An Interview with Russell Stendal Jr.

​I was privileged to grow up on the mission field in Colombia.  I have a long heritage of ministry with my grandparents serving the Kogi Indians for over 50 years in the hills of Colombia. 

Since my father is an American and mother is a Colombian, together they've had a profound ministry to the FARC guerillas, Colombian government, paramilitary and civilians throughout the country of Colombia for over 30 years. I grew up in this atmosphere seeing first hand that God is real and working through my family. 

During my childhood I enjoyed working alongside my dad and seeing the Lord at work. Most of our time together would be spent on the road going wherever the Lord guided in the United States, Canada and of course, Colombia. I was able to see my dad speak in many different church denominations and with people from various backgrounds. It was amazing how God's love and message has no barriers. 

As a young boy, I knew I had to personally accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior and welcome Him into my life. I was homeschooled until 4th grade and I had many neighborhood friends. I transferred to a missionary school, but the friends I enjoyed the most were from my neighborhood. Once I turned 14, my friends started making poor choices including drugs and smoking. It was then that I knew I had to make a choice for my life.

I chose to withdraw from the bad influence of my friends and turned towards video games to distract me.  I lived with the reality of my dad being gone on the mission field much of my childhood and struggled with missing him.  I am grateful we have a close family and I had my two older sisters Lisa and Alethia and my brother-in-law, Sammy who looked after Dylan and me.  However, I also felt the weight of the responsibility to take care of my younger brother Dylan when my parents were gone weeks at a time. It was then that I knew I couldn't do it on my own. I understood that the Lord called my parents to do this work. I didn't feel hurt, but it was challenging for me.  Communication was difficult when my parents were traveling to remote areas and I struggled with feeling fearful not knowing when they would return.  During this time, I realized the need to trust in the Lord and give Him my life, but I still didn't allow Him to become Lord of my whole life.

My brother-in-law Sammy saw how I spent my time playing video games. He began waking me up at 5:00 a.m. and training me to play soccer. We trained every day and I loved it. My passion for soccer grew during middle school and high school. I played on a city tournament team and was determined to become a professional soccer player.

My parents poured into my life by consistently sharing Christ and Bible stories. I felt comfortable asking my dad questions and he did his best to answer, but most of the time his answer was to read the Bible, discover for myself and then come back and ask any further questions. My mom and dad always prioritized us when they were home, even though they couldn't be there all the time, this made it easier when they were away because I knew they cared. 

After graduating high school, I struggled figuring out my future dreams and what I was going to do. I always thought I could use soccer to do ministry around the world, but I didn't know how and/or if it was the Lord's leading. There was always a struggle between what I could do, what I should do and what the Lord wanted me to do.

Right after high school, my dad encouraged me and sent me to Canada to get my pilot's license. I thought I wouldn't like aviation, but I realized later that it was a blessing and I love it now.  Since 2012, every year I've gone to the United States to update my credentials. 

In 2011, when we filmed our movie, La Montaña, I felt I was finally useful in what God was doing in Colombia. The Lord used the movie for something totally different than I thought. The movie opened doors for us to connect with some indigenous groups we didn't have connection with before. We went throughout Colombia setting up “mini movie theatres” with chairs, surround sound and popcorn, giving out Bibles at the end. Many of these people living in remote jungle areas of Colombia have never seen a movie before. 

I was touched by the way the Lord used La Montaña and stirred the hearts of the people as they watched it. Throughout my life, I was a witness of what the Lord was doing in both my grandparents' and my parents' lives. 

I felt brokenness in my heart with stories of missionary kids going the opposite way instead of continuing in the ministry their parent's set before them. I didn't want to fall into that. Even if it's a different path, I wanted to continue building off of my parent's path. 

My dad was a young boy when his parents arrived in Colombia and were missionaries reaching out to the people in the Kogi villages, which later opened the doors for my dad's ministry to the FARC guerillas. Therefore, I wondered what the Lord wanted me to do as I followed in the footsteps of the ministry with my parents. 

Around 2012, I wanted to start working for the ministry, but it wasn't until my dad was arrested in 2015 that I had a wakeup call to take responsibility in what the Lord was calling me to do and allow Him to clean up anything wrong in my life. I struggled to find my identity in the activities I liked to do and used those things to escape. I wanted to start allowing the Lord to clean my heart. As I have allowed Him to bring those things to light, I am growing and finding my identity in Christ.

Since then it's been an amazing journey and God is continuing to do wonderful things in Colombia, Cuba and expanding the ministry into Venezuela. 

Currently, in October 2017, I am in the United States on a speaking tour. I am excited to continue growing in the Lord and letting Him use my life for His glory.  

Thank you for your prayers and support, please join us in prayer for continued provision of Bibles for Venezuela, the ongoing ministry and radio broadcasting in Colombia. 

The Power of Prayer Begins at Age 4

At age four, I began to pray that God would send my parents and our entire family to South America as missionaries after seeing a picture book of the horrible conditions facing the Indians living in the Andes mountains without the Gospel. Today, at age 61, I continue to pray for the same Indians as God has brought many efforts together into a massive revival of excellent quality.

The Power of Prayer on Trial in Court

We had been arrested in mid February 2015 and falsely charged with rebellion and terrorism as our enemies made an all out attempt to keep me out of the eventually successful Colombian Peace Process. Their evil scheme should have worked because Colombia has no bail and it takes two or three years for serious charges like this to come to trial. They thought that even though their false witnesses might not stand up in court that it would take years to find this out and in the meantime, I and the others would be held in prison.

The legal battle was fierce and many people continued to faithfully pray. At risk were dozens of Christian radio stations backed by high-ranking Generals who saw that the only way to pacify rural Colombia is with the Gospel. The twenty men helped me in some way to pass out large numbers of Bibles and Galcom solar radios fix-tuned to our frequencies in areas controlled by the guerrillas. All of them were offered leniency from the government prosecutor if they would admit to being guerrillas and testify that I was their leader. None of them flinched. All of them spent a year in prison without any proper charges being filed and our lawyers got them out with a writ of habeas corpus, yet the case against us continued. 

I was only held for 24 hours and the lower court judge dismissed the charges, but the prosecutor appealed to a higher court and the legal process continued against us for the past two and a half years even after it was proven that all the witnesses were false.

The Power of Prayer Produces Victories in 2017

On September 4, 2017 a judge in Colombia precluded the legal case against me and twenty others (some of whom are of Indian background). 

The charges against us included our radio stations and other aspects of ministry. I was also charged with running drug traffic and coordinating the drug routes and drug monies not only for the guerrillas, but also for the right wing paramilitary. During the past two and a half years our support in the United States took a huge hit, but our support from Canada and Europe actually increased. 

Many international ministries, including Mission´s Fest sent documents and signed letters on our behalf to be presented in court. The Human Rights Commission of the Colombian Senate also got involved and I was given international recognition. This eventually forced the September 4th hearing and the preclusion means that all of us have been completely exonerated and that most likely the Colombian government will have to compensate us financially (starting with the quarter million dollars or so that we had to spend on legal expenses).

Over the past couple of weeks significant answers to prayer have encouraged all of us. Hurricane Irma went directly over our boat in Cuba and the boat and crew came out of the hurricane safe while virtually everything else was damaged or destroyed. The hurricane then continued into Florida and all of our family, friends, supporters and ministry associates came through the hurricane unscathed. We are asking for continued prayer as more hurricanes are on the horizon (this turned out to be an extremely active hurricane year and the hurricane season continues until December 1st).

