This week Chris and I are in Nicaragua to help train and equip pastors at the Bible Institute. One goal of this trip is to learn how our church can partner with the Bible Institute in Nicaragua in order to make an impact for Christ in this area of the World.

We will be partnering with Jim Wilson and Fellowship Bible Church of Jacksonville, TX. Jim is in the process of relocating to Central America to be a career missionary to various people groups of Central and South America.

Jim has informed us that pastors in Nicaragua have access to very few if any Christian resources so we will spend the entire week providing resources and training that will help local pastors when preparing to preach the Word of God in their churches and to non-Christians in their communities. What excites us about the trip is the efficient plan of action. If we were to go and teach this material to 60-80 different churches it might take the same number of weeks to complete the training. Instead, we will train over 150 pastors and church leaders this week, who will then take these resources to their local churches so that their people will be equipped to grow in godliness.

"Quote" of the Week

"The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Timothy 2:2). -The Apostle Paul

Many think that Christians live a restricted and joyless life. What they fail to realize, however, is that God has created people for happiness, but knows that true joy can only be experienced by being brought back into a right relationship with Him through Christ. A.W. Pink affirms, "It is the sovereign decree of heaven that nothing can make sinners truly happy but God in Christ" (103).

THE SCRIPTURES AND JOY

1) We know we have profited from the Word when we understand joy to be a duty.

Paul says in Phillilpians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" According to Pink, "Rejoicing (is) a personal, present, and permanent duty for the people of God to carry out" (104).

2) We know we have profited from the Word when we learn the source of true joy.

The source of our joy is fellowship with the divine. John asserts, "Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete" (1 Jn. 1:3-4). Pink states, "It is in God that the fount of spiritual and everlasting joy originates; from Him it all flows forth" (107-108).

3) We know we have profited from the Word when we learn the value of joy.

Happiness, as our culture defines it, is an emotion of the moment always dependent upon a pleasurable happening. A Christian's happiness, on the other hand, is not gaged by present circumstances, but upon a future promise made by God to all who are in Christ. Paul states, "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set(s) (us) free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:1). According to Pink, "If our souls are resting in Christ, if our hearts are filled with a tranquil gladness, work will be easy, duties pleasant, sorrow bearable, endurance possible" (109).

4) We know we have profited from the Word when we maintain our joy.

Pink asserts, "When Christ is supreme in the heart, joy fills it. When He is Lord of every desire, the Source of every motive, the Subjugator of every lust, then will joy fill the heart and praise ascend from the lips. The possesion of this involves taking up the cross every hour of the day" (111).

5) We know we have profited from the Word when we avoid hindrances to joy.

God created a world of incredible beauty, tastes, sights, sounds, and sensations. If these were not for our enjoyment, He would not have given us the senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. God has, however, given us guidlines we are to follow in His word. He does this not because he enjoys saying "no," but because he knows that certain indulgances hinder ones joy.
Those who have suffered from achohol and drug abuse will be the first to admit that addiction is a miserable experience. Pink says, "It is the indulgence of the flesh, the fraternizing with the world, the entering of forbbidden paths which blight our spiritual lives and make us cheerless" (112).

Pink, A.W. Profiting from the Word. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: The Banner of Truth Trust. 1977. 103-113.

"Quote" of the Week

"The ungodly are ever seeking after joy, but they do not find it: they busy and weary themselves in the pursuit of it, yet all in vain. Their hearts being turned from the Lord, they look downward for joy, where it is not; rejecting the substance, they diligently run after the shadow, only to be mocked by it. It is the sovereign decree of heaven that nothing can make sinners truly happy but God in Christ." -A.W. Pink

The simplest definition of biblical faith is “Taking God at His word.” In his commentary on Hebrews 11, Warren Wiersbe says, “Faith operates quite simply. God speaks and we hear His Word. We trust His Word and act on it no matter what the circumstances may be” (317).

