Crazy Provision

  
     Since coming to Hong Kong the Lord has led us to trust in Him for provision. There have been times where we have had more then what we need and times where we live from week to week. Sometimes we have lived from day to day but always have had what we need. Lately our provision has been unstable but mostly just scraping by. It is during these periods of time that I have been tempted to go find a job but so far the Lord has showed our family to keep on with what we are doing.

      God's provision hasn't always made sense in the moment. Not too long ago we were worried that we couldn't pay the rent and after letting key people in our life know God starting providing in some unusual ways. One person that my daughter knows gave us a new ice cream maker. It was one of those electric types that has a compressor so we don't have to buy ice. It makes great ice cream out of powered milk that we buy at the store here but it does use a lot of electricity. Someone else found out our living room air conditioner has been broken and went around to different friends and took up a collection to get us a new air conditioner. The air conditioner  is the largest one in our apartment so it also uses a lot of energy. At the same time we have been very grateful to have that air conditioner working. He has been providing for luxuries in the midst of our struggle for essentials.

     The third thing that happened was my wife and I were invited to house sit for a very nice house  boat. At this time we had just enough money for transport there and back. The boat was in a marina and was part of a exclusive club. Most of the people there would not understand our life style.  The next two weeks we lived in a world that we would never have even dreamed of.
     After that it was back to real life, trusting God for provision,  enjoying ice-cream made with the new machine, enjoying the new air conditioner, and God is still providing for everything we need. Trusting God for provision is never boring and He always comes through.
    

What Should Take Place When We Meet



Living Stones

 

     1 Corinthians chapters 12 to 14 tell us a lot about what to do when we gather together. Because the Corinthians were so excited about Spiritual Gifts, their meetings sometimes could be chaotic because everyone was doing their own thing. This may not have been entirely bad. Paul didn't say that what they were doing was wrong, just that the order and how they were doing it was wrong. He then gave them instructions on how to meet in a more orderly fashion. 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 were written to bring some order but not to stop what they were doing.

     1 Corinthians 14:26  says that when they came to gather, each one of them had something to contribute to the meeting. This was not a passive church.  Each one had a song, something to teach, a tongue, a revelation from God, an interpretation of a tongue. They were so excited about what they had that it became a big mess. Nobody wanted to wait their turn. Paul did not try to stop them but instead coached them on how to bring some order to their meetings. His final message in this passage was that each participant needed to make sure that what they were doing would build up the church rather than tear it down. 

      1 Corinthians 12:31 tells us to earnestly desire spiritual gifts. The Greek word for earnestly desire is "dzay-lo'-o" which also has the meaning to covet.   We are not only to desire but to covet the best gifts.  We are not to covet things of the world like money, materialism, worldly power, etc but we can covet those things that come from God. One of the most important things to remember though is that we have to keep our focus on Jesus. We can not put the gifts above Him.

      The gifts include ministry gifts like the list in 1 Corinthians 12:28 and Ephesians 4:11 including apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, miracles, healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Since we are told to covet these gifts I don't believe that God would tell us to have that strong of a desire for these gifts if we couldn't obtain them. I believe that everyone has been called into these ministries as we mature and they are not just for a few people. Certainly not limited to those that have been to seminary. In fact Ephesians 4:12  states that these gifts are for the perfecting(equipping) of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: The Greek word that has been translated perfecting in the KJV is "katartismos" and it means to equip.

 

     Among ministry being done in various parts of the world, it is those that are multiplying themselves that are growing the fastest. Thousands of people are becoming Christians and as they learn how to live the Christian life. They are then equipped and taught to equip others. Because of this focus, churches in these parts of the world are growing more quickly than in areas where the church has existed for thousands of years, but have lost the vision to equip and release.

 

The Hong Kong Anywhere Church

     When it comes to where and how to meet, there are thousands of opinions. That's why there are so many denominations and beliefs. As a new believer, I wanted to know what the perfect church was from reading the Bible. Then, I would know which one to attend. Ha Ha Ha. Most of the New Testament was written to correct the church even from the beginning. In other words, the churches that Paul started were not perfect. So, I found out by looking and being a part of different churches, that the "Perfect Church" and "Perfect Christian" do not exist.

     To know me well is to know that I'm very passionate about what church is supposed to be like. I'm like most people, so there are things that I like and there are things that I believe should be in a church. I am not like some of my friends that feel that God has made it a command to meet in a house.  Or like other friends that believe you should meet in a very large group before you can call it a church. Although I had a church in my home for three years and enjoyed the experience, I have not found in the Bible any command to only meet in homes.

     I have gone to several of the largest churches in Hong Kong and have friends there. I love and respect the pastors of those churches but still enjoy smaller churches. Whenever a church is over three-hundred people, I start to feel lost. There have been times friends and pastors have told me that a house church is not a real church, because in their mind the Greek word for church means a large assembly. I haven't found this to be true from the studies that I have done.

     Acts 2:46 says they went to the temple and from house to house. Acts 3:1 says they went to the temple to pray. In Acts 5:20, they also went to the temple to tell people the gospel. In Acts 5:12, the church had a healing and miracle service in Solomon's porch. This was a huge building. I came to the conclusion that God doesn't care where you meet as long as you come together to meet. The important thing is what you do when you meet. More on that in a later blog.

     In Hong Kong, it costs a lot of money to rent or own a place to meet. Most people work extremely long hours and usually have rotating days off. Many Christians burn out trying to go to church in the traditional way. If the church isn't taken to the people, there is no way they will even go to church.

     I have a friend that works for an insurance company that started a fellowship in his office. His group became number one in his insurance company. I have other friends that have started churches in areas just to meet the need that is there. I know of several churches just for movie stars, so they won't be chased by paparazzi. There are some churches in Hong Kong that can't afford to rent space so they meet in restaurants. In different countries, there are intentional churches planted and they multiply before they get big, so more people will believe in Jesus. These are some of the fastest growing movements in church history.
     There is a church here in Hong Kong that meets in a restaurant each week. They reserve the whole place and buy a meal for each person that comes to the meeting. The offerings they take up must pay for the meals. One time, I talked to the pastor of the church and he said that they had planted six other churches from that one church.

     I wrote this not to say that any one church is correct or incorrect. I wanted to try to stimulate people to take their view of the church out of the box and try to take the church to the people. Jesus said in Matthew 18:20 that where two or three people are gathered in his name He would be there. I don't believe Jesus cares where believers meet as long as he is being lifted up.
     One of my dreams is to see groups of people meeting every day or night. Whether that is in their work place, in restaurants, parks, or even in a church building.