This story continues in that successful missionary endeavors in Colombia have not only resulted in a growing vibrant, thriving church, but native missionaries are now going out of Colombia to surrounding areas such as needy Venezuela and around the world.

We are blessed to have friends who have 
continued to stand and pray with us. 
Thank you for your continued support and prayers.

   - Russell and Marina Stendal

The Unquenchable Life
 
(A Study of Acts Chapters 8 – 28)
 
by Russell M. Stendal
 
Introduction
 
I have been called a wide range of derogatory names over the years, even to the extent of being denounced in some sectors as the antichrist (Matthew 5:10-12). One of the more interesting titles conferred on me (and not always intended as a compliment) is that of the Lone Ranger. As this topic continued to reoccur in one form or another I decided to do a little research. According to Wikipedia:

The Lone Ranger was named so because the character is the only survivor of a group of six Texas Rangers, rather than because he works alone (as he is usually accompanied by Tonto). A posse of six members of the Texas Ranger Division pursuing a band of outlaws led by Bartholomew "Butch" Cavendish is betrayed by a civilian guide named Collins and is ambushed in a canyon named Bryant's Gap. Later, an Indian named Tonto stumbles onto the scene and discovers one ranger is barely alive, and he nurses the man back to health.

Tonto recognizes the lone survivor as the man who saved his life when they both were children. According to the television series, when Tonto left the Reid place with a horse given him by the boy Reid, he gave Reid a ring and the name Kemo Sabe, which he said means "trusty scout". Among the Rangers killed was the survivor's older brother, Daniel Reid, who was a captain in the Texas Rangers and the leader of the ambushed group. To conceal his identity and honor his fallen brother, Reid fashions a black domino mask from the material of his brother's vest. To aid in the deception, Tonto digs a sixth grave and places at its head a cross bearing Reid's name so that Cavendish and his gang would believe that all of the Rangers had been killed.

Hmm. This sounds interesting. My thoughts immediately went back to the fall of 1968.[1] Our family was home on furlough from the mission field of Colombia and I went on a ministry trip with my father to the west coast while all the other young people of our church community (Bethany Fellowship of Bloomington, MN) went on a retreat at a camp in northern Minnesota. Tragically, a tornado hit the camp and some of the young people in my class were killed leaving me a sole survivor. These were the kids that I had gone to Confirmation class with. They would have grown up to be my friends, associates, and contemporaries in ministry. However, some of their parents and relatives have had a special place in their hearts for me ever since and have prayed for and supported me in ministry over the past fifty years.

My thoughts also went back to the 80’s and 90’s when so many missionaries and pastors (many of them personal friends and associates) were killed in Colombia and again, I was the survivor, having been captured by the FARC guerrillas and released after being tied to a tree for 142 days (when one of the guerrilla commanders realized that I was the one who had saved his mother). My brother, Chad, and I remained at the missionary base at Lomalinda where we had grown up and witnessed the departure of the last missionary airplane. All told, more than five hundred friends of my brother and I were killed in the dirty war, while by the grace of God we survived. Intervals of heavy fighting mixed with looting soon destroyed two thirds of the base and one third of the nearby town of Puerto Lleras.  Yet God used us to raise up powerful radio stations at Lomalinda that to this day cover even the most remote borders. By the year 2000 close to 850 foreign missionaries had been withdrawn from eastern Colombia, and only my brother and I remained. Untold numbers of church buildings were destroyed, hundreds of pastors gunned down, and, according to the UN, over six million people displaced (second only to Syria).[2]
I continued my research on the Lone Ranger:

The Lone Ranger has a creed put in place by Fran Striker at the inception of him portraying the character. It read: I believe...

• That to have a friend, a man must be one.
• That all men are created equal and that everyone has within himself the power to make this a better world.
• That God put the firewood there, but that every man must gather and light it himself.
• In being prepared physically, mentally, and morally to fight when necessary for what is right.
• That a man should make the most of what equipment he has.
• That 'this government of the people, by the people, and for the people' shall live always.
• That men should live by the rule of what is best for the greatest number.
• That sooner or later...somewhere...somehow...we must settle with the world and make payment for what we have taken.
• That all things change but truth, and that truth alone, lives on forever.
• In my Creator, my country, my fellow man.

I like the moral code of the Lone Ranger, but would clarify a couple points:

In order to have “the power within to make this a better world” we must be dead to our own plans and ambitions so that Jesus Christ can be alive in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul wrote, For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21). Or in the words of the psalmist, Cause me to live according to thy mercy, so I shall keep the testimony of thy mouth (Psalm 119:88). In the highest sense, “the truth that never changes and lives on forever” is the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, I AM the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). God’s way for us to fight is to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21).

Unless there are a sufficient number of people who understand the above truth, and the significance of what that sixth grave meant to the Lone Ranger, “this government of the people, by the people, and for the people” will fail. For the health of society, and of our nation, there must always be those who will stand alone, if needs be, for truth and justice, willing to go against the groupthink of the secular or religious crowd, and against corrupt special interests and private kingdoms to set an example for others to follow.

Over the course of the 52-year war in Colombia my brother and I had many conversations with well meaning officials from the US Embassy and others who wanted us to leave the war zone in the interest of our personal safety and that of our families. They were, for the most part, unable to understand that we consider ourselves already “dead in Christ” and therefore no enemy has been able to overpower us with fear, even if, at times, we must stand alone. Of course, I have never really been alone, the Lord has always been with me and so have my wife, my brother, my children and countless others (friends and guides) that God has always provided to fulfill the role of “Tonto” or even to restore the original “posse”.

More research on the Lone Ranger:

In addition, Fran Striker (the actor) and George W. Trendle (the producer) drew up guidelines (among the following) that embody who and what the Lone Ranger is:

• The Lone Ranger was never seen without his mask or some sort of disguise.
• He was never captured or held for any length of time by lawmen, avoiding his being unmasked.
• He always used perfect grammar and precise speech devoid of slang and colloquialisms.
• Whenever he was forced to use guns, he never shot to kill, but instead tried to disarm his opponent as painlessly as possible.
• He was never put in a hopeless situation; e.g., he was never seen escaping from a barrage of gunfire merely by fleeing toward the horizon.
• He rarely referred to himself as the Lone Ranger. If someone's suspicion were aroused, the Lone Ranger would present one of his silver bullets to confirm his identity; but many times someone else would attest on his behalf. The origin of this name was, following the Bryant's Gap ambush, Tonto observed him to be the only ranger left—the "lone ranger"; Tonto's choice of words inspired him to call himself "The Lone Ranger".
• Even though The Lone Ranger offered his aid to individuals or small groups facing powerful adversaries, the ultimate objective of his story always implied that their benefit was only a by-product of the development of the West or the country.
• The Lone Ranger never drank or smoked; and saloon scenes were usually shown as cafes, with waiters and food instead of bartenders and liquor.
• Criminals were never shown in enviable positions of wealth or power, and they were never successful or glamorous.

The Lone Ranger is a symbol of the brave circuit riding preachers, judges, and marshals (riding alone or with one or two sidekicks unless circumstances warranted a “posse”) that only feared God and tamed the wild west, heralding well over a century of peace and safety not only for women, children, and minorities, but their heroic actions ensured liberty for everyone to pursue happiness and worship God according to each individual conscience. This is unique in world history.

