Alaska Bound!

My wife and I have been recently graced with the opportunity to help start a Narrow Way Bible school in Juneau, Alaska, under the guidance and tutiledge of our pastor and spiritual father, Dr. Sam Greene. My words simply cannot accurately describe my excitement and eager anticipation to do the will of the Lord. I've been preparing myself for many years now, and to see it presently come to pass is rather overwhelming! But once the initial surprise wore off, I started to ask myself, "Can I really do this? Am I able?" Naturally speaking, the answer is a resounding "NO!" That's why I'm grateful that it simply does not rely upon my carnal efforts and abilities.. Allow me to explain...

In the realm of natural ability, I'm not very well equipped. Many men may say this type of thing, yet use such words as a cloak for false humility. However, I can honestly say that's not the case with me. I have very little natural talent in this regard; there are better men than me who would seem more naturally fitted for such a position. In fact, I have a pretty notable speech-impediment, and therefore the prospect of being a teacher and preacher can be pretty daunting. People who have never faced this sort of thing often cannot identify, but it can become a struggle if I let it. I relate it to a blind man hoping to one day become a heart surgeon.. it's just simply unreasonable. However, as I said, my natural abilities or inabilities are simply insignificant. I heard the call of God, and that's all that really matters in the end. I find it interesting that many characters of Scripture faced these same insecurities (Exod 4:10; Jer 1:6; 1 Cor 2:1-4; 2 Cor 11:6, etc). Even the apostle Paul's speech was said to be "contemptible"! Yet God was able to help him and others overcome (Acts 7:22), and He's certainly no respecter of persons. I've already seen such victory operable when I minister.

I was reading today of the commissioning of Moses, in Exodus chapter 3. I like that word "co-missioning". I like it because it denotes a pluralistic approach: It was not to be Moses on his own. Rather, God was the one moving, and simply decided to use Moses in the process. God was the Initiator; God was the Source; God Himself was the Inventor of the whole plan. Moses was relatively insignificant; he was simply a willing vessel - an earthen medium through whom God's treasure could shine (2 Cor 4:7). Therefore, Moses' talents, abilities, fears, struggles, and the lack thereof were also insignificant.

In the commissioning of Moses, the Bible gives us a short glimpse into the few qualifications required. We would think, from carnal reasoning, that Moses must be superbly humanly accredited, have all his proverbial ducks in a row, etc. before such a lofty plan would ever come to pass. After all, we're talking about Moses being used to fulfill a 400 year old promise, the liberation of God's people from their bondage (Gen 15:13-14 with Exod 3:7-8). However, as usual, our thinking simply does not align with that of our precious, sovereign God. Let's examine the principle things that God required of Moses, in order to use him to fulfil His will...

Willingness. Moses' commission began with the burning bush, and his turning aside to see the "great sight" (Exod 3:2-3). This speaks to of at least two truths. First, a man must be willing. God will never force His will upon anyone. It wasn't until Moses "turned aside to see" that "God called unto him out of the midst of the bush". Moses' proper and willing response was "Here am I" (Exod 3:4). If God has called you, what is your response? Are we willing to suffer for His sake? Secondly, this instance speaks to us of Moses' response to the manifest presence of God (of which the fiery, burning bush is symbolic). Jesus has always solicited a response from creation (Matt 11:16-17; 1 Sam 3:4-11), and such a response will always be a qualifying factor for any would-be man of God. A man in love with God's presence will be a man who is mightily used.

Humility. I believe another determining factor in the commissioning of Moses was genuine humility. In Exodus 3:5, the Bible tells us "And [God] said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground". Moses' obedience to God's demand was a confession of personal defilement and unworthiness to stand in the presence of absolute holiness. A man who recognizes his own awful and needy state will be a man perfectly positioned to receive from God Almighty: "But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first" (Matt 19:30). Let's not fool ourselves into thinking we can accomplish God's work all on our own, neglecting the very Author Himself.

Divine Accreditation. Finally, we see the last factor that I believe set Moses apart. In Exodus 3:11, Moses asks, "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" God tells him, "Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee" (Exod 3:12). Friends, the chief thing required of Moses to do God's mighty work was a simple "I will be with thee"! Such a holy accompaniment was and is all that really matters! This is accreditation at its zenith; this is divine accreditation - the highest in the land! "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Rom 8:31) This should be the only "token" that we seek. All else is but dung!

How marvelous that the Lord Jesus would actually partner with weak and broken vessels in ministering His love to mankind! And how marvelous that He does not leave us in that state, but transforms us - wrinkle free (Eph 5:25-27).

And so, we begin this great northward journey, grateful to God for the immense opportunity. We know that He will be with us - and that's the only thing that matters.. His company is all we need!

The College of Contentment..

"I have learned, in whatever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Phil 4:11-13).

