“This morning I (Tim) thought of some guidelines from Ezra 7:9-10 (edited by Sherman). “For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him. For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel” (Ezra 7:9–10).
1. Make sure, as much as we can, that God’s hand is on us and those we teach; that they are growing as spiritual disciples who follow Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). 2. Make sure that they have a love for God’s Word; that their hearts are set to studying or meditating on the Word (Psalm 1:2; 119:11, 15). This leads to “delighting” in His Word (Psalm 119:16, 24, 35 and many more). 3. Make sure they are willing to not only count the cost of obeying or doing the Word but are willing to forsake the cost; willing to give their lives to serve one Master only! (Luke 14:26-30; Acts 20:24). 4. Make sure they are willing to pass it on to Timothys; to teach others by Word and Deed x(1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 2:2, 24; 4:1-2; Titus 2:1). 5. Finally, we need to remember that everything we are teaching, the Devil hates with a passion: God’s glory (Ephesians 1:12, 14; 3:21), preeminence of Christ (Colossians 1:18), reliance on the Holy Spirit instead of the flesh (Galatians 5:16-17), the sufficiency and authority of God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17). He is not going to take what we do laying down. This is war, but the victory we have won is in Christ! (Romans 7:25). We must put on the full armor of God and pray (Ephesians 6:11-18), remembering our battle is NOT against flesh and blood (2 Corinthians 10:3-6).” This strategy will not be understood by most in the same way that Paul was and is not understood. Our lack of agreement or understanding of the truth never changes or diminishes its veracity. The work of New Foundations International is toward one end; that God be glorified through the submission of every believer to the truth.
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Over the years I have been fascinated with reading the accounts of shipwrecks or collisions to learn the causes the loss of lives, cargo, and ships. In almost every case, the captain was clearly at fault for either neglecting his duty, ignoring warnings, or giving control of the vessel to someone who was inexperienced. Whatever the cause, shipwrecks result in lives being lost or severely damaged.
In a spiritual sense, Paul had deep concerns that emphasized how important “holding faith and a good conscience” was. “By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,” (1 Timothy 1:19). “Rejecting” is “refusing to listen or to push or thrust away” faith and a good conscience. This is a deliberate action of individuals who refuse to be governed by the truth, teaching and principles of Scripture. This attitude was not new to Paul. Barnabas and Paul experienced this with the Jews in Acts 13:44-47 causing them to turn their attention to the Gentiles who “began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord” (13:48). Jesus knew this rejection when He quoted Psalm 118:22-23 in Matthew 21:42-43 and warned the Jews; “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits” (Matthew 21:43). Shipwreck? One of the saddest aspects of this truth is found in a letter Jesus sent to Ephesus via the Apostle John; “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent” (Revelation 2:5). “Holding faith and a good conscience” is the only way that individuals or churches will be protected from spiritual shipwreck. Lord Jesus, I pray that You will use this blog to speak directly to some hearts that need to hear this warning, for their blessing and Your Glory. Amen. We come to the third part of Paul’s charge to Timothy; “a good conscience.” As Timothy’s mentor, Paul always sought to maintain a good conscience toward men, believers, and God (Acts 23:1; 24:16; Romans 9:1; 2 Corinthians 1:12; 4:2; 2 Timothy 1:3). Paul was insisting that Timothy do the same and maintain “a good conscience” so that his ministry would be effective and powerful.
What is the conscience? It is “the faculty which can distinguish between right and wrong and give us moral sensitivity.” Timothy lives in the same kind of world we live in; in “later times [when] some will depart from the faith…whose consciences are seared” (1 Timothy 4:1-2). Paul explains to Titus that “to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and their consciences are defiled” (Titus 1:15). These same conditions exist today. How can we instruct our conscience so it will be “good”? Paul tells us to “be transformed by the renewal of our minds, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). There is a saying; ‘we are what we eat’. Let’s turn that saying to our subject, that ‘our conscience will work according to the spiritual food we eat.’ There must be a divine action on our conscience. “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14). An active, close relationship with the Lord is the only way to have a good conscience and wage good warfare. What’s happening with your conscience? There are two more parts to Paul’s charge to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:18-19. We will look at the second one in this blog. “This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child…that…you may wage the good warfare, holding faith.” Notice the grammatical construction of this sentence. “Good warfare” must be carried on by “holding faith.” In other words, they are not independent of each other. Holding biblical faith with a ‘life grip’ requires seeing our faith as a “possession,” not merely an ideal or philosophy we follow. For “faith” or belief in God and His truth to be real, it must be the source, spring and power of our lives. Wage war for some ideology has no anchor, foundation or eternal objective with eternal rewards.
