Be Filled and Be Strengthened!

One of the blessings of having some of Paul’s letters included in the NT is that it allows us to peek inside Paul’s prayer closet. In most of his epistles, Paul will share with the church specifically how he prays for them, how he intercedes for them. By reading his letters, we then are able to hear his prayers, particularly his prayers for believers. If we pay special attention to Paul’s prayers, we realize they are not what we would expect because they do not sound at all like how we usually pray for believers. We often pray for temporal benefits and comforts. Paul teaches us to pray for spiritual, eternal matters.

Paul has two basic prayers that he brings to the Lord on behalf of the Colossian believers. He prays that they may be filled (v9) and he prays that they may be strengthened (v11).

Be Filled. Filled with what? Paul could have prayed for any number of good things here, but he prays for what is most uncommon in our prayers! He prays that they “may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” In other words, the foremost prayer request in Paul’s heart was that believers in Colossae would grow in what they know! Why? Because by knowing God’s will, they could then “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord” (v10). If we are not growing in our knowledge of God’s will, we are not walking in a manner pleasing to Him simply because we don’t Him! Where do we go to grow in God’s will? We go to His revelation. We go to His divine self-disclosure. We go to His Word, and we treasure it, read it, study it, pour over it, meditate on it, and embrace it. The more we know His Word, the more we know Him. The more we know Him, the more we know how to live in a way that glorifies Him!

Be Strengthened. It’s one thing to know His will; it’s quite another to live it! We need His power to live His will! Especially, Paul prays, we need His “glorious might” to live out our faith with joyful endurance and patience (v11). We are not to just grind out the Christian life! There is available to us in Christ the glorious might of Almighty God, enabling us to live through the long, unexpected trials and sufferings with unexplainable joy! We can know His will and sludge our way through this life giving the impression that Christianity is a depressing journey. OR, we can know His will and experience His glorious might in order to convey an accurate portrait of Christianity: joy even in sorrow!

In studying Paul’s prayer, may we be the kind of believers Paul prayed the Colossians would be, filled with the knowledge of God’s will and strengthened with God’s power! Furthermore, may we adopt this intercession for one another. Imagine spouses praying this for one another, parents praying this for their children, and believers praying this for each other!

May you be filled and may you be strengthened today!

Faith, Love, and Hope

This past Sunday, our church studied Paul’s thanksgiving for the Colossian believers. We noted that his usual three virtues, faith, hope, and love, (1 Cor 13:13) were part of his thanks to God. However, they were listed as faith, love, and hope.

Faith: Not just any faith or some kind of belief, but this is a particular faith, “faith in Christ Jesus” (v4). Jesus Christ is the object of true, genuine saving faith. Paul is thankful for the Gospel fruit of faith that is evidenced in their lives. Faith in Christ is Gospel fruit because only believers really believe that Jesus is God Incarnate, that He died for our sins, that He rose from the dead, and that He, and He alone, is our only hope of salvation. Paul was grateful for the Gospel fruit of faith!

Love: Not just any kind of love for any and everyone, but this is a particular love, “love...for all the saints” (v4). Love for all people, even love for our enemies, is also Gospel fruit, but Paul has in mind the love shared between believers. There is a way that we love every person or should love every person, and there is a way that we do love one another as believers! This love is rooted in our bond and unity in Christ. Because we have experienced the love of God and are united in God’s family through Christ, there is a special affection believers have for one another. However, it does not come naturally. We don’t naturally love anyone as we should. That’s why love for the saints is a work of the Spirit (v8). Therefore, since it is a work of the Spirit, it is evidence of genuine faith. It is Gospel fruit, and Paul is grateful for it.

Hope: Not just wishful thinking, but a certain assurance that believers posses. Everyone hopes, in a wishful way, that they will go to heaven. Believers, however, hope in an assured way because we know we are going to heaven. Gospel hope is not a wish that may or may not materialize, but rather it is a realization that we are awaiting. That is what makes it hope; we are waiting for it. It is not a wish because based upon the work of Christ and the promise of God, it is already ours. We only wait to receive it. You hope for it knowing that it is “laid up for you in heaven.”

Unlike faith and love, hope has a special role to play in faith and love. In fact, Paul grounds the Gospel fruits of faith and love in our hope, “because of the hope” (v5). This means that because we KNOW our hope is in heaven, we believe and we love! The assurance of glorification feeds our sanctification! We know we are going to see Jesus, be with Jesus, and be transformed by Jesus, and therefore, we believe and we love!

