Exploring Truth Ministries

As we approach the end of this month a new chapter will start in the lives of some of my best friends.  Josh and Stacy Leigh Hutchens will return to Moldova to complete their 2 year appointment as missionaries.  As they arrive they will be working with young pastors in Moldova training them in New Testament Studies through the Eurasian Baptist Mission.   As I have contemplated their mission and prayed for them I am reminded of a hymn written by Albert Simpson (1904) that I love to sing:

To the regions beyond I must go, I must go
Where the story has never been told;
To the millions that never have heard of His love,
I must tell the sweet story of old.

To the hardest of places He calls me to go,
Never thinking of comfort or ease;
The world may pronounce me a dreamer, a fool,
Enough if the Master I please.

Oh, you that are spending your leisure and powers
In those pleasures so foolish and fond;
Awake from your selfishness, folly and sin,
And go to the regions beyond.

There are other “lost sheep” that the Master must bring,
And to them must the message be told;
He sends me to gather them out of all lands,
And welcome them back to His fold.

(Chorus) To the regions beyond I must go, I must go,
Till the world, all the world,
His salvation shall know.

It is an incredible thing that God is allowing Josh to teach New Testament to young church planters and pastors in a former communist country.  The vision of the school is amazing.  Not only are they training pastors for Moldovan churches but they are preparing missionaries to reach their neighboring countries.

Moldova is surrounded by the ’stan countries of the former Soviet Union.  Countries that are closed to missionaries and the Gospel.  Americans cannot penetrate their borders with the Good News of Jesus Christ.  However, a Moldovan national can pass through these borders freely and spread the Gospel as he goes.  Through sending trained church planters and pastors to unreached areas Josh and those who work beside him, are reaching people groups that were impossible to reach just a few years ago.

As Josh spends his day training new pastors, Stacy Leigh will spend her time raising their son and working with the staff at a camp for young people.  Over the years many young Moldovans have come to know Christ through the ministry of this camp.  Most of the pastors that are trained in the school in which Josh teaches are products of the camp in which Stacy Leigh will be working.  With each new generation of campers comes the opportunity for God to raise up more Christians and Church leaders.

Please pray for my friends as I have these past several months.  Pray that God would save more people in Moldova.  Pray that God will provide for my friends.  Pray that God will use them to send out more people to the dark and dying lands that surround the country in which they serve.

You can learn more about their ministry and how to support it at www.gospellife.org

Tags: Gospellife, Josh Hutchens, Missionary, Missions, Moldova

Ephesians 2:17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

This passage of scripture has intrigued me for many years now as I’ve dealt with it in my mind. Several truths have jumped out at me recently as I have been meditating on it.

Many times this passage is used to exhort the church to become something they are not. It is used as a catalyst to stoke the fire of unity within the context of the local church. I have even heard preachers use it and say things like, “This is what Paul is telling us we need to strive for.” I believe that kind of preaching is needed. We should all strive for the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. However, in this particular passage of scripture Paul doesn’t exhort us, as a body, to become anything. He is not giving us direction or instruction. He simply states what GOD is doing in the midst of a real, true body of believers.

Look where all the action takes place and who is doing it. The conception of the body is found in the actions of God, “2:17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off(Gentiles) and peace to those who were near(Jews).” It was undoubtedly God who initiated the process of building this body, the “Holy Temple.” God is always the initiator in the building of His church. There wasn’t a rebellion in the ranks of Judaism that caused men to seek after God . Nor was there a discontentment in the sinful lives of the Gentiles that prodded them to run to the Saviour. Rather, it was God’s own determination and action that caused men to repent and believe in Him.

Notice as well that it was also God who grafted people with polar opposition together as one group. In doing so he formed a church. “19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ” The Jews and Gentiles didn’t have a conference one day and determine that they would start to seek after God and form a new religion. It was the sovereign hand of God that worked them together forming one body with one father. Prior to God’s actions there was no common unifying element in the lives of these 2 groups. But now because of what God has done they have: a common spirit, a common father, a common household, a common nature and a common citizenship.

Further, we recognize that God is not only the engineer of this construction process but he is the carpenter as well. Ephesians 2:21 says, “21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” It is God who is building the body. Precisely putting every piece into place so that it becomes a dwelling place that is worthy for God to dwell in. He is the master carpenter. He knows what materials are needed and useful. He knows how to fashion each piece so that it fits perfectly.

This passage is not one of exhortation for us to “do better” at being unified. Rather, it shows how God is building His church so that He can have a place to dwell among men. We should relish the fact and feel priviledged at what God is doing in our churches.

Preaching through the beatitudes has been good for me personally. I have found the teachings of Jesus to once again be refreshing to my soul. Last week as I prepared for Sunday messages on, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” I found that all great examples of leadership in the bible had a genuine and abundant meekness. Barclay says meekness is, “Always being angry at the right time and never being angry at the wrong time.” I think this is a very good definition.

Moses, was said to have been the meekest man that ever walked the earth.(Num 12:3) Moses, would not defend himself from accusations and anarchy but would walk up to an Egyptian King and command him to free his slaves.

In the Psalms we find David always running to his tower of refuge for protection against his enemies. He continually asked for God to deliver him. Yet, there were times when he took up the sword and led men into battle.

