Grate Expectations

Ultimately God is the One who prepares and sustains people in ministry whether locally or abroad.  There are unique challenges faced by those who are led to serve in a foreign field.  Recognising and preparing for these changes will aid you immensely in overcoming all by God's grace.  When shrubs or trees are transplanted they can experience shock, and moving a family across the ocean can be shocking as well.  But the glorious truth is Christ is the best husbandman, and the fruitful tree He prunes so it might bear more fruit.

I never aspired to foreign ministry, but it is something God has called me to embrace.  Answering the call has been rewarding beyond belief.  Such aspirations will eventually end up disillusioning and burdensome when of the flesh.  Travel and living abroad has a romantic appeal to some, like a boy who becomes temporarily infatuated with a girl.  But those for whom God has opened a door no man can shut to a foreign field, having confirmed His call upon your life through His Word and others, here are a few things to keep in mind which can prepare you to stay the course with joy.  Expect things to occur which will grate on you, but this is a necessary part of the refining process God employs to make us useable.  This is obviously not a exhaustive list, but these are lessons my family and I have learned along the way.

• Understand you need to change.  Moving internationally means transitioning into a new culture with a different mind-set and world view.  It is insensitive and foolish to be endlessly comparing and contrasting with your original background.  Quit comparing and learn to be content.  You need to be willing to adapt concerning language and communication style, eat different or unfamiliar foods, watch or play different sports - without trying to force people to change to accommodate you!  You are the foreigner, and you must be willing to change every aspect of your life to minister effectively where God has placed you.
• Be prepared for silence.  Just because your life has been radically changed with an international move, life for everyone else is very much the same.  If you expect hundreds of email replies to your newsletter, you will be disappointed.  If you expect phone calls from friends and family or even the people with whom you are connected in the foreign field, you may be waiting a while!  Life goes on, and only Jesus is available to speak anytime - even without needing a good internet connection.
• Get used to being wrong.  Be prepared to say the wrong thing the wrong way at the wrong time.  Humbly admit mistakes when you make them, and do your best to improve.  Be willing to have a hearty laugh at your own expense.  No sense in becoming angry over missing a turn because you were driving in the wrong lane.  Accept you are imperfect and welcome correction as a loving friend and gratefully accept those who seem to rejoice to instruct you. 
• Get used to needing to prove yourself again and again.  It can be hard going from having a reputation as the "real deal" in your home country to being an untested unknown - and sometimes unwanted - in a foreign field.  Respect is earned over time, not obtained by virtue of your position or sacrifice.  Being a foreigner in Australia, whenever my circle enlarges I need to prove myself again.  Even becoming a dual citizen, my accent for the remainder of my life will expose me as an outsider.  It is following Jesus with patience, humility, and faithfulness over the long haul which brings credibility.  It can be exhausting to perpetually be on trial, but God provides all the strength we need.
• You need to to take the initiative.  Don't expect to be automatically included because you are new.  Take time to make friends outside of ministry.  Ask people about where they do their shopping and ask them to help you buy clothes.  Involve yourself in volunteering with charities or at your children's school, connect with other parents through sports, and invite others out for coffee or dinner.  Go up to people at church and join in with their conversation.  Unless you take personal steps to enlarge your circle, it will remain painfully tight.
• Transition will take time.  Be prepared for this to take many years, not months.  When I trimmed a lemon tree, it remained without much growth or lemons for an entire year.  A year later, however, the same tree produced a massive harvest.  Establishing a family in a foreign country takes a long time.  Things will not be "normal" for years.  At every turn there can be constant reminders you are a stranger in a foreign land.  Take time to ensure your immediate family is well settled before spreading yourself thin with ministry responsibilities.  The house should be built before the shed, or otherwise we leave our family in the cold while we toil away on our projects.

Hopefully these lessons are useful as you are obedient to go and serve the LORD and people wherever He sends you.  With God all things are possible.  All the mental preparation in the world is nothing compared to the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit and guidance from God's Word.  The LORD spoke in Joshua 1:7-9, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

Give God What Is His

God is not looking for men but for a man, said J. Oswald Sanders in the classic Spiritual Leadership.  He seeks one person to fully surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit within his regenerated heart.  Are you willing to pay the price to be the man upon whom God shows Himself strong?  Sanders wrote, "But not all who aspire to leadership are willing to pay so exacting a price.  However, God's conditions must be complied with in secret before He will honour a man in public." (Sanders, J. Oswald. Spiritual Leadership. Rev. ed. Chicago: Moody, 1980. 21-22. Print.)  If we desire to lead others in following Jesus, it is important we take those necessary baby steps when the camera is not rolling and no one is cheering.

Last night during the discipleship course at Calvary Chapel Sydney, I was reminded how tempting it is to offer God sacrifices over simple obedience.  The Holy Spirit is persistent, and His conviction is not ignored without internal strife and miserable discomfort.  Do you know God desires more than our obedience and allegiance?  He wants you!  One occasion stands out in my mind during my pilgrimage with Jesus.  God showed me my vinyl record collection needed to be purged from my life.  This was a feeling I had experienced over many other things, and frankly I was tired of it.  As I dumped my prized collection into the rubbish bin, I started thinking about all the other things I had pitched - admittedly with a twinge of resentment.  "How much more of my life do I have to give up?" I asked God in exasperation.  His answer was shockingly simple:  "All of it."

