Last night we had the privelege of Pastor Steve Chong, come up from Sydney to share with us a bit about ministry. He’s got plenty of experience behind him leading a new church plant in Kogarah, Sydney called Kirkplace and also being RICE national director. He took us a through a passage in Mark 6 showing us how Jesus Christ did ministry, and what we can learn from it.
I thought i’d share with you the brief notes that I took. I probably left a lot out, but I hope it’s helpful.
Remember brothers and sisters – all for God’s glory. Now get out there and do it!
I’ve been super encouraged by a chapter in the book of “Disciplines of a Godly Man” by R. Kent Hughes that was on the “discipline of witness”.
Hughes shares about Jesus’ disciple Andrew and how extraordinary this average guy is. He isn’t mentioned much in scripture, but there are records of his mission work and from what little we do know of him in scripture, we read that he was a humble, relational, and selfless disciple. (John 1:40-42 – He was the first to be called yet Peter his brother is repeatedly mentioned and a part of Jesus’ inner circle) However, we all know that nearly every city has a Church named after Saint Andrew, the Scots love him, and his influence has shaped the Christian world.
What Hughes stresses upon is that we can learn a lot from an average dude like Andrew. He labels it “Ordinary Andrew Evangelism” in which our ordinary relationships with people around us is the focus of our evangelism. He mentions a survey of Church attenders and finds that approx 1-2% came coz of a response to a visitation, 5-6% out of interest of a preacher, 2-3% were walkins, 4-5% reached from Sunday School, and a mega 75-90% through the influence of friends or relatives. How extraordinary is ordinary Andrew evangelism??
I will leave you a paragraph from his book:
“We must understand that we have a sovereign God who orders all of life, including our relationships, and that our friendships, as well as casual encounters, are not a list of social accidents. God has placed us in our particular families, neighbourhoods, and workplaces for a reason: He has put us next to people He wants us to influence for Christ. Everyone we encounter is an eternal soul of immense value whom we ought to regard with the same weight with which God regards them.”
So remember, ordinary relationships can lead to extraordinary evangelism. Invest in your relationships with people around you and pray that each one of them will come to know the Lord Christ 
i know you’re probably thinking “another greenie rant?!?” … but bear with me for a minute.
most of the time when i talk to people about sustainability they turn and start pointing things out that i do wrong. usually this has to do with obvious and car-related, eg.. “you drive a turbo” or “your family drives separate cars to church” or whatever. and it’s true – my lifestyle is shocking and i won’t hide from it. i do like driving, i like buying gadgets, i love pearl milk teas and i even enjoy eating sharks fin soup. i just did another ecological footprint quiz and it says my lifestyle needs 7.8 planet earths to support it (my first said something like 4.6 – it really varies according to the calculator you use – but that’s still bad). isn’t that ridiculous?
i think most of us YFers have come from a culture that is very consumerist and convenient – take as examples how we want to be up to date with the latest tech, and how we want to have the convenience of using and chucking disposable stuff. thing is – we don’t need to be commune-living vego hippies (not that there’s anything wrong with them at all) to make a difference. being sustainable doesn’t mean having a bland and boring life.
firstly though, why should we care? i think the answer is twofold…
don’t get me wrong – our priority as Christians, and the Church, is to reach people. but i hope you’re convinced that we can’t be ignorant about God’s creation. it’s my hope that sustainability becomes an opportunity for the Church to show people that we really do care about them.
so what can we do? i’ve been trying to think of easy first steps that are appealing to us asians (ie saves us money haha). being a super wasteful consumer myself i will be trying to put these into practice as well…
although my car is a valuable ministry tool so i’m gonna prioritise that and use it as much as i need to and if you can afford to…
finally, just want to leave you with a picture of the maldives… which may not be here by the end of this century
Why do all my non-Christian friends seem so happy being in their relationships, when I’m stuck being single?
Why can’t I just snap in half the coworker who always gives me attitude?
Why do I have to swallow my pride when the lecturer/tutor is being unreasonable?
Why do the rude jerks that swear and curse get all the pretty girls?
Why do the girls that wear short skirts and plaster on make-up get all the good-looking guys?
Why can’t I have the few extra drinks at my friend’s party?
Why is it SO HARD?
Whether we like to admit it or not, there comes a time in almost every Christian’s walk where a certain thought crosses our minds; the thought of GIVING IN to our worldly desires, of GIVING UP being a Christian. Sometimes it seems life would be so much easier if we just gave in and did whatever we felt like. We could get trashed at a party and not have to wake up in time for church on a Sunday morning. We could speak whatever was on our minds, and do whatever we wanted, be with whomever we wanted, not caring about anything or anyone. Life would be so much easier and more FUN we just gave up being a ‘Christian’.
