Session 6: Provide Space and Resources for Sunday School

 

Arthur Flake was an early innovator in
Sunday School management. His "formula"
has been around for 100 years and is the
inspiration of this series.
To watch a video podcast on this series,
click here 

   To be honest (don’t you just love that phrase?), I thought this chapter on “Provide Space and Resources” was going to be difficult, and not relevant to us at FBC Killeen.

   But when I thought about providing enough room to teach, reach and serve, two verses immediately popped into my mind, both occurring early in the gospels, the first occurring early in Jesus life and the other occurring early in his ministry.

   The first being found in Luke 2:7 which reads, “And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

   The second verse that came to mind comes early in the first gospel to be written, Mark chapter 2 verse 2, “Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them.”

   No room for the Infant Christ and no room for Christ to preach the Word was met with innovative solutions. The first thing I thought of was “Look how creative the solutions were.” They laid the Word in a feeding trough, and they sacrificed a roof to get the paralyzed man into the room. He came for healing, but Jesus used this problem to teach a marvelous parable that the Son of Man has power to forgive sins.

   Obviously, providing enough room and tools for the Prayer, Outreach, Inreach, Need-meeting and Teaching ministries of our LifeGroups is crucial. Always has been and always will be.

To watch video teachings on this series, go to bit.ly/FBCKFlake 

   About ten years ago, we were bulging at the seams, with classes meeting in offices, in robe rooms, in workrooms of the church.

   Fortunately or unfortunately, that is not the case currently at our church. Before, not having enough space was a good problem to have, and now having more than enough space is again a good problem to have, but both are still problems that need to be addressed and resolved.

   Chapter 6 included a section about Expensive “Space Killers” including large objects like tables in the room. In other cases, it may not be tables, but empty space in the room, caused by large circles so everyone can see everyone but nothing but empty space in the middle.

   Alan admits that tables are convenient for holding personal items like Bibles, coffee, curriculum, etc. but when space is a premium, the $125 to $250 per square foot can get expensive.

   When we run out of space again (and I hope we will), then we can start talking about how effective and efficient large circles and convenient tables may or may not be.

   What I think is a “good problem to have” is that we have space to make more classes. That ties into the last lesson of enlist workers, not only for adults but for preschool, children, and youth as well.

   The locations of our classrooms right now are good, I believe. Having classrooms for young adults near the children and preschool area is also a convenient and necessary thing to have.

   Having classrooms near the entrance and worship center for our handicapped is also a convenient and necessary thing to have.

   We are currently looking at building a family life center, or what Alan calls a gymnasium, is also a way to free up more space for when we get through covid. I do believe we will grow as the pandemic ends.

   We have done many of the things suggested such as having Multiple Sunday School Hours So that there is no need for Off-Campus Options for Space.

   But let me again encourage you as teachers to encourage your class to put creative ideas into the minds of your classes. Just as they used mangers for a baby bed and a torn off roof for a handicapped entrance, let’s challenge our classes to be creative and possibly hold off campus small groups and home groups.

   I also liked the section of seeing our church through the Eyes of a Guest

   That’s why we need greeters at the doors, and plenty of signs directing people where things are.

   I think most can figure it out but look around and see how our building can be more “guest friendly”

   I will also say this about parking. Please try to avoid parking in our Guest Parking and do not at all park in the six “First-time Guest Parking” spots. Reserve guest parking for guests and first-time guest parking for first-time guests (makes sense, right?).

   I am glad we have plenty of spaces for both new and expecting mothers as well as “solo” moms in the back.

   Finally, there was a great line in the material where Alan says the following:

   One of the most important resources a church can place in the hands of members and guests: a study guide that is used by the group to study the Bible systematically. Christian educators are often asked by Sunday School teachers, “Why do we need to use curriculum in our class? Why can’t we just study the Bible?” Arthur Flake identified three benefits of using “lesson literature,” or what we might call ongoing curriculum today. These benefits were having a plan of Bible study, possessing a system of Bible study helps, and provides a vehicle for applying the Bible study to life.

   Ken Braddy is also quoted as saying classes using material like we do from Lifeway is important because:

   # 1. Our goal is to make disciples. Quarterly study guides give content for your class members to read in between attending group studies. They can learn even when they are not present. It encourages daily bible study times.

   # 2. the content is trustworthy. I heard yesterday that someone a church leader openly questioned a theologically sound Biblical truth that has been historically held for nearly 2,000 years. In this day where cults and false teaching are rising, where the internet openly posts theologically unsound and untrue doctrine, we can no longer trust that our class members are going to hold to sound Biblical teachings. All of our material needs to be closely examined to maintain doctrinal integrity.