That was all He said.  It struck me as brilliant and true.  I had been selfishly looking at things all wrong.  I was focused on physical items and behaviour, but God went straight to the heart.  When I was born again through faith I had agreed to be purchased and redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus.  God desired me to give myself into His control - not just my stuff or what I did with my time.  Because I was His, everything else concerning my life belonged to Him already.  I was familiar with the passage, but I had not put the essence of 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 into practice:  "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰ For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."  I am still learning to do this, to joyfully grant God full access to my life He has purchased for His own righteous use.  If you desire to be a man upon whom God looks and shows Himself strong, you will need to learn this lesson too!  What is impossible with men is possible with God.  Praise God for the truth of Philippians 2:13:  "...for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure."  God will always do His part, and God help me to be responsible to do mine!

The Anti-Christian

We live in a world under the sway of Satan, and he has been a liar, murderer, and destroyer from the beginning.  Consequently, this world today is far from a reflection of the glorious perfection which initially marked God's creation.  This is nothing new.  Even when Christ walked the dusty roads in Israel, there was no shortage of political problems.  His cousin was arrested for criticising Herod's unlawful marriage, and was beheaded because of a rash oath Herod made to a dancer!  My point is, Jesus could have enacted an "anti-Roman" platform which would have garnered great support among the Jews.  But He didn't.  Jesus went around doing good, preaching repentance and the kingdom of God.

The apostle Paul had no shortage of difficulties from governments, assassination plots, unlawful arrests, beatings, and incarcerations.  The issues he was privy to by true and false brethren in the church were countless.  Yet Paul did not become an "anti" Christian, one of those Christians who expends energy railing on doctrines or people he disagrees with.  Instead of establishing a critical, negative stance towards others, Paul sought to positively promote Christ.  He wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, "And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. ² For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."

There are few things easier than pointing out faults in others.  It is ridiculously simple to produce videos or write articles to pick apart doctrines or personalities without rebuttal.  Incredible illogical leaps can be taken which on the surface appear sensible.  Sadly, this seems to be an increasingly common and popular method.  It should be a great concern if you spend more time lashing out at perceived wrongs in others rather than promoting Jesus Christ yourself!  It would be tragic for Christians to be defined by what we are against rather than what and Who we stand for.  Should we waste our time proving chaff is chaff when God has given us the good wheat of His Word to feed upon and share with others?  What good is it to prove the lack of nutritional value of chaff when we could grind and supply the wheat to those who are starving?  Taste and see that the LORD is good, and focus on sharing the good stuff with others!

The Danger of Pride

I have seen the phrase "celebrate pride" often of late, but I cannot from a biblical perspective be persuaded to do so.  Pride is always a precursor to destruction, and therefore I have great concern for all who rejoice to embrace it.  Much of my young life was poisoned with pride and self-righteousness, and pride would have ruined me completely apart from the grace and mercy of God.  Those who celebrate pride celebrate their own destruction.  Pride was found in Satan in heaven, and he will ultimately be cast down to hell.

John warned Christians in 1 John 2:15-17, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. ¹⁷ And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever."  Pride is of this world, and this world is passing away.  "But shouldn't I be proud of my children?"  Proud?  No.  You should feel blessed and give God praise, for it is God who has given them success.  Every time we are tempted to pride, we ought to give praise to God.  If anyone had cause to be proud it would be God, but His immutable character is marked with humility.  Pride is always a sin, absolutely contrary to a holy, righteous God.

Proverbs 8:13 reads, "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate."  Pride and arrogance is an evil way before the LORD which only leads to destruction.  God said through the prophet in Ezekiel 16:49:  "Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: she and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy."  Pride was the iniquity of Sodom, and pride nests in the heart of every person.  My flesh is utterly steeped in pride.  It is only the indwelling Spirit of the Living God who has delivered me from bondage to it.  To this day pride fights tirelessly for control in my mind and heart, desiring to be my cruel master once again.  Those who walk in pride God is able to abase.

The Word of God opens our eyes to the grave danger of pride, and helps us realise our need to be transformed from within.  Here are some quick-hitters from the Proverbs:  Proverbs 11:2 says, "When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom."  Proverbs 16:18 states, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."  And Proverbs 29:23:  "A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honour."  It is pride which keeps a man from God as it is written in Psalm 10:4:  "The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts."  Pride is an abomination to God, as it says in Proverbs 16:5:  "Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; though they join forces, none will go unpunished."

To point out the pride which exists in the world and naturally in every human heart is like saying, "Water is wet."  It is a blatantly obvious point, a truth with which we are all intimately acquainted.  The point of this post is not to prompt us to accuse or point fingers at others, but for each of us to ask God to examine our own hearts according to His righteousness:  "LORD, is there any part of my life where I celebrate pride?  I repent and forsake it all.  Cleanse me of all my hateful pride!"  Pride poses a great danger to all people, and Christians who cling to their pride add hypocrisy to their abominations.  Those who walk in pride God will abase, and those who walk humbly God will exalt.  Jesus said in Matthew 11:29, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."