Seeing God's Goodness: Revival and Mission in Orissa, India

Devotional

Day 1: When Wagons Revive Fainting Hearts

Jacob’s spirit stirred when he saw the wagons Joseph sent—proof of life where he’d given up hope. Revival comes not just through words but through tangible evidence of God’s faithfulness. Like Jacob, believers today faint when doubt overshadows promise. But God sends “wagons”—answered prayers, testimonies, or acts of provision—to awaken weary hearts. These markers of His goodness demand a response: will we let brokenness harden us, or let His faithfulness revive us? Look for the wagons in your story. [33:43]

“When he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. And Israel said, ‘It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.’” (Genesis 45:27–28, ESV)

Reflection: What “wagons” has God placed in your life recently—tangible signs of His faithfulness? How might you share these with someone whose heart is faint?

Day 2: Pineapples, Wells, and the Currency of Heaven

In Orissa, India, tithes aren’t coins but pineapples. Wells quench thirst and open hearts. Blankets warm widows shunned by caste systems. These acts incarnate the gospel, proving God’s goodness in the land of the living. Mission work isn’t abstract—it’s rice sacks, rebuilt homes, and children laughing in orphanages. Every physical gift becomes a spiritual bridge. When believers give, they don’t fund projects; they fuel testimonies that make Christ visible. [37:42]

“If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?” (James 2:15–16, ESV)

Reflection: How could your next act of generosity—whether time, resources, or care—become a “pineapple tithe” that makes God’s goodness tangible to someone?

Day 3: The Blind Man’s Door and Divine Appointments

Hitesh, a blind man in India, waited years for someone to knock. When believers did, he met the God who sees. Every door holds a divine appointment—a soul hungry for hope, a family hiding from persecution. Hospitality becomes holy ground when ordinary moments are seized for eternity. Knocking isn’t intrusion; it’s obedience. Behind closed doors, God is already stirring hearts. The question isn’t “Will they listen?” but “Will we go?” [38:32]

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your life is waiting for you to knock—not to preach, but to listen, serve, and share Christ’s presence?

Day 4: God’s Search Party for the “Not Enough”

God isn’t scouting résumés; He’s recruiting the weak, foolish, and overlooked. A persecuted widow in Orissa, a former atheist turned missionary, a doubter like Jacob—all prove His strength thrives in human frailty. The church isn’t a showcase for the gifted but a hospital for the broken. When we stop hiding our inadequacy, we become candidates for His sufficiency. Your weakness isn’t a liability—it’s the qualification. [59:33]

“God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are.” (1 Corinthians 1:27–28, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you labeled yourself “not enough”? How might God want to rewrite that story as a testimony of His enoughness?

Day 5: Mercy’s Last Stand in the Gap

Ezekiel’s God still scans the earth for intercessors—people who’ll stand between judgment and grace. To “stand in the gap” means weeping for prodigals, advocating for the persecuted, and refusing to let culture’s collapse numb your heart. It’s costly. It’s lonely. But it’s how revivals ignite. Mercy doesn’t passive; it pounds heaven’s doors until walls fall and prodigals come home. Will you be the gap-stander for your family, city, or nation? [01:10:02]

“I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land… but I found none.” (Ezekiel 22:30, ESV)

Reflection: What specific “gap” has God placed you near—a relationship, a crisis, a societal wound—where He’s calling you to stand and intercede?

Sermon Summary

Psalm 27 speaks straight into weariness: “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” That line sets the pace. The text will not let faith postpone sight to heaven; it insists that the Christian must see God’s goodness now. The gathered church therefore stands as God’s mercy for fainting hearts, because living believers become living evidence. Their eyes carry Christ. Their stories carry hope. Their presence keeps saints from collapsing.

Genesis then paints the picture. Joseph, a type of Jesus, is alive and reigning while Jacob, a picture of the doubting believer, sits stuck in unbelief. Jacob’s heart faints because he believes not. But words reach him and wagons arrive. When he hears the words and sees the wagons, his spirit revives. Then Israel speaks new: “It is enough.” That is the turn every saint needs. Jesus is alive. His fruit in other lives rolls up like wagons in the yard. Sight joins hearing. Faith stands up and says, “Christ is enough.”

That very goodness shows up in the land of the living among the low and the despised in Orissa. The caste wall cannot block grace. Blind fathers, blind daughters, and a seeing God receive living bread and living water and then ask for a simple thing, a little education and a little care. Wells go down. Widows are warmed. Persecuted families are met on hillsides with rice and oil and blankets and a shepherd’s tears. That is not theory. That is wagons in the yard.

Scripture then asks a harder question: what is God looking for? Isaiah says the Lord looks to the one who is poor and contrite and trembles at the word. John says the Father is seeking worshippers in spirit and truth. Chronicles says the eyes of the Lord run to and fro to show Himself strong for hearts turned toward Him. Corinthians says God chooses the foolish, the weak, the base, the despised, the things that are not, so no flesh can boast. Luke says the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. Ezekiel says the Lord seeks someone to stand in the gap and plead for mercy. The pattern is clear. God is the Seeker. Grace is the engine. Mercy rejoices against judgment. So the church quits waiting for seekers to show up and goes out as seekers. And while the land trembles with judgment talk, intercession rises, because the heart of the Father loves to trade wagons of mercy for deserts of wrath.

