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February 2012 Mastering the Art of Working with People What is the common denominator to the following situations? Two out of three people get fired for the same basic reason. This is one of the major reasons foreign missionaries come home from the mission field. USAToday reported that only 12% of people with MBAs possess this skill. This is the number one source of conflict in any given ministry situation (teaching, youth ministry, board meetings, etc.) If you guessed “the inability to get along with people,” you are right.
On a personal note, I have seen many people hurt and/or offended in church or ministry situations because pastors and/or church leaders were calloused, indifferent, or unaware of the damage their overbearing or insensitive actions or reactions caused. As one observer sadly said to me about the people who left his church, “Those people could’ve been reclaimed had the pastor and other leaders reached out to them with loving concern for their welfare.” But this is not a problem just for pastors/leaders. As the opening observations above reveal, this is a problem for people on many different levels and in many different positions.
This is why the Bible has much to say about interpersonal relationships. Whole books of the Bible like Proverbs or James are dedicated to this. Indeed, Jesus taught that agape love is tested best by how we treat those who rub us the wrong way, Matthew 5:43-47. We would do well in mastering people skills to think deeply on what the Bible teaches in this area. Let’s consider just a few skills from Proverbs 18 that are practical and much needed.
Wise people work at being sociable and actively seek advice from others. Proverbs 18:1-2 teach, “An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends; he defies all sound judgment. A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.” Clearly here working at friendly sociability and valuing advice from others are keys to good relationships. Foolishness and unfriendliness characterize those who don’t do these things. They are not using “sound judgment.”
Wise people are patient listeners who care enough about others to understand them before advising them. Proverbs 18:13 counsels, “He who answers before listening— that is his folly and his shame.” People with good relationship skills have a certain humility about themselves that causes them to value others equally as themselves. They want to understand other people and be patient with them before giving them advice. People can tell when those presuming to advise them have that attitude and it creates a greater willingness to listen.
Wise people know that generous actions soften people’s hearts and open the way into their lives. Proverbs 18:16 affirms, “A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great.” This proverb is not encouraging manipulation but rather sincerity in being generous toward others. It’s a me-first world. When Tim Tebow spends time after his first playoff victory with a young girl who has endured 72 surgeries people are impressed. How many wealthy, famous athletes do that right after a big victory? Such generous, humble actions have worked Tebow into many people’s hearts. He is a living example of this proverb.
To be effective we must be effective with people. Let’s learn, change, and be a blessing.
Your friend, needing to learn, Pastor Brian (:-}). About Pastor Oberg Sermon Notes
January 2012 Radical Christian Discipleship & the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock The Apostle Paul’s experience in Acts 21:12-14 gets to the heart of radical Christian discipleship, if I may use that expression often used by Pastor John Piper. Here’s what happened:
When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered them, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”
Two echoes should immediately come to mind from Jesus’ life and teaching. 1) Jesus’ own struggle in Gethsemane in Mark 14:32-42 is echoed by Paul: “Take this cup [of death] from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” 2) Jesus’ teaching on discipleship in Mark 8:31-37 is modeled by Paul: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross [death to self] and follow me.”
This leads me to define Christian discipleship this way: The heart of discipleship is unconditional obedience to the will of Christ accepting self-denial and self-sacrifice for His Name’s sake. Let’s notice some features of this definition: 1) Disciples have decided that Christ’s will is the highest good. 2) Disciples have decided that obedience to Christ is their main responsibility. 3) Disciples have accepted the fact that obedience will be costly. 4) Disciples are willing to pay the cost in personal loss and hardship to follow Jesus’ will for their lives. 5) Disciples know that great blessing will come to many others because of their commitment and this is what sustains them.
One of the great examples of this radical discipleship is the American Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Rock Colony. They concluded that God’s will for them to reform the Church of England was to establish an American plantation as a model of Christian discipleship for the entire world to see. They arrived at Plymouth Rock in November after a 3-month journey on the Mayflower and by the end of March half their number had died from the harsh conditions. William Bradford served the colony (36 yrs) as its longest serving governor thru deep hardship and personal loss. He and his wife left their only child behind in the care of relatives because he was not old enough to make the trip. Upon returning from scouting Plymouth Rock after arrival, Bradford learned his wife had fallen overboard on the Mayflower and drowned. He had to decide to return to Europe to be with his son, or to stay on and help Plymouth Colony. At 30-yrs-old he chose to stay on and became the guiding force of Plymouth Rock that so influenced the direction of American democracy and history. We owe a huge debt to that colony and Bradford in particular.
But here is the point: The entire Pilgrim experiment was motivated by radical discipleship. Whether Bradford made the right decision or not is debatable and is not really for us to judge one way or the other. The point is that he was convinced that staying with the colony was God’s will so there could be no going back, even at the cost of never seeing his son again. Most of us will never be called upon to make such sacrifice. But the same principles that impelled Jesus, Paul, Bradford, and the Pilgrims must impel us. Let’s enter 2012 intent on following Jesus wholeheartedly paying whatever cost His will demands, knowing that succeeding generations will reap the benefits of our discipleship.
Your friend, a disciple in the New Year, Pastor Brian (:-}).
December 2011 Keeping the Sacred in Our Holidays
November 2011 The Importance of Relationally Based Ministry One of the most important principles of ministry for the Lord that we can grasp is the absolute necessity of healthy relationships as the basis for effective ministry. In other words, we can have everything else right in terms of skill, giftedness, and knowledge, but if our relationships with each other are wrong then our ministry will be wrong. And we will undercut the very message we are trying to convey. Let me share some quotes I have heard that emphasize this. God will not bless a divided church, said by a well-known pastor. Your family is not a part of your ministry; your family is your ministry, said by Howard Hendricks to young men preparing to be pastors, including yours truly.
The first one about a divided church that is racked by dissension and unforgiveness is that it undercuts the very message we proclaim. Paul writes in Philippians 1:27, “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Clearly here, the gospel of Christ is not only what we believe but also how we behave. Paul is saying that we can conduct ourselves in ways that deny the gospel we claim to believe. One principle of the gospel is that we are reconciled by Christ in one body unto God, Ephesians 2:14-18. If that is what we proclaim but then live unreconciled to one another we are teaching a different gospel – one that does not reconcile believers to each other nor heals relational breakdown any better than the unsaved world.
Consider a church I know in Lower Michigan that at one time was the largest church in our Baptist conference in all of Michigan. Over a period of many years that church was so racked by various squabbles that they split three times with three new churches splintering off of them. An interim pastor said right from the pulpit in a sermon that they had better change the way they operated because they were getting a reputation. Can you imagine driving by that church with its glorious past only now to think, “That’s the church that split three times? I wonder what’s wrong with them.” Doing the hard stuff of working through disagreements, respecting one another, and “making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,” could’ve spared that church’s testimony, Ephesians 4:1-3. We must do the relational work if we are to adorn the gospel.
Consider the next quote by Dr. Hendricks. It’s easy to separate what happens at home with what we do in our ministry. It is easy to think we can be at odds in our marriage but still do “our thing” effectively at church. But my old professor was right. In fact, Peter says to husbands that the way they treat their wives will determine whether God answers their prayers or not, 1 Peter 3:7. That’s how seriously God takes this. Again, if the gospel reconciles us to each other as well as to God but we live in perpetual unresolved tension at home we are living a gospel opposite of the one we are proclaiming. It will not only catch up to us but repel the world we are trying to reach.
Because of quotes like the two above I became aware of this for which I thank God. At times in my ministry because of my wrong reactions before church I have had to apologize to Ellen right during worship before I preached. I knew that not to do so would render my sermon offensive to God. I thank God for those humbling experiences. I thank Him for helping us do the sometimes very hard work of being reconciled. Remember, effective ministry is always based on right relationships.
Thanking God for you, Pastor Brian (:-}).
October 2011 The Two Pillars of Assurance Having the assurance of salvation is one of the most important blessings a person can have. We can’t really serve God effectively and accomplish His purpose for our lives if we aren’t absolutely sure we are children of God. John Wesley found this out personally. He came to Georgia as an ordained priest in the Church of England to do missionary work in the American Colonies. He failed miserably going home to England totally defeated in large part because he did not have the assurance of his own salvation. What a difference when Wesley finally came to that assurance!
In our EE ministry we find multiple people, with even church backgrounds, who are unsure they have eternal life. For many, they don’t even know it is possible to be sure. Then, on the other hand, multitudes in America today have a false assurance of salvation based on a superficial decision someone led them to make being told they should never doubt their salvation from then on. Sadly, there are many people we could only wish would doubt their salvation. That would actually do them some spiritual good for they have a false security even Jesus warned of, see Matt. 7:21-23.
As one who doubted his own salvation for many years, I have struggled with how a person can have a true assurance of salvation. I believe there are two pillars we must lean on. The first is that assurance of salvation is based on faith in God’s promises. John 6:47 says, “I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.” It is obvious that Jesus means he who believes the promises that He has just made in John 6: that He is the bread of life, come down from heaven, to give His flesh for the life of the world, who is to be received by faith resulting in eternal life. So assurance of salvation is objective; it is based upon taking God at His word and believing on Jesus Christ for eternal salvation. It is wonderful to know that one’s faith is resting in Jesus Christ in this way.
But there is a second pillar that is vitally important. Eternal life accomplishes in us a dramatic change of life. This is the subjective side of assurance. We now have God’s nature implanted within us by the Holy Spirit and this nature begins to change our desires, behavior and outlook, see 2 Peter 1:4. While these changes don’t bring eternal life like faith does, they do confirm its real presence. Of these changes three should begin to show themselves to strengthen our assurance of salvation. 1 John 3:9-10 says we should 1) Stop sinning as a lifestyle choice, v. 9, 2) Start living right as a lifestyle choice, v. 10, and 3) Love other Christians with practical deeds of love, v. 10.
While Christians will never be sinless, we should sin less. And we particularly should not want to defend and continue in sinful lifestyle choices. There is a difference between struggling with sin and pursuing sinful lifestyles. All Christians struggle and do sin, but they don’t continue in sinful lifestyles defending them as okay. That’s a sign one is not a Christian no matter what is claimed. Also, it is a sign we are saved if we love our spiritual family. God’s nature within us draws us to other Christians in fellowship, corporate worship, Bible study, service, etc. If we don’t want to participate with the family of God, that’s good evidence we don’t belong to it.
To summarize: salvation is a free gift of grace which is life-transforming. Both are true. Faith is the grounds for assurance but life-change is the evidence of assurance. Where these two exist, there is the happy security that we are indeed new born again.
At peace with assurance, Pastor Brian (:-}).
September 2011 Lord, What Are You Teaching Us in All of This?
