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Christ's Plan for the Church - Part 5
William MacDonald

William MacDonald (1917 - 2007). American Bible teacher, author, and preacher born in Leominster, Massachusetts. Raised in a Scottish Presbyterian family, he graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA in 1940, served as a Marine officer in World War II, and worked as a banker before committing to ministry in 1947. Joining the Plymouth Brethren, he taught at Emmaus Bible School in Illinois, becoming president from 1959 to 1965. MacDonald authored over 80 books, including the bestselling Believer’s Bible Commentary (1995), translated into 17 languages, and True Discipleship. In 1964, he co-founded Discipleship Intern Training Program in California, mentoring young believers. Known for simple, Christ-centered teaching, he spoke at conferences across North America and Asia, advocating radical devotion over materialism. Married to Winnifred Foster in 1941, they had two sons. His radio program Guidelines for Living reached thousands, and his writings, widely online, emphasize New Testament church principles. MacDonald’s frugal lifestyle reflected his call to sacrificial faith.
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In this sermon, the speaker shares stories of a successful outreach where people were enthusiastic and grateful for the opportunity to hear about Jesus. Despite the extreme heat, a group of individuals went door to door in Little Rock, Arkansas, sharing the gospel and leaving literature, even visiting the house of Hillary Clinton's mother. The speaker emphasizes the importance of hospitality and the impact it can have on someone's perception of Christianity. The sermon concludes with a call to view other Christians through the eyes of Jesus and to be faithful and committed to the Church.
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Should we turn in our Bibles to Hebrews chapter 10, please? Hebrews chapter 10. I'd like to begin reading in verse 19. Hebrews 10, 19. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he consecrated for us through the veil, that is, his flesh, and having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking, this is the golden verse for this morning, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. First of all this morning, I'd like to think with you about the privileges and responsibilities of fellowship in a Christian gathering, Christian meeting, Christian assembly. But let me say at the outset, we often hear the expression, assembly distinctives. And I'd like to say at the outset, there should be no such thing as assembly distinctives. And the reason for that is, the truth is all here in the Word of God, and it's for all the people of God. Now it may be true that some adhere more closely to the principles of the Word of God than others, but I'd just like to remind myself that there are really no assembly distinctives here for every Christian and every Christian fellowship. And certainly there's no reason for pride among God's people, is there? I often think that if we could see ourselves as God sees us, we'd have enough failure to sink a battleship. I mean, seen in the light of God's holiness and God's purity, that's true. So there's no reason for us ever to be prideful, but to seek to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. And so a lot of the things I say today would be true of privileges and, for instance, responsibilities in any Christian fellowship, in any group of people who gather in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Privileges. First of all, there's the promised presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, for two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Think of that. Think of meeting together with your creator in the midst. With the one who gives you the breath to breathe at this very minute. With the one who formed the starry universe, the millions of galaxies and millions of stars in every galaxy. Billions, sorry. Billions of galaxies and billions of stars in every galaxy. Of the one who threw Orion out into space and keeps the heavenly bodies in their perfect orbits. That's really what it means. But not only that, to gather together with the promised presence of the one who died on Calvary, the one who formed us and was willing to die for us, to put away our sins by the sacrifice of himself, so that we might dwell with him for all eternity. With him, as like him, forever. It's no mean privilege to meet with the Lord. And then, of course, there's the privilege of collective worship. The privilege of collective worship, and I'm thinking especially of the Lord's Supper. What a wonderful thing it is to meet with like-minded believers and just put all the cares of the world aside. Blot out all the things that tend to distress us and just be there in the presence of the Lord. For in worship, by faith, we leave this earth and we go into the holy presence of God. And we have audience with the King of all. That's what really worship is. It's by faith leaving this present scene and just going into the sanctuary, the throne room of the universe. As I say, having audience with the great God and with the Lord Jesus Christ. I tell you, if we really entered into these things, it would have the hush of eternity in our hearts, wouldn't it? It really would. It's awesome when you really think of it. And then the privilege of collective prayer. What it means to gather with God's people and go into the presence of the Lord with our praise and with our prayers, with our petitions. It's really wonderful. And to see those prayers answered, to see God moving the checkers on the checkerboard, to see Him working in His sovereign way and to see Him answering prayers in a way that would never have happened according to the laws of chance or probability. Thank