Randy sent me a quick text with this picture, giving us a little insight into what God is doing in Uganda. I am quickly posting this so that you can see how God is answering many prayers. “This amazing training under a tree is in northern Uganda using God’s Plan for His Church! Rogers is in blue and Martin in red. This is indigenous 2 Timothy 2:2 training “fulfilled men who will be able to teach others also”! Praise God for what He is doing!” (Randy)
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What was Paul willing to do so the work of God would be advanced in others? “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore, I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2 Timothy 2:8–10).
While I may experience physical limitations, we have abundant proof that God’s Word “is not bound” by our limitations. It was only a few years ago that we were training in just one nation in Africa. Now we have our training in at least eighteen countries. This is from the Lord! What are the critical elements for any ministry to see a movement of God?
Some of you may not know that with multiple surgeries and other medical issues over the last few years, I have not been able to travel overseas, except to Ecuador. Many have expressed words of compassion and sympathy, and these I deeply appreciate. There is another side of this situation that I want you to understand. I relate to one of the circumstances Paul went through.
During Paul’s first imprisonment, he makes a very important observation in one of his letters. “And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear” (Philippians 1:14). How can this happen? Like Paul in a prison cell, I sit behind this computer screen watching what God is doing through this ministry as well as the global needs and events He is orchestrating. I am able to give you current information on what is taking place so you can be informed for more powerful, specific prayer. Now that we are working in 29 languages across every continent, it requires someone who is looking at all these places at the same time. The most important part of my global view is being able to encourage where it is needed at any moment. Paul did not have a computer, but he had those who provided feedback to inform him of current conditions and he was able to address these quickly. Over fifteen years, I have seen God change and develop this ministry to be more effective and “bold to speak the word without fear.” I will “boast all the more gladly of my weakness” so the gospel will be heard in unreached places. Of all the churches Paul planted, he spent the most time at Corinth. This church gave him more grief because of divisions, moral issues, and false apostles who questioned his qualifications for being a apostle. I the face of this, he expresses these deep feelings of care for them.
“For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the One we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough” (2 Corinthians 11:2–4). One of the outstanding qualities of Paul was that he remained true to the gospel of grace and refused to consider any other standard for salvation. This was for the sake of those he had delivered the gospel to. The enemy of the gospel of grace is always trying to dilute the truth in some way so that man gets a little credit for what he receives. This both weakens our appreciation of Christ’s work on the cross and nullifies God’s judgment against sin. Neither can be allowed. Very rarely have I ever heard anyone preach or speak about Paul’s righteous anger, but there are two important examples which I will deal with separately, one now and one tomorrow.
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6–9). I doubt there is any passage in all of Paul’s letters that is as strong in condemnation as this one. There is a good reason for his righteous anger. This first letter that Paul wrote came immediately after the Jerusalem council in Acts 15. There were some who wanted to pollute the pure gospel of grace with adding to the work of Jesus Christ on the cross something that we must do to complete our salvation. This would create “a different gospel” and must never be allowed to happen. Paul directs his anger in this case toward those who were polluting the gospel, not toward the young believers who were not yet established in the truth of the gospel. I suggest that we should have like feelings when we see persons intentionally leading others away from the pure gospel. Randy left Zambia yesterday for the next leg of his time in Uganda, Africa. As he left, he sent me this picture and others of his time at graudations and further training with brothers and sisters in Kitwe and Luanshya, Zambia. This is evidence that God is working and using Henry and Patson in a special way. This reminds me of Paul’s confidence in Titus who he left in Crete, or Timothy at Ephesus, or Epaphroditus at Philippi. The mentoring Paul did with these men and others meant they could be left in any place where churches had been planted and know that it would “put that remained into order” (Titus 1:5) or strengthen and encourage those in these churches. In the case of Titus, Paul did not intend that he stay there very long. By the time Paul finished he letter he said, “do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there” (3:12). Doing the work of establishing churches should not take years. Combining the gospel with the training of “grace” (2:11-12) and the Holy Spirit, the work should move forward rapidly and believers are able to stand firm in the truth. After nearly 35 years on the mission field, Adoniram Judson reflected on what compelled churches in New England to send him and his wife, Ann, to Burma. “American Christians pledged themselves to the work of evangelizing the world,” he wrote. “They had but little to rest on except the command and promise of God.”1 (Jason G. Duesing).
Paul was correct when he wrote, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So, neither he who plants, nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:6–9). How do we see ourselves in any mission work, or for that matter, any ministry? Do we really rely on the Lord for fruitfulness in His way and His time? Judson persevered through many hardships, including the death of his wife and intense opposition. He never lost sight of the One who gives the increase. This attitude gives us patience in the work, not expecting results except in God’s timing. Those who send us out into the harvest must have the same heart – looking only to God.
I received a text from a dear Brother in Nepal today that tells of some exciting developments since our team had been there near the end of last year to introduce God’s Plan for His Disciples. This Brother translated the book to start with, hosted our team, and then set out to do the introduction himself in 40 churches across this mountainous country. “Yesterday, we had a training on God's Plan for His Disciples on zoom. Nepali people living in India are quite interested and we (Manoj, my pastor friend in India and I) have arranged this group and planning to meet every Friday for 13 weeks to complete the lessons. I have sent some of the books when friend from India had come.” What makes this so amazing is that we have never suggested that propogation of our material be done after we leave. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in them that wants these believers well established in God’s Word. Rejoice with us in what God is doing and pray for this effective work to continue beyond what even they can imagine. In reading Roland Allen at times, I find fresh perspective as he explains from the treasure of Scripture many aspects of missions that we tend to overlook. In his book, Essential Missionary Principles, he deals with the question of who the gospel should be preached to.
“Christ came first to the people who had the highest moral code, and probably the highest moral practice known in the world at that time. Paul was a highly moral Jew, but he, or any in Israel, did not need Christ less than Zacchaeus (Luke 19). People who think that Paul’s sort of morality affects the question of missions have not got beyond the stage of legal religion. The question of importance is not whether those to whom we take the gospel are more or less moral, but whether they need Christ” (pages 62-63). Paul believed this principle when he wrote his treatise on the gospel. “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. For there is no distinction; all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:10-11, 22-23). These are absolute statements that place every human being on the same ground before God – THEY ALL NEED THE GOSPEL! This is part of the fuel that propels us to “GO” preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations! Today I received a newsletter from my good friend Dan at Joshua Project. He is a wonderful researcher who looks at the challenges we face in missions across the globe. Some of the highlights of his newsletter are listed below, and are worth considering, especially as we realize that our task of reaching the “ends of the earth” with the gospel is not finished.
“This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). Are you carrying the gospel to someone? |
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