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Pastors Take Heart for God Is Able - Jay Depoy

I came to faith through the ministries of Dr. Henry Blackaby at Faith Baptist Church, Saskatoon, Canada. Previous to that experience, I knew at most one or two hymns. Upon coming to faith I learned a host of new songs, one being I Know Whom I Have Believed. It is not a song that is sung much anymore, but it certainly was years ago. The song highlights the activity and work of God. The chorus is taken from 2 Timothy 1:12, "I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able..."

The fact that God is "able" is a thought that Henry Blackaby loved to emphasize. It is a reality that is not only found here but is clearly taught throughout the entire Scriptures. It comes into sharp focus with Daniel's friends, who, when they were about to be thrown into the fire, said to the king, "The God we serve is able to save." Our God is able. As the Spirit of God raised Jesus from the dead, He will also raise us from the dead. More than that, He is able to guard what we have entrusted to Him for that day. And even further, He is able to do exceedingly beyond all that we can ask or even think. The fact that God is able permeates the Bible - Jay Depoy.

Jay Depoy - A corollary is that He is also very much at work in our world, doing far more than we could ever ask or think. Many of the ideas for Henry Blackaby's book Experiencing God were fleshed out during his ministry years at Faith Baptist. In our years under his pastoral leadership, Henry emphasized and re-emphasized that we were co-laborers with God. God is the One who initiates the work, and by faith and as an act of obedience, we join Him in His work. That thinking is fairly mainstay today, but in the past, church culture was influenced by the church growth movement that seemingly had a more human-focused emphasis. I remember being at denominational workshops where head office personnel shared about strategies, goals, and leadership. Henry Blackaby, as a participant within the audience, listened politely to those presentations, but as a rule, would remind the group that it all begins with God's initiative. Our primary responsibility is to recognize God at work and join Him as co-laborers. An example Henry would share was the outreach work that Faith Baptist Church was doing at the University of Saskatchewan. He would say something to the effect, "At the start we went to the U of S drumming up business for God. Then our perspective changed, and we assumed God was already at work. We initially missed out on God's supernatural work because we were preoccupied with superficial matters."

As pastors we are not on solo missions. Rather, we are called to join God in the work He is already doing. That perspective, fully embraced, brings with it a freedom in ministry. The initiative is God's. We are never alone in our ministry. We minister alongside the very One who set the heavens in place. Our ministry is with God who is willing, at work, and certainly able! We have cause to be confident. Not only has He prepared the gospel message for the world, but He is also preparing the world for the gospel message. He has done so in the past, is presently doing so, and will continue to so until that final day.