Team Picture

This is a photo of our team, everyone is present except for Wayne Phillips.

Incarnational Ministry Part 2

I have been listening to a series of messages by David Platt on Exploring the Holy Spirit.  This is a 4 part message that I highly recommend.  Dr. Platt is possibly the best Bible teacher that I have ever heard and he uses the whole bible on the topic of the Holy Spirit.  I will not attempt to cover what he covers in over 5 hours of teaching but will extract a few relevant details that intersect with the idea of Incarnational Ministry and how the Spirit worked in the life of Jesus; how that applies to the life a believer.
Scripture reveals that Jesus was sent by the Father and enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit. in John 20 21:22 Jesus connects sending with the Holy Spirit : "So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”  And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit". Therefore Incarnational Ministry will require being filled by the Holy Spirit and making your being, your life, available for God's purposes (service or ministry).

We see John describing the Spirit's work in Jesus life in his Gospel starting by quoting John the Baptist (John 1:33-34) "'He upon whom you see the Spirit remaining upon Him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit" and I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God".  This passage teaches that JB was told he would know the Messiah when he saw the Spirit coming on Him and remaining.  This is departure from how the Spirit has interacted with men throughout the OT where the pattern was for the Spirit to come upon people for a purpose or for a season and then depart.  This reference is an indication indication things are changing, Jesus is different. Jesus said in Matt 12:28 "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.".
We see that after His Baptism the scriptures record that Jesus is then filled and lead by the Holy Spirit from this point on (Luke 4:1 -2) "And Jesus full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was lead about by the Spirit in the wilderness and for forty days being tempted by the Devil".  Jesus confirms what is happening in Luke 4:18 quoting the prophet Isaiah (Is 61:1) Jesus begins with "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners."  
This list is by no means exhaustive but here are a few other places we see Holy Spirit connection with Jesus: the Holy Spirit:

·         Jesus birth: Matt 1:18 "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit."

·         Jesus public ministry: Luke 4:14 "And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district."

·         Jesus describing the process for being "Born Again"; John 3:5 "Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

The Old Testament Prophets foretold the coming gift of the Spirit.  OT is loaded with references to the work of the Spirit from Creation (Gen 1:2) forward. The Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel spoke very specifically of how the Spirit would anoint (Is 61:1) and enable Ezek 36:26- 27 "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.   

After Jesus death and directly before His ascension Luke record some of Jesus final words to his disciples:

·         Acts 1: 4  Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me;  for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”  So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” We see the power and the purpose revealed together in this passage

After the ascension we see on the day of Pentecost the promised Holy Spirit being given: Acts 2: 1 -4

·         When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

The tongues of fire, the wind, people speaking intelligibly in different languages to a large multicultural audience praising God are all supernatural signs from God that something significant is happening.  This is a grand entrance, a onetime announcement that makes me think of Angels announcing the birth of Jesus; it’s a big deal.  This is the fulfillment of the promised gift, a new era as Jesus and the Prophets had promised.

Back story on this is that in Jewish culture the day of Pentecost is on the calendar as a feast day celebration.  Pentecost is 50 days after the Passover (First fruits) and coincides with the day of the giving of the Law.  You can read Exodus 32 for yourself to see what happened on the day the Law was given.  The short version is that on the day when the Law was given and Moses came down the mountain and he found that a golden calf was fashioned and the Israelites were worshiping that instead of God. On that day the scriptures record that 3,000 died (Ex 32:28).  On the day of Pentecost when the Spirit was given the scriptures record that 3,000 are baptized and saved (Acts 2:41).  Coincidence?  I don't believe in coincidence.

Getting to the point; if we are to go forth as Jesus did we will need go in the power of the Holy Spirit because that is the way that Jesus did it.  Going is good but going in our own strength will not yield anything of lasting value or merit.  Jesus's life and teaching have always pointed to coming gift of the Spirit: John 7:38-39 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.".  We see Jesus again promising the that the Spirit will come in John 16:7 "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you ".  In the book of John human interaction with the Holy Spirit is given a great amount of detail as Jesus explains the interdependency  between the Father, the Spirit and those that believe in Chapters 14 - 17.

