Maranatha Messenger

WHAT TO DO
WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO
(Believe God Pt.2)

God has one ultimate goal for the believer. Christ likeness! By faith I must believe that God is working behind the scenes through the circumstances of my life to mold me in the image of His Son. This is what Paul meant when he said, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:28-29). Notice the process of Christ likeness; there are four elements:

First of all, we have the element of faith. Notice the first three words of our text says, “and we know.” This is faith! Everything in the Christian life revolves around faith! You cannot proceed in the text until you embrace faith. Without faith it is impossible to apply the principles of this passage. This is why Paul used the Greek word eido {know} in this verse. This term means to look, behold or perceive with the eyes. Paul was speaking of the eye of faith. How do you view the circumstances that take place in your life? Do you view them with an eternal perspective or do you view them with an earthly perspective? Your answer to this question will make all the difference in the world. The faith viewpoint says, “I believe that the sovereign God of the universe is orchestrating the events of my life to conform me to the image of Christ. Therefore, I surrender my life to His eternal purpose for the glory of God.” How you view the activity of God in your personal life is crucial! This is why God begins with faith.

Secondly, we have the element of frustration. Notice the text says, and we know that “all things” work together for good. We enter the door of faith by knowing. This determines our outlook. How do you perceive your problems? How do you view the circumstances of life? Now we must carry our faith into our frustrations. By the way, the best way to describe the “all things” are with the words struggles, difficulties and hardships. Mark it down; these frustrations will be a part of your Christian life. However, should you bring your faith into your frustrations God will conform you to Christ.

Thirdly, we have the element of formula. We begin with faith because the text says, “we know.” We proceed to frustration which is described as “all things” or all events. Now we must examine God’s divine formula “work together for good.” God takes the ingredients of our faith, our frustrations and creates a spiritual formula. By the way, He does this through the process of time. There is no such thing as instant spirituality. Let me illustrate. Suppose I decide to bake a carrot cake from scratch. I get all the ingredients to perform this amazing feat. I get eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, all purpose flour, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and carrots. To make the frosting I get butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, milk and walnuts. After I gather all the ingredients I mix them together in order to bake the cake. Should I leave out one ingredient the cake won’t taste the same. I put the mix in the oven and this blend of components turn into a delicious cake. Have you ever taken a shortcut in baking? You discover you are out of eggs and you try to make the recipe anyway. Anybody ever tried this? It just doesn’t work! I know by experience! Or suppose I decide to eat a handful of all purpose flour or maybe a cup of cinnamon. I’m pretty sure these spices won’t taste good alone. Imagine in your minds reaching in the refrigerator and eating a stick of butter. Doesn’t sound too good! What about eating a quart of ground nutmeg? I don’t think my mouth or stomach could handle this ingredient alone! By this time you are probably asking, “What’s you point?” The point is, eating one of the various ingredients alone may not taste too good. But when you mix them “all together” they make a superb cake. You must work all the ingredients together!
Herein lies the problem. We view one event in our life and we judge that occasion as not being particularly good. We begin with the wrong outlook! We must begin with faith “and we know” by perceiving that God is working behind the scenes for my good. Unless we begin with faith we cannot approach our frustrations (all things or events) as a God formula to mature me (work together for good). God works from the perspective of foreknowledge and predestination (v.29). When He examines my life He has the ability to see the entire picture. However, you and I can only see individual events as we journey through life. God’s has the ability to see the whole! He says that all the events in my life blended together work for my good. God has a divine formula for my life! When you mix all the events together God considers them as good. The outcome of this divine recipe is Christ likeness. Let me illustrate this truth for you. Myra and I frequently travel to Myrtle Beach. The drive normally takes eight and half to ten hours depending on who is driving. If Myra drives we can make it in eight hours! Nonetheless, I ordinarily do the driving. We talk, listen to music, preaching or listen to preaching. Very seldom do we ever take the same route. Sometimes this is by design and sometimes, well, I get lost. As we journey south, Myra will normally work on her needlepoint. As I drive I will occasionally look over and examine her progress. Typically, I will see a wooden frame holding the material in place as she creates her design. From my angle the needlepoint looks like a mess! All I can see are endless strands of thread tangled together. I must admit the further we drive the backside of this project looks even more snarled and scrambled. From my viewpoint her stitching looks like chaos! I am looking from the bottom side up. After several hours of driving my curiosity gets the best of me. I ask her to flip over the wooden frame so I can see this creation from her point of view. I must confess I am absolutely amazed at her beautiful work. This magnificently illustrates the life of a child of God. From our perspective things seem to be unraveling around us. Our life appears to be twisted and tangled. However, we are viewing life from the bottom side up. On the
other hand, our heavenly Father is viewing our life from the top side down. Through eyes of omniscience He can see the completed plan from a different perspective. God has the advantage of an eternal position. Therefore, we must believe that all events that come into our lives work together for the good or the purpose of Christ-likeness.

