In the last post, we looked at Jeremiah 18:1-10.  Notice that God “reworked the clay into another vessel as it seemed good to the potter to do” (v.4).

·         Why do we question the design God is working into our lives?  It is our pride.

·         Do we think we know better that God for our lives, marriages, family and church?

·         Do we allow human ideas, methods, and programs dictate what we will “allow” God to do with           us?

·         We don’t like what He is doing to us.

But I am learning – God has a perfect plan and purpose, and His design that He is working into my life has one goal; that He can use me for His purpose – to bring Him eternal glory!  His hands make a “vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master…, ready for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21).

God has put His hands on my life that has caused pain and I almost lost sight of why.  Thankfully, He has applied the water of the Holy Spirit to soften my “clay” so He can shape my life to bring Him glory.  Ask God to enlighten “the eyes of your heart that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you” (Ephesians 1:18) to bring Him glory!

In Jeremiah 18:1-10; Romans 9:19-24; 2 Corinthians 4:7-12, God uses the analogy of clay in the Potter’s hand to illustrate how He wants to mold and shape us according to His design and purpose.  One of the most importance elements in keeping the clay flexible in the Potter’s hand is water (the Holy Spirit).  Without continual application of the Holy Spirit to our lives, we will become brittle and resist God’s shaping hand on us.

• How brittle are you?  I mean, do you fall apart when God tries to change you in some way?
  
• Are you “resisting” the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51)?
• When He seeks to change your thinking and attitudes, do you “quench” His work in you (1 Thessalonians. 5:19)?
• Do your words and actions “grieve” the Spirit of God (Ephesians. 4:30)?

A lump of clay that refuses to be softened by water (the Holy Spirit) will become useless and perhaps even rejected as a vessel "honorable...set apart as holy, useful for the master" (2 Timothy 2:21).  Read also 1 Corinthians 9:27.

Why are we so willing to accept something less, a lower standard, or a different method than what God has held up in His word?  Why are we so quick to proclaim ourselves as the “cutting edge” in ministry, but unwilling to humbly acknowledge how far short we fall from God’s design as He gave it to us in Scripture?  Every decision we make in life and ministry will either reflect and give glory to God or will detract in some way from it!

a.   What brings about change and a desire to return to God’s plan?  We must open our hearts to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit and this will result in immediate REPENTANCE!  How does this happen?

     i.    God’s Word becomes a mirror (James 1:22-25), reflecting a clear comparison between God’s plan and purpose for my life, marriage, family and church, with what the facts really are.

     ii.    God’s Word is like fire and a hammer (Jer. 23:28-29) that burns up what is useless to God and breaks what is hard, stubborn and resistant to the Spirit.

     iii.    God’s Word is like water (Eph. 5:25-27).  The more I take it in the more it cleanses from the inside out.

     iv.    God’s Word is “perfect, reviving the soul” (Ps. 19:7).  There is always hope when I apply God’s perfect Word to myself and my situation.

b.   If true repentance takes place, what can you and I expect?  “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 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 3:19–20, ESV).  If you have never experienced sweet fellowship with the Lord, this is the path where it begins.

Let the Word of God change us so we become better reflectors!

My brother Tim gave me a quote from Thomas A. Kempis recently: “Use the temporal; desire the eternal”.  Paul said, “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself”.  That is the temporal.  Then he goes on to say, “if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”  That is the eternal.

How do you measure your life alongside Paul’s?

Tim and I are home and very thankful to see our wives and families.  Picking up from our last letter, on May 14, we spent four days in Phnom Penh, Cambodia training a church planter among the Khmer people.  He is unique as he seeks to following Paul's example of working to provide for his own needs.  To accomplish this, several helped purchase a Tuk Tuk which he will use for income and transportation.  His vision is to train other "Timothy's" with GPHC and help them start a business that will provide their income.  He clearly has a heart for living and duplicating the Early Church model.

Tim and I left on the 19th; Tim to Laos to deliver Bibles which had been provided by Wake Christian Academy, Raleigh, NC and others here at home.  I proceeded to Chiang Mai to start training a pastor from Pakistan.  Tim arrived a few days later and we focused on one-on-one training him and then two other men from Myanmar for the next three weeks using God's Plan for His Church manual.  We are convinced of the effectiveness of this method!  The personal interaction, valuable discussion and fellowship over how the biblical principles work out in each culture brought inspiration and a fresh appreciation of Scripture in their setting.  With a few, time was taken to complete the "pre-assigned" work, but these brothers were diligent and hard-working so that each one completed the final project, developing their own strategy for ministry in their setting with the principles they learned.  These men represent the Karen, Chin, Katchin, Burmese, and Naga people groups of Myanmar and the Karen in Thailand.  Translation work is already in progress for these languages.

Let me summarize how the Lord has led us to this point in our ministry.  Having taught the manual in conferences for many years and seen little multiplication from this venue, we felt that Paul's method of mentoring Timothy was more effective and would multiply much faster.  After much prayer and searching for about a year, Tim found a Christian couple in Chiang Mai who would rent us a four bedroom house with a kitchen and sitting area for a very reasonable price. 

Paul said in I Corinthians 16:8 that he would “stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened for me.” God has opened many doors for us, but like Paul, we desired to enter this “effective” opened door.  It allows us to train one-on-one, face-to-face, where persons are away from the responsibilities of ministry, culture and family in a quite neighborhood, yet within walking distance of village stores for food and necessities.   The owners are convinced this is the purpose God has for this place and are fully behind us.

While we were there, God opened another door through the owners.  Here is a comment from them:  "A new teaching team from the United States viz., Pastors Tim Bunn and Sherman Driver of Go-Reconcile, will train our evangelists in August; and our regular mentor Rev. Dr. Tan Wai Choon in November."  This training will be with the Lahu people group in Thailand.

We praise the Lord as we share this with you.  Please continue to pray for us that we remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit for His "effective work", humble in spirit, and physically able to meet the demands.  Also pray that God will raise up Timothy's who God will call to this work.  Tim will be returning to Burma/Myanmar at the end of July for a conference in Yangon.  From there, he will return to Chiang Mai, Thailand to train leaders from Africa and the Thailand Karen and Lahu.  Pray that each of these open doors will turn out to be God's "effective work" for His glory!