From 1974 when I returned from the University of Minnesota at age 19 to begin our Chaparral Ranch project in untamed eastern Colombia, and as a missionary jungle pilot, until the guerrillas kidnapped me in 1983, I almost always carried a weapon (a Smith and Wesson Highway Patrolman .357 magnum or a .38 Chief’s Special with a concealed carry permit). My first sidekick (in the role of Tonto) was Guillermo Romero, (one of his uncles was the Colombian Minister of Defense and his other uncle was Director of the National Police). My brother, Chad, sometimes rode with us (carrying his Colt .44). On several notable occasions he stopped merciless bands of rustlers from taking our cattle or from harming or raping innocent people.

In the lawless environment of the eastern Colombia cattle country we had many encounters with desperate criminals and always came out on top without ever having to shoot to kill. In one famous encounter I faced down a notorious bad guy who came to our place to wreak havoc with only one “silver” bullet left in my gun. These were special extremely precise bullets that I molded and reloaded on my own. After morning chores I used to sit in the bushes beside a salt lick (reading C.S. Lewis) and shoot pigeons that were attracted to the salt. With one box of 50 of my special bullets I shot 51 pigeons through the neck or head (two lined up for one shot) and this always made for a good lunch. I also dropped a wild bull with one shot to the head, won shooting contests against nefarious characters, and shot an untold number of snakes through the head including a bushmaster over ten feet long that killed one of my horses (the horse died fifteen minutes after being struck). My brother killed a 22 foot anaconda, with a single shot, in the middle of a swamp in the dark, without a flashlight, that had a strangle hold on his dog.

For the Chaparral project my father had carefully selected the best pastors and evangelists that he could find in the big cities. Facing intense community life in the rustic, wild, hostile, rural environment, most of them failed miserably. The only one that did not get into serious moral trouble, a man that I greatly respected named, Paco, drowned in the river. This left me, at age nineteen, in late 1974, as the only spiritual “elder” that was not morally deviant. I stuck it out until I was kidnapped on August 14, 1983 by the FARC.[3]

Following my miraculous release from the kidnapping on January 3, 1984 (brokered by my brother, Chad) I turned the ranch over to him, and entered full time travelling ministry all over North America and Colombia.[4] Since that time (33 years ago) I never carried another firearm, except on special occasions. Now my “silver bullets” are facets of the truth of God that I have been able to share and witness to the men and women and leaders of all the sides of the conflict. In fact, so many have come to Christ that the FARC conflict has ended.

Some of the most dangerous trips I have ever made were over the “paramo” or high alpine Andes above the tree line into territory that had been held by rebels ever since 1917. No churches or religious meetings of any kind were allowed. We went in with 10,000 back packs to give out to all the children filled with Bibles, books, solar powered radios, toys, clothing, school supplies etc. and recruited the children to evangelize their parents, the guerrillas, and the army soldiers. The Lord provided me with two brothers to run the radio station I placed on top of a 13,500 ft. peak and as guides. After several almost fatal experiences with horses that failed, my guides bought me a wonderful high mountain stallion that I named, Silver.

On February 17, 2015, I was arrested in Bogota as a result of false charges apparently trumped up by dark enemies who did not understand the importance of seeing the guerrillas converted to Christ. Twenty-four hours later a judge released me and finally, the government was forced to apologize and withdraw the charges. Twenty random campesinos from Sumapaz (including my two guides) who had helped me distribute the children’s backpacks were also arrested and they were held for an entire year without formal charges being filed. They were offered their freedom if they would declare against me (the prosecutor wanted them to testify that I was a guerrilla). All of them stuck to the truth about me even when threatened with long prison terms. Our lawyers were finally able to obtain their release by filing a habeas corpus. This was a horrible miscarriage of justice and cost us quite a bit in legal fees and other expenses.
 
My enemies thought that they would use the law to “unmask” me but what happened at the trial showed what God had been doing all along. One million Bibles, almost three million good books and one hundred and twenty thousand Galcom radios fix tuned to our frequencies had been distributed throughout the war zones in addition to the thousands of back packs to children that had never been to church or Sunday School.

Silver never let me down. He could power through the treacherous peat bogs, and was sure footed on the slippery shale rock precipices even in the dark. Silver could jump chasms, go up or down seemingly impossible slopes and never caused me to fall (as had been the case with several lesser horses). For the past two years or so he has been out to pasture in the beautiful mountain valley pictured in our movie, La Montaña.[5] It is filled with sweet grass and clover and as close to horse heaven as anywhere I have seen on earth (there are no ticks or horse flies). Both of us are slightly past our prime, but we can still ride. Therefore, when those who would belittle us or warn others not to follow our example call me a Lone Ranger, I really do not mind. I take it as quite a compliment.

Of course we know that God’s end game is for the body of Christ to come to maturity and to function corporately in perfection. He has placed ministry to aid this purpose (Ephesians 4). The day will soon come when Jesus returns with the armies of heaven and all of his saints (Jude 14,15). We will be caught up to meet him in the air and deputized as part of the real posse that will hunt down all the bad guys.

In the meantime, however, it may be necessary on repeated occasions to stand alone as necessary for the truth in the midst of this godless world or even among so called people of God who have become compromised due to selfish ambition and private kingdoms. The heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 stood seemingly alone in their day. Let’s join them.

Hebrews 11
 
1 Faith, therefore, is the substance of things waited for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
 
The heroes of faith that follow started out alone yet they are called “elders” here in Scripture. They are in God’s hall of fame because they submitted to him instead of blindly following human counsel. They look forward to the perfection of the body of Christ as the substance of things waited for, the evidence of things not seen.

3 Through faith we understand that the ages were framed by the word of God, that which is seen being made of that which was not seen.
God has used each age to fulfill his purpose and has used men and women of faith to demonstrate his will and character.
4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and by it he being dead yet speaks.
Abel stood alone in his generation. Does this make him a lone ranger?
5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death, and was not found because God had translated him, for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
Enoch walked alone with God. Does this make him a lone ranger?
6 But without faith it is impossible to please God; for he that comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him.
If we believe that God is and that he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him, why would we want to trust in man?[6]
7 By faith Noah, having received revelation of things not seen as yet, with great care prepared an ark to the saving of his house, by which he condemned the world and was made heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
Was Noah a lone ranger? (Every other human authority in the ancient world was condemned by Noah’s faith.)
8 By faith Abraham, being called, hearkened to go out into the place which he should afterwards receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he went.
What if Abraham had listened to the elders of Ur of the Chaldees instead of hearkening unto the call of God? Shem was still alive and there must have been other wise patriarchs that Abraham could have sought counsel from. Yet there is no mention in Scripture that Abraham sought advice or counsel from anyone other than God.
9 By faith he sojourned in the promised land, as in a strange country, dwelling in booths with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;
10 for he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
 
Even after it was clearly proven that Abraham walked with God and was his friend Abraham refused to build his own city. He refused to attempt to control others. He looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. The only everlasting foundation is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Does this make Abraham a lone ranger?

