Mp3 Gv1119 Ed No 6 — George Verwer

Spiritual Zeal and Discernment

James 3, 17. We need both. We need zeal. We need enthusiasm. Too much enthusiasm, I don't think, is the greatest problem in the average church today. You know what A .W. Tausser said about that? He said for the average church to be worried about too much enthusiasm was like sending a squadron of police to the cemetery.

To guard against a demonstration at midnight by the residents. To guard against a demonstration by the residents of the cemetery at midnight. You can see why I like A .W. Tausser. And I'm glad that more of his books are getting into German.

And just for your encouragement, it was Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones that introduced A .W. Tausser to Europe. And I think that's wonderful since they are not exactly on the same side of the theological fence.

I think that's wonderful since they are not exactly on the same theological fence. We need enthusiasm and zeal. And we have no excuse for not having it. But on the other hand, we also need this wisdom, this ability to distinguish.

And follow-up, establishing the believers. Sometimes you find people arguing over this. But we need both. In many countries we cannot do any follow-up because there are no believers to follow-up. In many countries we cannot do any follow-up because there are no believers to follow-up.

Mauritania has no believers. Libya has almost no believers. All the believers in Turkey could sit in this room. All the believers in Afghanistan could perhaps fit in your bedroom. We need to evangelize.

And I believe every Christian is either evangelizing or he is fossilizing. He's either going out and evangelizing or he's going down, he's deteriorating spiritually. And I believe every Christian is either evangelizing or he's going down, he's deteriorating spiritually.

Evangelism as a Habit of Christian Life

And I found that when I was studying the Bible, especially at Bible college, that without getting out each weekend in evangelism and leading people to Christ, I don't think I could have continued. If we're constantly taking in, taking in, and not giving out, somehow what we take in will almost turn to some form of poison.

If we're constantly taking in, taking in, and not giving out, somehow what we take in will almost turn to some form of poison. Oh, I know what some people say. Oh, I know what some people say. There'll be time enough for that, brother.

Now you must study. You'll evangelize in the future. Now there's an element of truth in that. And when you're a student at seminary, your priority is study. But if you think you're going to change when you leave seminary, you're in for a big surprise.

But if you think you're going to change when you leave seminary, you're in for a big surprise. Billy Graham said that Christian life consists of developing habits, and if you don't develop these habits now in your studies, then you probably won't develop them so easily in the future either.

It's very difficult to find the balance here. And I still struggle with how much I should read and prepare. When I'm on a train, and I read a book, or do I witness to the man sitting next to me? You know my tendency?

Thank you, Lord, for this book. I don't want to talk to this guy. I think John Stott is one of the greatest examples of a witnessing-on-fire theologian in the world today. A man who is so busy, and writing books, and going to great meetings, and yet he's constantly leading men to Jesus Christ.

May God give us the balance. Because your congregations are not going to firstly learn by what you're saying, they are going to learn by what you're doing, what you are living in your own practical life.

I think we'll continue with this message tomorrow. Let's pray. O Lord, we all need more spiritual balance. And it doesn't look like an easy road for most of us. Help us not to forget those things that you are teaching us in these valuable days together.

Keep any form of pride from looming up and hindering your voice. To our own hearts. Because we believe that some of these principles will determine whether we are ever to be effective men and women of yours.

O Lord, we give you all the praise for your word. And for your son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The great example that he set. And even more, the sacrifice that he made on the cross. That his balanced, compassionate life now may be lived out through us.

We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Good morning. That wasn't very good. Good morning. Let us continue our study on this subject of balance. I want to especially deal with some areas of spiritual balance.

Balance in Evangelism and World Missions

That we need to keep in mind when we think of evangelism and we think of world missions. I've noticed that there are many misunderstandings concerning missionary work. One of them is that the main people that need to be interested in mission work are the missionaries.

But the truth is that this is something that all believers should be interested in. And the missionaries are only going to be able to move as far as the local churches are able to send them. And some of you who are quite convinced that the Lord wants you to be a pastor in Germany.

You might consider the possibility of spending a year in some kind of missionary work as preparation for laboring eventually as a pastor in Germany. Before I went to a seminary in the United States where I was speaking each day for a week.