One of the questions going through our minds in response to the recent losses in our family has been, “Lord, what are you teaching us in all of this?” During a time of his deepest trial a pastor friend of mine once said to me, “The trials we go through are never wasted events, but they are always preparation for future usefulness.” I am convinced that is true. It is right, then, to ask what the Lord is teaching us and how He may be shaping us to serve Him better.
One thing that has been confirmed by experience is that the Lord gave us the body of Christ because we really do need each other. I always knew that we are “members one of another” as 1 Corinthians 12 puts it, but now I have experienced it. Just as my hand instinctively reaches out to rub a sore muscle making it feel better, so the body of Christ has reached out to us in each loss making us feel better. Down in Muskegon we are connected with three churches – Ellen’s home church, my home church, and the church I pastored. All three came alongside of us supporting, encouraging, and ministering to us so that we knew we were not alone. And of course, the outpouring of love from Bethel has only multiplied our comfort. How grateful we are for our deep involvement with the body of Christ over many years. It has been an investment with amazing returns in our time of need.
This morning I read that “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are My ways your ways, says the Lord.” That is a harder lesson to learn but one that we have to accept and believe is best if we are to refrain from resenting our trials. After spending eight years of their retirement devotedly caring for Ellen’s middle brother, the most natural thing in the world for us to think that God would do after David’s death was to allow Ellen’s folks time to visit their only grandkids in Marquette enjoying all the things they had often been denied. It seemed natural that such a sterling example of love would be repaid by extra time to make up for lost time. When cancer intervened and prevented that it seemed so unfair. Ellen’s mom was so deserving. Lord, surely you should’ve prevented this! It is still hard to come to grips with what to us is the logic of fairness. But in this we are judging God according to human standards. We also can’t see the big picture and what God may bring out of this for some great purpose. Maybe with what has happened lives will be changed in ways they wouldn’t have otherwise. Such close deaths and the inspiration of lives lived for Christ will carry a lasting impact. Maybe a Christian legacy impacting us deeply at two funerals is more important in the long run than a few more fleeting years here on earth. Deep down we know that is what we all live for and why Christ saved us.
Maybe a final lesson, at least for now, is the importance of recognizing the shortness of time. Just talk about cancer and you hear additional stories from almost everyone. Today the UPS man told me about a three-yr-old relative with large cancerous tumors. It strikes everyone both young and old. We plan on living, but the truth is that we may be closer to death than we realize. Charles Spurgeon once said, “Serve the Lord with all your might while you can.” “Then when the evil days come and you no longer can, you won’t live with regrets over wasted time.” That is such good council. “Boast not yourself of tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth,” says James. Give the Savior our best so we can meet Him without regrets.
Your friend, learning in the hard times, Pastor Brian (:-}).
June 2011 Jesus’ Great Promise Revisited
About Pastor Oberg Sermon Notes
April 2011 Our 1st Duty in Every Situation is to “Be a Christian 1st”
March 2011 The Remedy for America’s Language Deterioration
December 2010 Follow the Christmas Star
This Advent season Pastor Hank and I will share the pulpit on the theme Follow the Christmas Star. We are most familiar with the star from the arrival of the Magi who asked where the one born King of the Jews was since they had seen his star in the East. But that is not the first mention of the star in Scripture. In fact, the star theme runs like a thread from the Old Testament to the Gospels to the Epistles to finally the last chapter of Revelation. Along the way it moves from being a predicted person, to a marker that He has been born, to a promise that He will return. The star is really a fascinating part of the promise and hope of the Christ of Christmas. Let me just introduce you to our series in this article. The first mention of the star is 1400 years before Christ in the era of Moses in Numbers 24:15-19. Balaam uttered the only Old Testament prophecy about the star when he prophesied, “A star will come out of Jacob.” What is interesting is that Balaam was a pagan seer who practiced divination to make money. He was hired to curse Israel by the king of Moab but every time he opened his mouth God turned his curses into blessings to the great consternation of Balak, Moab’s king. What is astounding about the prophecy is not only that God used one of Israel’s enemies to give it, but that it was so grandiose it was laughable. Israel was little more than a rag-tag group of ex-slaves, in the midst of the wilderness wanderings because of disobedience, with no country of their own, no potential for military prowess to conquer other nations, and no great future from anyone’s perspective. Yet a star was predicted out of Israel who would rule and conquer. Only a supernatural God committed to a nation thru grace could bring such an unlikely event about. God likes great odds so He can show it is of Him. Think about that the next time you are tempted to limit God to your bleak circumstances. Nothing is impossible for Him.
Fast forward to Matthew 2 where the star appears to Magi from the East who traveled to Jerusalem to worship the newborn king. Here we have Gentiles from afar off coming to worship a Jewish King when His own people didn’t recognize He had been born. Not a single person in Jerusalem from Herod the Great, to Jewish religious leaders, to devout Temple-goers bothered to travel the few miles to Bethlehem to worship the Son of God. Only the Magi made the final short leg of the trip bringing gifts worthy of God’s King. Isn’t this a foreshadowing of God’s grace to us – Gentiles who were afar off who have been brought to worship Christ by God revealing the identity of the star to us? Finally, 1 Peter and Revelation give the precise identity of the star and predict His glorious appearance once more. His return is as sure as the fulfillment of His first coming. But there is more. His coming will be personal for every believer. He is coming to fulfill His promises in the hearts of every believer. We don’t wait for an event; we wait for a person who will fulfill all of our deepest hopes. Let’s serve Him ‘til He comes. Soon the Star will appear again.
Following the Christmas Star, Pastor Brian (:-}).
November 2010 The Beatitudes – Beautiful Attitudes
Someone has
described Jesus’ Beatitudes at the beginning of the Sermon on
the Mount in Matthew 5 as “beautiful attitudes” Jesus looks for
in His followers. The word “blessed” also carries the idea of
“fortunate” and describes someone who is in a very favorable
situation because of the spiritual attitudes Jesus calls for.
Let’s consider the second one today in Matthew 5:4:
Blessed are
those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Normally we
associate mourning with death or some personal loss. But when
Jesus calls us to mourn it is something much deeper than
personal loss. Spiritual mourning is not primarily over what has
been done
to us,
but what has been done
by us.
Let’s use the letters M O U R N as an acrostic to learn what the
Bible teaches us. N = Sin. Ezekiel 24:23 says that mourning in the Old Testament was “because of your sins.” O = Sorry. Jeremiah 31:13 says, “I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.” When we remember that the first step in repentance is “godly sorrow” for sin we see that mourning is connected with personal grief for sins. It is inner-sorrow for wrong attitudes, thoughts, words and actions that displease God.
U = JESUS.
Zechariah 12:10 says that one day the Jewish people
“will look on
me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as
one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him.”
This is a
prophecy about Jesus and the Jewish people experiencing grief at
His return when they realize they “pierced” their own Messiah.
Now we see that mourning takes on a God-ward focus. It is sorrow
because Jesus had to die for the sins we commit. What I have
done caused His wounds for me.
R =
RETURN.
Joel 2:12 calls to us,
“Even now,”
declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with
fasting and weeping and mourning.”
Return in the Old
Testament is the normal word for repentance which is a turning
from sin to God. So mourning begins as an attitude of sorrow in
the heart but leads to a change in actions returning to God and
His will. M = COMFORT. Matthew 5:4 says, “Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Obviously the comfort refers to forgiveness, reconciliation with God, peace that we are right with Him, and the joy of salvation that replaces the heaviness of mourning. Perhaps Jesus is reflecting on Jeremiah 31:13 quoted above. Definition: To mourn is to feel sorry for my sin which Jesus died for and to return to Him who will comfort me by forgiving me and removing my sin. Final observations: 1) Mourning should be a regular response when we sin. 2) Mourning should not turn into morbidness which is self-centered rather than God-centered. 3) Mourning should lead to confession and repentance. 4) Mourning should lead to making things right with God and others. 5) Mourning should lead to renewed joy knowing God loves us and forgives us. 6) Mourning should not result in gloom and doom but the comfort that comes from a gracious God.
Your friend, blessed by Jesus, Pastor Brian (:-}).
October 2010 A Philosophy of Wedding Preparation
Every pastor needs a philosophy of wedding preparation that guides him in how to help the couples he marries in the best way possible. For starters, my philosophy is that I perform marriages, not wedding ceremonies. A wedding ceremony is a relatively easy thing to do. It requires very little advance preparation on the part of the pastor and can last often only twenty minutes. It can be done for complete strangers whom the pastor will never see again. A marriage on the other hand is to last a life-time, and to prepare for it requires a great deal of investment of time between the pastor and the couple. It is the latter that pastors should be doing, not the former. Here are the parts of this marriage philosophy.
First, a couple
should have a church that they are a part of or are planning to
be a part of should they have to move to a new location. An
effective marriage requires the support of other Christians who
will encourage, enrich, and hold a couple accountable. For
Christians, that support system is found in the church. To get
married in a church without belonging to a church is a
misunderstanding of what the church is for. Ideally, every
couple should be married in the church they belong to or are
planning to belong to should they need to move. Second, a couple should be married by the man who is their pastor or is going to be their pastor. “Marrying Sams” who marry people they don’t know and may never see again are contributing to the divorce problem in America rather than helping solve it. One of the things I tell people at the end of pre-marriage counseling is that if they run into difficulties I will be there to help them as best I can. A year after marrying one couple, the wife came to me and said, “Do you remember that promise you made to us? Well, we are having problems and need some help.” They had two problems they needed an outside perspective on. In a relatively short period of just a few weeks the problems were resolved, and they have now been happily married for fifteen years. If I had not been their pastor when I married them, they would never have turned to me a year later when they had problems. Every couple needs a pastor they can call “our pastor.” That’s the way God intended it.
Third, an investment of time in pre-marriage counseling is an absolute must. Several things happen during this time of five to seven meetings lasting an hour and a half each. The couple and the pastor develop a close relationship that can be an incredible source of support for years to come. The biblical perspective on marriage is shared so the couple’s spiritual commitment is grounded in God’s Word. A relationship inventory is given revealing the couple’s strengths and weaknesses in eleven critical areas like communication, conflict resolution, role responsibilities, spiritual beliefs, etc. Time is spent talking about areas of agreement and disagreement in the way they answered the questions in the inventory. Issues that need to be worked through for the future of their marriage are raised in a natural way. The couple actually enjoys talking about these things that will improve their relationship. Exercises are included to help the couple learn skills they will use for a life-time.
One of the greatest joys of a pastor through this process is to have a couple thank him sometimes more than once for being willing to take such time with them. That’s the way a marriage should get started—with a couple knowing they are loved, valued, invested in, and pointed in the right direction for a life-time of ups and downs in the hard work of building a good marriage. As a church, let’s support this process and encourage our pastors to maintain high standards for the good or our young people.
