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Wisdom from John Newton

John Newton (1725-1807) may be best known as the author of the beloved hymn “Amazing Grace.” His life story is a vivid illustration of the power of the Christian gospel to rescue and transform  a ruined life. The hymn is his personal testimony.

I invite you to read about Newton to learn more about him. (Wikipedia has a summary of his career.) In his pre-Christian life he was a navy seaman, captain of slave ships, and investor in the slave trade.  After a spiritual struggle leading to his conversion to faith in Christ, he became a minister in the Anglican Church. He served in the country parish of Olney for sixteen years. During those years he wrote many hymns which are beloved by Christians worldwide.

As an evangelical, he was committed to the proclamation of the gospel. He wrote his own life story to magnify the gospel  and to influence others to believe. He wrote tracts and an introduction to John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. Later as a pastor in London, he became an influential leader in the movement to abolish the slave trade.

His greatest contribution was his pastoral ministry in the lives of the people he served. His preaching pointed them to Jesus as savior. His personal counsel was a help to many who were troubled and tempted. It has been said that “They found in him one who had been a worse sinner than themselves and who could enter into their experiences with tenderness and sympathy.”

One of his ministries was correspondence. He wrote long replies to the many who wrote to him with questions about the Christian life and faith. He said, “It is the Lord’s will that I should do most by my letters.” His letters reveal the belief that the Christian faith is a personal experience of God through Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, not just an abstract system of doctrine.

The letters also show that the Christian life is practical, leading to a healthy spiritual condition.  He demonstrates how it is only through knowledge of and obedience to the written Word of God that we can practice Christianity as it is meant to be lived. His letters are marked by practical wisdom and sanctified common sense.

I recently read The Letters of John Newton published by Banner of Truth. I want to share with you some quotations from the letters. I am sure that his desire would be, not that we would admire his wisdom, but the truth and beauty to be found in his Savior.

The law entered that sin might abound, not to make men more wicked, but to make them sensible of their sin.

The law reveals the glory of God. We see the perfection and excellence of the law in the life of Jesus.

If opposition has hurt many, popularity has wounded more.

Truth is a sacred thing.

National concerns are no more affected by our remonstrances (arguments), than the heavenly bodies are by the disputes of astronomers.

Plead for the country in prayer

“Dipping” into scripture, ignoring the context, is an unreliable guide, contrary to the intentions of the text and contrary to common sense.

The Word of God, guided by the Holy Spirit, furnishes just principles to regulate our actions and decisions.

On frequency of prayer: Those whom we love, we love to be with.

Some temptations of Satan are permitted by the Lord to humble and test his people.

By discontinuing prayer we give the enemy the greatest encouragement possible.

There is no fool like the sinner who prefers the toys of earth to the happiness of heaven.

 Cultured men try to polish the manners without improving the heart.

I’ll pass along more of these next week.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Good News for a Hard Day

Today I received distressing news about a friend’s medical complications. I am praying for him. This has prompted me to meditate on Psalm 23.

I have spoken on this psalm many times in the past, mainly when presiding at funerals. It never ceases to be a support and comfort to those who are grieving. But today I am thinking of my friend and, frankly, of my own mortality.

Nobody knows for sure when David wrote this psalm. Was it as an old man, looking back over his life? Was it in his youth, surrounded by his father’s sheep? Was it in midlife when he was beset by threats to his life and kingdom by Absalom? Did he sing this psalm to King Saul to ease his emotional torments?  Maybe the psalm came out of his experience in the Valley of Elah, where he faced Goliath.

Psalm 23 is David’s description of a contented life, a courageous death, and a confident eternity. Read in the light of Jesus’ words it helps believers live with assurance of the Lord’s provision, presence, and protection.

A contented life

“The Lord is my shepherd,” David affirmed. The Lord is the one who identified himself to Moses as the I AM, the eternally self-existent God, known as Jehovah, or Yahweh. Jesus freely took this title upon himself when he declared to his detractors in the religious community, “Before Abraham was born, I AM.” He was stating clearly that he is the  Jehovah of the Old Testament and that to know God one must believe in him.