Key Takeaways

1. See the goodness of God now. [27:57] Faith is meant to look, not just listen. Sight comes through the word and through living saints whose lives carry fresh mercy. Isolation starves vision, but worship and fellowship put evidence in front of weary eyes. Do not postpone joy to heaven when the Lord is pouring goodness in the land of the living. [27:57]
2. Revival needs words and wagons. [33:32] Jacob revived when he heard the words and saw the wagons. Doctrine and testimony belong together, truth in the ear and fruit in the yard. Give people Scripture and give them proof of Jesus alive in changed lives and costly love. Tangible grace breaks unbelief that arguments alone cannot touch. [33:32]
3. The weak and despised are chosen. [59:33] God loves to build with those the world writes off, so that no flesh can boast. Weakness that leans hard into God becomes a pulpit for His strength. Being overlooked does not disqualify a saint; it is often the doorway where God enters with power. Let low place become holy ground for glory. [59:33]
4. The church must do the seeking. [01:08:08] The Son of Man seeks; His people go. Lost neighbors are not lining up at church doors, so churches must line up at theirs. Mission is not a program but a posture that moves toward need with bread, Bibles, and presence. When love knocks, many open and invite grace inside. [68:08]
5. Stand in the gap for mercy. [01:10:02] Judgment may be deserved, but the heart of God loves to show mercy. Intercession dares to ask Him to spare, to heal, to revive, and He listens for that voice. Gaps are not just problems; they are invitations to pray big and stay low. Let pleading for a generation replace complaints about it. [70:02]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[11:17] - Back in Iowa, family roots
[26:36] - Atheist home and bold witnesses
[27:08] - Teen conversion and India call
[27:57] - “I had fainted… to see”
[29:18] - Seeing Christ in the church
[30:26] - Jacob to Israel: revival by evidence
[36:08] - Orissa mission among the lowly
[38:32] - Hitesh: blind family finds Jesus
[44:29] - Relief for persecuted families
[54:13] - What God is looking for
[57:38] - God searches hearts and shows strength
[67:53] - Be seekers, not seeker-sensitive
[70:02] - Stand in the gap for mercy
[75:16] - Invitation and prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Psalm 27:13 (ESV)
"I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!"

Observation Questions

What does Psalm 27:13 say is the antidote to fainting or losing hope?
In the story of Jacob (Genesis 45:26-28), what two things revived his spirit when he was stuck in unbelief? [33:32]
How did tangible acts of love (like wells, blankets, and food) serve as "wagons" for persecuted families in Orissa? [44:29]
According to 2 Chronicles 16:9, what does God actively look for in people?

Interpretation Questions

Why is it significant that Psalm 27:13 emphasizes seeing God’s goodness now rather than waiting for heaven?
How do "words" (Scripture) and "wagons" (tangible evidence of God’s work) work together to revive faith? [33:43]
Why does God consistently choose the "weak and despised" (1 Corinthians 1:27-28) to display His strength?
What does Ezekiel 22:30 reveal about God’s heart when He seeks someone to "stand in the gap" for mercy?

Application Questions

When have you personally experienced God’s goodness through another believer’s life or testimony? How could you intentionally seek out such encouragement this week?
What is one practical "wagon" (tangible act of love or service) you could offer to someone struggling with doubt or hardship? [38:32]
How might God want to use a current weakness or limitation in your life as a "pulpit for His strength"?
Identify a person or group in your community who feels overlooked or marginalized. What step could you take to actively seek and serve them this month? [36:08]
What specific situation in your family, workplace, or nation could you "stand in the gap" for through prayer, asking God to trade judgment for mercy? [01:10:02]

Sermon Clips

33s

“I don't care what anybody else says about me. Only care what God says about me. Amen? Can you say that? And then finally, the things which are not to bring the not the things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence. So, is there anybody in this church that you're just a nothing? Right? God wants to choose people who are nothing. They are are not something that's not happening, and God says, I'm gonna make it happen. Right? That's God's favorite way to do things. Find out a place where nothing is happening and God makes something happen. Amen?”

34s

“A lot of the men die in their forties. And when the men die in their forties of preventable diseases, there's so many widows there, so many widows. And to be a widow in India is a shame. Right? And so they no one cares for the widows in this part of the world, except for the Christians are the only people who care for the widows. Next picture. And then the orphans. You see pastor Pradeep Lima, who you guys support through us, he was raised with no father, and so he has a heart for people who have no father.”

30s

“Why do we come to church every Sunday morning? Right? I'm a part of your church being your missionary. And why do we come here? Because we need to see something. Amen? You will not make it in your Christian life, you will faint unless you see something. Not waiting to heaven to see something, but it says, you need to see the goodness of the Lord now. Right? And I'm about to show you a report.”

30s

“Christians came to my school and brought their Bibles on top of their math books and said, you need Jesus. And I laughed at them. Right? But I saw the boldness and the peace of the Christians in my school, and it broke me to need Jesus Christ that I had that that need for salvation. And when I got saved as a teenager, right away as a teenager, I knew that God had called me to be a missionary. You know? It's a long story, but I knew that God had called me to go to India.”

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Cornerstone Bible Fellowship - Newton, IA This sermon · AI assistant

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