To God’s Beloved At Cloverdale Baptist Church:
The world is descending into chaos, or at the very least showing itself in the chaos.
So how do we as Christians respond when the world seems to have gone mad. I don’t just mean intersectionality, or the agenda of those who are against God’s view of sexuality and humanity, or even what is happening in Israel, Ukraine, and so many more places…we have been covering a lot of this in our Discipleship Hour class, but as many who get this don’t attend, think worth our time to review.
HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND AS FOLLOWERS OF JESUS?
Not Surprised: We are not friends with the world, and should be thankful for this, as no friend of God can be…James 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:12; John 14:1-6…and many more. This world is not our home, and as we live in light of eternity we should praise God for the reminder that we are His and belong to His Kingdom (2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 1 Peter 2:11-12). The world is a place where we are to live on mission, not live in comfort. So let us be loyal to God and His Word and be willing to pay the cost to be His loyal followers (Luke 9:23).
Not Denying: Call Evil, Evil & Good, Good: This is so important, as we seek to honour Him we must use His Word to evaluate what we believe and how we view what is going on around us. It is easy to feel our way to truth on all sides, so this is a call for us to make sure that what we call evil and what we call good comes from God’s perspective (Romans 1:16-32; Isaiah 5:20).
This is a call to spend more time in God’s Word than in front of the TV, or online. Get our worldview from Him, and not our favourite news sights, or Fox, or CNN…or even our friends and their Facebook pages….
(I realize this is not easy, and takes hard work and discipline, so acknowledge this).
Prayerful: We must be a people of prayer, a house of prayer. This means privately and corporately. At all times our prayer meetings should be full, and our private lives intimate with God and depending on Him…Romans 12:12 calls for us to be CONSTANT IN PRAYER...but in times of obvious chaos it is even more important.
Oh that we would join in together at times like this, and ALWAYS!
If you are in angst because of what our world is experiencing, call a partner in prayer, come to our prayer meetings, ALWAYS PRAY AND DON’T GIVE UP (Luke 18:2)…if you realize the importance of responding to the chaos in a courgious Christlike manner, the first place you should be is a prayer meeting!
Passionate: One of the ways that the demonic realm attacks is to distract us from Jesus and His mission for us in building the church and reaching people. We must always be more passionate about our relationship with Jesus and serving His body than we are about events in the world. The commands God gives for pursuing health and unity in the church are more intense and numerous than engaging in the worlds wars.
We must obey God and His Word, He is our Lord and Savior, and this means making a priority what He does.
Review passages like, Philippians 1:21; Psalm 138:2; Isaiah 66:2; Ephesians 4:11-16; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8 and so many more, and as you do seek to ENGAGE in life and ministry so that together we can increase our impact on the world. More important than our good works is our first love devotion to Jesus!
We should hate evil, love good, stand up against those who threaten the vulnerable and terrorists, and even more we should serve Jesus and His bride, and share the Gospel with people so that they can be forgiven and fully devoted.
There are a few special things that can get my heart engaged, and one of them is when terrorism hits Israel. I am reminded in this to walk by faith, not by sight…and to keep my eyes on Jesus as I pray and pursue His will for His glory in times like these!
So that leads me to my last response.
Faith Filled: We are called to live lives of faith, and this faith not only saves us (Ephesians 2:1-10), it helps us to live lives that please God (Hebrews 11:1, 6). We are to walk by faith and not by sight as those filled with the Holy Spirit and passionate about our relationship with Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:8).
- God is GOOD: Romans 8:32…we can trust that He knows what is best and is accomplishing what is best, and that He is a GOOD GOD!
- God is ALL WISE: Romans 11:33…He not only knows what is best (all knowing), His way of accomplishing that is best. He is at work, and can be trusted, even when we are confused and see the chaos (Job 1:21-22, 2:10; Genesis 45:7-8; 50:20; Acts 2:23; 4:28)
- God is SOVEREIGN: Ephesians 1…He is all powerful, but more than that, He rules, and from His throne nothing and no one escapes His Sovereign plan. No one can compete with His power, no one can stop His plan. Matthew 10:29-31 is a great place to go for some Sparrowology!
- God is PERSONAL & LOVING: Romans 8:28-29-39…He is at work and notices us. He cares about each of us individually and as a part of His family. Nothing goes unnoticed by Him, and He will care for His own (Isaiah 40).
