Thoughts From Pastor George Sova

The purpose of this communiqué is to keep you informed as to the nature and progress of this very important ministry called Cell Life. Hopefully this will lead us to a better understanding of the essential need to continuing development of Cell Ministry at Oasis. We also desire to encourage each of you to become committed participants in Cell Life. The benefits beloved are eternal.

In this first issue we explored the book of Acts where we were introduced to the phenomenal growth that took place shortly after Pentecost. We looked at the growth record of the Jerusalem church. Fortunately Dr. Luke the author of Acts gives us a running total of how the church grew. But lets fast forward to Acts 21:20. It says: "When then heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: ‘You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed..."  This is about 25 years after the day of Pentecost. The Greek word for thousands literally means tens of thousands. This is just in the city of Jerusalem. Most Bible scholars believe that the church grew to about 100,000 in the first 25 years. The estimated population of Jerusalem was about 200,000. What an incredible growth rate.

But this phenomenal growth raises so many questions. Like what did they do with all those people? How did they keep them connected and growing? The text indicates that there was some kind of organizational structure. Where did they meet? What lessons can we learn from this church that had such explosive growth?

In this issue we will explore some of those lessons:

1. The first lesson is that we must minister with the Holy Spirits power! Acts 1: 4,5 says: "On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."  I encourage you to read this account in Acts 2.

Lesson: Every believer in Jesus Christ receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. But for what purpose?

The purpose of receiving this powerful presence is identified in Acts 1:8 - "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

The first 120 people were in the upper room praying together, reconciling differences, and determining to go the direction the Holy Spirit was leading. When they were baptized by the Holy Spirit, they launched into their ministry of reaching the people the Holy Spirit was already preparing for them.

So the first thing we need if we are going to be effective in developing healthy Cell Life at Oasis is for those of us who already know Jesus as Savior to take the next step to a fully surrendered life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ: to be Spirit Filled, Spirit Influenced; and Spirit Driven! This is crucial. Then commit to lead, host, support or develop a new cell group. This will be the opportunity to make disciples of people from all walks of life in a safe, loving, non threatening environment.

2. The second lesson we can learn from Acts is to organize Oasis around Cell Groups. Look at Act 2: 46, 47 with me. "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

As you can see there is a twofold ministry taking place here. In the temple courts and house to house. Although the temple courts would hold thousands at one time it also says they met from house to house that is to say in small groups. There are distinct advantages meeting in Cell groups.

a. It is infinitely expandable. A building such as the one we meet in each Sabbath has limitations. Try and picture another 100 people in our congregation. Now try and picture 400, or 1000. We would need multiple services would we not? It has limitations.

But if we meet in Cell host homes how big can we get? Until we run out of homes I suppose. It's infinitely expandable. So the larger we grow the smaller we need to grow. Let me illustrate: the largest church in the world is in Seoul Korea. They have a huge auditorium and 10 packed services each Sunday plus an overflow building. It's 11 stories seating 2,000 people on each floor using wide screen TV. But that's not the secret of the central church in Seoul Korea.

The secret is their cell groups. Now they have over 70,000. That means they have at least 70,000 Cell pastors. Each of those cell groups reproduces itself every 6 months. Impressive!

b. The 2nd benefit of cell groups is that it's unlimited geographically. That is to say they can be all over the treasure valley. From Mt. Home to Wiser, from Jordan Valley to Garden Valley.

c. The 3rd benefit of this biblical strategy is that it's just good stewardship. We can grow much larger without having to expand our building.

d. The 4th benefit is Cell life promotes relationships. Home environments are relaxing and non-threatening. I need to be in a place where everybody knows my name and accepts me where I am in my spiritual journey. Cell groups nurture an environment of love and acceptance where I can grow in grace. Cell groups provide an opportunity for those exploring spirituality to connect with people who are spirit filled and spirit driven. They provide the venue for the fulfillment of Jesus' promise in John 12:32 "But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men (people) to myself."

Why are community, fellowship, and intimacy such hard things to find in our world today? Maybe it's because of the complexity of our lives, the strange complexity of persons that live within my own soul. Do we really know who we are? Can we put our identity into words and get a handle on it?

Edward Sanford Martin pictured himself this way in a poem he called "My Name Is Legion":

Within my earthly temple there's a crowd.
There's one of us that's humble and one that's proud.
There's one that's brokenhearted for his sins,
Another one that's unrepentant, sits and grins.
There's one that loves his neighbor as himself
And one that cares for not but fame and pelf.
For much corroding care I should be free,
If I could once determine which is me.

Each Cell group exists to model Messiah's Community, to show us where our true identity lies and what is our true purpose. Get connected today!

