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Body-Builders |
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Issue 7 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 seventh issue, and I welcome your
feedback. Every blessing, George Alexander For Artios Ministries |
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Pressure. Some
seek to avoid it. Others seem to relish
it. It can come and go in cycles and
seasons. It can affect some more than
others, and in different ways. Some
buckle under and become victims; some are braced up and become victors. But we all have it. We all experience it. Jesus said: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16:33) This verse contains an unwelcome promise: “In
this world, you will have trouble.”
And the word “trouble” is the word “pressure”—“In this world, you
will have pressure.” There’s the pressure to perform, the pressure to
produce, the pressure to meet the deadline.
There are work pressures, fuelled by drivenness, intensity and
uncertainty about the future. There
are family pressures: misunderstandings; relationships under strain;
the short fuse in the long haul.
There are time pressures—deadline approaching and it’s still
not done—financial pressures, pressures from terrorism, world events
and world news. And there are
pressures from circumstances specific to us. The Book of Galatians says that each one should carry his own
load (or pack). But what
happens when the pack gets heavy?
Sometimes that which is our responsibility to carry itself becomes a
pressure. To have no pressure is a pipe dream. There will be pressure. The effects of pressure
Pressure is not all negative, but many of its
effects are. Pressure can make us
feel trapped or hemmed in. It can
lead to a loss of perspective or altered priority. It can paralyse us because of a fear of failure. It can make us feel like everything is
going wrong—then something else goes wrong as if to confirm it. Pressure can make us downcast in our soul. On the positive side, there are some things
pressure can and cannot do. Pressure can
take an ugly black piece of coal and transform it into a beautiful
diamond. Pressure can be used
by God to shape us and mould us in accordance with His intention. (See for instance Rom 5:3-5.) Pressure cannot separate us from
God’s love (Rom 8:35). It’s our response that’s
important Pressure can make us go back. In Jn 6:60-66, many disciples of Jesus
turned back and no longer followed.
They surrendered their discipleship to the pressure of hard sayings. And what of the Twelve—would they leave
too? They felt the same pressure, but
made a different response. As Peter
expressed it, “Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.” (Jn 6:68) Later, in John 21, Peter himself was under
pressure. He’d expressed a
willingness to follow Jesus even to death, but when Jesus had been arrested
in the Garden, Peter had denied Him three times. Peter rejoiced in the Resurrection! But he still had the pressure of his betrayal, and under that
pressure went back to what he knew and was used to—“I’m going out to
fish.” (Jn 21:3). Well, it didn’t
work. Only as he responded to Jesus
did his nets fill up! And it proved
to be the beginning of Peter’s re-instatement. As regards the soils in the parable: Others, like seed sown on
rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last
only a short time. When trouble [i.e. pressure] or persecution comes
because of the word, they quickly fall away. Mk 4:16f It looks like a good result until the pressure
comes! But the problem need not be
final. If we co-operate in removing
the rocks from our hearts, then the root can grow to appropriate depth. Our response is critical. Pressure can make us go back, but it can
also advance us if we respond to it aright. Therefore we do not lose
heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being
renewed day by day. For our light and
momentary troubles [pressures] are achieving for us an eternal glory that far
outweighs them all. So we fix our
eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Cor 4:16-18 Antioch was Paul’s home church, and much good came
out of it. Yet the Church at Antioch
began only through the faithfulness and persistence of those who had been
scattered by the pressure in connection with the stoning of Stephen
(see Acts 11:19). What would have
happened if they’d simply found a quiet place to hide and avoid further
pressure? We rejoice in hope and in pressures (see
Romans 5:2-5), because they produce the result of God! How do we respond?
In the midst of pressure, the first thing to do is
maintain a spiritual poise.
Tell yourself not to panic, but to stay calm, maintain perspective,
keep your confidence. Don’t
automatically react to the situation, but choose to find and
stand in the space between stimulus and response. You then decide the response you
make to the given stimuli. (This is sometimes
called the “Count to 10 Principle”.) Seven responses of conscious choice: 1. Meditate on Jesus Psalm 42:6 says, “My soul is downcast [sunk down]
within me; therefore I will remember you”. Consider Jesus: fully aware of what lay
ahead, He allowed Himself to face the Cross, with all the physical pain and
torture, and with all the sin of the world laid on Him, and willingly
undertook it for us. “Consider him
who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary
and lose heart.” (Heb 12:3) In the midst of our pressure, that’s a
conscious, deliberate, active choice. 2. Put your hope in God The way to avoid despair is to put your hope in God. The message rings out from the Psalms in
many places. “Why are you downcast,
O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet
praise him” (Ps 42:5). “For you have been my hope, O Sovereign
LORD, my confidence since my youth.”
(Ps 71:5) “O Israel, put
your hope in the LORD both now and for evermore.” (Ps 131:3) 3. Determine that you’ll still praise Him and that you’ll not
stop This takes the edge off any tendency to complain, and any temptation
to take “time out” from God. Again,
Psalm 42:5 says, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within
me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God.” 4. Even in the most adverse of circumstances, rejoice in the Lord Though the fig-tree does not bud and there are no
grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no
food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I
will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Saviour. Hab 3:17f We could each construct a modern-day equivalent to that
scenario. For some of us, it might
start, “Though the supermarket shelves are empty”. Yet we rejoice. Joy is
not circumstantial, but is based on truths, realities and events that do not change. 5. Express confidence in the Lord Hebrews says, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who
has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the
faith we profess. … So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly
rewarded.” (Heb 4:14; 10:35) It’s one thing to believe this in our heart. But the real benefit comes when we declare
it with our mouth, confessing the truth of God’s Word over our
circumstances. 6. Determine that what you’re doing with hardships is going through!! “We must go through many hardships [pressures] to
enter the kingdom of God,” (Acts
14:22). The focus is not on the
pressures, but on the process — going through. 7. Press in to Jesus Himself We end where we began. “I
have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the
world.” (Jn 16:33) In the same short verse, Jesus says we
will have peace in Him but trouble in the world. How can this be? Our
knowledge of storms gives us the picture.
We can find a place of peace and calm, of safety and protection in
Jesus, right in the midst of the trouble in the world, as in the eye of the
storm. And as we walk by faith, we can live there. George Alexander August 2004 Note: All Bible
quotations are NIV unless otherwise stated. |
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There have been hints of summer here in the UK, but nothing like last
year! Perhaps the best of the weather
is still to come. We can always hope
… Having finished the series on “Living to Purpose”, the article in this
issue is a one-off on how to handle pressure. All feedback appreciated. There’s update information on the new Artios School of Theology, and also on Destiny College. In addition, there are now links available to previous issues of Body-Builders
that you may have missed. 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.) 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, please let me know
and I’ll try to solve the problem. 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) |
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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 next module will
be “Acts”, and registration is now open.
Classes will be in Dunfermline starting in towards the end of
September. For more information,
please click here. At
present, the course cannot be offered by extension (distance learning), but
it is hoped to make this available in the future. |
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Introducing Destiny College
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Looking for a one-year full-time course? The Destiny College course offers a
comprehensive period of serious study and discipleship, leading to the
Certificate in Christian Leadership.
It runs from October to June each year in Glasgow, the UK’s
third-largest city. There is still
time to apply for this year’s course, which starts on 28th
September 2004. For full information,
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 2004 Artios Ministries |
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