Sincerely, investing in marriages, Pastor Brian (:-}).
September 2010 Evaluating Miraculous Claims Today – a 1st Century Paradigm
In Acts 14:8-18 Paul and Barnabas performed an amazing miracle healing a man with crippled feet who had never walked from birth. Upon seeing the miracle, the crowd in the town of Lystra proclaimed the two missionaries to be the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes because of such a miraculous display. Alarmed that these people would worship mere men, Paul and Barnabas dissuaded them with considerable difficulty saying, Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you, v. 15. Paul and Barnabas were very careful in how they handled the response to the miracle so that people would not be misled. Examining this account provides a biblical paradigm for evaluating miraculous claims today that can keep us from being misled. Notice the high standards involved in this miracle.
The crippled man’s condition was clear & undeniable for all to see, v. 8. The text says he “was lame from birth and had never walked.” Two things are critical here: it was not a temporary condition and it was not a partial condition. There was no possibility that he had limited mobility that he had used before to give the illusion of a healing. In point of fact, he was a case that only a miracle could solve and could not be faked.
The miracle was without any doubt whatsoever, v. 10. It says “the man jumped up and began to walk.” It was simply undeniable that he was instantly doing what he could not possibly have done before. No one was left wondering as in the case of hidden diseases that are allegedly healed but no one can see any difference that proves that anything has happened. If we have to take someone’s word for it, it simply does not belong in the category of a biblical miracle that is self-evident and undeniable.
Paul did not promote himself as a miracle-worker, vv. 9-18. The care and urgency that Paul and Barnabas used to not promote themselves as miracle-workers is in sharp contrast to those today who often use this claim to draw a crowd. In fact, for many today it is the claim that garners them attention. Note Paul and Barnabas’s careful attempt to not promote themselves as miracle-workers: 1) The town wrongly assumed Paul possessed healing powers, vv. 11-13. 2) Paul made it very clear he and Barnabas were just humans, vv. 14-15. 3) Paul focused the people’s attention on the gospel, not the miracle, vv. 15-17. 4) Paul refused to have adoring fans who promoted him, not God, v. 18. This is so very important. It was the message of the gospel that was to have the attention. When it was reversed and the miracle-worker got the attention, Paul and Barnabas were alarmed. We should be too. Attempts to draw crowds by promises of immediate, temporal miracles are a clear sign priorities are confused. It is the gospel of Christ Jesus that is paramount and that should never be tacked on as a secondary priority to promises of physical well-being as the lead priority. That horribly obscures God’s offer in the gospel.
The evidence was obvious with many witnesses, not just one, v. 11. It was the entire crowd that saw the miracle and was unbiased as witnesses who had nothing personally to gain in promoting Paul and Barnabas. No one was asked to believe on the basis of the man’s own personal testimony that a miracle had happened. This was in accord with Old Testament standards of reliable evidence that required “the testimony of two or three witnesses” for everything to be established, Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15; Matthew 18:16; 2 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:19; Hebrews 10:28. People who promote miraculous events based on their own, personal testimony simply do not meet the biblical criteria to be believed no matter how well-meaning they are. May we be wise and discerning in these days of spiritual confusion.
Your friend, seeking discernment in all things, Pastor Brian (:-}).
August 2010 Evaluating Miraculous Claims Today
One day in my childhood my neighbor friends came over and announced an angel had appeared to their mother in her bedroom. Since this dear lady later spent considerable time in a mental institution because of erratic behavior, there was good reason to doubt the alleged appearance. During the conversation with the kids they said the angel had given a white cloth to their mother. When my mother asked if she could see it, they happily obliged. When they returned across the backyard and gave Mom the cloth she immediately noticed it had a typical tag showing what clothing company made it with instructions for washing on the back. Even I knew at my young age that an angel did not need to go to K-Mart to buy a white cloth to give to someone. The claim was simply not believable.
I mention this because I believe we will be hearing more and more claims of supernatural encounters by people who have a story they want to tell. There is a great interest in the supernatural and angels on the part of Americans today. Spiritual experience as the basis for people’s beliefs is rapidly replacing biblical truth as the foundation for one’s faith. Since people want to have a connection with “the divine,” they are willing to believe almost anyone who can give them assurances about the supernatural world. But should we be quick to accept their stories in the church? I have reservations for two reasons.
One, accepting stories without requiring rigorous proof can actually undermine the integrity of the Bible. We are telling people to believe based on someone’s experience rather than what the Bible teaches on the subject on its own. That is a subtle but dangerous shift in which the person’s experience becomes the foundation for confidence rather than the Bible itself. The experience becomes dominant in the promotion, while the Bible becomes subservient. If people leave talking about the experience rather than the truth of the Bible, we have encouraged them to put their trust in experience rather than revealed truth. That is a dangerous direction for the church to take. Peter said the Word of God is more certain than even his experience as an Apostle of the Transfiguration, 2 Peter 1:16-19. He was careful to elevate the Bible as the ultimate standard for truth. We must do the same.
Two, without requiring rigorous standards of proof we risk being misled by well-meaning but mistaken people. This is the case with the Mormons who accepted Joseph Smith’s claims to have met the alleged Angel Maroni who showed him the golden plates from which he translated the Book of Mormon. The plates have never been produced, and there is not a shred of archaeological evidence for the lost North American society the Book of Mormon describes. Because of uncritical acceptance of Smith’s supernatural tale millions of people are misled by Mormon beliefs.
In contrast to this, the Bible has very high standards for truth claims. We are told, Test everything. Hold on to the good, 2 Thessalonians 5:21. Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, 1 John 4:1. The Church of Ephesus was praised by Jesus that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false, Revelation 2:2. Rather than being unspiritual, a healthy skepticism about truth claims in the absence of proof is a biblical necessity. How do we do this? Paul and Barnabas’s encounter with adoring crowds who believed false information about them in Acts 14:8-18 provides a helpful paradigm. Next month we will glean principles from this story that will help us to evaluate miraculous claims today. Stay tuned.
Your friend, testing all things, Pastor Brian (:-}).
April 2009 It’s Not about Me, Lord, It’s All about You The Apostle Paul’s outlook on life and ministry has really impacted my attitude and reactions. His relationship with Christ was so central and he was so focused on knowing Him and advancing Him that Paul could literally forget himself and live for Christ and others. His lack of complaining, his unwillingness to become bitter or hateful, his seeing injustice as a means to know Christ even more – all of this shows us what the Christ-focused life can make of us. Let me just share one area. 15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 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. (Philippians 1:15-18) What was going on with the envy, rivalry and selfish ambition from Christian leaders in Rome where Paul was imprisoned? Evidently when Paul came to Rome he made quite a splash as a big-name Apostle who had authored the Letter to the Romans. Some resented Paul’s popularity and star-power and became jealous. So they began criticizing him and trying to ruin his reputation. As we read what Paul says about these envious leaders it is possible they may have spread rumors that Paul was in prison because he deserved it. They may have said his imprisonment was proof the Lord was not behind him. We would say they were “kicking him while he was down.” They were making vicious charges that poisoned people against him. Because he was confined there was no way he could defend himself. They were hoping that their charges would wound him causing emotional pain which is what “stir up trouble for me” in v. 17 suggests. This is one of the greatest pains in life—to be slandered and unable to defend yourself. And then what’s worse, it was by people who were supposed to be his brothers-in-Christ! Yet, (and this is what is so remarkable), Paul was so taken up with Christ that he says, “What does it matter?” It’s not important. Evidently, though these men had wrong motives toward Paul, they were preaching the correct message about Christ. There were false motives, but not false doctrine. So, even when the motives were false, Paul could rejoice that Christ was proclaimed in truth. To paraphrase the Apostle, he was saying, “You guys are trying to wound me, but I am not taking the bait.” “I am focused not on what you are doing to me, but on what you are doing for Jesus.” “What is being done for Jesus is so important that it outweighs what is done to me.” “Rather than upsetting me, you are causing me to rejoice.” Wow! Am I so in love with Christ Jesus that I can take personal wounds as long as His work prospers? Is my focus so much on Him that even if I am mistreated by those who should be my friends, I can overlook it and actually praise God because His cause is still being served? I learn from this that a growing love for Christ and a focus on the importance of His work gives believers the strength they need to endure mistreatment and stay positive. It really is all about loving Christ, isn’t it? Your friend, needing Christ more and more, Pastor Brian (:-}).
March 2009 Jesus’ Surprising Pattern for His Followers A unique feature of Jesus’ teaching on the
beatitudes in the Gospel of Luke that is not found in Matthew is
His contrasting four beatitudes (or blessings) with four woes,
When Jesus says “blessed are you” He means someone who is in a good or fortunate situation who deserves congratulations. Jesus is referring to a “state of blessedness” or good fortune from God’s perspective because the person has made the right, spiritual choices and developed God’s character. When we compare Matthew’s version with Luke’s it is clear that Jesus is talking about spiritual attitudes rather than physical conditions. So a rich person can be poor in spirit although it is more unlikely. When Jesus says “woe to you” He is pronouncing judgment on those who adopt the attitudes of the world. These woes are made in the tradition of the Old Testament prophets who sounded out future judgments (woes) on those who rejected God’s call to turn to Him. Note that the future outcomes of the woes are the exact opposite of the present benefits nonbelievers enjoy in this life. As we meditate on Jesus’ pattern for His disciples in contrast to worldly attitudes several applications become clear. The first is that this is the great reversal. The attitudes and values prized by the Lord are the exact opposite of those prized by the world. Therefore, a disciple must get ready to live counter-culturally. Second, it takes faith to see this because the winners in the next life appear to be losers now and vice versa. What Jesus says makes no sense apart from a spiritual mindset that is the result of trust in God’s Word and promises. No one in their right mind would choose to be hated, excluded, insulted, and rejected because of living contrary to the values of the dominant culture. While Jesus is not saying we should seek this kind of treatment as a badge of superiority over others, He is saying we should be prepared to be out-of-sync with the way the world thinks and lives. That takes faith because it seems so wrongheaded and is often painful. Last, the blessed life of the disciple is future-oriented and this is what sustains us. The reasons for the “blessed state” or the “woeful state” are listed in each case and they focus on future rewards. Knowing the best is yet to come fortifies us now. It also prepares us not to be distracted from our pursuit of Christ by what is only temporary and fleeting. The cost may be great now but the rewards will be worth it. Your friend in the Jesus’ way, Pastor Brian (:-}).