Paul is grateful for the Gospel fruits of faith, love, and hope. They are proof that the Gospel is bearing fruit and growing in the Colossian church (v6). May we be grateful for the Gospel’s work in our lives, and with Epaphras and Paul, may we be servants of the Gospel to see it advanced in the lives of others!

Bible Students Return!

Pastor Joseph, Emmanual Ministries, Kalay City, Myanmar, launched a new semester of studies at the Bible College. He currently has 37 students! Below is a report of student testimonies. It is really exciting to hear what God is doing through this ministry. In October, we will have the privilege to visit with them and attend a graduation.

This is one of my testimony to you that our students who are below sent into the Lord harvest.
But I can not support them unfortunately nevertheless God provided for them by others men and works.
I am so happy for they became laborers in His glad service.

1. Mr. Kawl became a Pastor to a denomination at village.

2.Mr. Ngin Do became missionary among the Buddhists in Magwue division.

3.Mr. Nei became Sunday school teacher to a denomination.

4.Mr. Josiah is a missionary man.

5.Mr. Van became an Evangelist.

6.Mr. Thomas became a missionary man to the darkness.

7.Miss. Rem a teacher of boarding school as well as Bible teacher at the school.

8. Miss. Nuam and Tha became Sunday school teachers to their each denomination.

9.Mr. Rual became a missionary man in Shan state.

10. Miss. Sung became Sunday school teacher in Chin state.

Some of students are are saved and now they are the witness of Christ in the cities and the villages to different fplaces of Myanmar. Thank you for continuing prayer with us that the Master of the harvest to send out the laborers into His harvest for He has more people in Myanmar for the Gospel is our nation hope.
God bless you!

Yours in His great commission,
Joseph

Unusual and Refreshing

This past Sunday, I began a teaching series at CEFC through the book of Colossians. We are excited about this journey together, especially with the theme of our study being "In All Things, Christ Supreme!" (Col 1:18)

Part of the introductory sermon was very unusual. After giving an overview of background, context, and theme, I simply read through the book of Colossians to our church Body! I say this is unusual because I don't know if I have ever heard a pastor read a book of the Bible to the church. It was a joy for me to read Scripture to our fellowship, and it was well received.

So why do such a thing? There are four reasons I decided to read the whole letter to our church as part of our introduction to the book.

First, reading a book is a great way to study a book! Second, in 1 Tim 4:13, Paul instructs Timothy, "devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture..." Third, I wanted the church to see for themselves how Paul magnifies Christ extensively in this letter! In almost every verse he speaks of Christ in some way, always pointing to the sufficiency and supremacy of Christ! Just hearing Paul's firm confidence in Christ is inspiring and upbuilding for our faith. Fourth, the first recipients of this letter would have received it just this way, by hearing it read not by reading it (Col 4:16).

I say unusual - for us. This would not have been unusual in the first century church.

I say refreshing because we just simply allowed the reading of the Word to do its work in our lives and fellowship. I believe we left encouraged, inspired, and understanding to an even greater degree "In All Things, Christ Supreme!"

You can listen to last week's message here.

Toward a Theology of a Healthy Lifestyle

The Scriptures are filled with exhortations warning against the dangers of sinning with our bodies and how we should view our bodies as gifts from the Lord. From the biblical perspective, healthy living is not about maintaining a youthful appearance, being consumed with your body, using the body to gratify lusts, finding your pleasure in enticing others with your body and appearance, or feeding our natural notion that we can defeat anything and live forever! Those are the worldviews of the body found in health magazines, muscle magazine, and the gym. However, that is not the biblical worldview of how our bodies can be used for the glory of God and for our good! A couch potato is wasting the body God has given him to be used for His glory, but so is the gym nut if his emphasis on health is about building up himself and not the kingdom!

It’s a good thing to pursue healthy living. It’s better if you pursue it for the glory of God, not the glory of self!

Scriptural Guidance for Glorifying God with our Bodies.

1. Romans 6:12-13 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.”
2. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
3. 1 Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
4. 1 Timothy 4:8 “for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way...”

A Theology of Body and Soul.