Jesus was the same. Pharisees called him a madman, a devil, and a liar but you never see Him getting out of control and defending himself. However, when the Glory of His Fathers name was on the line he turned over tables in the temple and made a whip and drove them away. Again, “Always angry at the right time and never angry at the wrong time”, that’s true meekness.

I think that meekness is essential to any true leader. Often it is equated with weakness or cowardice, but meekness is not weakness. A true and good leader knows that there are proper times for anger and offense. If we look at the scriptures those time are generally in 1 of 3 categories:

1. The protection of doctrinal truth

2. The demeaning of the Glory or Name of God

3. When others are being slandered or mistreated and it is undeserving.

A good leader can discern those times and be in control of his actions, even actions of anger or wrath. God has given us the ability to be angry for good; the upholding of his name and truth as well as the protection of others.

Jesus said, “Happy is the man who knows when to be angry and when to just take it.” What a much better and happier life we could live if we only could learn to be more meek. What much better church we could be if everyone, especially our leaders would pray to become more meek.

As posted on Dr. Albert Mohler’s Blog:

Like a bolt from the blue, a California appeals court has ruled that the state’s parents have no constitutional right to homeschool their own children. In a flash, a child welfare case that no one had noticed has become a flash point of controversy in the nation. Will homeschooling be ruled illegal in California?

Here is how The San Francisco Chronicle introduced the story:

A California appeals court ruling clamping down on homeschooling by parents without teaching credentials sent shock waves across the state this week, leaving an estimated 166,000 children as possible truants and their parents at risk of prosecution.

The homeschooling movement never saw the case coming.

“At first, there was a sense of, ‘No way,’” said homeschool parent Loren Mavromati, a resident of Redondo Beach (Los Angeles County) who is active with a homeschool association. “Then there was a little bit of fear. I think it has moved now into indignation.”

From The Los Angeles Times:

Parents who lack teaching credentials cannot educate their children at home, according to a state appellate court ruling that is sending waves of fear through California’s home schooling families. Advocates for the families vowed to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court. Enforcement until then appears unlikely, but if the ruling stands, home-schooling supporters say California will have the most regressive law in the nation. “This decision is a direct hit against every home schooler in California,” said Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, which represents the Sunland Christian School, which specializes in religious home schooling. “If the state Supreme Court does not reverse this . . . there will be nothing to prevent home-school witch hunts from being implemented in every corner of the state of California.”

The court’s decision states that California’s compulsory education statute does not allow for parents to teach their own children as an exemption. Instead, the only teachers qualified to teach children under the law are those with official teaching credentials.

The decision is sending shockwaves across the homeschooling movement nationwide. In California alone, over 160,000 families homeschool their own children. Some believe that the number is actually far higher.

In an event, the requirement of teacher credentials has long been used by the public school systems and teacher unions as a ploy to shut down competition.

In the most important section of the court’s ruling, the 3-judge panel ruled that California parents have no constitutional right to educate their own children. As the decision reads [see full text here]:

The trial court’s reason for declining to order public or private schooling for the

children was its belief that parents have a constitutional right to school their children in their own home. However, California courts have held that under provisions in the Education Code, parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children. Thus, while the petition for extraordinary writ asserts that the trial court’s refusal to order attendance in a public or private school was an abuse of discretion, we find the refusal was actually an error of law.

The words, “parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children,” is nothing less than explosive. Even as the court’s decision is expected to be stayed pending appeal, some parents are already making clear that they will move their families from the state if necessary.

As The Los Angeles Times reports:

Glenn and Kathleen, a Sacramento-area couple who requested that their last name not be used for fear of prosecution, home school their 9-year-old son Hunter because their Christian beliefs would be contradicted in a public school setting, Glenn said. He is troubled by the idea that his son would be exposed to teachings about evolution, homosexuality, same-sex marriage and sex education .”I want to have control over what goes in my son’s head, not what’s put in there by people who might be on the far left who have their own ideas about indoctrinating kids,” he said. If the ruling takes effect, Glenn vowed to move his family out of state. “If I can’t home school my son in California, we’re going to have to end up leaving California. That’s how important it is to me.”

This is a controversy that demands the attention of all parents. After all, if parents have no constitutional right to educate their own children, what other aspects of the parent’s choices for their own children lack protection? This question reaches far beyond educational decisions.

I just returned home from the True Church Conference that was held by the First Baptist Church of Muscle Shoals. I can say that I have been exhorted by some of the greatest of God’s servants in the United States. The times of worship were just as wonderfully anointed and were terrifyingly heavenous.

The theme of the conference this year was Church Discipline. Focused on both the theology and methodology of Church Discipline, the preachers exhorted us to consider that we will never have true churches until we practice the scriptures in their entirety and this includes discipline. They also challenged us to simply be humble men of God who base their life and ministry on the scriptures alone.

Tom Clay did an amazing job leading worship. I once heard a preacher say, “you don’t sing because you can sing, you sing because you’ve got a song.” I felt that the entire church had a song, the song of the redeemed. What a blessing to be around people who sing over redemption of the soul.

It was truly a wonderful weekend. Timmy Brister, live blogged the entire conference and has most of the sermon outlines on his website if you are interested in what went on.