   # 3. Almost all LifeWay writers are strong in their theology AND

   # 4. The editors are who work on the Sunday School curriculum serve in local churches. They are, like you and me, people “in the trenches” each week.

   # 5. Our material is affordable. When we go off-script (like we do in the summer), the materials we use can get quite expensive. But a class of ten students with all the teaching material we provide including Personal Study Guides only costs a total of $70 for 90 days!

   # 6. We have options. One material studies the Bible book-by-book. A second material tackles topics, and the third material from Lifeway goes through the Bible chronologically. And there are even more options for resources from our state and national Sunday School organizations.

   #7. We need to keep our guests in focus. With enough books for them (some of whom are without a strong church background), guests and new LifeGroup members can have a guide and be ready for class discussions.

   # 8. Our material is balanced. Believe it or not, the curriculum has a “scope and sequence.” That is, it has an organized, systemized study plan that covers a wide variety of topics, not just whatever the “flavor of the moment” is. When group leaders prepare their own studies, they often gravitate to pet topics and favored doctrines in the Bible, which is fine on occasions, but does not offer a wide variety of balanced topics.

   I got in trouble Sunday when I mentioned a certain description of one of our classes. I did not mean to offend, so it was good to read this chapter and at least let someone else say some of the things that I have said for years. I will be glad to let that writer take the heat!

   From mangers to taking off the roof, let’s think creatively how we can use our rooms and materials in the best way.

  

Flake's Formula for a Disciple-making Ministry, Part 3

Whether it is a class, a church, or a ministry, if we want our organizations to grow, we are going to have to do what Jesus and the Apostle Paul exemplified, and that is to disciple a disciple-maker, or as Arthur Flake said, Enlist and Train Leadership.

To watch a video podcast on this series, click here 

CHAPTER 5: Enlist and Train Leadership

Flake had a Driver

  1. We need to ENLIST the leaders

  It may be true that some are naturally gifted as teachers or professionally trained as teaching or even through the spiritual gifts are supernaturally endowed with the ability to teach. This is not always the case or even the norm. Group leaders tend to do what they are trained to do.

  Training is the driver that results in good teaching, good leadership, good administration, and effective Bible study groups.

·         Congregations providing at least four training sessions a year had more than 13 percent in attendance over four years and

·         those that provided no training declined by an average of 2 percent during the those four years.

  Ephesians 4:11-12 that: “… he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, equipping the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ.”

  2 Timothy 1:6, Paul instructed Timothy to “rekindle the gift of God which is in you.”

  In the second chapter he spoke of teaching skills when he said, “Be diligent to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.” Avoid irreverent and empty speech, since those who engage in it will produce even more godlessness,” (2 Timothy 2:15-16).

  In chapter 3, he reminded Timothy that, “All Scripture is inspired by God, and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work,” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

  In chapter 4, Paul challenged Timothy with the words, “Exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry,” (2 Timothy 4:5).

  2. Evaluate Your Training

  Steve Parr writes in chapter 5

  Evaluation is essential, not expensive but it does require us to be intentional in enlisting and evaluating how we are growing future leaders and teachers in our classes.

  3. Enhance your skills

  Most of you are experienced, educated, endowed teachers, but all of us need to enhance our skills of teaching. That’s why you’ll hear me say Good Teachers are good learners and good leaders are good readers. No that is not unique with me but it is more than a catchy phrase. It is a the truth, as we saw Paul’s admonition to Timothy.

  Saul the persecuter of the church himself took years more than a decade of training before he became the Apostle Paul. from

  Look for leaders and teachers and encourage them by demonstrating that you yourselves need to be continually trained in learning to be a better leader.

  If every teacher that we had would have one teacher in training, we would be better prepared as a church for what I call “scary growth”. In fact, I would not be surprised that God is not using this pandemic to get us prepared for a great outpouring of his spirit. People are searching for answers and they are not found in our media, politics, schools, or anywhere in the world except  in the church which is founded on the preaching, teaching and reaching of the word of God.

  4. Educate and EXEMPLIFY.

  What is a good Systematic Plan for learning to teach and training our teachers, both present and future?

  Two excellent resources I have used over the years is Dr. Howard Hendricks “7 laws of the Teacher” and Bruce Wilkinson’s “7 Laws of the Learner”.

  Both books can be ordered by our church if you would read and implement them, that would be a great resource for your equipping ministry.

  Steve writes, “Should we meet weekly, monthly, or quarterly? We should start where we are, but be careful not to overwhelm leaders with initial plans. We might begin with a few gatherings this year and increase the frequency based on our church’s unique culture. Here are several options that we can mix and match to create a customizable plan to equip our leaders, and I will follow with how to build in accountability.”