One of the men who knew that God was calling him to be a pastor in the United States. Said, I wonder who is going to be led off to the mission field by this missionary speaker. He said, well at least he knew where he would be.

God had called him to be a pastor in America. At the end of the week he came to me. And he soon signed up for a one year program on the ship. Now he is back in the states. And he feels that that year of overseas exposure has been a valuable further preparation for his ministry in his own country.

The Missionary Call and Objective Guidance

In the whole area of world missions we need to find the balance. What are some of the trouble areas? The first one is the balance between the emphasis on the call, getting a special call. And having guidance, making an objective decision.

That is doing something out of planning and out of thinking. Some people say you can't go to the mission field unless you have a special missionary call. I say this is a false idea that you do not find in the New Testament.

You say, but what about the Macedonian call? They were already missionaries. There was a call to go over to another area to continue the mission. That was just a call to continue the missionary work in a different area.

And there are many Macedonian calls today. We constantly receive calls to go over and help people in this area and that area. Some Christian leaders have been asking us for ten years to start work in Pakistan.

So this year we heard the call and our men went into Pakistan. But the leader we sent there has already been a missionary for ten years. Of course in all that we do we need the guidance of God. We need to know the will of God.

And some may have a more emotional experience in sensing that God wants them to be a missionary. But that doesn't mean God will lead everyone that way. I've spent about twenty years on the mission field.

I've never had a missionary call. Maybe God just saw this stubborn Dutchman and he gave me a missionary kick. And I believe it's the responsibility biblically of the local church to be sending out men and women to witness across the world.

And sometimes those that are more subject to emotional calls don't always make the best missionaries in the long run. The fact is that God works in different ways in different people. But I believe if we're going to see the world evangelized and remember half the people in the world have never had the gospel then there needs to be a higher degree of flexibility and adaptability in the modern missionary thrust.

Short-Term and Long-Term Missionary Work

Then there's a controversy between short-term missionary work and long-term work. And sometimes the longer-term life missionaries are very critical of the short-term work. I believe that both are needed.

But I think that in this generation it's being proven that short-term work is becoming more and more valuable to the ongoing, the forward thrust of the church. We have found that single people living and moving on teams can accomplish sometimes a work that the normal family, missionary family are unable to do.

In our own work we have about 200 families. Some of them are very long-term people. They've been on the field 15, 20 years. And they're the first ones to say, send us some more single men and single women to get on with the task.

In many countries it's more and more complicated to keep your whole family in that country. We saw this in Iran even before the civil war. The expense of education. The children. And the tremendous cost of housing just to rent a small flat, a small apartment.

And many other things. This is why some mission societies now are requiring 60, 70 ,000 Swiss francs a year for a family to go on the mission field. And most of our single people stay on the field for 4 or 5 ,000 Swiss francs a year.

Of course, I still believe we need those families. Especially those who have proven themselves as people who can effectively work in cross-cultural evangelism. One of the groups that's made an impact on Switzerland and still winning many Swiss people sorry to say, are the Mormons.

I remember on a train right here in Switzerland meeting a Mormon and him telling me what was happening in this country. They now have over 25 ,000 short-term workers on the mission field. And it's not a superficial work.

Because when they finish their two years another 25 ,000 are right behind them, ready to follow up on what they do. And those who return home, they get into businesses, they're very shrewd business people and they send out the millions of dollars to keep the other people going.

In fact, wherever we look, the false cults seem to be challenging the church in terms of their dedication and their zeal for propagating what they believe. Certainly the church in Germany and Switzerland could be sending out thousands of short-term workers and this in turn would strengthen the entire church.

Missionary Types and Cross-Cultural Sacrifice

Some people say, oh, but I'm not the missionary type. That's not my, you know, I'm not the missionary type. Well, what is the missionary type? Are there certain people that sort of just are infatuated with hot tropical lands?

In 20-some years I haven't met such people. Who would naturally want to leave a country and leave such a paradise as this? Just try to transplant yourself even for one minute into the streets of Calcutta.

Where you may live for a year and never once see any scenery whatsoever. Where you may live for a year and not see any scenery, any fields, any trees, even for one year, not once. I tell you, until you live in such places and I have, you don't appreciate what you have in your home country.

