Intentional Grace

Every time I read the classic Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness by Jerry Cook with Stanley Baldwin, I am reminded how much I like it.  The book resonates with me because it is written with grace and practical examples we can apply in our own lives and ministry.  He holds forth a simple philosophy founded on scripture that the church is people, equipped by the Holy Spirit, to meet needs everywhere in the name of Jesus.  Rather than seeking to wield or maintain control over others, the approach to ministry held forth in this little book embraces releasing people to serve by faith in God.

One point Cook makes is to consider what messages we send, that fruitful Christian ministry is reserved for the trained professionals, the gifted or experienced.  Rather than implying real ministry takes place primarily in a church building, Cook encourages people to use their spiritual gifts in the situation God places them in the real world.  While there is a valid place for teaching, training and preparation, our methods can convey what king Saul did when he was willing to let David fight Goliath:  he was permitted to fight as long as David wore his armour.  Saul wanted David to resemble him externally when David was filled with the Holy Spirit and prompted by faith in God within to do what Saul was afraid to do himself.  Cook writes:

"What I'm saying is this:  people who are filled with the Holy Spirit are already basically equipped for ministry.  What the church needs to do is help people to understand this truth, not mislead them into thinking they are somehow unqualified to serve.  

Christianity is not difficult to communicate.  It's simple.  We make it hard by our extreme efforts.  We give soul-winning courses that take eight weeks or eight months.  This communicates to our people how difficult it is to win anyone to Christ.

As a result, Christians are scared to death to tell anybody about Jesus.  They memorize every possible question any non-Christian could ask as well as the correct answers--they want to have all the bases covered.  When they have done that we say they are equipped.  They aren't equipped, they are incapacitated.  We have them so intent on nailing people with the Bible, giving answers to them, that they forget there is a person there--hurting.

Maybe the correct answer does not help.  Maybe what a friend or neighbor needs is a cup of coffee to drink and an arm around his shoulder.  Someone to listen and care.  Someone to exercise the greatest spiritual gift of all--love.  It doesn't take a professional to love."  (Cook, Jerry, and Stanley C. Baldwin. Love, Acceptance & Forgiveness. GL Regal Books, 1984. pg. 58-59)

I encourage people to sign up for courses and take classes offered by a church for the spiritual health and instruction of congregants.  Rather than seeing these as a hindrance to ministry, they can enhance our understanding and ability.  What is refreshing about Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness is not the institution of a pattern, but it is a timeless exhortation to be yielded to the Holy Spirit, know God rules over all, and a gentle reminder to examine what patterns have been established in our church or ministry and the unintended messages they might send.  If the ministry and usefulness of the church is limited to what I can do, nothing will come of it.  Yet if we walk together by faith in Jesus Christ, rely on His guidance and serve one another in love, God will never cease to do amazing things by His grace.

Recounting Victory

When we read the Bible and observe what God has done in the past, we are reminded of God's power to save today.  We glory in the LORD who previously delivered His people in Scripture, and we can also be confident in God's salvation in the future.  God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  It is we who are forgetful and need reminders of God's faithfulness to help and deliver His people.

Psalm 78:40-42 shows the awful consequences when God's people forget what God has done:  "How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert! ⁴¹ Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. ⁴² They did not remember His power: the day when He redeemed them from the enemy..."  The Hebrews in the wilderness may have remembered the series of plagues God brought upon the Egyptians, but they forgot His power and redemption to save them in current distress.  They provoked, grieved and tempted God because they acted like He was distant and small, unable or unwilling to help them in time of need.  Had they remembered God's purpose in the plagues that led to them being set free in the past it could have resulted in faith in God presently.

After the children of Israel departed from Egypt, Moses told Joshua to fight against Amalek.  When the hands of Moses were lifted up Joshua prevailed, but when his arms dropped Amalek gained the advantage.  Moses was provided a stone for a chair and Aaron and Hur helped support his arms, and the LORD brought a great victory.  Exodus 17:13-16 reads, "So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. ¹⁴ Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven." ¹⁵ And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner; ¹⁶ for he said, "Because the LORD has sworn: the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."  Moses was directed to write down a memorial of the LORD's victory and promise to contend with Amalek until he and his people were eradicated and left without memory.

