Ministerial Duties

Acts 13:1-4.

“Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. 3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid [their] hands on them, they sent [them] away. 4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.”

The Christian ministry is both a great joy and a solemn responsibility. Jesus called the twelve to be with Him, first of all, even before sending them out to preach and to serve (Mark 3:14-15).  The intensity of this relationship will determine the spirit and motivation and performance of your entire ministry. This relationship is cultivated through secret devotion to God, constant prayer, and the careful study of God’s Word. God does not share His Lordship with another.

The calling of the Christian minister is primarily that of a servant. Each servant of God must guard against the multiplicity of ministerial duties which will tempt you to choose the non-essential functions. People are more important than things, institutions, rules or schedules. Paul wrote to Timothy in I Timothy 4:13 thus;

3 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. ¹⁴Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.  ¹⁵ Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.

WHAT IS AN ELDER?

The New Testament uses three words for elders. These words discribe elders and give a clue as to their work.

A. Presbuteros (from which we get the word Presbyterian) is the Greek word for Elder. The word can be interpreted to mean elderly.  The Hebrew elders were not only older men, they were men who had shown leadership capabilities. Not everyone who achieves a ripe old age is automatically qualified to be an elder. The person needs to be old enough to have experienced some of life, and mature enough to show that he has learned some lessons from it.

B. Episkopos (from which we get the word Episcopalian) is the Greek word for Bishop. The word means “overseer”. This describes an important aspect of the elder’s work. These men collectively are the spiritual overseers of the church. They should be the primary teachers, evangelists, visionaries, administrators, and examples for the rest of the congregation. These men are the ones to demonstrate what the Christian walk should be. In word and deed they are to show forth the mind of Christ.

C. Poimen is the Greek word for shepherd or pastor. Although there are many churches where the minister is called “Pastor”. The elders are actually the pastors of the church. The work of pastor or shepherd implies spiritual nurturing of the flock. This word reveals that, rather than just becoming chief administrators, the elders are to become the caretakers of the members of the congregation.

WHAT ARE ELDERS TO BE ?

The spiritual qualifications of Elders are found in the Pastoral epistles. We read in 1 Tim. 1:7(concerning elders)

“Here is a trustworthy saying; if anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness. not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.”

WHAT DOES AN ELDER DO?

Paul gave this admonition to elders for their work in the church. In I. Pet.51-4 he wrote,

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who will also share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers- not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock, And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of glory that will never fade away.”

These are the issues which are most crucial in the work of leadership in the church. The good elder will be a model, a good example, a concrete expression of the kind of life a believer is to lead. Paul gave Titus sound advise for leadership in the church he served. He wrote in Titus 2:7-8,

” Let your life stand as a pattern of good living. In all your teaching show the strictest regard for truth and show that you appreciate the seriousness of the matters you are dealing with.”

Investing in the next generation

I am reminded of many young people who have or will be graduating from High School, Universities and colleges. What is our corporate responsibility as a family, church or any level of societal as well as civil structures of government?

Could we learn a lesson or two from Psalm 71? The focus of this Psalm is on the next generation and their desperate need to know the power of God. Without the power of God all knowledge, connections, academic degrees and great opportunities means nothing.

In Psalm 71 we hear an older person who has faced a lifetime of struggles and has a lot to teach young people. He says, through it all he has learned to trust in God. He can testify in verse six,

“From birth I have relied on you…”

Bill Gaither sang a song that challenges us to face the future with hope. He wrote;

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, Because He lives, all fear is gone; Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living,Just because He lives!

How sweet to hold a newborn baby, And feel the pride and joy he gives; But greater still the calm assurance: This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!

Young people need old people to give them lessons from the past. And old people need young people to give them a reason to hope for a future. Young people who are facing an uncertain future need to be connected to old folks who have already faced the same issues and come through battered-but-triumphant.

The older I become, the more clear it becomes that grandparents should cuddle babies and old folks should be involved with the youth group. Older men should mentor young dads and mature women should open their lives to young mothers. Young kids need to sing along with grandparents the great hymns of the Faith, and grandparents need to loosen up and sing some new songs.

The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 71:17:

“Since my youth, O God, you have taught me…”

What had God taught him? Could it be that since he was young he has had to run repeatedly to God in the same storms faced by his parents, grandparents and great-grand parents? Could it be that the same storms that faced him since he was young will surely come roaring in like hurricanes, again upon his children?

This psalmist has lived long enough to see God come to his rescue, and his attackers go down. The Psalmist in verse one of the same Psalm 71 says.

“In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge.”

Verse three:

“He is my rock of refuge…for you are my rock and my fortress.”

Refuge, rock, and fortress: these are words that speak of stability, safety, and security. Reformers of the past generations sang,

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing: For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing; Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing: Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same, And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us: The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him.That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;

The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth: Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever.

Whatever you are facing today, remember God is a mighty fortress. The Lofty God, who sits serenely secure and unshakable above the storms in life, also comes down to meet us in our storms.

The Fortress is unattainable. But, when we couldn’t go up the hill, God came down it in the Person of Jesus Christ. The rock came to us. He walked on the stormy waters of our life when our boat was about to sink. He walked up an unholy hill outside of Jerusalem, and died on a cross in our place, so that we could walk up his holy hill in his righteousness. In Christ we have a solid rock with a compassionate heart. Therefore we can never give up on the future.

The Church and The Starving Poor

Though we are here in America complaining about debt-ceiling and slow growth in our economy or pondering on what might be a reality that Africa, China and India are slowly but surely becoming missional sending agencies, statistics reveal that  80% of the wealth, held by Christians across the world, is in the hands of North American Evangelicals.

Though on the surface it appears that North American churches are ‘dying,’ the fact is that the evangelical church in America is gaining new strength and rising again. I have a feeling that if Jesus tarries, this nation might have another  200 years of being a world leader, again in the spread of the gospel to ALL people as they sacrificially offer full support to mission work at home and abroad.

Statistics reveal that one hundred million American Evangelicals made more than three trillion dollars last year and most Evangelical households spend four times as much on their pets as they do supporting missionaries. I believe that the Christian community (the church) in America has both the obligation and privilege to alleviate extreme poverty wherever it may be found. God does take sides but they have nothing to do with the sides of liberals or conservatives, Republicans or Democrats, but rather, God takes the sides of the poor and marginalized.

What if every local body of believers (the church) anywhere in the world commits to a reduction of their standard of living by ten percent? How much of extreme poverty would be alleviated?

Everyone can do something to help at home and abroad. We’re all important and we can do something. With exception of Native Indians in America, everyone here is an immigrant.  We can come to the cities of America (or do I dare call those cities Sodom?) and like Lot take what it has to offer:  social life without any morals, serving in societal governing boards without any piety or zeal for the things of God, recreations, entertainments, cuisines, and shopping. That’s what Lot and his family did (Genesis 19).

