"Read the Word"

“At the command of the Lord, they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out. They kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses” (Numbers 9:23)

As a Christian, how do you know what to do or how you should conduct your life? The answer is by the Word of God. This should be the answer for every professing believer. Without the Word of God, we are left to our own devices to do as we please. The Word of God is the Christian’s only authority for rule and practice in their life.

The children of Israel were not as fortunate as we are today. They did not have a canonized book with 66 books called the Bible. However, God gave them a cloud by day and a fire at night that sat above the tabernacle, which was a representation of His presence. The cloud by day and fire at night would lead and guide Israel as to where God wanted them to travel on their journey. And according to our text, Israel obeyed the Lord up to this point in their journey while in the wilderness, because they could only journey as far as the cloud or fire led them.

This is a great reminder for those who name the name of Christ. Why? Because Christ is the eternal Word who took on flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). The Hebrew writer reminds us, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” Hebrews 1:1-2). Just as God spoke everything into existence by His Word (Genesis 1), so He still speaks today through His Word, the Bible. And like Israel, we can only go as far as God’s Word will lead us.

So, why read God’s Word? The Bible itself teaches us that the Scriptures are sufficient for the sinner’s salvation and the saint’s sanctification (1 Timothy 3:14-16). I will submit just a few thoughts concerning believers need to read God’s Word.

1. You must read God’s Word to know God.

The fundamental truth of Christianity is that we can know our God. You and I will never know God apart from His Word. Thus, the reason why we read God’s Word is to worship Him in Spirit and Truth, but more importantly, is to know God as he has revealed Himself through the Scriptures. Many people claim to know God, but its not the God of the Bible. There are too many who claim to be Christians and do not know the Word of God, which is a contradiction. Do you know the God of the Bible, personally? Do you spend time with Him daily in His Word?

2. You must read God’s Word to obey God.

Christians do not read God’s Word just for knowledge. Rather, we want to obey what God has commanded us to do. James wrote, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). If you just read or listen to the Word, while not obeying the Word I’d refer you back to the first point to consider “your calling and election.” Do you read the Bible as a checklist? Do you actively listen and obey God’s Word?

3. You must read God’s Word to know His will for your life.

God’s Word gives a believer purpose in life. God reveals who He is and gives direction to the believer through His Word, as it is accompanied by the Holy Spirit. In order to know God’s Will for your life; First, you must know God and the forgiveness of sins through His Son Jesus Christ. Second, you must be willing to submit to God’s Word as it is revealed in Scripture. There must not be any unconfessed sin you are holding on to. Third, you need to seek God in prayer along with Scripture reading as you seek His will. Fourth, Seek godly counsel in identifying God’s will in your life. However, you need to seek godly counsel, not counsel from those who will only tell you what you want to hear. Fifth, I would submit that once you have whole-heartedly sought God's will, then do what your heart desires (Psalm 37:4), but don't try and force it. If it is God's will for your life, I promise you it will come to pass.

The bottom line is this; as a believer, you must make it a priority to read, meditate, study, and apply God’s Word to your life. Jesus said, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). Apart from God’s Word, you will find yourself floating along in life aimlessly and no purpose. So, will you begin to read your Bible to know God better today? Will you read God's Word to obey God better today? Will you read your Bible to know your purpose better today? And don't forget to delight in Him while you do it. Have a blessed day. SDG!

"No Confidence"

“For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (Phil.3:4).

There are three enemies that all believers must constantly battle: the world (1 John 2:15), the devil (John 14:30), and the flesh (Gal. 5:17). Once a person has been graced with salvation, spiritual warfare becomes a daily reality. The believer realizes there is something significant taking place in their lives, which is a fight with their new found enemies. They begin to understand, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph.6:12). Regardless, how long a person has known God; there will be a constant battle raging against these three enemies until they take their last breath. The key is to know that it is a daily battle. The world, Satan, or your flesh does not take days off, so neither should you!

The Apostle Paul reminded the Philippian church not to place confidence or trust in their flesh. At this point, we need to be reminded that the flesh is not inherently evil in and of itself, lest we are dualists. Those who had been “circumcised in the heart” (regenerated or born again) worshipped God by His Spirit and in the Truth of Jesus Christ are not to place any hope in the flesh. They understood their justification was by faith in Christ alone (Rom.5:1), not by some deed their flesh could produce. Why was this so important? Paul said there were “dogs” (false teachers) who would try and lead the people of God astray by getting them to place their hope and faith in something other than Christ (v.3), namely their flesh. And just like in Paul’s day, there are false teachers who would have you and I place our faith and hope in what “WE” can do, rather than what Christ has done. This is “works based” religion that can only lead to death, not life.

Therefore, we must constantly be fighting against our flesh, not only trying to earn favor from God but also in disobeying His commands revealed in Scriptures. Your flesh will have you questioning God's goodness and authority towards you in Christ. Your flesh will look at the forbidden tree and say, “I must have this.” Your flesh will always want to take the path of least resistant. Your flesh will not want to sacrifice for Christ, His Church, or the glory of God. Your flesh will want you to take the easy way out, which is usually disobedience to God’s Word. And the reality is where the heart sins, the mind and then the body will always follow. This is why you must be dying to your flesh daily. The Puritan, John Owen wrote in the book, Mortification of Sin, “Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.”

