Reasonable Service

Here Paul has stopped in at Philip the evangelist’s house in the middle of his missionary journey. A certain prophet named Agabus comes from Judea to prophecy to Paul that if he goes to Jerusalem he will be imprisoned. On hearing this prophecy, the friends of Paul implore him through tears not to go to Jerusalem. Paul’s answer “What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21:13)

How could Paul continue on his missionary journey knowing the next destination would be treacherous? I cannot answer every aspect to this question but I believe we see a couple of points to consider in the surrounding verses.

Yes, these people loved God and loved Paul. But they didn’t realize what kind of perspective Paul had on life. For him to live was Christ and to die was gain! Paul was on a mission until he died. Paul had a pretty good idea that dying was going to be an eventual part of his mission. It is unbelievable to look at this man’s faith.

There were good men and women around Paul that were trying to get him to change his mind, but Paul was a fanatic or maybe he was just what a normal Christian should be, and so he wouldn’t listen. He stuck out on that day in the midst of other great Christians. I wonder what he would look like today in our “safe” Christian society. He lived what today would be labeled a risky life following after Christ.

Someone has said “It’s not a tragedy to die for what you believe in, but it is a tragedy to die for something only to realize that what you believed in betrayed you.”

Another man said “every man should fear to die until he has found something worth living for.”

I believe Paul was 100% confident that he found something worthy of his life and death – The Kingdom of God!!!

He lived his only life preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. His life was not his own and he knew there was one greater than this world watching over him. He also realized that the worst this world could do was kill his body but His loving Lord had control over his eternal soul. Are you ready to die? Have you found something worth living for?

Acts 14:26 - And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.

I have been recommended to different jobs, and opportunities in my life but the recommending we read about here in the verse above is far more radical than anything any of those experiences ever called for. Let’s look at this verse for a moment.

Paul and Barnabas just finished a missionary journey and here they are heading back to the church that sent them out in chapter 13.

I thought it was interesting to see that word “recommended” in verse 26.

If you look the word up you will find it means - to surrender, to yield, to intrust, commit, deliver, give up, hazard, or put in prison.

This calling/recommending was a call to surrender their lives. It was a call to yield their will to God’s will. It was a call that was entrusted/assigned to them. This call was committed to them. They were delivered by the church through the Holy Spirit for this specific journey. They were called upon to hazard their lives. Lastly, and I do think it is very interesting that the word would include the phrase “put in prison,” seeing that this is exactly what would happen to Paul.

It was all just part of the job description. Paul’s call was a call of “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Have we surrendered to God in this manner? It is a TOTAL surrender. Paul’s life was not his own anymore and it is evident by the surrender he made to God. I ask you to do inventory today and see if this is the kind of surrender you made of your life to God.

Have you yielded your will to His? Have you committed your life to Him? Have you given up your will for what God created you to do? Are you willing to hazard your life for the cause of Christ? If not do so today - His will is better than yours. His promises joy and fulfillment yours is a delusional life.

It has been noted that the mental and emotional needs of Americans have seemingly skyrocketed over the past 40 years. Who are Americans turning to for answers? Where are Christians getting their answers? Where do even Bible-believing pastors refer people to get help? Most of the time they are sent to an unregenerate psychologist/counselor. Why, well because Christians have bitten into the lie that the Bible is inadequate to handle these areas.

But just for the moment think of your own life and ask yourself, who is my counselor? Who do you look to for answers, wisdom and guidance? Is it a man, a group of people or a book? Where is your counselor? If you read the Bible you will come to understand at the least, that you do need a counselor, but what or who is this counselor?

Let’s look at a few verses that might give us insight.

The first is found in Proverbs 11:14. It says, “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.” In other words, where there is no good advice the people will fail, divide, and die. That makes me think that having good advice and counsel is pretty important. As a parent, pastor, missionary or whatever leadership position you may be in having access to good counsel is vital. Even being a Christian puts you in a leadership position which means all of us are in need of a good source of counsel.

The second verse is Proverbs 24:6. It says, “For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.”
Here we find that a good war strategy requires good counsel. You would be an absolute fool to go into war haphazardly. People will die and you will be to blame. You must get counsel.

Then the next part of this verse says in the multitude of counselors there is safety. In other words when you get a lot of the right kind of counsel there is deliverance or victory. That is what we are after. We want to live in victory. How do we do that? Answer: Through the right counsel. So now what is the right counsel? Where is it? Who is it?

Let me preface my answer by saying, yes, people can be good counselors. You and I both need spiritual men and women in our lives to help us. God has placed people around our lives that have walked longer and hopefully closer to the Lord than we have. These people can be great sources of counsel. But I want to note, highlight, and emphasize the greatest counselor.

It is found in Psalms 119:24. This verse says, “Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.”

Inside the pages of the Bible is found a multitude(an abundance, excellent, great amount) of counselors. Many of us look everywhere else and talk to everyone else before we turn to God to hear what He has already said. The greatest counsel, and the safest counsel is going to always be the counsel that comes straight from the Great Counselor (Isaiah 9:6). We must be diligent to search the scriptures to find the answers to life’s questions and the problems that come into our lives.

We just got in 2am from a fantastic missions conference. Pastor Joel Logan and Sweet Springs Baptist Church in Ardmore,Al love missions and missionaries. The church family was extremely hospitable to us and we want to thank each and every one of you. There were some tremendous speakers of which was Pastor Joe Camilleri.

