John 15:16, Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
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Alison Chant's New Book
Divine Healing - The Wonder and the Mystery is now available in perfect bound form. The title says it all, and is a great addition to your collection on the fascinating subject You can get a copy directly from Alison, call her on 02 9623 8474 or you can contact out office 02 9829 1340
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A Moment With Alison
This month we have articles from both Ken and Alison, which is a bit unusual. We always have a word from Ken and that is later in this letter, but here is a word from Alison. I hope we get a few more.
A MEDITATION
An oyster reacts to the irritation of a small grain of sand or grit by surrounding it with a beautiful pearl, round and smooth and translucent, thus ridding itself of the pain.
We are like the oyster in that our lives can be filled with irritations, petty annoyances, times of grief and sorrow, perhaps even of bitterness and hurt. Whatever our situation, as God's children we can rely on the grace and mercy of God to flow into our lives to cover these painful times. We can rise above the negative into the joy that Jesus promised we would have in him (Jn 15:9-11).
We must keep a trustful heart toward our Lord and reach out to him in faith. We know he will not only care for us (Ph 4:4-7), but as his grace and mercy flow he will continue to create in us the character of Christ. Like the oyster creating the pearl, we will feel within us the gradual development of all that God has created us to be for his glory and honour.
And the joy that floods our soul will not be dependent upon our outward circumstances but upon our inward belief system, because we know in whom we have believed (1 Th 5:23), and we are content that he should have charge of our lives, now and forever.
May the Lord grant us that faithful, trusting heart of believing, and may we abandon ourselves to God and to his working in our lives. May we be obedient to his every command, now and until we go to be with him, or until he comes in power and glory to receive us to himself. Denis Travels To The UK.
I left England with my parents in 1970 to migrate to Australia and I have not returned since. I was amazed at some of the changes. The biggest change I noticed was in the amount of security cameras. There is, reportedly 1 camera for every 4 people in the UK, which means that in the normal course of events most people are on CCTV for half an hour every day, as a minimum. Security and big brother have become so invasive that it is an accepted way of life. Many churches have been closed, and some church buildings turned over for other uses. Many churches are opening in other facilities or opening new facilities.
Our view of the state of the church, from a natural perspective, depends upon where you are and the church or denomination you are in. Really the church is much the same in the UK as anywhere else. The trouble is that like many, I as a human being have this great capacity to judge by what I see. I saw excellent churches and some ordinary churches, large and small. For a little while I was despondent and troubled with some things I saw, but then I also rejoiced over tremendous blessings as they were poured out. I have to admit that for a little while I forgot the truth – “Jesus is Building the Church and the gates of Hell cannot prevail against it. The fact is that the Church is alive and well in the UK, and I have seen it.
During my time of 3 weeks actual stay I had the privilege of ministering over 19 times and also was involved in more than 6 meetings to discuss opening Vision College there. The outstanding result is that we will be starting at least two, and possibly three Resource Centres in the United Kingdom. We have been working with some pastors in the UK for over 4 years now and we are so thrilled to see this happen.
The Vision Seminar - from Steve
In June, Vision put together its first seminar with International President Dr. Stan DeKoven and Australasian President Dr. Ken Chant, presenting the theme of "Christian Counseling". It was a great success, with over sixty students (including many pastors) in attendance.
By having a seminar like this it allowed the students to meet with the two pioneer authors of Vision, and it gave the students an opportunity to ask questions and interact with the authors.
It was also a privilege for these two men to meet with some of the student body and get some feed-back, as it was an encouragement for both students and authors alike.
From the staff at Vision we would like to thank all the students and pastors, and both lecturers, Dr Stan DeKoven and Dr Ken Chant, for attending this event and look forward to more in the future.
Steven Hart is one of our very able staff.
Our Mission Efforts
From our Colleges in China
Ian Traill, who runs the China operation for us, is in Australia, and although I only caught up with him briefly he is excited at what God is doing in China. Already there are 3 colleges with another to start up in Shanghai when he returns. In addition to that, we have another couple who are ready to go to China to begin a Vision College there also, Edgar and Jenny Gourley. They already have a ministry in China, and are returning there and taking Vision with them. Ian is on leave in Australia at the moment and we will have a great report in the next issue from him.
Myanmar
I have not heard from our College there for a while, but I know the work is strong. In these places we have to just sit back, pray, and trust that all is going to be well. Christians in that nation are troubled by the government, sometimes because they do not behave wisely. Yet for all of that, God has his way of working in the lives of the people. I know that many of our graduates are involved in pastoring and pioneering churches in Myanmar, in opening up new areas of ministry, reaching into the strong Buddhist priesthood, and in bringing many of the priests to the Lord.
Nepal
In Nepal we have a request to meet with the ministry of a large denomination and to set up a training program with them. The need for teaching is very great. Many of the pastors are barely literate and many only know the Gospels, while some can only relate the parables of Jesus. Such is the need in Nepal. Please pray for us to be able to reach into that nation and bring to the people the Gospel and good teaching. Our existing college is working slowly and effectively and they are close to the Nepalese and Indian boarder.