It’s these exact thoughts and Satan’s lies that make a life of Sin so alluring. It’s why people reject God. It’s why so many people are lonely, depressed, guilt-ridden, angry, jealous, spiteful and hateful. It’s why nightclubs are packed with people who just want to feel loved and needed by someone. It’s why people drink and do drugs, always chasing a high, trying to fill a bottomless hole in their hearts. It’s why people idolize relationships; they don’t feel complete if they aren’t in one. It’s why people pour all their time and effort into building a career and chasing prestige. It’s why people’s life goals are fame and fortune, to amass as much money as they can, so they feel secure, so they can buy the things that make them “happy”.
It’s the reason why no matter how many times some people see/hear/read/listen to the gospel of Jesus Christ they just won’t change. It’s the work of Satan in this fallen world. It’s the sin in our human hearts and why millions of people are on their way to hell, an eternity separated from God.
As Christians sometimes we like to think that we’re somehow different, better and more deserving then everyone else, but in fact, we’re the same. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Only when we really understand this can we truly begin to appreciate the gift of grace that’s been given to us.
Being a Christian isn’t meant to be easy, it’s meant to be tough. Jesus told us to take up our crosses, and follow Him. Taking up the cross means dying to the world and to our old sinful ways: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Mark 8:34-36 (NIV)
So if you’re finding it hard, if you’re thinking about Giving in, or Giving up, then remember that you’re not alone. Take the opportunity to catch up with someone and ask them how they’re really going, and pray for each other. If you’re struggling, spare a thought and some prayer for our Christian brothers and sisters around the world who face death and imprisonment because of their faith.
Pray that He will continue to change your heart and to open your eyes to the bigger picture, to the countless people in the world who are lost and who don’t know Jesus like we do. He’s saved you, so put your worries and burdens and struggles onto His shoulders. Trust in Him that He will provide for you everything you need in this life, whether it’s food on the table, a stable job, a husband or a wife. Pray and thank God that He has set you apart from the world, and that through His Son Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection we can look forward to an eternity with our God, the creator of the universe.
Romans 5 (NIV) 1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. 6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
I’ve been encouraged immensely over the past year by money given to organisations such as tearfund and gfa and other missionary projects. To hear that people are buying presents for people that are actually gifts to other people who need it just shows the potential of giving and how much we can be a part of helping further God’s kingdom! Our Church CCCB raised enough money to buy a Jesus well in India through GFA earlier this year, plenty of people gave to the Walk the Extra Mile for Dalit children in India, the individual growth groups raised money to buy individual gifts in the GFA catalogue as part of offering and even the money that was raised for the Taiwan missionaries. It is such encouragement for me to see and hear how people are selflessly using their money so other’s can spread the Good News of Christ and help bring these people out of poverty and bring the Good News to them.
So let me continue to encourage you all to keep giving to these worthy causes because there are people in this world who don’t enjoy luxuries like we do, who live off much less and who are in both physical and spiritual need.
If you’d like to give or support Christian organisations that help the poor in the name of Christ, check out these websites below:
After hearing Gracie’s very excellent book review on Bitesize Theology, by Peter Jeffery on Saturday night, I felt compelled to read the book. I have to say, no other book sums up the basics of Christianity quite so comprehensively, as this book does. Its subjects include reconciliation, redemption, justification, grace, election, the Second Coming! All this church jargon is sure to confuse even the most learned minds! Thank God for Bitesize Theology!
Every day we pray “Heavenly Father” or “Dear God”, but who is this God we pray to? He is the Creator, the Father; the Head of the trinity (amongst many other things). Currently in our bible studies on Exodus, we are beginning to unearth the character of God. Through Exodus we have seen that He is patient, determined, sovereign (in control of all things) and most of all loving (and many more!). He is of course all those things but concisely, Bitesize Theology describes God to be like some of the following attributes:
God is holy – He is free from all sin and evil and there is in him absolute moral perfection; God can do nothing that is not holy. Therefore, God’s love is a holy love; his justice, a holy justice and his wrath, a holy wrath. This is especially comforting to us, when we apply this to salvation; his salvation is a holy salvation there is no possibility of it failing. (Psalm 99:9; 119:9)
God is sovereign – He has the power to carry out his will and purpose. God is no fairy-tale king who can only look on helplessly as his enemies triumph. He is omni-everything! Omnipotent (He has all power), omniscient (has all knowledge), omnipresent (in all places).
The God of providence – (He provides) He is always at work in the lives of his people so nothing happens to us by luck or chance. God upholds, guides and governs all circumstances. In other words, God knows what is going to happen, when, how and why; all for His glory.
God is good – There is nothing harsh or unreasonable about him, but God’s goodness is not weakness or softness, He is not something we can take advantage of. As Christians, we can rely on his goodness; we can rely on God, we can know that whatever the circumstance, God will use it for our good, to point everything back to the cross.