Incarnational Ministry and going in the power of the Spirit and does not guarantee that our journey will be easy, clear, direct or without pain; Certainly Jesus example was not one of a life of ease or luxury. Stephen was a man filled with the Spirit (Acts 7:55) and he was stoned.  Paul was a man lead by the Spirit and the original missionary and was ultimately lead to Jerusalem  where he would be imprisoned (Act 20) and finally die for his faith.  All of Jesus original disciples suffered for their faith and for being bold following the Spirit. 

We have however been promised Joy; Acts 13:52 "And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit".  Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.   Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
The facts is that the task before us to "make Disciples of all Nations" (Matt 28:18-20) is so big and so overwhelming and cannot be humanly accomplished.  It was never intended to be accomplished by human wisdom or human strength. It requires us to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and each other.  It requires that we be willing to leave our comfort zones and go, even if its only across the street we have to go.  We are called to yield our bodies and our lives, be filled with the Spirit and live a life dedicated to serving others; getting dirty and getting involved in the messiness of life.  Doing so is the only life worthy of giving everything for and the only life that leads to eternal rewards; thank God the rewards start now!

The last word in this is from Jesus in Mark 10:45  "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”   

Treasured By God

This is a link to the 2010 Cambodia team blog.  Contains information about Poi Pet and CHO.

Treasured By God

Incarnational Ministry

This past year my heart has been very taken with the concept of Incarnational Ministry, something I became aware of while taking the Perspectives Course. The heart of Incarnational Ministry comes from Jesus statement recorded in John 20:21 “Peace be with you, as the Father has sent Me, I also send you”.  When I read this it seemed new to me; I begin think how was Jesus sent?  A few things are obvious 1) Jesus was sent in person, in the flesh and he is sending us in the same way. 2) Jesus left the comfort and security of Heaven and become dependent and vulnerable.  Jesus didn't come in a space suit or with a Motor home so he could be self contained and somehow keep from being soiled by people or the world.  Jesus left the throne where His position, power and status are well known and respected and came to earth to be born the illegitimate son of a poor Jewish girl.  Its really hard to think of any circumstance more humble than those Jesus embraced.  He who created all things (Col 1:16) had all power (Mt 28:18) became dependent and seemingly powerless according to how the world system measures power.

Perspectives teaches that Jesus was not only expressing that we would be sent with the same purpose or ways God was mandating and guiding but also that we should look to fulfill our ministry in the same way that Jesus accomplished His.  Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His [a]life a ransom for many.”  

Simplified this means we are to renounce our status, position and immunity. We are called to Identify with the challenges, lifestyles and attitudes of our audience.  Incarnational Ministry requires identification with out loss of identity.  

Those who have been through Perspectives will remember Dr. Betty Sue Brewster teaching that Incarnational Ministry has 5 basic roles: 

1) Role of a learner

2) Role of a Friend

3) Role of a Servant

4) Role of a Story Teller and sharer of information

5) Role of a Holy Person (Worshiper and Lover of God)

Some of these roles will come easy and others we have to work on.   Each of us has strengths and weakness that can be used by God.   I like to think of it in terms of a partnership.  No one likes to be thought of as helpless or having nothing to offer in a relationship so we are always looking to partner with others.  We are looking for mutual purpose and ways to build bi cultural bridges that can span the gaps between missionaries and counterparts in recipient cultures.

So we go with 2 arms:

• One arm is for social action and meeting human needs
• One arm is for making disciples and spread the Gospel

Which arm to we extend first?  Depends.  Sometimes we are using both at the same time.

I have had to meditate and pray about how I can use what God has given me to emulate the Lord and serve others to advance the Gospel.  Making Disciples is best done by:

• Showing the Word
• Sharing the Word
• Teaching the Word
• Serving the World  

There are no easy answers and no formulas for how to do this but as we go God will guide and by the power of the Holy Spirit turn the ordinary into something extraordinary. 

 .