Can we ever be completely without sin?

Over the years, I have struggled to understand this concept:

In Heaven, there is NO sin; so, how can I (even in my glorified form) ever be completely free from sin, and still be anything that “resembles” myself? Can we still have free will in Heaven? If we have the freedom to make choices, doesn’t that mean that it is possible for us to sin?

Our sin nature runs deep. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and is desperately wicked.” ~Jeremiah 17:9. All humans have broken God’s Commandments countless times, and we all sin virtually every day. This is why we need God’s grace, and this is why Jesus came to Earth and died on the cross: so that our sins can be forgiven when we repent and trust in Him.

I believe that virtually all sin is rooted in unfulfilled human desires. Whether we struggle with greed, vanity, substance abuse, arrogance, anger, selfishness, laziness, pride, lust, envy, gluttony, deceitfulness, and/or anything else; I believe that we sin when we feel that our basic desires are not being met. Satan, the “father of lies,” (John 8:44) tricks us into believing that these sins will fulfill our desires better than doing what is right, and we choose to sin.

I believe this analogy gives a partial glimpse of how we can be without sin while maintaining free will.

Imagine that you and your family are homeless, starving, and living on the street struggling to survive.  Imagine walking by a bakery which has dozens of loaves of bread sitting on a window with no one guarding them. Stealing is wrong, and stealing is a sin, but I’m willing to bet that you would be willing to steal a loaf of bread if it meant saving your family from starving to death!

Now, imagine that you and your family are exceedingly wealthy, and that you have hired a private chef who prepares a five star dinner for your family at your mansion every night. When you walk by the exact same bakery with the unguarded bread, will you be tempted to steal a few loaves? No! Because your basic need for nutrition has been fulfilled in such a way that you have absolutely no need or desire to steal bread.

In Heaven, I believe that our every need, want, and desire will be so wonderfully, amazingly, completely, and exceedingly fulfilled that ANY form of sin will seem infinitely more worthless than a stale, moldy piece of bread is to a wealthy person coming home to a five star meal.

So, what does this mean for us now? Jesus said in John 10:10, “The devil comes only to steal and kill and destroy, but I have come that you may have abundant life.” Jesus loves us, and He wants what is best for us. Our enemy, the devil, wants our lives destroyed. When we realize that sin stems from unmet desires, and that the devil is constantly trying to lead us into destruction by tricking us into believing that these sins will meet our desires, then we can look to John 10:10 and trust and wait on the Lord for Him to give us what is best in His timing.

When we truly believe in our heart that God loves us and wants what is best for us, it is much easier to resist the temptations of the devil!

Great mission in South Africa

After calculating all of the numbers, our team was able to reach more than 30,000 precious souls in South Africa with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ and see more than 12,000 professions of faith in Christ as Lord and Savior! Also, we were able help the local members of Gideons International to distribute 13,500 New Testaments in these schools.

God is good! Thanks for your prayer and support as YES shares the Gospel around the world!!!

Awesome first week in South Africa!

Our team has had an amazing week of ministry in schools here in Limpopo province in South Africa! We spoke in 39 schools with over 20,000 students and teachers and saw more than 10,000 professions of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We were also able to distribute more than 10,000 Gideon New Testaments in these schools. Please continue to pray for our team as we travel to the city of Nelspruit to continue sharing God's word this upcoming week.

Great first week in Zambia

Wow, our Youth Education Strategies team had a wonderful week of ministry in Livingstone, Zambia! We were able to share the life-changing message of Jesus Christ in 27 schools with over 15,000 young people and see more than 10,000 professions of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We were also able to partner with local members of Gideons International to distribute more than 10,000 New Testaments in these schools. Our team is now in Lusaka, Zambia preparing for another week of ministry. Please pray that God's anointing will remain on our team and that many lives will be permanently impacted here in Lusaka!

Going to Zambia

In two weeks, our team will be in Zambia getting ready to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with many thousands of people! Please join YES in prayer for God to guide our final preparations.

Final week in Kenya!

Bwana Asifiwe! ('Praise the Lord' in Swahili) YES has finished our final week of ministry in Kenya! In Vihiga, we were blessed to share the life changing message of Jesus Christ in 28 schools with more than 11,000 precious souls. Thank you once again for your prayer as we completed a wonderful mission in Kenya!

Wonderful Second week in Kenya

Greetings from Vihiga, Kenya. Our Youth Education Strategies team has completed a wonderful week of ministry in Migori where we spoke in 28 schools with over 8,000 students and saw over 4,000 professions of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior! We have already had a great church service on Sunday and a great Monday and Tuesday in schools. Please pray for God to move mightily in Vihiga during our final three days of ministry.

First week in Kenya

We have finished our first week of ministry in Kenya. We were able to speak in 20 schools with over 6,000 wonderful young people and see more than 3,000 professions of faith in Christ. I will be traveling tomorrow by bus to a city in southwest Kenya called Migori to begin another busy week of ministry. Please keep YES in your prayer!

