Divine direction

The Bible talks about divine direction in the scriptures. God has a road map for each and every one of us. God knows exactly where to take us. He knows the minute details of our life. He has the blue print for our whole life already. We do not have to ask Him to put a new plan for our lives. All we have to do it just fit in His plans for our lives. His Word of God declares in Jeremiah 29:11, ' For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope'.

There are conceptions which deliberately emphasize the kingdom and which describe themselves as "kingdom-centred." They stress the image of a Church which is not concerned about herself, but which is totally concerned with bearing witness to and serving the kingdom. It is a "Church for others" just as Christ is the "man for others." The Church's task is described as though it had to proceed in two directions: on the one hand promoting such "values of the kingdom" as peace, justice, freedom, brotherhood, etc,, while on the other hand fostering dialogue between peoples, cultures and religions, so that through a mutual enrichment they might help the world to be renewed and to journey ever closer toward the kingdom.

So we want welcomers - these are individuals with the spirit of Christ Himself (Luke 15:2). They welcome all who respond to the invitation. Individuals with this gift instinctively know what to do and how to make people feel warmly welcomed. “But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes
sinners and eats with them.’”

When Christians turn to God's Word for guidance, they will learn to think of themselves as missionaries. Therefore, when men go back into the business world on Monday, they will be doing so not just as an opportunity to make money, but because this is where Christ is sending them. They will see themselves as missionaries to the business world. When the women of the church return to their tasks in the home, the neighborhood, and the world of commerce, they will do so not just because this is the nature of their lives, but because they are being sent by Christ to these places. They, too, are missionaries. And finally, young men and women who have been taught God’s Word will return to their schools and colleges not just because it is a good thing to get an education, but because this is where Christ is sending them. In truth, the role of missionary is assigned to all in the kingdom of God, not just a few. Consequently, the true measure of a church is not necessarily to be found in its foreign evangelism budget or in the number of preachers it supports. It is, instead, to be found in the portion of its own members who understand that because they are saved by Christ, they are sent by Him as missionaries to a lost and dying world. In the plan and purpose of God, all are meant to go. Therefore, the idea that “some can go” falls far short of the truth.

In Nehemiah’s story of rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, halfway through the project people got discouraged and wanted to give up. Like many churches, they lost their sense of purpose and, as a result, became overwhelmed with fatigue, frustration and fear. Nehemiah rallied the people back to work by reorganizing the project and recasting the vision. He reminded them of the importance of their work and reassured them that God would help them fulfill his purpose (Neh. 4:6-15).

The Bible says, as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more. This process of changing us to be more like Jesus is called sanctification. You cannot reproduce the character of Jesus on your own strength. New Year's resolutions, willpower, and best intentions are not enough. Only the Holy Spirit has the power to make the changes God wants to make in our lives. The Bible says, "God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him." Mention "the power of the Holy Spirit," and many people think of miraculous demonstrations and intense emotions. But most of the time the Holy Spirit's power is released in your life in quiet, unassuming ways that you aren't even aware of or can't feel. He often nudges us with "a gentle whisper." Christlikeness is not produced by imitation, but by inhabitation. We allow Christ to live through us. "For this is the secret: Christ lives in you."' How does this happen in real life? Through the choices we make. We choose to do the right thing in situations and then trust God's Spirit to give us His power, love, faith, and wisdom to do it. Since God's Spirit lives inside of us, these things are always available for the asking. We must cooperate with the Holy Spirit's work. Throughout the Bible we see an important truth illustrated over and over: The Holy Spirit releases His power the moment you take a step of faith. When Joshua was faced with an impassible barrier, the floodwaters of the Jordan River receded only after the leaders stepped into the rushing current in obedience and faith.' Obedience unlocks God's power. God waits for you to act first. Don't wait to feel powerful or confident. Move ahead in your weakness, doing the right thing in spite of your fears and feelings. This is how you cooperate with the Holy Spirit, and it is how your character develops. The Bible compares spiritual growth to a seed, a building, and a child growing up. Each metaphor requires active participation: Seeds must be planted and cultivated, buildings must be built-they don't just appear-and children must eat and exercise to grow. While effort has nothing to do with your salvation, it has much to do with your spiritual growth. At least eight times in the New Testament we are told to "make every effort" in our growth toward becoming like Jesus. You don't just sit around and wait for it to happen. Paul explains in Ephesians 4:22-24 our three responsibilities in becoming like Christ. First, we must choose to let go of old ways of acting. "Everything ... connected with that old way of life has to go. It's rotten through and through. Get rid of it!" Second, we must change the way we think. "Let the Spirit change your way of thinking." The Bible says we are "transformed" by the renewing of our minds. The Greek word for transformed, metamorphosis (used in Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:18), is used today to describe the amazing change a caterpillar goes through in becoming a butterfly. It is a beautiful picture of what happens to us spiritually when we allow God to direct our thoughts: We are changed from the inside out, we become more beautiful, and we are set free to soar to new heights. Third, we must "put on" the character of Christ by developing new, godly habits.

Dear heavenly Father, there’s simply no other god as merciful, gracious, and engaged as You. Your forbearance is immeasurable; Your kindness is inexhaustible; Your plans are irrepressible.

