A Declaration

If you don’t attend our church or you haven’t already heard through the grapevine, this weekend the family at Estevan Alliance Church has been called to a day of prayer and fasting for the ministry of His Hands Taiwan.

In December of 2011 the Taiwanese government passed legislation that forces His Hands (and similar organisations) to change the way they do business – and as a result they have been required to become a registered orphanage.  Aware of what was coming down the pipe His Hands had started this process in the spring of 2011 and the building they occupy was approved in the fall of 2011 but this was only the beginning of the orphanage process.  They are currently pending approval on the application as a whole which would allow them to house up to 14 babies at one time.

Another new requirement that has been placed upon them is to become incorporated in Taiwan.  This requires an application that has been submitted and money to meet the requirements of corporation status.  His Hands must have $350 000 (USD) in a bank account at all times starting in late May to qualify as a corporation.  At last report they have 10% of this money.

In order for His Hands to apply for the new adoption license they must be a corporation.  If they do not get their adoption license they will no longer be able to facilitate adoptions, which has become a big part of their ministry in recent years. This new requirement represents what would seem to be an insurmountable obstacle for an organisation like His Hands Taiwan to overcome (which would seem to be the intent of a government intent on stemming the tide of international adoptions) and the money still needing to be raised seems impossible – but not for our God.

In the book of 2 Chronicles, chapter 20 we are told a story about King Jehoshaphat receiving word that the neighbouring nations were colluding to destroy Judah. Facing impossible odds the King rallied his people together to combat these invaders, not with weapons of war – but with prayer and fasting. Here is a bit of the story if you’re unfamiliar with it:

After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to make war on Jehoshaphat.   Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.   Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the LORD in the front of the new courtyard and said:    “LORD, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’   “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”   All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD.

Because of the insurmountable odds that are stacked against His Hands Taiwan and in the spirit of the declaration of Jehoshaphat I want to announce to you today something important that is happening this weekend. On Saturday April 28^th we are calling the church in Estevan to a solemn assembly of prayer and fasting for the situation in Taiwan. It will be hosted by Estevan Alliance Church but regardless of where you worship or what your denominational affiliation is we are inviting you to join this cause with us. Holly Muir – who is the co-founder and co-director of His Hands Taiwan, is one of our people. She and her husband Regan and their children are a well known Estevan family who have been a blessing to many people in the region and have recently been the focus of a front page article in last Friday’s Estevan Lifestyles newspaper.

We are inviting all the men of Estevan with their wives and children and little ones to stand before the Lord with us on Saturday and petition God to intervene in this situation for His glory and for the reputation of His name. We believe in the promises of Scripture that says “we have not because we ask, not” (James 4:2-3) and that if we ask anything in Christ’s name that he will do it for us (John 14:14) but we also understand that those promises come with the conditions that what we seek in our petitions is the will of and glory of God. Knowing then that God cares for the orphans (Psalm 10:14, 82:3-4, Matthew 18:10) and that he commands his people to care for them as well (Zechariah 7:10, James 1:27) we believe that this is a cause worthy of our attention and close to the heart of our Father.

We are asking you therefore to join us on Saturday for a day of fasting and prayer for His Hands Taiwan – that God would rise to the challenge and for the sake of his name and the children he so desperately cares for – to bring in the required $350,000 before the deadline so that the important Kingdom work of His Hands Taiwan would be able to continue and that the forces and powers of this world would not be able to claim victory over this cause.

To facilitate this day of intercession we will be opening up the church building all day on Saturday to anyone who wants to come and pray. There will be resources available in the fireside room so that you can pray with understanding about specific issues and during the three daily meal-times we will be holding organised prayer meetings (at 9:00am, 12:00pm and 5:00pm) when we would encourage you to join us for extended periods of corporate intercession. Even if you cannot make it to these prayer times, or if you live out of town and can only pray where you are we would encourage you to join us in a day of fasting – giving up food for the day as an act of devotion and instead committing the time you would normally spend nourishing your body by nourishing your soul in prayer. If you have a medical condition that prevents you from fasting food then we would encourage you to give up something else in the spirit of the occasion to join with us in solidarity before the Lord. Everyone is invited to participate!

The story of Jehoshaphat continues a little later on with the people of Judah waging war through worship – and that’s what we want to do as well as we fight this battle.

  Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD. Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.   Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:    “Give thanks to the LORD,   for his love endures forever.”   As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

On Sunday we will be going into battle through worship. We will praise the name of God in song, proclamation of Scripture, in prayer and in giving. On Sunday we are going to stand before God and put our money where our mouths are and give to this cause ourselves. We understand that the lesson of Isaiah 58 is that we need to pay more than lip service to issues of justice in our prayer and fasting, but that action is required on our behalf as well. So on Sunday we are inviting you to continue with us in our fast by giving generously to the cause that we are interceding for. On Sunday April 29 we will be giving away our entire offering to His Hands Taiwan; everything that goes in the plate will go out for this purpose. We are asking people this Sunday to give generously and sacrificially so that we can do our part in God’s sovereign plan for this situation. His Hands Taiwan is a registered charity in the USA, so people can be assured of accountability and oversight in their handling of donations but they are not as of yet a registered charity in Canada so we cannot issue any tax receipts given for this offering on Sunday. We are asking you to give anyways – not because of what you can get out of this experience but because of what you can give for the glory of God and the furtherance of his Kingdom purposes by partnering.

“Lord we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you”

We don’t know how God is going to resolve this situation. We don’t know how much money will come in thorough this Sunday’s offering, or how much will be raised elsewhere as a result of our prayers and fasting. We don’t know if the total will be met and God will act through helping them meet the requirements or if He has some other amazingly unexpected way that he will resolve the crisis they are facing. All we know is that our God is able, that our God is willing, that our God is faithful and that He keeps his promises. We know that we have been called to partner with Him in this way and we trust that he will not give the watching world reasons to call his power into question. So will you join us in this declaration this weekend? Will you join us in waging war through prayer, fasting and worship? Will you stand with us as we wait for the Lord to work out his perfect will in this situation? You have been invited – now is the time to answer the call.

Answer by fasting on Saturday; joining in solidarity with God’s people in this worthy Kingdom cause.

Answer by praying. Pray now, pray later, pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and join us to pray together on Saturday throughout the day and especially at the three prayer meetings at 9, 12 and 5.

Answer by giving. Join on for worship on Sunday and participate in the offering – or if you can’t join us or worship with another congregation – drop off your offering this week before Sunday so that you can be involved in what God is going to do.

And answer the call by spreading the word. Share this declaration with everyone you know. Link it on Facebook, tweet it on Twitter, pin it on Pinterest or share it on your personal blog. Print out a copy and give it to people who don’t know how to use computers. If you have a twitter account we urge you to use the hashtags #HisHandsTaiwan #EstevanlovesOrphans and #EstevanFastsforOrphans. Join us and together let’s see what God can do!