Tuesday, June 25, 2013

DAY 402 - Please Join in God's Kingdom ministry (請按此處收聼廣東話Cantonese podcast click here)



Today's Reading: Acts 14:21-28

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Please click this link to read Acts 14:21-28

Bible Study

      Today's passage gives us a picture of how the apostles expended their ministries by appointing(ordaining) "elders" as priests(pastors) to take care of local churches.

     This is in fact only the second mention of 'elders' in Acts, the first being in 11.30 with reference to the Jerusalem 'elders'...It is assumed that churches, even new and small ones, will need, and will have, local leadership, trained on the job.  Of course, the encouragement and teaching of the apostles(bishops), as in verse 22, is foundational and vital.  But, going back once more to 2.42, it is only one part of the whole.  There is also the common life, the breaking of bread, and the prayers; and each church must look after those for itself, without departing from 'the apostles' teaching'.    
     
N.T. Wright. Acts for Everyone, Part 2. Louisville,KY:Westminster John Knox Press, 2008, p.34.


You can click these two links for more detailed explanation of the meaning of 'elders":


     We also have the main duties of the apostles(bishops) in this passage as Barnabas and Paul are described as apostles in verse 14 "But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul":
1. As pioneers to establish new churches
    They established house churches in Lystra(14:6-20), Iconium(14:1-5) and Pisidian Antioch(13:14-49). 

2. To strengthen and encourage their sheep to remain true to the faith(14:22)
    We can see in verse 22 that those new Christians were facing with many hardships and the job of apostles(bishops) is to remind them that "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God." They helped them to acknowledge those hardships were unavoidable. On the other hand, they strengthened and encouraged them to remain focus in Jesus.

3. To ordain(appoint) priests(pastors)
    Verse 23 tells us an example of a preordination retreat for priests. The bishops and those who are about to be ordained have some time to be together to pray and fast. Then the apostles(bishops) lay hands and ordain them as priests.

     
     The whole point about the laying on of hands, with fasting and prayer, is, as Luke says in verse 23, to 'commend', or 'entrust' them 'to the Lord in whom they had come to believe'. Laying hands on people isn't a way of grabbing control over them; it's a way of relinquishing control, of declaring publicly that they are now responsible to the Lord himself for what they do.
      
N.T. Wright. Acts for Everyone, Part 2. Louisville,KY:Westminster John Knox Press, 2008, p.34.

4. To give report to the Headquarter of what God has done so that they are all connected in God's Kingdom ministry(14:26-28)
    It's somewhat like our AMiA Winter Conference, AMiA bishops retreats and clergy retreat, ACiC/AI Leadership Conference and Summit.

    What we need to know is that your bishops and priests(pastors) need your prayers and fasting so that they are being strengthened and encouraged in the midst of all the hardships. It is in this team work of Kingdom ministries that God will open the door of faith to more people. 

    Are you willing to pray and fast for us and to join in God's powerful Kingdom ministry?
    
                                 
Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to Jesus as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe"



Spiritual Journal

     What I heard from Jesus today is: Please join in God's Kingdom ministry

    What I got today from Jesus is an invitation for you to join in His powerful Kingdom ministry. You may not be a bishop, may not be a priest(pastor), but you are a disciple of Jesus, and so does a bishop and priest. We are all the same but in different roles to make God's Kingdom ministry happen.

    I have been wonderful confirmed by Jesus today of how He appreciates of what I have done as a bishop, priest and his disciple. I have a in-depth review on all four areas I just mentioned above:
1. As pioneers to establish new churches
    I tried all my best to extend the bishop's pioneer ministry the past three years and ten months. We have now one new established church - Toronto Emmanuel Church( http://www.torontoemmanuel.ca/ ) and two new church plants FANS(for all nations) and Emmanuel 330.

2. To strengthen and encourage their sheep to remain true to the faith
    This seems my main ministry that the Lord commanded me to do two months before I became a bishop. Please click this link to know my story:
    The daily strengthening and encouraging through my five blogs and four podcast is beyond measurement because I have now people from 101 countries visiting(or visited) those blogs and podcasts with more than 400,000 visits. You can find the link of those blogs at the end of this post.

3. To ordain(appoint) priests(pastors)
   Through my bishop's role we have now quite a number of ordained priests and deacons. We are having some young pastors in the ordination process and it is a joy to see how God's Kingdom ministry being extended because of those young pastors. 

4. To give report to the Headquarter of what God has done so that they are all connected in God's Kingdom ministry
    We are now being connected to a wider spectrum of Kingdom ministry through taking part in AMiA conferences, Holy Trinity Church Brompton(England) Leadership conference, ACiC/AI Leadership conferences and summits and our coaching contract with Dr. Terry Walling(We have now ten clergy under Dr. Terry Walling's monthly's coaching helping them to be better leaders)

   What are those things to do with you?
   It is to help you to know that you are part of God's huge Kingdom ministry. It is to lead you to take a more serious step into this Kingdom ministry and not being discouraged and disconnected.

   Please pray now to ask Jesus to tell you how you can take a more serious step into His Kingdom ministry.  


Dear Lord Jesus,
Open our eyes to see that the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Send us now into the harvest field to extend your mighty Kingdom.  In Jesus name we pray. Amen.



**NEW link for the  14th: 13th 100 days 24 hours prayer campaign (We are going to use this 13th list leads up to the 14th. 13th from March 15 to June 22, 2013. 14th from June 22 to August 31, 2013)


 Leslie is in good progress. Let's pray on until Leslie is completely recovered.

My email address: bishopsilasng@gmail.com

Please click this link to worship with us - 
Amazing Grace – My Chains Are Gone (Chris Tomlin)

Chinese praise song - 
这一生最美的祝福 The Most Wonderful Blessing of My Life



You may choose to follow my other daily blog: 

Daily Devotion on Fire 2(One year New Testament): 

Daily Devotion on Fire (3 years and 3 months plan, one chapter a day to finish reading the whole Bible): 

Break.Build (40 days daily devotion- First Baby Step for new Christians): http://www.breakbuild.blogspot.ca/

Emmanuel330 (40 weeks First Step Bible Study): 
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好! 良善的僕人!

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