God for prayer meetings where the presence of the Lord is felt. And I like to remind myself in that connection. I think some of our young people or brothers are afraid to pray publicly. Afraid that they might make some theological disaster or something like that in their prayers. Revelation 8 has been such a help to me where we have a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ there standing between us and God the Father. And our prayers ascend to Him. And He adds incense to them. And then they go on to God the Father. And I think that incense is the fragrance of His own person and work. How do you like that? The fragrance of His own person and work. He removes all impurities from our prayers. And there are plenty of them too. He removes all of those. And when they get to God the Father, they're absolutely perfect. That's an encouragement prayer for me. Sometimes you might hear some young brother and he thanks God the Father for dying on the cross for him. Of course, God the Father didn't die on the cross. It doesn't make any difference. God knows what He means. And as I say, that's all removed and corrected. When it reaches God the Father, it's absolutely perfect. The privilege of collective prayer. Then instruction in the Word of God. I look back to my own boyhood when we sat under the ministry of the Word of God and how indebted I feel to those men. The first Sunday school class I ever remember, I was taught the parables of the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew 13. Can you imagine it? A kid studying that. Still with me today. And I can remember sitting around tables in that assembly and going through the book of Isaiah. Isaiah? What about John's Gospel? No, Isaiah. And you know it's still with me today. What a privilege. I tell you, I'm very indebted to the fellowships that I had the privilege of being in down through those years. And I wasn't even a Christian. But the Holy Spirit was putting the coals on the fire to ignite them some years later. I personally have great sadness of heart when I think of how biblically illiterate the church in the United States is. Biblically illiterate. It used to be that you could talk to people and they had a smattering of ignorance about the Bible. But they really don't have that anymore. And so what a wonderful privilege it is to be in a fellowship where the Word of God is taught and where people's minds, young people's minds, are filled with the Word of God. A sacred deposit. And then of course there's the blessing of serving with others. And we heard about that last night a great deal. The blessing of serving with God in the Sunday school class. And who can know? Who can know? I think of teachers who have become discouraged along the way. They thought nothing's going to happen. Things do happen. I want to tell you, the Word of God is never taught and ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit without producing results. Do you believe that? I believe that. Well, the Bible says it. He said, His Word will not return to him void. It will accomplish a thing that he has sent it forth to do. So when you're engaged in that work, in ministry, in teaching the Word of God, you're in a work that can't fail. It's got the promise of success right in the Word of God. Privilege of serving the Lord in gospel work and witnessing for the Lord. Recently, a hundred people went out to Little Rock, Arkansas. And they paid their own expenses out there. And they paid their own hotel out there, a hundred people. And they went to every house in Little Rock, Arkansas. Every house, including the house of Hillary Clinton's mother and left a packet of literature with her there. And if you'll read the last issue of Uplook Magazine, it's really historic. It has stories of the things that happened in that outreach. And I want to tell you, the people were bubbling. They were really overflowing with praise to the Lord. They were out there in 107 degree temperature. And they went to one door and knocked on the door. And a person came to the door and said, You people must have something if you're willing to go house to house in 107 degree temperature. They went to another door. And the lady opened the door and they talked to her about the Lord Jesus. And she said, I've lived here for 24 years and you're the first people who ever came to talk to me about Jesus. And that magazine is just filled with stories like that. A fellow went to a home to see if he could get the little fellow to come to the children's meetings. And it was a foster home. And the foster mother said to him when he went to the door, Well, he doesn't like men. I think he had been abused, this little fellow. And she said, he doesn't like men. And the little fellow said, I don't like men. But you know that dear brother, he kept persisting. He'd go back and he'd bring gifts to that little fellow. And pretty soon the little fellow went to the meetings. And pretty soon he was practically glued to that Christian worker. He wouldn't leave him out of his sight. And now they're thinking of adopting him. I mean, the magazine's filled with stories. I don't know whether that one is in it, but it was told to me personally. The joy of serving with others. I'll tell you, it made an impact on the lives of a hundred people that they'll never forget. The joy of visitation, including hospital visitation. You know, a lot of people are afraid to visit in hospitals. I don't know why. But there's a tremendous joy in doing that kind of work. And oftentimes you come away more blessed than any blessing that you were able to give. The thrill of Christian literature work. And I might say this just in passing, that I believe that the distinctive ministry that God has given to assemblies like Hillview down through the years has been the ministry of Christian literature. It has had an impact on the whole