First interview
Jay brought us a meditation on perseverance in/in unity. We often associate the word unity with something ecumenical. Another reason is that we confuse the message of unity with a message of love.
- One danger Jay insisted on a great thing was that building a “kingdom for himself” prevents us from seeking unity with other Christian groups.
- Especially when they threaten our “kingdom.
- “Facing ministry as market competition completely undermines any dialogue about the unity of the Christian community.
Has the text of Acts 14:8-18 been read, where Paul and Barnabas are worshipped as gods by a miracle the Lord has performed through them, to apply that many leaders delay in the demand for unity because they conform?to be so “loved” or loved, esteemed or “respected” beyond account, and knowing their condition, they do not want to abandon their comfortable situation to unite with other Christians in the cause of the gospel.
Jay made these five statements about unity
He ended up leading us to reflect on the priestly prayer of our Jesus Christ for the unity of believers: I pray not only for them, but also for those who come to believe in me, for their word; so that everything is one; And as thou art, O Father, in me and in thee, may they also be in us; for the world to believe that you sent me; I have given them the glory you gave me, that they may be one like us; Me in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that you sent me and loved them, as you have loved me. ”John 17:20-23
When Christ, his fame and glory become the goal of our lives, unity will surely be one of the first trials of this quest.
Second conference
It is important that we understand that all three: mission, community, and discipleship are linked; to be a disciple means to learn from Christ; we cannot say that we have disciples, only Christ has disciples, we discipline ourselves in Christ; our discipleship is to become like him, mission is not something we do, but something we are. Discipline is essentially a community activity.
Two things must be mentioned, the first: to persevere as disciples, we must abandon our old or old citizenship. Citizenship? Steve has used it extensively to emphasize that our lives as disciples depend very much on who we identify with, and as heavenly citizens we can only identify with Christ.
The text that Steve exposed was chapters three and four of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, where in the first part he warned us that if we are to persevere as disciples of Christ, we should not try to identify with our former. citizenship.
It continues to show how the Judaists in the first three verses of chapter three are presented as examples of people who place their trust and hope in their identification with Jewish culture and religion, judging that God would accept them.
Paul bears witness to how he too thought and acted like these people, trusting in their flesh, trusting, and depending on himself. But he also reports that his conversion resulted in seeing everything he once regarded with nails and teeth as useless, due to the sublimity of knowing Christ.
The persevering disciples are those who understand the value of Christ, not only that, but also depend entirely on the sufficiency of Christ, it says in verses 7 to 14 of Chapter 3 of Philippians, that the knowledge of the person of Christ has been become something. so precious to him that everything else has lost its value.
The second thing to mention is that perseverance in discipleship is the result of being attracted, arrested, fully captured by the sublimity of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord; for the love of which I have lost everything and consider them a rejection, to win Christ. ?3: 8, your goal becomes to win Christ, not to gain fame, status, notoriety, acceptance and praise of men, but simply your life is to win Christ.
And with that, we end up with what was said in Steve’s first message that it all comes down to Christ, it all comes down to the preeminence of Christ.
So too we, since we must surround ourselves with such a great cloud of witnesses, free ourselves from all the weight and sin that harasses us tenaciously, we run, with perseverance, the career that is proposed to us, looking at the author and Consumer of faith, Jesus, who, in exchange for the joy offered to him, endured the cross, ignoring ignorance, and sat to the right of the throne of God. ?Hebrews 12: 1-2
Amen.
Third conference
Richard began his lecture by proving that there is no way to want to be a shepherd without thinking that he will engage with people, demonstrating the difference between evangelism in the time we lived and evangelism 30 years ago. it took place, where the preacher was not known, and I would never see him again, but if the idea made sense, people would follow that idea.
We live in a context in which people do not mainly follow ideas; but they mainly follow people and then the ideas of those people. The planter who thinks he won’t have to get involved with people won’t be able to establish churches in our postmodern era.
In his first text, he observes how Philip followed the car without knowing who was and what he was doing, simply obeying the Spirit of God. As we read this passage, we already know that the Ethiopian eunuch is there and that he reads the scriptures, but Philip only found out once he approached the car.
Later, Agreste explained the Ethiopian question: “How can I understand if someone does not explain me?”, referring to the original Greek word “Explains”, or hodegeo, which at its root means guiding or leading people through the desert.
It makes us imagine these people selling a map right on the edge of the desert for the travelers who will follow, and compares it to these guides who take people through the desert, suffering the same bad weather as them. Notice that whoever sells a card does not accompany you to the desert. Who is a guide, yours, thirsty, cold at night, committed to the life of the person and on the mission of driving him through the desert ?.
If we want to sell cards, we’ll see people as consumers. We will spend all our energy to be more creative, but we will not know people’s stories, let alone appreciate witnessing the gospel that makes a difference in people’s lives.
Then compare the earthly shepherd to the supreme shepherd who is Jesus. The Lamb will be your shepherd in the desert. He will guide you (hodegeo).
