I can’t think of a better phrase that describes what God is doing in our lives.
Yesterday around noon, I received a phone call from someone who had hit bottom and was very discouraged. While there are many Psalms of David that are very encouraging, I often point persons to Paul’s words, knowing in some degree what he went through for the name of Jesus. “But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10). Are you going through a tough time in some way? Is the path before you uncertain? There is nothing you are facing or will face that Jesus has not already endured (Isaiah 53:4). Take your difficulties as the Lord’s invitation to draw closer to Him. “Draw closer to God and He will draw closer to you” (James 4:8). This is “grace upon grace”!
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these moments. We tend to push through our days trying to get ‘our agendas’ done with little thought of how the Lord is overseeing every detail.
In these times my mind turns to Paul who understood grace more than anyone. God transformed him from a persecutor bent on destroying every evidence of “The Way” (Acts 9:2), as the Early Church was called, to an apostle on fire with the gospel of grace. I know of no other example of the power of grace than what I see in Paul! What marvelous grace! This leads me to one of Paul’s profound statements. “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him” (Colossians 1:21–22). That is grace in all its depth and glory. Have you allowed God’s grace to permeate every pore of your being with growing realization of how much you have been delivered from! NEW FOUNDATIONS INTERNATIONAL (NFI) is holding their annual retreat when our team gathers to review and celebrate the Lord’s work through us and many disciples, partners, and leaders around the world. It is always a good time to thank the Lord for what He has done and prayerfully seek His guidance for what is ahead.
Now that we are involved in 33 languages and almost as many countries, it is very important that we make sure our time and resources are being used as the Lord wants us to use them. With changing political conditions, we need wisdom on many requests and opportunities for training and equipping leaders and churches. Will you join us in prayer over these two days, August 4th and 5th, so that God will pour out the Spirit of discernment, guidance, and spiritual vision. In addition, we are having a dinner Saturday evening, August 5th at 5:30 p.m. when we will fellowship and celebrate what the Lord has done, plus present many aspects of this ministry. WE ARE INVITING YOU TO COME AND BE PART OF THIS EVENT. The dinner will be held at Lighthouse Baptist Church, 1140 B. H. Parrish Road, Benson, NC 27504. If you can come, PLEASE RSVP by July 29th to: Sherman Driver, 919-632-9062 or skdriver2414@gmail.com. We want to see you there!! There are times when God gives us an opportunity to present our ministry to those who are not familiar with what we do. One aspect of our work is presenting Paul’s method of church planting. It is rare that anyone really understands or receives this because it is so radically different from the “Western” model or what has been done for hundreds of years. Persons like Roland Allen were convinced we should return to the biblical model but were severely criticized for such a position.
I had the opportunity to exchange emails with a missionary in Thailand and presented what we believe to be a proven method from Scripture. Here is one of his responses. “I appreciate your advice and the logical order and sequence of making disciples first before the renewal and planting of churches (Acts 14:21-23). It makes sense. What we try to do is make disciples as we do evangelism, but this can be difficult to focus on, and though that can happen to some extent, I agree and accept your advice and counsel to do God Plan for His Disciples first. In addition, we don't get the church or growing churches without making disciples. The challenge after that, as you point out in the verse you gave me, is appointing "elders" as a team. In fact, I have felt the Lord say I should demonstrate the principles more and not "rely on the book". So again, what you say makes sense. But I am beginning to get a vision for this.” I had the thrill of receiving a text from one of our partners in Myanmar today. He has started a study through God’s Plan for His Disciples with 40 students who are just over the border in India. Since they speak Burmese, and our resources are in this language, God has brought these students to our brother’s attention, and he is helping them grow in their faith so the Lord can use them in a greater way to reach the unsaved. Have you thought of starting a group of young people who are willing to be used by God in your community and disciple them by using GPHD? You will never know the impact until you do it. Two days ago, I mentioned that we would look at Acts 16 in the context of preaching. Now that Barnabas took John Mark and headed to Cyprus (15:39), and “Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord,” they went to Syria and Cilicia, “strengthening the churches” (40-41). Paul was very intentional about this part of preaching and making disciples. He was not just counting converts! They had to be established in the faith.
