Until All Have Heard
Until All Have Heard
A Word for An Anxious World (Ep. 294)
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
The world is full of worry. Threats of war, fear about the weather, and uncertainty about the economy are piling up on all of us. What can FEBC say to anxious listeners with global concerns and personal issues that weigh on them? Join Ed and Wayne as they open the Word to talk about the clear message Jesus gives us to share with a worry-filled world. You’ll want to have your Bible in hand as we look to scripture for guidance and encouragement. As we gain God’s perspective, our prayer is you will be encouraged to share what you learn and stay strong in the face of the world’s pressures…Until All Have Heard.
This is Until All Have Heard. We come to you from the Far East Broadcasting Company. My name is Wayne Shepherd, and our host here is Ed Cannon, who's president of FEBC. Hi, Wayne. Ed, good to be with you again. I was thinking, you know, you travel the world so much on behalf of FEBC. You see so much. Are you seeing a commonality of worry in this world?
SPEAKER_01Outside of the believers that we have the opportunity to be with, yes, definitely. It's like you read the newspaper, well, not newspaper, right. You read the news on your phone, uh, you listen to the news, and it's all alert, alert, alert, special warning. Uh everybody's scared, all these wars. Well, think of all the conflict in the world right now. Trevor Burrus, Jr. There is. But it just gives me hope and encouragement that the Bible is right because it says so many places, you know, there will be rumors of wars. And and we should look at that and say, well, yeah, that's exactly right. Jesus was exactly right in what he told us to expect in the future. And why should we be worried about it? Right? But yet absent that faith, that hope that um it's all in God's hands and he's doing with the world as he sees fit, then I was uh reminded of this last night.
SPEAKER_00Living in the Chicago area, another tornado watch last night, and that's just another worry that comes to our world is what's going to happen. You see all this destruction of tornadoes and cyclones and hurricanes.
SPEAKER_01Aaron Powell I I heard the newscast last night as well, and he said, Well, don't get out of your house and don't drive anywhere. And I'm thinking, well, I'm in my car and I'm getting ready to drive. Of course we need to take precautions. Sure. It was raining pretty hard, but you can still see that's what windshield wipers are for.
SPEAKER_00Well, here's another uh bit of evidence about this worry in the world. Now, this listener comment to an FEBC station in Korea could have come from any country, really. I think it expresses what we're talking about here. This listener says, Through the intercessory prayers of FEBC Korea, I have been blessed with a child as at a late stage in life. In a time when hope seemed to have vanished from my life, God allowed miracles and grace to enter once again. During this time, the worries and fears in my heart that I could not bear alone were comforted and healed through the broadcasts. And I came to deeply realize how precious and invaluable the ministry of FEBC Korea truly is. I am sincerely grateful to FEBC for their prayers and for sharing God's word with me, bringing remarkable change into my life.
SPEAKER_01You know, it sounds a bit like this listener is giving FEBC Korea the credit for this change in her life. And we know we know better than that.
SPEAKER_00Trevor Burrus, we know what's behind it, don't we?
SPEAKER_01Trevor Burrus, Jr. And we know that God works in wonderful ways. We pray with people, we give them the opportunity to place their trust in Christ and be hopeful and helpful. Um and it always we we always point them to Scripture, like in Matthew chapter six. Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body what you will put on. Is life not more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly father feeds them. That's a wonderful verse. And if you skip down to verse thirty-four, therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. I used to struggle with that verse. I didn't really know what that meant. But I think working with FEBC and seeing people that are living in difficult circumstances, places where uh the proclamation of the gospel is uh uh oppressed by uh fanatic radicals or governments or people who are broadcasting the gospel in the midst of a war, they don't worry so much about next week. They're busy with today. Um some of the interviews we've done just recently, Wade.
SPEAKER_00Trevor Burrus, Jr. I was thinking of that just now. We we were both encouraged by our friend Igor, who was on our staff in Ukraine, who was speaking to us from a studio that had power only because the generator was working, because the city didn't have any power. The air raid uh sirens had sounded and had been silenced for a bit, then they'd been under attack.
SPEAKER_01Trevor Burrus And and his concerns were I want to do the broadcast because many people need to hear what we have to say. It's a desperate community. And at the end of the day, he goes home and he has a five-year-old and a nine-year-old daughters, whose whole life have been consumed in war. So all they know is a world at war. And yet he's not anxious. He's like, I have plenty to do today to keep me occupied. I'm not gonna worry about next week, which is exactly what this verse in Matthew points to.
SPEAKER_00Trevor Burrus, Jr. It's a good example of it, wasn't it? A real practical example that ministered to us. Well, Philippians says, Paul says in Philippians, don't worry about anything, but in everything through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The peace of God is what we're talking about here.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we were just I I heard a sermon just last week that talked about the joy of the Lord is your strength. And it occurred to me that anxiety and worry and depression can rob you of the joy of the Lord. And so it's it's a mental state that we have to live in. Look what the Lord has given us. At the end of the day, a thousand years from now, look what he has promised us. So why should we worry about anything today or tomorrow or next week? And I know that's a hard message for people to hear because we are enduring hardships. We do have difficulties in this world, but concentrating on being joyful for what the Lord has promised us as opposed to being depressed and discouraged and anxious about these short-term temporary things in this life.
SPEAKER_00Aaron Powell This will reveal how old I am, but when you were saying that just now, the song that popped into my mind was Ethel Waters singing his eyes on this sparrow. Why should I worry, she said. You know, and I could just hear that song playing in my head right now. Trevor Burrus, Jr.
SPEAKER_01Well, it's interesting. A thong that comes to my mind is um fix your eyes upon Jesus.
SPEAKER_00Look full in his wonderful face.
