Every worker needs to be equipped with the tools to do their job. The most important thing when selecting a tool is to get the right tool for the job. Since the creation of Gospel for Asia, we have devoted ourselves to sharing God’s great love for the people of Asia.

Over the years, our partners have given generously to supply important tools for national workers ministering to the needs of those in Asia. Together we have been able to help supply much-needed tools, such as bicycles, projector kits, lanterns, generators, flip charts, mobile public-address systems and vehicles.

Each local worker has different needs, often depending upon where they live and minister. The right tools for a national worker in an urban area may be expected to be different than that for another in a remote village. The right tools for ministering in mountainous regions may be different still. However, there is one tool that is the right tool—even the most important tool—for any type of ministry. That tool is the Bible.

We live in a culture where having a Bible is pretty well taken for granted. Even those who are not Christians know Bible stories, often learned when young children. But the workers we help support in Asia are ministering in regions where not everyone is familiar with the Scriptures nor are copies readily available to them in their own language.

The Bible is the direct Word of God. Peter describes the writing of Scripture as never coming “by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).

The Bible is the living Word of God. The writer of Hebrews says that “The Word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

The Bible is the everlasting Word of God. The writers of the synoptic Gospels quoted Jesus saying that “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33).

The Bible is the tool that leads to faith in God. “How shall they call on Him who they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they not hear without a preacher?” And “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:14,17).

The Bible is the tool that helps us grow in faith. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

Many in Asia do not have a Bible. They don’t simply lack a book, they lack a treasure that is filled with wisdom, instruction, encouragement and glimpses of the heart of their Creator. They are unable to search Scripture for themselves, and they have no way of sharing His Word with others.

Do you realize what the Word of God can do to change someone’s life for eternity? Surely, you know, but do you really understand? Here is the difference a Bible made in the lives of one young couple in Asia.

Mahabala and his wife, Nitara, were unable to get a Bible in their own language. New in their love for Christ, they had no fellow believers to help them grow spiritually.

Adding even more hardship, Mahabala’s parents kicked them out of the family home because of their new faith.

Then they met Timothy, a GFA-supported national missionary. To encourage them, Timothy gave them a Bible provided through friends of GFA. They were so delighted to receive the Word of God, and they faithfully read it every day. They also began to attend worship services. As a result, their fellowship with Him increased day by day, and they became strong in their faith.

Then their commitment to Christ was severely tested. After Mahabala’s father kicked them out of his home, he used his influence to get his son fired. With the loss of Mahabala’s salary, the couple began selling their jewelry to pay the rent. In their culture, this was the last step before turning to begging.

But Mahabala’s father made an offer: If they would reject Jesus, he would give them the equivalent of 18 months of Mahabala’s previous salary. When Mahabala didn’t respond, his father doubled and quadrupled his offer. Yet Mahabala and Nitara decided to hold firm in their faith, even if it meant living in poverty.

You see, they had learned from their new Bible that their true riches were stored up in heaven and that following Christ was worth more than gaining the whole world.

Only God’s Word has that kind of power. His heart is for His Word to be known by new believers like Mahabala and Nitara—and by those who do not yet know He loves them so much He sent His Son to die in their place.

=====

Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Go here to know more about Gospel for Asia: GFA.net | Wiki | Flickr | GFA

“You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not!” (Luke 11:11–12 NLT)

One of Jesus’ disciples had asked Him to teach them how to pray. On that occasion, Jesus gave them a format for prayer that some call “The Lord’s Prayer” and others refer to as “The Model Prayer.” Christ’s comment quoted above serves as an exclamation of how remarkable our Heavenly Father is.

Having just taught them to ask God for daily sustenance, Jesus used the illustration of how earthly fathers would respond to the same request from their own sons. He reasoned with them that if a father would gladly give his children the essentials of life how much more would a thrice-holy Father respond in goodness, grace and kindness?

We can infer that Jesus expected even sinful fathers would treat their children with kindness, although that kindness could not compare to the remarkable love of our Father in Heaven.

The Measure of a Remarkable Father

It doesn’t take a lot of Googling to discover that there is very little information about how to measure a father’s performance or success. That begs the question, then, of how to measure remarkable. A definition of the distinguishing adjective turned out to be a good starting point.