As they passed through Derbe and Lystra again, God was in this method of Paul’s so they would learn about a young man named “Timothy.” As they learned about his character and faith that was handed down from his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5), Paul saw potential and “wanted Timothy to accompany him”(Acts 16:2). We call this “in ministry training.” There is far more to this biblical account than can be seen by a casual reading of these accounts. God is forging in these men through their experience a keen sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. This quality was at the core of their ministry. It was never pragmatic (if something works, use it). It was a conscious desire to follow divine leading every time, all the time. I wonder whether we are more comfortable with tradition (the way we have always done it) than the exciting journey of walking with the Lord at every turn? These pictures tell a wonderful story of what is happening in Nepal. Our partner in this narrow, mountainous country never stops finding believers and churches where he can share God’s Word through God’s Plan for His Disciples (GPHD). He and his wife travel over the dangerous roads of Nepal on motorcycles carrying these heavy books in backpacks to their destination. On this trip, they took 50 GPHD to a new church that had heard about what other disciples have learned through this resource and wanted to go through the same training as well. This couple is willing to make any sacrifice necessary so believers are strengthened by the study of God’s Word and equipped to disciple others. What sacrifice are we willing to make so the same thing happens where God has placed us? The next reference in Acts to preaching is in chapter 14 which gives a deeper insight into the method of church planting that Paul developed and which became very effective. It also comes about a year and a half before the Jerusalem council where the elders of the Church agreed that salvation of Gentiles was on the same basis as the Jewish believers – faith alone. Notice the method Paul and Barnabas used in Derbe and other places.
“When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch” (Acts 14:21). This was part of the call as Luke points out in chapter 16. “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” (16:10). Notice how he combines preaching the gospel with discipling. This means that those in whom the Spirit had worked were immediately established by personal discipling from Paul and Barnabas so their faith would become strong. These two men, “returned to…strengthen the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith” (14:22). The seeds of God’s Word are not left to germinate without watering and light through the Spirit. We will look at the circumstances of chapter 16 tomorrow. This will show how sensitive Paul was to the voice of the Spirit in his ministry. Before we even get to the Book of Acts and study Luke’s rich account of the Early Church, we notice that Jesus was setting the stage in His calling disciples who would become His “witnesses in Jerusalem…and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Mark 3:14 reveals His purpose in calling the disciples, “that they might be with Him and He might send them out to preach.” Effective preaching cannot be done without FIRST being with Him!
Jesus showed them by example how this was to be done. “One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel” (20:1), the chief priests and scribes questioned His authority for preaching. Though He did not answer them, we know His authority came for His Father (John 8:28). Then Jesus had the disciples practice what they saw Him do, “they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.” (Luke 9:6). It was natural for the Holy Spirit to inspire the Apostle and the members of the Early Church to do the same thing, but in the power of the Holy Spirit. “Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans” (Acts 8:25). “But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through, he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea” (8:40). In subsequent blogs, we will explore how this directly impacted the growth of the Church. We received a very encouraging email today from one of ourpartners in S. E. Asia who has been training various people groups with God’s Plan for His Disciples and God’s Plan for His Church. As of this week he has completed training 152 groups in two different languages that include many different ethnic groups. Within the next month and a half, he plans to finish seven more groups.
We are both humbled and filled with joy at his perseverance and sacrifice made over many years. This includes periods of working to provide income that supplies the needs of his family. He has been diligent to follow Paul’s model in their culture. As Paul was effective in the Lord’s work, so this brother has been very effective in raising up “Timothy’s” who will follow the same example. So many in modern missions have said that this model will not work in our day. The reason why they insist that it will not work is because it has not been tried. If we measure success by modern means, it will never work. But if we measure success by the authority of Scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit, we will see what God can do through faith for His glory. |
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