The more holy a man is, the more he grieves over his sin. Not in the sense of being condemned—oh no, he fully and thankfully believes that his sin has been dealt with by the death of Christ. He joyfully knows that the sin is not imputed to his account because of the great truth of justification by faith. He grieves his sin more because he loves holiness more. He can mourn over his sin for the simple reason he hates it so. He is assured the sin will not send him to hell. He believes with all his heart that the very sin was nailed to the cross in the body of His Lord. His grief is empty of condemnation, but it is full of disgust and disdain for the act itself. You can taste sour milk and know it won’t kill you, but still hate it because you dislike its taste. The more you dislike the taste, the more you are repulsed by it. Likewise, the more a man dislikes the taste of sin, the more he is repulsed by sin. The more a man is repulsed by sin, the more like God he is; the more like God a man is, the more holy he is.

We want the end result of all we do to be an exaltation of Jesus Christ. By lifting Him up and showing Him as the treasure He is, we pray hearts are spurred to pursue Him.

Most of our ministry has occurred on the web, but through the connections we make with people around the world, we are open to God allowing us to minister in person. In the late summer of 2011, a pastor from Poland contacted us after watching the History of the Modern Gospel series. After a series of Skype meetings and at his request, we are going to Poland in a couple of months.

Europe, including Poland, is now one of the most spiritually dark places on earth. Even though Christianity flourished there centuries ago, today it is a land that has forsaken the one true God. Poland, in particular, is a very religious country, with the vast majority of people being Roman Catholic. Being Catholic is part of a Polish person's national identity. It is very integral to society and what makes each person Polish. There is a very strong focus on the virgin Mary and the saints and virtually no concern about the individual's relationship to God. The belief is that Mary provides some sort of mystical connection on one's behalf. One of the most important pilgrimages a Polish person can make is to see the image of the Black Madonna at Jasna Góra Monastery in Czestochowa.

Around .3% of the country is evangelical. Protestant denominations such as Baptist are seen as cults. There are few true churches, and a recurring temptation for Polish believers is discouragement. Pastors and church leaders are hungry to see their fellow countrymen know and love the one true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent. On the heels of discouragement comes the temptation to do whatever it takes to get people into the church. Some leaders are looking to adopt American church growth tactics in order to gain more converts. Unfortunately, they are unaware of the tragic results of American tactics. "Churches" attract crowds, but many of the people are unconverted. Confusion abounds regarding what it means to be a true follower of Christ.

RTM will be in Poland to conduct two conferences for church leaders. The first will be in Ciechanów, a city of around 46,000 people in north/central Poland. There, we will meet with the pastor and elders of the church that contacted us. The next conference will be with another group of church leaders in a different city. Even though we know those who contacted us want encouragement and support in avoiding the unspiritual excesses of unbiblical tactics, we are not completely sure what God wants to accomplish through our visit there. It may be a mission of encouragement. It may be a mission of evangelism. It may be a mission to evaluate and fact-find. It may be all three and more! We are open to whatever God wants and ready to point whomever we can to the sufficiency of Jesus Christ.

We depend on God to use our willingness and availability to accomplish what He wants to do. He called us, He caused this to occur (we never imagined going to Poland), and He can move His plan toward His end goal. He will provide all we need, materially and physically, to minister to His saints and the lost.

Please pray for us that we will walk in the Spirit, not only then, but now. Pray that we will remain steadfast in our walk with our Father. Pray for the people of Poland and that God will be gracious to remove the spiritual blindness that blankets the country. Pray for churches and church leaders to not be discouraged and to be strengthened in their spirits. Pray their influence will grow and that they will gain favor with sinners for the furtherance of the gospel.

Have you ever caught a glimpse of a grocery store stockroom? Row after row of groceries are stacked, ready to be pulled out to the floor and placed prominently on the shelf. There they wait to be selected, paid for, and used for a very valuable purpose: to give life.

Off to the side, however, you can see a small set of shelves that tell a different story. Here lie the damaged goods. They are dented cans, crushed Twinkies, the loaf of bread that some kid poked his fingers into. The condition of each is too poor to be of any good to anyone. In fact, they are now burdens, and the only reason they are hanging around is so that the grocery store can be credited by the vendors. The next stop: the dumpster. They were created for a purpose, and at one time they were well on their way; but things just didn’t work out, and they can never be what the manufacturer intended. Those are sad shelves indeed.

If so, you are probably a prime candidate for the work of God. The broken are the ones in need of God’s work the most. Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” (Luke 5:31). In reality, every person is inherently broken and damaged by sin and can never by their efforts meet the standard for God to save them or use them. When the Spirit of God reveals that brokenness and makes it reality, however, a person will run to one who can help. They know they are sick and incapable, so they will run to THE physician. A requirement to be healed is to know you are sick and go to one who can help.

And God is in the business of reforming what was once damaged into something beautiful. He used Jeremiah 18 in my life to save me, and it was the very message of His transforming work that pierced by heart. God tells Jeremiah to go to the local potter and observe. Jeremiah says, “I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?’ says the LORD. ‘Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand.’” Oh, does this not give you hope? God takes the broken, and instead of casting them aside, molds them and reshapes them into something that brings Him glory. Rejoice that you are in this process! Be humble, and let the world see His transforming power!

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”  1 Cor 1:26-31

 

What should motivate the church to the mission of reaching the world? Chris Turpin explains what that primary factor should be in this opening message of the 2012 Missions Conference  at OGBC:

“There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.” -2 Timothy 4:8

I love the quaint saying of a dying man, who exclaimed, “I have no fear of going home; I have sent all before me; God’s finger is on the latch of my door, and I am ready for him to enter.”

“But,” said one, “are you not afraid lest you should miss your inheritance?”

“No,” said he,  "there is one crown in heaven which the angel Gabriel could not wear because it will fit no head but mine. There is one throne in heaven which Paul the apostle could not fill because it was made for me, and I shall have it.” O Christian, what a joyous thought! Your portion is secure; “there remains a rest.” “But cannot I forfeit it?” No, it is entailed. If I be a child of God I shall not lose it. It is mine as securely as if I were there.

Come with me, believer, and let us sit upon the top of Nebo, and view the goodly land, even Canaan. See that little river of death glistening in the sunlight, and across it do you see the pinnacles of the eternal city? Do you mark the pleasant country and all its joyous inhabitants? Know, then, that if you could fly across you would see written upon one of its many mansions, “This remains for such a one, preserved for him only. He shall be caught up to dwell forever with God.”

Poor doubting one, see the fair inheritance; it is yours. If you trust in the Lord Jesus, if you have repented of sin, if you have been renewed in heart, you are one of the Lord’s people, and there is a place reserved for you and a crown laid up for you. No one else shall have your portion, it is reserved in heaven for you, and you will have it before long, for there shall be no vacant thrones in glory when all the chosen are gathered in.

-Charles Spurgeon