I well remember times in my life when I was very discontent. It might have been parts of my job, ministry or other things going on that seemed difficult to handle. I also know of times when I have been satisfied with where I was in every way. God’s goodness has been above and beyond anything I ever deserved! He ALONE has made me content.
What makes the difference? Those you ask will give you as many answers as people you ask, but usually the answers reflect things they have done or accomplished. Money and pleasure will never be enough to make anyone perfectly satisfied. No amount of human achievements will ever be enough to out run all the competition of others. The quote by John Piper is true; “God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in Him. The more we find our satisfaction in Him, the more we drink deeply from Him and eat at His banquet table, the more His worth and His all-sufficiency is magnified.” (See Revelation 3:20). Hebrews reminds us to “keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”” (Hebrews 13:5). It is the person of Jesus ALONE who satisfies the human heart. Drink from His well.
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Not everything in ministry is answered by God with an outpouring of His blessing. In recent conversations with some, I am alarmed at the lack or loss of passion for the Lord, the gospel and the maturity of the Church. When I look at what God is doing in me, even through difficult times of pandemic and some restricting health issues, I sense my passion for God’s work growing and becoming more the center of everything I do.
“We exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples.” John Piper, Desiring God (1997). What are the things that weaken and steal our passion in life and ministry? Here are a few points that immediately come to mind.
That is enough to chew on for now. If any of these things are true of you, I ask that you stop what you are doing and ask the Spirit to rekindle the fire of His gift in you. “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you” (2 Timothy 1:6). Have you ever been in prayer for someone or a ministry event and felt inadequate in finding words that expressed what you wanted God to do or how to thank Him for what He has done? I think Paul used what we call a doxology to express how he felt about the grandeur of God our Savior and the revelation Paul was given. The reference below is one of those times.
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen!” (Ephesians 3:20–21). That phrase “far more abundantly” seeks to convey what we would consider an “extreme excess over and above what we would ever expect.” In a real sense, that is how we feel about the last week in Ecuador with the Quechua people. There were many who prayed with us about this opportunity when it was in the planning stage, in the preparation stage and then during last week as the training was taking place. God has answered “far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.” More details will come out in the days ahead, but for now all we can say is “to Him be glory!” Another report on Ecuador: “Last night we had our first Quechua GPHD launch with 6 pastors and their churches. I have never seen such hungry and a committed group of disciples. They are taking this study very seriously. This is why we go to “the ends of the earth!” (Acts 1:8). Even before I started speaking, they acknowledged their spiritual foundation was not good and needed to start over. They all are committed to completing the book by November 7th and with a graduation ceremony. They printed the large banner of Paul's travels and Early Church map in Quito. It helps explain why we go back to Early Church as our model for church planting and establishing, strengthening and encouraging existing churches. We then went to a second Quechua church to introduce GPHD with 8 pastors and their churches in Quito. We left them still going strong about 11pm. They had rented a place for this special meeting. Again, I have never seen such hunger and commitment to search the Scriptures. They are taking this more seriously than is seen in other places. Most Privileged Servant, Tim” The following is a report from Tim in Quito, Ecuador.
“We had a great meeting last night with the Quechua Church in Quito who have already started working through GPHD and completed Lesson 3. They are simple, hungry followers of Jesus. I took them through study Lessons 6 and 7 on “Instruction on How to Study the Bible and the importance of spending time with the Lord every day. I personally have learned so much the last couple years about how to study the Bible. It is so easy, simple and practical when we depend on the Holy Spirit, think like a child, and use a little common sense. When the Quechua church in Quito heard we were going Sunday to introduce GPHD to other Quechua churches in the Andes, they wanted to go as well. So, after our introduction tonight to another Quechua church in Quito, we will head out Sunday morning at four a.m. It will be like a caravan departing from Quito, heading over the mountains. Juan and a few of his disciples from Puyo will join us in Riobamba. Oswaldo told me last night that he never thought he would minister to Quechua. Now he is very encouraged because of what God is doing. Please pray for good health and power of the Holy Spirit to present the Spanish GPHD to the Quechua's Churches starting tonight and all day and night tomorrow, and then again on Monday. If anyone would like to be a part of our GPHD graduation on November 7th and the introduction of GPHC to those desiring leadership and GPYD for teaching youth, please let us know. Pressing on for His Glory!” -Tim Western cultures have encouraged individualism and independence for centuries. This is very different from other cultures and particularly biblical models. While there were many persons throughout Scripture who stood on their own and God honored them, there are also examples of those who God put together as a team. Here are a few examples:
Solomon said, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil” (Ecclesiastes 4:9). In other words, fruitful ministry is multiplied when we work together. Accountability, mutual encouragement, and collective wisdom are among the benefits of teamwork in ministry. Of these three, accountability is often the more critical element for working together. There is less potential for error and moral failure when two or more hold each other accountable to one another. God has also built this safeguard into the body of Christ so that if one member sins, we “who are spiritual should restore…in a spirit of gentleness” (Galatians 6:1). As I read through the Book of Acts again and again, I see the priority of sharing the gospel at any and all opportunities God gives. It began on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit filled 120 gathered disciples. When the people in Jerusalem from many ethnic centers around the Middle East and Mediterranean countries saw what God was doing, they asked the question, “What does this mean?” (Acts 2:12).
