We will be leaving for New Orleans this coming Saturday, July 25 and will return August 2. I am calling all our friends and coworkers in Christ to remember us in your prayers. We will be working with Pastors Marc and Angie Smith from Abiding Temple.

It looks like we will have a total of about 35 coming with us this year. We have 8 people who have not been able to raise all the funds needed. The break even cost, per person, is $400.00. I have made the decision that everyone who wants to come with us to share their faith is coming, regardless of funds. Some of the young people who want to go, come from families who do not know the Lord. Some do not have any support or encouragement from their own family. I look at this as an opportunity for the Lord to strongly impact the lives of these young people, who want to serve God, for years to come.

If you would like to help out financially, I can think of no better place to plant a seed. We will not only be working the streets and feeding hundreds daily, we will be training young people on how to share their faith.

To those of you who have already helped, thank you so much. If you would like to contribute and have not done so, you may pay with a credit card, through paypal, at our web site; www.executinghisword.com or you may send us your gift to:

Executing His Word
P.O. Box 294245
Lewisville, Texas 75029

Thanks for your support and please remember to pray for us,

Nelson Ligon

Even our mercies, like roses, have their thorns. Men may be drowned in prosperous seas as easily as in rivers of affliction. Our mountains are not too high, and our valleys are not too low for temptations: Trials lurk at every turn. Everywhere, above and below, we are confronted and surrounded with danger. Still no shower falls unpermitted from the threatening cloud; every drop has its order before it arrives on the earth.

The trials that come from God are sent to prove and strengthen our graces and immediately illustrate the power of divine grace, to test the genuineness of our virtues and to add to their energy.

Our Lord in His infinite wisdom and superabundant love sets such a high value upon His people’s faith that He will not protect them from those trials by which faith is strengthened. You would never have possessed the precious faith that now supports you if the trial of your faith had not put you through the fire. You are a tree that never would have rooted as well if the wind had not rocked you to and fro and made you take a firm hold upon the precious truths of God’s gracious covenant.

Worldly ease is a great enemy to faith; it loosens the joints of holy zeal and snaps the sinews of sacred courage. The balloon never rises until the cords are cut; affliction provides this service for believing souls. While the wheat sleeps comfortably in the husk, it is useless to us; it must be threshed out of its resting place before its value can be known.

Thus it is good that the Lord tests the righteous, for it causes them to grow rich toward God.

- Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Recently, while looking at Matt. 28:5-10, I was confronted with something I had not noticed before and its direct link with witnessing.

Verse 5
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking  for Jesus who has been crucified.”

If you want to see Jesus, you must first start looking for Him. I wonder if these women had any idea what they would find when they went to the tomb? When we look for Jesus, we will always find more than we can comprehend.

Verse 6
He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.

Don’t look for Jesus in the grave.  He is not dead and He has nothing to do with dead things. His desire is to bring life. With that in mind we all have to ask, “Is my Jesus dead and on the cross, or is He alive and actually desiring my attention?”

Verse 7
Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.

This is an amazing truth!  Not only were these women were shown how they could find Jesus, but how we can, too. The importance of this point is that the path that we must take to see Jesus requires us to tell others that He is alive.

When we move beyond out church building and into the streets, we can anticipate having a fresh encounter with our savior. The more you begin to share Jesus with others, the more you will receive from Him.

Ultimately, every Christian who has made a decision to follow Christ must be willing to proclaim the Great Commission.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19

This was the last request our Lord made before ascending into the heavens.  He gave those who wished to follow Him one final instruction; GO.

Do you believe you are qualified to carry out the Great Commission?

With over twenty five years of experience, I have found that most believers do not believe they are qualified to preach the Good News. Most Christians believe they need to be a professional preacher, pastor or evangelist. However, as you study the Bible you will come to an entirely different conclusion.

Jesus did have some qualifications but it is not what you might expect. As you study Matthew Chapter 28, you will find three (3) common qualifications for those He chose to proclaim the Gospel.

