The Lord blessed us in His House
this past Sunday. One of the hardest things I had to do yesterday was that
Alice and I announced to our beloved congregations that I am going retire from
the full time ministry at the end of June, 2015. We have prayerfully come to
this decision. We leave Union Center and Wesley with deep gratitude and
thanksgiving. We came to Union Center June 26, 1990. We were young parents,
as our oldest daughter was going into 9th grade and the youngest going
into First grade. It was 25 years ago this June. Our time here has spanned a
quarter century. Our daughters finished high school from here. They went to
colleges from here. Three got married from here. Our grandchildren know this
home as Grandpa and Grandma's house. We moved here as young parents and now we
leave this place as grandparents. As we look
back in our lives, we just praise the Lord for His faithfulness. Over this
quarter century we have seen so many miracles, so many blessings... so many
lives have been touched by the grace of our Lord Jesus. We praise the Lord for
all of you with whom we are linked through this ministry of Jesus Christ around
the corner and around the globe.
The Lord has opened doors for me to
preach His Word in the local church and also around the globe. I was born in an obscure village. He drew me out and
blessed every step of the way in my life. I have been blessed to know and love
wonderful people, friends, and family at every stage of my life. You all have
been so kind and gracious to me. It has been a wonderful journey and an
adventure all these years. The Lord blessed me during my primary school days,
Middle School days, College days, Graduate School days, and post-Graduate School
days with so many wonderful, kind, generous people of so many diverse cultures,
languages, and backgrounds yet one in Jesus Christ our Lord. It has been a
wonderful blessing and thrill to serve Jesus around the corner and around the
globe. It has been always refreshing and refining for me to share in the
ministry of Jesus our Lord. He has always given me grace and zeal for His Word
and for His people. He has continuously filled my cup to the brim. His
goodness and mercy have followed me and my family all these years and all these
days.
I praise the Lord for so many of
you who have been faithful and fervent partners in the ministry. The Lord has
surrounded me with so many sons and daughters of Barnabas who have greatly
encouraged me along the way. Praise the Lord for your affection, love and
affirmation. My life is very rich, so very much richer by knowing Jesus and by
serving Him, and furthermore by knowing so many like you who also love Him and
serve Him. Words are few and inadequate to express the gratitude Alice and I
have to the Lord for you all around the corner and around the globe. "I thank
my God at every remembrance of you."
It was in 1964 that I started
preach, fresh out of High School. I completed 50 years of ministry in 2014. It
is all His grace and, indeed, it is all of His marvelous grace. Once again it
is officiai that I will be retiring from the full time ministry at the end of
June, 2015. Thank you, each and every one, for your love and grace. Thank you
for praying and sharing. My heart is blessed. My soul is full.
One of the lovely things about the
Lord is that He hides the future from us. Most of us would love a sneak preview
of the future. We say, "Well, Lord, just give me a glance over the next five
years. Let me know how they're going to turn out." But, the longer we live, the more we realize how kind the Lord is to keep
the future from us. It's mercy that veils our eyes. How important it is to be
able to face that unknown future with absolute confidence and with certainty
that while our Lord is working out his purpose universally, he also is working
out his program specifically for you and me! Knowing that our times are in his
hands is one of the most wonderful experiences in life.
There's no way to find out the
future. The stars have as much effect on us as we have on them. That is
precisely nil. How much better to know
that our lives are based on the secure and certain promises of God! We don't
need to know the predictions of people when we realize that God has given us
something like three thousand promises in his Word. God gives us promises to keep us from worry. God knows the way he made us. That's why so many of his promises
start with "Fear not." Then he gives the specific reason why we shouldn't
fear.
Most of us are marvelous at worry.
The Bible says worry is a sin because, at the moment of worrying, I'm not
trusting. At the moment of trusting, I'm not worrying. God intends us to live a life of freedom from worry. It is
not freedom from concern, and not a complacency, where I couldn't care less
about anything. That would be irresponsible. There's a world of difference
between having a concern and being anxious. To have a concern or burden that
you take to God in prayer is one thing, but to be anxious about the outcome is
another.
How can we live in a world of
absolute uncertainty and yet be certain of our position and assured that our
times are in his hand? We don't have to know the way. We just have to walk
with the Lord. He knows where we're going, and He will never lead us astray.
Knowing that, we face the unknown future with confidence, not in ourselves but
in Him. We have
confidence that our Lord God is able.
"I know the one in whom I am
believing, and because of that," says the apostle, because I know him so well,
"I know the one in whom I am believing, and I am persuaded."
I like the way that King James
translates the words to be, "I am persuaded." What it means today is much more
like "I am convinced." Paul was saying, "I know God so well. I've trusted him
through the years. I've come to such an appreciation of him, that I know now
without any doubt that he is able."
One Pastor says, "If I could have
only three words out of the Bible, if that's all I was permitted, they would be
these three words: "He is able." That's all we need. It is present, it's
continuous. It doesn't say He was able, He will be able, He might be able, or
He could be able. He is able. He's not incapacitated by time. He hasn't lost
his touch. He's just the same today.
God is able to "keep what I've
committed." What you give Him to keep, what you ask Him to keep, what you hand
over to Him to keep, He is able to keep. Paul
committed everything: his life, his future, and the lot. Then he said, "I rest
joyfully. I don't know what the future holds. I don't have to know. I don't
have answers to all my problems. I don't know what difficulties there may be.
I don't need to know. But I do know this: Whatever the difficulty is, I'm not
facing it alone. Whatever the problem, I don't face it alone. Whatever path I
go on, I don't travel alone. I know he will be with me to the very end. I know
the One in whom I am believing. I'm convinced. I'm persuaded. He's able to
keep that which I've committed unto Him." I'm
convinced he is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that
day, so, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
In Christ,
Brown
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