While living in the land of the free and the home of the brave, let us remember LOT (Luke 17:32). Abraham’s nephew Lot moved into Sodom because it was good for business. He made lots of money selling his stock in this crossroads city of the ancient world. For years they took everything Sodom had to offer, but never once shared the gospel of God’s covenant with Abraham. When judgment was about to fall, Lot’s only concern was getting out of town ahead of the firestorm. His wife and daughters couldn’t tear themselves away from the seductions of Sodom even as a massive judgement was spewing burning fire into the city. Meanwhile, Abraham was on his knees pleading with God to save the righteous in that city.

God calls on us to live in cities of America and any part of the world like Abraham. Abraham in his lifetime reduced his standard of living by ten percent often as a gift to God that many lives might be touched and the starving poor served. He gave a tenth to Melchizedek. When judgement fell on Sodom, he pleaded for the city while looking forward to a city whose builder and architect is God. We can look beyond our respective state and nation and pray for the nations of the world, just as Abraham did. If we only take from our own Sodom, we are no better than Lot.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us (Romans 12:1)

Praying for you

May our God give you his victory in whatever challenges you are facing today and tomorrow.  All of us need God’s victory. This victory is not by might nor by human power or strategic planning, but by the power of the Holy Spirit (Zech 4:6).

May you also have sweet fellowship with your family and ALL neighbors. True Fellowship  is when a people in a family, church  or nation become extended family to one another (Acts 2). God moves in a powerfully way when people are united.

The agenda of God is unstoppable

The agenda of God for His people is unstoppable. The Lord once explained to Job that the eagle has built “her nest on high” (Job 39:27) at the tops of the very highest trees or cliffs. He wanted him to know that humans can neither reach nor disturb even his most feeble plans and arrangements. God told the story of eagles to challenge him to take his eyes off the splendor and depravity of humanity and consider God and His awesome deeds through all generations.

Early 1989 while a freshman at Kabianga High School, I heard a song coming from a building I knew to be “Physic’s Lab.” The song is very memorable because it caused me to do what I had vowed never to do… joining a group of the few who were known at school to be “the devout and at times shouting group of Christians.”  Part of the lyrics, taken from Lamentations 3:21-26 went like these

“The Steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness.”

Feeling my heart strangely warmed, I decided to check what was going on. As I approached the meeting venue, I could hear those already inside shouting and feeling their religion. While I was never comfortable with the shouting part, I felt a move of God in my life and did believe that my destiny was to join a group of Christians that  believed they could drive out demons in the name of Jesus. At once I joined the Christian Union movement and asked God to renew a right Spirit within me.

Though I cannot claim to be perfect, I attribute that year to my outburst of inward religion, a second work of grace. Something happened for a second time that year that changed my heart. The first time when that had happened was in 1983 a few months before my sister and I helped start a Sunday School at Lemeiywet village that today has become a local church.

Towards the end of high school, many of my friends asked that we form a ministry called “Salvation for ALL people Evangelism Ministry” (SAPEM) which we did but were not able to register with the registrar of societies in Kenya. However, we felt in our hearts that God had called us to share to gospel to ALL people and made a vow to God that wherever we go in future we will continue to proclaim salvation for ALL people.

During our last Christian Union Service at High School, November 1992 we had invited Prof. Wilson Langat, then Principal of Kenya Highlands Evangelical University. Before he shared a message, He asked to see who the Christian Union Chairman was. I raised my hand. He then said, “I was a Christian Union Chairman in this School several years ago. Upon my graduation, I followed God to prepare for his ministry at Kenya Highlands and later went to study in the United States of America. Pray hard, this could be  your journey!” Today when I look back, I can see that “God’s agenda is unstoppable.”

For seven years, we at Southwestern Conference and the General Conference have been in prayers for  a move of God in Dallas. Is it possible that God has raised our church for such a time as this? Could the years of struggle and gabbling with the question whether the society needed another church be behind us forever? Could this be the season God hath set to burst wide open the work of his kingdom for the salvation of ALL people that he might be glorified?

 It has been a privilege to serve God in his ministry the last 15 years in the United States of America. I do not know what God has planned for tomorrow, but I believe it is time to spread the gospel to ALL people and bring a message of forgiveness, healing and reconciliation in the family, church and society. This is God’s time.

“…but one thing I do…”

As we stand on the cusp of a brand new 2011/12 academic, fiscal and for some conference year, God is calling us to humble ourselves, seek the face of God and with his guidance seize a future ripe varied challenges. We must learn to see problems as both opportunities and challenges.

St. Paul writes about it in Philippians 3:13&14:

“But one thing I do: Forgetting what lies behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Many persons enjoy remembering the past. Surely, there are many things about the past which are important to you also. Our past, and remembering, makes us what we are today. Paul is not talking about forgetting those good things in our past. He is talking about forgetting the failures of our past. As much as we can recall the joys and victories of the past, we also remember the failures which mark the journey. To focus on the mistakes and failures of the past brings a paralysis of anguish and remorse.

“Your past is forgiven!” 

“But one thing I do…” In other words, it’s the most important thing I ever do. Before any of us can ever strain toward what’s ahead and press on to the goal, we have to forget what lies behind. The failures of the past are forgiven and we must do like Paul, “forgetting what lies behind.” That verb forgetting is a present participle. This is something we have to continually do. It’s a neverending discipline.

In Exodus we read of Moses, a man who received God’s redeeming grace and found that peace which comes in forgetting. The scripture records that Moses had tried to liberate his people 40 years before, but because of sin failed miserably. He ended up a fugitive running for his dear life. Four decades later, he encounters God in a burning bush. At once  those past failures  that had tortured his soul vanished. Like apostle Paul he  chose at that moment a life of “forgetting what lies behind” to seize the future God was getting ready to bring.

Some of you are facing a perilous tomorrow. Maybe anxiety now tormenting your soul. Or fear is a roaring lion within. Don’t let the thief of tomorrow steal your peace today. Yahweh, the GREAT I AM is your Shepherd, protector and deliverer. He is already in your tomorrow clearing a path for your return to the throne. May be you tossed through the night on your bed with nightmares about the Pharaohs of your tomorrow. God is already in your tomorrow, preparing for victories that will change the world.

An apostle wrote in I John 3:2, “We do not know what we will be, but we know this: when we see him, we will be like him.” There are a lot of uncertainties in our near future. We cannot predict what the stock market will do, where our country will go with debt, or what we will face tomorrow. But, on the other side of the mist, is a certainty: heaven awaits, and we will look like Jesus when we get there.

The Church is Moving Forward

In A.D. 33 Jesus Christ said, “I will build my church …” The institution of the Church of God is NOT OF MAN, but IS OF THE LORD! Jesus saw that the Church was essential in God’s great plan … and declared that it would be for time and eternity!

This church has never been destroyed or put out of existence since Christ built it and divinely organized it by the holy Spirit. It shall never cease to be a reality so long as the world stands and when Jesus said the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church – WE KNOW that His statement is true!

 In A.D. 59 and after that, the apostles said, “…WE ARE God’s building.” So, the Church was built between those dates. The Church is the prize possession of the Lord. When He said, “I will build my church,” it indicated that the erection of the Church was yet in the future. On the day of Pentecost the Church was set up and put in perfect working order!’ Three thousand members were added on that very day. And at that very time, the Holy Ghost was poured out upon them and then shortly after Pentecost, five thousand more were added. All these were added to the original group of believers that went into the upper room to await the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my church.” The rock is not Peter, but upon the DIVINE REVELATION – Peter had received a divine revelation of who Jesus really was! The gates of hell shall not prevail against this church.

