Tuesday, December 29, 2009

WOMEN. . . Fathers of the Gospel (Part 2)

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WOMEN!
Called To Be Fathers
of the Gospel
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(Part 2)
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Published by Roger & Eileen Himes
(Roger does most of the writing, but Eileen does a lot of editing!)
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GOD'S GOSPEL IS THE ANSWER
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In this series of articles, we are leading you in a gospel thought pattern. It is not sequential and systematic -- an A-B-C type of logic. It is not man's wisdom, or worldly wisdom, but gospel wisdom. Paul says the gospel is the wisdom of God. Paul says the gospel is a mystery. Thus, if you're not open to the mystery, you never see the climax.
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The Bible is not systematic and progressive. Reading the Bible is like reading a mystery novel. It has many parts, and they evolve into a climax. But if you don't follow the various parts, when you get to the conclusion, it doesn't make much sense. God has very many parts to his mystery, but he does have a climax.
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Too often we miss the climax because we think it is yet future. We think it is the second coming of Christ. It is not. The second coming is an absolute in that Acts 1:11 says Jesus will come back the same way he left. But this is not the climax. This is like 'The Afterword' in a novel. It sheds light on the story, and about things we have probably missed, but it is not the climax.
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In God's gospel mystery the climax is THE CROSS OF CHRIST!
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This has been speaking generally. Now let's talk specifically. FIRST, in Genesis 3, God set the stage for the future. He put it into motion, with women desiring relationship and men desiring to rule. SECOND, the entire rest of the Bible is about the redemption of man. And in Mark 1:15 we see redemption become reality: "The Kingdom of God is here! Repent and believe the gospel!"
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What God put in motion in the life of man in the Old Testament, he now takes out of gear and puts us into 'neutral.' Jesus calls it 'rest.' Don't miss this: GOD put the whole process into motion in the Garden, thus GOD produces the remedy on the cross! The gospel is all about HIM!
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God now proclaims the antidote to the problems man has faced for 4,000 years. He now reveals the remedy. He now shows us that any of the Old Testament curses, systems and religion no longer affect us, -- if we will live in his remedy and take his antidote. If we fail to do so, we still live under a curse (Gal 3:10).
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What is his remedy and antidote? We must believe and receive his gospel, and live in its process!
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If both men and women do so, there is no longer a rule vs. relationship conflict, because we are all equal (Gal 3:28). If we are equal there is unity and oneness as Jesus describes in John 17. As Genesis 2 says, "Two become one." This was God's design before the fall, and it is his design after the cross!
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As we will continue to see in this series of articles, a problem exists when we don't believe and live gospel truth. Women are more prone to receiving gospel truth than men, because of man's desire to rule and NOT be equal. But when men really see God's gospel truth, they become more on fire than women!
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TEACHABLE WOMEN
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This is where women become 'Fathers of the Gospel.' They most often see it first. Then their job becomes to minister it to their husbands, families and friends. the gospel requires a teachable heart and a receptive spirit. In their desire to rule, many times men take a longer time getting here than women.
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One thing that often makes women better 'FATHERS' of the gospel than men is the fact that they are often more teachable than men. The mandate to all of us is to be teachable. In I Corinthians, Paul says, "If anyone thinks he knows anything, he doesn't yet know as he ought to know." He talks about seeing through a glass dimly. In II Timothy Paul talks about people always learning, but never able to come into a knowledge of the truth.
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Men, of which I am one (Roger), often get their identities all tangled up in what they know and believe. This is more true the higher leadership position we achieve. Pastors especially are often so wrapped up in what they believe that their whole ministries depend on this. They couldn't change their mind about their theology if they heard a booming voice from heaven that said, "I am GOD... Change your beliefs!" ((We did pastor a Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Evergreen, Colorado, so we have insight into the way many pastors think)).

