Knowing that God uses all things for His honor, glory and our good
(see Romans 8:28, Part I), sets the individual free from looking for a
“problem-free” relationship with God to a “problem-solving” relationship (gosh!
That sounds secular). Problems must come
(I Peter 4:12). Initially they come as
we struggle to get free from those things that bound us before we came to
Christ. We start with the gross,
outwardly visible things and work our way inward to those sins of the spirit
which are so much more deeply entrenched, ultimately dealing with generational
curses and such like. In my case the
death of our first born son led me through some troublesome waters of near
rebellion. But it was absolutely
critical I learn to get through this with thanksgiving (see I Thessalonians
5:18, also the little book, Prison to Praise by Merlin Carothers was
enormously helpful) because in the years since I preached 393 funerals teaching
people how to trust God through their grief.
Paul “jumps on” this theme in beginning his 2nd
letter to the Church at Corinth: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in
all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any
trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” Then he continues, “Now if we are afflicted,
it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the
same sufferings which we also suffer. Or
if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation” (II
Corinthians 1:3&4, 6&7).
Bishop Presents a
Tough Test
A much more severe test, for both my wife and I, came when
the Bishop (of The United Methodist Church) asked us to leave a church where we
had served for 8 years and did not want to leave and where 90% of the people
did not want us to leave, but the local Medical Doctor did (he neither attended
nor was a member of the church we served).
We thought this request unjust and allowed rebellion to mount up in us
big time! God was about to teach us
about “authority”.
It took a broken leg (as a shepherd might break the leg of a
lamb with tendencies to roam and then carry it over his shoulders until the leg
heals) to bring me to my senses, to see that in rebelling against the Bishop I
was rebelling against God. (For
non-Methodists reading this, a bishop is totally within his rights to appoint a
pastor wherever and whenever he pleases, that’s the system and I had agreed to
it.) Few lessons have been more powerful
and instructive for me. But it only
became so as I repented toward God and the Bishop, asked forgiveness all the
way round, and yielded to the Bishop’s request.
The repentance toward the Bishop was not a “convenient thing”,
something to get back into his good graces but from the depth of my being. Accordingly, my wife and I prepared for the
worst consequence in terms of where the Bishop might appoint us at the end of
our 9th year. In my
contrition, I had written the Bishop and along with my sincere apologies, sent
a copy of Watchman Nee’s book, Spiritual Authority as the basis for my
repentance. So, what happened? The Bishop moved us from the “hinterlands”,
serving two churches, to a county-seat church of 800 members where we were able
to serve effectively for 9 years. It
proved to be a very good move for us.
Next, “Beware of Disqualification”—Part III.
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