What does God expect us to do with the blessings He gives us?

God's people receive God’s blessing daily, and God’s people must allow the blessings to flow to others. The blessings of God give great benefit to God’s people providing both happiness and comfort, but happiness and comfort are not the only goals. God spoke to Abraham in Genesis 12:2 and God blessed him, and then God expected Abraham to be a blessing to others.  It appears to be a flow of blessing from God to Abraham then from Abraham outwardly to others. With this flow of blessing from God to man then to other men comes a return blessing.

After one understands the flow of blessing, God’s people must believe that God will take care of all His people’s needs. In Luke 18:29-30, Jesus said, "I assure you: There is no one who has left a house, wife or brothers, parents or children because of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more at this time, and eternal life in the age to come.” A guarantee comes with the blessing of God. Anyone who gives up anything for the kingdom of God will certainly receive many times more than what they gave! Believers will possess a great blessing in the world to come, and a boomerang effect occurs when blessing others in this life.

God’s people must believe the biblical truth that God’s blessing to others will come back to His people. Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over—will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”  

Ask yourself this question, “How can you be a blessing to someone today?”  Now go bless them, as God has blessed you!

What is the Principle of the Harvest?

“Open your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ready for harvest”- John 4:35

Church growth advocates have followed Donald McGavran’s lead stressing the principle of the harvest. The principle of the harvest serves as a launching pad for planning strategies of church and kingdom growth. In John 4:35, Jesus said, “Open your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ready for harvest” The people Jesus spoke to in John 4:35 understood agricultural principles, because they lived them daily. While there were some large cities, most citizens were rural people. The rural Roman citizens knew what it meant to work the soil. In twenty-first century North American culture, food is around the corner at the local grocery store or a click away. Because present day North American culture is so far removed from ancient rural roman cultural, it is important to explain the principle of the harvest.

The most fundamental principle of farming is the principle of the harvest. It brings the vision of the fruit for the labor. Farmers plan a simple, effective strategy of gathering a crop of what has been planted. Jesus was giving a vision when he spoke  in John 4:35 to the disciples. Jesus mentioned that in some cases one person sows the seed while another gathers the fruit, but they all rejoice together, because their combined labors have resulted in harvest, see John 4:36-37.

Professional farmers prepare the ground and sow the seed, as a step toward the harvest. They dig out weeds and build fences as protection against predators in order to increase the harvest. All resources, which include time, energy, and money, funnel towards a maximized year from the harvest. Therefore, if the end is the maximum yield of the harvest, the means to achieve it must be constantly reviewed and adjusted. The harvest principle demands that we are constantly evaluating and adjusting to move from what is good to what is best. We must continue to assess and adjust our outreach methods to reach the largest harvest yield for the kingdom! The methods we use may change, but our message and principles do not.

The Wisdom of the Great Commission and Disciple Making

"And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."  
-2 Timothy 2:2

The Great Commission is all about discipleship! In fact, I would argue that you couldn't separate evangelism and discipleship.  The sweet, I preach don how God uses us all.  If we, followers of Jesus Christ, are all to make disciples, we must pour our lives into others.  A Divine genius exists in reading the world through making disciples.  For example, let's pretend we have one of the most effective evangelists of all time who could win 1,000 people a day to Christ.  The evangelist could win 365,000 people to Christ in a years time.  That is pretty impressive!

Now Let' stake one disciple, who though the aid of the Holy Spirit, wins one person to Christ.  He then spends one year of their life pour into the new disciple with the expectation that they both will do the same with someone new next year.  This would mean that the disciples would double who they reach each year.  The disciples starts out with just one in year one, then two becomes four and year three four becomes eight.  The disciples is exponential growth!

Here is what the numbers would look like for one man reaching 1,000 people a day verses one disciple reaching another disciple each year.  It would take about 25 years for the discipler to catch up with the evangelist, but something interesting happens in year 26, the disciples have outpaced the evangelist by 7,562,216 people reached.  The disciples keep doubling there number each year until they reach the world population of around 7.5 billion people in just 34 years!  Discipleship will always outpace one person or a few people doing the evangelism in the long run.

Note:  All conversion is contingent upon the Holy Spirit's involvement, we are messengers only!

What are the Schemes of Satan?