Look at the history of the Church … how that God interposed on behalf of His church. How often when ‘floods’ had surrounded her and ‘storms’ beat upon her and threatened her entire destruction … He has arisen and said to the ‘unruly elements,’ “Be still!” And immediately there has been a ‘great calm.’ He said the gates of hell should not prevail against it … and we may be sure that the structure itself was as solid and firm as the very rock upon which it rested!

The word church means ‘called out!” The Church consists of believers ‘called out‘ from the world. The term Church of God refers to a VISIBLE group of people which CAN BE LOCATED and OBSERVED! “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints, which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:” We read this in Ephesians the first chapter and verse number one. The Church of God is the SPIRITUAL FAMILY, composed of ALL SAVED PEOPLE who are WALKING IN THE LIGHT!

NOW, the Bible makes it plain! “But there is ONE Lord, ONE faith and ONE baptism.” The Bible doesn’t speak of ‘many faiths,’ but rather ONE faith! THERE IS only ONE Lord, ONE faith; ONE church. Christ has but one flock, one fold, one spiritual kingdom, one army, and all his people are journeying one way … AND THAT IS to God’s heaven!

The UNITY of the Church, is indicated by the statement that there shall be ONE FOLD and ONE SHEPHERD!  Romans 12:4, 5 says,

“For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office- So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.”

The Bible also says in I Cor. 12-.12,13.

“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body- so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be JEWS or GENTILES, whether we be BOND or FREE, and have been all made to drink into ONE Spirit.”

Verse 20.

“But now are they many members, yet but ONE body.”

The Bible also says in the book of Ephesians in the second chapter and verse numbers 14 thru 16,

“For he is our peace, who hath made both ONE, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us-, Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain ONE NEW MAN, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby;”

Again, in Ephesians 4-.4-6.

“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

Again, in the book of Colossians … 3-.15.

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”

The Bible says in John 10- 1 6

“And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”

To obey is better than sacrifice

But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams (I Samuel 15:22).

Today’s devotion is on the subject of obedience. How often do we see leaders in our society rather than obeying the voice of God to help those in need choose like Saul the path of hoarding? How often do we  see spouses and children rather than obeying the voice of the LORD to create a home where there is faith, hope and love choose like Saul, the path of burnt offerings and sacrifice? How often do we see churches and denominations called by God to do the work of missions choose like Saul, the path of  burnt offerings and sacrifices?

Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? (Mica 6:7)

Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD?( I Sam 15:22).

 I don’t know what you are facing today, dear saint. But like Saul, there is a word that has come to you from the Lord. Will you obey? Will you do what God has called you to do? Will you see it through to the end even though it brings death to those things you hold most dear?

Sometimes the truth is like a bone that sticks in the throat of your soul. There are times it will offend your sensibilities. That’s why Jesus said that no one could follow him unless they took up their cross and died to self. The Cross crucifies even your most precious and passionate ideas about life. If convicted, say this prayer;

“Lord Jesus, beginning today, I ask you to become the Lord of my life. I believe that you died for my sins and rose again from the dead. Lord, I confess that I am a sinner and I repent of my sins. Thank you for forgiving me and cleansing me. Come into my life and guide me to live for you from now on. Thank you for giving me eternal life now. Thank you for the guarantee that you will never give up on me.” Amen.

God is doing a New Thing

Look around and you will notice that families divide, churches split and nations are racked by civil war and famine. Why is it that martyrs from all sides continue to be slaughtered in the name of God?

Look around again, and you will notice that whenever people have humbled themselves and seek the face of God, families have found love, churches have united with a desire to conform to the image of the heavenly father and nations have found peace all through the power of God and working of the Holy Spirit.

It is time for another reform in the family, church and society

Each of us has a responsibility to seek God and be an instrument God uses to solve the problems of bloodshed, pestilence, and starvation that is rampant in the world today. There is need to put a stop to the habit of Christians and non-Christians burning each other daily at the stake over differing views. There is need to reform the about 270 Protestant denominations in the United States alone. Each denomination stands in need of reform.

In Essentials, Unity. In Nonessential, Liberty. In all things, Charity

Philip Melanchthon a professor at Wittenberg University in 1520s seeing how people could easily burn each other over differing views penned  words above later famously adopted by John Wesley. As we go about the call to reform the land with scriptural holiness, we must ask God to help us live in such a way that in essentials we are unified, in non-essentials we have liberty and in all things we have charity (love) for charity covers multitude of sins.

God is calling this generation to take a stand and do the work of reconciliation. The work of reconciliation must begin in the family, then the church and to the ends of the world. As we take a stand, we must remember that it’s not easy being a loving family, a loving church or a loving nation. Whenever people get together, there are differences. Some people are strong and others are “weak in the faith.” We all have differing morals and opinions and we do not shares the same set of principles.

However, with the help of the Spirit of God, we can discern what things in life are worth fighting and dying for. We mus discern what things in life can’t be compromised and what things if we fail to live by, we have no basis for unity as a loving family, church and nation.

Romans 13 tells to love one another. Yet we cannot love one another unless we live out the meaning of Romans 12:1 which says, “Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.” How did Christ offer his body as a living sacrifice? He sacrificed his body. He died on a cross so that we might live in heaven. He gave up his throne in heaven, laid aside his glory, and became a suffering servant.

In Romans 14:1-9, Paul gives us three principles to help us live in harmony.

1.  Our primary job is to convince ourselves, not others. Verse five says, “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
2.  The only opinion that matters is the Lord’s. Whatever we do, whatever we believe, it should be passionately for the Lord. It doesn’t matter about us, or how others view us.
3. The desire to get others to conform to our way of thinking is not of God. Verses 8 & 9 say, “For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason Christ died…”

God has called each of us to share clearly, humbly and lovingly the truths he has revealed in scripture so that our family, church and society can conform to the image of the heavenly father. In Romans 13 Paul leaves us with three action that can help us live in harmony:

1.  Take your eyes off your brother.  “Why do you look down on your brother?”  (v.10). In short, why are you focused on him at all. He’s not your ultimate business.
2. Look at yourself. In verses 11 & 12 he reminds us of the terrible reality of a judgment yet to come in heaven. He says in verse 12, “So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.” Notice, we will not give an account of our wayward brother or sister, or our spouse, or friends, or anyone else. They will stand on their own account before God’s throne, and so will we. Beware of spending so much time fixing everyone else, that you neglect to get yourself ready.
3. Look at your brother again, only with new eyes. Paul ends in verse thirteen with these words: “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.” Before we look to others, we had better make sure we are straight. But that doesn’t mean that we aren’t responsible for each other. But it’s not to judge each other as unfit. Rather it is to help one another make it all the way home to heaven. We can’t do that until we are willing to open our arms and embrace one another.

Things that matter to God

Sin is real and it is evident in lives of people leading to oppressive structures of the family, church and society that God calls each generation to rise up and reform. Today, our devotion focuses on justice, mercy and loving compassion for oppressed peoples in our families, churches and nations (state) so that they may be called oaks of righteousness.