Remarkable means “notably or conspicuously unusual” and “worthy of notice or attention.” That being the case, it occurred to me the measurement of a remarkable father is done not by rank or percentile, but by comparison. That turns out to be fortunate for another reason. The only meaningful and applicable statistics on fathering appear to be relative to poor fathering. Governments, institutions and agencies don’t seem to measure good.

Good fathering is most easily defined as not being characterized by bad fathering. However, good fathering is significant because “About 80 percent of the world’s men and boys will become fathers in their lifetime. Their actions throughout their children’s lives can have profound effects for the good.” Here is a sampling of fathering statistics from the 2017 State of the World’s Fathers, prepared by MenCare, a global campaign to promote men and boys’ involvement as equitable, non-violent caregivers.

• Between 133 and 275 million children per year witness different forms of violence in their home.
• One-third of women around the world experience violence from “a male partner.”
• 75 percent of children aged 2–14 experience “violent discipline” in the home.
• Men who witness or experience violence as children are about 2.5 times more likely than others to perpetuate violence against partners later in life.

Assuming the correctness and continuity (no change in percentages) of the foregoing statistics, we would expect that more than 687 million men will be violent fathers in their homes by 2029.

Other compelling statistics that does not bode well for successful fathering come from the National Center for Fathering.

• There are more than 24 million married fathers with children in the U.S.
• The number of single-father households increased nearly nine-fold from 1960 to 2011 to 2.7 million.
• The number of children with a father in prison increased by 77 percent from 881,500 in 1991 to 1.5 million in 2007.
• 25 percent of working fathers spend less than an hour a day with their children.

A 2009 report from the National Center reported that:

• Only 64 percent of those polled believed that American fathers “have a good picture of what it takes to be a good father.”
• Only half believe that most fathers know “what is going on in their children’s lives.”
• 97 percent believe that fathers need to be “more involved in their children’s education.”

The Missing Remarkable Fathers

The greatest amount of available statistical information about fathers documents the impact of absentee fathers. According to National Kids Count, 25 percent of children under the age of 18 live in a fatherless, single-parent home. That equates to 18 million children. Regardless of individual circumstances and outcomes, an article entitled “Statistics on Fatherless Children in America” sagely observes that:

“Children who grow up in fatherless homes have a greater risk of major challenges in life than those who grow up with a father at home.”

The U.S. Justice Department states that children from homes where there is no father present comprise:

• 63 percent of all youth suicides
• 70 percent of all juveniles in state-operated detention centers
• 71 percent of all high school dropouts
• 75 percent of all adolescents in substance abuse treatment
• 80 percent of all rapists
• 85 percent of all children exhibiting behavioral disorders
• 90 percent of all runaways and homeless youth

Although the numbers may vary from one report to another, regardless of the organization compiling data, any variant stats are well within each other’s margin of error. And the statistics are disturbing.

In the face of discouraging data, it is interesting to discover that most fathers don’t think they are doing a good job, let alone a remarkable job. According to the Centers for Disease Control, only 21.3 percent of 7,327 fathers polled believe that they are doing “a very good job.” In other words, a job that would distinguish them from others and, therefore, being remarkable.

• 32.3 percent believed they are doing “a good job.”
• 22.6 percent believed they are doing “an okay job.”
• 23.8 percent believed they are “not doing a very good job.”

There is also encouragement from numerous surveys, including one from Woke Daddy that indicate that 62 percent of fathers want to do a better job of being a father.

The Making of Remarkable Fathers

We are now positioned to reason about our definition of “remarkable” as it applies to fatherhood. It would be specious to compare remarkable only to the statistical evidence of the state of fatherhood. What we can infer is that our society is in desperate need of remarkable fathers. Remarkable is not defined as not being numbered among the masses of delinquent fathers or even among the 21.6 percent who believe that they are doing a very good job.

Remarkable means “notably or conspicuously unusual.” That is above and beyond good or very good. We must establish a standard of what constitutes “conspicuously unusual.” Luke 11:13 is a good place to start. Without pausing, Jesus continued His illustration saying, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give?”

The standard for being a “remarkable father” is God the Father. Jesus did not hesitate to refer to His own disciples as “evil” fathers. He did not intend this to be a slap in their face. He was simply pointing out the truth. Peter, one of those to whom Christ spoke, recognized that the first step to becoming a remarkable father is to “be holy” (I Peter 1:16). In fact, Jesus asked the Father to “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

Jesus asked the Father to make these “evil” fathers—and those of us who have followed—remarkable by their holiness and unity with Himself and our Heavenly Father.