We will not always see this, and there is an eternal plan that we must fixate on, but it is TRUE, and we can be confident and faith filled no matter what chaos is going on around us. He not only notices me and my life, and my pain and pleasures, He notices all things in the world!
Once we have responded in those areas (and are ongoingly growing in each), we can then realize that…
God has chosen US to be a part of His response as we walk by faith and not by sight: Ephesians 2:10
It is in this sense we are His hands and feet…so we must be:
- Gospel Oriented
- Word Saturated
- Worldview Shifted
- Battle Engaged As Ephesians 6 Demands
- Active In Protecting the vulnerable
These are the things we are covering in Discipleship Hour and could take a book, and many of you have already stopped reading, well, not you, but others....so will not cover them here today, but warn you, don't respond to chaos the worlds way like many on the religious right, or liberal left, do it God's way!
His way has great personal engagement and involves all we are all the time for His glory as living sacrifices, as those bought with a price...so please ENGAGE! God's way for God's GLORY!
Suffice it to say, we MUST RESPOND at times like these, and at all times, in ways that glorify God, engage with His will, and the world around us.
May He give us the passion to do it in intimacy with Him, the power to help others see the glory of the gospel, and provide the wisdom that we would help to protect the vulnerable in our sphere of influence and beyond.
Some of you will struggle with this email, may I encourage you to email me and express your concerns and opinions, with two conditions…make sure you have read the Scriptures given in this email, and include in your concerns where from God’s Word you would base your encouraged responses.
Always good to be Word saturated, not World saturated, even in response to evil, actually especially in response to evil.
Hamas is evil, and their attacks on Israel are to be condemned, and as Christians we have so much more to say about hope and the Gospel. As you respond to the chaos in life, keep your mind captivated by God and His Word, and your heart hopeful in His promises!
As Colossians so powerfully states, He is all and in all!
Your servant for His glory, seeking to help you live in the world but not of the world,
Pastor Rob
Sunday Is Coming
Text: Matthew 28:18-20
Title: ENGAGE With Life: On His Mission
- Read the text
- What is the mission that God has called you to?
- What is a disciple?
- How do you make disciples?
- Take the time to present the Gospel in under 3 minutes to someone you know is already a Christian.
- Why is it important to teach people all that God has commanded us?
- How can you be involved in this mission in your sphere of influence? How can you be in this mission with us as your church family?
- Why is it important to remember that God is with you always?
Bulletin
Annual General Meeting
Wed. Oct 25th / 7:00 pm / Sanctuary We’ll be conducting usual general business, and sharing ministry reports, financial report and other updates. Please note that childcare will not be provided. For more information or questions, please contact the church office.
NewComers’ Lunch (New Date)
Sunday, Oct 29th / After Service / Fellow. Hall Join us for lunch if you are new to Cloverdale Baptist in the last 6 months! We’ll share with you who we are, what we stand for, and make you aware of our ministries. Pastor Rob will host a Q&A. No registration required.
Baptism Sunday — New Date
Sunday, Nov. 12th / During Service If you would like to be baptized, please talk to one of our pastors or contact the church office.
Thanksgiving Offering
The 2023 Thanksgiving offering will be in support of the Langley Food Bank and will remain open until October 31st, 2023. Please mark your envelopes or electronic gifts accordingly.
Discipleship Classes
Every Sunday / 9:00 AM / For All Ages We believe in the importance of sound biblical education for all. That’s why every Sunday at 9:00am, we have an hour of teaching and discipling for all children, youth, and adults, where we can all grow in our understanding of the scriptures and the Christian life. Learn more >
Operation Christmas Child Boxes
Samaritan’s Purse OCC Shoeboxes are available for pick-up in the foyer. Please fill the shoeboxes with necessities and a toy to bless a child and return by Sunday, Nov. 12th. If you have any questions please contact Lorraine Moen.
How Should We Engage in Politics?
▶ The Cloverdale Baptist Podcast Seven points for Christians to consider when engaging in politics as aliens of this world and citizens of heaven.
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts, as well as on our website.
Assistive Listening
We are pleased to announce Assistive Listening for the hard of hearing. Listen to our service in-house in real time using your own smartphone and headset. Follow our step-by-step guide to get started.
