Just today I received an email from one of our Timothys in Africa who is working with another dear brother to follow-up the training with God’s Plan for His Church. In spite of an attack of malaria, God granted healing so the training could move forward. Here is an excerpt from the email: “Here is another exciting moment in Gulu, Uganda. It was so good to see men and women who finished the training manual graduate. Some of these men have started training others and are planting churches. Moses did wonderful job to organize people and the venue for the training. Brother Randy, I now see what you said to be true. These men and women demanded nothing because there was no Muzungu (money). Thank God you came up with this idea of not going with Muzungu. I am seeing these people accept the change on dependency, thanks to your prayers. I was told by some of them that next time they will be able to feed us. The same thing was said in Bweyale. The Holy Spirit is working He who holds the “teabag” is changing the hearts of the people here. To God be the glory.” This is a small slice of what we are experiencing around the world. I will share more in the days ahead. I close this blog with this promise; “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalm 46:10). And so, He is being exalted!
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After writing my blog yesterday, I continued reading Paul’s comments in 2 Corinthians 4. As he was spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, there were some who distorted the gospel for selfish gain. This was very painful to Paul. The personal experience of Jesus confronting his life by stepping into the Damascus road and halting his reckless path was convincing enough of what the gospel is. Any deviation from that truth is a misrepresentation of the message and the author.
Paul needed to answer his critics who claimed he was not an apostle and that he was an impostor. To do that, Paul put his finger on the very charges that must be laid at the door of his accusers, the false teachers. “But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 Corinthians 4:2). Timothy was with Paul as a witness to his conduct, attitude and commitment to a high standard that represents God as the “founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). We need very careful discernment today. There are purveyors of a different gospel who undermine what God is doing through the Spirit. In one country where one of our members just visited, they found discouragement among Christians because someone came from another place and “tricked” them through a scam. This is “disgraceful and underhanded.” Let us be very careful that this kind of activity is never found with any of us. If we “tamper with God’s Word,” we will find ourselves up against the Author who judges righteously. It seems that the pressures to get things done have mounted up lately and I wonder how to keep up with the demands of a worldwide ministry that God has clearly put His hand on. I absolutely love what we do, but there have been times when I am tempted to lose heart.
In this battle of trying to balance personal needs, marriage, family and ministry, I turned to a book that has often brought me perspective; Enjoying Intimacy with God, by J. Oswald Sanders. Let me give you a quote from this man of experience with God (page 128). “Who of us has never been tempted to lose heart? Who has not been on the point of dropping his bundle? None of us is exempt from the subtle, debilitating attacks of our adversary on that level. Few are fortunate enough to escape periods of depression, whether as a result of adverse circumstances or in the tyranny of temperament. Paul had been no stranger to that malady of the soul is clear from his repeated assertions, “we do not lose heart…so we do not lose heart…so we are always of good courage…Yes, so we are of good courage”” (2 Corinthians 4:1, 16; 5:6, 8). This second letter to Corinth was partly written because of those who wanted to discredit Paul and cast doubt on his apostleship and divert his effective work. On top of that, he lists all the trials he had endured up to this point in his ministry in Chapter 11. How then could he maintain such a bright outlook. He gives us a clue in Chapter 4:7; “But we have this treasure [the light of the gospel] in jars of clay [human bodies], to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” You and I will never know the power of this treasure unless we walk close to the Lord and let Him lift us up out of moments of testing with His glory (3:18). My wife and I love to garden, grow plants that flower and produce fruit. It takes careful planning where to plant when you consider a plant’s need for water, good soil, and sunlight. Then, the times of pruning so a plant can produce fruit the next year. What if a plant or tree does not produce fruit? As John the Baptist looked at his own people and nation with the deep feelings of a godly prophet, he wanted to stir them up to repentance. He “proclaim(ed) a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3). Israel claimed Abraham as their father, but they did not do the works of Abraham, nor did they receive the seed of Abraham who came to Israel--the Messiah. John pronounced stunning words “to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him…bear fruit in keeping with repentance…even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (3:7-9). Strong words? YES! Some of our team just visited Asia and found very hungry hearts for the Word of God, and they are willing to die in order that it be spread to every unreached people group. THEY ARE BEARING FRUIT! Here in the West, we need to examine our hearts. Are we bearing fruit? Or, is the axe starting to sever us from the possibility of becoming fruitful? Jesus told the church at Ephesus, “repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent” (Revelation 2:5). Repentance stops the axe and starts new growth toward fruitfulness. Which would you prefer? There are times that we need to be reminded of how great the grace of God is. Paul does this in a very unique way in Romans 11 where he points out that Israel rejected the offer of reconciliation in Jesus the Messiah, but this open the door for the Gentile to be “grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree” (11:17). This is grace. God did not need to reach out beyond Israel to us, “but when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:4–5).
