REFERENTE A OBRAS ACCESORIAS

I As you read the follow ing paragraphs, underline som e o f the costs o f obedience. I have underlined one for you.

In Saskatoon our church clearly sensed God was calling us to start new churches all across our province. N o t everyone understood or agreed w ith what we were doing. Some actively opposed us at almost every mission church we started. T hough we were totally convinced o f the awesome spiritual darkness in Canada, some people did not see it. In Regina, the capital o f our province, a full-page article appeared in the paper condemning us for daring to start a new church in this city o f 150,000. In our efforts to have a Bible study in Hum boldt, a delegation o f leaders from another church group came to my office and urged me to stop. They said our efforts were o f the devil and they would oppose the Bible study. In Deschambault our pastor was m et on the street and cursed by a witch doctor. From Prince Albert I received letters condemning our efforts. In Blaine Lake we were told our prayer meetings would fail.

Some in our own denomination felt we were foolish to attempt new mission churches when we were so small ourselves. We were told not to ask the denomina­ tional office for help if we got into trouble w ith salary support for mission pastors or other staff workers. Those w ho had not been w ith us w hen G od spoke to us saw our efforts as presuming on God. I soon discovered that every step o f faith could be interpreted as presumption by others. Only obedience and G od’s affirmation o f our obedience would reveal that we were doing G od’s will.

Later, as mission churches grew, flourished, and became self-supporting, some o f our critics realized this work was indeed o f God. Some were even encouraged to take these same steps o f faith in starting new work themselves. God helped us remain faith­ ful to Him, with a heart full o f love toward others, but that was costly.

List som e o f the costs that we had to pay in starting new churches.

i

Read 2 Corinthians 11:23-33 on the follow ing page and underline som e o f the costs Paul had to pay for follow ing and obeying Christ. I’ve underlined one for you.

E X P E R I E N C I N G G O D

S U M M A R Y S T A T E M E N T S Obedience is costly to me and to those around me. I cannot know and do the w ill of God w ith o u t paying the price of a d ju s tm e n t and obedience; I m ust a d ju s t my plans and program to w h a t God is doing.

166

Are they servants o f Christ? (I am out o f my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked m uch harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.Three times I was beaten w ith rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrym en, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure o f my concern for all the churches. W ho is weak, and I do not feel weak? W ho is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?

If I must boast, I will boast o f the things that show my weakness. The G od and Father o f the Lord Jesus, w ho is to be praised forever,

knows that I am not lying. In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city o f the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands (2 Cor. 11:23-33).

Sometimes obedience to G od’s will leads to opposition and misunderstanding. Because o f his obedience Paul suffered m uch for the cause o f Christ. The beatings, imprison­ ments, and danger listed in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 sound like more than one person could bear. H e concluded one letter by saying, “I bear on my body the marks of Jesus” (Gal. 6:17). Paul had not had these experiences before he began to do the will o f his Lord. Obedience was costly to him. Even so, Paul could still say, “I want to know Christ and the power o f his resurrection and the fellowship o f sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. N o t that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold o f that for which Christ Jesus took hold o f m e” (Phil. 3:10-12).

T he Apostle Paul revealed the adjustments he made to do G od’s will when he said, “I have become all things to all m en so that by all possible means I might save some”

(1 Cor. 9:22).Your adjustments and obedience to Christ may be difficult as well.

Have you ever had an experience in which your adjustment or obedi­ ence to God was costly? □ Yes □ N o I f so, briefly describe that experience and the cost you had to pay. __________________________

David Livingstone was a 19th-century missionary from Scotland who gave his life making Christ known in Africa. Perhaps his prayer may inspire your own commit­ m ent to pay the cost o f following Christ:

Lord, send me anywhere, only go w ith me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me.

Sever any tie but the tie that binds me to Thyself.

Review today’s lesson. Pray and ask God to identify one or m ore statements or Scriptures He wants you to understand, learn, or practice. Underline them . Then respond to the following.

W hat was the most meaningful state- R ew ord the statement or Scripture W hat does G od want you to do

ment or Scripture you read today? into a prayer o f response to God. in response to today’s study?

Obedience Is Costly,