  On page 59, we see 10 different ways we can educate and equip you and your prospective disciples.

  1. The On-Site Launch

  2. The Off-Site Conference

  3. The Banquet

  4. The Breakfast/Lunch Option

  5. The Standard: Plan quarterly, bi-monthly, or monthly training sessions for the volunteers.

  6. The Proxy: Purchase a book for all leaders, ask them to read it, and organize discussion groups to follow up.

  7. The 24/7 option: Let me give you some good resources that you can have online right now (in addition to …. *ahem*… my videos).

  If you go to sampsonresources.com/streaming you can find several online resources. (passcode is 5963SAP)

  Also at RightNow media, you also have thousands of resources at your fingertips of your keyboard to watch. Go to www.fbckilleen.com/rightnow to register.

  8. The Quick Pitch

  9. The Marathon

  10. The Retreat

  5. Expectation.

I want to hold you all accountable and responsible to study to show yourselves approved workmen and workwomen in the Word. My expectation of you as teachers and discipling of teachers is to first train yourselves, and second through a covenant teach another class member, and then third acknowledge through tangible ways of sincere appreciation and recognition.

  Remember that those who lead the groups in our churches are volunteers. They are not looking for financial reimbursement, but the currency of appreciation will go a long way toward inspiring each person to participate in the training that we suggest or provide.

  Enlist and train the workers is step 3 of Flake’s formula and I ask you this final question: If God were to call you away or call you home tomorrow, would your ministry carry on because you have been faithful to mentor and disciple at least one person in your class.

  Thanks and blessings in Him

* Please note: I could not think of Mark Devall’s first name on the video and I apologize. The only name that came to mind was ROBERT Duvall!!*

 

Flake's Formula for Disciple-making (Part 2): Enlarge Your Organization

 Following the Spanish flu of 1919, Belton native Arthur Flake developed a strategy for growing our denomination’s Sunday School ministry. The following is part 2 of that strategy: Enlarge the Organization.

Watch my video for our LifeGroups by clicking here. 

To see the entire video series, go to bit.ly/FBCKFlake

    Does God want the ministry at FBC Killeen to grow? Of course He does. Killeen and the surrounding community are growing and quite frankly our church has room for many more preschoolers, children, teens, and adults.

    In an obscure passage of 1 Chronicles 4:9, amid a mind-numbing list of genealogy, Jabez was recorded as praying, “Oh, that You would bless me INDEED, and ENLARGE MY TERRITORY…” The Bible said God granted his request.

    Job 8:7 says, “Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly.”

    In the book of Acts, God first added (Acts 2:41, “God added to their number”; Acts 2:47, “God added to the church”; Acts 5:14 “believers were added to the Lord”. Then God went from addition to multiplication in Acts 6:1 and verse 7 “when the number of disciples multiplied”; and again in Acts 9:31, “they were walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.”

    God indeed wants to grow our ministry. Sometimes, like with Gideon, God grows by subtraction. In Judges 7:2, God said, “you have too many,” and he cut down the army, but God subtracted so that they could GROW. Again and again in our history, FBC Killeen has birthed new churches and still God grew this church.

    Many people quote Romans 8:28, but the verse after that is also a good verse. God conforms us “to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

    The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) calls us to make disciples of all nations. In Killeen, the world is coming to us!

    Leadership author and former pastor John Maxwell reminds us that every leader has a “lid”, a maximum limit that he or she can grow an organization. However, God has no “lid”, no limits. By starting new units and classes and ministries and churches, we can grow.

   Enlarge your vision for your ministry in His church.

   Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 3:6, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.”

    Let us pray and then do the watering and planting to see God grow His church.

    The book Building a Disciple-making Ministry highlights this concept with the event of Elisha, the widow, her sons, her neighbors, a jar of oil, and "not a few" empty containers. Essentially, the event is a parable to us today that if we want for God to move through us, especially to "enlarge our organization," then we better prepare ourselves to grow.

    The author concludes this chapter with ”How-to” Enlarge the Organization. The following is a direct lifting from that chapter. 

Arthur Flake understood one of the most important actions a Sunday School could take is to start new groups. New groups reach new people, develop new leaders, make more disciples, and allow more people to exercise their spiritual gifts leading to greater spiritual maturity. New groups grow faster and tend to be more evangelistic than existing groups.

