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I received some disturbing news from a faithful brother and partner in mission work. It highlighted the need for us to be very wise in receiving, reading, and distributing information about the Lord’s work. This work requires constant vigilance in knowing whether the source of information is reliable and using godly wisdom so it does not fall into hands that intend to harm God’s people and hinder His work.
In the face of danger and deceiving opposition, God is moving forward with His eternal plans. My friend referred to Psalm 67:1-3, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth, Your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!” (Psalm 67:1–3). The writer of this Psalm was looking beyond his nation to all people groups. Both Psalm 67 and 46 are dedicated to the Choirmaster indicating that God is to be worshipped even when surrounding conditions do not make it easy. I believe that the sweetest praise comes out of the winepress of pressure, hardship, and opposition. Those who know God intimately, know His heart, and have experienced His faithfulness and can look past the momentary trials to His eternal victory in Jesus. This turns bad news into songs of victory before victory is realized. What song are you singing?
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Paul was not afraid to deal with issues directly, especially with those that affected the truth and reality of the resurrection. Jesus faced the same unbelief with the Sadducees. “The same day Sadducees came to Him, who say that there is no resurrection” (Matthew 22:23).
Over twenty years later after there had been plenty of proof that Jesus had been raised from the dead, Paul faced the same unbelief. “Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:12–14). Notice how Paul forces these doubters to think about the foundation of their faith. When Peter preached to the crowds in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, he made this profound statement: “God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24). By dying, Jesus broke the power of sin, death, and the devil. The resurrection was the proof that their power was broken. “it was not possible for Him to be held by it”! I am very concerned that many who call themselves “Christians” express great fear of dying. John links the fear of death with the lack of love. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love” (1 John 4:18). “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Hebrews 2:14–15). Let us help each other realize the victory we have in Christ over death and Satan. We have often referred to God’s original purpose in making mankind. “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness”” (Genesis 1:26). Though Satan’s deception and introduction of rebellion (sin) against God marred that image, it never removed God’s mark and original plan for that image and representation to be in us.
Paul confirms this point in his letters, and particularly in his letter to the Romans. “For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29). This verse confirms that God’s original act in the creation of mankind is still His plan and purpose. How does God take a creature marred by sin and rekindle His image to reflect His Son? It was the “goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior…according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration [rebirth, to be born again] and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ” (Titus 3:5). This work of the Spirit continues from our new birth to this moment through the Spirit’s sanctification in us. We “become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4) which is the image of God in us. It is the Spirit’s power working in our human nature to reveal a new life in Christ (Galatians 2:20) in us. This is the glory of Christ in us (2 Corinthians 3:18) so that we are “filled with all the fullness of God”(Ephesians 3:19). Let Him polish your life!! Let me take you back to the beginning of Jesus ministry. John the Baptist became a key link between Jesus and the first disciples. Jesus came to John to be baptized and though John objected to the request, Jesus reminded John that “it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). Righteousness was one of the first marks of His ministry. This scene becomes a pivotal moment as Jesus started His ministry and selects those who will be His first disciples. Consider this:
As a result of John’s acknowledgement of who Jesus was, two men begin to follow Jesus. One of them wanted to know where Jesus was staying and got the invitation to stay with Him that day. Andrew (one of the two) was so taken by his short time with Jesus that he found his brother and brought him to Jesus. What you and I say about Jesus and how we spend time with Him is the best way to attract others to become followers. There are rare moments when I can take time to reflect on the ministry of NFI and the core values that are foundational to what we do. One of our goals has always been to establish, strengthen, and equip indigenous leaders and believers in the Lord Jesus, so they can reach the unreached people groups in the surrounding places where God has placed them.
We do not teach a program or method that we have developed. Rather, we take persons back to the authority of Scripture. In the Scriptures we find the authority of the Holy Spirit who gives us HIS METHODS! He worked through men like Paul to proclaim the gospel of grace and design a church planting method that no generation has ever surpassed. I took some time today to address a medical issue and this gave me time to read a short article on John Wycliffe (1330 – 1384). As he taught at Balliot College, he applied himself to the careful study of Scripture and realized that much of the church had left the path of its authority to follow many false ideas. He wrote three books that exposed from Scripture where the church had gone astray:
This short article confirmed the reason why God has led NFI to establish our work on the same foundation, HIS WORD. All other ground is sinking sand! To offer anything less than Scripture to church leaders and believers around the world is to set them up for failure.  As I put the final edit into the Nepali GPHD 4th Edition (God’s Plan for His Disciples), I thought about what God is doing and will do in this narrow, mountainous nation. Out of 227 people groups, there are still 218 groups that have less than 2% Christian representation (stats from the Joshua Project). Some have never heard the gospel.