1. The Scripture is clear that we are created by God with a twofold union of the physical and spiritual realm. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We can deduce from this text that the Lord is interested in the sanctification of our bodies as well as our souls and the two, body and soul, are intricately connected.
2. The body and soul are so tied in union to the one person that activity in one realm always affects the other.
3. This is evident during sickness. It has been reported abundantly how prayer has a positive effect on physical recovery. The reverse is true as well. When the body is miserably sick, the spiritual nature often suffers as well. The point is that you can’t separate the two.
4. If this is the case, then how we treat our bodies will have an effect on our spiritual vitality. Laziness or slothfulness tends to have negative consequences for us spiritually. On the other hand, developing good spiritual disciplines (1 Tim 4:7) often aids in developing healthy disciplines as well.
5. The point is that the way we treat our bodies, what we eat, what we do, has an effect on our spiritual lives. In addition, the way we treat our bodies, what we eat, what we do, either honors the Lord or dishonors the Lord.
6. Taking care of the body because of its union with the soul and doing so to glorify God has additional benefits. Foremost being that physical exercise clears the mind and reduces stress. A workout works out mental and emotional stress; it is not just for muscles!

Practical Steps for Pursuing Healthy Living.

1. Get a plan and a partner. A plan will give you a goal and a partner will give you accountability and encouragement. No greater partner than your spouse, which includes the added benefit of more time and activity together!
2. Eat less non-nutritional foods (high sodium, sodas, chips, fats, fried foods, junk food, processed and canned foods) and more food that nourish the body (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, non-processed or canned - the closer you get to eating it straight from the ground, the better!)
3. It’s ok to get ideas from diets and healthy cooking magazines, but don’t get carried away! Just take simple steps to be more health conscious. Many people get discouraged because healthier eating is more expensive. It can be if you try to cook the exact meals you find in healthy diets. However, think about it like this, fat-free milk is not more expensive than whole milk and spending a little extra now for fresh foods and whole grains may save a lot of money later in the form of medicine and medical care.
4. Get active. Implement some form of physical activity 4-5 times each week. Walking, running, swimming, whatever, just get up, get out, and get moving!

Suggestions for Incorporating Healthy Living into an Already Packed Lifestyle.

1. For some, the problem is not desire or money but time! I certainly sympathize with the resistance of adding anything at all, no matter how beneficial, to an already jammed-packed busy life. Here are some ideas though of how exercising can be incorporated into your present schedule.
2. Go for a brisk walk during your prayer time.
3. Workout, hike, or go for a walk with your spouse and spend this time in conversation and prayer together.
4. Play with your kids.
5. Listen to a sermon while you are at the gym.
6. Meditate on Bible verses or pray through how best to deal with issues in a biblical, godly manner. Time spent exercising, if sent alone, is an excellent opportunity to think with a clear mind.
7. Basically, learn how to do two things at once, some kind of physical exercise + some kind of spiritual exercise.

In some ways, taking care of the body is taking care of the soul. May we present ourselves, body and soul, to the Lord for His glory!

Installation Celebration and Prayer

Yesterday, Clovis Evangelical Free Church held an “Installation Service” to officially call and recognize me as their new Teaching Pastor. I had never been “installed” before and really did not know what to expect. I anticipated the service to be formal and for there to be a sense of a new beginning, both for the church and for me. However, I did not realize just how worshipful, solemn, and meaningful the day would prove to be!

The service was filled with prayer, hymns, a message, charges to the congregation and to me, and I was given an opportunity to respond. To conclude, the elders gathered around me and prayed over me. It was an absolute blessing.

We ended the day with a fellowship meal, of course! Before we began to enjoy the food, however, I was surprised to be presented with a special gift. The educational ministries of the church presented me with a framed sermon manuscript by Charles Spurgeon, my spiritual mentor and hero! I was completely taken back and simply at a loss of words. I have read Spurgeon and/or about Spurgeon for years. One of the shelves in my library is dedicated to all things “Spurgeon.” As you can imagine then, I have always wanted one of his manuscripts, but figured that was one of those earthly possessions I would just never acquire. It was a sheer delight for me and is already hanging in my office!

I want to thank Pastor Al Oliver for the ministry he conducted the previous 3 years at CEFC and for orchestrating such a remarkable installation service. I also thank everyone who helped plan, prepare food, took part in, and donated toward a wonderful service that stands as a significant marker in the life of our church.

To CEFC, your recognition and charge to me was also an enormous blessing to my family. I am so thankful that my children were able to witness the church demanding biblical fidelity from its pastor and then honoring him for committing to do so. It is my privilege to be one of your pastors!

