Word of Thanks

I just want to take a moment to thank the ministries and who have thus far partnered with us in our ministry in Lima, Peru. They include: Calvary Chapel, Dallas, TX; Calvary Christian Fellowship, Midland, TX, Calvary Baptist Church, Andrews, TX; Northshore Bible Chapel, Ingleside, TX; Borderland Calvary Chapel, San Benito, TX; Calvary Chapel, Mount Pleasant, TX and Donna Spearman, Houston, TX. Again, a sincere thank you for supporting our ministry. Please pray with us that the Lord will bring more. - Dwayne

Support Update

We just returned from a couple of weeks in West Texas sharing our future ministry in Lima, Peru at the Calvary Chapel Bible College. It was a very good visit. Both Calvary Christian Fellowship in Midland and Calvary Baptist Church in Andrews have come along side of us with one-time offerings and monthly support. We really do appreciate both of those churches and their willingness to partner with us. A special word of thanks to Pastor Steve Westfall (Midland) and Pastor Bill Melton (Andrews) for letting me share with their congregations.

By way of financial update, in one-time offerings, we stand at 6000.00. At least 5000.00 of that will be used for flights and shipping to Peru. The other 1000.00 will go toward truck rental and gas to get out of our current rental home and to take our things to Andrews, Texas where a family has graciously agreed to store them. We are still in need of funds for housing, furnishings, and the boy’s home-schooling curriculum for the upcoming year.

We have already resigned our teaching positions and expect to be in Lima around the second week of August. This will allow us a little time to settle in and prepare for the incoming students and the start of the Fall Semester on the 24th. Please continue to pray about how you and/or your fellowship can be a part of this ministry.

In conclusion, I’ve heard from several who have expressed that they would like to help. All I ask is that you let us know as soon as possible so that we can move forward in the confidence that the Lord has provided for us. I’m sure that all of you know what it feels like to be “hanging out on the limb” like this. Also, I must admit that I’m a whole lot more comfortable teaching than fund raising.

Passing the Blame

Today, we pick up our study in Galatians 6:5 which says,“For every man shall bear his own burden.” Ultimately, God holds us responsible and no one else for our burdens. Unfortunately, we live in a society today in which it’s everybody else’s fault. We, as a society, take no personal responsibility for anything anymore. Well, it’s nothing new. When God confronted Adam for his sin in the Garden of Eden after taking the “forbidden fruit”, Adam responded, “It was the woman that you gave me.” In other words, it’s either her fault or yours, but not mine.

Changing subjects here, v.6 says, “Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.” In other words, the minister should be compensated. It’s amazing how we’ll pay the mechanic to fix our car, the doctor to fix our ills, the school teacher to educate our children, and not want to pay the preacher who ministers to us in the Word. 1 Timothy 5:18 says, “For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain," and, "The laborer is worthy of his wages."

I’ve known so many pastors who are virtually on the edge of starvation because their churches simply will not pay them a decent salary. How sad that is. I don’t think that a pastor should necessarily make more than the average member of the congregation, but nothing says that he should make less either. A man should be worth his salt. If he works hard and serves the congregation well, he should be rewarded accordingly. If he is a lazy sluggard that simply shows up on Sunday morning and delivers a half-hearted message to the people, he should also be rewarded accordingly. In the case of the former, honor and cherish that man of God for being faithful and count yourselves blessed. In the case of the latter, find yourselves a new pastor.

Notice v.7, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” God’s laws will stand regardless of how one feels about them. Here we also see the law of spiritual investment. The way you invest is the way you’re going to reap. In other words, you get back what you put into it. Put much, get much – put little, get little. That’s life my friend.

Self Examination

Today, we pick up our study through Galatians in 6:2 where it says, “Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” In order to properly understand this verse, we must remember v.1 of the same chapter which said, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” What Paul is saying here is that each of us has areas of weakness and we should be willing to help each other with them. Thus, in doing, we fulfill the law of Christ. What is the “law of Christ”? It’s found in John 13:34 where it says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

Notice v. 3, “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.” We are all vulnerable to falling. None of us are above it. I read in a book the other day this quote: “Be careful my brother, for what is in me lies dormant in you also.” That is so true. Truthfully, every one of us is usually only one bad decision from ruin. That is why we must totally depend upon God for every decision. Yes, even the ones that some to be “no-brainers” for us. I’ve found that what I perceive to be my greatest strengths many times end up being my greatest weaknesses? Why? – self-reliance!

Notice v. 4, “But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.” Here Paul goes on to say that we better look deep within ourselves as well. He also said in 1 Corinthians 11:28, “But let a man examine himself…”, and in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves…” Each of us has an obligation to ourselves, others and God to examine our own lives to see where it aligns with Christ and to make adjustments as necessary before we start looking into other people’s lives. In this way, we avoid hypocrisy. Jesus said in Matthew 7:3, “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?”

Restoring Brothers, Part 2

Last week we left off talking about Galatians 6:1 which says, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” As Christians, we have a divine mandate to help others in the faith who are struggling with sin. There is no doubt that it can be very difficult to confront a brother or sister who has obviously erred from the faith, but the writer of Proverbs 27:6 reminds us, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”

Think about it for a moment, who loves you more? Is it the one who simply allows you to walk the wrong way or the one who has the guts to tell you you’re going the wrong way? It reminds me of a time when I worked as a manager of a warehouse in my younger days. I had a competition with the forklift drivers as to who could come up with the best safety slogan. The winner was, “Stop Stupid!” There is a lot of wisdom in those words.