Fourthly, we have the element of forming. God the Father proorizo {predestinate} predetermined that you and I should be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (v.29). Notice two keys words: The first important word is summorphos {conformed}. This Greek term is found only two times in the New Testament and is translated “fashioned like unto” in Philippians 3:21. In other words, our vile bodies will be transformed and “fashioned like unto” Christ’s glorious body (Philippians 3:21). God uses the frustrations of life to mold me and fashion me into the image of Jesus Christ.
The second key word is eikon {image} or likeness. Our heavenly Father’s ultimate goal in the life of a believer is to conform him “to the image of his son” (v.29b). The predetermined purpose is Christ likeness!

Let me see if I can summarize what Paul is saying in Romans 8:28-29. The apostle is explaining to the believer that by faith we should accept our frustrations as a divine formula that will form us into the image of Christ. What’s the big deal? Our dilemma is how we view our disappointments (frustrations). This is a faith problem! Perhaps some unpleasant event enters my life. I will either believe or become bitter! I call this the crossroad to spiritual maturity! Should you take the faith route into your frustrations you will embrace God’s formula for forming you. Or should you take the fussing route into your frustrations you will become bitter and question God. The person who chooses the faith route views his frustrations as a means to maturity. In other words, God is doing something for me! On the other hand, the individual who chooses the fussing route believes that God is doing something to me. He begins to question God. He blames God for all of his misfortunes. He accuses God of being unjust. He begins to say in his heart,
“hey God, how could you let this happen to me.” Therefore, through the process of “self-imposed idolatry” he becomes bitter and he gives up on God!

Study Questions

1. Why is the element of faith so important?
2. How does God use frustrations in the Christian life?
3. What does it mean when we say that God looks at my life from the perspective of foreknowledge?
4. What is the outcome of all things working together for my good?

Maranatha Messenger

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO?

BELIEVE GOD (Part 1)

What do you do when you don’t know what to do? First of all, you must embrace the scriptures. Secondly, you must seek God in prayer. But thirdly, you must simply believe God.

1. By the way, for you control freaks, this is probably the most difficult thing to do. To turn your life over to the headship of another is certainly difficult. We like to think we’re in control! We need our hands on the reigns! We want to be in the driver’s seat (Proverbs 3:5-6).

2. Nevertheless, as a believer we must simply believe in the sovereignty of God. He is ultimately in control of all things. Norman Geisler helps us define this theological term; Geisler says, “Sovereignty is God’s control over His creation, dealing with His governance over it: Sovereignty is God’s rule over all reality.”[1] Therefore, the child of God must willingly surrender to the Lordship of Christ. We must submit to His authority.

3. Such yieldedness is accomplished by faith alone. I must believe that God is supreme above all others.

4. So what is the problem? I call it “self-imposed idolatry.” Let me explain, something terrible takes place in our life. We get angry at God and begin to question Him! God, “why did you let this happen to me?” In essence we are making God accountable to us. It almost appears that we want God to get our approval before He does something in our universe. Instead of letting God be God we want Him to be accountable to us. My friend, God is not accountable to you, you are accountable to God. He doesn’t owe you an explanation!

5. “Self-imposed idolatry” is when the believer interrogates God as if He is accountable to them. We might not build graven images. We probably won’t erect an altar of worship for a wooden god. However, in the darkness of our heart we push God off the throne and replace Him with self. We want God to be answerable to us! We may not articulate our thoughts, but we want some answers from God. This is idolatry!