Jesus is teaching me to be content: Content in all places; content in all stages of life; content with what I have, who I am, and who I will be. As another has well said, He's enrolled me in The College of Contentment, and my only hope is to submit myself to His plan. Can I be content just to be at His side, even if I never have the opportunities my heart longs for? Can you? "Be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Heb 13:5). Sometimes in life, embracing our surroundings is the sole means to Godly contentment. I'm not referring to compromise, but to contented rest. Rather than yelling at heaven with clinched fists, "Why am I thus?!", perhaps we should simply recognize the sovereignty of God, and learn to be content with whatever occasion God decides to bring us through.

The apostle Paul is a wonderful example of Godly contentment. He could be content even in prison, while facing the threat of starvation and torture! He learned how to be content, whether he was humbly abased or fruitfully abounding, it simply didn't matter. And how could that be? How could such a Godly mindset be anything more than a happy hope, and an anticipative aspiration? Friends, it's because Paul's contentment was found within. It was completely unrelated to external pressures and extremes. Paul recognized that true treasure was not to be found from an abundance of worldly goods, or a surplus of happy emotions, but rather from a contented mind. And such contentment was not the distant fulfillment of his carnal wants and likes, but rather it was the realization of the great treasure he already possessed, the earnest of God's Spirit. He rightly knew of the "better and an enduring substance" awaiting him in eternity (Heb 10:34). His stripes therefore, were utterly insignificant!

So how are such Godly affections acquired in the heart of man? As is the case with most valuable qualities, real contentment must be gradually learned: "I have learned, whatever be my outward experiences, to be content" (Phil 4:11, WNT). There is no microwave setting to thrust us to this end. Godly contentment is not a natural propensity of man. On the contrary, covetousness, discontentment, murmuring and the like are as natural to man as thorns are to Earth's soil. We need not sow thistles and wild brambles; they come up naturally enough on their own, because they are indigenous to the sinful climate of earth and fallen man: and so, we need not teach men to complain; we complain easy enough without any external motivation. However, the precious things of the earth must be cultivated. This is the case with Godly contentment: "I have learned... to be content". If we would have wheat, we must plow and sow; if we want flowers, there must be a garden, and all the gardener's care alongside it. Contentment is one of heaven's flowers, and if we would have it, it must be rightly learned and cultivated; it will not grow in us by nature; it is the new nature alone that can produce it, and even then we must be specially careful and watchful that we maintain and cultivate the grace which God has sown in us. If the apostle Paul had to learn contentment, that must mean that he did not know it at one time. It cost him some pains to attain to the mystery of that great truth. Do not indulge the notion that you can be contented with learning, or learn without discipline. It is not a power that may be exercised naturally, but a science to be acquired gradually. We know this from experience. Friends, lets hush our discontented murmurs, natural though they be, and continue as diligent pupils in The College of Contentment, for "godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Tim 6:6).

Throughout the Whole World!

To the Roman believers, the apostle Paul has said, "I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world" (Rom 1:8). What a marvelous thought!

Jesus Himself said that His Gospel was to be "a testimony unto all nations" (Matt 24:14).

Similarly, of the Thessalonians Paul writes, "For from you hath sounded forth the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith to God-ward is gone forth; so that we need not to speak anything" (1 Thess 1:8).

The Colossian church had this same kindred testimony too: "We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you... because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which is come unto you; even as it is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing, as it doth in you also, since the day ye heard and knew the grace of God in truth" (Col 1:3, 5-6).

I love how it wasn't only the Gospel itself that was made famous throughout the whole earth, but it was the activity, the lives and the testimonies of it's adherents too (Rom 15:18-19)! Verily, their sound went out into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world (Rom 10:18). Repentance and remission were not only preached unto all nations, but heartily displayed too (Lk 24:47)... And I cannot help but believe that such action made all the difference!

Friends, it was not the doubting and unbelief of these Christian saints but rather their faith that was noised abroad (Rom 1:8). Sadly, it seems today that the faults and flaws of Christendom are more highlighted to the world than any other aspect. Perhaps we need to return to the habits of the apostles; perhaps we should better "practice what we preach"? Is our faith known to others and talked about? Does it evoke praise and thanksgiving to God? Theirs was no mere formal and lifeless faith, but a vigorous and fruitful one, which compelled even the whole world to take notice! It was a faith which transformed their characters and conducts, as the earth looked on in bewilderment. To the Roman believers, Paul goes on to say, "your obedience is come abroad to all" (Rom 16:19). Reader, a genuine and sincere heart for the Lord Jesus will always be one which captures the attention of those round about you, and will hopefully even jump as a spark from holy fire, igniting those who choose to give God His proper place. Will we likewise be God's "lighter fluid", even as the original apostles of old? The whole world is waiting! Let's make Jesus famous!