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We are no different than the eleven disciples in many ways. As soon as the most important moment of our lives has passed, we forget the instructions and get distracted with other things. They saw Jesus “lifted up and a cloud took Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9). End of chapter!
“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). I believe the Church today needs to ask ourselves some very hard and straight-forward questions.
Nearly sixty years after the Church was established at Pentecost, Jesus told five churches to “repent”(Revelation 2-3). This is the only formula that will help us recover God’s original plan and purpose for the Church. It will not be an easy road, but it will be filled with the support and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
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I continue to ponder many parts of the Book of Acts, and relish how the Holy Spirit keeps opening my heart to understand His Word and truth. As I meditated on Acts 1:6-8, I realized that in the last moments of Jesus’ time with His disciples, He was revealing some majestic truths that would (should) guide the Church until He returns.
During the 50 days between His resurrection and ascension, Jesus met several times with the eleven disciples, and each time taught vital lessons that would prepare them for the Spirit’s indwelling and formation of the Church. In the last meeting, Jesus taught them key principles. “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:7–8). Please note:
The phrase “you will be my witnesses” is not left for us to decide whether we “will” or not. It is the divine intent and action of the Holy Spirit whom we “will receive… when the Holy Spirit has come upon” us. His “coming upon” us has happened for all who believe (Ephesians 1:12-14). From this promise (Acts 1:8), I am convinced that the question is NOT whether we will witness for Jesus, but if we will submit to the Holy Spirit doing this through us. WHAT A PRIVILEGE! We need to pay careful attention to all of Scripture. Many verses and sections of Scripture are more familiar to us because they are referred to, preached, and taught on with greater frequency. We must remember that every word is written “from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). One sample of this is the first two verses is Acts 1.
“In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up, after He had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen.” (1:1-2). Luke writes what he did in his gospel account and the Book of Acts with amazing detail and is evidence that he was filled with the Spirit and led to document the amazing work of the Spirit in preparation for the Church to be born. He attributes Jesus’ “commands” to the apostles as being given “through the Holy Spirit.” The “Holy Spirit” is also called “the promise of the Father” (1:4). Can there be any doubt that all three members of the Godhead are working together, orchestrating the greatest events in history? From creation, the incarnation, the death, and resurrection of Jesus, and now the giving of the Spirit; all these events confirm that all Divine Persons worked together in perfect harmony for their glory. How much more should we seek this unity in ourselves with them and with each other? Their work is for one ultimate purpose, and so should our work be.  “Thank you for praying for the ministry in Sierra Leone and Chad. It’s been an amazing time of ministry in both countries. First, we trained 40 pastors in Sierra Leone using God’s Plan for His Disciples (GPHD) over 3 days. They will complete the manual by the end of May when I return for a graduation and then introduce God’s Plan for His Church (GPHC). All 40 pastors are going to begin teaching GPHD in their Sunday school classes that have roughly 10,000 members in Sierra Leone.
I then flew to D’Jamena, Chad. We had a 2 day FCA E3 discipleship training for 16 youth pastors. It was exciting to see how the Lord is establishing a strong sports ministry in Chad and how FCA is able to provide resources and training. My good friend Vincent who oversees FCA in Africa will be here in May to do more training and connect with church leaders to expand the vision of FCA. We spent 3 days training with pastors and missionaries from 3 different denominations using GPHD. These are ECWA, Brethren, and Lutheran churches. We will have a GPHD graduation in early June followed by 3 days training in GPHC. The Brethren Church is planning to have all 60 of their missionaries go through GPHD. Pastor Clement is our main contact who is going to do the training.” (Pat). “Before going to Pakistan for the first time, we prayed that they would become like the church in Thessalonica who "receive the word of God...not as the word of men, but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers" (1 Thessalonians 2:13).
