A Glorious Triumph...

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." -- Matthew 28:19-20

In 1776, General George Washington led his small and bedraggled army in a daring raid on British and Hessian troops at Trenton, New Jersey, during the American Revolution. Just prior to launching boats from McKonkey's Ferry across the Delaware River, Washington had an excerpt from Thomas Paine's inspirational pamphlet, "The Crisis" (published two days earlier), read aloud to the army. The pamphlet began: “These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”

The beginning and developing years of the early church were going to be a great challenge and would certainly try the souls of believers. Before the day of march, Jesus gave a great commission and words of encouragement. The work would change people and nations for God and the Lord himself would accompany His army. While the tyranny of sin was rampant and the conflict hard, through the power of Christ, the triumph would be glorious.

Do you often feel like the battle is too great and the resources are too little? Be strong in the Lord and stand firm in the face of evil. The Lord has called you to be far more than a summer soldier or sunshine patriot. He promised to stand by your side as you set people free from the tyranny of sin through the power of His gospel. No matter how hard the conflict, keep making disciples for Jesus and the triumph will be glorious.

~ PJVS

Cultivating the Heart...

The following words of counsel from A. W. Tozer point us to the main thing... 

"Cattle are driven; sheep are led; and our Lord compares His people to sheep, not to cattle. It is especially important that Christian ministers know the law of the leader—that they can lead others only as far as they have personally gone.... 

The minister must experience what he would teach or he will find himself in the impossible position of trying to drive sheep. For this reason he should seek to cultivate his own heart before he attempts to preach to the hearts of others.... 

If he tries to bring them into a heart knowledge of truth which he has not actually experienced he will surely fail. In his frustration he may attempt to drive them; and scarcely anything is so disheartening as the sight of a vexed and confused shepherd using the lash on his bewildered flock in a vain attempt to persuade them to go on beyond the point to which he himself has attained.... 

The law of the leader tells us who are preachers that it is better to cultivate our souls than our voices.... We cannot take our people beyond where we ourselves have been, and it thus becomes vitally important that we be men of God in the last and highest sense of that term." 

- A. W. Tozer, Price of Neglect

"Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock." ~ 1 Peter 5:2-3

May your ministry, but mostly your heart... 

... Never stop cultivating! 

Because those who lead best, follow best,

~ PJVS 

Sacrificial Preaching...

"Lord, am I a Christian by indoctrination or revelation? If I am merely parroting truths that have been dictated to me, woe is me and woe is any congregation that listens to me. 

When Christ met Paul on the Damascus road, He revealed Himself to His former enemy. Afterward Paul did not confer with flesh and blood but escaped into the desert to receive further revelation (Galatians 1:15–17). Later, when he emerged to preach Christ, it was an incarnational message he preached, not one learned at the foot of a teacher. 

All divine knowledge is received inwardly. Christian education has its place, but only to make Christ’s revelation to me possible. It cannot make that revelation actual. Too many Christians are around today who have taken on the culture of Christ without taking in His person. What is worse, too many spokesmen for Christ in the world are like the disciples before Pentecost—surrounded by Christ but not invaded by Him. After Pentecost the disciples did not need to be taught; they only needed opportunity to release what had been revealed. What had formerly been meaningless words now became truths that seared their hearts.

 If Jesus did not dare to speak from Himself (John 7:17), how dare I? If Jesus spoke only what was revealed to Him by the Father (John 7:16), how can we possibly preach anything unless it is revealed to us? What we need in our pulpits are men who talk about God based on firsthand knowledge. God revealers will never lack an audience. I will do what Habakkuk did: “Station myself on the [watch] tower, and watch to see what He will say to me” (Habakkuk 2:1, Berkeley). It is what God says to me that becomes the message people longingly desire."

 “Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, ‘Behold, I have put My words in your mouth” (Jeremiah 1:9).

~ Glyn W. Evans, Daily with the King

Some Random Thoughts...

Here are a weeks' worth of random thoughts I came across a few years ago. May they help to keep you strong as they have done for me ... 

SUNDAY - God used your last sermon or teaching lesson to impact someone’s life no matter how you think it went.

MONDAY - Many people don’t tell you this, but they are thankful for your sacrifice and your dedication.