February 2009 Willing to be a Drink Offering, Poured out and Used up for Him While imprisoned for his faith in Christ, Richard Wurmbrand (1909 - 2001) was tortured by Romanian Communists. As part of their strategy to break him, they played recordings of a child (the same age as his son) being beaten in the cell next to him. The screams nearly drove him insane, and the guards tormented Wurmbrand by telling him his family would cease to exist. They repeatedly declared, "There is no God. There is only communism." Nonetheless, the Romanian pastor did not cease his prayers. When an officer saw him kneel in prayer, he shouted, "Why would you pray? You have lost everything! What do you have left that you could possibly be praying for?" Pastor Wurmbrand looked up from his agonizing situation and replied, "I am praying for you." (Voice of the Martyrs, Special Issue 2008, p.14) Stories like this
almost seem surreal to us in our comfortable American culture.
How could a man tortured and tormented for his very faith in
Christ, not only hold on to that faith but use it to pray for
the ones abusing him so? What makes such a sturdy Christian who
is so selfless he can pray for his enemies without self-pity for
himself? The Apostle Paul gives us a clue from his own personal
testimony in 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. Paul’s testimony is laden with the following Jewish imagery: 1) the sacrifice referred to the burnt offering wholly consumed on the altar, 2) the service was the believers’ service to God as believer-priests, 3) the drink offering was the wine poured about completely with the burnt offering, and 4) the faith was the trust in God that motivated such service. From this we learn much about the Christian life. Christian service to God involves painful sacrifices even including the ultimate sacrifice of death. The very meaning of “sacrifice” is to suffer loss often in painful ways. Because we are serving the kingdom of Christ while living in the kingdom of darkness we must expect to suffer loss as we put kingdom interests ahead of our own. In fact, it is thru our sacrifices that the kingdom of God advances on to the day of Christ’s victory (see v. 16). We must expect and appreciate this. Christian service means we are wholly given over to God and are at His disposal to use as He sees fit. The “pouring out” of the “drink offering” symbolized total consecration. As the wine was completely emptied on the altar so the worshipers were saying they were totally God’s. Thus our circumstances are determined by God and our sacrifices reveal the depth of our faith-commitment to Him. Christian service frees us to be occupied not with ourselves but God’s work thru us in reaching and building up others. In the sacrificial ritual the sacrifice was primary and the drink offering was secondary. Think of Paul’s amazing modesty. He is saying to his converts, “I am just the drink offering; you are the sacrifice.” “It is your service to God that is important to me; I’m just the drink offering that helps complete it.” Such self-effacing modesty can only be true of those who have embraced their true purpose in serving God and His kingdom. If we are doing that we are fulfilled. What happens to us is secondary and in God’s hands. Pastor Wurmbrand and Paul embraced this. May we too. Your fellow drink-offering for His sake, Pastor Brian (:-}).
January 2009 Prayer and the Supply of the Holy Spirit in the New Year
I am intrigued by the Apostle Paul’s
personal testimony while imprisoned in
Even though his imprisonment was completely unfair Paul took this attitude because he was confident that, like Job, he would be vindicated in heaven by God, v. 19b. He didn’t become bitter that this was no way for God to treat His servants in “full-time Christian work.” He did not get sidetracked by consuming all his emotional energy on how he was being mistreated. He worked to get released, but he could accept it if he wasn’t.
As we begin a New Year with all of its potential set-backs and unexpected disappointments, here are a couple of good questions for all of us to ponder: Is God’s timetable for handling our mistreatments okay with us? Are we so confident in His ultimate justice that we can focus our emotional energy on magnifying Christ rather than complaining over our lot on earth or getting what we think is our due?
Since this is not natural for us we need resources to strengthen us to magnify Christ no matter what. Paul counted on two resources, v. 19a: fresh supplies of the daily filling of the Holy Spirit, and the intercessory prayers of other Christians. What is interesting is that prayer and the help of the Spirit are put on equal footing in v. 19. They are both governed by one preposition “through,” and they are linked by one definite article “the.”
If I was asked which one do I need the most for the right testimony in my life, I would probably say the daily filling of the Holy Spirit? I would reason “how could the prayers of limited people compare with the strength of the unlimited Holy Spirit?” But Paul does not ask which one he needed the most. He knew he needed both to magnify Christ. In fact, since he puts prayer first in v. 19 it seems likely he was saying that the prayers of God’s people would help him rely on the Holy Spirit’s strength.
Wow! The intercessory prayers of limited Christians are far more powerful to give us daily strength than we may realize. A church of believers committed to intercessory prayer for one another is a church where people can experience incredible strength to meet their daily challenges for Christ.
Let me encourage you in the New Year to do two things. Be a part of an intercessory prayer group that prays for others. It could be a small group you belong to or simply a prayer group like we have on Wednesdays that focuses solely on prayer. My experience is that when I open my heart to God and others in prayer I feel His presence and am strengthened greatly in my walk with Christ. Then also, make it a practice in private to intercede regularly for your brothers and sisters in Christ. Every Wednesday the church office publishes a detailed church prayer list. You are welcome to request a copy for your personal use. I have heard people in tough circumstances say they could literally feel the prayers of God’s people. I don’t know how that works but they knew people were praying and somehow they could feel God’s support as a result. It is probably what Paul meant by “your prayers and the supply of the Spirit.”
Happy New Year! Pastor Brian (:-}).
December 2008 The Self-emptying of Jesus to Come for Us
One of the most touching stories concerning Pope John XXIII is about the day after Christmas back in the 90s when he visited one of the worst prisons in Rome. It was the first time in ninety years that a pope had gone to a prison, and in greeting the prisoners, the Pope said, "You could not come to me, so I have come to you.”
That little incident illustrates the heart of the gospel—that we were desperate prisoners, condemned and locked up for crimes we have committed, who could not go to God and never had the hope of Him coming to us. But in the person of His Son God did what we could not expect. He came to us. And He did more than just visit us; He ransomed us by the payment of His own blood for our crimes against Him. What did it take for this to happen?
Ø He never emptied Himself of His deity. Verse 6 says that Christ was “in very nature God” in eternity past before the incarnation. God can never become less than God or else He’s not God. So the Son of God did not give up or empty Himself of any of His divine attributes. The incarnation was not a giving up of His divine nature but the addition of a human nature. Jesus was always fully God and fully man.
Ø He left His exalted position in glory to take a lowly position on earth. The hymn writer Francis Havergal captured it just right when she penned these words about Christ: My Father’s house of light, My glory-circled throne, I left, for earthly night, For wand’ rings sad and lone; I left, I left it all for thee, Hast thou left aught for Me? (I Gave My Life for Thee, verse 2)
Ø He subjected Himself to human weakness. The only time Jesus used His divine powers was in subjection to the Father’s plan. So He gave up the self-use of His attributes and subjected Himself to our human limitations. So on one occasion He asked for a drink. The Creator of the oceans was thirsty. He was so weak after His beating that He fell under the crossbeam. The One who made the elephant had no strength. On another occasion He was so exhausted from work that He fell asleep in a boat. The One who never sleeps or slumbers slept form exhaustion. That’s how little He became. Though he retained all the powers of the Father, He never exercised them for His personal use but lived with our limitations.
What is so astounding about this incomparable condescension is that Christ Jesus’ example is set before us to follow. We are told in v. 5, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” While Christmas is a time to celebrate the self-emptying of Christ for us, it is also a time to long to be more like Him—giving up our rights, humbling ourselves, serving others. Hast thou left aught for Me?
Merry Christmas, Pastor Brian (:-}).
November 2008 Measuring Our Christian Maturity Recently I have been meditating on what
Paul says about Christian love in
Comparing three significant passages leads to some impacting insights below about maturing love.
w When God describes Himself in Exodus the 1st two qualities of His love are patience (slow to anger) and kindness (compassionate, gracious). w When Paul describes the kind of love we are called to in the “love chapter” the 1st two qualities are patient and kind. w The 1st two outward qualities of the fruit of the Spirit are patience and kindness.
w
Suggestion: The “fruit of
righteousness” that comes from “abounding love” in w Application: Major evidence that we are maturing in Christian love is that we will adopt a servant lifestyle characterized chiefly by patience (when provoked or disturbed) and acts of kindness (toward the undeserving as well as the deserving) in our sphere of influence. This does two things for me. First, it calls me to self-examination. Would my wife and kids and the people I work with and for describe me in this way? Second, it encourages me because Paul says this can only come through Jesus Christ, v. 11. He has to produce it in me and promises to do so as I learn of Him in His word and yield myself to His control. What a great way we can live! Pastor Brian (:-}).
October 2008 Learning from Jesus about Ministering to People
John chapter 4 is the remarkable passage about Jesus’ meeting with the woman at the well. It is an amazing study of how Jesus cared for and connected with a woman whose life had been tragic, painful and was utterly devoid of hope for anything better. The tender care and love of Jesus as He brought her to Himself is a powerful encouragement to us in dealing with broken people.
Her Situation. The woman came to the well at noon (the 6th hour) because she was ostracized, vv. 6-7. Most women came to water at morning or evening. Because she was divorced five times and now living with a man she was looked down upon and rejected, v. 18. Having gone through this many marriages she must’ve experienced abuse and rejection by men. She likely distrusted men and carried painful scares over how she had been treated. She must’ve been lonely as she came to the well isolated apart from any friends. She must’ve felt guilty knowing she was a sinner in everyone’s eyes. She certainly craved acceptance and love which she failed to find from almost everyone.
Jesus’ Kindness and Love. Jesus demonstrated love and kindness in how he approached her causing her to realize he was different. Most people avoided her; Jesus sought her out (He went to where she was, v. 4.) Most people condemned her; Jesus had compassion on her. In fact, He broke several taboos of social relationships to help her realize He was different. Men didn’t speak to unknown women; Jesus did, v. 27. Jews didn’t associate with Samaritans; Jesus did, v. 9. Rabbis didn’t associate with sinners, Jesus did. The genuine love of Jesus transcended all of the things that would keep most people from a hurting soul. She had never met a man as utterly concerned about her as Jesus was.
Jesus’ Presentation of the Gospel. Jesus made a clear progression from mundane things to her need for eternal life. He started where she was—with a simple request for a drink, v.7. With this request He let her serve Him which showed the value He placed upon her. He then moved to a discussion of spiritual things—living water, v. 10. This was something that she had never heard about before but was very appealing because Jesus said she would never thirst again once she had it, v. 14. When she inquired further, Jesus raised her sin and how she had broken God’s law, vv. 16-18. He then explained to her that she needed salvation in order to worship the true God, v. 22. Finally, Jesus identified Himself as the Messiah who alone could explain these things to her, vv. 25-26.
