I sat across the table from my brother and partner, listening to him recount his experience over last weekend in Haiti. Tears ran down my cheeks as I heard what God had done in just three days. God had orchestrated a connection with a missionary there last year. From that contact we printed 300 copies of God’s Plan for His Disciples and 300 God’s Plan for His Church in French. As you might know, Haiti has been in chaos since June when their president was assassinated. Going there seemed risky with 17 missionaries who were kidnapped just a few days ago. The general conditions of the Island have deteriorated as gangs gain power and control. These conditions have not stopped God’s plans. The Pastor’s Conference went forward as planned. Normally there are about 335 pastors, but because they could not get around roadblocks there were 150 by the third day. God worked in a mighty way. Lesson 1 - Authority and Sufficiency of God’s Word made them realize they could learn biblical principles by reading Scripture instead of being told by others what to believe. Please pray for these men as they study directly from God’s Word. We plan to return the first of next year for a graduation. As I thought about this amazing opportunity, Habakkuk 2:14 came to mind. “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). This is already starting!
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What are we to do when it seems that our work is in vain? Most of my blogs about NFI and the exciting events around the world are very encouraging. We would deceive ourselves if we thought that was the result from all work in serving the Lord anywhere. I had a short conversation with someone today who is discouraged. They have put their heart and soul into their ministry and it seems there is little response from those they serve.
Paul poured his heart into the Corinthian church. It was the only church that received two letters from Paul. As we track his attitude toward them, he says, “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?” (2 Corinthians 12:15). This is a sacrificial love that remains steady irrespective of how it is received or rejected. It is “agapaõ”love given us by the Holy Spirit who is the same Spirit that was with God the Father in “so loving the world that He gave His only Son…” (John 3:16). Representing Divine Persons in the gospel is not just our attitude toward the unsaved. It is also the gospel lived out toward one another in the body of Christ. This is harder because we expect a better response from Christians. The mind of Christ (Philippians 2:3) is also “in humility counting others more significant than yourself.” The reward for this kind of servanthood is guaranteed (1 Corinthians 15:58; 2 Timothy 4:7-8). Tom and Dee Dee traveled to Quito, Ecuador and were there from September 30th to October 7th. They visited local leaders in Quito and Puyo with opportunities to teach and encourage local believers both at the church Oswaldo pastors and in his home. Oswaldo and his wife and the rest of the family were a great joy to get to know. It gave Tom a chance to ask questions about their needs, especially as they minister to the Quechua believers. They also visited others in Quito who are working among the Quechua, and they shared the need for help.
In Puyo, Juan provided more information about ministry to the Quechua in both Puyo and Riobamba. Juan also shared needs he has in discipling the Quechua churches more effectively. Dee Dee is fluent in Spanish which made traveling easy and she translated for me when I needed it. Her Spanish gave us the freedom to travel from Quito to Puyo without depending on our host. She especially encouraged the wives of leaders by communicating directly with them. She would love to return, and the wives all asked her to come back. There is a spiritual hunger and a desire to reach out and share the Gospel among the Quechua like no one can ever remember. "The harvest is plentiful, and the laborers are few" (Matthew 9:37). Everyone expressed the need for training through God's Plan for His Disciples and God's Plan for His Church as tools for understanding the Scriptures and principles of a New Testament church. This theme of “all attaining…maturity” we looked at yesterday is still plucking the strings of my heart. There is another reason why this goal is so important. After seeing that we are “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone,” (2:20) Paul points to the great end and reason why the Church is built and brought to maturity.
“In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:22). Under the old covenant, God met with His people in physical buildings. That was never His final goal. When Paul quotes Leviticus 26:12, he affirms that “we are the temple of the living God” (2 Corinthians 6:16). That is not just a New Testament idea. We can go back much further than Leviticus to Genesis 3:8 when Adam and Eve “hear the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.” Man and woman were made by God for this special fellowship. Sadly, sin (disobedience) drove distance between them and the God who made them and ended intimate worship. We are challenged by these Scriptures as to whether we are living with God’s eternal principles in mind or if we have downgraded the place of worship to a physical place on Sunday. The Church gathers in Christ for worship. The place does not determine our worship. Each of us must examine our own hearts to answer this issue. Paul had a view of others in the church that was unique. Most of what we see and experience in the Church today does not come close to his outlook. We are happy if only a few grow to spiritual maturity. Not Paul! These verses illustrate the heart of this man for every believer.
“God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:27–28). Paul leaves no one out! This concept is repeated in Ephesians 4. “Equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up 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” (4:12–13). Not only is Paul including everyone in the Church in this maturing process but the measure of maturity is “the fullness of Christ.” What difference would this make in our churches if we adopted Paul’s attitude? What would God do to expand the gospel if every believer matured to “the fullness of Christ”? What joy would fill heaven if this were to happen? Will you take on this kind of discipling? Most of us remember with guilt on our conscience how our mothers and fathers reminded us about doing our school homework or chores and then immediately we would forget again. This weakness is also true of spiritual lessons God tries to teach us.
