(Friday, Jan 10, 2014) We had our first Pastors’ Conference today. I would like to describe how I feel before leading these conferences but I haven’t ever found the right words. It’s a mixture of excitement, humility, oppression, God’s power, and feeling responsible to make this time count for these men who receive very little other training. It is very exhilarating and totally draining at the same time.
This year is different in that all the conferences will be 2 days long. We are using larger buildings so more can come, and by having them come for 2 days I can cover twice the material. So instead of teaching 50 pastors and wives in one village today and 50 more in another village tomorrow we are bringing in 150 to a larger location. It doesn’t take a math genius to realize we train more people and give them twice as much training. It does cost more to help them travel further and to give them more meals and a blanket to sleep in.
Knowing I had an additional day to teach them added to the responsibility of making the best use of the time, My own experience, and the prompting of God’s Spirit, both led me to plan for spiritual warfare to be the main top of the first day. All believers are in a battle, but in some ways it seems even more real here in India.
I am going through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, tracing our warfare with Satan and his forces and how we are to have victory. An overview of the flow of the whole Bible is the basic framework for this study. (If you’d like this material it is taken from my book, Spiritual Warfare and the Bible, which is on my web sites. If you’d like a digital copy emailed to you just email me.). It’s more like telling a story than anything else. But what a wonderful story! It’s the story of God’s involvement with mankind from the beginning. Despite man’s continuing failure God stays faithful. It truly is the greatest story ever told. The best part is that I am in this story, and so are you. It’s the most wonderful romance, mystery, and sometimes humor story ever. It’s the most amazing love story of all time. And while there are some sorrowful parts, it has a great ending. The climax to this story is really just out of this world!
John 4:16 For God so loved the world that He send His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Think about the story God is writing about your life: where it’s been, where it is and where it’s going. Think what it would be without Him. There may be parts of the story line you don’t understand, some you may not even like, but you know where God is going with your story and how it will end. Only it will never end but will continue on forever. Think about these things for a few moments and thank God for these truths.