For the last three weeks we’ve been talking about how God gives people vision, and when they walk in that vision, he builds upon it to bring about his good purposes even when there’s strife along the way. Every time God gives his vision and builds upon it, strife happens, because redeemed people still struggle with sin in a sinful world. And so we talked about how God called the Christian and Missionary Alliance to vision in the 1880s, and how God built upon that vision for the next twenty-five years, and how the fledgling group met strife in the early part of the 1900s. We’ve also talked about the vision that God gave a little Bible study in Quartzsite in the late 1970s, how he built upon it to join with the Alliance in 1984, and how strife hit it several times throughout it’s forty years of ministry.
So what happens after the vision of God meets the strife of sinful humanity? In the last few weeks this is where I’d give you a story to illustrate the point, but this week we’re going to look at three biblical examples of how God desires us to move forward in his vision after we’ve encountered strife. Then I’ll share with you how the Alliance, and we here at this ministry are moving forward.
We turn first to Genesis chapter 50 starting in verse 15. Here’s the story that leads up to this moment. Joseph was a young man that experienced two dreams of future events. In them, his family bowed low to him, even though he was the youngest of the bunch. This coupled with his father’s favor towards him over his brothers, created jealousy between the siblings. In the end, his brothers sold him into slavery, telling his father that he was killed by an animal.
Jospeh was taken to Egypt, sold to be a servant of the captain of Pharaoh’s guard. There Jospeh flourished because of God’s grace, yet he met strife once again when his master’s wife made advances towards him. But Jospeh rejected and fled from her, and because of his rejection, she accused him of attempted rape. Jospeh was sent to prison, and spent a considerable amount of time there, but, again, by Gods grace, Jospeh flourished. He became an interpreter of dreams to two of Pharaoh’s servants who were imprisoned there. When the one got out, he forgot what Jospeh did for him. But one day the Pharaoh had a dream that no one could interpret, that’s when the servant remembered Jospeh. Jospeh interpreted the dream and was made second only to Pharaoh. Through this, Egypt adverted devastation from a famine, and the fledgling nation of Israel was saved as well. It’s here at the end of the story that we come to Genesis 50:15.
“15 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.’ 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, ‘Your father gave this command before he died: 17 “Say to Joseph, ‘Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.’" And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.’ Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, ‘Behold, we are your servants.’ 19 But Joseph said to them, ‘Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.’ Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”
Our next story brings us to the Gospel of John chapter 21, again beginning in verse 15. The story that leads up to this moment begins at the last supper of Jesus and his disciples right before Jesus is betrayed, crucified, and resurrected. Jesus speaks a prophetic word to his twelve closest disciples, that one of them was going to betray him. Of course all denied it, with Peter stating the loudest that he would go to death with Jesus if given the chance. It’s with this declaration that Jesus tells Peter that he will deny his Savior three times before the rooster crows three times.
After the meal, Jesus takes the group, minus one, to a garden to pray and prepare. It’s here that guards come to take away Jesus. In a moment of defiance, Peter slices off the ear to one of the guards. Jesus rebukes Peter and heals the man, and Peter flees. As Jesus is taken through the city through beatings and trials, Peter fulfills the prophecy of denying Jesus three times. Jesus is sentenced, crucified, and laid in a tomb. The disciples shrink back in fear of what is to come. But on the third day, the tomb is empty! Jesus has arisen! And for the next forty days, Jesus teaches his disciples what follows strife. It’s here that we pick up Peter’s lesson in John 21:15.
“15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ 16 He said to him a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ 17 He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. 18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’”
Our final moment comes in two parts of Scripture, first in Acts chapter 15, starting in verse 36, and then in 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 11. The lead up to this first part in Acts 15:36, comes after Paul and Barnabas have already had a fruitful partnership in sharing the Good News of Jesus’ death and resurrection with people. But in Acts 13, one of the younger members of their party, John Mark, leaves because of the persecution they faced. In addition to this persecution from the world around, strife from within the Church itself occurred when some Jewish-Christians began trying to bring Gentiles under the Mosaic Law. In Acts 15, a council was held to address the issue and it is found that Paul and Barnabas are correct in not calling the Gentiles to the Jewish law, but to simply follow Jesus as the Lord leads. From this victory Paul and Barnabas decide to embark on another journey sharing the Gospel. It’s at the beginning of this next trip that we begin to read in Acts 15:36.