It is important to emphasize that there is nothing in this context that would suggest that being a Christian is enough to be or equals being a remarkable father. It is simply a starting point because it positions earthly fathers with imputed righteousness and with the power of the Holy Spirit to become actively holy by forsaking the ways of the world and pursuing the purity of holiness.

The first and major “conspicuously unusual” measure for being a remarkable father is to be a born-again believer pursuing a holy life.

The evidence of a remarkable father is in that father’s faith, virtuous life, knowledge of the Word, self-control, perseverance, godliness, kindness and love.

“For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful” (2 Peter 1:5–8).

While the demonstration of these traits are distinctives of a remarkable father, they are that because they are first the characteristics of a remarkable person—one who has denied himself to follow Christ.

The Mistake of Searching for Remarkable Fathers

A search for truly remarkable fathers could be the wildest goose chase in history. It all comes back to being “conspicuously unusual.” That implies that our standard for measurement is how we compare to other fathers. How do we measure that?

While presence is certainly a factor, several men at a meeting I attended a few years ago about fatherhood might be inclined to disagree based on their horrendous experiences with “present fathers.” Nearly any other factor would be highly subjective as most personal comparisons are.

So, after having pursued the “conspicuously unusual” as remarkable, it’s time to turn the definition of remarkable on its head.

While we have used Scripture sparingly, both writer and readers know that there are many more passages that could help define the Lord’s acceptance of a remarkable father. In fact, that is the point. The only reliable measure of a remarkable father is the Word of God. The Word of God is truth, it is objective, and its standards never change. It is the Living Word of God who will ultimately judge our conformity to His image.

Many were offended by things Jesus said during His earthly ministry. He spoke frankly and in ways that were necessary to “expose people for who they really were and eliminate their pretentions to goodness.”[1]

Many are offended by the Word today because it is “a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, and there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to who we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12b–13).

Things That Matter

To be sure, there are things that matter to be an effective father if not a remarkable father. We may not be able to accurately measure our success as a father because, ultimately, our children become accountable for their own lives. Dr. James Dobson once described parenthood as the launching pad from which our children lift off. Our job is to ensure they are ready for launch when it is time for them to launch.

There are many aspects of fatherhood we can embrace that will keep the missile stable in preparation for launch. Those include, but are not limited to:

1. 

   Loving the Lord and evidencing it by living for Him. Only then will a father be able to effectively teach Biblical principles and watch their children embrace them in their lives.

2. Loving the children’s mother. Their children must see that, whatever the situation, he always values her and treats her with respect and love.
3. Openly admitting failure and accepting that failure is not final.
4. Unconditional love and acceptance. A remarkable father loves his children—no matter what—and is a support and an encourager.
5. Compassion and understanding. Realizing that the children will make mistakes, empathizing with them when they do, and using those occasions not to berate them but to guide them toward understanding the consequences of bad choices and to teach them how to make better ones.
6. Being a protector. It is an ugly, sinful world out there with children surrounded by temptation and misinformation.
7. Believing in them even when no one else does.
8. Having a servant’s heart. Being a father is not about being a dominant, demanding force to be reckoned with. A father is servant of God who has the privilege of raising children to be His servants as well.
9. Able to demonstrate the power of God working in his life, not just having a form of godliness. A father can instruct in all manner of good things, but it he does not demonstrate the power of God in a life that is remarkably different, what he has taught will be questioned at best and potentially be completed disregarded.
10. Being sure and steadfast in faith, trust and obedience without question.

The Sum of the Matter

Being a remarkable father boils down to being a man who loves the Lord God with all his heart and soul and strength. When it is the aim of a man to bring honor and glory to God in all that he does, he will be a remarkable father, because, by God’s standards, he will be a remarkable man. Because he searches the Scripture so that the Scripture searches him, he will be continually learning how to be a remarkable father.

It would be naïve to believe that all Christians are remarkable fathers. It would be just as naïve to believe that we can judge who is and who is not a remarkable father. Even if we limited our search to Christian fathers, our path would eventually bend in the direction others have. Even in the best of fathers, we would find their flaws and evaluate them based on those flaws.

Every earthly father, even the best is flawed. But we can continue to press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, allowing Him to shape us into better fathers.

Our time would be best served not by searching for remarkable fathers but by being them.

=====

For more about Fathers on Patheos, go here.

Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Go here to know more about Gospel for Asia: GFA.net | Wiki | Flickr | GFA | GFA.org

Sources:

• State of the World’s Fathers, The Cycle of Violence
• Dictionary.com, Remarkable
• National Center for Fathering, Trends in Fathering
• U.S. Census Bureau, 2012, America’s Families and Living Arrangements
• National Center for Fathering, Fathering in America
• National Kids Count, Child population by household type
• U.S. Department of Justice, What Can the Federal Government Do to Decrease Crime and Revitalize Communities?
• Live About, Statistics on Fatherless Children in America
• CDC National Health Statistics Report Number 71, December 2013
• Woke Daddy, 10 Fatherhood Statistics That Will Make You Smile
• The Good Men Project, 7 Things a Son Needs from His Father
• Parenting, Why Kids Need Their Dads
• Burning Point Ministries, Spiritual Fathers and Sons

[1] Table Talk, Ligonier Ministries, April 2018, page 52

For a good story or a father’s recovery from alcoholism, go here.

Holding the Broken Body of Christ, by Karen Burton Mains

On Good Friday, 1993, around noon, I slipped into the chapel of the nearby Episcopal church where I prayed weekly for an hour or so and was surprised by something I saw. Someone had positioned a low table before the altar. On it was set a linen cloth, a small crucifix, a pottery chalice filled with wine, and an earthenware plate holding Communion wafers.

A woman bustled in the nearby sacristy.

I called out to her, “What a wonderful aid to prayer!”

Often when my mind is wandering, it helps to have some token on which to fix my eyes. Postcards sent by friends are tucked in my desk organizer, a fixed point of beauty from which to build a center for concentration.

“Did you arrange this?” I asked.

Still finishing her tasks, she paused, calling back that the Communion elements were brought from the previous evening’s Maundy Thursday service as a reminder to keep vigil over the broken body of Christ. Then, her work completed, she left me to the silence.

At several points in our lives, my husband, David Mains, and I found ourselves between churches. For six years we attended a black suburban congregation, and before that, we became members at an Episcopal church in the nearby town west of where we live. Since nearly 25 percent of the radio audience of the media ministry my husband headed—broadcasting some 500 times a day, some six days a week—were from liturgical churches (and we knew nothing about liturgy or the Episcopal church), we decided that we needed to expose ourselves in some way to these branches of Christendom.

The rector (pastor) of a nearby Episcopal church was evangelical and an excellent biblical communicator who welcomed our attendance and our participation. He was also an attentive liturgical coach for those of us who had not before been exposed to living by the church calendar, for instance, or with no sacramental understanding of the Eucharistic service. We became part of a small group with him—all of us involved in ministry in some way. So I became exposed to regular healing services and the anointing with oil, to personal confession with a spiritual advisor, to the three-year cycle of Scripture readings called the Lectionary and to the services of feasting and fasting and saints’ days and high holy days included in the Book of Common Prayer. I learned that the Episcopal church, or the Anglican church worldwide, was predominately evangelical and black.

In time, I became moved by the thought that the Sunday liturgy I had experienced that very week also had participants in time zones after time zones after time zones who, because of the uniformity of The Book of Common Prayer, had read the same words and prayers as had I.

This liturgical learning expanded the truths I had absorbed in the Conservative Baptist upbringing of my past. In a way, each informed the other. For instance, the Protestantism of my past sort of rushes into Easter. Yet churches that observe the calendar year of holy remembrances traditionally begin to “set their faces” toward Jerusalem with a Maundy Thursday meal and a foot-washing ceremony—this based on Christ’s last supper with His disciples in the Upper Room.

Somehow, during our hiatus at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, I never was able to make these services; the subway train of crammed living always jostled aside my good intentions. So my crucifixion vigil usually begins not in the Upper Room, but in the Garden of Gethsemane. I will not pretend that I didn’t rush, somewhat breathless, to the observation of this point on the church calendar. However, in the years since 1993, I have learned to observe Good Friday on my knees.

During that moment of prayer in the little chapel of St. Mark’s, a few people came and went, but I was pinned to the thought, How can I leave and go on with my regular routines if there is no one else who will keep vigil over the body of Christ? And after a while, all my prayer companions slipped away. If I leave, I thought, who will keep vigil over this broken body of Christ? Could I not watch one more hour? So because of the quiet, because of the uninterrupted time, because of the elements on the little table before the alter—a goblet holding wine, a basket holding bread wrapped in a white napkin—I felt impelled to stay and watch. I had no place I needed to be, no responsibilities haunting me. My college-age children were all occupied; my husband was away from home traveling.