God is love – a love that acts on behalf of its recipients. It is undeserved (Romans 5:6-8), it is unsought love (1 John 4:10), it is unimaginable (1 John 3:1). No other love is more sacrificial and more self-less than the love God has shown us, through the death of Jesus. Imagine: Letting a family member or friend face death, for the good of many others. UNREAL right?
Peter Jeffery also writes that “if our thinking about God is not correct then every other doctrine we apply our minds to will also be incorrect. This is the most important doctrine yet people seem to think they are free to make up their minds as to what God is like… This attitude is responsible for what is possibly the greatest sin a person can commit – to reduce God to terms that are acceptable to us (Psalm 50:21)… It is a slander on the character of God and all worship that flows from it is worthless.”
An example of this is only accepting some of the truths about God and ignoring others. Basically picking and choosing what we think God should be like. Putting God (and everything He does) in a box, is limiting God’s capabilities, essentially underestimating God. And from God being sovereign, we can see how putting God in a box is the wrong thing to do!
Read the book. It’s AWESOME!!!
Grace has a copy or ask one of your friendly bible study leaders. They will track down a copy for you.
Recently the annual Brisbane Leadership Conference Plus (BLT+) was held at the Sunshine Coast. BLT is a great movement which is aiming to train up and equip leaders in Brisbane to further God’s kingdom (More info on BLT can be found here) One of our YF Sisters and BLT+ first-timer, Bek has kindly offered to share some of her reflections on the weekend.
BLT+ was an awesome and challenging weekend away at Currumundi! It was my first BLT+ and definitely something on my mind a lot still. The speakers were Andrew Hong and Ying Yee. There were 4 talks about fueling the fire in our hearts and a ministry discussion. I would highly recommend everyone to go as it was very challenging and really puts things into perspective about how we should spend out time and where our desires should be. It was also a great opporunity to have fellowship with other christians from different churches. Heres a summary:
Thanks for that Bek! Now for the rest of you, what did you learn from BLT+? please share your thoughts with a comment.
You have to get your hands on “the Prodigal God” by Tim Keller. If you read any book this year may it be this one. 
I think many will agree with me that the Cross-centred Life by CJ Mahaney took the win last year (make sure you get ur hands on that if you can!) but I want to strongly recommend this book to all Christians reading this who want an understanding of what it means to be a child of God and wake up and realize how great our God really is.
Tim Keller is Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York which has about 4000 members. His book the Prodigal God is based on the parable of the Prodigal Son which Keller corrects as at the “Prodigal Sons”. He explains the true meaning of this parable, helping us to understand that the modern day Church is filled with both younger and older sons, and that our God – the Prodigal God – is reckless and not ashamed to receive both the former and the latter into His kingdom and His glory (with arms wide open), regardless of their waywardness and selfish sin. For both the faithful Church-goers, and those seeking God, this book will convict you, change you, refresh you and help you to appreciate how wonderful and amazing our mighty God is.
Now I know many of you don’t read. PLEASE may I encourage you to READ more! Not only does reading Christian books supplement your bible knowledge but they are helpful in inspiring you and growing you in your pursuit of holiness. This is a short book – approx 130 pages. I finished it in a 1.5hr sitting (on a plane). I really think it’s manageable for all those who are too lazy (which you should repent of), those who don’t have the time (we all really have time to read..) and those who may even just struggle with focusing with words on a page (not every book has pictures!).
5 stars. Go buy it now! (or ask myself or Ping to borrow)
A while back, YF held a fantastic little missions night where Pastor Steve Nation and David Hunt came and shared with us. It was a fruitful time, where we investigated God’s pathway of mission through the bible and also the gospel needs of the nation of India. One thing that really stood out to me though was this quote from John Piper, Pastor of Bethlehem Bible Church in America (he wasn’t there by the way – steve just used his quote haha)
“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever”
Most churches have a group of dedicated Christian people serving hard, working tirelessly in their respective ministries each week to keep the church going. There are plenty of bible studies, meetings, training. All fantastic stuff….but what’s the point?
So often, we lose sight of the big picture and get caught up in the trap of “doing” rather than the “why I’m doing it”. Our God is the most high, awesome, holy, creator of the universe (Ps. 8). Is it selfish that he demands glory and worship? No – he is king. No other can claim worship except him alone. Our goal is clear – We live as God’s people on this earth to bring people into God’s kingdom to worship him. We live to see all nations bow before him as Lord.
At the heart of all we do as Christians is this simple concept. Whether you’re a small group leader or you’re a fresh new believer it makes no difference. We know who God is, and we can’t help but worship his majesty. In turn we should want to see all people give God the worship he rightfully deserves.
“Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” Rev 15:4
Saturday Nights, 6:45pm
Cnr Beenleigh Rd & Selhurst St
Reflections – Ying Yee In the grip of grace – Steve Nation Sola Panel The Resurgence Safe Home, Efffective Mission
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