evangelical world. Then the privilege of giving. Perhaps we don't think of giving as being a privilege, but it is a tremendous privilege. It's a tremendous privilege to be reaching out to the far ends of the earth with our gifts and sacrifices for God. And who knows what is ever accomplished by that. But nothing is ever done in the name of the Lord Jesus and for his glory that will not be rewarded at the judgment seat of Christ. I think that's wonderful. God is a good record keeper. He's a good accountant. And nothing you ever do and nothing you ever give for him passes without its reward. I tell you, it's starting to think of a reward that some people are going to get in that connection. The privilege of fellowship. Of being with Christian people. We feel this very strongly. In a country where the anti-Christian bigotry is increasing all the time. Where the media never loses an opportunity to whack away at Christianity, at Christ, and at Christian people. It's a wonderful thing just to come together with like-minded believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. And be able to talk about the things that matter. And then, of course, a caring family in times of sorrow, trial, and distress. It's a wonderful thing. A caring family. Maybe somebody is hospitalized. Maybe some mother is hospitalized. The meals just flow over into that home. Nobody has to worry about the food. People there to help. Take care of the children. And just moving together. Let me give you the other side of that story. There was a fellow in the Navy with me. I prayed for him for 50 years. And he died, as far as I know, without ever coming to the Lord Jesus. And his wife would call me, his widow would call me, and she would just be left. And I said to her, and they had no faith at all. I said to her, do you have any friends? She said, we don't have any friends. She said, we just saved money until we had enough money to go on a tour. I said, do any of your neighbors take it? No, she said, we have not associated with our neighbors. And she was sitting there all by herself in a home in Arizona. And nobody cared. That's the way she had always lived. That's the way it was now. And I thought, what a contrast. What a contrast. A fellowship with like-minded Christians and how they just come together. A beautiful thing happened up recently with us. A young fellow had to go to the University of California, San Francisco, for a liver transplant. And you know what an emotional roller coaster oftentimes it is when something like that is happening. Well, his wife went to the home of one of our sisters one day, and she was really at the edge, as it were. She went in, and there were two ladies talking in there, two Christian ladies talking. And she just was about ready to dissolve. And when one of those ladies saw her ready to dissolve, she quickly got up from her seat and went over and sat beside her and put her arm around her. And she said, I'm connected with a prayer fellowship, and your husband's name is going to go on it, and it will reach 2,000 people. I tell you, that means something, doesn't it? It made her day. 2,000 people enlisted to pray for our Barry. And the good news is that Barry Coleman is doing wonderfully well. And then a worldwide fellowship. Some of you have traveled various parts of the world. I don't know many parts of the world where you couldn't go and find real Christian fellowship. And you're with those people for just a short time, and it feels that you've known them forever. And there's no fraternity, sorority, or society in the world to compare with the Christian fellowship. The world has nothing to offer comparable to it. I think of places that I have visited and the friendships that have been formed, and they go with you through all of life. Privileges of fellowship in a local assembly. But there are also responsibilities, aren't there? And oftentimes we forget these. You know, the French have an expression, noblesse oblige. Nobility has its obligations. Nobility has its obligations. It means that nobility obligates. It's the obligation of honorable, generous, and responsible behavior associated with high rank or high birth. And dear Christians, we are people of high birth. Children of the Heavenly King. And there are responsibilities that go with that. Let's think of some of those responsibilities. There's a responsibility to exercise our spiritual gift. Because it's only as we do that that the body grows, functions, matures. We saw that as we were in Ephesians chapter 4. The body needs you. It needs your contribution to the body. You should be willing to do for the Lord what you wouldn't be willing to do for any secular employer and beyond. You know, employers today, they can tell you go to Singapore and you go. But God might tell you to go to Madagascar and it's a different story, isn't it? We should be willing to do for the Lord what we would never do for any secular employer. An obligation to endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. Not to be the source of conflict, but to be confessing faults to one another. Learning to live in brokenness before the Lord. In other words, in order that the assembly might not suffer. There's the obligation to attend meetings faithfully. One of the few places today where you're sure to find commitment is in the dictionary. You can always find it there. But it's less and less obvious in many meetings of Christian fellowships. I think that faithful attendance at our meetings is one of the casualties of the frenzied lives on the one hand and our weekend escapes on the other. What is a valid reason, for instance, for not attending the breaking of bread? Remember the king is there. Remember the one who died for you in Calvary is there. What would be a good reason for not attending? Aunt Minnie's birthday? A family get-together on Groundhog