11 By faith also Sara herself being sterile received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she believed him to be faithful who had promised.
It should be very clear by now that faith begins as a very personal, individual thing. Each of us must believe God for ourselves and personally respond to his voice and promises. It is only after our hearts and minds have been cleansed that we may be properly joined to others in the body of Christ.[7]
12 Therefore there sprang even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
Abraham started off alone in response to the call of God.[8] He was promised spiritual descendants, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude (as a father of faith) and natural descendants, as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.[9]
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but seeing them afar off and believing them and embracing them and confessing that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Who all died in faith, not having received the promises?

“Strangers and pilgrims” do not come in clusters. They mostly travel in ones or twos, like the Lone Ranger and Tonto (Jeremiah 3:14).

Does this refer only to Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Sara?[10] Or does it also apply to their spiritual or natural offspring including us (like unto the stars of the sky and the sands of the sea)?

Some seem to think that God brings forth his people in “clusters,” (or in community in perfect “order” under the authority of “elders”) instead of God cleansing individuals by his Spirit and joining them together after they are clean. Bear in mind, however, that in order for elders like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, or many others to participate in such wonderful wholesome clusters a very important prophetic event must happen called the first resurrection (Revelation 20:4). For we are still in the time in which seemingly indistinguishable wheat and tares grow together in the same field as they both come to maturity. At the time of the harvest, however, the “wheat” bears good fruit and the “tares” produce deadly poison.[11]

Moses spent forty years virtually alone in the desert, tending sheep. God used this as training for Moses to spend another forty years leading the children of Israel through the wilderness.
 
Was Moses a lone ranger?
 
What about David? He singlehandedly protected his sheep from lions and bears and then at a very young age stood up to Goliath when every other man in Israel cowered in fear.
 
Throughout Scripture God anoints individuals.
 
If the enemy can entice us to submit our ministry to a committee in which one or more of the members are immature or unclean this will begin to take the wind out of the sails of our being led by the Holy Spirit as the committee usurps the authority of God.
 
The Book of Acts gives very clear examples of how the authority of God flows and of how a ministry team of two or three people (similar in some ways to the Lone Ranger and Tonto) can transition into wonderful, vibrant congregations in which each member of the body of Christ is encouraged to come to maturity with a direct unbroken relationship with Jesus Christ as their head (as their government).
 
In the OT the elders were determined by the people according to such factors as age, number of progeny, character, genealogy, etc. and even in the NT God does not directly name elders. He decides whether or not to put his seal of the Holy Spirit upon them and the ministry that God has placed discerns this.
 
Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are given directly by God (Ephesians 4:7-16). They are a gift from God to the body of Christ and are not to lord it over everyone else but to serve. They represent the authority of God but they are not an intermediate clergy class between the people and God like the Levites and priests of the OT for there is only one mediator of the New Covenant (1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 8:6).
 
There are examples in Scripture where ministry like Paul, Barnabas, Timothy, Titus or others could discern and recognize and therefore ordain or set in elders in the congregations based at least in part on human initiative. There are, however, no examples where the people or the ministry could decide who is an apostle or a prophet or an evangelist or a pastor or a teacher. This takes a sovereign act of God accompanied by signs that can only be witnessed to and accepted (or rejected).
 
In the broadest sense all those among the people of God (men or women) who come to maturity in Christ are elders. And those who come to maturity in Christ are not interested in politics. The twenty-four elders in Revelation cast their crowns at the feet of the Lord (Revelation 4:10,11). They know that he deserves all glory and honor and virtue, and that they are only an extension of his government. Even though it is easy to imagine twenty-four literal elders (the twelve sons of Israel plus the twelve apostles of Jesus) they are also symbolic of all of those who have come to maturity in Christ.
 
Without coming to maturity in Christ it is not possible to do anything worthwhile (because without him we can do nothing). It is not difficult to attain this maturity because Jesus Christ is already mature (perfect) and if we are hid in him this solves the problem. It does not have to take decades for us to learn this. It may happen quickly or there may be those who struggle for a very long time against the government of God unnecessarily.
 
The children of Israel could have travelled from Egypt to the Promised Land (symbolic of our inheritance in Christ) in as few as eleven days and they finally got there more than forty years later after an entire generation died off along the way (Deuteronomy 1:2,3).
 
Psalm 144
A Psalm of David
 
1 Blessed be the LORD my strength, who trains my hands for the battle and my fingers for the war:
 
David’s fingers (trained by the Lord) were used for his bow, his sling, his sword, and his harp.
 
2 My mercy and my fortress; my high tower and my deliverer; my shield and he in whom I trust, who subdues my people under me.
 
David was king but he did not desire to subdue the people of God under him. David let God do it. If the Lord has anointed any of us for ministry, like he did with David who was an example of prophet, priest and king (all in the same person), which is our inheritance in Christ, then we do not have to be concerned with subduing the people under us. If God has indeed given us authority, he will take care of it at the proper time.
 
3 LORD, what is man that thou knowest him? or the son of man, that thou esteemeth him?
 
Jesus came as Son of God, but also as son of man. He is the promised seed of Abraham and Son of David. Jesus overcame as a man but the fullness of the presence of God dwelt inside of him. Anyone that loves the truth will love Jesus.
 
4 Man is like unto vanity; his days are as a shadow that passes away.
 
5 Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down …
 
One definition of the heavens is, where God dwells.
 
When Jesus came in flesh and blood, he was the Temple of God. Jesus received the Spirit without measure and the fullness of the Father dwelt within him (John 3:34, 14:9-11).
 
What happened?
 
The heavens “bowed” and touched the earth as the Father descended and dwelt within his only begotten Son.
 
Jesus guidance was internal. His heart was indelibly linked to the heart of his Father. There is no evidence in Scripture to suggest that Jesus ever depended upon external guidance from man once he came to maturity (at about thirty years of age) and began his ministry. Jesus did not consult or depend upon elders or prophets (or even his own disciples) regarding his plans, journeys, or any other facet of his ministry.
 
Jesus depended upon his Father. This total dependency rallied everyone who loved the truth to solidarity with him. Those who hated the truth became his mortal enemies.
 
Most of the priests, scribes, elders, and Pharisees undoubtedly saw Jesus as a lone ranger. They thought that if they could kill him the confrontation would be over.
 
5 Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
 
What do the mountains represent?
 
Mountains can represent the kingdoms of men, the kingdoms of this world.
 
When Jesus touched the kingdoms of the religious leaders everything began to smoke. The elders of the priests, scribes, Pharisees and Saducees began to lose control. Everything started coming apart. The kingdoms of men could not survive in his presence.
 
6 Cast forth lightning and scatter them; shoot out thine arrows and destroy them.
 
The presence of God is as lightning and his arrows project truth that is deadly to the systems of man. (And remember that what was not fully accomplished at the first coming will certainly happen at the second coming.)
 
Who is them?
 
The mountains of any kingdom that is not the Kingdom of God.
 
7 Send thine hand from above; redeem me and deliver me out of many waters, from the hand of the strange sons,
 
Who are the strange sons?
 
If the world is the field and the wheat are the sons of God, planted by God (or by those sent from God), then the strange sons are the tares, the sons of the wicked (Matthew 13:38).
 
8 whose mouth speaks vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
 
Jesus enemies claimed to be sons of Abraham. Jesus told them the truth: Ye are of your father the Devil, and the desires of your father ye desire to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him (John 8:44).
 
9 I will sing a new song unto thee, O God; upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings I will sing praises unto thee.
 