Lessons for us. There are needy people all around us in whom God is working. They’ve been wounded, abused, rejected and feel hopeless in life. Like Jesus do they see we are different because we treat them with value, go to where they are, and love them? Jesus sought this woman out, made time for her, and made her feel special by His graciousness. We must do the same. Second, we must be prepared to share the whole gospel as opportunities arise. The gospel gives hope—living water. The gospel satisfies—never thirst again. The gospel confronts sin—five husbands and a current live-in. The gospel offers salvation. The gospel identifies Christ—He alone is the Messiah. The gospel causes faith—many believed in Him. What a blessing to be like Jesus in our dealings with people and then share His gospel which meets their deepest need!
Your friend, following Jesus, Pastor Brian (:-}).
August 2008 The Secret to Singing in Prison: Fall Series in the Book of Philippians Many people when asked to name their favorite of the Apostle Paul’s letters would name Philippians. It is not surprising to hear this because of Paul’s letters in the New Testament, Philippians is the most warm, personal, affectionate of them all. It is obvious in reading The Letter to the Philippians that Paul loved that church deeply but also felt very close to the people and considered them dear partners in the ministry of the gospel. Thus the letter conveys a tone of warmth, appreciation, and friendship that is inspiring and encouraging. But the one interesting thing about Philippians that perhaps makes it such a favorite is the dominant tone of the letter is one of joy. In fact, the words “joy,” “rejoicing,” and “glad” are used 16 times in the book – more than any other of Paul’s epistles. But here is something amazing. Philippians is one of Paul’s prison epistles. That’s right! Philippians was written during Paul’s first Roman imprisonment at the end of the Book of Acts. He was under house arrest, guarded by Roman soldiers 24/7, and unable to come and go as he pleased. At times he was chained to Roman soldiers so he could not escape. Yet the dominant tone of Philippians is one of joy and rejoicing! Someone has said, Anyone can sing when let out of prison, but it takes someone very special to sing while in prison. And that is just the point. What Paul was able to do in his unpleasant circumstances we can do in ours because Paul’s secret can be our secret. I want to know what that secret is, don’t you? Paul tells us in Philippians. He writes, I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, v. 4:12. The word “content” means “self-sufficient” and it only occurs here in the entire New Testament. It means self-reliance and fortitude, a calm acceptance of life’s pressures. We might call it composure, calmness and coping ability that makes one strong, reassured and reliable. Where did Paul get this? The next verse tells us. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength, v. 4:13. Simply put, it was Christ. He gave Paul the ability to sing in prison by being content in all circumstances. And Christ can do the same for you and me. How does He do that? Well that’s what the Book of Philippians is all about. As we embark upon a study of it this Fall from the pulpit we are going to see how Christ transforms our lives with His. Notice the ways. w We have a new purpose for life: Living for Christ – Philippians chapter 1. This transforms our circumstances. w We have a new pattern for life: Thinking like Christ – Philippians chapter 2. This transforms our relationships with people. w We have a new pursuit in life: Knowing Christ – Philippians chapter 3. This transforms our relationship with God. w We have a new peace in life: Relying on Christ – Philippians chapter 4. This transforms our anxious fears. I need these transformations! You do too! Let’s learn from Philippians this Fall.
Your friend, in Christ, Pastor Brian (:-}).
July 2008 The Vermaas Family Is Coming (July 13th – 17th) It was he [the risen and ascended Savior] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up . . . Understanding this seminal passage on the
ministry of the church requires several things. First,
both gifts and offices may be referred to here. For example,
“pastors and teachers” more literally refers to
“pastor-teachers” and may refer to those who have that spiritual
gift or those who hold that office in the church.
Second, Paul makes it clear that the “offices” of apostles
and prophets were foundational to the church and no longer
continue (see What all of this has to do with our Family Crusade is that I believe Tim and Susan Vermaas have been gifted and called by God as evangelists to the churches. Perhaps Tim would claim to have the gift or office of evangelism and Susan would see herself as supporting and enhancing her husband’s ministry. I don’t know. But certainly together they are serving in a role that enables them to come alongside churches and help them in their mission to evangelize the lost. Putting all of this together means that we
are being blessed of God to have gifted servants come to help us
for a short season reach the lost in our community. This is the
biblical pattern as God intended. We are doing what Some time ago I was listening to a conversation between John Piper and John MacArthur. One of them said if they had to start their ministry all over again they would hire an evangelist for their church. I thought that was interesting. Here are two gifted pastor-teachers with long-time ministries in their respective churches. But one of them recognized the need for an evangelist to help the church with the other important ministry in the church today, evangelism. That’s what we are doing with the Vermaases, calling an evangelist to help us with the other important ministry of the church, evangelism. Let’s do several things as they come: s Pray that God will fill our church and bless the ministry of the gospel. s Pray for and invite people we know to the meetings that week. s Clear our schedules and plan to attend the meetings ourselves. s Ask Montie Motta where we can volunteer as needs might still exist. Your friend, in reaching others, Pastor Brian (:-}). June 2008
“Family Crusade” Coming in July (13th – 17th)
May 2008 God’s Answers to Our Questions about Church
If you’ve ever watched the movie about the late coach of the Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi, staring the Oscar winning actor Ernest Borgnine as the legendary coach, you may recall a very memorable scene. The Packers had played a terrible game for their new coach showing a dreadful lack of discipline in executing the fundamentals of football. At their next team meeting Coach Lombardi said that the team played so sloppy and showed such poor execution that what was needed was a complete relearning of the basics of the game. So he said they were going to start right then. Gentlemen, he then said, this is a football. One of the players raised his hand and said, Coach, could you go a little slower? Lombardi burst out laughing as he realized his joke had been one-upped by a player. But the point had been well-taken. A team that forgets to master the fundamentals cannot possibly win many football games.
There is a lesson in this for every church. Sometimes churches can take for granted the fundamentals of “doing church.” We can be so busy with our weekly programs and all that needs to be done that we may forget or neglect some of the fundamentals. Churches can become imbalanced and actually weak because some of the basics are ignored or downplayed. When that happens we can’t be effective in “playing the game” so-to-speak for our Lord which has eternal results, not simply seasonal results like in football. What we need to do from time to time is review the fundamentals of “doing church.”
That’s what I want us to do in a new series of messages I’ll be introducing in May entitled “God’s Answers to Our Questions about Church.” In an article in Decision magazine my old “Prof” Howard Hendricks wrote this, “The people in the Early Church never became fogged as to their purpose; they knew why they were here instead of in heaven. Do we?. . . One of the greatest weaknesses in the Church today is a lack of biblical strategy, of understanding not only what to do and how to do it but, most important, why we do what we do. What is the function of the church? What is our unique purpose? How do we accomplish it?
That’s what I want to talk about in this series of messages. We could call this a biblical philosophy of ministry. Our goal is to sharpen our focus from Scripture on the following questions:
Along the way we will look at some very fundamental passages like the Great Commission in detail. We will also pull out our church mission statement, examine it together in the light of Scripture, and rededicate ourselves to God’s calling for Bethel. We have a new building. PTL! Now what does God want us to do with it? Let’s discover that afresh together.
Your friend, Pastor Brian (:-}).
March 2008 Observations on Why God Permits Us to Suffer Adversity
Recently I shared in church on the trial that our dear brother Joe Thompson went through unexpectedly with his new job in Duluth. Because of his student status in the U.S. he needed to have a sponsor until he could get a more permanent worker status. The hospital that had offered him a job agreed to be his sponsor. But then at the last minute the lawyers recommended the hospital not sponsor Joe but give the job to someone who already had the required worker status. After the lengthy process of applications, visits, promises, etc., Joe was told he was not being offered the job. It was a crushing blow to say the least.
What was most troubling to Joe was that it seemed clear that God was in this. His leading appeared to be so unmistakable that Joe stayed in the area to pursue this job rather than moving elsewhere to start his career search. Why would God lead so clearly in one direction only to allow it to fall through in the end? It just didn’t make sense. Joe’s question, of course, is the question we all face when God doesn’t seem to make sense. James Dobson wrote a book on that very question entitled When God Doesn’t Make Sense. We all face reversals in life that do not seem to make sense to us.
As Joe and I talked he wondered if I had some perspective that could encourage him. Not knowing what God was doing or why He had allowed this, I gave Joe some general truths that seemed to help about why God permits adversity. If you were in church that Sunday I shared this, you know how the story turned out. Before I remind you, let’s look at the principles that help me when it seems that God doesn’t make sense?
What God does in us is more
important than what God does through us. This lesson was
shared with me by a dear mentor of mine who is now in heaven.
God is more concerned about who we are than what we do, because
what we do is always based upon who we are. God’s goal is our
conformity to the image of Jesus Christ, see
God sometimes has to hurt a
man deeply before He can use a man greatly. This statement
was made by A. W. Tozer, and it surely applies to be both women
and men. We often have to be broken of pride, self-sufficiency
and lack of compassion in order to be useful to God. Because we
live in a hurting world we have to understand hurting people to
be able to minister to them. So God allows us to experience the
hurts of this life so we can better comfort others in their
pain,
When God closes a door He
often opens a window. In other words, God closes
opportunities because He has something else waiting for us—often
something that is better for us. The idea here is that God is
faithful to His people,
As you may have heard, the day after Joe and I talked the hospital called back. They had changed their minds and offered Joe the job and he is now in Duluth. Praise God, sometimes our trials are short! Short or long, the lessons are always true and help us trust our Lord.
Your friend, in trusting God, Pastor Brian (:-}).
February 2008 Reflections on an Aunt-Nephew Relationship
This past week I had the privilege of participating in my Aunt Evelyn’s funeral service in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Before I read Scripture in the service I was able to share a few thoughts about what my aunt meant to us. As I’ve thought of her, I’ve been encouraged about the role we can play in our extended family. My aunt was a pastor’s wife. Because my Uncle Floyd pastored several churches in other states, our families grew up apart and we didn’t see my aunt and uncle a lot. But despite infrequent contacts Aunt Evelyn left an important impact upon my life that I praise God for. Here are some of the things she did that we can all emulate to make a difference for our extended family and friends too. She was an example of sincere love to God that spilled over into a sincere love for us. There was no question that Aunt Evelyn loved the Lord Jesus Christ and lived for him. As long as I knew her, 86 years old at her home-going, it was obvious that she had a growing relationship with the Lord. Several years back as we sat around a motel pool watching my kids swim she shared her testimony with me of how she came to the assurance of her salvation. That only reinforced what I had observed for many years—that Christ was a living reality in her life. I saw that in her love for the church which continued through her whole life, in her involvement in Bible study groups where she reveled in learning the Bible with others often much younger than herself, and in her encouragement of our Christian endeavors. The last time I visited her getting around with a walker, I led in prayer before I left. She spontaneously followed my prayer with a tender prayer for me that I will never forget. Aunt Evelyn finished well for the Lord. She showed us that Jesus is worth serving all the way. Younger people need that example.