Below is the response I delivered yesterday during the service. It is framed in the form of a prayer.

Dear Gracious and Heavenly Father,

I respond to the Charge to the Congregation and the Charge to me, as Teaching Pastor, with this prayer to You.

I rejoice in Your saving grace and thankfully confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. I rejoice in Your gracious calling to teach the Treasure that is Your Word, and I gratefully echo the words of Paul in Ephesians 3:8, “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.”

Father, the calling and charge that I embrace is that of 2 Peter 5:2, “shepherd the flock of God,” and I readily confess this calling to be beyond me. Therefore, I approach Your throne of mercy to plead for the following graces...

Grant me wisdom, to lead Your people to treasure Christ in all things and above all things.

Grant me discernment, to be gentle with the faint of heart, gracious with the weak in faith, patient with the slow to believe, and yet firm when correction, instruction, and admonishment is needed.

Grant a door for Your Word in the Fresno/Clovis area and beyond to the ends of the earth.

Grant me courage that in the opening of my mouth I may speak Your Word boldly as I ought to speak It.

Grant me the filling of the Spirit that my life may support the message.

Grant me believing grace, to really embrace and believe the Truth of Your Word, sanctifying grace, to treasure Christ, persevering grace, to finish well.

Grant me a God-sized vision so that You alone receive every ounce of credit, praise, glory, and honor!

And I pray these mercies for those You have entrusted to my care...

Open our ears, open our minds, open our hearts, open our eyes, to see, to embrace, to love, to know Christ in all His fullness and in all His glory as we find Him so revealed in Your Word!

May the Truth proclaimed and taught from this Body and magnified in our lives be as a magnet, pulling, drawing, wooing the unsaved, the unbelieving, the lost to saving faith in Christ.

And may our journey together as Pastor and flock be such that we may joyfully sing together, assembled in Your presence forevermore, a praise of celebration - To God be the glory, Great things He has done!

In the name of Your Son I pray,

Amen.

Book Review: Slave

Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your Identity in Christ. By John MacArthur. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010.

Whether intentional or not, most English translations of the Bible, beginning with the King James Version, have consistently mistranslated an important NT description of Christianity. The Greek word doulos occurs 124 times in the NT documents. The meaning of doulos in the NT, in secular Greek literature, and in theological dictionaries is always “slave.” However, English translators have replaced “slave” with “servant.” According to MacArthur, this has yielded dramatic results as Christians in the Western world have not fully understood their relation to Christ. I think he’s right!

MacArthur notes that English translators probably shied away from translating doulos as “slave” for two reasons. First, they did not want readers to mistakenly associate slavery in Roman society or in the biblical framework with the harsh, unjust, and evil form of slavery in our recent history. To be sure, injustices took place in biblical times within the institution of slavery, but the institution itself had built-in advantages for slaves, especially those who had good masters. This was the context of “slave of Christ” that the NT authors had in mind. Second, English versions were influenced by the Latin version, which translated doulos as “servus.”

As a result, while Christians in the NT and in the early Church understood their relation to Christ primarily as that of slave, we in the modern context, have understood our relation as that of servant. The problem is that there are crucial differences between servants and slaves. MacArthur concludes,

...while servants are hired, slaves are owned. Believers are not merely

hired servants; they are His slaves, belonging to Him as His possession.

He is their Owner and Master, worthy of their unquestioned allegiance

and absolute obedience. His Word is their final authority; His will, their

ultimate mandate. Having taken up their cross to follow Him, they have

died to themselves...(p. 198).

Therefore, we have missed out on the fullness of gracious freedom that living as the slave of Christ produces! Yes, it is a paradox but it is still true in God’s economy of grace: being the slave of Christ is the greatest, most satisfying, most thrilling freedom one can ever know! In addition, MacArthur devotes a sizable amount of material to explain how viewing our existence biblically as either slaves of sin or slaves of righteousness (cf Rom 6:15-23), compliments the doctrines of grace.

I don’t think it’s possible for Western readers not to cringe at the first glance of defining their relation to Christ as that of slave. However, if we will push through our context and enter the world of the biblical authors, we will discover the joyful truth that they knew and wrote about. Namely, as a believer, I am slave to the most gracious, most loving, providing Master of all! As a believer, I have been freed from slavery and bondage to the most cruel of all masters, sin! As a believer, my status of slave to Christ carries with it my status of adoption into God’s family. O happy slavery is mine for Christ is mine, and I am His..........completely His!!!!