You can go on their website at www.sweetspringsbc.com and hear the different messages that were preached.

We are in National Champion’s country for the next few days. We are at Sweet Springs Baptist church.

We had the privilege of sitting under Missionary Tony Stark this morning as he talked about discipleship. It was awesome hearing him speak. He has seen over 40 churches started in Uganda along with a radio station and Bible college. He is 61 yrs. old and headed back to the field indefinately!

Looking forward to hearing some more great teaching over the next couple of days.

II Corinthians 2:15: “For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: 16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life.”

I bought my wife some perfume for Christmas. Unfortunately, I have such a horrible sense of smell my wife has to really douse herself in it or I cannot even smell the fragrance. We are the savour/aroma/fragrance of Christ in this world. We are to give off the fragrance of Christ. Are you wearing Christ today? How much of a scent are you giving off? Some people will love the fragrance you give off and others will hate it. To some it will be a fragrance of Life (eternal) and to others it will be a fragrance of death. Our job is simply to make sure we are wearing it and that it is strong enough to where lost people can smell it.

Our fragrance should lead people to the sweet “Rose of Sharon.” Our aroma should lead people to the heavenly “Bread of Life.”

As we walk and live in this world God is changing us into the image of His Son. God wants that fragrance to be as strong as it possibly can be, not just from our words, but from our actions, and being.

As it was when the woman had to break the alabaster box in order anoint the feet of Jesus with the perfume, so it is with us that trials, tests, afflictions are designed to get more of the aroma of Christ out of us and into the nostrils of the lost around us.

Psalms 119:71 - “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.”

Recovering Perfectionist [Archie Norman]
08/24/2009
By Norman, Archie

My name is Archie and I am a recovering perfectionist. I have been enabled most of my life by the things I have had others impress upon me:

· Do your best.
· God deserves excellence.
· Give 110% (I am pretty good at math but this was outside my range of comprehension.)
· You can do better.
· Do not settle for second best.

For a time my disease (meant to be humorous) almost drove me over the edge of sanity and some may think it was successful. No matter what I saw the Lord do in my life there always seem to be more that could have happened if I had only prayed more or worked harder. For some reason I never found myself comparing myself with those who were less successful, rather always looking at those who were more successful. Trust me when I say that such comparison is both unscriptural as well as very frustrating.

Unfortunately it did not just affect me but included all those I came into contact with. I most regret those years before I was diagnosed when I used my perfectionism to guilt my wife and children and constantly leaving them with the sense they could never be good enough. With thanksgiving I say that once I entered recovery they for the most part overcame my foolishness.

Having been a Pastor for 30 years I cannot know for sure that the people I ministered to were always as fortunate as my family. I shudder at the times I used the Scripture as a tool not to produce conviction but instead as a means to manipulate people into trying harder, giving more or increased productivity. Hopefully the grace of God overcame my ignorance and most of them have found the right way.

It was the amazing life in Christ that set me free, that has allowed me to labor more abundantly than before, yet not me but the grace of God in me. (I Corinthians 15:10) Occasionally I find my flesh attempting to draw me back into the twisted “work harder” mentality as a logical way out of some mess I am in, but I rejoice that the power of the Spirit is greater. I have learned that grace is sweet and more powerful and life changing than any of my addiction to human ability and effort. No way am I going back.

After getting back from West Virginia I was able to complete my class notes for my next three classes at the training center.

I have also been preparing for my upcoming trip to S.A. I finished one of the messages I will be preaching during that time out of Galatians. I look forward to seeing the wonderful people of Madiba Bay.

We do ask you to pray for Corli’s citizenship paperwork. We sent it off this week and as soon as that is taken care of we will be back in South Africa for our next term.

Off to class now.

How Does Your Belief in the Resurrection Impact the Way You Live?

Paul said I “have hope toward God,…, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. 16 And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.

Because of Paul’s belief in the resurrection of Jesus and the life after death for both the just and the unjust he excercised himself.

The word excercise means to train. Paul was “kept in shape” by making sure his conscience was void of offence toward God, and toward men. That is why we can read throughout the N.T. Paul saying such things as “I kept back nothing” and “my hands are pure from the blood of all men.”

His belief in the resurrection impacted/necessitated his pursuit of a clear conscience toward God - whose Son had died on the cross to save Him, and toward men - the same people God said He “so loved” and had command Paul and all of us also to love.

How has your belief in life after death impacted your life? Or is it not really impacting your life because you are so caught up in this fleeting life? Paul spent this life clearing his conscience for the next. How are you spending yours?

Acts 20:24:
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

Paul had his course set and though he knew that trials and afflictions awaited him everywhere he was headed he said nothing would “move him.” Another way of saying this is, nothing would “lighten his ship.” In other words Paul was not like a little row boat that could be moved off course with every little wave and wind that came his way. He was like a heavy cargo ship that was going to keep on in the midst of high seas and gale force winds.

How could he do this? How could he keep serving, preaching, and teaching about the Lord knowing what evil things awaited him? The key is in this same verse. The Bible says “neither count I my life dear unto myself…”

It means he wasn’t holding on to his life. He received his course and ministry from the Lord Jesus and that was the end of the story. Paul’s goal, and purpose was to “testify of the gospel of the grace of God.”

Not only was Paul not going to be moved during this tough course but the apostle says that he was going to finish (implied already living with) his course with joy. That just doesn’t make sense to a me-centered life. That doesn’t make sense in a comfort driven world but it is the truth and the truth can set us free from a wasted life.