She made a special effort to attend important life events. Over the years she came to two of my graduations. She came to my wedding on the proudest day of my life. She also came to the airport in Chicago to rejoice in the arrival of our adopted son from Korea. Coming to those special occasions seemed like a small effort then, but it lingers in my heart to this day. Being there said I love you, I support you, and I want you to feel encouraged. In this day in which we often have lost the support of extended family making us feel less connected and accountable, making extra efforts to attend these big occasions for one another makes us feel more connected and more accountable. We need the sense that our family cares and expects the best of us. Doing well or making the proper choices in life is often caused by the encouragement of godly adults who took time to be there.
She always spoke well of her relatives giving us a positive image of our extended family. How easy it is when family gets together to be negative and nit-pick the faults of those we know so well. We can do it without even thinking or realizing the damage we are doing to the younger generation who hear our words of criticism about aunts, uncles and cousins and sour on the family. Aunt Evelyn did the opposite. She referred to my dad as her “wonderful brother.” What brother is really that wonderful! She spoke with loving admiration of my deceased uncle in his funeral service. She regularly reminded us with gratitude of all my parents had done to care for my invalid grandmother whom I never knew when Aunt Evelyn, the only daughter, was at one time unable to be near her dear mother’s side. With comments like these she fostered appreciation and gratitude in our hearts for our family. The way we speak about others reveals the way we feel about them and ultimately the way we will treat them. Thank you Aunt Evelyn for showing us how to be respectful, appreciative, and grateful by speaking words seasoned with grace about others. You showed us how to love others.
Your friend, learning from others, Pastor Brian (:-}).
January 2008 What Will We Do with a New Year of Opportunities?
As we approach the New Year of 2008 I have
been thinking about opportunities. In
The opportunities of life
are God-given. God said to Baasha, I lifted you up from
the dust and made you leader of my people Israel,
Our God-given opportunities
are to serve His purposes. God indicted Baasha saying,
But you walked in the ways of Jeroboam and caused my people
Israel to sin and to provoke me to anger by their sins,
God will require an
accounting of our opportunities. After reigning in Israel
24 years
Since God’s Word will
ultimately prevail, true success is measured by His Word.
God announced, So I am about to consume Baasha and his house,
and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam,
Your friend, Pastor Brian (:-)}.
December 2007 Is There a Connection between Your Spiritual and Physical Health?
Recently I was interviewed by a local health and wellness magazine on the relationship of spiritual to physical health. In my preparation I discovered some amazing studies like this:
"Recent studies indicate that men and women who practice in any of the mainstream faiths have above-average longevity, fewer strokes, less heart disease, less clinical depression, better immune-system function, lower blood pressure, and fewer anxiety attacks, and they are much less likely to commit suicide than the population at large. These findings come from secular medical schools and schools of public health….” (The New Republic, July 1999, 20).
Studies like these beg the question, “Why?” Here’s where it gets really fascinating. Research correlates following the Bible’s teachings with hidden health benefits. Here are just a few.
Practicing biblical faith makes you more hopeful and optimistic in times of trial. John Ortberg cites a study of heart attack patients in which two factors—loss of hope or pessimism—increased odds of death 300%. That’s a lot! These factors predicted death more accurately than any medical risk factor, including blood pressure, amount of damage to the heart, or cholesterol level. One study said, Optimistic people . . . cope with stress more effectively. The Bible is full of references that a regular practice of public and private communion with God renews our hope in His nearness and power (see Psalms 42, 46; Romans 5:1-11; James 1:2-12). This in turn lightens our load enabling us to worry less benefiting the body as well as the soul. As Ortberg writes, Hope does not just motivate people to positive action. It actually has healing power.
Practicing biblical faith makes your relationships healthier and less stressful. The Bible is replete with counsel on how to treat one another by handling anger properly, dealing with bitterness, learning to forgive, and controlling our tongue (see Ephesians 4:25-32). Not only does this please God, but it makes our relationships smoother which affects our health. A study in Time magazine reported that people in happy marriages are healthier. "Studies have shown that happily married women have less blockage in their aortas, and that happily married couples are less likely to suffer from heart disease." When a relationship is healthy and caring, the partners tend to discourage bad habits and encourage good ones, leading to fewer illnesses and more attention to health care. Treat each other as the Bible says is actually good medicine.
Practicing biblical faith helps you deal with destructive emotions like guilt. Psychiatrist Karl Menninger of the famous Menninger Clinic once said if he could convince his patients that their sins were forgiven, 75% of them could walk out the next day. Unforgiveness puts a strain on the psyche that disturbs mental soundness, but it can also sap physical energy. David said, When I kept silent [about my sin], my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. . . . my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer, Psalm 32:3-4. Following the Bible’s teaching on how to deal with sin rids the body of the weight of such guilt (see Psalm 51).
Practicing biblical faith leads you to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Christians know from Scripture that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and are to be treated with respect. Honor God with your body says 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. Newsweek magazine reported a study on religion and health that indicates a person attending church weekly is less likely to become depressed, and more likely to exercise, quit smoking, and stop drinking. In other words, obeying Scripture motivates you to make healthy choices that honor the body and the God who gave it.
Your friend, Pastor Brian (:-}).
November 2007 Speaking to the NMU Football Team Last weekend I had the privilege of speaking in the chapel service for the NMU football team. I began my talk by mentioning I was in Donckers Candy Store when I saw a plaque on display with the past titles of the NMU Team. The year that caught my attention was 1975, my senior year in high school. That year NMU went all the way and captured the NCAA Division II Championship by beating Western Kentucky. A young man by the name of Steve Mariucci from Iron Mountain was the quarterback of the team. Now I know where he gained his fame.
There must have been a lot of excitement on the NMU campus that Fall as the team won game after game, rolled through the playoffs, and captured the crown in Sacramento, CA where the title game was played. Everyone loves being a champion. But that was 32 years ago and there hasn't been a championship since. College football championships are very hard to repeat. U of M has only had one in the last 50 years.
I shared with the players that it is possible to be a repeat champion everyday on the football field of life where it counts most. We can be daily champions in God's arena. James 1:12 tells us how. Champions are tested. James speaks in this verse of undergoing trials. The term “trial” means to try to learn the nature or character of someone by submitting them to thorough and extensive testing. The only way we can see if someone has the heart of a champion is by how that person handles the tests of life. Tom Landry, founding coach of the Dallas Cowboys, once said, The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don't want to do, in order to achieve what they've always wanted to be. Similarly, the Lord's job is to help us face what we don't want to go through so we can become what He wants us to be.
Champions are also tough. James says we must “persevere under trial.” “Persevere” was used of someone underneath a heavy load and staying there. Rather than drop the heavy load they bear up under it. One person calls this “staying power.” That's when everything within you wants to give up but you hang in there. You show mental and spiritual toughness and you stay with it. I shared with the NMU players some areas they needed to be tough in for the Lord. Tough in our morals—When everyone else is sexually impure, the champion fights to stay pure. Tough in our ethics—When everyone else cheats to get ahead, champions won't cut corners. Tough in our beliefs—No matter how much we may be mocked, champions stand for the truth. Tough in our testimony—When following Jesus isn't popular, champions follow Him anyway.
Champions will be triumphant. Only one team could win the World Series, the Red Sox. But James says every Christian can receive the “crown of life.” I told the players that eternal life is a gift that can't be earned or deserved. It must be received as a gift from Jesus and I urged them to do just that. But the “crown of life” refers to the rewards earned in heaven by those who lived for Jesus as champions. It is the extra special victory and honor that is bestowed on those who faced the tests of life and toughed them out to bring honor to Jesus. That crown and all that it means in heaven is worth being a champion for. God wants to make something special of us. Let's accept the process that it takes to be a champion.
Your friend, Pastor Brian (:-}).
October 2007 Flame Ministries Bringing Understanding Islam Seminar to Bethel This October we have the privilege of having Rev. John Hoeldtke, president of Flame Ministries from Washington State with us at Bethel. Rev. Hoeldtke will be giving a special presentation entitled Understanding Islam in the Bethel sanctuary from 6:00-8:00 PM on Sunday, October 14. The uniqueness of this seminar is that Pastor John brings a wealth of experience and a Christian perspective to his research and understanding of Islam. We’ll be informed with new insights that will help us better understand the War on Terror and its implications for our country and future. Rev. Hoeldtke has said this about his presentation: I have given this presentation in many churches on Sunday evenings and have always been well-received. Frequently the sanctuary has been full with a number of outsiders present. I think your people will not only enjoy it but, Lord willing, profit from it. In addition to the seminar on Sunday night, Pastor John will be ministering in these ways. § Saturday, October 13, 9:00-10:00 AM – Breakfast at Bethel sponsored jointly by the Outreach and Missionary Board and the Board of Elders. This one hour meeting will include breakfast and a 20-30 minute talk from Pastor John on the topic of The Importance of Evangelism in the Local Church. Sign-ups will be provided over the next several weeks for the breakfast. § Saturday, October 13, 3:00 PM – Meeting with the church staff and Board of Elders on the topic of The Emerging Church and Other Trends Affecting the Church Today. This discussion is open to anyone interested in these timely subjects. The book The Truth War by John MacArthur will be a part of this discussion. § Sunday, October 14, 8:30 AM and 11:15 AM Pastor John will be preaching in our services. Who is Rev. John Hoeldtke? Let me give you a thumbnail sketch of Pastor John. ? Graduate of Northwestern College and Bethel Theological Seminary in St. Paul, MN ? Long-time former pastor in the Baptist General Conference including one-time pastor of the church attended by Dr. John Piper when he taught at Bethel University ? District Executive Minister formerly of the Colombia District of the Baptist General Conference ? Current president of Flame Ministries traveling extensively in the United States in evangelistic and Bible conference ministry ? Recently returned from India and Nepal where he has traveled many times working among Muslim peoples and with missionaries to Muslims ? Friend of Dr. Dwight Perry, District Executive Minister of the Great Lakes Baptist Conference, who was a one-time board member of Flame Ministries Plan now to attend these exciting events at Bethel. You’ll learn from and enjoy Pastor Hoeldtke. Your friend, Pastor Brian (:-}).
September 2007 The Life of Abraham: Learning How to Live by Faith
This Fall on Sunday mornings we will begin
a series of messages on the life of Abraham. Abraham is unique
in the Bible as the only one who was called the friend of
God. He was called this three times in
The key, of course, to Abraham’s
extraordinary relationship with God was his faith. Abraham is
the preeminent example in the Bible of living by faith. He is
called the man of faith and the Father of all who
believe (see
As we anticipate this study in Abraham’s life of faith let me give you an overview of the help we will receive in our life of faith. As we will see, faith is a very practical reality.