Not only was a record of God's victory written, but it was to be recounted or rehearsed in the hearing of Joshua.  Over the years Joshua would have many battles against the Amalekites, and they would continue to be thorns in the eyes of Israel for many years.  As Joshua approached another future battle with Amalek, he was to remember the time when God gave him victory in the past and take heart in faith God would ultimately defeat and destroy Amalek in the future--permanently.  This reminds me of the victory Jesus won on the cross by defeating Satan, sin and death.  Skirmishes still continue to this day in our lives, but God will see the blight of Satan, sin and death destroyed forever, even blotted out of memory.  Knowing what Jesus has accomplished and what He has promised moves us to trust and praise Him in current conflicts, knowing He is our Saviour will deliver us.  How good it is we are reminded of God's victories in the past, because in doing so we are assured of His future deliverance and ultimate victory.

Random Blessings

I am often intrigued by the odd and unusual--especially in advertising.  Yesterday it was a brand name that sparked my interest:  Random Harvest.  This is apparently a well-known brand used for gift hampers in Australia that has been in business since 1981, but not well-known enough for me to have heard of it after living Down Under for over a decade!  It was amusing to consider how tasty a salad dressing could possibly be if it was compiled of a harvest of random ingredients.  I would imagine the dressings and chutneys produced would render the brand infamous and be out of business before long.  If by "random" it implies unexpectedly good perhaps it works, yet it remains a stretch.

This prompted me to think of an occasion in the Bible when a random harvest had terrible consequences.  2 Kings 4:38-40 reads, "And Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, "Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets." ³⁹ So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were. ⁴⁰ Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, "Man of God, there is death in the pot!" And they could not eat it."  During a famine food was scarce, and when men found wild gourds on a random vine they included them in a stew.  It seems some who ate the poisoned concoction experienced sudden violent illness from the gourds and no one could (or would!) eat the stew after that.

Then the LORD did an amazing thing through Elisha the prophet in 2 Kings 4:41:  "So he said, "Then bring some flour." And he put it into the pot, and said, "Serve it to the people, that they may eat." And there was nothing harmful in the pot."  It seems random Elisha asked the people to bring flour and he put it into the pot--an ingredient typically used to thicken a stew, not purge it of poison.  When the people followed the directive of Elisha and by faith in God ate, the ill-effects of the gourds were neutralised.  While the addition of flour was unexpected, the provision of food was not random at all:  it was a means of God revealing His power over death and ability to provide sustenance for those who trust Him even in the midst of a famine.  To us God's ways seem random at times, but He has good plans and redemptive purposes even in a bad stew.  A failed dish can frustrate us even when no one has been poisoned, but even should that happen God is still worthy of our trust and obedience.

Seeing God at Work

Today in church we sang "Battle Belongs" by Phil Wickham.  The lyrics go, "When all I see are the ashes, You see the beauty, thank You, God.  When all I see is a cross, God, You see the empty tomb."  We often need to be reminded of God's love, power and purposes in the past, how He has been faithful to redeem trials for our good and His glory.  Should we be left to our own devices and walk by sight or how we feel, we can miss the redemptive power of God who uses tribulation to draw us to Himself.

Recently in conversation a friend of mine referenced "hard ground" in ministry, how it seems difficult or nigh impossible to make an impact on others when they are resistant to the Gospel.  In thinking over the phrase, it struck me how man has discovered techniques and developed tools to deal with hard ground.  If digging a hole for a post or tree is too difficult for a spade, a mattock or digging bar may do the job.  It is sometimes advisable to soak the area with water to soften the soil or to try digging after rain.  Should a rotary hammer or jackhammer fail to make headway through rock in a mine, professional earth-moving equipment or even dynamite has been used to blast through hard ground.

It is good for us to acknowledge there is hard ground beyond our ability to dig through by our efforts, yet at the same time to focus on God's miraculous way of cutting up hard ground without breaking a sweat.  Indeed, we likely are able to recognise hard ground in others because we have that same tendency in our own hearts:  the hard ground of pride, self-sufficiency and unbelief in God often develops inside us.  I take great comfort in God's word in Zechariah 4:6-7:  "So he answered and said to me: "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts. ⁷ 'Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"  How awesome is God?  The hardest heart can be pierced by God's word easier than a spade cuts through loose sand.

We might lament the ashes of our ruined dreams, the high cost of obedience, or the hard ground we wish was soft, yet we can gladly turn our eyes to God Who can move mountains with His word alone.  While we struggle to dig a small hole in the earth, God can shift mountains of unbelief by the power of the Holy Spirit.  He can redeem the death of His only begotten Son and provide grace and salvation to all lost sinners by grace through faith in Him.  Rather than being an obstacle, the mountain is an opportunity for God to show His might, majesty and sovereignty over all--starting with us believing Him.