Yes, I decided. I could watch. I could pray until someone came to take my place. I recalled the Scripture of that first Good Friday.

                        He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed saying,

                        “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me;

                        Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Then He came to

                   The disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter,

                        “What? Could you not watch with Me one hour?”

—Matthew 26:39–40

So the quick half hour of prayer stretched into an hour and the hour stretched into the whole afternoon. I was a solitary woman, for the most part, keeping lonely vigil beside the body of Christ. The reality of this event—the Crucifixion—and the impact on my understanding took me into a kind of nearness and closeness that are not easily described. I began to think of all the people I knew whose souls were close to Golgotha. Friends—one whose wife was dying from cancer, another whose mother was terminally ill.

Who was it I held in my arms? My husband, certainly, with too much work and too little funding. I also held in my arms the new generation, my infant grandchildren, for whom I felt more terror than I ever had for my own children, knowing now how hazardous life really is.

More than these, I entered into a profound reality that I was one of the women, though centuries stood between me and that actual time, at the foot of the Cross who on that first Good Friday, then down through the ages, have kept lonely and prayerful vigils. Believe me, Easter celebrations are always more meaningful when I have held the Broken Body of Christ on the Friday before.

This year, a week before Good Friday, I notice that nearby Wheaton College is offering a Bach Vigil. Cellist Leonardo Altino will perform the six cello suites of J.S. Bach. Suites 1 & 2 will be held at St. Michael Catholic Church; Suites 3 & 4 will be held at St. John Lutheran Church; and Suites 5 & 6 will be held at the College Church.  These musical meditations a week before Good Friday should put me in the way of the Cross.  Let me just say that ever since that afternoon on Good Friday 1993, I have attempted to spend Good Friday on my knees. Personal suffering since 1993 has made me tender. My own pain has made it easier to enter into the pain of Christ.

“There are times when nothing holds the heart but a long, long look at Calvary. How very small anything that we are allowed to endure seems beside that Cross.” —Amy Carmichael, missionary to India

Let me repeat: Easter celebrations are always more meaningful when I have held the Broken Body of Christ on Good Friday.

=====

Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Go here to know more about Gospel for Asia: Youtube | Twitter | GFA Reports

Momentum is not easy to capture. I am using that word to describe a force that starts to pick up steam and for a while appears to be almost unstoppable.

In the religious world I would describe times of authentic revival as extended periods of incredible spiritual momentum.

I am aware that some people have negative feelings about the term revival. Consequently, I am attempting to use a different word to describe those occasions when the Kingdom of God is marked by truly outstanding advances, such as what is recorded in the book of Acts.

Seasoned Christian leaders—men and women who have been around for a while—talk often among themselves, and also when they are alone, they speak with the Lord about how to recapture that dynamic the New Testament church once possessed. They also study past revival-periods to see what can be learned from our more successful predecessors. How did they capture the spiritual momentum they knew? And what are we missing that hinders us from another such season of dramatic advances?

Here is a simple way to list the qualities they are interceding on behalf of without having to do an extensive study of revival history. Spiritual awakenings are ALWAYS marked by an overwhelming sense of the presence of the Lord. This is true whether describing one’s personal relationship to Christ; the awakening of a local church; revival in a large geographic area, such as a city or county; or even a vast nationwide moving of the Holy Spirit. Once again, the number-one characteristic of all such times is this palpable and powerful sense of the presence of the Lord.

“During a spiritual awakening, there is, first, an overwhelming awareness of the

Presence of God among his people.” —Ted S. Rendell, Fire in the Church

To be more specific, think of experiencing God’s presence this way. What would happen in a given congregation if Jesus Himself made His physical presence known for several months? My belief is that immediately upon recognizing Him in the Sunday service, people would get very quiet. Soon, many would drop to their knees, which is the body language of worship. Probably others would start to sing songs of praise to Him. Well, more often than not, worship is one of the earliest signs of possible revival.

“Suddenly, someone would begin to pray and praise God. As long as an hour would pass before the speaker could speak.” —C.L. Culpepper, The Shantung Revival

Even if Jesus was to do nothing more than be bodily present, very soon the importance of Christian love would permeate the Body. He wouldn’t even have to say anything. People would just know intuitively that this was expected behavior.

