Several years ago we led a mission team to Belarus (Russia). The wonderful people at the First Baptist Church of Minsk hosted us, and very graciously facilitated our ministry in the areas around Minsk.  We ministered to them, with them, and were truly ministered to by them. They invited me to preach in their midweek service. It was a memorable sermon, but not because I was such a great motivational speaker. A funny thing happened on the way to translation!

These wonderful people experienced very difficult lives under communist rule. Their history of oppression was often reflected in the melancholy strains of their music. In contrast, their observation of our music (and why they liked it so much) was it sounded so happy. When they asked me to preach, I wasn’t looking to be an inspirational speaker or motivational speaker. I wanted to be an encouraging speaker. The Lord brought Psalm 23 to my thoughts. It was a perfect place from which to draw a message of encouragement.

A local pastor’s daughter translated for me during our time in Minsk. She was a great encouragement to our team. Before speaking to our host church, we had worked through several sermons and developed a good sense of anticipation for one another. My first point was, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” Two little letters make an incredible statement. God will not say He was our Shepherd.  We don’t have to wait for Him to be our Shepherd. All who have ever named Him as Lord and Savior may call upon Him and He is!  He is eternal and from before the foundation of the world, He knew you and He knew me! That’s encouragement!

It’s simple to make that point, but as I began to speak on the subject, I  could tell the translator was having difficulty. Based on previous experience , I said it again but slowed my speech a bit to make sure she got what she needed in order to translate. She still had trouble. Now, in true blockhead fashion, I restated the first sentence slowly and LOUDER! She still didn’t get it. As I was very likely about to try something even worse, a man to my right rose from his seat and came to the pulpit. He was a U.S. missionary stationed in that area. He walked right up to me and whispered in my ear, “They don’t have a word for is!” He knew the translator and said something to her in Russian. People near the front must have heard what he said. When he and the translator smiled at the mistake, it was obvious those folks were also amused. There was a way to make that point, I just didn’t know what it was.  The rest of the sermon went very well and God blessed it. That was His doing and that fact was an encouragement to me.

In The Great House of God, Max Lucado makes this same point from another passage of Scripture. His great discourse on the Model Prayer begins, “Our Father Who is in heaven…”  Our Father Who is…  Moses knew Him as I AM.  From the burning bush, the Lord said, “I Am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Eternal life is in that statement. If those men were not living with God as a result of their faith, God would  have said, “I was the God…”  No.  Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob preceded Moses in life’s panorama, but God says, “I AM the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”  He lives in the present. The Great I AM is and will ever be!

Look at it: Is. The little word has two characters. Let the I represent God. He is perfect in all His ways, deeds, and thoughts. He created all that is, was, or will be. He created Man in His own image, the pinnacle of creation. You know the story. The evil one entered the scene of innocence and Man yielded to temptation. God’s Word says after Adam and Eve sinned they brought forth children in their image. That is our sin nature. That is why we need a Savior. God loves us enough to provide His Son as our Savior. You already see it. We are the s. Compared to another s, one may look better or worse. Compared to the I (I AM), any s will always be small and crooked. The little word, Is, pictures Perfection standing by Imperfection. Provision stands by Need. Forgiveness stands by Sin. And God (I) has said to you and me (s), “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Christian, the Lord is your shepherd, and He is the Lover of your soul. That Is encouragement!

Everyone is aware of ‘too-good-to-be-true’ investments, marketing schemes, etc. But are you aware of an unbelievably high rate of return on investment with an unquestionable guarantee? It does exist, and the best explanation is an illustration. A woman born in the late 1800’s is a great example and her investment is still growing in 2014!

This lady’s name was Maggie. She was short, slender, and from a very ‘average’ family. She married and started a family of her own. There is much about her life I don’t know. I am aware of prayer in her life. It was a key part of her investment and that guaranteed rate of return.

There were a few ‘colorful characters’ in Maggie’s family. She could not change that, but she knew Who could. She prayed that God would make preachers/ministers from her descendants. That prayer was first answered in one of her grandsons. He became the first preacher in that family line. His ministry included churches in four states and several preaching/teaching opportunities abroad. Many lives were changed and Maggie’s prayers are still being answered in that grandson’s ministry. Being aware of prayer is not enough. One must also be aware in prayer.

Maggie’s grandson had a family. One of his sons became aware in prayer of God’s calling on his life. He entered vocational ministry and served churches in two states. As ministry life goes, it was fairly normal until the Pastor’s Prayer Summit came to town. Maggie’s great grandson was involved in that effort as a prayer ministry was birthed in the city where he ministered. That was a life-changing event for the pastors involved. There was no agenda other than prayer, no denominational barriers, and only a desire to be a better community of ministers through God’s presence and the power of prayer. Every pastor was aware of prayer, and every pastor became aware in prayer that God was doing something awesome. Maggie’s prayers were about to bear fruit in ways she never dreamed possible!

