The Sovereignty of God and the Responsibility of Man!

Introduction:

In this teaching of the Sovereignty of God and the Responsibility of man, there are three component parts. First I will highlight certain statements from the scripture passage in Ephesians 1:3-14, secondly, I will present thoughts about the Sovereignty of God and the Responsibility of man as it relates to the development of our lives as Christian believers, and thirdly, I will use a set of sovereign acts of God, and the responsible response of certain people, which together resulted in the development of the foundational purposes of God in our local church at Westside Family Fellowship in Prince George, British Columbia.

1. From Ephesians 1:3-16 let us note: We have been blessed “with every spiritual blessing in Christ” ... by these sovereign acts of God: “for He chose us in him before the creation of the world; he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ; in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins; he made known to us his will, which he purposed in Christ; in him we were chosen, according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,” combined with these sovereign acts of God, we have the responsible responses of man as expressed in these words, “And you were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having believed, you were marked by the Holy Spirit.” This combination led to “faith in the Lord Jesus and love for all the saints, resulting in “the praise of his glory.”

2. The Sovereignty of God and the Responsibility of Man are like the two rails upon which a train operates. Both rails are necessary for the function of the train, and both the Sovereignty of God and the Responsibility of man are essential for the train of our spiritual lives to function. God as Sovereign Lord calls us to His purpose! Man as a submissive subject in the kingdom of God must respond to God’s sovereignty by faith in, and with love to God. Romans 8:28 kjv states, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, and are called according to his purpose.” This is particularly so when individuals who have responded obediently to the Sovereign purposes of God by faith and love, then take their place in the family of God in a local church. The continued development of a new believer does not take place in isolation, but within the fellowship of believers in a local church.

The life of such a believer stands in contrast to the life of a non-believer. Non-believers have the attitude expressed in the writing of William Ernest Henley (1875) when he said, “I am the master of my fate, and the captain of my soul.” In contrast, 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 kjv states that as believers “we are workers together with God.” That is so as we respond humanly to the divine sovereignty of God. God determines the outcome of our lives as believers when we respond obediently to his sovereign will by yielding our souls into his loving care. God has chosen that many different divine purposes would converge here at Westside Family Fellowship, as we, individually yield our lives into his sovereign care. Let me itemize a few of the several such purposes: The ministry of the Christian School; the ministry of the New Life Centre; the ministry of the Healing Rooms, and a particular World Mission focus and ministry. It is the this latter purpose which I wish to highlight in this teaching today.

Westside Family Fellowship was founded in 1982, and expanded considerably in 1984. God used one particular decade of time from 1985-1994 to establish his purpose in Westside’s World Mission focus. And it came about by the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man in this way: In the years of 1984-1990 God led a bible teacher by the name of Ernie Bergman from British Columbia, Canada to Mombasa, Kenya in East Africa to teach in a Bible Training Centre. In 1986-87 John and Elsie Giesbrecht of Abbotsford, British Columbia were led of God to come to Prince George, BC to assist John’s brother with the care of his livestock on his farm in the Prince George area. John and Elsie were members of a particular church denomination, and they were informed that there was a local church of that denomination in Prince George. However, since they were only going to be in Prince George for a few months, they decided that they would attend a local church closest to the farm where they would be living, and Westside Family Fellowship just happened to be that church. Did they just decide to attend that church, or did a sovereign God choose that church for them? Or was their decision to attend that church the result of a sovereign act of God, and their responsible response to that choice of God?

In 1988, after having returned to live in Abbotsford, John and Elsie went to Kenya to visit Elsie’s brother, Ernie Bergman. While visiting in Kenya, John and Elsie met a young man by the name of Paul Ndung’u. Paul had just graduated from the Training Centre where Elsie’s brother was teaching. In this time period, Paul Ndung’u was beginning his church planting ministry among the Masai people of Kenya. Two significant things occurred in 1990, John and Elsie were invited by John’s brother to return to Prince George and continue to work on a more permanent basis on his brother’s farm. This resulted in their return to fellowship at the Westside church. It was in that year that a Kenyan gave a return ticket to Pastor Paul from Kenya to Canada so that he could visit with his new Canadian friends, John and Elsie Giesbrecht’s in Prince George. This brought about a meaningful relational connection between Pastor Paul and the leaders and family of Westside Family Fellowship.

It was in the latter part of 1990 that God began to stir my heart, as the senior pastor concerning the development of a Missions focus for the Westside church. It was my desire that children and young people would begin to develop a heart for missions. So it was decided that we would involve our children and youth in fundraising for missions by the collecting of used bottles and cans of every variety. In just over twelve months we raised $10,000. for missions. I contacted Pastor Paul in Kenya and enquired as to what we could do to assist him with the meeting of some physical/social need among the people to whom he was ministering. Finally, the funds raised were used for World Vision to construct three large water-catchments that are still functioning twenty years after their construction.

I made contact with Hope International, another mission agency with whom we had developed a relationship. We offered to raise funds for a project with their agency. However, we told them that in addition to raising the funds, we wanted take a group of senior youth/adults to do the project in a third-world country. Arrangements were made by them for a project in a country of their choosing. John and Elsie continued to live in Prince George through the period of time from 1990 to mid-1994. Late in 1994, a group of 13, young and not-so-young adults travelled to Sri Lanka to do the project, and John and Elsie Giesbrecht were among the members of that group.

Today, Westside Family Fellowship has three major mission focuses including Pastor Paul in Kenya/Uganda; Joseph Anonby, a senior missionary with the Assemblies of God, first in the Canary Islands, and now in the Dominican Republic; and our major thrust in Sri Lanka where we have ministered to the national, trans-denominational leaders of the Christian Church of Sri Lanka. The story of our missions focus is a miracle over twenty years long, beginning with the initial $10,000. given to missions in 1991 to well over $100,000. given to missions in 2011. How did all this come about? It came about by the choice of a Sovereign God, and the responsible obedience of a group of people in the local church of Westside Family Fellowship. And how will this continue? Or will it continue? From God’s point of view, it is his will that it continue, and continue to grow and expand in an increased manner! But that will only occur as each of us respond responsibly to God’s sovereign will! Can God count on you?