GOING THROUGH A DRY SEASON IN YOUR MINISTRY?

Are you in a rut? Does it seem like God has put your ministry on the shelf? Are you facing a dry season in your ministry? You have set goals, devised a strategic plan and implemented initiatives to reach milestones, yet it all seems to be moving along at a snail-like pace or not at all. Has finding the traction to move forward been difficult for you recently? Does any of this describe where you are right now, or does every word of it describe your situation precisely?

Well, welcome to the Dry Season Fraternity! You are a part of a company of notorious nincompoops, who sometimes labor in obscurity but never in vain. Every serious preacher I know will at some point join this exclusive fraternity. Having preached the Gospel for over twenty years now, I have experienced a few dry seasons myself. Here are a few things I have learned over the years that have helped me persevere:

1. God places His emphasis on the worker and not the work. We are His workmanship, not our ministry.


2. Many times our disappointment is His appointment.


3. Genuine faith never functions in a vacuum. It can only function in a hostile environment.


4. Applying simple truth sustains us during difficult times. His remedy for bringing us out is never complex.


5. A quote from General George S. Patton, "The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war."

The reassuring part about going through a dry season is that we go through it. Our sovereign God provides the faith to sustain us, the season to mold us and the strength to help us bear fruit despite our circumstances. So embrace, not shun every dry season in your life and ministry. Hear the words of Paul, "For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me." (Phil. 4:11-13, ESV)

PREACHER, BEWARE OF THE THREE G'S

Why do some preachers fall? I don't mean failing to please the Lord in some area of our relationship with Him. Generally speaking, we all stumble and miss the mark as we try to live according to the truth we have embraced. Sometimes, we may even fail in the areas of our strongest convictions. However, I am referring to devastating moral failures that leave a trail of ruin and wreckage. The kind of failures that wreak havoc in the preacher's life, his family and in the lives of those to whom he ministers. There are three danger areas for preachers. I'll refer to them as the three G's - the Girls, the Gold and the Glory.

Simply put, the preacher must maintain appropriate relations with the opposite sex, avoid the temptations of money and materialism and no matter how God uses him; he must not glory in himself but rather give glory to God. Just a brief perusing through Scripture reveals that a careless approach to the three G's has caused more men of God to fall than anything. We can mention Jacob, Samson, David and Solomon as examples.

First Timothy, chapter three, lists fourteen qualifications for the church elder or leader. Of the fourteen, only one has to do with gifting or skill (able to teach). The rest deals with private character and public integrity. Character and integrity are the most important assets of the preacher. He must guard them with all his might, trusting in the Lord. Carelessness toward the three G's can ruin the character of any man of God. None of us are immune.

Preacher, beware of the three G's.

EATING ACORNS AND SHARING THE GOSPEL

Would you eat this? Yes, it's an acorn. Again, would you eat it? "I would if I were starving," you might say. If you were a guest at some one's home and they were eating acorns and were kind enough to offer one to you, would you eat it? "Probably not," might be your answer.

One day a friend of mine went street witnessing with a church group at a local housing project. He came across a group of kids playing outside. As he approached them, he noticed one small kid was eating acorns. As he proceeded to share the Gospel with them, the kid, very innocently, offered him an acorn. Without thinking, my friend took the acorn and ... Gulp. The taste? It was awful. Yet, he did not gag, frown or spit. Most importantly, he kept sharing the Gospel.

As my friend shared his experience with me, I thought to myself, "What a small price to pay in order to share the Gospel." You see, what my friend and I knew intuitively, is that we are not only called to verbally share the Gospel, but to also identify when needed with those to whom we share it. Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians, chapter 9, verses 21-23 stated, "To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings." (ESV)

So, eating an acorn is not all that terrible in light of the eternal consequences. Go ahead, take the plunge. You just might acquire the taste.

FAITH IN THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL

One of the most fascinating occurrences in nature is the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly through metamorphosis. This process has baffled scientists for centuries. An ugly caterpillar spins a cocoon and emerges from it as a beautiful butterfly. This transformation is a fitting object lesson to illustrate the power of the Gospel to save the lost.

