In The Face of Strong Opposition - 1 Thessalonians Series

 

Hello, and welcome to Multiply; a Podcast to encourage church planters and Christians leaders. I am Daneille Snowden.

Today we will discuss how any who work for God, serving Him and others have and will face strong opposition. I believe many of us could possibly write a book on this one subject alone. As pastors, I can assure you that my family and I have had many oppositions when we obeyed God and did what He led us to do.

Let us read:

“But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.” 1 Thessalonians 2:2

The commentator Barnes said:

“They were not deterred from preaching the gospel by the treatment which they had received, but at the very next important town, and on the first opportunity, they proclaimed the same truth, though there was no security that they might not meet with the same persecution there. They were not influenced by the hope of ease or of selfish gains.”

THE SETTING OF THE STORY

starts in Acts 16:18 When God empowered Paul as he rebuked an evil spirit out of a woman, and she was delivered, set free and made whole. YET, the crowd came against Paul and Silas for this good act.

“A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods.

They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape.”  Acts 16:22-23

Opposition means something or someone that opposes you and in this case: God. And to oppose means to resist. The people were basically resisting God, in all His attributes that were displayed through His servants Paul and Silas. In their opposition, they attacked these two missionary men, emotionally and physically.

As I have tried to teach by example (recall the podcast ‘You Became a Model’); I stress to those I disciple that it is how we react when we are treated badly. This is pertinent when people oppose God through our life and ministry. To be honest, it hurts! I have cried many tears as the Spirit of God was grieved and our service to individuals was met with great opposition.

May I simply encourage you that; “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12

We win, as we continue doing all God has called us to do!

Thank you so much for being with us today! Please share this podcast with others. Also, we are on Facebook at Encouragement for Village Church Planters, YouTube: VCPencouragement OMS; please click ‘subscribe’ and ‘follow.’

Thank you and God bless!

#vcpencouragement.org   #persecution   #sufferingforChrist   #countitalljoy   #presson #pressontowardthehighcallingofGod

You Turned From Idols - 1 Thessalonians Series

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

My ancestors were idolaters. They made sacrifices and lived in fear. Everything they did was influenced by their fear of evil spirits. They were strongly motivated to make sacrifices to the spirits to protect themselves from all sorts of harm. History tells me that my ancestors were idolaters, but I grew up in a Christian home. In fact my ancestors in Sweden gave up idolatry about 1,000 years ago. So I know very little about idolatry from personal experience. 

But whenever I talk to a Christ-follower who has been delivered from idolatry, I pay attention.  Here is what a West-African Christian friend told me when I asked him what people in his village think about him. He said:

People who are unbelievers… They don’t know what makes us different. They know my life is different from their life. Some people think that where we are going is a wrong place. For example, in my village, people see us to be lost because we turned away from idols. So they’re waiting to see a problem. They are waiting to see if I will get into a big problem. A big one. They think that if I have a big problem I will go back and accept their gods. 

But God will not disappoint us. I was sick years back. They were waiting to see what I would do. My father said this, my grandfather said this, “We will pour libation for you.” I said “No, no.” They said, “Well, you will die.” So many people said I would die, but if I would accept the gods I would not die. So I said, “So be it. If I die I die for God, I die for Christ. If God wants me to die, I will die. But if Christ does not want me to die, you will see I will not die.”

 My pastor would come and pray for me and go. And I was there and after two hours my sickness was completely gone. Jesus Christ healed me. He healed me. So they were shocked. My father said, “You are very stubborn.” I said, “I’m not stubborn. But I have someone who can take care of me. I have someone who is greater. Bigger.”

I love Jesus because I feel peace in the eyes of God. I feel peace, so to go back and serve these idols? No no no no no. It’s better that I die.”

What a wonderful, God-honoring story!

When Paul went to plant a church in Thessalonica, almost everyone there was an idolater.  But just like my West African friend, when they met Christ, everything changed.  Yes, there were still struggles, but everything changed. Jesus set them free. Their lives changed so much that everyone around them told how they turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

So here is my word of encouragement for you. If you, or your parents or your grandparents were idolaters, but Jesus has set you free from idolatry, free from pouring libations and making sacrifices, tell your story. Tell what is was like to live in bondage to idols and to evil spirits. Tell about the torment and the fear. But most of all, tell about the power of Christ to deliver and transform lives. Tell your story so others can take the step you or your parents or your grandparents took to turn from dead idols to the living Christ. Tell your story as an act of worship to the living God who delivers us from fear and makes us his beloved son or daughter. Tell your story so others know, in concrete terms, what God has done for you and your family. Choose the time, choose whom you will tell. Let the Holy Spirit lead you. But tell your family’s story of deliverance from idolatry and tell it well.