The suffering of our sisters and brothers anywhere in the world is often due to oppressive dictatorships, religious persecution and human rights abuses that is a result of sin. The oppressor and the oppressed needs the savior that they might be called oaks of righteousness.

For my Methodist friends who may have doubts about standing up for justice, mercy and faithfulness, let me remind you that historically, Methodism was born as a renewal movement within the Anglican Church. Wesley carried this missional renewal emphasis right out from his home and church into the streets of his day. He brought the Gospel to broken, hurting people who had been marginalized and forgotten by the church of his time. He did so believing that the “the world was his parish.”

In reading the gospel you learn that Jesus would sometimes get ‘real mad’ with those who were putting on a show, being self righteous or leading the weak astray.  The strongest things Jesus ever said were never directed at the “sinful” people- but He sure opened up a can on the pretentious pietistic people of the day. Here is one example of Christ’s feelings towards them:

25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Matthew 23:25-28)

In Matt. 23:23-24, Jesus said;

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices and mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law and justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

In Micah 6:8 the scripture says;

‘He has shown all you people what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God’ (v.8).

God is not interested in outward appearances. God is not interested in empty sacrifices and worship rituals. God is concerned about lives that are lived in truthful and trusting obedience. God is concerned about the quality of our relationships in the human community. God is concerned with the core things of life — justice, mercy and humility as practiced with one another in family, church and society.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus announces blessing for the poor in spirit, for those who mourn, for the meek, for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for the merciful, for the pure in heart, for the peacemakers and the persecuted (Matt. 5:1-12). But in Mathew chapter 23, Jesus pronounces judgment and woe on the scribes and Pharisees:

• Who do not practice what they preach (v.3);
• Who burden ordinary people with rules that they don’t follow themselves (v.4);
• Who dress to impress; who love the seats of honor, who love to be greeted with respect and with fancy titles (vv.5-10); and
• Who appear super-pious, while in fact, they miss the most important expressions of religious faith (vv. 16-28).

In short, the scribes and Pharisees focus on looking good more than on being or doing good. And they love the praise of humans more than the praise of God (John 12:43). Six times in Mathew chapter 23, he calls them hypocrites (vv. 13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29). And just in case the ‘H-word’ doesn’t get their attention, Jesus also calls them blind guides (vv.16, 17,19,24); whitewashed tombs (v.27); snakes and vipers (v.33). This is not your gentle Jesus .

In verses 23 and 24, Jesus bluntly tells the religious leaders that they have missed the forest for the trees. They have carefully tithed mint, dill and cummin (v.23). But, just like the Israelites at the time of Micah, they have neglected the more important matters of the law and justice, mercy and faithfulness.

God is just, merciful and faithful

As in the days of Micah and Jesus, much of the world’s injustice today is perpetrated — whether intentionally or inadvertently — by people who have either never known, or have forgotten, or have chosen to ignore that God is just, merciful and faithful. This is why Micah recites the litany of God’s acts of deliverance from oppression; and of protection from harm; and of provision of all that is necessary to sustain and enjoy life. This is why Jesus reminds the Pharisees that at the heart of the law is God’s concern is for justice, mercy and faithfulness. God has shown us what justice and mercy and faithfulness look like. God must certainly wonder why we are so slow to learn and to put them into practice. God is just, merciful and faithful. God asks us to be the same.

 Worship without justice, mercy and faithfulness is just noise.

We cannot worship God if we refuse to act justly. We cannot worship God if we fail to show mercy. We cannot worship God if we neglect to walk humbly and faithfully with God. This is the sobering message from both Micah and Jesus. Worship without justice, mercy and faithfulness is nothing more than play acting. All the religious trappings in the world matter nothing to God if we fail to act justly. Micah and Jesus remind us that we’re not fooling anyone but ourselves.  We cannot worship a God whom we will not follow. If the God we worship calls us to act justly and show mercy — and we refuse to do so — then we are merely worshiping ourselves and our idols. Jesus is Lord, but not our Lord, if we aren’t following him.

 Our practice of justice,mercy and faithfulness must begin at home, church then spread to ALL nations. 

Every day we face  a more troubling voice of our sisters and brothers around the world. It is a direct challenge to our own practices as a family, church and nation and the way that these contribute to global suffering.  Seeking to spread a gospel message without acting justly in our families, churches and nations is hypocritical to our sisters and brothers. The Gospel always points us back to our own hearts and actions. Jesus warns us to take the plank out of our own eye before attempting to take the speck out of someone else’s eye (Matt. 7:3-5).

A Call to Repentance

Numbers 22

“HOW DO YOU RESPOND WHEN YOU ARE CORRECTED?”

In Numbers 22 we read of King Balak, Prophet Balaam, a donkey and an Angel of the LORD who appears with two-edged sword.

• Who does see the angel?
• Who is not blinded by his own ideas about the purpose of this mission?
• Who receives God’s command to stop?

The answer is the donkey! Yet Balaam beats the donkey for stopping, even though by stopping the donkey saved Balaam’s life and helped Balaam to hear and receive God’s word.

Balaam was sent for by Balak as a known and honored prophet, but not to make known God’s will relative to Israel, rather to use his–Balaam’s–power to curse Israel. Balak sought to use Balaam’s inf luence and renown to help ward off Israel–he was not seeking God’s word.

In responding to Balak, especially after Balak’s intense bribing of Balaam with princes and fees and promises of personal honor, Balaam is assuming the glory for himself, whether he means to or not. Implied in his coming to Balak is an acceptance of Balak’s charge to curse the nation of Israel, and an acceptance of Balak’s honors–honor toward Balaam, not God.

When the donkey stops, Balaam fails to pay attention, to be present before God. He beats the donkey, repaying the donkey’s service with pain. Finally, the donkey actually speaks to Balaam,

“What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times? “

When the donkey stops serving Balaam’s wishes and starts responding to God’s, it is apparent that Balaam is not the master of the donkey. Balaam is infuriated, and would kill the donkey right then and there for ignoring his commands. He still does not see the angel of the Lord standing in front of them, ready to kill Balaam for disobeying the Lord (the angel has a sword in hand, where Balaam only wishes he had one). Who is the donkey now? Who is the disobedient one? Who is the master?

The angel bears that two-edged sword of justice–the very sword that Balaam would wield against the donkey is, in fact, poised against Balaam. There is no justice without personal cost and sacrifice. Balaam cannot protect his own well being and honor before Moab and speak for God as well, he can only serve God by putting aside his own interests.

God demands justice, and justice is costly. Justice is not attained by making sure that all have, but by acknowledging that none have. If none have, then what I have is not mine. It is not my house, my job, my money. When I perceive such things as mine, I am committing injustice against not only others, but against God, just as Balaam would be doing if he spoke his own words as God’s words and if he accepted the honor due to God.

The demand of justice–that two edged sword–cuts both ways. It is not just a matter of some token, easy effort to help others while I remain unchanged and unaffected. A contribution of time and money to a good cause is wonderful, but it has nothing to do with justice, just as Balaam can go to Moab but it has nothing to do with God’s word or will. Like Balaam, we all  need to be made low, freed of any delusions and stripped of accruements. We must hear the words of Jesus, again,

 “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21).