Day? What would be a good reason? It's pretty hard to think of a good one, isn't it? If we really believe the Lord Jesus is there, it would be pretty hard to find a good reason for not being there. He requested it. He said, this is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And he is there when we do meet together. We appropriate, as I said before, we appropriate this fact by faith. We don't act as if it were true. We act because it is true. Someone may object, as I said, that, well, he's everywhere. I know he's everywhere. There's a special sense in which he's present when his people gather together to worship him. The early church was faithful in its commitment to the local assembly. We've already referred to Acts 2.42. It says they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. It doesn't say they continued in those things. It says they continued steadfastly in those things. And the apostle Paul knew that when he left Philippi to go to Troas, he'd find the believers there breaking bread on the Lord's Day. Could Paul depend on us to be there at that time? I like to remind myself that when I am not present, the Savior misses me. And he misses you, too, when you're not present. I often think of that time when he went to the house of Simon the Pharisee. And he got kind of a cold welcome. The Lord Jesus said to him, you didn't give me any water for my feet. You gave me no kiss. You didn't give me oil to anoint my head. You gave me no kiss. Do you ever think that when you're not there, and he is there, he misses your kiss? I believe that. I'm just a simple believer that I really believe that with all my heart. If he missed the kiss of an unregenerate Pharisee, how much more does he miss the kiss of one whom he redeemed by his precious blood? Attendance at the assembly is an index of our love for Jesus. It's an index of our love. He said, if you love me, keep my commandments. That's one of his commandments, isn't it? This too is remembrance of me. And it's an index of our priorities, as I already suggested. Which is more gripping, a prayer meeting or watching the Super Bowl? Well, it depends on how you're looking at it. If you're looking at it from a natural standpoint, the Super Bowl is far more gripping. But if you're looking at it through the eyes of faith, it's not. That makes all the difference in the world. Because in the prayer meeting, you're having intercourse with the God of all creation. In the Super Bowl, you're getting excited about scores that 100 years from today won't make any difference. It just depends on what kind of glasses you have on. What kind of lenses you have in your eyes. Which is more important, to do routine repairs on a house or to be at the prayer meeting? Things like that. We have to think about our priorities and get them straight. When we go away on vacation, are we careful to be somewhere where we can meet with the Lord and with his people? Or when we're being transferred, does the presence of a scriptural fellowship weigh in our decision? Or do we go anywhere and then regret that there isn't any scriptural assembly there? And in weighing all of these responsibilities, we always have to remember that what we do is more for our good. Commitment is more for our good than it is for his. I mean, what does it matter to the great sovereign of the universe? Relatively speaking, but it matters a lot to me. We're the poorer when we're uncommitted. I remember he said to the disciples, You are those who have continued with me in my temptation, and I appoint to you a kingdom. He takes note of our commitment to him, and he has appointed for us commitment. And just let me say this, too, that I think that the meetings of the assembly have a sanctifying influence on our lives. For instance, every time we come and remember the Lord in his death, we're reminded of what our sins cost him. It increases our hatred for sin and our desire to do that which is pleasing in his sight. In going to a prayer meeting, we learn how to pray. The best way to learn how to pray is to be with Christians when they're praying. I listen to the prayers of people, and I think, that's wonderful, I never thought of that. You make a mental note of it, and it helps you along the way. We learn to worship, we learn to give, and we learn to develop rapport with our fellow believers. So the golden text, as I said, is not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. I have some friends down in Nashville, Tennessee, and they met John and Mary Lou Phelan. John was in the Second World War, and he was down in Southern California, and he ran into a man named Harold Kessler. Some of you may know Harold Kessler. Harold Kessler led him to the Lord and did a great job in discipling him, including the truth of the New Testament church. After the war, Johnny and Mary Lou were back there in Nashville, Tennessee. The local Methodist church asked him to come as assistant pastor. It would have been a prestigious position. John was sold on the principles of New Testament Christianity and the New Testament church, and he and his wife remembered the Lord for one year in the living room of their home, just the two of them. That is commitment. At the end of one year, some brothers went down there with a tent. They pitched the tent at 65th and Louisiana, and they started preaching the gospel, and souls started getting saved. Today, there is a large assembly in Nashville, and there is a hive off in an adjacent town, and there is a camp just as big as this one, Horton Haven, and they are all the result of that couple being faithful to the Lord, being committed to Him, and meeting for one whole year, just the two of them, to remember the Lord. I want to tell you something, friends. That's commitment. And God honors it. Them that honor me, I will honor. Jim McCarthy and I were at a conference up in upper Minnesota