TUESDAY - The storm you’re in isn’t in the forecast forever. It will pass, the sun will come out, and things will turn around.

WEDNESDAY - God has called you to be faithful, not “successful.” Don’t let your worth be tied to whatever level of success you think you do or don’t have. Give ministry your all, but let God handle the results.

THURSDAY - For every tenacious critic, there are exponentially more people who support you and trust you.

FRIDAY - Conflict is the passageway to relational breakthrough. You can navigate conflict – be quick to listen and slow to anger. Lead with mercy. And in no time, you’ll have an advocate rather than a perceived enemy. 

SATURDAY - The impact your ministry is going to have and has had a positive ripple effect on entire families.

Stay the course Pastor, because you're loved  ("But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us." - Rom. 8:37 NASB 2020) and being prayed for every day ("Christ Jesus is He who died, but rather, was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us." - Rom. 8:34 NASB 2020) 

~ PJVS

Too Busy?

"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed." - Mark 1:35 

What more can be said? If the Master found it necessary to start the day in solitary prayer, what about his servants?

"The men who have most fully illustrated Christ in their character, and have most powerfully affected the world for him, have been men who spent so much time with God as to make it a notable feature of their lives. Charles Simeon devoted the hours from four till eight in the morning to God. Mr. Wesley spent two hours daily in prayer. He began at four in the morning. Of him, one who knew him well wrote: “He thought prayer to be more his business than anything else and I have seen him come out of his closet with a serenity of face next to shining.” John Fletcher stained the walls of his room by the breath of his prayers. Sometimes he would pray all night; always, frequently, and with great earnestness. His whole life was a life of prayer. “I would not rise from my seat,” he said, “without lifting my heart to God.” Luther said: “If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.” He had a motto: “He that has prayed well has studied well.” - E. M. Bounds in Power through Prayer

How is your prayer life my friend? Has your working hard for God hindered your waiting long on God? Quality time in ministry stems from quality time with God. If you're too busy to pray ...  you've become too busy.

~ PJVS

End of the Age...

"The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels." 

- Matthew 13:38-39

I well remember my father-in-law's sage advice when it came to fads or quirky ministry ideas. "Just give it time" he would say. I learned a great deal from my pastoral mentor. He taught me that God keeps the books and in time "wisdom is proved right by all her children" (Luke 7:35). We need to stay on point and leave the rest to Him until the end of the age.

Early on, weeds will have the appearance of wheat. It's not until the wheat sprouts that the truth is known. But, what then? Are we called to be "weed police" or to be "wheat producers"? The answer is obvious when we hear our Lord's slightly different analogy to Peter in John 21:15, "Feed my Lambs". Stay on point by producing wheat and leave the rest to the Lord until the end of the age.

Harvest time always comes at the end of the season. As with the farmer, so should pastors patiently work the field in which they have been placed. Weeds of all sorts will pop up and occasionally appear to be the real deal with great success. Don't get flustered, just produce the wheat by feeding His lambs. It's not harvest time yet, so leave the rest to the Lord until the end of the age.

~ PJVS

Passing the Baton...

"You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others." - 2 Timothy 2:1-2

During the Olympics we find a wide variety of competitive races. Most involve one athlete who will carry the whole race by themselves.  But the "relay" race depends on the involvement of many. At certain points in the race the next athlete picks up the cause until they pass it on to the next team member. The relay race is all about "passing the baton".

Paul taught, mentored, and wrote Timothy by passing on great Biblical truth and spiritual experience. He expected Timothy to do the same by entrusting such lessons to reliable men who would also pass them on to others. The role of leadership is a "relay" event; not to be run as a single or private privilege. It is a calling intended to change lives, while equipping a new generation. We are expected to "pass the baton".

Every pastor has great Biblical truth and spiritual experience to pass on to others. The theme of the "Next Generation" is a significant focus of this passage. Pastors are best raised up by pastors. Who are you mentoring for future ministry today my friend? Do you have someone to whom you are "passing the baton?"

~ PJVS

"Leadership training cannot be done on a mass scale. It requires patient, careful instruction and prayerful, personal guidance over a considerable time. “Disciples are not manufactured wholesale. They are produced one by one, because someone has taken the pains to discipline, to instruct and enlighten, to nurture and train one that is younger.”

~  J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership