Just yesterday I was looking at Jesus' words in Luke 4:
“And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place (see also Mk. 1:35). And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.” (Luke 4:42–44). I see four principles in these verses that marked the Lord's life and was continued by the apostles.
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Here is a current testimony of what is happening when believers use God’s Plan for His Church manual to get them back into the Scriptures as their sole guide for personal walk, the family and the church.
“I was urgently invited to Ghana to attend the International Missions Leaders Workshop in Kumasi Ghana. The Theme for the Workshop was “MOVING FORWARD”. The director for Baptist Foreign Missions Rev. Phil Knott shared with us the Mission’s Vision and goals that is to multiply disciples, leaders, Churches and ministries that are reproducible and sustainable. The Workshop was held because many of churches were relying on foreign support and when that supports ceased, the church fell or pastors moved to other ministry that will support him. So we were called and encourage that our churches should be self-sustainable and focus on God and the direction of the Holy Spirit. Brother, what we have been studying from the training manual is exactly what is going on with so many pastors and churches here in Africa. We have been encourage that our churches should be self-sustaining; not money to be it lifeblood, because when money stop ministry stops. Thanks for the material that open our eyes and understanding. I took along the Training manual (GOD’S PLAN FOR HIS CHURCH), with me and I seized the opportunity to meet with pastors and church leaders from Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Mali, Togo and other African countries discussed with them the goodness and Biblical teaching of Planting and Church Renewal of the material. Having shared the introductory part of the manual many of them express their desire to be part of the study. While I was away the men studying with me in our church were busy in carrying on their studies and at times we shared our discussion on phone after our meeting. I am going through the manual as well as a brother who has gone to Hungary with a copy of the manual. He will be back on the 26 of February, so that we can all do the completion of the material together. It is our prayers that the Lord will give us strength and open our understanding as we study His Word to win souls for him.” The students thank God so much for this church planting course. This is the great plan of God that they have never learned before. Actually, they all did not want to come back and wrap up after their internship because they thought they had finished their Bible school and all the seminary courses. However, when they started to learn GPHC (God’s Plan for His Church), they realized that this course was something new for them that they had never learned in seminary. In fact, before having this course, they did not know how they were going to start their ministries. This teaching is very essential for their future ministries and they are very thankful that God has revealed His plan and this valuable wisdom. Thank you very much.
Yes my brother, there are so many adversaries which we are experiencing. We however thank God for all his promises. I want to tell you that it is not easy for these old churches to accept New Testament principals and come out of their traditions which are not found in the word of God. Some of the old churches adapt tradition, doctrines and church structures and their leaders have become owners of the churches, especially when a church is in the villages. But I thank God because his word is sharper than a double edged sword. Pray always for this new ministry we have on our shoulders. I am so glad because we are not only teaching the principles but the power of God is being demonstrated. I was asked to pray for the sick and God graciously gave them healing. I did not expect this to happen, but the church elder just stood up and asked me to pray for the sick. Brother, I don't understand how the Holy Spirit is working because l did not have this in my mind to pray for the sick. We really need your prayers. On Thursday this week we are going to two other churches and we are sure God wants us to go there, but we do not know what is ahead of us. This manual (God’s Plan for His church) is anointed!
This post will give you a slice of what God is doing in Thailand. “Timothy and I had a very fruitful time ministering the Word of God to 7 students. He knows the material and can communicate the biblical principles and connect these principles to their current and future ministries. He actually can communicate and teach much better than I can. What a blessed time we are having together!”
A brother in Zambia who has completed the GPHC training reports:
"The leaders whom we have taught through this manual (God’s Plan for His Church) have come to consider the manual like a bible commentary. They understand the book of Acts and the letters of Paul. They say transformation is taking place in homes and in the churches." One of the key principles we see in the Book of Acts is that the life, fellowship and preaching; all forms of worship of the early church, was a strong reason why the church grew so rapidly (Acts 2:14-47; 6:7; 10:34-48; 13:48-49). Dr. Edmund Clowney has said, “When we worship God as we ought, that is when the nations will listen.”
Is our worship truly God-centered? If we mix in to our worship anything that exalts man, we will weaken out gospel voice to the nations; the unreached. Here is the testimony of someone from Myanmar who recently went through God’s Plan for His Church training. “By taking GPHC training in Chiang Mai, I learned your heart for His kingdom, your teaching style one by one, your desire for the family of Christian leaders, your perspective on the life of Paul and the methods of Paul for imparting to present day church planters.”
In the last post, we looked at Jeremiah 18:1-10. Notice that God “reworked the clay into another vessel as it seemed good to the potter to do” (v.4).
· Why do we question the design God is working into our lives? It is our pride. · Do we think we know better that God for our lives, marriages, family and church? · Do we allow human ideas, methods, and programs dictate what we will “allow” God to do with us? · We don’t like what He is doing to us. But I am learning – God has a perfect plan and purpose, and His design that He is working into my life has one goal; that He can use me for His purpose – to bring Him eternal glory! His hands make a “vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master…, ready for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21). God has put His hands on my life that has caused pain and I almost lost sight of why. Thankfully, He has applied the water of the Holy Spirit to soften my “clay” so He can shape my life to bring Him glory. Ask God to enlighten “the eyes of your heart that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you” (Ephesians 1:18) to bring Him glory! In Jeremiah 18:1-10; Romans 9:19-24; 2 Corinthians 4:7-12, God uses the analogy of clay in the Potter’s hand to illustrate how He wants to mold and shape us according to His design and purpose. One of the most importance elements in keeping the clay flexible in the Potter’s hand is water (the Holy Spirit). Without continual application of the Holy Spirit to our lives, we will become brittle and resist God’s shaping hand on us.
A lump of clay that refuses to be softened by water (the Holy Spirit) will become useless and perhaps even rejected as a vessel "honorable...set apart as holy, useful for the master" (2 Timothy 2:21). Read also 1 Corinthians 9:27. |
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