Mosab Hassan Yousef can testify to the power of the Gospel. He is a recent convert to Christianity. What makes Mosab's conversion unique is that he is a former Muslim reared in a strict Islamic home and his father is an influential leader in the terrorist organization, Hamas. History is replete with evidence attesting to the power of the Gospel to save. Yet many in Christendom seem to not have confidence in the power of the simple, pure Gospel. When churches spend thousands of dollars to conduct marketing analyses and surveys to find the felt needs of weekly attendees. When they devise programs to improve the self esteem of attendees seeking a better life, this indicates a lack of faith in the power of the Gospel. C. H. Spurgeon said, "Never lose heart in the power of the gospel. Do not believe that there exists any man, much less any race of men, for whom the gospel is not fitted."

Paul, the apostle, was wholly convinced of the power of the Gospel when he wrote in Romans 1:16-17, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith ; as it is written, "but the righteous man shall live by faith." We can have faith in the power of the Gospel because the Gospel is the power of God.

This power is demonstrated three ways in Romans 1:15-17

THE GOSPEL IS THE POWER OF GOD PARTICULARLY - because it is the Gospel of Christ. It is of Him, by Him and through Him. George Owen said, "The world has many religions; it has but one gospel." The power of the Gospel is derived from its exclusivity. All other messages are excluded. The moment the Gospel is made to be inclusive of other ways and beliefs, it has no power and is no longer the Gospel of Christ. (1:16)

THE GOSPEL IS THE POWER OF GOD DECLARATIVELY - because God demonstrates His power by providing a means whereby the Gospel is declared despite enormous opposition, persecution and suffering. In other words, inherent in the Gospel message is the power to preach it! Paul knew that going to Rome to preach the Gospel would be met with much opposition, yet he boldly proclaims, "I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also." (1:15) Emperor Nero of Rome during the first century inflicted unspeakable cruelties against the Church. Foxes Book of Martyrs records that Nero, "contrived all manner of punishments for the Christians that the most infernal imagination could design. In particular, he had some sewed up in skins of wild beasts, and then worried by dogs until they expired...This persecution was general throughout the whole Roman Empire; but it rather increased than diminished the spirit of Christianity."

THE GOSPEL IS THE POWER OF GOD REGENERATIVELY - because it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believe. (1: 16) The power to save is in the Gospel. In this verse, the word power is dunamis in the Greek. According to the NAS New Testament Greek Lexicon, it means inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature.

WHY DOES THE GOSPEL SAVE? - because in the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed. (1:17) Since the righteousness of God is necessary for salvation to be obtained and the Gospel is the only place where that righteousness can be found, we have to conclude that that is what gives the Gospel its power! This is exactly what Paul is getting at. John Piper puts it this way, “What is revealed in the gospel is the righteousness of God for us that he demands from us. The reason the gospel is the power of God for salvation - the way that the gospel saves believers is that in it God reveals a righteousness for us that God demands from us. What we had to have, but could not create or supply or perform, God gives us freely, namely, his own righteousness, the righteousness of God.”

Hallelujah!

We can have faith in the power of the Gospel!

Three Important Contributions Fathers Make To Their Families

(I recently contributed an article in Wisermen Magazine about the importance of fatherhood. Here is an excerpt from the article. I hope it inspires more fathers to be the servant-leaders God has ordained them to be.)

In Luke chapter 15, Jesus tells the story of the prodigal son. In this story a young man asks his father for the portion of the inheritance due him. He takes the inheritance and then leaves for a far country and wastes his substance on riotous living. In other words, he began to live an unprincipled life devoid of constraint and moral boundaries.

This story is titled after its so-called main character, the prodigal son. However, a closer examination of this story shows us that the main character is the father and the central theme is his unconditional love for a son who has gone astray. In this story we see three important contributions the father made in the life of his son. These contributions are just as relevant today as they were over two thousand years ago when Jesus told the story. Before we examine these three contributions, lets answer the question, what is a father?

In the Hebrew language, the word for father is ab. It means source or sustainer. To be an ab one must produce and sustain his offspring. The Greek word for father is pater. It means source, nourisher and sustainer.