David knew God. He made it personal when he said, “The Lord is MY shepherd.” Jesus said he himself is the Good Shepherd who gives his life for the sheep. It is one thing to see a sentimental picture of  Jesus the shepherd holding one of his lambs and to believe that he is a good shepherd. It is something else to believe that he is your personal shepherd. Can you say that by faith?

“He restores my soul” is another way of saying “He brings back my soul.” That is the point of Jesus’ parable of the shepherd who goes out into the wilderness to find his lost sheep. He returns with joy having rescued the sheep. The Lord compared this with the rescue of a sinner who repents. Jesus came to earth on that kind of rescue mission, “to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). He is the Good Shepherd who gave his life for the sheep.

Because of this relationship, David could express contentment: “I shall not be in want.” Or as the little girl in Sunday School misquoted it: “The Lord is my shepherd and that’s all I want!”

A courageous death

“I will fear no evil,” said David as he contemplated death. It was because of his assurance that the Lord would not forsake him but would be with him. The New testament puts it this way: “To go and be with Christ is better by far.” To be absent from the body in death is to “be present with the Lord” for the Christian.

The last and greatest enemy is death. In the presence of death the believer has the promise of the Lord’s provision of every grace that is needed for that hour. The Lord will be there with his rod to ward off every enemy of our souls, and with his staff to shepherd us safe home to the Father’s house.

A confident eternity

The Lord’s goodness and mercy mean that God is faithful to his promises. Mercy is steadfast love, or covenant love, which binds God to his commitments. That is why David (and you and I) can be so sure about eternal life. God’s covenant love never fails. There is no end to his faithfulness to his word.

“I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” makes us think of Jesus’ word that he is preparing a place for his people in the Father’s house. He is coming again to take us there, either by death or by rapture.  Paul summed it up: “I am persuaded (confident) that neither death nor life . . .  will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Amen.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Is Jesus Praying for You?

A note to readers: This site’s email address, pastor@hiswillblog.com, is not in service at this time. We are attempting to correct the problem. I apologize if you have tried to write and you did not receive a reply from me. — R.F.

In the middle of his sufferings and grief, Job felt alienated from God. He raged, he complained, he lamented. He even wished that he had never been born. He said that he wanted someone to be his advocate before God, to speak for him to God.

He cried, “If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay his hand upon us both, someone to remove God’s rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more” (Job 9:33-34).

Is there such an arbiter who is qualified to represent us before God? The New Testament answers with an emphatic “Yes!” That one is Jesus. Jesus is praying for his people. It is said that the Bible records over 650 prayers, none more important than the prayers of Jesus. The gospels describe Jesus praying on 21 different occasions.

One of those occasions is when Jesus prayed in John 17 before his death on the cross. In that prayer, our Lord prayed for himself, for his disciples who were with him at that time, and for all who would subsequently believe on him. Are you one of those believers? If so, Jesus is praying for you!

This is called Jesus’ “high priestly ministry” on behalf of his people and John 17 has been called his “high priestly prayer.” That is because it represents Jesus’ prayer requests before the Father in heaven. Can you imagine the Father ignoring or denying a request from his holy Son?

So Jesus prays for his believing people in all times and places. “My prayer is not for them alone (the disciples). I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:20-21). 

Believers in Jesus are a spiritual community of faith called the Body of Christ. Jesus prays for unity within the Body that will reflect the unity of the Trinity. The people of God have been given the power to display that unity through the Spirit of God. This is “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). He says that this will be a convincing witness to the world.

Jesus goes on to express his desire that believers will “be with me where I am and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you have loved me before the creation of the world” (John 17:24). This is an amazing prayer that all of us who believe in him might share his glory in heaven. What could be better than that?

Until then, we live in this world, a world that does not know God (John 17:25). So our Lord prays that his people will be sustained by God’s love. His prayer is “that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them” (John 17:26).

Some of God’s people are, like Job, going through very hard times. I am personally aware of some who are enduring physical suffering, bereavement, personal failure, or intense loneliness.  Maybe you are going through a difficult time right now. It is encouraging to know that we have an advocate in heaven “who speaks to the Father in our defense — Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 2:1-2).

He is our great high priest. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

Maybe Job was given a glimpse of this truth when, through his anguish, he admitted, “Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. my intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as a man pleads for his friend” (Job 16:19-21).

