World Missions: Think Big, Get Busy, Witness Boldly

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:6-11).

Because Jesus is reigning in heaven, we can do great things!

1. We must think big.
2. We must get busy.
3. We must witness boldly.

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Acts 1:6-11

Set Free by Jesus

“I was in prison and you came to me” (Mt. 25:36b).

One of the great things about having missionaries in our church is we get lots of opportunities to see the great stuff Jesus is doing in and around our city. This week a group of us traveled with Mrs. Edna Romulo and her Youth for Christ team to a Christmas worship service at a prison in Bekasi. The service was typical of what you might expect in many evangelical churches. There was worship through singing, praying, preaching, and we celebrated the Lord’s Supper together. The only big difference was that about a dozen of us left at the end, while the other 200 or so stayed behind. Of course they were prisoners and could not leave until they had served their time.

I have been thinking about those men some more this week. Of course, not every person sitting in the service we attended is born again. Nevertheless, a good number of those prisoners were true believers, transformed through faith in the blood of the Lamb! This means they were free men in the greatest possible sense of the word, even though they remained behind bars. While they still experienced the effects of their past, they were not slaves to the past. While the truth that all men are sinners seems especially obvious among convicts, these men were free from their sin! They were free from guilt in the eyes of God, free to be His children, and free from the threat of eternal judgement. Free, in the greatest way!

Interestingly, there are plenty of people walking at will through the streets who are imprisoned by selfishness, doubt, guilt, anger, addiction, and a multitude of other sins. They are prisoners who need to know Jesus. The Lord declares that he is “the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn. 14:6) and those who believe in Him will “know the truth and the truth will set them free” (Jn. 8:32).

How about you? Are you free?

Your servant,

Stephen

Rev. Stephen St. John
Pastor/Elder

The Church is a Body

¹²The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. ¹³For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

¹⁴Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. ¹⁵If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁶And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

²¹The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²²On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

²⁷Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. ²⁸And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. ²⁹Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹But eagerly desire the greater gifts.
And now I will show you the most excellent way. (1 Corinthians 12:12-31).

Because God has united us into one body, we must work together to honor Him.
1. We must embrace our various gifts.
2. We must recognize that we need each other.
3. We must remember all of us are important.

Click below for Sermon audio:

1 Cor. 12:12-31

An Apology Can Bring God Glory and Heal Relationships

Dear friends,

I have several ministry tools in and around my desk: commentaries, Bible dictionaries, theology books, and a little booklet that gives me step by step instruction for confessing and apologizing. Perhaps that last item surprises you? Well I assure you, I have used it. Pastors are just as capable of sinning and hurting another person as anyone else. But I am not writing to confess anything now (thanks be to God). I wanted to share a helpful list from the little booklet.

Here are Eight A’s of Confession from Peacemaker Ministries (1):

• Address everyone involved (Ps. 41:4; Luke 19:8).
• Avoid if, but, and maybe (Ps. 51).
• Admit specifically your:

1. Sinful attitudes (Mt. 15:19; James 4:11).
2. Sinful words (Pr. 12:18; Eph. 4:29; Ex. 20:16; 1 Tim 5:13; Titus 2:3).
3. Sinful actions (Mt. 5:37; Mark 10:42-45; Rom. 13:1-7).

• Apologize. Express sincere sorrow for the way you affected that person.
• Accept the consequences (Luke 15:19; Nu. 5:5-7; Luke 19:8).
• Alter (change) your behavior (Eph. 4:22-32).
• Ask for forgiveness (Gen. 50:17).
• Allow time to pass. Sometimes people need time before they can forgive you.

“Remember our goal in confessing is not just to make ourselves feel better [although we typically do]. Our goal is to glorify God and bring healing and comfort to the person we have wronged” (2). Some of us need to put these into use right away. And some of us need to put this list in our desk, so it is ready when we need it.

Your servant,

Stephen

Rev. Stephen St. John

The Greatest Gift Ever Given

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).

In our program today, Psalty and the kids wanted to give the gift of Christmas music to the Neighborhood Church. They learned that in order to do that, they could not trust in themselves, but needed to look to the Lord for help. It could not be done by human might of power, but only by the Spirit of God.