Ricardo also notes that pastoral practice is constant, ordinary and subversive, it sounds like ordinary work, but it is amazing for the person who is advised, the pastor usually does the same things every day, week after week, which does not seem like make a lot of difference, but it makes a difference in the life of every sheep. “The seemingly ordinary routine manifests the power of God in the minds and hearts of people, transforming lives, marriages, relationships. “
Then propose the following diagram
Perception (questions, concerns and crises) – Study (prayer time, reading and speech study) – Preaching (Integrity, Relevance and Creativity) – – Relationships (Informal Meetings, Tips and Visits) – and Return to Perception.
Perception? Have a point of contact. Watch lives, be sensitive to understanding the difficulties you face.
Study? Have quality time to deepen the study of the Word as perceived.
Preaching? Present answers with integrity with respect to the Word, relevance to questions, and creativity regarding the method of giving the answers.
Relationships Result of all of the above. Visit and advise those who have been affected and who have not been affected.
And never forget that the gospel transforms everything and everyone
Fourth conference
The basic text of Nicodemus is Hebrews 12, and he points out at the beginning of his explanatory sermon that the Hebrew author’s strategy is to show Jesus’ superiority over Moses and the other Old Testament prophets. He wants to show that coming back would be a failure and rejecting the path of salvation. One of the author’s strategies for his readers to persevere is to show the story of the heroes of the Old Testament faith, and in Hebrews 11, he describes what these people have endured.
In Hebrews 12: 1-3, he speaks of the greatest example, that of Jesus himself.
The best guide is in the first verse. Here, Christian life compares to a race that must be run with perseverance to win.
1- Consider that we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. To get to the end you have to persevere. Not that they bear witness to us, but they bear witness to what it is like to live by faith in a hostile world. This is what we see in them, not what they see in us. We run inspired by the testimony of those who have been there. As a pastor, you must remember those who have preceded you. Those who have suffered more than you. The great heroes of the faith, the fathers of the Church, the prophets, etc.
2? Get rid of all the weight that bothers you, it refers to the overweight of a great athlete, it is a metaphor to say that, in the Christian race, you have to get rid of everything that stands in the way of the race.
3? Get rid of sin. Referring to loose, heavy clothing. Sin harasses us doggedly; The Christian race is not without obstacles.
4? Look closely at Jesus, Jesus is the last hero on the list in chapter 11, even though he suffered all that he suffered, he achieved his career.
5? Think carefully so you don’t get tired. Let us not faint in the soul, let us not give up. The worst thing that can happen to a runner is that he gets tired and faints before he gets to the end.
Therefore, Reverend Augustus points out that the author explains what suffering is in verse 4.
“You haven’t even stood the blood yet. Although the situation is very bad, it is still not bad enough that we can’t stand it. It could be a lot worse. Stop complaining.
– Suffering represents something else for those who are children of God. God punishes and corrects his children whom He loves and receives. Do not underestimate the correction of the Señor. No neglect what God wants with our suffering.
-Don’t faint when you fail. God has not rejected them, He is not angry with his children, but He whips the son he loves to correct it.
-The evils that come upon the wicked are an omen of what will happen to him in eternity. This is not the case with the son of God.
– Suffering and correction are proof that we are children of God, even if the theology of prosperity says otherwise.
-If we submit to our fathers in the flesh, let alone our spiritual Father.
– God’s legacy is that we share His holiness. We will never be as holy as God, but holiness is one of God’s transferable attributes or qualities. God has chosen to sanctify us through a process that begins here in this world, not with a click. one finger.
-The end result of discipline compensates for suffering and yet produces the fruit you desire, the fruit of justice.
1? verses 12 and 13: mutual assistance;
Let’s help each other. In the middle of the race, our knees are shaking and we need someone to help us with a fall.
2? verse 14: Let us follow peace and sanctification;
Seeing the Lord is the purpose of our lives. It awaits us at the finish line, but without sanctification we will not succeed.
3? verse 15: seeing that no one commits apostasy;
It is by the grace of God that we are attracted to God. You can be to blame and turn away from grace, and once you turn away from grace, all that remains is condemnation here in this world and in eternity.
4? Verse 15: Avoid the root of bitterness;
Weeds and poisons do a lot of damage, poison a lot of people. Pastors and bitter members pollute the entire church.
5? Verses 16 and 17: Make sure no one becomes profane like Sau;
Sau was hungry, he just wanted to ease the pain of the moment without thinking about the consequences. It is the layman who does not value sacred things. He changes his birthright, the certainty of his father’s inheritance of material and spiritual blessings, to the plate of lentils. Sau was rejected by his father for not finding a place to repent even in tears. He found no remorse in his own heart. I only cried for the blessings I had lost.
The purpose of this conference is perseverance, to continue to trust and embrace God, especially in the face of difficulties, apostasy is a reality. The way to deal with apostasy is to persevere in looking at Jesus, knowing that the suffering that comes to us is God’s loving discipline. Help each other, beware of the root of bitterness, do not change your future blessings for immediacy. be profane.
Not because, but why, why does the Lord want to correct me?
God’s goal is for you to participate in his holiness, if he shows you the reason for correction, you must humble yourself in front of him, acknowledge his mistakes and change his path, bear suffering calmly and patiently. It may be difficult, but it will end.
Joo Victor’s © faithful ministérium. All rights reserved. Website: original www. MinisterioFiel. com. br: Atos National Conference 29 Brazil 2013: first day
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