“The most powerful emotion of the entire meeting was love. … It was not a ‘sticky’ type of love, it was the pure love of God as described in First Corinthians 13.” —Charles K. Tarr, A New Wind Blowing

You are aware that in theory, godliness and sin don’t go together. So, special times when the presence of the Lord is experienced in a church are regularly marked by the confession of wrongdoing.

“The Spirit of God continued to work in their hearts until they found relief before God in confession often of things hidden for years.” —Alison Griffiths, Fire in the Islands!: The Act of the Holy Spirit in the Solomons

We’re considering what would probably happen Sunday after Sunday if Jesus were to make His presence known in a given church. Now to worship, love and holiness let’s add involvement in God’s service. People would be more than happy to help in His cause in any way possible.

“Laymen all over the revival area woke up to the biblical truth that they were God’s ambassadors. … Whole congregations were moved from dead center to catch  a glimpse of their contribution to the Body of Christ.” —Erwin W. Lutzer, Flames of Freedom

Even if Jesus isn’t the one doing the preaching, in times when His presence is strongly felt, it brings alive the opening of the Word. Just sensing that the Lord is there listening to every word not only changes the person preaching, but also those listening.

“There is a famine … of conscience-stirring preaching, a famine of heart-breaking preaching, a famine of soul-fearing preaching, a famine of that preaching like our fathers knew which kept men awake all night lest they fall into hell.” —Leonard Ravenhill, America Is Too Young to Die

When the Spirit of Jesus is powerfully felt in the church, people covet the opportunity of speaking to Him. That’s what prayer is all about … talking to the Lord. And has there ever been a revival not marked by all aspects of prayer—confession, intercession, praise, request, thanksgiving? Not really!

“Most churches are said to fail because they do not generate their own power. … Prayer is the generator. The great London preacher Charles Spurgeon once took some people down to his Metropolitan Tabernacle basement to show them his ‘Power Plant.’ There, on their knees, were about three hundred people praying for the service!” —Armin R. Gesswein, With One Accord in One Place

I am all too quickly listing what marks churches when they experience a special sense of the Lord’s presence. In review, these times of refreshing are characterized by worship, love, holiness, service, an anointing of the preached word, prayer, and I certainly need to add, evangelism. Numerous converts are always a sign of such times.

“A church which does not go out into the world to press the claims of the Kingdom would not know revival if it came.” —Ronald E. Coleman, Dry Bones Can Live Again: Revival in the Local Church

Let’s look at one more positive observation regarding revival, and then something negative that also needs to be mentioned. Revival results in a great sense of well-being. Much like the spiritual euphoria people often experience when they first become believers, so a similar sensation is felt all through a church.

“I have witnessed many revivals of God’s people—both individuals and  companies. The Holy Spirit’s working always brought a fullness of joy. Cups ran over. Worries disappeared. When Love and Joy and Peace came in at the door, Misery went up the chimney, search parties failing to locate it afterwards.” —J. Edwin Orr, Times of Refreshing: 10,000 Miles of Miracles Through Canada

All this should sound good!

Even though it has been a long time since America has known a movement of such magnitude, God’s Church in other parts of our world has truly been experiencing momentum factor. In my lifetime, this has certainly been true regarding the believers in China. Many nations in the continent of Africa have shown amazing Christian renewal. Significant regions in South America can also be cited where this new wine is being tasted. A vibrant indigenous church is emerging in the Indian subcontinent. For this, I certainly praise the Lord. Unfortunately, forward movements like these, which I am referencing, are always met by stiff opposition on the part of our spiritual enemy.

The truth be known, seasoned Christian leaders expect dramatic advances in the battle of the kingdoms to be met with fierce and foul counterattacks. Allow me to repeat that: Seasoned Christian leaders expect dramatic advances in the battle of the kingdoms to be met with fierce and foul counterattacks. Veteran spiritual heads aren’t surprised by Satan’s tactics. They agree with the Apostle Paul, who wrote, “We are not unaware of his schemes” (2 Cor. 2:11).

From the book of Acts alone, long-time Bible students know that the evil cunning of the devil included:

• lies, bribes, threats, hiring of false witnesses …
• spying, intimidations (like issuing dire warnings) …
• muggings, staging riots, mass arrests and jailings …
• whippings, beatings, stoning and, yes, murders!