Let’s first read  Matthew 28:1-10, 16-17  and see if you can spot these qualifications;

…Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.  And behold a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.  And His appearance was like lightning, and his garment was white as snow;  and the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  And the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said.  Come, see the place where He was lying.  And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold He is going before you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.  And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to report to His disciples.  And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them.  And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.  Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to my brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they shall see Me….But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain Jesus had designated.  And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.

When Jesus delivered His speech to those He chose to carry out the Great Commission in verse 19 (see above), He was not just addressing a random group of people.  He was talking to those referred to in the passage above.  He gave His authority to these individuals who possessed these same characteristics.

Three Qualifications For Those Who Desire To Carry The Great Commission (Matthew 28)

They were all looking for the risen Christ.

A.  Vs. 5:    … for I know you are looking for Jesus…

B.  Vs.7:      …there you shall see Him…

C.  Vs.10:   … and there they shall see me…

D.  Vs.17:   … and when they saw Him…

Jesus had just been crucified, but this group took the step of faith and began the search for the
Risen Christ and did not give up until they saw Him.  You will never be qualified to be His witness
unless you have first witnessed the Resurrected Christ.  Have you seen the risen Jesus?

Once they saw Him, they worshiped Him.

A.  Vs. 9:      …and they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him…

B.  Vs. 17:   … and when they saw Him, they worshiped Him…

Mankind was created to worship the One True God.  When these early witnesses laid eyes on the
Risen Christ, they recognized that they were in the presence of God  Himself.  Those that want
to be His witness must worship Jesus as God in the flesh.

They were ready to “GO” whenever He instructed them to go.

A.   Vs. 7:    …go and tell His disciples…

B.   Vs. 8:     …and they departed quickly…

C.   Vs.10:   …go and take word…

D.  Vs.16:   …and the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee…

Our journey with our Lord does not end with worship.  When we complete our time of worship we
must understand that, as long as we live on this planet, our duty is to “go into all the world and
preach the Gospel.”  Are you ready to go?

SUMMARY

The time to evangelize is NOW.  America is in serious trouble. Our politicians cannot save us,
our judicial system cannot save us, but our Risen Savior can save us. We need a revival to break forth
throughout this great land and you are a key ingredient.

We constantly pray for a revival as if it is something the Lord is withholding from us. We pray, “Please Lord  bring us a revival” when the truth of the matter is that we are already carrying a revival . Did you forget that He is inside you?  Did you not understand that when we tell nonbelievers about Him that revival breaks out one person at a time?

For over twenty five years as I have taken the gospel to people on the streets of America, I have seen “individual” revivals take place and it is not because I am something special.. Any believer who has seen the risen Christ, worshiped Him and is willing to go, as He has commanded us to do, can experience the same results, one soul at a time.

You can be the witness God has called you to be.  You can see revival break forth right before your eyes, one soul at a time. The question is, are you ready?

We have already been working in neighborhoods in Dallas and New Orleans, and are ready to expand our efforts throughout the country. We believe that the Lord desires to send us to New York, California, Detroit and other areas that need to hear and see the Gospel at work.

Our plans include going back to New Orleans this Christmas with further gifts from the body of Christ. As we worked the streets in New Orleans this past summer, we were overwhelmed with the amount of people who were starving, not just spiritually, but physically. We fed hundreds on a daily basis while we were there. We believe that we must go back before Christmas.

We are looking for additional churches and individuals who will make a commitment to sponsor us as missionaries to America. We need your help as we launch out and reach the growing number of Americans who are losing hope.

As you know, trouble continues to increase throughout our land. I believe that there are those who will read this letter who have set aside funds for such a time as this.

We have a team that will go, if you will send us. If you would like to help, you may respond through the contact form or by sending an email to nligon@executinghisword.com. Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated.

God bless,

Nelson Ligon
Executing His Word