Monday, May 16, 2011
I am always grateful for God’s grace and faithfulness that we experience in the “house of the Lord” on the Lord’s Day. Even though we know that God inhabits the praises of His people, and Jesus said where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them, I am still amazed and blessed by His ministering presence! His strength that is demonstrated in our weakness. While I don’t want to feel shackled (and won’t be) to have to write a “Monday Morning Musings” every week, there were still some highlights (at least in my mind) of yesterday’s time of ministry that I thought would be helpful and a blessing to you.
Frank King accompanied me to my
trip to Gabon, and gave a report that included many of the pictures that he
took of that time. It was a great testimony for many
reasons. Obviously, he is personally
invested in that work since, Garett, his son, and Sara his daughter-in-law,
along with his three grandsons are all living in Libreville, Gabon. What he was the most emotional about though
was the church there and the people in it, even though there was the language
barrier (French). I was very touched
that here is a man who has been investing in world evangelism for nearly three
decades, and who has a personal connection with Gabon because of his son but.....he is deeply moved by just
seeing firsthand what God is doing in the lives of people. Beloved, this is why we do what we do! That God can touch a mature man of many years
with a new and fresh sense of vision is a powerful thing.
I preached in the morning about
life’s sometimes unwelcome reality: pressure. Specifically, learning to perform under
pressure and discover God’s mercies that are new every morning. Jesus told us that this would be a sure thing. He said, “I
have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you
will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." He didn’t say you might have, or there’s an
outside chance or slight possibility, no.
He said “in the world you will have tribulation. Tribulation is the Greek word, “thilpsis” which was a recurring focus
of my message. It might not rank up
there with “splancthna” for you who
were in Conference in 2007 (another message/story), but it is still an
important and frequent Bible word. It is
translated by different words (trouble; affliction; hardship) but the simplest
meaning is pressure, literally or figuratively. To be alive is to experience pressure, even
though we’ve all fantasized what it would be like to escape to a place where
there is no pressure! I had someone
suggest maybe Maui, but I’m partial
to the Big Island. I digress.
The outstanding truth and promise is God’s faithful promise to help us
and be with us in times of pressure, even times of enormous pressure which we
feel are beyond our breaking point. “Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God
of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation [our thilpsis]...” (2Cor.1:3,4) Like you, I may not be particularly fond of
this reality of pressure, but I crave the grace and the fact that God can use
pressure times or stress to help us grow.
The highlight of the day had to
have been the evening service. It was a
kind of “anniversary service” commemorating our Spanish-speaking ministry which
has been functioning for over thirty years: preaching the Gospel and making
disciples. Also, the music group La Luz del Mundo, that has been
ministering effectively for 26 years!
Different men have
served as overseers and pastors of that ministry, but one thing stands out in
my mind: THE INCREDIBLE BLESSING OF LONG TERM LABORERS! In our transient society, and celebrity
culture (the proverbial 15-minutes of fame), to have people who faithfully
labor for Christ year after year, and now decade after decade, is beyond
words. Pastor German Gastelum who was
one of the original members of that music group preached and gave the altar
call in an anointed fashion. All I can
say to all of these people is THANK YOU,
and that it is a true privilege to serve the Lord together in a real Gospel partnership!
I’ve got to move on to other
things. After all, the “end of the
world” has been predicted for Saturday, May 21, 2011! So, I will be studying for next Sunday’s
message: “The Day After...The End of the World.” I don’t say this facetiously, but to combat
the prevalent error of date-setting, while at the same time fanning the flame
of hope in the Lord’s return so that it continues to burn brightly in all of
our lives.
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