After a comedy of errors in getting to the Philippines on this trip, the work is getting off to a very good start. Please excuse my failure to put out a report yesterday. After several days with very little sleep, I was exhausted and went to bed at 9pm and slept straight through to 6am with only one short time of waking.
Friday’s classes began about 9:30 or 10 am with a lesson on “What Gives True Encouragement?” We started by noting the word often translated “encourage” (Gk.parakaleo) is also translated “comfort” and “exhort” in some passages. We saw that encouragement or exhorting commanded in Titus 1:9-11 is paired with convicting those who contradict the gospel as well as stopping the mouths of those who teach error. Colossians 2:1-8 makes clear that true encouragement depends on teaching the true doctrine of Christ and exposing error, not just a “feel good message” devoid of doctrinal truth. We noted that Apollos was commended by those in Ephesus with these words: “And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ” (Acts 18:27-28). True encouragement to New Testament Christians involved both the upholding of the true doctrine and the refutation of error. If we are looking for another content to “encourage” us, we are looking for an encouragement foreign to the gospel. The full lesson lasted through the morning session.
The first afternoon study was on “Distinguishing Good and Evil” from Matthew 7:15-23. We noted that Jesus said we could distinguish between good and evil by examining the fruit. The evil bears bad fruit and the good bears good fruit. That good fruit is identified as obedience to the will of God. Good does not exist in the absence of obedience to the will of God. “Good works” are those which God prepared beforehand for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10).
The second afternoon study was “Laying Aside Every Weight” from Hebrews 12:1-2. We noted that the evil weights of lust and sin, materialism, pride and indifference must be put away. Then we noted that there are other weights that are not evil in themselves, yet must be put away if they are a hinderance to our service in the cause of Christ. We had an attendance of 51 for the studies on Friday.
On Saturday, we spent the entire day on a study of the Psalms. We began with an introduction to the Psalms and finished the morning with a study on the psalms of “Affliction” or “Lament.” In that time, we examined in detail Psalms 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 13 and 16. In the afternoon session, we began with a very thorough look at Psalm 78, an “Historical” psalm. We examined the cycles of history found in God’s blessings and wonders brought on Israel and Israel’s repeated response of rebellion and unbelief. The second part of the afternoon was spent in study of the “Penitential” psalms – specifically looking at Psalm 32 and Psalm 51. According to a number of the class, this was the first time they had studied in any detail from the Psalms and they seemed to be very interest throughout the six hours of study time. We had 70 for the Saturday classes.
Thank you for your interest in these efforts and we ask your continued prayers on behalf of the work being done. God bless!