Churches that regularly start new groups in addition to the ones they already have almost always experience growth. Any church, regardless of its size, location, or ethnicity, can start new groups. Starting new groups requires a catalyst. Perhaps you are that catalyst. Do you have a passion for reaching new people, and are you willing to do the work it takes to make it happen? Here are steps to start a new group:

• Identify the target for the group. Who is the new group intended to reach? Young Adults? Single Parents? Students? Children? Preschoolers? Parents with preschoolers? What segment of your congregation or community does not “fit” with existing small groups? Is there an age span that is too wide? Who attends worship but does not have a group that is designed for them?
• Select curriculum that the group will study. Curriculum provides doctrinal accountability for the teacher, as well as saving him or her time in preparation. Curriculum also gives group members a resource they can study between group meetings.
• Enlist people to help start the new group. Enlist people from other classes that fit the target audience of the new group. It’s easier to start a group with a few friends who are willing to come together and provide energy and synergy to the new work. Start with at least three people who will serve as the core of the new group—the Bible study leader, someone responsible for reaching new people, and someone responsible for helping the new group engage in serving others.
• Develop a list of prospects for the new group. Develop a list with contact information of potential members for the new group. Make contact with these prospects, inviting them to participate in this new group.
• Select the starting date. Choose a date to start the new group. New groups can start at any time but most churches have discovered that new groups launch better in high growth times such as fall and at the beginning of a new year.
• Choose a time and location or room where the group will meet.
• Train the core team. Share your expectations for the new group. Let the leaders know you expect them to attend training opportunities you provide throughout the year. Help the group set goals for the number and frequency of fellowships and ministry projects they’ll undertake each quarter. And be sure to talk about your expectations that the group will grow and ultimately “franchise” itself by starting a new group of its own.
• Focus on relationships early in the process. Plan and conduct a fellowship or interest party. Many people interested in a new group are looking to make new friends. Offer a fellowship before the start of the new group and invite as many potential participants as possible. Share about the new group and invite prospective group members to attend.
• Start. Make sure everything is ready. Arrive early and verify the room/space is ready to go. Be prepared to teach and lead the best lesson you possibly can. Allow time for fellowship and prayer.
• Evaluate, encourage, and celebrate. Evaluate the process, encourage your group, and celebrate as new people join. Follow up frequently with guests and work to build relationships with people. Encourage the group to plan fellowships and ministry projects. 

Know the Possibilities!

36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

--Matthew 9

To see videos related to this series, go to bit.ly/FBCKFlake

Encounter the plentiful

There are several passages in the Bible (almost all of them) that contain more information and inspiration than we’ll ever be able to comprehend. This verse is one of them, found in the first six words of verse 36. “But when He saw the multitudes…”

Jesus saw the multitudes and loved the people. He was moved with compassion for them. We drive around our neighborhoods and businesses, but do we really see the people. And if we see them, do we truly love them? Are we moved with compassion for others?

As our population grows, we have more possibilities than we can fathom and more work to be accomplished than we can actually do. Do you see those weary and scattered people? You see people that your pastor, your shepherd, never has the opportunity to see, and even if he did, he cannot minister to them the way you can.

Equip the prayerful

When Jesus saw the people, he turned to the disciples and asked them to pray. There was much work to be done, and still is, but our Lord did not say, “Get to work boys!” but rather “Get to praying!” There is a bountiful harvest waiting, but it does no good if there are no harvesters. 

Another little verse packed with power and punch is in John 4:2, and in my version, it is even in parentheses, almost a throw-away line: (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples),

 

(though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples),

(though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples),

Why didn’t Jesus baptize? He wanted to equip the disciples to do the labor. We need to pray (King James says “beseech” which always put me in the mind of “beg”). Implore the Lord of the harvest to send workers and may every day that you go to your field of service, you begin with praying for laborers, beginning with yourself.

Engage the purposeful

Early in the gospel of Mark, Jesus is recorded as rising early to pray, while the people were seeking Him to preach. “Everyone is looking for You,” the disciples said. His response was to go to the next town to preach, “for this purpose I have come,” He said.

Have you engaged in your purpose? We begin with prayer, but we cannot stay in prayer. It is as though the disciples had to rouse Jesus from His devotional time with His Father to bring Him back to his purpose.

Do you know what your purpose is? You undoubtedly have many purposes, but ultimately we have simply one, and we can see that in another purpose statement Jesus proclaimed in John 12:27-28,  “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”

Our ultimate purpose is to glorify God. Paul said it this way, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God,” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Embrace the possible

We know that all things are possible with God. Look around our area and dream, “What is possible for our church, with God?” This passage has a parallel in John, following the encounter between Jesus and the woman at the well. The disciples had no idea what lay ahead of them while they went to get food, and suddenly just because of one woman, the entire village came out to see Jesus. While they were worried about Jesus getting enough to eat, Jesus was pointing to the disciples that the harvest was already “white unto harvest” (John 4:35). They needed to know what was possible.