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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A Reminder to be Thankful

I fell recently. Planted my face in the asphalt and knocked myself out. Broke my nose. My face was covered with scrapes and bruises. It looked like I had been hammered with an ugly stick. Pickleball is not for the faint of heart!

Thankfully, the CT scan in the ER showed no brain trauma. I do mean thankfully. I am thankful that the injuries were relatively minor and of short duration. The outcome could have been much worse.

This has reminded me of how thankful we should be for daily blessings from above. I am afraid that for too long I have taken for granted the gift of good health. The Parkinson’s diagnosis has reminded me how fragile and tentative life can be and how grateful I should be that God is holding me in the hollow of his hand.

Not long ago I was reading about how Nehemiah led the Jewish people in a celebratory ritual of thanksgiving. As a leader he wanted to impress upon the people the importance of taking time away from the routine of life to think about God’s blessings and to thank him.

God had brought them back home from a long captivity in Babylon and Persia. They had successfully rebuilt the city walls of Jerusalem. God had protected them from enemies. They had formally renewed their covenant relationship with God.

Now it was time to give thanks. Priests and Levites led liturgical prayers of thanks and praise. One of them was “Mattaniah . . . the director who led in thanksgiving and prayer” (Nehemiah 11:17). Some of them were musicians who “were sought out from where they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving” (Nehemiah 12:27).

Nehemiah and Ezra then assembled the leaders of Judah to ascend to the top of the wall of the city. They were led in a procession by two large choirs and instrumentalists. They marched around the city of Jerusalem on top of the wall in a boisterous celebration of thanks and praise to God. One group went in one direction led by Ezra. The other group, with Nehemiah following, went in the other direction.

The groups met at the temple area to publicly thank the Lord for all he had done to help and provide for them. Men, women and children “were rejoicing because God had given them great joy” (Nehemiah 12:43).

We are reminded every day of reasons to be unhappy. News of wars, dangerous weather, political scandals, social problems, moral decay, random and meaningless violence, for example, fuel our feelings of anxiety. We know that if our attention stays too long on these the mental and emotional cost will be high.

Nehemiah 12 helps us to look at the dangers of life through God’s perspective. Difficulties are not going to go away. They will always be there. But our faithful father in heaven in not going away either. He has promised he will be with us through whatever hardships we may face. He will be present to help us and sustain us.

We may fall, but he will be there to lift us and hold us. So let’s not forget to keep our eyes on him and give thanks.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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The Only Perfect Father

Parents make mistakes. I know because I am one. More than once I have felt the need to apologize to one of my young children for being overbearing or impatient in my correction. I regret that I did not always set the right example of what a father ought to be. I am grateful that in adulthood my children accept and love me, in spite of my shortcomings.

Every year on Fathers’ Day I realized that some in the congregations I served had a hard time relating to God as “father.” Some struggled to hold onto their faith because they had absent fathers, authoritarian fathers, or abusive fathers. Best-selling books have been written chronicling the spiritually-perilous journey some have taken from thinking of God as a bully who waits in the shadows to punish us, to a nurturing father who draws his children into a relationship based upon grace and love. They discovered, in spite of their human fathers, that God is the only perfect father.

I have been thinking about this as Fathers’ Day approaches. Some phrases from the King James Version of the Bible have been spinning around in my head which are reminders of what our heavenly father is really like.

Father of Glory

“Glory” is a descriptive term which implies God’s magnificence, his brightness and his beauty. It reveals his power, as seen in creation (Psalm 19:1), and in the resurrection of Christ (Romans 6:4, 1 Corinthians 6:14). Glory is associated with heaven. Since God is glorious, his abode is also suffused with glory (Luke 2:14, 19:48).

So when we read in a prayer of Paul’s that God is the Father of glory (Ephesians 1:17), it means that he wants his children to share in his glory by getting to know him more completely through the Holy Spirit. This process will be completed when in the resurrection all believers will share in the glory of God (1 Corinthians 15:42-44, Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 4:17).

Father of Lights

When the apostle James declared that “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of heavenly lights” (James 1:17), he was speaking of the consistent generosity of the heavenly father who knows how to give good gifts to his children (Luke 11:13).