As Balaam heads toward Moab, God sends a donkey, a lowly, abused and mocked creature to catch his attention and point to another way. We like Balaam, have in some occasion beat the donkey–once, twice, three times–without even realizing what we are doing.

When the donkey reminds Balaam that it has always served him well, Balaam relents, and in shifting his focus from his own honor and goals, and opening his eyes to see things from the donkey’s perspective, Balaam’s eyes are also opened to see the angel and receive God’s instructions. May God open our eyes to see and our ears to hear. Jesus is saying;

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Humility and Service

Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.” (Numbers 12:3)

Moses was raised to rank and privilege. At some point in life, Pharaoh began to see too much of a Jew in him and had hard time loving him as Christ loves all people. When Moses visited his own Jewish family, they saw too much of a Pharaoh in him and could not love him either as Christ would.  The scriptures record that Moses, as a result, run to the wilderness and for 40 years he lived a solitary shepherd life. God used that wilderness to rid him of pride and prepare him to be a humble vessel in the hands of God.

Have you found yourself in a wilderness? Do you feel you’ve been in the wilderness for too long? Moses spent 40 years freeing himself from his privileged position in Egypt. When he was humble enough to accept who he was and face his God-given destiny, God gave him the privilege to lead the children of Israel out of slavery and bondage . When he came to Pharaoh to request that he “let God’s people go,” he was filled with courage that comes from choosing to be a humble vessel in the hands of God.  God used him for his glory the next 40 years.

Psalm 90 tells us that we have seventy years, in some cases eighty or even ninety, then our bodies are placed in the dirt. A sports career lasts less than ten years. Youthful beauty lasts no more than twenty years. A business or professional career in any field usually lasts thirty to thirty five years. A high-level political or religious career can be as short as four or as long as forty years.

However long your life, career or beauty is, we must remember that all life’s calling end. We must remember like Moses “to contemplate death that we may be wise.” We must therefore humble ourselves daily. We must earnestly ask God for humility and always look for opportunities to serve others rather than use others.

Serving one another is the essence of being a follower of Christ.

If we want to have any part in Christ, or if we want Christ to have any part in us, then we need to all be about serving one another the way Jesus did.

 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.  After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”   John 13:3-5

What will remain when all our possessions are stripped away?

The path to humility is service. One thing that will endure forever when we pass from this life into the next is our service to one another and to God.  In I Corinthians 3:8-15 Paul says, 

“…each will be rewarded according to his own labor.  For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.  By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it.  But each one should be careful how he builds.  For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.  If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light.  It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.  If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.  If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”

Are you being careful how you build your life?  What foundation are you building on?  Are you building your life on the servant example of Jesus Christ?  Or are you building on some other foundation?  What materials are you building with?  Are you building with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw?  With things that will ultimately perish?  Or are you building with something that will stand in the day of Christ Jesus?

The cost of service is humility. 

It always requires humility to serve one another.  It takes a recognition that all of us are created equal in God’s sight, and that none of us is in a higher position than another.  We have this hierarchy established in our thinking.  We think that those of title, of power, of authority, of prestige, of economic position, of a particular race or ethnicity, of tremendous accomplishment, or of education are more highly esteemed than others.  Those higher on the totem pole are called to be served.  Those lower on the totem pole are called to be servants.  Jesus upset that whole hierarchy of serving by washing his disciples’ feet.  In that act, the king of the universe, Jesus, became the lowly servant of all.  He humbled himself.  To be a servant, we must humble ourselves, just as Christ humbled himself.  We must give up our privileged positions and take up the servant towel.

The cost of service is faith and hope.

Jesus tells his disciples that in serving, they will receive rewards in heaven.  The key to being a servant is trusting in God when no immediate benefit is evident. Do you have the humility to serve?  Do you have the the faith and hope to serve?  Do you have the anonymity to serve?  Do you have the time to serve?  Do you have the courage to follow Christ’s example?  These things are just the beginning.

Romans 13:11-14;

And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts (Romans 13:11-14).

The Threat of God

If something is not done to reverse the trend in our nation, in our churches, in our educational system, and in our homes, then we should know what God has threatened to do to us as a people – even as He threatened and performed in the life and experiences of Judah during the days of Jeremiah. Read the words of doom in (chapter six) verse 19;

Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.

What is terrible evil which God threatened to bring upon the people of Jeremiah’s day? That they will suffer the “FRUIT OF THEIR THOUGHTS!” And shall not this same evil be visited upon the people of our day? Indeed, we may fully expect it!

His Righteous Judgments

Now there are other judgement which God mentions in this prophetic passage – the coming of the Chaldean enemy from the north, which shall (and did) overrun the nation of Judah, destroy the city of Jerusalem, and take captive the bulk of the population. Death and destruction in God’s judgement.

But nothing could top the horror and the frightful consequences of the suffering which came to them as the “fruit” of their own thoughts. Think today of our land of America and of the thoughts of the people of our nation – the evil, adulterous, criminal, selfish, lewd, wretched thoughts. If these were to come true……. what a hellhole of iniquity our once-faired land would be!

The Evil Thoughts of Our People

Nothing could be worse than to have the evil thoughts of our people come to full fruition and be allowed to become deeds. What awful conditions will exist in America when this takes place. You remember the old saying, “First a thought, then a deed, then a habit, then a character, then a destiny.”

No, there is no greater punishment that God could measure out to America than to permit to come to a full fruition the thoughts of the people. The evil imaginations of their hearts by final vestiges of morality, Americanism, and Christianity. But the dams are fast breaking, and the leaks are swelling into torrent-size.

Someday soon, unless God intervenes, and unless the patriots and Christians of this land make themselves known by STANDING, SEEING, ASKING, WALKING…..

A Fate Worse than Death!

God will have to say of our people as He did of the men of Noah’s day:

“And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth… And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:12, 6, 5).

THE FRUIT of the THOUGHTS of men! What a horrible fate for any people to experience! Worse than any overt judgment of God, the results of men’s evil thoughts will be the most terrible fate which can come upon our land.

God grant that it shall never be so. Better that our total population be wiped out utterly by the waters as of Noah’s day, than that we have to live with the deeds which today are only imaginations in the thoughts of our people. This would be a fate worse than death!

{Taken from The Southern Methodist, XXVII, # 1 Page 7, January 1970}

What seek ye?

The words of Jesus in John 1:38, “What seek ye?” or “What are you looking for?” is a thought provoking question.

Jesus was never concerned about the superficial. His words probed the earnest desire of men. Some men look for wealth, fame, and adventure; others follow an empty idealism. All these are cobwebs compared to Christ.

Two disciples of John the Baptist turned to follow Jesus. When Jesus saw them, He asked a question about their quest. It was a question which penetrated the deepest aspirations of the seekers. It aimed at motive.

“What are you look for?” Jesus asked. The question was not the gruff interrogation of one who would not have his privacy invaded. It was an invitation to discipleship. What is the deepest desire of your life? What are you looking for?

