As I have wrestled with a difficult situation, I have asked the Lord what the most important aspect of my part is in what we are going through? He has taken me to several Scriptures that I want to share with you.
“He knows the secrets of the heart” (Psalm 44:21). “Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart” (51:6). “And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). To anyone in leadership, this should not be a fearful matter if our goal is to represent the Lord with honor and dignity. We should desire and strive to make our witness of Him clear and without any doubt in the minds of others about our character. Remember how Hebrews 12 reminds us that “for the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it”(12:11). Are you thankful for the training?
0 Comments
In the ministry of NFI and in our personal conversations, we often refer to who we are “in Christ.” This is a phrase that Paul often used to express what has taken place with every believer who is born again by the Holy Spirit and has placed their faith in the Lord Jesus for salvation from sin and condemnation.
As I was preparing my message for tomorrow on John 18, I wondered why some have often said that Peter denied the Lord, when he was also denying who he was – a disciple of the I AM! When any one of us miss the big picture of who God is and His vast plan and purpose, we also miss how God has placed us in Christthrough His death and resurrection. This was not the first time Peter took his eyes off Jesus. It may be that some of us have taken our eyes off Jesus and the result is that unbelief leads us to behave out of character from whom we are in Him. Someone came up to me last Wednesday evening at our Bible study and with great joy declared what a difference it made to realize that she was in Christ. This changes how we see ourselves. It changes the reason for everything we do. It takes our weak efforts in worship and makes them glorious moments of exalting praise. Has this happened to you? My mind and heart has been focused on the glory and majesty of Jesus in John’s gospel, particularly in chapter 18. In verse 4, Jesus immediately takes command of the situation and says, “Whom do you seek?” When they reply, “Jesus of Nazareth,” one of the most despised places in Israel, without any hesitation, Jesus responds, “I am He!” He had no fear of what was taking place because he had just told His Father, “Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke. 22:42). There is always an unspeakable peace in doing God’s will!
I want to focus our attention in this blog on Jesus’ words “I am He!” In one way there could be no other name, no other description as wonderful as to proclaim His self-existence from past eternity to eternity to come! John is the only gospel writer who records all the “I am’s” in such a beautiful way.
With many other descriptions of Jesus, it is easy to see that John is riveting our attention on the glory and uniqueness of His person. What do these beautiful names and attributes do in us as we contemplate Jesus’ majesty and glory? Will these evoke a greater desire in us to represent Him better in and through our lives? One of the most difficult things for any church to do is build their fellowship on faith. Why do I say this? So much of the modern church is built on human ideas or pragmatism. What I mean by that is that ideas or programs that worked in a corporate setting, social setting, or in some other ‘mega church’ are reengineered to be used in a fellowship of believers, only to fall short of God’s purpose.
Building a local church or fellowship on the principles of Scripture requires faith. I can assure you that this will not match what we see in the world around us. What strengthens faith is when we obey God’s Word and follow the principles He has revealed and then see the results in real life. This requires a transformation by the Holy Spirit from doing things according to human understanding rather than being taught by God. Paul saw this take place with the believers in Rome. “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed” (Romans 6:17). It was not head knowledge but tender hearts willing to be led by the authority of Scripture and the Holy Spirit. Are we like this? “Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue My sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them” (Ezekiel 34:10).
Though this is an Old Testament passage, it clearly reveals God’s heart toward those who belong to Him. Through Ezekiel, God expressed His righteous indignation on false shepherds who only cared for themselves and not the flock. Paul, James, John, and Peter were very clear about false apostles and teachers who were concerned about their pockets instead of the spiritual welfare of the flock, the Church. I am appalled that this condition is still prevalent today. What is the solution and what can we do? “By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3:16). To what degree are we willing to sacrifice “self”? The concern must always be for the spiritual protection, provision, and building up of those in the Church. The enemy never sleeps and is looking for opportunities to spoil what belongs to God. Let us be the kind of leaders who are willing to sacrifice whatever is required so the Bride of Christ is properly cared for. As a follow-up to yesterday’s blog regarding how “elders” who “shepherd the flock of God,” I want Peter’s exhortation to examine my heart and yours. Even before getting to the questions, we must be very honest with ourselves and make sure those who shepherd have that gift from Christ so the flock is properly cared for, not harmed. Here are the questions:
These questions come from 1 Peter 5:2-3. If we cannot answer any of these questions with total honesty, we should immediately seek the counsel of a godly leader who is an example of the qualities mentioned above. Let us remember that we are accountable to the “Chief Shepherd.” When we stand before Him, will He give us a reward, or will He expose where we have misrepresented Him? Today I had a lengthy conversation with someone around the question of what it means to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you” (1 Peter 5:2). My mind went back to a few days after Jesus’ resurrection when He prepared breakfast for the eleven disciples. Jesus takes this opportunity to probe Peter’s heart with the question, “do you love me?” This same question was asked three times and followed by three instructions (John 21:15-19).
This gave Peter great reason to meditate on what these instructions practically meant as the Church came into being at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit was key to understanding what Jesus had said to him so that every action, every word, and every motive would be controlled by the fact that the Church first belongs to God, purchased by the blood of Christ (Acts 20:28). It must be loved with the same intensity that we love Christ. How this governs what we do is very challenging. In the next blog, we will ask ourselves some hard questions that need to be answered by anyone who is considered an “elder”. We are so grateful for the way God has expanded the training of disciples in S. E. Asia. This is largely due to the faithful commitment of one brother, his family, and a few others who work with him. As a result of translating God’s Plan for Young Disciples (GPYD) into their language, they have trained Sunday School teachers and Youth Leaders who first went through God’s Plan for His Disciples (GPHD). The pictures included here are a witness to this movement. In an email sent to me, they have a message for all who have stood with them in prayer: “Thank you for praying for us to train for the 157th Course to two ethnic groups. They are people who finished GPHD and prepared to teach children. Other courses continue to teach GPHD to their brothers while 21 young people there did their homework in preparation for October 28-29 when they will meet Pastor Tim. They want him to pray for them and send them out to train children at conferences. local churches in neighboring villages.” How inspiring this is! Will you join us in prayer for effective ministry to flow from these groups. Only the Lord knows where this will lead. Pat (one of the NFI Team) is serving mostly here in the United States. Here are a few items from his report that need your prayer support.
“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed” (Psalm 2:1–2).
Uganda – September 4-21: Tom leaves Monday for Uganda. This is his third trip to the Northwest corner of Uganda in 12 months. There are estimates as high as 1 million refugees in the area from South Sudan. During his first trip he left some GPHD manuals and asked the leaders to look them over to decide if they would be interested in Tom introducing the material. During his second trip to a refugee camp, he introduced the material to about seven or eight pastors plus a number from their congregations. Now he will follow up on more contacts as well as introduce GPHD in other areas of Uganda. There will be a graduation for those who finished GPHD. How thankful we are for Tom’s commitment to spread the gospel and strengthen the Church where suffering through dislocation has affected believers. “Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling” (Psalm 2:10–11). |
Archives
December 2023
Link To Our Old Blog:
|