Of course Christmas is the celebration of the greatest gift ever given. Eternal life, eternal salvation, and an eternal right relationship with God is made possible through God’s gift of Jesus, his Son. This gift does not come by human might of effort.

There are a lot of people in the world who make one of two mistakes. Either they think they can please God and earn heaven through their own strength and good works or they think they are completely hopeless and could never be loved by God. Remember the good news God spoke through his prophet Zechariah, “It’s not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord Almighty.”

We can have salvation, the forgiveness of sins, and a joy filled relationship with the Lord, not through our effort, but through faith in the greatest gift ever, the Lord Jesus and his ministry on the cross!

Have you received this gift? If not, I pray that you will. The kids could tell you it is as easy as the alphabet. A, B, C, D.

A. Admit that you are a needy sinner.
B. Believe that Jesus is your only Savior.
C. Confess your sins and trust Him to take them away.
D. Dedicate you life to Him.

Do this, and then you will have the gift!

The Role of the Pastor/Elder

Dear friends,

A couple of times each month I send out a devotional email to the elders and deacons of JIBC called Light for Leaders. This week I sent the men an explanation of my philosophy for pastoral ministry. After some reflection, I thought it might be useful to share this with the whole congregation so you can have a better understanding of the role of the pastor/elder.

I have a narrow view of the task for the pastor of a church. It is summed up in this statement:

“My task is to glorify God through making disciples who love God and love others, by preaching, teaching, shepherding, serving, and leading with the Word of God.”

Let me dissect and apply it a little:

First, the purpose of pastoral ministry is to make God look great! Every pastor ought to strive to glorify the Lord above all things.

Second, the goal of pastoral ministry is to make disciples who really love God and others. This is of utmost importance. The fruit of a good ministry is authentic, genuine, saved souls, who are growing in maturity as they follow Jesus!

Third, the task of the pastor is anchored by the Word of God. This is where a lot of pastoral ministry goes awry. The job of the pastor is to bring the scriptures to everything - every business meeting, every fellowship, every service, every lunch, every counseling session, every event! This does not mean there needs to always be a sermon or formal teaching time. However, the pastor is a minister (servant) of the Word and ought to seek ways to incorporate it into church functions. We must never lose sight of this.

Fourth, the task of the pastor is primarily carried out in preaching and teaching. I try to spend more than half my work week focused on preparing and delivering messages from the Bible (sermon, theology lecture, Bible Studies, writing, etc.).

Fifth, the task of the pastor is also carried out in shepherding. That is to say the pastor watches out for the flock. He must be aware of what is going on in people’s lives and be ready to pray and provide spiritual counsel from the scriptures. I think this is best accomplished through availability. It is a futile task to try to chase everyone, but the pastor must create comfortable ways for people to approach him. This gets easier over time.

Sixth, the task of the pastor is carried out in serving. This is simply to say the pastor must always be willing to wash feet. There is not a task at the church which is “beneath” the pastor. A good pastor always tries to give ministry away when he can. However, there must be a constant willingness to do whatever needs to be done.

Seventh, the task of the pastor is carried out in leading. Remember, pastoral leadership is founded on the use of the Word of God. This is how the pastor leads best. The other elders and deacons at the church are often professional people who know better how to plan a budget, lease a building, or manage staff. This is God’s purposeful design in giving the church a plurality of leaders. The special leadership task of the pastor is to attempt to enlighten the decision making and leadership of the church with the full counsel of the Bible.

Finally, it is probably worth noting all the things the pastor is not and does not do! Aside from the above stated willingness to “do whatever needs to be done” the pastor is not typically an executive or manager. He is not a social director or party planner. He is not a therapist or professional counselor. He is not a wedding planner or programer. On and on this list could go. I have learned the hard way that the narrow view of pastor as “minister of the Word” is the best approach. More importantly is it firmly rooted in the scriptures (see 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus).

May God bless us as we serve together!

Your servant,

Stephen

Rev. Stephen St. John
Pastor/Elder

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