Philippines
We have two colleges in the Philippines and we have been invited to open a campus in one of the major centres there. The local ministry leaders have set aside several acres for this purpose. I need to be there in November to establish this work.
Our Home Front
Jesus made the commission clear Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the world. Well, Sydney is our Jerusalem, NSW our Judea, the rest of Australia our Samaria, then onto the rest of the world. We have not forgotten our own.
There are now 18 Resources Centres in Australia, which we are very pleased to see. I have no idea of the number of students who are correspondence students with Vision, but they number in hundreds and are listed either with the Recognised programme with Vision Christian College, the Accredited program with Vision International College, or on the internet with the Internet Bible College, where students are undertaking courses from Certificate to Degrees.
There are two more churches discussing the resource centre with us, and I hope that by the next newsletter we will be up to 20 Resource Centres.
Though I keep hearing of the "lack of interest" among Christians for study, I can affirm most strongly that there is good interest. Vision is only one of many colleges. The student body in Bible colleges around the Australia number in thousands and we are a part of that number. Students who are ordinary men and women who see and know the need to understand the word, be involved in their church, start churches and ministries, go onto the mission field, or be better equipped to serve God in their secular work place or church, such men and women are a joy to the heart of God and of course add purpose to those of us who serve in Bible colleges.
We need more students. Not because we want to be bigger, but because the world needs men and women who will serve their communities for Jesus. For one of the primary purpose of the Bible College and indeed the church is to teach its members and students serve their community and show the love, care, and nurture of God to their neighbourhood.
A Word From Ken
Over the past couple of weeks I have read with a mixture of amusement and irritation several extracts from a cluster of newly published anti-Christian books.
My first response is to say that one has to endorse some of their complaints. Murder is murder, no matter who does it, and the pusillanimity of some of our religious leaders about religious violence is disgusting. Their rationalisings arouse nothing but contempt. I have listened with horror when some preachers have endorsed the slaughter of thousands of innocent people just because they were of another faith. And I agree with the atheists that hardly anything is more to be abhorred than some church (be it Catholic, Protestant, or any other) getting political power. The history of religious involvement in politics is appalling. It is good to see individual Christian men and women gaining political office; but the church, acting as a collective body, should stay out of the political game. As Lord Acton said, all power corrupts, and, as I would add, religious power is the most corrupting of all.
Nonetheless, the atheist writers often display a breathtaking hypocrisy. They furiously condemn religious proselytising while engaging in it themselves. They are just as keen to convert believers to their atheism as those believers are to convert them. I can't see much difference in purpose between an evangelical tract and an atheistic diatribe they are equally designed to persuade someone to accept a different opinion.
And when atheists condemn so-called religious "fundamentalists", to whom do they speak if not themselves? No one is more fundamentalist nor more rabidly convinced of the correctness of his viewpoint than a dedicated atheist!
Atheists tend to be guilty too of a particularly virulent ad hominem approach. How often, with wild hyperbole, do they accuse all Christians of wilful ignorance, of being irrational, bigoted, and the like? They speak as if there has never been any reasonable proof to offer for belief in God, when on the contrary (as some of the greatest minds in history have joyfully acknowledged) there are abundant reasons to believe in God.
Atheistic arguments are often selective, when they ignore the vast benefits that religion (and especially the gospel) have brought to multitudes of people. They choose to forget the hospitals, orphanages, refuges, charities, benevolences, and on and on, that Christians collectively and individually have devoted their lives to, frequently at huge personal cost. How many such institutions are run by atheist societies? To my knowledge, none!
Their arguments are also biased, for they seem to be saying that if religion were banned, the world would suddenly turn into a peaceful paradise. What nonsense! If people weren’t fighting over religion, they would be killing each other for some other reason. Religion may sometimes be used as an excuse to justify violence, but the real reason is a hunger for power. The fault lies in the corrupt and sinful nature of human beings, not in religion. Indeed, without the ameliorating influence of religion one shudders to think what barbarities would engulf the planet. Religion may sometimes be bad; but a total lack of it would be disaster. In my own lifetime I have witnessed the ambition and savagery of secular and/or atheistic tyrants such as Kaiser Wilhelm, Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler, Mao Tse Tung, and Pol Pot. Without any religious motivation, they slaughtered hundreds of millions of people.
We Christians have nothing to fear from the shallow arguments of the atheists. Christ is still Lord!
Please pray.
1. For continued good health for Ken and Alison as they continue to minister and move around the country and overseas.
2. For each of our Resource Centres, that they will grow as a student body and that the students will be effective in their ministries.
3. For each distance education or Resource Centre student, that they will continue and find new opportunities of ministry in their churches and communities.
4. For the staff of Vision that our needs shall be met.
5. For our Re-accreditation in May next year, it seems a long way off but much has to be done.
6. For our missions program and for the new mission college in the Philippines.
