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Body-Builders |
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Issue 11 from |
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In this issue ·
Feedback For new subscribers: ·
Introducing
“Artios Ministries” |
Welcome to Body-Builders! This is a new series of teaching articles intended to
bless and build the Body of Christ. I trust you enjoy this eleventh issue, and I welcome your
feedback. Every blessing, George Alexander For Artios Ministries |
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can now subscribe a friend to Body-Builders (and please do!). Just click here.
Your friend will first receive an e-mail offering the chance to
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Throughout history, and today, many have been struck
at least once by the thought, “If only I’d been born in that time or
in that generation. I think I
was born in the wrong age.” The
feeling may come from a romantic notion, or a sense of adventure, or a
genuine belief that our personality and gifting would have been better suited
to another time. But if we’re right,
God made a mistake—and God doesn’t make mistakes. The truth is that each of us was born at just the right time,
and that each of us is equipped and enabled to live life now, as was
said of King David, to serve God’s purpose in our generation (see Acts
13:36). It’s even possible for us to live in our own
past. It can be less frightening than
the alternative, and more comforting than letting it go. But if we’re focused on the past, we’re
simply looking the wrong way. 12Not that I have already
obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take
hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider
myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is
behind and straining towards what is ahead, 14I press on towards
the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ
Jesus. 15All of us who are
mature should take such a view of things.
And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make
clear to you. 16Only let
us live up to what we have already attained. Phil 3:12-16 In a song based on this passage, Stephe Mayers,
YWAM Director for Western Europe, wrote: “Move on, move upward, move into
your calling. You’ve got to keep
moving on with the Lord.” The year 2004 has ended. Whatever it contained or represented for you, good or bad, it’s
over. This is a new day—an exciting
day—a day in which God has destined us to be alive. It’s a day to move on and move upward—to move on with the Lord. How can we make the most of it? Put the past behind The text says, “Forgetting what is behind…”. We say, “I can’t do that yet. I still remember it too well.” Don’t think of forgetting as “losing the
memory” or “slipping the mind”. If we
forget, we choose to remember it no more. We’re deliberately leaving it behind as done with and
settled. The word means forgetting,
neglecting, no longer caring for.
It’s a choice that we make, to put the past behind. Some remembering is good. It’s the only way we have any experience
to draw on. In recollecting bad
experiences, we learn from the mistakes how not to go that way again. Recollecting good experiences can be a
guide, or an anchor to fall back on when we’re down. But in another sense, put the past behind! Someone has said: “Looking back is sure to
end in going back.” It’s certainly
true that those always looking over their shoulder plough a crooked furrow
(Lk 9:62). Remember Lot’s wife? Some bad experiences we gladly put behind. You may have had bad experiences in
2004. But you’re still here, so
you’re a survivor—now put them behind you! What if it’s not over yet? What if the past is still present? When Paul wrote these words he was in
jail, unable to step into his future physically. Therefore even in the midst of difficulty, before we have the
awareness that the difficulty is over, the attitude must be to put the past behind. Some have good experiences, but these still need
to be put behind. Otherwise, we’ll
get complacent and rest on our spiritual laurels; or we’ll hang on to them
and not move on; or we’ll make negative comparisons—“it’s not like it
was”—and hanker fruitlessly after what was and cannot be again. This is a new day! Set course for the future “…and straining towards what is ahead, I press on
towards the goal” (verses 13 & 14). Don’t set your course for the future based on the
past! What we tend to do is take stock, look at where
we’ve come from and where we are, and project that forwards. But what if God wants us to go in a
different direction? It needn’t mean
we’ve been going the wrong way. What
we’ve been doing may have been right, and it’s got us in God to where we
are. But now we may need to turn. We stretch out to what lies ahead. We need to acknowledge where we are
(the present) and stretch out towards the mark (NIV “goal”—the distant
mark on the horizon, the end one has in view). Continual mid-course corrections and adjustments may be
required, based not on the past, but on the mark. Sometimes there will be a direction change. Abram was following God when he left Ur
and went to the Land; but it was also God’s direction for the nation to leave
the Land and be incubated in Egypt in the time of Joseph. Philip was powerfully used of God in
Samaria, and yet it was God who called him away to interact with the
Ethiopian eunuch (and there is no record of his return). If we’re heavily connected to the past, it’s as if
we have a long tail still there that tends to pull us back to the familiar
direction. If we try to turn, we
experience the tension of bending.
But if we forget and put the past behind us, we can be released
from the inertia of the tail and free to set a fresh course for the mark. Only if we forget the past are we truly
free to respond to the upward call.
