STATE MISSIONS: Under the Commandment of Love (Pt. 7)
The prophet Ezekiel spoke to the Jews by saying, “cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, oh house of Israel?” (Ezek. 18:31-32).
“And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord” (Psa. 40:3). The new man has a new song. Let us not be as the children of Israel in the Babylonian captivity; sit down and hang our harps upon some willow trees in the midst of the river and say, how shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land? Let not the joy of song depart from your mouth.
For some, the joy of salvation is gone. For some, the joy of service is gone. For some, the joy of song is gone because they have departed the God of joy.
The new man has a new master. Master or Rabbi signifies Lord and Owner; Owner means Ruler or King. Christ is our master only when we are subject to His will. The man of the flesh and the man of the spirit have two separate masters and lords. The master of the man of the flesh is the prince of the power of the air (Satan). The master of the man of the Spirit is Jesus Christ. Christ is the owner of the inner man because God created the new man; Christ’s ownership declares His Lordship. The old man of the flesh serves his master, the devil, while the new man of the spirit serves his master, Jesus. The Bible says, “But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren” (Matt. 23:8). When the kingdom of the Lord is set up on the earth, “The Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord and his name one” (Zac. 14:9).
The old man of the flesh is going down the low road towards the setting of the sun, the grave, and the dust of the earth, while the new man of the spirit is on the highway to glory, the road Jesus trod. He is traveling the pathway to God. “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein” (Isa. 35:8).
From Our Missionaries
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “In addition to the usual weekly meetings such as discipleship, prayer and Bible Institute, we decorated the temple on Saturday for the cultural celebration of the different countries represented in the congregation.
After listening to the message of the Word of God based on Revelation 20, we prayed and went to the communion hall to taste typical food from each country, appreciate crafts and photographs, and above all, enjoy a good time of communion. The rain prevented us from bursting the piñatas filled with candy, but it did not discourage us from playing soccer. This is the first time since being diagnosed with neuropathy that I have returned to playing soccer. It was a great blessing because I longed to return to practicing my favorite hobby. I thank God for giving me one more opportunity to have fun playing soccer with the church brothers. May His name be glorified forever!
“In last week’s report, I didn’t mention that Diana made her profession of faith, and Jesli reconciled with the Lord in the Sunday Service. To see them actively participating in the event preparation and realization was a blessing.”
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Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “It has been a week with a full agenda but with fruit. On Tuesday, I taught my class at the Theological Institute. I have nine students from the different churches in the Central Zone. On Thursday, through the ministry of Novo.org, we are giving the Awakening workshop online to pastors and leaders from Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela.
Every week, I have to prepare my Tuesday and Thursday classes with excellence. Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide me and that what I speak will be directed by God. Pray for the students that what is sown will fall on good ground.
“Our Bible Discovery Study (DBS) Group that meets in my home was different because someone had a great need, and we dedicated ourselves to praying and encouraging the person. That is what I like about our home groups — we have the opportunity to change our agenda and be able to help someone with their spiritual needs. Keep praying for the different DBS groups and that God will open others.
“Saturday, my wife Kory and I were at a Hispanic shopping center, La Plaza Frida, to celebrate the independence of Central America and Mexico. The independence of Central America is on Sept. 15, and that of Mexico is on Sept. 16. That is the reason why September is dedicated to the Celebration of Hispanic Heritage in the USA. It was a good opportunity to connect with people. We spoke with at least 60 people and, as a result, Vanessa, who is the owner of one of the stores, attended our service on Sunday. Now we have information about 10 new people because we exchanged phone numbers with them and next Sunday, we expect more.
“Please pray for us. There are many things to tell you about what God is doing but we have little space to write them. Blessings. To God be the glory!”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “We had a great week at Faith Chapel. Our numbers were down due to various illnesses, but we still had a great time of worship and hearing God’s Word.
“It was the best news a Christian could get: ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit’ (Rom. 8:1). Praise God, that is the good news!
“We also had a very good Bible study Sunday evening on that same verse. If you study the book of Romans, it will change your life. If you study the book of Romans and it does not change your life, you need to study the book of Romans more!
“The carpet layers came and did our stage, baptistry area and sound booth Thursday and Friday, and it looks great! This week, we will be working on installing doors and trim and finishing the sound booth and installing video monitors. Hopefully, the cabinet guy and plumber will come this week too, and we can get some water in the building and the bathrooms working. We are getting very close to being able to move in, and we are so ready!
“Once again, we thank you for your prayers and support. We can’t thank you enough! We thank God for you, and for calling us to do this.”
Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes, “This week, we enjoyed another great fellowship at Faith Journey! We have been busy all week, and it was a great time to slow down and enjoy the company of our Faith Journey family. We had pizza, garlic twists, oatmeal cookies and 7-up cake. Lots of fellowship and laughter was had by all.
“Our lesson this week was from Colossians 1. Paul gave us great examples on how we should be praying for one another. A few of those examples are to pray for spiritual wisdom and understanding, live in a way that always honors and pleases the Lord so to bear good fruit and pray to be strengthened in His glorious power, so you have all the endurance and patience you need. The Lord wants His church to be knit together by strong ties of love and the act of praying daily for each other builds that bond in the church. A challenge was issued to each of us to pray for a specific member of our mission daily for the entire week. We are to begin a daily prayer routine to pray for each other. We will let our prayer partner know we are lifting them up and praying for specific needs and burdens for them throughout this time. We hope to hear about all the Lord has done through this week when we meet again next Sunday. It should be a blessing for everyone.”
Misión Gracia Soberana (Sovereign Grace), NWA:Roberto Marcelletti writes, “Greetings from the countryside, brothers and sisters in Christ. We have already reached the middle of the month of September. We are celebrating the Bible in our small groups and studying the first seven chapters this month.
“Chelsea, the young woman who gave her life to Christ last week, has started to be discipled by my wife on Mondays, and her cousin joined her. So, every Monday, Patty is discipling these two young women.
“This week we met with the three candidates to be baptized, and they were asked questions about their conversion, testimony and why they wanted to be baptized. All three answered satisfactorily, so in our Sunday service we prayed for them and on Sept. 29, we will have our second baptisms.
“Saturday, we gathered to do cleaning, maintenance of the temple and prepare the Sunday songs. Before that, we had an extraordinary time of devotion and accountability where the Lord, through His Word, reminded us that, by His grace, we have been rescued from living for our personal kingdoms to live for a better kingdom, His kingdom, and that it is a privilege and an honor to serve the kingdom of Heaven.”
Epic Life, Pea Ridge: Jake McCandless writes, “I’m continuing to focus on building up our coaches. This month, we again turned our worship gathering into a coaches and their families event. The hope is to encourage and support them. In the discussion this week we had a new coach share with us that he’d never host because he couldn’t afford it.
A big part of welcoming people into our homes is inviting them to our table. Each Connection Group handles food differently, but I’m deeply convicted that each willing host should have help. I want them to be able do all they feel the Lord is leading without the financial strain. The way we’re doing ministry at this point doesn’t require a lot financially, so I’ve not asked for much support beyond our members who are tithing and our local association, but hearing that potential coach say that, I feel I should speak up and ask. If you’d like to sponsor a Connection Group monthly or for one time, please consider doing so! Contact me at standfirm.jake@gmail.com or (501) 472-9079 for more information.”
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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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