Paul told his spiritual son Timothy, “Remind them of these things and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers” (2 Timothy 2:14). Part of preaching each week is presenting the gospel of grace. Another part of preaching/teaching that is very important is reminding the hearers of truth that is often forgotten or even ignored. The reason why we often forget is that we do not immediately put into practice what we have heard. Think of the long patience of God in reminding Israel over and over what He had told them from the moment they left Egypt. Psalm 78:11 says, “They forgot His works and the wonders that he had shown them.” Read 78:35-56, 65-72. (Psalm 106:13) “But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.” Halfway through Paul’s letter to the Philippians he says, “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you” (Philippians 3:1). He knew the human tendency to forget things that God considers essential for our spiritual growth and the wellbeing of His people. Pause and let God remind you of truth that needs to be put into practice. Obedience is a great help for our minds and hearts. Yesterday we saw that “study” of Scripture without the teaching of the Holy Spirit only adds knowledge to the mind and does not transform the heart and life. Paul makes this same argument, but in the context of having knowledge without love.
“And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2). Obviously, Paul is referring to agape love, God’s kind of love that is sacrificial and has been poured into us by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). This puts knowledge into perspective and causes us to ask, ‘how can we use the knowledge God has given me to serve His purpose and glorify Him?’ This question cannot be answered unless we are seeking the leadership of the Holy Spirit as we study Scripture and gain knowledge from Him. One of the most exciting things we are seeing in some places where God is working is a growing hunger to learn from the Bible by the Spirit. This is resulting in revival like we have never seen before. Let us pray for this to spread in every corner of the earth. The disciples had personalized instruction when Jesus called them and taught them for three and a half years. Every day they were in His classroom. Right before He ascended into heaven, Jesus gave two disciples an experience that no doubt provided them a taste of real understanding. “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45).
What would happen when Jesus left earth and returned to heaven? How would they receive this kind of instruction after He left? Hours before Jesus was crucified, He told them one of the most important pieces of information that would be critical for every disciple until Jesus returned for His Church. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). Receiving instruction from the Holy Spirit is priceless! I fear that we have substituted human methods of instruction for what God intended the Spirit to do in us. We often refer to “study” as a means for understanding the Bible and fail to appeal to the only One who can take what we are reading and put it into the divine context. Let the Spirit teach you as you read. From a human point of view, strange things are taking place in our world. COVID has created a roller coaster effect between restrictions being on and off, plus ?? that cause fear. Planning has become very difficult. At the same time, we can see God do amazing things we did not plan.
One of the most exciting developments has been the local hunger in various parts of the world for a deeper understanding of Scripture. While our plans for face-to-face training have also been on and off because of restrictions, it has not diminished the desire in hearts to learn God’s truth. Many are asking for translation of our training material to use as local groups gather for study. During a time when Israel was in rebellion and decline, there were “those who feared the Lord [and] spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them…” (Malachi 3:16). In a way, we are seeing the same thing happen today. Gathering faithful men and women who are learning to love God’s word (“fear the Lord”) is Paul’s method of encouraging, establishing and equipping the Church. Do you remember what the disciples did right after the resurrection? “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you”” (John 20:19). Who else would you want to join your study of Scripture and God’s truth than Jesus? It is in these restricted times that Jesus and the Holy Spirit delight to enlighten our understanding. Let’s gather as often as we can and by whatever means God allows. It is always a joy to bring you news of this ministry that is current so you can rejoice with us as well as join us in prayer for what God has done and what He is doing. Here are a couple of bits of news that have just come in.
Congo: I'm happy to tell you that the training is going well here in Congo. We decided to start with God’s Plan for His Disciples (GPHD) in Congo. We are going through the English manual since we do not have enough of the Kenya Swahili which we will need to print later. Next week we will travel to the Copperbelt, Zambia, to do trainings in Kitwe and Kalulushi. Cambodia: Tim just got off the phone talking with John, who is now in charge of the ministry there. He has faithfully translated GPHD into Khmer and has the older edition of God’s Plan for His Church (GPHC) in Khmer. He is eager to get their leaders started in GPHD and have us visit "face-to-face" in the future. We will introduce GPHD via ZOOM to his key leaders once they complete the printing. Lord willing, we will have a follow-up and graduation 14 weeks later. John told me that Cambodia would open back up without quarantining on October 15. He is a real blessing and assured me of their commitment to our continued partnership and training material. These reports cause us to praise the Lord for His faithfulness during such difficult times. Please pray with us that each opportunity becomes a time of encouragement, strengthening and multiplication of disciples who are motivated by the Spirit to train others (2 Timothy 2:20). |
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