There are nine references to a new song in Scripture. Here is the ninth and final reference: and they sang as it were a new song before the throne and before the four animals and the elders; and no one could learn that song but the hundred and forty-four thousand, who were redeemed from the earth (Revelation 14:3).
 
Only the redeemed may sing the new song and Jesus came to redeem us.[12]
 
The new song is sung upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. The law of sin and death is based on Ten Commandments but the “psaltery” of the grace of God brings forth the startling notes of deliverance and freedom by the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ, Jesus (Romans 8:2).
 
10 Thou, he who gives salvation unto kings, who redeems David his slave[13] from the evil sword.
 
King David is an example of the Messiah (Christ) yet even so, David needed redemption like everyone else.
 
What is the evil sword?
 
There is the double-edged sword of the truth of God that is good, but there is also an evil sword with which our enemies attempt to destroy us. They attempt to trap us with their version of the truth and cause us to fall.
 
Look at this little exchange between Jesus and the elders:
 
Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why do thy disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders but eat bread with unwashed hands? He answered and said unto them, Well has Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they honor me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men (Mark 7:5-7).
 
Recently someone took me to court, and had a judge put me under oath thinking that if I told the truth I would fall into their trap.
 
They were unaware, however, that: I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God (Galatians 2:20ª).
 
Therefore I have no vested personal interests to defend.
 
11 Redeem me, and save me from the hand of strange sons, whose mouth speaks vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood:
 
The native tongue of our adversary, the Devil, and his (strange) sons is to speak vanity (excessive pride that is worthless and futile). They derive their authority (the right hand is symbolic of authority) from falsehood. Even though they lie, they attempt to trap us by holding us to their version of the truth. They are essentially lawless but they want to trap us if we do not comply with their interpretation of the letter of the law.
 
They know nothing of the way of the cross or of the promises of God: Those who are led by the Spirit are the sons of God (Romans 8:14). Those who are led by the Spirit are not under the law (Galatians 5:18).
 
Jesus did not come to fulfill the traditions of the elders. He fulfilled the law by the Spirit because his Father dwelt within him and God cannot lie (Titus 1:2).
 
They did, however, condemn him to death with the law. To pronounce the sacred name of God (literally, I AM) was blasphemy. When Jesus was put on trial before the Sanhedrin (the council of seventy elders) no one defended him. Their false witnesses contradicted one another and so, they finally asked Jesus, Art thou then the Son of God?
 
Jesus decided to tip the balance of the trial so that he could legally die for us and so he responded, Ye say that I AM. When Jesus pronounced the sacred name, the trial ended (Luke 70, 71). Jesus is the only human being that could truthfully pronounce that Name, declaring his eternal existence. This caused him to be sentenced to death by vain elders.
 
Why did he decide to redeem us, and save us from the vanity and falsehood of the strange sons?
 
Here are some reasons prophesied one thousand years in advance by King David:
 
12 That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace;
 
That our sons may quickly mature and our daughters may become part of the polished foundation of the glorious new thing that God will accomplish with his people (Isaiah 42:9, 43:19).
 
13 that our garners may be full, affording all manner of store; that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets;
 
God desires to store up his word in the hearts of his people. We are the sheep of his pasture and he will cause us to be fruitful and multiply instead of being sterile. When God apprehends us from our own crooked ways, as he did with Saul of Tarsis, he immediately conducts us to the street called Straight if we genuinely desire to follow him (Acts 9:11). Then he may multiply us into thousands and ten thousands. (For God refuses to multiply anyone or anything that is not clean or that is incomplete.)
 
14 that our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in nor going out; that there be no shout of alarm in our streets.
 
The Cherubim, (special angels or living creatures) that minister unto the Lord and are associated with the realm of the Holy of Holies and with the throne of God have four faces, one of which is that of an ox (Ezekiel 1:10). The ox can be symbolic of ministry (in heaven and on earth). The Book of Acts portrays ministry selected by God that are strong to labor, like an ox. They are humble, hard working servants and help make sure that there be no breaking in nor going out (that the people of God are secure from attack and that no one would have reason to flee or to leave God’s sheepfold) and that there be no shout of alarm in our streets (no complaint of injustice). Jesus said: And I have other sheep which are not of this fold; it is expedient that I bring them also, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd (John 10:16). This is what God began to accomplish in the Book of Acts with ministry like Peter and Paul as the gospel was extended to the Gentiles. The fullness, however, of this promise, is reserved for our day.
 
15 Blessed is that people, that is in such a case; yea, blessed is that people, whose God is the LORD.
 
Throughout more than six thousand years of human history there has not been a unified people of God with the fullness of the blessing. There have been many individuals and even some excellent groups here and there. God’s people, however, have had a penchant for choosing human leadership while gradually turning their back on the Lord. The Book of Acts narrates an important inflexion point in which, by the Holy Spirit, God offers to place his government within each and every person that persuades him. It is by the Spirit that we are to put to death the deeds of the flesh so that we may live (not by submitting to man). The battle between the leadership and government of the Spirit versus the leadership and government of man has raged in Christendom for almost two thousand years.
 
This is about to change.[14] The tares (or “strange sons” that spew poison at harvest time) are about to be removed from among the wheat. This will give way to a beautiful bride without spot or wrinkle or any such thing at our Lord’s return coupled with the first resurrection. She will produce consistent good fruit of the Spirit clearly discernable to anyone with “eyes to see.”
 
Let us Pray:
 
Lord:
 
May we not only understand your message but live it in the power of the Holy Spirit so that men may see our good works and praise our Father in heaven. Amen.
 
 
 


[1] I turned 13 in November of 1968.

[2] See Rescue the Captors 2, Chapter 12, The Last Bible Translator, ANEKO Press.

[3] See Rescue the Captors, Life Sentence Publishing.

[4] See Rescue the Captors 2 and God’s Plan for Spiritual Battle, ANEKO Press.

[5] To date, this movie (in Spanish with English subtitles) has almost four million downloads on www.youtube.com making it the most watched Colombian film of all time even though it was banned from theaters in this country by misguided government officials who seemed to want the guerrillas dead instead of evangelized and converted. In addition to soldiers, paramilitaries, campesinos and policemen, many guerrillas of the FARC discreetly became Christians and secret peace talks began in Havana, Cuba in late 2011. This led to open peace negotiations by the end of 2012 with Cuba, Norway, Venezuela, and Chile as sponsoring countries.
  
[6] And yes, we understand that children are to obey their parents in the Lord (Ephesians 6:1), and that young people are to respect and submit to their elders (1 Peter 5:5), but each us will ultimately be held personally accountable to God according to the responsibility he has bestowed upon us (Matthew 12:36, Luke 12:48b).

[7] And even then we must be very cautious not to make commitments to others that have not been approved by God. Otherwise our commitment to a given group or individual(s) may supersede our commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ and begin to quench the liberty of the Spirit.

[8] Aproximately 2000 years of human history had gone by up until Abraham, and in this entire period Scripture only mentions three men previous to Abraham as outstanding and pleasing to God (Abel, Enoch, and Noah).

[9] The spiritual and natural descendants of Abraham have been increasing for the past four thousand years and the promises have still not been completely fulfilled.

[10] And according to verse 2 it certainly seems that all of them (including Sarah) are considered, elders, in Scripture.