Nine million people in that one city. Many of them living like animals. Do we really care? After all of our Bible verses? With all of our theology? With all of our talk about the love of God? And about being servants of Jesus Christ?

And about being bought with a price? Do we really care for these people? And if we do care, then I believe we're going to do something about it. Some can go. Others can send them. Everyone can pray. Most people can give.

And the results can be very, very great. As already has been proven in some places. Then another area where there's great tension is whether we should go to mainly the open countries where people are responding or what about the closed countries?

Or semi-closed countries where people are not responding. Some people, especially in the church growth school of thinking, they tend to think we should go where the people are responding. But I see in the New Testament that we should go everywhere.

Not firstly for results, but firstly because we obey God. Let us look at some verses together. First of all, Acts 1 .8. And ye shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and the uttermost part of the earth.

Every part of the world is included. Those last few words, the uttermost part of the earth, that includes Mongolia. We don't know of any believers in Mongolia. That must include Bhutan. A small land where there are only a dozen or so Christians.

It must include Afghanistan and other lands that we have spoken about. It's the whole world. And as far as I can see, we must go, we must preach, whether they respond or not. They still should at least hear the gospel.

Look at 2 Corinthians 10 .16. So as to preach the gospel even to the regions beyond you, and not to boast in what has been accomplished in the sphere of another. And then to preach the gospel beyond you.

And then Romans 15 .20. And thus I aspire to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, that I might not build upon another man's foundation. If this was the burden of the Apostle Paul in the 1st century, how much more it should be the burden of each one of us in the 20th century.

And therefore we see that both of these different types of countries must receive the gospel. I was reading just last night about how tens of thousands of Bibles are going into China. Because they all, well, these are closed countries.

There is no such thing as a closed country. Every nation is open to some degree. Especially to the Swiss and the Germans. There are most countries that you can go to. China especially likes Switzerland.

They have come here and been through many of your factories and they have managed to copy many of these fine machines out in China. Now China may not be open to official missionaries with big hats that say I am a missionary.

But there are many ways to go into some of these countries. We've had people in most so-called closed countries. Like Afghanistan. Where Gordon Magney has been for about nine years. He went as a student in the University of Kabul.

It took him many years. He was a very slow student. Meanwhile he was winning Afghans to Jesus Christ. And we need greater faith to enter into impossible situations. C .T. Studd said let us not be nibblers of the possible but grabbers of the impossible.

Mission Societies and Local Churches

Then another area where we must find the balance. Is the tension between a team of missionaries launching out from a mission society and the local church. There is an increase of extremism today in over emphasizing the local church.

And of course there are some that have become so extreme they are almost like false cults. You will find such a group up in Stuttgart. They call themselves the local church. And it's interesting how even some very zealous young Germans have been just drawn into this extremist group.

I have followed and studied that movement for the last ten years. They say it started in China but in fact it really started in California. Already many many of their groups have split in two. Some of their main leaders have left the movement.

Many things have happened in California that I'm afraid they do not know about in Germany. They are very upset with me and have written me a number of letters because in my prayer letter I have warned God's people against these neo-exclusivistic extremisms.

You see it comes because people are looking for the perfect church. And perfectionism is one of the most subtle forms of extremism. We get this concept that the church must be sort of a fraternity, a special club of super saints.

Instead of a clinic for super saints and sinners saved by the grace and the mercy of God. Of course there are many good groups that also emphasize the local church. It's a very important emphasis for us.

We are not a mission society in that we do not send out the missionaries. In our work we believe the local church must send out the missionaries. We will only provide the structure needed to do the job for God on the field.

I know this becomes incredibly complex in some of your countries. Because some of your churches don't want to send anybody out. And if they do send you certainly it will not be with any other group except their own denomination.

And this is something worth praying about. And it's been our joy to be involved in training people for a year or two who then were sent out by other mission societies or by their own denomination. In fact most mission societies here in Europe have people on the field who originally got their vision and were trained in OM.

And I believe that a team working with someone like OM in Turkey this is just as biblical as a local church. Because we see both of these groups in the New Testament. In fact it was these early missionary teams that started the local churches.

