MidnightCall Magazine
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News From Israel MagazineMidnight Call Ministries
“For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth” (Acts 13:47).
Not too much has changed since the introductory verse was written. The Church’s task remains: We are to be “a light of the Gentiles.” But the Lord Himself is the actual source of Light, for He declared: “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). But He also said: “Ye are the light of the world.” We received that Light the moment we placed our faith in Christ, and now we pass on that light to a world of darkness.
Jesus emphasized something significant: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). He did not say, “let your works shine” but “let your light… shine.” Our natural inclination is to let our works shine. We want people to see all the good that we do, but to do so is to put the cart before the horse.The manifestation of our works can only be accomplished when we allow His light to shine through us. We have been programmed by our success-crazed society to show off our works. In fact, quite often we hear statements such as, “We are reaching the world for Christ,” “We are influencing our nation to bring forth righteousness,” “We will turn the world upside down.” These and other such sentiments may be well intended, but they are far from reality. Two thousand years have come and gone — I’m sure you’ll agree that we have hardly turned the world upside down. Surely no one can claim that we have “reached the world for Christ.” The simple truth is we can’t even reach our own cities, and in some cases, our own family members, for Christ.
Therefore, we do well to follow the advice of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Light of the world: “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do” (Luke 17:10). These words are contrary to our own self-serving interests: “We are unprofitable servants.” This clearly reveals the element that enables us to be lights of the world: self-denial. True servants of the Lord will go about their daily tasks, yet they have sacrificed themselves to be light bearers
of our Lord Jesus Christ. These are the Christians who, in most cases, receive no recognition, honor or respect. Quite often they are mistreated, sometimes they face persecution and occasionally some have even been killed. They are the ones who hide themselves, but burn brightly with the all-consuming light of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The prophet Isaiah proclaimed: “I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles” (Isaiah 42:6). This refers to Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is the Light of the Gentiles. He needs to be heard, because only in and through Him can eternal salvation be found.
After Paul’s declaration, we read: “when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48).
Dear friends, that is fulfillment of Bible prophecy, which takes place each time a person repents of his sins and turns to Jesus for salvation: “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thou house.” May we make this decision today to return to the simple truths of Holy Scripture, and turn to the One who is the Light of the world so that we will be able to lead those who still live in darkness to this marvelous light. As a result, people around us will recognize that the works we do are the works of our Lord through the Holy Spirit. May our Lord give us the grace we need to be such servants during these darkening stages of the endtimes. Remember, the best is yet to come. Let us continue to work while it is day, for the night will come when no man can work.
On the Home Front
This month the focus of our update will be what is happening at our office in Columbia, South Carolina. In view of the fact that we are living in the end stages of the endtimes, and we increasingly speak about the Rapture, we would like to highlight a few points that may have been overlooked:
Matthew 25:5 reads: “While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.” This parable deals with ten virgins, five fool ish and five wise. We read that they all slumbered and slept. That means we will become tired prior to Christ’s return. That seems logical, variety and quantity of work involved in prophecy-oriented ministries.
It was confirmed to me last year at the Pre-Trib Conference in Dallas, the organization director, Dr. Thomas Ice, said: “All prophecy oriented ministries are experiencing extreme difficulties.” Why? Because they all slumbered and slept.
Interest in our Lord’s return has decreased substantially. In the early 1970s, Midnight Call Ministries placed a small ad in some of the major Christian publications of that time offering readers a subscription to Midnight Call magazine. We literally received thousands of letters as a result of our advertising campaign.
Several years ago we reprinted the same ad in one of the major Christian publications and received only three responses. Several ministries have reduced the frequency of their publications; some have stopped publishing altogether.
What about Midnight Call magazine? We have no intention of reducing or ceasing publication. As a matter of fact, it is our sincere and urgent prayer to follow the admonition the Apostle Paul offered at the end of his proclamation of the Rapture: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). To abound means to increase in the work of the Lord in these endtimes. Second Thessalonians 2:17 states: “Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.”
I want to challenge each one of our readers with these words: Seek the comfort only God can provide, the comfort that will make us increase in the work of the Lord in these days.
Subscription Cost
The official subscription cost to receive Midnight Call magazine for one year is $28.95. That price has remained the same since 1995. Increases in the cost of materials, labor and postage have caused us to carry an additional burden; however, we will not increase the subscription cost at this time. Although the price of the subscription may seem relatively high for many of our readers, it only averages about 55 cents a week.
How You Can Help
In light of the cost issues mentioned above, there is something you can do to help: Send a gift subscription to someone you think might benefit from Midnight Call magazine. We have drastically reduced the price of a gift subscription to only $12 per year. And when you send four gift subscriptions, we will extend the expiration date of your subscription for an additional year FREE!
Remember, a gift subscription keeps on giving for 12 months, and the messages of encouragement, exhortation and intensive Bible study will last a lifetime!
Also, please renew your subscription early. This will help save us money on sending subscription renewal notices. Renewing your subscription is a vote of confidence that Midnight Call will continue to be a blessing to you and yours in the days to come.
I close with 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15: “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.”