Afflictions and trials

The Lord’s Provision for Ministry (part 5)

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

Ministry can be a lonely place. Sometimes there are very few people that could understand what you re going through, and there aren’t many that you can share your thoughts and struggles with. Ministry partnerships and fellowship can definitely help alleviate this, but there is still the reality that the road of ministry leadership is sometimes still fraught with times of isolation and discouragement.

In the last four parts of this series, I have been laying out six areas of the Lord’s provision for those in ministry. These have included the provision of co-workers, financial support, focus, boldness, and souls saved. You can read the first four parts of this series here: The Lord’s Provision for Ministry (part 1), The Lord’s Provision for Ministry (part 2),Part 3: https://always-reforming.com/?p=1834, and Part 4: https://always-reforming.com/?p=1842

Finally, The Lord Provides for ministry when he gives us encouragement.

He Gives Us Encouragement

“And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” (Acts 18:9-10, NASB95)

Think about the English word, “encouragement.” It has the word “courage” right in the middle of it. This English word originally was, in-courage, and it meant “to give courage.” And that is what the Lord is doing in verses 9-10. In a vision one night, the Lord reminded Paul what he often told his prophets in the Old Testament, “do not be afraid!”

In Exodus 3:2, as God called Moses to redeem his people from Egypt, He told him that He would be with him. In Deuteronomy 31:6, Moses told Israel to trust the Lord as they entered the promised land. In Joshua 1:5, 9, the Lord encouraged Joshua that he would be with him as he was with Moses and that he needed to be strong and courageous. In Isaiah 41:10, the Lord told the prophet Isaiah that he is not to fear or be dismayed, because the Lord God will strengthen him, help him, and uphold him. And in Jeremiah 1:8, when Jeremiah was called to go out as the prophet of the Lord, God told him that he was not to be afraid of them because the Lord was with him to deliver him from all dangers.

Paul needed that kind of supernatural encouragement as he faced the daunting task of the ministry the Lord had given to him. And so he gave Paul these instructions:

“Don’t be afraid any longer”…When we react in fear we are lacking faith in the Lord our God who is our strong tower. In our fear we must trust the Lord and turn to him by faith to accomplish his will.

“Go on speaking and do not be silent”…Fear of persecution often silences the faithful witness. Paul needed to be courageous and keep on speaking the truth, in spite of the high probability that he would continue to suffer greatly for the gospel.

And then he gave him three encouragements:

“For I am with you”…Paul was never alone. God was always with him. Just as he was with Moses, Joshua, Israel, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Habakkuk, and so many others.

“No man will attack you in order to harm you”…No one can touch us if God’s protective hand is upon us. This would be limited to the time that Paul was evangelizing in Corinth until those God would save had been saved. It wasn’t a promise that Paul would never be attacked again. But it was an assurance that for a while, Paul would be able to do the work of the ministry without violence breaking out in Corinth for a while.

“I have many people in this city”…The Lord was saying to Paul, “there were many people left who would be saved. Go find them!” When the time to move on had come, the Lord would let Paul know. He was to be encouraged with the fact that there was a good harvest of souls right there in that city.

We know how the Great Story ends, don’t we? No matter how dark things get, no matter what twists and unforeseen trials we encounter, in the end, Jesus has already won! Therefore, we need to be encouraged and see with the eyes of the Ascended Christ. He is not dead and in the tomb. He is seated at the right hand on high. He is coming again. And he has given us work to do. 

Let your hands be strengthened with this truth and carry on with the Lord’s work. Look at our last verse, verse 11: “And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.” (Acts 18:11, NASB95). Do you see the result of these provisions? God had provided co-workers, finances, focus, boldness, souls saved, and words of encouragement. And Paul continued on and so we must carry on as well.

Hope for Leaders Who Have Made Dumb Decisions (weekend repost)

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

It’s not hard for me to think about multiple examples of personal failure over my 51 years of life. I can recall so many bad decisions–dumb ones, sinful ones, immature ones, naive ones, rash ones, prideful ones. Like I said, I remember too many. The problem is, leaders have to make multiple decisions all day, every day. The more decisions we need to make, the greater potential there is to make another bonehead decision. So what do we do?

Read the rest of the post here: Hope for Leaders Who Have Made Dumb Decisions

Hope for Leaders Who Have Made Dumb Decisions

/ Richard Bargas / 1 Comment

It’s not hard for me to think about multiple examples of personal failure over my 51 years of life. I can recall so many bad decisions–dumb ones, sinful ones, immature ones, naive ones, rash ones, prideful ones. Like I said, I remember too many. The problem is, leaders have to make multiple decisions all day, every day. The more decisions we need to make, the greater potential there is to make another bonehead decision. So what do we do? Well, you could:

  1. Give up being a leader. And if you really are poor at decision making because you constantly make the kinds of bad choices I named before, that might not be a bad decision. But don’t rush into it! Keep reading.
  2. Give up making decisions, but remain a leader. This type of leader is known as a “lame duck.” You have actually done #1 above, but continue to call yourself a leader. This never works for long, and is frustrating for the people you are supposed to lead. It’s better for you to step down than to play this game.
  3. Start making better decisions. Duh. But before you stop reading, consider this: All leaders make bad decisions. All of them. The best leaders make fewer poor decisions and there are reasons for that, which are beyond the scope of this article. But the fact is, by growing and improving on your decision making, you will become a better leader.

