Fellowship in the Gospel...Part 3

Following a brief break, we were staring the final conference session in the face. We couldn't believe after all of the planning and thinking and praying and hoping...it was nearly over. But not yet. God still had work to do. A few of us huddled around Brad to pray for his part in the final session. We also prayed for Chuck, who would precede him. It's amazing how prayer works. God indeed hears the cries of His saints. He wants us to rely on Him, cast our concerns on Him, and ask Him for help. We learned that lesson again on this trip. Many, many seasons of rich prayer. I've spoken before about a "culture of prayer," and that is what we developed on this trip. Someone was constantly encouraging the others to pray for someone or some activity. We prayed in airports, on shuttle buses, for Ticos who had big decisions to make, for men who were sharing testimonies or giving devotionals or teaching or preaching, over the Woolfords, for the Ticos by name, for our families, for each other, for deliverance from sin, for sanctification, for conversions, for God to take our feeble efforts to please Him and make them beautiful, powerful, and eternal. It's unbelieveable how connected you get to God when you talk to Him and how he does "far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20) (Thanks for reminding me of this verse, Chuck).


It was time to begin again. As Chuck approached the small, hollow, square platform and went behind the podium which was strange by our standards (reminded me more of a small changing table), I remembered asking Chuck weeks before to give a testimony about marriage. It would be related to our third and final teaching session on how God gives power through the gospel for us to transform the way we live. Brad would continue our teaching in Ephesians, so it seemed only appropriate to use Ephesians 5:25ff as a springboard for someone to speak on gospel conduct fleshed out within the marriage relationship. Who else would I ask? Chuck is the oldest member of our team and been married the longest. He's a grandfather many times over. I can only imagine the lessons God had taught him in his years with Jan. Who else would I ask to testify about how God gives a man power to live with his wife in a way that is worthy of his calling? So I watched and listened as Chuck began his testimony. He started the way I have seen him start so many times: with a joy-filled spirit and a love for making much of God. After some introductory remarks, he initially said that he was going to have Cameron stop interpreting as he was going to speak of an area of struggle and wanted to shield it from his Berean brothers. However, the Spirit of God directed him to be transparent with us as well. He spoke of his sin, of the truism that your sin will find you out, and of his gracious helpmate, his wife, and her respectful and loving confrontation that led to deliverance through Christ. Quite simply, the men were awestruck at God's mercy to Chuck. I was blown away and was praising God for His greatness and providence. I could not think of a better message to share about gospel conduct in our setting. Not to mention that it was an area that is all too common of a struggle in Costa Rican marriages. Of course, I had no advanced knowledge of what Chuck would specific lesson he would share. God be praised!


Blessings followed blessings. God helped Brad as he taught on the theology that undergirded Chuck's testimony. Brad taught on the fact that Christians win the spiritual war in which they are engaged in the same way they came to the Savior: through admitting their sin and impotence to God, repenting over trusting in their own strength, and asking God (and believing God) to empower them to live in a right manner because their Savior already did. Brad shared a testimony within his session to demonstrate this fact. He testified to the sanctifying help that God has gave him due to an accountability group that upon hearing of his struggles and failures directs him to the hope and power found in the resurrected Messiah. As I said, God hears the cries of his saints. This session was evidence of that fact. We came down to Costa Rica with a primary goal of unpacking gospel-centrality as a way of teaching, thinking and living to the end that the Ticos would be transformed by the power of that gospel. Only believers that strive after further transformation from above can be effective kingdom leaders men. Pray that the Costa Rican church and the families which make it up will be radically changed as a result.


Let me also say a word about the structure of the conference. We could not have accomplished what we accomplished without God working through Brad. I had some grandiose themes running through my head in the early days, but Brad suggested that we simplify it to (1) gospel essence, (2) gospel truths, and (3) gospel behavior (following the model of Mike Bullmore's teaching on the functional centrality of the gospel (get a free download of Bullmore's very short article or listen to his explanation of it here). This was just the right structure for three sessions and exactly the kind of teaching upon which the original Fellowship in the Gospel Conference was based in May of last year (check out those conference talks here).

We were able to give the Spanish-translated books that we brought to Mario (pastor of new church located at the camp), Max (hoping to take over as pastor of Roca Viva), two other pastors, and some key guys that show the kind of dedication necessary to become future leaders within the church (Randall, Gustavo, Leo, Roy, Afredo and Freddy). Those books were: Grudem's Systematic Theology (Abridged), Mahaney's Cross-Centered Life, and Harris' Sex Isn't the Problem, Lust Is. Thanks to Elias finding this, we also gave each of them a music CD by Sovereign Grace Music.


The rest of the day consisted of Gringo-Tico soccer & basketball at the camp, followed by a swim in the freezing cold, yet refreshing inground pool. Later I continued preparing my sermon out of Ephesians 4, while Elias and Joshua put the final touches on their testimonies they would share at Roca Viva the next morning. This very full day concluded with one of the best seasons of prayer I've ever had. I have come to love each of these men in a deeper way than I had before this trip.


In Christ,


Jeff