Does God use even global catastrophic events to guide His workers? He did for David Livingstone! We know David Livingstone as a famous explorer and missionary to Africa, but initially he was headed to China. God's unseen hand used events, both individual and global, to redirect this servant. Find out how in this week's episode of Pocketing God’s Promises.
Source: The Personal Life of David Livingstone by William G. Blaikie
Could you help a new missionary learn the language of his field? A group of students did! As a new missionary to China, Jonathan Goforth struggled to learn the language. When he stood up to preach, the Chinese would point to him and say to his colleague, “You speak, we don’t understand him.” Goforth despaired. But one day he had unusual liberty in preaching and reported to his wife, “I know the backbone of the language is broken.” What made the difference? Find out in this week’s episode of Pocketing God’s Promises.
Resource: Goforth of China by Rosalind Goforth
As a ten-year-old girl, Darlene Deibler Rose felt God tugging at her heart about missions. She sensed Him asking her a question, “No matter what the cost?” She responded in her heart, “No matter what the cost.” This surrender eventually led to separation from her husband, imprisonment in a Japanese internment camp, and pioneer work in the interior of Dutch New Guinea. But God used Darlene Deibler Rose’s death to self to bring forth life in others. Find out how in this week’s episode of Pocketing God’s Promises.
Sources: Evidence not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose
How many people have resisted surrendering to Christ for fear that God will make them do something they hate? Christ, Who is so good and wise, does not erase who we are when we follow Him. Instead, He takes who we are and uses us in ways we could have never imagined. This was decidedly true in the life of James Fraser, who spent nearly 30 years reaching the Lisu in China's Yunnan Province. What made Fraser such a perfect fit for ministry in Yunnan’s rugged terrain? Listen to his story on episode eight of Pocketing God’s Promises.
Source: Behind the Ranges by Geraldine Taylor
Imagine a husband being hustled onto the back of a truck with other prisoners of war. He has a final opportunity to whisper some words of comfort to his wife. What would you have said? Charles Russell Deibler leaned over the tailgate and whispered to her, “Remember one thing, dear: God said that He would never leave us nor forsake us.” Where did Russell develop such conviction? Find out in this week’s episode of Pocketing God’s Promises.
Sources: Evidence not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose; http://darlenerose.org/1934.htm
On January 8, 1956, Jim Elliot and his four missionary companions were speared to death by the Waodani on Palm Beach. Though not known until years later, the five were killed, humanly speaking, because of a lying lover who was not getting his way. Is God bigger than a love spat? Are His will evaded and His workers killed because of something beyond His control? What promise did Betty Elliot, her husband, and the other four killed that day understand? Find out in episode six of Pocketing God’s Promise.
Sources: Shadow of the Almighty by Elisabeth Elliot; Becoming Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn
After 12 years in Nigeria, Mary Slessor moved to Okoyong, where she faced her greatest battle. Every death, except by extreme old age, was blamed on sorcery. Witch doctors would name the guilty party, and death would ensue. But when the chief’s eldest son died because a log fell on him, the intrepid Scottish missionary insisted that no one would die. What made her so courageous? Find out on this week’s episode of Pocketing God’s Promises.
Source: Mary Slessor of Calabar by W. P. Livingstone
Darlene Deibler had already been imprisoned by the Japanese for over two years when she was transferred from the women’s prison at a place called Kampili to the custody of the Kempeitai, the Japanese equivalent of the Gestapo. It was two days after her 27th birthday. As bad as prison life was at Kampili, nothing was as terrifying as the Kempeitai. They took her to a cell that was six feet square with a boarded-up window. Over the door of the cell was written, “This person must die.” The door closed, and the key turned in the lock; she was on death row. How did God sustain her? Find out in episode four of Pocketing God’s Promises.
Source: Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose
Idantori, a local chieftain, had tied eighteen knots in his rattan string—one for each foreigner he had met. “You are all men,” he told Russell. “None of you has a wife or children. If you are not spirits, who gave birth to you?” When Russell countered that he had a wife, Idantori replied, “Where is she?” Having a woman among the Kapauku peoples was essential to believing that Russell and other foreigners were not from the spirit world. Yet, it looked like Darlene would be unable to meet up with her husband, Russell, as planned. What did Darlene do? Find out in episode three of Pocketing God’s Promises.
Source: Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose
As a young, prospective missionary, Hudson Taylor faces a personal test. A poor man with a dying wife calls upon him to help them in their time of need. As Taylor struggles with what to do with his own limited resources, what brings him to a place of obedience? Find out in episode two of Pocketing God’s Promises.
Resource: Hudson Taylor in Early Years: The Growth of a Soul by Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor
Welcome to Pocketing God’s Promises, a practical podcast of GFA that exalts the God who sustained previous generations of His servants and encourages believers to take the same God at His Word today. In each episode, Jon Crocker and Tim Berrey share a missionary story that illustrates a biblical truth and then apply it to the lives of the listeners. Episodes are bi-weekly and last about 10 minutes. In this first episode, Jon Crocker and Tim Berrey answer three questions: 1) Why another podcast? 2) Where did we get the name? and 3) Who should listen? Whether you are a pastor, parent, missionary, or another believer seeking to live a life of deeper consecration to Christ, this podcast is for you.