Scripture is very consistent and clear that this salvation, being connected to the root (Jesus Christ) has nothing to do with anything we have done that would merit God’s favor. To this point, Paul warns that we must “not be arrogant toward the branches [that] were broken off because of their unbelief” so we could be grafted into the root (Romans 11:18-19). This root (Christ) is what gives us life and ability to become fruitful for God. We cannot boast in anything of ourselves. Anything we accomplish is because of Christ, because He is the source and power to be fruitful for God. “So, do not become proud, but fear…Note then the kindness and the severity of God; severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in His kindness” (11:20-22). Let this remind us of God’s amazing grace that has connected us to the living root! We have given attention to seeds in the last few blogs. Once a seed is planted in the ground, there must be the right combination of water and warmth from the sun. The seed, which God has made with life in itself, will respond to these conditions and germinate or develop. In that process, the seed first puts out a root into the ground in order to draw up water and nutrients so it can grow into a plant upwards and eventually bear fruit.
How does this apply to the Christian life? Paul helps us grasp this concept in Colossians 2. “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (2:6–7). As a new and growing disciple, we must first make sure that we are putting our spiritual roots in Christ our Savior. It is in Him we are built up, “established in the faith” and become mature. This must be the goal of every believer, not only individually, but collectively as the Body of Christ; “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). No one is excluded from this goal of growth until we are all mature in Christ. All must first put their roots down deep in the truth and principles of Scripture. Becoming a disciple is a ‘rooting habit.’ It is our responsibility as leaders in the Church to be ‘disciple makers.’ Jesus left His disciples with that command, “Go…make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). Paul made that function a part of his evangelizing and planting churches (Acts 14:21). This must be a core principle we follow; helping believers be “rooted and built up in” in Christ. Yesterday I referred to Luke 8:11; “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11). In verse 10, Jesus explained to His disciples that the secret of this parable is not given to everyone. Only to those who are truly disciples.
From this point, Jesus speaks to them about the different type of ground where the seed may fall. · “Along the path” where the devil takes the “Word from their hearts” (12). They have not guarded their heart “with all vigilance” (Proverbs 4:23). · The “rocky” places where there is initial joy in the Word, but because there is no root, the person falls away during times of testing (13). · “Thorny” places where persons hear the Word, but they let cares, riches and pleasure choke the potential of the Word. There is no maturity (14). Are you any of these? We want you to be the fourth type of soil, “the good soil…those who hear the Word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience” (15). To be good soil, the Word of God must be received with the intent that it grows in you because you value what it will eventually become through patience. The Sequoia trees we mentioned yesterday, mature through long patience and taking in water and nutrients. You will become what you feed on! What is your diet? Due to a hurricane approaching our area, we may not be able to post for the next few days. Please pray for us and be sure to visit this page for the next blog.
There are so many areas around the world God has given us the privilege to work in. We are constantly seeking the Lord for direction as to which one requires our immediate attention and the focus of our energies and resources. We often ask the question; where do we see God at work the most? This is often indicated by the evidence of hunger for God’s Word followed by obedience.
During one of those conversations with Jesus when the scribes were trying to accuse Jesus, He took the time to explain what it means to sin against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:22-30). This is followed by Jesus’ “mother and his brothers…standing outside…they sent to Him and called Him” (31). We might think that giving proper respect to parents and relatives was the highest priority for Jesus. Jesus gives a very important answer. “And looking about at those who sat around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother”” (Mark 3:34–35). What a challenging statement! We are all influenced by different priorities that we use to determine what we do. What people say about us or their view of the world and missions often gives weight to our decisions. Often, the relationship with someone else is factored in to our decisions more than we are willing to admit. How often do we ask the question; ‘is this the will of God?’ Jesus’ statement goes beyond knowing the will of God to doing the will of God. If we become more concerned about this, we will find ourselves joining God where He has already opened doors and made a way for effective ministry. Will you join Him? |
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