§
The call of God to a life of faith: What’s
involved?
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Why it is dangerous to compromise your faith.
§
How faith solves conflict.
§
How to do spiritual warfare by faith.
§
How faith conquers fear.
§
How faith eternally secures our future.
§
How faith solves life’s problems.
§
Why purity is the sign of living by faith.
§
How to receive miracles by faith.
§
Why your faith preserves society.
§
What motivates a life of faith?
§
Why you should stay sexually pure.
§
Why it pays to live by faith.
§
How faith solves conflict round two.
§
How to pass when your faith is tested.
§
How faith prepares you to die.
§
How to marry the right person by faith.
§
How to leave a legacy by faith. You may want to read ahead and meditate on these chapters in Genesis. God has much to encourage us in our life of faith as we retrace the steps of Father Abraham. Your friend, Pastor Brian (:-}).
August 2007 Learning How to Be Good Leaders from King David’s Example
Warren Wiersbe has written, "A crisis isn’t what makes a person; a crisis shows what a person’s made of. A real leader looks at a crisis and asks, ‘What can I do that will best help the people?’” Israel was facing just such a crisis in 1 Kings chapter 1. Adonijah, King David’s oldest living son, took advantage of David’s old age to have himself proclaimed king over Solomon who was God’s choice. This was serious.
§ Had Adonijah succeeded a civil war would have ensued (like with Absalom). § Solomon would have been distracted from building God’s temple by this war. § The peace, unity and worship of Israel were in jeopardy. § God’s plan to make His Name great and spread His glory in the Temple was at stake.
All eyes of course would be upon weakened King David. How would he lead to keep the nation from being hijacked by an unethical opportunist like Adonijah? How David acted is a study in being good leaders for those who follow us.
Æ Good leaders have a high commitment to personal integrity (1 Kings 1:29-30). David took an oath in the name of the Lord that Solomon would be the next king as he had promised. “As surely as the Lord lives meant that David’s intended action was as certain to take place as God’s very existence.” That’s one powerful way of saying, I am committed to what I have promised. You can bank on it. Isn’t this where good leadership begins—when people know leaders hold themselves accountable to keep their commitments because their integrity is so important to them? You can trust that kind of person.
Æ Good leaders make themselves accountable to other leaders who have personal integrity and pure motives (1 Kings 1:32-37). David called on three men—Zadok, Benaiah, and Nathan the prophet—to carry out Solomon’s coronation as king. Remember that Nathan was the prophet who confronted David over his sin with Bathsheba at the risk of his own life if the king became enraged. He was no “yes man” who would not confront David again if he were acting in the flesh. All Israel would trust David’s actions because they trusted Nathan. Good leaders want accountability. They want people around them who are committed more to the Lord than to them. This keeps them correctable when they err. They want this safeguard.
Æ Good leaders are careful to conform their actions to God’s biblical instructions (1 Kings 1:38-40). David had Nathan coronate Solomon king. Adonijah did not invite Nathan the prophet to his coronation, v. 10. Since the prophet was God’s mouthpiece, by doing the anointing it was clear the king’s rulership was not absolute but delegated by God. This kept the king humble and fearful lest he misuse God’s rule. David was following God’s instructions while Adonijah ignored them. Good leaders want people to know they are under God’s authority. The best way to do that is to carefully follow God’s revealed will in the Bible.
Æ Good leaders balance both compassion and strength in their decisions (1 Kings 1:50-53). When Adonijah’s plot was thwarted he begged for Solomon to spare his life. Solomon gave him a second chance to prove himself. Solomon showed compassion when many kings would’ve administered justice to such a traitor. But Solomon also issued a warning to Adonijah not to try it again. Good leaders are gracious to the erring but strong with the self-willed. Knowing we care and are strong enough to stand makes people feel safe under our leading.
Your friend, Pastor Brian (:-}).
July 2007 How Much Does God Know and Why Does It Matter?
Last Sunday a youth group from Glory Baptist Church, a sister church of ours in Aitkin, MN, worshiped with us on their way to a mission’s trip. As they left church the youth pastor’s wife gave me a prayer request slip for three of their teens. It turns out that they come from homes ravaged by one of the very issues mentioned in the Sunday message. The youth pastor and his wife seemed appreciative that this had been addressed from the pulpit. I am sure they were hoping it would reinforce their efforts to show these teens that God offers them a better life free from the destruction of sin.
As I reflected on all of this, I thought how interesting that the very Sunday this youth group would be in our church this issue would be dealt with from the pulpit. How interesting that three teens living the reality of this at home would travel across three states and hear that God offers them the hope of freedom from the very thing they have suffered under their whole lives. Accidental? I think not. I think God arranged it so their trip would coincide with the preaching schedule so these kids would hear the very message that would offer them direction.
Incidents like this confirm to me that God exhaustively knows the future including what humans will do before they’ve even decided to do it. That’s why I think the teaching of Open Theism is a dangerous error that undermines our trust in God’s sufficiency. Open Theism is the teaching that because our future human decisions have not occurred yet they do not exist. Therefore they cannot be known. Since even God cannot know what does not exist (so it goes), part of the future is open and humans have the freedom to determine the future, even a future that surprises God. Proponents of this view argue that this let’s God off the hook for allowing certain tragedies to occur. If God knew, for example, that Hitler would murder six million Jews and many multitudes more, why did God simply not create Hitler or at least interfere with his path to power after he was born. One pastor I know said that God didn’t know that 9-11 was going to happen. This seems to make God look more compassionate and we have an answer to give people for all the suffering in the world. God just doesn’t know what free people will do. He’s as surprised as we are. The problem is that it diminishes God and a diminished God is less deserving of our wonder and our trust.
Where does the Bible fall on this? Well,
consider one passage—Jesus’ prediction of Peter’s denial in
We serve a big God Who knows and can orchestrate the tiniest details. Because He knows the beginning from the end He can work all things together, even tragedies, for our ultimate good. Because nothing surprises Him, He can accomplish all His good purposes for us. Such a God is worthy of our worship and trust.
Your friend, Pastor Brian (:-}).
June 2007 Dear Beloved Friend(s), Yesterday my family and I had the privilege of entertaining one of my cousins and her husband on the evening of their 20th wedding anniversary. They came to Mackinac Island for their anniversary and on their way home to Minnesota wanted to spend some time with us. We had not seen each other for over a decade. They met Joy and Jay for the first time. I was touched that on the very day of their anniversary they would take the time to spend part of it with us. As Mark and Linda left I thought how good it was to reconnect with family. We’ve not been able to be close due to distance and busy lives. Yet there was a yearning in our hearts to connect with each other. Something inside said, We are Obergs and we shouldn’t let that relationship slip away. That relationship is worth working at and giving time to. Frankly, I felt so loved last night by my cousin and her husband that I opened up and enjoyed myself in a way that just felt good. I guess I experienced the power of love in a tangible way because they took the time to care and reach out to us. All of this has caused me to reexamine my own love toward others. If it felt this good to be loved by family I haven’t seen in a long time, what about the people I see everyday? Am I showing them the kind of love that will bless them and bring me fulfillment and joy in return? And what is that kind of love? A spiritual love that is fulfilling (love for your brothers). “Love for your brothers” comes from the one word philadelphia which means affectionate love for the family of God. It refers to a spiritual relationship on a deep level that satisfies the need for closeness. So showing this kind of love is very rewarding because it touches our deepest longings for relationship. A sacrificial love that is demanding (love one another). “Love one another” comes from the word agape that refers to sacrificial love. It forces us out of our comfort zones and requires us to think about what is best for the other person. That is very tough because we have to act on the basis of what others need not how we feel about them. So it requires choosing on the basis of mature thinking and refusing to let our emotions rule (or overrule) our actions. A sincere love that is demonstrating (sincere love). “Sincere love . . . from the heart” means love in actions not just superficial words. Peter would agree that love is a verb not a noun. While love certainly includes what we say to others, it cannot stop there. Our actions must back up our words showing that the one we say we love is valued by how we treat them. A steady love that is continuing (deeply from the heart). “Deeply” means constantly or continuously, not relaxing or tiring. People will disappoint us. But the beauty of Christian love is that we can keep on loving since Christian love never fails because it comes from God.
Your friend, in His love, Pastor Brian (:-}). May 2007 Dear Beloved Friend(s), Bible prophecy is a fascinating subject to
study. It is amazing to see how the prophetic portions of
Scripture fit together to give us a panoramic view of the end
times. But if we are not careful we can get so caught up in
figuring out a timeline of events that we lose the purpose of
prophecy. Prophecy was never given just to satisfy our
curiosity or make us experts who’ve got it all mapped out, but
to prepare us to be watchful, godly and busy in the King’s
business until He returns. A case in point is the amazing dream
given to Nebuchadnezzar in But the opening part of this chapter actually focuses on something else. Vv. 1-14 demonstrate the total inability of the most powerful and educated nation on earth to be able to discern the course of world history. Three things are highlighted: 1) Babylon’s best and brightest could not tell the king his dream. 2) Babylon’s gods were not revealing gods who disclosed their plans to people (v. 11). 3) Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard who was to kill all the wise men including Daniel (v. 14), means uncertain, an apt description of the total confusion of human wisdom in spiritual matters. Vv. 14-23 are a complete contrast to this. Here Daniel and his three friends pray and God reveals the dream and its meaning to Daniel that night. Daniel immediately gives God all the glory by composing a praise psalm extolling Him (vv. 20-23). This psalm highlights Babylon’s utter weakness and inability with God’s power and ability. Notice the contrast in this chart:
Doesn’t all of this beg a very practical
question? On which side of the ledger do we live? Do we
approach our problems and difficulties from the left side or
the right side? The God Daniel worshiped and believed in is
the same God we worship and serve. He can give us wisdom to
know what we should do and He can extend His mighty hand to
help us in any situation. So, do our problems cause us to
live like the Babylonians—confused, helpless, despairing and
frustrated? Or do our problems help us to return to Daniel’s
praise psalm and rehearse what God is like for us—wise,
powerful, in control, revealing truth, and answering prayer?
