Mission’s Conference 2010 is only a few days away!  Mission conferences have been at the very least an annual occurrence for me since as far back as I can remember.  The opportunity to meet servants of the Lord is exciting and a great blessing.  I can remember as a young boy and even as a teenager having many a missionary eating at the Turner table.  It is without a doubt that this influence on my life is a major reason why I am serving at the Anchor Baptist Church today.  Might I encourage each of you to be faithful to the services of the conference. (Friday 7 pm; Saturday 4 pm; Sunday 10 am)  Not just attending the services, but prayerfully seeking the Lord as to your greater involvement in helping people to hear the glorious Gospel message!

Think what your life would be like today if you had not heard the Gospel.  This thought should motivate us to pray for God to send more labourers into the fields that are white already unto harvest.  Without hearing the Gospel from the Word of God, there is NO hope for the lost soul.  In this 2010 Mission’s Conference, may God’s Spirit prick our hearts as to our part in spreading the Gospel that They Might Hear!

Your Friend,

Pastor

Every Saturday at men’s prayer we ask the Lord to send visitors and His power to the services the following day.  Every Sunday morning at 8 am, before the rooms are set up, we ask the Lord to send visitors and His power to the services that day.

As I reflect back on this Sunday, there are a number of answers to prayer to which the Lord receives all the praise and glory!

1. The Holy Spirit worked mightily on each and every heart as God’s Word was taught and preached.

2. In the 8:45 service, one dear lady came forward for salvation during the invitation.  After Becky shared the Gospel with her, this dear lady called on the Lord for salvation!  Many men came forward in the 8:45 service to pray together for God’s promises regarding the supply for our church.

3. The music was uplifting and Christ honouring.  Thank you to every one that had a part.

4. The spirit in the evening service was one of excitement and praise to the Lord.  Once again, the Lord sent us over 20 Persians with a total of 22.

5. I will close with a testimony regarding the powerful hand of God. Before the evening service there was a couple in the hallway that was looking inside the church room.  They were approached and asked if they were looking for the Persian class.  There response was, “What Persian class?”  They were obviously not there for the Persian class, but quickly found themselves in the Persian class. Once in the class, Reza quickly realized that he knew this man. Yes, they had attended school together many years ago in a remote area of Iran.  Neither one had seen each other in years!  What a mighty God we serve!

Please know that Becky and I are blessed to serve with you here at Anchor. Our prayer is that the Lord will keep our hearts humble and our unity in Him strong.

Your Friend,

Pastor

Over the last couple months, Wednesday nights at Anchor have been one of searching.  As we study Psalm 51, we cannot help but search our lives to see if there is unconfessed sin.

Last night, I shared a quote that was very revealing.  ”Satan does not try to get us to hate God; only forget.”  This may well have been King David’s downfall. God had used him in so many ways and blessed him in so many ways that he forgot Who it was that elevated him to where he was.

This morning in my Bible time, God brought this point back up as I read Mark 6:51-52, “And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.  For they considered not the miracle of loaves: for their heart was hardened.”

Is it possible that the disciples had already forgotten the miracle of the loaves and fishes?  Yes!  A hardened heart always causes us to forget God which then leads us to fear, unbelief and sin.

Take time today to REMEMBER all that God has done for you.  Do not allow your heart to be hardened or your spirit to be marred through the pride of life.

In closing…make plans to be at church next Wednesday evening. Come with praises and prayer requests and with a heart ready to receive God’s life changing Word!

Your Friend,

Pastor

Is there such a day?  Thanksgiving Eve…

I don’t think so, but its still the night before Thanksgiving Day so we will call it Thanksgiving Eve.

I must say this Sunday was filled with blessings from our Heavenly Father. Just after the 8:45 service, I placed a call to see if I could locate a friend. Nothing doing.  Wait…5 minutes later, in walked the friend I was trying to locate.

God provided a place to live for someone in need.  I would like to go into more detail, but believe me, this was a miracle!

Tonight there were 18 precious people attending the Persian Sunday school class.  The class lasted close to 2 hours.  It was my privilege to meet many of these wonderful people at the conclusion of their service.