We'll discover more in the next issue. There is so much wisdom in God's way of multiplying his church through Cell Life. We cannot and will not succeed as a church without them. So I would encourage each of you to become part of Cell Life if you are not currently. If you are interested in learning more about Oasis Cell Ministry I would invite you to connect with Tim Smith. He can be reached by calling Shannon our church secretary @ 322-6601. She will relay any message. Or you can reach me at the same number. Our Web address is http://www.boiseoasis.org.

My Email address is gsova06@msn.com or the churches email is boiseoasis@cableone.net. I would love to hear from you.

Blessings in Jesus,
Pastor Sova

 

OASIS STEPS OUT IN FAITH WITH NEW ASSOCIATES IN PASTORAL CARE

Beginning July first, Marla and Jami Keller began ministering as Associates in Pastoral Care here at Oasis. Their daughters, Kayla (16) and Ariel (15), will be attending Boise High School. Marla and Jami are focusing on Youth, Young Adults, and Family Ministries. They moved here from Phoenix, AZ, where they were working as Relationship Coaches. When Pastor George called them to talk about possibilities, they knew that it was a direct answer from God. They had just placed their home up for sale in North Phoenix to move 10 miles North to Anthem where they were starting a church plant with an active and excited small group. Miraculously, 15 minutes following George's call, they had a phone call from a real estate agent letting them know that they had an offer on their home. Jami and Marla knew that this was a sign from God that they needed to seriously consider this opportunity. All it took was a visit to Boise two weeks later to convince them that Oasis was where God wanted them to be! They are so excited to be here, and want to send out a huge thanks to The Oasis church community for your generous emotional, spiritual, and financial support!

Virgin Birth - Really?

Dear Church Family,

The Christmas narratives begin with the account of an angel appearing to a young, lower-middle-class woman named Mary -- who was engaged but not yet married -- to tell her that even through she was a virgin, she was going to give birth to the Messiah. The claim that Christ entered the world by Virgin Birth elicits a variety of responses suggesting a diversity of beliefs about the virgin birth. I'll share some quotes:

"The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus by the Supreme Being as his father, in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter."  Thomas Jefferson, 1823.

"Larry King, the CNN talk show host, was once asked who he would most want to interview if he could choose anyone from all of history. He said, 'Jesus Christ.' The questioner said, 'And what would you like to ask Him?' King replied, "I would like to ask Him if He was indeed virgin-born. The answer to that question would define history for me'."  From Just Thinking, RZIM, Winter 1998. Cited by ChristianAnswers.net.

"Although the virgin birth cannot be understood as a historical-biological event, it can be regarded as a meaningful symbol at least for that time."  Hans Küng, "On Being a Christian".

"Matthew's Gospel was written in about AD 80-90 for Christians who were not of Jewish provenance - that is, Gentiles who had no knowledge of Isaiah's original Hebrew. For them, the passage announced, unambiguously, the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy: the miraculous birth of a divine being. But the prophet himself and readers of his original Hebrew sentence regarded it as a quite specific allusion to the historical circumstances of Isaiah's age - and would have found its mutation in Greek into one of the foundations of Christian doctrine quite baffling."  Geza Vermes.

As you can see there are a variety of ideas expressed regarding the Virgin Birth. From about 80 AD to the present time, most Christian faith groups have taught that Jesus was conceived by his mother Mary, while she was still a virgin. This is believed to have been accomplished by the action of the Holy Spirit, without an act of sexual intercourse. Catholics and some other faith groups have expanded this belief by teaching the doctrine of perpetual virginity -- that Mary lived, gave birth to Jesus, and died while still a virgin. Mariology is the end result. Most protestant religions, including Seventh-day Adventist Christians, reject the veneration or worship of Mary.

Interestingly most modern liberal theologians have generally rejected the virgin birth, and classify it as a religious myth that was added to Christian belief in the late first century AD and was triggered by a mistranslation of the book of Isaiah. They believe its formation was to make the religion more competitive with contemporary Pagan religions in the Mediterranean region, most of whom featured a virgin birth of their founder.

Various polls have found that about 80% of American adults believe in the virgin birth of Jesus. This exceeds the total number of American adults who identify themselves as Christian or Muslim. In fact, 47% of non-Christian adults also believe in the virgin birth.

Is it important what we believe regarding the Virgin Birth? Is it absolutely critical to the whole superstructure of the gospel? I invite you to worship with us this Sabbath, December 8 at 10:00 a.m. where we will explore this critical piece of the salvation puzzle. The sermon is entitled:  "Virgin Birth - Really?" Invite a friend!

Love and Blessings,
George and Diane
gsova06@msn.com