SPEAKER_01Right. Right. Things of this world will go strangely dim in the light. His glory and grace. So okay, Wayne, you're not that old. Actually, Wayne and I are almost the same age, so there we go. But and see, it's great. We we're laughing, we're enjoying things. Despite the fact that, you know, we've got a lot of challenges with FEBC. There's a lot of places where it's discouraging in a way, and people are getting arrested and uh under pressure. We can't worry about that. We just can't worry about that. Today's troubles are enough for today. And let's live life like that. There's another verse in uh in in 1 Peter that Joe points us to all the time. Joe's a a First Peter lover.
SPEAKER_00Joe's our producer here.
SPEAKER_01I appreciate that so much, yeah. Casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. Be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. We can't be afraid of his roar. It's his bite that we need to be afraid of. And so why worry about the roars, the rumors, the things in the world that we don't need to worry about just yet.
SPEAKER_00The trouble's gonna come. We've been guaranteed that by Jesus, right? Yep. The trouble's gonna come. The the the uh the question is how are we gonna respond to it?
SPEAKER_01And that ver very verse goes on to answer that question. Okay. He's talking about the devil, and it says, resist him. Be firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. Many people are enduring the same kind of suffering you are. Resist the devil. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever.
SPEAKER_00Aaron Ross Powell We see the examples of this kind of joy in our staff around the world. I mean, you you interact with them on a regular basis, you travel a great deal, you meet them, you see them in their own element, their own uh ministry context. And I have to think that joy is what is one of the primary things that you see.
SPEAKER_01Aaron Powell Oh, i I I could tell you dozens of stories, Wayne. The man that walked eight miles to a listener gathering because he had never met another Christian, and he was so grateful that we came to his community. Well, eight miles away, and he didn't even have shoes on. Uh, the man that we met in Northern Thailand who'd been listening to FEBC radio for 35 years, and he wanted to tell someone from FEBC, I've been listening to your program all this time. It is the most important part of my day. The woman that we met in Kyrgyzstan, whose family had disowned her because she became a Christian. Her husband and her children didn't talk to her, didn't want anything to do with her. She continued to cook their food, clean their home. And when she met our broadcaster in the studio there in Bishkek and heard his voice, the tears started running down her cheeks because she said, That man is my best friend. So think about the life that that woman's leaving. And the joy in her face just simply to meet the Christian who's been speaking into her life through the radio. Oh, Wayne, I could tell you stories all day long. Aaron Ross Powell, Jr.
SPEAKER_00I know. And and uh I mean our own staff, they serve in very troublesome circumstances, and yet they they seem to exhibit this joy. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01I've talked to guys who spend time in jail uh in China, yeah, and they're in jail, and they say, well, I've got an opportunity to witness to the jailers, to the other men in prison. And you know, we could go on and on and on, but they don't worry about the trials of today in this world because they have an eternal perspective, a focus on eternity. And my pastor in our church out in California, he says you have to have this eternal perspective, a high view of God, and an eternal perspective. And it just encourages me so much when I see the FABC staff around the world live that out in ways that we in the United States need to appreciate more, because we have nothing to worry about when we've got faith in Christ. Trevor Burrus, Jr.
SPEAKER_00Well, it's very encouraging to have this kind of conversation today here, Ed, and I appreciate it very much. Um I'm just thinking about the listener right now who perhaps is going through uh a trial and uh wants this kind of peace, uh, wants this kind of joy, not not necessarily a happy go-lucky kind of attitude, but just deep down joy. Yeah. Uh maybe we could uh pray for them as we close here today.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I'll just encourage you to listen to that song fix your eyes upon Jesus. The glory in his face. The cares of this world will grow strangely dim. Wow.
SPEAKER_00In the light of his glory and grace.
SPEAKER_01Glory and grace. Yeah. Lord, uh we're mindful that we're talking today about ways that we um can not be anxious about the things going on in the world. We cannot be discouraged, distressed, uh, depressed about what we see in the immediate future. And I know it's not easy. Many people are facing horrific difficulties in this life. But you have promised comfort, Lord. You've promised that when we place our faith in your Son, confess our sins, turn from those ways, that you will give us comfort and joy and peace, a peace that is unimaginable to those in this earth. But you've promised it, and our our trust in you is everlasting. So thank you, Lord, that you have given us these promises. And we do pray for those people listening to this broadcast today who say, I'm struggling with that. And we understand it, but it's not easy. So we're with you, we're praying for you, we're praying for that the peace of God could enter into your heart in a way that it hasn't before. So that we can all not be anxious in this crazy world that we're in today, but rather focus on eternity and the joy of being with Christ. In his name, Lord, we pray. Amen.
SPEAKER_00Amen. Thank you, Ed. By the way, we're very excited about this being the eightieth anniversary of the Far East Broadcasting Company. It's a significant milestone, isn't it?
SPEAKER_01Trevor Burrus, Jr. Yeah, and we have a video on the website that talks about the eighty years that FEBC has been broadcasting.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, if you don't know the story of FEBC, I hope you will watch that video because it is pretty exciting to watch.
SPEAKER_01Trevor Burrus, Jr. That's right. Our commitment to being close to the listener, using indigenous voices and always proclaiming the whole truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Trevor Burrus, Jr.
SPEAKER_00So much has changed in eighty years, but the message has never changed at all. And uh we just uh urge you to go to FEBC.org and check out that 80th anniversary video. Well, that'll do it for this episode of Until All Have Heard. We have no way of letting people know about this except through you. If you want to pass the word along, maybe share this episode or others uh with uh friends and family, please do that. It's called Until All Have Heard. You'll find it as a podcast, you'll find it at the FEBC website, Until All Have Heard. Thanks, Ed. We'll see you next time on Until All Have Heard.