[11] I recently did a study of the 192 Scriptures that mention “elders” (See Appendix A) and found that even though it is God’s goal and plan for each and every one of us to come to maturity in Christ many of the examples in Scripture are of ungodly elders (who have come to maturity in the nature of Adam). The word, elder, has to do with maturity but we must keep in mind that maturity as “wheat” is one thing and maturity as “tares” is quite another. Acts 11:30 marks an important turning point with the first mention of reliable elders in the NT.
 
[12] Twelve is a number that symbolizes Divine Order (as opposed to man’s order represented by humanistic elders). Twelve squared, one hundred and forty-four, (and remember we are in Psalm 144) represents the consequences of Divine Order (i.e. redemption). One thousand represents perfection. Therefore one hundred and forty-four thousand represents the perfect number of all of the redeemed. They are the only ones who can sing the new song.

[13] Servants are paid a salary and can quit. A slave belongs to an owner. When Jesus redeems us (from being slaves to sin) he becomes our owner. The sign or seal of his ownership is the Holy Spirit and where that Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty (freedom to do the will of God).

[14] The last two chapters of Acts, in addition to being historically accurate and spiritually inspiring, are also a prophetic picture of the end of our present age. I recently compiled an accurate Dictionary of Proper Names in Scripture (published as an Appendix to the latest edition of the Jubilee Bible in Spanish and in English) and was able to discover the meanings of almost all of the proper names used in the Book of Acts by using old Spanish reference material that has not, for the most part, been available to English, Greek, Hebrew, or Latin scholars. The names in question were pre-Greek and pre-Roman. This was very helpful in unlocking the prophetic picture. Every church structure built by man, even if it was deemed necessary and served a useful purpose at the time, will ultimately shipwreck and fail in the imminent end time storm as we enter the Day of the Lord. The heart of God, however, is to save all of his people.

​Reported By: Samuel David Hernández 
 
A few weeks ago, I made a very unusual trip to the island of Cuba with my wife, Lisa, and our older children Gaby (age 11) and Isaac (age 7) to visit their Grandpa. On this occasion, Grandpa (Russell Stendal) was aboard the Dawn Treader working on his next book, a series of messages about the epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Romans.  I say “unusual” trip because most of the traveling our family does is not along the lines of traditional family vacations. We hardly ever plan trips in advance because in most cases we are short on cash. We go when most people would consider the least opportune, but we are always taught something valuable; even if the lesson is as simple as learning how to listen instead of talking. Just like in Narnia, it becomes an adventure with the “Great Lion” ever present with us even when we feel alone. This was our first trip as a family to the island to visit Grandpa and the famous Bavaria 50 sailboat, appropriately named, Dawn Treader.
I remember a time when we would fight over the opportunity to go on an adventure. Most of them were to the Colombian jungle to distribute Bibles, radios or humanitarian aid. If you are familiar with the movie La Montaña, you can imagine how our everyday lives are here in Colombia as part of the ministry that the Lord has given us. 
​
For me, the famous boat trip aboard The Light of the Truth was enough to learn two lessons for the future. The riverboat was loaded with over 5 thousand Bibles for some of the most hostile regions of the Eastern Plains where there had been no missionaries for over 30 years due to the violence. On that trip, those of us that made up the crew lived through ambushes, a guerrilla attack on a town we were crossing, running from wall to wall under heavy gunfire and a fire on the boat in which a 3-year-old child was miraculously saved among other things.  At the end, none of our personal belongings were salvaged, only the Bibles on board the boat were safe. Each one of them was distributed. 

These were the two lessons I learned: 1) Never put pressure on making a trip just because you long for adventure, without putting it first in the hands of God. 2) Never invite anyone to come with you unless you are being prompted by the LORD to do so. Personally, this has turned into a continual walk with the LORD, not just in the big adventures, but also in the small details that apparently have no great importance.

Two people, both of them of Cuban nationality, but with very different lives on the island, were examples the LORD used to show us the “tip of the iceberg” of what He is doing with that small sailboat, its captain and the crew on this particular island. 

I use the word particular because the history of Cuba has not only affected it’s own people and North America profoundly, but also, Central and South America. Colombia, whose Peace Treaty has been developed on this island that which Cuba, Norway and others are guarantors of the agreement, has been a victim of the well-known, anti-imperialist hatred spread by Cuba throughout the Americas. This treaty, although the many deficiencies, has served to help diminish the killing of innocent, many times Christian, civilians. Aspects of the treaty are still being debated as they make their way through Congress and the Colombian court system. Many do not want Colombia to turn into another Venezuela, which we can not irresponsibly ignore or fail to mention, is the most recent and unwanted child of Cuba’s influence on the continent. However, we do know with utmost certainty that true lasting peace is only achieved by God’s divine intervention. 

It is because of this, that I conclude that there is no better place for the LORD to restore hearts where the effects could ripple throughout the Americas and the entire world. If this were not the intent, why would God permit such an island with 11 million inhabitants and 2 million “displaced or aided” people to be frozen in time for more than 50 years? 

The first of the Cubans, whom I will call “Lord Roop,” is a poor unhappy soul who has never been out of the “darkness.” But, by an unforeseen miracle, he bumped into the Dawn Treader. He is poor, literally; he has even lost his taste for food because of the food shortage that the island has suffered for almost 57 years since the economic “embargo” placed on it by the United States. Even placing a great meal on the table, there is very little food that draws his attention with the exception of wine-soaked pound cakes and garbanzo beans that someone visiting the sailboat gave him. He fondly remembers this food, while licking his lips and rolling his eyes.  He is unhappy, because unlike 99% of the inhabitants on the island, he does not have some family member in Florida to send him a few dollars. 

I first met Lord Roop over 3 years ago in other circumstances when we went to the island invited by Noel, the guerrilla commander whose story is portrayed in the movie La Montaña.

Back then, Noel was participating in the negotiation table established by the Colombian government to discuss the terms for the Peace Treaty. He contacted us after having seen the film and it was he who allowed for Bibles, Christian material and copies of La Montaña to be distributed among the FARC secretariat on the island. Noel became the excuse the LORD came up with for our participation in Cuba and our prayers for this man are more than necessary so that his heart is continually transforming for the LORD until he surrenders completely to HIM. But as my father-in-law, Russell, would say, Noel is “the theme for another message.”

Lord Roop would complain about everything and everyone, Cubans, Americans, Cuban-Americans, but today he is the first mate aboard the Dawn Treader. It took 2 years and a lot of high-ranking influence for him to be allowed to sail off the shores of the island; he turned out to be an excellent sailor. At night, he is the one who hands out the books we have aboard the vessel to members of the Cuban marina who are intrigued as they read and treat us with the kindest of hearts. Many of them do not know the power of the message that comes out from the beautiful boat, but little by little they have seen that it is God Himself who has us there. Lord Roop after having seen (more than heard) the life (or the written letter) of men of God like Russell Stendal and others, has learned to discern who truly is representing God among the variety of visitors to the boat. Discernment is one of the rarest gifts among the people of God today. The last words I heard from Lord Roop were, “Sammy, some day I will go to Colombia when the Lord permits.” So, in order to clear all doubts, I asked him, “What lord?” He answered, “The one who DOES and CAN DO all things.” I was impacted to hear something like this coming from someone who not too long ago declared himself an atheist. 
 