Is your vision for the future too small? Are you worrying about the temporal things of this world (like the disciples were); concerned about “today’s meal”; meanwhile, God wants you to see what is possible to impact eternity? “Gather fruit for eternal life!” Jesus said. The disciples were about to gather from the labors of others, namely His witness and the woman’s testimony. And, they didn’t even have to lift a finger but were ready for the harvest. 

I believe there is a harvest on the horizon. Look around! The possibilities are endless for what God has for you.

Disciples In Training

Click here for the first video.

This book, Building a Disciple-Making Ministry, is available from Lifeway
and will be distributed to all adult LifeGoup leaders

     At a previous church where I worked, a person said to me, “Don't tell me you believe that antiquated myth that Sunday School is the way to make disciples, do you?” He was not a member of our church, and certainly not a Sunday School member, but rather he went to a church where Sunday School was more of a Social Hour.

     My response is still the same: “As a matter of fact I do still believe that Sunday School (most of us at FBC Killeen call it “LifeGroup”, but it’s still the same) is the best place to make disciples.”

     One hundred years ago, following a pandemic called the Spanish Flu, a Belton, Texas, native was hired by the Baptist Sunday School Board (now called “Lifeway”) to come up with a formula to reinvigorate the church for discipleship.

     His name was Arthur Flake and his system has been studied and implemented for more than a century now. It’s called “Flake's Formula” and a new book has been issued to help in this century following this pandemic. I purchased enough books for our teachers to have and see why this tried and true method still works today.

     For the next five weeks, I will outline the basics of Building a Disciple-Making Ministry. This week is the overview of Flake’s Formula for a new generation.

1.  Know Your Possibilities: Next week, I will write on why we need to notice people, members, and prospects and know our limitless possibilities in reaching all three through LifeGroup Leadership.

2.  Enlarge the Organization: Flake knew that growth was a sign of life and a failure to grow was a formula that leads to death. On Aug. 4, I will expand on the “how come” and the “how to” of growth.

3.  Enlist and Train Workers: On Aug. 11, we’ll see that the driving force in Flake’s Formula was leadership and training. If you believe that our world has problems, and that Jesus is the Answer, then our church needs to be a part of the solution to our world’s woes.

4.  Provide Space and Resources. I have seen our church run out of space before, and while that is a “good problem to have”, my response was always, “but it is still a PROBLEM”. On Aug. 18 we will see some resources we have right now (even without building a new building, which we will do, Lord willing).

5.  Go After People. Flake was no fluke! His formula was rooted in the Bible and the Great Commission. My compadres in education and evangelism ministry are in total agreement: People are hungry for God! I will share in the Aug. 25 newsletter why this is the best time to go after people for Christ.

    Flake may have lived and worked a hundred years ago, but his principles of making disciples through the church are still the same. A quote from the book sums it up well:

Methods are many,

Principles are few;

Methods may change,

Principles never do!

Looking Up!

    Like many of you, I watch the news and am horrified. Not only by the senseless crimes, tragedies, and natural disasters, but by those who intentionally do things that are against what I would say is sound judgment. It seems to be a fulfillment of the prophecy that says, “God shall send them a strong delusion, that they should believe a lie,” (2 Thessalonians 2:11, KJV).

    Elsewhere the Bible says that “Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done,” (Romans 1:28, NLT). What’s more, they are not only convinced in their belief, but also think that those who think differently are the ones who are deceived.

    Today, I woke up early and walked out to see the sunrise and, according to a reading plan I am on, I read Psalm 113. “From the rising of the sun to its setting, let the name of the LORD be praised,” (v. 3, CSB). As a lover of sunrises and sunsets, I know that verse well, but as I sat on the bench overlooking the Harker Heights baseball complex, I kept reading the passage over and over.

    Psalm 113 begins with a Hallelujah, as it is transliterated. Verses 1 and 9 use one of seven Hebrew words for praise, “Hallel”, followed by the abbreviation for Yahweh, “Yah”. “Praise the Lord” is how most translate it, but the CSB is correct in rendering it “Hallelujah”.

    Verse 4 says God is so far above the nations and His glory is so far above even the heavens, and yet He “humbles” Himself (KJV) to stoop down (CSB) to look and see both the heavens and earth. His ultimate “stoop down” came through Christ, Who humbled Himself to the point of death at the cross (Philippians 2:8).

