A Powerful Word from the Rebers

Chris and Mary Ellen Reber were my students back in the '80's at Columbia Seminary. They have invested their lives in a Muslim nation they refer to as "Antioch" so they will not be discovered. They also use "People of Antioch" as a disguised term for "Christians." They see the problem of American Christians so clearly in these words I am quoting from their last Newsletter:

"People of Antioch, I call your spirit to attention in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Listen with your spirit to the Word of God for you. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trails of many kinds" (James 1:2). "His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to His eternal purposes which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Eph. 3:10-11).

"People of Antioch, your culture centers on avoiding problems and values happiness, which you define to mean having others take care of your problems. This is a delusion. God placed Adam & Eve in the Garden in a perfect environment and a perfect relationship with Himself. Yet, He created a problem for them - to take the resources of the Garden and of their relationship with Him to the rest of the world to subdue it.

"You were designed by God to face problems and solve them, not to escape them. The problems God designed for you to solve will bring the greatest treasures in your life. People are remembered for the problems that they solve or the problems they create. I bless you, people of Antioch, with wisdom and joy when you face different problems and I bless you with rejoicing in your situation, instead of complaining and turning back.

"People of Antioch, I bless you to know that God sometimes sends problems to help you realize that you need His help. I bless you to come to faith in Him, then His wisdom will be available to help you to solve problems. I bless you with the faith to look at problems through your Father's eyes and realize that every problem He brings you is an opportunity to experience His faithfulness. Eph. 3:10-11 shows that many kinds of problems make known the manifold wisdom of God to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. God will position you so that He can bring new problems into your life so that you will reach toward your Father and find His multi-faceted wisdom to solve those problems.

"I bless you, people of Antioch, to not have an entitlement (welfare) spirit within you, so you do not look to others to solve your problems, but instead you seek God's answers to your problems and receive answers from Him. I bless you, people of Antioch, with rising to the challenge of finding wisdom through God's Word and I bless you with the endurance and perseverance to seek God's solutions. I bless you with refusing to develop a theology of failure, never settling for something that is a contradiction of Scripture. I bless you with not buying into the enemy's lies to settle for an armed truce rather than real victory.

"I bless you, people of Antioch, with having the mind of Christ, so that you can see from His perspective and see solutions that others cannot see. I bless you with the deep joy of fulfillment, which is not available to those who are merely trying to be happy. I bless you with the joy of discovering the wisdom of God and the mind of Christ to solve problems. I bless you, people of Antioch, with His joy in the name of Jesus of Nazareth."

Wow! They have given us the right term for Bucket Church values: "an entitlement (welfare) spirit."

Did you read this far? ASSIGNMENT: Read the above over again until the words stab at your spirit, the spirit owned by God and not you....