All The News, Arkansas State Missions
STATE MISSIONS: If Any Man Be in Christ
BT Staff
“Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (II Cor. 5:17).
In the first chapter of II Corinthians, we were made to visualize God as He made a threefold being. He molded the first Adam from the dust of the earth and breathed life into his nostrils, the breath of life, and he became a living soul. The soul is the third part of man, which never dies.
God, through His love, grace, mercy and compassion, went to the spiritually dead Adam, and because of his repentance and faith in the redeemer to come (Christ), God restored with the outward sinful man of the flesh the inward man of the spirit. They are not to be separated again until death, when the spiritual man will depart from the man of the flesh and the natural sinful man of the flesh will return to the dust of the earth from whence it came. The spiritual, sinless inner man of the spirit will return to God the giver. (The soul lives on somewhere, either with the spiritual man or with the natural man.)
We also have discovered that all of Adam’s seeds are born totally depraved. Therefore, the natural man stands alone and absent of the man of the spirit and becomes accountable to God for his inherited sin the day he comes into the knowledge of good and evil. (Knowing right from wrong.)
The natural man of the flesh is nourished from the natural bread for natural life, while the spiritual man is nourished on the spiritual bread (Christ) for spiritual eternal life.
In the fourth chapter, we notice that the works of the outward sinful man of the flesh availed nothing, that the judgment of the believer’s works, not his sins, was the question. We also found that some of the works of the spiritual man will abide, while some of the works of the spiritual man will be burned, but that they shall be saved from the power and penalty of sin so as by fire.
From Our Missionaries
Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “Our Discovery Bible Study (DBS) on Monday had a great participation, with a total of 13 in attendance. Our desire is that each DBS will have growth and multiplication will come. Be praying that we can have more home groups during the week. It is a blessing to attend and see the participation as people are learning from the Word of God and hearing the gospel. I love it when they hear the story of Andrew in the Bible who found the Messiah and brought his brother to Jesus.
“Last week, a family from Zulia, Venezuela came to our DBS and liked it so much that Marcos invited his brother and sister-in-law last week, so we had two families from Zulia. Both families, although they know a little of the Word of God, are disconnected from a local church. Both Marcos and Daniel work for the same company, which prevents them from attending Ebenezer on Sundays, hence the importance of DBS offering them an opportunity to gather on weekdays. Pray for both families represented in Mark and Daniel, as both need an encounter with God and both need to marry their respective life partners. One of them told me, ‘Pastor, we want to get married.’ Pray for restored lives. In the short time I could talk to Daniel, he shared that they come from churches where they were hurt. Pray for the healing of their spiritual wounds.
“Thank you for your prayers and support. To God be the glory!”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “We had a wonderful week at Faith Chapel! We had a good number for worship with several of our faithful visitors, but some of our members were out due to illness or traveling.
“Good news on the building — all the air conditioning and lights are working, and we even installed some ceiling fans! It looks really good in there. The plumber is supposed to be here at 7 a.m., July 29 to rough in the classroom addition and begin hookup in the main part. We have fixtures waiting to be installed. The flooring contractors are supposed to be here the second week in August — that is the one we are waiting on. We can begin to move in when the floors are done. It is getting close now. We still hope to be in by the end of summer and completely out of our rented building.
“We sure have made some memories in there, and we will miss it, but we look forward to making memories in the new building, too. We know the building process will bring a lot of special memories to us, as well as to some of you. We truly could not have done this without your prayers and support. You have been there with us every step of the way, and we can’t thank you enough. We will let you know before we move in, and we would love it if you would stop by on your way across 62/412 if you happen to be going that way.”
Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes, “God is so good! Faith Journey has been feeling His blessings these last several days. Our folks have been busy inviting others to the mission, and we have also been out in the community distributing flyers about Faith Journey. Our hope is to help people come to know more about the Lord and see what we have to offer to help them grow as Christians.
“We enjoyed a fellowship meal with a taco bar and a homemade tres leches cake that was delicious! We also enjoyed a fun and slightly competitive game of Bible trivia over the study we have been learning about from the Book of Acts. We had tons of laughs and learned a lot, while building relationships that last a lifetime. We enjoyed our time together so much that once we dismissed for the evening, we all pulled up chairs and continued to visit and fellowship with one another for another hour. It is such a blessing that God has brought these people together to love on each other as we follow His will for Faith Journey.”
Epic Life, Pea Ridge: Jake McCandless writes, “As we plug away at serving as missionaries, our outlook can quickly drop and rise. It’s been a slow time, as summer always is, but in a matter of a few days, things can change and be encouraging.
“Wednesday, during our Woodbridge Connection Group, we had two first-time visitors join a group that is already busting at the seams. Then, a couple of days later, we were with the coaches of the Garfield Connection Group as they had a divine appointment with an old friend going through a tough time. We watched firsthand as they ministered to the couple and invited them to their Bible study. Pray this couple joins them. After watching that divine appointment, I received a call from a former visitor who wanted to get back involved.”