Otherwise we’re restricted, self-limited, pre-conditioned. Some would ask, “Am I denying my roots and
dishonouring my heritage?” No, you’re
just being free to continue in God who gave you the roots and the
heritage. Jesus doesn’t say: “Seek
first your plans”, or “Seek first to follow through on what you’d
expected”. He says: “Seek first His
Kingdom and His righteousness” (Mt 6:33).
If we feel like we’re orphaned from our past, we need to know
we’re adopted in our present. Press on in the present “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the
upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” v14 (NASU) What’s the mark? Where is it seen? Jesus said, “You know the way to the place where I
am going”, and Thomas replied, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so
how can we know the way?” (See Jn
14:4-6.) The question seems
reasonable, but Jesus’ answer adjusts the logic: “I am the Way.” The mark is in Christ Jesus—it’s pressing
on in Christ Jesus, following the Holy Spirit’s leading, in a time called
“now”. It’s not so much a time for, “Right, let’s do
it!”, but rather, “Jesus, lead on and I will follow.” He’s leading us forward. We’re not looking for new direction or
freshness because we’re fed up with the old way, but our concern is to
ensure we’re still going the right way. “Jesus, lead on.
Keep us on Your agenda.” And so as 2005 unfolds, refresh your flexibility;
collect the current past and put it behind; get free from inappropriate
expectations for the future based on the past; and press forward in Christ
Jesus. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus. George Alexander January 2005 Note: All Bible
quotations are NIV unless otherwise stated. |
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News and Update |
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It’s a new year, and a good time to make progress. The article in this issue is all about making progress. All feedback appreciated. There’s update information on the Artios School of Theology, and links to any previous issues of
Body-Builders that you may have missed. Artios Ministries is being developed in three phases, and Phase 1 is
almost complete. Check out www.artios.org
for updates. If you have difficulty opening these e-mails or if the text looks weird
and you suspect it’s not showing as it was intended to (I know it looks a
little strange in Hotmail for instance), please let me know and I’ll try to
solve the problem. Alternatively, you
could try the web version (click here). I continue to receive more requests to subscribe to Body-Builders. If you have received this e-mail
second-hand and would like to be subscribed, please click here. If you’d like to subscribe a friend,
please click here.
(The friend will first receive an e-mail offering the chance to
subscribe.) More news and developments soon …. Return to top
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Previous Body-Builders |
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You may have missed or
mislaid a previous issue of Body-Builders.
If so, don’t despair! They can
be accessed by clicking the links below: Issue
2 (The Beginning of Life) Issue
3 (Getting the Word Out) Issue
5 (The Purpose of the Church) Issue
6 (Pointers to Personal Purpose) Issue
8 (Laying Hold of the Word) Issue
9 (The Community of Perfect Love) Issue
10 (What Should We Do With Christmas?) |
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Artios School of Theology |
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Artios School of
Theology is a modular course leading to a Diploma in Theology from Artios
Ministries. The first run of the School,
with classes held in Dunfermline, is currently under way. The first module,
Old Testament Survey, had eighteen students enrolled, and was completed in
June. The second module, “Acts of the
Apostles” had seventeen students, and completed in December. The current module,
“Gifts and Ministries”, has just begun, and will run until March. For more information on the Artios School
of Theology, please click here*. For
information on “Gifts and Ministries” only, please click here. “Old Testament Survey” and “Acts of the
Apostles” are currently in preparation as correspondence courses. * If you tried this
and it didn’t work, you may have to download an Acrobat Reader first. This is available free of charge from
Adobe. To get it, click here. |
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Introducing Artios Ministries
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Artios Ministries is a new ministry launched
officially in October 2003. The Founder and Director is George
Alexander. For 12 years, George pastored Liberty Church in Dunfermline,
Scotland, before being released in 1997 to a wider teaching ministry. The
aims of Artios Ministries are: 1.
To proclaim the Christian doctrine and principles through teaching, literature,
and other means 2.
To provide Biblical education and ministry training 3.
To promote good practice and sound doctrine in the Church of Jesus
Christ Artios
Ministries is a charitable trust recognised in Scotland as Scottish Charity
number SC 034194. |
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“Artios” is
a Greek word occurring in the New Testament. It means, “complete,
fitted, completely qualified, with all its needed parts”. It occurs,
together with another word derived from it, in 2 Timothy 3:16,17 “All
scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may
be complete, equipped for every good work.” RSV |
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Contact Information |
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Difficulties or Comments? Just click here and let us know. |
Artios Ministries 13 Whinhill Dunfermline Fife KY11 4YZ U.K. |
01383-739537 (+44-1383-739537) |
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© Copyright 2005 Artios Ministries |
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