If the heavenly lights are the stars and planets, James may be referring to God’s creative power and sovereign control over nature. If our heavenly father can control the heavenly bodies, what can he do for us?

In addition, this infers that God is the source of all light, physical, moral, intellectual, and spiritual. Unlike the changing appearance and movements of the planets, the sun and the moon, the light of God is unchanging and eternal.

Father of Spirits

The author of the book of Hebrews wrote to people who were immature in their faith and forgetful of God’s promises. It contains a reminder that God, like a good human father, must sometimes correct his children. “We have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the father of our spirits and live!” (Hebrews 12:9).

“The Father of spirits” is a unique expression found only here in the Bible. It is God who created and who sustains the human spirit. He breathes into it, as he did at first with Adam, the breath of life. He has imparted his Holy Spirit to empower and guide. Through his loving correction, the father of spirits shapes and guides our spirits to make us more like himself with perfection as the goal (Hebrews 12:23). When we respond with submission and obedience, the result is life as it was meant to be.

Father of Mercies

The problem of undeserved suffering perplexes us, as it did the people of the Bible. In 2 Corinthians the apostle Paul talked about some of the sufferings he had had to endure for the sake of the gospel. He took courage by thinking about God. In the opening passage of the letter he praises God as the father of mercies, or compassion (2 Corinthians 1:3).

This truth enabled him to receive help from “the God of all comfort.” The comfort he received was not for his benefit alone, but so that he might be an encouragement to others. The hardships we may have to endure allow us to be equipped to minister to others. It has been said that God prepares us for what he is preparing for us. It is always helpful to remember that God is the father of mercies and that  “his compassions never fail. They are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Father of our Lord Jesus

This is a favorite expression of the apostle Paul’s. This is because Jesus wanted his followers to know that his father is also their father (John 20:17). When he called God “Abba father,” as he did in Gethsemane, it was so that we would feel free to come to God in the same way, with intense familiarity (Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6).

If your memories of Dad on this Fathers’ Day are filled with anger, shame, or regret, remember that there is Another who wants to be your father, just as he is the father of the Lord Jesus Christ. The above titles teach us that he is glorious, generous, good, and gracious.

If your faith is in Jesus you may be sure that you have a perfect father in heaven who loves perfectly. Jesus said, “The Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God” (John 16:27).

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Is the New Testament a Pious Fraud?

“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and  training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

“But God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10).

“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 :21).

Some who want to dismiss the claims that are made about Jesus in the gospels try to do so by dismissing the gospels themselves. They say that the stories about what Jesus said and did were inventions of the Christian community in the second and third centuries, and not based on historical fact.

This is an important question. The Christian message is the good news of eternal salvation. It is not merely a set of philosophical precepts, invented by human thinkers. It is a supernatural message communicated in a supernatural way. The truth-claims of the Christian message are bound up in the truthfulness of the New Testament.

From the writings of the Old Testament prophets who thundered “Thus says the Lord” to the epistles of the New Testament which claimed the same divine authority, the entire Bible claims to be the revealed word of God.

Thus it is the Christian belief that the Spirit of God inspired the writing of the Old and New Testaments. The Holy Spirit also controlled the preservation, selection, and collection of the books of the Bible. Jesus laid the foundation for this belief when he told his disciples, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you” (John 16:13-15).

These words may be taken to illustrate the point I am making.

The Spirit of truth is the One Jesus called the “counselor,” or “comforter,” or “helper.” In John 14:16 the Lord foretold the future coming of the Spirit upon the disciples. He said that the Spirit would remain in them and never leave. Jesus said that when the Spirit came to live in them, he would be the very Spirit of Christ: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:17-18).

The phrase “he will guide you” takes us back to John 15:26-27 where Jesus had said that he would send the Holy Spirit from the Father to “testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.” Our Lord further told his apostles that as they bore witness, the Spirit would guide them into all truth. This refers to the special inspiration of the apostles which enabled the composition of the New Testament.