From the calling God has given us, we feel led to equip, strengthen, and encourage local leaders and churches to become well established in the gospel of God’s grace so they can be sent out by the Holy Spirit and the local church. GPHD is that foundation. Those who complete the GPHD study can then go further in the study of God’s Plan for His Church which is designed for developing strong biblical leadership. After finishing the last edit to the Nepali GPHD, I sent it to our local team member in Kathmandu so he can go through it one more time and then get quotes from a local printer for 7,500 to 10,000 copies. The vision of local leaders is amazing. We are trusting the Lord in this whole process to give clear and specific guidance. This is where YOU come into the picture. Much prayer is needed! Please remember that God often moves to supply a need because His people faithfully pray. Let’s do this together. It was not planned. The Church did not convene a “Missions Committee” to make strategic plans for evangelizing Judea and Samaria. There was no “altar call” for volunteers to leave Jerusalem and there was no commitment by the Church in Jerusalem to support those who went with the gospel to new areas. THEY JUST WENT!
How did this happen? “There arose on that day a great persecution against the Church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1). Through the faithfulness of Stephen, God allowed this persecution to rise against the Church. I would also say that God allowed these events so the words of Jesus in Acts 1:8 would be fulfilled, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria…” I have reported before how God is using the migration of Ukrainians to the US to expose them to biblical teaching through the Ukrainian GPHD. Just today I received a request from an Arabic speaking church in North Carolina for GPHD in Arabic. There was NO advertising or planning on our part. It was just God bringing together events and people under His direction to accomplish His purpose. Are you looking to see where God is at work? Will you join Him and follow His lead? It is a very strange idea that we should be thinking of jealousy as it relates to the Church and those that are under the care of shepherds. We usually think of it in terms of coveting something that belongs to someone else. Let’s look into Paul’s heart for the Corinthian believers and how he wanted to protect them from deception.
“I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:1–3). Notice that Paul defines his jealousy as “divine”! It was far from the human type. It expressed deep and sincere love for these believers. Even though there were some moral issues that he was forced to address, Paul’s one goal was their pure devotion for Christ! Satan’s deception was and is real which caused him to warn these saints that they could “be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” Sadly, this is happening today. This kind of jealousy dictates how we serve and shepherd the flock of God (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:1-6). Our first and only concern must be the spiritual protection and growth of believers, especially those under our care. Why? BECAUSE THEY BELONG TO GOD! Do you have this kind of devotion and commitment for God’s work? In normal every-day situations, whether it be in the classroom or in a work setting, we are often required to take a test to see if we have learned what we were taught. In these situations, our teacher or employer will grade our test and either give a “Pass” or “Fail” grade or some numeric grade. We are rarely asked to grade ourselves.
As Paul closed his second letter to the Corinthian church, he asked them a very unusual question. “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? —unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test.” (2 Corinthians 13:5–6). Imagine asking yourself this question! Paul had spent eighteen months in Corinth and written them two letters. His investment was more than he had given to most other churches. This represented his commitment to helping them mature (see 1 Corinthians 3:1-3). There was no lack from Paul’s side of giving everything they needed to know where they stood with the Lord; “Jesus Christ is in you.” Are we passing this test? Our answer will make the difference between living in Christ’s power or still living in the flesh. Tim and I sat at our table for a good 90 minutes discussing New Foundations International and the many opportunities that are on our agenda for the next two or three months. Part of our conversation reflected on the remarkable journey we have traveled together since 2007. That has been 17 years as of next month. There were times we had mountain top experiences, some low points, and many lessons we have learned that shaped this ministry.
Along this path there have been scores of people God has allowed us to serve. Some have become faithful Timothy’s, and some have been sad disappointments because their goals were not Christ-centered. What fills us with wonder is those who developed slowly and became the Lord’s design to influence their circles of responsibilities. These individuals have given us great joy as we patiently watched God transform them from old traditions to a more biblical understanding of God’s purpose for their lives and the Church. There were many in Paul’s ministry that he lavished time, love, and teaching on and never saw the final fruit. This reminds me of his confidence in the Philippian church. “I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). I am excited to see new growth in a few that we thought were stuck in “neutral.” Suddenly they are responding to the Scriptural principles and promoting them with others and this is producing fresh fruit. Remember, it is God’s work. We must be faithful with what we are given, but “it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). WORK, WAIT, AND WATCH! |
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