My second friend, whom I will call “Lord Bern,” is one of the best pianists in the world, who I met in Bogota at the ceremony where Russell was given an important award for his tireless search for true peace. This character is rather idolized by his people. Blessed by his talent, which has taken him around the globe, he could be what most would consider “a diva.” In spite of his great public influence, he was almost not able to arrive to the boat.  It took him great effort. He had to borrow gasoline, drive many hours and endure the discomfort of being a citizen of a country that does not permit its naturals to board any vessel easily. (Due to his great talent and influence, this is something he was not accustomed to.)

Lord Bern was impacted greatly upon hearing that our trip to the island was financed by a few personal savings that we had set apart (although we did not nearly have enough) for a volleyball tournament that our daughter Gaby had won her way to in Orlando, FL.  When he asked us why, we told him that Grandpa had invited us and we felt this trip to visit him was what God wanted us to do with that money. By the end of the trip, Lord Bern had endeared himself to the children referring to them as his own grandchildren from Colombia. The grandchildren, that up till now, he and his wife have not been able to have. Before we left he said to us, “Meeting you has changed my wife and I.”
On this trip we tried to do some fishing, but even the bait was scarce on the island. The two times we went out we only caught two enormous BARRACUDAS, one on each occasion. It was then that I understood perfectly what the LORD had us doing on that island and in other hostile and undesirable areas we visit. The LORD has us fishing for BARRACUDAS. When the LORD called Peter and Andrew his brother and said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:18-19 what He didn’t say, but what we have begun to learn over time, is that not all the fish are the same. Not all of them are at the same level of deepness, they don´t all have the same size and not all of them are attracted to the same kind of bait. The same thing happens with many men, in this case represented by Lord Roop and Lord Bern. This is unusual for us, but most definitely a marvelous thing of God. God has us fishing men that at first sight are a lot like barracudas. A class of fish that resemble serpents or piranhas and in many cases cannot even be eaten because their flesh is a poison to those who are not accustomed.  What is true though, regardless, is that they are fish and the LORD wants to fish them and He is doing it. 
Although the LORD may have others fishing “nicer” creatures, our share has been the barracudas. But who is to say that the LORD cannot make of barracudas a great dinner for His feast? 

Update From: Russell Stendal

On Mother’s Day, I spoke at the Naza Indian community called The Greatness of God in Morales, Cauca. They have prospered naturally and spiritually after faithfully coming through much tribulation and persecution. The Nazas are a subdivision of the Paez (Colombia’s largest tribe) and were part of the hotbed where the guerrilla movement began in May of 1964. Now, there are more than one hundred thousand Christians of Indian descent in the southwest corner of Colombia. The main group of Naza Christians now number almost 15,000 and they have been very effective and dynamic at evangelism to the extent that some who used to persecute Christians have now come to Christ. The Indian congregations have sent evangelists and even large evangelistic teams into some of the most difficult areas. 

Lightning Strikes and Conflict

In recent weeks, ELN guerrillas and right wing paramilitary units have been fighting intensely in Cauca and have converged on the municipality of Morales where we have several radio stations. There are many Christian communities between the Paez and Guambiano Indians that we support. The Colombian authorities (police and army) have their hands full trying to maintain law and order. Several weeks ago, one of our key transmitters on a remote mountain peak was hit by lightning and we are unable to get through all the violence and confusion safely in order to replace it. We were, however, able to start a standby transmitter on another mountain ridge a hundred miles away and resume some of the coverage, but will not be able to regain radio coverage of the important pacific coast until we can safely reach the original site. Please pray for this situation. The mountain we need to reach in order to install the new transmitter is called Munchique. 

Chaplain Licensing

We will soon be licensing Indian chaplains who under our legal charter will have the authority to minister in public schools, prisons, hospitals and at police and military bases. In the midst of all the flurry of activity in this area of the country, we regret to inform you that we will be closing our rented missionary base south of Cali due to lack of funds. This is where we have been managing over a dozen radio stations, massive literature outreach, evangelistic events and discipleship and outreach materials including Bibles for the ministry of over a thousand leaders. Pray that the Lord will provide everything we need to continue outreach in this area of unprecedented revival. It is not enough just to obtain initial commitments to Jesus; the new believers must be fed and brought to maturity in Christ so that they will bear good fruit and continue to multiply. 

Bible’s without Borders

In the far east along the Colombia Venezuela border we are ramping up our Bibles Without Borders program in which former guerrillas who used to kill pastors and burn down church buildings are now smuggling Bibles across the closed border into Venezuela to encourage beleaguered pastors and evangelists there. Everything is going extremely well except there is a need for many more Bibles than what we are currently able to provide even though many Colombians are beginning to rise to the challenge and donate money for Bibles. Please continue to pray for Venezuela. 
Thank you for your faithful support during the summer months!

BY RUSSELL AND MARINA STENDAL
 
 
Yesterday, I returned to Bogota from Brazil where I spoke at the annual Religious Liberty Partnership (RLP) consultation held for the first time in Brasilia, South America. The RLP is a partnership of leaders and top executives of several dozen important worldwide organizations dedicated to religious freedom and advocacy. Last year, the Gallup Poll, after considering many factors, declared Brazil to be the number one country in the world for religious freedom. Our Brazilian hosts (ANAJURE, the Christian lawyers association) were excellent and we were taken seriously by many of the top leaders of the country including the President, cabinet officials and members of the congress and senate. My testimony regarding Colombia was well received. I also learned some very impressive and startling information from other speakers and participants who came from all over the world:
 

• They stated the yearly number of Christian martyrs has been falling dramatically not only in Colombia, but worldwide. Five years ago, we were able to truthfully say that more Christians were being martyred than at virtually any other time in world history with estimates of 90,000 Christians being killed for their faith per year. According to published statistics by Open Doors in 2015 the number went down to under 8,000 and in 2016 their count is well under 1,300. In 2017 it appears that it will drop further.
•  Of course, religious liberty is still being severely limited in many countries and the number of displaced persons, many of them Christians, continues to rise. According to the United Nations, the two countries that stand way out are Syria with well over seven million and Colombia with well over six million people who have been forced to flee and lose their homes, lands and possessions. In other countries, such as Venezuela, due to the total unraveling of the economy, many Christians, along with much of the population, are literally starving while Bibles and good literature are also extremely scarce. (We are ramping up efforts to pour Bibles into Venezuela, as funds are available).
•  The number of Muslims killing other Muslims over religious differences is spiking into the stratosphere while the number of Muslims becoming Christians appears to be going up on a geometric progression.
• According to the World Council of Churches (WCC-who measure Christians according to the major denominations affiliated with them) there are slightly more than two hundred and eighty million evangelicals in the world. However, according to the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA-where independent churches are encouraged to join) the number of evangelicals is well over six hundred million. We are also increasingly aware of a growing number of people who are genuine Christians and meet in homes or small groups that are very difficult to count. The WCC did not attend the consultation in Brasilia. The WEA played a central part of the conference.
• The prophecy teaching prevalent over the past four or five decades regarding the European Union and Common Market being the equivalent of the ten horns of the beast of Revelation and that it is the nucleus that would lead to one world government is no longer credible (neither does it line up with other examples such as Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2). The EU is coming apart at the seams and between Brexit, Trump and other serious factors, globalization may never recover.