God is the Father of creation. He is the source and sustainer of creation and the universe. Hebrews 1:3 says that God upholds and sustains all things by the word of His power. God did not create the universe and then abandon it. The universe is presently being sustained and kept by the word of His power. Just as God sustains what He has created, a human father also sustains and takes care of the children he produces.

The first contribution a father makes to his family is giving them an IDENTITY. A family is identified by its founder or father. More specifically, children receive their identity through their father. In verse 19 of Luke chapter 15, the prodigal son rehearsed saying to his father, “ I am no more worthy to be called thy son.” His identity was interwoven within his father.

Identity can be broken down in three key areas – name, values and character. When a father gives his family his name, values and character, we can truly say he has given them an identity. An excellent example of this is in Genesis 18: 17-19, “And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” (Emphasis added by author.)

David Blankenhorn in his book, “Fatherless America”, calls the passing along of these three things (name, values and character), “paternal cultural transmission.” This transmission from the father to his children is the most contributing factor of their identity.

The second key contribution fathers make to their families is SECURITY. In verse 17 of Luke chapter 15 the prodigal son says, “How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!” He was at the point of starvation, yet he knew there was security at his father’s house.

A father provides security to his family through provision and protection. This is why the wife and children naturally look to the father for security. The woman did not come from the soil. She came out of the man. (I Corinthians 11:8-9) The man is therefore, the source and sustainer of the woman. The Bible never says the woman should leave her father to find a mate. Only the man leaves the security of his parents to find a mate. He is to find a woman who is under the security of her father and then marry her and continue to provide security to her. In a sense, when a woman marries, she comes under another father – her husband. (Genesis 2:23-24)

The third key contribution a father makes to his family is STABILITY. This stability comes in the form of commitment and consistency. There is hardly anything more devastating to a family than a father who is not committed and is inconsistent in his care and devotion. The prodigal son knew that at his father’s house there was stability because his father was committed to him and was consistent in his love towards him. This is beautifully illustrated when the son finally returns home. Instead of greeting his wayward son with scolding and condemnation, the father was overjoyed to see him and honored him with a new wardrobe and a festive celebration! (Luke 15:20-24)

The father’s words are profoundly indicative of his heart attitude towards his son, “For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.”

As I stated earlier, the key character in this story is not the son, but rather the father. His actions and attitude mirror our heavenly Father’s unconditional love for us, His children. Despite our often disobedience and foolish decisions, He never wavers in His love for us. In I John 3:1, it says, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.”

If you are a Christian father with a family, there is an enormous responsibility on your shoulders to provide them with an IDENTITY, SECURITY and STABILITY. You may have failed miserably in these areas, but you can look to your heavenly Father, who is the Father of mercy and the God of all comfort. You can do all things through Him. Ask Him in prayer to give you the strength and wisdom to love your family unconditionally.

IT'S OFFICIAL!

I am finally a blogger. This is my first posting to my newly created blog site. I pray that God will use it to spiritually enrich the lives of those who take the time to visit and read. I intend to use this blog as a new avenue for ministry and to hone my writing skills. I anticipate many changes along the way as I prayerfully ask the Lord for direction with this new ministry opportunity. As of now, my postings will be under the following labels or categories:

Taste of Honey - God's word is said to be sweeter than honey. (Psalm 19:10) Here I will give a short exposition of Scripture gleaned from my personal study and sermon excerpts.

Worth Sharing - Here I will share the material of other authors along with my personal reviews and thoughts about their work.

Monday Morning Musing (3M) - We all know Sunday is a busy day for pastors. However, I feel Monday is crucial since it sometimes sets the tone for the rest of the week. In this section I will share helpful information with pastors and offer needed encouragement.

Presenting Pulpit Pablum (3P) - In this section I will address erroneous, false and watered down teaching that is prevalent in the Church, which I refer to as "Pulpit Pablum."

What's Up With Me? - Here I will chronicle my spiritual journey - how is the Lord dealing with me? I will also share my personal ventures, hobbies, interests, etc.

My Wit, My Wisdom, My Whatever (3W) - A light-hearted discussion about everyday life with a taste of my personal wit and humor.

Announcements - Information about what is going on at my church and other places.

Again, I pray that this blog will be visited by many and will be a source of edification.

All to the glory of God!