“All truth”  is the completed revelation of doctrine that had not yet been given. The Lord had explicitly told the disciples that there were truths that he had not revealed to them as yet because they were not ready to receive them (John 16:12). At this point the disciples did not fully understand the meaning of Christ’s death and resurrection. But when the Holy Spirit enlightened them, they would be given the insight and wisdom to  write God’s revealed word in their epistles. This teaches us the sufficiency of holy scripture. We should expect no further revelation than that which has been given for our learning in the New Testament. This brings to completion the truth Jesus wanted his followers in every generation to believe.

“He will bring glory to me.” This is the Spirit’s purpose and mission in the world. It is not the Spirit’s purpose to call attention to himself. He proceeds from the Father in heaven to magnify the Son of God (John 15:26). He did this, in part, through the writing of the four gospels and their accounts of Jesus’ words, ministry, death, and resurrection. Since the words and works of Jesus were the words and works of God (John 16:15), the Spirit, through Christ, reveals God to us.

Finally, Jesus alludes to the unfolding of the future, the doctrine of last things. The phrase, “He will tell you what is yet to come,” is a reminder that the Holy Spirit also inspired the writing of the last book of the New Testament. It contains prophecies about future events surrounding the return of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the central theme of the book of Revelation. The message of the book was given to John the author as he was “in the  Spirit” (Revelation 1:9-10, 4:2).

I believe that it stretches credulity to ask us to believe that such a collection of writings as we have in the New Testament, the epistles, the gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and the book of Revelation could have been composed and collected by liars and forgers, no matter how pious their intentions. The New Testament bears the marks of divine authority and authenticity. It must have been inspired by the Holy Spirit. It points us to Jesus as savior and calls us to believe in him.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

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Heaven is a Real Place

Polls consistently show that the majority of Americans believe in the existence of heaven. Admittedly, some of this belief may be wishful thinking or based on made up stories, or accounts of near death experiences in books and movies.

The best source of information is the Bible and the word of Jesus. He said, “I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven — the Son of Man” (John 3: 12-13).

“I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38).

“I have come here from God. I have not come on my own. God sent me” (John 8: 42).

Jesus taught that heaven is a definite, specific place. It is not a state of mind, a fantasy, or an illusion. Jesus said to his disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:3). He called heaven a “place.” The word in Greek is topos, which gives us the English word topography, a word used by  surveyors, civil engineers, and explorers.

Most of us have a sense of place. My wife’s is her small hometown in the Virginia Highlands. We love going back there year after year. It feels like home. We possess an oil painting of the house in which I grew up in Tennessee. It is a reminder of the place where my brothers and I were reared.

Last year Connie and I moved from our pleasant home place in Oklahoma City after 32 years there. We now live in Valdosta, Georgia, to be near our daughter Carrie and her family. Last week we moved into a new house in a new neighborhood. Again we are adjusting to a new place.

Heaven is the place where God is. King Solomon dedicated the temple in Jerusalem with these words, “Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place, Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive” (1 Kings 8:30).

The apostle John spoke of heaven as the New Jerusalem, the dwelling place of God and redeemed humanity when he wrote, “Look, God’s dwelling place is now among the people and he will dwell with them. They will be his people , and God himself will be with them and be their God” (Revelation 21:3).

Jesus promised the dying criminal on the cross next to him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). The man was promised a place in heaven because he trusted in Jesus and asked for salvation. You and I may have the same assurance of heaven if our faith is the Savior who came from heaven to take us there.

Heaven is a real place populated by real people. I hope to see you there.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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David’s Mighty Men

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” (Michael Jordan)

“For day by day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army like the army of God” (1 Chronicles 12:22).

King David could not have accomplished all that he did if it were not for the men who came to help him. They joined him when he was exiled during the reign of King Saul. They remained with him through many difficulties and battles. They drew inspiration from David’s devotion to the Lord. It was clear to them that the Lord was with David (1 Chronicles 11:9). They all played a major role in his rise  and the establishment of his kingship at Jerusalem.

Some of them are famous, such as “the three,” who risked their lives to bring their king a drink of water from the well at Bethlehem, his hometown. David was so moved by their action that he poured out the water as a libation to the Lord (1 Chronicles 11:17-19). They were Jashobeam, Eleazar, and Shammah (2 Samuel 23:11).

