Principles and Absolutes ...

Sometimes we need to consider the counsel of Dallas Willard ... let's get back to the "principles and absolutes".

"Now you might ask yourself, Why does the New Testament say nothing about all those matters to which the usual congregation today devotes almost all its thought and effort? Answer: Because those matters are not primary and will take care of themselves with little attention whenever what is primary is appropriately cared for. Pay attention to the “principles and absolutes” of the New Testament church and, one might suppose, everything else will fall into place—in large part because “everything else” really doesn’t matter much one way or the other. To fail to put the focus on those principles and absolutes, on the other hand, is to wander off into a state of distraction, which is where most of our local congregations actually are. They wind up majoring on minors and allowing the majors, from the New Testament point of view, to disappear." 

     ~ Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart

(I shared the following with my flock as I retired...) 

"ONE THING" 

  👉 SEEK HIS FACE... 

    "ONE THING have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple." - Psalm 27:4

    👉 SEEK HIS HEART... 

    "But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but ONE THING is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” - Luke 10:41-42

   👉 SEEK HIS CALL... 

     "... But ONE THING I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." - Phil. 3:13-14

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand." ~ Prov. 19:21

So, above all, keep the main thing 

the main thing! 

Because they would see Jesus... 

~ PJVS

Four Myths...

Here are a few thoughts from Ed Dobson, co-author of a very insightful book entitled "Standing Fast: Ministry in an Unfriendly World" ... 

BUSTING the FOUR MYTHS of MINISTRY ... 

Another tactic when the call to ministry seems in doubt is to remember the four myth- busters of ministry. The first three I heard from Truman Dollar; the last I added from my own experience.

1. It is NEVER as bad as you think it is - 

Even when things seem darkest, circumstances are usually not as hopeless or awful as they first appear. Experience has proven that you should never let church politics or conflicts obscure your vision of the bigger things God may be doing in the church.

2. It’s NEVER as good as you think it is - 

There are times in church ministry when everything seems to be going marvelously. That’s when you need to be careful. It’s only an illusion. As Jerry Falwell used to say, “In ministry I’ve never had two good days back to back.”

3. It’s NEVER completely fixed - 

Ministry is a process; it’s people. To say, “I’ve taken care of this problem It won’t recur,” is to live in a fool’s paradise. Problems can come back to plague you long after you thought they were resolved.

4. It’s NEVER completely broken - 

Not long ago, a pastor from Kenya spoke in our morning worship service. He pointed out that during the first thirty years of missionary efforts in Kenya, more missionaries died than the number of converts who were won. In spite of the difficulties and slowness of progress, these men and women were still convinced that Kenya wasn’t completely broken. And so they kept at their callings, knowing that someday their work would bear fruit. As a result, the number of African Christians has grown from 10 million in 1900 to half a billion in 2015, and it is due to reach a billion no later than the 2040s. ~ Ed Dobson, "Standing Fast: Ministry in an Unfriendly World" (adapted) 

I encourage you to keep running the race with great endurance ... because it's never completely broken! 

In His Eternal Grip, 

~ PJVS

No Little People...

Consider the words of the martyred missionary Jim Elliot...     

  "Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.” 

With this in mind, let's reflect on the following thoughts from Francis A. Schaeffer ... 

   "But if a Christian is consecrated, does this mean he will be in a big place instead of a little place? The answer, the next step, is very important: as there are no little people in God’s sight, so there are no little places. To be wholly committed to God in the place where God wants him—this is the creature glorified. In my writing and lecturing I put much emphasis on God’s being the infinite reference point which integrates the intellectual problems of life. He is to be this, but He must be the reference point not only in our thinking, but in our living. This means being what He wants me to be, where He wants me to be...

   ... Each Christian is to be a rod of God in the place of God for him. We must remember throughout our lives that in God’s sight there are no little people and no little places. Only one thing is important: to be consecrated persons in God’s place for us, at each moment. Those who think of themselves as little people in little places, if committed to Christ and living under His Lordship in the whole of life, may, by God’s grace, change the flow of our generation. And as we get on a bit in our lives, knowing how weak we are, if we look back and see we have been somewhat used of God, then we should be the rod “surprised by joy.” ~ Francis A. Schaeffer, "No Little People"

So, wherever God has placed you my pastor friend, be encouraged ... and may all your ministry efforts "change the flow of our generation". So, "wherever you are... be all there!" ... making a difference for the glory of God!

