Drennen weighs 6 lbs 13 ounces and is 20 inches long. Drennen has quite a voice as he came into the world screaming at the top of his lungs. Karla, Jim, and Drennen are all doing well. Gram and Grandpa are doing as well as can be expected considering this is their first grandchild. Karla was only in labor for a couple of hours so all went well. Thanks for your prayers and thoughts. God bless you all.
As I write this I am waiting in Alabama for my daughter to give birth to our first grandchild. Today we begin our fifth year in Payson. I think back to the beginning and it seems like only yesterday we were moving to Payson. I remember the first lesson presented. I called it “Back to the Future.” This work at Payson has been both awesome and difficult. When all is said and done the opportunities that lie before us outnumber the problems many times over.
As one looks over the congregation the number of those who have arrived since we moved to Payson is about equal to the number of those who were here originally. To those who have died, moved, or just left for various reasons; we miss you. To those who are new here, we look forward with great anticipation to the future with each of you.
So much has changed and yet there is so much left to do. A few years ago there was a commercial about an automobile. In the commercial it was stated, “This isn’t your father’s Oldsmobile.” In so many ways this could be said about the church in Payson.
I am proud of the road we have traveled to this point and look forward to the miles that still lie before us. This church isn’t my church. It doesn’t belong to any individual. The body of Christ in Payson doesn’t belong to the elders. This church belongs to Christ! It is so much bigger than any of us!
Even if it isn’t realized every church has a direction it will travel. For many churches the direction is one of stagnation, for others it is a direction looking inward. My hope for Payson is that her direction will be one of reaching out to this community. My hope is that she will be a church that turns this city upside down! May our approach put Christ in the center with everything else revolving around him.
To those of you who have been here for the entirety of my ministry at Payson:
To those who like me have come to the work at Payson in the last few years:
To those who aren’t part of the church in Payson but share in our good times through the reading of this blog:
When Robbi and I received the word that we were going to be grandparents we were excited. Then we learned we were going to be grandparents twice! Both our children were expecting children. My immediate thoughts were, “This is awesome!!” Now Karla’s time has come. The doctors have told her that if she hasn’t had the baby by Sunday they will induce labor. As a result of this we will be heading to Alabama the last part of this week. Please pray for us as we travel, Karla as she delivers her first, and the young preacher she is bringing into this world!
This post is a conclusion of what I have taught in the past few months concerning the Holy Spirit. This study is by no means an end all in this important Study. My hope is that you will use this as a beginning in finding God’s truths in regard to His Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is given as a gift from God for all believers. As He indwells us He plays a role that is unique within the Godhead. The responsibilities of the Spirit are basically two-fold. He is given to allow us growth in our likeness of Christ. As we mature as Christians the fruit of the Spirit becomes more prominent in our lives. The Spirit also gifts individual Christians so that the local church may be built up. This helps both Christians and churches to bear fruit for the Lord. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12-14 that Christians ought to seek gifts that build up the church. The work and gifts of the Spirit continue until the return of Jesus.
Without the Spirit we would become a sterile church. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 says we ought not quench the Spirit. This requires that we as Christians realize God is still operating in the lives of men today. The work of the Holy Spirit has not stopped. Let me state a couple of examples that will bring this point into clear focus:
It is important we realize the role of the Holy Spirit is alive and well in the lives of Christians and the work of the church today. We should not assign to the Holy Spirit a role centered in emotionalism. At the same time we ought not limit His responsibilities because we can’t explain how He accomplishes His task. God has given His Spirit as our helper. We should always center our minds on the fact we are to walk by and with the Spirit.
We are familiar with the story shared by our Lord of what we have come to know as the story of the prodigal son. The part of the story we don’t talk about often has to do with the other son. We don’t discuss this son as much. Truth is this son is very similar to many of us today.
When the prodigal son returns we find the other son in the field working. It is largely because of the other son’s efforts that the farm remains. The other son is the brother we would most want our daughters to marry. We could count on the other son to take care of all obligations including our daughter. This is just the way he was. In spite of the good qualities of the other brother there were still problems in his life. The primary problem was much like many in the religious world today. This son was depending on his goodness to justify him in the father’s eyes. He demanded justice instead of grace. He believed he had lived good enough to count on justice. Notice his reaction when he learns of his brother’s return. He tells the father, “I have been here slaving for you. I have never disobeyed and you never killed the fatted calf for me or my friends.” He didn’t want grace for the returning brother, he wanted justice.