     The psalmist then thinks about Hannah, the barren wife who finally was able to give birth, and quotes her song found in 1 Samuel 2:7-8. She was overjoyed that God lifted her up from her impoverishment, along with all who are low and needy in order to sit with the high and mighty. Paul also acknowledged that we are risen, seated, and “hidden” (or already “departed secretly”) with Christ Who is at the right hand of God.

    Psalm 113 ends by carrying forward that thought of the joy of a woman who, though childless, is given a family and a home and again refrains with the “Praise the LORD” or in Hebrew, “Hallelujah!”.

    Maybe you also can’t “feel at home in this world anymore.” Well, join the heavenly crowd! Just as the Lord looks down on this world, we need to do what Pastor Randy often says, “look up” to our heavenly destination.

    Or as Jesus said in Luke 21:28, “When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”             

Blessings in Him!

 

Present your present times to God

I can write the following, but my prayer is “Lord, now let me live out what I have written.”

Romans 12:1-2 are foundational verses, especially for knowing God’s will.

Paul is “urgent” in the church of Rome, a church which he had never been to, and now he is wanting to put all of the theology from the first eleven chapters into practical application.

“Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (NASB20)

I found an old check the other day and while it was endorsed, it did not say “for electronic deposit”. I wondered if the money was possibly never deposited. That’s the way adults are who say, “I used to do this for the Lord.” God is more interested in the present, than the past performance and resting on the past is like relying on a check that was never deposited.

Also, God is more interested in the present that pending promises. Years ago, I knew a guy who told me, “I’ll serve the Lord when I get out of college,” and then “I’ll serve the Lord when I get married,” and then, “Well, when we get kids, then I’ll get back in church.” Today, his kids are grown, and he is still not in church and not outwardly serving the Lord. Pending promises are like a promissory note never claimed.

So, what about the present time? Now is the time to present yourselves to Him as a sacrificial gift. To know God’s will, we cannot rely on past glories or promissory pledges. What God wants done today cannot be done tomorrow! There is an urgency.

Secondly, to know God’s will, there must be a surrender. Paul calls it a living and holy sacrifice, not living and holy selfishness. Many times, we pray “My will be done,” rather than “Thy will be done.” When we present our bodies to God, that is more than just our flesh and bones, it’s our will, our emotions, our desires. To know God’s will, we must sacrifice our will, if it is different than His will.

Seeking God in prayer for our will is not wrong, but only in the surrender and sacrifice of our will can God truly find that “spiritual service of worship”. Worship literally means “worth”-ship, the declaration of how worthy He is and worth implies cost. God is not our servant, we are His, and in our worship, we declare our sacrifice to Him of all that we are.

God is not interested in our money, our abilities, or our intellect. He wants us. He’s not concerned about your I.Q., but He greatly wants your “I DO”. We think of “I do” in our marriage vows, but we are first and foremost the Bride of Christ. Our capability is not nearly as important as our availability.

Surrender is not just our will, but our worries as well. The “what-ifs” must also laid before the throne of God. The future is not ours but God’s to hold. Job said in chapter 3, verse 25, “that what I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened.” His worry did not cause it to happen, but it caused him to live through it twice, once in dread and again in reality. Live trustworthily in the present and trust God with the future.

Thirdly, to prove God’s will, there must be a transformation. Paul speaks of a conformation to the world. To figure out which way the worldly wind is blowing is conformation. But transformation is the renewing of the Holy Spirit, the mighty rushing wind which comes from within.

We see conformation to the world by seeking to please what is acceptable today. But transformation is what is acceptable to God forever. Conformation is what is good for me. Transformation is what is good for God and His Kingdom. Conformation to the world is performing for the current perceptions. Transformation is allowing God’s perfection to be present in us for His righteousness, not our self-righteousness.

In Exodus, the people would gather Manna each day from the fields for their daily sustenance. We cannot rest on our laurels. We cannot promise tomorrow. We must do today what we know is God’s will for us to prove the will of God for the future.

 

Look for blessings in plain, brown paper packages

Anne Graham Lotz, who lost her father, her husband,

and was diagnosed with cancer in the space of two years,

said at the Texas Governor’s Prayer Breakfast to look
for blessings in “plain, brown, ordinary packages”. 

“Then Job said: ​​‘No doubt you are the wisest of all people, and wisdom will die with you!’ (Job 12:1-2).

 This verse made me laugh out loud today.

Context: Job had suffered so much, and his friends came to “comfort” him. He gets a little annoyed with them (a little? He DOES have the patience of Job!) and says, “when you die, wow, all of wisdom will leave the earth, since you are sooo smart.”