If we needed to find something to thank the Lord for, He gave us so many reasons just in the last 15 hours.  My heart is overwhelmed by the goodness and blessings from the Lord.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Your Friend,

Pastor

For the most part, I like to have a plan!  I like to be organized and prepared. As a Christian, it will help us to realize that our plans and our organization don’t always come about as we intended.

In the end, whose plan would we rather follow?  I would think the obvious answer would be God’s plan.  Easier said than done!

We would consider a trip to the ER unplanned, but with God there is NOTHING unplanned!

We would consider cancer unplanned, but with God there is NOTHING unplanned.

We would consider a mis-carriage unplanned, but with God…I think we get the point.

God never has or ever will say, “Ooops.”

I trust the following hymn will encourage each one of us to find strength in the Father’s plan:

What though the way be lonely, and dark the shadows fall,
I know wher’er it leadeth, My Father planned it all.
I sing through the shade and the sunshine, I’ll trust Him whatever befall;
I sing for I cannot be silent, My Father planned it all.

There may be sunshine tomorrow, Shadows may break and flee,
Twill be the way He chooses, My Father’s plan for me.
I sing through the shade and the sunshine, I’ll trust Him whatever befall;
I sing for I cannot be silent, My Father planned it all.

Your Friend,

Pastor Ben

On Friday afternoon, Brother Tadbir called to tell me the wonderful news that his company had been awarded the Surrey Memorial Project.  This will allow him to once again work close to home.  He proceeded to tell me about how his sister in law had found a church in Tehran!  Praise Him!

Today, Eugene Aganbi; Peter Pappas; Ahmad Tadbir; and Fred Tilma, were privileged to minister at Fraser Regional Correction Centre.  Eight men came out to the service where our men had more time than usual to spend with the men.  One of men from the prison called on Jesus for salvation!  Praise Him!

Should the Lord tarry His coming, we will meet together tomorrow to celebrate the Risen Lord.  Sunday, is homecoming day for the family of God. Bring a teachable spirit asking God’s Spirit to speak directly to you.  It will once again be a privilege to meet with each one of you!  Praise Him!

Your friend,

Pastor Ben

James 5:16, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man; availeth much.”

How many times in our life do we find ourselves praying when we have tried everything else.  The very first place we should find ourselves is in prayer. Much of our worry could be eliminated if we lived a righteous life and fervently prayed.

Fervently=having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit, feeling, enthusiasm.

I would have to say that a good percentage of our praying is as far from fervent as we can be.  This can be traced back to little or very weak faith.  God desires to hear from His children about every decision and every situation.

Prayer does not equip you for greater works.  Prayer is the greater work. —- Oswald Chambers

Your Friend,

Pastor Ben

P.S. Hope to see you next Wednesday at 7 pm!

Today, my father, Ken Turner, is celebrating his 62nd birthday.  At the age of 37 and a father of three, I may finally be beginning to realize how blessed I was and am to have Ken Turner as my father.  For most of my life, Dad has worked two jobs to pay the bills and provide for mom and the kids (and now the 7 grandkids).  Among the many attributes that Dad taught us kids, the one that stands out the most to me is a proper work ethic.  Not only working hard, but being on time and working diligently.

My prayer today is that I would be a godly father to the three children that God has given to Becky and me.  That I would, with God’s help, instill in them many character traits to help guide them through their daily journey.

To my father…I Love you and thank you for loving Mom and your children!

Your Friend,

Pastor Ben

This morning I finished reading the book of Habakkuk.  What a time it was for Habakkuk to be a preacher.  In spite of the spiritual climate of his day, Habakkuk was able to conclude with, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.  The Lord is my strength…”

If Habakkuk could, we need to make it a point today, to rejoice in our salvation!

Your friend,

Pastor

The ticket is booked and the Baptist Pope is coming to Anchor Baptist Church!  Once again this December, our church is privileged to have Dr. Johnny Pope as our guest preacher.  The dates for this special meeting is Thursday, December 9 and Friday, December 10.  We will be meeting each evening at 7 pm.

Brother Pope has been a wonderful blessing to us the past several years and we are looking forward to this years meeting.  Email invitations have been sent out to the Vancouver area churches as well as several in NW Washington.  Please add this special meeting to your prayer list.

Your friend,

Pastor Ben