​Another view is that the seven heads of the beast represent all the heads of the governments and organizations of man that belong to Satan (the antichrist) even while they fight among one another (Jesus said, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation). In light of the above apparent failure of so many gifted prophecy teachers and “prophets,” we would do well to examine, before the Lord, everything else that these same people have taught so that we will not be caught unaware at His coming.
 
As I digest the above information, many questions are going through my mind. There are fifty-five references to tribulation in Scripture and almost all of them have to do with the time (or days) of the Church Age. Could these be the “days” that are shortened? (Matthew 24:22) Is this happening now? Are we entering into the time described as, “immediately after the tribulation of those days…”(Matthew 24:29) Are we now approaching the time, “then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn…” (Matthew 24:30)
 
Time will tell. Keep tabs on the statistics I mentioned above. The next to the last mention of tribulation in Scripture is regarding what will happen to “Jezebel.”
 “Behold, I will cast her into a bed and those that commit adultery with her into great tribulation. And I will kill her children with death …” (Revelation 2:22,23) This reference to “great tribulation” appears to be linked to the return of Jesus Christ. The righteous judgments of God described in the Book of Revelation are vastly different from the tribulation that the Devil has continually launched against Christians over the past two thousand years. The righteous judgments of God and the Revelation of Jesus Christ at the end of this age are “great tribulation” to the lukewarm and to the wicked (and particularly to those like Jezebel who misrepresent God and persecute his true prophets). God never destroys the righteous along with the wicked. All of the true servants of God are sealed (and protected) prior to His end time judgments (Revelation 7:3).
 
And they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into all nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Then there shall be signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars, and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of the heaven shall be shaken. And then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption draws near (Luke 21:24-28).
 
In this year of 2017, most likely the 70th year of Jubilee since the Book of Leviticus was written, as we are in the midst of a flurry of signs in the heavens (first the blood moons and solar eclipses followed by the sign describing Revelation 12:1,2 happening now in the heavens between Dec. 23, 2016 and Sept. 23, 2017) this is likely the prophesied time for us to look up and lift up our heads. Remember that when the star of Bethlehem appeared, followed by the wise men, the real fulfillment of that star was the baby in the manger who is also identified as the Morning Star (Revelation 22:16). The real fulfillment of the heavenly sign this time will be the brightness of the light of God’s clean heavenly people upon this earth who form the bride without spot or wrinkle that Jesus will soon return for. In the mean time, let us diligently be about the work of our Heavenly Father. Let us wisely invest our time and resources according to the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit so that we may have eternal treasure in heaven.

We are entering a time of ever increasing turbulence all around the planet as the established world order is being shaken. This affects virtually everything: politics, economics and religion. Colombia is no exception.

Implementation of the Peace Accord has been slow and filled with obstacles. The FARC guerrillas finally arrived at the stipulated sites where they were to turn over their weapons only to be told that the United Nations was not ready to receive them. Also, little or no preparation had been made by the government even to provide potable water or basic sanitary facilities at these sites scattered over the length and breadth of this nation. The necessary laws for the Peace Accord have been delayed in Congress (even though a ¨fast track¨ legislative process was authorized by the Supreme Court) and therefore many of the actors of the armed factions still face significant legal uncertainty.

In the meantime, a smorgasbord of actors, including diverse criminal bands, right wing paramilitary groups, dissident FARC leaders, and even a rival guerrilla group, the ELN, have been scrambling to fill the vacuum left by the FARC and consolidate control over the lucrative cocaine and heroin traffic. Corruption abounds at virtually all levels of government punctuated by a recent scandal involving a Brazilian firm that allegedly paid extensive bribes to key officials in both the past and present administrations in exchange for lucrative road and infrastructure contracts that were also in partnership with many of the top Colombian firms tainting virtually everyone among the ruling political class.

​

​Here in Bogota, Albert Luepnitz just finished another ministry tour in which a large number of military officers including top generals (retired and active) responded and were deeply touched by the Lord. Albert received military awards and honors from the Army, Air Force and the National Police and a ceremony is pending with the Navy. The first spiritual encounters have begun between converted guerrilla leaders and converted generals as they encourage one another with the testimony of what Jesus Christ has done in their lives. This cuts directly through the past fifty-three years of violence, hatred and mistrust. This is the beginning of a new day!

​Recently Russell received international attention for his contribution with the Peace Accord in Colombia. In January, Russell was presented with the Shahbaz Bhatti Freedom Award from First Step Forum Executive Director Johan Candelin. First Step Forum is comprised of an association of Evangelical statesmen, mostly from Europe, who promote people that contribute to global peace.  Previous recipients of the award include Pope Francis, Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Dr. Hany Hanna in Egypt and Bishop Malkhaz Songulashvili in the Republic of Georgia.

The award was created in 2011 in honor of the late Christian martyr Shahbaz Bhatti who was the only Christian of the Pakistani Parliament. He was vocal for the protection of the Christian minorities and especially spoke against Pakistan's blasphemy laws. Threats against his life increased as he gave his support to Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy in 2010. Two weeks before Bhatti's death, Johan Candelin interviewed Bhatti. Bhatti testifies on the video, “I believe in Jesus Christ who has given his own life for us, I am ready to die for a cause. I'm living for my community… and I will die to defend their rights.”
Russell now becomes the fifth recipient of the prestigious Shahbaz Bhatti Freedom Award of peacemakers. Johan describes Russell's involvement as, “Extraordinary … I have never seen anything like this and I believe the Colombian Peace Agreement with FARC is the most significant Peace Treaty accomplished in the world this century. God's hand has been on Russ Stendal's work in a unique way.”

Russell received the award in humility and immediately addressed the 300 plus audience. “This award belongs to all of us.” He personally thanked, Dr. Fernando's unfailing friendship and sacrifice. He acknowledged the participation and support of four retired generals including retired General Barrera Supreme Commander of the Colombian Military. Russell then began to introduce and honor military, police, civic, ministry leaders and ended with the most important VIP's, his family and wife Marina. 

The room was full of people from high and low social status, rich and poor, converted and unconverted into Christ. Russell saw his unique opportunity to preach the gospel to a very diverse crowd. Russell declared, “This award ceremony is actually taking place on Sunday, our regular weekly meeting of Bible teaching. This is not a political meeting, but spiritual. Years ago when we decided to produce preaching programs for the radio on every chapter of the Bible we realized that a live audience would be more productive than teaching in a studio. We have now produced over 1,000 programs for each chapter of the Bible. There is only Song of Solomon and 40 Psalms left to complete a teaching on all chapters of the Bible. Therefore, tonight in keeping with the tradition of this meeting, I will teach from Psalm 106.” Russell then captivated the audience with a beautiful teaching of Psalm 106 and how this chapter is a picture of man's corruption and God's righteousness represented and found in Christ alone. 

The giving of this award has opened up many doors of opportunity to spread the gospel further. All the major Colombian media outlets carried the story and highlighted Russell's life and ministry. The leading paper of Colombia, headquartered in Bogota, featured Russell in a full page colored article. One direct result was Russell's invitation to be the keynote speaker at a leadership forum of 60 European organizations that serve persecuted Christians. This conference will be held in April. Please pray for Russell's message and that the Lord will use this to link with other Kingdom minded organizations and people. 

We want to thank all of you who have prayed, given and served all these years to make this accolade possible. Again, Russell said it well, “This award belongs to all of us.”