Benaiah is renowned as a valiant man “who killed a lion inside a pit on a snowy day” (1 Chronicles 11:22). Wouldn’t you like to know more of that story?

Amasai stands out as an inspired poet who wrote a beautiful ode to David: “We are yours, O David,/ And with you, O son of Jesse!/ Peace, Peace to you, and peace to him who helps you;/ Indeed, Your God helps you!” (1 Chronicles 12:18).

Men joined David’s army from the tribe of Issachar. The Bible says that “they understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do” (1 Chronicles 12:32). They knew that David was the rightful king and they followed him rather than Saul.

Men from the tribe of Zebulon were well-organized. They were men “who could draw up in battle formation with all kinds of weapons of war” (1 Chronicles 12:33). They “helped David with an undivided heart.” They had loyalty and integrity.

These chapters in 1 Chronicles contain a rather long list of names of biblical heroes from the various tribes of Israel who are remembered for their bravery, initiative, determination, versatility, sound judgment, and devotion to God.

As I read these chapters recently I was reminded of a few key principles.

1. Individuals are important. Sometimes we wonder why the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, records long lists of names. This teaches us that these names represent persons who are to be remembered. They are significant. Their lives contributed to the flow of biblical history and the outworking of God’s purposes in his world. The next time you read through a boring list of genealogies, or tribal names in the Bible, tell yourself, “people are important to God. I am important to God, too.”

2. Collaboration is important. The thousands of warriors who joined David’s army could not have been victorious if they had not been organized into clans, ranks, and troops. They were well led by Joab and other officers. They were united in their efforts and loyal to their king. The same should be true in the life of the church. Our loyalty must be to Christ, and with mutual respect we must serve him without pride or a craving for power over others. Mother Teresa has been quoted as saying, “None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.”

Moses had his elders in Israel who were appointed to help him in the administration of the nation. The apostles in Jerusalem sought the help of spiritually mature men who joined them in the leadership of the early church. Paul and Barnabus appointed elders to provide leadership for the local churches they established in their missionary work. And King David relied upon the help of his mighty men.

I cannot help but remember the strong leaders, men and women, who assisted me in the ministries of the churches I pastored. I thank God for their wisdom, humility, prayers, and guidance. At this time in my life I often think of fellow pastors, elders, and deacons with great affection and appreciation.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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My Children’s Mother

One reason my children are great parents is the good example of their mother. Connie Thompson Faulkner is the living quintessence of the ideal wife and mother described in Proverbs 31. For that reason, this week, “Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her” (Proverbs 31:28).

When Connie and I married almost 55 years ago, I was out of my mind with romantic love. I loved her truly and well then, and I still do, but I had no idea what a treasure she would prove to be as life unfolded. We became parents early and often. It did not take me long to recognize that she was born to be a mother. An only child herself, she said she always wanted to have lots of children.

She knew what she was doing. By that I mean she always seemed to know the right thing to do in every parenting situation. She loved nurturing her babies. As they passed through the stages of childhood she taught them, prayed and played with them, encouraged and guided them.

When they entered adolescence, she understood how to adapt her parenting style without sacrificing her standards. She gave them gifts of emotional security, confidence, healthy independence, and the expectation of excellence. Above all, she gave them a good example.

She was the first piano teacher for our eldest son who is now a professional church musician. She coached our daughter to a win in a state-wide scholarship pageant. She knew what she was doing because she had won a few of those herself. She loved being a wedding planner. That was a good thing because our first three children were married the same year! Later she was a supportive presence when grandchildren came along.

After twenty-five years as a  stay-at-home mom, Connie went back to the profession she was trained for. She excelled as a teacher. I told her more than once that she should write a book on classroom management and it should be titled, “The Happy Classroom.” Her income helped pay for college tuition for our two youngest children.

Words are inadequate as I try to describe what it meant to me to have such a partner in the service of the church. She loves the Lord and she loves people. The people of the churches felt that love as she, in different seasons through the years, mentored younger women, taught Sunday School, sang in adult choirs, and directed children’s and youth choirs. She did it all in a way that seemed effortless. She gave of herself freely.