“I have done this so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes.” -2 Corinthians 2:11

Satan is the great enemy of mankind, especially God’s people. In fact "Satan" means "adversary." The Bible refers to the devil by a number of names and descriptions. He is seen as "the anointed cherub" (Ezek. 28:14), "the ruler of demons" (Luke 11:15), "the ruler of this world" (John 16:11), "the god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4), and "the prince of the power of the air" (Eph 2:2). He is identified as a great dragon, a roaring lion, the vile one, the tempter, and the accuser. He is formidable, cunning, and powerful. Paul writing to the Corinthian church realized that Satan was working overtime in the church and emphasizes that we are to be vigilant and alert to his subtlety. Satan’s advantage is based upon one being ignorant of his devices or his methods. The devil’s devices by which he seeks to deceive God’s children, defeat God’s church, destroy God’s work, and denigrate God’s Word.

I. Distraction

The goal is simple get us to major on the minors and to minimize the majors. Satan seeks to distract us by getting us to focus our attention on the material instead of the spiritual, on methods rather than the message, on men rather than God. (1 John 2:15-16, 2 Timothy 2:4; Colossians 3:2)

II. Discouragement

One of Satan’s most potent weapons is trying to get you into a feeling of discouragement, so maybe you’ll give up. Discouragement is a lack of hope usually after a major victory. Many are confronted with it on Monday after a break through on Sunday. The Devil wants you to believe that things are worse than what they are and that you are the only one who cares. That is exactly how Elijah felt the day after his victory on Mt Carmel. (Deuteronomy 1:28, Numbers 21:4-5; Galatians 6:9)

III. Disillusionment

Disillusionment is the state of being disenchanted or disappointed by unfulfilled expectations. (Proverbs 13:12, Philippians 1:21)

·      “If you expect perfection from people, your whole life is a series of disappointments, grumblings, and complaints. If, on the contrary, you pitch your expectations low, taking folks as the inefficient creatures, which they are, you are frequently surprised by having them perform better than you had hoped.” - Bruce Fairfield Barton (1886-1967).

IV. Discontentment

Perhaps this should be labeled as unholy discontentment, unholy discontentment is being angry with God for the hand you have been dealt. (Numbers 21:5-6, 1 Corinthians 10:10, Philippians 2:14, James 5:8-9, Colossians 3:17)

·      “A godly man wonders at his cross that it is not more, a wicked man wonders why his cross is so much.” – Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

V. Discord (division)

A very simple but effective tool used by the enemy to destroy churches. Usually this takes the form of pettiness and is accompanied with unholy discontentment. (1 Corinthians 1:10-11, Romans 12:3-5, Philippians 1:27)

·      The problem with the church today is not corruption. It is not institutionalism. No, the problem is far more serious than something like the minister running away with the organist. The problem is pettiness. Blatant pettiness. – Mike Yaconelli in The Wittenburg Door

VI. Disassociation

The devil loves when believers do not fellowship: he loves it when we distance ourselves from each other. (Hebrews 10:25, 1 Corinthians 12:18-21, 1 Corinthians 12:25, 1 Peter 5:8)

“Don’t give the Devil an opportunity.” –Ephesians 4:27

Five Insights from Breaking the Missional Code

Breaking the Missional Code by Ed Stetzer and David Putman challenges church leaders and pastors to think like a missionary.  Missionaries on the field have always understood that there are cultural barriers and helps to understanding the gospel.  We must understand the culture in order to  evangelize effectively.  Here are five insights I gained from the book.  If you are a pastor I highly recommend that you read it.

1. Avoid “Preference Slavery.” (52) Move from personal preferences into Missional Thinking.  As time progresses all churches tend to turn inwardly focused.  Inward focus must be challenged by missional thinking, seeing others as Christ sees them.  If we don't fight out inward tendency we will become slaves to our own preferences, and not Christ's slaves.  Never lose focus on the Great Commission!
2. Have Intentionality in Ministry (see Chapter 3).  Many churches are drifting like a ship without a rutter.  As cultural winds and waves push, the church moves more and more off course.  We must have a biblical center and be intentional with our resources.
3. The Author’s questions and discussion on Code breaking found on pages 81-83.  The authors give us some questions to help us begin to break the code in our own context.  Here are some helpful questions:
1. Where are the unchurched/unreached?
2. Who are the unchurched/unreached?
3. Why are they unchurched/unreached?
4. What is God doing among the unchurched/unreached?
4. View Missions and Evangelism as codependent on each other. (3 & 226). What is the difference between missions and evangelism?  In other words in order to evangelize people we must first understand them.
5. In church revitalization, start with spiritual renewal and begin with worship that Honors God and Connects with the Community. (139)  Insight number five was a huge insight.  In Eating the Elephant, Rainer and Lawless argue for beginning with outreach after renewal, but Stetzer disagrees.  I think that Stetzer is correct in his assessment.  If we were on the mission field and we did outreach, but failed to have a worship service that connects with the culture those who come to Christ will struggle to connect with God.  It is the same in our North American context.