The goal of OM in Turkey is to see men converted gathered together that there may be a fellowshipping local church. So we can't say well this OM team that's not really scriptural but when they plant a church, oh the church that's scriptural.

That doesn't make any sense. The non-biblical team starts the biblical church. Paul worked on a team he started churches. Then he left. Then he revisited them. And I believe that if the world is to be evangelized there has to be a very close working relationship between the local churches and teams and fellowships like OM.

Evangelism and Social Action

Another area where we have to work for balance is evangelism versus social work. Some emphasize the social work. They want to feed people. They want to build hospitals. This has become now the very popular type of work among evangelicals because we feel so guilty that we didn't do more of this in the past.

The truth is that evangelicals for a long time certain groups of evangelicals have always been active in social work. I think history is quite clear about that. And it needs to continue. At the same time, I personally feel the command to evangelize and see men saved is a clearer, more important command in the New Testament.

We need both. We don't want more disunity. More polarization. More division. And we need to see how God works through different groups in different ways. And we need to see how God works through different groups in different ways.

Wealth, Poverty, and the Gospel in India

You know, we get very wrong ideas about some of these countries. We think, for example, everybody in India is poor. Actually, there are not many people starving in India. There are many poor people. Especially in the huge cities and the villages.

But there are also an interesting number of rich people. And Indians illegally have literally millions and millions stored away in your banks here in Switzerland. And it used to be when I lived in India that men would spend sometimes 400 ,000 francs just on the wedding of his daughter.

And in government circles, all these people have money. They have all learned how to get money through their different political positions. And you can be sure there are very few honest people in these cultures.

Now, if these people can be reached with the gospel, they can do more to help their own country than any social work we can do as foreigners. And we need to work, not only among the poor people, but among the rich people, to see them come to a knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Destroyed by the monster of technology which can so easily consume us. And we should continue, by God's grace, to follow the lifestyle we see in the New Testament. Then there's another area I'm sure some of you have been thinking about.

Marriage, Singleness, and Missionary Calling

Should I get married or should I remain single? Now, some of you may not know this, but you may not have much choice. Because no one is going to marry you. But let us not be negative. Let us all be hopeful.

That God in this area also can do the impossible. But I have seen how God can use single people. And we have seen many single women and single men mightily used in the work of God. This is one of the things I like about England.

In comparison to America. The Englishman, especially the university student, he usually waits a little longer before he gets married. So we get a whole army of English university graduates working in almost every country that OM is in.

Single men and single women. Then on the field there's a better chance that they will meet and marry someone who is like-minded and who has a sane commitment to Christ and to World Evangelist. And for those of you who are not yet married, I beg of you not even to consider marrying someone who is not of one heart with you and of one mind in your commitment to Christ and World Evangelist.

And certainly, in any case, marriage is the great challenge for many of us. We have seen how both married people and single people can be used. And this is a great challenge. Then another area of controversy.

National and International Missionaries

Who will evangelize? Is it the national living in the country or is it the foreign missionary? Of course it's both. And in fact, in countries we are working in, it's the nationals and the national church that is saying, will you please send us some more internationals to come and help us.

There is a great need for men who can teach the word of God and who can teach theology. Africa is about to launch one of the first seminaries, very high level seminary. Similar to this. In every nation, there is an increase of seminary level training.

And sometimes there are openings for people from other countries. There are just so many openings on the mission field. But of course, because we are generally in our minds locked into one culture, the German culture or the French culture, we don't really get to know these situations in Africa and Latin America and India.

But because we are so locked into our German or Swiss way of thinking, we don't get to know these opportunities in other countries. Then another area of difficulty is the balance between the emphasis on the lostness of men, motivating us, the fact that men are lost.

The Lostness of Humanity and the Love of Christ

And on the other hand, what it says in 2 Corinthians 5 .14, the love of Christ constraining us. I think this is one of the most difficult doctrines. Because it's one that ultimately so many people intellectually feel they cannot handle.

The fact that all men outside of Jesus Christ are lost. They are lost for eternity. Dale Roton, the leader of our ship, when he was studying at Wheaton College, he discovered even some of the evangelical professors didn't really believe that the heathen were lost.

The people who have never heard the gospel were lost. So he wrote his thesis that the professors all had to read on the subject of why the heathen are lost. And this has always been a strong conviction in our work.