6. Consequently, this is why we have bitter Christians. They get mad at God! God didn’t do what they wanted! Therefore, they become disappointed. In their minds God did not live up to their expectations. This is the ultimate perversion of humanity.

7. Have you ever had something unpleasant take place in your life? Ever been devastated by something totally out of your control? How about disappointments? What about people? Has anyone ever let you down? What do you do when you face these kinds of circumstances? You can respond one of two ways: You either get bitter or you believe in the sovereignty of God. The only way to get better from a “tragic situation” is simply believe that God always has a purpose for my life. I must believe that nothing can come into my life without His prior approval. Beloved, this is faith!

Questions to Ponder:

1. Why do believers have such a difficult time with the Lordship of Jesus Christ?

2. Define the theological term “the sovereignty of God?”

3. What is “self-imposed idolatry?”

4. Why do Christians get mad at God?

5. When tragedy strikes is God doing something “to us” or something “for us” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

6. Why is faith so important in living a life yielded to Christ (Romans 14:23; 2 Corinthians 5:7; Galatians 2:20; 3:11; Hebrews 11:6;).


[1] Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2003), 2:536.

Maranatha Messenger

THE CHURCH AND
THE GREAT COMMISSION
(Part VI)

While in His post-resurrected body, Jesus shared the great commission with His disciples. Just prior to His ascension to Heaven, Jesus commanded His disciples to “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:19-20).

1. This is the mission of the church. Every believer needs to participate in this mission. The mandate is clear; we must make disciples of all nations, we must baptize the convert and then we must teach them all the things Jesus taught His disciples. The assignment has not changed! But have we ignored the commission?

2. Perhaps the great commission has become the great omission of the contemporary church. Why do believers made light of this charge? Could it be that we are so wrapped up in our own problems that we disregard the most significant command of Christ? Let’s face it, every believer has problems. Heart-ache is a fact of life for the saved as well as the unsaved (Matthew 5:44). Just because you are a believer in Jesus Christ does not exempt you from trials and troubles. Even though our challenges may be different, we still have our personal struggles. Although some may be worse than others, we all face challenges in our life. While it is normal to think that our problems are worse than others we must come back to reality by understanding everyone has burdens. Yet still, burden or no burden we have the great commission to fulfill. Somehow we have bought into the philosophy that if we have heartache in our lives then God has discharged us from obeying this command. This is untrue! We are still debtors to the world (Romans 1:14)!

3. The divine order to reach the world for Christ will never be altered! We must extend the message “unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8c). What do you do when you don’t know what to do? Stay in church! Perhaps your world has collapsed around you. Or your spouse has left you. Or maybe your children have broken your heart. Or you find yourself in the unemployment line. By all means stay in church! God commands it! You need to be held accountable! It is essential for you to serve Him in the local church! You need a pastor! The great commission must be fulfilled! Stay in church!

Class discussion:

1. What are the two ordinances of the local church?
2. Is the believer commanded to witness or is witnessing a spiritual gift?
3. Who is responsible to fulfill the great commission, the pastor, the missionary, or every
Christian?
4. Should the believer be involved in world missions?

5. How can the believer be involved in world missions?
6. What were the last seven words Christ spoke before he ascended back to the Father?
Hint? Read Acts 1:8.

Maranatha Messenger

THE PASTOR'S PRAYER MINISTRY

The church member can personally benefit from the prayer ministry of the man of God. A godly pastor is always a man of prayer. James told us if any among the congregation are sick, they can call for the elders of the church to pray for them (James 5:14). Thank God for the prayer ministry of our pastor in times of sickness.

Furthermore, your children need the prayer ministry of the man of God. Do you remember the story of the widow woman whose son died? Do you remember the prayer of Elijah? The Scripture says,

And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? 19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. 20 And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? 21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. 22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. 24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth (1 Kings 17:17-24).

The son of this widow woman of Zarephath had fallen sick. The scripture does not tell us how long he had been ailing; however his illness had progressed to the point of death. Many scholars believe that Elijah spent approximately one year in the home of this widow and her son (v.15). Nevertheless, her son dies leaving her all alone. Notice a few thoughts from this passage of scripture.