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Paul says it is not WHAT he believes that is important but WHOM he believes (I Tim 1:12).
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THE GOSPEL GIVES US FREEDOM
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This includes the freedom to be wrong. Too many people (especially leaders), think it is a sin to be wrong. We've come to the point of believing its a sin to think you're right all the time. Isn't this spelled 'pride'? Our theology has changed so much since 1990, we're not even sure what we used to believe before 1990. And we pastored the church back in the late 1980s. Roger was more of a legalist than Eileen, but we both were to a degree.
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Being a lawyer since 1971, Roger cut his teeth on the law, rules, procedures, etc., etc. When he became Christian, in 1975, it was only natural to continue living in this manner.
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Eileen has been in oil and gas accounting management for 25 years. To her, everything is also done 'by the book.' So we are similar in our past development.
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But in 1990, everything in our lives started changing spiritually. Before that, we couldn't spell the word 'gospel,' but after this, everything looked like the gospel. Paul said his ministry was to open blind eyes, to turn people from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God. He sure did this with us.
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And one of the beautiful things abut the gospel is that it gives us freedom to be wrong. Why? Because the issue is WHOM we believe (I Tim 1:12). Our faith is in God and nothing else (Heb 6:1). Jesus says our job as Christians is to believe in him, and his finished work (John 6:29). When it comes to WHAT we believe, we always strive for accuracy in scripture with the gospel as our foundation. But one reason we write articles, booklets, and 'Gospel Snapshots' is because they are short -- and easy to change!!! If God shows us something new, we can just say, "Hey, that's the way we SAW it -- now we see it this way."
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WE DON'T WRITE ON STONE
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Like the ten commandments written on stone, we don't write on rocks today. We should all write on paper and carry a big eraser. As we said, women are better at not writing on stone than men are. The Old Covenant Law was all about GIVING to God. The first and foremost thing to give was obedience to the law. But when people failed (which they always did), they gave God their confession, repentance, sacrifice, offerings, etc.
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The New Covenant Gospel is all about RECEIVING from God, not giving to him. As we talk so much about in Snapshots and 'A 40 Day Gospel Fast,' it's by trying to give to God that we often get stuck in mud, spiritually speaking. Paul asks, "Who has first given to (God) that it should paid unto him again?" We reign in life by RECEIVING two things from God: (1) his gift of grace, and (2) his gift of righteousness (Rom 5:17).
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The Old Testament demanded what it could not produce. The New produces in us what it does not demand. Receiving is a much better way to live.
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But this is the rub: MEN especially have a difficult time receiving, which is part of being teachable. WOMEN don't have near this big a problem with it. Their identities are not usually all wrapped up in what they believe, like it is with men. Men are much more apt to try to write on stone than women are -- especially if they've attened cemetary (excuse us, seminary).
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THE GOSPEL IS SOWING SEED
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The Parable of the Sower is the parable Jesus says we MUST understand, or the rest of the parables will be harder to understand (Mat 13:9, Mk 4:13). This parable is all about the Sower planting seed into our hearts, which are (1) hard, (2) stony, (3) thorny, or (4) good. Of course the Sower is God -- or a father of the gospel. The seed is the gospel that Jesus says we must believe, receive and live by (Mk 1:15).
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Paul says whatever we sow is what we reap (Gal 6:7). But few people see that what is talking about is what is sown INTO us -- not what we sow OUT from us. This is explained in verse 8: "He who sows to his flesh... and he who sows to the Spirit." This goes right back to The Parable of the Sower -- what is sown into our hearts. What is sown into us is what comes out of us, and that's why Paul says it is the gospel that grows good fruit from us (Col 1:5-6).
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If good gospel seed is sown into us, and grown good roots in our hearts, the result is good gospel fruit. Jesus says, "No good root produces bad fruit" (Mat 7:18, 12:35). So do you see how it is all controlled by what is sown INTO us? That's why Jesus says we must understand The Parable of the Sower: everything is contingent on this. Plus, it's the oldest truth in the Bible: Genesis 1 says a few times, "Things grow after their own kind." You can't plant apple seeds and raise pumpkins.
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Women are much better allowing this natural process of God to flow through them. Men are more initiators. They want to control and manage. As we saw in Genesis 3 last time, they want to RULE. It's part of the condition of the fall. This doesn't mean men can't overcome this condition, but it does me they must strive harder to overcome it. Roger has, to a large degree at least, overcome this condition. But it has taken work.
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Women have a greater tendency to allow the seed that God gives to work in them. These are things we call 'the soft gospel things' -- love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, peace, joy, humility, goodness, and gentleness. This is not saying that ALL women live here. But it is saying that women have a greater tendency to live here.
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Men, on the other hand, have a greater tendency to want to produce their own seed rather than simply receive from God. Thus they tend to sow rather than allow God to sow into them. They cut their teeth on living by principles, precepts, strategies, methodologies, rules, formulas and systems. This is not saying that ALL men live here. Roger used to live here but no longer does. But is saying men have a greater tendency to live here.
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WE SOW AND REAP
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The key is that what is planted into us is what is reaped out of us, as we've seen. In this regard, women have been given a heart in them that men must strive harder to attain. Their hearts are sensitive to relationship, and receiving, while men's hearts are more sensitive to ruling and giving. Hebrews 13:9 says it is good that the heart be established with grace. Women are more sensitive to this.
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Women need to be cautious. Pride comes before destruction, and pride is not limited to men. Adam was chastised for listening to his wife, rather than to God. Paul reminds us that Adam was formed first, and then Eve, and that it was Eve's mind that was seduced and corrupted, not Adam (I Tim 2:13, II Cor 11:3). However, he doesn't go on to say that Adam's sin was willful, where Eve's was enticed. But the point is both men and women have faults, and are tempted by different things. We are all guilty in some form.
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But the major point of this article is to remind women of the special place they have with God due to their receptive, receiving hearts. It is a wonderful place to begin that women should guard, protect and nurture. What you sow is what you reap.
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Next, read part 3 in this series at:

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