Randy and Jonathan had the privilege of making this journey for the first time. We thank God for Sherman and Brother V in Pakistan who worked tirelessly and under intense time limitations to make sure the Urdu translation of God's Plan for His Disciples (GPHD) was ready in time. We were in the city of Sialkot, the place where John Hyde (the "apostle of prayer") labored for many years in the late 1800's. John Hyde cried out to God, "Give me souls or I will die." We preached openly and had countless times to pray for the saints and spent time with children asking for help with their school studies. We also had a brief two day conference in which we introduced the Urdu GPHD and helped them start learning from God’s Word like the early church. Pray with us that we will be granted another visa to return, follow up on the work, and travel to the capital city Islamabad to work with young new believers.” (Jonathan)  “On our 4th trip to Bangladesh in the past 18 months, we are beginning to form relationships with like-minded brothers and sisters and see “God's Plan” develop. In Chittagong, one of the brothers (Shanko) from the Hill Tract Area, was such an encouragement to us as we looked at his manual, God's Plan for His Church (GPHC). He embodied Jesus' words “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him." After seeing his hunger and passion for “God's Plan” we asked him to accompany us to Cox's Bazaar and minister to the Rohingya refugees. He came and after seeing and hearing the testimonies of the Rohingya brothers and sisters was "spurred on" to bring the training back to the village area.
Since leaving Bangladesh, Shanko has requested God's Plan for His Disciples (GPHD) and is pressing into areas that have never heard the Gospel. Cox's Bazaar was a great time of fellowship with those from the refugee camp. All of them finished GPHD and were so eager to share with us what they had learned. We sat around God's Word for hours discussing the lessons. At the end of the day one of the brothers said he was sad because we couldn't keep going. He wanted to hear more from God’s Word. This type of love for God will reach the 1 million Muslims in the refugee camp and turn the world upside down for Christ. “R” brought his wife and small child to the training. His wife had finished the GPHD and is beginning to share the Gospel to the Muslim women around her. Young "Timothy's" were brought, so the total refugees were now 6 that had completed the GPHD. We also introduced GPHC and were extremely encouraged with the direction things are moving in Bangladesh.” (Jonathan) Your prayers are greatly valued!! You may have heard about the 6.8 earthquake in near Guayaquil, Ecuador that killed 15 and injured 445 others just two day ago. We have been praying for the people of this country and many we know in the area that was affected. Our desire is that God will use circumstances like this to turn many from the darkness of unbelief to the light of salvation through Jesus Christ.
While this consumes the attention of many in this country, God is also working in other ways. Today our partner in Quito, Ecuador sent 100 God’s Plan for His Disciples (GPHD) in Spanish to Naranjal which is about 2 hours south from Guayaquil. The pastor, a new contact, is very grateful to receive this material, and will be sharing it with different groups and churches in the area. Let us pray that God’s Word continues to spread through this study and impacts thousands more than we ever expect. We must never underestimate what He can and will do to increase the spread of the gospel and magnify His glory.  Pat has just returned from Chad, Africa where they finished the study of God’s Plan for His Disciples in French. The training included 20 young men and women who learned the basic elements of the gospel through God’s Word. They all completed the course and received certificates of completion with a commitment to “Pass On” to others what they had learned.
There is nothing more important than this for the present generation. With so many deviant ideas coming from our western cultures and infecting other parts of the world, it is critical that we pass on biblical truth by helping individuals discover what Scripture says about these subjects. Those of us who are involved in this ministry and those who share our deep concern for the Church around the world, need to hold up these places and Christians up in prayer. Most of us have a very limited understanding of what it costs to be faithful to the truth of the gospel. Paul understood the value of soliciting prayer from churches he had planted and ministered to. “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you” (2 Thessalonians 3:1). He was not (and we are not) seeking any recognition for what has been done. The work of God in souls matters above anything else! It’s time to give you a few “mini” updates on a few things that are significant for this ministry, but not major events. Often the small items are the little cog in our ministry that will in the long run make a real difference to someone, somewhere in the world.
Please use this blog as a prayer guide for areas of this ministry that may seem small but have great potential in years to come. “The highest missionary motive is neither obedience to the Great Commission (important as that is), nor love for sinners who are alienated and perishing (strong as that incentive is, especially when we contemplate the wrath of God), but rather zeal – burning and passionate zeal for the glory of Jesus Christ.” (John Stott, Romans: God’s Good News for the World, Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1994, page 53).
Paul expressed this zeal as he introduced his letter to the church in Rome. Jesus Christ “was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of His name among all the nations” (Romans 1:4–5). Notice that Paul’s motivation to proclaim the gospel was “for the sake of His name.” Stott goes on to say, “We should be “jealous” … for the honor of His name and troubled when it remains unknown, hurt when it is ignored, indignant when it is blasphemed. And all the time anxious and determined that it be given the honor and glory which are due it.” Do we feel this degree of passion? |
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