But it’s not just his friends who think that they are all that! Consider the pundits, the evolutionists who believe that LIFE came from nothing.

Job 12 continues, “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you; ​​Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; and the fish of the sea will explain to you. ​​Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this, ​In whose hand is the life of every living thing, ​​and the breath of all mankind?” (Job 12:7-10)

Now obviously you can’t ask a bear or a bird or a big-mouthed bass to teach you about the Creator, but just look at them and ask yourself, “Did this just happen to happen?” Does life come from lifelessness? Look around you, Job is saying, there is a God, and He is in charge. “What you know, I also know. I am not inferior to you,” Job says in 13:2.

Most people who reject God give a reason for their unbelief. Somehow, their view of God did not line up with what they thought God should be or do, so they rejected Him.

Not Job. Life was certainly not turning out like he wanted or how he planned things to go. He lost his job. He lost his 401K. He lost his family. His wife tells him to drop dead.

In the middle of it all, Job still says, ​​“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him,” (Job 13:15). He only asks two things: “don’t leave me, and don’t let me be horribly afraid of You,” (13:22).  

Anne Graham Lotz, who lost her father, her husband, and was diagnosed with cancer in the space of two years, said at the Texas Governor’s Prayer Breakfast to look for blessings in “plain, brown, ordinary packages”.

“For my birthday one year, my mother sent me a package wrapped in plain brown paper. When I opened it, there was a gaudy, multicolored straw basket inside, stuffed with tissue paper. I actually thought my mother had totally lost her good senses! I tossed out the tissue paper, wondered what in the world I was going to do with the basket, then called to thank her for her ‘gift.’ Mother laughed when I thanked her for the basket then asked what I thought about what was inside it. I told her that nothing was inside except tissue paper and I had thrown that out. She responded urgently, ‘Oh, no, Anne! INSIDE that tissue paper is your real birthday gift!’
“I ran outside, opened up the trashcan and went through the garbage piece by piece until I came up with the wad of tissue paper. Inside was a small gold ring with a lapis lazuli stone that had been taken from the flooring of the Shushan Palace where Queen Esther had lived with King Xerxes!

“I had thrown out a priceless treasure simply because of the way it was wrapped!”

Can you trust God, even in horrible times? Job says yes, even if it is wrapped in the plain brown paper packaging of pain and suffering.

The Big Angel and the Little Bitter-Sweet Book

Think about something that is bitter-sweet. In Revelation chapter 10, we see a big angel with a little book that is sweet and sour to John. And even though the little book is opened and unsealed, we can only guess how bitter-sweet its contents will be.

The Big Angel

¹I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.

The “mighty angel” coming down from heaven has characteristics and descriptions similar to Jesus, but this is not Christ. A rainbow was around God’s throne (Revelation 4:3), Jesus’s face at the transfiguration shined like the sun (Matthew 17:2), and Jesus’s feet were like bronze glowing in a fiery furnace (Revelation 1:15). Jesus Christ, however, does not return to the earth until later so this angel is not Jesus.

If this mighty angel were Christ, the question would arise, why wouldn’t John specifically identify Him as Christ? Many believe that Jesus Christ, the second person of the godhead, appeared in Old Testament times as “the Angel of the Lord.” However, after His incarnation, He was never referred to as such again, and certainly not as merely “another … angel.” Instead, this mighty angel has the attributes and power of heaven, but he is still a messenger and a representative of God.

This vision is spiritually seen by John and it is for John’s benefit. This mighty angel is the second of three “mighty” or “strong” (Greek: ischuros) angels whom John sees in this apocalyptic book (the first is in Revelation 5:2, the second is recorded here in chapter 10, and the third is in Revelation 18:21). In another trilogy of angelic beings, this is the first of three angels who come down from heaven (see also Revelation 18:1 and 20:1).

The clothing of the angel with a cloud identifies power and judgment. The rainbow signifies God’s promise, his face shining like the sun signifies the glory of the Lord and God’s purity. His feet being like pillars of fire indicates the solid foundation of God’s holy judgment.

Being on the sea and on the land signifies God’s total and final judgment which will permeate the entire earth. Artists frequently paint this angel as being huge in stature, but other than the angel standing on both land and sea, John does not indicate this. These descriptions however are secondary to the fact of what the angel holds in his hand: the little book.