When Peter wrote to believers who were being severely tested by persecution under Nero, he exhorts them in this way; “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6–7). Take a moment and reread these verses. God often allows us to go through times of testing to see if our ‘grip’ on the “faith” is “genuine.” By “holding faith,” we will make sure that our warfare has a biblical foundation and stands up against the attacks of Satan. Without “God’s firm foundation” of faith as the basis of warfare, we will use the weapons of flesh and lose every battle. From what I am observing today, so many in the Church are attempting to do God’s work without knowing the biblical principles that must govern everything. The results are appalling! Make a difference where you are by RETURNING TO THE AUTHORITY AND SUFFICIENCY OF SCRIPTURE! There was one thing Paul made very clear in his instructions to Timothy; being a faithful man of God would include “warfare”. ‘To the Corinthians he said, “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4). This “divine power” was to be used to “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” (10:5). Paul realized, and so must we, that there are forces continually working to undermine truth in the minds and hearts of believers.
To strengthen Timothy, Paul charges him to “wage the good warfare” (1 Timothy 1:18). He also tells Timothy to “share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3). Any warfare will require suffering, but the suffering in itself is never the focus of a soldier. It is “his aim to please the one who enlisted him” (2:4). The Commander sends His soldier into areas that need the most protection from enemy attack. There is no doubt that the Church is under attack, and it is being felt in some areas more than others. Parts of the Church are not even aware they are under attack causing those who should “be alert” to be weak and unfaithful. Rather than using “divine power,” leaders are allowing “fierce wolves [to] come in among [them], not sparing the flock; and from among [their] own selves will arise men speaking twisted things” (Acts 20:29-30). Oh, soldier of Christ, awake and “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil…take…the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:11, 17). If you sleep in the hour of trouble, you will be unfaithful to our Commander and the Church will suffer! I am continually amazed at how much I am learning at my age (70). I would even say that I am learning more now than all the years I spent in schools, seminary and Bible conferences. How can this be? There is one important lesson that has taken me too long to learn; that the Holy Spirit is my ever-present Teacher (John 14:26). Yes, there are good books to read and good teachers to listen to, but the most valuable lessons are learned in communion with the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14).
Why is this lesson so important to learn? John not only referred to this principle in Jesus’ final meeting with the disciples before His crucifixion, but he writes of it again in the context of his concern that false teachers would deceive the churches he wrote to. Read his words carefully: “I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing [the Holy Spirit] that you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in Him” (1 John 2:26–27). Without saying much more than what is in these two verses, it is clear that the greatest protection we have against false teachers and deceivers is the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Our problem is that we have not learned to fully depend on Him to be taught. The problem is not that He is not available. The Spirit lives (dwells) within us (John 14:16; 1 John 2:27). In the same way that Jesus taught us to abide in Him (John 15:1-11), so we are to abide in the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:27). We tend to depend on other sources instead of the Spirit. This weakness makes us more susceptible to false teaching and unbiblical practices. In fact, we have denied the Scriptures and the Spirit their divine authority. This condition leads to spiritual weakness, unfruitfulness, and no power. Are you submitting to the teaching of the Spirit? It will result in spiritual power, strength, fruitfulness and knowing what is “true”. Greater praise and glory to God results because that is His purpose in teaching us. “It would be far more true to say that had the Lord not given any such command (the Great Commission), had the Scriptures never contained such a form of words, or could Christians blot it out from their Bibles and from their memories, the obligation to preach the Gospel to all nations would not have been diminished by a single iota. For the obligation depends not upon the letter, but upon the Spirit of Christ; not upon what He orders, but upon what He is. The Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of divine love and compassion and desire for souls astray from God.” (1)
