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Body-Builders |
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Issue 14 from |
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In this issue ·
Building the Walls of Your
Life — Part 1 ·
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 the fourteenth issue, and I
welcome your feedback. For my latest personal newsletter, please click here. Every blessing, George Alexander For Artios Ministries |
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Organisation is a bad word to some people, and “order”
sounds non-spontaneous and boring.
Yet Paul told the Colossians, “I … delight to see how orderly you
are and how firm your faith in Christ is.” [Col 2:5] Under the rolling weight of a well-oiled church machine,
the protesting cry is often heard, “The Church is an organism rather
than an organisation!” It may
be important to say this. But don’t
let’s take it to the extreme that we become anti-organisation and disparage
structure and order. As Ken Sumrall
has often observed, “An organism without organisation is a jellyfish.” Structure and organisation are important,
and order is essential. We’ve been considering the inner life, and the inner
life really is all about internal order. The walls of Jerusalem were broken down bringing shame
upon the nation. Nehemiah was
motivated to remove the reproach by rebuilding the walls. The temple was already restored and the
altar functioning, but it wasn’t enough—the walls had to be
rebuilt. The walls speak of defence,
definition, demarcation, and order. Proverbs says, “He who has no rule over his own
spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls.” [25:28 AMP] In terms of internal order, we have to build the walls of
our lives. In the inner life, we have need of that defence,
definition, demarcation and order. We
need to be able to know what’s inside the “city” and what’s outside,
and what the difference is. We need
to be able to know what to permit, what to prevent and what to prioritise. Without walls, we’ll be ineffective and
unproductive. And without walls, if
you’re a caring type willing to expend yourself for others, people will
unwittingly walk all over you. These
walls are the difference between being a servant and a doormat. It’s essential to have personal order and
structure—to build the walls of your life. The Wall of Personal Purpose We have a strong desire to be normal, but we weren’t
created to be normal; we were created to be unique. Like snowflakes, no two of us are identical. Why then should we act like everyone
else? We each have a destiny to
fulfil—a personal purpose, mission and vision. My purpose is why I exist in general
terms. My mission is what
I’m to do. And my vision
is how I do it—what I see as the specific way I fulfil my
mission. Many believers have not
considered these questions. But those
building the walls of their lives are doing so. In 1868, William Ewart Gladstone was chopping wood when
he learned that he was to be Prime Minister of Great Britain. He immediately announced, “My mission is
to pacify Ireland.” In the event,
this mission may not have been wholly successful, but it did express his
sense of destiny and give him focus. Jesus knew His mission.
Amongst many other references, He told His disciples: “My food… is
to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” [Jn 4:34]; and
also said: “For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and
which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me” [Jn 5:36]; “I have brought you glory on earth by
completing the work you gave me to do” [Jn 17:4]. On the Cross, He could say, “It is
finished” [Jn 19:30]. There are
many things He didn’t do: He didn’t live to old age; He didn’t heal
the sick in Ephesus; He didn’t preach in Rome. But He did do the will of the Father for His life. He did what He was to do. Charlie Brown’s method of archery was to shoot an arrow
against the wall, then draw a target around it! He found it less demanding.
Without clarity of purpose and mission, that’s effectively what we
do. We aim at nothing, or at anything,
or at everything, and uncritically accept our efforts as valid. The old saying is: “Aim at nothing and
you’ll hit it every time.” It’s also
fair to say, “aim at everything and you’ll hit nothing”, or at least you’ll
hit nothing with any great force. We
need to know what we’re going for, so that we can actually hit the target, or
even know whether or not we’ve done so. There are other walls to build. In the next issue we will look at the wall
of outworked priority, and consider how our use of time is significant as
regards order in the inner life. But
for now it’s about personal purpose. What benefits does personal purpose bring? Purpose processes possibilities Personal purpose is not a choice we make—it’s
discovered in the context of God’s purpose for the Church (see Body-Builder
6). In the light of that realisation
we discern our mission—what it is that we’re sent to do. Once this is known and clarified, it
enables us to navigate the sea of possibilities in the direction of the
destination set. Speaking for myself, I have written down my personal
mission statement and refer to it often.
