Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
“I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:16.)
Fancy learning that this is part of how you disciple a new Christian. You learn how to make them a disciple of Jesus. So you help them understand they have been transferred out of darkness into the light of Christ, that they have been given to Christ by the Father, that they are now an heir of the kingdom of God, God’s adopted child, now washed perfectly clean in his sight. Instead of being enslaved to the idol of the day they are now set free to live as they were made to live. Instead of living in fear of death they know that nothing at all is able to cut them off from the Cross-centered love of God. And they are now enlisted in a work whose effects will not stop when they pass from this life, but will last into eternity.
And then you learn that an essential part of your discipling is to help this new disciple understand “how much he must suffer for my name”. This is “discipling 101” for the disciple of the apostle Paul. I may have been deaf, but I have never heard of someone discipling a new believer with words like these.
We know how this worked out in the life of the apostle. As Ananias was told by the Lord, in terms of Isaiah 49 Paul (Saul) was God’s chosen instrument to carry his name before the Gentiles and their kings and the people of Israel. He was to be the first world evangelist. And he was. And we know how much he suffered for the Name – even dying for It. But is that us?
Not exactly, but almost. Paul was a unique trailblazer. And he did suffer for the Name. In 2 Timothy, towards the end of his life, he asked Timothy to recall what he had seen of Paul’s life. “You know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance”, – and then – “persecutions, sufferings.” And he goes on, “In fact everyone who desires to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:10 – 13)
Yet we easily leave this out in our discipling of one another. And then we are surprised when we hear news of believers being persecuted – yes, in Australia as well as elsewhere – and think it’s not normal. And in the Australian community where Christianity has long held a privileged position we Christians are outraged when some of our privileges are attacked or withdrawn.
I’m not saying we should just take whatever comes our way without a whimper. But we serve a Saviour who suffered death at the hands of the elite of his day; we have as a brother in the faith one who was told he would suffer much for the sake of that Saviour’s name; and we are told that suffering persecution is in our DNA. We don’t go looking for it but we must expect it and not be dismayed that we are counted worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of the Name. (Acts 5:41)
Living a godly life in Christ Jesus means not so much being pious, but more, continuing to live by God’s revealed truth. Living by the Bible. Resisting attempts from within and without to water down the truth of God’s word.
Which leads me to prayer. We demonstrate that we live by the Bible by treating God as the perfect Sovereign Creator the Bible reveals him to be. We acknowledge our utter dependence on him in all things and so accept his open invitation to bring everything to him in prayer.
As promised, here are some suggestions for your prayers this week focusing on various ministries close to our churches engaged in making disciples prepared for the opposition that will inevitably come:
For our schools:
Broughton Anglican College: Pray for the year 12 students as they continue to cope with the impact of the pandemic on study and life; pray for Mark Schroder, School Chaplain, in his ministry to both students and staff, in the classroom and outside.
St Peter’s Primary: Give thanks for the perseverance of our St. Peter’s community and the way they continue to adapt to change in these strange and uncertain times. Pray that St. Peter’s would maintain our goal of being unashamedly Christian.
Campbelltown Anglican Schools Council: Pray for our parish Council, due to elect two new members to the Schools’ Council in October; Pray for the Council to continue working hard to develop plans for the future.
For Michael Duckett and Macarthur Indigenous Church: Praise God for the new home and property in Wedderburn being set up for ministry and cultural training and as a peaceful and inspiring setting for all kinds of gospel possibilities. COVID-19 restrictions have hit Aboriginal gatherings of all kinds hard. Pray for our church to demonstrate more and more the love of God in Christ to our community. Thank God for opportunities for Michael to speak to school and church groups about how Black Lives Matter to God.
For Jason and Heather Veitch, Eliana, Sarah and Hannah as the twins prepare for HSC exams, as the family cares for their church grieving the loss of their minister later this year.
Pray for our wardens and parish council as they prepare to sell the former rectory and purchase a new one. Ask God that this may all happen in time for the Veitch family to move in during January.
Pray for year 12 students who are part of our churches as they face exams in a very strange setting.
Prayerfully yours,
Deryck Howell,
Senior Acting Rector