Lets look at some things we learn from the other son:
There are a number of other conclusions that could be drawn from this story. These are enough for us to understand that we don’t talk so much about the other son because he makes us uncomfortable. This other son often times is much like those of us who seek God today. Think on these things.
You can never have enough good friends. The older you get the more important friends become because there is less time to make new ones. We remember friends we have had in the past, friends from high school, college and early life. We have many friends through life but few we consider really good friends.
I think about friends like Jonathan and David. According to Scripture these friends were closer than brothers. How many of us have been blessed with these type friends?
My dad used to tell me, “When times are hard you still have the same friends you had in the past it is just now you know who they are.” Paul found himself in this situation in 2 Timothy chapter 4. Paul was facing trials. He didn’t know if he would live or die. Paul’s friends had deserted him. The only one with him was Luke. Can you imagine Paul facing these difficult times without the help of those he had influenced for Christ?
Why do friends forsake us? It is hard to understand. Sometimes men feel inadequate. They don’t feel capable of helping friends who have real needs. Maybe this was the case with Paul. Perhaps his friends didn’t feel competent to help Paul when he needed them. Occasionally we find men and women who don’t want to be identified with friends in crises. They don’t want to be associated with the problems that go with difficulties. Often this kind of friend just walks away. At other times friends are simply selfish. They don’t want to invest the time it takes to maintain the relationship. To justify their walking away, they judge us as individuals. This settles the matter in their mind. It provides justification for their abandoning friends in times of need. It could have been for any of these reasons or a multitude of others, regardless Paul found himself with few friends in a time when he was in real need.
Beginning in 2 Timothy 4:16 Paul says, “At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May in not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom to Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
Paul understood from personal experience that friends on earth will desert and leave in hard times. Paul had learned these truths about God:
We have been taught that Jesus died that we might go to heaven. This is true but it isn’t the only purpose for Jesus death. The sin payment was made that we might be reconciled to God. This means that Jesus also died in order that we might enjoy relationship with God. With Jesus death we could be a friend of God again. We may have many friends in this life, but we can never have a friend as wonderful as God. What is your relationship with God today?
Today was our 4th annual clothing give-away. This is an outreach program of the Payson church of Christ. This effort has grown each year. This year we were blessed with the opportunity to help more than 300 people. This included almost 100 families. Out of these helped we had 20 who indicated they were looking for a church home and wanted a visit. We also had one individual who was a member of the church and wished to begin worshipping with us.
In this program we give winter clothing and coats to people in the community. This gives us an opportunity to do good in the community while preaching Jesus to a world who needs to hear.
When Ananias was told Saul would be coming to him he was afraid. His response was one grounded in the uncertain. Ananias stated that he had heard the evil things Saul had done. Ananias was reassured that Saul was a chosen vessel. God chose Saul to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Before Saul knew God’s intent God already knew the ending. While Saul was burying himself in Pharisaism God was preparing Saul to preach Jesus.
Does God choose men today to do his work on earth? Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Is it safe to say that before the world was formed that God had already chosen those who would do His works?
In the past I have taught that God does not call certain individuals to preach the Gospel. My reasoning was that since we were all a royal priesthood that all Christians had the ability and responsibility to preach Jesus. Really a preacher was just like anyone else. He had simply decided to preach. I hope the Lord lets me live long enough to correct some of the mistaken concepts I have taught.
If God has prepared in advance the works that we are to do then He knows in advance the ones who will do the works. Before the world began God knew those who would be chosen. By His Spirit He has given us gifts necessary to match the responsibilities he would set before us. All talents and abilities we possess are given to us by God. If you are an accountant your ability comes from God. If you have the gift of encouragement it is because God has instilled that gift within you.
According to Acts 20:28 it is the Holy Spirit that makes certain men overseers of the flock. If the Holy Spirit chooses elders does He also choose the men who will become preachers? Obviously, some have the gift to preach while others do not. Where do preachers get the ability to do God’s bidding? Is it not from God Himself? Many who have the gift refuse to use it. This doesn’t change the fact that God has chosen and gifted certain ones for the task. Certain men are made elders by the work of the Holy Spirit. Other men are chosen by God to preach Jesus. Whether you are called to be an elder or a preacher of the Gospel God has chosen you to be his representative. You have been chosen to do an awesome work! As you live your life remember who and what you are. You are God’s man chosen to do the most important work in the world. You have been called by God Himself, live your life accordingly!