Here are some helpful scripture references I often study as I battle with my sinful flesh. May you find them helpful in your study as you continue in this spiritual warfare for God’s glory (Romans 8:13;13:8-14; 2 Cor.6:14-7:1; Eph.4:17-5:21; Col.3:1-17; 1 Peter 4:1-11; 1 John 2:28-3:11). Read. Meditate. Study. Pray. Ask God to help you be actively killing YOUR sin!

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"A Gospel Partnership: Philippines Mission Trip Report"

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” Philippians 1:4-5

Grace Baptist Church

Gospel ministry can be lonely at times. Yet, God in His grace gives others who come alongside to partner with us along the way. Myself along with Pleasant Hill Baptist Church have had the distinct privilege of partnering with Expositors International Ministries since its inception in 2011. Expositors International Ministries (EIM) is a local church mission ministry that exists to give indigenous pastors a solid theological education in order to help them plant biblically healthy churches in the southeast Asia region. There is a great need in our day for local churches to participate in biblically sound missions where they can actually know and support (financially and prayerfully) their missionaries. And this is why PHBC has purposed to be a gospel partner with EIM for gospel advancement.

The Apostle Paul understood the struggle of gospel ministry. He was often misunderstood, beaten, and incarcerated for the sake of his ministry. Yet, he continued to “press on for the goal of the upward prize in Christ Jesus” (Phil.3:14). He knew the burdens and anxiety of overseeing all the churches (2 Cor.11:28), yet found comfort in those churches who partnered with him for the sake of the gospel. The church at Phillipi was one of those churches that partnered with Paul in his efforts of advancing the gospel. And Paul was eternally grateful for Philippi’s generosity in their financial support and prayers sent to him by Epaphroditus (Phil.4:18). In other words, the local church at Philippi played a vital role when it came to missions.

For example, I have just arrived back from a 12-day short-term mission trip in Cagayan De Oro, Philippines. Wes Graff (member of Camp Branch Baptist Church, West Blockton, AL) and myself journeyed to CDO to be an encouragement to our missionary Barry Carpenter and the other indigenous pastors there. Barry has been faithful in teaching and training pastors for the past 6 years, as well as helping plant Grace Baptist Church. As you can imagine, this has not been an easy task trying to overcome many cultural barriers. Yet, we were able to see the fruit of his labor up close and personal. This is the joy of partnering with missionaries you personally know and support when it comes to the gospel.

There are so many encouraging testimonies I could share, but I will focus on just a couple for time and space sake. First, Pastor Ben Gabitino has been apart of BES (Bible Expositor Seminary) from its beginning. He has been one of the teaching elders of Grace Baptist Church since it was planted in 2011, as well. I have witnessed the Lord grow him in the past 6 years in his ability to exegete, expound, and proclaim the gospel of Christ. I have witnessed his love not just for preaching, but also his love for shepherding the flock at GBC. Ben is a fiery evangelist who is faithful in sharing the good news of Christ with others. It has been a joy to see God work in Ben’s life and to see the fruit manifested at GBC.

Bible Expositors Seminary students after Greek Class

Second, I was encouraged by getting to spend time with the leaders of Grace Baptist Church. We spent several hours one night with the men of GBC conversing about theology, church life, and ministry in general. I was taken aback by these men’s knowledge for the deep things of God. One young man that stood out to me was Brother Errold. He was raised Catholic but left the church as he got older, and began studying Islam. He could quote the Qu’ran in Arabic and knew the Islamic prayer. However, God in His grace saved Errold from this false religion and more importantly from His sins. Bro. Errold changed jobs and moved from another island to be apart of GBC. He is an architect for the local government now and plans on drawing floor plans for the multi-purpose buildings for EIM, BES, and GBC in the very near future.

Well, I could write for days concerning our time in the Philippines. The greatest take away from my time there was in spite of the constant struggles that Barry, the other pastors, and saints at GBC face is that they simply persevere by God’s grace. They have so many excuses not to be faithful, according to American standards, yet you find them simply being faithful. Most of them live in extreme poverty. They don’t have air-conditioned cars to drive to church. Most of them ride motorcycles or have to take the public transportation system, which is a jeepney that blows raw diesel smoke (black sut), while heading to church. Getting to church there is not as easy or comfortable as here in the U.S. yet they find a way, not an excuse to be faithful to their Christ. Not to mention, most struggle just to provide rice for their family. As mentioned this week in a conversation, most Americans live week-to-week, while most Filipinos live meal-to-meal. This was very convicting to me on so many levels as I pondered on this reality.

Myself. Barry and Wes on the Lord's Day

In conclusion, I feel like our time there was very beneficial for Barry, the pastors, and church at GBC. It provided several informal opportunities to discuss ministry from a very practical basis with Barry and others. We were able to talk about real life issues that we face when it comes to cross-cultural missions and the local church ministry. As it is most of the time, you go to be an encouragement and blessing to others, but come away being more encouraged and blessed than when you left. I am grateful to all those who partnered with me for this trip. There is no way to measure on this side of eternity the effects of your gospel partnership. However, I will close with the words of the Apostle Paul regarding the support sent to him by the saints at Philippi, when he says that it was, “a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God” (Phil.4:10).  SDG.

For more information on EIM please click the link:
https://www.expositim.org/

 Facebook page at "Expositors International Ministries."
Twitter handle: "EIM Philippines"