Pastor Joe Fuiten, March 2, 2003

 

Scripture Reference:  1 Timothy 3:1-7   Page 839

“Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer^[1], he desires a noble task. 2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate^[2], self-controlled,^[3] respectable, ^[4]hospitable,^[5] able to teach,^[6] 3 not given to drunkenness,^[7] not violent^[8] but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.^[9] 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation^[10] with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.”

 

            Before we consider this text, I want to comment on the situation with Mika Nguyen. We are all praying for Mika Nguyen.  Since late Thursday night he has been virtually brain dead.  Apparently an aneurysm, compounded by a disorder that does not allow his blood to clot adequately, put so much pressure on the brain that it was severely injured.  The family has put off a decision to today at noon take him off life support.  The people in our 20’s group have been marvelous in their faithful prayer support and in supporting Mika’s family who are Buddhist.  Mika has been such a key leader in our 20’s group that it comes as an incredible shock to everyone.

Pastor Craig will be speaking to the 20’s at their usual meeting on Tuesday.  Prior to their next gathering, there are a couple of issues that I would like to raise for your consideration.  First, a sub-leader from another church has suggested that if the people had enough faith, Mika would have his brain virtually raised from the dead.  This seems right at first glance but I want to offer two cautions to you about taking that approach.  One, faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit.  If we have it, we have it because the Holy Spirit gives it to us.  It cannot be manufactured.  Two, Jesus said that faith the size of a grain of mustard seed will move mountains.  To talk of “enough faith” is to miss this very important point.  If it turns out that Mika dies, this kind of statement adds a second burden to those who have prayed.  Suddenly it becomes their fault for not having enough faith.  This kind of thinking comes from a little bit of truth, but not enough wisdom in the ways of God.

Second, some people inevitably wonder if the devil had done this.  Mika was a very fine man of God.  As such, his life was in the hands of God.  Without God’s permission, the devil would have no rights to Mika’s body.  This is not a victory for the devil.  Even if he dies, we have God’s word that says in Psalms 116:15    “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”

Third, people wonder why. I know that it is very difficult when a young godly person has these kinds of things happen to them.  We don’t understand it.  I think this is what the early church must have wondered when various of the Apostles were taken from them.  It would have seemed like their ministries were so needed and they were such men of God.  It is not possible for us to know why the Apostles were taken so early in their lives or why Mika has suffered this situation.  We cannot know why but we can trust in God.

I want to say to all the 20’s that you have done the right thing by your prayers and God has heard your prayers and is touched by them.  Now we will leave it in God’s hands and serve him no matter what the outcome might be.

 

 

The Overseer is the episkope, or bishop.  Assemblies of God churches call this person Pastor.  Paul lets us know that this is a noble task.  It is something beautiful and outstanding to be a Pastor or Overseer.  Furthermore, it is something to which a person can aspire.

Assemblies of God churches have tended to emphasize the divine call.  God certainly does specifically call people to ministry by some distinct impression or understanding.  However, there are many Pastors who have served the Lord well, who simply felt the desire to pursue this kind of ministry.  Paul notices that here.  A person can set their heart on being a pastor.  If they do so, they are in pursuit of a good task.

To read more about the call of God and the different ways that it becomes evident to people go to http://www.cedarpark.org/cedarparkftp/callto97.htm.  These are notes that I have used in teaching young Pastors at Northwest College about the call of God.

Today is Branch Church Sunday.  At the conclusion of the service we will be receiving an offering for our two newest branch churches Cedar Park Family Church in Lake Stevens and Cedar Park Eastside at our Totem Lake Campus.  We intend to underwrite these two ministries to the tune of $15,000 for the year and we want to use this offering for this purpose. I invite those who join us by radio or internet to help us with these two new churches.  You might want to check them out or even write a check to help us expand.

 

The dream of being a Pastor is a tremendous dream.  I pray that the brightest and the best will have that dream.  We come to this topic because it is time for a new generation to step into leadership.  Of the 1300 AG ministers that we have in this state, I am the average age.  We have as many over 65 as we do under 40.  Many opportunities are opening for ministry with many more to come in the years just ahead.

I was happy to be a part of the ministerial credentialing interviews last week.  We had two Cedar Park people, Jon Stanfill and Steve Bolen applying to be ministers.  Last fall we had three.  Cedar Park is the #1 church in sending students to Northwest College. Many of those students train for some type of ministry.  These are good signs for the future.

In addition to that, we are in ministry expansion mode.  With these two new church branches, we will have 9 Sunday morning services.  We have three branch schools besides what is here in Bothell.  We are about ready to see our Counseling ministry expand into additional sites.  There are lots of ways to think about these changes.  For my part, I see them as opportunities for new leaders to emerge and for new ministry to take place.  I think there is new opportunity for regular members of Cedar Park Bothell to help build God’s work.  You can get involved and make this a great place; a catalyst kind of place where good things happen.

Where are these kinds of dreams born?  They are born in two ways.  When we encounter inspirational people and environments, it creates something inside of us.  We want to do the same thing.  The other key factor is the spiritual environment.  Tonight, when our tag-team of preachers considers Acts 13, one of the ideas will be to emphasize that worship, prayer, and fasting produces the desire for ministry.  Whenever the people are lifted in worship and the presence of God fills a place, people want to do more to serve God.  When people begin to fast and pray, the desire for service increases.  We come to love the presence of God and just can’t get enough of it.

For me as a Pastor, it is very energizing to see young men and women wanting to take on leadership roles in the church.  It makes me want to do better and be a better example.