In Joshua 7, Joshua made some poor decisions as he took Israel from a victory over Jericho, to an embarrassing defeat when his army was defeated by a tiny army. His failure not only cost the lives of thirty-six of his men (Josh 7:5), but it put courage into the heart of his enemies while simultaneously putting fear into the heart of Israel.

Several years ago my wife and I got food poisoning from eating at a fast-food place. It was pretty traumatic for us, and we were sick for days. I knew it was the food–I could taste it and smell it. It was so engrained into my memory that now, over 20 years later I can still go back to that moment when we started to become violently ill. I had no desire to eat at that restaurant again for many, many years. Bad decisions are like that–they leave a really bad taste in your mouth that makes it hard to overcome.

After the Lord directed Joshua on how to make everything right, it was time for Joshua to face his fear. Joshua 8:1 helps us so much here for learning how to overcome the fear of a poor decision so that we can make better decisions. It says,

“And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land.”

(Joshua 8:1, ESV)

Fear of the future and the unknown as well as discouragement from past failings can be the biggest hurdle to clear after a major failure. But notice here that the Lord commanded Joshua not to fear or be dismayed. Yes, poor decisions were made. But the mission has not changed. Joshua was to lead the people into the Promised Land, and Ai needed to be conquered. The problem was that Joshua had rushed in, he didn’t consult the Lord and made the decisions to go to war and send in a smaller army without seeing if this was the Lord’s will. The Bible doesn’t tell us, but maybe Joshua was beating himself up over the bad decisions made. Any leader knows that’s not a stretch to imagine. It happens all the time.

But the Lord says to Joshua, Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Once we are assured that we are being guided by the Word and Spirit, we must move forward without fear of the future or discouragement from the past. Joshua wasn’t running ahead of God anymore. Now he was going to decide that he needed to obey, and this was the first command. Warren Wiersbe has wisely written, “The promises of God make the difference between faith and presumption” ( Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Strong, “Be” Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 97.)

Notice also, that the Lord gave Joshua direction: “Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai.” So often, poor decisions are made because we make the decision. Spiritual leadership is not the same as corporate leadership because the spiritual leader directs God’s people from God’s Word to do God’s business. When we forget this, we become spiritual entrepreneurs, not spiritual leaders. They may look the same, but they aren’t. Spiritual entrepreneurs work for themselves, to achieve their own goals, and often receive the glory for it from men who do not recognize the difference. Joshua had taken the reigns and failed, now he was going to learn to take his lead from the Lord.

Finally, the Lord gave Joshua his strength: “See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land.” After the amazing victory over Jericho, you would think that it was obvious that God was going to give Israel the strength to fight. But the loss at Ai shows how quickly a victory can blind us to our dependence. All too quickly we can begin to strut like roosters, full of pride as if we did anything to achieve the victory. In order for Joshua to grow as a leader, he needed to remember that every victory was given by the Lord–big or small.

Joshua obeyed the Lord, carrying out the directives he was given with precision, and the Lord gave him the victory as he promised. Remember that. The answer isn’t give up when you fail, but learn from your failures and grow as a leader. Psalm 37:23-24 is a great encouragement in this way: “The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.” (Psalm 37:23–24, ESV)

Don’t Cover Your Cracks with Plaster (weekend repost)

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

A few nights ago I awoke with the aches and pains of a sickness I have been fighting for a few days. Unable to sleep, I started to reflect upon all the friends and loved ones that are struggling with pain and suffering to a much greater degree. I thought about those who are facing a crumbling marriage, the loss of a spouse, the onset of a disease that will take their life. I lay in the dark and considered the deep comfort that we have in Christ.

Read the rest of the post here: Don’t Cover Your Cracks with Plaster

Don’t Cover Your Cracks with Plaster

/ Richard Bargas / 1 Comment

A few nights ago I awoke with the aches and pains of a sickness I have been fighting for a few days. Unable to sleep, I started to reflect upon all the friends and loved ones that are struggling with pain and suffering to a much greater degree. I thought about those who are facing a crumbling marriage, the loss of a spouse, the onset of a disease that will take their life. I lay in the dark and considered the deep comfort that we have in Christ.

The Christian life is not an easy one, and may even be fraught with greater struggles because of our commitment to follow Christ whatever the cost. But there is no accounting for the presence of Christ in the midst of these struggles.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the world is watching. Please do not show them a perfect, polished life free of any pain or sorrow. Such a life does not exist in this broken world. Show them that you too are cracked and flawed, just as they are. Show them that you too struggle with weaknesses and doubts. And then show them that our God sent his Son for us, to bring us safely to his promised land. He gives his Spirit so that as we sit in pain and doubt we will know his supernatural presence and find comfort.

As you listen to the song below, remember that we must sometimes fight for faith to know the joy of the Lord—and in the end, Jesus will be victorious. Like Job, we may not always understand, but we trust.