We are living in a searching age. Many, especially young people are seeking for something which they are not able to find. That which the world offers in pleasure and material goods are not soul satisfying. Many then turn to the fantasy of drugs or drink in search of that which they have not. One of the most satisfying things in life is to serve, to be used. This is what Jesus wants you to do for Him, become His disciple.

Will your life be one filled with cobwebs of this world, or do you seek deeper inspiration?

Taken from The Southern Methodist, Volume XXVII, January 1970 # 1.

God will lead in all of these things if we seek His will and blessings

Rev. Phil Bashaw gave this report about the work in Dallas,

Now let me tell you that when we were in Dallas in June, there was a good turn-out at the meeting, and seemingly good interest. However, we do not have a minister anywhere near (the nearest is in Shreveport), and when no Minister there contacted us, and no layman offered to lead a “Committee for the formation of First Southern Methodist Church of Dallas,” we decided not to encourage the organization of a church at that time. We had groups organize without adequate leadership, or with political aims, or with Baptistic leadership, and they fell by the wayside. The latter formation of a Southern Methodist Church is a near impossibility. Therefore we felt that it would be better to wait until strong, Bible-Methodist leadership presented itself or until we could find a preacher who could give the leadership needed.

————————————-

Now when the committee is officially formed, old-time revival services might be planned for April, and the actual formation of the church can be consummated at that time if the Lord so directs. I would be pleased to lead the services at that time, or perhaps the group the group would like to ask one of the other men whom you will meet February 27. The next step will be to find a minister to fill the pulpit for the group, or even become a pastor. Again it is possible that I can move to Dallas in August (although I won’t know for sure until later in Spring). However, God will lead in all of these things if we seek His will and blessings. I am sure that, with divine leadership, a good strong testimony can be established in Dallas of old-time, fundamental Methodist position.

While we talk of these things, and work toward this, let us be sure to PRAY, PRAY and PRAY. We can form an organization without prayer, but if a church, worthy of the name is born, it will only be after MUCH prayer, seeking the will and blessing of God.

Signed Rev. Philiph A. Bashaw. Date: January 31, 1969

Rev. Philiph A. Bashaw, described The Southern Methodist Church as follows;

• Is a “back-to-the-Bible” Methodist Movement, “Conservative in theology and evangelical in message.”
• Not to be identified with the United Methodist Church, nor is it affiliated in any way with the National Council of Churches…….
• There are no Bishops, and each local church owns and controls their own property and calls their own ministers.
• It also takes a strong position for a conservative, evangelical interpretation of Scripture and historic Methodist doctrine.

Rev. Bachaw gave a little background concerning the Southern Methodist Church as follows;

When the merger of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South occured in 1939, the South Carolina Conference of the Old M.E. Church, South voted against entering that union. It felt that the so-called “modernist” unbelievers in control of both groups were simply consolidating their own strength and would crowd the fundamentalist out of the schools, etc., until they finally controlled completely……… The courts ruled that the property and the name, “Methodist Episcopal South” belonged to the United Church.

As a result of the court ruling, those who wished to preserve a Bible-believing, gospel-preaching church were forced to withdraw, leaving their property, etc. As a result, the newly-formed SOUTHERN METHODIST CHURCH was slow in its growth.

When congregations were formed in Nashville, Memphis, two in Florida and two churches attempted to form in Texas, the second annual conference was formed. When our church here in Baton Rouge was formed in 1960, it was the sixth to be admitted to the Mid-South Annual Conference of 1961. Today we still have only two annual conferences (S.C and Mid-South), but they are growing rapidly.

When the general conference meets again in 1970, I am sure that the Mid-South Annual Conference will be divided into at least two and probably three conferences giving a total of 3 or 4 conferences in the denomination.

Since 1961 the Mid-South Conference has grown from six to more than eighty member-congregations, and the S.C. conference has grown from about 40 to more than sixty. With the churches that have been formed since conference in August, we now have over 150 churches. These are ten states; Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

We only have two congregations in Texas at this time, They are in Port Arthur and Shamrock. However, with a little work and with the Lord providing ministerial leadership, there can soon be many congregations in that state……

I, for one, am especially thankful for the hard, straight line drawn by the conference relations committee which examines all incoming ministers and churches. They must be ………….. EVANGELICAL, and there is no room in our church for those who do not agree with the historic METHODIST doctrinal position.

The centrality of the gospel

Paul’s Letter to the Philippians is amazingly profound. He begins by saying in verse twelve of chapter one;

“Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to  me has really served to advance the gospel.”

The Advance of the gospel is what Paul cares about: not his own comfort, but the advance of the gospel. He offers two reasons in defense of his judgment. First, his arrest and imprisonment in Rome has resulted in the Guard hearing that he has been arrested for Christʼs sake:

“It has become clear throughout the whole palace guard … that I am in chains for Christ” (1:13).

There is a second reason why Paul insists that his incarceration has advanced the gospel:

“Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly” (1:14).

Paul is a realist. He acknowledges that not every consequence of his imprisonment is rosy in every respect. “It is true,” he writes,

“that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of good will.  The latter do so in love … the former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that  in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this  I rejoice” (1:15-18a).

What are your aspirations? To make money? To get married? To travel? To see your grandchildren grow up? To find a new job? To retire early? None of these is inadmissible; none is to be despised. Whatever your aspirations are, put the advance of the gospel at the center. As Christians, we are called upon to put the advance of the gospel at the very center of our aspirations.

Today there are endless subgroups of confessing Christians who invest enormous quantities of time and energy in one issue or another: abortion, pornography, home schooling, womenʼs ordination (for or against), economic justice, a certain style of worship, the defense of a particular Bible version, and countries have a full agenda of urgent, peripheral demands. Not for a moment am I suggesting we should not think about such matters or throw our weight behind some of them. But when such matters devour most of our time and passion, each of us must ask: In what fashion am I confessing the centrality of the gospel?

This is not a subtle plea for … a gospel without social ramifications. We wisely reread the accounts of the Evangelical Awakening in England and the Great Awakening in America and the extraordinary ministries of Howell Harris, George Whitefield, the Wesley brothers, and others. We rightly remind ourselves how under God their converts led the fights to abolish slavery, reform the penal code, begin trade unions, transform prisons, and free children from serving in the mines. All of society was transformed because soundly converted men and women saw that life must be lived under God and in a manner pleasing to him. But virtually without exception these men and women put the gospel first. They reveled in it, preached it, cherished Bible reading and exposition that was Christ-centered and gospel centered, and from that base moved out into the broader social agendas. In short, they put the gospel first, not least in their own aspirations.

Not to see this priority means we are not more than a generation away from denying the gospel. It may be that God has called you to be a homemaker or an engineer or a chemist or a ditch digger. It may be that you will take some significant role in, say, the rising field of bioethics. But although the gospel directly affects how you will discharge your duties in each case, none of these should displace the gospel that is central to every thoughtful Christian. You will put the gospel first in your aspirations. Then you will be able to endure affliction and persecution and even misunderstanding and misrepresentation from other Christians. You will say with Paul,

“I want you to know … that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel” (1:12).

