Dear Missouri Baptist churches,
It is quite possible that this will be the last article before our annual meeting at Faith Baptist Church on October 9, 2021 convening at 9 AM, so I want to use this opportunity to prepare you for what you’re going to hear and what “I believe” God is asking us to do as an association to prepare for a missions reset in our state.
This began in May at the mid-year meeting, where I shared with you the BMAMO missions assessment and the resulting pamphlet that guides someone wanting to raise the bar of our missions awareness.
Why would we start here? Well, let me answer that question by my own experience. As Bethel’s pastor I am striving to do a better job of educating and guiding our church in the area of missions, what we are currently doing as a national association, and how we should be involved on all association levels. The blunt reality of it is that we are under-performing as an association when it comes to missions efforts even within our own churches and certainly when it comes to planting churches. My vision if you will, and the vision that I’m striving to cast starting last May and now in October and beyond, is to raise the bar of awareness in our own churches as to what we are already doing as an association and then to raise the bar of action in our participation and great commission skills.
About 20 some odd years ago now, I heard perhaps one of the greatest messages I have ever heard by Charlie Holmes and it was called “the three prayers that God always answers,” that are found in John 14, 15, and 16. Each verse ends with “ask anything in My name and My Father will do it.” That is a rough paraphrase but that’s essentially what is stated, however the context for each verse is different.
John 14:13,14 “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”
John 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”
John 16:23 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.”
These are the three verses that Charlie went on to expound upon and this is the long and short of that message and honestly the impetus of what I’m striving to do!
When you go by the context of these three chapters, the context of all three statements is different.
Statement #1 in John 14 – the context is the work of the kingdom
Statement # 2 in John 15 – the context is the fruit that is to be bore by believers
Statement #3 in John 16 – the context is the spirit of God
So we have these three summations of these three chapters and these three statements: ask whatsoever ye will in my name and I will do it.
These are not in the order that they are presented here in scripture.
Prayer #1 based on John 16 – the prayer that God will always answer is GOD HELP ME TO KNOW YOU.
If you and I are soaking in the spirit of God and the word of God, the spirit of God is going to speak to us through the word of God and we’re going to know him. This is the most basic element and none more important for the repentant sinner than for him to be inextricably connected to his Savior and his God!
Prayer #2 found in John 14 – LET US IN ON YOUR KINGDOM WORK
As you grow in your relationship with God, you’re going to want to bless God, you’re going to want to serve him. The only way to effectively serve God is to get involved in his kingdom work. What is his kingdom work? Sharing his gospel, living a holy life, growing in the gospel as a disciple, and ultimately reaching other people for the gospel’s sake.
Prayer #3 is found in John 15 – LORD HELP US TO BEAR YOUR FRUIT!
As you and I grow in our love relationship with Jesus Christ, and as we ask Him to show us where he is working, we can’t help but to bear the two types of fruit: inner fruit and outer fruit. The inner fruit is the fruit of the spirit, and couldn’t we all do with a good dose of the fruit of the spirit? “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, against such there is no law,” according to Galatians 5:22. And then the outward fruit of soul-winning and discipleship.
Pastor, as you and your church apply the loving challenges that are found in the BMAMO benchmark assessment, you will fulfill these three areas. It is my humble opinion that as we apply ourselves to this approach of raising the bar in our knowledge and awareness of what we’re already doing as an association and then raise the bar in our own lives of being missionaries to our world through prayer and evangelistic action, our churches will grow and we will plant more churches. Isn’t that what we were created for?
I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming meetings.
Bro. Ben Kingston