The Little Book

²He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,

The “little book” (Greek: biblaridion) is a different word than what was used in the opening of the seven seals. This one is open, not sealed. Just as we do not know the contents of the seven thunders (Revelation 10:3-4) , we do not know the contents of the little scroll. However, we do know the results of it: it is sweet to the taste, but bitter to the stomach. Christians greatly look forward to Christ’s return, which will be sweet, especially for those who become believers during the Tribulation. However, when John begins to truly digest the enormity of the upcoming “days of the voice of the seventh angel,” such calamitous and catastrophic judgment makes John nauseous.

Zephaniah 1:14 describes the noise of the Day of the Lord. Those days, which I believe are the final three and a half years of the Tribulation, will be “a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers.” Because of the horrendous sins of the world, “their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like refuse. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, for He will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land.” (Zephaniah 1:15-18)

The Loud Cry

³ and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices. ⁴ Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.” ⁵The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven ⁶ and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, ⁷ but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.

The loud cry of this angel is compared to a lion’s roar. Amos 3:8 says, “A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who can but prophesy?”

Proverbs 19:12 says, “The king's wrath is like the roaring of a lion, But his favor is like dew on the grass.”

Isaiah 31:4 proclaims, "As a lion roars, and a young lion over his prey…so the Lord of hosts will come down to fight for Mount Zion and for its hill.”

This loud voice is a signal for great terror. The seven thunders, which some refer to Psalm 29:3-9 as the thunderous voice of the Lord, and its seven attributes were revealed to John, but a voice from heaven (the first of seven times that John will hear the voice from heaven as he did in John 4:1) commands John not to write them.

The Seven Thunders

The seven thunders apparently utter seven things which will be revealed in the end times but is not for us to know now. The mighty angel swears by God (again, another affirmation that this is not Jesus Christ) that there should be no more delay. (Now, in the King James version, this word “chronos” is translated as “there should be time no longer” but this does not mean that chronological time itself shall end, but rather like the phrase we use today, “time is running out.”)

Notice that the sounding of the seventh angel will take place for several days and at the sounding, God’s mystery will be finished. That mystery is said to have been “declared” to His servants. A mystery in the Bible frequently means “truth hidden to the world but revealed to His servants the prophets and to the church.”

The mystery is to be “evangelized” or declared (the Greek is “euengelisen,”; the same word from which we get the word “gospel” and “evangelism”. Thus, the mystery of salvation is not yet completed, but it is drawing to a close. The evangelistic word is used again in Revelation 14:6, when another angel flies in heaven and has the “everlasting gospel” (euangelion) to preach (euangelisai). God is still longsuffering, wanting people to be saved. 

Some, most notably Marvin Rosenthal, have used this text and other places as evidence of a supposed “pre-wrath rapture”, a recent theory which emerged in the late 1980s. In other words, some believe that the church, or God’s mystery, has been in the world through this part of the book of Revelation, but would soon be taken out, at the final trumpet judgment. If this were so, the church would only be spared of God’s final wrath or the seven bowl judgments. However, this “pre-wrath rapture” is not likely, because we see that the “sounding” will take place over several days (Revelation 10: 7). Like the seventh seal which contained the seven trumpets, the seventh trumpet will include the seven bowl judgments.

 

⁸ Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.” ⁹ So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.” And he said to me, “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” ¹⁰ Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.
¹¹ And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”

                                                            

The same voice, presumably God’s voice since it speaks from heaven, which he heard in verse 4 speaks again. Up until this point, John has apparently been observing these events from the perspective of heaven, but now he is on the earth as he goes to the angel who is standing on the land and sea. John later states in chapter 13 that he was standing on the sand of the sea. These two passages are significant when John measures of the temple, which strongly indicates he is measuring the earthly temple and not a heavenly temple.

The example of eating a scroll was also used in Ezekiel 2:8-3:14. In Ezekiel’s case, the scroll was filled with lamentations, expressions of mourning and woe and though it was sweet to the taste, it resulted in Ezekiel’s bitter prophecy against his own people of Israel.

Whether John and Ezekiel literally ate the scrolls is not nearly as important as the fact that they spiritually digested God’s message and then prophesied to the people. The last part of this chapter uses the phrase “peoples, nations, tongues” but adds the word “kings”. The “peoples, nations, tongues” phrase was used seven times in Revelation 5:9, 7:9, 11:9, 13:7, and 14:6, adding the word “tribes” (that is, the 12 tribes of Israel), and in Revelation 17:15, adding the  word “multitudes”.

But here, God and possibly also the angel tell John that he will prophesy again. There is no record of John ever testifying “before” kings. However, this book of Revelation has been read by peoples, nations, tongues, and kings for nearly 2,000 years.

Numerous charts like this one have been made to help diagram the events of Revelation and coincide it with Daniel’s 70^th week. Revelation 10 and 11 are seen as the mid-point of the book.