State of the Church Address

Chart 1.1 shows Sunday School Attendance, AM Worship Attendance, and Guests.

Looking Behind- Review

1. http://askpastort.blogspot.com has received a total of 3,976 pageviews up from 2,958 pageviews last month in the last month- total of 1019 over December and to this point in January.

2. Attended Southeastern Seminary January 11-15, 2016.

3. January Bible Study 2016 is in 2 Corinthians, we will remain there during the winter.


2015 By the Numbers:

· Average Sunday Morning Attendance = 197

· Average Sunday School Attendance = 144

· Average Sunday Morning Guests = 5

· New Members in 2015 = 16

o 5 Baptisms

o 6 Letters

o 5 Statements of Faith

· Deaths of Members = 5

· Transfers out to other churches = 9

· Net Gain for the Year in Membership = 2

· Highest Attended Sunday = April 5, 2015 @ 281 in attendance (Easter Sunday)

· Lowest Attended Sunday = February 15, 2015 @ 116 in attendance (Snow Day)

Highlights of 2015:

• Battery Saturday 2015!
• Baptism of four children this week in one Sunday Morning Service. List includes: Rachael White, Andrew White, Don Singleton, and Asher Tyler.
• Passing our Mission Statement: “To Know Christ And to Make Him Known.”
• VBS 2015
• Fall Harvest on October 31, 2015.

• Larger Thank Expected Turnout for Griefshare this past Fall; a new face almost ever week.
• Special Called Business Meeting in December with an 86% approval in favor of the new service! Looking forward to what God is going to do at our church in 2016.
• Christmas Baskets Ministry:
•  22 Children received Christmas Gifts
• 9 Food Baskets were prepared and given out.

Looking Ahead- Preview

· Battery Saturday moved to April 2, 2016

· Return to Southeastern on June 16-24. Note: This will be the last weeklong seminary I will attend, year three is writing.

How do I know if I am being called to faithful gospel ministry?

“This saying is trustworthy: "If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work."” -1 Timothy 3:1

My calling to preach the gospel originated as a freshman in college at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The call came during a time of prayer and bible reading. The day it happened my mind was filled with images of Christ on the cross, the suffering, and the mission Christ left us. While in prayer, I asked the Lord to show me His Will. I asked if he wanted me to serve him in the ministry and preach the word. I didn’t hear an audible voice, there was no still small voice, and there was no burning bush there was however my Bible. I grabbed my bible desperately looking for an answer, opened it randomly and it fell to Second Corinthians chapter six verse three though thirteen, which describes the Apostle’s hardships in ministry. I became completely convinced that this was my decisive call from God to preach the word and minister faithfully to him. I went to my home church in the next few weeks, and they affirmed the call. Those verses that were used that day I have returned to many times for encouragement and reaffirmation.

1 Timothy 3:1 gives a general call to all who have desires, and a specific call similar to what is seen in Jeremiah 20:9. Pastor Vic Wallace, my mentoring pastor, use to say, “Do you have the desire to preach like a burning in the bones?” What he means is there a burning desire to preach the Word of God? It is an unquenchable need to preach the Word of God.

• Discern Your Call Though Wisdom. Mystical readings outside the Holy Bible that discern “God’s Will” make for captivating stories, but fall short compared to the Word of God. The Bible says in Hebrews 1:1-2 that God spoke in the past though burning bushes, still small voices, even a donkey, but today he speaks through His Son. 

• Have Your Local Church Affirm Your Call. While ordination exists more for tax breaks then as a biblical concept, an affirmation from your local church is vital to understanding if you are called to preach the gospel. Your local church should be able to see the gifting (Matt 28:14-20; John 21:15-17; Acts 6:2, 11:25-26; Eph 4:11; and 1 Tim 3:2) and qualifications (1 Timothy 3) being met in your life.

• Understand that being a pastor is not the only way to faithfully served Christ.  If you have discerned that you want to live a life sold out to Jesus, Praise God you get the gospel! However, this does not mean that you are called to preach the gospel! In seminary I remember many who just floated into seminary, because they didn’t really know what they wanted to do and Bible College ended. Ask yourself hard questions like, what gets me really excited when I think about serving the Lord? What am I passionate about? What energizes me as I serve God? We need faithful lay leaders in local churches just as much or more so than we need faithful ministers of the gospel!