When faced with a new possibility or opportunity, I compare this with
my mission statement to see if it aligns.
If it does align, I know that I can embrace the new opportunity and it
will enhance the mission. If it does
not align, I can safely disregard the opportunity, knowing that it would
dilute or distract from the mission.
Without the mission statement, I would have no criterion of
assessment. Purpose processes the
possibilities. Purpose provides the power of focus A stream meandering gently through an idyllic mountain
glade is a picture of peace and tranquillity. Yet if the stream passes through a narrow place, the flow of
water there suddenly becomes more business-like. Similarly, a hosepipe may emit a modest trickle, until the nozzle
is adjusted to a smaller aperture—then a powerful jet results. It’s all about the effect of
concentration—focus provides power.
Again, a fallen leaf may be nestling in the gentle warmth of the
autumn sunlight. Introduce a lens
held at just the right angle, and the same gentle rays of the sun, now
concentrated and focused, can incinerate it. Immediately after His baptism, Jesus was led by the
Spirit into the wilderness where He was tempted by the devil for forty
days. Through these temptations and
His responses to them, Jesus established who He was and how He was
going to act. He clarified and
affirmed His purpose and mission. At
the beginning of the time, He was “full of the Holy Spirit” (see Luke
4:1). After successfully dealing with
every temptation, He is said to be “in the power of the Spirit” (Luke
4:14). The narrowing, concentrating
and focusing effect of overcoming the temptations turned fulness into power. Our potential can become reality in a similar way. Purpose enables us to lay aside the
unnecessary and the unhelpful; to lay aside even the good in favour of
the best. Purpose enables us
to home in on the essentials and to live concentrated lives in power and
effectiveness. Purpose provides the
power of focus. Purpose produces passion Purpose motivates us and passion is the result. The fire of new creation life is already
ignited, but purpose and vision keep us stirred and stoked. Without a vision of the future, life loses
meaning, which leads to a loss of hope.
A loss of hope results in many negative emotions, including a feeling
of wasting life and a vague longing for something else. But with hope and with vision—and with the
mission and purpose that undergird that vision—there is a continual stoking
of the fire within; a passion that keeps us moving forward. Purpose produces passion. Take a moment to pause and review. It’s common for Christians to be waiting
for God to tell them what to do when it’s been given to them already. We look for God’s will concerning purpose
and vision everywhere except within ourselves. Take time to consider the following questions. Within the plan of God, do you see why
you’re here? Have you discerned and
clarified what you’re here to do?
Can you see how specifically you’re to do it? Who are you?
What do you see? What do you
see for yourself? Then do it! As you do, you’ll be building the walls of your life. George Alexander September 2005 Note: All Bible
quotations are NIV unless otherwise stated. |
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News and Update |
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Summer is officially over, and it was a good time. It gives a chance to regroup between
teaching terms. But the last issue
seems a long time ago! We began a series of articles on the theme of “the inner life”. We started with “Internal Prosperity” (for a quick link to the Article,
click here.) We continued with “How To Develop Spiritual Strength”.
This issue we look at “Building the Walls of Your
Life”, Part 1 this time and Part 2 next.
All feedback appreciated. These articles make reference to and go along with Gordon MacDonald’s
book from the middle 80s, a book called “Ordering Your Private World”. It made quite an impact, and has become
something of a classic; and it’s still available. I recommend it as a timely read or re-read. The full information is: “Ordering Your Private World” by Gordon
MacDonald – Highland Books
ISBN 0-9446616-31-0 There’s update information on the Artios School of Theology, and links to any previous issues of
Body-Builders that you may have missed.
There’s also a link to my latest personal newsletter. 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?) Issue
12 (Internal Prosperity) Issue
13 (How To Develop Spiritual Strength) |
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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. That was followed by,
“Gifts and Ministries”, and most recently “Spiritual Dynamics”, which
finished at the end of June. The latest module, “New
Testament Survey”, begins on October 3rd. For more information, click here. For general information on the Artios
School of Theology, 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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