STATE MISSIONS: Behold, All Things Are Become New
In our study, the old man of the flesh is dead, while the new man of the Spirit is alive. The Apostle Paul made mention of himself as being crucified with Christ; then said, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Gal. 5:24).
This rebirth changes the outlook. New desires arise for the new man of the Spirit, possessing the divine nature received through the new birth desires to do good; while at the same time the old man of the flesh because of sin dwelling in the flesh, wants to do evil, for in the flesh dwelleth no good thing. Yet, the new man delights in the law of God after the inward man.
Not only a new desire but a new way develops, the way of Jesus Christ: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). The new man forsakes the old way, and walks and worships God by the new and living way which He has consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh (Heb. 10:20). “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Prov. 14:12).
With these two changes comes the spiritual man who has a new heart. “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6). Again, the new man who with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having his heart sprinkled from an evil conscience and his body (old man) was washed with pure water. “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Rom. 5:5).
Bringing us to the fourth and final thought — the old man of the flesh was in the past under the law of the 10 commandments of God given to Moses at Sinai. The new man is not under the old commandments but under the new commandment — the law of grace (Rom. 6:14). “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God” (Rom. 3:19). Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law (Rom. 3:28). “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34). “Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth” (I John 2:8).
A lawyer, tempting Christ, asked Him a question saying, ‘Master, which is the great commandment in the law? “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matt. 22:37-40).
From Our Missionaries
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “The students at the Bible Institute are enthusiastic, do their homework and attend with joy. The discipleship meetings are also having a positive effect on the spiritual life of each attendee. We are very grateful to God.
“Saturday afternoon, we celebrated the baby shower offered to the Galeano family for the arrival of their son, Luis David, who is expected to be born in the last days of September. Jose Luis and Consuelo were very grateful for the displays of love from the church. We prayed for the birth, the baby’s growth and wisdom for the parents. Afterward, we played, ate and had a good time in fellowship.
“Sunday afternoon, Dublas called me on the phone to ask me to open the storage room because they were cutting the grass and needed more tools. What a pleasant surprise it was when I arrived to find Dublas and three of his friends doing maintenance in the yard, then Oscar arrived with his tractor. What a blessing that Dublas, on his initiative, coordinated the maintenance of the surroundings of the building. We stayed up until dusk chatting with our new friends; of course, we invited them to our meetings.”
Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “I thank God for allowing me to have another year of life and for his faithfulness for 55 years. I spent a good time at Ebenezer and in the evening with family and some friends. These Sundays are inspiring services. We are playing a series on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
“This week was officially my last chaplaincy in baseball. We will probably have one more since the Arkansas Travelers qualified for the playoffs. We have had a good season in chaplaincy and God is doing great things in the Hispanic players that I had to sow the Word of God. From now on, be praying for next year’s season.
“Many things have happened in these two weeks, but something interesting happened to me on Sunday, Sept. 8. I was invited to a special meal in an apartment community. In those apartments, they vacated the old tenants because there was a lot of drugs and crime, but now most of the people living there are Hispanics. I was with my wife and two members of Ebenezer, and in the apartment where we were, people were coming and going. We counted more than 30 people — children, youth and adults. These are five families of the same kinship that came to Arkansas, and we have a great opportunity to take the gospel to them. Pray for this new community we are discovering to take the Word of God to them. We are already talking about having a Bible Discovery Study in that place.
“Thank you for your support and prayers. To God be the glory!”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “We had great week at Faith Chapel. Our numbers were back up, even though some were still out sick. There seems to be several things going around. Mom was also diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia on top of her pneumonia and had to have two units of blood while in the hospital. They are still trying to find out the cause, but it did make her feel a little better.
She was released, but into a nursing facility for therapy to try to regain some strength. We are praying it helps her to do that. Please pray with us for that, and for all those on our prayer list.
“I was able to go to the Mt. Calvary Association annual meeting in Searcy on Thursday and give a report on the mission. It was good to see all of them again. They are so kind and supportive toward us.
“Then Friday, a few of us went to Jonesboro and saw Jim Johnston and picked up our furniture he made us, and it is beautiful. I hope you all get to see it, especially the pulpit. It is amazing and very heavy. It should stand up to pounding for a very long time.
“Not much else got done on the building this week between illness and going back and forth to the hospital and nursing home, but they are scheduled to carpet the stage, baptistry area and sound booth on Sept. 11. After that, the only work left will be the plumbing and cabinets in the fellowship hall area and bathrooms, so we should be in there soon. Praise God!
“We thank you again for your prayers and support, and for your faithfulness in supporting all BMA of Arkansas State Missions. We could not do this without you.”
Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes, “Faith Journey has been experiencing God’s blessings over the last couple of weeks. We have had several answered prayers in our ministries and give the Lord all the praise. We serve an amazing God! God had been giving us opportunities for different ministries within our mission.
“We started a men’s Bible study using a book called The Resolution for Men. This past week, we had a few new young men join our regular group for this study. It is encouraging to see these young men wanting to learn what it takes to be a leader in their homes and become godly men that are seeking Him.
“We were able to start back for this school year at a local middle school with their monthly Christian Council meetings. The name they chose this year is ‘Mountain Movers.’ Seeds were planted in these young kids’ hearts. We will continue these monthly Bible lessons through the school year and hope to share soon with everyone about how Christ is changing these young people’s lives.”
Misión Gracia Soberana (Sovereign Grace), NWA:Roberto Marcelletti writes, “This week, Patty invited three women, one of whom works with her. Her name is Chelsea. After leaving our service, she said she was full of questions because she had never been to a church and not read the Bible. The next day, full of questions in a call while in tears, she gave her life to Christ, and today, Patty begins to disciple her.
“We continue with our Grace groups and are studying the book of John because, on the Sept. 20, we are going to have a Bible competition. The brothers and sisters are very excited about preparing for the competitions.
“Although we do not have a website where she could get all the description about our church, a woman arrived last week who just arrived from Arizona. Yesterday, she came again and is very happy to have found us. Iris has already began to disciple her. We are also preparing to celebrate our second baptismal service on Sept. 29. I ask for your prayers.”
Epic Life, Pea Ridge: Jake McCandless writes, “Last week, I wrote how I began noticing several of our coaches were studying independently in addition to what we were doing in our Bible studies. At first, I thought I wasn’t doing enough, but then I realized our discovery method was helping them be ‘self-feeders.’
That’s what I had been hoping for to begin with. So this week, as we gathered, we took the night for the adults to visit and discuss what God had been showing everyone. It was incredible as some talked about how God was working in their lives, their character and their family. Some read from books they were reading, and we talked about the challenges in our parenting. We ended the night praying for each of our families.”
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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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