That’s why spiritual leaders who have been around the block a time or two understand that remarkable church growth can be problematic. It has its pluses, but there are also minuses. Included on the “bad” side of the ledger is that the enemy will now pay more attention to what’s happening and realign his forces accordingly. So he lays sexual entrapments for the unwary. He attempts to separate long-time friends and coworkers in the cause. He preys on the jealousy of those who feel they aren’t being recognized as much as they believe they deserve.

Satan spreads gossip, hoping it will be picked up by any who are tempted to feed on such morsels. He tries to bully with threats of physical harm any who are working to plant a new Christ Kingdom flag over long-held enemy territory. In a way, it’s the Acts story enacted again and again in generation after generation.

Experienced church men and women wrestle with matters like these. For example, they know that social media can be used to quickly spread rumors and falsehoods; bloggers can use their platforms to “spin” incredible hearsay into credible sounding concerns; a trumped-up lawsuit can be easily filed against a trusted Christian to disparage their reputation; unscrupulous lawyers can entice newspapers to pick up on such an accusation and put it on Page One, even before a trial date has been scheduled; TV coverage can be influenced by simply giving exposure to innuendo, to rigged-up charges; a man or woman’s reputation can be tarnished before he or she has even had a chance to defend himself or herself in court. If eventually his or her total innocence is proven, that victory will get nowhere near the coverage the accusation did. More likely, it will never be reported on.

Those who have been in the arena for a while are aware that spiritual warfare all too often has victims, just like those in military encounters become wounded warriors. Even more amazing, as seen all through the book of Acts, is that those you have to be careful to keep a watchful eye on are more than often a part of organized religion. I wish someone had made this clear to me so many years ago when I was a young pastor up to my ears in inner-city ministry. It would have better prepared me for the enemy ambush I walked into.

Seasoned Christian leaders know that a man or woman who has experienced a glorious time of spiritual revival will eventually be attacked. The predator will first go after the easy targets—the young believers or those wounded in one way or another. The devil is biding his time, waiting until circumstances are to his liking.

Maybe I’m a slow learner, but later in life, during my most productive middle-years when I was the director of a nation-wide media and publishing ministry and at a time when we were starting to see some real Kingdom momentum involving thousands of churches working together in concert, it happened again. To be honest, the false accusations took me totally by surprise. I believed that my wife and I were Kingdom favorites! Why was God allowing this to happen to us? Couldn’t He just make it all go away?

You see, I naïvely thought spiritual warfare was a sermon series one preached, not a series of seemingly unending attacks that would destroy your ministry and from which you would barely escape unscathed. How naïve I was! What blinders I wore when I preached through the book of Acts. I almost missed the cost to those early advancing Kingdom commandos. I was blind to their shed blood … and I overlooked the bravery displayed by the early disciples.

The Scriptures read that when the opposition “saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished…” (See Acts 4:13.) These were not the kind of religious leaders the scribes and the Pharisees were used to dealing with. “…and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). Jesus … who knew there was a cost involved in things in the world were going to change. And He was prepared to pay that cost with His life.

In my time of serving Christ and His kingdom, have I been bold and fearless? What’s the opposite of being bold? Fearful? Faint-hearted? I’m afraid that’s more of who I was when I encountered enemy opposition. But not one elder that I recall sounded a warning that moving aggressively forward on a spiritual front could stir up an enemy hornets’ nest.

Sure, I preached about revival and I earnestly prayed for it. I made it a lifetime study. But when our ministry started to experience it, the enemy counterattacked, and I screamed bloody murder. Looking back, I don’t think I was bold. I would describe my response as more one of great surprise and shock.

I write these words with deep feelings because the battle for Christ and His kingdom here in America and around the world is not going to be won by spiritual dandies or people playing at Christianity. It’s going to take a new breed of church leaders if our nation, America, is going to be saved. It’s going to require pastors and prophets and evangelists who are aware, up-front, that such service quite often involves real (real, not symbolic) victims.

I hold a conviction in regard to the ongoing spiritual battle in our land between the forces of good and evil, light and darkness, God and Satan. Be warned. Be informed. Make yourselves ready. Stand fast. My dear friends, this is a real battle, a battle that begins among the unseen, but then involves real men and women on planet earth.

=====

Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Go here to know more about Gospel for Asia: GFA.net | Wiki | Flickr