On this point, we must very much literally take what the New Testament says. And we have to take literally what the New Testament says. And this is still a major area where evangelical and biblical Christians are in a totally different world from those who are liberal in their theology and certainly do not believe that men and women are going to hell.

And when we believe this, of course it is going to motivate our lives. At the same time, the love of Christ is our greater motivation. And even if they are not lost, if Christ tells us and God tells us we must give them the gospel, then we will obey God.

And I'm convinced that this theology about the lostness of man is often only in our head. Because when it grips our hearts that men are really lost, we will never, never be the same again. And without this, of course, missionary work is almost ridiculous.

If all these Hindus and Buddhists and Muslims, they're all going to heaven anyway, then what is the purpose of going out there and giving your life in evangelism for them? There are a number of other areas where there is tension.

Education, Action, and Theological Training

For example, between education and action. I feel very honored that I have this privilege of speaking to you. And I can assure you I have been told that many seminaries are absolutely scared to ever have me come and speak.

Because they are afraid that the young people will be led away from academics and be caught up into some kind of action. Cannot we have both? Must we put action against education? Must we have these two types of people?

One with all heart and legs and no head? Others with all head and no heart and legs? Can't we have any normal Christians with heads and hearts and legs and feet? It's interesting that the word of God says, Blessed are the feet of those who preach the gospel.

Not blessed are the noses or the eyes or the heads. And in my life, the study of theology caused me to recommit my life to Christ and to serve Him and live for Him every minute of the day. If what we say we believe is true, then we are going to be men of God.

If we say that what we believe is true, then we are going to be men of God. And we are going to want to take that which we are receiving and share it with everyone as much as possible. And as we go out across the mission fields, we will not just evangelize, but we will see those new converts trained in our schools.

And many of them will go on to seminary. People that we have won to Christ in OM all over the world are studying in seminaries and Bible colleges all over the world. And now an increasing number of these men of action are now teaching in seminaries and Bible colleges across the world.

We need both. And I believe this is one of the goals that everyone of us in this room should have before the Lord. The same is true when we think of anointing, the anointing of the Spirit of God upon a preacher in comparison to education and training.

Lloyd-Jones in his book, The Preacher in Preaching, puts a heavy emphasis on both of these factors. But I think personally today in many places, it's the anointing of the Spirit of God that is often lacking upon our preachers and upon our clergy.

In the United States, we now have many biblical seminaries. Bible believing. Holding to the Word of God. One degree or the other. And we're mass producing the preachers. But I think we would have to acknowledge that often the anointing of the Holy Ghost is not upon these men.

Paul said, be filled with the Holy Spirit. And we'll never have an effective ministry without the anointing and the power of God's Spirit upon us. That means for every hour in the pulpit, there'll be several hours in prayer before God and in His Word.

That means we don't only know how to speak to men about God, we know how to speak to God about men. And without that, our theological diplomas are hardly worth the paper they are printed on. You could have given us the paper, we could print tracts instead.

But with the anointing of the Spirit of God, the reality of the Holy Spirit, the love of Christ in your heart, then that theological degree will be worth much. So keep studying. And make sure it's also with the anointing and the reality of God upon you.

Let us pray. Let us have a few moments of just silent prayer before God. We have touched many important areas where we need wisdom, where we need balance, where we need action. Let us have silent prayer, which we can even pray, O Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit.

O living God, we thank you for your Word. We thank you that we're not out just being banged about, thrown about by the concepts of man. We have a true Word from yourself. We thank you for the reality of your Holy Spirit.

That he lives in us. And that we can know that anointing and that power. Not in an extreme way, an uncontrolled way, but under the control of your love. Lord, we would pray in obedience to your Word. That you would send forth laborers into the harvest fields.

Short term, long term. Men of education, men of action. That your will would be accomplished. Lord, give us open minds. Even about what you want us to do in the future. That we may not miss your perfect will for our lives.

Foundations for Knowing the Will of God

So we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Most of you know we have a computer. Let's just pray now and ask God to help us. As we speak on the subject of the will of God, knowing the will of God. Especially foundations for knowing the will of God in your life.