Life isn’t always fair. Have you ever been in a situation in which you believed you were treated unjustly? Did the circumstances cause you to lose control? If you did lose control did it help?
Self-control matters even when life isn’t fair. There are many events that take place that aren’t right. Why do individuals lose their health in what ought to be considered the prime of life? Perhaps you know someone who has lost their job through absolutely no fault of their own. These situations are not fair. Life isn’t fair but it isn’t a justification for losing self-control.
Why is it necessary we establish self-control?
How do we maintain self-control?
Self-control isn’t about fairness. Self-control is about humility and understanding our place and purpose in life. It really isn’t about me and what is fair. It has always been about trusting God to work through us as we establish relationship with Him. It is essential we maintain self-control as we walk with the Spirit and not by the flesh.
1 Corinthians 14:26 specifically tells us that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to build up the church. Different groups emphasize different gifts of the Holy Spirit. Our fellowship emphasizes the gift of Scripture. In the mind of some the role of Scripture has replaced the Holy Spirit as God’s mode of operation. A primary source of this confusion is the result of a mistaken view of 1 Corinthians chapter 13. I grew up being taught that the gist of this chapter concerns the idea that most spiritual gifts ended with the assimilation of the written Word. We have developed doctrine and an entire direction around this view of 1 Corinthians 13. If you grew up as I did you were taught that gifts of the Holy Spirit could only be given by the laying on of the apostles hands. When the apostles died and all those they had laid their hands on died most gifts of the Spirit ceased to exist. This would have been a few years after the last New Testament book was written. Thus the idea that when the perfect (Scripture) came the gifts of the Holy Spirit were no longer available. This was necessarily inferred by our excellent line of human reasoning.
There are more than a few problems with the doctrine we have built around this view of 1 Corinthians 13. The primary thrust of 1 Corinthians 12-14 deals with the misunderstanding the Corinthian church had with the gifts of the Spirit. The Corinthians mistakenly believed that the gifts made you a superior Christian. The gifts of the Spirit did not show the superiority of individual Christians but rather show the goodness of God. The gifts given to the Corinthian Christian were not for the benefit of the individual but the benefit of the church. It is in this context that Paul discusses the gifts of the Spirit. Paul ends chapter 12 by telling them to eagerly desire the greater gifts but he continues by telling them that he would show them a more excellent way.
Scripture is a tremendously important gift given to man by the Holy Spirit. However, that described in chapter 13 as the perfect is not the written word. Allow me to outline just a few of the difficulties this interpretation poses. Initially, if the written word is what has previously been described we have a time problem. By conservative estimates all apostles and those with whom they had personal contact had died by 160 AD. New Testament Scripture wasn’t assembled as we know it until the late 4th or early 5th century. This would mean for a space of several hundred years God could not have operated in the lives of men by means of the Holy Spirit or by Scripture. If the previously mentioned doctrinal view is correct there would have been a disconnect in the operation of God in the lives of men for several hundred years. I do not believe this happened and neither do most you.
Paul says chapter 13 we can now only see a poor reflection as in a mirror but when the perfect comes we will see face to face. He continues by stating that now we know in part: but then we shall know fully even as we are fully known. If the perfect refers to the written word Paul saw a poor reflection but we see face to face. If the perfect refers to the written word Paul knew in part but today we know fully even as we are fully known. If that which is perfect is the written word then our knowledge of God is superior to that of Paul. I am not willing to claim knowledge of God that is greater and deeper than the knowledge of God held by Paul!
A more reasonable definition of the perfect would be the Christ. Consider these Scriptures: Revelation 1:7 says, “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him.” When will we see perfection face to face. Is it remotely possible that it will be when every eye sees him? 1 John 3:2 says, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” Where have we heard this thought? When I was a child I acted like a child when I became a man I put away these childish things. When will we be mature enough to put away the incomplete? The answer is when we become like Him! When He appears! At the appearing of Christ we shall know as we are fully known because we will be like Him.
Why does this matter? The very heart of much of the direction of our fellowship is built on the idea that since we have the written word God operates only through this word implying other Spiritual gifts have ceased. We have made this an either-or-argument. The correct argument is both. God operates through Scripture but He continues to operate through other gifts of the Spirit as well.
Let me pose these questions for your consideration:
Thanks for your interest and thoughts, there will be more to come.