It’s our birthright to live on the right side. When we drift
to the left side as we often do let’s say, I’m not a
Babylonian but a child of God. I’m going back to the right
side where I belong with my God. April 2007 Dear Beloved Friend(s),
The last time we went to Muskegon we stayed with my father. While there we got to talking about the old, wooden fruit bowl that has sat on my parent’s kitchen counter since as long as I can remember. We had always been told that it was made by my Grandpa Bergman when he was in a sanitarium for Tuberculosis. Dad reminded me that the sanitarium was in Marquette. A few more details also emerged. My Grandma Bergman moved to Rapid River to stay with relatives so she could be closer to make visits. And Grandpa was there being treated for about a whole year which was much longer than I had realized. All of this piqued my interest as to where the old sanitarium in Marquette was and whether there were any buildings left on the sight. We discovered through some Bethel friends that the facility was called Morgan Heights and that it was located on CR 492. We drove less than ten minutes from our home to where a sign still locates the property and followed the dirt road back to a picturesque area surrounded by high, rocky cliffs where some of the original buildings still stand, albeit boarded up. A former member of Bethel told me the building that housed the patients is no longer standing, but some of the buildings still left look large enough to contain power tools for a wood working shop. I wonder if it might’ve been in one of those buildings that Grandpa made the fruit bowl that still holds oranges, apples and bananas on my father’s counter. I almost wanted to ask Dad if I could take the bowl back to its home in Marquette, but then where would he keep his fruit?! I just couldn’t do it to him! One other detail was just revealed to me yesterday that has a Bethel connection to Morgan Heights. The Bethel youth group used to go out and hold gospel services for the patients. I am not sure what decade Grandpa was at Morgan Heights, but it is intriguing to wonder if a Bethel youth group ever went out and shared the gospel while he was there. If so, his grandson has a reason to be eternally grateful to the faithful ministry of Bethel. For another seed would’ve been planted in Grandpa’s life that ultimately bore fruit for eternal salvation. You see, Grandpa Bergman was a tough, old lumberjack who ran his own lumber camp down in Gulliver, MI. He didn’t get to church all the time but heard enough of the gospel to know that he needed a Savior. He lived with us the last few years of his life dying in 1964 when I was six years old. Perhaps my most precious memory before he died was one day when our pastor came over to visit with him in the last year or two of his life. Grandpa had regrets from time to time about his life and must’ve also lacked assurance of his salvation. That day, as a curious little grandson peeked around the hallway corner, I watched as my pastor and grandfather, with tear filled eyes, knelt down at the living room couch and prayed together. The tears and kneeling told me that the prayer was about something very soul searching, certainly Grandpa’s salvation. I learn several things from this personal story. Gospel seeds were planted in Grandpa’s heart over many years from many different sources. Was the Bethel youth group one of those sources out at Morgan Heights? I may never know ‘til heaven. But those seeds ultimately bore fruit in an old man under conviction seeking the assurance of eternal life. We never know how a word we have shared will be part of a chain that brings someone into God’s kingdom. God is faithful and His Word never returns void. Let’s keep sharing it.
Your friend, Pastor Brian (:-}).
March 2007 Dear Beloved Friend(s), If you are like me you still can't quite get over last Sunday's kick-off to our Capital Expansion Campaign. The practicality of the new structure, the sense of unity among our people, and the commitment of our leadership are all causes for great rejoicing. The last one in particular is such an encouraging sign. That fourteen families among the leadership of our dear church would commit $163,000.00 dollars shows a depth of dedication, ownership of the vision, and belief that God is leading us that is simply inspiring. I spoke by phone later in the week with a visitor who was present on Sunday. He mentioned that he felt he and his family were visiting by divine appointment. He said that the presentation gave him the impression that Bethel's leadership is Spirit-led in how they are operating. That is certainly what we desire to be. As I ponder all of this, I have been thinking of the first building project in the Bible in Exodus when the Israelites funded the Tabernacle in the wilderness. A number of guiding principles can encourage us as we move forward. § They were responding to God's vision for them (Exodus 25:8). We aren't hearing a voice from Mt. Sinai giving detailed instructions about our building, but we feel just as certain that our Lord is leading us. That's the most important thing. This has to be His vision.
§
The purpose of the building was worship and
education (Exodus 25:8-9). God said He would dwell among His
people in the Tabernacle and that they were to make it exactly
according to the pattern He gave them. The details were so key
because each of the pieces of furniture would teach vital truth
about God and ultimately point to their fulfillment in Jesus
Christ (see
§ The Lord blessed His people with all the wealth they needed to fund the project (Exodus 12:35-36). The Lord gave poor slaves who had nothing such favor in the eyes of the Egyptians that they gave them all the material wealth the Israelites asked for when they left Egypt. God was blessing them materially so they might be able to give when the time was right. God will do the same for us. If He is leading, He will give His people the wealth they need so that when the time is right they will be able to give it to His cause. § The offering was given willingly (Exodus 25:2). The interesting thing is that giving to the Tabernacle was a matter of personal choice (freewill offerings, see 36:3). Only those whose hearts moved them to give were asked to give. God is always more interested in the heart than in the gift. And so He asks us to give willingly, cheerfully from a heart that is in love with Him. § The offerings were so generous that Moses told them to stop giving (Exodus 36:4-7). What an exciting experience! They were so inspired by God’s vision that they gave more generously than anyone could have expected. What a sense of joy, unity and purpose they all must have felt. Maybe that’s the most exciting thing of all—to know we are partners together in something God is doing that will help create lasting results in people’s lives for eternity. Amen! Your friend, Pastor Brian
(:-}).
February 2007
Dear Beloved Friend(s),
I was struck recently by the analysis of H. B. London from Focus On The Family who said pastors fall into sin for three main reasons: unresolved conflict at home, lack of accountability, and lack of intimacy with God. As I have examined my own life in these areas and asked for God’s help, I realized that these three areas deal with our major relationships—our relationships at home, our relationships with other believers, and our relationship with God. Satan knows that if he can tempt us to be inauthentic, superficial, or neglectful in any of these three areas we will grow weak and vulnerable to the seduction of sin. Let’s consider lack of accountability.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, Sin demands to have a man by himself. It withdraws him from the community. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive the power of sin over him, and the more disastrous is this isolation. My own observation is that serious compromise in a believer is often preceded or hastened by isolation from other believers. Consider the counsel of these well-know verses.
I wonder about us. Are we less connected to the body of Christ than we used to be? Have we justified our isolation with “good” reasons or just drifted without much thought? Are there temptations we are struggling with all alone that we have not confided to a mature believer that we trust who will pray, encourage, and direct us? Are we being inauthentic skimming over inconsistencies in our Christian walk that need to be confronted and corrected before they grow more serious? What believer in the body is close to us and knows us well enough that they can speak to us about concerns without us taking offence? We need to ask these questions don’t we?
There are many wonderful opportunities to grow deeper in accountability here at Bethel. Our Adult Bible Fellowships, small groups, and church ministries offer great chances for relationship building. Added to that, are many mature believers who have room for an honest seeker in their circle of friends. Remember, to keep your iron sharp you need accountability.
Your friend, Pastor Brian (:-}).
January 2007
Dear Beloved Friend(s),
If you have ever wondered what heaven is
like,
w Heaven is a place of great celebration (vv. 9, 10a). The saints in heaven were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: . . . The images here are emblematic of celebrants who have experienced a great victory and are jubilant with their good fortune. So even though these believers suffered greatly (v. 16, starvation, exposure and cruel death), they are now celebrating the victory won for them because they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb (v. 14). This reminds us that the celebration of heaven is the celebration of complete victory over sin—our own personal sin and the sins committed against us. What will the joy be like in a place where evil is forever defeated and banished?
w Heaven is a place of worship (vv. 10-12). The theme of heaven’s worship is salvation and the character of the God who provided it through the Lamb. It is interesting that seven qualities of God are listed in v. 12 emphasizing the perfection of the God who is worthy of our worship. Who God is and the great salvation He has accomplished are the center of all true worship.
w Heaven is a place of service (v. 15a). The saints in heaven are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple. Far from being a place of idleness we will be busy serving God. John Walvoord wrote, Those who have served well on earth will have a ministry in heaven. And without the limitations we experience here!
w Heaven is a place of safety (vv. 15b-16). Verse 15 says that he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. This oriental image suggested protection from one’s enemies by a benefactor who would give hiding and security to one fleeing from enemies. So in heaven all the fears that beset us now about our health, wellbeing, and safety will forever be removed as we dwell secure under the protection of the King on His throne.
w Heaven is a place of satisfaction (v. 17a). The Lamb . . . will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. What could be more satisfying than well-fed sheep lying down near springs of refreshing water free from the threat of harm? This pastoral scene suggests contentedness, soul-satisfaction, and the enjoyment of life to its fullest. It is the promise of Jesus fully realized: I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
w Heaven is a place of no more sorrow (v. 17b). With all of the painful memories we will have, one wonders how it will be possible to enjoy heaven. But God will wipe every tear from their eyes. Somehow God in His goodness will remove all the painful memories so we will remember them no more. What a welcome condition!
For those who say we don’t know what heaven will be like, I can only reply, What we do know makes me glad I am going there!
Your friend, Pastor Brian (:-}).
December 2006 Dear Beloved Friend(s), This week at our Tuesday Men’s Bible Study
we examined
In
Your friend in the mission, Pastor Brian (:-}).
November, 2006 Dear Beloved Friend(s),
Derek Prime, mentor to radio preacher Alistair Begg of Truth for Life, wrote that before stepping into the pulpit to preach God’s Word he prays, Help me, Lord, to speak as in Your sight, and to be prepared to fall into the ground and die so that I may bear much fruit (p. 79). That grabbed me in light of last month’s article that Dying is the key to serving.
Truly, truly, I
say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and
dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in
this world will keep it for eternal life. (Jesus in
But just what does dying to self really involve? Jesus is talking about a sacrificial life. In the Old Testament the requirement of animal sacrifices was to teach this very thing. We learn:
§ Israel sacrificed the first. We must die to selfishness.
God required Israel to sacrifice the firstfruits of their grain, wine, and animals (Proverbs 3:9). Firstfruits means that we must give God first place in our lives – first place with our time, our money, and our gifts in service. Some believers on payday write their first check for their tithes and offerings before they pay any bills or go shopping. It is their simple way to remind them that God must come first in everything. In order for that to happen we must die to selfishness.
§ Israel sacrificed the best. We must die to half-hearted mediocrity.
God required that the animals sacrificed to Him be unblemished and spotless without defect (Malachi 1:8, 14). Cain just discharged a duty but Abel sacrificed his very best. So dying to self means whatever we do for the Lord we do to our very best. Doing that means dying to half-hearted mediocrity. Dr. Paul Dixon once said, Anything connected with Jesus ought to have excellence written all over it. Excellence means we die to laziness, shoddiness, and minimal effort. We do our best for Jesus.
§ Israel sacrificed from authentic lives. We must die to hypocrisy.
In
Here, then, is a sacrificial life: it gives the first by dying to selfishness, it gives the best by dying to mediocrity, and it does it from an authentic life by dying to hypocrisy.
Remember, dying is the key to serving. Your friend, Pastor Brian (:-}). |
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