First three days in Kenya

Three days done in schools! We have already spoken in 14 schools with over 3,500 students. This is looking like it will easily be our busiest project to date. So, please pray for God to renew our strength daily as we share the life changing message of Jesus Christ here in Kenya!

Kenya in two weeks!

Just confirmed tickets to fly to Kenya from February 26th through March 25th. That's less than two weeks away! Please join YES in prayer for our final preparations as we seek God's wisdom to finalize the details for this upcoming mission.

Merry Christmas!

Have you ever thought about the first groups of people who visited Jesus on the first Christmas? I believe that the simple fact of having shepherds and magi as the first guests at Jesus first birthday displays some awesome symbolism about who Jesus really is. I want to start by explaining a bit about these two groups of people.

Shepherds- Literally, people who watched after, fed, and lived with sheep. In Israel, shepherds were on the bottom rung of society. They were considered dirty, smelly, uneducated, immoral, irresponsible, untrustworthy alcoholics. In fact, they were so low in society that they weren’t even allowed to testify in a court of law!

Magi- The “wise men.” Possibly the most educated, respected, wealthy, and trusted people on Earth. They were representatives from various religions and parts of the world who got together to discuss philosophy, science, and other intellectual aspects of life. They were so respected, that many cultures wouldn't allow anyone to be king or any other type of leader unless they had approval of the local magi.

Why does this matter? I believe this shows that Jesus was truly born to save EVERYONE. From the highest of highs, to the lowest of lows; from the richest to the poorest; from the ends of the Earth, to those just down the road; from any type of foreign religion, to those whose families have followed God for generations; I believe that Jesus is for everyone.

God so LOVED the world, that He GAVE His only Son, so that WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM will not perish, but have EVERLASTING LIFE. John 3:16 (emphasis added)

Have you ever truly experienced Christmas? Has Jesus ever been born into your heart? There is no better time than NOW to give your life to Christ!

On behalf of the YES/DSEA team, I wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a blessed New Year!

Fishing Lessons- Brother Yun

God wants all Christians to be fishers of men. The world is in a desperate, destructive mess. Nations wage war on each other, and every day people inflict unmentionable cruelty on one another. If we have Jesus in our hearts, we are called to be fishermen, regardless of our background, education or economic position. Some individuals may be more gifted at fishing than we are, but Jesus is looking for those like Peter, James, and John. They knew they were unworthy sinners, yet they were willing to trade their weakness for God’s strength and their stained garments for robes of righteousness.

The apostles were largely uneducated, rough young men, yet God used them to shake the world with the gospel. If God was able to use them in such a way, we can never excuse ourselves from the personal responsibility we have to reach out to the lost. We trick ourselves, and maybe even other people, but we can never deceive the Lord. Each Christian will one day give an account of the way they used, or didn’t use, the talents God gave them.

Now is the time for us to commit ourselves fully to the cause of God, without reservation. If you do this, you will not fail to experience the blessing and presence of God in a sweet and powerful way.

~Brother Yun, Living Water- Fishing Lessons

Finishing SA

Our team has just finished a wonderful week of sharing the life-changing message of Jesus Christ in high schools in South Africa. We have been blessed to speak in more than 20 schools with over 15,000 precious students and have seen many of these precious souls make the commitment to follow Christ as Lord and Savior. Also, thanks to the help of Gideons International in South Africa, we have been able to distribute more than 6,000 New Testaments in these schools. Thank you so much for your continued prayer and support during this mission. We have two more evening outreaches, then it will be time to begin getting ready to head back to the states.

Helping hand

Our team has had an amazing first two days in schools here in South Africa. We have already been blessed to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with more than 6,000 students and teachers and we are already receiving reports of lives being changed. Just look at this wonderful example of a student helping his friend to raise his hand and commit his life to Christ!

In South Africa

Our team had a great weekend evangelism training conference with Apostolic Faith Mission church here in South Africa. We have just picked up about 4,000 Gideon Bibles and are ready to distribute them this week along with sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with more than 10,000 precious souls in schools.

Finishing

Our Youth Education Strategies team has had a wonderful time sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ in schools in the Copperbelt region of Zambia. This week, we have spoken in 12 schools with over 6,000 precious souls and have seen many young people commit their lives to Christ as Lord and Savior. Thank you so much for praying for YES as we have completed our mission in Zambia! Tomorrow, I am taking the bus back to Lusaka, and then Saturday I begin the long journey back to the states. I am already looking forward to the next time God will bless our ministry with the opportunity to return to Zambia!