1. First of all, notice the gentleness of Elijah (v. 18-19). In the midst of her grief this widow actually blamed Elijah for the death of her son, “And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son (v. 18)?” A more literal translation of the phrase, “What have I to do with thee” is “Why have you done this to me.” Elijah certainly did not deserve such a stinging accusation. This cutting allegation could have prompted a bitter reply from Elijah. Even so, Elijah gently responded, “Give me thy son” (v.19a). Paul informed us that one of the evidences of being filled with the Spirit is “gentleness” (Galatians 5:22-23). The child of God needs to remember unless you tame your spirit at Zarephath there will be no mountain top experience at Carmel with the prophets of Baal. Even the Hebrew word Zarephath means a place of refining. God was certainly refining the prophet Elijah while he was in the city of Zarephath.

2. Secondly, notice the guilt of the woman, “art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance (v.18b). Somewhere buried deep within the depth of her soul laid some haunting sin of the past. Perhaps the memory of this dreadful deed had lain dormant for several years and is now awakened as she stared at her dead son. The text does not tell us the nature of this tormenting sin. Scholars have speculated that it had to do with the birth of her son. Some go as far as saying the child was born out of wedlock. Whatever the offense was we do know that it stood out in her memory above of all the wrong doings of her entire lifetime. Nonetheless, this passage does not reveal to us the nature of this woman’s transgression.

3. Thirdly, notice the godliness of Elijah. “And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed” (v. 19). This godly prophet actually came into direct contact with the defiled body of the dead boy. Elijah was not afraid of becoming ceremonially unclean by handling this dead body. Elijah had one concern and that was to minister to the deceased lad. As Elijah laid himself upon the body of the young man (v.20-21), he actually became a channel through which the life of God flowed through generating life in the boy. By choosing to live a godly life, Elijah became a conduit through which the life of God touched others. The believer must always remember that God will not use a dirty vessel. Sin always stops the flow and power of God in the life of a believer.

4. Fourthly, notice the genuineness of Elijah (v.22-24). This answer to prayer confirmed the authenticity of the prophet Elijah. The phrase “Now by this I know” was a statement of verification that the widow knew Elijah was a man of God and that word of the Lord that he spoke was true (v.24). She saw the living results of the prayers of Elijah. In the same way this widow benefited from the prayer life of the man of God, the member of a local church can profit from the prayer ministry of their pastor. Thank God for the godly minister who prays for his flock.

Discussion

1. How can you benefit from the prayers of your Pastor?
2. How did the widow woman benefit from the prayers of Elijah?
3. Why do Pastors receive blame when something bad happens to some church members?

Maranatha Messenger

YOU NEED A PASTOR
(Part IV)

Thank God for the spiritual shepherd the Lord has provided for you and your family. Although ministry includes a variety of duties such as performing weddings, funerals, visitation, counseling, and a host of other administrative duties, the man of God has but two primary responsibilities. He must minister the Word of God and give himself to prayer (Acts 6:1-7).

1. Notice first of all, the pastor’s preaching ministry. The pastor, elder or bishop of a local congregation must give himself to the study of the Word of God. Paul told the elders at Miletus to “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).

The elder is to prosecho {take heed} or be attentive to his personal life, tend to his flock and poimaino {feed} or nourish the people of God.

Paul told Timothy to honor the elders that rule well, “especially they who labour in the word and doctrine” (1 Timothy 5:17). The Greek word kopiao {labour} means to labour to the point of exhaustion. In other words, the pastor who nurtures the congregation by diligently working in the Word of God is worthy of double remuneration. Most Christians don’t equate Bible study with work. However, Paul described the diligent student of the Word of God as an ergates {workman} who can successfully impart the Word of God (2 Timothy 2:15). The Greek word orthotomeo {rightly divide} literally means to cut a straight line. The skilled worker of the Word must be able to handle the book like an expert carpenter using a mider saw. The mider saw is used to cut crown molding and other expensive wood in precise angles. One mistake can be very costly! Likewise, the mishandling of scripture by an incompetent minister can be very harmful to the people in a local congregation. Therefore, men of God must be thoroughly trained in theology, eschatology, hermeneutics, homiletics, and even acquainted with Biblical languages. Should the elder of a local fellowship be ill equipped for ministry, most likely the people in that congregation will suffer.

