Aug 9
2019
Growing Christians God's Way, part 2
We learned that we need to submit to God’s will in our trials, because He uses them to conform us to the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). Our trials are not merely cold circumstances of this cruel world which come upon us by chance. They come from the hand of our sovereign God who loves us deeply and desires our growth in godliness. As we endure suffering, we find our joy in, “fixing our eyes upon Jesus the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joyset before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2).
We can learn much from James’s teaching. As Christians, we can face great difficulty for our faith, and we face all the difficulties which are common to man. God does not take us out of this world when He saves us and He does not guard us from difficulties. He uses them to give us endurance and to grow us in godliness. Therefore, we must heed these mandates as we traverse the minefields of life on this side of Heaven.
I have just embarked upon what I hope is a life of pastoral ministry. And by God’s providence, I am now a church planting bi
I believe God is sovereign in all the circumstances which led me to TMS and to Gainesville. I am confident that the Lord called me to TMS, and I am certain that He placed me in Gainesville for His purposes and His glory. He has hemmed me in, behind and before, and has laid His hand upon me (Psalm 139:5). I tried to say no many times, but to no avail. Truly, God has shown me that this is not about me, but about what He is doing with His people in this city.
This is the second entry in a series which chronicles my call to ministry and The Master’s Seminary, and subsequent journey to Grace Bible Church Gainesville.
You might ask, “What makes GBC different?” That’s a good question. We have a passion to systematically preach and teach the full counsel of God (Acts 20:27), and instill a passion in our members for the word of God. We want to share a passion for the word of God through verse by verse expository preaching which does not lose sight of the broader context of Scripture. Put simply, we want to study the bible to understand it as it was written, then explain it, and encourage one another to apply it in our lives.
A little less than three decades later, on January 22, 1973, America experienced what I believe is her lowest point. On that fateful day, the Supreme Court handed down the decision that changed the way we think of unborn babies in giving women the fundamental right under the U.S. Constitution to murder their children while in the safety of the womb.
I realize that God used my time there, every painful situation, every difficult assignment, and every sleep deprived night to prepare me for this sticky Florida Day. TMS trains men because lives depend on it, now me and my family depend upon it, and so do many more who will be affected by the ministry of GBC-Gainesville. I’ve also come to understand that my preparation for ministry started well before my decision to attend TMS. God has used every step of the way to prepare me for this day.