Let us pray. Father, speak to our hearts from your Word and from experience. We thank you for many specific answers to prayer. And we know that you want to do exceeding abundant above all we could ask or expect.

Lord, we worship you together this morning. We thank you for all that we are learning during these days. Give us an open mind. And an obedient heart. And may we be willing to truly deny self in order to be your disciples.

In Jesus' name. Amen. Perhaps this subject of the will of God is one of the most difficult. I remember someone asking me to speak to a very large group of young people in Germany. And they said, please speak about how to know the will of God.

People, of course, especially would like some simple, easy formulas for how to know the will of God. So when they meet this particular girl, they just apply this formula to know whether she is the right girl or not.

Finding the will of God is part of spiritual growth. It's part of the spiritual battle. And we will find that Satan will be attacking us every step of the way. What we have spoken about extremism and getting off balance, of course, is very much linked with this thing of knowing God's will.

Because, of course, if Satan can get us into some extreme, then he can get us away from the perfect will of the living God. I do not come to you with any simple formula. I'm finding knowing the will of God more difficult now, at 25 years in Christ, than I did when I was a young Christian.

And some of the teaching on knowing the will of God, instead of helping me, it only further confuses me. Perhaps it is because I have seen so many crazy things these past 25 years. People who get special guidance.

The Lord has told them. A young man came to me many years ago. God had given him a word about a particular girl. And he wanted to know if he should go ahead and ask her the important question. And he had some sense, some sense from the Lord, some feeling this was the right girl.

He specially felt it when he sat next to her. I tried to beg him to please be patient. Lo and behold, the very next day. Another man came to me. The Lord had spoken to him about a particular girl. He was sure this was the will of God.

He had been praying for several weeks about her. And I was amazed to find out it was the same girl. I believe part of the great battle of learning the will of God is that God allows us to make mistakes.

We are human beings. We are subject to make mistakes. When we get in our cars and we go and we drive somewhere, we pray, Lord, guide us on the way. One hour later, we're completely lost, gone down the wrong road.

You say, well, God didn't answer that prayer. But you see, no matter how much we pray, it does not destroy neither our humanity or the other person's humanity that we are praying for. Your prayers cannot turn the other person into a computer.

For instance, I often pray that God will speak to people about giving money to his work. In our work, we don't believe in asking people for money. But we do believe in praying that God will speak to people's hearts.

So that Bibles may be printed so the word of God may go out. And I believe God hears our prayers. But he, in turn, does not force people to give money. As God speaks to them in answer to prayer, they can resist.

And their selfishness can resist God and grieve God and the Holy Spirit. And that means we need to pray again. We're praying that God will convert Muslims. And I believe God is knocking on the heart of many Muslims.

But up until now, they are resisting. And so we must continue to pray. This, of course, in some ways, is a mystery. It's almost as hard as putting together the sovereignty of God and the free will of man.

It is a difficult area. And so, in learning to walk with God, God allows us to make mistakes. You say, well, what if I marry the wrong girl? And to me, this is something that's very important. If you do make a mistake, and you go to the wrong place, or you marry the wrong girl, and I don't want to forget our girls, if you marry the wrong man, that also can happen.

God is still greater. If there's anything I would like you to get this week, is that no matter what your circumstances, God is greater. So great that he can even make a wonderful marriage when you've got the wrong girl.

In life, we need to acknowledge our failure, acknowledge our mistake, and then do the best we can, trusting God in that situation. Otherwise, you can be blown about by the devil just all over the place.

We have had a wide range of people in Operation Mobile. The Bible says not many wise are called. And we certainly have had many interesting people. I remember this one girl that came from the United States.

When she got in Europe, in Belgium, she felt, she sensed, she was out of the will of God. So she wanted to fly back to the United States and start over again. We tried to say, look, you're here now, you need to do the best you can.

Just repent of moving ahead of the Lord, and now let's make good the situation. No, no, she had to fly back to the United States. That's a lot of money. She got in the plane, disobeyed us as leaders, she went back to the States.

When she got to the States, she sensed that again, she had made a mistake and was out of the will of God. And that she should be in Italy. So she got in an airplane and she flew all the way to Italy. I don't know whatever happened to her, and I'm not too interested actually.