Inprayer brings to mind a single act or event. It’s like saying, “I am in the valley.” But when David wrote, ‘’Though I walk through the valley…,” a journey or process comes into view. Several pastors in the Summit movement were aware through prayer of mission opportunities to be met in East Africa. Maggie’s great grandson was one of them. For several years these pastors led missions to Kenya and Tanzania. Doctors and nurses were engaged in medical missions. Pastors from the U.S. taught and trained pastors in East Africa. Hundreds of people from all walks of life joined in the annual mission trips. Everyday ‘normal’ church members saw miraculous healings, spiritual victories, and experienced the incredible power of God’s presence. Thousands of lives were touched and changed by the Gospel. Maggie’s prayers for preaching descendants reached beyond her life to places and numbers she couldn’t have imagined! She was aware through prayer that God wants to do great things in the lives of His children.

One secret to Maggie’s success was obedience. Her life’s story isn’t the one we sometimes read about a ‘little old lady’ that seemed to have nothing but died and left millions to a charity. Her story is better. She laid up for herself treasure in heaven where moth and rust does not corrupt and thieves break in and steal. Ever noticed it’s usually thieves who make those to-good-to-be-true offers? Maggie didn’t have what thieves want. But where her heart was, her treasure is! And it’s growing! Here’s how I know.

Maggie was my great grandmother. Her grandson is the one I call, “Dad.” That work in East Africa laid the foundation for my current work with Rivers of the World (ROW). Through ROW I was able to start the Mathes Pastor Training School. We are currently equipping many pastors in other countries for the work God entrusted to them. U.S. pastors give their wisdom/experience as mission volunteer faculty in the school. One is my Dad. And Maggie’s prayers continue to lay up treasure for her in heaven. Why? Because God rewards of those who seek Him. My ministry opportunities reach back over a century to the prayers of a little woman I remember from childhood. The ‘acorn’ of her prayer took root and over a century later, a huge ‘tree’ of ministry exists in my Dad and me. I’ve been privileged to minister in over a dozen countries. That was God answering her prayers and “doing exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ask or imagine.” That‘s His Personal guarantee and it’s reliable. But God isn’t done answering Maggie’s prayers. We have a son-in-law preparing for vocational ministry!

Is it any wonder why I ask people to join this ministry as prayer partners? We do all we can to make you aware for prayer. Lay up for yourself treasure God will multiply. You can’t lose!

How does one become a motivational speaker? Why are they necessary? What separates the great (expensive?) motivational speakers from free motivational speakers? Space won’t allow all the answers even if I knew them. But here are some logical observations mixed with some great experiences.

Motivational speaking, and many other things, is learned through trial and error. A few people seem born with the ability to exhort and encourage others. Motivational speakers will always have an audience because people have bad habits. We get locked into certain paradigms and won’t change. Astute observers with reasonable communication skills can do well telling the rest of us how and why to change.

But it’s external motivation. Ever told your kids to shape up or lose their privileges? That’s external motivational speaking. Parents know they are going to have to give another ‘motivational session’ very soon. The great motivational speakers have learned to go back to that mother lode of bad human habits and find another reason to be in demand. Is there motivation that lasts? How long would a motivational speaker be in demand if they passed out lasting motivation?

Internal motivation was addressed by the Apostle Paul as he wrote about living ‘from faith to faith,’ (Rom. 1:17). That’s a profound statement, but often overshadowed by verse 16. Faith reaching out to faith is an incredibly powerful source of internal motivation. Let me illustrate.

Early in 2012 I got an email message from a pastor I didn’t know. He sent it to Rivers of the World as a general request for help. Our Executive Dir. sent it on to all the ROW staff. As I read his request to help build a church, it became a matter of faith for me. I shared his request through email and speaking engagements. Everywhere I went I asked people to pray for that pastor and his church. I later learned I didn’t even get his name right due to the forwarded emails.

In October 2012, my faith, and the prayers of many, resulted in a trip to Belize to meet this pastor. His name is Juan. We met after I had taken about an 80 minute drive into the remote jungle areas of southern Belize. We stopped in the picturesque village of Santa Teresa. When I walked up to the church I discovered about two dozen men working inside four block walls with no roof overhead. Pastor Juan was one of them. We introduced ourselves and began to talk.

I said I’d received his letter and asked him about the church. He said it was formed about 16-17 years ago and it still met in his house. From the beginning this small, faithful congregation began saving money to build a permanent facility. Around January of 2011 they began to pray for guidance regarding completion of the church. Their prayers led to a step of faith. Construction began even though they knew they didn’t have the funds (or skills) to complete the building. He then pointed to the front of the church and said, “See those cement bags? We will use those today and that is the last of the supplies we could buy with the money we saved.” We had arrived at that moment by one step of faith after another; faith to faith. I asked, “How can we help?” That church hadn’t asked for a motivational speaker and I hadn’t tried to be one. But when faith met faith, we couldn’t have been more motivated!

In 2013, I led a ROW team to roof the church. Later, we installed a water purification system for Santa Teresa and established a Pastor Training School for area pastors. Those efforts, and others, will continue this year. We are still motivated from faith to faith! You can join us…