An Open Door

As 2011 neared its end, some long-term projects were almost complete. We looked forward to what the Lord would set before us in 2012.  He opened a door that was totally unexpected.

In November Harvey Park Baptist Church (in Denver) approached me about an interim pastorate. My name arose through our emphasis on John’s Gospel. For several years Message of Life and Denver Rescue Mission have worked together in promoting the Gospel of John as an evangelistic tool. Several Rescue Mission ministry staffers attend Harvey Park.

In December the board reached a decision. Effective January 1, I became a part-time interim pastor. Fortunately, we had not yet scheduled much speaking for the new year. That is good, because our focus will be closer to home.

This newsletter seeks to inform you of the impact of this for both Harvey Park and for Message of Life. We see this as a win-win opportunity.

For Harvey Park

The church started in Denver’s Harvey Park neigborhood in 1955. Over time, it went from being a neighborhood church populated with young families to an older congregation with few children of Sunday School ages. As people bought newer homes, their commuting distances to church increased. Deaths within the congregation caused the budget to shrink, requiring (for the first time ever) that the pastor would receive (in 2012) a part time salary.

If, under these circumstances, the church were to go into a defensive mode, the long-term prognosis would not be good. This, instead, is a time to equip the saints for ministry—evangelism, in particular. Some in the congregation, including those associated with Denver Rescue Mission, are ready and able both to share John’s Gospel with unbelievers and to assist believers in learning to do so.

How do we encourage more and more people within a congregation to become Christ’s messengers of life? John’s Gospel is the starting place. We just started a series on John. Also, one of the adult Sunday School classes will soon focus on practical ways to share Jesus’ message of life from John.

Though we are new to Harvey Park, our whole family is already active within the church.  We see the Lord’s hand in all of this and expect great things for this ministry from Him.

For Message of Life

Clearly, speaking in churches around the country will be less frequent. For years, my personal slogan was: “Have John; Will Travel.” We will miss the time on the road, personally bringing boxes of the Living Water to churches and individuals. When we travel, we will make deliveries. We continue to serve as a supply depot for Living Waters and to mail them out.

However, in no way should anyone view this as a diminishment of Message of Life. We see the door that the Lord opened as a real opportunity for Message of Life.

First, we are posting videos of our new and improved series on John on our website. Video messages adds a new dimension to the messages. For the first time, my slide presentations are part of our web posting. Generally, our website will have one new video sermon each week.

Second, since our 2010 move to Colorado, we aimed to devote more time to writing. During 2011, we did much writing—some of which has been published, some will soon go to press, and some is for long-term projects. A reduced travel schedule will help. Also, since several ongoing projects concern John’s Gospel, pulpit ministry is a great assistance.

Third, with Harvey Park’s assistance, Message of Life has funding for writing projects previously relegated to the back-burner. These include a fresh translation of John’s Gospel which will accompany a forthcoming commentary. In other words, we see the Lord enabling Message of Life to accomplish more than ever before.

For Seminary and Conferences

Our ministry at Rocky Mountain Seminary continues. We train expositors and exegetes in New Testament Greek.

We will present papers at Grace Evangelical Society’s national conference in April. We are proposing papers for both ETS (the Evangelical Theological Society) and for SBL (Society of Biblical Literature) in November.

Summary

We look forward to what the Lord does both at Harvey Park and with Message of Life. The two ministries complement each other. We have always sought to balance ministry: to unbelievers, to believers in our local church and elsewhere, and in the seminary classroom. This remains the same.

What Is Fruit?

Passages like the Parable of the Soils (Mt 13:1-9 // Mk 4:1-9 // Lk 8:4-8) and the Interpretation of the Parable of the Soils (Mt 13:18-23 // Mk 4:14-20 // Lk 8:11-15) have been twisted into justifications of fruit inspection. That is, many view Luke 8:14-15 as excusing their speculation whether John Doe has enough fruit, or if he is heading toward the lake of fire. They often muse: “No fruit; no root.”

Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

As a preliminary question: What is fruit here? That is, if Jesus really intended fruit inspection here, one would need to know what qualifies as fruit. Actually, the passage gives the answer: The seed is the word of God (Luke 8:11b).

Someone may object that v 11 defines seed, not fruit. Not so fast. The sower sows seed (presumably wheat or barley). The seed germinates and the plants grow. Eventually, the farmer harvests the crop. What is the fruit? It is grain (i.e., seed). In other words, the farmer sows seed and harvests seed. Fruit equals seed equals word.

Luke 8:12 says that Satan seeks to take away the word (the seed) so that first-soil people will not “believe and be saved.” Therefore, seed (fruit) refers particularly to portions of the word containing the life-giving message for unbelievers.

In light of this, when Jesus speaks about fruit here, He refers to believers ripening to the point of transmitting the seed, the message of life, to unbelievers. In other words, fruitful believers are ones who, in turn, plant the seed in unbelievers. People preoccupied with trying to inspect fruit are generally, themselves, unfruitful at best.

One other thing must be said, though. Fruit inspectors are self-appointed, because God did not appoint them. These people view soils 1-3 as unbelievers, whereas, in reality, soils 2-4 are believers. Only soil 1 fails to believe (v 12). Soils 2-3 are no more productive than self-appointed fruit inspectors, but soils 2, 3, and 4 germinated (came to life through belief in Christ). From the farmer’s perspective, only soil 4 is productive, but from the standpoint of the field, soils 2-4 have life. Soils 2-3 will suffer loss at the Bema Seat, but they are believers. Those who inspect fruit should cease and desist. What Jesus wants is for believers to share the life-giving seed, the message of life.

Video Sermons in the Gospel of John

John recently started a new series in the Gospel of John at Harvey Park Baptist Church. We are recording these sermons and are posting them in the Sermons and Teaching section (Gospel of John Sermons). The old series in the Gospel of John are still accessible, but are archived on a separate page (Gospel of John Archive). While designing a new video webpage, we are posting the videos on youtube as a stopgap measure. Along with video, audio and notes are posted as usual.

Message of Life Ministries' New Newsletter

We sent out a newsletter in December with articles and reporting Message of Life's doings from the past year. If you would like to subscribe to our newsletter, contact John at john@mol316.com. Here is the online version: December 2011 Newsletter.