One of the wonders of Christ sending the Holy Spirit after His ascension to “be with [us] forever” is that He will continue the work of Christ in us (John 14:16). In this blog, I want to look at one of the many aspects of the Spirit’s work in the absence of Jesus. This will help us understand why Jesus said, “It is to your advantage that I go away” (16:7), meaning that He would ascend to the Father and send the Spirit.
In speaking of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “He will teach you all things” and “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth” (14:26; 16:13). While Jesus was here, they followed Him and sat under His teaching in many situations. He instructed them to let His words “abide” in them (15:7). With His departure to be with the Father (13:1; 16:28), He wanted to assure the disciples that they would not be left alone as “orphans” (14:18). In sending the Spirit, the teaching of Jesus continues with the same authority (16:13) and detail (14:26). In addition, the Spirit is not limited to a physical body as Jesus was. Why have we leaned on the academic teachings of men more than the Holy Spirit? One thing is clear; His presence in us is not governed by our degree of education, social status or possessions we have. I have developed the habit of asking Him to teach me in my quiet time with the Lord each morning. I commend this habit to you.
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As we have put our full trust in the Lord and the surgeon He has given us for my surgery today, I have also been thinking about allowing Him to do surgery on my heart. While we have done all we could to avoid physical surgery, there may be the same attitude with most of us about avoiding spiritual surgery. We may be afraid of two things:
“Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind.” (Psalm 26:2). “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23–24). It is very clear from the earlier part of Psalm 139 that God is all knowing (omniscient). What is unique about David is that he is inviting God to “prove, try test and know” him and his heart and mind and reveal to David “any grievous way” that had not been confessed and repented of. This kind of openness is very rare! Most of us do not have this kind of confidence or intimacy with the Lord in our daily lives. I WANT THIS KIND OF CONFIDENCE AND INTIMACY! I feel the Lord continually moving me in this direction. I am no longer afraid of HIS heart surgery because it is in view of “sharing his holiness” (Hebrews 12:10). Please email me at newfoundationsinternational@gmail.com and let me know if you are growing in this confidence and intimacy. As we look forward to events of the next week or two, I want to give an update on our ministry activities and a personal note. Your prayers are valued more than you know.
Ecuador – Tim and Randy will be spending about five days with a “Timothy” and key leaders starting on November 12th. Here is what this “Timothy” says regarding their visit: “I think we will be almost 12 or 15 peoples, and I hope it will be the Lord´s time to touch our hearts for His glory. I feel a big change is coming for the churches that are confused and outside God´s word. We need to return to the simplicity of God´s foundations to build His Church.” We too are hoping and expecting that God will do a great work of the Spirit in all of us for His purpose and His glory! We have seen so much evidence of fruitfulness in God's people and His Church around the world when they repent and return to the sufficiency of God's Word and the power of the Holy Spirit. Please pray that this visit will be the spark that ignites a movement of God. Also pray for the Spanish translation of the current edition of God's Plan for His Church. It is in the final editing stage. The potential for God using this is beyond our imagination. Sherman’s third back surgery – As I prepare for yet another surgery on Tuesday (Nov. 15th) at approximately 9 a.m., we ask that you pray for the surgeon and all those attending in the OR and recovery. This operation will be more extensive than those before, but we have put ourselves in the Lord’s hands knowing that His grace is always sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9). We are also learning to rejoice in trials because of what they produce: “the testing of our faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:3). These times always put much more on my precious wife, Rosemary. Please include her in your prayers for strength and endurance. If there are a few days when a blog is not posted, please continue visiting us. In the Lord’s will, we will be back with fresh insights from Him. Let me introduce to you a new book written by Tim Bunn, The Holy Spirit As Told by God. You can purchase this book from Amazon as well as read comments of individuals who have let this day-by-day journey touch their lives. I offer my own comments below: You will never do a study of the Bible like this one. It draws out from Scripture a deeper understanding of the Holy Spirit; who He is, what He does, and His purpose for indwelling believers in Jesus Christ. Once you begin this book and work through it on a daily basis, you will not want to miss one day because of the fresh insights you receive with each reading. No one has ever written a book like this, but it is time for the church to renew its understanding of the place and importance of the Holy Spirit. When taken seriously, this book will spark revival in your heart and a longing that you give the Spirit the place He desires in you. As this takes place in more and more of God's people, there will be a rekindling of His work in the whole church. This needs to happen universally! Let it start with you! One of the major concerns that we have, and is clearly expressed by Roland Allen, is the adverse effect foreign missionaries have on indigenous believers. Some of these issues I will address later. We must address those things that stand in the way of nationals becoming self-sufficient as quickly as possible. There is no evidence in Acts, Paul’s letters, Peter or John’s, that outside support was given to start any church. It was the power of the gospel that transformed lives and the Holy Spirit who “baptized into one body…and all were made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13).
