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Yesterday I gave a practical example of what happens when we OBSERVE, MEDITATE, and APPLY God’s Word as Jeremiah did. This is a great way to study Scripture in your personal quiet time with the Lord. If you are in a group setting, it is good to add DISCUSSION after MEDITATION, so you gain from what others are seeing in the Scripture.
There is another aspect to this process that is equally important. We may get into the habit of having a “Quiet Time” with the Lord in the morning but miss the point of what we just read. James makes this point very clear: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). Be careful! Mere reading Scripture is not the same as obedience. What causes us to obey the Scriptures as well as read them? LOVE! “Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23). In response to keeping His word, we are assured that the Father will love us and our fellowship with divine persons will be guaranteed. This is on top of the “joy and the delight” that Jeremiah experienced in Jeremiah 15:16. Obedience should NEVER be forced on us by others. It should come from love and delight in the truth and wisdom the Spirit gives through the Word.
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“Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16).
 Yesterday I shared some exciting news of what God is doing in Myanmar. Just about an hour ago I received another message from our partner in Myanmar that two people out of the 70 being trained through GPHD were convicted by Lessons 1, 2, and 3 that they needed to be baptized. Lesson 1 and 2 are on the authority and sufficiency of Scripture and the Holy Spirit. By accepting what Scripture says about itself and learning the unique role of the Holy Spirit, they could not resist what it says about baptism.
These events are happening all around the world because God’s people are returning to the Scriptures as the ONLY source of truth and the ONLY guideline for practice. These ‘mini’ revivals will not be written in local papers or broadcast through news channels, but I can assure you that heaven is ecstatic with joy because God’s children are finding joy in obedience. Is there some truth that you have avoided because you do not understand it or because it seemed difficult? If it is God’s Word, understanding will come as you obey, and He will give you the ability to follow the Word as you become willing to obey.  In spite of the unrest and persecution in Myanmar, our partner keeps doing the Lord’s work to establish and strengthen believers in Rakhine State. All this past week he has been training 70 disciples from different churches using God’s Plan for His Disciples. As you can see from these pictures, there is an intense focus on working together to learn principles of the gospel from God’s Word so they can return to their local places and share it with others. This is the biblical model that Jesus started. The result of Jesus’ encounter with the woman at Sychar was that she “left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”” (John 4:28–29). It is an automatic response to the power of God’s truth presented in the power of the Holy Spirit. No programs, no special arrangements! Just God at work through His Word!    Some weeks ago, I mentioned that a dear brother in Nepal had taken the GPHD training he received last year very seriously. Not only is he taking this disciple making tool to forty churches across Nepal, he has strong ties to pastors in India who also speak Nepali and he is training them via Zoom. This week was the second training he has done via Zoom, and it went very well.
Like any teaching that is solely based on Scripture, the authority of Scripture alone draws those who are hungry for God’s word. On another note, we have just finished the final edit of the 4th Edition, God’s Plan for His Disciples, and it has been sent off to the printer. If you are interested in a copy or want to start a group Bible Study in your home, church, neighborhood, or workplace, using this new resource, please let me know at: [email protected]. I will send you a copy (or copies) as soon as they are received from the printer. Please include your name and full address. I strongly encourage you to use this tool to ignite a spiritual movement of renewal and spiritual growth right where you are. This is happening in so many places around the world and it is spreading to places we never planned on.  News from Randy:
“I should be home today, but this is not the case! God has opened the door for me to meet some leaders in Ethiopia! After praying about this, we decided that I should explore if our training might help a church planting movement in this country. As a result of this new opportunity, I extended the schedule for Uganda by a couple of days and added Ethiopia to the end of this week. Here is my new schedule which I need even more prayer: Feb 20th - Our last graduation of God's Plan for His Disciples with a group of about 80 who are hungry for the Word of God; then, travel to Entebbe. Feb 21st - Final meetings with Rogers and another young "Timothy" named Stephen; then, a zoom call with Malaysia. I will be there next month, March 10-13. Feb 22nd - Fly to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to meet with an old friend who lives in Maine. He has had ministry in Ethiopia for years and he will introduce me to a key indigenous leader. Feb 23-24th - Introduce GPHD & GPHC to the key leader and seek God for future trainings. Feb 25th - Fly home...finally, after this 28 day trip! Thanks for adding this to prayers. It is our vision that training key leaders would reach all 54 countries in Africa. We are making steps toward this goal, and Ethiopia would be the 18th country!” If we are to love the truth, where do our roots need to be for this love to develop. Jesus made this issue clear in John 14 just hours before His arrest, trial, and crucifixion. “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (14:23). This is the second time Jesus has said this. “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (14:15).
There are three things that spring out of love for Jesus:
This is also a reciprocal principle. “If you keep My commandments, you will abide [remain] in My love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love” (15:10). Put another way, the fruit of obedience is greater love for Jesus because we learn the value of His Words through the spiritual life they produce in us. Jesus is very specific in praying to the Father as to the disciples He was leaving after His ascension. “For I have given them the words that You gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truththat I came from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.” (John 17:8). This request extends to us who “receive” His words today.
This phrase “have come to know” means “to understand or perceive” which goes beyond mere receiving information. It involves a depth of understanding that has conviction of what was received, and they have nothing false in them and must be acted on because of its authority. Paul speaks of what will happen to those who are deceived and “refuse to love the truth and be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:10). The contrast here is very clear. I will put this in my words for clarity; if we do not receive the words of Jesus (and all Scripture) as authoritative over our faith and practice, we may fall prey to deception and end up refusing to love the truth. Let us make sure we are NOT in that category. The “Spirit of truth” will help us “love the truth” if we allow Him to work in us. “I am compelled to share my joy with what the Holy Spirit is doing in Zambia and Congo in 31 churches. The work in Congo is growing and more leaders are coming for training. We are experiencing the great renewal of churches and in the hearts of the leaders. I would like to thank our God for the grace rendered on us which enable us to do the ministry (Luke 17:10). We give all the glory to God.
Last year we trained leaders in Luanshya, Zambia and The Congo using God’s Plan for His Church (GPHC) which we started with one group. After they have studied all the chapters, it's so exciting to see the students graduating. We invited Brother Randy to come as our guest of honor who spoke about Paul's missionary journey and gave us a challenge to reach places where Jesus is not preached in the 10/40 window of Africa. The graduation was attended by people from various places and a government official was in our midst. The graduates were given Certificates of Completion and new Bibles as presents. These graduates will immediately start training using God’s Plan for His Disciples (GPHD) once the 4th Edition is printed. We were also blessed with Brother Randy's presence in Kitwe who took time to teach the EMS church leaders for three days. We had a wonderful time with the Lord as everything went according to His plan. I am very glad that the work of God is expanding in Zambia.” (Henry)  It is very clear from the reports I receive from Randy that God is moving in Uganda. He sent me this text and some pictures again today. “God is working in rural Uganda. The indigenous leaders are taking hold and moving forward! Thanks for praying!”
This reminds me of Paul’s letter from prison to the church at Colossae: “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (Colossians 1:9–12). Paul never thought of any condition as being static. As good as any church or believer might be, there was always room for spiritual growth so the effect of God’s work would advance the gospel beyond where it was. When God is working, it will “bear fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God!” |
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