Because Someone is Crying out

When someone is crying out, they are desperately searching for help in times of distress or great need. From deep within their soul, with great humility, they put out a cry for someone to assist them with a circumstance of urgent necessity. Nothing else matters; they shout out with abandonment, “Come help us!”We find such a cry in Acts 16:6-10.  Paul was called to be an apostle, which means a sent one. Paul didn’t just go to wherever he wanted to go; he went where God sent him. Such was the case in chapter 16. Paul was prepared to go into Asia, but the Holy Spirit did not allow it. Paul tried to go into Bithynia, but the Holy Spirit did not permit it. The Lord gave Paul a vision, a vision of a man in Macedonia. In the vision, the man was pleading with Paul, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” The man was pleading; he was crying out and begging Paul, to come to Macedonia to spread the message of salvation and plant churches. After the vision, Paul immediately sought to go to Macedonia because he knew that the Lord was sending him to answer the cry of the Macedonians. Paul’s life was spent going from place to place, loving the people wherever he went, raising up leaders to turn churches over to, and effectively continuing his teaching through letters. Paul was always moving forward to reach more people and answer more cries.There were others who were sent by God to answer the desperate cries of His children. Moses was sent as an answer to the cries of the Israelites in bondage (Exodus 2:23). Saul was sent to answer the cries of the people oppressed by the Philistines (I Samuel 9:16). Esther was an answer to Mordecai’s cry (Esther 4:1).  Jesus answered the cry, “Unclean, unclean” when He healed the lepers (Leviticus 13:45). Jesus healed a blind man after he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David (the Messiah), have mercy (deep compassion) on me!” (Mark 10:47). Jesus delivered a boy from demonic oppression when his father cried out to Jesus in a large crowd of people, “Teacher! I implore You! Look on my son! He is my only child!’ (Luke 9:38). They were called because someone was crying out.Jerry and I believe that God is sending us out to help start churches. We will be searching out pastors, teams, and resources to help answer the cries of people who need churches. We will be working together with church planting organizations such as Significant Church (www.significantchurch.com) the ARC (www.relatedchurches.com). In addition, we are not just moving, we are being sent by God to Carrollton, Kentucky, working together with Pat Butcher, to help plant 40 churches in rural areas, one in each county of the state. Also, for several years we have sensed a calling to share resources with pastors and church leaders. We will be doing that through a new website being developed at GrowChurches.com. Because someone is crying out for help, we are being sent by the Holy Spirit in response to their need (Acts 13:2-4).Who are you being sent to? Who is crying out to God to help? Whatever your calling, it is to answer a cry. It could be a neighbor contemplating suicide, a child being abused, a person struggling to get a job.  It could be that God is calling you to plant a church, go to the mission field, or find your place in church leadership. The call will not go away as long as there are voices of people crying out, cries that are reaching the ears of a loving God who sent His Son to die for them.God is their answer. God has great power and will meet every need. We are the vessels or instruments that He needs to work through.  Do you hear God speaking to you, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” I hope you will say, “Here am I! Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8) If God is stirring your heart, let us pray with you. We’ll do all we can to help you answer a cry. Jerry and I are a husband and wife ministry team. Email us at jerry@growchurches.com or melanie@growchurches.com.Additional Scriptures: II Samuel 22:7 and Psalm 18:6, “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry entered His ears.”  In Psalm 34:15 he says, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry,” meaning that He not only hears their cries, but He answers. Psalm 57:2 says, “I will cry out to God Most High, to God who performs all things for me.” The cry was given to the highest authority in heaven and earth, the Most High. The cry was given with the expectation of an answer. Psalm 61:1-2 describes an overwhelmed heart crying out. Psalm 84:2 describes crying from the entire being, heart and flesh. Psalm 199:145 says I cry out with my whole heart – nothing held back, complete abandonment and surrender to God. Isaiah 58 is a chapter on fasting, a complete surrender to the Lord. I love His answer, “You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’” In Lamentations 2:19 the cry is described as pouring out your heart like water. In Romans 8:15 it describes the cry of an abandoned young child, looking to an adoptive parent for help to survive, crying out “abba” or “da-da”. The cry that means the most to me is found in Matthew 27:46 when Jesus cried out to His Father in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?” God answered His cry and raised His Son, our Brother, our Savior, back to life. God sends help… because someone has cried out.