newsletter
Servant Ministries, Inc.
Issue No. 120 Ira & Judy Milligan May 1, 2008

Servant Ministries, Inc. Newsletter’s Tenth Anniversary

In May of 1998, while we were on a missionary trip to Uganda, Africa, God spoke to me in the night and told me to start a monthly newsletter when I got home. The graphic on our newsletter was used on the first page of Servant Ministries, Inc. Newsletter Issue No. 1, published June 4th 1998. We haven’t missed publishing an issue since. This newsletter begins our eleventh year! I would like to know how many of you have been with us from the beginning? Also, write me and let me know what doctrines or subjects you would like to see discussed in the newsletter.

WE’RE MOVING

Judy and I are purchasing a house to live in (we’ve been living in a trailer house for the last eleven years). Our neighbor directly across the street decided to sell, so we’ve contracted to buy her house. It is a small, two bedroom, one bath, but it’s roomer than what we have now!

The Prophet’s Perspective
The Gospel

Previously, I’ve written about certain aspects of a deceptive, false gospel that has taken root and grown in God’s garden of herbs, but perhaps a better way of approaching this problem is to discuss the true Gospel instead of the false. Truth not only makes us free (John 8:32), it keeps us free by enabling us to recognize heresy when it sticks up its ugly head.

Paul enumerated the four main points of the Gospel in 1 Corinthians 8:1-5, which I’ve emphasized with bold print: “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you–unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve” (1 Cor. 15:1-5).

So we can see that the Gospel is the death, burial, resurrection and the witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Since Paul warns us in 2 Thessalonians 1:8 that upon His return Jesus is going to use flaming fire to avenge Himself, “on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ”, we need to be sure that we know what obedience to the Gospel actually entails! Obviously, failure to under-stand and obey the Gospel carries with it rather severe consequences!

In Roman 6 Paul teaches that obeying the Gospel consists of dying with Christ in repentance, being buried with Him through water baptism, rising with Him by faith to walk in newness of life and becoming a living witness of His resurrection through an obedient and holy lifestyle. A selfish, self-indulgent Christianity simply isn’t true Christianity because it leaves out the Cross (repentance), which is the very first step of the Gospel. If we refuse to die with Him, we certainly can’t expect to be resurrected with Him! Be not deceived. If we fail to crucify our flesh and instead conduct ourselves in the “lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind” we are self-deceived, self-centered “children of wrath”, not children of God (see Eph. 2:3).

We must believe the whole, unadulterated Gospel, not just the “good news” part about heaven that sounds so inviting. Heaven is real, for sure, but it is a mistake to think that Jesus is going to have us live with Him in Heaven if we won’t take the time to develop an intimate relationship with Him while we are here on earth. As Paul said, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1). As we’ve said before, anything less is a false Gospel.

“Helping Hands”

We’ve finalized the dates and places for our mission trip to Scotland. We arrive there August 7th. From there we go to Ireland and then Denmark. We return to the US August 26th. For those who aren’t familiar with overseas mission work, a trip this long will be strenuous, but it should also be very productive, so thanks for making it possible! May God abundantly reward every one of you for your sacrifice!

Prayer Partners’ Update

Now that we have the dates set (see above) we can start praying in earnest for God’s blessings on our mission trip to Scotland, Ireland and Denmark. Both Ireland and Denmark are new doors, so help us pray that God would set up the necessary contacts to make this trip both successful within itself, but also a prelude to many more such trips. God bless you, and thanks!

The Ministry of Angels, IV

God the Father manifests Himself by and through His angels. Every-one of His marvelous works – even the delightful sense of His abiding presence – is accomplished by angels: “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old” (Isaiah 63:9). As we have shown before, the Word declares, the Spirit reveals, but it is the Father who does the works, and the Scriptures teach that His works are always wrought by angels. Thus, when we need help, it behooves us to ask for the angel.

Judges 6:1-16 clearly illustrates this. As usual, after Israel sinned God allowed their enemies to overrun them and bring them into bondage. And, as usual, when Israel groaned under the heavy affliction of His chastisement, God pitied them and raised up a deliverer from among their midst – in this case, Gideon. Notice how this passage uses “angel of the LORD” (i.e., “angel of Jehovah”) and “LORD” (“Jehovah”) interchangeably.

“And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor... And the LORD looked upon [Gideon] and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man” (Judges 6:12,14-16). So, when the going gets rough, don’t hesitate to ask for the angel of His presence!