Read this book!

Search And See - June 2011 Update

Dear Friends:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! I pray this update finds you well and growing in the grace and knowledge of our Savior!

What a delight to share with you this month. I praise the Lord for His goodness, and I thank all of our friends for their prayers and support. As you well know, we have come through a time of ministry transition. It was a time of blessing, rest, and reflection for our family, but no doubt, a time of testing and struggle as well. God proved so faithful in that He did not allow us to lose faith through months of searching for His will and direction, but instead, He gently held our faith firm in Him!

We are now in a new town, a new home, and among new friends. It is a pleasure and honor to be part of what God is doing at Clovis Evangelical Free Church in Clovis, CA! I still have to pinch myself at times! I can’t believe we are now living in California! I can’t believe I have the privilege of being a Teaching Pastor! I can’t believe I get to be a Teaching Pastor here, at this great church! So let me say a heartfelt “thank you” for standing with us through this transition, and please continue to lift us up in prayer. May the Lord guide our steps, keep me humble, and grant me wisdom to lead His people in such a way that He is glorified in all we do!

In other news...

Sermon Ministry: 187 downloads from 25 States and 9 Countries!

Mission Trip: We have a team of 8 leaving for Myanmar and India on Oct 1! We will be involved in a seminary graduation, Bible colleges, caring for orphans, visiting villages, and more!!!

Children’s Book: The illustrations are complete! Now we are entering the editing phase!

New Book: I hope to put my Bible reading blog into book form. Hopefully before Jan1, we will be able to release “Wonders in the Word” as a tool for reading and meditating through the Bible in one year!

Ministries in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, India, Myanmar, and the Philippines continue. Thank you for supporting orphans, pastors, and our various projects. What a joy to encourage and equip these ministries in order to build healthy churches and sound forth the Gospel to the ends of the earth!

Blessings!

Wil Owens

Galatians 2:20

Command and Teach: Pastoral Authority, Pastoral Care

In 1 Tim 4:11, Paul instructs Timothy to “Command and teach these things.” “These things” seems to refer not only to the preceding verses, but to the entire letter up to that point. In other words, what Paul is commanding and teaching Timothy, he is to, in turn, command and teach to the church at Ephesus. Therefore, part of Timothy’s calling as a teaching pastor was to command and teach the Word of God to the congregation.

It’s important to note that Paul places the two imperatives, command and teach, together. That is, he meant for Timothy to engage in both as part of his pulpit ministry. He was not just to command. If so, he would become an overbearing dictator simply shelling out orders. Pastors, while called to issue commands, are not called to be drill instructors! In order to prevent this from developing, Timothy must always provide teaching for his commands. Or to put it in seminary language, the indicative must reinforce, explain, undergird, support the imperative.

Many church members mistake the place of pastoral authority and believe the pastor to be stubborn, head-strong, or dictator-like simply because as pastor, he must issue certain demands. Pastors must have convictions, biblical convictions, on issues such as sound doctrine, biblical methodology, and holy living. Just because pastors are called to hold the church firm to sound teaching and godly applications, that does not make them dictators. Actually, it makes them God-honoring pastors! (cf 1 Tim 4:11-16) Where do churches end up when pastors do not budge from sound doctrine and holy living?

To be sure, some men abuse the privilege of pastoring by becoming sergeants instead of servants! Through lack of training, personal weaknesses, lack of accountability, or whatever the case may be, some pastors abuse pastoral authority.

How would you know if a pastor is being abusive and not pastoral? The first indicator is that he makes demands without backing his authority on correctly, lovingly, and patiently teaching the Word of God. In other words, if he makes imperatives without indicatives! His reasons must be beyond his personality or his office. His reasoning must be grounded in sound interpretation of Scripture. He must command AND teach. In doing so, people understand the “why” behind the command, and therefore, are spiritually equipped and given the right motivation to rise to the challenge.

How would you help a pastor maintain his biblical position of commanding and teaching the Word properly, in a way that cares for the church? As always, the Bible provides the best answer. Surround that man with fellow elders who will minister alongside him, encourage him, and hold him accountable. Timothy had a group of such men. (cf Acts 20:17-38) I thank the Lord that now, so do I!