In the Lord’s message to the Ephesian church, we see a pattern followed in His message to each church, or church age. He begins with a commendation followed by a rebuke. Then He gives them a promise and a hope of the reward they will receive for repenting and overcoming their mistakes. This is called “a critique sandwich.” If this is how the Lord speaks to each of the churches here, isn’t it likely that this is the way He will speak to His people today?

We have briefly discussed how the democratic principles born out of the church during the Protestant Reformation have blessed and set free many nations in this age. It is also the form of government which, when applied to the church, is considered by many to be one of the great inhibitors to the freedom of the Spirit to rule in the church. Certainly this can be the case, but it need not be. Historically, it was the Reformers applying democratic principles to church government that fired the greatest advance of the gospel since the first century through the Protestant Reformation.

The recent earthquake and tsunamis that struck so many countries in the Indian Ocean are taxing the whole world’s relief efforts. In human life lost, it will go down as one of the worst natural disasters in human history. It does have important prophetic significance that we need to understand, which is highlighted in Joshua 3:3-4,14-17:

Last week we discussed how it will be for those who esteem truth as if it were the greatest treasure, and how they will receive understanding and be kept from “the man who speaks perverse things” (Proverbs 2:12), which is a reference to the man of sin. We also see this established in II Thessalonians 2:8-10:

A couple of weeks ago I wrote that the aid the United States was giving to Israel was not aid, but the repayment of a debt. My reasoning for this is because a little known fact about the Revolutionary War is that George Washington’s Continental Army was chiefly financed by a Jewish man named Haim Solomon. Solomon did this because he foresaw that the United States would become a haven for the persecuted Jewish people. Solomon died destitute because he had expended his entire fortune for this purpose.

It was forty years ago this summer that the “Summer of Love” in San Francisco ignited the counter-cultural revolution, and with it began one of America’s greatest identity crises. Some of her strongest foundations were shaken, eroding religious faith, morality, devotion to family, and basic integrity.

This week we are continuing our study of the equipping ministries listed in Ephesians 4:1, and will take a brief look at the ministry of the evangelist.

In the New Testament, there are over twenty people referred to as apostles, only a few who are referred to as prophets, and only one who is called an evangelist—Philip (see Acts 21:8). Timothy was instructed by Paul to “do the work of an evangelist” (II Timothy 4:5), but was never called an evangelist.

Certainly our ministry titles have a place in helping the church understand the ministry we have. However, the overuse and misuse of spiritual titles has terribly devalued our spiritual currency in recent times. It is hard not to meet anyone in ministry now who does not claim to be an apostle, bishop, or prophet. It has become so outlandish that when I see those whom just call themselves “pastor,” I immediately have respect and trust for them just because of their modesty.

         The first sentence in The Great Commission is the foundation upon which the rest of the mandate is based:

        “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (see Matthew 28:18).