We also see in 1 Corinthians 5 where the Apostle Paul dealt with a problem of one of the younger men in the church who was having a sexual relationship with his stepmother. The church simply would not address the issue and was actually kind of proud of themselves for not dealing with it. Paul rebuked them pretty strongly and told them to throw the young man out of the church. Later, we see in 2 Corinthians that he repented and Paul once again had to intercede and ask them to restore him. Even the early church had a problem with church discipline. Of course, today it is virtually unheard of. To even try to discipline someone today makes you the bad guy. They would probably even try to sue you!

Jesus also dealt with the issue of restoration and the proper steps required in Luke 17:3-4 when he said, “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.” The key to forgiveness and restoration is repentance.

Our Greatest Need

Dear Friends and Family,

As most of you already know, we have committed to come along side of pastor John Bonner and the ministry of Calvary Chapel Bible College in Lima, Peru. This decision has not been reached lightly. We have spent months confirming this call from the Lord. It is a huge step, but one we feel totally convinced as ours for this time.

Once there, I will assume teaching responsibilities at the Bible College and will be directly involved in the lives, ministries and spiritual formation of the students. I will also be involved in the six-week Youth Summer of Missions Program where we will lead teens to serve in evangelism throughout Peru.

We are asking that you prayerfully consider how you might be a part of this ministry. At this point our greatest need is to establish a solid monthly support base that will enable us to remain on the field. Our projected budget need will be $2000.00 per month which includes housing, utilities, ministry expenses, taxes, visas and Shepherd’s Staff administration fees.

We will also need to raise a one time offering of $5000.00 to cover the cost of moving, airfare and shipping costs. We need to be fully supported by July 2009 so that we can proceed with plans to be on the field in time for the start of the Fall semester in August.

To support us, please go to "Support Information". If you feel led to commit to monthly support, please fill out the "Pledge Form" and return to Shepherd's Staff so that we can include you in our monthly budget. Our account number is 4507. God bless you!

Thank you for the many ways you have already been a blessing in our lives. We look forward to partnering with you!

Departure Date

Many have asked about our departure date for Peru. The answer is, Lord willing, the first of August. We have told our current ministry that we will give them a final decision on June 7th. Why June 7th? On that date, our mission board, Shepherd's Staff, will release our donation numbers to us as they do the 7th of every month. If we see that those numbers are reasonably close to what we need for monthly support and "one-time" offerings for flights, moving costs, etc..., we will make the move. If you would like more information, please visit our blog at thespearmanfamily.blogspot.com.

Restoring Brothers, Part 1

Let’s conclude our study of Galatians 5 with the last two verses which say, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” Paul’s concluding remarks in this chapter are simple. If you are a Christian, walk like one. Of course the only way for that to happen is by living and walking in the Spirit instead of the flesh.

Now, let’s move on to Galatians 6:1 which says, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” We have a mandate to try to restore and not to destroy brothers and sisters in Christ who are struggling in their Christian walks. After all, we’ve all struggled at times.

I heard an expression years ago that said that Christians are the only ones who shot their wounded. I’ve seen it enough times to know that it can be true at times. Restoring a struggling brother has been compared to resetting a broken bone. There is no doubt that it must be reset and that it will not be without pain. However, it should be done.

Barnes, in his commentary, says that the mandate here is for the church to “set him right, bring him back and recover him from his errors and his faults.” It is to be done by affectionate admonition, by faithful instruction, and by prayer. Discipline or punishment should not be resorted to until the other methods are tried in vain.

We see the design or model for how these things should be handled when problems arise in Matthew 18:15-17 where it says, “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.” More on this subject next week.

The Kingdom of God

Let’s pick up this week at Galatians 5:24 where it says, “And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” In other words, Christians shouldn’t be doing these things. Paul further elaborated on this in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 when he said, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”

Let’s take a closer look at that verse. First it says that the unrighteous will not go to Heaven. The unrighteous are those who are not “right” with God. Some of the things that they do that expose their “unrighteous” standing with God include fornication. Fornication is sexual relations between two people who are not married. That’s quite a common thing in our day, but nonetheless sinful. Also they are idolaters. That means that they worship other gods which is in direct contradiction to the first of the Ten Commandments which says that we are to not have any god’s before the One True God. Also they are adulterers in that they do not honor their wedding vows. By the way, there are only three Biblical reasons for divorce: death, abandonment and adultery. Notice that money, the in-laws and someone cuter are not among them. Divorce is usually the result of selfishness.

Notice also that the “effeminate” and “abusers of themselves with mankind” will not go to Heaven either. The word “effeminate” means “to become womanly or have the qualities of the female sex or to be soft to the touch or delicate to an unmanly degree.” Yes, it is dealing with the sin of homosexuality. No, God does not approve of the lifestyle regardless of what Hollywood, our new President and those who voted for him says.

Notice also that “thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God” either. Now, this does not mean that those who have
struggled with, or even failed in these areas will not go to Heaven. Instead, it speaks of those who flagrantly and blatantly continue in them. Some would suggest that those who do these things have “lost their salvation.” Might I suggest that they were never truly born again in the first place?

Jude 1-7

I have attached a copy of the message that I taught at Calvary South Austin last weekend under "Most Recent Studies".