“If God is with me, why are all these things happening to me? Where are all these miracles that our fathers are always telling us about?” These questions were asked in the past and are still being asked today. Answers from a divine service by the Chief Apostle.
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Photo: Frank Schuldt
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Photo: Frank Schuldt
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Photo: Frank Schuldt
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Photo: Frank Schuldt
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Photo: Frank Schuldt
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Photo: Frank Schuldt
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Photo: Frank Schuldt
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Photo: Frank Schuldt
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Photo: Frank Schuldt
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Photo: Frank Schuldt
“The people were suffering terribly under the yoke of the enemy, and God told Gideon, ‘I am with you.’” This is how Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider—in a divine service in Rheinberg (Germany) on 30 December 2018—described the biblical story in which these questions played a role.
The same kind of questions arise in our congregations today, he said, especially in Europe: “Certainly, God is with us, but in the past things were very different! The Church was successful, things were moving forward, but today everything looks completely different. Where has God gone?”
It is not a question of ability
“What did God say to Gideon?” The Chief Apostle summarised it as follows: “I am pursuing My plan, and I need your help.” To help Gideon, God chose those who drank water lapping it up like a dog—that is, without using their hands. The point was to show that they did not need to have any particular capabilities. It was thanks to this small unit that God accomplished a great feat: He delivered His people.
“What does God do today. He says, ‘I am still here and am pursuing my plan of redemption. I am in the process of forming my unit, the royal priesthood.’” This is how the Chief Apostle put it. They are not an elite group. They are not extraordinary people, they are not particularly good or particularly skilled in any way. But God intends to accomplish something very great with them, namely offer salvation to all of mankind in the kingdom of peace.
Beyond geographical and temporal limits
And what about this gathering of the bridal congregation? “Across the world, more than 200,000 people are sealed annually in the New Apostolic Church.” In Europe, where the Church has been comparatively strong, some people are reacting somewhat disillusioned: “In Africa the Church is successful, we are less successful here.”
“We must be aware,” the Chief Apostle argues, “that for God time is of no significance, nor is geography. The border between France and Germany was not invented by God. It is meaningless to Him. God is not subject to time. For Him the past, present, and future are always present. He is gathering one people, and this is something He is doing throughout all time periods.”
Small task, big effect
“This is the great thing God wants to accomplish, and He is doing it with us small and imperfect human beings. He expects the same thing from us as He expected from Gideon: follow the Lord.” And translated into our time that means: “We follow the Lord in good and in bad times, we put ourselves at His service in the congregation, we are witnesses of Jesus Christ in word and deed, we model our lives on the gospel, and we talk about Jesus Christ.”
In conclusion the Chief Apostle said: “This is our mission, and if we accomplish this small task, then God can make something great out of it.”