While evangelization is the controlling objective of the missionary enterprise, it is useless if it doesn't produce Christ-like character in both the giver and the receiver.

All the other reasons for not loving God as we should-- like being encumbered by much serving, being distracted from our first love by ministry-- will also pale and fade away when we learn to see God and understand His love for us.

Receiving Divine Direction

Graveyard of Missions and Contextualization

Some of the places that have been called graveyards of missionaries in this sense are: Burma; the West Indies; Sierra Leone; Mosul; Suriname; Africa; Liberia; western Africa.

"1872 Baptist Missionary Mag. 52/6 o.s. (2/6 n.s.) (Jun.) 189 : Even in Arracan, the disappointer of hopes and the graveyard of missionaries, there was light. Mr. Ingalls went there in 1846. Soon there was one conversion. Then, one night in an inquiry meeting ten presented themselves for prayer—a rare thing indeed for Burmans. 1880 The Christian Treasury 441 : Fourteen brethren and four sisters had arrived to found a missionary colony at St. Croix, an island which Dober knew to be fatally unhealthy, and nothing but a rank wilderness. He looke dupon the colony as doomed to failure. A few months proved his fears to have been correct, as no less than ten of the settlers fell victims to the pestilential climate, and the rest had to take temporary refuge on other islands. It was many years before this “Graveyard of missionaries,” as Zinzendorff called it, became habitable, though now among the most flourishing and healthy of the missions in the West Indies."

The Church serves the kingdom by her intercession, since the kingdom by its very nature is God's gift and work, as we are reminded by the gospel parables and by the prayer which Jesus taught us. We must ask for the kingdom, welcome it and make it grow within us; but we must also work together so that it will be welcomed and will grow among all people, until the time when Christ "delivers the kingdom to God the Father" and "God will be everything to everyone" (cf. 1 Cor 15:24, 28).

In planting new simple churches it is important to follow Jesus strategy of looking for a “child of peace” or a “house of peace”. When found one, you can start a new simple church among their web of relationships.

The presence of God’s people in a given location will affect daily life as individuals experience a renewal of traditional social patterns. This renewal, however, will substantially be a renewal of the existing patterns. For this reason, planters must quickly learn the real life issues associated with the people among whom they intend to plant a church. What does it look like for people in this community to celebrate, mourn, confess and repent, encourage each other, and show love? Where do people go to have fun, relax, worship, grow, shop, and eat? These questions address issues of social-relational contextualization that are integral to reaching people from a culture that differs from one’s own culture. Understanding transition rituals, crisis rituals, and other types of rituals provides helpful insight for the church planter attempting to understand local life expressions, but may also provide an entry point for the pastor to minister in the midst of these crucial community and family processes.

In addition to right preaching, those early believers had right life-style. They actually practised what they
preached, and Acts 2.42-47 gives us a glimpse of that. Before we start to think that the early church was just a wonderful community centre looking after people’s social needs, let’s just look at v42 to see their priorities, … : God’s Word, holy communion, prayer. And because they were Bible-based,
prayerful people, the Spirit was doing great things among them, v43… They had an expectation that God could and would do miraculous things in their lives. Do you? I know lots of churches which have great social programs, but the Word of God is not central, nor is prayer. I also know churches where gospel preaching and prayer are at the heart, but there’s little social concern. Acts 2 shews we need both. Doesn't 3 James in his letter famously teach us that ‘faith without works is dead, being alone’ (ie useless)?

You will never build the walls of your life until you have first become greatly concerned about the ruins. Have you ever taken a good look at the ruins in your own life? Have you ever stopped long enough to assess what you could be under God, and compared that with what you are? Have you looked at the possibilities that God gave you in your life, and seen how far you have deviated from that potential? Like Nehemiah, you have received word, in some form or other, of the desolation and ruin there. When Nehemiah hears this report about Jerusalem, he weeps and prays for days, showing his intense concern. You will never rebuild the walls of your life until you first weep over the ruins.

Today, as in the past, that mission is difficult and complex, and demands the courage and light of the Spirit. We often experience the dramatic situation of the first Christian community which witnessed unbelieving and hostile forces "gathered together against the Lord and His Anointed" (Acts 4:26). Now, as then, we must pray that God will grant us boldness in preaching the Gospel; we must ponder the mysterious ways of the Spirit and allow ourselves to be led by Him into all the truth (cf. Jn 16:13).

The Cross in the Nuclear Age

Contextualizing the Power and the Glory

The Insider Movement in Missions

MISSION AND CONTEXTUALIZATION

from Graveyard to Vineyard

 Contextualization Revisited

Enter Through Prayer

 

Compassion is a mighty demonstration of love which shows its involvement and interest in other matters not according to their own self interest or profit, such as how much will this hospital make or what fame will be reckoned to me in such a university. Genuine compassion is the outpouring of love of someone in need. The passion involved is not dependent on what he can see himself doing, but what God wants to do through him. And this is where we need to pay special attention to in the book of Nehemiah. Godly compassion will demand that we regularly come to God for beseeching help that He alone is able to do. This type of intercessory prayer is powerful. For it gets God involved in places where He longs to pour out His wonderful grace and mercy.