This has been “Multiply.” And I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today? 1T-12

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #DeliveranceInChrist #SayNoToIdols

Principles of Leadership - Delegate Authority Part 2

 

This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters.

During 2022, my theme is “10 Principles of Spiritual Leadership”.  Today we conclude principle #6, “Delegate Authority”.  

Last time, I closed with this instruction.  “As leaders, it is important that we delegate the necessary authority to others when we assign tasks to them.” I cannot emphasize this enough; if we delegate responsibility without the necessary authority, we will frustrate our followers.  

Today, I want to share six benefits of delegation.  These benefits apply to us, to our followers, and to the ministries that we serve.  

1. Transferring responsibility with authority increases ownership.  Another way of saying this is that when we entrust others with responsibility, their commitment to the work grows.  They feel like they are making a personal impact in the ministry. 

2. Transferring responsibility with authority demonstrates our trust and confidence in others.  This builds loyalty both to us personally as leaders and, more importantly, it builds loyalty to the organization or ministry. 

3. Transferring responsibility with authority stimulates the level of creativity within the team.  When we engage others, we utilize their spiritual gifts and abilities.  As a leader, I find that it generally works best when I instruct others on “what” needs to occur (the outcomes), but leave it to him or her to determine the best way for “how” it should be done.  

4. Transferring responsibility with authority provides the leader with more time for personal development.  We have more opportunity for reflection, for receiving and refining vision.  We must be intentional to set aside this time to seek the Lord for vision.  

5. Transferring responsibility with authority increases organizational productivity.  In my country, we have an idiom, “many hands make light work”.  In other words, when more people are working together, more is accomplished.    

6. Finally, transferring responsibility with authority develops new leaders for the organization.  The development of new leaders is vital to any healthy organization and is also key to succession planning.  I think of an example within VCP.  Two years ago, Claude Douti was asked to take the role of VCP Director.  Because he had equipped and empowered Henoc Eklou to succeed him as an area Supervisor, they were both able to step up to these new responsibilities.     

We see many examples of this model in scripture.  Last time I spoke of Jesus and the Apostles.  Think also of Paul and his Pastoral Epistles to Timothy and Titus (1&2 Timothy, Titus)  

As leaders, we must learn to delegate both responsibility and authority.  

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

You Became A Model - 1 Thessalonians Series

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

As church planters, we get a lot of inspiration from the Apostle Paul. He was a church planter who faced challenges just like we face. He was used by God in great ways to start churches in places that had never before had churches. Paul exercised great faith to overcome significant opposition. Paul was so successful at church planting, it’s hard for us to remember that he, like us, had to learn how to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. He, like us, had to learn how to communicate the Good News. He had to learn how to make disciples. It took time.

So it’s wonderful to read the book of 1 Thessalonians in the New Testament. This book tells us the results of one of Paul’s earliest church planting efforts as the leader of a church planting team. When he wrote to the Thessalonian believers he told them how glad he was that they were following his example and the example of Christ. He told them how proud he was that they faced persecution with joy given by the Holy Spirit. And he was especially glad that the Thessalonian believers had followed Christ so well that they “became a model to believers” all over two provinces of Greece.

This is what we dream of as church planters. We want those who hear our words and see our lives to trust Christ and experience the joy of the Holy Spirit.  But we are not looking and hoping just for changed belief. We are hoping and praying for changed behavior. And that is just what Paul saw among the Thessalonians.  Paul imitated Christ and the Thessalonians imitated Paul in his faith and obedience to the Lord. Then others in Greece saw the model life of the Thessalonians and their lives were changed as well.

Some people who listen to this podcast are old men and women who have seen this pattern repeated many times throughout their ministry. Some people who listen to Multiply are just starting out as church planters. If you are just starting out in ministry as a church planter, I have a word of encouragement for you. Your disciples will follow your example. As you follow the example of Jesus, and they follow you, they will become models for still other people. This is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. He wants you to follow Jesus well. He wants your life to serve as an example. He will help your disciples have the faith to follow your example and become a model for others.