Jesus healing the paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda

Do you have a clue of what it means to be an invalid? To  be disabled, lacking the capacity for power that leads to social, spiritual, economic and physical movement that living demands of us? John 5:2-15 is the account of Jesus healing the paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda.   The man has been waiting for 38 years to receive healing.

²Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.  ³In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.  ⁴For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

⁵And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.  ⁶When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?  ⁷The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

⁸Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.  ⁹And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. ¹⁰The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. ¹¹He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. ¹²Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? ¹³And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.

¹⁴Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. ¹⁵The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. ¹⁶And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.  ¹⁷But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

Typology of disability in spiritual terms…

Impotent – Feeble and deficient in vigour, authority, force, and efficiency. They are inadequate and inferior in their spiritual lives.

Blind – People that are inflated with self-conceit, high minded and proud. Their eyes are enveloped with smoke causing them to be opaque and impenetrable to light. They are unable to perceive and have no intuitive recognition. They are dull, stupid and unintelligent. Arrogant is their first name and Bore is their last. They have an exaggerated estimate of their own ability and importance. They display an offensive assumption of superior importance and rights. They are overbearingly assuming and insolently proud. Their spiritual awareness is obscured and hazy. Spiritual matters are vague, ambiguous, and unknown to them. They are in the worldly dark and have no concept of the spiritual light.

Halt – People who are lame, and unable to stand erectly, and move toward the LORD GOD. They are unable to walk a straight path because of their disability, and are turned out of His Way and falter on the spiritual path. They proceed slowly and have great difficulty understanding the things of God.

Withered – Dry and barren of the influence and Spirit of God, resulting in a lack of vitality and regeneration of their spiritual lives

LOST N’ FOUND

To be LOST  does NOT just mean that you have done wrong things.

1.  Being LOST means that you are trapped in “Selfishness” and you can NOT make yourself a PURE person.
2. Being LOST means that you are in control of your life. Being in control of your life means that you are in  rebellion to your creator.
3. Being LOST also means that you constantly lie to yourself about your own motives and actions. You try hard to convince yourself of your own innocence. You choose to defend yourself with lies – rather than face the truth. You highlight your best points and avoid facing your most selfish ugly traits that you are LOST IN SIN.
4. Being LOST means that you will stand before a Holy Perfect God who rightly demands purity. Because of your sinfulness – apart from Jesus – you deserve an eternity in Hell.

Scripture says are the three keys to being confident in your salvation.

1. Do you  have ‘Inward Certainty”  of Salvation Experience? Do you know Jesus and do you know that he had died to save you?}?
2. Are you walking daily with the Savior? Does the Spirit of God bear witness with your Spirit that you are a child of God}?
3. Are you Faithfully serving and connected to a local body of believers?

Scripture was written so that you can understand the covenant of salvation. 1 John 5:13 say;

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may K N O W that you have eternal life.

 To be saved, requires that you live O N L Y for Jesus.

• No more running of your life.
• No more making of your own decisions and
• No more being in charge of your own life.

To be a Christian is to live O N L Y for Jesus. Anything else is a violation of God’s Word. Christianity is FOUND life having exchanged the former! You give everything to Jesus and he gives everything to you. He gives you His Righteousness, His Eternal Life, His Word, His Truth, His Grace, His Love

God does not compromise with evil

THE ZEAL FOR MY FATHER’S HOUSE HAS CONSUMED ME!

When Jesus entered into his public ministry, it seems that he took it on full-time, leaving his carpenter’s responsibilities behind them. Let us look at John’s account of Jesus cleansing the temple in detail.

There is no where else in scripture that you see Jesus angrier than when confronted with the secularization and commercialization of worship. He rages and condemns this act so vehemently knowing that he would not get away with behavior like that. Standing in the temple, having for the second time driven out the merchants and the money-changers, he spoke these dramatic words:

“Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. You shall not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,'” (Matthew 23:38-39, Luke 13:34-35).

Then he went out to the mount of Olives, and from there to the upper room, to the betrayal and the crucifixion the next day.

When Jesus came into the temple, the house of God, he found it filled with clutter and noise, dirty-smelling animals, money-changers and merchandise, and no one seemed concerned about it. Not only was he angry at the confusion, the clutter, the noise and the smells, but primarily he was angry at the extortion and racketeering that was going on. Once a year, every Jewish male had to go to the temple and pay a temple tax. There was no escape; every male Jew was required to pay a half-shekel tax at the Passover season. Further, that tax could not be paid in Roman or Greek coin but had to be paid in a special temple coin. So it was necessary to change the Roman or Greek coins that were commonly employed into this special temple tax. That in itself was fine; money-changers were required for that. Having them available at the temple for the people was a convenience that was right and proper. But what was wrong was that there was an exorbitant price being extorted for making this exchange, so that sometimes almost as much as half of the value of the money being exchanged was paid to the money-changers for their service. The temple was making enormous revenues from this practice.

Furthermore, a sacrifice offered at the Passover season had to be made with an animal without blemish or imperfection. If, for instance, the animal was blind in one eye, if it had a tear in the skin, whatever, it was to be rejected. Scholars have discovered that in those days if someone brought an animal of his own to offer it had to be examined by the priests and it would almost certainly be rejected; the priests would find something wrong with it. This meant that the only animals that could be offered were those which were bought from the temple herd that was kept in an open courtyard in the court of the Gentiles. These animals had already been approved by the priests. But again, a tremendously inflated price was demanded for those animals. In fact, a bird could be brought outside the temple for the equivalent of 15 cents of our money, but the same bird, bought within the temple from the authorized purveyors of animals, would cost as high as $15! This barefaced extortion, this demand for money from even the poorest of the poor was what aroused the flaming anger of our Lord. So great was his anger that he made a whip out of the cords that held the animals together and drove these extortioners out of the temple.

Yet his anger was under control. He wasn’t raging furiously, striking out against everybody around him. In fact, he did not actually deprive anybody of anything. The animals he drove out could easily be collected again; the money he poured out on the temple floor could be gathered up and recounted; he did not open the cages of the birds and let them loose, but ordered them to be taken away. But he made his point, which was clearly: do not turn a place which is devoted to the worship of God and the cleansing of people, into a flea market. The temple rather was the place where human values were to be considered supreme.

The climax of his action comes in what the disciples learned from it.

Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”

Much later John understood it even better as he wrote;

I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the LORD God the Almighty and the Lamb (Rev. 21:12).

Can you imagine what the disciples felt while this was going on? How embarrassed they must have been by the actions of Jesus! They had not been with him very long; they did not know him very well. They had been attracted by the amazing things he said and the things he did. They believed with all their hearts he was the expected Messiah; they saw even deeper that there was a divine quality about him that reflected the very character of God himself. They had not worked out all the theological puzzles that that must have raised in their minds, but they were committed to following him. Yet the first thing he does is to embarrass them with this uncalled-for activity.