Though we would never admit it, Roland Allen has the boldness to point out the problem. “Here I must say that the continued presence of a foreigner seems to produce an evil effect. The native genius is cramped by his presence and cannot work with him. The (native) Christians tend to sit still and let him (the foreigner) do everything for them and to deny all responsibility.” (1) In the places where God has been pleased to send us, and where the work of God is most spontaneous, money is not required and our presence is only for a few days or at the most three or four weeks. In addition, it is the younger generation who are grasping the New Testament principles, not the older, traditional and organizational leaders. This should be a loud voice to explain why there has not been the rapid expansion of the gospel in our day as it was at the beginning of the church. Repeating man’s methods brings the same result. Relying on God and His proven principles brings much different results. (1) From letters and papers in the archives of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Yesterday we saw that love for others followed the example of serving others as Jesus did the disciples, even Judas. That has its own set of challenges for us. There is another challenge we face in John 15 where Jesus gives the analogy of Himself as the vine and we are the branches connected to the vine. The branches cannot bear fruit unless they “abide or remain” in the vine.
What does this analogy mean? We may understand the concept that a literal grape vine cannot produce fruit unless the branches are firmly connected to the vine. But how does this picture translate into my relationship with the Lord and the result from being close to Him? Notice the points that Jesus makes from His analogy:
I can’t imagine the humbling effect of having Jesus, the Son of God and Creator, wash my feet! In this powerful example for us, there was a much broader lesson than just “feet washing” as is the custom in some churches. Let’s look at the context.
What difference would this attitude make in our marriages, families and ministries? What difference would this attitude make in our “witness” to the world? Sometimes those who had far more experience in doing the Lord’s work than we have remind us of what matters most. Hudson Taylor uses the following analogy to challenge us with the order of our day.
“Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.” The news media is buzzing with results from voting in the United States. Predictions are swirling about will happen to this country whichever way the election goes. But there is one guarantee I can give you; there is nothing certain in the future of this government or country.
I want to draw your attention to a totally different election; one that is not done by voting of the masses. This election is a reverse from what we are familiar with. Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide” (John 15:16). I referred previously to Mark 3:14 where Jesus “appointed twelve…that they might be with Him” (see also John 6:70; 15:19). This is a permanent choice and purpose that glorifies the Father (15:8). This choosing is not for a four year term, this is an eternal election for an eternal purpose. If only we would grasp the significance of this. Paul says that “those who are called according to His purpose…he also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:28-29). As this conforming takes place in us, we then live “to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:12, 14). The question then becomes whether we are living for the purpose for which we were called and elected? If we only realized that every day either contributes fruitfulness and glory to the Father, or is lived for self and detracts from His glory. The following is a report from a training last month in Yangon, Myanmar by Tim and Randy. You will sense in reading this that God is working among these young leaders; preparing them for a fruitful ministry as they “GO” to the unreached. “I know you will be refreshed by the GTP training with those few hungry young people. I praise our Lord for them. Even if there was only one Timothy, that would be enough to motivate me to continue to go and go and go until I draw my last breath...LET US GO!!!! Putting our hands on the plow looking ahead (Luke 9:62). I am also thankful to be a part of GTP since the leader really sees the need among his own people and has a real sincere heart to see revival. On top of that, we have NEVER supported him, not even a penny. This is a self-sustaining work of God! Just this morning I was reading in John 4 about the Samaritans and Jesus' outreach to a people who were despised by the Jews. Think of the conditions under which Paul went to the Gentiles and then mix in with that the religious and traditional customs at the time, that caused them to reject him and his message. Compare that with what we face today in the West and how we have carried the same religious philosophy of ministry around the world, you can see a little better why we are so ineffective. This is something for us to pray about, consider and make sure our strategy lines up with Paul’s proven method. Pressing on regardless and sowing the powerful SEED, Tim” |
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