“36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.’ 37 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. 38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.”
About fourteen years after the events of Acts 15, Paul pens his final letter to Timothy, and in 2 Timothy 4:11, there is a reference that closes the chapter on the strife in Acts 15:36-40. The verse reads, “11 Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.”
In each of these moments that follow strife, the response of godly people are always the same, forgiveness, grace, and faithfulness in moving forward. Jospeh, Jesus, and Paul all showed forgiveness and grace by not holding on to the sins that happened against them. Though the brothers sold Jospeh into slavery, Jospeh forgave them, and showed them grace by recognizing God’s work through their evil. Jesus forgave Peter by bringing him back into a position of leadership and teaching. Paul forgave Mark by requesting his presence.
Each also faithfully moved forward in that forgiveness and grace. Jospeh provided for his brothers and their families, comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Jesus, called Peter to feed the sheep, not once but three times showing a full restoration to Peter’s life. Paul embraced Mark and proclaimed that he was valuable to his ministry.
From each of these God continued to build. Under Jospeh, the nation of Israel flourished for the next hundred+ years. Peter led the early Church through it’s formative development and gave his life for his Savior. Mark, who was led by the Spirit to write the Gospel of Mark and eventually gave his life for his Savior soon after Paul’s death.
Scripture shows us that God gives vision, he builds upon that vision, sin brings strife to the vision, but forgiveness and grace picks up the pieces and faithfully moves forward with what God has said to do.
The national Alliance has had strife, and is currently going through strife, but as of today, there are over 380,000 worshipers here in the US, worshiping in over 1,900 local ministry bodies, in almost 40 languages, with 50 new local churches planted this past year. There are currently 683 international workers serving among 150 people groups, in over 140 cities, with 42 new works sent out this past year. The world-wide Alliance has 60 autonomous national churches, one being our brothers and sisters in Canada. There is a network of over 25,000 local bodies of believers, in 88 countries, with a total number of believers connected through the Alliance work of 6 million people.
This isn’t to pat the Alliance on the back, or to diminish the work of other Gospel focused denominations. It’s to show how even through strife, God works for his good, through forgiveness, grace, and faithfulness in moving forward in his vision.
I shared with you, that back in 2013 there was group that thought we needed to cut youth expenses; things like vans and the youth pastor, because if we didn’t the whole ministry was going to collapse. Since then, God has richly blessed us to where our finances, except for one summer, have been steady, and the Lead Pastor hasn’t missed a paycheck. Our impact, and involvement through service in the community has never been higher. This ministry has experienced several years of relative peace as we move forward together to reach the unreached. And I believe God has set us on a path of continued impact, as long as we move forward in forgiveness, and grace as we faithfully implement his vision for this ministry in Quartzsite.
A part of this moving forward is the name change that the membership voted on last Tuesday. Moving forward, we will go by Arise Alliance Church, because God is calling us to arise to his Gospel work and be lights as the world gets darker and darker. It is a call to all believers to arise, standing up and moving forward as God’s people, commissioned to bringing the Gospel to the nations.
Another way this ministry is moving forward, is that we are beginning our transition from one Lead Pastor to another. This transition will take place over the course of the next two and half years, where I will be stepping down to move to a fledgling ministry in eastern Arizona and, by God’s grace, our Associate Pastor Tony will step into the position and continue the work that God has been doing for the past forty years here.
God has called us to always move faithfully forward in forgiveness and grace in what he has for us. To the nation of Israel in the book of Isaiah chapter 43 verse 19, God speaks of his future vision that culminates in the coming Messiah Jesus. He tells the nation, “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
This is what God is doing here, a new thing is on the horizon. Forty years of work God has done in Quartzsite, and we look forward to either our Lord’s return or forty more years of work. Either way, God is making rivers in this desert and in the desert of the lives that live here.
For us today, God is calling us to move forward in forgiveness and grace, and faithfully holding onto the vision that he has for us. That we would be people marching forward in the Gospel, rolling with the strife of this life through forgiveness and grace, with our focus always on our Savior.
My challenge for you this week is to seek the Lord asking, “Lord make me your person who responds to strife with forgiveness and grace, and who always has the vision of the Gospel and your return as my focus.”
Let us be God’s people in a dying world, who point others to the life that is in Jesus, so that when God’s vision comes to a close at the judgment seat of Christ, we will be those who hear the words of our Master, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Amen.
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