But as they watched him do this, there came flashing into their minds a verse from the 69th Psalm. It is clearly evident that even at this early date the 69th Psalm was regarded as a Messianic psalm. The psalm describes the suffering and the agony of the One who was to be the Messiah. There came into their minds this one verse, “The zeal of thy house has consumed me” (Psalms 69:9) — has burned me up, has seized hold of me and devoured me and made me to act. There came for the first time, perhaps, the quiet realization in these disciples’ hearts of the divine refusal to put up with inward impurities. They began to understand that God does not compromise with evil.

This touches one of the great paradoxes of our Christian faith. Throughout this Gospel of John we will see plainly how anyone can come to Christ, no matter what his background, no matter how far he has gone wrong, no matter how evil he has been — murderers, prostitutes, swindlers, liars, perverts, drunkards, self-righteous prigs, bitter, hard-hearted cynics, religious hypocrites, proud self-sufficient snobs — anyone who realizes there is something wrong in his life, that something has seized him, gripped him and introduced evil, hurt, pain and heartache, anyone who wants to be free can come to Jesus. Jesus says,

“Come unto me all you that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest,”  (Matthew 11:28).

If you come, be assured that Jesus is not going to leave you the way you are. He is not going to settle for clutter, compromise, extortion and racket, whatever may be defiling and corrupting the temple courts. He may leave you alone for awhile. Many young Christians have misunderstood that. Because he brings us in love and he deals with us in patience, we think that he is going to let us get by with some of the comfortable but wrongful habits we have built into our lives. But he will not. If we mistake that delay for acceptance, we are in for a surprise. If we refuse to deal with what he puts his finger on, one day we will find him coming with flaming eyes and with a whip in his hand, and we will find all that traffic in immorality is driven out whether we like it or not.

A day is coming when all the evil will be exposed. “That which is done in secret is shouted from the housetops,” (Matthew 10:27, Luke 12:3). Across this nation today great buildings and parsonage have been erected — costing millions of dollars! Every one of those buildings has on it somewhere a brass plaque that says, “Erected to the glory of God.” I always feel irritated when I see that. The Scriptures teach that God is not glorified by buildings. No building is the house of God. It never was, it never will be.  When Solomon dedicated the temple he acknowledged that fact. He said, “Heaven, and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!” (2 Chronicles 6:18 KJV).

Buildings have always been but pictures of the house of God. The real temples are bodies — human beings — of body, soul, and spirit. That is where God has created a place where he can dwell. The Apostle Paul caught this truth. In the 6th chapter of First Corinthians he reminds us, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, which you have from God? You are not your own;” (1 Corinthians 6:19). You do not have the right to run your life, to regulate it and make all the ultimate decisions as to what you ought to be or where you ought to go. Paul continues, “You are not your own, you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body,” (1 Corinthians 6:19b-20). That is where God is glorified.

Chapter 4 of John’s gospel relates the story of Jesus’ conversation with a woman at the well of Jacob. She raises the question, “Where should we worship God? On the temple mount in Jerusalem, or here in this mountain in Samaria?” (John 4:20). Jesus’ answer was, “The hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father,” (John 4:21 RSV) “God is a Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth,” (John 4:24). That is where God is glorified.

Excerpt from Rev. Phil Bashaw

It was good to hear from you, and to receive the good report of interest in Dallas and of the services last Sunday. I am so sorry I was unable to make it to Dallas this past weekend- especially after announcing it “all over creation” as I did. Some things came up here that simply made my going to Dallas impossible. I had made all arrangements, including speakers for our services here and in Hammond. I do hope you will invite me to come again, and give me another chance.

It seems now that there will soon be two or more congregations forming here in Louisiana in the next couple of months. Oh, how we need good, God-called, Spirit-filled, Bible preachers. Pray with us that the Lord of the harvest will soon send forth laborers into the vineyard. …..

I do hope the Lord will give you the pastor of His own choosing soon. I feel that it is especially important that a new church have a pastor as soon as possible. As you know, I have made no secret of it, I am definitely interested in Dallas, as I believe that Dallas should be a strategic center of Southern Methodism as our church moves Westward. But regardless of my interest, we are praying with you that God will lead you in the selection of a minister. I feel that within a couple of years there would easily be from 10 to 20 new churches formed in Dallas-Forth-Worth- Wichita Falls area.

Let me give you just a few thoughts concerning my personal philosophy and conviction. The Bible very clearly teaches that “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” It also states as clearly that “the wicked shall be turned into hell and all nations that forget God.” Our nation is rapidly forgetting the God whom they have already turned. It follows that divine  judgement will soon fall – unless America can be turned back to God.

Revival is the answer to our national problems. By revival, I do not mean mass evangelism which is ecumenical by nature as is the ministry of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and others. The same Bible which teaches the unsaved to repent and believe, teaches the believers to separate from the world and from apostate belief. It is a wicked sin to turn new converts to Christ over to the apostate ecumenical churches as is being done continuously. That kind of evangelism is not Biblical, and is not revival.

The kind of revival which I believe is needed to turn our nation back to God will be much more than “churchanity.” It must  be the kind of revival which causes sinners to repent of their sin, change their way of living and follow in the steps of the Savior living Spirit-filled lives. The church MUST be more than a place of social gathering, it must be a place of preparation for Christian living and service. Therefore before we can have revival in America, we must first have reformation. Bible-believing Christians are called (by the word of God) to separate from apostasy. That separation is PART of the reformation. Our Southern Methodist Church is part of the reformation. Thank God for others separating from the unbelief of the major denominations and the National Council of Churches. If separated, Bible-teaching, Gospel-preaching REFORMATION churches of various denominational persuasions can be formed across the country, and if God’s people will separate and unite them, THEN we can have the REVIVAL so sorely needed which alone can spare America from the wrath of Almighty God.

Forgive me if I seem to be raving, but this is my conviction, and it is that belief and vision which motivates me. The old-fashioned gospel of Christ MUST again be preached, and it cannot be done successfully in denominations which are led by unbelievers and social-gospeleers. Therefore, I am concerned with the extension of the Southern Methodist Church. There are people all over America who are seeking such a church as ours.

I suppose I’m a rather poor pastor, and certainly can’t recommend myself to you or to any other church, for I can’t keep my eyes off the “fields” and on the “field” near at hand. We need MORE and MORE preachers in the work. No, you can see why I am especially interested in Dallas and in the success of your church. May God richly bless and lead you and use you in the great plan which He has worked out.

I realize this letter has not been in the best form, and that I have written from my heart. However, I wanted you to know my thinking and position. You conclude your letter by saying, “I could go on an on, bu….” That is my feeling at this point, but I had better not. Better get to work.

Do write again, and if the church in Dallas would  like, I would be pleased to make plans to visit with you the last of April sometime. Again please be assured or our prayers for God’s continued blessing.

In Christ’s Service,

Rev. Phil Bashaw

March, 14, 1968.

NOTE: Rev. Bashaw became the First Pastor of First Southern Methodist Church of Dallas on August 19, 1969. The First Southern Methodist Church of Dallas was organized on the evening of February 27, 1969 and was represented and formally accepted into the Mid-South Annual Conference of the Southern Methodist Church, meeting in August, 1969 in Mobile, Alabama.  At that time, the church temporarily conducted services in the SouthEast Branch of the Y.M.C.A. at 2818 Pritchard Lane, Dallas, TX.