recently, and there was a couple that came there, Jack and Charlotte Mostert. Jack and Charlotte were for many years in fellowship in the Laughlin Street Assembly there in Chicago. And of course, then there was a flight to the suburbs. All the people fled out to the suburbs, and in a way, Laughlin Street, it became something like a ghetto, you know, that whole area. The whole complexion of the assembly, the people in the assembly, all changed. Jack and Charlotte stayed with it down through the years. A few months ago, Charlotte and another lady were walking out of the Laughlin Street Chapel, and there was a gang fight going on in the neighborhood, and a random bullet came and hit the other lady in the leg. Jack and Charlotte are still there, carrying on for Jesus. It didn't drive them away at all. I'm going to tell you, that's commitment. And God prizes it very, very highly. Other responsibilities. Share in the fellowship of the assembly, expenses of the assembly, and in sending funds out to missionaries. You know, what the local assembly is largely determines what the missionaries are going to be on the field. They're an expression of the local assembly. We have a responsibility to pursue personal holiness. Very important. Pursue personal holiness. That's before we come to the Lord's Supper, we should examine ourselves before the Lord, confess and put away all known sin. I know that when there's an ulcer in my body, it affects the whole body, doesn't it? It's not a private matter. An ulcer isn't private. It affects my whole body. That's true in the local fellowship, too. When there's sin there. An assembly not far from here. And the young people's work wasn't going well. Wasn't going well. And the other elders, they thought, what's going on here? We just can't understand what's the trouble here. And finally it came out. One of the men carrying on an immoral liaison with a woman in the assembly. That was the ulcer. And when that was taken care of, the work among the young people became very vigorous and very helpful. We should practice mutual help, exhortation and edification. Edifying one another, not criticizing one another, but edifying one another. We should love one another fervently. And we should pray for one another. And I think one of the great things we can do is share in the ministry of hospitality. The longer I live, the more I realize how important hospitality is in connection with a local fellowship. I can just go back to that visit that Jim and I had in northern Minnesota. At the end of one of the meetings, a sister came to me and she said, I want to tell you a story. I said, tell me. She said, well, she said we had been in the church and she said we were hurt something terrible. She said we were really offended and really hurt. And we decided that we were never going to allow ourselves to get into that corner again. We were going to maintain our distance from people. We were going to maintain our distance from a local fellowship. She said, but one time, she said, my husband and I and the children, we decided to go to the local Bible chapel. And I've been to that Bible chapel. I want to tell you there's nothing to appeal to the flesh in there. But God is there. The Lord is there. And they went there and they went in and one of the brothers met her. And he said, you know, when I left home, the Lord laid it on my heart to bring this book to give to somebody. And he said, you must be the somebody. And I just want to give you this book. And she said to me, the Lord laid it on my heart. She said, I never heard of anybody talk like that before. The Lord laid it on my heart. But anyway, they sat through the meeting and they looked around and they saw all these women with head coverings on, you know, mantillas on their head. And on the way home, the kid said to her mother, what was that? Why did all those women have head coverings on their head? And she said, she said, don't even think about it. She said, we'll never be back. So they went back home. That was it. You know, they were going to hold people at arm's length. They weren't going to become deeply involved in anything like that. Well, the next Sunday, her husband said to her, are you ready? And she said, ready for what? He said, ready to go. She said, ready to go where? He said, ready to go to the chapel. She said, ready to go to the chapel? He said, yes. She said, am I supposed to wear one of those things on my head? And he said, yes, I think so. And they went back that Sunday and they were invited out to dinner. And for 22 times in the months to follow, they were invited out to dinner. She said, we had attended churches for years. We had never been invited out to dinner. I said to the kids, don't worry, we'll never be back. She said, we never left. The importance of showing hospitality. And then, of course, the responsibility of sharing in the work in the local chapel. Cleaning, repairing, and submitting to the leadership of the elders. Now, just some closing thoughts in connection with assembly life. Try to look at other Christians the way Jesus does. That's not easy, is it? It's really not easy. But that's the way we should do it. Try to look at other believers the way the Lord Jesus does. Avoid a critical spirit. I don't know anything that's more detrimental to the spiritual life of an assembly than a critical spirit. Some of us feel that we really have a talent for criticism. Well, that's one talent the Lord wouldn't mind you burying. It's a good thing to recognize the difference between matters that are fundamental, that are important, and that are secondary and peripheral. There are some things that are fundamental. We went over that previously. They're the basic truths of the Christian faith. There's no compromise with those. There are other things that are important because the Bible teaches on them. But there's a