Paul discovered this pattern early in his ministry as he ministered to the Thessalonians. He saw how they responded by following his example. At the end of his life, he recommended this pattern to his disciple Timothy when he said in 2 Timothy 2:2, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”

For a church planter, there is no greater joy than to know that we have been a faithful example of the life of Christ and that multiple generations of believers are following Christ because we modeled the way for them. This is your calling; this is your destiny.

Thanks for listening to “Multiply.”  I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today? 1T-10

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #2Timothy2:2 #ModelTheWay

Suffering with Joy Given by the Holy Spirit - 1 Thessalonians Series

 

This is multiply a word of encouragement for village church planters, pastors and leaders and I am Brad Snowden

1 Thessalonians 1:6 In the last part of this verse it says “…after you welcomed our message in a time of great trouble with the joy supplied by the Holy Spirit”

You as church planters know and are experiencing circumstances that are very hard and this is what the Apostle Paul is speaking about. Things are hard YET these circumstances cannot rob us from our Eternal joy and hope that God’s word gives us. Jesus told us that we would never be alone, that He would send us a comforter that would guide us into all truth. God’s promises must be our source of delight. It is because of the circumstances around us that His hope is all that can lighten our hearts. 

When I was in a wheelchair it made me sad to see my family struggle to push me around. If I focused on that it would cause me to be discouraged because it was like that for over 4 years. It was during that time all  I had was His promises and the joy of knowing that in the middle of all the struggles God was with me and there was nothing that He could not do.

The truth is we can be in the middle of great suffering and have joy at the same time. It is not something that we can do, we cannot make it happen. We must allow the Holy Spirit to comfort, strengthen and empower us with God’s everlasting truth. 

Do we allow circumstance to rob us of our joy?

Do we allow circumstance to rob others from God’s joy? 

You my brother, my sister are a vessel of everlasting joy and hope that is not of this world, but of an everlasting spring of great delight. This joy that the Holy Spirit gives is like a refreshing spring of water in a dry and thirsty land and you are the vessel to pour out His joy. How great is the joy of our salvation, the truth for all peoples, even in the suffering there can be joy. Take joy today you are not alone, you have His joy given to you by the Holy Spirit. This has been a word of encouragement please share this message of joy with others.

 1T-09

You Became Imitators of Us and of the Lord - 1 Thessalonians Series

 

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

The Apostle Paul told the Thessalonian Christians, “You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.”  Paul was a church planter and so are you. I’m a church planter too.  We know church planters.  And there is nothing that fills us with more joy than when we see our disciples following Jesus by following our example. I can almost hear the joy and satisfaction in Paul’s voice when I read his words nearly 2,000 years after he wrote them: “You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.   

There are many ways to make disciples. Preachers make disciples. Teachers do too. Evangelists make disciples sometimes and so do pastors. But regardless of our gifting, the best way to make disciples is to model the way to live with our behavior. Talk is cheap.  But living a life of love in the face of hardships is not easy.  And every church planter I have ever known has been acquainted with sorrows. Persecution, rejection, family members who do not understand our devotion to God, sickness, spiritual warfare.  All of this is part of the life of a church planter. Jesus suffered the same kinds of trials that we do.  The Bible says that he was a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” But for the joy set before him Jesus kept going, he kept walking in faith, he fulfilled the will of his Father.

I promise you, your disciples are watching the way you deal with hardships, the way you deal with sorrows. They want to know what it means to truly trust God. Your example of walking by faith in spite of hardships builds their faith and makes them want to imitate you.

That is exactly want happened with Paul, Silas and Timothy. Their faith and their perseverance in the face of suffering served as a strong and positive example to the Thessalonian believers.  They appreciated the quality of the church planters’ life so much, they began to imitate it.

The Apostle Peter said, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” How wonderful it is to know the example of our Savior. How amazing that he invites us to follow in his steps. How amazing it is that our disciples should imitate us and live by our example. It is a glorious privilege to be connected to Christ In such a fruitful way. It is a great honor to see the life of Christ flow through us to transform others!

So be encouraged my brother; don’t quit my sister. Jesus has shown you the way and He is with you!

This has been “Multiply.” And I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today? 1T-08

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #InHisSteps