The Bible is filled with the promises God has made to His people and the proof that He keeps His word. If the Scriptures were not read, people would lack faith because they would neither know the character of God nor the promises He made to His people. A.W. Pink asserts, “Faith without a promise would be a foot without ground to stand upon” (98).

THE SCRIPTURES AND THE PROMISES

1) We know we have profited from the Word when we recognize who the promises are for.

The promises God has made in Christ are reserved for His people. Paul asserts, “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him (Christ). That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for His glory” (1 Cor. 1:20). Pink says, “There can be no intercourse between…God and sinful creatures except through a Mediator who has satisfied (God) on their behalf…A man out of Christ is out of the favor of God, yea, he is under His wrath” (92-93).

2) We know we have profited from the Word when we understand and meditate on the promises of God.

Although those who are trusting in Christ for their salvation have already become recipients of all God’s wonderful blessings, they must grow in their understanding of His promises and meditate upon them so that they can benefit from them. According to Pink, “It is only as the promises are stored up in our minds that the Spirit brings them to remembrance at those seasons of fainting when we most need them” (94).

3) We know we have profited from the Word when we recognize the scope of God’s promises.

Pink states, “The promises of God cover every aspect and particular of your daily life” (95). Paul affirms, “Godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (1 Tim. 4:8).

4) We know we have profited from the Word when we make a proper discrimination between the promises of God.

Pink accuses many of “spiritual theft” meaning they claim certain promises that they are not entitled to. God’s promises carry with them certain conditions. For example, in Luke 13:3 Jesus says, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” According to this verse, even if one is confident in his/her eternal destiny, without repentance one faces condemnation. Pink asserts, “If I ignore the laws of health I must not be surprised that sickness prevents me enjoying many of God’s temporal mercies: in like manner, if I neglect His precepts I have myself to blame if I fail to receive the fulfillment of many of His promises” (97).

5) We know we have profited from the Word when God’s promises comfort us and develop our faith.

According to Pink, “Our tender Father planned that we should enjoy His gifts twice over: first by faith, and then by fruition. By this means He wisely weans our hearts away from things seen and perishing and draws them onward and upward to those things which are spiritual and eternal” (98).

6) We know we have profited from the Word when we patiently wait for God’s promises to be fulfilled.

God’s perspective on time is radically different from ours. For us, having to wait an hour is too long, but for Him who is sovereign over time, a thousand years is comparable to a day. Peter explains, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (2 Pt. 3:8). One thing we can know for sure is that patience greatly benefits God’s people. Pink affirms, “He who has all eternity at His disposal needs not to hurry. God often makes us tarry so that patience may have ‘her perfect work’” (99).

Pink, A.W. Profiting from the Word. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: The Banner of Truth Trust. 1977. 91-101.

"Quote" of the Week

“Faith without a promise would be a foot without ground to stand upon”-A.W. Pink

If you were to study the life of Christ from the perspective of a modern historian you would probably find nothing written of His resurrection. The reason this is true is because many approach history with the presuppositions that God and miracles do not exist. Josh McDowell explains, "We live in a closed system where there is no supernatural realm" (xxxvii).

When it comes to Christ, historians base their data on philosophical, not historical, grounds omitting the miraculous due to "metaphysical speculation." This is not being a good historian according to McDowell who defines history as "knowledge of the past based on testimony" (xxxix).

Where would we be without historical evidence? We would not know much about our country and much less about our world. Christianity, without historical evidence, leaves us without a risen savior.

When gathering evidence, historians often treat eyewitness testimony seriously except in the realm of Christian faith. What many refuse to take into account is the fact that the writers of the New Testament were either eyewitnesses to the resurrection or in close contact with them and often wrote to audiences who were also present with Christ. Peter asserts,

We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:16-21

McDowell, Josh. The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 1999. pp. xxxvii-xxxix.

"Quote" of the Week

"The purpose of the historian is not to construct a history from preconceived notions and to adjust it to his own liking, but to reproduce it from the best evidence and to let it speak for itself." -Phillip Schaff