Because we are Salt and Light, 

~ PJVS

Preach the Word!

"I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching." 

~ 2 Timothy 4:1-2 (ESV) 

"What is it that always heralds the dawn of a Reformation or of a Revival? It is renewed preaching. Not only a new interest in preaching but a new kind of preaching. A revival of true preaching has always heralded these great movements in the history of the Church. And, of course, when the Reformation and the Revival come they have always led to great and notable periods of the greatest preaching that the Church has ever known ... So my answer so far, my justification of my statement that preaching is the primary task of the Church, is based in that way on the evidence of the Scriptures, and the supporting and confirming evidence of the history of the Church. "

 ~ D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers

“If we are to see the church of God really restored to her pristine glory, we must have back this plain, simple, gospel-preaching.” 

~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon

May the divine unction of the Spirit of God rest upon you as you preach the Word of God today my pastor friend!

~ PJVS

Relevance...

"Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations." -- Psalm 145:13

Relevance! We constantly hear the term used to encourage our efforts in communicating to a newer generation. The cry goes out for new words and techniques because the younger people will never understand or consider old truth. Unless it's new and different it won't help the cause. The question comes to mind; is there anything that hasn't changed that retains any value? 

Solomon noted that there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9) The years pass from one generation to the next and history repeats itself over and over again. Technology improves our lives, but daily needs and struggles continue without change. In a very real way we need help from someone that has stood the test of time and remains unchanged. David found just such a one in the Lord, whose kingdom is everlasting and whose dominion endures throughout all generations.

Build your ministry on things that never change my pastor friend, and you will be relevant to every generation. In the face of unchanging struggles and storms of life, everyone needs someone who "upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down". (verse 14) In this great truth we find relevance in the unchangeable person of our God and King.

Because HE is the same yesterday and today and forever! 

~ PJVS

Living the Call...

"While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ~ Acts 13:2

Kent Hughes gives us a fresh reminder of how great a privilege and opportunity it is to be called of God ... 

"LIVING THE CALL ... Every morning we ought to thank God for the privilege of being called and allowed to serve. It is as Phillips Brooks said in his famous Yale Lectures: 

'I always remember one special afternoon, years ago, when the light faded from the room where I was preaching, and the faces melted together into a unit as of one impressive pleading man, and I felt them listening when I could hardly see them; I remember this accidental day as one of the times when the sense of the privilege of having to do with people as their preacher came out almost overpoweringly.'

Oh, for more servants of God who are overcome by the power of the call! Oh, for more ministers of the Word who treasure the privilege of presenting the Truth to the pleading men and women of the WORLD!" ~ Kent Hughs, Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." ~ Matthew 9:36

My pastor friend, may you be "overcome by the power of the call" and always love them like Jesus! 

Because He gave Shepherds and Teachers,

~ PJVS 

Great Expectations...

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." 

~ Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV) 

The next time your great expectations fall by the wayside, maybe the following testimony of Steve Farrar will be of some encouragement for you...

"I remember years ago sitting on my front porch trying to absorb the biggest ministry setback of my life. I had put everything into this venture. I had given it all my effort, all my energy, and now it was utterly destroyed. I’m talking total annihilation. In one afternoon, the whole thing went down. As I sat on the porch that night, I was absolutely devastated. 

I was battling God and I was battling wrong thoughts about God. I was feeling utterly abandoned by God. And quite frankly, I was angry at Him, because ultimately, I knew He was the One who had allowed this great ministry plan of mine to come unraveled. But if I could have had a glimpse at that moment of what God had in store for me over the next ten years, I would have been on my knees thanking and praising Him for His goodness and lovingkindness in allowing my plan to die. God killed my dream because He had a better plan. He had something else for me to do. 

I must confess that I was not thinking largely about God that night. I was thinking cockeyed because I didn’t understand His ways. God is good even when our dreams and plans are nuked beyond recognition. But you must think largely and correctly to get a grip on your circumstances when your dreams and plans are going up in smoke." 

~ Steve Farrar, Tempered Steel

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" ~ Psalm 27:14

Because He opens the doors that can't be shut, 

~ PJVS