There is something about this quote from Roland Allen that really stirs my heart. For too long I have placed limitations in my mind on the Holy Spirit which are not there. By the nature of who He is as God, He causes the will of God to take place in those who are willing to submit to God’s will and the movement of the Spirit. Jesus said of the Spirit, “He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:14). How will He glorify Jesus? Through you and me as we allow the Spirit to preach the gospel of Jesus to the world in word and deed. (1) Essential Missionary Principles, Flemming H. Revell, 1913, page 67. It’s amazing how a map can motivate the hearts of people. Randy reports that the map of Africa has been used to inspire a church planting vision in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Along with this map, he gave the coordinating leader in each country the map of Paul's missionary journeys and the overview of God's Plan for His Church. These visuals are tremendous tools here in Africa. By using them and giving them to the leaders to use regularly, we are seeing a new movement of prayer and action that could impact the 10/40 Window here in North Africa. God is greatly using this investment in His Kingdom work in Africa, Asia and South America! (These maps were provided by a generous gift). Paul had a map in his mind of where God was sending him. “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them” (Acts 16:9–10). “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him” (17:26–27). God has all the nations (people groups) of the world on his heart. DO WE? Just four years after the birth of the Church, it is remarkable how clear their understanding was of the Holy Spirit. “And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him”” (Acts 5:32). Peter knew instinctively what happened on the Day of Pentecost was through the giving of the Holy Spirit (2:33). Luke who recorded these early events of the Church, gives clear and accurate accounts as an “eyewitness” of what happened. They prayed; “grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness…And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness” (4:29, 31).
So powerful was the work of the Holy Spirit in those days that even lying about personal matters was a “lie to the Holy Spirit…to test the Spirit of the Lord” (5:1-11). Yet, many today think nothing of cheating with money and moral standards; overlooking biblical principles of how the Church is formed and how it must function. This includes qualifications for leadership in their private and public lives, and the accurate presentation of the pure gospel. Such failure, however small in our eyes, is a direct affront to the Holy Spirit. He is grossly misrepresented. Instead of “great fear coming upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things” (5:11), there is great weakness and ineffectiveness in the church and the testimony of Christ is robbed of its power. Where is the witness of the Spirit in the Church and missions today? It is only where believers are submitting to His will and acting in their personal lives, marriages, families, churches and ministries, and may I add, work places. May God humble our hearts in genuine repentance! Much of our emphasis on the “Great Commission” needs to be thought through carefully in light of the Book of Acts. When the Holy Spirit came (Acts 2) and filled the hundred and twenty gathered in prayer, waiting for His arrival (May 29, AD 30), Acts had not been written by Luke (AD 63), and Matthew was not written until AD 58. In other words, none of the disciples or apostles read Matthew 28:19-20 when the church was born and knew from reading what to do. What then made their evangelism and missionary work so effective since they did not have the “Great Commission” statement? I want to begin answering this question with a quote from Roland Allen.
“The Holy Spirit is first given, then all the acts are described (in the Book of Acts) as consequences of His descent upon human beings… We see what happens when the Holy Spirit descends upon men of like passions with ourselves. Loyalty to Christ did not drive the apostles…Zeal for Christ’s honor did not teach them how to approach those heathens and establish the Church. It was the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Redeemer, which did this. From this point of view, their words and acts became a wonderful revelation of the Holy Spirit.” (1) I give you a present-day proof of the Holy Spirit working in this way in parts of Africa. “Many church leaders and pastors who have been given a privilege to read and use God's Plan for His Church are seeing tremendous results in church renewal and multiplication. The Holy Spirit is taking the lead and many are coming to Christ than ever before.” (Daniel, Kenya). Our problem today of not advancing the gospel into unreached people groups is not because we do not understand the “Great Commission”. It’s because we do not know how to be led by the Spirit! I will humbly say to you that if you want to return to the Scriptures and see the Spirit lead you in this way, you must read Acts and Paul’s letters using God's Plan for His Church. You will never be the same and you will want the Spirit to lead you with His fresh power and understanding! (1) Roland Allen, The Ministry of the Spirit, Eerdmans Publishing, 1960, page 4. |
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