied by ordering the men to go drink water from the river. Those who drank water from their hands were the ones God set aside to be his instruments of deliverance. They only numbered 300! How could they possibly defeat such a mighty army that was waiting?

The next amazing feature of this drama was the selection of weapons. Gideon ordered each man to place a candle inside a clay pitcher and to carry a trumpet in the other hand. At night they divided into three companies of 100 men each. Then on his signal they blew trumpets, shouted “the sword of the Lord and Gideon” and then broke the pitchers allowing the candles to shine brightly in the darkness. They were instructed to stand still while God worked among the enemy to bring victory. In the darkness of night the Midianite army turned their swords on each other. Then the remainder fled into the dark pursued by Gideon’s small army. Additional help was realized from other tribes of Israel who helped follow and kill the remaining enemy soldiers.

Conditions in Japan

The Gospel reached Japan 460 years ago in 1549. Yet there are probably less than 1% evangelical Christians to be found today. The doors of Japan have been closed during the ensuing years for periods of time. Interruptions like World War II have interfered with the growth of Christianity. Still several thousands of missionaries have worked in many different aspects of ministry in the nation of Japan. Every common western mission concept has been attempted here. Recent statistics show 2,362 missionaries working in Japan today. There are approximately 200 denominations represented nationally. The average age of pastors here is 60 plus years of age.

God’s Answer!

I am aware that no one single method or technique can be presented as the all encompassing answer to Japan being reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We personally have used several approaches of the past 30 years of ministry. Some times we focused on children and youth. That was somewhat effective. That method usually did not always reach the parents or grandparents. Then we had special outreach to ladies. Again, many of them were saved, but the husbands usually never came to church and older children and grandparents were left out.We sent several overseas for college and English study. A few found salvation outside Japan, but some married and stayed in the USA not returning to help share God’s love to their own family and nation.

During this past year God began to place us in contact with a group of young Japanese who are between 25-35 years old. Many have lived abroad and can speak English fairly well. A few are married with children. They come from all walks of life and most have college degrees. Among this group lies a quiet hunger to find the meaning to life. Their family religions of Buddhism and Shinto cannot fill the void in their hearts. Some have searched the Internet for information about the Bible and Christianity. Most do not trust traditional churches and will not go inside the buildings. They have the idea that traditional Christian churches are too much like Buddhist temples and Shinto Shrines.

We did not plan this! God began to bring the group of young people into our lives through various means and circumstances. I now have a two page list of names of Japanese young people whom I pray for on a daily basis. Some are living in our neighborhood, Fukuoka City, Tokyo and Yokohama. One accepted Christ in our home, another in Fukuoka City Hall, two others were visited and then later prayed by telephone to accept Christ and so forth. Bible studies and prayer meetings have been conducted in our home and by video phone calls between Japan and other countries. Bibles, music and training materials are used here and also sent to those in other areas.

Those who received Christ have already begun to win others to the Lord. There is a solid and very rapid spiritual growth that I have not seen in other places and years past in ministry. They call and text each other for prayer requests and encouragement. Whenever concerts or special meetings take place they go to learn, fellowship and to network with other Japanese believers. They have friends in other nations where they lived or studied and the influence and network is spreading across national boundaries.

Gideon’s Army IN Japan!

The members of the emerging Gideon’s Army in Japan exhibit the characteristics of both Prophetic Praisers and Prayer Intercessors. In other words, as soon as they accept Christ they begin to spend time in the Word of God, Praise and Intercessory prayer. It is natural for this kind of believer to have frequent opportunities to share their testimony with others they meet in family, job and daily life connections. There are some who have not yet confessed Christ, but it is evident that they have been tapped by God to become a part of His Army in Japan. As older believers and ministers of the Gospel Sharon and I have spent many long sessions of prayer, teaching and sharing ministry experiences with eager young people.

As this army grows in number and the needs for training and infrastructure increases we are praying God’s clear direction. We do not want to duplicate past mistakes of dead traditional structures fraught with hypocrisy and human dogma. All believers need spiritual covering, biblical discipleship and accountability. It is anticipated that greater needs of resources and personnel for training will come about. All of this needs to be bathed in prayer that God will receive the glory. Sadly, as we read the full account of Gideon we see division among the tribes of even idolatry. Clear Biblical goals and principles must be kept before us at all times.

Join Us!

This young army is a major aspect of our outreach and ministry in Japan. Just this past week two nights of five hours each were devoted to Bible study and prayer with members of this group. We are planning for a regular schedule of prayer and study meetings. We will keep you updated of these. We need intercessory prayer for us and the young people. You can pray regularly and can also join us with financial support to insure our ministry and living expenses being covered.

God Bless you richly!

Dan & Sharon Corbett

“Reaching One Among Millions”