difference of opinion among Christians in the interpretation of them. I think in a case like that, the assembly should adopt a position on those issues. And then when you come into fellowship in that assembly, you can believe differently, but you mustn't push it publicly or privately. That keeps peace in the assembly. And then there's other matters that are peripheral. There are matters that God doesn't care about. God doesn't care whether you're a vegetarian, but he doesn't. He's not too concerned whether you use leavened bread or unleavened bread, or grape juice, or wine, fermented wine. He leaves many of these things to the local assembly to work out. Again, I say what I suggested before. Get convictions for yourself. What your parents believed about the truth should not be enough for you. Get your own convictions from the Word of God. Maybe that could come out of our meetings here, where you go to the Word of God and see it written in the Word of God. And if you see it written, when you get those convictions, stick to them. An old man, Alfred May, said that to me years ago. He said, Bill, when you get scriptural convictions, stick to them. And I have sought to do that. I would also say this. No man's gift is too big for God's principles. I might be in a little nondescript assembly, and I might think, well, my gift is really too big for this type of thing. I should seek a wider sphere of influence and leave the principles and just go off to where I'd reach a bigger audience. No man's gift is too big for God's principles. Stick to the principles and let the Lord lead you. I think it's interesting that when other people have abandoned something, we discover it. And when people discover something wonderful that we have, we abandon it. That's been going on. I thank God for the great truths of the New Testament assembly. And it's strange to see people abandoning those truths for something less. There, at the same time, others are coming to see them. I read you all of those quotations from clerics who say, look, this is the New Testament way, where the gifts are given for the perfect, for the saints of the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. And just let me repeat what I've said several times already. Remember that just following the pattern is not enough. We want to have the right pattern based upon the word of God, but we want to have the spiritual power that is necessary to go with it. I believe the spirit of God is moving in a special way in our days, in connection with the whole subject of assembly planting. God seldom reforms a movement. He begins something new. I want to be involved in God's work of beginning something new in the United States. The same principles, but a fresh display of those principles. I believe God is doing that. Doing it in Little Rock, Arkansas. Doing it in Grand Forks, North Dakota. And hopefully he'll be doing it in this area as well, in more than one place as well. It's in the air, friends. Let's be part of it. Shall we pray? Father, we thank you for these times when we can be together. When we can sit at the feet of Jesus and hear the voice of the tender shepherd through the word of God. We're reminded of how precious the church is to you. And we want it to be precious to us as well. Help us to be more faithful, we pray. Help us to be more committed. Help us to be the men and women of God that you would have us to be. Make these truths real in our lives and through our lives to others as well. We pray in the Savior's worthy and precious name. Amen. And it's strange to see people abandoning those truths for something less. At the same time, others are coming to see them. I read you all of those quotations from clerics who say, look, this is the New Testament way. Where the gifts are given for the perfect of the saints for the work of the ministry. For the edifying of the body of Christ. And just let me repeat what I've said several times already. Remember, that just following the pattern is not enough. We want to have the right pattern based upon the word of God. But we want to have the spiritual power that is necessary to go with it. I believe the Spirit of God is moving in a special way in our day. It's in connection with the whole subject of assembly planting. God seldom reforms a movement. He begins something new. I want to be involved in God's work of beginning something new in the United States. The same principles, but a fresh display of those principles. I believe God is doing that. Doing it in Little Rock, Arkansas. Doing it in Grand Forks, North Dakota. And hopefully he'll be doing it in this area as well. In more than one place as well. It's in the air, friends.
Christ's Plan for the Church - Part 5
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William MacDonald (1917 - 2007). American Bible teacher, author, and preacher born in Leominster, Massachusetts. Raised in a Scottish Presbyterian family, he graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA in 1940, served as a Marine officer in World War II, and worked as a banker before committing to ministry in 1947. Joining the Plymouth Brethren, he taught at Emmaus Bible School in Illinois, becoming president from 1959 to 1965. MacDonald authored over 80 books, including the bestselling Believer’s Bible Commentary (1995), translated into 17 languages, and True Discipleship. In 1964, he co-founded Discipleship Intern Training Program in California, mentoring young believers. Known for simple, Christ-centered teaching, he spoke at conferences across North America and Asia, advocating radical devotion over materialism. Married to Winnifred Foster in 1941, they had two sons. His radio program Guidelines for Living reached thousands, and his writings, widely online, emphasize New Testament church principles. MacDonald’s frugal lifestyle reflected his call to sacrificial faith.