That question opened the door for Peter to present the gospel with those gathered in Jerusalem. The message brought conviction to their hearts, and they asked a second question, “What shall we do?” Peter goes deeper into the message of the gospel with what is required in the heart, “Repent and be baptized (public identification with Jesus) every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (2:37-38). Notice how witnessing (1:8) in the power of the Holy Spirit generates questions and in turn opens more doors for sharing how the gospel works. Is your witness to others causing them to ask questions that expand the opportunity to expand the gospel? How strongly is the Spirit moving through you to share the gospel with others? We often think of Barnabas as “an encourager” because that is what his name means. But, looking at his record, Barnabas was just as much an evangelist as Paul (see Acts 13:50-51; 14:1-6). He was threatened with stoning just as Paul was. These men worked side-by-side in the gospel in Derbe and Lystra (14:19-23). Teamwork in the gospel has a multiplying effect! As you may have read in our last newsletter, Tim has gone to Ecuador to train the Quechua churches, and he has just sent me this note from Quito.
“We are going to be launching the Spanish God's Plan for His Disciples (GPHD) to the Quechua Churches all over Ecuador Friday, Saturday, and all-day Sunday. We plan a big graduation with hundreds of Quechua disciples November 7th. After they complete GPHD, they will be given certificates of completion and hopefully many will go on to leadership training through God's Plan for His Church (GPHC) and many will go into training children God's Plan for Young Disciples (GPYD). Be sure to mark your calendars for November 7, 2021. Be in prayer for these disciples. This will be a huge God honoring event! This is our weekend schedule for July 16th to 18th. PLEASE PRAY! Pray this will revive the "Quito Factor" and the Quechua Church will be unleashed to reach all of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and South America!
Tim and Oswaldo As this week progresses and events take place, I will post updates on this website blog. How will communion with Christ in the Breaking of Bread affect our future? Remembering Jesus in this way should make a huge difference in how we live from this moment forward. Paul was thinking about how Jesus stepped into his life and changed it. That is why he gives this instruction, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). Who do we proclaim it to? First, to ourselves and each other in the remembrance through the bread and cup. Then in the gospel (HIS story) to others.
Was Paul saying this because Jesus needed us to remember Him? NO! It was for us! What implication does the Lord’s Supper have on our future, aside from the fact when we celebrate this memorial, and we are proclaiming the Lord’s death to others who do not know Him? We need the Lord’s Supper for us! IF properly celebrated, the breaking of bread will change the way we live. The Holy Spirit will take what Jesus has said to us in His word and remind us over and over (READ: Jn. 14:26; 16:12-15) One tradition has been that church leaders determine when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. There is nothing wrong with that, but I do not see any biblical precedent or requirement for this method. In fact, Acts 2:42 shows that the Early Church collectively “devoted themselves to…the breaking of bread.” There was a united desire among them to remember the Author of their salvation. Jesus became so important to them that devotion to Him was seen in celebrating the breaking of bread. It sustained their devotion to Christ and empowered their witness for Him! What if your love for Jesus became so red hot that you were inspired by the Holy Spirit to suggest that we celebrate Christ in this way on a certain Sunday? In the Church’s history, there were periods when believers felt the need to break bread every day. Today some do it as a ritual every week, once a month, or twice a year. There are records of revivals in church history when the power and authority of Scripture, and their love for the Savior caused saints to gather daily for the breaking of bread. In some cases, it was incorporated into a meal they had together. There was no formula for when, just a spontaneous movement of hearts by the Spirit to remember the Lord. What will your future look like because you remembered Jesus out of love and genuine devotion? We continue to look at the Lord’s Supper and its present application. In Luke 22:19, Jesus “took the bread…gave thanks…broke it and gave it to them… likewise the cup. Jesus was showing the disciples, right before their eyes, a way to remember Him in the future. For them there was no question of what Jesus meant by “Do this in remembrance of me.” It was simple, yet profound! Let’s read 1 Cor. 11:24-25. “Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” “Do this” is always in the “present” wherever, whenever it is done anywhere in the world. We are in the present. Having seen the example Jesus left for us to follow, we must do the same. The elements we use for this remembrance, bread and cup, are simple but become a wonderful way of recalling what Jesus did for us. The bread - His body given in sacrifice and suffering for us, bearing the full weight of God’s judgment against our sins. The cup - His blood shed in order to remove our sins from the sight of God and from the record and cleanse us from the effects of sin. Sadly, this special memorial has become for many just a ritual and its meaning has been lost. It should have a present impact on our lives so we live differently from the world in the world. I firmly believe the frequency should be determined by our love for Christ. We will examine this more tomorrow. |
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