Even Peter commanded the elders to “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind (1 Peter 5:1-2). Again, the emphasis is on feeding the flock and tending to the needs of the sheep. In the context of this passage, Peter explained to the elders an incentive for faithfully teaching and tending to the flock. Should they tenderly lead and feed the flock they would receive a “crown of glory” (v.3-4).

The pastor’s personal walk with the Lord as well as his preaching ministry is paramount in the life of the local church. You and your family need a spiritual shepherd who will teach you the Word of God.

2. Secondly, you can personally benefit from the prayer ministry of the man of God. A godly pastor is always a man of prayer. James told us if any among the congregation are sick, they can call for the elders of the church to pray for them (James 5:14). Thank God for the prayer ministry of your pastor in times of sickness.

Furthermore, your children need the prayer ministry of the man of God. Do you remember the story of the widow woman whose son died? Do you remember the prayer of Elijah? The Scripture says,

And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no
breath left in him. 18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance,
and to slay my son? 19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and
laid him upon his own bed. 20 And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I
sojourn, by slaying her son? 21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee,
let this child's soul come into him again. 22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23
And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son
liveth. 24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth (1 Kings
17:17-24).

The son of this widow woman of Zarephath had fallen sick. The scripture does not tell us how long he had been ailing; however his illness had progressed to the point of death. Many scholars believe that Elijah spent approximately one year in the home of this widow and her son (v.15). Nevertheless, her son dies leaving her all alone. Notice a few thoughts from this passage of scripture.

First of all, notice the gentleness of Elijah (v. 18-19). In the midst of her grief this widow actually blamed Elijah for the death of her son, “And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son (v. 18)?” A more literal translation of the phrase, “What have I to do with thee” is “Why have you done this to me.” Elijah certainly did not deserve such a stinging accusation. This cutting allegation could have prompted a bitter reply from Elijah. Even so, Elijah gently responded, “Give me thy son” (v.19a). Paul informed us that one of the evidences of being filled with the Spirit is “gentleness” (Galatians 5:22-23). The child of God needs to remember unless you tame your spirit at Zarephath there will be no mountain top experience at Carmel with the prophets of Baal. Even the Hebrew word Zarephath means a place of refining. God was certainly refining the prophet Elijah while he was in the city of Zarephath.

Secondly, notice the guilt of the woman, “art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance (v.18b). Somewhere buried deep within the depth of her soul laid some haunting sin of the past. Perhaps the memory of this dreadful deed had lain dormant for several years and is now awakened as she stared at her dead son. The text does not tell us the nature of this tormenting sin. Scholars have speculated that it had to do with the birth of her son. Some go as far as saying the child was born out of wedlock. Whatever the offense was we do know that it stood out in her memory above of all the wrong doings of her entire lifetime. Nonetheless, this passage does not reveal to us the nature of this woman’s transgression.

Thirdly, notice the godliness of Elijah. “And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed” (v. 19). This godly prophet actually came into direct contact with the defiled body of the dead boy. Elijah was not afraid of becoming ceremonially unclean by handling this dead body. Elijah had one concern and that was to minister to the deceased lad. As Elijah laid himself upon the body of the young man (v.20-21), he actually became a channel through which the life of God flowed through generating life in the boy. By choosing to live a godly life, Elijah became a conduit through which the life of God touched others. The believer must always remember that God will not use a dirty vessel. Sin always stops the flow and power of God in the life of a believer.

Fourthly, notice the genuineness of Elijah (v.22-24). This answer to prayer confirmed the authenticity of the prophet Elijah. The phrase “Now by this I know” was a statement of verification that the widow knew Elijah was a man of God and that word of the Lord that he spoke was true (v.24). She saw the living results of the prayers of Elijah. In the same way this widow benefited from the prayer life of the man of God, the member of a local church can profit from the prayer ministry of their pastor. Thank God for the godly minister who prays for his flock.


Discussion
What are the two primary duties of the Pastor/Elder in the local church?
Why is it so important that the Pastor/Elder spent hours studying the Word of God?
Why do your children need a godly pastor?