She has the gift of hospitality and she has always been ready to open our home for groups and individuals in connection with our ministry to people. The meals she prepared and the desserts she baked added joy to every gathering. As far as I know, she never caused our children to feel neglected. She found ways to include them in what we were trying to do in ministry. This contributed to their emotional intelligence and their understanding of service.

Second only to life in Christ, I consider Connie to be the best gift God ever gave me. I could not ask for a more loyal, loving wife. She is strong in character, good sense, and compassion. I am sure that this weekend her children, Jay, Carrie, Mary, Anna, and Michael, will join me in praising her with these words from Proverbs 31: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all. Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” (vv. 29-30).

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

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Go and Tell

Not long ago I was in a worship service in a large church in my hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Connie and I were in town to enjoy a visit with my brothers who live there. After an opening welcome the pastor made a few brief announcements. One of them caught my attention. 

It went something like this, “If any of you are shy about sharing your faith and want to learn how to talk with others about Jesus, we will be offering evangelism training classes this Saturday. Lunch will be provided.” I thought to myself, “That’s exactly right! If I were a member here I would attend those classes and encourage others to do the same.”

Christian witness should not be construed as salesmanship. Evangelism should not be distorted as manipulation or coercion. It is not imposing our beliefs on reluctant victims of our enthusiasm. It is, as James Kennedy put it, “One beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” It is simply sharing good news, or “gospeling,” an expression coined by Nepalese Christians.

I suspect that pastor wanted to see members of his congregation “gospeling” all over Chattanooga, sharing the good news of eternal life with neighbors and friends. I believe he was correct in this for several reasons.

First, the pastor’s job, according to scripture, is to “prepare God’s people for works of service” (Ephesians 4:12). One of those works of service is evangelism. Yes, the pastor should preach the gospel on Sundays, but he cannot go everywhere his people can go or have the relationships his people have. They are the ones the Lord is sending into the community as his ambassadors, speaking to others “with gentleness and respect” ( 1 Peter 3:15).

For too long American churches have relied upon the excuse that evangelism is the pastor’s job. After all, he is the specialist with all the training. But it wasn’t that way in the early church. Acts 8:4 says, “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.” The word translated “preached” means “conversed.” It is a word for informal conversation in day-to-day situations. The point I am making is that these were ordinary Christians, not church leaders. We know this because Acts 8:1 says that because of the persecution “all except the apostles were scattered.” And those who were scattered engaged in gospel conversations.

That pastor in Chattanooga preached the gospel the Sunday I heard him. But he also expressed the concern that the members of the congregation be equipped for their own ministry of “talking with people about Jesus.”

Another reason is that the Holy Spirit is given to all believers. One of the ministries of the Spirit in the lives of God’s people is empowerment for witness. Jesus promised his disciples that when he went away, the Holy Spirit would come to take his place. He said that Spirit would testify about him, and “you also must testify” (John 15:26-27).

This is reflected in one of the great promises of scripture, that believers would receive power from the Holy Spirit to be witnesses about Jesus “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). It is not all up to us. It is the Holy Spirit in us who is the best evangelist of all.

I was pleased to hear the pastor’s announcement for a third reason. It told me that witness and compassionate concern for others were central to the life of that church. Evangelism was not unusual or exceptional. It was being thought of as a normal aspect of healthy church life.

There is an outstanding example of this in the New Testament. The  church in Antioch of Syria was founded through the witness of those Jews from Jerusalem whom I mentioned earlier. They had been scattered by persecution. It came into existence when they shared the message of Jesus with non-Jews (Gentiles) many of whom believed (Acts 11:20-21). As a result, the church took on the multicultural character of the city of Antioch. The assembly at Antioch became identified as Christian and influenced many more of their neighbors to turn to the Lord (Acts 11:24). Sharing the gospel was part of that church’s DNA from its very beginning.

Jesus and his disciples went across the lake of Galilee to the region of Gadara. There they encountered a man who was demonized, living in tragic solitude among the tombs, chained hand and foot. Jesus healed the man and gave him his sanity and dignity. When it was time for Jesus to leave, the man wanted to join Jesus’ team and follow him.

“But Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Return home and tell how much God has done for you.’ So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him” (Luke 8:38-39). That is what the Lord is reminding us to do. That is evangelism.

Pastor Randy Faulkner