STATE MISSIONS: If Any Man Be in Christ — II Cor. 5:17 (Part 5)
When God, by His grace through lost man’s faith, planted the Spirit inside believers, the old things passed away (died unto sin) — “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:11). “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Rom. 6:6).
The physical body of man is not destroyed until natural death when man returns to the dust of the earth. While in our physical bodies, we must crucify the sin nature (“old man”) while being renewed by the Spirit — “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;And be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Eph. 4:22-23).
As the believer yields to the Spirit, the “old man” (fleshly nature) is defeated and no longer has control as the righteousness and holiness of Christ prevails (Eph. 4:24). In essence, the new man is dead to lying, deceiving, stealing, cheating, etc. The new man of the Spirit is a regenerate man, just opposite to the unregenerate man of the flesh.
The new man is not an improved, renovated man, but a Christ-fashioned new creation through the Spirit. “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Rom. 8:10). Therefore, the newly created man takes on the divine nature of his creator God. Hence, the new man of the Spirit should not let sin reign in his mortal body and should not be controlled by his sinful nature (Rom. 6:12).
The new man of the Spirit is not obligated in any way or for any reason to live or pattern his life after the life of the old sinful man. If he, through the Spirit, kills the deeds of the natural man, he shall live spiritually and influentially. (to be continued)
From Our Missionaries
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “Monday and Tuesday, I received the infusion corresponding to the medical treatment I now receive every six months. It caused me discomfort and headaches during the week, but I thank God that He is using this treatment to improve my health.
“Thursday night, I participated in a Committee Organization meeting for the North Little Rock School District (NLRSD) Millage. My name came up from a suggestion from the district office. We will continue to meet to plan how to bring the NLRSD Millage to a vote in November.
“We are in the process of obtaining new insurance coverage for the building and general liability. Please pray for a good insurance company.
“We studied Revelation 17 in our Sunday meeting. The topic was the Final Judgment of the system of this world. The church is enjoying the studies, which is reflected in the attendance. On this occasion, we had 90 people. The sanctuary still looks empty since it has a capacity of 250 people. Let us pray that the Lord will guide, teach and establish us in His Word.”
Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “Thank God, we are doing well in our Discovery Bible Study (DBS). I ask you to pray that we can start three more DBS in the city — the people attending like it and are learning more about God’s Word. Veronica says she likes it very much because she can now remember the Bible stories.
“Last Wednesday, we took our daughter, Zuly, to college for the first time. On Friday and Saturday, I also took our son, Ruben, to the same university to help him move all the stuff into his dorm.
“Thank God, after our Ebenezer membership meeting, we established several working groups. We have a Ministry Committee and will meet next Saturday, so God will lead us in being on His agenda. For decision-making at Ebenezer, we pray for God to tell us the next steps, so I ask you to support us in prayer that God will guide us. We do not want to take a single step without God’s guidance. Our best strategic planning is God guiding us.
“Thank you, brother and partners in ministry, for your support and prayers. To God be the glory!”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “We had a really good week at Faith Chapel — a good number with five first-time and several faithful visitors. A lady called me last week on our way home from Little Rock inquiring about our church. Her family is looking for a church, they found us online and had some questions. I answered them as best I could, assured them they were welcome and invited them. They came this morning and said they would be back. Praise God!
“Sometimes, social media seems terrible, and I get fed up with much of the content. Sometimes, if I weren’t putting our messages and information about the mission on there, I would just quit it. But then occasionally, I get a call like this one, or someone will show up and say they found us online. I looked the other day, and it says almost 500 people all over the world follow our page and our sermons. I realize God can use this flawed platform to reach people we would not reach otherwise, so I will stay on for another while. Someone may have even gotten saved because of our page. I pray that they did.
“The floor contractor is still working on our floors — polishing and staining is very labor-intensive and time-consuming — but they look better every day. I can’t wait to see them finished, hopefully this week. Then the stage carpet, plumbing fixtures and doors will be installed, and we will be ready to move into the main part of the building. Then we can work on the classrooms. Praise God, it will be soon, and our dream will be realized. Thanks to everyone who has been a part of helping and supporting us. We can’t thank you enough, especially for your prayers, and we thank God for you.”
Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes, “We started our week with a new men’s Bible study. We have nine gentlemen committed to investing their time to this study. We are using the book Resolution for Men as our guide to these bi-weekly meetings. Please pray for these men and those who will be added to our numbers as we grow during this eight-week study.
“We met with one of our local middle schools to discuss the upcoming year and starting monthly meetings with students to share Christ with them. We have a great group of adult leaders who are welcoming us provide Bible lessons and devotional time every month for the entire school year. We are excited to be given this opportunity and look forward to updating everyone with any praises, prayer requests and professions of faith we hope will come out of these meetings.
“We had several of our folks out due to sickness this week, and we pray for their health to be restored quickly and that their families remain healthy. We are praying for a speedy recovery for all so they are back worshipping with us soon!”
Epic Life, Pea Ridge: Jake McCandless writes, “This was a great week! Our Garfield Connection Group had two first-time visitors who came along because they are interested in pursuing coaching! The Woodbridge Connection Group met outside around a fire on a rare cool night in August.
“Personally, our family had the chance to have six events and get-togethers this weekend alone that allowed us more opportunities to build relationships and connections.”
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Paul White
Arkansas State Missions Director Paul White pens a weekly column to inform the BMA of Arkansas concerning Arkansas Missions’ activity and includes individual reports from each church planter.
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