One more week

Wow, what an absolutely amazing second week of ministry our Youth Education Strategies team has had in Lusaka, Zambia! We were blessed to share the life-changing message of Jesus Christ in 16 schools with 12,000 students and teaching staff and have been blessed to see more than 7,500 professions of faith in Christ alone as Lord and Savior. We have had some great laughs (Like in this photo!), and we have had some wonderfully touching moments in Lusaka, but it is time to begin the next phase of our mission. I am resting comfortably this Sunday afternoon in the mining area of Zambia known as the Copperbelt, in the city of Chililabombwe, getting ready to begin our final week sharing the Good News in schools.

Please join YES in prayer for open doors for ministry and for the strength required to finish this mission strongly. Thanks so much!

Halfway through Zambia

At the halfway point of our mission in Zambia, our Youth Education Strategies team is still going strong and boldly proclaiming the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ. In the last three days, our team has been blessed to share the Good News in 9 schools with 6,000 students and staff! So far, we have already been able to share the life-changing message of Jesus Christ with over 14,000 wonderful people. Please join YES in prayer for God to use our team mightily here in Lusaka, Zambia

Reflections while in Zambia

Muli bwanji! Greetings from Lusaka, Zambia! Our Youth Education Strategies team has had a wonderful first week sharing the Good News in schools. I thank everyone who is praying for this mission and everyone who has helped send us here. YES has already been blessed to speak in 14 schools with 7,800 students and see more than 5,000 of these precious souls make the commitment to turn from their sin and trust in Jesus Christ alone as Lord and Savior. Praise the Lord! Please pray for God to continue working through our team as next week is scheduled to be even busier.

Coming here has brought back some very fond memories. In 2008, Zambia was the first place where I had the opportunity to share the Gospel in a school. Earlier this week, I was even blessed to revisit the specific location where I first shared Jesus in public, Nelson Mandela Elementary School. (see photo) I would like to take a few minutes to share the story of how I got my start in evangelism here in Lusaka…

In 2008, it worked out for me to go on my first mission with my father, David Stockwell, and two other evangelists just a few weeks after finishing college where I studied physics. I had never been trained how to share my faith and I had never spoken in public. Therefore, we made sure to schedule a maximum of three school programs at any one time so that we could have one of the three American evangelists leading each assembly. On Monday and Tuesday, I went out with one of the evangelists and was mainly a photographer, but I also shared a one or two minute testimony in each school. Everything was going as planned…

However, it turned out that one of the teams had some trouble Tuesday morning. They were scheduled to speak at the morning assembly for a large high school, but they had some vehicle problems on the way there and arrived about thirty minutes late to find that the assembly had been released. After pleading with the principal of the school to allow the team to come back and share the Gospel with the students some other time, she finally agreed to allow the team to come back the next morning at 7:00AM.

After a busy Tuesday in schools, our three teams finally arrived back at the guesthouse where we were staying by about 9:00PM. Once we had finished praying together and sharing stories from the day, we eventually realized that we already had three schools scheduled for early Wednesday morning, and that the rebooking meant that we were scheduled to be at four schools at the same time. The only way we were going to be able to complete our new schedule was to have four teams the next morning.

Therefore, I learned around 10:00PM that I would be the main speaker at 7:00AM the next day presenting the Gospel to a school in Lusaka, Zambia! Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep that night, but I can honestly say that I didn’t “freak out,” or panic, or anything else like that. I actually had peace with the situation almost immediately. I knew that God had made this happen for a reason, and that He would give me the strength to do whatever needed to be done. I simply grabbed a piece of paper and one of the tracts which we were giving out and prayerfully wrote notes on what I was going to say that morning.

A few hours later, I was definitely nervous as I stepped up to the podium with 800 students and teachers at Nelson Mandela Elementary School waiting to hear me speak. I was very glad to be using an interpreter because it gave me a moment to think about what I wanted to say next while he was translating, and he did a great job of covering up for my pauses, stutters, and other errors! In any case, I got through the message and when it came time for the invitation, more than half the assembly said that they wanted to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. God is so good!

After the program, I had the opportunity to meet the principal of the school. She thanked me for coming and explained to me that half of the school had classes in the morning and that the other half attended class in an afternoon session. She then invited me to come back and share the same message with the afternoon session later in the day! I told her that I didn't have anything else planned, so I would see her later.

In the five years since that day, I have been blessed to share the life-changing message of Jesus Christ in more than 250 schools with over 150,000 students and see more than 100,000 professions of faith. It is incredibly humbling to look back and remember the day that God called me as a 22 year old, inexperienced, untrained kid to share the Gospel in Africa.

Thanks for reading this, and thanks even more for your prayer and support as Youth Education Strategies continues to boldly proclaim the Good News of Christ to the nations!

In Zambia

Our team has had an awesome start to the mission here in Lusaka, Zambia. Through our first two days of ministry in schools, we have been blessed to share the life-changing message of Jesus Christ in 7 schools with 3,000 students and have seen many students and teaching staff make professions of faith in Christ alone as Lord and Savior! Please join YES in prayer for God to continue working through our team as we speak with the multitudes. Thanks!